REMINISCENCES OF THE NEHRU AGE
(Full text of "Reminiscences of the Nehru Age by-M-O-Mathai")
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'JM.O. Mathai, Nehru's Special
Assistant and alter ego between
1946 and 1959, was reputed to be
the most powerful man after the
Prime Minister during the years that
he served Jawaharlal. •
For over a decade that he was at the very hub of the decision-making process, Mathai was the only one to know everything about Nehru, most especially the first Prime Minister's private thoughts about Politics, Congress leaders, Bureaucrats, Money, Women, Sex, and Alcohol, along with much else that attracted his attention off and on.
The author reveals all, with candour and sincerity, and says, , ''Before 1 started writing this book I suspended from my mind>U personal loyalties of a conventional nature; only my obligation to history remained." So we have completely new information, never before published, about Nehru's style, Krishna Menon's personal habits, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit's extravagance, Feroze Gandhi's ambitions, and Mountbatten's weakness for titles and honours. In the process, new light is thrown on Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Patel, Kidwai, TTK, Maulana Azad, Rajaji, Rajendra Prasad, Radhakrishnan, Churchill, Shaw, and Lady Mountbatten.
This work is a major contribution to modern Indian history as it gives an insider's view of how the powerful often tried to manipulate Nehru for purposes that were not always conducive to nation-building.
M.O. Mathai, Nehru's Special Assistant till 1959, when he resigned his post on account of unfounded malicious allegations by Communists against him for misusing power, is eminently qualified to write a full and authentic account of the Nehru years, which he has done in this book.
While he worked for the Prime Minister, the author was known for his determination to serve Nehru alone, just as he was also famous for his unquestioned personal integrity and honesty in dealing with political and financial matters.
Since his resignation in 1959, Mathai has been living a quiet life, collecting materia! for this book. The petty ambitions which sway most men never troubled him. He has played his part in building up free India and with deep sadness watched how Nehru's country was being weakened. But he knows that the foundations which Nehru laid will ever be safe even though his daughter administered a severe jolt to them.
At present M.O. Mathai is working on a companion volume to this work in Madras where he now lives. Jacket Design: Vikas Studio 1V02M5801 Rs 35 ISBN 7069 0621 7
REMINISCENCES OF THE NEHRU AGE
M.O. Mathai
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Copyright © M,0. Mathai, 1978 ISBN 7069 0621 7 IV02M580I
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To Priya, two, and Kavitha, five — two lively neighbourhood children who played with me, often dodging their parents, during the period of writing this book
Preface
This book is not history or biography, but chatty stuff containing my reminiscences. No doubt it contains historical and biographi- cal data pertaining to a significant period of India's history.
When a number of friends urged me to write my reminiscences, I said "Either I shall write without inhibition or not at all" In writing this book I have been largely guided by the philosophy contained in the Introduction to Vol. V (1902) of his monumental thirteen- volume work, Napoleon et sa Famille, by Frederic Masson. He states:
"It is time to cease at last making this senseless distinction between the public man, whom history may claim arid the private person in whom she has no right. There is only the human being; a person's character is indivisible like his nature. As soon as a man has played a historic part, he belongs to history. History lays her hand upon him wherever she happens to come across him, for there is no fact in his existence, however petty, no insignificant utter- ance of his sentiments, no microscopic detail of his personal habits which may not serve to make him better known. I am sorry for him if he has any vices, or abnormal inclination, or ugly sides to his nature, for history will tell; and also if he squints or is crippled, she will tell. She will collect his words, even those murmured in love. . . .She will question his mistresses as well as his physician, his valet and his confessor. If she is lucky enough to get hold of his cash-book, she will peruse it carefully and relate how his services were paid, how he enriched or ruined himself, what fortune he left behind him. She will lift his winding sheet, to see of what illness he died and what was his last emotion when confronted with eternity. From the day he attempted to play a part in history he delivered himself up to her.
"This is how history shall be, no longer either political or viii Preface anecdotal, but human; no longer a chronological arrangement of dates and words, of names and facts, but something which will remind you of life itself; which gives off a smell of flesh and bone, the sounds of love and cries of pain, in which the passions play their part and from which may at last emerge the lineaments of men whom we can meet as brothers.
"What! Shall poetry be allowed to appropriate the right to express all the passions of humanity, drama to show them on the stage, fiction to reproduce them from the imagination, and shall history, condemned to wear for ever the harness of a false modesty and an assumed dignity, strangled in the swaddling clothes in which the traditions of a monarchical historiography have wrapped her up be obliged, if she will not be regarded as frivolous and incur the strictures of the sticklers for deportment and the Philamintes, to keep within polite generalities and to speak about human beings as she would about heavenly bodies, shall history, which records mankind, only be allowed by dint of dexterous circumlo- cutions, and of kindly suppressions, to suggest, in noble phrases, that this same mankind has known passion, love and sin? Political actions which had none but political motives— they do occur; but how rarely!"
I have also been guided by the exceptionally frank three-volume autobiography of Bertrand Russell.
Before I started writing this book, I suspended from my mind all personal loyalties of a conventional nature: only my obligation to history remained.
I have made no full-scale assessments of the historic persons with whom I came into close contact. It is for distinguished histo- rians of the future to undertake that task.
If any reader feels aghast at some of the uninhibited disclosures in this book, I would like to refer him back to what is contained in this Preface.
M.O. Mathai Madras
Contents
1 Nehru and I 1
2 Attack On Me by the Communists 16
3 Personal Embarrassment of a Rebel 21
4 Obscurantists to the Fore 23
5 Mahatma Gandhi 26
6 Lord Mountbatten and "Freedom at Midnight'" 40
7 Earl Mountbatten of Burma 46
8 Churchill, Nehru and India 51
9 Nehru's Meeting with Bernard Shaw 58
10 C. Rajagopalachari 63
1 1 The Position of the President of India 66
12 Rajendra Prasad and Radhakrishnan 69
13 The Prime Minister and His Secretariat 74
14 The Prime Minister's House 80
15 Use of Air Force Aircraft by the PM 84
16 Rafi Ahmed Kidwai 88
17 Feroze Gandhi 93
18 The National Herald and Allied Papers 97
19 Nehru and the Press 101
20 Nehru's Sensitivity to his Surroundings 106
21 Nehru's Attitude to Money 111
22 G.D. Birla 118
23 Nehru and Alcoholic Drinks 123
24 Sarojini Naidu 126
25 Rajkumari Amrit Kaur 128
26 Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit 133
27 Some Books 143
28 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 147 /
29 She 153
30 V.K, Krishna Menon—l 154
x Contents J| :
31 V.K. Krishna Menon— II 164
32 Krishna Menon' s Vote at the UN on Hungary 172
33 V.K. Krishna Menon—IU 175 J
34 V.K. Krishna Menon— IV 183
35 Was Nehru Arrogant? 191
36 Nehru and the Services 193
37 Nehru and Women 201
38 Nehru and the Socialists 212
39 More on Nehru 216
40 Govind Ballabh Pant 220
41 T.T. Krishnamachari 224
42 Kamaraj 228
45 ifl/ Bahadur 232
44 IVo Weather-Beaten Ministers 237
45 VaUabhbhai Patei 241 45 J>K#ra 248
47 MorarjiDesai 255 45 £/>/&£*«> 261 49 Postscript 263
APPENDICES 267
MMX 295
1 Nehru and J
Soon after Nehru was released from prison in 1945 I wrote to him from Assam, where I was then, saying that I would like to join him in the service of the nation. His reply did not reach me because it was intercepted by the CID. I wrote turn another letter. He replied promptly, and this time it reached me. His reply said, that he ■ was soon coming to Assam and that I might meet him then. He had specified the place, date and approximate time. I met him. We talked in generalities. He said life with him would be hard and uncertain. I told him about my only experience in politics which was in college. There were no Congress movements in Travancore. But during Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar's oppressive regime I organized a public demonstration by students, defying prohibitory orders. The police chief of the area came to the college with instructions to arrest the principal organizer of the demonstra- tion. He interrogated many students but no one betrayed me. I also told Nehru that after taking my degree from Madras University I had to work because I did not like to run away from my obligations to my parents, brothers and sisters. I added that I was a bachelor and had no intention of marrying, and further that what I was looking for was a purpose in life and that I was prepared to live dangerously. Before I took leave of him, I said that within a month I would be leaving Assam for Travancore for a short visit to my parents. He asked me to visit him in Allahabad for a few days and stay in his house and have some leisurely talks with him. At our meeting, neither he nor I had any thought of a change of govern- ment in India, even though later it so happened that the change occurred in less than one year.
In December 1945, at Anand Bhawan, Nehru again talked in generalities. He talked about the bananas and coconuts and spices and lakes and lagoons of Kerala. I quoted to him a couplet from
2 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Kalidasa in support of the theory that Kalidasa was a Malayalit "Yavani mukha Padma nam; t hatha Kerala yoshitham" He laughed. He said that barring the grandeur of the Himalayas, Kerala was the most beautiful place in India. I reminded him that the Vindhyas and the Western Ghats were older than the Himalayas and that there were one or two towns in Travancore at an altitude of over 5,000 feet. I also told him that Agasthyakoodam (abode of the sage Agasthya) was in Kerala, and so was Maruthua Mala (Medicine Hill) which Hanuman brought from the Kumaon in the Himalays and deposited in the ^Vestern Ghats. He did not know about these.
Before I was scheduled to leave Allahabad, Nehru told me, with a measure of sadness, about his inability to pay me anything and that he hated to spoil my future. I said I was in no need of money and, in order to satisfy him on this point, I disclosed to him the extent of my finances. He conceded that it was more than adequate. I told him that my future should be my own concern and gave him an inkling of my independence by saying, "in any event I am not available to work for a cause on payment." He scrutinized me and said that soon he was going to Malaya and would have liked me to accompany him on the trip as his secretary, but that I must go to my parents first. He advised me to be in Allahabad early in February 1946, just before his return from Malaya. On his Malaya trip he took with him as his secretary his brother-in-law, Gunotham Purushotham Hutheesing.
I left most of my things at Anand Bhawan and returned to Allahabad after seeing my parents as arranged. At home I dis- covered that my father had already divided the family properties and set apart the lion's share for me. By a registered deed I wrote away my claims to the family properties in favour of my brothers before I left the place. My father and mother were opposed to my joining Nehru because they thought I would be in jail soon. And so did I.
Soon after my arrival in Allahabad early in February 1946, Nehru returned from Malaya. I had already told him during my previous visit to Allahabad that only after a week of my being with him would I be in a position to say in what way I could be of any use. I took less than a week. I discovered that Nehru so far had not had any adequate secretarial assistance. He even had to file his own papers. Those connected with his books, royalties and general finances were in a hopeless mess. I told him that even a superficial assessment of the situation had convinced me that the best way I could be of help to him was to render him secretarial assistance and added that I had decided to do this disagreeable work for a year. He was immensely pleased. Although I did not tell him so, it was my intention to employ one person at my expense before the end of the year and train him to relieve me of the routine work. Soon Nehru was relieved of all this needless burden
One day, in 1946, some Americans who knew me turned up at Anand Bhawan to have darshan (a meeting, an audience) of Nehru. On seeing me there, they yelled, "Hi Mac" in Nehru's presence. From then on, to Nehru and the members of his wider family I was Mac. The Mountbattens also picked it up later
Soon we were caught up with the British Cabinet Mission in Delhi and Simla, then the AICC in Bombay, where Nehru took over as Congress President from Maulana Azad, and then negotia- tions with Viceroy Lord Wavell on the formation of the interim government. In between there took place an impulsive visit to Kashmir where we were arrested at the border. So I had the honour of sharing Nehru's last imprisonment; but it was for a brief period of about a week.
r 0n * Se P tCmber m *> the day the interim government was formed, Nehru took me with him to the External Aifairs Department In the evening I told him that I had no desire to work in govern- ment. I refused to go to office the next day; and stayed away from government till 15 August 1947. Nehru was annoyed with me But there was plenty to do at bis residence where I organized a compact staff chosen by me as part of his official secretariat. Thus I got rid of all my routine work. Most of Nehru's important work was done at the residence until the formation of the dominion government on 15 August 1947.
Soon after he took office in the interim government, Nehru made an impulsive decision to visit the tribal areas of the North- West Frontier Province, These tribal areas were under the External .Affairs Department. The North- West Frontier Province at that time had a Congress government under that brave and magnificent man Khan Sahib. Even though advice from almost every quarter was against the visit, Nehru showed perversity and became more determined to go. I accompanied him on this trip even though I had nothing to do with the government. I have referred to this in
4 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
the chapter "Some Books." The results proved clearly that it was an ill-timed, ill-advised, and politically unwise step. The Muslim League gained vastly in the process.
The two years, from September 1946, proved to be an extremely difficult and dark period. It was all work and very little sleep. There were innumerable nights when I had to keep awake without a wink. There were telephone calls throughout the night, mostly from Muslims under attack by savage mobs of refugees. Once, after midnight, I received news on the telephone that B. F. H. B. Tyabji's residence was under attack. I ordered a police jeep and a small police party from the security squad near our house at 17 York Road. Nehru, who was still working upstairs, heard the noise of the jeep and the policemen and came racing down. He asked me where I was going. I replied that there was no time to lose. He jumped into the jeep and I almost got crushed between him and the driver. In the jeep I explained the position to him. When we arrived at Badruddin Tyabji's place — Badr as he was known to me— we found Dewan Chaman Lall, who was staying in the next house, making a valiant effort to ward off the mob. Whatever were Chaman LalFs faults, he was a thoroughly non- communal person. On our arrival on the scene, the crowd bolted. We left after posting a small squad of security staff there. Badr, coming from an illustrious family which produced a Congress President, was shaken but not disheartened. He and Azim Hussain, who came from a distinguished family in West Punjab, had opted to serve in India. They are ICS men, now retired. They are as true patriots as Zakir Husain, who narrowly escaped murder. They and persons like Brigadier Usman, who lost his life defending Kashmir against Pakistani aggression, and Abdul Hamid, the lowly but brave soldier from UP, who earned the Param Vir Chakra posthumously in the 1965 war with Pakistan, are heroes who kept the faith. Only an ungrateful nation will fail to honour them.
In the summer of 1947 I received an anonymous telephone call at Nehru's residence to say that a Muslim girl was in danger in a small hostel in New Delhi. I took a pistol from the nearby police tent and got into a car which was driven by an old Muslim driver Khaliq who, as a young man, was in the service of Pandit Motilal Nehru. Khaliq, with his goatee, was not the man to be taken out; but no one else was available. In front of the girl's
Nehru and I $
room sat a relatively^ young Sikh with a long sword and a menacing look. He looked at Khaliq with hatred in his eyes. He knew English fairly well. I asked him to get out of the place. He became aggressive and waved his sword at me. I took out my pistol and told him firmly, "If you don't get out, I will shoot the hell out of you." He fled. When he was safely away from Khaliq, I entered the hostel room and found a young girl sitting on her cot and shaking like a leaf. She was so petrified that she could not talk for a while. She was a Muslim girl from Nagpur and was working in the government. All her belongings were looted. She had one spare saree in a small box. I called Khaliq in so that she could see his goatee and feel reassured. I told her, "Don't be afraid, come •with me." I took her in the car to Nehru's residence and put her in Indira's room; Indira was out of town. After a few days, when she was normal, we sent her under escort by air to Nagpur. Later I learnt that she returned to Delhi when the situation became nor- mal and resumed her work in the government.
At about the same time the correspondent of the Free Press Journal — a south Indian Brahaman with somewhat kinky hair — was doing some voluntary work for me. He looked through the numerous newspapers and made clippings of important news items and comments which did not appear in Delhi newspapers which Nehru normally read. These clippings were put up daily to Nehru. One evening the correspondent went out for a walk. He was surrounded by a group of refugees with knives. To them he looked like a Muslim. He protested that he was a Hindu from south India. They refused to believe him and ordered him to undress. He was petrified and resigned himself to a violent death because, for some reason unknown to him, he was circumcised while he was a little boy. Miraculously, a typical south Indian Brahman, looking somewhat like Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, with a pigtail and the Trishul mark on his forehead, appeared on the scene shouting, "He is a Brahman, I know him." The crowd melted away. My journalist friend was taken into the foreign service soon afterwards through the Special Selection Board. He rose to be an ambassador and is now retired.
During those difficult days it was not always easy to get food- stuffs. Dewan Chaman Lall occasionally managed to send some eggs and mutton. Once our Goan steward, Cordiero, told me he could get a lamb and put the meat in the deep freeze. I asked him to do
° Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
so. I was then doing the housekeeping as Indira was out of Delhi. Nehru heard about the lamb and got annoyed with me. He told me if I did it again he would refuse to eat the stuff. There was no need because I had already made standing arrangements with the control- ler of the Governor-General's household.
The saddest experience of my life was visits with Nehru to the undivided Punjab. We had to wade through the debris of destroy- ed houses and dead bodies of innocent people in Multan, Lahore and Amritsar. We witnessed the largest migration in history invol- ving eighteen million people both ways. Some years later a friend asked me who were more cruel, Muslims or Sikhs? I replied, "Half a dozen of the one were equal to six of the other." Perhaps the Sikhs were one up; and the Hindus did not lag very much behind. ^ While we were at 17 York Road, I noticed for a week an exces- sively fat young girl coming there every morning and standing silently in front of the house looking very sad. Unlike others she did not make any attempt to reach Nehru to tell her tale of woe. One morning, after Nehru left the house, I asked the girl to tell me all about herself. She was from Mianwali in West Punjab; was a B.A., B.T. Her father was the president of the district Congress. He sent away his family along with a batch of other people in a (refugee special) train to Delhi. He said he would not leave until the last non-Muslim, in his area, who wanted to migrate, left. When he was satisfied that he had done his duty, he boarded a train for Delhi. At Lahore he was dragged out of the train and brutally murdered. Tears flowed down her cheeks. I asked her where she was staying. She said, "Under a tree in the compound of a house near Connaught Circus." I took her by car and left her under the tree where her grieving mother sat. Before Heft, I asked the young girl to come to 17 York Road early next morning and added that I might have something to tell her then. That evening I told Nehru the story of the young girl. He was moved, and said that he knew her father who was a fine person. I told him that I would like her to be employed in his secretariat and. put to work at the residence mostly to meet and talk to the helpless refugees who came in incre- asing numbers in the mornings. He readily agreed. I was not in government then; but I managed, with some difficulty, to create a job for her. When she came the next morning, I put the proposal before her and told her that I would see to it that she received a salary higher than that of a schoolteacher. She gratefully accepted
Nehru and I y
the offer. She was appointed as a reception officer. That was the rotund Miss Vimala Sindhi who became a familiar figure in Delhi.
At about the same time I happened to see a little boy, almost a child, sitting on the roadside and weeping. He did not know Eng- lish and I did not know Hindi. So I took him to Nehru's residence. With the help of Vimala Sindhi I found out that the boy was from West Punjab. He had no father. While*nigrating to Delhi he had become separated from his mother. I got some clothes made for him and kept him with me in my room for a month. The kindly owner of 17 York Road, who was a rich man with no children, requested me to hand over the boy to him and offered to get him educated. He sent the boy to a residential school in Pilani, Later his mother turned up and was happy to learn of what happened to her little boy. The owner of 17 York Road also took a kindly interest in the woman and helped her financially. The little boy was not a bright student but managed to pass the matriculation exami- nation. There appeared to be no point in sending him for higher studies. I was then in government. At my instance he was appointed in the PM's secretariat as a clerk for which post a vacancy existed. That was Mohan who is still in the PM's secretariat and continues to embarrass me by calling me father. Both Nehru and I helped him to build a small house on a tiny plot allotted by the govern- ment to him as a refugee. He remains dutiful to his widowed mother.
Early in August 1947 Nehru said that he would like me to help him in his secretariat also. I told him I hated files and that I did not know what other work I could do in the secretariat. He said I could feel my way about and work would come. He added, "From the 15th of this month it is going to be our own government; most of my work will be done in the secretariat and if you stay away you won't know what is happening. Apart from that, I do not want to be surrounded by officials completely." I reluctantly agreed. At Nehru's instance, Secretary- General Girja Shankar Bajpai at the External Affairs Department dropped in one evening on his way home and talked to me about my appointment in government. He said the idea was to designate me as Personal Private Secretary to the PM and that all papers for the PM would go through me. He added that I would be free to do such non-official work as the PM wanted me to. I said I did not want to be integrated into the secre- tariat; that my position should remain undefined as I proposed to
8 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
create my own work in the secretariat eventually. I also laid down a condition that my appointment should be conter minus with that of the PM. All this was agreed to. He then said that Nehru had told him that my emoluments should be fixed only with my consent. He asked me what salary I wanted. I replied that I didn't need a salary. He said that in government it was not the usual practice to engage people without emoluments. I then said I would take Rs 500 per month and added that it should be an ad hoc salary, not in any grade. He was amused, thought I was a crank, and reported all this to Nehru, who asked him not to make much variation upwards in the salary I had suggested. So Bajpai had my ad hoc salary fixed at Rs 750 per month without any further reference to me. It so hap- pened that an official, who was designated as Assistant Private Secretary, was drawing almost double my "salary"; but it did not bother me because it never entered into my head that a man's usefulness was to be measured in terms of the salary he drew. I was never asked to undergo a medical examination. Neither was I asked to sign the oath of secrecy.
When the Finance Minister appealed for economy in non-pro- ductive governmental expenditure, I stopped drawing my salary for a whole year. Soon after that, something which happened an- noyed me. The question arose about my travelling by train. The administration man in the PM's secretariat told me that I was enti- tled only to second class fare. I said I wouldn't travel second class and asked him to get me a third class ticket. This was reported to the PM. He ascertained that the minimum salary entitling a person to travel first class was Rs 1,500 per month and ordered that my salary be fixed at that figure as an ad hoc one. Simultaneously, at my instance, toy official designation was changed to Special Assis- tant to the Prime Minister. At that time no one in government had that designation. I cancelled the trip and have never travelled by train on government account from that day onwards.
When N. R. Filial became Cabinet Secretary, the PM asked him to keep in touch with me. FilJai sent me the personal files contain- ing the efficiency reports of all the members of thelCS and other former Secretary- of-State services. He wanted me to read them as the background information would be useful to the PM. It took me over two months to go through them late at night daily. I was impressed by the objective reporting by senior Englishmen on their juniors— minus, of course, the political slant.
Nehru and I 9
Ever since I started work in the PM's secretariat, no file or paper reached the PM except through me — with rare exceptions, in which case they would come to me from him. Nothing went out except through me. 'This meant matching hours of work with Nehru, and sometimes surpassing him. In the PM's house, generally. I ate alone in my study while working, sometimes at odd hours. I had come to the conclusion that the best way to help the PM was to inform his mind. For this I had to study specific issues and problems and jet advice from those who were in a position to advise — people in government and outside. Except in its broad aspects, I was not particularly interested in foreign affairs which, in detail, meant international pillow-fighting. In fact, I used to call Krishna Menon an "international pillow-fighter."
After the death of Vallabhbhai Patel, much to my embarrassment ministers, MPs and senior officials used to refer to me as "Deputy PM," "Power behind the throne" and the like. C. D. Deshmukh, in his autobiographical book, chose to refer to me as "the most powerful acolyte of the PM." Except for a few, I had only con- tempt for ministers who were nothing but a bunch of mediocrities or worse.
It is true that no file or paper containing a recommendation, reached the PM without my comments on a slip or a routine note if I felt that such comment was called for. Such slips and "routine notes" never formed part of the files. They were removed when papers came down from the PM.
One morning, during the 1952 monsoon, I received a telegram as I was waiting to go to the office with the PM in his car. The telegram announced lh,e death of my father who was eighty-four. I put the telegram in my pocket and, without betraying any emo- tion, went to office with the PM and did the day's work. No one knew about it. In 1950, when I visited my home in Kerala for a couple of hours, I had told my brothers and sisters that in case anything happened to my parents, they should not expect me to come over because, with the then rudimentary air services, there was ho chance of my reaching home in time. Four days later, on a Sunday, as I returned from the office with the PM for lunch, N. K. Seshan handed me another telegram announcing the death of my mother who was eighty- one. Seshan had opened the telegram and told everyone, including Indira. Foregoing lunch, I went straight to bed without changing. In the evening the PM and Indira
1 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
came down and found me, as usual, in my study, refreshed and composed, attending to my work. I told them that my father had died four days previously and that my mother fainted immediately. She regained consciousness only once for a brief moment. It was rain- ing torrentially then. She murmured, "He must be feeling cold" and again went into a coma, never to open her eyes again. My parents had been married for seventy years. They had their quarrels, suffe- rings, sorrows and joys. I have never seen a couple so devoted to each other. In fact, they died together. The PM remained silent. Indira said, "Papu came to your room after lunch and found you fast asleep." In order to break the gloom in my study, I said, "That shows that I have a clear conscience," to which Indira retorted, to the amusement of her father, "It can also mean that you have none" and gave me a smile. I told her, again to the amusement of the father, "It is the only witty remark you have ever uttered in your life."
Nehru lost his temper with me only once— for no fauit of mine. I was annoyed and I also lost my temper. For two days I sulked. Then he sent for me and smiled, which was his way of making up. I told him, "I am sorry; I should have shown more understanding. Your mind must have been upset about something at that time. I have seen you losing your temper many a time, but that has been at seeing stupidity or vulgarity." I then told him the story of a famous Greek philosopher losing his temper and assaulting the librarian of the Public Library in Athens. The reason was that the library did not have a copy of a particular book on Socrates. I said I mentally approved of it. He smiled.
It was Nehru's practice right from September 1946 to work in. his secretariat on Sundays and holidays. Those were hectic times and he hardly got more than five hours of sleep at night. The result was that he would doze off at meetings. I wanted him to get some sleep in the afternoons of Sundays and holidays. It was no use telling him this because he was too proud of his health. So I chose to appeal to his sense of fairness. I told him that the PAs and others were married people with children and they would like to take their wives and children to a cinema or for shopping occasionally. I added, "In fairness to them you should stop going to the secreta- riat in the afternoons of Sundays and holidays. I shall arrange for one or two PAs to be in the house so that you can do your work there and, in any event, I will be there. Before agreeing to it he
Nehru and I j j
said, "Work never kills anybody." I replied, "Overwork makes a person stale. You cannot afford to be stale." As I had expected, this led to Nehru taking some rest after lunch on Sundays and holidays. I authorized all PAs to take a full day off once a week. I had a special allowance sanctioned for them, and for the PAs on night duty I arranged, in addition, rent-free quarters near the PM's residence. They all worked very hard without looking at their watches. Later, the PM got into the habit of having half an hour's nap daily after lunch.
Nehru, recognized as one of the world's five best English prose writers of his day, was loath to sign anything drafted by others except strictly protocol communications. The result was that he had to spend an enormous amount of time in dictating letters and drafting or dictating statements and speeches. He has signed more communications drafted by me than by all the others put together. That was because, when the signed letters and notes came from him, I would detain some that were dictated in his weariness late at night. These I redrafted for his signature.
Some of Nehru's finest speeches were either extempore or written in his own hand when alone, without any disturbance, and when he was emotionally stirred. The "Tryst with Destiny" speech delivered at the midnight meeting of the Constituent Assembly on 14-15 August 1947 was written in his own hand. When the typed copy and the handwritten draft were delivered to me by the PA, I con- sulted Roget's International Thesaurus and went to Nehru.' I said "Date with Destiny" was not a happy phrase for a solemn occasion because the word date had acquired an American connotation of assignation with girls and women. I suggested its replacement with "tryst" or "rendezvous," but cautioned that the phrase "Rendez- vous with Destiny" was used by President Franklin Roosevelt in one of his famous wartime speeches. He thought for a moment and changed date to tryst in the typescript. The original handwritten draft with the word date remained with me all these years and was handed over recently to the Nehru Museum and Library along with innumerable documents and photographs.
The broadcast on the day of Gandhiji's assassination, with the sublime words "the Light has gone out," was made extempore, without the aid of any notes .
At the end of 1951 I wanted S. D. Upadhyaya, who had worked for Nehru and his father for long years, and who was rotting, to be
12 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
put up as a Congress candidate for election to the first Lok Sabha. In fact, I had advised Upadhyaya to find a suitable constituency and get the Provincial Congress Committee to sponsor him. One day, while I was going with the PM to N. N. Bery, the dentist, I spoke to him about Upadhyaya, He reacted strongly against the proposal. He asked, "What can he do in parliament? He is singular- ly unsuitable for parliament." I said, "He will be as good or as bad as fifty per cent of the Congress MPs; and it will be a fitting reward for a man known for his loyalty though not ability." He kept quiet. Nehru was then Congress President. On our way home from Dr Bery's clinic he asked me to tell Upadhyaya to have his name sent to the AICC by a PCC. I said that this had already been done and his proposed constituency was Satna in Vindhya Pradesh. That is how Upadhyaya entered parliament and remained a member of either House for several terms. If any man deserved a prize for never opening his mouth in parliament, it was Upadh- yaya. I am glad the poor man, in his old age (he is now past seventy-eight), is now entitled to draw a pension of Rs 500 per month as an ex-MP.
Throughout my association with government I never asked for any favours from the PM or any minister or any official. I hated to be a supplicant before anyone. No relative of mine, near or distant, ever got a job or any favour from government. However, I did not hesitate to intervene directly sometimes, and mostly through the PM, in cases where injustice was done to individuals. It is true that I have been instrumental in the appointment of innumerable ministers, governors and non-official ambassadors— none of them related to me. There was perfect understanding between Nehru and me. On some fare occasions he did question my judgment, but he doubted nothing else. He treated me as a colleague. Of course, he knew that I was not available to be treated in any other way. I have also been instrumental in preventing some appointments. One such I shall relate. Soon after the appointment of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit as an ambassador, Nehru sponsored his brother-in-law, G. P. Hutheesing, for appointment as commissioner to Malaya. He had gone with Nehru to Malaya as his secretary in January 1946 and stayed back for a couple of weeks to study the position of Indians there. Two senior officials of the Commonwealth Relations Depart- ment saw me privately and requested me to prevent the appoint- ment if possible. I decided to resort to the indirect approach.
Nehru and I 13
I talked to Hutheesing, who happened to be in Delhi then, and told him that it would be infra dig to accept a diplomatic post which did not carry the rank of a first class ambassador, consider- ing his education and background. I asked him, "Why do you, a rich" man, want to lower yourself?" He said, "I am going to tell Bhai this evening that I don't want it." Thus Gunotham Purushotham Hutheesing was talked out of a situation which would have resulted in Nehru being accused of nepotism. Some months later, while driving to Palam airport, I related the whole story to the PM; and also told him the story about the only son of my widowed sister who was old enough to be my mother. She sent him to me in Delhi for a job. There was then a vacancy in the PM's secretariat for which he was qualified; or I could have easily fixed him up elsewhere; but I gave him his train fare and some pocket money to return home. My sister was deeply hurt. Nehru told me that I was a fool to have done it. I replied that in some matters I would rather be a fool. I asked him, "Didn't you recently say that in public life one should not only be correct but should appear to be so?" Silence was the understandable reaction.
In the mid-fifties a minister of state foolishly got into trouble. He was sent as a delegate to the UN General Assembly. A rich man, and a married man with children, he took with him a young- ish woman and stayed in hotels in New York, London and Paris, entering their names as "Mr and Mrs" in order to stay together in the same rooms. Much later the woman arrived at the residence of the minister in New Delhi with her baggage and demanded the right to stay there even as a servant— much to the embarrass- ment of the minister and his wife. She was thrown out; but she managed to get a room in Western Court. She met many important people and registered her complaint with them. Finally, she way- laid the PM as he and I were going home from the office. She mumbled something to the PM. While driving home, the PM asked me to send for the minister and talk to him. I rang up the minister and he came in the afternoon to my office. It was a Saturday when parliament was not in session. He confessed to everything. I gave him a piece of paper and asked him to write out his resignation from the Council of Ministers addressed to the PM. As I dictated slowly, he wrote, "I hereby tender my resignation from the Council of Ministers for personal reasons. I shall be grate- ful if you will be good enough to forward it to the President
* 4 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
for his acceptance." I asked the minister to see me on Monday morning in my office in Parliament House with a common friend, U. S. Malliah, MP, who was aware of the incident. They met me as suggested. I told the minister that where hormones were con- cerned I had no right to pass judgment on anyone; but I added, "You have committed the inconceivable folly of entering your name and that of the woman in hotel registers everywhere as "Mr and Mrs." Some people have egged her on and sent her to Delhi to blackmail you. I suggest that you buy her silence. Your good friend Malliah, I am sure, will succeed in persuading her to quietly go away from Delhi. Malliah should decide the amount to be given to her. Malliah decreed that, considering the minister's financial position, he should give her Rs 50,000. This was done within two days, and the woman left Delhi quietly. Later, I gave the PM all the facts and the letter of resignation of the minister. 7 he PM thought over the matter for a couple of days and decided not to accept the resignation. And the minister survived and prospered. He became a Cabinet Minister in the Indira regime during which he proved to be the most servile of ministers. He was the first to take the little boy Sanjay around in his state, launching him into politics. At a public meeting organized at government expense, the minister stood up on his haunches and said something very profound, "I have slaved for your grandfather and your mother, and I shall slave for you." I do not know for whom he is slaving now.
It was never in my nature to be a sycophant and a flatterer. I have irritated and annoyed Nehru in private more than H. V. Kamath, Ram Manohar Lohia or Raj Narain in public. Once, at a reception at the India House in London, to which Attlee and several other dignitaries came, Nehru stood in a corner chatting with Lady Mountbatten all the while. Krishna Menon turned to me and said that people were commenting on it and requested me to break in so that Nehru could move about. I told him that I had no locus standi, he was the host and it was his duty to make the PM circulate. Krishna Menon did not have the guts to do the right thing. Two other similar parties were in the offing elsewhere in the next few days, and I did not want a repetition of the PM being glued to one person. Later, in the evening I sent the PM a hand- written note about the incident which, I said, resulted in unfavour- able comment and needless gossip. I did not wish to embarrass him by talking to him personally about this matter. He was too big
Nehru and I 15
a man to take my note amiss. It had the desired effect and the other two parties went off well. In the ultimate analysis, I really did not care what Nehru or anyone else thought of me as long as I was true to myself.
After my resignation from government in 1959, I continued to do some personal work for Nehru. The last time I saw him was on 27 April 1964. 1 gave him a prepared note. He read it twice. He could not take in anything. I told him that he need not bother and that I would leave written instructions to his staff on his behalf. He was no longer in a condition to do any useful work. I felt immeasur- ably sad. I went off to Simla with the premonition that I would never see him again. On 27 May 1964, in the forenoon, I received a telephone message from a friend in Delhi that the PM was sink- ing. The Lieutenant-Governor of Himachal Pradesh was good enough to arrange transport for me from Simla to Delhi where I arrived late at night. It was a hot and dusty day; and in Delhi there was an earthquake.
Though I have found it psychologically difficult to write some chapters of this book, it was this chapter that I found the most difficult.
2 Attack On Me by the Communists
In the winter of 1958 some Communists chose to mount a virulent attack on me. I shall not attempt to give the details here. They are contained .in my letter of resignation dated 12 January 1959 to the Prime Minister and a letter dated 11 January 1959 to the Prime Minister from Rajkuniari Amrit Kaur, included in full as Appendix 3.
The Prime Minister did not want to accept my resignation and told me so. But I had made up my mind that, for all the world* I would not continue in a position where I could not defend my- self- My resignation letter was not written in a huff. Once written it was never to be withdrawn. The Prime Minister kept my letter of resignation pending for six days. On 18 January 1959 I sent a note to the Prime Minister conveying my decision to stop work after two days and to move out of the Prime Minister's house. That night he sent me a handwritten letter reluctantly agreeing to my request In fact, I gave him no choice in the matter.
At 4 a.m. on 27 January, which happened to be my birthday, I woke up to get ready to leave by car for Almora with my dear friend Boshi Sen, the agricultural scientist. At 4.45 a.m. Nehru came down to my room and sat down with Boshi Sen. He knew that it was my birthday; but he did not want to say "happy birth- day" because there was nothing happy on that day either for me or for him. As I was leaving, he embraced me and told Dr Sen, "Boshi, look after him."
I was to learn later, with a considerable measure of happiness, that the servants and malis (gardeners) at the PM's house spontane- ously went in a procession to the PM, the day after I left, to request him to ensure that I returned to the PM's house.
At his press conference on 7 February 1959, the PM said, "My broad appreciation of Mr Mathai was of efficiency, integrity
Attack On Me by the Communists 17
and loyalty, at any rate loyalty to me; but also a person who. acted foolishly often in small matters; and sometimes rather threw his weight about. But I never doubted his integrity and I have had no reasons since than. . . connected as he was with me, a delicate position, which could have been misused very easily; all this time I have no reason, not the slightest reason, that financially speaking it was in the slightest degree misused."
On 16 February Lady Mouhtbatten came to see me at the residence of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. She was exercised over the possibility of my having turned bitter as a result of the one or two unfavourable remarks the PM had made at the press conference She asked me if the PM had ever pulled me up for the matters he had mentioned. I said no. She commented, "Then he had no right to make those remarks in public." r told her that he must himself have been upset about my leaving him and the words might have escaped his lips unintentionally. I assured her that I was not particularly hurt by them. Then I handed over to her a copy of my lengthy reply to a Cabinet Minister who had written to me disapproving of the PM's remarks about me at the press conference She took it with her to read. She mentioned to me that the PM had told her that soon after the press conference Secretary. General N.R. Pillai of the External Affairs Ministry wrote a private note to him on behalf of himself and the three Secretaries of the ministry to say that at no time had I thrown my weight about m so far as they were concerned, and further that I was always helpful to them. She made it known to me that the PM was distressed at having made those remarks. I asked her to tell him to forget about the whole matter. She came the next day to tell
r^f vUT* t0 the Cabfnet Minister S reatl y move d her and that the PM shed tears when he read it in her presence.
bJT f- 1 W - Sm Alm ° ra J received a c °nmmnication *om the PM that m view of the sustained noises by some opposition MPs
m parhament he, in consultation with his colleagues, had decided
to ask the Cabmet Secretary to ascertain the facts from me and
submit a report to him. The PM advised me to come down to
Delhi. So I came and stayed in Rajkumari Amrit Kaur's house.
On return to Delhi, I informed the PM that I would gladly
cooperate with the Cabinet Secretary provided three conditions
were met. I told him that I did not like any one-man business in a
18 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
matter like this— in so far as the Cabinet Secretary and he himself were concerned. My conditions were:
1) The Chairman of the Central Board of Revenue should be associated with the Cabinet Secretary in the process of ascertaining the facts.
2) The Cabinet Secretary's report should be examined and commented upon by the Finance Minister.
3) An authority independent of the government should pro- nounce an opinion on the findings of the Cabinet Secretary. I suggested the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India should undertake this task.
The PM consulted his principal colleagues and informed me that my conditions met with their wholehearted approval. Parlia- ment was informed of this.
To provide facts and explanations about personal finances spread over a period of thirteen years was not an easy matter. However, I was able to collect the material and let the Cabinet Secretary and his colleague have it before the end of April 1959.
The following documents, which were placed before both the Houses of parliament on 6 May 1959, are given in full in Appen- dix 4:
1) PM's letter to Chairman/Speaker dated 6 May 1959.
2) PM's note dated 6 May 1959.
3) Finance Minister's comments dated 6 May 1959.
4) Comptroller and Auditor-General's comments dated 6 May 1959.
Notable Editor S. Mulgaokar wrote a brief editorial in the Hindustan Times of 8 May 1959, which I quote on the next page:
Attack On Me by the Communists 19
The statements of Mr Nehru and The statements of Mr Nehru Mr Morarji Desai on the result of »«d Mr Morarji Desai on the the enquiry into the allegations suit of the inquiry into the in Parliament of misuse by Mr ^legations .in Parliament of M.O. Mathai of his official posi- misuse by Mr M. O. Malhai of tion of Special Assistant to the hi* official position of Special Prime Minister can be left to Assistant to the Prime Minis- speak for themselves. What may *« can be left to speak for strike the public as rather bewil- «mselves. What may strike dering is that the Communists, ifce public as rather bewilder- who were so loud in their clamour «>g is that the Communists for Mr Mathai's blood and had "ho were so loud in their cla- claimed to possess unimpeachable "»»** for Mr Mathai's blood evidence against him, ran away, »nd ba<* claimed to possess un- when it came to the point, from impeachable evidence against the responsibility of substantia- h»«» r «» awa y* when il came t0 ting their accusations before the «>« point, from the rcsponsi- inquiry tribunal. Mr Nehru has Mty of substantiating their emphasised that the only infor- -causations before the inquiry mation which was offered to Mr iflbunal. Mr Nehru has em* Vishnu Sahay was a letter from a rtasized that the only infor- person in prison who made some mXion which was offered *° general charges without suppor- Mr Vishnu Sahay was in *'a ting evidence and an anonymous Jmer frcm a person in prison communication. Mr Desai has * ho mad * some 6 encral ****" pointed out: "The fact that no- ?n without supporting evi- body has come forward with *«• and an anonymous som- any reliable information or evi- wtwawWon-'* Mr Desai has dence is significant." We have ***** out; ' ,Thc faCt ** another word to describe the lAedy has come forward with
behaviour of people who make " fty r€liabie inio ; ma ]^ n * r
wide allegations from a position " ldence is W*"*" ™*
of privilege and then evade their ^ Bn0lhcr wo / d l ° ?*"*
plain duty to attempt to make *« * ha ^ of , peop, < who
their allegations stick The word £» W " «*! ^V
is DESPICABLE Wlion of privilege and then
tirade their plain duty to at- fcapt to make their allega-
( l ext and Photostat of Hindustan tans stick. The word is
Times editorial, 8 May 1959) DESPICABLE.
"20 Reminiscences ofihe Nehru Age
The Prime Minister's seniormost colleague, Govind Ballabh Pant, asked me if I would return to the Prime Minister's house and office. I replied in one sentence, "Only a dog returns to its vomit." He promptly reported this to the Prime Minister. Later, the Prime Minister asked me if I would like to take up any posi- tion in government in India or abroad. I said, "Not any office of profit under the government."
Some time after the noise had died down, a friend asked me, "Did that second-rate politician who indulged in wild allegations against you day in and day out, with a hot potato stuck in his throat, show a modicum of decency by expressing his regret to you at least privately?." In reply I could only quote to him an old proverb: "Cleanliness in a crow; honesty in a gambler; mildness in a serpent; women satisfied with love; vigour in a eunuch; truth in a drunkard; friendship in a king; decency in a second-rate politician —whoever heard of these things?"
Personal Embarrassment of a Rebel
At the Viceroy House at U a.m., on 2 September 1946, on the installation of the interim government, an acute personal embarras- sment awaited Nehru. He had to affirm allegiance to King George VI, Emperor of India and also to affirm that he would well and truly serve "our Sovereign." Nehru was suddenly confronted with these. He had no choice. He suppressed his embarrassment and extreme annoyance and went through the affirmation of allegiance and affirmation of office which read as follows:
Form of Affirmation of Allegiance I, Jawaharlal Nehru, do solemnly affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty, KING GEORGE THE SIXTH, Emperor of India, His Heirs,and Successors, according to law.
Form of Affirmation of Office I, Jawaharlal Nehru, do solemnly affirm that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign, KING GEORGE THE SIXTH, Emperor of India, in the Office of Member of the Governor General's Executive Council, and that I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of India without fear or favour affection or ill-will.
For several days Nehru went on murmuring like a child, "I had not bargained for these." The conscience of Sardar Pate!, Rajendra Prasad, Rajaji and others was not pricked.
When dominion government came on 15 August 1947 the Emperor of India automatically stepped down to become King of India; and Nehru, the Prime Minister, corresponded directly with the King. The British Government went out of the picture. Nehru
22 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
soon discovered that his communications to the King had to be in third person and in the form of "humble duty submissions." When the first such submission was placed before him for his signature, Nehru was annoyed and said, "Oh Lord" and pushed away the signature pad. After some time he signed "the wretched thing." Here is a later sample of the humble duty submission: ■
Prime Minister,
Ind.a. If New Deihl »
I fij 28th April 1948.
JAWAHAHLAL NEHRU presents his humble duty to Your Majesty and has the honour to submit, for Your Majesty's approval > the proposal of Your Majesty's, Ministers in the Dominion of India that Sri Chakravarty Rajagopalachari, Governor of West Bengal, be appointed to be the Governor General of India on the demission of that Office by His Excellency Rear Admiral the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, K.G., P.C., G.M.I.E., G.C.V.O., K.C.B., D.,3.0.
PRIME MINISTER
OF THE DOMINION 07 INDIA.
4 Obscurantists to the Fore
In the Constituent Assembly, which met in New Delhi on 9 December 1946 and concluded its deliberations on 26 November 1949, a demand was spearheaded by Rajendra Prasad and some other obscurantists that the name of the country should be Bharat and not India in the Constitution. Nehru pointed out that in such a case, internationally India would loss all the benefits of a "succession state'* such as original membership of the United Nations and various international bodies, and all the embassy buildings abroad and so forth. Pakistan was a new state seceding from India and had to negotiate for membership of international bodies. Nehru told Rajendra Prasad and others, "I do not want to put India in an absurd position internationally." He also told them that their suggestion would please Pakistan most. Rajendra Prasad and others hummed and hawed; but Nehru stood firm. Finally, he said he had no objection to mention somewhere in the Constitution "India that is Bharat." When Rajendra Prasad became President of the Republic, he ordered that the armbands of his ADCs should contain the word Bharat and not India. This practice continues.
Nehru had to give into the same set of people and agree to the inclusion of cow protection and prohibition in the Constitution. Left to himself, Nehru would not have cluttered the Constitution with all these. His emphasis was on the "right to work"; but obscurantists wanted to go backwards.
There was even a feeble demand for the protection of monkeys, descendants of the mythical Hanuman.
Soon after Rajendra Prasad became President of the Republic, on 26 January 1950, he released a number of hefty brown monkeys into the President's Estate. One day a few of them came to the Prime Minister's office in the secretariat through a door to the balcony which was kept open. I happened to be in the room with
4 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Nehru and chased them away. One ran away with a paperweight. I told Nehru, "This is the handiwork of Rajendra Babu." He laughed. The monkey population was augmented by a substantial number released at the Birla temple. They still come up to the President's Estate where the monkey menace is very real; they take away vegetables and fruits and also attack helpless women and children even today.
A Victim of Obscurantism and Barbarous Intolerance—
B. R, Ambedkar
Through a friend of mine, P. K. Panikkar, who was a Sanskrit scholar and deeply religious, B. R Ambedkar became interested in me. I had told Panikkar about my admiration for Ambedkar, but added that he just fell short of being a great man by inches because he could not wholly rise above bitterness. However, I said that no one had any right to blame him, having regard to the humiliations and indignities he had to suffer throughout his life. Panikkar, who was a frequent visitor to Ambedkar, obviously reported all this to him. On a Sunday morning Ambedkar rang me up and asked me to tea that evening. He said he. had asked Panikkar also. I turned up at the appointed time.
After some pleasantries, Ambedkar told me good-humouredly, "So you have found fault with me; but I am prepared to accept your criticism." Then he talked about untouchability. He said that the railways and factories had done more to combat untouchability than Gandhi's personal campaigns. He" asserted that the real problem of the untouchables was economic and not "temple entry," as advocated by Gandhi.
Ambedkar said, "Our Constitution will, no doubt, abolish untouchability on paper; but it will remain in India as a virus for at least a hundred years. It is deeply embedded in the minds of people." He recalled the abolition of slavery in the United States and said, "The improvement of the condition of the Negroes is slow even after 150 years." I said I couldn't agree with him more and told him the story of my mother. Despite almost 2,000 years of Christianity behind her, she practised untouchability with as much conviction as Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. She would not allow a Harijan to draw water from our well in summer when water was
Obscurantists to the Fore 25
generally scarce. She would rush for a bath if an untouchable came within twenty feet of her.
Then Ambedkar said with pride, "The Hindus wanted the Vedc.s, and they sent for Vyasa who was not a caste Hindu. The Hindus wanted an epic, and they sent for Valmiki who was an untouchable. The Hindus want a Constitution, and they have sent for me." He said, "The greatest tragedy of the Hindi belt in India is that the people of the region discarded Valmiki and installed Tulsidas." He expressed the view that the people of this vast region will remain backward and obscurantist until they replace Tulsidas by Valmiki. He reminded me that, according to the Valmiki Ramayana, "when Rama and Lakshmana arrived at the ashrama of Bharadwaja, the sage assembled a few fattened calves for Rama to choose from to be salaughtered for the feast. So Rama and his entourage were fed on veal; Tulsidas cut out ail this." I told him that Vatsyayana, in his Kama Sutra, has prescribed that young couples should be fed on veal for six months before marriage.
Ambedkar pointed his finger at me and said, "You Malayalis have done the greatest harm to this country." 1 was taken aback and asked him how. He said, "You sent that man Shankaracharya, a dessicated expert at logic, on a padayatra (walking tour) to the north to drive away Buddhism from this country." Ambedkar added that the Buddha was the greatest soul India had ever produced. He also said that the greatest man India produced in recent centuries was not Gandhi but Swami Vivekananda.
I reminded Ambedkar that "it was Gandhi who suggested to Nehru to invite you to join the government." This was news to him. I amended my statement by saying that the idea struck Gandhi and Nehru simultaneously. It was Ambedkar who piloted the Consti- tution Bill in the Constituent Assembly.
Ambedkar confided in me that he had decided to become a Buddhist and to advise his followers to do likewise. Until he left Delhi, Ambedkar kept in touch with me. He was a remarkable man who richly deserves the salute of the Indian people.
5 Mahatma Gandhi
Even though I had opportunities of developing contacts with Gandhiji, I instinctively kept away from him. Of course, I recognized his greatness. But I was baffled by him. My contacts with him were limited to personally delivering to him important communications from Nehru.
Early in 1947 an old foreign friend presented to me a very small, elegant, ivory-coloured transistor radio— one of the earliest of its kind. As soon as it was switched on, it started working. On closing the lid, it stopped. Nehru saw it and was fascinated like a child. So I gave it to him. He kept it in his dressing room and listened to the radio news bulletin while shaving. He used to bring it down at all mealtimes to listen to. He spoke to Gandhiji about it and also about me. Gandhiji had already heard about me from Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. Nehru told me that Gandhiji had never listened to a radio and asked me to take the radio with me to Birla House (where Gandhiji was staying) and let him listen to the 6 p.m. news bulletin. I reached Birla House a few minutes before 6 p.m. and presented myself before Gandhiji. He asked me to sit down on the floor in front of him, which I did. At 6 p.m. I switched the radio on. Gandhiji listened for about a minute and said, "Close it, does any- one speak sense nowadays?" It was a period of serious communal troubles in India.
