From Partition to Operation Bluestar by Som Nath Dhar

Author:Som Nath Dhar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

8

BIRTHPANGS OF A

NEW INDIA

A Vibrant Parliament Dominated by Orators

By the end of 1949, I was looking for a more challenging assignment within AIR. After my coverage of Kashmir in 1947, I had been back in the newsroom, compiling and editing news bulletins, for most of the following two years. I had worked day and night shifts, and compiled English-language news bulletins broadcast at all hours, including the two major ones at 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. that Panditji and most of his ministers were known to listen to. Even as the juniormost editor, I had been allowed to function as the editor-in-charge on a few occasions. Professionally, the newsroom held no more fascination for me. Frankly, I was looking for something different, more exciting.

The break came – almost literally – in the summer of 1950. Our correspondent in Jammu and Kashmir, Sunderajan, had fractured his leg and was laid up in hospital. I was sent to fill the gap. This was a short assignment for me, just till Sunderajan was able to return to his post. But with this additional reporting experience under my belt, it was easier for me to move out of the newsroom upon my return to Delhi.

I was assigned to cover what was still the provisional Parliament. The House sat throughout the day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. without a lunch break. The senior correspondents who covered Parliament for various news organizations would usually go off for a leisurely lunch around 1 p.m. and come back only at 3 p.m. Junior reporters such as myself would keep ‘watch’ in case something newsworthy happened during this time; if it did, we shared our notes with the others. At times, there were only two persons in the press gallery – George Verghese, who was then working for The Times of India, and I. We covered for each other, taking turns to go out of the gallery to quickly grab a bite to eat.

The provisional Parliament had a galaxy of impressive speakers, including Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Ramaswamy Mudaliar and, of course, Jawaharlal Nehru. All of them were heard in utter silence and with a lot of respect. Whereas Shyama Prasad Mukherjee’s speeches were full of emotion and sentiment, Dr Ambedkar used logic and argument to convey his point. Nehru always spoke extempore. His speeches, particularly in English, were thought-provoking and showed concern about the future of India. He very rarely got excited in Parliament, but I remember one occasion when he did – in the first Lok Sabha, when food import from the US was being discussed.

Nehru: Immense Credibility

Since independence and Partition, India had been plagued by a shortage of foodgrains, needing to import something like 10 million tonnes of it. This was a huge expense for the young nation and the Americans came up with an offer under Public Law (PL) 480, which meant we could buy American foodgrains against rupee payment.

This proposal was vehemently criticized by the Communist

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