TALES OF TRAVESTY
DR. JITENDRA SINGH
For the post-independence generation of 1950s and 60s, Ram Manohar Lohia stood out as a socialist icon with a singular capacity to take on Jawaharlal Nehru whose unsurmountable hold over the Indian polity at that time had earned him the title of “Emperor Prime Minister.” As long as he lived, Lohia fought a relentless battle for the have-not and before his untimely death in 1967, he passed on the mantle of his movement for “democratic socialism” to, among others, his trusted disciple Lalu Prasad Yadav who was then a young student activist. Living upto the legacy, Lalu went to prison in 1975 fighting against Indira Gandhi’s authoritarian Emergency rule but exactly four decades later, Lalu goes to prison once again …this time for gulping down hundreds of crores in a Fodder scam…in absolute anti-thesis to the self-effacing socialism for which his mentor Lohia lived and died without ever owning a single bank account or bank balance.
The story from “Lohia” to “Lalu” is not only a story of the march of idealistic socialism to corruptible capitalism but, also a story of the march of high moral standards to lowest rungs of hypocrisy…..personified, incidentally, by none other than Lalu Prasad Yadav…a trend-setter of sorts in contemporary Indian politics.
A cursory reading of Lohia’s thoughts and writings prompts the inference that his disciple Lalu had perhaps read it all wrong or read it in reverse. For example, Lohia defined his basic philosophy of socialism in following words “True socialism implies socialization of wealth.” This was a school of “socialism” which went beyond the Nehruvian socialism that focussed primarily on public take- over of industry and private enterprise. Infact, one of the most widely discussed articlesby Dr Ram Manohar Lohia was written in 1963 and titled “25,000 Rupees a day.” The theme of the article was that the public exchequer was spending Rs 25,000 per day on the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru even when a vast majority of Indians at that time lived on “3 annas a day.” Now, how far have Lalu Prasad Yadav or any of the other self-proclaimed socialists lived upto their professed ideology is for anybody to judge.
The transition of individuals is infact symbolic of a transition towards mediocrity which began after the 1960s. At the time of independence, it was written that Nehru’s cabinet consisted of atleast six such ministers who were capable of being the Head of State in any country of the world. Moreover, each one of them had emerged from a protracted freedom struggle, having renounced their careers and fortune, and without having ever dreamt of making it to a position of power in their lifetime. With the passing out of this first generation post-independence, there began an era of careerists seeking politics as a profession and ready to make it big through sycophancy, dynastic obeisance and ideological compromise. And, the cumulative consequence of this unsavoury phenomenon is there for all to see!
For a long time to come, the people of this country are likely to put up with “Lalus” and “Rabris” as “Lohias” and “JPs” sound names from another world. The remedy too will come, sooner or later, from the common masses who repeatedly vote back Lalu and the likes. But, the question is…..will that remedy happen before the common youth loses even the last figment of hope in the existing political culture or, will it be given to Umapathy to write the epitaph, “Na Gayi, Teri Be-rukhi Na Gayi; Hum Teri Aarzoo Hi Kho Baithe!”
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