30 November, 2012: Passing away of Inder Kumar Gujral

Press Statement 

Some Urdu speaking friends like Shri S.H. Razi, Taqi Rahim, Shri Habibur Rahman, Dr Razi Ahmed and others met me the other day and impressed upon me the need to provide all necessary facilities for the growth of Urdu. Prof. Mohammed Hassan of Jawaharlal Nehru University had also met and talked to me some time back in this connection.

            They told me that the Gujral Committee on Urdu had made certain useful recommendations which might largely satisfy the needs of the Urdu speaking population. The report of this committee had been kept in abeyance for several years by the out-going Government. But now it has been published, and i hope, the present Government would take urgent steps to examine and implement these recommendations as early as possible.

It is only just and proper that Urdu should be treated on par with other Indian languages, and a congenial climate created for its growth. I understand, the Constitution of India provides for the education of children through their mother tongue at the primary stage. The Government must, therefore, see that in areas where there is Urdu speaking population, Urdu teachers are appointed in all primary schools and even in other recognised schools and colleges, irrespective of the number of student reading therein. Urdu should also be given a place in the affairs of the administration as far as possible.

            I am happy to note that many people whose mother tongue is not Urdu are learning it. Many of them have acquired a high degree proficiency in this language. On the other side, a large number of Urdu speaking people are also learning Hindi and some of them have acquired a competence that is second to none. This is a very healthy trend which deserves to be encouraged and strengthened. Special incentive should be given to such Urdu-Hindi enthusiasts. Only mutual efforts in this direction can create the kind of cultural synthesis that we need for building a firm basis of national integration.

It is unfortunate that inspite of thirty two years of Swaraj, Hindu- Muslim unity for which the Father of the Nation had laid down his life, is yet to be fully realised. I think that this cause would be served best if the language barrier between the two communities is demolished by bringing Hindi and Urdu closer to each other. Gandhiji had made positive efforts in this direction, but after his death no serious attempt was made to do what he had left undone. Both the Government and the people have now a duty to perform and I have no doubt that they will spare no pains to fulfil this important national task.

Patna,

March 5, 1979                                                                    (Jayaprakash Narayan)

Source: Jayaprakash Narayan III (Inst.), MSS, NMML

11 November, 1888: Birth Anniversary Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Maulana Sahib Statement

             Lord Zetland’s speech leaves things where they have been since the breakdown of the negotiations between Lord Linlithgow and Gandhiji in February last. I can only say that every difficulty that the Secretary of State raises is completely met by the proposed Constituent Assembly. The issue is simple. Is the British Government prepared to admit the right of self determination for India? If she is, then there can be only one proper method of finally deciding all the problems. They should be referred to the elected representatives of India. Only such an assembly can deal with problems relating to Hindus and Muslims and the Indian States. But if the British Government is not prepared to accept this position, then it is clear that they want to hold India by force. In such case there can be no common ground for mutual understanding.

            I therefore fail to understand why the Secretary of State continues to repeat the difficulty about the minorities and the Prince Who wants the British Government to coerce the minorities against their will, Who says that a decision should be forced on the unwilling Mussalmans? The Congress does not want dictate its own terms to others. It admits the fullest right of the minorities to formulate their own safeguards. It has no hesitation in admitting the right of the Muslims to determine their own method for safeguarding their rights and interests through their representatives. It only wants the recognition of a correct and democratic method of approach to the problems. The recognised minorities can send their representatives to this assembly through separate electorates if they choose to do so. So far as the settlement of their problems is concerned, it would not depend on the vote of the majority.

            The Muslim League has presented at its Lahore Session the idea of dividing India into Hindu and Muslim. This concept is so unreal, crude, fallacious and impracticable that on reconsideration the League itself would probably not insist on its realisation. But so far as the Congress is concerned, it has no hesitation in saying that this matter may also be entrusted to the Muslim representatives of the proposed assembly. The right to take such a step can vest only in the Mussalmans who are elected by Mussalmans themselves for such a purpose. The League can present any scheme but it cannot claim that the scheme is accepted by the totality or even the majority of the Mussalmans. I have no misgivings about the attitude of the Muslim members of such an assembly. They would never favour a vivisection of India.