Gandhiji baffled me on several matters:
1) Preaching Ram Rajya of Hindu mythology. Millions of Mus- lims and other minorities had no use for Rama Rajya. They became alienated by Gandhiji's continued preaching of Rama Rajya.
2) Preaching of cow worship and incessant writing about it in the Harijan. Apart from Muslims and other minorities, as well as some sections of Harijans and tribal people and adivasis, who were alienated by this, millions of educated Hindus wanted to worship
Mahatma Gandhi 27
nothing or at least something better than a cow.
3) Preaching of celibacy for married couples. Few except Morarji Desai and some others were converted to this. Some, who practised it, eventually gave up; and some developed psychological prob- lems.
4) Advocating, support for the Khilafat movement in India. This was one of the most opportunistic adventures of Gandhiji's. When Kemal Ataturk came up and abolished the Caliphate, Gandhiji looked foolish. Gandhiji was trying to forge Hindu- Muslim unity on quicksand.
5) Gandhiji's unscientific and staggering remark early in 1934, to the effect that the Bihar earthquake had been a punishment for the sin of untouchability.
6) Fierce condemnation of smoking by the workers of the textile industry in Lancashire thrown out of employment owing to the boycott of British cloth in India.
7) Savage treatment of a Congress worker who could not give full account of a small amount placed at his disposal . Gandhiji asked him to walk over a hundred miles during the height of summer to get back to his village, even though he was personally convinced that the man was honest and innocent. C.F.Andrews, who wit- nessed this harsh treatment, took the man aside and gave him his train fare and a few rupees from his pocket without Gandhiji's knowledge.
8) Fanatic advocacy of Hindi, one of the least developed langu- ages of India, surpassing that of any chauvinist in the Hindi belt.
9) Giving the world, in a % quixotic gesture, his ideal nominee for the office of Head of State in India—an untouchable girl "of stout heart, incorruptible and crystal-like in her purity." However, at the appropriate time, he advised Lord Mountbatten to accept the invitation of the Congress to become the first Governor-Gene- ral of independent India. He also advised Mountbatten to move out of Viceroy House and live in a simple home without servants. He wanted Viceroy House to be converted into a hospital. He did not fail to give further advice to Mountbatten to grow his own vegetables and clean his own toilet!
10) Gandhiji's letter to Viceroy Lord Linlithgow, written early in June 1940, as Hitler had just overrun Holland, and Belgium was about to fall. The letter read, "This manslaughter must be stopped. You are losing. If you persist, it will result in greater bloodshed.
28 • Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Hitler is not a bad man. If you will call it off today, he will follow suit. If you want to send me to Germany or anywhere else, I am at your disposal. You can also inform the Cabinet about this."
There is no record of the Viceroy having forwarded to the British Cabinet Gandhiji's "momentous" letter, nor of the sensation it created at 10 Downing Street!
11) Gandhian economics— it is a sure way of achieving eternal backwardness and perpetuating poverty in India. Gandhiji had been advocating decontrol of foodgrains and other essential items of daily use, and the scrapping of rationing soon after the Government of India passed into Indian hands, even though the food situation was very critical. At the instance of Nehru, John Matthai called on Gandhiji and talked to him for an hour. Matthai reported that throughout the one hour he had the definite impression that he was addressing a wall. The matter came up before the Cabinet which was equally divided. The decision in favour of Gandhiji's demand was taken by the Prime Minister's casting vote. It had dis- astrous consequences; and the country and its people had to pay a very heavy price for adopting Gandhian economic. Sarojini Naidu once said, -Many will never know how much it cost to keep that old man in poverty."
12) During one of his fasts Gandhiji said, "If I have acetone in my urine, it is because my faith in Rama is incomplete!"
13) Gandhiji's advice to women faced with rape in the Punjab during partition was to bite their tongue and hold their breath until they died. Confucius gave different advice to a young girl. He told her, "If you find yourself in a situation where rape is inevitable and there h no chance of escape, my advice to you is to lie back and enjoy it."
14) Gandhiji's rejection of modern birth control methods to curb population. What was acceptable to him was the one he himself practised-continence. He refused to make allowance for human frailty.
I never considered Gandhiji had anything to teach me about nonviolence, ends and means, detachment (nishkama karma), com- passion and loving one's enemies, because these were preached and practised far more eloquently about 2,000 years ago by Jesus Christ. G.K. Chesterton once said, "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it had been found difficult and never
Mahatma Gandhi 2 9
tried" On a smaller scale, this is how I felt about Gandhiji. J could never have been a follower of Gandhiji *s however much I tried. In fact I did not want to try.
While Gandhiji's opposition to the partition of India was heroic, he was unrealistic considering the past, including some actions of his own, that contributed to it. No wonder the Congress Working Committee passed a resolution absolving him of respon- sibility for the decision agreeing to partition.
The last phase of Gandhiji's life constituted his finest hour more especially the last month of his earthly existence (January 1948). He was exercised over two matters:
1) For weeks, representatives of Muslims had been asking him for advice as to whether they should risk death or give up the struggle and migrate to Pakistan, Gandhiji's advice was, "Stay and risk death rather than run away." Delhi and surrounding areas were overflowing with Hindu and Sikh refugees crying for vengeance on all Muslims staying in India. They had seized mosques and Muslim homes all over the city and surrounding areas. Gandhiji wanted them to return those homes to their Muslim owners and go back to their camps.
2) The Indian Cabinet decided to withhold payment of the partition debt of Rs 550 million to Pakistan. The Cabinet did not want to disturb the already disturbed public opinion by giving Pakistan the money which was likely to be used to pay for arms which would be used against India in conditions existing at that time. Lord Mountbatten feared that the decision to withhold payment might drive a desperate and bankrupt Jinnah to war. The Cabinet refused to listen to Mountbatten. Gandhiji considered the Cabinet decision as immoral.
On these two issues Gandhiji's last fast (13 to 18 January 1948) took place, Sardar Patel tried to argue with Gandhiji about the paymeht of Rs 550 million to Pakistan. Gandhiji's only reply was, "You are not the man I once knew." (Gandhiji was deeply dis- tressed at two speeches Patel delivered during the previous two months at public meetings in Lucknow and Jaipur severely critici- zing him.) Within three days of Gandhiji's fast the Government of India announced that it had ordered immediate payment of the amount to Pakistan.
On the 18th, representatives of militant Sikhs, Muslims, Chris- tians, Parsis, Harijans, Sadhus, Hindu Mahasabha and RSS stood
30. Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
by GandhijVs beside and gave the undertaking to preserve com- munal peace not only in Delhi but also throughout India. The High Commissioner of Pakistan was also present.
Gandhiji could be devastating in his comments about people. One of his undated letters to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, who gave it to me as a present, read:
You have asked my opinion about Govind Das after having done the mischief. I have bitter experiences about him. He is ambitious, vain, vulgar, crooked and unreliable. His ventures have resulted in losses. This is the opinion of those who have had dealings with him. I know him well He used to be like a son to me. I used to think well of him. But I soon discovered that he was a schemer. Now he rarely comes near me. I am sorry, but such is my experience. 1 hope you haven't dropped much.
Nehru once expressed the view that Gandhiji's approach to events was feminine, that is, intuitive, and was more of a reaction than the result of logical reasoning. An extract from Nehru's letter dated 3 June 1942, addressed to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur reads:
I was glad to see Bapu and have a talk with him. This cleared up some matters, but I should like to see much more of him and find out exactly what is in his mind. I find his approach to events is rather feminine, if I may say so. That is to say it is intuitive and is more of a reaction than the result of logical reasoning. Much can be said for this, but it is a risky business sometimes.
As everyone knows, Nehru was the draftsman of the Congress regardless of who was its President. Practically all its resolutions and correspondence with British authorities were drafted by him. Below is a letter to Lord Pethick Lawrence dated 6 May 1946, drafted by Nehru and corrected by Gandhiji, for Congress Presi- dent Maulana Azad to sign:
My colleagues and I followed with care the proceedings of the conference yesterday and tried to understand what our conver- sations were leading us to. I confess to feeling somewhat mysti- fied and disturbed at the vagueness of our talks and some of
Page 31
Hansr Villa, Simla.
June, 3, 1942.
I got your letter in Delhi and I nave now received your second letter here.
I an returning Dharam Yash Dev'a letter. I do not myself see any point in his filing a case; but then I do not know all the facts, especially what Bevowr said. There is no difficulty about
finding a lawer in Allahabad they are plenty all over there.
When we were in Kulu the packing case containing, the clock for Indu reached us. Some bright person had forwarded it from Allahabad. Anyhow, it has come back with me now. Indu and Firoz have gone to Kashmir.
I was glad to see 3apu and have a talk with him- This cleared up some matters, but I should like to see much more of him and find out exactly what is In his nind. I find nia approach to events is rather \j feminine, if 1 may say so. That is to say it is iit- | L tuitivo and is more of a reaction than the result
of logical reasoning, iftjca can be said for this, | but it is a risky business soraetiies.
I expect i shall go to him in another two or • three days- L
.................................
32 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
the assumptions underlying them. While we would like to asso- ciate ourselves with every effort to explore ways and means of finding a bajis for agreement, we must not deceive ourselves, the Cabinet Mission or the representatives of the Muslim League into the belief that the way the Conference has so far pro- ceeded furnishes hope of success. Our general approach to the questions before us was stated briefly in my letter to you of April 28. We find that this approach has been largely ignored and a contrary method has been followed. We realise that some assumptions have to be made in the early stages as otherwise there can be no progress. But assumptions which ignore or run contrary to fundamental issues are likely to lead to misunder- standings during the later stages.
In my letter of April 28, I stated that the basic issue before us was that of Indian independence and the consequent with- drawal of the British army from India, for there can be no independence so long as there is a foreign army on Indian soil. We stand for the independence of the whole of India now and not in the distant or near future. Other matters are subsidiary to this and can be fully discussed and decided by the Constituent Assembly.
At the Conference yesterday I rerTerred to this again and we were glad to find that you and your colleagues, as well as the other members of the conference, accepted Independence as the basis of our talks. It was stated by you that the Constituent Assembly would finally decide about the nexus or other relation- ship that might be established between a free India and England. While this is perfectly true, it does not affect the position now, and that is the acceptance of Indian independence now.
If that is so, then certain consequences inevitably follow. We felt yesterday that there was no appreciation of these con- sequences. A Constituent Assembly is not going to decide the question of independence; that question must be and, we take it, has been decided now. That Assembly will represent the will of the free Indian nation and give effect to it. It is not going to be bound by any previous arrangements. It has to be preceded by a Provisional Government, which must function, as far as possible, as a Government of free India, and which should under- take to make all arrangements for the the transitional period.
33.
34 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
In our discussions yesterday repeated references were made to 'groups' of provincesjunctioning together, and it was even suggested that such^group would have an executive and legis- lative machinery. This method of grouping has not so far been discussed by us but still our talks seemed to presume all this. I should like to make it very clear that we are entirely opposed to any executive or legislative machinery for a group of provinces or units of the Federation. That will mean a sub-federation, if not something more, and we have already told you that we do not accept this. It would result in creating three layers of executive and legislative bodies, an arrangement which will be cumbrous, static and disjointed, leading to continuous friction. We are not aware of any such arrangement in any country.
We are emphatically of opinion that it is not open to the Conference to entertain any suggestions for a division of India. If that is to come, it should come through the Constituent Assembly free of any influence of the present Paramount Power.
Another point we wish to make clear is that we do not accept the proposal for parity as between groups in regard to the exe- cutive or the legislature. We realise that everything possible should be done to remove fears and suspicions from the mind of every group and community. But the way to do this is not by unreal methods which go against the basic principles of demo- cracy on which we hope to build up our constitution.
Below is the draft of a letter from Nehru dated 12 June 1946, addressed to Viceroy Lord Wavell as corrected by Gandhiji:
I am sorry for the slight delay in answering your letter of today's date. Your invitation to me to see you today at 5 p.m. in order to confer with you and Mr. Jinnah about the Interim Govern- ment placed me in a somewhat difficult position. I would gladly meet you at any time, but our official spokesman in regard to such matters is naturally our President, Maulana Azad. He can speak and confer authoritatively, which I cannot do. It is there- fore proper that he should be in charge on our behalf of any authoritative conversations that might take place. But since you have asked me to come I shall do so. I hope however that you will appreciate my position and that I can only talk without
35.
36. Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
authority, which vests in our President and the Working Com- mittee.
Many people believe that it was Nehru who first referred to- Gandhiji as "Father of the Nation." It is incorrect. It was Safojini Naidu who did. When Gandhiji briskly walked to the rostrum of the Asian Relations Conference in New Delhi (28 March to 2 April 1947), Sarojini Naidu, who presided over the conference, announced in her commanding voice, "the Father of the Nation.'* There was an anticlimax to this— uncharitable people began to call Gandhiji's son Devadas Gandhi, "the Nation."
It was again Sarojini Naidu who, in another context, called Gandhiji "the Micky Mouse."
I have pondered over the figure of the three monkeys Gandhiji kept in front of him. "Speak no evil" is noble but "see no evil" and "hear no evil" appeared to me as ill-considered and unprofit- able propositions. Imagine a situation in the Rajya Sabha where the Chairman, all the MPs, and the pressmen in the gallery have closed their ears, and Bhupesh Gupta alone is available to speak. It will be a tragedy. The audience will miss the most pleasant voice and the public will miss the daily quota of his inimitable pearls of wisdom the next morning.
Throughout his life Nehru had what might be called a "father complex." This was very pronounced in his attitude and approach to Gandhiji. Nehru opened his heart almost completely to Gandhiji and discussed with him practically everything. After Gandhiji's death, Nehru had no one to whom he could open his heart. Con- sequently he got compartmentalized. He discussed several matters with Sardar Patel and Rajaji, some with Maulana Azad, Govind Ballabh Pant, Radhakrishnan and Gopalaswami Ayyangar. They were all men older than him. As Prime Minister, Nehru never summoned them; whenever he had something to discuss with them, he would go to their houses.
Death by assassination claimed Gandhiji at 5.17 p.m. on Friday, 30 January 1948. , Some found it a parallel to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and called it the second crucifixion. Immediately after the assassination, the telephone rang at 17 York Road. I took it. The call was from Biria House announcing Gandhiji's assassina- tion. The caller thought that Nehru would be at home at that time; but he was still in his office at the Commonwealth Relations
Mahatma Gandhi
37
SEE £ ™ at - l *—*«-• «■ «• - he As Nehru was about to leave Birla House for the All Mi. Radio to make a broadca s t and announce the Zt ring^ewst the Indian people, he spotted me in the crowd and beckoned to me I managed to reach him by pushing through the crowd He asked me to stay with him; he was shattered and trembSg fa "e car Nehru noticed that I was about to teU him sometS' He at once placed his hand on mine to silence ilTShta
Sf l- s t W thl" P d Wit S ^ 8hUnto the ^o from where S
spoxe. 1 sat there, dumb. And Nehru made his hnVf h»»~ r Z-
ate that nUl ^ aW a ° y ° f * at " York *<»«
Late at night Vincent Sheean,. the noted American author and
^togmshed journalist, came to see me. He was wiping iL^a
« "wi j.\drenara mce. The moment he arrived tiW* h*
He is the author of a biography of Gandhiji, Lead Kindly Light I
2,Xr ^ t00 V eaVe ° f Vince * *«»^ rfhed back to the house in case Nehru wanted me
A few days after Gandhiji's assassination, Sarojini^aidu took
ft feW Qi r Pin8Pe0 f " y SayiDg ' " That «=« the oS U d ^h ft for him, did you want him to die of indigestion?"
wTSEZniff"? KaUr to ' d me that the reaSOD Wh * GanaW i i cLnverltn w* S Q P T er D me f in8 * that he was '" •» animated conversation w,th Sardar Patel. They were discussing Nehru's note
dtod 6 January 1948, copies of which were distrfbnted only to Gandhui and Patel. The full text of the note isgivenin Aonend v
ttat had r!nH? CeS T? Pate1 ' Rajkumari A" 1 * Ka » r «"ld ™ tbat had Gandhij! not been assassinated that day, Sardar Patel
would most probably have been asked by Gandhm to feave the Cabinet and remain with him.
Gandhiji's assassination made Nehru and Patel to sink their differences and to work together.
The idea of changing the name of Albuquerque Road to
SSSKSL? January Road) - afe * F ™ h «^
Page 38.
Page 39 - Mahatma Gandhi 39
About six months after the assassination I quietly opened the door of the Prime Minister's office in the secretariat and found Nehru with head bowed and weeping, tears rolling down his cheeks. I quietly withdrew and closed the door without Nehru noticing me. I knew he was weeping for his beloved Bapu.
6 Lord Mountbatten and "Freedom at Midnight"
In 1972 1 received a letter from Lord Mountbatten requesting me to see Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. I knew that Mountbatten had given the two writers recorded interviews for thirty hours. Subsequently Larry Collins saw me twice. During these meetings Collins pointedly asked me about some matters Mountbatten had revealed to him. I mildly contradicted Mountbatten on two or three counts. It appears that Collins reported these to Mountbatten at about the time the book Freedom at Midnight was published. And Mountbatten went on the BBC. The text of his interview was publi- shed in the Listener, 30 October 1975. As many in India may not have seen the Listener, I quote below the relevant extracts:
I went to Simla for the simple reason that after the Punjab Boundary Force had been divided, which was at the end of August, the beginning of September, I had nothing more to do. I was only the constitutional head, I wanted to go away from Delia' to show the country that their government was in sole power in Delhi, and I was just the man to countersign their orders. Then after two or three days, my old friend V.P. Menon, the best of my Indian staff, rang me up and said: 'The troubles are spreading to Delhi, the capital is at risk, you must come back at once', I said: 'Who says so?' He said: 'The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister'. 'Well', I said, 'I am not coming'. 'Why not?' I said: 'I have come here expressly to show to the world that they are in charge of their own country; I don't want to come and appear to be breathing down their necks. I will come later on'. He said: 'Oh, then, don't bother. If you can't come within 24 hours, don't bother to come at all. It is all over; we shall have lost India'. I finally said: «VP, you are an old swine, you have persuaded me'.
Lord Mountbatten and "Freedom at Midnight" 41
I came down at once. I went straight round to Government House, and there were the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister waiting for me. They told me how serious the situation -was, and they said; 'Will you take over the country?' I said: *How can I? You have just taken over'. 'Yes, but we are versed in the arts of agitation, not administration. We can't do it by ourselves. You must come back'. I saw they were serious. I said: *Well, I will help you on one condition, that we find a way of disguising the fact that it is I who am running India. We must make it appear that it is you. And we must keep this a secret, certainly in our lifetimes, for your own good and reputation'.
I said: 'We will form an emergency committee. I will choose the people to put on it, and the first meeting will take place at five o* clock. Call the meeting at once. I will have my own Confe- rence Secretary in British style who will take the minutes, we will move very very quickly. I want the Prime Minister on my right, the Deputy Prime Minister on my left. I will consult you and say: 'Don't you think we ought to do this?' and you will say 'Yes'. And I will say: 'But don't you think we ought to do this?' and you say 'Yes'.
I have had some recent correspondence with Mountbatten on the subject. I shall, for the present, leave the book and take on Mountbatten.
I am afraid strict veracity was never one of V.P. Menon's virtues. He rang up Mountbatten in Simla at night on 4 September 1947 on his own, without consulting either the Prime Minister or Sardar Patel. Early next morning he rushed to me and made an earnest request that I square up the Prime Minister. I asked him if there was going to be a naval battle on the Jamuna at Okhla. I advi- sed him to appraise Sardar Patel about the whole matter immediate ely. Later, I mentioned the matter to the Prime Minister who, as I expected, was furious and said he wanted to speak to Menon imme- diately on the telephone. As I knew that Menon was one of Nehru's earliest antipathies in government, I told the Prime Minister that Sardar Patel would be speaking to him on the subject. Nehru was impatient and went straight to Sardar Patel's house. Fortunately, Menon hadJeft the place by then. On his return from Sardar Patel's house, the Prime Minister told me that Sardar Patel was much annoyed with Menon; and that now the only thing left to do was
42 , Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
not to embarrass Mountbatten and do something gracious to asso- ciate him with the handling of the developing situation in Delhi which Menon had exaggerated enormously.
In his letter to me dated 14 September 1976 Mountbatten has questioned my statement that V.P. Menon had exaggerated the situ- ation enormously. "If you cannot come within 24 hours, don't bother to come at all. It is all over. We shall have lost India." If these words of Menon to Mountbatten on the telephone, on 4 September 1947 are not an exaggeration, then I do not know the meaning of exaggeration. To me these are the words of a hysterical woman. I have informed Mountbatten accordingly.
Mountbatten has admitted in his letter of 14 September 1976to me "there is little doubt therefore that though V.P. Menon misled me into believing that both the PM and his deputy wished me to return to Delhi, he had in fact consulted neither and they were only told of his action after I had agreed to return from Simla. I also believe that this accounts for the fact that when Nehru and Patel came to see me immediately after my return, they appeared to be very ill at ease"
Mountbatten has also admitted to me that as early as 1969 he definitely knew of V.P Menon misleading him. And yet in his BBC interview in October 1975 he gave his listeners the definite imp- ression that he returned from Simla at the request of Nehru and Patel. This, to say the least, is lacking in candour.
I was not present at Mountbatten's meeting witt Nehru and Patel soon after his return from Simla. Mountbatten's account of what transpired at the meeting provides amusing reading and is in keeping with Mountbatten's high sense of drama. Nehru is repor- ted to have told Mountbatten, "You have commanded millions of men." Mountbatten's Southeast Asia Supreme Command was the most neglected command of the second world war. I do not know where and when he commanded "millions of men," The Indian army within the borders of India was not under nis command. The Americans were indifferent to Mountbatten. In fact they used to call it the Jackal Command because the task of bringing Japan to book was assigned to General Douglas MacArthur. The Ameri- can interest in Southeast Asia was confined largely to supplying essential war material over the hump by air and heavy stuff by lorries to China by the India-Burma-China Road that they had constructed, maintained and protected along difficult terrain.
Page 43
19th December 1972
(VA-t^ ^Cj^w /Wa*
Monsieur Geoff roy de Courcel while he was still the French Ambassador here asked me to luncheon at his Embassy to meet Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, who formerly served on the SHAPE staff together and on leaving their respective .armies went into the most astonishing literary partnership.
I enclose a 'blurb* about them produced by their publishers whleh wili show you that they- have said millions of copies of their historical books.
The object of the Ambassador inviting roe to lunch was to persuade me to help them over the book that they have decided to do about the Transfer of Power In India.
They arc now planning to visit India in the middle of January for about a month and I would be most grateful If you would allow 'them io call on you at some mutually convenient time. If you will kindly let me know whether this la agreeable to you, I will arrange for tbem to make direct contact with you.
It is a tragedy that Pandit jl is no longer alive to see them but I have told them that no living person knows more about him, particularly during those vital years 1947 and 1948 than you. X would be really grateful for any help you can give them.
You scom to be doing a great job with the Edwlna Mounthatten Trust In India. How thrilled she would have been with all that you are doing In her memory. We are all most grateful.
With best wishes to you for 1973.
44 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
The Americans were averse to helping imperialist countries like Britain, Holland and France, to re-establish their colonial domi- nation over the vast areas of Southeast Asia. Nehru is also repor- ted to have told Mountbatten, "You are a high-level administra- tor." I have always felt that there is some truth in Lenin's saying, "Even a cook can administer a state."
I never thought that Delhi and the bifurcated Punjab constitu- ted the whole of India "to betaken over" by Mountbatten. Neither do I thmk that a constitutional Governor-General chairing a com- mittee to deal with non-controversial matters amounts to "taking over the country." The Governor-General is at once a part of the government and above it. The reputation of Nehru and Patel was not involved.
If I am asked whether Mountbatten would have been invited formally to help in the crisis, but for the situation created by V P Menon, my answer is no. After ail, Pakistan, which was in a worse position, without even a capital of its own, managed to survive
What happened in Punjab and Delhi was not unexpected. There is no doubt that the aftermath of partition was a terrible thing and the Indian people are greatly indebted to Lord and Lady Mountbatten for their services during this period They remained steadfast friends of India after their departure from this country.
Now to the book, Freedom at Midnight. The greatest blunder Mountbatten committed was to be taken in by Shaheed Suhrawar- dy and to send to the British Government the plan of Operation Balkan. Mountbatten had even discovered that Jinnah would not oppose the idea. It did not occur to Mountbatten that he should find out whether Nehru would support the idea. If he thought that he could impose it, he was sadly mistaken. I was with Nehru at the Viceregal Lodge in Simla early in May 1947 when Mountbatten suddenly got a "hunch" to informally consult Nehru belatedly on Operation Balkan. Nehru's reaction was understandably violent; and I was with him when he stormed into Krishna Menon's room past midnight. Mountbatten had to do his homework all over again. Nehru almost lost faith in Mountbatten and the latter had to restore it. The amusing thing is that Mountbatten conveniently forgot all about his blunder and has glorified his "hunch" !
Freedom at Midnight has referred to Gandhiji's relations with Manu at Noakhali. Apparently the authors did not know that this
Lprd Mountbatten and "Freedom at Midnight" 45
aspect of the great man's experiment with Truth started long years before while his wife Kasturba was still alive. Kasturba had panted permission to Gandhiji for this. All the women in Gandhi- ji s entourage were involved in this, including the late Rajkumari Amnt Kaur who spoke to me freely and frankly about it. Gandhi- ji confided in Rajkumari Amrit Kaur that more than once, during the experiments, evil thoughts entered his mind. Most of Gandhiii's principal colleagues privately protested, without success, against this practice. All of them finally appealed to Nehru to persuade Gandhiji o give it up. Nehru stoutly refused to interfere in such an intensely personal matter. Pyarelal has written about it and we Indians accept what he says. This experiment is not to be under- taxen by ordinary mortals.
Page 46
47 Admiral of the Fleet, The Right Honourable, The Earl
Mountbatten of Burma, KG, PC, GCB, OM,
GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, FRS
Tall and handsome, conscious of his lineage, Lord Mountbatten arrived in Delhi as Viceroy, Governor-General and Crown Repre- sentative on 22 March 1947 with a mission to demolish the empire of India of which his great grandmother, Queen Victoria, was the first Empress. He had all the advantages of birth.
Looking back in perspective, I am often wonder struck how the gigantic operation of the transfer of power in the Indian sub- continent from British to Indian hands was carried out in less than five months,
Mountbatten was a human dynamo where work was concerned. He possessed the German thoroughness reinforced by his naval career. Meticulous in his attention to detail, Mountbatten had the remarkable capacity to get the best out of his well chosen staff. Each member was made to feel that he was a partner in a common endeavour. Mountbatten had a well ordered mind and great organizing capacity.
Mountbatten was the blue-eyed boy of Winston Churchill, who extracted from the Americans the job of Supreme Commander, Southeast Asia, for him. His experience in Southeast Asia, including India, during wartime made him a liberal despite his aristocratic background and loyalty to Winston Churchill. Lady Mountbatten was more of a liberal endowed with humanism and unbounded compassion. They both had the rare quality of evoking the trust of common people. Jinnah was, of course, an exception.
A grateful nation offered the last Viceroy the first Governor- Generalship of independent India. The government and people of Britain, including the King, were pleased about it. The Mount-
battens were vastly touched by this gesture. Mountbatten was sworn in as the constitutional Governor-General on 15 August 1947. Before Mountbatten came to India as Viceroy, he was given the title of Viscount. On the eve of the independence of India, his title was raised to Earl. Mountbatten was rather too fond of titles and decorations. After several months as Governor-General of free India, Mountbatten persuaded Nehru to send a humble duty submission to the King to confer on him the title of Marquis. I tried to dissuade the PM by saying that Mountbatten was indulg- ing in wishful thinking and that the King would turn down the proposal as such quick enhancement of titles was not normally allowed. The PM said, "What does it matter? We don't lose anything," and the submission was sent off. The PM received a negative reply from Lord Lascelles, Private Secretary to the King.
One thing about Mountbatten I could never understand — the amount of time he spent on his family tree. He revelled in this exer- cise almost as an elevating hobby. He took delight in reeling out names of his aunts, sisters, cousins, nephews and nieces who were members or royal families, past and present, throughout Europe and Russia. It is a formidable list. It all came out of his German ancestry. As Nepal is an exporter of soldiers, Germany used to be an exporter of princes and princesses. During the early part of the first world war, Bernard Shaw said, "It is a war of the German Kaiser, the German Czar of Russia, the German King of England, and Monsieur Poincaire." Soon Mountbatten's father Prince Battenberg was renamed Marquis of Milford Haven, and King George V renamed his House from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor which prompted the Kaiser to say in jest that Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor would henceforth be known in Germany as the Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The young Louis Bettenberg adopted the English equivalent Louis Mountbatten. Mountbatten continues to be a prominent member of the Society of Genealogists in London.
In May 1948 Mountbatten invited Nehru to spend a few quiet days with him and his family at the Viceroy's Retreat at Mashobra in Simla. I was the only one to accompany Nehru to Mashobra on that trip. While we were there, no pompous formality was observed. Mountbatten used to drive us personally up the Hindustan-Tibet road to enjoy a picnic lunch at a rugged but agreeable place called Narkanda. He also drove us to Kufri
48 Reminiscences qf the Nehru Age
One evening, after dinner at Mashobra, seven persons, Lord Mountbatten, Captain Narendra Singh, The: Lady Pamela, M. O. Mathai, Lady Mountbatten, Jawaharlal Nehru and Captain Scott,, sat around a circular table sipping coffee. Mountbatten talked about the folly of believing rumours. He also said that truth can get distorted beyond recognition if it .passes through several mouths. He asked all of us to join him in playing a sketching game which he called Dame Rumour. The figure to be sketched was that of a woman sitting down and playing with her dog in front of a chair, Mountbatten would start drawing one line at a time. This was supposed^ to be copied by the next person. The third person was supposed to copy from the second and not to look at any other person's sketch; and so it was to be until the last person around the table had finished his sketch. Line after line was drawn at random and copied strictly according to instructions, I was the fourth person and my sketch turned out to be horrible; Lady Mountbatten's looked like nothing oa earth; and the last man, Scott's, was the horror of horrors.
Before we retired, Mountbatten collected all the seven sketches and turned to me with a smile and said, "I know you collect all kinds- of important documents and manuscripts; keep this junk also.'* These sketches (p. 49) have remained with me all these years.
After being Viceroy and Governor-General of India, Mount- batten could have gone as British Ambassador to Washington; but he preferred to return to the navy in October 1948, in command of a cruiser squadron in Malta, because he wanted to achieve his lifelong ambition of becbming the navy's First Sea Lord, an office from wmch his father was cruelly hounded out at the outbreak of the first world war i?7 the hysterical public outcry and the press because of his German origin, In Malta, Mountbatten, who as Viceroy had ranked second only to the King Emperor, ranked thirteenth ia Malta's order of precedence.
Mountbatten achieved his ambition and more. On 18 April 1955 he became the First Sea Lord with the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, and in 1958 he was promoted as Chief of the Defence Staff. He retired from active service in 1965. Mountbatten had offers of Cabinet ministership both from the Labour and Conservative governments in Britain. He once told me that he never wanted to enter murky politics mostly because he disliked it but partly because of his nearness to royalty.
Page 49
£0 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Lady Mountbatten, the rich heiress, died in Borneo on 21 Feb- ruary 1960 and was buried at sea, as she had willed, as a tribute to her husband's naval career. Appropriately enough the Indian frigate frishu! escorted the British frigate Wakeful which carried her body to the sea off Spithead.
Ever since they left this country on 21 June 1948, the Mount- battens remained genuine friends of India.
Mountbatten has an almost insane desire to loom larger than life in history. He would never write anything about himself; but would take infinite pains to encourage and help others to write about him. And, of course, he lacks the detachment of an historian's mind.
It will be a great day for Mountbatten, the genealogist, if he is alive to watch his grandnephew, Prince Charles, ascending the British throne, when the name of the House of Windsor will stand changed to the House of Mountbattens.
8 Churchill Nehru and India
Winston Churchill had two pronounced blind spots— India and the Suffragette movement. Aneurin Bevan, the fiery Welshman, had this in mind when lie flayed Churchill once in parliament and called him a frozen adolescent.
When the first woman, Lady Astor, took her seat in the House of Commons, Churchill had an uncomfortable and strange sensa- tion. He told some of his friends, "I feel a woman had invaded my bathroom where I found myself only with a sponge to defend myself."
Churchill's India was the land he knew as a subaltern. He could not conceive of an India without the British. In his speech in the House of Commons on 6 March 1947, during the debate on "the question of transferring power in India to Indian hands," an agita- ted and emotional Churchill, as the leader of the opposition, inter alia, said:
The third mistake was the dismissal of the eminent Indians com- posing the Viceroy's Council, and handing over the Government of India to Mr Nehru. The government of Mr Nehru has been a complete disaster, and a great degeneration and demoralization in the already weakened departmental machinery of the Govern- ment of India has followed from it. Between 30,000 and 40,000 people have been slaughtered in warfare between the two princi- pal religions. Corruption is growing apace. They talk of giving India freedom, but freedom has been restricted since the Nehru government has come to power. Communism is growing so fast that it has been found necessary to raid and suppress Communist centres, which, in our broad British tolerance, we do not do here and have never done in India. The steps to freedom so far have been marked, by every degree in which British control is relaxed, by
52 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
restriction of the ordinary individual, whatever his political views. It was a cardinal mistake to entrust the government to Mr Nehru. He has good reason to be the most bitter enemy of any connection between India and the British Commonwealth. Such was the situation before the latest plunge which the govern- ment have taken. This plunge, added to all that has gone before, makes it our duty to sever ourselves from the Indian policy of the government and to disclaim all responsibility for the conse- quences which will darken and redden the coming years. . . .
Everyone knows that the fourteen month's time limit is fatal to any ordinary transference of power, and I am bound to say that the whole thing wears the aspect of an attempt by the government to make use of brilliant war figures to cover up a melancholy and disastrous transaction. . . .
In handing over the Government of India to the so-called political classes, you are handing over to men of straw of whom in a few years no trace will remain.
A conference of Dominion Prime Ministers took place in London between 22 October and 21 October 1948. British Prime Minister Clement Attlee presided. Until then it used to be called the British Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. At this conference in October 1 948, which was attended for the first time by the Prime Ministers of India, Pakistan and Ceylon, the word British just drop- ped out without any legal step being taken to effect the change. From then on it was just the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Con- ference. Also, many British non- official institutions dropped the word Empire which was substituted by Commonwealth.
I was in London with Prime Minister Nehru in October 1948 for the Prime Ministers' Conference. We were staying at the Claridges Hotel. One morning an agitated secretary from India House, attac- hed to our delegation office, came to me and said that the leader of the opposition, Winston Churchill, was on the telephone and wished to speak to Prime Minister Nehru. I took the telephone in the Prime Minister's sitting room. Churchill started speaking as if to Nehru and I let him continue for a couple of minutes. He was very polite, almost to the point of being humble, and pleaded that Nehru should have lunch with him the next day and ended up by asking, "Won't you please make it possible Mr Nehru?" At that moment Nehru came in from his bath. I gave him the telephone and told
Churchill, Nehru and India 53
him briefly what had happened and added that he could easily put off the rather unimportant lunch engagement the next day and accept Churchill's invitation. Nehru spoke to him for a brief while over the telephone and accepted the invitation. On his return from lunch the next day, Nehru told me that there was no important talk. All that happened was that Churchill was trying to make up in his own way.
Immediately after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth IF, a con- ference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers took place in London from 3 June to 9 June 1953. Winston Churchill, as Prime Minister of Britain, presided. As usual I attended it. During my time these conferences took place in the Cabinet room of 10 Downing Street. Now they are public meetings in some public building.
As Churchill walked into the room, his presence was immediately felt in sharp contrast to Clement Attlee. One sensed "here is a big man." He spoke with a lisp and a slight stutter. Churchill could not achieve his ambition of becoming a great orator; but he became a master of the written word and a coiner of phrases. Whenever he was pleased with a phrase that he had coined, he liked to keep on repeating it. Churchill considered Lloyd George and Aneurin Bevan, both Welshmen, as great orators. Stating that an orator should be spontaneous, he once said, "When that fellow Bewngets up, he does not know what he is going to say and where he will end; but I have every word written out in front of me." But Churchill was not wholly free from plagiarism. Here are some examples:
Referring to Hitler's threat that England's neck would be wrung like a chicken, Churchill, in his famous speech to the Canadian parliament, used the phrase "some chicken, some neck!" He was parodying Lawrence of Arabia.
Churchill's first speech in the House of Commons after becom- ing Prime Minister in 1940 contained the phrase "blood, toil, sweat and tears." This was lifted from Byron's poem "The Age of Bronze.*'
"Hell knows no fury as a woman scorned." This is downright stealing of William Congreve's couplet, "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned/Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."
Churchill's phrase "iron curtain" is not original. The words first appeared in Ethel Snowden's Through Bolshevik Russia in 1920. Its wider application to countries within the Soviet sphere of influence originated with Goebbel's leading article in the issue of the weekly,
54 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Das Reich, dated 25 February 1945. In that he had said:
Should the German people lay down its arms, the agreement between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin would allow the Soviets to occupy all Eastern and Southeastern Europe together with the major part of the Reich. An iron curtain would at once descend on this territory which, including the Soviet Union, would be of enormous proportions.
Nehru has never been accused of plagiarism.
Churchill attached great importance to the correct use of words. Once, at the dinner table, Churchill told his wife, "You ought not to say very delicious. 'Delicious' alone expresses everything you wish to say. You would not say 'very unique'." In this con- nection LordMoran says that Churchill once thought of including the following in a speech at a university:
A man called Thompson went to a surgeon and asked him to castrate him. The surgeon demurred; but when the man persis- ted and argued, he eventually agreed and took him into hospi- tal. The morning after the operation Thompson woke up in great discomfort. He noticed that the man in the next bed was in pain and was groaning. He leaned towards him over the side of the bed. 'What did they do to you' he asked. The man replied 'I have been circumcised'. 'Good Lord' Thompson exclaimed, 'that is the word I couldn't remember when the surgeon asked me what I wanted done'.
One evening Churchill was sitting on his bed and shouting for his hotwater bottle. The valet appeared. Churchill asked him where the hotwater bottle was. The valet replied, "You are sitting on it Sir; not a good idea." Churchill smiled and replied, "It is not an idea but a coincidence."
Atone session of the conference of June 1953 Churchill became emotional about the Indian army and used superlative language for it. "Any day a couple of divisions of the Indian army for me, Mr Nehru," he said.
The last session of the conference was, as usual, devoted to the finalization of the communique. The Prime Ministers had before them a draft prepared by senior officials of the delegations. It was
Churchill, Nehru and India 55
fascinating to see Churchill and Nehru, two masters of the correct use of words, in action. Whatever changes Nehru suggested were accepted by Churchill by his murmurs of approval.
Outside the conference, Churchill went out of his way to hum- our Nehru. He was instrumental in arranging a dinner for Haro- yians in honour of Nehru, Both Churchill and Nehru were products of Harrow Public School.
One morning at 10 Downing Street, British Cabinet Secretary Lord Norman Brook took me aside and told me that at a private function the previous evening a prominent person spoke disparag- ingly of Nehru, Churchill at once rebuked him sharply and said, "Remember he is a man who has conquered fear and hate."
The day before our leaving London after the conclusion of the conference, Churchill sent a brief handwritten letter to Nehru saying, "Remember what I told you— you are the Light of Asia." What a transformation in Churchill!
On 3 February 1955 Lord Moran asked Churchill about Nehru. Churchill said, "I get on well with him. I tell him he has a great role to play as leader of free Asia against communism." Asked how Nehru took it T Churchill replied, "Oh, he wants to do it, and I want him to do it. He has a feeling that communists are against him* and that is apt to change people's opinion."
Contrary to the general impression, neither Churchill nor Nehru were widely-read men. They wrote and spoke more than they read in their lives.
Churchill and Nehru shared a common allergy towards the American Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. In private con- versation Churchill called Dulles a "dull, clumsy bastard" and hoped he would disappear. At another time he said of Dulles, "This fellow preaches like a Methodist priest, and his bloody text is always that nothing can come out of meeting with Malenkov." And at another time he observed, "Dulles is clever enough to be stupid on a rather large scale." Nehru took delight in repeating "Dull, Duller, Dulles:" He once observed, "Krishna Menon is my answer to Dulles." This came out of Nehru's abundant vanity. Nehru once told me that he knew he had an ample measure of vanity, hut that he was also capable of humility.
Very seldom did Nehru use swear words. I have heard him use "bloody" only once— about a person whose identity I shall not
56 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
disclose. But to Churchill this and other choice epithets came naturally and prolifically.
Churchill was not given to self-criticism; neither was he vain. Nehru was given to self-criticism; and he had self-confessed vanity.
Ever since he became Prime Minister during England's darkest hour in 1940, Churchill never slept without the aid of sedatives. Until two years before his death, Nehru's was a singularly unme- dicated body.
Churchill was a great admirer of Napoleon. He kept in his bedroom at Chartwell two small sculptured heads— one of Napo- leon and the other of Nelson. One day, when Lord Moran was looking at Napoleon's head, Churchill remarked, "Ah, what was the most beautiful countenance from which genius ever looked upon mankind. He was a very wonderful man. I put him after Julius Caesar. Yes, he is at the top." Nehru, in his Glimpses of World History, has drawn a rather superficial picture of Napoleon about whom Lord Acton said in his Cambridge Lectures on Modern History, "No intellectual exercise can be more invigorat- ing than to watch the working of the mind of Napoleon, the most entirely known as well as the ablest of historic men."
The introduction to the first of the two great works (written in 1890) that Count Albert Vandal left announced the spirit in which he intended to approach Napoleon. The subject was the relations between Napoleon and Alexander of Russia from 1807 to 1812, that is, the foreign policy from the period of the greatest power to the beginning of the disaster. For Vandal there was something fascinating and imposing about the gigantic historical figure in itself. Something which silenced criticism. With Pozzo di Borgo, one of the men who hated and admired Bonaparte most, he says that to "judge Napoleon would be like judging the universe."
Vandal felt admiration "for the genius which carried out or inspired amazing deeds, whose magical power raised to their high- est pitch those qualities of honour, audacity, obedience and dedi- cation, which are peculiar to our people, for him who, having reconciled our nation with itself, created from it an army of heroes, and for a time lifted the Frenchman above mankind."
In August 1942, in Cairo, Field Marshal Smuts spoke to Chur- chill about Mahatma Gandhi and said that "he is a man of God. You and I are mundane people. Gandhi has appealed to religious motives. You never have. That is where you have failed." Churh.h
Churchill, Nehru and India 57
chili, with a broad grin, replied, "I have made more bishops than anyone since St Augustine,"
Nehru lacked the toughness of Churchill and Churchill-type courage in adversity. He wilted in the wake of the Chinese attack on India. His health could not stand up to the mental strain. Many things which he valued crashed around him. Finally his health collapsed. The Chinese perfidy in returning evil for good hastened the death of the Man of Peace.
The last of Churchill's great speeches in the House of Commons was on the hydrogen bomb in February 1955, two months before his retirement. He wound up by saying, "All the countries of the world might feel so vulnerable that, cowed by fear, they might at last be content to live in peace. Then it may well be that by the process of sublime irony they have reached a stage in this story that safety will be the sturdy -child of terror, and survival the twin brother of annihilation." Churchill took twenty hours on the pre- paration of this speech and eight hours on checking facts.
Neither Churchill nor Nehru made use of ghost writers for their speeches as is the case in present day India. Nehru was by no means an orator; but he made several moving speeches, both extempore and written, whenever he was emotionally stirred.
After he suffered a stroke in 1953, when death seemed round the corner, Churchill confided to his famous physician, Lord Moran, not, however, without many qualifications, that he had been wrong about India. Lord Moran later commented, "But the circumstances were exceptional, for the confessional was a sick bed." And yet the last of the great imperialists had traversed a long way.
In this chapter I have drawn upon material contained in Lord Moran* s bulky book on- Churchill.
9 Nehru's Meeting with Bernard Shaw
It was at Ayot St Lawrence on Friday, 29 August 1949, when Shaw was ninety-three years old. He died the following year.
Earlier Shaw had insisted on sending his car. He wrote to the Indian High Commission in London at the bottom of a printed sheet of elaborate directions on how to get to his house at Ayot St Lawrence:
My car will be at Claridges on Friday at half past nine. It is a Rolls Royce limousine and will hold three fat passengers or four slender ones. It will be at your disposal all day, and can take you back to London or on to Romsey just as it suits you ;
There is only one taximan in London who knows the way. His telephone number is 5257. But this is only in case of accident.
I accompanied. Nehru on this trip. No one else was present. We travelled in Shaw's car. Krishna Menon's Rolls Royce limousine followed, without any passengers in it, for our return journey.
Shaw's residence was unpretentious but adequate. The meeting took place In his study. Shaw looked healthy for a man of his age; and we were to discover during the course of the meeting that his mind was alert.
During the meeting Nehru was unusually quiet and opened his mouth only once. The conversation began with Shaw referring to his meeting with Gandhiji in London in the early thirties. He said that Gandhiji sat on the floor, but gave him a chair. Shaw did not go into the details of his talk with Gandhiji. When the interview with Gandhiji was over, Shaw said that he was sent back home in a car driven by an impressive-looking Indian chauffeur with a magni- ficent turban. On alighting from the car, Shaw gave the chauffeur half a crown which the latter accepted with a smite and grace not
Nehru's Meeting with Bernard Shaw 59
normally associated with chauffeurs. Then Shaw began to chuckle and said that he later discovered that the chauffeur was in fact an Indian Maharaja! Shaw went on chuckling for some time.
Referring to the Labour government, Shaw said it had, on the whole, done well. He described Attlee as a colourless person but a good committee chairman. Shaw had a special good word for Staf- ford Cripps and referred to the latter's vegetarianism and close association with Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Shaw said that Ernest Bevin was a disaster as Foreign Secretary. According to Shaw, Bevin suffered from a total lack of the sense of history. He was con- vinced that no trade union leader was fit to be Foreign Secretary. He said that Bevin was a despot who often shouted Attlee down. Shaw expressed the view that the only person eminently qualified to be the British Foreign Secretary was Konni Zilliacus, an ultra leftist Labour MP, who was expelled from the Labour Party for welcoming the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia.
Shaw dismissed the United States as supremely immature and, as such, dangerous. He was of the firm view that the atom bomb would never be used again.
It was amusing to see Shaw rave against the government on income tax. This was nothing new. Winston Churchill said of him, "Shaw has always preached the ownership of all forms of wealth by the state; yet when the Lloyd George budget imposed for the first time the slender beginnings of the super tax, no one made a louder squawk than this already wealthy Fabian. He is at once an acquisitive capitalist and a sincere communist." Shaw went on squawking about the income tax till the end of his days. He also had a highly developed sense of business.
Shaw told Nehru that he sincerely felt that Nehru and Stalin were the only hope of the world. He ridiculed the British local coun- cils and said they were composed of duds. Shaw declared with earnestness that the parliamentary system was unsuitable and advi- sed Nehru to "try the Soviet system which is a quicker system." He firmly said that only ten per cent can govern. He laid tremendous emphasis on governing. At this stage Nehru intervened and asked, "But, Mr Shaw, who wants to govern?" Shaw's reply was, "Whe- ther you like it or not, you have to."
Shaw complained, "People call me mad; but the trouble is they do not listen to me."
Shaw related the story of an Indian, with a mouthful of a name
Page 60
SU6
MAJOR CRITICAL ESSAYS
THE QUINTESSENCE OF 1BSENISM
THE PERFECT WAGNERITE
THE SANITY OF ART
Nehru's Meeting with Bernard Shaw 61
(Professor Doraiswami Aiyar), who sent him the manuscript of a collection of his poems in English, and asked for his opinion. Shaw read the first page and came to the conclusion that the man not only did not know how to write poetry, but also how to write correct English. Nevertheless, Shaw sent him a postcard reading, "Have never seen anything like this before," Shaw began to chuckle and said, "The fool published his poems and my opinion," Shaw could not contain his laughter for some time.
Finally Shaw referred to his week's stay in Bombay, but could not recollect the dates. He said he was attracted to Jainism which, he thought, had much in common with Quakerism.
It might be mentioned here that between the two world wars Shaw had been advocating the abolition of parliamentary institutions and setting up dictatorships. In this connection Winston Churchill called him "the double-headed chameleon."
Shaw at last turned to me and asked what book I would like to have as a present. I said Dramatic Opinions and Essays. He scruti- nized me and said the book was an old one and out of print. He added, "If I have a library copy; I shall give it to you." He looked all over and could not find one. Then he asked me, "Why do you want that particular book?" I told him that when I was a college student, I moved a resolution in the College Debating Society that "we have had enough of Shakespeare," and that I had used many of the brilliant arguments in that book in support of my resolution. Shaw was all attention and eagerly asked me, "What was the result?" I said, "The resolution was thrown out; even the seconder of the resolution deserted me and voted against it." I added that I was the only one who voted for it. Shaw chuckled. Then he selec- ted the book Major Critical Essays for me, autographed it and gave it to me. For Nehru he selected the book, Sixteen Self-Sketches and' autographed it. He wrote Nehru's first name as "Jawaharial." I at once pointed out the mistake to Shaw who contested what I said. He turned round in his swivel-chair and brought out from his revolving bookcase Nehru's autobiography. Shaw discovered his mistake, looked at me with a mischievous smile and said, "Keep it like that; it sounds better!"
We then gave him some Chausa mangoes. Shaw was under the impression tfiatit was the nut which was to be eaten. At that time Shaw's housekeeper came in answer to the bell. Nehru explain- ed to both that what was to be eaten was the pulp covering the nut.
62 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Nehru also explained how the mango was to be cut and eaten.
At this time we all rose and came out. Shaw posed for photogra- phs with us.
So we said farewell to the one described by Winston Churchill as
the saint, sage and clown; venerable, profound and irrepressible; Bernard Shaw receives, if not the salutes, at least the hand-clap- pings of a generation which honours him as another link in the humanities of peoples, and as the greatest living master of letters in the English-speaking world.
We drove straight to Lord Mountbatten's house where Lady Mountbatten asked, "Did either of you succeed in putting in a word edgeways?" I said I did.
