Two letters written in 1976 and 1980.
I am, in today’s column, producing two of the many letters Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wrote to me.
Prime Minister’s House,
New Delhi
Personal/Confidential
9th February 1976
Dear Natwar,
I found your letter of the 2nd awaiting me on my return from Bharatpur (my hometown). We all enjoyed the trip especially as Salim Ali (India’s greatest and internationally admired ornithologist) was there and accompanied us to the sanctuary. Fortunately, I had insisted that no one else should go with us. I would have preferred to see the Deeg palaces also on our own, rather than a large gathering tagging on. A children’s dance performance had also been arranged and took time which could have been used for sight-seeing.
Your brother was introduced to me very briefly, just as I was going off to the public meeting. He should have met Rajiv while I was away. But perhaps he was shy and Rajiv did not know about him.
Regarding the wall, the first step is to build along areas adjacent to villages. After that we will, think about its extension.
I am not surprised Subramaniam Swamy is being welcomed in England. His sort would be. In India he has no influence whatsoever, even in his own Party. He has not been a success in Parliament and there are often sniggers when he gets up. He seems to have a complex of some kind and is aggressive in a defensive way if you know what I mean. He is a strong advocate of the Atom Bomb. He has had a long-standing quarrel with our Atomic Scientists, Vikram Sarabhai and Sethna (both leading Atomic Scientists). His main criticism was that we were quite incapable of serious work with Atomic Energy. After our experiment in Pokhran, his first reaction was that the news was probably not true.
British opinion does count but if it insists on being completely cut off from the realities of the situation, there is little we can do about it except to try to educate the Indians living abroad.
Only about a hundred people were arrested in the whole of Tamil Nadu and only a few of those were political. All the important leaders are out. Even we are astonished at the good reaction all over the state.
I hope, looking after the children is giving new dimension to your personality!
With good wishes,
Yours Sincerely
Indira Gandhi
K. Natwar Singh,
Deputy High Commissioner,
India House,
Aldwyen, London, W.C. 2
****
Prime Minister House
9 June 1980
Dear Natwar,
Your letter of the 4th.
Just when you were talking about the working of the democratic process in a coherent way, Badshah Khan (Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan) is busy giving statements from Srinagar hospital that there is no democracy in India and compare us in a vague sort of way to Pakistan. Can you believe it? All this keeps one from getting a swollen head.
We have won the elections but the going was pretty tough and many of the seats either won or lost, were neck-to-neck. The difficulties now begin. The people’s expectations are high but the situation both political or economical, is an extremely complex one. I cannot help being an optimist and I have no doubt that if only our legislators and the people as a whole have the patience and forbearance to climb the steep and stony path for the next few months, we can get over the hump and arrive at a place from which progress is possible once again.
However, politics is at a low ebb. All those who shouted so much about democracy have no compunctions now in saying as Charan Singh has, that ‘Parliament is irrelevant’, or the Jan Sangh encouraging anti-national elements in the North-East. The opposition parties are making frantic efforts, egged on by Bahuguna, (former Chief Minister of U.P.) to unite. What for? Only to have agitations and violence or to encourage defections.
I am glad you are enjoying Islamabad.
Yours Sincerely
Indira Gandhi
Shri Natwar Singh
High Commissioner of India,
Islamabad.
****
Shivshankar Menon, former Foreign Secretary and National Security Advisor’s book, India and Asian Geopolitics is an exceptionally challenging, thoughtful and stimulating work. The chapters on China make compelling reading. I agree with him when he says that India is no longer living on the periphery of history.