It’s clear now that Indira and Rajiv ’s follies had approval of ministers, advisers.
The Orwellian imagined future may not happened in 1984 but in Indian politics, the year marked loss of political morality, innocence and secularism. Reflecting upon the events that took place 40 years ago, it becomes clear that prime ministers Indira and Rajiv Gandhi’s monumental follies had approval of senior ministers, advisers and coterie who failed to demonstrate any semblance of moral courage.
Punjab was most affected throughout 1984 but by the time year headed towards end-October, in November and December, Delhi and Bhopal too saw worst crimes getting committed against humanity. What was most glaring that in all instances, state brazenly turned a blind eye to everything that was decent, civil or ethical.
A stage for wrongdoings in Punjab was actually set in motion in October 1983 when Darbara Singh, the secular and balanced chief minister of Punjab, was sacked by his own political master, prime minister Indira Gandhi. On February 8, 1984, the Akalis had given a general strike to press for their demand for transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, sharing of water between Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan and decentralization of power. However, it was followed by anti-Sikh rioting in Haryana. Congress chief minister in Haryana, Bhajan Lal made provocative statements that “Hindu sentiments” were running out. Since 1982, Bhajan Lal had ensured that every Sikh coming from Punjab to Delhi by train or road, was physically frisked. There were instances of Sikhs being forced to remove their turban. In “Amritsar” (Rupa Books 1985), authors Mark Tully and Satish Jacob recorded how Hindu mobs burnt down a Gurudwara in Panipat and Sikhs were pulled out of buses, shaved and killed. Prime Minister Indira remained a mute spectator just as she had watched separatists in Punjab kill Hindus almost at will.
Worse, when Indira Gandhi finally made up her mind to let the army storm inside the Golden Temple to flush out Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his sinister cahoots, she did not consult civil authorities. The choice of June 5, 1984 could not have been worse. It was martyrdom day of Guru Arjun Dev. Apparently, Lt General K Sunderji, GOC-in-C Western Command, had assured Indira Gandhi that a ‘knock out blow’ on Bhindranwale, General Shahbeg Singh and other separatists would not last for more than two hours without realizing that sophisticated military weaponry was in place. Every time troops tried to advance, they met with strong barrage of fire. An armoured car was knocked off by a rocket launcher. It is believed that sensing army build up in Amritsar, the then Chief Secretary S S Dhanoa had called up Sundarji to check if his men needed help, the army general had told him not to bother. By the time army’s six main battle tank, Vijayanta moved inside, the best and most sacred parts of the temple were reduced to a rubble.
November 1-3, 1984 saw Sikh carnage in Delhi and another 80 cities of the country. The accession of the young prime minister – Rajiv Gandhi — was marred by tragedies – his mother’s assassination and the pogram against Sikhs. Rajiv, barely 40, was totally inexperienced but the people around him, specially senior ministers and chief ministers such as P V Narasimha Rao, Pranab Mukherjee, Shankarrao Chavan, Arjun Singh, N D Tiwari, Vasant Sathe, H K L Bhagat, had the duty and responsibility to maintain law and order with a firm hand. They neither visited the affected areas nor issued any clear instructions.
Following Indira Gandhi assassination and 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Rajiv Gandhi announced general elections ahead of its schedule between December 24-27, 1984. Rajiv’s election campaign was aggressive and focussed on making Sikhs seeking a separate homeland a key issue. The hidden agenda was to somehow exploit the insecurity among Hindus and projecting Rajiv-led Congress as sole saviour.
In official records, it is said that over 3000 persons were killed on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984 when over 40 tons of poisonous methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaked from the storage tanks of the Bhopal-based Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL). But independent agencies and campaigners insist that the killer gas killed more than 25,000 people leaving 5,50,000 others injured and disabled in Madhya Pradesh capital.
Union Carbide’s US based CEO Warren Anderson had come to Bhopal on December 7, 1984 He was arrested but a bail was arranged hurriedly for Anderson. Within hours, Madhya Pradesh state government-owned Cessna, piloted by a Captain S.H. Ali, flew Anderson to Delhi’s Palam from where he took a commercial flight to his home in Bridgehampton, New York, never to return. Ali and others claim that a “call” from a powerful person in New Delhi had forced local administration to let Anderson off. Arjun Singh, who was chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, says it was Narasimha Rao who was home minister of the country who allowed Anderson to escape. “ I would like to make it clear that at no point of time did Rajiv talk to me about this matter (Anderson’s release) or intercede on Anderson’s behalf. I came to know later that the union home secretary R.D. Pradhan upon the instructions of the union home minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, had telephoned Brahma Swaroop (MP’s chief secretary then) to ensure Anderson’s release”, Arjun wrote in his memoirs published posthumously by Hay House “A Grain of Sand in the Hourglass of Time: An Autobiography.”
During his six-hour stay in Bhopal, Anderson, who wore a mask, appeared casual and showed “signs of arrogance.” Captain Ali remembers Anderson was carrying a garment box (containing a business suit) and a briefcase. “I remember police officers repeatedly requesting him to let them carry these pieces of luggage. Anderson said, ‘No, no, I will carry them myself.’ When the plane was about to take off, the officers saluted him and wished him good luck,” recalled Captain Ali.
Throughout this period, the Congress witnessed a titanic clash between the young and the old. While Indira relied heavily on likes of Pranab Mukherjee, Giani Zail Singh, P V Narasimha Rao, N D Tiwari, and other old guards, Rajiv’s cousin Arun Nehru, Arun Singh, Satish Sharma, Vijay Dhar, Buta Singh and P Shiv Shankar formed part of Team Rajiv Gandhi which not only worked at the cross purpose. Both groups showed utter disdain towards issues of propriety and political morality making 1984 a nightmare.