Bernard Shaw acquired the reputation of being a chatterbox rather early in life. The only instance on record when vegetarian Shaw was left tongue-tied was when he visited the laboratory of Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose in London at the turn of the century. Shaw was deeply upset to find that a cabbage had violent convulsions as it boiled to death. Shaw literally lost his power of speech and left with his head bowed low.
On my return to Claridges Hotel, I found the correspondent of a famous American newspaper waiting for me. He requested me to give him an article on our meeting with Bernard Shaw. The indu- cement was considerable. I gave him my excuses and offered to give him free an article on the matriarchal system in Kerala. He was intrigue^, stared at me and left.
10 C. Rajagopalachari
I have also referred to Rajaji in the chapter "Rajendra Prasad and Radhakrishnan."
Endowed with a razor-sharp intellect and an analytical mind, Rajaji would peel an onion,, layer after layer, to find out what an onion really was. He had the peculiar gift of alienating people. The man with the dark glasses would make most of his visitors feel that they were fools. This did not help in acquiring and retaining popularity. But he was a man of rare moral courage. He did not hesitate to part company from Gandhiji, to whom he was devoted and bound by numerous ties. He was not afraid to espouse unpopular causes.
Sarojini Naidu, in a personal talk with me, once compared Rajaji and Nehru. She said that "the Madras fox was a dry logical Adi Sankaracharya while Nehru was the noble compassionate Buddha."
Indira once related to me what her grandfather, Motilal Nehru, said of Rajaji in private. He said, "I cannot fathom what is happen- ing behind those dark glasses. I once put a poker into his head, and lo! it came out as a corkscrew." Incidentally, Rajaji never cared for Indira. He once told me, "I have known that girl as a child in her mother's arms. She has not grown since the age of two. She has nothing of the father in her."
Nehru included Rajaji in the interim government which assumed office on 2 September 1946 at the instance Of Gandhiji, even though at that time Rajaji was particularly unpopular with Congressmen. When the dominion government came on 15 August 1947, Rajaji agreed to Nehru's request to go to West Bengal as Governor, chiefly in view of the deteriorating communal situation there.
After Rajaji's exit from the office of Govern or- General, relations between Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel grew steadily strained. Nehru
64 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
did not want the deterioration to go further. He missed Gandhiji, After considerable thought he sent a personal appeal to Rajaji to come to Delhi at once. He came promptly and, after a personal talk with Nehru, agreed to join the Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio. His principal function was to hold the peace between Nehru and Patel. He was sworn in on 5 May 1950. After Pat el's death, Rajaji succeeded him as Home Minister.
Once Nehru received a personal despatch from K.M. Panikkar, who was our Ambassador in China, complaining that a senior Press Trust of India correspondent was sitting in Hong Kong and sending despatches to India datelined Peking. These despatches were unfavourable to China, containing mostly rumours and gossip. At Nehru's instance I sent for K.S. Ramachandran, head of the PTI in New Delhi, and conveyed to him Nehru's disap- proval of the unethical practice. He promised not to release to the press any further despatches from that correspondent who was subsequently withdrawn from Hong Kong. Ramachandran then told me that Rajaji had also sent for him in this connection and told him, "Look, this business of datelining Peking while sitting in Hong Kong is a dangerous thing, because the Chinese will one day produce these despatches in international forums to prove that there is freedom of the press in China. Kill all further despatches from the correspondent." The differing approaches of the two giants give an indication of their respective personalities. One was a noble lion while the other was a wily fox.
Rajaji continued to be in government until a new government was formed in the middle of 1952 after the first general elections.
Before he left Delhi I met Rajaji and had a talk with him. He told me that his plan was to write about simple things, such as advice to cyclists and drivers, against spitting on roads and public places, and the like. I smiled. Rajaji asked me, "Are you scepti- cal?" I said, "Yes. I believe all politicians are like squirrels, and you are no exception." Then I told him the Malayalam proverb: "No matter how old the squirrel is, it will never give up climbing." He laughed.
After parting from Nehru, Rajaji developed hostility towards Nehru's policies. Eventually he formed the Swatantra Party and embarked on a course of attacking Nehru's policies relentlessly. He proved to be a real squirrel. When the Chinese invasion of India took place, Rajaji said of Nehru, "He has made his bed and
€. Rajagopalaclmri 65
he must be made to lie on it." Soon after, Rajaji came to Delhi and had a personal talk with Nehru during which, surprisingly enough, he offered to join the Cabinet and help him. Not so surprisingly, Nehru changed the subject by telling him, "You are already helping me a great deal from outside." The old squirrel took the hint and left.
11 The Position of the President of India
On 30 April 1977 Jayaprakash Narayan issued a statement on the hesitation of Acting President B.D. Jatti, in spite of the Supreme Court's unanimous dismissal of the writ petition of four state governments, in signing the proclamations dissolving the assemblies of nine states in northern India where the Congress was practically wiped out in the Lok Sabha elections of March 1977. In his statement Jayaprakash Narayan said, "When President Rajendra Prasad raised some queries about the powers of the President, they were referred by Mr Nehru to jurists like Mr M.C. Setalwad, the then Attorney- General, and to Sir Alladi Krishna- swami Aiyar, both of whom opined that the President must be guided by the advice of the Council of Ministers."
Nehru did nothing of the kind. The facts are as follows: Strange- ly enough Rajendra Prasad, who had presided over the deliberations of the Constituent Assembly and was aware of the trends in that august House, developed some doubts, while sitting in Rashtrapati Bhawan, about the powers and functions of the President. This was in spite of Nehru and Ambedkar having made it abundantly clear in the Constituent Assembly that under the Constitution the President would function purely as a constitutional head acting on the advice of the Cabinet.
Rajendra Prasad informally sent for all the judges of the Supreme Court individually and asked for their opinion. They conveyed to him their initial reaction; but they declined to give him anything in writing. They told him that they would express their considered opinion only if the President formally referred the matter to the Supreme Court for advice. Rajendra Prasad did not want to do so because any such reference could only be made on the advice of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The President's Military Secretary Major-General B. Chatterjee, who was more political
The Position of the President of India 67
than military, kept me informed of the developments privately.
Then Rajendra Prasad sent for the then Attorney- General M.C. Setalvad, who later gave him a note. A copy of this note was forwarded to me privately by General Chatterjee. Setalvad had clearly stated in his note that the President did not have an exist- ence independent of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet In simple terms he virtually told Rajendra Prasad that wherever the term President occurred in the Constitution, he might as well substitute it with the term Prime Minister. I placed before Nehru the copy of Setalvad's opinion and gave him a brief account of what had been going on in Rashtrapati Bhawan. Nehru read Setalvad's opinion and gave it back to me with a smile. He was more amused than annoyed. Nehru was so sure of the constitutional position and his own personal position and prestige in the country that he chose to ignore Rajendra Prasad's aberrations.
There was no need for some newspapers to attack Jatti. He was perfectly within his rights to ask the Cabinet to reconsider the decision.
The framers of the Constitution were content with a simple statement, "There shall be a Council of Ministers, with the Prime .Minister at the head, to aid and advise the President." Nehru, with his commanding position and personality, gave content to this during his long period of seventeen years as Prime Minister and, in the process, established healthy democratic conventions.
In several judgments from 1955 onwards the Supreme Court had very clearly stated the legal position on the subject of the .powers of the President in relation to the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers,
The much-criticized 42nd Constitutional Amendment clause ad- ding, "The President shall, in the exercise of his functions act in accordance with such advice" was perhaps unnecessary though harmless. If a President is overburdened with conscience/it is always open to him to resign.
The position of the President of India is exactly the same as that of the President of the Fourth Republic of France before the advent ol De Gaulle and the establishment of the Fifth Republic.
Noted British historian Sir Henry Maine wrote, "The old Kings of France reigned and governed; the King of England reigns but does not govern; the President of the United States governs but
68 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
does not reign. It has been reserved for the President of the French Republic neither to reign nor to govern."
Clemenceau, who was French Prime Minister during the closing stages of the first world war, once declared that there were two things for which he could never find any reason— the prostate gland and the French presidency.
^ Abbe Lantaigne, more devastating in his characterizations, once dismissed the presidency from his writings as "an office with the sole virtue of impotence." "Its incumbent," he said, "must neither act nor think; if he does either he stands to lose his throne."
Yet the fact remains that the President of the Republic is the supreme representative of the executive power of France. He is the head of state and holds the highest political honour that a nation can bestow. He sits on the thrones of the Bourbons and the Bonapartes. He is the titular Commahder-in- Chief of the armed forces on land, at sea, and in the air. He is the first citizen of the republic. It is true that the office does not carry powers commensu- rate with its dignity, but it is nonetheless a post which the most eminent statesmen of France have sought.
12 Rajendra Prasad and Radhakrishnan
When the interim government was formed on 2 September 1946, Nehru included Rajendra Prasad on the Council as Member in charge of Food and Agriculture. He was more interested in develop- ing pinjarapoles (cow ashrams) than in the development of food production.
Later in the year, in consultation with Gandhiji and Sardar Patel, Nehru, as Congress President, decided to elevate Rajendra Prasad as President of the Constituent Assembly which was to meet on 9 December 1947. Nehru made it known to Rajendra Prasad, whom he called Rajendra Babu, that well before his election as President of the Constituent Assembly he should resign from government because Nehru felt that the President of a sovereign body like the Constituent Assembly should not be a person holding a post subordinate to him in government. But Rajendra Prasad resisted. Ultimately Gandhiji intervened. He sent for Rajendra Prasad and spoke to him bluntly in the presence of one of his secretaries, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. Gandhiji told him, "I had thought that you learned something from me. I was mistaken. You have no right to hold the two offices. In fact you should give up everything and join me." Soon after, Rajendra Prasad sent in a letter of resignation (p. 70) to Nehru couched in such language as to give the impression that it was a spontaneously voluntary act.
Before the republic came into existence, Rajaji was sitting on the throne of the Governor-General of India, once occupied by Warren Hastings, Ripon, Curzon and a host of others. He conducted him- self with great dignity and simplicity, and foreigners, particularly the diplomatic corps, were impressed by him. Nehru wanted Rajaji to be the first President. He was anxious to establish a convention that normally, if the Prime Minister was from north India the President should be from the south, and vice- versa. In fact, Nehru
70 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
impulsively offered the presidency to Rajaji. Nehru did not like the idea of Rajendra Prasad as President because he was very conser- vative, traditionalist and somewhat obscurantist. He tried to dissuade Rajendra Prasad by offering him the offices of a Cabinet Minister and chairmanship of the Planning Commission. Rajendra Prasad was not interested in the offer. Nehru soon discovered that the bulk of Congress MPs were opposed to Rajaji. Sardar Patel appeared neutral though his preference was known. It was not for Rajaji/ If Nehru had stood firm, Rajaji would have been elected; but Nehru disliked taking any important issue to the breaking point. So,
71. Rajendra Prasad and Madhakrishnan 7 1
ultimately he beat a retreat, leaving Rajaji with an aggrieved feel- ing of having been let down.
Thus Rajendra Prasad became the first President of the Republic on 26 January 1950. Alas, the first act of the first President of the Republic was the shifting of all Muslim servants from his wing in Rashtrapati Bhawan. Nehru was annoyed. He asked me to get all these Muslims transferred to the government hospitality organiza- tion in exchange for Hindu servants. The displaced Muslim servants were detailed to duty in the Prime Minister's house even though the security authorities were unhappy about it.
Another thing which annoyed Nehru was Rajendra Prasad's pilgrimage to Kashi to wash the feet of sadhus. Feet-touching then onwards became sanctified. If Nehru hated anything, it was feet-touching.
Yet another thing which made Nehru unhappy was Rajendra Prasad's visit to Somnath to instal the Shivalingam in the newly built temple on the site of the famous one which Moslem invaders had destroyed. Nehru had information that the Food and Agricul- ture Minister K. M. Munshi, with the connivance of Sardar Patel, had raised the sugar price and let the mill owners keep half of the price-rise and give the rest for the construction of the Somnath temple. The Sugar Mill Owners Association was only too happy to perpetrate this fraud on the people. This information came to Nehru at a rather late stage when it was not possible to retrieve the situation.
The President, under the transitional provisions of the Consti- tution, inherited all the financial allotments enjoyed by the Viceroy, including the very substantial entertainment allowance. Successive Presidents have resisted all attempts by parliament to legislate for the emoluments and perquisites of the President. After about five years in office by Rajendra Prasad, the Military Secretary to the President sent me a private note . to say that Rajendra Prasad had not spent more than Rs 225 per month on entertainment and that the rest of the grant was drawn by Rajendra Prasad and invested in small savings in the names of his numerous grandchildren. I showed the note to the Prime Minister who incautiously mentioned it at an informal meeting of the Cong- ress Working Committee. Jagjivan Ram reported the matter to Rajendra Prasad who got very annoyed with me.
Soon after T. T. Krishnamachari's budget imposed wealth tax,
72 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
expenditure tax and gift tax, Rajendra Prasad complained to Nehru about how all these would affect him personally. Nehru then asked him, in a letter in reply, whether the unused part of his entertainment allowance was surrendered to government. This silenced Rajendra Prasad, and he could no longer swell the coffers of his grandchildren.
Early in 1957 Nehru impulsively offered the presidency to the then Vice-President Radhakrishnan. Nehru thought that after seven years in office and at his advanced age, Rajendra Prasad would wish to retire. Rajendra Prasad, however, had other ideas. He was a candidate for re-election for another term of five years. Nehru soon discovered that Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant and most of the provincial Congress leaders, including Kamaraj Nadar, were in favour of Rajendra Prasad's re-election. Again, Nehru, the true democrat, retreated as he was loath to push anything to breaking point. This made Radhakrishnan sour. He did not want to conti- nue as Vice-President. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad ultimately per- suaded him to stay on. As a sop to Radhakrishnan, Nehru changed the order in the Warrant of Precedence to make the Vice- President number two. Until then the Vice-President ranked third, after the Prime Minister. Nehru also made the Vice- President entitled to use Indian Air Force VIP aircraft to travel in India. Radhakrishnan was mollified. Nehru asked Radhakrishnan to lead the Indian delegation to UNESCO, and also encouraged him to take increasing interest in the activities of that body. He also arranged for Radhakrishnan to go on goodwill visits to foreign countries.
At one time Nehru suggested to Rajendra Prasad that he might let Radhakrishnan perform some of his ceremonial func- tions. Rajendra Prasad pointed out that, while he held Radha- krishnan in great esteem and would gladly entrust him with some of his functions, the Constitution did not provide for such a course of action. Rajendra Prasad was right.
At the time of the debate in parliament on the Hindu Code Bill, Rajendra Prasad made it known to MPs that he was person- ally against it. At this time Rajendra Prasad spoke to Nehru and told him that, according to the Constitution, the President was part of parliament and that he would like to be in the President's Box in parliament whenever he wished to do so. Nehru firmly put his foot down and told Rajendra Prasad that his
Rajendra Prasad and Radhakrishnan 73
being part of parliament only meant that he had to address the joint sessions of both Houses once a year; and that the President's Box in parliament was only a courtesy to accommodate distin- guished foreign dignitaries and other guests of the President. Nehru, however, compromised by facilitating the installation of contraptions through which the President, from his study in Rashtrapati Bhawan, could listen to the proceedings in both Houses of parliament. Such contraptions were also installed for Nehru and myself in our offices in Parliament House.
The relationship between the first President and the first Prime Minister was formal. The Prime Minister had a weekly meeting with the President to fulfil the constitutional requirement of keeping the President informed of developments in the government and the country/There was no personal warmth for each other. They were poles apart in their outlook. Rajendra Prasad was somewhat overwhelmed by Nehru's personality. However, Nehru did not fail to show the President all due courtesies; and he was deferential to the President in public.
When Radhakrishnan became President, his relations with Nehru were warm and cordial. Radhakrishnan, with his informal ways, was able to influence Nehru to a fair extent. But it must be said that during the period 1962-64 Nehru was a declining man and afflicted by ill-health.
Nehru once told me that, during the period Radhakrishnan was Indian Ambassador to the Soviet Union, at his first meeting with Marshal Joseph Stalin, he behaved in the most informal manner by greeting Stalin with, "Hullo. How are you?" and patted him on the back. Radhakrishnan did almost the same thing to Queen Elizabeth.
Philosopher, orator and phrase-maker, Radhakrishnan was indisputably the best President India has had so far, representing the best traditions and culture of this ancient land.
The embarrassingly-named Fakhruddin AH Ahmed was the poorest specimen. By signing the Proclamation of Internal Emergency in June 1975 without Cabinet approval, he amply qualified himself for impeachment. However,, it must be said to his credit that he knew when to die.
13 The Prime Minister and his Secretariat
The Prime Minister's secretariat in India was constituted on an ad hoc basis on 15 August 1947, with H.V.R. Iyengar, a senior ICS officer, as the Principal Private Secretary. During his brief tenure Iyengar was a somewhat overpowering personality. There was no doubt about his competence. Somehow he earned the displeasure of Sardar Patel, Shanmukham Chetty and John Matthai. They all took exception to Iyengar attending Cabinet meetings. Eventually Sardar Patel adopted the practice of kicking people upstairs. He requested Nehru to release Iyengar for appoint- ment as Home Secretary. This was agreed to. In the Prime Minister's secretariat he was replaced..by A.V. Pai, also a senior ICS officer. Pai was the mildest of men, a very fair-minded person, and a perfect gentleman. He was the best PPS Nehru had. Since the exit of Iyengar, no PPS has attended Cabinet meetings.
In 1948, while we were in London, Nehru requested Attlee to give me facilities to study the position of the Prime Minister in the Cabinet system and the constitution and functioning of his secre- tariat. Attlee asked his Cabinet Secretary Lord Norman Brook and Treasury Secretary Lord Edward Bridges, formerly Cabinet Secretary during wartime under Winston Churchill, to receive me and provide me with the necessary facilities. I met both of them and had useful discussions with them. Lord Norman Brook also prepared a note for me.
In the United Kingdom the Prime Minister has no statutory powers, his powers derive primarily from the fact that he is normally the leader of the political party with a majority in the House of Commons, and that as such he has been asked by the sovereign to be head of the government. The extent to which the powers latent in this position are made real depends on two things: (0 The personal influence of the Prime Minister over the ministers
The Prime Minister and his Secretariat 75
who make up the government. The Prime Minister, if he wishes, selects his own ministers. He can do so without consultation, although normally he would consult his senior colleagues. Equally! he has the power to recommend their replacement or dismissal, and he can, by his own resignation, bring about the resignation of the whole government; (») The Prime Minister's chairmanship of the Cabinet and some of its important committees, particularly the Defence Committee.
The Prime Minister is also the First Lord of the Treasury. This department has substantial statutory and other powers, but day to day work is under the charge of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Prime Minister is not directly concerned. Nevertheless the Prime Minister does derive one important power from his position as First Lord, namely, his ultimate power of control of the civil service. The Prime Minister's authority is required for major appointments in the civil service, and this is an important factor in maintaining the unity of the service as a whole. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is obliged to seek the approval of the Prime Minister in advance for the budget as a whole, more especially for the taxation proposals.
The Prime Minister does not normally take charge of any department. But in the spheres of foreign affairs and defence the Prime Minister has a special position. The relationship between the Prime Minister and his Foreign Secretary is probably closer than that between the Prime Minister and any other minister. Matters of political importance are of more frequent occurrence in the sphere of work of the Foreign Secretary than perhaps of any other departmental minister. All these matters cannot be brought to the Cabinet, and for this reason the Prime Minister must keep in close touchVith foreign affairs. Normally, when the Foreign Secretary is away, his duties are undertaken by the Prime Minister. In the sphere of defence, the Prime Minister retains the supreme responsi- bility and is Chairman of the Defence Committee. The supreme responsibility is not affected by the appointment of a Defence Minister.
Since the Prime Minister has no statutory powers and no depart- ment, he has no need for a large staff; to a considerable extent he draws his advice and assistance from all departments. He has, on the one hand, in the transaction of official business, the advice
? 6 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
of the Secretary of the Treasury, arid, on the other, in the conduct of Cabinet affairs, that of the Cabinet Secretary.
In keeping with the collective responsibility of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister's secretariat is not classified as a department but as a personal secretariat. The staff of the Prime Minister's secretariat are not responsible for advising on policy or for executing the Prime Minister's decisions on policy. They are only gatherers and conveyors and, in short, mechanics men.
The advice which comes to the Prime Minister from depart- ments should always have the authority of the departmental minister.
The Prime Minister's secretariat at 10 Downing Street is a small, compact body, particularly competent at the lower echelons. As the whole burden of government in principle rests on the Prime Minister, he can have, as a matter of established practice, any type and any number of people to assist him in the discharge of his functions. Financial and administrative sanction for the Prime Minister's staff is automatic, provided that such demand for staff has the personal approval of the Prime Minister.
Even the Cabinet secretariat in the United Kingdom does not have any statutory powers or executive responsibilities.
Attlee's secretariat consisted of one Principal Private Secretary in the grade of Assistant Secretary (equivalent of a senior Deputy Secretary in Delhi), four Private Secretaries in the grade of princi- pal (equivalent of an Under Secretary in Delhi), one Parliamentary Private Secretary, one Public Relations Officer and a complement of fifty stenographic and clerical personnel of various grades. Work is clearly defined among the Private Secretaries including the Principal Private Secretary. The designation of Principal Private Secretary does not have much significance as each one is indepen- dent of the others and deals with a particular aspect of the Prime Minister's work and deals directly with the Prime Minister.
Some Prime Ministers have included in their personal staffs, in addition to their Private Secretaries, one or more' Personal Assistants chosen for their expert knowledge in a particular field in which they can give special help to the Prime Minister. During wartime, Churchill had Oxford Physics Professor Lindemenn. Later he became Lord Cherwell and was appointed a Cabinet Minister. Attlee's Personal Assistant Douglas Jay also became a minister
The Prime Minister and his Secretariat 77
eventually. So did Lord Balog who was Wilson's Personal Assis- tant.
I had two meetings with Phillip Jorden, Attlee's PRO. I was struck by him. He was for several years a senior foreign correspon- dent of the London News Chronicle. Prior to joining Attlee he was a senior First Secretary of the British Embassy in Washington. I was told that he was a very respected man among journalists in London.
In the United Kingdom there is a Central Office of Information under the Lord President of the Council. This is an operating department for all ministries. It is not an initiating department.
Every ministry in the United Kingdom has its own Public Relations Officers. These PROs function independently of the Central Office of Information, though they make use of it. The Prime Minister's PRO is the seniormost in the whole government. He deals directly with the Prime Minister. He is concerned only with the Prime Minister and the general policies of the govern- ment as a whole. He has access to all secret papers that come to the Prime Minister's secretariat. Cabinet agenda and Cabinet minutes come to him automatically. He is also furnished with Cabinet committee papers. There is only one exception in so far as the PRO is concerned. He does not normally see defence papers.
The Prime Minister in the United Kingdom does not normally see newspapermen. The PRO is meant to "sell" the Prime Minister and his policies to the press at home and abroad. When parliament is in session, he has two daily conferences with lobby correspondents, who number about fifty. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary in the United Kingdom do not, as a matter of practice, meet lobby correspondents. All other departmental ministers meet lobby correspondents at informal conferences and give them advance explanations of forthcoming Bills in parlia- ment.
The PRO also sees American radio commentators once a week; American correspondents once a week; some selected correspon- dents, including those of the BBC, once a week; Commonwealth correspondents once a month; and the Foreign Association once a month.
He also sits on several official committees like the Home Information Committee, Ministerial Committee of Information and the Economic Information Committee.
78 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
The Prime Minister allows his PRO a great deal of discretion and freedom in giving out news to pressmen. On the whole the PROs dealings with the press are off the record and are never quoted.
The PRO is a heavily-worked man and is recognized as such; but the Prime Minister has refused to give him an understudy as an addition of one more person means a wider circulation of secret papers.
The British Prime Minister's PRO is called a man with a key in his hand because he is particularly required to keep all papers in a specially designed box before him and to keep the key him- self. I could not find a single piece of paper on his desk on both occasions that I met him; and sure enough he was playing with the key in his hand.
Prime Minister Nehru's secretariat was gradually reorganized according to the British pattern. Eventually, the post of Principal Private Secretary was reduced to Joint Secretary without loss of efficiency.
When Lai Bahadur became Prime Minister he wanted L.K. Jha as his Principal Private Secretary. Jha stipulated that the secretariat should be designated as a department like any other ministry, he should be Secretary to the Prime Minister and not PPS, and that his position in the Warrant of Precedence should be the same as that of the Cabinet Secretary. Without examining these demands properly, Lai Bahadur meekly agreed. Jha let Parkinson's law rule the roost. He embarked on an expansion programme. A Secretary is normally uncomfortable if he does not have some Joint Secretaries; and a Joint Secretary will wail if he does not have some Deputy Secretaries, and so on down the line. Then came Indira who completed the process. In 1958-59 the Prime Minister's secretarial stafTconsisted of 129 persons of all categories, including chaprasis (peons); and the budget (actuals) was Rs 675,000, while in 1976-77 the staff numbered 242 and the budget increased to Rs 3.07 million.
In 1950 I wanted to create a post of PRO in the Prime Minis- ter's secretariat and provide him with the status and facilities enjoyed by the British Prime Minister's PRO. The Cabinet Secre- tary and the Secretary-General of the External Affairs Ministry got scent of my proposal. They pleaded with me and said it was dangerous to let a journalist see secret papers. I did not agree
ifte rnme Minister and Ins Secretariat 79
with them; but I gave up the idea because I was not sure if Nehru would make full use of the PRO. In fact, Nehru was his own PRO and needed no image builder,
I once told Nehru that the press conference was an American invention to provide a forum for the President. The Prime Minister in a parliamentary system has parliament as his forum where he can talk his head off. Neither Churchill nor Attlee held press conferences. I suggested to Nehru that he might consider giving up the practice. While he agreed with me, his vanity prevented him from accepting the suggestion. He liked to show off. I have no doubt that some of his statements and off the cuff pronouncements at some press con- ferences did more harm than good.
The present Prime Minister will do well to give up all depart- mental work. He will be well advised to create a new Ministry of Science and Technology and place the Departments of Atomic Energy, Electronics, Space Research, and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in it and find a man with a modern mind to be the minister.
Only a Prime Minister who is an intellectual eunuch or obsessed with status symbols, or a dilapidated old man will require a senior civil servant to head a personal secretariat which in any case should be small.
14 The Prime Minister's House
When Jawahailal Nehru accepted office in the interim government t
on 2 September 1946 he was allotted a four bedroom compact house at 17 York Road. He was happy with that house.
During the pre-partition and post-partition period the situation was abnormal. The threat to Nehru's life was real. Sardar Valla- bhbhai Patel was a worried man. He spoke to me about the inhe- rent danger and wanted to strengthen police security, however cumbersome and irritating it may be. He wanted me to do what- ever was possible to soften Nehru. Soon the grounds of 1 7 York Road became a sea of police tents.
When Nehru became Prime Minister, security arrangements were further tightened. Police tents also sprang up outside on the road. The whole place became a grotesque police camp. To me it became obvious that Nehru should shift from 17 York Road. In the spring of 1948, with the concurrence of Sardar Patel, I got in touch with Lord Mountbatten and discussed the matter with 1
him. He told me that the solution lay in Nehru moving into the Commander-in-Chief's house where security arrangements would not look so provocative. I requested him not to broach the subject with Nehru, but to leave the matter to me. I added that in a matter like this, the best procedure was to create a situation in which Nehru would have no choice. He agreed.
I reported back to Sardar Patel and requested him to speak to Nehru. Sardar Patel walked into Nehru's house one morning (he lived next door) and had a talk with him. He appealed to the PM to shift to the C-in-C's house. He told Nehru that he was already weighed down with deep sorrow at his failure to protect Gandhiji. He made it clear to Nehru that he was not prepared to take the responsibility for his safety. There was a veiled threat also— that he would resign if Nehru did not comply.
The Prime Minister 's House
On walking back to his house, Sardar Patel beckoned to me I walked with him. He told me, "Jawaharlal kept quiet and his facial expresses showed he did not like to shift; but we must
wt Mo^bX" 0nSeBt Y ° U S ° 3head "*** «* *»*** In consultation with me, Mountbatten drew up a note for the Cabinet or the redesignate of the Cin-Cs house as the Prime Minister s house and for the setting np of the government hospita- hty orgamzatmn m the PM> S house along the lines of Government House. Tins became a necessity particularly because Indira was feckless m runmng a household. She did no, even know wt boil an egg. What is worse, she couldn't care less. According to the arrangement worked out, the Prime Minister was to pay for himself his family and personal guests on the basis of aetua expenditure. On my advice, Mountbatten took the unnsua sten of
ZT^Tl thC Prime Minister and -""tog «he~ ectly to &e Cabinet Secretary directing him to circulate it to all Cabinet
taTof the PM tf T Prime MinlSter ' With0Ut ,he >™ ^
Jun?i94TatToTrN P h b t re ^ Ca *"' net * " S meeti ^ °» *
conic tad by S^ ptte, The Cab" ?" meetin8 ™ ^^
contained in Mou" en t n'te " CCePted *" Pr ° P ° SalS
Nehru wasnot at all happy about shifting to a big house After
ow^ol ^500 f^ <° ^ * e Lfree ^inte MinS were cnthtd.^ m ° Dth '° *?* he and tte <**« Some of the prominent Cabinet Ministers narticnlarlv M r ,
JESS rtt Sr 1 "
/
82 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
interest of a poor man who might succeed him as PM, he should let parliament enact such a measure and that he personally need not avail himself of the facilities. But he remained too subjective in regard to this matter. In this connection I must say that Nehru was * one of the most inexpensive persons, in so far as personal requirements were concerned. It is open to the present parliament to enact a suitable measure to provide for a retiring PM.
The existing Act provides for a salary of Rs 3,000 per month for a Cabinet Minister and an entertainment allowance of Rs 500 per month. In Nehru's time he and the ministers voluntarily effected a cut and brought down the salary first to Rs 2,250 per month arid then to Rs 2,000 per month. Since then the value of the rupee has come down to 25 paise. There is a strong case for not only restor- ing the cuts but also enhancing the emoluments of ministers. To quote Gandhiji in this connection is sheer doublethink. Ministers and civil servants should be adequately paid to keep them above want and free them from temptations. The people of India will not grudge it.
It was a mistake to have converted the Prime Minister's house (now called Teen Murti House) to Jawaharlal Nehru Museum. Thirteen years have passed since the conversion and people have got used to it as a memorial to Nehru. It will be another mistake to reconvert it into the Prime Minister's house. Prime Minister Morarji has assured me that he has no desire to move into Teen Murti House because it will offend the sentiments of millions of peo- ple. Even now an average of 1,000 people visit the Nehru Museum daily.
The now Works and Housing Minister Sikander Bahkt has been saying profound things about a mansion for the Prime Minister, I am afraid he lives in a bygone age.
At 10 Downing Street, the British Prime Minister has only a couple of suites of rooms for his personal use. All the rest are offices and a few are public rooms.
Tage Erlander, the Social Democratic Prime Minister of affluent Sweden, for twenty years lived in a three room flat. His wife was a teacher. I happened to known them both. The Swedish Govern- ment did not provide him with a car. The PM and his wife had a small car which they drove themselves. They could not afford to keep a driver.
Labour Prime Minister Joseph Chiefley of rich Australia lived
The Prime Minister' s House g3
in two rooms in a second class hotel near his office. His wife pre- ferred to live on their farm as she did not wish to get involved in the social whirl of Canberra. The PM was not provided with a car. He walked between his hotel and his office. I met him more than once in London. He was a most lovable and humble man.
People like Sikander Bahkt are victims of outmoded ideas of oriental splendour.
15 Use of Air Force Aircraft by the Prime Minister
In the middle ofI951 the Director of the Intelligence Bureau came to see me and expressed his concern for the security of the Prime Minister during the campaign in the winter for the first general elections. He said that the threat to Nehru's life was very much, there. He said he would be unhappy if the Prime Minister travelled in regular commercial flights. Anyhow, commercial air service was in a rudimentary stage at that time. The Intelligence Bureau chief asked me, "Can't anything be done to enable the Prime Minister to travel in IAF planes on payment?" I promised to consult some people and try to process the matter,
Later I had a talk with Cabinet Secretary N. R. Pillai. He suggested a three-man committee of senior officials to, go into the question of the Prime Minister using IAF planes for purposes other than official, I spoke to the Prime Minister and he appointed a committee with Cabinet Secretary N. R. Pillai as Chairman, the Defence Secretary as Member and Tarlok Singh, ICS, as Member-Secretary. In the report the committee emphasized the security aspect and also the fact that the Prime Minister does not cease to be PM when he goes on unofficial tours. He can do a great deal of official work in the plane and also- at nights wherever he stays. The committee recommended that the Prime Minister might use IAF planes for his unofficial tours by paying the government for himself and non-officials air fare as charged by commercial flights plus halting charges. Official stafF and the personal valet travelling with the PM did not have to pay.
The PM asked the Cabinet Secretary to circulate the report to members of the Cabinet for discussion in Cabinet and final deci- sion. I told Nehru that a recommendation by a committee of officials subordinate to him, and a decision thereon by the
85. Use of Air Force Aircraft by the Prime Minister 85
Cabinet which was his creation were not enough to fulfil the requirements of propriety in a matter like this. He was somewhat annoyed and asked me what else was to be done. I said the ma*ter should be referred to an authority independent of the government, such as the Comptroller and Auditor- General. I added that it was in his personal interest to do so. I also told him that he need not himself doit and that I would personally deal with Narahari Rao who was then the Auditor-General, He told me coldly, "Do what you like." Thereafter I requested the Cabinet Secretary not to fix any date for the discussion of his report until I cleared the matter.
In the meantime, I had; a personal talk with the Auditor- General and gave him all the papers. He said he would study the file and walk over to my office and see me. He came a couple of days later and told me that the argument of the PM's personal security under the still rather abnormal conditions was the only one he would go by in writing his note on the Cabinet Secretary's report. I said, "You should feel free to write anything you consider proper." Two days later he wrote his note on the file and returned it to me. He accepted the recommendations contained in the Cabinet Secretary's note with a significant rider, "This con- cession is personal to Shri Jawaharlal Nehru and should not be quoted as a precedent." The Auditor-General's note was also circula- ted to the members of the Cabinet. Subsequently the Cabinet took a decision in the matter. The Auditor-General's note was later released to the press.
In 1951 thelAF VIP flight consisted of only a few Dakotas. Much later came the four-engined turbo-prop medium-sized British Viscounts.
In the 1951-52 general election campaign, Nehru did 18,348 miles by air, 5,682 miles by car, 1,612 miles by train and 90 miles by boat. He made 305 speeches to an estimated total audience of 30 million people apart from reaching infinitely more millions by newspapers and radio. He spent 46 days on these tours.
The Indian Post and Telegraph Department made special arrangements to deliver to the Prime Minister by bag official files and papers daily and to return to Delhi by bag the files and papers the Prime Minister had disposed of the previous day. These arrange- ments worked exceedingly well.
In so far as I know, the successive Prime Ministers after Nehru
Page 86 Map
87 - Use of Air Force Aircraft by the Prime Minister 87
never cared to seek fresh concurrence from the Auditor-General for their use of XAF planes for unofficial tours. Perhaps they knew that the Auditor- General would not agree. Therefore, their use of IAF planes for unofficial tours was improper.
For his foreign tours Nehru normally used Air India's commer- cial flights, I can recollect only two occasions when he used the IAF Viscounts. One was when he had to visit a chain of countries — Syria, the Federal Republic of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, England, Egypt and Sudan. The other was when he visited Saudi Arabia accompanied by a delegation of MPs. On both occasions the Air Chief requested me to let the IAF Sy the Prime Minister so that his handpicked pilots would get some valuable experience.
16 Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
If ever there lived a man in India who was absolutely and totally secular, it was Rafi as. he was affectionately called by many He shared this quality with the Nehrus andSaprus. Rafi was secretary to the legendary Motilal Nehru for some years. Of the two men Jawaharlal Nehru loved, apart from his father and Gandhiji Rafi was one; the other was A.C.N. Nambiar, the revolutionary, brother-in-law of the famous Chatto and of Sarojini Naidu a hesi- tant associate of Subhas Chandra Bose in Europe during a part of the second world war and, after independence, Ambassador of India in several European countries- Nehru would often get angry with both and shout at them. That was an indication of his per- sonal affection for them. Early in 1964, while A. C. N. Nambiar (Nanu as Nehru called him) was staying in the Prime Minister's house, as he always did whenever he was in India during Nehru's lifetime, he told Nehru at the breakfast table, "I feel sad about one thing— yon have not got angry with me this time." Nehru laughed. He was then an ill man. Before Nanu left for Europe he told me, with tears in his eyes, "Panditji will not live for long I shall not see him again," and he wept.
Rafi was a simple man, informal in his ways. He had a large number of men who were devoted and loyal to him. In Delhi they were called "Ruffians." Rafi kept an open house where his followers and other Congress workers could go and partake of his generous hospitality. For this purpose he did not mind taking money from medium-sized industrialists and traders. He avoided big business magnates. Apart from money, he used to take from them presents such as watches, fountain pens, pieces of woollen material and the like and distribute them to his "Ruffians," of whom Feroze Gandhi was one.
Rafi had a weakness for large cars and fast driving. He was
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai g^
involved in several traffic accidents but was always lucky to escape with minor injuries. Once Nehru received a personal letter from a
\ UP industrialist, not far from Delhi, complaining that Rafi dem and-
ed and received from him a large car. Nehru wrote to Rafi depre- cating this and asked him to return the car at once. Rafi never did. Both in UP and at the centre, Rafi was a successful minister. At the centre he was an imaginative Minister of Communications and did not hesitate to defy tht powerful Tatas in nationalizing civil
| aviation and introducing night airmail service. As Minister of Food
and Agriculture he was imaginative but more lucky than others.
Rafi used to come to the Prime Minister's house often in the evenings without appointment. If Nehru was busy with visitors, he ivould sit with me in my study and talk endlessly. Once Inflated to him something which Feroze Gandhi had told me. He laughed and asked me, "Do you believe anything^that Feroze says?"
While the States Ministry was initiating action against Maharaja Pratap Singh of Baroda (he was eventually deposed), Rafi got in touch with him and extracted from him Rs 200,000 for the National Herald. This was reported to Nehru by Sardar Patel. Nehru immediately wrote to Rafi asking him to return the money. Rafi replied that he had instructed Feroze Gandhi, Managing Director of Associated Journals Limited, to return the amount. Actually Rafi
I did nothing of the kind. It was amusing that while Rafi was negoti-
ating with Maharaja Pratap Singh, he had been telling Nehru that V.P. Menon had taken several hundred thousand rupees from the IMaharaja as a bribe.
Few people know that Rafi once went to Sardar Patel and offered to help him displace Nehru from the government. He was followed by Mahavir Tyagi, a "Ruffian." Patel disliked both. He considered them politically unscrupulous. Rafi discovered that Patel was a -wiser and more far-seeing man than he had thought.
Nehru was very annoyed and unhappy when Rafi left Congress, -and along with Acharya Kripalani and others, formed anew party called the KMPP. After some time Nehru sent for Rafi. Kidwai was sitting in my study in the Prime Minister's house when Nehru walked in and started talking to him. Then Nehru wanned up and
I fcegan shouting. Nehru told Rafi, "You haven't the intelligence of
•a mouse." At that stage I left the room and closed the door behind
90 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
me. Eventually, Nehru went out of his way to get Rafi back into* the Congress and the government.
One day a senior Air Commodore, staff officer from the IAF headquarters, rang me up and later came to see me by appointment. He told me that Rafi Sahib had requested him to secretly fly out large quantities of arms and ammunition to Nepal to be delivered to B. P. Koirala who was then fighting against the Nepalese authorities. Rati had told him that this had the approval of the Prime Minister. He added that the Air Force Chief was aware that under certain circumstances government would have to use uncon- ventional methods. All he wanted was confirmation that the VM had given approval for this venture. I was inclined to tell him to forget the whole business and that if the PM wanted any such thing; to be done, he would have spoken to the Defence Minister. How- ever, I told the Air Commodore that I would check up with the PM in the evening, and gave him an appointment for the next morning. I mentioned the matter to the PM in the evening, and he became furious. He asked me to send for a PA to dictate a letter to Rafi. I advised him not to shoot off a letter on this sensitive subject, but that he might telephone Kidwai, which he did. The next morning the Air.Commodore came. I did my best to explain the position to him without unduly compromising Rafi, and asked him to forget the whole episode.
I had two tiffs with Rafi while he was a Union Minister. One was about the appointment of U. Srinivasa Malliah as a General Secretary of the Congress after Purushottamdas Tandon was ousted as Congress President in 1950. I had suggested the names of Malliah and Lai Bahadur who was then the Police Minister in UP, Rafi did not like Malliah because he was too independent-minded. So he combined with Rajaji against Malliah. Rajaji told Nehru that Malliah was prone to intrigue. They suggested Nijalingappa, whom Nehru did not care for. Nehru spoke to me. I told him that Malliah was far less intriguing than Rajaji, and that Malliah was not keen on any job and also that I had not spoken to Malliah. I added that it would take some persuasion on his part to make Malliah agree, Nehru sent for Malliah, who declined the invitation. The next day Nehru again sent for Malliah. He told Nehru that he was not suited for any desk job. He said he would join as a General Secretary only as a helper. Lai Bahadur would direct to him people
Rafi A hmed Kiawai 9 J
difficult to manage. Malliah knew that Lai Bahadur was a fence- sitter and incapable of saying boo to a goose. Malliah told Nehru that he could relieve Lai Bahadur of such and other unpleasant tasks. Nehru appointed him; he and Lai Bahadur got on very well. When Lai Bahadur became Prime Minister he wanted to include Malliah in the cabinet; but Malliah declined the offer.
The second tiff related to a quarrelsome Communist MP who forcibly occupied a house in the Lok Sabha housing pool. Rafi espoused his cause and spoke to Malliah who told him that he had already told the MP that if he did not voluntarily vacate the house within two weeks he would be ejected by the police. Malliah was the Chairman of the Housing Committee of the Lok Sabha appoint- ed by the Speaker. Malliah gave me all the facts and said that the Speaker would stand firm. I asked him not to worry and if Rafi intervened with the PM, "I shall see that the PM sends for you" and then fee should stand firm, Rafi came and complained to Nehru against Malliah. Nehru dictated a strong letter to Malliah. I stopped the letter and told Nehru that he might send for Malliah and talk to him. I also reminded Nehru that this was a matter with- in the jurisdiction of the Speaker who had already turned down the Communist MP's appeal. In the meantime the Communist MP came to my office in Parliament House. He demanded from the PM's Private Secretary an immediate interview with the PM. The Private Secretary explained to him that the PM was busy. The MP started shouting. He told the PS that Ran Sahib had sent Mm. At this stage I intervened and told him that Rafi Sahib should not have sent him there. I also told the man that his behaviour was unworthy of a member of parliament; and that if he did not stop shouting he would be ejected from the room and its vicinity by the security guards. He piped down and left after giving me a dirty look.
The same day the PM met Malliah who explained the whole position. Nehru's comment was, "You should have taken strong action earlier." Malliah asked, "How can I be strong unless you are strong?" Nehru smiled. Later Nehru asked Rafi, "Why did you give me wrong information?" Rafi chose to be silent. I always felt that whenever Nehru was in possession of the facts, his actions were instinctively right.
Rafi, to a large extent, and Maulana Azad, less so, were respon- sible for persuading Nehru to oust Sheikh Abdullah as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in 1953.
^ 2 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Whatever had been his faults and his unorthodox behaviour, I would like to see more of the kind of Rafi in India. He died a poor man. In many ways Rafi was a delightful person. Like Abou Ben Adhem, he was one who loved his fellow men.
1 7 Feroze Gandhi
Son of a Parsi liquor and provision merchant of Allahabad,. Feroze Gandhi in his early days attached himself to Kamala Nehru as a Congress volunteer. He used to accompany her as a helper wherever she went on Congress work in the Allahabad area. He could not be accused of possessing any eagerness for studies. Throughout his life he retained the handwriting of a child.
Towards the end of December 1935 at Badenweiler in Germany, Kamala Nehru had a talk with her husband in the presence of" their common friend Nanu (A.C.N. Nambiar). Death for Kamala was only two months away. She said that she was profoundly worried about the future of Indira. She expressed her strongest disapproval of the possibility of Indira marrying Feroze Gandhi. She did not consider Feroze Gandhi a stable person; neither did she think that he was in the least qualified to go into any worthwhile profession and support Indira. She spoke with emotion and became tired. With some effort she managed to add, "I do not want my child to be unhappy all her life." Nehru spoke in a soothing, and reassuring manner and said, "You leave the matter to me." A. few minutes later Nehru went out. Kamala turned to Nanu and. said, "You heard what he said; Indu will listen to no one except me. I could have guided Indu gently away from Feroze. But my end is near. Jawahar will give no guidance to Indu. She will ultimately be allowed to commit the mistake of her life."
Some time before Kamala Nehru's death on 28 February 1936, while Indira was still a student in England, Feroze Gandhi managed to get some financial assistance from one of his aunts and went to London. His "studies" in London constituted a standing joke among Indians there.
Like many other Indian students in England, Indira managed to- return to India by ship after the second world war broke out..
94 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Feroze Gandhi was also back. In 1941 Indira spoke to her father about her wish to marry Feroze Gandhi. Nehru remembered what his wife had told him at Badenweiler and gave her good advice against the marriage. All the members of the Nehru family were also against the marriage. Neither they nor Nehru could reconcile themselves to the idea of Indira marrying the son of a local liquor and provision merchant. And, what was worse, the boy was not qualified to enter any worthwhile profession to earn his livelihood. As opposition to the marriage persisted, Indira adopted a truculent attitude. She told her father that she had' no roots in India and that she was going to leave the country. Nehru was deeply hurt. He conveyed this to Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit and Padmaja Naidu who happened to be in Allahabad. Padmaja Naidu expressed the view that in the ultimate analysis the father had no right to stand in the way of a daughter who was a major. Reluctantly, Nehru gave his permission.
For some inexplicable reason, Nehru allowed the marriage to be performed according to Vedic rites in 1942. An interreligious and intercaste marriage under Vedic rites at that time was not valid in law. To be legal, it had to be a civil marriage. So, strictly under the law, Indira was only a "concubine?* and her children are "bastards."
Soon after the marriage, Nehru had Feroze Gandhi appointed as the Managing Director of the Associated Journals Ltd which owned the National Herald, Navjivan and Quami Awaz. This had disastrous consequences which have been mentioned in the chapter "National Herald, etc." I have also referred to Feroze Gandhi, in the chapter "Ran Ahmed Kidwai."
In the meantime, Feroze Gandhi continued to do some work as an insurance agent and eked out an existence.
At Nehru's instance, UP Chief Minister Govind Ballabh Pant saw to it that Feroze Gandhi was elected to the Constituent Assembly when it was constituted in December 1946. After that he divided his time between Delhi and Lucknow. He was elected to the first Lok Sabha in the 1951-52 general elections and conti- nued to be an MP till his death in 1961.
In 1947 Feroze Gandhi fell in love with one of Mrs Pandit's daughters working as an apprentice journalist in the National Herald at Lucknow. On hearing this, Mrs Pandit made an air-dash
Feroze Gandhi 95
to India from Moscow at her own- expense and took away the girl to Moscow,
Two instances of what Nehru had said in private at the dining table leaked out and caused embarrassment. These were traced to Feroze Gandhi. Since that time Nehru rarely opened his mouth at mealtimes if Feroze Gandhi was present. Even time, the great healer, did not help Nehru to become wholly reconciled to his daughter, and only child, being married to Feroze Gandhi. Neither ■did developments after the marriage provide any cementing factor.
Some time in 1948, Minister of Health Rajkumari Amrit Kaur told .me that in her presence Feroze Gandhi had told a group of MPs in the Central Hall of parliament that "M.O. Mathai is the Prime Minister's son-in-law" and not he. Some MPs later thought that Feroze Gandhi had said this because I was with Nehru all the time, even in the car in which he travelled between his offices and residence, and the fact that I was staying in the Prime Minister's house.
Feroze Gandhi had another romantic interlude. This time it was the daughter of a Muslim minister of the UP government. The girl was working in the All India Radio in New Delhi. They decided to marry. Feroze Gandhi spoke to Indira about his inten- tion. She told him that she had no objection. He said he wanted the custody of the first child. She firmly refused to consider this. The same evening he left a brief note on Nehru's desk in his study at the PM's house. In the note he said, "This time it is all my fault." Nehru sent for him after dinner and let him have his say. The next morning, after breakfast, Nehru took Indira to his study and told her that Feroze Gandhi had had a talk with him the previous night. He did not reveal to her all that transpired. How- ever, Nehru asked her one question, "Have you anyone else in view?" She replied in the negative. In the evening Indira reported everything to me and complained that her father was not frank with her. As a daughter she expected him to tell her everything Feroze Gandhi had told him. I told her that it was obvious that her father did not wish to repeat anything and create further mis- understandings.
When the news of the romantic developments surrounding his daughter reached Lucknow, the Muslim minister was perturbed. He frantically came to Delhi and took his daughter away.
96 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age-
Soon after this incident Feroze Gandhi shifted to his MP's quarters.
After his exit from the National Herald, a job was found for Feroze Gandhi by Ran" Ahmed Kidwai in the Indian Express. Soon after Rafi's death, information reached Nehru that Ramnath, Goenka, the proprietor of Indian Express, had told someone that he gave the job to Feroze Gandhi because Rafi had told him that it. would lead to the lessening of Nehru's financial burden; and that it was for the same reason that a second large Austin car was also allotted to Feroze Gandhi for the personal use of Indira. The Prime Minister asked me to question Ramnath Goenka about it. I did so and Goenka confirmed that the information which reached the Prime- Minister was entirely correct. I told him that the large Austin car was never used by Indira. I reported to the PM the substance of my conversation with Goenka. He was visibly upset. I told him that Goenka had issued instructions to withdraw the large Austin car. I also told him that it was inadvisable to take any further step in the matter at that stage.
After Feroze Gandhi's virulent attack on T.T. Krishnamachari in parliament in the "Mundhra" case and TTK's resignation from government, Ramnath Goenka, who was a personal friend of TTK's, terminated Feroze Gandhi's services with the Indian Express.
The misgivings of Kamala Nehru expressed in anguish on her deathbed had come true in full measure.
