It was a purely a religious occasion. He should have ended his speech by greeting the pilgrims with warmth.
The belittling of Jawaharlal Nehru belittles those who indulge in this futile and unseemly activity. It would do no harm to the self-appointed judges of Nehru’s life and achievement if they would read some of his books. These are available in most Indian languages and were written during the nine and a half years he spent in prison.
Mahatma Gandhi chose Nehru as his heir. The Mahatma was a shrewd judge of human character and conduct. Nehru was born a Brahmin and died a Brahmin. He was not anti-Hinduism. He was anti-Hindu bigotry. He had during his years in jail, made a deep study of world religions, giving much time to Hinduism. He read our epics, the Gita, the Vedas and Upanishads with diligence. I, like Gandhi and Nehru, am proud of being a Hindu, but I have disdain for those who do not subscribe to the sublime Sanskrit shloka “Sarvdharm Sambhav”—all religions are worthy of respect. It is a matter of pride for pluralistic Hindus to elevate a Muslim, a Parsi and a Sikh to the highest posts in our armed services and appoint a Jewish person a Governor.
It distressed me no end to note that Jawaharlal Nehru’s 130th birth anniversary on 14 November went almost unnoticed.
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On 9 November the gurdwara at Kartarpur Sahib witnessed an event which attracted international attention and interest. Kartarpur is about four kilometres from the Indian border. Here Guru Nanak Devji spent the last 18 years of his life. It was a purely a religious occasion. Unfortunately, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan made a most inappropriate speech. All that was necessary for him to say was to refer to Guru Nanak, adding how proud and honoured the government and people of Pakistan were to be present at Kartarpur Sahib. He should have ended his speech by greeting the pilgrims with warmth and respect. Also, welcomed Manmohan Singh and Amarinder Singh.
Instead, he made a deplorable political speech, lambasting India for “maltreating” and “persecuting” the Muslims of Kashmir, denying them their human rights. He failed to realise that a non-political speech would have earned him goodwill throughout India.
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I vividly remember 6 December 1992, a tragic event when the Babri Masjid was destroyed by Hindu miscreants and fanatics. The unanimous judgement of the five Supreme Court judges was welcomed both by Hindus and Muslims. What a spectacular tribute to the wisdom of both communities. No untoward communal incident has occurred in any part of the country. This is India at its best.
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The Election Commissioner is one of the pillars of our democracy. The most dynamic, forceful, powerful and reformist Election Commissioner, T.N. Seshan passed away in Chennai earlier in the week at the age of 86. He was two years my junior in service. On 21 May 1991 I was campaigning in my constituency, Bharatpur. At 9 pm a mighty dust storm, followed by heavy rain, thunder and lightning put an end to my campaigning. Halfway to Bharatpur, I was stopped on the road by a group of villagers. They had recognised my motorcade. One old man walked up to me. I lowered the window glass. “Rajiv Gandhi has been killed, Kanwar Sahib,” he said. My wife and I were stunned. I asked the man to repeat what he had said. He did. We drove to Bharatpur as fast as we could. I called Seshan. At the third attempt I got through. He confirmed that Rajiv Gandhi had been assassinated at Sriperumbudur.
He was CEC for six years—1990 to 1996. He redefined the status and visibility of the Election Commission. During the 1993 general elections, he disqualified 1,488 candidates for three years for failing to submit their expenditure accounts. In 1992 he had cancelled elections in Bihar and Punjab for electoral malpractice.
In 1997 he rather recklessly contested the presidential election against K.R. Narayanan, losing badly.
He will be remembered for decades to come for his exceptional administrative abilities, but above all as the undisputed reforming guru of the Election Commission of India. He was a linguist, who spoke Tamil, Malayalam, Sanskrit, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi and English.
He received the Ramon Magsaysay in 1996 for his meritorious services in various fields.
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I give a few alarming facts. 250 million Indians still live in stark poverty. This is equal to the combined population of the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Nearly 300 million illiterates of the world live in India. Over 75% rural households do not get potable drinking water. By 2024 India will be the most populous country in the world.