Chandra
Shekhar, who had the distinction of being the most unusual Prime
Minister of India so far, was kind enough to give Editor-in-Chief
Sunil Dang and Think Tank Director Yogendra Bali, an opportunity for a
free-and-frank interface on the future of India. Chandra Shekhar, who
never hankered for any office, had the distinction of being the leader
of the young Turks and the economic radical who dared defy the mighty
Indira Gandhi, went to jail during the Emergency, and became the
President of the Janata Party which installed the Morarji Desai
Government at the Centre. He later became the Prime Minister of India.
When asked about what he thought about the future
of India, he replied in his well-known style: "I cannot make a
prophecy because I am not an astrologer".
Then he addressed the question frontally. He said:
"The future at this point of time seems very gloomy. Not that we
cannot solve the problems of the country. Our biggest problem is that
we suffer from indecision. The problem is that of lack of courage.
Because if you want to solve any crisis, you will have to take a
certain amount of risk. The only thing is that people want to postpone
crises and make things more complicated."
Chandra Shekhar then lambasted the political
leaders taking the Ayodhya issue as an example. He said: "In the very
beginning, I would like to point out that since 1991, every leader has
been saying...If I had a few more months in the Government the Ayodhya
problem would have been solved. More than 11 years have passed. Four
prime ministers have taken position after me. Not one of them asked me
even once what was the solution to the Ayodhya problem. I have no
grievance that nobody wanted that government to continue for even two
days. They thought I would come and beg of them for continuing in
office. I resigned.... I cannot understand some people saying that
they are in the government because they want to change the government.
Because it is the Prime Minister who takes all the decisions for the
government; if you do not agree with him you have no moral right to
stay in the government as a minister. I shall not give instances
because most of them are no more here. The problem is that people do
not understand that there are certain rules, regulations, norms and
limitations in the functioning of a parliamentary democracy. Some
people are in the government. Every day they have differences with the
Prime Minister. They make up their differences in time and change
their views. My problem is that I do not change my views... Yes, thank
God."
There was a tinge of disgust in his tone when he
said: "I tell you this is the way things are happening in the country.
Now today, everybody is fighting for secularism. In order to fight for
secularism, they are giving the slogan of casteism. I have been
telling them again and again that if there is conflict between the
casteist forces and the religious forces, the religious forces will
always win. Because caste appeal is limited. The religious appeal is
all pervading, throughout the country. This basic understanding is not
there. You can ask why I have come to this conclusion? In this
government, people discuss about more authority and minimum wage to
the working class and at the same time they talk about the policy of
hire-and-fire and bringing in the multinationals and that they can
hire the people whenever they like and fire them if they are not
satisfied. Here people talk of reservation and at the same time invite
the multinationals. All these contradictory things are being said in
this country by these makers... I was never the maker of India, these
are the makers of India, about whom Sunil Dang tells me that he has
been reporting. Tell me one man in the government who has not been
supporting the WTA in this country and has some position in the
government today. What face do they have to talk about self reliance
and Mahatma Gandhi?"
Turning to terrorism, Chandra Shekhar minced no
words. He said: "Every day there is talk of cross-border terrorism. It
is said that cross-border terrorism is being instigated and encouraged
by our neighbour across the border. But they do not do everything on
the border. If there was an attack on Parliament... only yesterday we
celebrated the martyrs' memorial day...they crossed somewhere near
Wagah to Ferozepur and came all the way to Delhi. What were our
intelligence and security forces doing? Do you want that from Wagah to
New Delhi Musharraf should have protected us or should not our Prime
Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, have protected us and made sure that
Parliament was not attacked? India is giving wide publicity to all
these absurd acts and efforts and trying to blame all the time people
who are our enemies, because we cannot do anything ourselves".
Asked what he thought were the major challenges
facing India, the former Prime Minister said: "The major problem is
that politics in this country has been relegated from its true
responsibility. Its true responsibility is to solve the problems of
the people. The problems of the people are of poverty, unemployment,
illiteracy, not getting proper medical care. You see the proceedings
of Parliament. How many times have we discussed all these things?
Whether something was being done or not, people were at least
discussing all these problems in Parliament up to 1971. We talk of
emotional issues only. If the people have nothing in their minds about
the future, no hope for the future, they cling to the past. And the
only past identity is that of caste and religion. So they cling to
these. I am sorry to say that the instruments who are responsible to
awaken the people or to make them conscious do not themselves know
what to do?