18 The ''National Herald'' and Allied Papers
Towards the end of 1955 an agitated Indira came to my study in the Prime Minister's house and said that her father had just told her that Feroze Gandhi and Ajit Prasad Jain had had a talk with him, and that they were going to hand over, the National Herald and allied newspapers to C. B. Gupta, the UP Congress boss, because of acute financial difficulties. Feroze Gandhi and Ajit Prasad Jain had already left for the railway station to go to Lucknow. Indira asked me if anything could be done to retrieve the situation. I asked the staff to ring up the Delhi railway station- master and ask him to trace Feroze Gandhi and Ajit Prasad Jain and bring them to the telephone. Indira spoke to Feroze Gandhi and asked him not to proceed with his proposal. Feroze Gandhi was in charge of the National Herald in his capacity as Managing Director of the Associated Journals Ltd. He was a man with no constructive ability. However, he was adept at attacking people in parliament. He was initiated into it by Finance Minister CD. Deshmukh as a prelude to the nationalization of life insurance." Deshmukh asked his senior officials to supply Feroze Gandhi with secret information. Deshmukh wanted to generate advance hostility to life insurance companies in parliament. Thus Feroze Gandhi came to know a number of senior officials who proved useful to him in his attacks on others later on.
I remembered that during the independence struggle Nehru had said, "I would gladly sell Anand Bhawan to keep National Herald alive." I decided to do something to put the affairs of the- Associated Journals Ltd on a sound footing. I. met the then Attorney-General M. C. Setalvad and told him of a proposal to create a trust to aid these newspapers. As recommended by him the trust deed was drafted by C.C. Shah, MP, whom the Attorney- General considered an able solicitor.
98 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
I asked Indira to give a name to the trust. She suggested "Janhit Trust." I changed it to "Janhit Nidhi" and told her it was inap- propriate to mix Hindi and English. The trust deed drafted by C.C. Shah was approved by the Attorney-General. The trust was registered early in 1956 with Justice P. N. Sapru, MP, Padmaja Naidu and Indira as trustees.
The first thing done was to get many people to transfer their shares and debentures in the Associated Journals Ltd as well as their loans to the trust. Prominent among those were Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, K. N. Katju, Sri Prakasa, the Nawab of Bhopal, Raja Bhadri, the Maharaja of Gondal, the Maharajkumar of Vijayanagaram, Colonel B. H. Zaidi, Ram Ratan Gupta, Manubhai Bhimani and the Sarabhais.
In going through the books of the Associated Journals Ltd I found an entry of Rs 200,000 as loan from Feroze Gandhi. On enquiry I was told that actually it was an interest-free loan from Maharaja Pratap Singh of Baroda. I have referred to this in the -chapter "Ran Ahmed Kidwai." When Rafi informed NehTU that he had instructed Feroze Gandhi to return the money, he also wrote to Feroze Gandhi to carry out the instructions at once; and Feroze Gandhi replied after a fortnight that he had returned the money. He did nothing of the kind. What he did was to enter the amount in the company's books as a loan from himself! Later, through Major-General J.K.Bhonsle of the INA and a close friend and relative of the Maharaja, I got a letter from the Maharaja transferring the loan to the trust, as a donation. Feroze Gandhi, who was then out of the Associated Journals Ltd, was not pleased about this.
I was not surprised when one day, during Feroze Ganuhi's attacks on Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari in parliament, Nehru vehemently condemned him in the presence of Lai Bahadur and myself and said, "This fellow Feroze is a bloody liar." Neither was I surprised when V. K. Krishna Menon once told me, ■"I have known Feroze Gandhi from his so-called student days in London. My experience has led me to the conclusion that he is a congenital liar."
Ramnath Goenka of the Indian Express group of newspapers .gave the Associated Journals Ltd a printing press costing about Rs 175,000 as gift.
The "National Herald'' and Allied Papers 99
Substantial amounts were raised by way of special advertise- ments at special rates for the National Herald, Navjivan (Hindi) and Quami Awaz (Urdu). Between 1955 and 1957 a total of Rs 842,000 was collected through such special advertisements. These special advertisements were raised to clear up the vast initial mess that the Associated Journals Ltd was in. They came from diverse industrial and commercial concerns such as the Mafatla! group, the Kasturbhai Lalbhai group, the Tata group, the Birla group, the BIC group and several others.
The receipts in the Janhit Nidhi from its inception in 1956 to 30 September 1963 were as follows:
Cash donations Rs 1,577 59^
Donations in Kind
Transfers of loans (later converted into
ordinary shares) Rs 337,000.00
Debentures (250) Rs
Preference shares (136) Rs
Ordinary shares (9,166) Rs
Bank interest Rs Interest on debentures in Associated Journals
Ltd (actually paid) Rs U)imm Interest on debentures recoverable from
Associated Journals Ltd Rs 1 12,780 00
250,000.00 13,600.00 91,660.00 71,194.57
Total Rs 2,457,933.25
The assets of Janhit Nidhi as of 30 September 1963 were as follows:
87,781 ordinary shares of Rs 10 each in
Associated Journals Ltd, Lucknow
(face value) Rs 877 810>0o
6,152 preference shares of Rs 100 each
in Associated Journals Ltd (face
value > Rs 615,200.00
354 debentures of Rs 1,000 each in
Associated Journals Ltd (face value) R s 354,000.00
Bank balance Rs 565',649J4
Cash in hand Rs 5,000.00 Interest on debentures recoverable from
Associated Journals Ltd r s 1 12 780 00
Total Rs 2,539,367.95
100 - Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
No significant changes have taken place since, except that the cash resources have been spent on the National Herald building in Delhi.
As of 30 September 1963, the capital structure of Associated Journals Ltd was that the trust-held stocks and shares in the company were worth Rs 1,847,010 as against only Rs 487,450 held by the public.
Even though I did not ask Nehru's permission to take a direct but informal interest in the affairs of the National Herald and allied papers, I kept him informed of developments. In my final report to him at the end of 1957 I informed him that I would take no further interest. He called me and said, "You have done a great deal to put the affairs of the papers on a sound financial basis; but how long will it last? Chalapathi Rau was a good jour- nalist during the independence struggle; but somehow he has not been able to adjust himself to the new situation after indepen- dence. He has little understanding of economic affairs. He is not a competent all-round editor. He thinks that by writing long and ponderous editorials, which nobody reads, he has produced a good paper." Nehru further said, * 'Under Chalapathi Rau's editorship the circulation of the paper would never increase. The office puts up to me every evening the National Herald, with press clippings from papers all over India. I ceased to open the National Herald some years ago. I shall not shed a tear if National Herald and its allied papers closed down. As I am against the Khadi and Village Industries Commission receiving huge grants from govern- ment, I am against newspapers requiring spoon-feeding for their survival."
I remember my numerous meetings in London and New Delhi with Kingsley Martin, the distinguished editor of the New States' man. He was of the firm view that a newspaper or a journal is seventy-five per cent business and twenty-five per cent journalism. This is what Chalapathi Rau had successfully avoided learning.
Page 101
19 Nehru and the Press
Before entering government Nehru had written several editorials and special articles, mostly in his own hand for the National Herald, These are now with the National Archives. Photostat copies are with the National Herald,
Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Rajaji and Pantji had their own favourites among pressmen; but Nehru never considered it advisa- ble to cultivate individual pressmen.
Nehru considered the Hindu as the best- produced paper in India and its reporters the best in the country; but the Hindu was a little too conservative for him in regard to economic policy. And yet he wanted the Hindu to be put up to him every evening.
From the middle of the fifties, Nehru considered S. Mulgaokar as the most effective journalistic writer in the country. On several occasions Mulgaokar had criticized Nehru's policies. And yet, when he wanted a high-grade journalist to tone up our foreign and domestic publicity, immediately after the Chinese invasion, it was to Mulgaokar that Nehru turned. Mulgaokar stipulated certain understandable conditions so that his work in government, for a temporary period, would be purposeful and effective. The PM could not fulfil those conditions in the set-up which existed at that time. So the proposal fell through.
In 1952 Nehru wanted a prominent person with a journalistic background as Minister for Information and Broadcasting. .He invited B. Shiva Rao to join his Council of Ministers as a minister of state with independent charge of the Information and Broadcas- ting Ministry. Shiva Rao tried through N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar to get Cabinet rank. Nehru was annoyed, gave up the idea, and appointed B. V. Keskar instead.
The one journalist who got on Nehru's nerves was Durga Das.
102 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
He, after a long career in journalism, ended up as special represen- tative and later editor of the Hindustan Times. Nehru had heard that while he was with the Associated Press of India (an adjunct of Reuter), Durga Das was connected with the intelligence set-up of the Home Department. Durga Das, who was a favourite with Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and Pantji, tried to get elected to the Constituent Assembly from UP. Pantji recommended him; but Nehru scored his name out. Durga Das then took up a very hostile attitude towards Nehru. He began to write nasty things about Nehru and his daughter under the pseudonym INSAF (Justice). It was the type of writing intended to hurt. One day Nehru sent for Durga Das and talked to him severely. Later, Nehru informed me that he had told Durga Das, "You are the meanest man I have met and the lowest form of human existence." Normally Nehru wouldn't use such strong language. Durga Das was subdued for a while like a dog with its tail in a bamboo tube. But when the initial impact wore off, Durga Das relapsed into his mean self. One day Nehru spotted a very nasty piece and told me, "You might ask Ghanshyam- das Birla if this sort of write-up represented his own views." I put the question to G.D. Birla, using the PM's own words. G.D. Birla told me that he very seldom interfered with the editorial freedom of Hindustan Times and added, "I have been noticing Durga Das' weekly column INSAF which borders on yellow journalism. I did speak to Shim a f€;w times. 1 am going to speak to him again today as a last warning. In fact I made up my mind some time ago to get rid of Durga Das. That is why I have brought in Mulgaokar."
The next day Durga Das went to his patron saint, Maulana Azad. The Maulana spoke to G.D. Birla who told him that I had complained to him and that he might have a word with me. The Maulana knew that I was a difficult customer. So he complained to the PM. But the PM kept quiet. Soon Durga Das was replaced by Mulgaokar. INSAF died a natural death; but out of its ashes arose INFA, a weekly newsletter.
During Nehru's time "keyhole journalism" was not very much in evidence, though it seems to be developing fast at present. The classic example is a man who has recently published a book on the emergency. A friend sent me a copy of the book. In that he has referred to me as Nehru's stenographer. I wrote and asked him where he got that fantastic information. He did not reply. I made
103
Nehru and the Press , A ,
themistake of expecting a modicum of decency in a keyhole jour- nalist. I took the trouble of reading through the book. It is a melan- choly ptece of work into which so many lies, halftruths innuendoes and absurd inventions, ail coated with malice, have been compres- sed into a few pages constituting the worst type of journalistic vul- garization I have ever seen. It was obviously written to take advan- tage of a 'hate wave" in northern India. After finishing the book late at mght, it fell from my hands to the floor as I lay in bed The next morning my sweepress took the book from the floor and asked me, "Sahib, can I have it for my choelaT I felt like telling
rZn,J* $> r *, A'' 6 iS thirty rUpees; bu * mother for your choola. in the style of Samuel Johnson who, when approached by a person for a donation of one crown for the burial of a priest, said Here are two crowns; bury two." In the early years of independence Ramakrishna Dalmia made
toJK t0 meaSUre , h ! s P itifui st Wh gainst government trough the medium of the Times of India and the Illustrated Weekly of India which he owned. He singled out Nehru for attacks m the most obscurantist manner bringing holy cows and sacred monkeys also into the picture. Nehru was naturally annoyed- but he did not want to take any vindictive action. He asked me to stop subscribing to the Times of India and the Illustrated Weekly as he did not wish to render financial support to the gutter press. I, how- ever, asked the Press Information Bureau to forward to me such, terns from the Times of India and the Illustrated Weekly as were libellous. Nothing came from the PIB. Dalmia's foolish adventure petered out. However, the Times of India and the Illustrated Weekly never again entered the PM's house.
Around the same time as Dalmia's adventure, Blitz published promuicntly on the front page a libellous item against Indira, alleg- ing that she took from an unnamed businessman several costly sarees. Nehru consulted Kailas Nath Katju. As advised by him a notice was sent to the editor of Blitz calling upon him to publish prominently on the front page an apology or face legal action. The editor considered discretion the better part of valour and complied muz never repeated the performance. '
While Aneurin Bevan was in India for the first time, he was stay- ing in Rajkumari Amrit Kaur's house. There he came across a piece of wnting by Frank Moraes attacking Nehru for creating the Atomic Energy Department, which he described as a "white-
104 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
elephant." Bevan remarked, "This man is said to be one of your top journalists." I replied, "Of late he has developed bats in his belfry. Goa is a bee in his bonnet; and the Atomic Energy Commission is his latest allergy; he cannot see beyond his nose." Bevan recalled that fce had had the most determined opposition from the press in push- ing through the National Health Service. He added, "A statesman -who has rapport with the people need not be unduly perturbed by the fulminations in the press. The Almighty did not deposit all the wisdom in the press. The greatest thing Nehru is doing in India is his massive support for science and technology. This will bring you *ich; dividends in the future in terms of economic development and social change,"
Nehru was not unaware of the exaggerated claim of the press to represent public opinion. When Harry Truman stood for elec- tion in 1948 for the American presidency, practically the entire press was against him. They claimed to represent public opinion and went all out in support of the Republican candidate Dewey. Truman confounded everyone and won the election to become "the great little President of the United States."
The London Times editorial of 3 October 1938 on the Munich Agreement was a constant reminder to Nehru of the "foresight" and "wisdom" of the press! The editorial read:
The volume of applause for Mr, Chamberlain, which continues to grow throughoutthe globe, registers a popular judgment that neither politicians nor historians are likely to reverse. One fundamental truth that Mr. Chamberlain's daring diplomacy brought into the light was this— that even in a totalitarian State the people will have their influence in the last resort upon the Party. The man who has arrested universal destruction by appea- ling to that truth need not fear that in his own country the cavillings of Party will outweigh the people's gratitude. But, even if there is the inevitable reaction, there must be no retro- grade step. Relief from intolerable strain cannot be followed by mere relapse into inertia. The lessons-of the crisis are plain and urgent. The policy of international appeasement must be pressed forward. There must be appeasement not only of the strong but of the week— of the State that has allowed itself to be weakened for the common good. Czechoslovakia has deser- ved well of humanity, and it should be a first international
Nehru and the Press 105
responsibility not only to guarantee the contracted frontier, but also to assist in solving the new problems that the settlement has imposed upon her. As between the greater Powers the field * for necessary appeasement is wide.
The editor of the London Times then was Geoffrey Dawson who belonged to the disreputable Cliveden Set, the members of which met at Cliveden, which was Lord Astor's estate. The Cliveden Set was passionately in favour of an understanding with the dictators Hitler and Mussolini. The frequent Cliveden social functions were greatly enlivened by the two beautiful young daughters of Lord Curzon — Lady Ravensdale and the Lady Alexandra Metcalfe. The Cliveden Set was bitterly opposed to Winston Churchill.
Page 106
20 Nehru's Sensitivity to his Surroundings
Nehru once told me of his working knowledge of the German language and how he lost it. When he visited Germany in September 1935, to be with his ailing wife at Badenweiler two years after Hitler had taken over the Reich, the shock of developments in Germany was so complete that he forgot the German language altogether. However much he tried, he could not utter a word. His knowledge never revived.
On our trip to the United States in October 1948 I took with me a sufficient stock of State Express 555 cigarettes to last Nehru for the entire period. I did so because I knew that American cigarettes, with their toasted tobacco, were too strong for him. At the White House I removed all the American cigarettes from his room and replaced them with some State Express cigarettes. He saw me doing this and got annoyed. He asked me, "Don't you know that when I go to a place, I would like to use the things that are locally available?" I said, "All right, you try an American cigarette and be in tune with your surroundings/' and offered him a Chesterfield, the mildest of American cigarettes. He snatched it from me, lighted it and began to smoke. After two puffs he started. coughing. I said, "Throw it away, I have used American cigarettes- for a number of years and I know they are strong. On a trip tike this you have to talk endlessly and it is important that you should preserve your throat." He looked at me and smiled. He was childlike in many ways and sometimes had to be treated as a child.
Nehru's first visit to the United States was a disaster from the point of view of acquiring a favourable impression of the American people. To a large extent, some immature, uncouth and arrogant American businessmen were responsible for it. At a lunch in New York it was mentioned with emphasis in the hearing of Nehru that "it is a hundred-dollar lunch." At a dinner in New York by top
Nehru's Sensitivity to his Surroundings f07
American businessmen, one of them in his welcome speech declared, "Around this table sits one hundred billion dollars." At another time Nehru was reminded that the budget of General Motors was larger than that of the Government of India. All these "truths" jarred on a refined man like Nehru.
Soon after our return from the United States, I was having break- fast with Nehru one morning as he was alone in the PM's house. Out of the blue he came out with a statement, "Americans think they can buy up countries and continents." I asked him, "Aren't you judging a whole nation on the basis of your brief experience of some coarse businessmen in New York? I think Americans, on the whole, are a warm-hearted and generous people. In your judgment of the United States you are no better than the average American tourist who spends two weeks in this vast country of ours and writes a book about it," Nehru listened, lighted a cigarette and offered me one; but I never smoked in his presence.
Nehru did not normally eat bacon, ham or pork. Denmark is famous for its bacon because skimmed milk is fed to the pigs. Nehru had heard about this. While we were in Copenhagen, Nehru asked me to order bacon and eggs for breakfast.
On our Japanese tour Nehru had heard that Osaka was famous for suckling pigs as an item of food. While in Osaka he ordered it; but on that particular day it was not available. Nehru was dis- appointed.
While visiting an oystef farm in Japan, Nehru was persuaded by the Japanese Foreign Minister to eat some fresh oysters with a strong sauce. It took some persuasion for Nehru to agree.
While we were in Kobe, I told Nehru that about seventy-five years previously the Japanese never ate beef. Now they claimed Kobe beef the best in the world, and I asked, "How about ordering some for dinner?" He said, "Don't be silly." He knew that I was aware that he never ate beef anywhere in the world.
The grey-haired Japanese Foreign Minister Fujiama arranged a small dinner party in a posh restaurant in typical Japanese style with Geisha girls in attendance. The party consisted of only four persons — Nehru, Fujiama, Secretary-General N. R. Pillafand my- self. We sat on mats spread over a quilted floor with a Geisha girl on her knees behind each of us. Nehru and I sat on one side, Fujiama and Pillai opposite. As is the custom, women are not invited to Geisha parties. So, mercifully, Indira was not present.
108 - Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Nehru took it all in his stride and allowed himself to be fed by his Geisha, and, according, to custom, he did not fail to feed her occa- sionally. N. R. PUlai looked as shy as a bride. How he wished to exchange places with me because Nehru had to crane his neck to look at me! Nevertheless he did so twice and smiled at my activities. Nehru refused to touch the rice wine, but had helpings of green tea. The Geisha girls were well educated and well trained as hostes- ses.
I once told Nehru, "I think, if you were not Nehru, you would perhaps have liked to be a ptarmigan." His curiosity was roused and he asked, "What is that?" I told him, "The autumn moult of the rock ptarmigan helps to camouflage this ground bird of the Tundra and Alpine slopes by giving it a patchwork appearance. Brown feathers are replaced by white ones. The winter plumage of the ptarmigan is pure white to blend with the snow. The spring moulting, triggered perhaps by the change in temperature, will produce a brown summer coat, almost all brown." He laughed and asked me, "Where do you get all these from?" I told him, "I am a sort of naturalist, and Hike to read books on animals and birds, trees and plants, mountains and oceans." From then on I lent him many of my books on these subjects. He was very careful in handling books and returned them promptly.
Once I got into trouble with Nehru for no fault of mine. From Calicut in Kerala he wrote a long note to his Private Secretary on 27 December 1955 with a copy to me. I reproduce it below:
I do not know what instructions are sent to places which I visit on my tours. Whenever I criticise the food or any arrangement, I am told it is strictly according to instructions. The food con- sists usually of long many-course meals of the type one normally gets in a railway refreshment room. Sometimes the food is fairly good, sometimes not. But the main thing is that very elaborate arrangements are made for my meals and some hotel or restau- rant is put in charge of them. Usually a large group of persons from the hotel comes from some other city with a good deal of paraphernalia and arranges the long meal.
2. People have been told that I should have meals after the European style and that various kinds of meat are necessary. As a matter of fact I usually take only half the meal and even there I leave out most of the meats. I am not particularly fond of
109 - Nehru's Sensitivity to his Surroundings 109
either meat or of the European style although, if it very good, I like it.
3. When I arrrived in Calicut and reached Krishna Menon's house, I found that there was much consternation at the pros- pect of my having to be provided with plenty of meats after the European style. The house is vegetarian and they were unhappy about this. Worse still, the District Magistrate sent four chickens to be slaughtered and cooked. The lady of the house was com- pletely upset at this idea. Fortunately I came in time to prevent this outrage on her sentiment and I asked specially for a Mala- yan vegetarian meal, A very good dinner was given to me which I enjoyed.
4. At Nilambur where the local Raja provided our party with lunch, this was the first occasion in his life meat entered his house. Evidently he disliked the idea, but did not wish to come in the way of my presumed tastes. As usual, some hotel had been asked to organise the meal and they gave a seven-course affair full of heavy meats and fruits which I hardly touched.
5. I am not a vegetarian, but I do not eat much meat at any time and often I do not eat it at all at home. Therefore, there is , not only no need for laying stress on meat, but I would much rather not have it when I am touring and require light meals, The only instruction that should be sent is that I am prepared to eat anything provided the meal is a light one and there are no chillies or spices in it. On the whole, I would prefer a vegetarian meal unless this upsets the party or the hosts. In any event, the meal should be a light one. Normally I would like food after the local fashion except for the chillies and the spices.
; 6. When I.am staying in some circuit house, then some outside arrangements normally have to be made. They can provide me with any food which is convenient, including European food. But there should be few courses and the meal should be light. Ela- borate hotel arrangements requiring staff to travel about are undesirable.
When he returned to Delhi, Nehru angrily asked me, "Who sent the stupid circular?" I said, -Some time ago Padmaja Naidu asked me to send a circular to all Raj Bhawans, Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries about what food and fruit juices should be served to you She had even put mphalsa juice which i$ unheard of in the south.
110 - Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
As I did not like petticoat interferences, I refused and told her that nothing should be done about a matter like that unless it had your personal approval. She kept quiet. On enquiry I discovered that Padmaja imposed herself on one of the Private Secretaries who sent a circular, as drafted by her without my knowledge." I told him, "On receipt of your note, a new circular was sent to all concerned cancelling the old one and incorporating the suggestions contained in your note." He said, "Padmaja is good at some things; but she is, by no means, a culinary expert in either Indian or European dishes."
It was the same sensitivity to surroundings that made him make a rather unwise statement before his departure from Moscow. After a tour of the Soviet Union where he received a tumultuous welcome everywhere, he said, "I am leaving a part of my heart behind." It was the same thing which prompted him, after his visit to China, to encourage the slogan "Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai."
Soon after the Chinese overran Tibet, Nehru and Krishna Menon started talking in public that India and China had lived in peace for 3,000 years, implying thereby that eternal peace would reign. About this time Nehru and Krishna Menon happened to be in my study in the PM's house one evening. I told them, "My study of history has led me to the inescapable conclusion that in the past whenever China was strong, it was expansionist." Nehru frowned and Krishna Menon looked glum. I added firmly, "Both of you may live to realize this in your lifetime because China is now strong." And they did realize it after the treacherous Chinese invasion of India. Then Nehru and Menon repeated in public exactly what I had told them in the privacy of my study.
Nehru was not a good judge of situations. After the partition of India was decided upon, he visited Lahore in 1947. 1 was with him. We stayed in the house of Dewan Ram Lai. At a press conference in Lahore, Nehru held forth and asserted that when partition was brought about, things would settle down and both contending parties would want to maintain peace in their respective areas. Most pressmen were sceptical. They asked, "What makes you think so?" Nehru replied, "Forty years of public life." We all know what happened subsequently.
After his visit to Spain, he met A.C.N. Nambiar in Europe. Nambiar asked Nehru what would be the ultimate outcome of the civil war in Spain. Nehru replied that the Republicans would win. He then waited for Nambiar 's comments. Nambiar told him bluntly
111 - Nehru's Sensitivity to his Surroundings HI
"Like all the Liberals in England, Europe and the United States and Krishna Menon, you are indulging in wishful thinking My assessment^ is that, much to my dislike, the Republicans have not got the ghost of a chance. More blood will flow and Franco will emerge as the ruler of Spain." This made Nehru not only annoyed but angry. We all know what happened.
Dr Konrad Adenauer, the late Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, whom Winston Churchill once described as the greatest German since Bismark, has, in the third volume of his Memoirs relating to the period. 1955-59, devoted twenty pages to India and Nehru. Among other things, he wrote: .
Nehru made a good impression on me at our first meeting. He was an attentive listener. His own statements were made calmly and in polite and low tone. His movements were measured and his ways were unobtrusive and restrained.
Towards the end of the twenty pages, Adenauer stated:
Nehru did not impress me as a realist. He struck me as being all too ready to believe what fitted into his picture of the world To let modifications into this picture of his, Nehru manifested little disposition.
Undoubtedly Nehru is a very cultivated person. He is clear m the use of words and at formulations. But difficulties of deep political issues, he did not estimate rightly. His way of thinking ' represented a curious mixture of British and Indian views. This led him not to see the realities of politics.
Adenauer ended up with a quotation from an article by the editor of the German periodical Aussenpolitic (Foreign Affairs) which underlined the disappointment Nehru felt over the turn in China's policy, so very different from the expectations so firmly held by Nehru. J
Page 112
21 Nehru's Attitude to Money
When I joined Nehru in Allahabad early in February 1946 I discovered that his finances were being looked after by Bachhraj and Co., Bombay, a private firm of the late Seta Jatnnalal Bajaj, a close associate of GandhijPs and a bussinessman. After a couple of months, when I accompanied him to Bombay, Nehru asked me to visit Bachhraj and Co. and make a study of his finances. After some time, at Nehru's instance, I took over all his assets from Bachhraj and Co. His assets consisted of what he inherited from his father and what could be salvaged out of the royalties on his books which V. K. Krishna Menon mismanaged in the early stages. Krishna Menon's jurisdiction was originally limited to the United Kingdom, the British Empire (including India) and Europe. There was a separate publisher for the United States and Latin America.
As soon as Nehru accepted office in the interim government on 2 September 1946, all his assets except his ancestral house and his personal bank account were gifted to India. They amounted to about Rs 150,000.
When the book Discovery of India was ready for publication, the publication rights for India were taken away from Krishna Menon and given to the Indian publisher. The Discovery of India brought in good amounts in royalty from everywhere. . As and when royalties swelled and savings began to accrue Nehru continued to transfer amounts to Indira and, occasionally, some as gifts to the Kamala Nehru Memorial Hospital, apart from putting in Rs 25,000 each in the names of his two grandsons in Government of India Small Savings Certificates. I felt sad that Nehru did not make some provision for S. D. Upadhyaya and Hari who had served his father and himself for long years on mere pittances.
One day Chairman A. K. Roy of the Central Board of Reve-
113 - Nehru's Attitude to Money
uee told me that Nehru could deduct up to fifteen per cent from his royalties for secretarial assistance, and that he could claim, refund for the past five years-which would be a substantial! amount, and then continue the deduction annually
At about this time Nehru was on a holiday in Mashobra (Simla) . On his return from Mashobra, he handed me the draft of his Will. He asked me to read it and tell him what I Thought. I read it., and again felt sad that he had provided nothing for his two faithful employees, Upadhyaya and Hari.
„The next morning while going to office, I told Nehru that I hadread the will and have found the language very moving. He asked me to get it typed. The will was signed in my presence and witnessed by Kailas Nath Katju and N. R. Pillai who was then the Secretary- General of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Two days later I spoke to Nehru about A. K. Roy's talk with me regarding refimd for the past five years for secretarial assistance on the royalty income. I said I had the papers, asking for the refund ready for his signature. He was annoyed and said, "I am not going to follow the advice of that fathead; I spend no money on score tanal assistance; so, why should I claim refund?" I stood my ground and quietly told him, "I do all the work in connection with the royalties on your books; and I see no reason why I should not take the refund due and deductions in subsequent years." Then 1 placed the papers before him. He kept quite and then said, "in. that case I will sign the papers" and he meekly did.
When the refund cheque for a substantial amount came from the Income Tax Dept I took it to Nehru and told him that 1 did not need the money. I said, "Your will as well as some of your previous actions in disposing of your savings totally ignoring Upadhya and and Hari.made me sad The refund cheque is to ratify that omission. I want to open a separate bank account to be called the Employees Welfare Account in your name, pav the bulk of it to Upadhyaya and Hari to be kept in small saving certificates and keep the rest for the benefit your servants in Anand Bhawan who worked for you while you were not in a position to help them. I want this exercise to be repeated every year for the rest of your life." He looked at his desk with his head bowed in thoughtfulness . Then he looked at me with a celetial smile , I could read all his emotions from his face which was a mirror , he could never hide his emotions ; and. at times , he
114 - i Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
had the peculiar capacity to speak volumes without uttering a word.
Early in the Khrushchev era in the Soviet Union, Ambassador Menshikov asked Nehru, at an interview, for permission to publish his books in Russian. Nehru agreed. Later he told me about it— for- tunately well in time. I asked the Secretary-General of the Ministry of External Affairs to tell the Soviet Ambassador that the matter had to be finalized with me before he could make any proposals to Moscow. The Ambassador promptly came to see me. I told him that our practice was to charge fifteen per cent on the sale price as royalty and repatriate the royalties to India in rupees periodically at our request. The Ambassador agreed to do this as a special gest- ure to Nehru. Normally the Soviet Union does not allow royalties to be repatriated. The authors concerned can spend the money . within the Soviet Union.
Later, I told Nehru that if other Ambassadors of Communist countries asked fiim for similar permission, he might generally agree but ask them to fix the details with me. I added that I wanted to do business with them on my terms. Thus I had to deal with the Ambassadors of China and several East European coun- tries. In fact, over a period of years, Nehru received more royal- ties from Communist countries than from all the Western countries put together. As a consequence, Nehru's gifts to Indira and Kamala Nehru Hospital went up and Upadhyaya and Hari and the old Anand Bhawan employees continued to receive substantial sums from the Employees Welfare Account.
It might be mentioned here that Indira will continue to live largley by her father's pen now that she has ceased to hold office. It was amusing and pathetic to see her attempting to put herself two steps higher than her father while she was Prime Minister. Poor fish! I suppose most women are overburdened by illusions.
After my resignation from the Prime Minister's office in 1959, I was going to Moscow and London for three months in the summer of that year. Nehru knew I had no foreign exchange. He graciously wrote to Ambassador K. P. S. Menon in Moscow and to his literary agent in London asking them to give me as much money as I needed or asked for, and forwarded to me copies of these. I replied thanking him for his kind gesture and telling him, "I have not taken any money from you so far. Both in Moscow and London I will be staying with personal friends; I intend
115 - Nehru's Attitude to Money « , -
to make no purchases; my requirements will be limited to a couple of haircuts for which my hosts will gladly pay." I declined to -accept his offer.
While he was Prime Minister, and even before, Nehru never asked anyone for money privately even for a good cause. He consistently refused to accept any donation in cash from anyone for any cause. I am afraid not all his successors followed this prac- tice. His technique was public appeal. He would also accept purses jpven to him publicly for a political or public cause
Once Nehru made an exception. After the death of Sir Stafford Cnpps a committee in London requested Nehru's assistance to collect a token amount in India for a memorial to Cripps. After much hesitation and deliberation Nehru wrote to a few people including the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Jam Saheb of Nav- nagar, for small contributions not exceeding Rs 5,000 in each case A sum of about £5,000 was thus collected and remitted to the London committee.
On the eve of the first general elections, the Nawab of Bhopal Mk ™ SOl,C,t , ed chet >f f ° r ^ 50,000 throngh Vyaya Lakshmi Pand.t. Since returning the cheque would have offended the senti-
ftft „ a thC 1 NaWab> Nehra handed over «* cheque to
afwetst'ot.™ ^ *"» ° f NeWs ** ta "»»~*
Until the influx of refugees to Delhi from 1946 onwards Nehru
TuW "Ti!" 8 *"*? ab0Ut Rs 200 » <-"- Soon the amount
r d nZ V£ w f d 8i r away moneyto P e °P ,e in ***!
Z* *L Tk aSk "" f ° r more - TJus became a daily aff ai ; much beyond he capacity of any individual. I stopped it, saying
toW mlT T^r* l ° ° arry m ° ney ° n his **» Nehru told me "Then I will five on credit." And he began to borrow
S" «™°ty officer to give to refugees. I warned all the security staff not to lend more than ten rupees a day to Nehru ?*"* 1 ,«™?*l fo r money to be placed at the disposal of one of Nehru's Private Secretaries from the Prime Minister's
^enZn *"? 2? ™ S Hindi - kn -^ officia, started to fin H.! T, . f Neh ™ S resMenCe ear 'y ta "* morning daily
"al Imlo h^° D ^, SPOt f?"" fr0m NehrU fOT « ivin « fin ^ «al aid to those in distress. Such people were also directed to meet
the Private Secretary in his office to receive assistance and ™d!
116' - Reminiscences of the Nehru Age.
j
Eventually this official came to be called "Private Secretary (Public)."
Nehru was very frugal, to the extent of being parsimonious, about spending money on himself. But he did not hesitate for a moment to buy a painting "of Gandhiji's in meditation done by Mrs Sass Brunner for Rs 5,000. Aneurin Bevan once told me that the personality of a man can be judged by how much of his income he spent on himself. Bevan, a poor man himself, would buy- paintings from struggling artists whenever he could and present them to various people.
Nehru was particular to keep his hands clean in regard to money matters; but he did not object to others dirtying their hands. to raise funds for the Congress Party or causes in which he was- interested. More about this in the next chapter.
When Nehru died on 27 May 1964, all he left behind was. his ancestral house in Allahabad and just enough money in his per- sonal bank account to pay his meagre estate duty.
In matters financial, Nehru had a dread of public opinion. In this he was quite different from Sardar Patel. In one instance,. Nehru took this dread and fright to a ludicrous extent. I laughed. He asked me gravely, "Why are you laughing?" Then I narrated to* him a story about public opinion. While Lloyd George was- Prime Minister of Great Britain, the British Ambassador in Moscow called on the Bolshevik Foreign Minister Chicherin. Tea and snacks were served. The British Ambassador started telling Chicherin how difficult the position of his Prime Minister was- because he had to take into account public opinion in Great Britain. He added that in this respect the Soviet Government was in a much easier position. Chicherin contradicted the Ambassador and said that they in the Soviet Union also had to take public opinion. into account in their country. He added, "It all depends how one- handles public opinion." At that time a friendly cat of the Kremlin walked into the room mewing. Chicherin caught hold of the cat and fondled it. He took the honey bottle from the tea table and poured some honey into a saucer. Then he handed over the cat to the Ambassador asking, "Mr Ambassador, can you make the cat drink the honey?" The Ambassador fondled the cat and gently bent its head to the saucer. The cat sniffed and turned its head away. In triumph tMs Ambassador said, "Ah, that proves my point/*" Chicherin smiled and took over the cat and dipped its tail in
Nehru* s Attitude to Money \yj
the saucer of honey and let it go. The cat sat there and lapped up the honey by licking its tail. Chicherin sat back and told the Ambassador, "In most cases public opinion is a convenient excuse. There are ways and ways of dealing with public opinion unless you want to be its victim."
Nehru listened with attention and amusement. But he said noth- ing. I asked myself, "What can he say?"
22 G. D. Birla
Soon after Sardar Patel's death on 15 December 1950 Ghanshyam- das Birla rang me up to say he wished to meet me. I received him in my study in the Prime Minister's house. It was the first time I was seeing him, even though in the past he had been sending for the Prime Minister, through me/Alphonso mangoes from Bombay and luscious figs from Nasik once, a year and good asparagus from his garden in Delhi, occasionally. At the meeting he told me that the Finance Ministry was creating difficulties for him and his firms inasmuch as his firms were going to be taxed and otherwise penalized for the very large donations made to the Congress during the freedom struggle over a period of years. This was on the basis of the report of the Income Tax Investigation Commission appointed by Liaqat AH Khan while he was Finance Member in the interim government. He said that Finance Minister CD. Deshmukh, with his civil service background under the British, had no conception of the circumstances under which. these donations were made. Practically all these donations were made at the instance of Gandhiji and Sardar Patel. He added that he was deeply distressed at the injustice being done. He did not know jiow to proceed in the matter. He said his relationship with. Pandit Nehru was never close and that there was always a distance between them. I told him that Pandit Nehru was never associated with fund collections for the Congress and that, instead of approaching him directly, he might meet Maul ana Azad and explain the situation to him. I added that I felt sure that Mauiana Azad would speak to the Prime Minister. In the meantime I mentioned to the Prime Minister about G. D. Birla's meeting with: me and what transpired.
G. D. Birla did as I asked him. Subsequently, Mauiana Azad spoke to the Prime Minister; and the PM sent for G. D. Birla and
<7. D. Birla U9
had a talk with him. Incidentally, whenever G. D. Birla asked for interviews, the PM invariably met him at the PM's house in the mornings, before leaving for office. After the meeting with Birla some correspondence took place between the PM and Finance Minister Deshmukh. The latter took a rather rigid attitude initially. The PM made it clear to Deshmukh that donations given to the Congress before independence should not be treated as donations to a political party but to a national movement engaged in the freedom struggle against a foreign power. The, PM made it clear that he would not like to be a party to penalize people who took risks in helping the freedom struggle. The Finance Minister at last agreed to do the right thing. Later, the PM told me that I might verbally inform G.D. Birla about the outcome.
One day, soon after, G.D. Birla had a long talk with me. Among other things, he said, "I was considerably influenced by Gandhiji's trusteeship theory. Before independence I divested myself of all my assets. Some was distributed to my children, but most of it went to public charitable trusts such as the Birla Education Trust which runs the Institute of Technology at Pilani. All I get now is Rs 5,000 per month, free of income tax from Birla Brothers (Private) Ltd." I commented, "There is talk of government introduc- ing wealth tax and estate duty in the future; then you won't be affected by them as you are as free from assets as a frog is from feathers." He admitted it would be so.
One day Nehru related to me an encounter G. D. Birla had with him in the winter of 1925. Nehru had written to Gandhiji and said that he was unhappy about being a financial burden on his father and wanted to stand on his own feet. The difficulty was that he was a wholetime worker of the Congress. Gandhiji, in his reply dated 15 September 1924, wrote, "Shall I arrange for some money for you? Why may you not take up remunerative work? After all you must live by the sweat of your brow even though you may be under Father's roof. Will you be correspon- dent to some newspapers? Or will you take up a professorship?"
On 30 September 1925 Gandhiji again wrote, "I would not hesitate to ask a friend or friends who would consider it a privilege to pay you for your public services. I would press you to take it from public funds if your wants, owing to the situation in which you are and must be, were not extraordinary. I am myself convin- ced that you should contribute to the common purse either by
120 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
doing some business or by letting your personal friends find funds for retaining your services. There is no immediate hurry, but without fretting about it come to a final decision. I will not mind even if you decided to do some business. I am sure that Father will not mind any decision you may arrive at so long as it gives you •complete peace." (Gandhiji had not realized the extent of the pride •of the Father and the Son.)
Obviously, Gandhiji mentioned the matter to G. D. Birla who turned up at Allahabad. With great diffidence G.D. Birla spoke to Nehru and offered to make adequate arrangements in whatever manner Nehru liked. Nehru succeeded in suppressing his annoy- ance, but gently declined the offer.
G. D. Birla and his close relatives were generous to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur for a project sh<* had sponsored and with which I subsequently associated myself with Nehru's knowledge. Ulti- mately this brought trouble to me. About this I shall write separa- tely.
Nehru once told me what he thought of G. D. Birla. He said, "Ghanshyamdas Birla is a curious combination of a buccaneer in his early days and a very generous man."
Early in 1955, G, D, Birla had a long talk with me. He said that Gandhiji and Sardar Patel made use of him in several ways. He added, "The second general elections are to be held this winter. For the first general elections the AICC had some funds left behind by Sardar Patel. I shall be happy to help in the collection of a central fund from prominent industrialists if Panditji welcomes it." I told him that it was not very desirable to bring Panditji directly into the picture. I said I would discuss this matter with a few people and also mention it to the PM and then get into touch with him. I called a meeting attended by T.T. Krishnamachari, Lai Bahadur and U. S. Malliah. I told them of G.D.Birla's talk with me and that I had appraised the PM of it. I said we should give a target to G. D. Birla for the central fund, taking into account the fact that the Provincial Congress Com- mittees would be collecting money from all except the big indus- trialists. The consensus at the meeting was that a target of ten million rupees for the Congress Central Election Fund should be aimed at. ,
Another meeting of the same persons was subsequently held at T. T. Krishnamachari's residence with G, D. Birla also present.
<G.D. Birla 12I
Birla said that the target was not impossible to achieve. He suggested that a separate bank account should be opened in the name of the PM. G. D. Birla was asked to go ahead with the ■ collection anticipating the PM's acquiescence.
I arranged for T.T. Krishnamachari, Lai Bahadur and Malliah
-to meet theTM in my presence. The PM had already learnt from
' m e what had happened till then. T. T. Krishnamachari suggested
that the PM might agree to open a separate bank account in his
name. I intervened and said that even the PM needed protection and
•that the account should be in the names of two persons. I suggested
-the name of Morarji Desai, who then happened to be the Treasurer
■of the Indian National Congress. The PM approved; but T.T.
Krishnamachari was later annoyed with me because he never had
.any use for Morarji.
The collections for the Congress Central Election Fund exceeded the target by Rs 2,500,000.
On return from one of his rare visits to Anand Bhawan, Allahabad, I found Nehru glum and irritable. I asked Indira, "'What is biting the 'old man*?" She told me that when the AICC -shifted from Swaraj Bhawan to Delhi, the building was left in a •shockingly dilapidated condition, and that her father was deeply ; hurt by the callousness of the AICC authorities; he did not know liow to get the extensive reconstruction, restoration and repairs done ;and where the money was to come from. The building was to be used as the Children's National Institute of which Mrs Shyam Kumari Khan was Director.
I spoke to G.D. Birla and told him that something should be •done to restore the building steeped in history. He immediately wrote out a cheque for Rs 100,000 from one of his trusts in favour of the Swaraj Bhawan Trust and sent it to the PM for his accept- ance. Nehru was pleased and informed B, C. Roy, who was a trustee of the Swaraj Bhawan Trust. The cheque was forwarded to Shyam Kumari Khan. G.D. Birla also got a cheque for Rs 25,000 from one of the trusts of Kasturbhai Lalbhai for the same pur- pose.
In the meantime, I had asked Shyam Kumari Khan to get a good architect to make an estimate for a thorough renovation of Swaraj Bhawan. Without delay Shyam Kumari Khan sent me the detailed report and estimate of the expenditure of about Rs 200,000. I placed them before the PM.
J *~ Reminiscences of the Nehru Age-
I mentioned to G. D. Birla that the estimate was for about Rs 200,000. Without a moment's hesitation he wrote out another cheque from his trust for Rs 100,000 in favour of the Swaraj Bhawan Trust and sent it to the PM. Nehru returned the cheque- to G. D. Birla saying that he was very annoyed with me for troubling him so muchi Since Nehru's attitude was negative and he- had no alternative plan to raise funds, I decided to circumvent him. On my advice, G. D. Birla tore up the cheque and wrote out another, for the same amount, in favour of the,Children's National. Institute, I forwarded it to Shyam Kumari Khan with instruc- tions that the amount was to be used exclusively for the restora- tion and renovation of Swaraj Bhawan, Three months later Nehru was told of my action. He kept quiet; probably he thought that scolding would not have much effect on me in a matter like this.
I would like to place on record that as long as I was officially- connected with the PM. G. D. Birla never asked me for any Tavour, big or small. He is too big a man to do any such thing.
After a visit to the Institute of Technology at Pilani, the British statesman, Aneurin Bevan, told me, "Jt is a firstrate insti- tution built up by an imaginative and big-hearted man.*' Ambassador A.C.N. Nambiar, who lived in Europe continuously for fifty-five years and knows much about European universities, particularly in. West Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland and Sweden, told me, after a couple of visits to his niece, who was Dean of Humanities at Pilani, that the Birla Institute of Technology at Pilani in many ways compares very favourably with similar institutions in Europe.
It has been a fashion with secondrate politicians to howl against the so-called big businessmen and industrialists. Some of these men, who have been builders of this country and not slogan- mongers, are bigger than most of the howling politicians put together. If any of them has done irregular things, let the govern- ment penalize them. Why howl?
From 1952 onwards G. D. Birla had been sending to Nehru on his birthdays a sum calculated at Rs 1,000 per year of his age plus- one rupee to be spent at his discretion. These cheques were invariably credited to the account called Distress Relief Fund from which innumerable struggling students, widows, and people do distress have received succour.
123 - Page
23 Nehru and Alcoholic Drinks
Very many people have asked me if Nehru drank. My invariable answer is, "Yes— water." But he was never an intolerant puritan like Morarji Desai.
The only time I have seen him sip a drink was at the mountain resort, Burgenstok, in Switzerland. We had gone there from London for a conference of heads of Indian missions in Europe. At the instance of Lady Mountbatten, Nehru had invited Charlie Chaplin to come up from fcis place, Vevy, to Burgenstok for a couple of days. Nehru had told me in advance that I should be with Charlie Chaplin whenever he himself was otherwise engaged. Charlie Chaplin was Nehru's guest at the hotel where we stayed. This gave me a welcome chance of avoiding the conference of pompous Ambassadors.
Charlie Chaplin had then only recently settled down in Switzerland, having left the United States where he haa some bitter experiences, personal and political. He never became a naturalized American citizen and jealously kept his British pass- port. He spoke to me frankly about his experiences in the United States. He was bitter but spoke very highly of Franklin Roosevelt. For all the rest, including Eisenhower who was then President of Columbia University and a prospective President of the United States after Truman, he had only unmitigated contempt. He spoke very warmly about Greta Garbo and told me about kissing her knees after asking her permission. I told him that I saw Greta Garbo at the Waldrof Astoria hotel in New York, standing in a queue to have a look at Nehru as he passed by. Charlie Chaplin said, "She would not do such a thing to a mere head of govern- ment," and added, "to her and to many of us Nehru is much more than the Prime Minister of India."
Charlie Chaplin's way of talking and gesturing were very
124 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
feminine and endearing. During his two days in Burgenstok I -spent several delightful hours with him.
One evening Charlie Chaplin and I were sitting in a quiet corner -of the hotel lounge, sipping sherry. Just then Nehru walked in and rsat down with us. Charlie Chaplin asked him to have a sherry with us. Nehru told him that he did not drink and that he did not like the taste of any alcoholic drink. Like a woman Charlie Chaplin -charmingly persisted and at last ordered a glass of sherry. In order not to offend Charlie Chaplin, Nehru took a sip, contorted his face, and put it away.
On our way back to Geneva by car, Charlie Chaplin travelled -with Nehru who halted at Vevy on Lake Geneva to have lunch "with him and his wife Oona whom Charlie was never tired of referring to as the luminous beauty. Throughout the journey Charlie Chaplin was on tenter-hooks. He was frightened of motor travel on mountain roads.
During Nehru's visit to Germany, he had to give a return banquet to Chancellor Adenauer and his principal colleagues. Ambassador Nambiar wanted to serve drinks. He spoke to Secret- ary-General N. R. Pillai. They both came to me and asked me to -do something about it. I spoke to Nehru who flatly refused at my first attempt. I persisted and told him, "We are not in India; do you want to be a Morarji and impose prohibition on foreigners in their own country? They are used to drinks and it would be intolerance to deny them here. The Indians present can abstain from drinking." He thought for a moment and said, "All right, tell Nanu he can serve sherry to begin with and Moselle wine <white) and Rhine wine (red) and nothing else. He and N.R. Pillai should abstain from drinking." This was done even though ~N. R. Pillai was annoyed at the decision.
In Delhi Nehru used to put up important foreign dignitaries in the Prime Minister's house. I can remember Aneurin Bevan, Selwyn Lloyd, Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan staying in the Prime Minister's house. During their stay, bottles containing ^alcoholic drinks of various kinds were placed in their rooms for their use by the Protocol Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. An English-speaking servant was put on duty to serve them drinks whenever they wanted. But no drinks were served at ^Nehru's dining table.
Early in 1955 Ambassador K.P.S. Menon sent me a rather
Nehru and Alcoholic Drinks 125
diffident letter about serving alcoholic drinks during Nehru's impending visit to the Soviet Union. I put it up to the Prime: Minister who sent me a note which I reproduce below:
Prime Minister's Secretariat
So far as K.P.S. Menon's letter is concerned, you might make- it clear to him that in any party given by us, big or small, no alcoholic drinks will be served* I am sorry if this upsets the: Russians, but they should know how we function. The only- exceptions may be as follows:
At the small dinner to Government members, the Russians may- be served some sherry or light wine or vodka. No champagne to- anybody. No Indian present will be served or accept any- alcoholic drinks.
At the reception, no alcoholic drinks of any kind. You may tell' him that this was the rule we adopted in China. In fact there- were no exceptions at all in regard to alcoholic drinks. We had. previously informed the Chinese Government that I did not. drink and that we did not serve them. If K.P.S. Menon likes, he? may give this information to the Russians previously.
Page 126
24 Sarojini Naidu
I met her first in 1946 in Delhi. She was a short woman with the wide mouth of a frog. She had heard about me from her daughters Padmaja and Leilamani, She took kindly to me. I have never seen a woman so full of innate authority as Sarojini; and perhaps there never existed such an elderly woman so fond of sweets and rich food as she was. She was a wholly liberated woman, full of under- standing and sympathy for others. When her younger sister and her husband Nanu (A. C. N. Nambiar) fell out and separated Sarojim's sympathies were all for Nanu. She took his side against her own sister.
Under the influence of Gandhiji, Sarojini reluctantly issued a statement mildly, critical of her famous brother, Chatto (Virendra- nath Chattopadhyaya), about his terrorist activities. This infuria- ted her father, Aghornath Chattopadhyaya, who refused to see her ever again. When he was on his deathbed, Sarojini arrived at his house to have a last glimpse of him. The old man refused her permission. This remained with her, throughout her life, as a matter of great personal sorrow.
