Freedom First

Summary

This is issue no. 381 of Freedom First (November 1984, Rs. 2, 32nd year of publication), founded by M. R. Masani and edited by K. S. Venkateswaran. The issue opens with Govind Talwalkar’s front-page piece on the Congress(I) government’s engineering of the fall of N. T. Rama Rao’s Andhra Pradesh ministry via Governor Ram Lal and challenger N. Bhaskara Rao, framed as political thuggery defeated by public pressure. Peter Bauer contributes ‘In Office But Not In Power,’ arguing that elected conservative leaders like Thatcher, Reagan, Nixon and Heath are constrained from enacting their platforms by an entrenched ‘political nation’ of civil servants, academics, media and interest groups hostile to market-oriented policy. Minoo Masani’s regular ‘As I See It’ column addresses the UN population conference’s stance against abortion-as-birth-control and separately comments on the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict via a Swiss press report. Komala Sarathy’s ‘Delhi Letter’ covers two Punjab-related public meetings (Indian Minorities Forum and PUCL) marked by heckling of speakers critical of Sikh extremism, and recounts an alleged case of police mistreatment of a Sikh youth. Bhuchung K. Tsering writes on 25 years of Chinese rule in Tibet and Peking’s overtures to the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile at Dharamsala. The book review section covers Dr. U. K. Jadhav’s statistical study of capital punishment in India and Apa Pant’s philosophical work on individual autonomy, ‘The Survival of the Individual.’ The issue closes with a ‘With Many Voices’ quotations column, a subscription order form, and the publisher’s colophon (published by J. R. Patel for the Democratic Research Service, printed at The Popular Press, Bombay).

Essays

Thuggery Checkmated in Andhra

By Govind Talwalkar

Govind Talwalkar’s lead article condemns the Congress(I) leadership’s role in toppling the N. T. Rama Rao government in Andhra Pradesh, comparing it to earlier dismissals of ministries in Sikkim and Jammu & Kashmir. He describes Governor Ram Lal’s dubious finding that the ministry had lost its majority, the thirty-day window given to defector N. Bhaskara Rao to prove a majority using money and pressure tactics, and the eventual failure of the plot in the face of public outrage and the loyalty of 165 MLAs. The piece accuses Bhaskara Rao of branding Rama Rao a CIA agent, of attempts to kidnap legislators, and of provoking a communal riot in Hyderabad, and closes by warning that unless Indian politics changes course, ‘lumpen elements will take charge.’

• The dismissal of the N. T. Rama Rao ministry is characterized as ‘political thuggery’ orchestrated by the Congress(I) leadership.
• Governor Ram Lal declared the ministry had lost majority support and gave defector N. Bhaskara Rao 30 days to prove a majority.
• Bhaskara Rao brought money from Delhi and used ‘gangsterism’ but failed to secure enough defections; 165 MLAs stood firm.
• Mrs. Gandhi claimed to have learned of the events only via a news agency report, a claim the author calls incredible.
• The author draws parallels to earlier dismissals of ministries in Sikkim (Governor Homi J. H. Taleyarkhan) and Jammu & Kashmir (Farooq Abdullah’s government).
• Bhaskara Rao allegedly accused Rama Rao of being a CIA agent with secret China/CPI(M) links and attempted to kidnap MLAs; a communal riot was allegedly engineered in Hyderabad.
• The article warns that if constitutional fora are bypassed in favor of street politics and legislative subversion, ‘lumpen elements will take charge.‘

In Office But Not in Power

By Peter Bauer

Peter Bauer argues that electorally successful conservative leaders (Thatcher, Reagan, Nixon, Heath) end up ‘in office but not in power’ because an articulate, largely anti-market ‘political nation’—civil servants, academics, media figures, and organized interest groups—constrains what they can actually implement despite their mandates. He contends that reelection alone will not let Thatcher overcome this resistance; she must build alliances that weaken these groups’ influence, following the model of how successful left-wing leaders such as Gaitskell, Wilson and the Kennedys built cooperative coalitions.

• Presidents Nixon and Reagan and PMs Heath and Thatcher won large majorities but were pushed by circumstance to deviate from declared policy platforms.
• A journalist’s explanation cited by Bauer: politicians seek office, not to enact policy per se, and thus gravitate to policies that maximize continued tenure.
• Bauer’s own thesis: these leaders were elected against the opposition of an influential ‘political nation’ — civil servants, academics, media, and various professional and interest groups.
• This political nation is often conflated with ‘public opinion’ in Britain, giving disproportionate weight to groups opposed to market reforms.
• Bauer argues reelection alone won’t let Thatcher overcome this resistance; she must build alliances and reduce the influence of these groups, as successful Labour leaders like Gaitskell, Wilson, and the Kennedys did within their own coalitions.

As I See It

By Minoo Masani

In his regular column, Minoo Masani endorses the U.N. International Conference on Population’s (Mexico, August 1984) position that abortion should not be treated as a legitimate method of population control, drawing on his own experience on the Joint Select Committee that passed India’s 1970 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. He argues abortion is the worst method of birth control and criticizes coercive family planning practices, citing forced sterilization during the Indian Emergency and China’s one-child policy, which he says has led to female infanticide. In a second item, he reproduces an excerpt from the Swiss Press Review and News Report suggesting international Communist and other foreign involvement (Soviet surrogates, the PLO, Libya, North Korea) behind the Tamil ‘Liberation Tigers of Eelam’ insurgency in Sri Lanka.