The strangest portion of the speech of the Secretary of State is the one which he has chosen as his peroration. It ends thus: provided that Reuter’s Agency has reported the speech fully: - “Will the congress refrain from closing the door upon that unity of India which they themselves so passionately desire? It is not too much to say that upon the answer which the Congress Party will give to that question hangs the future fate of India.”

I tried to reach the meaning of these words but have to admit that I have failed. What action of the congress can be construed to bear the meaning given by the Secretary of State? The congress stands for complete Independence. This is clearly impossible without communal unity. But neither the one nor the other can be had without an assembly really representative of the people. There is no machinery which can give real unity.  The assembly and it alone can determine the way of unity and determine India’s status.

Lord Zetland’s speech seems to show that the British government do not wish to part with power. They will not recognise India’s right to determine for herself what she wants.

April 22, 1940

Source: M.K. Gandhi (Pyarelal) XV (Inst.), MSS, NMML

12 October, 1967: Passing away of Ram Manohar Lohia

Ram Manohar Lohia: An Appreciation

by Gopal Krishna (An Extract)

In Indian political life Lohia belonged to a lost generation – the generation that came into the national movement in the early thirties. These men played a creditable role in the movement but were too young to claim a share in power immediately after Independence, and by the time conditions were propitious for change of leadership they were too old.

During the last years of his life Lohia’s non-conformism received greater notice than his many insights into the processes of history and politics.

To be a non-conformist is a rare enough virtue in a conformist society such as ours, but there was a great deal more to Rammanohar Lohia; he embodied some noble aspirations for his country and represented an important strand of opinion in Indian political life. And in the socialist movement, his was the decisive influence at many critical turning points.

CONSCIENCE–KEEPER OF SOCIALISM

Rammanohar Lohia was one of the founders of the Indian socialist movement and was acknowledged as the most lively and thoughtful among its leaders. I did not know him well and was not among his ardent followers. But those of us who were drawn to the socialist movement after Independence were impressed by the quality of his intelligence, his imagination, his passion for equality and hatred of the inequities of Indian society....He laboured under a strong sense that the cause of Indian unity and of socialism had been betrayed by the leadership and he took on himself the heroic, if unpleasant, role of a conscience-keeper of public life, on the alert to denounce corruption and deviations.

Lohia saw himself as an upright and uncompromising non-conformist, sensitive to human distress, and playing the role of an accusing prophet in an unjust society. This was his estimate of himself, and the basis on which he wished to be accepted by his contemporaries.

COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY

In converting the pre-Independence revolutionary outlook of Indian socialism into a democratic commitment which abjured violence in domestic affairs Lohia made a substantial contribution.

He argued that plural societies could not afford to rely on violence in handling internal conflicts without risking their own, dissolution, while democratic rights opened up the channels of participation to the hitherto dis-enfranchised strata of the population.

Lohia’s attitude to the West, especially to Europe, was mixed. He admired much in the European achievement, especially the European’s sense of order, freedom and dignity; and he had no use for vulgar denunciations of Europe. He shared the socialist aspiration for a world order based on the principle of international brotherhood. But at the same time he saw recent history as a struggle for supremacy between nations, continents and civilisations in which Europe had always been the oppressor.

On Indian foreign policy Lohia’s ideas were grounded in his assessment of the interests of the country, the threats it faced and the possibilities open to it. He saw its principal objectives as preserving the freedom of the newly-independent countries, establishing channels of co-operation between them and securing an effective voice for them in world affairs. Nearer home this meant creating closer relations with India’s neighbours and taking steps towards linking India and Pakistan in a new association. The emergence of communist China as an aggressive power on the frontiers of India led him to demand a properly-conceived Himalayan policy to preserve the independence of India’s neighbours long before the Indian government acknowledged the new danger. Lohia’s passionate devotion to Asia did not lead him into the error of overlooking the threat that communist China could present to the non-communist countries of South and South-East Asia. I have the impression that when he talked of Asia Lohia thought mainly of that part of it which had been influenced by Indian civilisation; it was ‘Greater India’ that was central to his idea of Asia.

India-Pakistan relations occupied his mind throughout the two decades between Partition and his death last year. He had opposed partition and despite the mounting hostility between India and Pakistan he believed that the separation of 1947 was not irrevocable and remained firmly committed to the goal of a confederation.