Sarojini, her son Jayasooriya and daughters Padmaja and Leila- mam, were the products of the composite culture of Hyderabad city. They were absolutely noncommunal; in fact a little too pro- Muslim. They had contempt for the Andhra Reddys. They were Nawabi in their outlook. Sarojini had a soft corner for the Indian princes of the north, particularly a few Muslim ones. She revelled in holding court and in gossip. She liked courtiers like K M Pamkkar to surround her and sing her praises. She had no use for socialism, loved the good things of life, and was a great liberal.
In 1946, when Nehru became Congress President, Gandhiji adv.sed him not to include Sarojini in the Working Committee as he was expecting important negotiations with the British and
Sarojini Naidu 127
feared that she would talk loosely and leak out secrets. Nehru replaced her by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya. Sarojini was furious for some time.
When independence came, Sarojini was the obvious choice for the woman's seat in the Cabinet; but she was considered too old and was sent as the UP Governor. She was a wonderfully good -Governor; but, alas, her tenure was cut short by her sad demise.
I accompanied Nehru to Lucknow on one of his brief visits. I was struck by the care and affection she bestowed on Nehru's old personal servant Hari. Accompanied by her ADC she visited Hari's room, herself carrying a large plate of sweets, with the ADC follow- ing with a bowl of fruits, and placed them in Hari's room. No -Governor but Sarojini would have done this. She was too big a person not to do it.
Poetess and orator, motherly and natural in her behaviour, Sarojini Naidu, hailed as the Nightingale of India, was perhaps the most gifted, the most accomplished and one of the greatest women this country has produced in the past few centuries.
Page 128
25 Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Bora in the princely family of Kapurthala in 1887, Rajkumarx Amrit Kaur was the only girl among six brothers. She had her schooling in England. After passing her Senior Cambridge exami- nation, she wanted to go to Oxford; but her mother stood in the- way. So she had to come back and to content with piano-play ing, some household chores, and tennis, at which she was very good,, and had won many trophies in.
Rajkumari told me once that in her time as a young girl Xh& three outstanding beauties in India were Indi Cooch-Behar, Tai Rajwade and herself. She fell in love with an Englishman; but her parents, particularly her mother, refused to entertain the idea of her marriage to a foreigner.
Progressively, Rajkumari came into conflict with her mother. Her father, though unhappy at the development, chose to keep* quiet. Her eldest brother was sympathetic to her and occasionally- indulged in threatening the mother. That was not of much help, The brother who stood by her was Lieutenant- Colonel Kanwar Shumshere Singh, one of the earliest Indian IMS officers. Rajkumarf left her home and stayed with Kanwar Shumshere Singh for whom she developed a lifelong affection and devotion. She did not return to her ancestral home in Simla until after her mother died. Then, she joined her father and functioned as his hostess. Viceroys and* Governors and other dignitaries were guests at her father's house.
Rajkumari once told me that in her life she hated only one- person. I asked her who the person was. She said, "My mother,'*' and proceeded to use the choicest epithets against her.
Rajkumari took a great deal of interest in the All India Women's- Conference which was an active organization during British times. Early in life she showed her capacity to raise funds for good causes. She was one of the founders of Lady Irwin College in New Delhi
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur 129
and considerably helped in building up that institution.
It was in the middle of the thirties that Rajkumari Amrit Kaur joined Gandhiji as one of his Secretaries. Prior to that she was in correspondence with Gandhiji and did some work for him in Simla and adjoining areas in the field of khadi and village industries. In 1959 the Rajkumari told me that everyone in her family including her beloved brother and protector Kanwar Shumshere Singh, dis- approved of her association with Gandhiji, leave alone staying in his primitive hut in Sevagram. Kanwar Shumshere Singh soon relented and became reconciled to it. In fact he even became the unofficial medical adviser to Gandhiji in so far as his writings on health subjects were concerned.
The actual period of time that the Rajkumari spent with Gandhiji was limited because she was sent out on errands by him and also to look after his interests in the Simla region. Then came Gandhiji's arrest and imprisonment in 1942. During the Quit India movement the Rajkumari was imprisoned in the Punjab. This was her first jail experience. She told me she did not like it, mainly because of the rats, and lizards on the walls. She feared and detested both. Her jail term was short. She was released by the authorities on their own initiative. On Gandhiji's release, she joined him and was mostly with him until she became a Cabinet Minister on 15 August 1947.
The Rajkumari was not Nehru's first choice as the woman minister in his Cabinet. His choice was Hansa Mehta. Nehru had earmarked the Rajkumari for assignment as a Governor or Ambas- sador. However, Gandhiji intervened and pleaded for the Raj- kumari and Nehru fell in line.
Her ten-year tenure as Union Health Minister marked the con- trol and eradication of the scourge of malaria in the country and the establishment of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. As minister, the Rajkumari was a little too much in the hands of her civil servants and her medical administrators. On more than one occasion in the Cabinet she could not adequately explain her ministry's proposals under consideration by the Cabinet. On being cross-examined by her Cabinet colleagues, she burst into tears. The consideration of the matter was postponed and at the next meeting of the Cabinet, the Secretary of her Ministry and the Director- General of Health Services had to be summoned to properly explain the proposals to the Cabinet.
130 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
The two most elegant Indian women I have met were Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. Theirs was an elegance which was simple in person, clothes and general turnout in contrast to the rather vulgar display by most Maharanis.
The Rajkumari was good at making brief, pretty speeches. More than the contents of the speech, her melodious and rich voice made people listen to her with attention. Where a reasoned speech on a specific subject was called for, or in a debate, she cut a sorry figure. As a writer she was poor. I once asked A.C.N. Nambiar, who knows French well, about the Rajkumari's command of spoken French. His reply was, "She is bold."
As a Congress minister, the Rajkumari indulged in talking ill of Congressmen. Congress MPs resented this. She fraternized with opposition MPs, particularly Communists. She liked being invited by Ambassadors and also entertaining them in her own house. It washer practice to speak to Ambassadors in disparaging terms about the Congress. It did not occur to her that it was unworthy of a Congress minister to do so. Once she wrote to Prime Minister Nehru assailing Congressmen and ended up by saying, "Congressmen are rogues and rascals; they are all for themselves and devil take the hindmost." Nehru was more amused than annoyed. He replied to her, "Thank you for the compliment; I am also a Congressman." This reminded me of an American woman Ambassador's visit to Pope Pius XI. She was one of the most beautiful women of her day with an acid and loose tongue, and was a recent convert to Catho- licism. She held forth about what the Catholic religion stood for and what was expected of the faithful. She exhibited all the zeal of a new convert. The austere Pope listened in silence to the long harangue and quietly dismissed her with one sentence, "But, Madame Ambassador, I am also a Catholic."
Once, at a conference of eminent medical men in Bangalore, the Rajkumari spoke about family planning and said that the rhythm method was the nearest to Gandhiji's ideas on the subject. She warmed up and added, "I can tell you from experience that the rhythm method is most effective." Coming from a spinster it was too much for the distinguished audience; but they controlled them- selves from bursting into laughter. What the Rajkumari really meant was "medical experience" and not her personal experience!
Once, the Rajkumari told me, not without girlish giggles, about a wealthy, elderly, distinguished, non.career High Commissioner
131 Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
proposing to her in her late sixties. She was particularly amused at the words he used, "Oh Amrit, won't you come and share, my loneliness?" Poor fellow, had to live out his loneliness all by himself!
In the 1961-62 general elections, the Rajkumari wanted to stand for re-election to Lok Sabha from the Jullundur constituency. Swaran Singh had earlier asked for it. The Rajkumari's own con- stituency was Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. The Congress Central Election Committee favoured Swaran Singh for Jullundur. It was suggested that the Rajkumari might stand from Mandi; as an alter- native the committee offered Kaithal in the Punjab which was a safe constituency. In her obstinacy, the Rajkumari said, "Jullundur or nothing." So she got nothing. This made her bitter. She was further embittered when she was not included in the Cabinet in 1962. When she ceased to be a Cabinet Minister, she had to shift from the spacious bungalow, 2 President's Estate. The government allotted her a smaller house on Akbar Road. Two days before shift- ing, I suggested to the Prime Minister that the Rajkumari might be allowed to stay on at 2 President's Estate. After all she was Chair- man of the Red Cross, T. B. Association, Leprosy Association and Chairman of the Governing Council of the AH India Institute of Medical Sciences which was a government institution. On the PM's recommendation the President reailotted 2 President's Estate to the Rajkumari on a rent of Rs 500 per month, inclusive of electricity and water supply. The Rajkumari was pleased and was grateful to me.
Soon after the Rajkumari ceased to be a Cabinet Minister, Nehru offered her the governorship of Madhya Pradesh, but she declined the offer.
When I left the PM's house in 1959.,! the Rajkumari asked me to stay in hers. I did so for a week. When I discovered that she would not accept payment for my food and other personal items, I left and stayed with a friend who was an MP. Two years later, the Rajkumari asked me to shift to her house and reluctantly agreed to accept payment. So I shifted. Some time later she told me that I should stay on until her death or that of her elder brother Kanwar Shumshere Singh, whichever came last.
The Rajkumari was somewhat overwhelming to the second generation of her family. Her attitude to her own sex was unfriend- ly and forbidding, but when one was in trouble, she would go all
132 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
out to help the person, regardless of who It was.
In 1962 the Rajkumari wanted to revise her will to make a substantial bequest to me. I prevented her from doing so. Then she decided to build a bungalow in the grounds of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on condition that she, her brother, and I could stay there during our respective lifetimes, after which it would become the property of the AIIMS. I now rather regret that I advised her against it. She and her brother also accepted my advice to gift her palatial house in Simla to the Government of India. This was done in 1963, and the President of India, with the concurrence of the Prime Minister, placed 2 President's Estate at their disposal free of rent for their respective' lifetimes. But alas, the Rajkumari died the following year; but her brother lived till the middle of 1975, reaching the age of ninety-six. I remained with him tilt the end, thus fulfilling a promise I had made to the Rajkumari.
The Rajkumari mothered me a great deal. I have the pleasan- test memories of this wonderful and courageous woman.
Page 133
26 Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Born with the century, Swamp, as she was christened, was one of the most beautiful women of her day. As was the practice among Kashmiri Brahmans, she took on the name of Vijaya Lakshmi on her marriage. To Nehru and close relatives and friends she was Nan.
She loved the good things of life, was a gourmet in her younger days and an excellent cook. Like her father and brother, she looked elegant in whatever she wore. It was a joy to look at this petit and elegant woman. Even in her old age she is attractive though she has neglected herself in recent years. She was generous and unfortunately extravagant. This brought her trouble later on.
In the Nehru family only Jawaharlal and Motilal made deliberate decisions to give up the life of comfort and adopt austerity when they threw themselves into the national struggle. All the rest, including Vijaya Lakshmi, were swept off their feet by force of events. Adjustments were not easy.
Vijaya Lakshmi spent 1945 and part of 1946 in the United States where she did good work for the cause of Indian independence countering the propaganda of the British and their stooge Girja Shankar Bajpai. Appropriately, she was present in San Francisco at the birth of the United Nations as an observer.
In 1947 Vijaya Lakshmi was pulled out of the UP Cabinet and senfas Ambassador to tJie Soviet Union/ a singularly^ wrong place for her temperament. She did not have the capacity as her succes- sor Radhakrishnan had, for philosophical detachment. In the bleak atmosphere of Moscow of the Stalinist era, with its awesome rigidity and regimentation, she was a square peg in a round hole. Even Nehru was then considered in the Soviet Union as a running dog of imperialism! Her tenure in Moscow was short and she was transferred as Ambassador to Washington. She told me that her
134 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
tenure in Moscow was a moral defeat but its end was a relief.
Washington society suited her. She revelled in it and loved holding court, entertaining and being entertained. Extravagance reached the highest pitch. Without permission she withdrew money from Nehru's royalty account with his American publisher. I had to write to the publisher prohibiting him from disbursing any amount from Nehru's royalty account to anyone in future without the written permission of Nehru or myself.
From 1946 onwards, until she was elected as President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1953, with one interruption, she led the Indian delegations to the UN General Assembly with distinction. After 1953 Krishna Menon took over from her.
Vijaya Lakshmi used to be a temperamental person and had the habit of cancelling appointments at the last moment. She once did this to Henry Cabot Lodge at the UN. He was naturally annoyed and sent her a message, "There are Brahmans in Boston also." The old New England families in Boston are called "Boston Brah- mans." Cabot Lodge came from a noted family in Boston.
Soon after Gandhiji's assassination a sealed file kept by Gandhiji was delivered to Nehru by Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. Nehru opened the file and, after a cursory perusal of the papers, called me and said, "These are the papers about young Vijaya Lakshmi's elopement with Syed Hussain. You had better burn them." I pleaded with him to let me keep them in my archives; but he was not in favour of it. I took the file from him and went straight to the kitchen in the PM's house and stood there until the papers were reduced to ashes.
Vijaya Lakshmi had the great gift of being extremely charming when a visitor was face to face with her and being extremely nasty after the visitor had departed. Perhaps it is part of the diplomatic process.
I was not unaware of Vijaya Lakshmi's criticism against me, that I was building up Indira against her. The fact is that I built up nobody against anybody.
After her tenure in Washington, Vijaya Lakshmi returned to India early in 1952 and was elected to the Lok Sabha. She hoped to become a Cabinet Minister. But Nehru did not consider it appropriate, under normal circumstances, to have his sister in his Cabinet. Her election as President of the UN General Assembly in 1953 came as a recompense. When Vijaya Lakshmi became an MP, the PM asked me to speak to the Works Minister to allot her
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit 135
a bungalow in New Delhi. I said it would lead to criticism. I suggested to the PM that the Works Minister might be asked to set apart a few bungalows for MPs who have been Cabinet Ministers, Governors or heads of missions abroad, as well as for leaders of opposition groups in both Houses of parliament. Nehru liked the idea and wrote to the Works Minister. Thus Vijaya Lakshmi got a bungalow without exposing herself or the PM to criticism.
In parliament Vijaya Lakshmi started getting frustrated. Secre- tary-General N. R. Pillai, of the Ministry of External Affairs, persuaded her, in consultation with me, to go to London as High Commissioner in succession to B. G. Kher. So off she went. As High Commissioner she created a good impression.
Swerung Brothers
niu-™. SS BROADWAY
aowu»> «u t iw., NEW YORK 4, N, Y.
June T9, 1954
Mr. B. H. Birla
A Royal Exchange Place
Calcutta, India
Dear Mr. Birla:
I have your letter of June 23rd regarding Mrs. pandit.
In September 19i7 we paid her tJOOO.OO- I think this payment was ae.de under Instructions from Mr. G. D. Birla. V« have a writtei, receipt from Mrs. Pandit for this amount dated September 17, 19i7, and ve also have the cancelled cheque which we sent her, endorsed by her to the Chase National Bank. This has never been repaid to us end the amount stands m our books as a debit against toe Birla Jute Mfg. Co., Ltd.
Please note that oo May 13, IQJO we gave Mrs. Pandit an ' adolUontd cheque for I50O0.00. She requested this amount in writing at the tine as a loan for a short time, but the fact IS tha-t tbi" loan has never been entirely repaid. We wrote and telephoned her severa. time* about it, and riniaiy on November 21, 1951 she paid ut back tJOQQ.UO leaving a balance of HCOQ.OO still unpaid. In Movenber 1951 she promised in writing that the resuming IJ0OO.0O voulj be paid within a short while, but we have never been able to collect this, and several letters which we wrote her about It have remained unanswered.
I spoke to Mr. M. P. Birla about thi: matter, and he has suggested that we debit the balance of tiOOO.OO to the Blrlt Jute Mfg. Co Please advise If you hare any other Instructions i a the natter
While Vijaya Lakshmi was in London, the PM received a letter from Ambassador G. L. Mehta in Washington forwarding a communication from Henry Grady who was the American repre- sentative in Delhi before, Grady enclosed a photostat of a letter from Vijaya Lakshmi, while she was Ambassador in Washington,
Page 136
•
Page 137
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Page 139
Swerving Brothers
96 Wall Sheet NbwYobjc o.N.Y,
OrUiul Tl» Air Hail BoraaAtr IB, IMS
»BT Tl» 8«% Mil
S*fBU» NEW VO*K Mr. BHjBOhu lirl* > Seynl Xxaban*;* PI not Client* a. India
DMT Mr. Blrlat copy »• he»t reealTad the folloirtiuj opl-la fit* OalsBita datad HoYmbar sth:
Tny dollar* a* urueh aa reiiuirad llfi, Ti Jayelakanni Paadlt Hearpehlra noun daMt ( a»e out asoount ahall raalt latar hope thomrjui aollara pratloualy iaatmotad airaedy paid*
Blrla
■ I prasicua this eeMe la free you. Mr*, Pandit baa not yet contacted se but rhii wl If ihi doaa ■a *l.ll pay har wasterer ah* aaka for hara. It la ■at quite elear to mt vhlah eac<xLnt you vent ue to dafclt esd, ualeet otharwiee lnatruoted, »e sia debit thaae pajaanta to the Ma* Paper Milla, Ltd.
Ike refaraaa. in tbe oahle to |1,<X>0, pr«Tlous"Ly lBa-truoted la si so not clear to uir. We paid Mr*. Pandit ft.,106; on April Si, 1«« and debited tola amount to tha Orient Paper Mlile, Ltd. aa instructed by you (ou^ Dealt Memo, to Orlant 00}. SuieemnntLy, sb September SO, 1S«, » paid Jl.OJO. to Ura, Anna Mo» for noo^unt of Mrs. panait aa inetrueted by Mr. 0. D. Blrla. This paynent **a debited to tha Blrla Jute Manufacturine C- {but Debit Maso. to than y"33) .
*a Imti O ot repaired rajtm*no*« for either tf these psmente. I bop* you elll lnetruot tha appropriate dayejrlaeata that ahan they naxe rsnlttanoee to ua they are to atstt rary dearly Jujt ythnu tha remittances are for, ahethar they ara for disouresnants for their aeonunt or afalnet oonlaalosa due ua. fa nust bare a lattar of this Mad identifying the rmmanoe 10 order to ketv our account a atralght.
Tours yery truly.
Swkrixng Brothers
as BROVDWAY XEW YORK 4, N. Y. ^S£1«S?^,K-
Juna 29, 1954
Hr. B, «. Blrla 3 Royal Exchange Place Calcutta, India
Dear Mr. Birla:
Further to jay lattar of todey, I find that another awn of $600.00 was paid by us to Hiss Tara Pandit on Hay 1, 1947 under instructions from Hr. Q. D. Blrla. Ua have a receipt frsn Kisa Tara pandit for tola asouot dated Kay 5, 1947.
This aaount was debited to tha Blrla Jut.:- Mf B . Co., Ltd. sincerely, J 101^-5 sL
140 -- Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
asking for the loan of a substantial sum. Her letter gave the astounding reason, of the failure of the Government of India to remit her salary and emoluments on time owing to foreign exchange shortage, for soliciting the loan. Grady stated that he failed to get back the money from Vijaya Lakshmi despite repeated requests. So he asked Ambassador Mehta for his help in getting the money back. The PM was astonished and wrote to Vijaya Lakshmi in London asking her to make early payment of the debt.
In the second half of 1954 the Chairman of the Income Tax Investigation Commission privately informed the PM that there were entries in the account books of two large Birla concerns of substantial sums of money having been paid to Vijaya Lakshmi. The PM asked me to get into touch with G.D. Birla and get confir- mation, I was reluctant to get involved in this. However, I had to do as I was told. G. D. Birla confirmed the report. He said, "There is only one national leader who has not taken any money from us, and that is Pandit ji. All others, including Mrs Pandit, have." He reeled out all the important names— from Gandhiji and Sardar Patel downwards. He added that Jayaprakash Narayan was shown as his Private Secretary in the books of Birla Brothers and was paid a monthly salary for long years until the assassination of Gandhiji. Because of Jayaprakash Narayan's attacks on him in connection with Gandhiji's assassination, Sardar Patel had asked Birla to stop further payments to Jayaprakash Narayan. G. D. Birla requested me to ascertain from the PM if he should resume payments to Jayaprakash Narayan. I said, "The PM is not the man to be consulted in a matter like this. You should take your own decision. If I were you, I would not only start paying him but also give him a lump sum to compensate him for the period for which payments were cut off."
I reported G. D. Birla's confirmation to the PM. He wrote to Mrs Pandit in London enquiring about the matter. She replied defying everything. Tile PM askeld me if I could get aiiy receipts from G. D. Birla. So I reluctantly contacted him again. He said that for any amounts paid in India in rupees there may not be receipts; but for amounts drawn in dollars by Vijaya Lakshmi or anyone on her behalf from the agent of Birlas in New York there would be receipts. He asked me, "Is this not an unprofitable exercise?" However, he asked his younger brother, B. M. Birla, to
141 Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
obtain the receipts from New York. The latter got the photostats of the receipts and I showed them to the PM.
I told the PM that it served little purpose to worry about the matter any more and that the melancholy chapter might be closed.
On return from her tenure in London, she was sent as Governor of Bombay. In 1962 she hoped that she would be selected as the candidate for Vice-Presidentship in place of Radhakrishnan; but Nehru had other ideas. He brought in Zakir Husain.
Some time after Nehru's death, Vijaya Lakshmi wrote to me from Poona to ask if I could visit her for a few days as she wished to discuss her future with me. I went. She told me that she would like to stand for election to Lok Sabha from Nehru's constituency in the by-election, but that Indira was dead set against it. Lai Bahadur and Kamaraj were not opposed and she felt that finally she would get the Congress ticket. She asked for my opinion. I told her that she should enter active politics only if she was mentally reconciled to being only an MP because, with Indira in the Cabinet, there was not the slightest chance of a second Nehru woman being in it, I added that if she was not mentally conditioned, a mere MP's job could only result in frustration and disappointment. On the other hand, she had all the facilities and time in Raj Bhawan to write the memoirs she had been planning for a long time. She said she was fed up with being a Governor who was no more than an organ-grinder's monkey. So she plunged into politics again and got elected to Lok Sabha. I felt sorry for her.
The years after Nehru's death had been not only an unrewarding but a tormenting period for Vijaya Lakshmi. She and Indira had never got on well in the past. When Indira became PM, things became worse for Vijaya Lakshmi. Indira foolishly took delight in being vindictive to her aunt. She was excluded even from official social functions. Word went round that contact with Vijaya Lakshmi was viewed with disfavour. Most people began to avoid her. When- things became intolerable, Vijaya Lakshmi resigned from the Lok Sabha, went away from Delhi and settled down in Dehra Dun.
In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections Vijaya Lakshmi came out of her retirement like a wounded tigress and helped in flattening out her niece, j watched as the inexorable process of one of the greatest of basic human passions— revenge with a vengeance— un- folded itself. Vijaya Lakshmi would, of course, say that it was for
142 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
the restoration of democracy, rule of law, and human values. That also is not incorrect.
A couple of years ago Vijaya Lakshmi asked me, "Why did Bhai drop me completely during the last phase of his life?" I did not wish to answer that question at the time, and managed to change the subject. I have already given in this chapter part of the reason. The other part is that Nehru did not want to build up a rival to his daughter who was much younger. More about this in the chapter on Indira!
Page 143
27 Some Books
S. Gopal's "Biography of Jawaharlal Nehru" (Vol. 1)
This is a disappointing book for which the author was extravagantly paid and certain other facilities were provided by the Nehru Memorial Fund in addition to allowing him to keep the royalties. The book is as dry as midsummer hay. It reads like a thesis of a young student for his M. Litt in History. It will remain at best as a miniature filing cabinet.
A concocted story in the book about what transpired at Krishna Menon's meeting with Molotov in 1946 should not be allowed to pass as history. Here is what Gopal has written:
As a step in building up an independent foreign policy unaligned to any Power, Jawaharlal had preferred to develop informal contacts rather than utilise British diplomatic representation Acting as Jawaharlal's personal envoy, Krishna Menon met Molotov, conveyed the new Government's earnest desire for friendly relations with the Soviet Union and sought assistance in food-grains. He also, stepping beyond his brief, spoke to Molotov about the possibility of Soviet military experts visiting India. This upset not only the Foreign Office and the Indian External Affairs Department but also some of Jawaharlal's colleagues in the Congress; and Krishna Menon received the first of, over the years, very many mildly worded cautions from his chief:
'I want to make it clear that I have complete faith in you and I am qmte sure that whatever step you will take will be taken after full consideration and with a view not to create any difficulties. So far as I am concerned, that is all right. But other people, who do not know you well, have also to be taken into
144 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
consideration and hence I have suggested to you that you might bear these people also in mind'.
When Nehru appointed Krishna Menon as the personal represen- tative of the Vice-President of the interim government in September 1946 to visit certain European capitals to pave the way for establish- ing diplomatic relations, Moscow was specifically excluded from his itinerary due to opposition from Gandhiji and Sardar Patel. Krishna Menon was upset at this exclusion. On his return from Western Europe Krishna Menon wrote a personal note in his own hand and gave it to me. In that he appealed to Nehru to send him to Moscow to do at least preliminary soundings for establishing trade relations. Nehru's letter to Krishna Menon dated 13 October 1946, quoted above by Gopal, was in reply to that.
Nehru wrote a letter to Molotov on 21 September 1946 and sent it directly to Moscow. In it he had enquired if the Soviet Union t
could render some food assistance to India. As Soviet Foreign h
Minister M. Molotov, happened to be in Paris for the Peace Con- ference, V. K. Krishna Menon, who was then in Europe, was asked to pay a personal visit to him to convey the request for food assis- tance as well as the greetings of the interim government. This was disclosed by Nehru in the Central Legislative Assembly.
So the. British Foreign Office, which in this context is the British Intelligence, planted on S. Gopal an absurd story of what transpir- ed at the meeting between Molotov and Krishna Menon. GopaL's concern at the British Foreign Office and the Indian External Affairs Department getting upset is amusing. The Indian External Affairs Department at that time consisted of Weightman, Duke, Fry and the young H. Dayal whose qualification was that he knew nothing about foreign affairs.
Whatever might have been Krishna Menon's faults, he was not *
capable of any blatant violation of Nehru's directives, more especi- ally in the early stages.
It was foolish to seek assistance in foodgrains from the Soviet Union as that country had no surplus food so soon after the war during which it had lost Ukraine and certain other fertile regions to the Germans, apart from the continued adverse effects of the scorched-earth policy during the war. It was one of Nehru's impul- sive moves. I was then not working in government as I had refused to join government for a whole year and preferred to assist Nehru
145 Some Books
at his residence. I have no recollection of India having received any foodgrain assistance from the Soviet Union in the early years of our independence.
_ The facts about the spadework for establishing diplomatic rela- tions between India and the Soviet Union are as follows:
In the autumn of 1946 Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was leading the Indian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly. V.K. Krishna Menon was not a full delegate; he was an alternate delegate. K.P.S. Menon was the Secretary-General of the delega- tion as well as an alternate delegate. Nehru sent a telegram to the leader of the Indian delegation suggesting that Krishna Menon and K.P.S, Menon might proceed to Moscow after the General Assembly session and broach with the Soviet Government the question of establishing diplomatic relations. The matter was mentioned to a Soviet delegate by the Secretary-General of the Indian delegation to be conveyed to Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Minister, who was leading the Soviet delegation. Thereupon, Molotov invited Mrs Pandit and the entire Indian delegation to a delightful luncheon at his house, with vodka and wine flowing freely. By the time lunch was over, diplomatic relations had been practically established between India and the Soviet Union. Molotov said that it was un- necessary for anyone to go to Moscow for this purpose, that he would communicate with his government, and that he felt certain that the Soviet Government would only welcome our move.
It might be mentioned that during Nehru's lifetime Krishna Menon never visited the Soviet Union. I believe that it was in 1967 or thereabouts, when he was no longer in government, that Krishna Menon first visited the Soviet Union. It was in connection with some meeting of the World Peace Cqtmcil.
Gopal has, several times in his book, referred to Krishna Menon as an Anglophil. It seems to be a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Maulana Azad's "India Wins Freedom"
This is a book dictated to Humayun Kabir by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in the evenings when the latter used to be in an expansive mood.
The Maulana has praised Nehru for dropping the case against the political officer in Malakand, North- West Frontier Province,
146 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
This official acted in an unabashed manner as ,the virtual agent of the Muslim League by instigating tribesmen to stage demonstrations against Nehru during his visit to that area in the middle of October 1946 and to fire at him and his party. Nehru and Khan Sahib were in the first car. I was following in the second car with a couple of senior police officers, Nehru's car was hit by a bullet. We all got down. A bullet whistled past me almost touching my nose. For the first time I felt content that I^3id not have a pronounced nose.
On return to Delhi, Nehru took up the question on disciplinary action against the criminally erring official. Viceroy, Lord Wavell did everything to frustrate it. It dragged on and Nehru finally let it slide in disgust. He made no secret of his displeasure. The Maulana's conception of magnanimity to an official charged with criminal misconduct is absurd. ■ -
Maulana Azad says that when the first dominion government was formed on 15 August 1947 Gandhiji had insisted that he should take up the Ministry of Education as it was of vital importance. This is totally incorrect. On Gandhiji's usual silence day on a Monday he wrote a personal letter to Nehru on the inside of a used envelope advising him not to make Maulana Azad the Education Minister as he was convinced that the Maulana would ruin education. Gandhiji added that the Maulana should be a Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet and function as an elder statesman. Nehru could not comply with Gandhiji's wishes because the Maulana adopted the attitude "Education or nothing."
Gandhiji's letter is in the archives I painstakingly built up from 1946 onwards and left behind in the old Prime Minister's house, now called Teen Murti House.
Incidentally, Gandhiji's choice for the Education Ministry was Zakir Husain.
HlREN MUKERJEE'S "THE GENTLE COLOSSUS"
Of all the books written about Nehru after his death, this little book has appealed to me the most. Of course, its size proclaims that it is not an exhaustive biography. And the author has no pre- tensions on that score.
Page 147
28 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
This handsome, impressive-looking Muslim divine, made more impressive by his neat moustache and well-trimmed goatee with tall fez cap, was an orator in chaste Urdu. During the rare occasions he spoke in parliament, there was a rush for seats. He was a divine- only in so far as his vast knowledge of Muslim religious lore and his internationally famous commentary on the Koran were concerned. For the. rest he was a man of the world who loved the good things of life.
In 1945, soon after his release from prison, some puritanical people reported to Gandhiji that the Maulana was drinking regularly in jail. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur told me that at their first meeting after release from jail, Gandhiji had asked the Maulana whether he drank. The Maulana denied the reports. An element of doubt persisted in Gandhiji's mind.
On 28 April 1946, while the Congress Working Committee was still engaged in examining the British Cabinet Mission's proposals, news reached Gandhiji that the Maulana, who was then Congress President, had written a letter to the Cabinet Mission without the knowledge of the Working Committee or himself. Humayun Kabir was the one who drafted the letter. The Maulana found similarity between his ideas of the solution of the communal problem and the ideas of the Cabinet Mission. The Maulana's solution was the maximum decentralization of power in the federal structure, with the provinces enjoying the largest measure of autonomy in all subjects, leaving the centre only with defence, foreign affairs, and communications. The Cabinet Mission found in the Maulana an ally in their difficult task. In the private letter to the Cabinet Mission, the Maulana had stated that there was no need for the Cabinet Mission to worry too much about Gandhiji or his misgivings about the Cabinet Mission's proposals. At the instance
148 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
of Gandhiji, Sudhir Ghosh managed to get the letter as a temporary loan from the Cabinet Mission. As Gandhiji finished reading the letter and putting it aside on his small, low writing desk in front of him, the Maulana arrived for his previously arranged interview. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, who was sitting behind a screen nearby, told me much later that she heard Gandhiji asking the Maulana a straight question whether he had written a letter to the Cabinet Mission about the negotiations in progress. The Maulana flatly denied having written any such letter. Gandhiji was stunned and deeply hurt at the Maulana's untruthfulness to him.
Again, on 22 June 1946, it was known that the Maulana had written a private letter to Viceroy Lord Wavell assuring him that, as Congress President > he would see to it that no Muslim name was included in the Congress list for the interim government, and if his own name was proposed, he would not agree to its inclusion. Again, the letter was drafted by Humayun Kabir. This upset not only Gandhiji but also Nehru and other members of the Working' Committee. Events overtook the Maulana and others -and Nehru replaced the Maulana as Congress President. Actually, Nehru included three Muslims in the interim government which took office on 2 September 1946. The Maulana then had no choice but to keep out.
I have referred to the Maulana in several other chapters. The Maulana was a vindictive man. His fierce opposition to Krishna Menon stemmed from the fact that during his visit to London a code telegram sent to the High Commission for the Maulana by the PM was delivered to him only seven days after its arrival in London, Also, Krishna Menon generally neglected the Maulana. Krishna Menon ought to have known that the Maulana was vain and sensitive, and it would have done Menon no harm if he had arranged for the Maulana some "spiritual nourishment."
When the Maulana visited Germany, he stayed at the embassy in Cologne as the guest of Ambassador A.C.N. Nambiar who, as a meticulous person and an excellent host, knew the Maulana's tastes and habits. He set up a small bar in the Maulana's room with plenty of whisky, brandy, Moselle white wine, Rhine red wine, and French vintage champagne. The Maulana specially liked champagne while abroad. Nambiar discovered that the Maulana was most happy to be left alone in his room surrounded by the bottles. NambiaF
149 Montana Abul Kalam Azad
had only one complaint. He had invited several important Germans, ministers and others, for a dinner in honour of the Maulana. Immediately after the dinner the Maulana sneaked out and remained in his room alone sipping champagne. The same thing happened later in London where the Maulana stayed at the High Commissioner's residence in the Millionaires' Lane as the guest of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, who gave a dinner in honour of tie Maulana, The guests included Sir Anthony Eden, Lord Mount batten and several other dignitaries. The moment dinner was over, the Maulana quietly disappeared without attracting any- one's notice. Soon, Eden and others asked where the Maulana was. Mrs Pandit had to resort to a diplomatic white lie to save face. The fact was that the Maulana was in his room sipping champagne.
On return from the tour, the Maulana was all praise for Nambiar as our best Ambassador abroad. T. T. Krishnamachari, without imbibing champagne or any other fluid, said the same thing about Ambassador Nambiar after his visit to Germany. Seeing that Ambassador Nambiar had no wife, TTK told me that he would sanction a social secretary for him if the External Affairs Ministry would send him a note. This was done.
In Delhi, the Maulana never attended a dinner party. He came to the PM's house only for lunches in honour of important foreign dignitaries. At Cabinet meetings, which were normally fixed for 5 p.m. or soon after, the Maulana would get up at the stroke of six, regardless of the importance of the subject under discussion, and leave. Soon he would be before his whisky, soda and ice and a plate of samosas. Only a few persons were allowed to see him while he was drinking. They included Nehru, Aruna Asaf Ali, Humayun Kabir and a Private Secretary whom he personally liked. Nehru avoided seeing him in the evenings except when there was something urgent to discuss.
One day the Maulana's favourite Private Secretary came to see me privately. He told me that he was worried about the Maulana because he was imbibing half a bottle of whisky every evening. Falls were not infrequent. In fact he had broken his back in a fall and had to wear a metal plate to support his back. Since then an able-bodied man was always available to support the Maulana whenever he got up during and after his drinks. The Private Secretary told me that the only person the Maulana would
150 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
listen to was the PM. He asked me, "Can't Panditji speak to the Maulana and ask him to limit his pegs?" I promised to convey his suggestion to the PM, When I spoke to Nehru, he simply smiled.
As a departmental minister, the Maulana was a disaster, as Gandhiji had feared. He made no contribution to education. He left everything to the trio— Humayun Kabir, K.G. Saidayin and Ashfaque Hussain.
It must be said to the credit of the Maulana that among collea- gues he was a rare one who was not afraid of Nehru. He spoke out his mind without fear or any inhibition.
Around 1956, while the PM was in London, a telegram came from Cabinet Secretary Sukthankar saying that the Maulana was insisting on being officially referred to as Acting PM. He asked for instructions. Nehru replied that there was no such thing as Acting PM as long as he was alive; his absence from India made no difference; and that only the President can designate an Acting PM which can normally be if the PM is incapacitated.
The Cabinet Secretary was asked to send a copy of the telegram to the Maulana. The next day the senior PTI representative in London came to se^ me and said that a comic situation had developed in India and the Maulana had arrogated to himself the title of Acting PM, and was going about with a motor-cycle in front and a security car behind, thereby making himself ridiculous. He added that the only thing the Maulana had not done was to move into the PM's house. I explained to him the correct position as contained in the PM's telegram to the Cabinet Secretary. The PTI representative beamed it to India as a statement from me. On seeing it, the Maulana became furious. He sent a strongly- worded telegram to the PM protesting against my "statement." The PM replied to him giving the circumstances in which I had to explain the position to the PTI representative who should not have used my name. The PM also added that I was not lacking in respect for the Maulana. When we arrived in Bombay from London, Morarji Desai was at the airport. He took me aside and complimented me for my "statement." 1 told him the Maulana was furious with me, to which he replied, "What does it matter to you?"
The Maulana was not wholly free from communal ism as Rafi Ahmed Kidwai was. In the selection -of candidates for the 1952 genera] elections, the Maulana would arrive with lots of slips containing Muslim names and passionately plead for them. U.S.
151 Malliah, who was co-General Secretary of the AICC with Lai Bahadur, got fed up with the Maulana. He played two tricks on the old man. When the Tamil Nadu list came up, Malliah had asked his friend Kamaraj to absent himself during the morning session. During that period Malliah criticized the Tamil Nadu list in so far as a particular constituency was concerned. Malliah suggested the name of a Muslim to replace the candidate suggested by the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. The Maulana was very pleased and said, "Jtakho Bhai" (keep it brother). In the afternoon Kamaraj appeared on the scene and asked for reconsideration of the candidate for the particular constituency as the Muslim candi- date had died thirty years previously and that Malliah was not aware of the death of that prominent nationalist Muslim. Every- one laughed except Kamaraj and Malliah, and the Maulana looked foolish.
Before the Kerala list came up, Malliah had a talk with the representatives of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. In the predominantly Muslim areas of Moplahs in northern Kerala, where the Muslim League was sure to win, the KPCC had decided not to contest. At Malliah's request, they gave him a supple- mentary list of constituencies and names of Muslims who could be persuaded to file their nominations by giving them the deposit money. Malliah told them that the AICC would give the KPCC an additional grant to cover the deposit money. He told them that no money should be spent on campaigns in those constituencies. When the KPCC's original list came up for consideration, Malliah held forth and said that in a state where one-third of the popula- tion was Muslim, the KPCC list contained only three Muslims for the assembly elections. He said it was shocking and reeled out the names of constituencies and Muslim candidates who could be put up. The Maulana was very pleased and thereafter considered Malliah a truly noncommunal Congressman— which, of course,- he was. Eventually, all the Muslim candidates whom Malliah had added, lost their deposits— as Malliah knew in advance.
The Maulana's greatest opponent in the Congress was Vallabhbhai Patel and his staunchest supporter was Nehru who had affection for him and showed him deference as an elder even when he disagreed with him.
In the previous chapter I have referred to the Maulana's book India Wins Freedom. The Maulana, who had already lost his
152 - Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
credibility, had dictated the book in the evenings to Humayun Kabir when he was inebriated. The unpublished portion of the book in the possession of the National Archives; when released to the public, should be treated with the caution and reserve it deserves.
For over a decade that he was at the very hub of the decision-making process, Mathai was the only one to know everything about Nehru, most especially the first Prime Minister's private thoughts about Politics, Congress leaders, Bureaucrats, Money, Women, Sex, and Alcohol, along with much else that attracted his attention off and on.
The author reveals all, with candour and sincerity, and says, , ''Before 1 started writing this book I suspended from my mind>U personal loyalties of a conventional nature; only my obligation to history remained." So we have completely new information, never before published, about Nehru's style, Krishna Menon's personal habits, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit's extravagance, Feroze Gandhi's ambitions, and Mountbatten's weakness for titles and honours. In the process, new light is thrown on Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Patel, Kidwai, TTK, Maulana Azad, Rajaji, Rajendra Prasad, Radhakrishnan, Churchill, Shaw, and Lady Mountbatten.
This work is a major contribution to modern Indian history as it gives an insider's view of how the powerful often tried to manipulate Nehru for purposes that were not always conducive to nation-building.
M.O. Mathai, Nehru's Special Assistant till 1959, when he resigned his post on account of unfounded malicious allegations by Communists against him for misusing power, is eminently qualified to write a full and authentic account of the Nehru years, which he has done in this book.
While he worked for the Prime Minister, the author was known for his determination to serve Nehru alone, just as he was also famous for his unquestioned personal integrity and honesty in dealing with political and financial matters.
Since his resignation in 1959, Mathai has been living a quiet life, collecting materia! for this book. The petty ambitions which sway most men never troubled him. He has played his part in building up free India and with deep sadness watched how Nehru's country was being weakened. But he knows that the foundations which Nehru laid will ever be safe even though his daughter administered a severe jolt to them.
At present M.O. Mathai is working on a companion volume to this work in Madras where he now lives. Jacket Design: Vikas Studio 1V02M5801 Rs 35 ISBN 7069 0621 7
REMINISCENCES OF THE NEHRU AGE
M.O. Mathai
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To Priya, two, and Kavitha, five — two lively neighbourhood children who played with me, often dodging their parents, during the period of writing this book
Preface
This book is not history or biography, but chatty stuff containing my reminiscences. No doubt it contains historical and biographi- cal data pertaining to a significant period of India's history.
When a number of friends urged me to write my reminiscences, I said "Either I shall write without inhibition or not at all" In writing this book I have been largely guided by the philosophy contained in the Introduction to Vol. V (1902) of his monumental thirteen- volume work, Napoleon et sa Famille, by Frederic Masson. He states:
"It is time to cease at last making this senseless distinction between the public man, whom history may claim arid the private person in whom she has no right. There is only the human being; a person's character is indivisible like his nature. As soon as a man has played a historic part, he belongs to history. History lays her hand upon him wherever she happens to come across him, for there is no fact in his existence, however petty, no insignificant utter- ance of his sentiments, no microscopic detail of his personal habits which may not serve to make him better known. I am sorry for him if he has any vices, or abnormal inclination, or ugly sides to his nature, for history will tell; and also if he squints or is crippled, she will tell. She will collect his words, even those murmured in love. . . .She will question his mistresses as well as his physician, his valet and his confessor. If she is lucky enough to get hold of his cash-book, she will peruse it carefully and relate how his services were paid, how he enriched or ruined himself, what fortune he left behind him. She will lift his winding sheet, to see of what illness he died and what was his last emotion when confronted with eternity. From the day he attempted to play a part in history he delivered himself up to her.
"This is how history shall be, no longer either political or viii Preface anecdotal, but human; no longer a chronological arrangement of dates and words, of names and facts, but something which will remind you of life itself; which gives off a smell of flesh and bone, the sounds of love and cries of pain, in which the passions play their part and from which may at last emerge the lineaments of men whom we can meet as brothers.
"What! Shall poetry be allowed to appropriate the right to express all the passions of humanity, drama to show them on the stage, fiction to reproduce them from the imagination, and shall history, condemned to wear for ever the harness of a false modesty and an assumed dignity, strangled in the swaddling clothes in which the traditions of a monarchical historiography have wrapped her up be obliged, if she will not be regarded as frivolous and incur the strictures of the sticklers for deportment and the Philamintes, to keep within polite generalities and to speak about human beings as she would about heavenly bodies, shall history, which records mankind, only be allowed by dint of dexterous circumlo- cutions, and of kindly suppressions, to suggest, in noble phrases, that this same mankind has known passion, love and sin? Political actions which had none but political motives— they do occur; but how rarely!"
I have also been guided by the exceptionally frank three-volume autobiography of Bertrand Russell.
Before I started writing this book, I suspended from my mind all personal loyalties of a conventional nature: only my obligation to history remained.
I have made no full-scale assessments of the historic persons with whom I came into close contact. It is for distinguished histo- rians of the future to undertake that task.
If any reader feels aghast at some of the uninhibited disclosures in this book, I would like to refer him back to what is contained in this Preface.
M.O. Mathai Madras
Contents
1 Nehru and I 1
2 Attack On Me by the Communists 16
3 Personal Embarrassment of a Rebel 21
4 Obscurantists to the Fore 23
5 Mahatma Gandhi 26
6 Lord Mountbatten and "Freedom at Midnight'" 40
7 Earl Mountbatten of Burma 46
8 Churchill, Nehru and India 51
9 Nehru's Meeting with Bernard Shaw 58
10 C. Rajagopalachari 63
1 1 The Position of the President of India 66
12 Rajendra Prasad and Radhakrishnan 69
13 The Prime Minister and His Secretariat 74
14 The Prime Minister's House 80
15 Use of Air Force Aircraft by the PM 84
16 Rafi Ahmed Kidwai 88
17 Feroze Gandhi 93
18 The National Herald and Allied Papers 97
19 Nehru and the Press 101
20 Nehru's Sensitivity to his Surroundings 106
21 Nehru's Attitude to Money 111
22 G.D. Birla 118
23 Nehru and Alcoholic Drinks 123
24 Sarojini Naidu 126
25 Rajkumari Amrit Kaur 128
26 Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit 133
27 Some Books 143
28 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 147 /
29 She 153
30 V.K, Krishna Menon—l 154
x Contents J| :
31 V.K. Krishna Menon— II 164
32 Krishna Menon' s Vote at the UN on Hungary 172
33 V.K. Krishna Menon—IU 175 J
34 V.K. Krishna Menon— IV 183
35 Was Nehru Arrogant? 191
36 Nehru and the Services 193
37 Nehru and Women 201
38 Nehru and the Socialists 212
39 More on Nehru 216
40 Govind Ballabh Pant 220
41 T.T. Krishnamachari 224
42 Kamaraj 228
45 ifl/ Bahadur 232
44 IVo Weather-Beaten Ministers 237
45 VaUabhbhai Patei 241 45 J>K#ra 248
47 MorarjiDesai 255 45 £/>/&£*«> 261 49 Postscript 263
APPENDICES 267
MMX 295
1 Nehru and J
Soon after Nehru was released from prison in 1945 I wrote to him from Assam, where I was then, saying that I would like to join him in the service of the nation. His reply did not reach me because it was intercepted by the CID. I wrote turn another letter. He replied promptly, and this time it reached me. His reply said, that he ■ was soon coming to Assam and that I might meet him then. He had specified the place, date and approximate time. I met him. We talked in generalities. He said life with him would be hard and uncertain. I told him about my only experience in politics which was in college. There were no Congress movements in Travancore. But during Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar's oppressive regime I organized a public demonstration by students, defying prohibitory orders. The police chief of the area came to the college with instructions to arrest the principal organizer of the demonstra- tion. He interrogated many students but no one betrayed me. I also told Nehru that after taking my degree from Madras University I had to work because I did not like to run away from my obligations to my parents, brothers and sisters. I added that I was a bachelor and had no intention of marrying, and further that what I was looking for was a purpose in life and that I was prepared to live dangerously. Before I took leave of him, I said that within a month I would be leaving Assam for Travancore for a short visit to my parents. He asked me to visit him in Allahabad for a few days and stay in his house and have some leisurely talks with him. At our meeting, neither he nor I had any thought of a change of govern- ment in India, even though later it so happened that the change occurred in less than one year.
In December 1945, at Anand Bhawan, Nehru again talked in generalities. He talked about the bananas and coconuts and spices and lakes and lagoons of Kerala. I quoted to him a couplet from
2 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Kalidasa in support of the theory that Kalidasa was a Malayalit "Yavani mukha Padma nam; t hatha Kerala yoshitham" He laughed. He said that barring the grandeur of the Himalayas, Kerala was the most beautiful place in India. I reminded him that the Vindhyas and the Western Ghats were older than the Himalayas and that there were one or two towns in Travancore at an altitude of over 5,000 feet. I also told him that Agasthyakoodam (abode of the sage Agasthya) was in Kerala, and so was Maruthua Mala (Medicine Hill) which Hanuman brought from the Kumaon in the Himalays and deposited in the ^Vestern Ghats. He did not know about these.
Before I was scheduled to leave Allahabad, Nehru told me, with a measure of sadness, about his inability to pay me anything and that he hated to spoil my future. I said I was in no need of money and, in order to satisfy him on this point, I disclosed to him the extent of my finances. He conceded that it was more than adequate. I told him that my future should be my own concern and gave him an inkling of my independence by saying, "in any event I am not available to work for a cause on payment." He scrutinized me and said that soon he was going to Malaya and would have liked me to accompany him on the trip as his secretary, but that I must go to my parents first. He advised me to be in Allahabad early in February 1946, just before his return from Malaya. On his Malaya trip he took with him as his secretary his brother-in-law, Gunotham Purushotham Hutheesing.
I left most of my things at Anand Bhawan and returned to Allahabad after seeing my parents as arranged. At home I dis- covered that my father had already divided the family properties and set apart the lion's share for me. By a registered deed I wrote away my claims to the family properties in favour of my brothers before I left the place. My father and mother were opposed to my joining Nehru because they thought I would be in jail soon. And so did I.
Soon after my arrival in Allahabad early in February 1946, Nehru returned from Malaya. I had already told him during my previous visit to Allahabad that only after a week of my being with him would I be in a position to say in what way I could be of any use. I took less than a week. I discovered that Nehru so far had not had any adequate secretarial assistance. He even had to file his own papers. Those connected with his books, royalties and general finances were in a hopeless mess. I told him that even a superficial assessment of the situation had convinced me that the best way I could be of help to him was to render him secretarial assistance and added that I had decided to do this disagreeable work for a year. He was immensely pleased. Although I did not tell him so, it was my intention to employ one person at my expense before the end of the year and train him to relieve me of the routine work. Soon Nehru was relieved of all this needless burden
One day, in 1946, some Americans who knew me turned up at Anand Bhawan to have darshan (a meeting, an audience) of Nehru. On seeing me there, they yelled, "Hi Mac" in Nehru's presence. From then on, to Nehru and the members of his wider family I was Mac. The Mountbattens also picked it up later
Soon we were caught up with the British Cabinet Mission in Delhi and Simla, then the AICC in Bombay, where Nehru took over as Congress President from Maulana Azad, and then negotia- tions with Viceroy Lord Wavell on the formation of the interim government. In between there took place an impulsive visit to Kashmir where we were arrested at the border. So I had the honour of sharing Nehru's last imprisonment; but it was for a brief period of about a week.
r 0n * Se P tCmber m *> the day the interim government was formed, Nehru took me with him to the External Aifairs Department In the evening I told him that I had no desire to work in govern- ment. I refused to go to office the next day; and stayed away from government till 15 August 1947. Nehru was annoyed with me But there was plenty to do at bis residence where I organized a compact staff chosen by me as part of his official secretariat. Thus I got rid of all my routine work. Most of Nehru's important work was done at the residence until the formation of the dominion government on 15 August 1947.