• Masani supports the U.N. Population Conference’s stance against abortion as a method of population control, distinguishing it from other birth control methods.
• He recalls serving on the Joint Select Committee of Parliament that passed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1970.
• He criticizes coerced sterilization during the Indian Emergency and China’s one-child policy, citing an estimate by Princeton demographer Ansley Coale of 250,000 female infanticides.
• A second item reproduces a Swiss Press Review and News Report piece suggesting the Sri Lankan Tamil insurgency (Liberation Tigers of Eelam) is receiving international backing from Soviet surrogates, the PLO, Libya, and North Korea.

Delhi Letter

By Komala Sarathy

Komala Sarathy’s ‘Delhi Letter’ reports on two public meetings on the Punjab situation in late July 1984 — one organized by the Indian Minorities Forum, the other by the PUCL — at which speakers critical of Sikh extremism, including Lt. Gen. J. S. Aurora and journalists Khushwant Singh and Neerja Choudhary, were heckled by predominantly Sikh audiences. The column also relates an account given by Kuldip Nayar of a Sikh student allegedly beaten and humiliated by police near the Safdarjang Tomb after his motorcycle broke down, and closes by blaming government mishandling — press censorship, detention laws, and continued army presence — for growing Sikh alienation.

• Two Punjab-related public meetings (Indian Minorities Forum, PUCL) in late July 1984 saw large Sikh turnout and heckling of speakers seen as insufficiently sympathetic to Sikh grievances.
• Lt. Gen. J. S. Aurora was heckled and booed after saying the Akali morcha had failed.
• Journalist Neerja Choudhary was heckled after criticizing extremist violence in Punjab.
• Khushwant Singh was cheered when criticizing the government’s handling of Punjab and the Golden Temple army action.
• Kuldip Nayar related an incident of an alleged police beating and humiliation of a Sikh student near the Safdarjang Tomb.
• The column attributes rising Sikh ‘clannishness’ to government mishandling, including press censorship, detention laws, and continued military presence in Punjab.

The Chinese Overtures to Tibet

By Bhuchung K. Tsering

Bhuchung K. Tsering marks 25 years of Chinese rule in Tibet, arguing that despite constitutional promises of equality among China’s nationalities, Chinese (‘Han’) chauvinism persists in practice: real power remains with Chinese officials such as Yin Fatang even as token Tibetan appointments are made, and PLA troop levels in Tibet have risen past 500,000. The article surveys renewed contact between Peking and the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, including ‘exploratory’ talks in 1981, and situates this within China’s broader push for ‘reunification’ involving Hong Kong and Taiwan, concluding that lasting resolution requires Peking to take a realistic view of conditions in Tibet.

• The article marks the 25th anniversary of Chinese occupation of Tibet, examining the gap between constitutional promises of equality and actual conditions.
• Real power in Tibet remains with Chinese officials (e.g. Yin Fatang) despite reported withdrawals and Tibetan appointments to token posts.
• PLA troop strength in Tibet is estimated to have grown to over 500,000.
• Peking has opened successive contacts with the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, including ‘exploratory’ talks in April-May 1981.
• The Tibet issue is linked to China’s broader reunification push involving Hong Kong and Taiwan.
• The Dalai Lama is described as favoring a non-violent, negotiated solution.

Book Reviews — Is Capital Punishment Necessary? by Dr. U. K. Jadhav

By S.

An unsigned (initialed ‘S’) review of Dr. U. K. Jadhav’s ‘Is Capital Punishment Necessary?’ (Anand Publications, Bombay; Rs. 80; Pp. 231) summarizes the book’s statistical approach to the death-penalty debate in India, noting its comparative pre- and post-abolition data from other countries and its detailed tables on Indian murderers (weight, height, rural/urban origin, motive, occupation) between 1954 and 1963. The reviewer finds the author’s numbers interesting but under-analyzed, and notes Jadhav favors retaining capital punishment given India’s rising crime rate.

• The book compiles statistics on capital punishment, comparing pre- and post-abolition data across several countries.
• Between 1954-1963 in India, 105,720 murders occurred; only 5,957 murderers were sentenced to death, and only 1,251 executions were actually carried out.
• The book’s Chapter IV summarizes Indian Penal Code provisions on offences punishable by death.
• Tables cover physical characteristics and social background (rural vs. urban) of Indian murderers, finding rural areas produce more murderers and agricultural laborers are the most represented profession among them.
• The reviewer judges the author unable to draw much analytical insight from the considerable data collected, calling it ‘like the proverbial curate’s egg, delectable in parts.’
• Jadhav advocates retention of capital punishment given India’s rising crime rate.

Book Reviews — The Survival of the Individual by Apa Pant

By S. I. Clerk

S. I. Clerk reviews Apa Pant’s ‘The Survival of the Individual’ (Sangam Books; Pp. 149; Rs. 75.00), describing the book as an attempt to move beyond Rousseau’s Social Contract into ethical and metaphysical territory, exploring the individual’s relationship to environment, society, and the state. The review highlights Pant’s engagement with the Isopanishad on desire and non-attachment, his critique of consumer society as breeding confusion and turning people to ‘godmen, drugs, alcohol, sex, violence,’ and his call for individuals to understand and live in harmony with nature.

• Apa Pant’s book seeks to move beyond Rousseau’s ‘Social Contract’ toward ethical and metaphysical questions of individual, family, society, and state.
• Pant draws on the Isopanishad’s teaching on desire and non-attachment (‘Enjoy it by not being attached to it; do not be greedy’).
• The book argues modern consumer society confuses the individual, driving them toward ‘godmen, drugs, alcohol, sex, violence’ as false solace.
• Pant acknowledges the Indian individual can be as ‘competitive, cruel and uncivilised’ as anyone else, with a largely negative attitude to work.
• The book urges individuals to be alert, intelligent, and responsible, arguing societal harmony depends on this, and calls for understanding and preserving ecological balance.

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