1977 - 1979
Janata Experiment & Last Days

• Janata Experiments
• Last Days

This journal is mainly a record of events, especially JP’s role in the movement. In whichever state he went to campaign against the authoritarian rule of Mrs. Gandhi before and after the emergency, the Congress was swept off its feet in the Lok Sabha poll. He was the main architect of Janata Party’s victory. The issue was simplified for the people by JP as a conflict between democracy and dictatorship. If the people did not stand up against the dictatorship, they would remain slaves for a long time to come. May be for good. Mrs. Gandhi’s Garibi Hatao gimmick having totally failed, her party had no answer to JP’s criticism, except to discredit and denigrate him. The Janata wave swept and toppled the strongest bastions of the Congress in north India and Maharashtra.

After Loksabha Poll, the apologist of Mrs Gandhi pointed out the performance of the party in the south. There were some cogent reasons for it.But the most important reason of all was that JP could not campaign in the south because he suddenly fell ill while on election tour. Had he campaigned the results might have been different.

The extraordinary impact of JP was felt in June assembly elections even when he was away at Seattle in USA. The Congress, which had been JP’s taget for its misrule, lost heavily everywhere. The Janata Party won by thumping majority in Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. In Punjab the Akali Dal – Janata combine won and the CPI(M) in West Bengal. Both parties had supported JP’s movement.

It was perhaps fortunate that JP was then away at Seattle. Had he been in India he would have received one of the worst shocks of his life. But he was treated no better on his return. He made only one request to the Janata leadership: To withdraw Mrs Nandini Satpathy from contesting against Mrs. Malati Choudhary in Dhenkanaal. The Janata leadership could have politely replied that it was too late because the nominations had been made during his absence. But they responded by saying, “JP is not GOD!”, “JP is not Janata Party”. Janata stalwarts went ahead with their party nominee, and hence she had to be backed. JP did not give any reason for his request, nor did he create a controversy on the matter.

The Janata party suffered from some built-in drawbacks. The Jana Sangh, the BLD (which itself was a conglomeration of several parties), the Congress (O), the Socialist Party and the CFD merged not before but after the Lok Sabha Polls, for sharing the power not because of common interests or ideological affinity. It was a merger of disparate elements holding divergent and often contrary views on several important matters of policy. Hand the merger been achieved during the progress of the movement itself, for which JP had made consistent efforts, the unity forged in the fire of the struggle would have produced a more cohesive force. I would have become more durable with a larger measure of identity of views on policies and programs. But this did not happen, and the end the result was that every unit was still thinking and behaving as a separate unit as before.

Though the actions and utterances of some of the Janata stalwarts may have been the semblance of kicking the ladder, the fact remains that JP continues to be party’s only hope and strength. JP realizes how sad and delicate the situation is and that is why he has not come out openly against the Government’s style of functioning in the States and the Centre. Dilemma in which he has been placed becomes plain when one recalls his recent remark that nobody now consults him. His hasty but halting explanation only underlines the stirring of a noble soul. JP’s idea of a total revolution for building a better and healthier society, free from exploitation, is still a far cry. Even his idea of recall of MPs and MLAs, who fail to give a satisfactory account of themselves, has not yet been given any concrete shape through legislation and indications are that it will never be.

A resolution adopted in JP’s presence in Bombay in the last week of June 1977, by the Prabandhak Committee of the Sarva Seva Sangh said :

“It is painful to note that active supporters of the Emergency and corrupt persons are being allowed to occupy positions of power in the Janata Party even before they have proved their bonafides. The Prime Minister and some other ministers have set praise worthy examples of austerity but others ae still lagging behind in this respect.

“There has been perceptible drop in the percentage of votes in favour of the Janata Party in the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections. The Harijans seem to have withdrawn support to the party to a considerable extent. The Samiti hopes that the Janata Party will take note of these developments to put its house in order”.

In his open letter to the people of Bihar, JP had described himself as a “wounded soldier”. He had also held the view that he could no longer, and indefinitely, be their charioteer. At the time of the controversy over the withdrawal of Mrs. Nandini Satpathy, he had made an observation which had gone unnoticed. “Our Struggle”, he had said, “against the evils of the system that brought in the emergency has not ceased and will continue till our goal is achieved.”

Will the goal be achieved and JP’s dream of total revolution realized? Dreams rarely are. For himself he will continue to plough his lonely furrow. Those who had once rallied around him may one day leave. How many share his deeper dream, the “higher struggle”? And though this is what has naturally drawn more attention, the crusade itself was more than a clash of personalities. Who will know and measure the dreamer of dreams, of distant truths yet to be realized?

Is JP-esque mass movement the right method for such a goal> Perhaps the only cause that could save man and the society are lost causes. JP’s idea of Total Revolution, the echo of noble soul, is at least a reminder that nothing short of everything will do, that politics is not enough.

History will blend with pathos and move on what lines who knows? Must then a Christ be sacrificed in every age for those that have no imagination?

--S.K. Ghose, a veteran Journalist of Bihar