Soon after he took office in the interim government, Nehru made an impulsive decision to visit the tribal areas of the North- West Frontier Province, These tribal areas were under the External .Affairs Department. The North- West Frontier Province at that time had a Congress government under that brave and magnificent man Khan Sahib. Even though advice from almost every quarter was against the visit, Nehru showed perversity and became more determined to go. I accompanied him on this trip even though I had nothing to do with the government. I have referred to this in
4 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
the chapter "Some Books." The results proved clearly that it was an ill-timed, ill-advised, and politically unwise step. The Muslim League gained vastly in the process.
The two years, from September 1946, proved to be an extremely difficult and dark period. It was all work and very little sleep. There were innumerable nights when I had to keep awake without a wink. There were telephone calls throughout the night, mostly from Muslims under attack by savage mobs of refugees. Once, after midnight, I received news on the telephone that B. F. H. B. Tyabji's residence was under attack. I ordered a police jeep and a small police party from the security squad near our house at 17 York Road. Nehru, who was still working upstairs, heard the noise of the jeep and the policemen and came racing down. He asked me where I was going. I replied that there was no time to lose. He jumped into the jeep and I almost got crushed between him and the driver. In the jeep I explained the position to him. When we arrived at Badruddin Tyabji's place — Badr as he was known to me— we found Dewan Chaman Lall, who was staying in the next house, making a valiant effort to ward off the mob. Whatever were Chaman LalFs faults, he was a thoroughly non- communal person. On our arrival on the scene, the crowd bolted. We left after posting a small squad of security staff there. Badr, coming from an illustrious family which produced a Congress President, was shaken but not disheartened. He and Azim Hussain, who came from a distinguished family in West Punjab, had opted to serve in India. They are ICS men, now retired. They are as true patriots as Zakir Husain, who narrowly escaped murder. They and persons like Brigadier Usman, who lost his life defending Kashmir against Pakistani aggression, and Abdul Hamid, the lowly but brave soldier from UP, who earned the Param Vir Chakra posthumously in the 1965 war with Pakistan, are heroes who kept the faith. Only an ungrateful nation will fail to honour them.
In the summer of 1947 I received an anonymous telephone call at Nehru's residence to say that a Muslim girl was in danger in a small hostel in New Delhi. I took a pistol from the nearby police tent and got into a car which was driven by an old Muslim driver Khaliq who, as a young man, was in the service of Pandit Motilal Nehru. Khaliq, with his goatee, was not the man to be taken out; but no one else was available. In front of the girl's
Nehru and I $
room sat a relatively^ young Sikh with a long sword and a menacing look. He looked at Khaliq with hatred in his eyes. He knew English fairly well. I asked him to get out of the place. He became aggressive and waved his sword at me. I took out my pistol and told him firmly, "If you don't get out, I will shoot the hell out of you." He fled. When he was safely away from Khaliq, I entered the hostel room and found a young girl sitting on her cot and shaking like a leaf. She was so petrified that she could not talk for a while. She was a Muslim girl from Nagpur and was working in the government. All her belongings were looted. She had one spare saree in a small box. I called Khaliq in so that she could see his goatee and feel reassured. I told her, "Don't be afraid, come •with me." I took her in the car to Nehru's residence and put her in Indira's room; Indira was out of town. After a few days, when she was normal, we sent her under escort by air to Nagpur. Later I learnt that she returned to Delhi when the situation became nor- mal and resumed her work in the government.
At about the same time the correspondent of the Free Press Journal — a south Indian Brahaman with somewhat kinky hair — was doing some voluntary work for me. He looked through the numerous newspapers and made clippings of important news items and comments which did not appear in Delhi newspapers which Nehru normally read. These clippings were put up daily to Nehru. One evening the correspondent went out for a walk. He was surrounded by a group of refugees with knives. To them he looked like a Muslim. He protested that he was a Hindu from south India. They refused to believe him and ordered him to undress. He was petrified and resigned himself to a violent death because, for some reason unknown to him, he was circumcised while he was a little boy. Miraculously, a typical south Indian Brahman, looking somewhat like Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, with a pigtail and the Trishul mark on his forehead, appeared on the scene shouting, "He is a Brahman, I know him." The crowd melted away. My journalist friend was taken into the foreign service soon afterwards through the Special Selection Board. He rose to be an ambassador and is now retired.
During those difficult days it was not always easy to get food- stuffs. Dewan Chaman Lall occasionally managed to send some eggs and mutton. Once our Goan steward, Cordiero, told me he could get a lamb and put the meat in the deep freeze. I asked him to do
° Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
so. I was then doing the housekeeping as Indira was out of Delhi. Nehru heard about the lamb and got annoyed with me. He told me if I did it again he would refuse to eat the stuff. There was no need because I had already made standing arrangements with the control- ler of the Governor-General's household.
The saddest experience of my life was visits with Nehru to the undivided Punjab. We had to wade through the debris of destroy- ed houses and dead bodies of innocent people in Multan, Lahore and Amritsar. We witnessed the largest migration in history invol- ving eighteen million people both ways. Some years later a friend asked me who were more cruel, Muslims or Sikhs? I replied, "Half a dozen of the one were equal to six of the other." Perhaps the Sikhs were one up; and the Hindus did not lag very much behind. ^ While we were at 17 York Road, I noticed for a week an exces- sively fat young girl coming there every morning and standing silently in front of the house looking very sad. Unlike others she did not make any attempt to reach Nehru to tell her tale of woe. One morning, after Nehru left the house, I asked the girl to tell me all about herself. She was from Mianwali in West Punjab; was a B.A., B.T. Her father was the president of the district Congress. He sent away his family along with a batch of other people in a (refugee special) train to Delhi. He said he would not leave until the last non-Muslim, in his area, who wanted to migrate, left. When he was satisfied that he had done his duty, he boarded a train for Delhi. At Lahore he was dragged out of the train and brutally murdered. Tears flowed down her cheeks. I asked her where she was staying. She said, "Under a tree in the compound of a house near Connaught Circus." I took her by car and left her under the tree where her grieving mother sat. Before Heft, I asked the young girl to come to 17 York Road early next morning and added that I might have something to tell her then. That evening I told Nehru the story of the young girl. He was moved, and said that he knew her father who was a fine person. I told him that I would like her to be employed in his secretariat and. put to work at the residence mostly to meet and talk to the helpless refugees who came in incre- asing numbers in the mornings. He readily agreed. I was not in government then; but I managed, with some difficulty, to create a job for her. When she came the next morning, I put the proposal before her and told her that I would see to it that she received a salary higher than that of a schoolteacher. She gratefully accepted
Nehru and I y
the offer. She was appointed as a reception officer. That was the rotund Miss Vimala Sindhi who became a familiar figure in Delhi.
At about the same time I happened to see a little boy, almost a child, sitting on the roadside and weeping. He did not know Eng- lish and I did not know Hindi. So I took him to Nehru's residence. With the help of Vimala Sindhi I found out that the boy was from West Punjab. He had no father. While*nigrating to Delhi he had become separated from his mother. I got some clothes made for him and kept him with me in my room for a month. The kindly owner of 17 York Road, who was a rich man with no children, requested me to hand over the boy to him and offered to get him educated. He sent the boy to a residential school in Pilani, Later his mother turned up and was happy to learn of what happened to her little boy. The owner of 17 York Road also took a kindly interest in the woman and helped her financially. The little boy was not a bright student but managed to pass the matriculation exami- nation. There appeared to be no point in sending him for higher studies. I was then in government. At my instance he was appointed in the PM's secretariat as a clerk for which post a vacancy existed. That was Mohan who is still in the PM's secretariat and continues to embarrass me by calling me father. Both Nehru and I helped him to build a small house on a tiny plot allotted by the govern- ment to him as a refugee. He remains dutiful to his widowed mother.
Early in August 1947 Nehru said that he would like me to help him in his secretariat also. I told him I hated files and that I did not know what other work I could do in the secretariat. He said I could feel my way about and work would come. He added, "From the 15th of this month it is going to be our own government; most of my work will be done in the secretariat and if you stay away you won't know what is happening. Apart from that, I do not want to be surrounded by officials completely." I reluctantly agreed. At Nehru's instance, Secretary- General Girja Shankar Bajpai at the External Affairs Department dropped in one evening on his way home and talked to me about my appointment in government. He said the idea was to designate me as Personal Private Secretary to the PM and that all papers for the PM would go through me. He added that I would be free to do such non-official work as the PM wanted me to. I said I did not want to be integrated into the secre- tariat; that my position should remain undefined as I proposed to
8 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
create my own work in the secretariat eventually. I also laid down a condition that my appointment should be conter minus with that of the PM. All this was agreed to. He then said that Nehru had told him that my emoluments should be fixed only with my consent. He asked me what salary I wanted. I replied that I didn't need a salary. He said that in government it was not the usual practice to engage people without emoluments. I then said I would take Rs 500 per month and added that it should be an ad hoc salary, not in any grade. He was amused, thought I was a crank, and reported all this to Nehru, who asked him not to make much variation upwards in the salary I had suggested. So Bajpai had my ad hoc salary fixed at Rs 750 per month without any further reference to me. It so hap- pened that an official, who was designated as Assistant Private Secretary, was drawing almost double my "salary"; but it did not bother me because it never entered into my head that a man's usefulness was to be measured in terms of the salary he drew. I was never asked to undergo a medical examination. Neither was I asked to sign the oath of secrecy.
When the Finance Minister appealed for economy in non-pro- ductive governmental expenditure, I stopped drawing my salary for a whole year. Soon after that, something which happened an- noyed me. The question arose about my travelling by train. The administration man in the PM's secretariat told me that I was enti- tled only to second class fare. I said I wouldn't travel second class and asked him to get me a third class ticket. This was reported to the PM. He ascertained that the minimum salary entitling a person to travel first class was Rs 1,500 per month and ordered that my salary be fixed at that figure as an ad hoc one. Simultaneously, at my instance, toy official designation was changed to Special Assis- tant to the Prime Minister. At that time no one in government had that designation. I cancelled the trip and have never travelled by train on government account from that day onwards.
When N. R. Filial became Cabinet Secretary, the PM asked him to keep in touch with me. FilJai sent me the personal files contain- ing the efficiency reports of all the members of thelCS and other former Secretary- of-State services. He wanted me to read them as the background information would be useful to the PM. It took me over two months to go through them late at night daily. I was impressed by the objective reporting by senior Englishmen on their juniors— minus, of course, the political slant.
Nehru and I 9
Ever since I started work in the PM's secretariat, no file or paper reached the PM except through me — with rare exceptions, in which case they would come to me from him. Nothing went out except through me. 'This meant matching hours of work with Nehru, and sometimes surpassing him. In the PM's house, generally. I ate alone in my study while working, sometimes at odd hours. I had come to the conclusion that the best way to help the PM was to inform his mind. For this I had to study specific issues and problems and jet advice from those who were in a position to advise — people in government and outside. Except in its broad aspects, I was not particularly interested in foreign affairs which, in detail, meant international pillow-fighting. In fact, I used to call Krishna Menon an "international pillow-fighter."
After the death of Vallabhbhai Patel, much to my embarrassment ministers, MPs and senior officials used to refer to me as "Deputy PM," "Power behind the throne" and the like. C. D. Deshmukh, in his autobiographical book, chose to refer to me as "the most powerful acolyte of the PM." Except for a few, I had only con- tempt for ministers who were nothing but a bunch of mediocrities or worse.
It is true that no file or paper containing a recommendation, reached the PM without my comments on a slip or a routine note if I felt that such comment was called for. Such slips and "routine notes" never formed part of the files. They were removed when papers came down from the PM.
One morning, during the 1952 monsoon, I received a telegram as I was waiting to go to the office with the PM in his car. The telegram announced lh,e death of my father who was eighty-four. I put the telegram in my pocket and, without betraying any emo- tion, went to office with the PM and did the day's work. No one knew about it. In 1950, when I visited my home in Kerala for a couple of hours, I had told my brothers and sisters that in case anything happened to my parents, they should not expect me to come over because, with the then rudimentary air services, there was ho chance of my reaching home in time. Four days later, on a Sunday, as I returned from the office with the PM for lunch, N. K. Seshan handed me another telegram announcing the death of my mother who was eighty- one. Seshan had opened the telegram and told everyone, including Indira. Foregoing lunch, I went straight to bed without changing. In the evening the PM and Indira
1 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
came down and found me, as usual, in my study, refreshed and composed, attending to my work. I told them that my father had died four days previously and that my mother fainted immediately. She regained consciousness only once for a brief moment. It was rain- ing torrentially then. She murmured, "He must be feeling cold" and again went into a coma, never to open her eyes again. My parents had been married for seventy years. They had their quarrels, suffe- rings, sorrows and joys. I have never seen a couple so devoted to each other. In fact, they died together. The PM remained silent. Indira said, "Papu came to your room after lunch and found you fast asleep." In order to break the gloom in my study, I said, "That shows that I have a clear conscience," to which Indira retorted, to the amusement of her father, "It can also mean that you have none" and gave me a smile. I told her, again to the amusement of the father, "It is the only witty remark you have ever uttered in your life."
Nehru lost his temper with me only once— for no fauit of mine. I was annoyed and I also lost my temper. For two days I sulked. Then he sent for me and smiled, which was his way of making up. I told him, "I am sorry; I should have shown more understanding. Your mind must have been upset about something at that time. I have seen you losing your temper many a time, but that has been at seeing stupidity or vulgarity." I then told him the story of a famous Greek philosopher losing his temper and assaulting the librarian of the Public Library in Athens. The reason was that the library did not have a copy of a particular book on Socrates. I said I mentally approved of it. He smiled.
It was Nehru's practice right from September 1946 to work in. his secretariat on Sundays and holidays. Those were hectic times and he hardly got more than five hours of sleep at night. The result was that he would doze off at meetings. I wanted him to get some sleep in the afternoons of Sundays and holidays. It was no use telling him this because he was too proud of his health. So I chose to appeal to his sense of fairness. I told him that the PAs and others were married people with children and they would like to take their wives and children to a cinema or for shopping occasionally. I added, "In fairness to them you should stop going to the secreta- riat in the afternoons of Sundays and holidays. I shall arrange for one or two PAs to be in the house so that you can do your work there and, in any event, I will be there. Before agreeing to it he
Nehru and I j j
said, "Work never kills anybody." I replied, "Overwork makes a person stale. You cannot afford to be stale." As I had expected, this led to Nehru taking some rest after lunch on Sundays and holidays. I authorized all PAs to take a full day off once a week. I had a special allowance sanctioned for them, and for the PAs on night duty I arranged, in addition, rent-free quarters near the PM's residence. They all worked very hard without looking at their watches. Later, the PM got into the habit of having half an hour's nap daily after lunch.
Nehru, recognized as one of the world's five best English prose writers of his day, was loath to sign anything drafted by others except strictly protocol communications. The result was that he had to spend an enormous amount of time in dictating letters and drafting or dictating statements and speeches. He has signed more communications drafted by me than by all the others put together. That was because, when the signed letters and notes came from him, I would detain some that were dictated in his weariness late at night. These I redrafted for his signature.
Some of Nehru's finest speeches were either extempore or written in his own hand when alone, without any disturbance, and when he was emotionally stirred. The "Tryst with Destiny" speech delivered at the midnight meeting of the Constituent Assembly on 14-15 August 1947 was written in his own hand. When the typed copy and the handwritten draft were delivered to me by the PA, I con- sulted Roget's International Thesaurus and went to Nehru.' I said "Date with Destiny" was not a happy phrase for a solemn occasion because the word date had acquired an American connotation of assignation with girls and women. I suggested its replacement with "tryst" or "rendezvous," but cautioned that the phrase "Rendez- vous with Destiny" was used by President Franklin Roosevelt in one of his famous wartime speeches. He thought for a moment and changed date to tryst in the typescript. The original handwritten draft with the word date remained with me all these years and was handed over recently to the Nehru Museum and Library along with innumerable documents and photographs.
The broadcast on the day of Gandhiji's assassination, with the sublime words "the Light has gone out," was made extempore, without the aid of any notes .
At the end of 1951 I wanted S. D. Upadhyaya, who had worked for Nehru and his father for long years, and who was rotting, to be
12 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
put up as a Congress candidate for election to the first Lok Sabha. In fact, I had advised Upadhyaya to find a suitable constituency and get the Provincial Congress Committee to sponsor him. One day, while I was going with the PM to N. N. Bery, the dentist, I spoke to him about Upadhyaya, He reacted strongly against the proposal. He asked, "What can he do in parliament? He is singular- ly unsuitable for parliament." I said, "He will be as good or as bad as fifty per cent of the Congress MPs; and it will be a fitting reward for a man known for his loyalty though not ability." He kept quiet. Nehru was then Congress President. On our way home from Dr Bery's clinic he asked me to tell Upadhyaya to have his name sent to the AICC by a PCC. I said that this had already been done and his proposed constituency was Satna in Vindhya Pradesh. That is how Upadhyaya entered parliament and remained a member of either House for several terms. If any man deserved a prize for never opening his mouth in parliament, it was Upadh- yaya. I am glad the poor man, in his old age (he is now past seventy-eight), is now entitled to draw a pension of Rs 500 per month as an ex-MP.
Throughout my association with government I never asked for any favours from the PM or any minister or any official. I hated to be a supplicant before anyone. No relative of mine, near or distant, ever got a job or any favour from government. However, I did not hesitate to intervene directly sometimes, and mostly through the PM, in cases where injustice was done to individuals. It is true that I have been instrumental in the appointment of innumerable ministers, governors and non-official ambassadors— none of them related to me. There was perfect understanding between Nehru and me. On some fare occasions he did question my judgment, but he doubted nothing else. He treated me as a colleague. Of course, he knew that I was not available to be treated in any other way. I have also been instrumental in preventing some appointments. One such I shall relate. Soon after the appointment of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit as an ambassador, Nehru sponsored his brother-in-law, G. P. Hutheesing, for appointment as commissioner to Malaya. He had gone with Nehru to Malaya as his secretary in January 1946 and stayed back for a couple of weeks to study the position of Indians there. Two senior officials of the Commonwealth Relations Depart- ment saw me privately and requested me to prevent the appoint- ment if possible. I decided to resort to the indirect approach.
Nehru and I 13
I talked to Hutheesing, who happened to be in Delhi then, and told him that it would be infra dig to accept a diplomatic post which did not carry the rank of a first class ambassador, consider- ing his education and background. I asked him, "Why do you, a rich" man, want to lower yourself?" He said, "I am going to tell Bhai this evening that I don't want it." Thus Gunotham Purushotham Hutheesing was talked out of a situation which would have resulted in Nehru being accused of nepotism. Some months later, while driving to Palam airport, I related the whole story to the PM; and also told him the story about the only son of my widowed sister who was old enough to be my mother. She sent him to me in Delhi for a job. There was then a vacancy in the PM's secretariat for which he was qualified; or I could have easily fixed him up elsewhere; but I gave him his train fare and some pocket money to return home. My sister was deeply hurt. Nehru told me that I was a fool to have done it. I replied that in some matters I would rather be a fool. I asked him, "Didn't you recently say that in public life one should not only be correct but should appear to be so?" Silence was the understandable reaction.
In the mid-fifties a minister of state foolishly got into trouble. He was sent as a delegate to the UN General Assembly. A rich man, and a married man with children, he took with him a young- ish woman and stayed in hotels in New York, London and Paris, entering their names as "Mr and Mrs" in order to stay together in the same rooms. Much later the woman arrived at the residence of the minister in New Delhi with her baggage and demanded the right to stay there even as a servant— much to the embarrass- ment of the minister and his wife. She was thrown out; but she managed to get a room in Western Court. She met many important people and registered her complaint with them. Finally, she way- laid the PM as he and I were going home from the office. She mumbled something to the PM. While driving home, the PM asked me to send for the minister and talk to him. I rang up the minister and he came in the afternoon to my office. It was a Saturday when parliament was not in session. He confessed to everything. I gave him a piece of paper and asked him to write out his resignation from the Council of Ministers addressed to the PM. As I dictated slowly, he wrote, "I hereby tender my resignation from the Council of Ministers for personal reasons. I shall be grate- ful if you will be good enough to forward it to the President
* 4 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
for his acceptance." I asked the minister to see me on Monday morning in my office in Parliament House with a common friend, U. S. Malliah, MP, who was aware of the incident. They met me as suggested. I told the minister that where hormones were con- cerned I had no right to pass judgment on anyone; but I added, "You have committed the inconceivable folly of entering your name and that of the woman in hotel registers everywhere as "Mr and Mrs." Some people have egged her on and sent her to Delhi to blackmail you. I suggest that you buy her silence. Your good friend Malliah, I am sure, will succeed in persuading her to quietly go away from Delhi. Malliah should decide the amount to be given to her. Malliah decreed that, considering the minister's financial position, he should give her Rs 50,000. This was done within two days, and the woman left Delhi quietly. Later, I gave the PM all the facts and the letter of resignation of the minister. 7 he PM thought over the matter for a couple of days and decided not to accept the resignation. And the minister survived and prospered. He became a Cabinet Minister in the Indira regime during which he proved to be the most servile of ministers. He was the first to take the little boy Sanjay around in his state, launching him into politics. At a public meeting organized at government expense, the minister stood up on his haunches and said something very profound, "I have slaved for your grandfather and your mother, and I shall slave for you." I do not know for whom he is slaving now.
It was never in my nature to be a sycophant and a flatterer. I have irritated and annoyed Nehru in private more than H. V. Kamath, Ram Manohar Lohia or Raj Narain in public. Once, at a reception at the India House in London, to which Attlee and several other dignitaries came, Nehru stood in a corner chatting with Lady Mountbatten all the while. Krishna Menon turned to me and said that people were commenting on it and requested me to break in so that Nehru could move about. I told him that I had no locus standi, he was the host and it was his duty to make the PM circulate. Krishna Menon did not have the guts to do the right thing. Two other similar parties were in the offing elsewhere in the next few days, and I did not want a repetition of the PM being glued to one person. Later, in the evening I sent the PM a hand- written note about the incident which, I said, resulted in unfavour- able comment and needless gossip. I did not wish to embarrass him by talking to him personally about this matter. He was too big
Nehru and I 15
a man to take my note amiss. It had the desired effect and the other two parties went off well. In the ultimate analysis, I really did not care what Nehru or anyone else thought of me as long as I was true to myself.
After my resignation from government in 1959, I continued to do some personal work for Nehru. The last time I saw him was on 27 April 1964. 1 gave him a prepared note. He read it twice. He could not take in anything. I told him that he need not bother and that I would leave written instructions to his staff on his behalf. He was no longer in a condition to do any useful work. I felt immeasur- ably sad. I went off to Simla with the premonition that I would never see him again. On 27 May 1964, in the forenoon, I received a telephone message from a friend in Delhi that the PM was sink- ing. The Lieutenant-Governor of Himachal Pradesh was good enough to arrange transport for me from Simla to Delhi where I arrived late at night. It was a hot and dusty day; and in Delhi there was an earthquake.
Though I have found it psychologically difficult to write some chapters of this book, it was this chapter that I found the most difficult.
2 Attack On Me by the Communists
In the winter of 1958 some Communists chose to mount a virulent attack on me. I shall not attempt to give the details here. They are contained .in my letter of resignation dated 12 January 1959 to the Prime Minister and a letter dated 11 January 1959 to the Prime Minister from Rajkuniari Amrit Kaur, included in full as Appendix 3.
The Prime Minister did not want to accept my resignation and told me so. But I had made up my mind that, for all the world* I would not continue in a position where I could not defend my- self- My resignation letter was not written in a huff. Once written it was never to be withdrawn. The Prime Minister kept my letter of resignation pending for six days. On 18 January 1959 I sent a note to the Prime Minister conveying my decision to stop work after two days and to move out of the Prime Minister's house. That night he sent me a handwritten letter reluctantly agreeing to my request In fact, I gave him no choice in the matter.
At 4 a.m. on 27 January, which happened to be my birthday, I woke up to get ready to leave by car for Almora with my dear friend Boshi Sen, the agricultural scientist. At 4.45 a.m. Nehru came down to my room and sat down with Boshi Sen. He knew that it was my birthday; but he did not want to say "happy birth- day" because there was nothing happy on that day either for me or for him. As I was leaving, he embraced me and told Dr Sen, "Boshi, look after him."
I was to learn later, with a considerable measure of happiness, that the servants and malis (gardeners) at the PM's house spontane- ously went in a procession to the PM, the day after I left, to request him to ensure that I returned to the PM's house.
At his press conference on 7 February 1959, the PM said, "My broad appreciation of Mr Mathai was of efficiency, integrity
Attack On Me by the Communists 17
and loyalty, at any rate loyalty to me; but also a person who. acted foolishly often in small matters; and sometimes rather threw his weight about. But I never doubted his integrity and I have had no reasons since than. . . connected as he was with me, a delicate position, which could have been misused very easily; all this time I have no reason, not the slightest reason, that financially speaking it was in the slightest degree misused."
On 16 February Lady Mouhtbatten came to see me at the residence of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. She was exercised over the possibility of my having turned bitter as a result of the one or two unfavourable remarks the PM had made at the press conference She asked me if the PM had ever pulled me up for the matters he had mentioned. I said no. She commented, "Then he had no right to make those remarks in public." r told her that he must himself have been upset about my leaving him and the words might have escaped his lips unintentionally. I assured her that I was not particularly hurt by them. Then I handed over to her a copy of my lengthy reply to a Cabinet Minister who had written to me disapproving of the PM's remarks about me at the press conference She took it with her to read. She mentioned to me that the PM had told her that soon after the press conference Secretary. General N.R. Pillai of the External Affairs Ministry wrote a private note to him on behalf of himself and the three Secretaries of the ministry to say that at no time had I thrown my weight about m so far as they were concerned, and further that I was always helpful to them. She made it known to me that the PM was distressed at having made those remarks. I asked her to tell him to forget about the whole matter. She came the next day to tell
r^f vUT* t0 the Cabfnet Minister S reatl y move d her and that the PM shed tears when he read it in her presence.
bJT f- 1 W - Sm Alm ° ra J received a c °nmmnication *om the PM that m view of the sustained noises by some opposition MPs
m parhament he, in consultation with his colleagues, had decided
to ask the Cabmet Secretary to ascertain the facts from me and
submit a report to him. The PM advised me to come down to
Delhi. So I came and stayed in Rajkumari Amrit Kaur's house.
On return to Delhi, I informed the PM that I would gladly
cooperate with the Cabinet Secretary provided three conditions
were met. I told him that I did not like any one-man business in a
18 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
matter like this— in so far as the Cabinet Secretary and he himself were concerned. My conditions were:
1) The Chairman of the Central Board of Revenue should be associated with the Cabinet Secretary in the process of ascertaining the facts.
2) The Cabinet Secretary's report should be examined and commented upon by the Finance Minister.
3) An authority independent of the government should pro- nounce an opinion on the findings of the Cabinet Secretary. I suggested the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India should undertake this task.
The PM consulted his principal colleagues and informed me that my conditions met with their wholehearted approval. Parlia- ment was informed of this.
To provide facts and explanations about personal finances spread over a period of thirteen years was not an easy matter. However, I was able to collect the material and let the Cabinet Secretary and his colleague have it before the end of April 1959.
The following documents, which were placed before both the Houses of parliament on 6 May 1959, are given in full in Appen- dix 4:
1) PM's letter to Chairman/Speaker dated 6 May 1959.
2) PM's note dated 6 May 1959.
3) Finance Minister's comments dated 6 May 1959.
4) Comptroller and Auditor-General's comments dated 6 May 1959.
Notable Editor S. Mulgaokar wrote a brief editorial in the Hindustan Times of 8 May 1959, which I quote on the next page:
Attack On Me by the Communists 19
The statements of Mr Nehru and The statements of Mr Nehru Mr Morarji Desai on the result of »«d Mr Morarji Desai on the the enquiry into the allegations suit of the inquiry into the in Parliament of misuse by Mr ^legations .in Parliament of M.O. Mathai of his official posi- misuse by Mr M. O. Malhai of tion of Special Assistant to the hi* official position of Special Prime Minister can be left to Assistant to the Prime Minis- speak for themselves. What may *« can be left to speak for strike the public as rather bewil- «mselves. What may strike dering is that the Communists, ifce public as rather bewilder- who were so loud in their clamour «>g is that the Communists for Mr Mathai's blood and had "ho were so loud in their cla- claimed to possess unimpeachable "»»** for Mr Mathai's blood evidence against him, ran away, »nd ba<* claimed to possess un- when it came to the point, from impeachable evidence against the responsibility of substantia- h»«» r «» awa y* when il came t0 ting their accusations before the «>« point, from the rcsponsi- inquiry tribunal. Mr Nehru has Mty of substantiating their emphasised that the only infor- -causations before the inquiry mation which was offered to Mr iflbunal. Mr Nehru has em* Vishnu Sahay was a letter from a rtasized that the only infor- person in prison who made some mXion which was offered *° general charges without suppor- Mr Vishnu Sahay was in *'a ting evidence and an anonymous Jmer frcm a person in prison communication. Mr Desai has * ho mad * some 6 encral ****" pointed out: "The fact that no- ?n without supporting evi- body has come forward with *«• and an anonymous som- any reliable information or evi- wtwawWon-'* Mr Desai has dence is significant." We have ***** out; ' ,Thc faCt ** another word to describe the lAedy has come forward with
behaviour of people who make " fty r€liabie inio ; ma ]^ n * r
wide allegations from a position " ldence is W*"*" ™*
of privilege and then evade their ^ Bn0lhcr wo / d l ° ?*"*
plain duty to attempt to make *« * ha ^ of , peop, < who
their allegations stick The word £» W " «*! ^V
is DESPICABLE Wlion of privilege and then
tirade their plain duty to at- fcapt to make their allega-
( l ext and Photostat of Hindustan tans stick. The word is
Times editorial, 8 May 1959) DESPICABLE.
"20 Reminiscences ofihe Nehru Age
The Prime Minister's seniormost colleague, Govind Ballabh Pant, asked me if I would return to the Prime Minister's house and office. I replied in one sentence, "Only a dog returns to its vomit." He promptly reported this to the Prime Minister. Later, the Prime Minister asked me if I would like to take up any posi- tion in government in India or abroad. I said, "Not any office of profit under the government."
Some time after the noise had died down, a friend asked me, "Did that second-rate politician who indulged in wild allegations against you day in and day out, with a hot potato stuck in his throat, show a modicum of decency by expressing his regret to you at least privately?." In reply I could only quote to him an old proverb: "Cleanliness in a crow; honesty in a gambler; mildness in a serpent; women satisfied with love; vigour in a eunuch; truth in a drunkard; friendship in a king; decency in a second-rate politician —whoever heard of these things?"
Personal Embarrassment of a Rebel
At the Viceroy House at U a.m., on 2 September 1946, on the installation of the interim government, an acute personal embarras- sment awaited Nehru. He had to affirm allegiance to King George VI, Emperor of India and also to affirm that he would well and truly serve "our Sovereign." Nehru was suddenly confronted with these. He had no choice. He suppressed his embarrassment and extreme annoyance and went through the affirmation of allegiance and affirmation of office which read as follows:
Form of Affirmation of Allegiance I, Jawaharlal Nehru, do solemnly affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty, KING GEORGE THE SIXTH, Emperor of India, His Heirs,and Successors, according to law.
Form of Affirmation of Office I, Jawaharlal Nehru, do solemnly affirm that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign, KING GEORGE THE SIXTH, Emperor of India, in the Office of Member of the Governor General's Executive Council, and that I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of India without fear or favour affection or ill-will.
For several days Nehru went on murmuring like a child, "I had not bargained for these." The conscience of Sardar Pate!, Rajendra Prasad, Rajaji and others was not pricked.
When dominion government came on 15 August 1947 the Emperor of India automatically stepped down to become King of India; and Nehru, the Prime Minister, corresponded directly with the King. The British Government went out of the picture. Nehru
22 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
soon discovered that his communications to the King had to be in third person and in the form of "humble duty submissions." When the first such submission was placed before him for his signature, Nehru was annoyed and said, "Oh Lord" and pushed away the signature pad. After some time he signed "the wretched thing." Here is a later sample of the humble duty submission: ■
Prime Minister,
Ind.a. If New Deihl »
I fij 28th April 1948.
JAWAHAHLAL NEHRU presents his humble duty to Your Majesty and has the honour to submit, for Your Majesty's approval > the proposal of Your Majesty's, Ministers in the Dominion of India that Sri Chakravarty Rajagopalachari, Governor of West Bengal, be appointed to be the Governor General of India on the demission of that Office by His Excellency Rear Admiral the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, K.G., P.C., G.M.I.E., G.C.V.O., K.C.B., D.,3.0.
PRIME MINISTER
OF THE DOMINION 07 INDIA.
4 Obscurantists to the Fore
In the Constituent Assembly, which met in New Delhi on 9 December 1946 and concluded its deliberations on 26 November 1949, a demand was spearheaded by Rajendra Prasad and some other obscurantists that the name of the country should be Bharat and not India in the Constitution. Nehru pointed out that in such a case, internationally India would loss all the benefits of a "succession state'* such as original membership of the United Nations and various international bodies, and all the embassy buildings abroad and so forth. Pakistan was a new state seceding from India and had to negotiate for membership of international bodies. Nehru told Rajendra Prasad and others, "I do not want to put India in an absurd position internationally." He also told them that their suggestion would please Pakistan most. Rajendra Prasad and others hummed and hawed; but Nehru stood firm. Finally, he said he had no objection to mention somewhere in the Constitution "India that is Bharat." When Rajendra Prasad became President of the Republic, he ordered that the armbands of his ADCs should contain the word Bharat and not India. This practice continues.
Nehru had to give into the same set of people and agree to the inclusion of cow protection and prohibition in the Constitution. Left to himself, Nehru would not have cluttered the Constitution with all these. His emphasis was on the "right to work"; but obscurantists wanted to go backwards.
There was even a feeble demand for the protection of monkeys, descendants of the mythical Hanuman.
Soon after Rajendra Prasad became President of the Republic, on 26 January 1950, he released a number of hefty brown monkeys into the President's Estate. One day a few of them came to the Prime Minister's office in the secretariat through a door to the balcony which was kept open. I happened to be in the room with
4 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Nehru and chased them away. One ran away with a paperweight. I told Nehru, "This is the handiwork of Rajendra Babu." He laughed. The monkey population was augmented by a substantial number released at the Birla temple. They still come up to the President's Estate where the monkey menace is very real; they take away vegetables and fruits and also attack helpless women and children even today.
A Victim of Obscurantism and Barbarous Intolerance—
B. R, Ambedkar
Through a friend of mine, P. K. Panikkar, who was a Sanskrit scholar and deeply religious, B. R Ambedkar became interested in me. I had told Panikkar about my admiration for Ambedkar, but added that he just fell short of being a great man by inches because he could not wholly rise above bitterness. However, I said that no one had any right to blame him, having regard to the humiliations and indignities he had to suffer throughout his life. Panikkar, who was a frequent visitor to Ambedkar, obviously reported all this to him. On a Sunday morning Ambedkar rang me up and asked me to tea that evening. He said he. had asked Panikkar also. I turned up at the appointed time.
After some pleasantries, Ambedkar told me good-humouredly, "So you have found fault with me; but I am prepared to accept your criticism." Then he talked about untouchability. He said that the railways and factories had done more to combat untouchability than Gandhi's personal campaigns. He" asserted that the real problem of the untouchables was economic and not "temple entry," as advocated by Gandhi.
Ambedkar said, "Our Constitution will, no doubt, abolish untouchability on paper; but it will remain in India as a virus for at least a hundred years. It is deeply embedded in the minds of people." He recalled the abolition of slavery in the United States and said, "The improvement of the condition of the Negroes is slow even after 150 years." I said I couldn't agree with him more and told him the story of my mother. Despite almost 2,000 years of Christianity behind her, she practised untouchability with as much conviction as Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. She would not allow a Harijan to draw water from our well in summer when water was
Obscurantists to the Fore 25
generally scarce. She would rush for a bath if an untouchable came within twenty feet of her.
Then Ambedkar said with pride, "The Hindus wanted the Vedc.s, and they sent for Vyasa who was not a caste Hindu. The Hindus wanted an epic, and they sent for Valmiki who was an untouchable. The Hindus want a Constitution, and they have sent for me." He said, "The greatest tragedy of the Hindi belt in India is that the people of the region discarded Valmiki and installed Tulsidas." He expressed the view that the people of this vast region will remain backward and obscurantist until they replace Tulsidas by Valmiki. He reminded me that, according to the Valmiki Ramayana, "when Rama and Lakshmana arrived at the ashrama of Bharadwaja, the sage assembled a few fattened calves for Rama to choose from to be salaughtered for the feast. So Rama and his entourage were fed on veal; Tulsidas cut out ail this." I told him that Vatsyayana, in his Kama Sutra, has prescribed that young couples should be fed on veal for six months before marriage.
Ambedkar pointed his finger at me and said, "You Malayalis have done the greatest harm to this country." 1 was taken aback and asked him how. He said, "You sent that man Shankaracharya, a dessicated expert at logic, on a padayatra (walking tour) to the north to drive away Buddhism from this country." Ambedkar added that the Buddha was the greatest soul India had ever produced. He also said that the greatest man India produced in recent centuries was not Gandhi but Swami Vivekananda.
I reminded Ambedkar that "it was Gandhi who suggested to Nehru to invite you to join the government." This was news to him. I amended my statement by saying that the idea struck Gandhi and Nehru simultaneously. It was Ambedkar who piloted the Consti- tution Bill in the Constituent Assembly.
Ambedkar confided in me that he had decided to become a Buddhist and to advise his followers to do likewise. Until he left Delhi, Ambedkar kept in touch with me. He was a remarkable man who richly deserves the salute of the Indian people.
5 Mahatma Gandhi
Even though I had opportunities of developing contacts with Gandhiji, I instinctively kept away from him. Of course, I recognized his greatness. But I was baffled by him. My contacts with him were limited to personally delivering to him important communications from Nehru.
Early in 1947 an old foreign friend presented to me a very small, elegant, ivory-coloured transistor radio— one of the earliest of its kind. As soon as it was switched on, it started working. On closing the lid, it stopped. Nehru saw it and was fascinated like a child. So I gave it to him. He kept it in his dressing room and listened to the radio news bulletin while shaving. He used to bring it down at all mealtimes to listen to. He spoke to Gandhiji about it and also about me. Gandhiji had already heard about me from Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. Nehru told me that Gandhiji had never listened to a radio and asked me to take the radio with me to Birla House (where Gandhiji was staying) and let him listen to the 6 p.m. news bulletin. I reached Birla House a few minutes before 6 p.m. and presented myself before Gandhiji. He asked me to sit down on the floor in front of him, which I did. At 6 p.m. I switched the radio on. Gandhiji listened for about a minute and said, "Close it, does any- one speak sense nowadays?" It was a period of serious communal troubles in India.
Gandhiji baffled me on several matters:
1) Preaching Ram Rajya of Hindu mythology. Millions of Mus- lims and other minorities had no use for Rama Rajya. They became alienated by Gandhiji's continued preaching of Rama Rajya.
2) Preaching of cow worship and incessant writing about it in the Harijan. Apart from Muslims and other minorities, as well as some sections of Harijans and tribal people and adivasis, who were alienated by this, millions of educated Hindus wanted to worship
Mahatma Gandhi 27
nothing or at least something better than a cow.
3) Preaching of celibacy for married couples. Few except Morarji Desai and some others were converted to this. Some, who practised it, eventually gave up; and some developed psychological prob- lems.
4) Advocating, support for the Khilafat movement in India. This was one of the most opportunistic adventures of Gandhiji's. When Kemal Ataturk came up and abolished the Caliphate, Gandhiji looked foolish. Gandhiji was trying to forge Hindu- Muslim unity on quicksand.
5) Gandhiji's unscientific and staggering remark early in 1934, to the effect that the Bihar earthquake had been a punishment for the sin of untouchability.
6) Fierce condemnation of smoking by the workers of the textile industry in Lancashire thrown out of employment owing to the boycott of British cloth in India.
7) Savage treatment of a Congress worker who could not give full account of a small amount placed at his disposal . Gandhiji asked him to walk over a hundred miles during the height of summer to get back to his village, even though he was personally convinced that the man was honest and innocent. C.F.Andrews, who wit- nessed this harsh treatment, took the man aside and gave him his train fare and a few rupees from his pocket without Gandhiji's knowledge.
8) Fanatic advocacy of Hindi, one of the least developed langu- ages of India, surpassing that of any chauvinist in the Hindi belt.
9) Giving the world, in a % quixotic gesture, his ideal nominee for the office of Head of State in India—an untouchable girl "of stout heart, incorruptible and crystal-like in her purity." However, at the appropriate time, he advised Lord Mountbatten to accept the invitation of the Congress to become the first Governor-Gene- ral of independent India. He also advised Mountbatten to move out of Viceroy House and live in a simple home without servants. He wanted Viceroy House to be converted into a hospital. He did not fail to give further advice to Mountbatten to grow his own vegetables and clean his own toilet!
10) Gandhiji's letter to Viceroy Lord Linlithgow, written early in June 1940, as Hitler had just overrun Holland, and Belgium was about to fall. The letter read, "This manslaughter must be stopped. You are losing. If you persist, it will result in greater bloodshed.
28 • Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Hitler is not a bad man. If you will call it off today, he will follow suit. If you want to send me to Germany or anywhere else, I am at your disposal. You can also inform the Cabinet about this."
There is no record of the Viceroy having forwarded to the British Cabinet Gandhiji's "momentous" letter, nor of the sensation it created at 10 Downing Street!
11) Gandhian economics— it is a sure way of achieving eternal backwardness and perpetuating poverty in India. Gandhiji had been advocating decontrol of foodgrains and other essential items of daily use, and the scrapping of rationing soon after the Government of India passed into Indian hands, even though the food situation was very critical. At the instance of Nehru, John Matthai called on Gandhiji and talked to him for an hour. Matthai reported that throughout the one hour he had the definite impression that he was addressing a wall. The matter came up before the Cabinet which was equally divided. The decision in favour of Gandhiji's demand was taken by the Prime Minister's casting vote. It had dis- astrous consequences; and the country and its people had to pay a very heavy price for adopting Gandhian economic. Sarojini Naidu once said, -Many will never know how much it cost to keep that old man in poverty."
12) During one of his fasts Gandhiji said, "If I have acetone in my urine, it is because my faith in Rama is incomplete!"
13) Gandhiji's advice to women faced with rape in the Punjab during partition was to bite their tongue and hold their breath until they died. Confucius gave different advice to a young girl. He told her, "If you find yourself in a situation where rape is inevitable and there h no chance of escape, my advice to you is to lie back and enjoy it."
14) Gandhiji's rejection of modern birth control methods to curb population. What was acceptable to him was the one he himself practised-continence. He refused to make allowance for human frailty.
I never considered Gandhiji had anything to teach me about nonviolence, ends and means, detachment (nishkama karma), com- passion and loving one's enemies, because these were preached and practised far more eloquently about 2,000 years ago by Jesus Christ. G.K. Chesterton once said, "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it had been found difficult and never
Mahatma Gandhi 2 9
tried" On a smaller scale, this is how I felt about Gandhiji. J could never have been a follower of Gandhiji *s however much I tried. In fact I did not want to try.
While Gandhiji's opposition to the partition of India was heroic, he was unrealistic considering the past, including some actions of his own, that contributed to it. No wonder the Congress Working Committee passed a resolution absolving him of respon- sibility for the decision agreeing to partition.
The last phase of Gandhiji's life constituted his finest hour more especially the last month of his earthly existence (January 1948). He was exercised over two matters:
1) For weeks, representatives of Muslims had been asking him for advice as to whether they should risk death or give up the struggle and migrate to Pakistan, Gandhiji's advice was, "Stay and risk death rather than run away." Delhi and surrounding areas were overflowing with Hindu and Sikh refugees crying for vengeance on all Muslims staying in India. They had seized mosques and Muslim homes all over the city and surrounding areas. Gandhiji wanted them to return those homes to their Muslim owners and go back to their camps.
2) The Indian Cabinet decided to withhold payment of the partition debt of Rs 550 million to Pakistan. The Cabinet did not want to disturb the already disturbed public opinion by giving Pakistan the money which was likely to be used to pay for arms which would be used against India in conditions existing at that time. Lord Mountbatten feared that the decision to withhold payment might drive a desperate and bankrupt Jinnah to war. The Cabinet refused to listen to Mountbatten. Gandhiji considered the Cabinet decision as immoral.
On these two issues Gandhiji's last fast (13 to 18 January 1948) took place, Sardar Patel tried to argue with Gandhiji about the paymeht of Rs 550 million to Pakistan. Gandhiji's only reply was, "You are not the man I once knew." (Gandhiji was deeply dis- tressed at two speeches Patel delivered during the previous two months at public meetings in Lucknow and Jaipur severely critici- zing him.) Within three days of Gandhiji's fast the Government of India announced that it had ordered immediate payment of the amount to Pakistan.
On the 18th, representatives of militant Sikhs, Muslims, Chris- tians, Parsis, Harijans, Sadhus, Hindu Mahasabha and RSS stood
30. Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
by GandhijVs beside and gave the undertaking to preserve com- munal peace not only in Delhi but also throughout India. The High Commissioner of Pakistan was also present.
Gandhiji could be devastating in his comments about people. One of his undated letters to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, who gave it to me as a present, read:
You have asked my opinion about Govind Das after having done the mischief. I have bitter experiences about him. He is ambitious, vain, vulgar, crooked and unreliable. His ventures have resulted in losses. This is the opinion of those who have had dealings with him. I know him well He used to be like a son to me. I used to think well of him. But I soon discovered that he was a schemer. Now he rarely comes near me. I am sorry, but such is my experience. 1 hope you haven't dropped much.
Nehru once expressed the view that Gandhiji's approach to events was feminine, that is, intuitive, and was more of a reaction than the result of logical reasoning. An extract from Nehru's letter dated 3 June 1942, addressed to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur reads:
I was glad to see Bapu and have a talk with him. This cleared up some matters, but I should like to see much more of him and find out exactly what is in his mind. I find his approach to events is rather feminine, if I may say so. That is to say it is intuitive and is more of a reaction than the result of logical reasoning. Much can be said for this, but it is a risky business sometimes.
As everyone knows, Nehru was the draftsman of the Congress regardless of who was its President. Practically all its resolutions and correspondence with British authorities were drafted by him. Below is a letter to Lord Pethick Lawrence dated 6 May 1946, drafted by Nehru and corrected by Gandhiji, for Congress Presi- dent Maulana Azad to sign:
My colleagues and I followed with care the proceedings of the conference yesterday and tried to understand what our conver- sations were leading us to. I confess to feeling somewhat mysti- fied and disturbed at the vagueness of our talks and some of
Page 31
Hansr Villa, Simla.
June, 3, 1942.
I got your letter in Delhi and I nave now received your second letter here.
I an returning Dharam Yash Dev'a letter. I do not myself see any point in his filing a case; but then I do not know all the facts, especially what Bevowr said. There is no difficulty about
finding a lawer in Allahabad they are plenty all over there.
When we were in Kulu the packing case containing, the clock for Indu reached us. Some bright person had forwarded it from Allahabad. Anyhow, it has come back with me now. Indu and Firoz have gone to Kashmir.
I was glad to see 3apu and have a talk with him- This cleared up some matters, but I should like to see much more of him and find out exactly what is In his nind. I find nia approach to events is rather \j feminine, if 1 may say so. That is to say it is iit- | L tuitivo and is more of a reaction than the result
of logical reasoning, iftjca can be said for this, | but it is a risky business soraetiies.
I expect i shall go to him in another two or • three days- L
.................................
32 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
the assumptions underlying them. While we would like to asso- ciate ourselves with every effort to explore ways and means of finding a bajis for agreement, we must not deceive ourselves, the Cabinet Mission or the representatives of the Muslim League into the belief that the way the Conference has so far pro- ceeded furnishes hope of success. Our general approach to the questions before us was stated briefly in my letter to you of April 28. We find that this approach has been largely ignored and a contrary method has been followed. We realise that some assumptions have to be made in the early stages as otherwise there can be no progress. But assumptions which ignore or run contrary to fundamental issues are likely to lead to misunder- standings during the later stages.
In my letter of April 28, I stated that the basic issue before us was that of Indian independence and the consequent with- drawal of the British army from India, for there can be no independence so long as there is a foreign army on Indian soil. We stand for the independence of the whole of India now and not in the distant or near future. Other matters are subsidiary to this and can be fully discussed and decided by the Constituent Assembly.
At the Conference yesterday I rerTerred to this again and we were glad to find that you and your colleagues, as well as the other members of the conference, accepted Independence as the basis of our talks. It was stated by you that the Constituent Assembly would finally decide about the nexus or other relation- ship that might be established between a free India and England. While this is perfectly true, it does not affect the position now, and that is the acceptance of Indian independence now.
If that is so, then certain consequences inevitably follow. We felt yesterday that there was no appreciation of these con- sequences. A Constituent Assembly is not going to decide the question of independence; that question must be and, we take it, has been decided now. That Assembly will represent the will of the free Indian nation and give effect to it. It is not going to be bound by any previous arrangements. It has to be preceded by a Provisional Government, which must function, as far as possible, as a Government of free India, and which should under- take to make all arrangements for the the transitional period.
33.
34 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
In our discussions yesterday repeated references were made to 'groups' of provincesjunctioning together, and it was even suggested that such^group would have an executive and legis- lative machinery. This method of grouping has not so far been discussed by us but still our talks seemed to presume all this. I should like to make it very clear that we are entirely opposed to any executive or legislative machinery for a group of provinces or units of the Federation. That will mean a sub-federation, if not something more, and we have already told you that we do not accept this. It would result in creating three layers of executive and legislative bodies, an arrangement which will be cumbrous, static and disjointed, leading to continuous friction. We are not aware of any such arrangement in any country.
We are emphatically of opinion that it is not open to the Conference to entertain any suggestions for a division of India. If that is to come, it should come through the Constituent Assembly free of any influence of the present Paramount Power.
Another point we wish to make clear is that we do not accept the proposal for parity as between groups in regard to the exe- cutive or the legislature. We realise that everything possible should be done to remove fears and suspicions from the mind of every group and community. But the way to do this is not by unreal methods which go against the basic principles of demo- cracy on which we hope to build up our constitution.