The defeat of the Socialist Party was due to its failure to organise mass support. Lohia proposed to remove this deficiency by organising the disinherited strata of Indian society – women, Sudras, Harijans, Muslims and Adivasis, who between them constituted the great majority of the population – to constitute the basis of his Party’s support. This was a long-term plan and required patient effort.

He was deeply committed to freedom everywhere and his interventions in the freedom struggle in Goa and in the democratic movement in Nepal were characteristic evidence of his concern.

The source of his inspiration were diverse, but the deepest of them must have been the culture and history of India.

Rammanohar Lohia’s political life had a basic consistency. All his endeavours were marked by a passion to build up the people’s capacity to compel accountability from those in authority. In his unrelenting campaign against complacency and hypocrisy, he upheld the tradition of dissent in a climate of conformity. 

Source: Jayaprakash Narayan Papers, NMML, MSS

8 October 1932: Indian Air Force was Established

DEVELOPMENTS IN AVIATION

AND

THEIR ECONOMIC IMPACT ON INDIA*

­­Then and Now

Thirtyeight years ago, in the month of October, 1932, India witnessed the beginning of commercial aviation. The first scheduled flight in India was operated from Karachi to Madras by De Havill and Puss Moth aircraft, which was flown by the great pioneer of civil aviation in India, Mr. J.R.D. Tata, from Karachi to Bombay and by Mr. Nevill Vintcent from Bombay to Madras. The first service arrived at Madras on October 16, and the first west-bound flight left Madras on October 17, 1932. The Puss Moth aircraft which operated the first scheduled flight had seating capacity for two passengers and a limited quantity of mail, and the cruising speed was 90 to 100 m.p.h. The next important stage was the introduction of Dakota aircraft with seating capacity for 21 passengers and a cruising speed of 190 to 200 m.p.h. The Vikings followed, and when Air-India International Ltd. came into existence in 1948, it began flying Constellation and later Super Constellation aircraft. Ten years ago, our fastest aircraft had a maximum cruising speed of about 300 m.p.h. and today, the Boeing 707 and the new generation of high capacity, wide-bodied subsonic jet aircraft fly at 600 m.p.h., and the 747 can carry around 400 passengers. From the Puss Moth to the Jumbo Jet in thirtyeight years is a great revolution in size and speed.

...The benefits of civil air transport have become so apparent since the middle of this Century that it is hardly possible to imagine an industrialised society without a system of airports, airlines and related infra structure....The air transport industry forms part of what some economists call ‘Social Overhead Capital’; the basic ingredients which are essential to the working and growth of all other parts of the nation’s economy.

Air transport industry is a vital factor in nearly every kind of economic activity and with the rapid growth of demand for fast transport by air of people and goods in the modern world,... The growth of national income and its distribution has a decided impact on air traffic growth and improvements in the quality of air service brought about by developments in aviation technology, particularly in regard to size, speed, productivity, comfort, regularity and safety factors, have had a tremendous impact on air traffic growth. There is clear evidence that as the level of incomes increases, expenditure on foreign travel grows at a much more rapid rate and the high growth factor, which is an essential characteristic of the air transport industry, has a sizeable impact on the growth of the economy in terms of tourism, employment and international trade.

     By assisting in the development of tourism and foreign trade, the airlines are making an important contribution to balance of payments position and foreign currency earnings. The existence of good air services also enhances the attractiveness of a country for commercial and industrial interests, because of communication and trade advantages.

These generalisations and conclusions about the economic impact of developments in air transport are also true of India.

Conclusion

       International Civil Aviation has contributed to the prosperity of the world, shrinking continents, shortening distances and making this big world of ours into a vast neighbourhood. Its important contribution of significance to mankind has been the promotion of friendship and co-operation between nations and peoples upon which the peace of the world depends and yet its abuse can become a threat to the general security. It was in the very early days that Sir Winston Churchill described civil aviation as the greatest instrument ever forged for international solidarity. Like many of his remarks, it was prophetic; it was true.

*Extracts from text of a speech given by Mr.K.K. Unni, September 1970

Source: Asok Mitra Papers, NMML, MSS

04 September, 1852: Birth Anniversary of Dadabhai Naoroji

SECTION XVI.

CORRESPONDENCE WITH GOVERNORS AND VICEROYS

(Excerpts)

            The present section will deal with the correspondence which Dadabhai had with Governors and Viceroys. It will be noticed that this correspondence increased after Dadabhai’s retirement form England.