Below is the draft of a letter from Nehru dated 12 June 1946, addressed to Viceroy Lord Wavell as corrected by Gandhiji:
I am sorry for the slight delay in answering your letter of today's date. Your invitation to me to see you today at 5 p.m. in order to confer with you and Mr. Jinnah about the Interim Govern- ment placed me in a somewhat difficult position. I would gladly meet you at any time, but our official spokesman in regard to such matters is naturally our President, Maulana Azad. He can speak and confer authoritatively, which I cannot do. It is there- fore proper that he should be in charge on our behalf of any authoritative conversations that might take place. But since you have asked me to come I shall do so. I hope however that you will appreciate my position and that I can only talk without
35.
36. Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
authority, which vests in our President and the Working Com- mittee.
Many people believe that it was Nehru who first referred to- Gandhiji as "Father of the Nation." It is incorrect. It was Safojini Naidu who did. When Gandhiji briskly walked to the rostrum of the Asian Relations Conference in New Delhi (28 March to 2 April 1947), Sarojini Naidu, who presided over the conference, announced in her commanding voice, "the Father of the Nation.'* There was an anticlimax to this— uncharitable people began to call Gandhiji's son Devadas Gandhi, "the Nation."
It was again Sarojini Naidu who, in another context, called Gandhiji "the Micky Mouse."
I have pondered over the figure of the three monkeys Gandhiji kept in front of him. "Speak no evil" is noble but "see no evil" and "hear no evil" appeared to me as ill-considered and unprofit- able propositions. Imagine a situation in the Rajya Sabha where the Chairman, all the MPs, and the pressmen in the gallery have closed their ears, and Bhupesh Gupta alone is available to speak. It will be a tragedy. The audience will miss the most pleasant voice and the public will miss the daily quota of his inimitable pearls of wisdom the next morning.
Throughout his life Nehru had what might be called a "father complex." This was very pronounced in his attitude and approach to Gandhiji. Nehru opened his heart almost completely to Gandhiji and discussed with him practically everything. After Gandhiji's death, Nehru had no one to whom he could open his heart. Con- sequently he got compartmentalized. He discussed several matters with Sardar Patel and Rajaji, some with Maulana Azad, Govind Ballabh Pant, Radhakrishnan and Gopalaswami Ayyangar. They were all men older than him. As Prime Minister, Nehru never summoned them; whenever he had something to discuss with them, he would go to their houses.
Death by assassination claimed Gandhiji at 5.17 p.m. on Friday, 30 January 1948. , Some found it a parallel to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and called it the second crucifixion. Immediately after the assassination, the telephone rang at 17 York Road. I took it. The call was from Biria House announcing Gandhiji's assassina- tion. The caller thought that Nehru would be at home at that time; but he was still in his office at the Commonwealth Relations
Mahatma Gandhi
37
SEE £ ™ at - l *—*«-• «■ «• - he As Nehru was about to leave Birla House for the All Mi. Radio to make a broadca s t and announce the Zt ring^ewst the Indian people, he spotted me in the crowd and beckoned to me I managed to reach him by pushing through the crowd He asked me to stay with him; he was shattered and trembSg fa "e car Nehru noticed that I was about to teU him sometS' He at once placed his hand on mine to silence ilTShta
Sf l- s t W thl" P d Wit S ^ 8hUnto the ^o from where S
spoxe. 1 sat there, dumb. And Nehru made his hnVf h»»~ r Z-
ate that nUl ^ aW a ° y ° f * at " York *<»«
Late at night Vincent Sheean,. the noted American author and
^togmshed journalist, came to see me. He was wiping iL^a
« "wi j.\drenara mce. The moment he arrived tiW* h*
He is the author of a biography of Gandhiji, Lead Kindly Light I
2,Xr ^ t00 V eaVe ° f Vince * *«»^ rfhed back to the house in case Nehru wanted me
A few days after Gandhiji's assassination, Sarojini^aidu took
ft feW Qi r Pin8Pe0 f " y SayiDg ' " That «=« the oS U d ^h ft for him, did you want him to die of indigestion?"
wTSEZniff"? KaUr to ' d me that the reaSOD Wh * GanaW i i cLnverltn w* S Q P T er D me f in8 * that he was '" •» animated conversation w,th Sardar Patel. They were discussing Nehru's note
dtod 6 January 1948, copies of which were distrfbnted only to Gandhui and Patel. The full text of the note isgivenin Aonend v
ttat had r!nH? CeS T? Pate1 ' Rajkumari A" 1 * Ka » r «"ld ™ tbat had Gandhij! not been assassinated that day, Sardar Patel
would most probably have been asked by Gandhm to feave the Cabinet and remain with him.
Gandhiji's assassination made Nehru and Patel to sink their differences and to work together.
The idea of changing the name of Albuquerque Road to
SSSKSL? January Road) - afe * F ™ h «^
Page 38.
Page 39 - Mahatma Gandhi 39
About six months after the assassination I quietly opened the door of the Prime Minister's office in the secretariat and found Nehru with head bowed and weeping, tears rolling down his cheeks. I quietly withdrew and closed the door without Nehru noticing me. I knew he was weeping for his beloved Bapu.
6 Lord Mountbatten and "Freedom at Midnight"
In 1972 1 received a letter from Lord Mountbatten requesting me to see Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. I knew that Mountbatten had given the two writers recorded interviews for thirty hours. Subsequently Larry Collins saw me twice. During these meetings Collins pointedly asked me about some matters Mountbatten had revealed to him. I mildly contradicted Mountbatten on two or three counts. It appears that Collins reported these to Mountbatten at about the time the book Freedom at Midnight was published. And Mountbatten went on the BBC. The text of his interview was publi- shed in the Listener, 30 October 1975. As many in India may not have seen the Listener, I quote below the relevant extracts:
I went to Simla for the simple reason that after the Punjab Boundary Force had been divided, which was at the end of August, the beginning of September, I had nothing more to do. I was only the constitutional head, I wanted to go away from Delia' to show the country that their government was in sole power in Delhi, and I was just the man to countersign their orders. Then after two or three days, my old friend V.P. Menon, the best of my Indian staff, rang me up and said: 'The troubles are spreading to Delhi, the capital is at risk, you must come back at once', I said: 'Who says so?' He said: 'The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister'. 'Well', I said, 'I am not coming'. 'Why not?' I said: 'I have come here expressly to show to the world that they are in charge of their own country; I don't want to come and appear to be breathing down their necks. I will come later on'. He said: 'Oh, then, don't bother. If you can't come within 24 hours, don't bother to come at all. It is all over; we shall have lost India'. I finally said: «VP, you are an old swine, you have persuaded me'.
Lord Mountbatten and "Freedom at Midnight" 41
I came down at once. I went straight round to Government House, and there were the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister waiting for me. They told me how serious the situation -was, and they said; 'Will you take over the country?' I said: *How can I? You have just taken over'. 'Yes, but we are versed in the arts of agitation, not administration. We can't do it by ourselves. You must come back'. I saw they were serious. I said: *Well, I will help you on one condition, that we find a way of disguising the fact that it is I who am running India. We must make it appear that it is you. And we must keep this a secret, certainly in our lifetimes, for your own good and reputation'.
I said: 'We will form an emergency committee. I will choose the people to put on it, and the first meeting will take place at five o* clock. Call the meeting at once. I will have my own Confe- rence Secretary in British style who will take the minutes, we will move very very quickly. I want the Prime Minister on my right, the Deputy Prime Minister on my left. I will consult you and say: 'Don't you think we ought to do this?' and you will say 'Yes'. And I will say: 'But don't you think we ought to do this?' and you say 'Yes'.
I have had some recent correspondence with Mountbatten on the subject. I shall, for the present, leave the book and take on Mountbatten.
I am afraid strict veracity was never one of V.P. Menon's virtues. He rang up Mountbatten in Simla at night on 4 September 1947 on his own, without consulting either the Prime Minister or Sardar Patel. Early next morning he rushed to me and made an earnest request that I square up the Prime Minister. I asked him if there was going to be a naval battle on the Jamuna at Okhla. I advi- sed him to appraise Sardar Patel about the whole matter immediate ely. Later, I mentioned the matter to the Prime Minister who, as I expected, was furious and said he wanted to speak to Menon imme- diately on the telephone. As I knew that Menon was one of Nehru's earliest antipathies in government, I told the Prime Minister that Sardar Patel would be speaking to him on the subject. Nehru was impatient and went straight to Sardar Patel's house. Fortunately, Menon hadJeft the place by then. On his return from Sardar Patel's house, the Prime Minister told me that Sardar Patel was much annoyed with Menon; and that now the only thing left to do was
42 , Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
not to embarrass Mountbatten and do something gracious to asso- ciate him with the handling of the developing situation in Delhi which Menon had exaggerated enormously.
In his letter to me dated 14 September 1976 Mountbatten has questioned my statement that V.P. Menon had exaggerated the situ- ation enormously. "If you cannot come within 24 hours, don't bother to come at all. It is all over. We shall have lost India." If these words of Menon to Mountbatten on the telephone, on 4 September 1947 are not an exaggeration, then I do not know the meaning of exaggeration. To me these are the words of a hysterical woman. I have informed Mountbatten accordingly.
Mountbatten has admitted in his letter of 14 September 1976to me "there is little doubt therefore that though V.P. Menon misled me into believing that both the PM and his deputy wished me to return to Delhi, he had in fact consulted neither and they were only told of his action after I had agreed to return from Simla. I also believe that this accounts for the fact that when Nehru and Patel came to see me immediately after my return, they appeared to be very ill at ease"
Mountbatten has also admitted to me that as early as 1969 he definitely knew of V.P Menon misleading him. And yet in his BBC interview in October 1975 he gave his listeners the definite imp- ression that he returned from Simla at the request of Nehru and Patel. This, to say the least, is lacking in candour.
I was not present at Mountbatten's meeting witt Nehru and Patel soon after his return from Simla. Mountbatten's account of what transpired at the meeting provides amusing reading and is in keeping with Mountbatten's high sense of drama. Nehru is repor- ted to have told Mountbatten, "You have commanded millions of men." Mountbatten's Southeast Asia Supreme Command was the most neglected command of the second world war. I do not know where and when he commanded "millions of men," The Indian army within the borders of India was not under nis command. The Americans were indifferent to Mountbatten. In fact they used to call it the Jackal Command because the task of bringing Japan to book was assigned to General Douglas MacArthur. The Ameri- can interest in Southeast Asia was confined largely to supplying essential war material over the hump by air and heavy stuff by lorries to China by the India-Burma-China Road that they had constructed, maintained and protected along difficult terrain.
Page 43
19th December 1972
(VA-t^ ^Cj^w /Wa*
Monsieur Geoff roy de Courcel while he was still the French Ambassador here asked me to luncheon at his Embassy to meet Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, who formerly served on the SHAPE staff together and on leaving their respective .armies went into the most astonishing literary partnership.
I enclose a 'blurb* about them produced by their publishers whleh wili show you that they- have said millions of copies of their historical books.
The object of the Ambassador inviting roe to lunch was to persuade me to help them over the book that they have decided to do about the Transfer of Power In India.
They arc now planning to visit India in the middle of January for about a month and I would be most grateful If you would allow 'them io call on you at some mutually convenient time. If you will kindly let me know whether this la agreeable to you, I will arrange for tbem to make direct contact with you.
It is a tragedy that Pandit jl is no longer alive to see them but I have told them that no living person knows more about him, particularly during those vital years 1947 and 1948 than you. X would be really grateful for any help you can give them.
You scom to be doing a great job with the Edwlna Mounthatten Trust In India. How thrilled she would have been with all that you are doing In her memory. We are all most grateful.
With best wishes to you for 1973.
44 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
The Americans were averse to helping imperialist countries like Britain, Holland and France, to re-establish their colonial domi- nation over the vast areas of Southeast Asia. Nehru is also repor- ted to have told Mountbatten, "You are a high-level administra- tor." I have always felt that there is some truth in Lenin's saying, "Even a cook can administer a state."
I never thought that Delhi and the bifurcated Punjab constitu- ted the whole of India "to betaken over" by Mountbatten. Neither do I thmk that a constitutional Governor-General chairing a com- mittee to deal with non-controversial matters amounts to "taking over the country." The Governor-General is at once a part of the government and above it. The reputation of Nehru and Patel was not involved.
If I am asked whether Mountbatten would have been invited formally to help in the crisis, but for the situation created by V P Menon, my answer is no. After ail, Pakistan, which was in a worse position, without even a capital of its own, managed to survive
What happened in Punjab and Delhi was not unexpected. There is no doubt that the aftermath of partition was a terrible thing and the Indian people are greatly indebted to Lord and Lady Mountbatten for their services during this period They remained steadfast friends of India after their departure from this country.
Now to the book, Freedom at Midnight. The greatest blunder Mountbatten committed was to be taken in by Shaheed Suhrawar- dy and to send to the British Government the plan of Operation Balkan. Mountbatten had even discovered that Jinnah would not oppose the idea. It did not occur to Mountbatten that he should find out whether Nehru would support the idea. If he thought that he could impose it, he was sadly mistaken. I was with Nehru at the Viceregal Lodge in Simla early in May 1947 when Mountbatten suddenly got a "hunch" to informally consult Nehru belatedly on Operation Balkan. Nehru's reaction was understandably violent; and I was with him when he stormed into Krishna Menon's room past midnight. Mountbatten had to do his homework all over again. Nehru almost lost faith in Mountbatten and the latter had to restore it. The amusing thing is that Mountbatten conveniently forgot all about his blunder and has glorified his "hunch" !
Freedom at Midnight has referred to Gandhiji's relations with Manu at Noakhali. Apparently the authors did not know that this
Lprd Mountbatten and "Freedom at Midnight" 45
aspect of the great man's experiment with Truth started long years before while his wife Kasturba was still alive. Kasturba had panted permission to Gandhiji for this. All the women in Gandhi- ji s entourage were involved in this, including the late Rajkumari Amnt Kaur who spoke to me freely and frankly about it. Gandhi- ji confided in Rajkumari Amrit Kaur that more than once, during the experiments, evil thoughts entered his mind. Most of Gandhiii's principal colleagues privately protested, without success, against this practice. All of them finally appealed to Nehru to persuade Gandhiji o give it up. Nehru stoutly refused to interfere in such an intensely personal matter. Pyarelal has written about it and we Indians accept what he says. This experiment is not to be under- taxen by ordinary mortals.
Page 46
47 Admiral of the Fleet, The Right Honourable, The Earl
Mountbatten of Burma, KG, PC, GCB, OM,
GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, FRS
Tall and handsome, conscious of his lineage, Lord Mountbatten arrived in Delhi as Viceroy, Governor-General and Crown Repre- sentative on 22 March 1947 with a mission to demolish the empire of India of which his great grandmother, Queen Victoria, was the first Empress. He had all the advantages of birth.
Looking back in perspective, I am often wonder struck how the gigantic operation of the transfer of power in the Indian sub- continent from British to Indian hands was carried out in less than five months,
Mountbatten was a human dynamo where work was concerned. He possessed the German thoroughness reinforced by his naval career. Meticulous in his attention to detail, Mountbatten had the remarkable capacity to get the best out of his well chosen staff. Each member was made to feel that he was a partner in a common endeavour. Mountbatten had a well ordered mind and great organizing capacity.
Mountbatten was the blue-eyed boy of Winston Churchill, who extracted from the Americans the job of Supreme Commander, Southeast Asia, for him. His experience in Southeast Asia, including India, during wartime made him a liberal despite his aristocratic background and loyalty to Winston Churchill. Lady Mountbatten was more of a liberal endowed with humanism and unbounded compassion. They both had the rare quality of evoking the trust of common people. Jinnah was, of course, an exception.
A grateful nation offered the last Viceroy the first Governor- Generalship of independent India. The government and people of Britain, including the King, were pleased about it. The Mount-
battens were vastly touched by this gesture. Mountbatten was sworn in as the constitutional Governor-General on 15 August 1947. Before Mountbatten came to India as Viceroy, he was given the title of Viscount. On the eve of the independence of India, his title was raised to Earl. Mountbatten was rather too fond of titles and decorations. After several months as Governor-General of free India, Mountbatten persuaded Nehru to send a humble duty submission to the King to confer on him the title of Marquis. I tried to dissuade the PM by saying that Mountbatten was indulg- ing in wishful thinking and that the King would turn down the proposal as such quick enhancement of titles was not normally allowed. The PM said, "What does it matter? We don't lose anything," and the submission was sent off. The PM received a negative reply from Lord Lascelles, Private Secretary to the King.
One thing about Mountbatten I could never understand — the amount of time he spent on his family tree. He revelled in this exer- cise almost as an elevating hobby. He took delight in reeling out names of his aunts, sisters, cousins, nephews and nieces who were members or royal families, past and present, throughout Europe and Russia. It is a formidable list. It all came out of his German ancestry. As Nepal is an exporter of soldiers, Germany used to be an exporter of princes and princesses. During the early part of the first world war, Bernard Shaw said, "It is a war of the German Kaiser, the German Czar of Russia, the German King of England, and Monsieur Poincaire." Soon Mountbatten's father Prince Battenberg was renamed Marquis of Milford Haven, and King George V renamed his House from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor which prompted the Kaiser to say in jest that Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor would henceforth be known in Germany as the Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The young Louis Bettenberg adopted the English equivalent Louis Mountbatten. Mountbatten continues to be a prominent member of the Society of Genealogists in London.
In May 1948 Mountbatten invited Nehru to spend a few quiet days with him and his family at the Viceroy's Retreat at Mashobra in Simla. I was the only one to accompany Nehru to Mashobra on that trip. While we were there, no pompous formality was observed. Mountbatten used to drive us personally up the Hindustan-Tibet road to enjoy a picnic lunch at a rugged but agreeable place called Narkanda. He also drove us to Kufri
48 Reminiscences qf the Nehru Age
One evening, after dinner at Mashobra, seven persons, Lord Mountbatten, Captain Narendra Singh, The: Lady Pamela, M. O. Mathai, Lady Mountbatten, Jawaharlal Nehru and Captain Scott,, sat around a circular table sipping coffee. Mountbatten talked about the folly of believing rumours. He also said that truth can get distorted beyond recognition if it .passes through several mouths. He asked all of us to join him in playing a sketching game which he called Dame Rumour. The figure to be sketched was that of a woman sitting down and playing with her dog in front of a chair, Mountbatten would start drawing one line at a time. This was supposed^ to be copied by the next person. The third person was supposed to copy from the second and not to look at any other person's sketch; and so it was to be until the last person around the table had finished his sketch. Line after line was drawn at random and copied strictly according to instructions, I was the fourth person and my sketch turned out to be horrible; Lady Mountbatten's looked like nothing oa earth; and the last man, Scott's, was the horror of horrors.
Before we retired, Mountbatten collected all the seven sketches and turned to me with a smile and said, "I know you collect all kinds- of important documents and manuscripts; keep this junk also.'* These sketches (p. 49) have remained with me all these years.
After being Viceroy and Governor-General of India, Mount- batten could have gone as British Ambassador to Washington; but he preferred to return to the navy in October 1948, in command of a cruiser squadron in Malta, because he wanted to achieve his lifelong ambition of becbming the navy's First Sea Lord, an office from wmch his father was cruelly hounded out at the outbreak of the first world war i?7 the hysterical public outcry and the press because of his German origin, In Malta, Mountbatten, who as Viceroy had ranked second only to the King Emperor, ranked thirteenth ia Malta's order of precedence.
Mountbatten achieved his ambition and more. On 18 April 1955 he became the First Sea Lord with the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, and in 1958 he was promoted as Chief of the Defence Staff. He retired from active service in 1965. Mountbatten had offers of Cabinet ministership both from the Labour and Conservative governments in Britain. He once told me that he never wanted to enter murky politics mostly because he disliked it but partly because of his nearness to royalty.
Page 49
£0 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Lady Mountbatten, the rich heiress, died in Borneo on 21 Feb- ruary 1960 and was buried at sea, as she had willed, as a tribute to her husband's naval career. Appropriately enough the Indian frigate frishu! escorted the British frigate Wakeful which carried her body to the sea off Spithead.
Ever since they left this country on 21 June 1948, the Mount- battens remained genuine friends of India.
Mountbatten has an almost insane desire to loom larger than life in history. He would never write anything about himself; but would take infinite pains to encourage and help others to write about him. And, of course, he lacks the detachment of an historian's mind.
It will be a great day for Mountbatten, the genealogist, if he is alive to watch his grandnephew, Prince Charles, ascending the British throne, when the name of the House of Windsor will stand changed to the House of Mountbattens.
8 Churchill Nehru and India
Winston Churchill had two pronounced blind spots— India and the Suffragette movement. Aneurin Bevan, the fiery Welshman, had this in mind when lie flayed Churchill once in parliament and called him a frozen adolescent.
When the first woman, Lady Astor, took her seat in the House of Commons, Churchill had an uncomfortable and strange sensa- tion. He told some of his friends, "I feel a woman had invaded my bathroom where I found myself only with a sponge to defend myself."
Churchill's India was the land he knew as a subaltern. He could not conceive of an India without the British. In his speech in the House of Commons on 6 March 1947, during the debate on "the question of transferring power in India to Indian hands," an agita- ted and emotional Churchill, as the leader of the opposition, inter alia, said:
The third mistake was the dismissal of the eminent Indians com- posing the Viceroy's Council, and handing over the Government of India to Mr Nehru. The government of Mr Nehru has been a complete disaster, and a great degeneration and demoralization in the already weakened departmental machinery of the Govern- ment of India has followed from it. Between 30,000 and 40,000 people have been slaughtered in warfare between the two princi- pal religions. Corruption is growing apace. They talk of giving India freedom, but freedom has been restricted since the Nehru government has come to power. Communism is growing so fast that it has been found necessary to raid and suppress Communist centres, which, in our broad British tolerance, we do not do here and have never done in India. The steps to freedom so far have been marked, by every degree in which British control is relaxed, by
52 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
restriction of the ordinary individual, whatever his political views. It was a cardinal mistake to entrust the government to Mr Nehru. He has good reason to be the most bitter enemy of any connection between India and the British Commonwealth. Such was the situation before the latest plunge which the govern- ment have taken. This plunge, added to all that has gone before, makes it our duty to sever ourselves from the Indian policy of the government and to disclaim all responsibility for the conse- quences which will darken and redden the coming years. . . .
Everyone knows that the fourteen month's time limit is fatal to any ordinary transference of power, and I am bound to say that the whole thing wears the aspect of an attempt by the government to make use of brilliant war figures to cover up a melancholy and disastrous transaction. . . .
In handing over the Government of India to the so-called political classes, you are handing over to men of straw of whom in a few years no trace will remain.
A conference of Dominion Prime Ministers took place in London between 22 October and 21 October 1948. British Prime Minister Clement Attlee presided. Until then it used to be called the British Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. At this conference in October 1 948, which was attended for the first time by the Prime Ministers of India, Pakistan and Ceylon, the word British just drop- ped out without any legal step being taken to effect the change. From then on it was just the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Con- ference. Also, many British non- official institutions dropped the word Empire which was substituted by Commonwealth.
I was in London with Prime Minister Nehru in October 1948 for the Prime Ministers' Conference. We were staying at the Claridges Hotel. One morning an agitated secretary from India House, attac- hed to our delegation office, came to me and said that the leader of the opposition, Winston Churchill, was on the telephone and wished to speak to Prime Minister Nehru. I took the telephone in the Prime Minister's sitting room. Churchill started speaking as if to Nehru and I let him continue for a couple of minutes. He was very polite, almost to the point of being humble, and pleaded that Nehru should have lunch with him the next day and ended up by asking, "Won't you please make it possible Mr Nehru?" At that moment Nehru came in from his bath. I gave him the telephone and told
Churchill, Nehru and India 53
him briefly what had happened and added that he could easily put off the rather unimportant lunch engagement the next day and accept Churchill's invitation. Nehru spoke to him for a brief while over the telephone and accepted the invitation. On his return from lunch the next day, Nehru told me that there was no important talk. All that happened was that Churchill was trying to make up in his own way.
Immediately after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth IF, a con- ference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers took place in London from 3 June to 9 June 1953. Winston Churchill, as Prime Minister of Britain, presided. As usual I attended it. During my time these conferences took place in the Cabinet room of 10 Downing Street. Now they are public meetings in some public building.
As Churchill walked into the room, his presence was immediately felt in sharp contrast to Clement Attlee. One sensed "here is a big man." He spoke with a lisp and a slight stutter. Churchill could not achieve his ambition of becoming a great orator; but he became a master of the written word and a coiner of phrases. Whenever he was pleased with a phrase that he had coined, he liked to keep on repeating it. Churchill considered Lloyd George and Aneurin Bevan, both Welshmen, as great orators. Stating that an orator should be spontaneous, he once said, "When that fellow Bewngets up, he does not know what he is going to say and where he will end; but I have every word written out in front of me." But Churchill was not wholly free from plagiarism. Here are some examples:
Referring to Hitler's threat that England's neck would be wrung like a chicken, Churchill, in his famous speech to the Canadian parliament, used the phrase "some chicken, some neck!" He was parodying Lawrence of Arabia.
Churchill's first speech in the House of Commons after becom- ing Prime Minister in 1940 contained the phrase "blood, toil, sweat and tears." This was lifted from Byron's poem "The Age of Bronze.*'
"Hell knows no fury as a woman scorned." This is downright stealing of William Congreve's couplet, "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned/Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."
Churchill's phrase "iron curtain" is not original. The words first appeared in Ethel Snowden's Through Bolshevik Russia in 1920. Its wider application to countries within the Soviet sphere of influence originated with Goebbel's leading article in the issue of the weekly,
54 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Das Reich, dated 25 February 1945. In that he had said:
Should the German people lay down its arms, the agreement between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin would allow the Soviets to occupy all Eastern and Southeastern Europe together with the major part of the Reich. An iron curtain would at once descend on this territory which, including the Soviet Union, would be of enormous proportions.
Nehru has never been accused of plagiarism.
Churchill attached great importance to the correct use of words. Once, at the dinner table, Churchill told his wife, "You ought not to say very delicious. 'Delicious' alone expresses everything you wish to say. You would not say 'very unique'." In this con- nection LordMoran says that Churchill once thought of including the following in a speech at a university:
A man called Thompson went to a surgeon and asked him to castrate him. The surgeon demurred; but when the man persis- ted and argued, he eventually agreed and took him into hospi- tal. The morning after the operation Thompson woke up in great discomfort. He noticed that the man in the next bed was in pain and was groaning. He leaned towards him over the side of the bed. 'What did they do to you' he asked. The man replied 'I have been circumcised'. 'Good Lord' Thompson exclaimed, 'that is the word I couldn't remember when the surgeon asked me what I wanted done'.
One evening Churchill was sitting on his bed and shouting for his hotwater bottle. The valet appeared. Churchill asked him where the hotwater bottle was. The valet replied, "You are sitting on it Sir; not a good idea." Churchill smiled and replied, "It is not an idea but a coincidence."
Atone session of the conference of June 1953 Churchill became emotional about the Indian army and used superlative language for it. "Any day a couple of divisions of the Indian army for me, Mr Nehru," he said.
The last session of the conference was, as usual, devoted to the finalization of the communique. The Prime Ministers had before them a draft prepared by senior officials of the delegations. It was
Churchill, Nehru and India 55
fascinating to see Churchill and Nehru, two masters of the correct use of words, in action. Whatever changes Nehru suggested were accepted by Churchill by his murmurs of approval.
Outside the conference, Churchill went out of his way to hum- our Nehru. He was instrumental in arranging a dinner for Haro- yians in honour of Nehru, Both Churchill and Nehru were products of Harrow Public School.
One morning at 10 Downing Street, British Cabinet Secretary Lord Norman Brook took me aside and told me that at a private function the previous evening a prominent person spoke disparag- ingly of Nehru, Churchill at once rebuked him sharply and said, "Remember he is a man who has conquered fear and hate."
The day before our leaving London after the conclusion of the conference, Churchill sent a brief handwritten letter to Nehru saying, "Remember what I told you— you are the Light of Asia." What a transformation in Churchill!
On 3 February 1955 Lord Moran asked Churchill about Nehru. Churchill said, "I get on well with him. I tell him he has a great role to play as leader of free Asia against communism." Asked how Nehru took it T Churchill replied, "Oh, he wants to do it, and I want him to do it. He has a feeling that communists are against him* and that is apt to change people's opinion."
Contrary to the general impression, neither Churchill nor Nehru were widely-read men. They wrote and spoke more than they read in their lives.
Churchill and Nehru shared a common allergy towards the American Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. In private con- versation Churchill called Dulles a "dull, clumsy bastard" and hoped he would disappear. At another time he said of Dulles, "This fellow preaches like a Methodist priest, and his bloody text is always that nothing can come out of meeting with Malenkov." And at another time he observed, "Dulles is clever enough to be stupid on a rather large scale." Nehru took delight in repeating "Dull, Duller, Dulles:" He once observed, "Krishna Menon is my answer to Dulles." This came out of Nehru's abundant vanity. Nehru once told me that he knew he had an ample measure of vanity, hut that he was also capable of humility.
Very seldom did Nehru use swear words. I have heard him use "bloody" only once— about a person whose identity I shall not
56 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
disclose. But to Churchill this and other choice epithets came naturally and prolifically.
Churchill was not given to self-criticism; neither was he vain. Nehru was given to self-criticism; and he had self-confessed vanity.
Ever since he became Prime Minister during England's darkest hour in 1940, Churchill never slept without the aid of sedatives. Until two years before his death, Nehru's was a singularly unme- dicated body.
Churchill was a great admirer of Napoleon. He kept in his bedroom at Chartwell two small sculptured heads— one of Napo- leon and the other of Nelson. One day, when Lord Moran was looking at Napoleon's head, Churchill remarked, "Ah, what was the most beautiful countenance from which genius ever looked upon mankind. He was a very wonderful man. I put him after Julius Caesar. Yes, he is at the top." Nehru, in his Glimpses of World History, has drawn a rather superficial picture of Napoleon about whom Lord Acton said in his Cambridge Lectures on Modern History, "No intellectual exercise can be more invigorat- ing than to watch the working of the mind of Napoleon, the most entirely known as well as the ablest of historic men."
The introduction to the first of the two great works (written in 1890) that Count Albert Vandal left announced the spirit in which he intended to approach Napoleon. The subject was the relations between Napoleon and Alexander of Russia from 1807 to 1812, that is, the foreign policy from the period of the greatest power to the beginning of the disaster. For Vandal there was something fascinating and imposing about the gigantic historical figure in itself. Something which silenced criticism. With Pozzo di Borgo, one of the men who hated and admired Bonaparte most, he says that to "judge Napoleon would be like judging the universe."
Vandal felt admiration "for the genius which carried out or inspired amazing deeds, whose magical power raised to their high- est pitch those qualities of honour, audacity, obedience and dedi- cation, which are peculiar to our people, for him who, having reconciled our nation with itself, created from it an army of heroes, and for a time lifted the Frenchman above mankind."
In August 1942, in Cairo, Field Marshal Smuts spoke to Chur- chill about Mahatma Gandhi and said that "he is a man of God. You and I are mundane people. Gandhi has appealed to religious motives. You never have. That is where you have failed." Churh.h
Churchill, Nehru and India 57
chili, with a broad grin, replied, "I have made more bishops than anyone since St Augustine,"
Nehru lacked the toughness of Churchill and Churchill-type courage in adversity. He wilted in the wake of the Chinese attack on India. His health could not stand up to the mental strain. Many things which he valued crashed around him. Finally his health collapsed. The Chinese perfidy in returning evil for good hastened the death of the Man of Peace.
The last of Churchill's great speeches in the House of Commons was on the hydrogen bomb in February 1955, two months before his retirement. He wound up by saying, "All the countries of the world might feel so vulnerable that, cowed by fear, they might at last be content to live in peace. Then it may well be that by the process of sublime irony they have reached a stage in this story that safety will be the sturdy -child of terror, and survival the twin brother of annihilation." Churchill took twenty hours on the pre- paration of this speech and eight hours on checking facts.
Neither Churchill nor Nehru made use of ghost writers for their speeches as is the case in present day India. Nehru was by no means an orator; but he made several moving speeches, both extempore and written, whenever he was emotionally stirred.
After he suffered a stroke in 1953, when death seemed round the corner, Churchill confided to his famous physician, Lord Moran, not, however, without many qualifications, that he had been wrong about India. Lord Moran later commented, "But the circumstances were exceptional, for the confessional was a sick bed." And yet the last of the great imperialists had traversed a long way.
In this chapter I have drawn upon material contained in Lord Moran* s bulky book on- Churchill.
9 Nehru's Meeting with Bernard Shaw
It was at Ayot St Lawrence on Friday, 29 August 1949, when Shaw was ninety-three years old. He died the following year.
Earlier Shaw had insisted on sending his car. He wrote to the Indian High Commission in London at the bottom of a printed sheet of elaborate directions on how to get to his house at Ayot St Lawrence:
My car will be at Claridges on Friday at half past nine. It is a Rolls Royce limousine and will hold three fat passengers or four slender ones. It will be at your disposal all day, and can take you back to London or on to Romsey just as it suits you ;
There is only one taximan in London who knows the way. His telephone number is 5257. But this is only in case of accident.
I accompanied. Nehru on this trip. No one else was present. We travelled in Shaw's car. Krishna Menon's Rolls Royce limousine followed, without any passengers in it, for our return journey.
Shaw's residence was unpretentious but adequate. The meeting took place In his study. Shaw looked healthy for a man of his age; and we were to discover during the course of the meeting that his mind was alert.
During the meeting Nehru was unusually quiet and opened his mouth only once. The conversation began with Shaw referring to his meeting with Gandhiji in London in the early thirties. He said that Gandhiji sat on the floor, but gave him a chair. Shaw did not go into the details of his talk with Gandhiji. When the interview with Gandhiji was over, Shaw said that he was sent back home in a car driven by an impressive-looking Indian chauffeur with a magni- ficent turban. On alighting from the car, Shaw gave the chauffeur half a crown which the latter accepted with a smite and grace not
Nehru's Meeting with Bernard Shaw 59
normally associated with chauffeurs. Then Shaw began to chuckle and said that he later discovered that the chauffeur was in fact an Indian Maharaja! Shaw went on chuckling for some time.
Referring to the Labour government, Shaw said it had, on the whole, done well. He described Attlee as a colourless person but a good committee chairman. Shaw had a special good word for Staf- ford Cripps and referred to the latter's vegetarianism and close association with Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Shaw said that Ernest Bevin was a disaster as Foreign Secretary. According to Shaw, Bevin suffered from a total lack of the sense of history. He was con- vinced that no trade union leader was fit to be Foreign Secretary. He said that Bevin was a despot who often shouted Attlee down. Shaw expressed the view that the only person eminently qualified to be the British Foreign Secretary was Konni Zilliacus, an ultra leftist Labour MP, who was expelled from the Labour Party for welcoming the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia.
Shaw dismissed the United States as supremely immature and, as such, dangerous. He was of the firm view that the atom bomb would never be used again.
It was amusing to see Shaw rave against the government on income tax. This was nothing new. Winston Churchill said of him, "Shaw has always preached the ownership of all forms of wealth by the state; yet when the Lloyd George budget imposed for the first time the slender beginnings of the super tax, no one made a louder squawk than this already wealthy Fabian. He is at once an acquisitive capitalist and a sincere communist." Shaw went on squawking about the income tax till the end of his days. He also had a highly developed sense of business.
Shaw told Nehru that he sincerely felt that Nehru and Stalin were the only hope of the world. He ridiculed the British local coun- cils and said they were composed of duds. Shaw declared with earnestness that the parliamentary system was unsuitable and advi- sed Nehru to "try the Soviet system which is a quicker system." He firmly said that only ten per cent can govern. He laid tremendous emphasis on governing. At this stage Nehru intervened and asked, "But, Mr Shaw, who wants to govern?" Shaw's reply was, "Whe- ther you like it or not, you have to."
Shaw complained, "People call me mad; but the trouble is they do not listen to me."
Shaw related the story of an Indian, with a mouthful of a name
Page 60
SU6
MAJOR CRITICAL ESSAYS
THE QUINTESSENCE OF 1BSENISM
THE PERFECT WAGNERITE
THE SANITY OF ART
Nehru's Meeting with Bernard Shaw 61
(Professor Doraiswami Aiyar), who sent him the manuscript of a collection of his poems in English, and asked for his opinion. Shaw read the first page and came to the conclusion that the man not only did not know how to write poetry, but also how to write correct English. Nevertheless, Shaw sent him a postcard reading, "Have never seen anything like this before," Shaw began to chuckle and said, "The fool published his poems and my opinion," Shaw could not contain his laughter for some time.
Finally Shaw referred to his week's stay in Bombay, but could not recollect the dates. He said he was attracted to Jainism which, he thought, had much in common with Quakerism.
It might be mentioned here that between the two world wars Shaw had been advocating the abolition of parliamentary institutions and setting up dictatorships. In this connection Winston Churchill called him "the double-headed chameleon."
Shaw at last turned to me and asked what book I would like to have as a present. I said Dramatic Opinions and Essays. He scruti- nized me and said the book was an old one and out of print. He added, "If I have a library copy; I shall give it to you." He looked all over and could not find one. Then he asked me, "Why do you want that particular book?" I told him that when I was a college student, I moved a resolution in the College Debating Society that "we have had enough of Shakespeare," and that I had used many of the brilliant arguments in that book in support of my resolution. Shaw was all attention and eagerly asked me, "What was the result?" I said, "The resolution was thrown out; even the seconder of the resolution deserted me and voted against it." I added that I was the only one who voted for it. Shaw chuckled. Then he selec- ted the book Major Critical Essays for me, autographed it and gave it to me. For Nehru he selected the book, Sixteen Self-Sketches and' autographed it. He wrote Nehru's first name as "Jawaharial." I at once pointed out the mistake to Shaw who contested what I said. He turned round in his swivel-chair and brought out from his revolving bookcase Nehru's autobiography. Shaw discovered his mistake, looked at me with a mischievous smile and said, "Keep it like that; it sounds better!"
We then gave him some Chausa mangoes. Shaw was under the impression tfiatit was the nut which was to be eaten. At that time Shaw's housekeeper came in answer to the bell. Nehru explain- ed to both that what was to be eaten was the pulp covering the nut.
62 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Nehru also explained how the mango was to be cut and eaten.
At this time we all rose and came out. Shaw posed for photogra- phs with us.
So we said farewell to the one described by Winston Churchill as
the saint, sage and clown; venerable, profound and irrepressible; Bernard Shaw receives, if not the salutes, at least the hand-clap- pings of a generation which honours him as another link in the humanities of peoples, and as the greatest living master of letters in the English-speaking world.
We drove straight to Lord Mountbatten's house where Lady Mountbatten asked, "Did either of you succeed in putting in a word edgeways?" I said I did.
Bernard Shaw acquired the reputation of being a chatterbox rather early in life. The only instance on record when vegetarian Shaw was left tongue-tied was when he visited the laboratory of Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose in London at the turn of the century. Shaw was deeply upset to find that a cabbage had violent convulsions as it boiled to death. Shaw literally lost his power of speech and left with his head bowed low.
On my return to Claridges Hotel, I found the correspondent of a famous American newspaper waiting for me. He requested me to give him an article on our meeting with Bernard Shaw. The indu- cement was considerable. I gave him my excuses and offered to give him free an article on the matriarchal system in Kerala. He was intrigue^, stared at me and left.
10 C. Rajagopalachari
I have also referred to Rajaji in the chapter "Rajendra Prasad and Radhakrishnan."
Endowed with a razor-sharp intellect and an analytical mind, Rajaji would peel an onion,, layer after layer, to find out what an onion really was. He had the peculiar gift of alienating people. The man with the dark glasses would make most of his visitors feel that they were fools. This did not help in acquiring and retaining popularity. But he was a man of rare moral courage. He did not hesitate to part company from Gandhiji, to whom he was devoted and bound by numerous ties. He was not afraid to espouse unpopular causes.
Sarojini Naidu, in a personal talk with me, once compared Rajaji and Nehru. She said that "the Madras fox was a dry logical Adi Sankaracharya while Nehru was the noble compassionate Buddha."
Indira once related to me what her grandfather, Motilal Nehru, said of Rajaji in private. He said, "I cannot fathom what is happen- ing behind those dark glasses. I once put a poker into his head, and lo! it came out as a corkscrew." Incidentally, Rajaji never cared for Indira. He once told me, "I have known that girl as a child in her mother's arms. She has not grown since the age of two. She has nothing of the father in her."
Nehru included Rajaji in the interim government which assumed office on 2 September 1946 at the instance Of Gandhiji, even though at that time Rajaji was particularly unpopular with Congressmen. When the dominion government came on 15 August 1947, Rajaji agreed to Nehru's request to go to West Bengal as Governor, chiefly in view of the deteriorating communal situation there.
After Rajaji's exit from the office of Govern or- General, relations between Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel grew steadily strained. Nehru
64 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
did not want the deterioration to go further. He missed Gandhiji, After considerable thought he sent a personal appeal to Rajaji to come to Delhi at once. He came promptly and, after a personal talk with Nehru, agreed to join the Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio. His principal function was to hold the peace between Nehru and Patel. He was sworn in on 5 May 1950. After Pat el's death, Rajaji succeeded him as Home Minister.
Once Nehru received a personal despatch from K.M. Panikkar, who was our Ambassador in China, complaining that a senior Press Trust of India correspondent was sitting in Hong Kong and sending despatches to India datelined Peking. These despatches were unfavourable to China, containing mostly rumours and gossip. At Nehru's instance I sent for K.S. Ramachandran, head of the PTI in New Delhi, and conveyed to him Nehru's disap- proval of the unethical practice. He promised not to release to the press any further despatches from that correspondent who was subsequently withdrawn from Hong Kong. Ramachandran then told me that Rajaji had also sent for him in this connection and told him, "Look, this business of datelining Peking while sitting in Hong Kong is a dangerous thing, because the Chinese will one day produce these despatches in international forums to prove that there is freedom of the press in China. Kill all further despatches from the correspondent." The differing approaches of the two giants give an indication of their respective personalities. One was a noble lion while the other was a wily fox.
Rajaji continued to be in government until a new government was formed in the middle of 1952 after the first general elections.
Before he left Delhi I met Rajaji and had a talk with him. He told me that his plan was to write about simple things, such as advice to cyclists and drivers, against spitting on roads and public places, and the like. I smiled. Rajaji asked me, "Are you scepti- cal?" I said, "Yes. I believe all politicians are like squirrels, and you are no exception." Then I told him the Malayalam proverb: "No matter how old the squirrel is, it will never give up climbing." He laughed.
After parting from Nehru, Rajaji developed hostility towards Nehru's policies. Eventually he formed the Swatantra Party and embarked on a course of attacking Nehru's policies relentlessly. He proved to be a real squirrel. When the Chinese invasion of India took place, Rajaji said of Nehru, "He has made his bed and
€. Rajagopalaclmri 65
he must be made to lie on it." Soon after, Rajaji came to Delhi and had a personal talk with Nehru during which, surprisingly enough, he offered to join the Cabinet and help him. Not so surprisingly, Nehru changed the subject by telling him, "You are already helping me a great deal from outside." The old squirrel took the hint and left.
11 The Position of the President of India
On 30 April 1977 Jayaprakash Narayan issued a statement on the hesitation of Acting President B.D. Jatti, in spite of the Supreme Court's unanimous dismissal of the writ petition of four state governments, in signing the proclamations dissolving the assemblies of nine states in northern India where the Congress was practically wiped out in the Lok Sabha elections of March 1977. In his statement Jayaprakash Narayan said, "When President Rajendra Prasad raised some queries about the powers of the President, they were referred by Mr Nehru to jurists like Mr M.C. Setalwad, the then Attorney- General, and to Sir Alladi Krishna- swami Aiyar, both of whom opined that the President must be guided by the advice of the Council of Ministers."
Nehru did nothing of the kind. The facts are as follows: Strange- ly enough Rajendra Prasad, who had presided over the deliberations of the Constituent Assembly and was aware of the trends in that august House, developed some doubts, while sitting in Rashtrapati Bhawan, about the powers and functions of the President. This was in spite of Nehru and Ambedkar having made it abundantly clear in the Constituent Assembly that under the Constitution the President would function purely as a constitutional head acting on the advice of the Cabinet.
Rajendra Prasad informally sent for all the judges of the Supreme Court individually and asked for their opinion. They conveyed to him their initial reaction; but they declined to give him anything in writing. They told him that they would express their considered opinion only if the President formally referred the matter to the Supreme Court for advice. Rajendra Prasad did not want to do so because any such reference could only be made on the advice of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The President's Military Secretary Major-General B. Chatterjee, who was more political
The Position of the President of India 67
than military, kept me informed of the developments privately.
Then Rajendra Prasad sent for the then Attorney- General M.C. Setalvad, who later gave him a note. A copy of this note was forwarded to me privately by General Chatterjee. Setalvad had clearly stated in his note that the President did not have an exist- ence independent of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet In simple terms he virtually told Rajendra Prasad that wherever the term President occurred in the Constitution, he might as well substitute it with the term Prime Minister. I placed before Nehru the copy of Setalvad's opinion and gave him a brief account of what had been going on in Rashtrapati Bhawan. Nehru read Setalvad's opinion and gave it back to me with a smile. He was more amused than annoyed. Nehru was so sure of the constitutional position and his own personal position and prestige in the country that he chose to ignore Rajendra Prasad's aberrations.
There was no need for some newspapers to attack Jatti. He was perfectly within his rights to ask the Cabinet to reconsider the decision.
The framers of the Constitution were content with a simple statement, "There shall be a Council of Ministers, with the Prime .Minister at the head, to aid and advise the President." Nehru, with his commanding position and personality, gave content to this during his long period of seventeen years as Prime Minister and, in the process, established healthy democratic conventions.
In several judgments from 1955 onwards the Supreme Court had very clearly stated the legal position on the subject of the .powers of the President in relation to the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers,
The much-criticized 42nd Constitutional Amendment clause ad- ding, "The President shall, in the exercise of his functions act in accordance with such advice" was perhaps unnecessary though harmless. If a President is overburdened with conscience/it is always open to him to resign.
The position of the President of India is exactly the same as that of the President of the Fourth Republic of France before the advent ol De Gaulle and the establishment of the Fifth Republic.
Noted British historian Sir Henry Maine wrote, "The old Kings of France reigned and governed; the King of England reigns but does not govern; the President of the United States governs but
68 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
does not reign. It has been reserved for the President of the French Republic neither to reign nor to govern."
Clemenceau, who was French Prime Minister during the closing stages of the first world war, once declared that there were two things for which he could never find any reason— the prostate gland and the French presidency.
^ Abbe Lantaigne, more devastating in his characterizations, once dismissed the presidency from his writings as "an office with the sole virtue of impotence." "Its incumbent," he said, "must neither act nor think; if he does either he stands to lose his throne."
Yet the fact remains that the President of the Republic is the supreme representative of the executive power of France. He is the head of state and holds the highest political honour that a nation can bestow. He sits on the thrones of the Bourbons and the Bonapartes. He is the titular Commahder-in- Chief of the armed forces on land, at sea, and in the air. He is the first citizen of the republic. It is true that the office does not carry powers commensu- rate with its dignity, but it is nonetheless a post which the most eminent statesmen of France have sought.
12 Rajendra Prasad and Radhakrishnan
When the interim government was formed on 2 September 1946, Nehru included Rajendra Prasad on the Council as Member in charge of Food and Agriculture. He was more interested in develop- ing pinjarapoles (cow ashrams) than in the development of food production.
Later in the year, in consultation with Gandhiji and Sardar Patel, Nehru, as Congress President, decided to elevate Rajendra Prasad as President of the Constituent Assembly which was to meet on 9 December 1947. Nehru made it known to Rajendra Prasad, whom he called Rajendra Babu, that well before his election as President of the Constituent Assembly he should resign from government because Nehru felt that the President of a sovereign body like the Constituent Assembly should not be a person holding a post subordinate to him in government. But Rajendra Prasad resisted. Ultimately Gandhiji intervened. He sent for Rajendra Prasad and spoke to him bluntly in the presence of one of his secretaries, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. Gandhiji told him, "I had thought that you learned something from me. I was mistaken. You have no right to hold the two offices. In fact you should give up everything and join me." Soon after, Rajendra Prasad sent in a letter of resignation (p. 70) to Nehru couched in such language as to give the impression that it was a spontaneously voluntary act.
Before the republic came into existence, Rajaji was sitting on the throne of the Governor-General of India, once occupied by Warren Hastings, Ripon, Curzon and a host of others. He conducted him- self with great dignity and simplicity, and foreigners, particularly the diplomatic corps, were impressed by him. Nehru wanted Rajaji to be the first President. He was anxious to establish a convention that normally, if the Prime Minister was from north India the President should be from the south, and vice- versa. In fact, Nehru
70 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
impulsively offered the presidency to Rajaji. Nehru did not like the idea of Rajendra Prasad as President because he was very conser- vative, traditionalist and somewhat obscurantist. He tried to dissuade Rajendra Prasad by offering him the offices of a Cabinet Minister and chairmanship of the Planning Commission. Rajendra Prasad was not interested in the offer. Nehru soon discovered that the bulk of Congress MPs were opposed to Rajaji. Sardar Patel appeared neutral though his preference was known. It was not for Rajaji/ If Nehru had stood firm, Rajaji would have been elected; but Nehru disliked taking any important issue to the breaking point. So,
71. Rajendra Prasad and Madhakrishnan 7 1
ultimately he beat a retreat, leaving Rajaji with an aggrieved feel- ing of having been let down.
Thus Rajendra Prasad became the first President of the Republic on 26 January 1950. Alas, the first act of the first President of the Republic was the shifting of all Muslim servants from his wing in Rashtrapati Bhawan. Nehru was annoyed. He asked me to get all these Muslims transferred to the government hospitality organiza- tion in exchange for Hindu servants. The displaced Muslim servants were detailed to duty in the Prime Minister's house even though the security authorities were unhappy about it.
Another thing which annoyed Nehru was Rajendra Prasad's pilgrimage to Kashi to wash the feet of sadhus. Feet-touching then onwards became sanctified. If Nehru hated anything, it was feet-touching.
Yet another thing which made Nehru unhappy was Rajendra Prasad's visit to Somnath to instal the Shivalingam in the newly built temple on the site of the famous one which Moslem invaders had destroyed. Nehru had information that the Food and Agricul- ture Minister K. M. Munshi, with the connivance of Sardar Patel, had raised the sugar price and let the mill owners keep half of the price-rise and give the rest for the construction of the Somnath temple. The Sugar Mill Owners Association was only too happy to perpetrate this fraud on the people. This information came to Nehru at a rather late stage when it was not possible to retrieve the situation.