LORD HARDINGE

Lord Minto was succeeded by Lord Hardinge in November 1910.

…On 8-10-1913 Dadabhai wrote to Lord Hardinge controverting the contention advanced by him in his Council speech viz. the figures of imports and exports of India showed that in rate of progress India compared favourably with any of the principal countries in the world. Dadabhai argued that if a man exported goods worth £1000, he must expect to get back his £1000 + profit, but if he did not get back even his £1000, but say only £800 he actually made a loss. That was what was happening to India. The interpretation put in the figures of imports and exports by officials and repeated by the Viceroy was quite mistaken and calculated top mislead the public and Government.

“The Commercial returns’’ said Dadabhai “when understood correctly prove clearly that a large amount of India’s wealth is carried away by England every year.” For fuller information Dadabhai referred Lord Hardinge to certain pages in his book “Poverty and Un- British Rule in India.” Dadabhai also enclosed with his letter a copy of his letter to the Daily News (London), dated 3-4-1905 on the Subject of the Drain.

Source: Dadabhai Naoroji Papers (IInd Inst.), MSS, NMML

THE FELICITATION OF INSV TARINI WOMEN OFFICERS

16 August, 1947: Shankarrao, General Secretary, AICC, Addressing All Provincial Congress Committee

§ 15 अगस्त 1947 §

15 अगस्त सन् 1947 भारत के इतिहास में एक स्मरणीय दिवस है। आज बृटिश साम्राज्यवाद का प्राणान्तक भार देश के ऊपर से उठ गया है। स्वतंत्रता संग्राम के बहादुर योद्धाओं ने पीढ़ी जो मुसीबतें उठायी है और कुर्बानियों की हैं उनका फल आज प्राप्त हो रहा है। हम उन लोगों की यादगार में श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करते हैं जिनके खून और पसीने से सींची हुई फसल को आज हम काट रहे हैं। हम उन बहादुर और निःस्वार्थ देशभक्तों के प्रति सम्मान प्रदर्शित करते हैं जो सौभाग्य से आज भी हमारे दरम्यान मौजूद हैं। हम न सिर्फ उन बड़े बड़े नेताओं का ही, जिनसे हमारा राष्ट्र अच्छी तरह परिचित है, बल्कि उन असंख्य बहादुरों का भी सम्मान करते हैं, जिन्होंनें अज्ञात रुप से और बिना किसी प्रतिफल की आशा से कठिन परिश्रम किया है, मुसीबतें उठायी हैं और कुर्बानियां की हैं।

यह क्रांति जिसके द्वारा स्वतंत्र भारत का जन्म हुआ है संसार के इतिहास में अद्वितीय है। इतनी कम हिन्सा और खून खराबी के द्वारा करोड़ो नर नारियों का भाग्य परिवर्तन करने वाली इतनी बड़ी घटना आज तक नहीं घटी है। यह एक पाशविक शक्ति पर विजय नहीं, बल्कि मानवता और आज़ादी की भावना की विजय है साम्राज्यवाद की अन्धी लोलुपता पर। महात्मा गांधी के प्रेरणात्मक नेतृत्व से ही यह सब सम्भव हुआ है और अगर हम किसी व्यक्ति को अपने राष्ट्र का जनक कह सकते हैं, तो वह गांधीजी ही हैं। उन्होनें आज़ादी की अहिन्सात्मक लड़ाई में हमारी रहनुमायी की है और हमें इस आज़ादी को देशवासियों की सेवा के लिये सफल बनाने का मार्ग दिखाया है। उनके प्रति हम श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करते हैं।

हमने उस हिन्दुस्तान की आज़ादी हासिल करने के लिये कोशिश की थी जो हमारे लिये अविभाज्य और एक था, लेकिन तो भी हमारे करोड़ो भाई बहन जो कल तक हमारे देशवासी थे आज वे एक अलग राष्ट्र के नागरिक बन गये हैं। अति दुखद होते हुये भी हमने इस विभाजन को स्वीकार किया क्योंकि स्वतंत्रता के अभाव में एकता फूट में परिवर्तित हो गयी थी और हमारे राष्ट्रीय जीवन के लिये विदेशी शासन से मुक्ति पाना नितान्त आवश्यक हो गया था। स्वतंत्रता प्राप्त कर ली गई है अब एकता भी वापस आ सकती है और वह एकता पहले से कहीं सच्ची और मजबूत होगी।

हमें इसलिये निराश न हो जाना चाहिये कि इस स्वतंत्रता में अखण्ड हिन्दुस्तान की शान कायम न रह सकी। गत महीनों की दुखद घटनाओं ने जिनसे भाई भाई का शत्रु बन गया और जिन्होने इस राष्ट्र के सुन्दर चेहरे को बदनुमा बना दिया, हमारे दिलों पर विवाद की गहरी छाया डाल दी है, तो भी जिस तरह एक घायल सैनिक आज़ादी के झण्डे को ऊंचा उठाये रखने में प्रसन्नता अनुभव करता है उसी तरह हम भी आज इस दिन के आगमन पर खुशियां मना रहे हैं।

आज हमने जो प्राप्त किया है वह है अपने भाग्य को बनाने या बिगाड़ने की आजा़दी। यह सबसे बड़ा विशेषाधिकार और बड़ी जिम्मेदारी है। इस विशेषाधिकार और जिम्मेदारी में भारतीय संघ के सभी नागरिकों का हिस्सा होगा, चाहे वे किसी भी मजहब, सम्प्रदाय या दल के क्यों ना हों। आज हर एक नागरिक इस बात की प्रतिज्ञा करे कि वह सामाजिक न्याय पर आधारित एक ऐसे प्रजातांत्रिक समाज की स्थापना में अपनी तमाम शक्तियां लगा देगा जिसमें सारी शक्ति जनता के हाथ में हो और जिसमें सभी नागरिकों को उन्नति करने का समान अवसर मिले।

आज हमारा दुश्मन हमारे बाहर नहीं, बल्कि हमारे अन्दर ही है। रोग, भुखमरी, गरीबी, अज्ञान और सबसे बढ़कर साम्प्रदायिक भावनाओं से उत्तेजित हिंसा और उपद्रव की प्रवृति ये ही हमारे वास्तविक दुश्मन हैं। इन्हीं दुश्मनों के मुकाबले के लिये हमें अपनी समस्त शक्तियों को संगठित करना है। हर एक भारतीय का यह पवित्र कर्त्तव्य है कि वह उन दुश्मनों से लड़ने में सरकार की सहायता करे। इस नयी लड़ाई में आत्मत्याग और आत्मानुशासन की भावना की उससे कहीं अधिक मात्रा में प्रदर्शित करने की जरुरत होगी जितनी की हमनें आज़ादी की लड़ाई में भी की थी।

कांग्रेस ने इस बात की स्पष्ट घोषणा कर दी है कि स्वराज्य जनता के लिये उस समय तक सच्चा स्वराज्य नहीं हो सकता जब तक कि एक ऐसे समाज की स्थापना नहीं हो जाती जिसमें लोकतंत्र का विस्तार राजनैतिक क्षेत्र से सामाजिक और आर्थिक क्षेत्रों में हो जाये और जिसमें विशेषाधिकार प्राप्त वर्गों को अधिकांश जनता के शोषण का मौका ना मिले और न ऐसी घोर विषमता ही रह जाये जैसी कि इस समय मौजूद है। ऐसे समाज में प्रत्येक नागरिक को व्यक्तिगत स्वतंत्रता, उन्नति करने का समान अवसर और अपने व्यक्तित्व के विकास का पूर्णाधिकार मिलेगा। सिर्फ ऐसे ही समाज में जन साधारण, सम्प्रदायवादियों, पूंजीवादियों और निरंकुश नौकरशाही के त्रिमुखी शोषण से मुक्त होना सकेगा। ऐसा समाज जो अपनी जनता की समृद्धि से शक्ति प्राप्त करेगा और उनके स्वेच्छित सहयोग से एकता कायम रखेगा देश के उन अलग होने वाले हिस्सों को प्रोत्साहित करेगा कि वे हिन्दुस्तान में फिर से शामिल हो जाये और उसके महान् गौरव के भागी बनें। ऐसे ही समाज का निर्माण करने के लिए आज प्रत्येक भारतीय प्रतिज्ञा करे।

वन्दे मातरम्।

Source: AICC Papers, MSS, NMML