The President, under the transitional provisions of the Consti- tution, inherited all the financial allotments enjoyed by the Viceroy, including the very substantial entertainment allowance. Successive Presidents have resisted all attempts by parliament to legislate for the emoluments and perquisites of the President. After about five years in office by Rajendra Prasad, the Military Secretary to the President sent me a private note . to say that Rajendra Prasad had not spent more than Rs 225 per month on entertainment and that the rest of the grant was drawn by Rajendra Prasad and invested in small savings in the names of his numerous grandchildren. I showed the note to the Prime Minister who incautiously mentioned it at an informal meeting of the Cong- ress Working Committee. Jagjivan Ram reported the matter to Rajendra Prasad who got very annoyed with me.
Soon after T. T. Krishnamachari's budget imposed wealth tax,
72 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
expenditure tax and gift tax, Rajendra Prasad complained to Nehru about how all these would affect him personally. Nehru then asked him, in a letter in reply, whether the unused part of his entertainment allowance was surrendered to government. This silenced Rajendra Prasad, and he could no longer swell the coffers of his grandchildren.
Early in 1957 Nehru impulsively offered the presidency to the then Vice-President Radhakrishnan. Nehru thought that after seven years in office and at his advanced age, Rajendra Prasad would wish to retire. Rajendra Prasad, however, had other ideas. He was a candidate for re-election for another term of five years. Nehru soon discovered that Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant and most of the provincial Congress leaders, including Kamaraj Nadar, were in favour of Rajendra Prasad's re-election. Again, Nehru, the true democrat, retreated as he was loath to push anything to breaking point. This made Radhakrishnan sour. He did not want to conti- nue as Vice-President. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad ultimately per- suaded him to stay on. As a sop to Radhakrishnan, Nehru changed the order in the Warrant of Precedence to make the Vice- President number two. Until then the Vice-President ranked third, after the Prime Minister. Nehru also made the Vice- President entitled to use Indian Air Force VIP aircraft to travel in India. Radhakrishnan was mollified. Nehru asked Radhakrishnan to lead the Indian delegation to UNESCO, and also encouraged him to take increasing interest in the activities of that body. He also arranged for Radhakrishnan to go on goodwill visits to foreign countries.
At one time Nehru suggested to Rajendra Prasad that he might let Radhakrishnan perform some of his ceremonial func- tions. Rajendra Prasad pointed out that, while he held Radha- krishnan in great esteem and would gladly entrust him with some of his functions, the Constitution did not provide for such a course of action. Rajendra Prasad was right.
At the time of the debate in parliament on the Hindu Code Bill, Rajendra Prasad made it known to MPs that he was person- ally against it. At this time Rajendra Prasad spoke to Nehru and told him that, according to the Constitution, the President was part of parliament and that he would like to be in the President's Box in parliament whenever he wished to do so. Nehru firmly put his foot down and told Rajendra Prasad that his
Rajendra Prasad and Radhakrishnan 73
being part of parliament only meant that he had to address the joint sessions of both Houses once a year; and that the President's Box in parliament was only a courtesy to accommodate distin- guished foreign dignitaries and other guests of the President. Nehru, however, compromised by facilitating the installation of contraptions through which the President, from his study in Rashtrapati Bhawan, could listen to the proceedings in both Houses of parliament. Such contraptions were also installed for Nehru and myself in our offices in Parliament House.
The relationship between the first President and the first Prime Minister was formal. The Prime Minister had a weekly meeting with the President to fulfil the constitutional requirement of keeping the President informed of developments in the government and the country/There was no personal warmth for each other. They were poles apart in their outlook. Rajendra Prasad was somewhat overwhelmed by Nehru's personality. However, Nehru did not fail to show the President all due courtesies; and he was deferential to the President in public.
When Radhakrishnan became President, his relations with Nehru were warm and cordial. Radhakrishnan, with his informal ways, was able to influence Nehru to a fair extent. But it must be said that during the period 1962-64 Nehru was a declining man and afflicted by ill-health.
Nehru once told me that, during the period Radhakrishnan was Indian Ambassador to the Soviet Union, at his first meeting with Marshal Joseph Stalin, he behaved in the most informal manner by greeting Stalin with, "Hullo. How are you?" and patted him on the back. Radhakrishnan did almost the same thing to Queen Elizabeth.
Philosopher, orator and phrase-maker, Radhakrishnan was indisputably the best President India has had so far, representing the best traditions and culture of this ancient land.
The embarrassingly-named Fakhruddin AH Ahmed was the poorest specimen. By signing the Proclamation of Internal Emergency in June 1975 without Cabinet approval, he amply qualified himself for impeachment. However,, it must be said to his credit that he knew when to die.
13 The Prime Minister and his Secretariat
The Prime Minister's secretariat in India was constituted on an ad hoc basis on 15 August 1947, with H.V.R. Iyengar, a senior ICS officer, as the Principal Private Secretary. During his brief tenure Iyengar was a somewhat overpowering personality. There was no doubt about his competence. Somehow he earned the displeasure of Sardar Patel, Shanmukham Chetty and John Matthai. They all took exception to Iyengar attending Cabinet meetings. Eventually Sardar Patel adopted the practice of kicking people upstairs. He requested Nehru to release Iyengar for appoint- ment as Home Secretary. This was agreed to. In the Prime Minister's secretariat he was replaced..by A.V. Pai, also a senior ICS officer. Pai was the mildest of men, a very fair-minded person, and a perfect gentleman. He was the best PPS Nehru had. Since the exit of Iyengar, no PPS has attended Cabinet meetings.
In 1948, while we were in London, Nehru requested Attlee to give me facilities to study the position of the Prime Minister in the Cabinet system and the constitution and functioning of his secre- tariat. Attlee asked his Cabinet Secretary Lord Norman Brook and Treasury Secretary Lord Edward Bridges, formerly Cabinet Secretary during wartime under Winston Churchill, to receive me and provide me with the necessary facilities. I met both of them and had useful discussions with them. Lord Norman Brook also prepared a note for me.
In the United Kingdom the Prime Minister has no statutory powers, his powers derive primarily from the fact that he is normally the leader of the political party with a majority in the House of Commons, and that as such he has been asked by the sovereign to be head of the government. The extent to which the powers latent in this position are made real depends on two things: (0 The personal influence of the Prime Minister over the ministers
The Prime Minister and his Secretariat 75
who make up the government. The Prime Minister, if he wishes, selects his own ministers. He can do so without consultation, although normally he would consult his senior colleagues. Equally! he has the power to recommend their replacement or dismissal, and he can, by his own resignation, bring about the resignation of the whole government; (») The Prime Minister's chairmanship of the Cabinet and some of its important committees, particularly the Defence Committee.
The Prime Minister is also the First Lord of the Treasury. This department has substantial statutory and other powers, but day to day work is under the charge of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Prime Minister is not directly concerned. Nevertheless the Prime Minister does derive one important power from his position as First Lord, namely, his ultimate power of control of the civil service. The Prime Minister's authority is required for major appointments in the civil service, and this is an important factor in maintaining the unity of the service as a whole. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is obliged to seek the approval of the Prime Minister in advance for the budget as a whole, more especially for the taxation proposals.
The Prime Minister does not normally take charge of any department. But in the spheres of foreign affairs and defence the Prime Minister has a special position. The relationship between the Prime Minister and his Foreign Secretary is probably closer than that between the Prime Minister and any other minister. Matters of political importance are of more frequent occurrence in the sphere of work of the Foreign Secretary than perhaps of any other departmental minister. All these matters cannot be brought to the Cabinet, and for this reason the Prime Minister must keep in close touchVith foreign affairs. Normally, when the Foreign Secretary is away, his duties are undertaken by the Prime Minister. In the sphere of defence, the Prime Minister retains the supreme responsi- bility and is Chairman of the Defence Committee. The supreme responsibility is not affected by the appointment of a Defence Minister.
Since the Prime Minister has no statutory powers and no depart- ment, he has no need for a large staff; to a considerable extent he draws his advice and assistance from all departments. He has, on the one hand, in the transaction of official business, the advice
? 6 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
of the Secretary of the Treasury, arid, on the other, in the conduct of Cabinet affairs, that of the Cabinet Secretary.
In keeping with the collective responsibility of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister's secretariat is not classified as a department but as a personal secretariat. The staff of the Prime Minister's secretariat are not responsible for advising on policy or for executing the Prime Minister's decisions on policy. They are only gatherers and conveyors and, in short, mechanics men.
The advice which comes to the Prime Minister from depart- ments should always have the authority of the departmental minister.
The Prime Minister's secretariat at 10 Downing Street is a small, compact body, particularly competent at the lower echelons. As the whole burden of government in principle rests on the Prime Minister, he can have, as a matter of established practice, any type and any number of people to assist him in the discharge of his functions. Financial and administrative sanction for the Prime Minister's staff is automatic, provided that such demand for staff has the personal approval of the Prime Minister.
Even the Cabinet secretariat in the United Kingdom does not have any statutory powers or executive responsibilities.
Attlee's secretariat consisted of one Principal Private Secretary in the grade of Assistant Secretary (equivalent of a senior Deputy Secretary in Delhi), four Private Secretaries in the grade of princi- pal (equivalent of an Under Secretary in Delhi), one Parliamentary Private Secretary, one Public Relations Officer and a complement of fifty stenographic and clerical personnel of various grades. Work is clearly defined among the Private Secretaries including the Principal Private Secretary. The designation of Principal Private Secretary does not have much significance as each one is indepen- dent of the others and deals with a particular aspect of the Prime Minister's work and deals directly with the Prime Minister.
Some Prime Ministers have included in their personal staffs, in addition to their Private Secretaries, one or more' Personal Assistants chosen for their expert knowledge in a particular field in which they can give special help to the Prime Minister. During wartime, Churchill had Oxford Physics Professor Lindemenn. Later he became Lord Cherwell and was appointed a Cabinet Minister. Attlee's Personal Assistant Douglas Jay also became a minister
The Prime Minister and his Secretariat 77
eventually. So did Lord Balog who was Wilson's Personal Assis- tant.
I had two meetings with Phillip Jorden, Attlee's PRO. I was struck by him. He was for several years a senior foreign correspon- dent of the London News Chronicle. Prior to joining Attlee he was a senior First Secretary of the British Embassy in Washington. I was told that he was a very respected man among journalists in London.
In the United Kingdom there is a Central Office of Information under the Lord President of the Council. This is an operating department for all ministries. It is not an initiating department.
Every ministry in the United Kingdom has its own Public Relations Officers. These PROs function independently of the Central Office of Information, though they make use of it. The Prime Minister's PRO is the seniormost in the whole government. He deals directly with the Prime Minister. He is concerned only with the Prime Minister and the general policies of the govern- ment as a whole. He has access to all secret papers that come to the Prime Minister's secretariat. Cabinet agenda and Cabinet minutes come to him automatically. He is also furnished with Cabinet committee papers. There is only one exception in so far as the PRO is concerned. He does not normally see defence papers.
The Prime Minister in the United Kingdom does not normally see newspapermen. The PRO is meant to "sell" the Prime Minister and his policies to the press at home and abroad. When parliament is in session, he has two daily conferences with lobby correspondents, who number about fifty. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary in the United Kingdom do not, as a matter of practice, meet lobby correspondents. All other departmental ministers meet lobby correspondents at informal conferences and give them advance explanations of forthcoming Bills in parlia- ment.
The PRO also sees American radio commentators once a week; American correspondents once a week; some selected correspon- dents, including those of the BBC, once a week; Commonwealth correspondents once a month; and the Foreign Association once a month.
He also sits on several official committees like the Home Information Committee, Ministerial Committee of Information and the Economic Information Committee.
78 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
The Prime Minister allows his PRO a great deal of discretion and freedom in giving out news to pressmen. On the whole the PROs dealings with the press are off the record and are never quoted.
The PRO is a heavily-worked man and is recognized as such; but the Prime Minister has refused to give him an understudy as an addition of one more person means a wider circulation of secret papers.
The British Prime Minister's PRO is called a man with a key in his hand because he is particularly required to keep all papers in a specially designed box before him and to keep the key him- self. I could not find a single piece of paper on his desk on both occasions that I met him; and sure enough he was playing with the key in his hand.
Prime Minister Nehru's secretariat was gradually reorganized according to the British pattern. Eventually, the post of Principal Private Secretary was reduced to Joint Secretary without loss of efficiency.
When Lai Bahadur became Prime Minister he wanted L.K. Jha as his Principal Private Secretary. Jha stipulated that the secretariat should be designated as a department like any other ministry, he should be Secretary to the Prime Minister and not PPS, and that his position in the Warrant of Precedence should be the same as that of the Cabinet Secretary. Without examining these demands properly, Lai Bahadur meekly agreed. Jha let Parkinson's law rule the roost. He embarked on an expansion programme. A Secretary is normally uncomfortable if he does not have some Joint Secretaries; and a Joint Secretary will wail if he does not have some Deputy Secretaries, and so on down the line. Then came Indira who completed the process. In 1958-59 the Prime Minister's secretarial stafTconsisted of 129 persons of all categories, including chaprasis (peons); and the budget (actuals) was Rs 675,000, while in 1976-77 the staff numbered 242 and the budget increased to Rs 3.07 million.
In 1950 I wanted to create a post of PRO in the Prime Minis- ter's secretariat and provide him with the status and facilities enjoyed by the British Prime Minister's PRO. The Cabinet Secre- tary and the Secretary-General of the External Affairs Ministry got scent of my proposal. They pleaded with me and said it was dangerous to let a journalist see secret papers. I did not agree
ifte rnme Minister and Ins Secretariat 79
with them; but I gave up the idea because I was not sure if Nehru would make full use of the PRO. In fact, Nehru was his own PRO and needed no image builder,
I once told Nehru that the press conference was an American invention to provide a forum for the President. The Prime Minister in a parliamentary system has parliament as his forum where he can talk his head off. Neither Churchill nor Attlee held press conferences. I suggested to Nehru that he might consider giving up the practice. While he agreed with me, his vanity prevented him from accepting the suggestion. He liked to show off. I have no doubt that some of his statements and off the cuff pronouncements at some press con- ferences did more harm than good.
The present Prime Minister will do well to give up all depart- mental work. He will be well advised to create a new Ministry of Science and Technology and place the Departments of Atomic Energy, Electronics, Space Research, and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in it and find a man with a modern mind to be the minister.
Only a Prime Minister who is an intellectual eunuch or obsessed with status symbols, or a dilapidated old man will require a senior civil servant to head a personal secretariat which in any case should be small.
14 The Prime Minister's House
When Jawahailal Nehru accepted office in the interim government t
on 2 September 1946 he was allotted a four bedroom compact house at 17 York Road. He was happy with that house.
During the pre-partition and post-partition period the situation was abnormal. The threat to Nehru's life was real. Sardar Valla- bhbhai Patel was a worried man. He spoke to me about the inhe- rent danger and wanted to strengthen police security, however cumbersome and irritating it may be. He wanted me to do what- ever was possible to soften Nehru. Soon the grounds of 1 7 York Road became a sea of police tents.
When Nehru became Prime Minister, security arrangements were further tightened. Police tents also sprang up outside on the road. The whole place became a grotesque police camp. To me it became obvious that Nehru should shift from 17 York Road. In the spring of 1948, with the concurrence of Sardar Patel, I got in touch with Lord Mountbatten and discussed the matter with 1
him. He told me that the solution lay in Nehru moving into the Commander-in-Chief's house where security arrangements would not look so provocative. I requested him not to broach the subject with Nehru, but to leave the matter to me. I added that in a matter like this, the best procedure was to create a situation in which Nehru would have no choice. He agreed.
I reported back to Sardar Patel and requested him to speak to Nehru. Sardar Patel walked into Nehru's house one morning (he lived next door) and had a talk with him. He appealed to the PM to shift to the C-in-C's house. He told Nehru that he was already weighed down with deep sorrow at his failure to protect Gandhiji. He made it clear to Nehru that he was not prepared to take the responsibility for his safety. There was a veiled threat also— that he would resign if Nehru did not comply.
The Prime Minister 's House
On walking back to his house, Sardar Patel beckoned to me I walked with him. He told me, "Jawaharlal kept quiet and his facial expresses showed he did not like to shift; but we must
wt Mo^bX" 0nSeBt Y ° U S ° 3head "*** «* *»*** In consultation with me, Mountbatten drew up a note for the Cabinet or the redesignate of the Cin-Cs house as the Prime Minister s house and for the setting np of the government hospita- hty orgamzatmn m the PM> S house along the lines of Government House. Tins became a necessity particularly because Indira was feckless m runmng a household. She did no, even know wt boil an egg. What is worse, she couldn't care less. According to the arrangement worked out, the Prime Minister was to pay for himself his family and personal guests on the basis of aetua expenditure. On my advice, Mountbatten took the unnsua sten of
ZT^Tl thC Prime Minister and -""tog «he~ ectly to &e Cabinet Secretary directing him to circulate it to all Cabinet
taTof the PM tf T Prime MinlSter ' With0Ut ,he >™ ^
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conic tad by S^ ptte, The Cab" ?" meetin8 ™ ^^
contained in Mou" en t n'te " CCePted *" Pr ° P ° SalS
Nehru wasnot at all happy about shifting to a big house After
ow^ol ^500 f^ <° ^ * e Lfree ^inte MinS were cnthtd.^ m ° Dth '° *?* he and tte <**« Some of the prominent Cabinet Ministers narticnlarlv M r ,
JESS rtt Sr 1 "
/
82 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
interest of a poor man who might succeed him as PM, he should let parliament enact such a measure and that he personally need not avail himself of the facilities. But he remained too subjective in regard to this matter. In this connection I must say that Nehru was * one of the most inexpensive persons, in so far as personal requirements were concerned. It is open to the present parliament to enact a suitable measure to provide for a retiring PM.
The existing Act provides for a salary of Rs 3,000 per month for a Cabinet Minister and an entertainment allowance of Rs 500 per month. In Nehru's time he and the ministers voluntarily effected a cut and brought down the salary first to Rs 2,250 per month arid then to Rs 2,000 per month. Since then the value of the rupee has come down to 25 paise. There is a strong case for not only restor- ing the cuts but also enhancing the emoluments of ministers. To quote Gandhiji in this connection is sheer doublethink. Ministers and civil servants should be adequately paid to keep them above want and free them from temptations. The people of India will not grudge it.
It was a mistake to have converted the Prime Minister's house (now called Teen Murti House) to Jawaharlal Nehru Museum. Thirteen years have passed since the conversion and people have got used to it as a memorial to Nehru. It will be another mistake to reconvert it into the Prime Minister's house. Prime Minister Morarji has assured me that he has no desire to move into Teen Murti House because it will offend the sentiments of millions of peo- ple. Even now an average of 1,000 people visit the Nehru Museum daily.
The now Works and Housing Minister Sikander Bahkt has been saying profound things about a mansion for the Prime Minister, I am afraid he lives in a bygone age.
At 10 Downing Street, the British Prime Minister has only a couple of suites of rooms for his personal use. All the rest are offices and a few are public rooms.
Tage Erlander, the Social Democratic Prime Minister of affluent Sweden, for twenty years lived in a three room flat. His wife was a teacher. I happened to known them both. The Swedish Govern- ment did not provide him with a car. The PM and his wife had a small car which they drove themselves. They could not afford to keep a driver.
Labour Prime Minister Joseph Chiefley of rich Australia lived
The Prime Minister' s House g3
in two rooms in a second class hotel near his office. His wife pre- ferred to live on their farm as she did not wish to get involved in the social whirl of Canberra. The PM was not provided with a car. He walked between his hotel and his office. I met him more than once in London. He was a most lovable and humble man.
People like Sikander Bahkt are victims of outmoded ideas of oriental splendour.
15 Use of Air Force Aircraft by the Prime Minister
In the middle ofI951 the Director of the Intelligence Bureau came to see me and expressed his concern for the security of the Prime Minister during the campaign in the winter for the first general elections. He said that the threat to Nehru's life was very much, there. He said he would be unhappy if the Prime Minister travelled in regular commercial flights. Anyhow, commercial air service was in a rudimentary stage at that time. The Intelligence Bureau chief asked me, "Can't anything be done to enable the Prime Minister to travel in IAF planes on payment?" I promised to consult some people and try to process the matter,
Later I had a talk with Cabinet Secretary N. R. Pillai. He suggested a three-man committee of senior officials to, go into the question of the Prime Minister using IAF planes for purposes other than official, I spoke to the Prime Minister and he appointed a committee with Cabinet Secretary N. R. Pillai as Chairman, the Defence Secretary as Member and Tarlok Singh, ICS, as Member-Secretary. In the report the committee emphasized the security aspect and also the fact that the Prime Minister does not cease to be PM when he goes on unofficial tours. He can do a great deal of official work in the plane and also- at nights wherever he stays. The committee recommended that the Prime Minister might use IAF planes for his unofficial tours by paying the government for himself and non-officials air fare as charged by commercial flights plus halting charges. Official stafF and the personal valet travelling with the PM did not have to pay.
The PM asked the Cabinet Secretary to circulate the report to members of the Cabinet for discussion in Cabinet and final deci- sion. I told Nehru that a recommendation by a committee of officials subordinate to him, and a decision thereon by the
85. Use of Air Force Aircraft by the Prime Minister 85
Cabinet which was his creation were not enough to fulfil the requirements of propriety in a matter like this. He was somewhat annoyed and asked me what else was to be done. I said the ma*ter should be referred to an authority independent of the government, such as the Comptroller and Auditor- General. I added that it was in his personal interest to do so. I also told him that he need not himself doit and that I would personally deal with Narahari Rao who was then the Auditor-General, He told me coldly, "Do what you like." Thereafter I requested the Cabinet Secretary not to fix any date for the discussion of his report until I cleared the matter.
In the meantime, I had; a personal talk with the Auditor- General and gave him all the papers. He said he would study the file and walk over to my office and see me. He came a couple of days later and told me that the argument of the PM's personal security under the still rather abnormal conditions was the only one he would go by in writing his note on the Cabinet Secretary's report. I said, "You should feel free to write anything you consider proper." Two days later he wrote his note on the file and returned it to me. He accepted the recommendations contained in the Cabinet Secretary's note with a significant rider, "This con- cession is personal to Shri Jawaharlal Nehru and should not be quoted as a precedent." The Auditor-General's note was also circula- ted to the members of the Cabinet. Subsequently the Cabinet took a decision in the matter. The Auditor-General's note was later released to the press.
In 1951 thelAF VIP flight consisted of only a few Dakotas. Much later came the four-engined turbo-prop medium-sized British Viscounts.
In the 1951-52 general election campaign, Nehru did 18,348 miles by air, 5,682 miles by car, 1,612 miles by train and 90 miles by boat. He made 305 speeches to an estimated total audience of 30 million people apart from reaching infinitely more millions by newspapers and radio. He spent 46 days on these tours.
The Indian Post and Telegraph Department made special arrangements to deliver to the Prime Minister by bag official files and papers daily and to return to Delhi by bag the files and papers the Prime Minister had disposed of the previous day. These arrange- ments worked exceedingly well.
In so far as I know, the successive Prime Ministers after Nehru
Page 86 Map
87 - Use of Air Force Aircraft by the Prime Minister 87
never cared to seek fresh concurrence from the Auditor-General for their use of XAF planes for unofficial tours. Perhaps they knew that the Auditor- General would not agree. Therefore, their use of IAF planes for unofficial tours was improper.
For his foreign tours Nehru normally used Air India's commer- cial flights, I can recollect only two occasions when he used the IAF Viscounts. One was when he had to visit a chain of countries — Syria, the Federal Republic of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, England, Egypt and Sudan. The other was when he visited Saudi Arabia accompanied by a delegation of MPs. On both occasions the Air Chief requested me to let the IAF Sy the Prime Minister so that his handpicked pilots would get some valuable experience.
16 Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
If ever there lived a man in India who was absolutely and totally secular, it was Rafi as. he was affectionately called by many He shared this quality with the Nehrus andSaprus. Rafi was secretary to the legendary Motilal Nehru for some years. Of the two men Jawaharlal Nehru loved, apart from his father and Gandhiji Rafi was one; the other was A.C.N. Nambiar, the revolutionary, brother-in-law of the famous Chatto and of Sarojini Naidu a hesi- tant associate of Subhas Chandra Bose in Europe during a part of the second world war and, after independence, Ambassador of India in several European countries- Nehru would often get angry with both and shout at them. That was an indication of his per- sonal affection for them. Early in 1964, while A. C. N. Nambiar (Nanu as Nehru called him) was staying in the Prime Minister's house, as he always did whenever he was in India during Nehru's lifetime, he told Nehru at the breakfast table, "I feel sad about one thing— yon have not got angry with me this time." Nehru laughed. He was then an ill man. Before Nanu left for Europe he told me, with tears in his eyes, "Panditji will not live for long I shall not see him again," and he wept.
Rafi was a simple man, informal in his ways. He had a large number of men who were devoted and loyal to him. In Delhi they were called "Ruffians." Rafi kept an open house where his followers and other Congress workers could go and partake of his generous hospitality. For this purpose he did not mind taking money from medium-sized industrialists and traders. He avoided big business magnates. Apart from money, he used to take from them presents such as watches, fountain pens, pieces of woollen material and the like and distribute them to his "Ruffians," of whom Feroze Gandhi was one.
Rafi had a weakness for large cars and fast driving. He was
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai g^
involved in several traffic accidents but was always lucky to escape with minor injuries. Once Nehru received a personal letter from a
\ UP industrialist, not far from Delhi, complaining that Rafi dem and-
ed and received from him a large car. Nehru wrote to Rafi depre- cating this and asked him to return the car at once. Rafi never did. Both in UP and at the centre, Rafi was a successful minister. At the centre he was an imaginative Minister of Communications and did not hesitate to defy tht powerful Tatas in nationalizing civil
| aviation and introducing night airmail service. As Minister of Food
and Agriculture he was imaginative but more lucky than others.
Rafi used to come to the Prime Minister's house often in the evenings without appointment. If Nehru was busy with visitors, he ivould sit with me in my study and talk endlessly. Once Inflated to him something which Feroze Gandhi had told me. He laughed and asked me, "Do you believe anything^that Feroze says?"
While the States Ministry was initiating action against Maharaja Pratap Singh of Baroda (he was eventually deposed), Rafi got in touch with him and extracted from him Rs 200,000 for the National Herald. This was reported to Nehru by Sardar Patel. Nehru immediately wrote to Rafi asking him to return the money. Rafi replied that he had instructed Feroze Gandhi, Managing Director of Associated Journals Limited, to return the amount. Actually Rafi
I did nothing of the kind. It was amusing that while Rafi was negoti-
ating with Maharaja Pratap Singh, he had been telling Nehru that V.P. Menon had taken several hundred thousand rupees from the IMaharaja as a bribe.
Few people know that Rafi once went to Sardar Patel and offered to help him displace Nehru from the government. He was followed by Mahavir Tyagi, a "Ruffian." Patel disliked both. He considered them politically unscrupulous. Rafi discovered that Patel was a -wiser and more far-seeing man than he had thought.
Nehru was very annoyed and unhappy when Rafi left Congress, -and along with Acharya Kripalani and others, formed anew party called the KMPP. After some time Nehru sent for Rafi. Kidwai was sitting in my study in the Prime Minister's house when Nehru walked in and started talking to him. Then Nehru wanned up and
I fcegan shouting. Nehru told Rafi, "You haven't the intelligence of
•a mouse." At that stage I left the room and closed the door behind
90 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
me. Eventually, Nehru went out of his way to get Rafi back into* the Congress and the government.
One day a senior Air Commodore, staff officer from the IAF headquarters, rang me up and later came to see me by appointment. He told me that Rafi Sahib had requested him to secretly fly out large quantities of arms and ammunition to Nepal to be delivered to B. P. Koirala who was then fighting against the Nepalese authorities. Rati had told him that this had the approval of the Prime Minister. He added that the Air Force Chief was aware that under certain circumstances government would have to use uncon- ventional methods. All he wanted was confirmation that the VM had given approval for this venture. I was inclined to tell him to forget the whole business and that if the PM wanted any such thing; to be done, he would have spoken to the Defence Minister. How- ever, I told the Air Commodore that I would check up with the PM in the evening, and gave him an appointment for the next morning. I mentioned the matter to the PM in the evening, and he became furious. He asked me to send for a PA to dictate a letter to Rafi. I advised him not to shoot off a letter on this sensitive subject, but that he might telephone Kidwai, which he did. The next morning the Air.Commodore came. I did my best to explain the position to him without unduly compromising Rafi, and asked him to forget the whole episode.
I had two tiffs with Rafi while he was a Union Minister. One was about the appointment of U. Srinivasa Malliah as a General Secretary of the Congress after Purushottamdas Tandon was ousted as Congress President in 1950. I had suggested the names of Malliah and Lai Bahadur who was then the Police Minister in UP, Rafi did not like Malliah because he was too independent-minded. So he combined with Rajaji against Malliah. Rajaji told Nehru that Malliah was prone to intrigue. They suggested Nijalingappa, whom Nehru did not care for. Nehru spoke to me. I told him that Malliah was far less intriguing than Rajaji, and that Malliah was not keen on any job and also that I had not spoken to Malliah. I added that it would take some persuasion on his part to make Malliah agree, Nehru sent for Malliah, who declined the invitation. The next day Nehru again sent for Malliah. He told Nehru that he was not suited for any desk job. He said he would join as a General Secretary only as a helper. Lai Bahadur would direct to him people
Rafi A hmed Kiawai 9 J
difficult to manage. Malliah knew that Lai Bahadur was a fence- sitter and incapable of saying boo to a goose. Malliah told Nehru that he could relieve Lai Bahadur of such and other unpleasant tasks. Nehru appointed him; he and Lai Bahadur got on very well. When Lai Bahadur became Prime Minister he wanted to include Malliah in the cabinet; but Malliah declined the offer.
The second tiff related to a quarrelsome Communist MP who forcibly occupied a house in the Lok Sabha housing pool. Rafi espoused his cause and spoke to Malliah who told him that he had already told the MP that if he did not voluntarily vacate the house within two weeks he would be ejected by the police. Malliah was the Chairman of the Housing Committee of the Lok Sabha appoint- ed by the Speaker. Malliah gave me all the facts and said that the Speaker would stand firm. I asked him not to worry and if Rafi intervened with the PM, "I shall see that the PM sends for you" and then fee should stand firm, Rafi came and complained to Nehru against Malliah. Nehru dictated a strong letter to Malliah. I stopped the letter and told Nehru that he might send for Malliah and talk to him. I also reminded Nehru that this was a matter with- in the jurisdiction of the Speaker who had already turned down the Communist MP's appeal. In the meantime the Communist MP came to my office in Parliament House. He demanded from the PM's Private Secretary an immediate interview with the PM. The Private Secretary explained to him that the PM was busy. The MP started shouting. He told the PS that Ran Sahib had sent Mm. At this stage I intervened and told him that Rafi Sahib should not have sent him there. I also told the man that his behaviour was unworthy of a member of parliament; and that if he did not stop shouting he would be ejected from the room and its vicinity by the security guards. He piped down and left after giving me a dirty look.
The same day the PM met Malliah who explained the whole position. Nehru's comment was, "You should have taken strong action earlier." Malliah asked, "How can I be strong unless you are strong?" Nehru smiled. Later Nehru asked Rafi, "Why did you give me wrong information?" Rafi chose to be silent. I always felt that whenever Nehru was in possession of the facts, his actions were instinctively right.
Rafi, to a large extent, and Maulana Azad, less so, were respon- sible for persuading Nehru to oust Sheikh Abdullah as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in 1953.
^ 2 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Whatever had been his faults and his unorthodox behaviour, I would like to see more of the kind of Rafi in India. He died a poor man. In many ways Rafi was a delightful person. Like Abou Ben Adhem, he was one who loved his fellow men.
1 7 Feroze Gandhi
Son of a Parsi liquor and provision merchant of Allahabad,. Feroze Gandhi in his early days attached himself to Kamala Nehru as a Congress volunteer. He used to accompany her as a helper wherever she went on Congress work in the Allahabad area. He could not be accused of possessing any eagerness for studies. Throughout his life he retained the handwriting of a child.
Towards the end of December 1935 at Badenweiler in Germany, Kamala Nehru had a talk with her husband in the presence of" their common friend Nanu (A.C.N. Nambiar). Death for Kamala was only two months away. She said that she was profoundly worried about the future of Indira. She expressed her strongest disapproval of the possibility of Indira marrying Feroze Gandhi. She did not consider Feroze Gandhi a stable person; neither did she think that he was in the least qualified to go into any worthwhile profession and support Indira. She spoke with emotion and became tired. With some effort she managed to add, "I do not want my child to be unhappy all her life." Nehru spoke in a soothing, and reassuring manner and said, "You leave the matter to me." A. few minutes later Nehru went out. Kamala turned to Nanu and. said, "You heard what he said; Indu will listen to no one except me. I could have guided Indu gently away from Feroze. But my end is near. Jawahar will give no guidance to Indu. She will ultimately be allowed to commit the mistake of her life."
Some time before Kamala Nehru's death on 28 February 1936, while Indira was still a student in England, Feroze Gandhi managed to get some financial assistance from one of his aunts and went to London. His "studies" in London constituted a standing joke among Indians there.
Like many other Indian students in England, Indira managed to- return to India by ship after the second world war broke out..
94 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Feroze Gandhi was also back. In 1941 Indira spoke to her father about her wish to marry Feroze Gandhi. Nehru remembered what his wife had told him at Badenweiler and gave her good advice against the marriage. All the members of the Nehru family were also against the marriage. Neither they nor Nehru could reconcile themselves to the idea of Indira marrying the son of a local liquor and provision merchant. And, what was worse, the boy was not qualified to enter any worthwhile profession to earn his livelihood. As opposition to the marriage persisted, Indira adopted a truculent attitude. She told her father that she had' no roots in India and that she was going to leave the country. Nehru was deeply hurt. He conveyed this to Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit and Padmaja Naidu who happened to be in Allahabad. Padmaja Naidu expressed the view that in the ultimate analysis the father had no right to stand in the way of a daughter who was a major. Reluctantly, Nehru gave his permission.
For some inexplicable reason, Nehru allowed the marriage to be performed according to Vedic rites in 1942. An interreligious and intercaste marriage under Vedic rites at that time was not valid in law. To be legal, it had to be a civil marriage. So, strictly under the law, Indira was only a "concubine?* and her children are "bastards."
Soon after the marriage, Nehru had Feroze Gandhi appointed as the Managing Director of the Associated Journals Ltd which owned the National Herald, Navjivan and Quami Awaz. This had disastrous consequences which have been mentioned in the chapter "National Herald, etc." I have also referred to Feroze Gandhi, in the chapter "Ran Ahmed Kidwai."
In the meantime, Feroze Gandhi continued to do some work as an insurance agent and eked out an existence.
At Nehru's instance, UP Chief Minister Govind Ballabh Pant saw to it that Feroze Gandhi was elected to the Constituent Assembly when it was constituted in December 1946. After that he divided his time between Delhi and Lucknow. He was elected to the first Lok Sabha in the 1951-52 general elections and conti- nued to be an MP till his death in 1961.
In 1947 Feroze Gandhi fell in love with one of Mrs Pandit's daughters working as an apprentice journalist in the National Herald at Lucknow. On hearing this, Mrs Pandit made an air-dash
Feroze Gandhi 95
to India from Moscow at her own- expense and took away the girl to Moscow,
Two instances of what Nehru had said in private at the dining table leaked out and caused embarrassment. These were traced to Feroze Gandhi. Since that time Nehru rarely opened his mouth at mealtimes if Feroze Gandhi was present. Even time, the great healer, did not help Nehru to become wholly reconciled to his daughter, and only child, being married to Feroze Gandhi. Neither ■did developments after the marriage provide any cementing factor.
Some time in 1948, Minister of Health Rajkumari Amrit Kaur told .me that in her presence Feroze Gandhi had told a group of MPs in the Central Hall of parliament that "M.O. Mathai is the Prime Minister's son-in-law" and not he. Some MPs later thought that Feroze Gandhi had said this because I was with Nehru all the time, even in the car in which he travelled between his offices and residence, and the fact that I was staying in the Prime Minister's house.
Feroze Gandhi had another romantic interlude. This time it was the daughter of a Muslim minister of the UP government. The girl was working in the All India Radio in New Delhi. They decided to marry. Feroze Gandhi spoke to Indira about his inten- tion. She told him that she had no objection. He said he wanted the custody of the first child. She firmly refused to consider this. The same evening he left a brief note on Nehru's desk in his study at the PM's house. In the note he said, "This time it is all my fault." Nehru sent for him after dinner and let him have his say. The next morning, after breakfast, Nehru took Indira to his study and told her that Feroze Gandhi had had a talk with him the previous night. He did not reveal to her all that transpired. How- ever, Nehru asked her one question, "Have you anyone else in view?" She replied in the negative. In the evening Indira reported everything to me and complained that her father was not frank with her. As a daughter she expected him to tell her everything Feroze Gandhi had told him. I told her that it was obvious that her father did not wish to repeat anything and create further mis- understandings.
When the news of the romantic developments surrounding his daughter reached Lucknow, the Muslim minister was perturbed. He frantically came to Delhi and took his daughter away.
96 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age-
Soon after this incident Feroze Gandhi shifted to his MP's quarters.
After his exit from the National Herald, a job was found for Feroze Gandhi by Ran" Ahmed Kidwai in the Indian Express. Soon after Rafi's death, information reached Nehru that Ramnath, Goenka, the proprietor of Indian Express, had told someone that he gave the job to Feroze Gandhi because Rafi had told him that it. would lead to the lessening of Nehru's financial burden; and that it was for the same reason that a second large Austin car was also allotted to Feroze Gandhi for the personal use of Indira. The Prime Minister asked me to question Ramnath Goenka about it. I did so and Goenka confirmed that the information which reached the Prime- Minister was entirely correct. I told him that the large Austin car was never used by Indira. I reported to the PM the substance of my conversation with Goenka. He was visibly upset. I told him that Goenka had issued instructions to withdraw the large Austin car. I also told him that it was inadvisable to take any further step in the matter at that stage.
After Feroze Gandhi's virulent attack on T.T. Krishnamachari in parliament in the "Mundhra" case and TTK's resignation from government, Ramnath Goenka, who was a personal friend of TTK's, terminated Feroze Gandhi's services with the Indian Express.
The misgivings of Kamala Nehru expressed in anguish on her deathbed had come true in full measure.
18 The ''National Herald'' and Allied Papers
Towards the end of 1955 an agitated Indira came to my study in the Prime Minister's house and said that her father had just told her that Feroze Gandhi and Ajit Prasad Jain had had a talk with him, and that they were going to hand over, the National Herald and allied newspapers to C. B. Gupta, the UP Congress boss, because of acute financial difficulties. Feroze Gandhi and Ajit Prasad Jain had already left for the railway station to go to Lucknow. Indira asked me if anything could be done to retrieve the situation. I asked the staff to ring up the Delhi railway station- master and ask him to trace Feroze Gandhi and Ajit Prasad Jain and bring them to the telephone. Indira spoke to Feroze Gandhi and asked him not to proceed with his proposal. Feroze Gandhi was in charge of the National Herald in his capacity as Managing Director of the Associated Journals Ltd. He was a man with no constructive ability. However, he was adept at attacking people in parliament. He was initiated into it by Finance Minister CD. Deshmukh as a prelude to the nationalization of life insurance." Deshmukh asked his senior officials to supply Feroze Gandhi with secret information. Deshmukh wanted to generate advance hostility to life insurance companies in parliament. Thus Feroze Gandhi came to know a number of senior officials who proved useful to him in his attacks on others later on.
I remembered that during the independence struggle Nehru had said, "I would gladly sell Anand Bhawan to keep National Herald alive." I decided to do something to put the affairs of the- Associated Journals Ltd on a sound footing. I. met the then Attorney-General M. C. Setalvad and told him of a proposal to create a trust to aid these newspapers. As recommended by him the trust deed was drafted by C.C. Shah, MP, whom the Attorney- General considered an able solicitor.
98 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
I asked Indira to give a name to the trust. She suggested "Janhit Trust." I changed it to "Janhit Nidhi" and told her it was inap- propriate to mix Hindi and English. The trust deed drafted by C.C. Shah was approved by the Attorney-General. The trust was registered early in 1956 with Justice P. N. Sapru, MP, Padmaja Naidu and Indira as trustees.
The first thing done was to get many people to transfer their shares and debentures in the Associated Journals Ltd as well as their loans to the trust. Prominent among those were Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, K. N. Katju, Sri Prakasa, the Nawab of Bhopal, Raja Bhadri, the Maharaja of Gondal, the Maharajkumar of Vijayanagaram, Colonel B. H. Zaidi, Ram Ratan Gupta, Manubhai Bhimani and the Sarabhais.
In going through the books of the Associated Journals Ltd I found an entry of Rs 200,000 as loan from Feroze Gandhi. On enquiry I was told that actually it was an interest-free loan from Maharaja Pratap Singh of Baroda. I have referred to this in the -chapter "Ran Ahmed Kidwai." When Rafi informed NehTU that he had instructed Feroze Gandhi to return the money, he also wrote to Feroze Gandhi to carry out the instructions at once; and Feroze Gandhi replied after a fortnight that he had returned the money. He did nothing of the kind. What he did was to enter the amount in the company's books as a loan from himself! Later, through Major-General J.K.Bhonsle of the INA and a close friend and relative of the Maharaja, I got a letter from the Maharaja transferring the loan to the trust, as a donation. Feroze Gandhi, who was then out of the Associated Journals Ltd, was not pleased about this.
I was not surprised when one day, during Feroze Ganuhi's attacks on Finance Minister T. T. Krishnamachari in parliament, Nehru vehemently condemned him in the presence of Lai Bahadur and myself and said, "This fellow Feroze is a bloody liar." Neither was I surprised when V. K. Krishna Menon once told me, ■"I have known Feroze Gandhi from his so-called student days in London. My experience has led me to the conclusion that he is a congenital liar."
Ramnath Goenka of the Indian Express group of newspapers .gave the Associated Journals Ltd a printing press costing about Rs 175,000 as gift.
The "National Herald'' and Allied Papers 99
Substantial amounts were raised by way of special advertise- ments at special rates for the National Herald, Navjivan (Hindi) and Quami Awaz (Urdu). Between 1955 and 1957 a total of Rs 842,000 was collected through such special advertisements. These special advertisements were raised to clear up the vast initial mess that the Associated Journals Ltd was in. They came from diverse industrial and commercial concerns such as the Mafatla! group, the Kasturbhai Lalbhai group, the Tata group, the Birla group, the BIC group and several others.
The receipts in the Janhit Nidhi from its inception in 1956 to 30 September 1963 were as follows:
Cash donations Rs 1,577 59^
Donations in Kind
Transfers of loans (later converted into
ordinary shares) Rs 337,000.00
Debentures (250) Rs
Preference shares (136) Rs
Ordinary shares (9,166) Rs
Bank interest Rs Interest on debentures in Associated Journals
Ltd (actually paid) Rs U)imm Interest on debentures recoverable from
Associated Journals Ltd Rs 1 12,780 00
250,000.00 13,600.00 91,660.00 71,194.57
Total Rs 2,457,933.25
The assets of Janhit Nidhi as of 30 September 1963 were as follows:
87,781 ordinary shares of Rs 10 each in
Associated Journals Ltd, Lucknow
(face value) Rs 877 810>0o
6,152 preference shares of Rs 100 each
in Associated Journals Ltd (face
value > Rs 615,200.00
354 debentures of Rs 1,000 each in
Associated Journals Ltd (face value) R s 354,000.00
Bank balance Rs 565',649J4
Cash in hand Rs 5,000.00 Interest on debentures recoverable from
Associated Journals Ltd r s 1 12 780 00
Total Rs 2,539,367.95
100 - Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
No significant changes have taken place since, except that the cash resources have been spent on the National Herald building in Delhi.
As of 30 September 1963, the capital structure of Associated Journals Ltd was that the trust-held stocks and shares in the company were worth Rs 1,847,010 as against only Rs 487,450 held by the public.
Even though I did not ask Nehru's permission to take a direct but informal interest in the affairs of the National Herald and allied papers, I kept him informed of developments. In my final report to him at the end of 1957 I informed him that I would take no further interest. He called me and said, "You have done a great deal to put the affairs of the papers on a sound financial basis; but how long will it last? Chalapathi Rau was a good jour- nalist during the independence struggle; but somehow he has not been able to adjust himself to the new situation after indepen- dence. He has little understanding of economic affairs. He is not a competent all-round editor. He thinks that by writing long and ponderous editorials, which nobody reads, he has produced a good paper." Nehru further said, * 'Under Chalapathi Rau's editorship the circulation of the paper would never increase. The office puts up to me every evening the National Herald, with press clippings from papers all over India. I ceased to open the National Herald some years ago. I shall not shed a tear if National Herald and its allied papers closed down. As I am against the Khadi and Village Industries Commission receiving huge grants from govern- ment, I am against newspapers requiring spoon-feeding for their survival."
I remember my numerous meetings in London and New Delhi with Kingsley Martin, the distinguished editor of the New States' man. He was of the firm view that a newspaper or a journal is seventy-five per cent business and twenty-five per cent journalism. This is what Chalapathi Rau had successfully avoided learning.
Page 101
19 Nehru and the Press
Before entering government Nehru had written several editorials and special articles, mostly in his own hand for the National Herald, These are now with the National Archives. Photostat copies are with the National Herald,
Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Rajaji and Pantji had their own favourites among pressmen; but Nehru never considered it advisa- ble to cultivate individual pressmen.
Nehru considered the Hindu as the best- produced paper in India and its reporters the best in the country; but the Hindu was a little too conservative for him in regard to economic policy. And yet he wanted the Hindu to be put up to him every evening.
From the middle of the fifties, Nehru considered S. Mulgaokar as the most effective journalistic writer in the country. On several occasions Mulgaokar had criticized Nehru's policies. And yet, when he wanted a high-grade journalist to tone up our foreign and domestic publicity, immediately after the Chinese invasion, it was to Mulgaokar that Nehru turned. Mulgaokar stipulated certain understandable conditions so that his work in government, for a temporary period, would be purposeful and effective. The PM could not fulfil those conditions in the set-up which existed at that time. So the proposal fell through.
In 1952 Nehru wanted a prominent person with a journalistic background as Minister for Information and Broadcasting. .He invited B. Shiva Rao to join his Council of Ministers as a minister of state with independent charge of the Information and Broadcas- ting Ministry. Shiva Rao tried through N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar to get Cabinet rank. Nehru was annoyed, gave up the idea, and appointed B. V. Keskar instead.
The one journalist who got on Nehru's nerves was Durga Das.
102 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
He, after a long career in journalism, ended up as special represen- tative and later editor of the Hindustan Times. Nehru had heard that while he was with the Associated Press of India (an adjunct of Reuter), Durga Das was connected with the intelligence set-up of the Home Department. Durga Das, who was a favourite with Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and Pantji, tried to get elected to the Constituent Assembly from UP. Pantji recommended him; but Nehru scored his name out. Durga Das then took up a very hostile attitude towards Nehru. He began to write nasty things about Nehru and his daughter under the pseudonym INSAF (Justice). It was the type of writing intended to hurt. One day Nehru sent for Durga Das and talked to him severely. Later, Nehru informed me that he had told Durga Das, "You are the meanest man I have met and the lowest form of human existence." Normally Nehru wouldn't use such strong language. Durga Das was subdued for a while like a dog with its tail in a bamboo tube. But when the initial impact wore off, Durga Das relapsed into his mean self. One day Nehru spotted a very nasty piece and told me, "You might ask Ghanshyam- das Birla if this sort of write-up represented his own views." I put the question to G.D. Birla, using the PM's own words. G.D. Birla told me that he very seldom interfered with the editorial freedom of Hindustan Times and added, "I have been noticing Durga Das' weekly column INSAF which borders on yellow journalism. I did speak to Shim a f€;w times. 1 am going to speak to him again today as a last warning. In fact I made up my mind some time ago to get rid of Durga Das. That is why I have brought in Mulgaokar."
The next day Durga Das went to his patron saint, Maulana Azad. The Maulana spoke to G.D. Birla who told him that I had complained to him and that he might have a word with me. The Maulana knew that I was a difficult customer. So he complained to the PM. But the PM kept quiet. Soon Durga Das was replaced by Mulgaokar. INSAF died a natural death; but out of its ashes arose INFA, a weekly newsletter.
During Nehru's time "keyhole journalism" was not very much in evidence, though it seems to be developing fast at present. The classic example is a man who has recently published a book on the emergency. A friend sent me a copy of the book. In that he has referred to me as Nehru's stenographer. I wrote and asked him where he got that fantastic information. He did not reply. I made
103
Nehru and the Press , A ,
themistake of expecting a modicum of decency in a keyhole jour- nalist. I took the trouble of reading through the book. It is a melan- choly ptece of work into which so many lies, halftruths innuendoes and absurd inventions, ail coated with malice, have been compres- sed into a few pages constituting the worst type of journalistic vul- garization I have ever seen. It was obviously written to take advan- tage of a 'hate wave" in northern India. After finishing the book late at mght, it fell from my hands to the floor as I lay in bed The next morning my sweepress took the book from the floor and asked me, "Sahib, can I have it for my choelaT I felt like telling
rZn,J* $> r *, A'' 6 iS thirty rUpees; bu * mother for your choola. in the style of Samuel Johnson who, when approached by a person for a donation of one crown for the burial of a priest, said Here are two crowns; bury two." In the early years of independence Ramakrishna Dalmia made
toJK t0 meaSUre , h ! s P itifui st Wh gainst government trough the medium of the Times of India and the Illustrated Weekly of India which he owned. He singled out Nehru for attacks m the most obscurantist manner bringing holy cows and sacred monkeys also into the picture. Nehru was naturally annoyed- but he did not want to take any vindictive action. He asked me to stop subscribing to the Times of India and the Illustrated Weekly as he did not wish to render financial support to the gutter press. I, how- ever, asked the Press Information Bureau to forward to me such, terns from the Times of India and the Illustrated Weekly as were libellous. Nothing came from the PIB. Dalmia's foolish adventure petered out. However, the Times of India and the Illustrated Weekly never again entered the PM's house.
Around the same time as Dalmia's adventure, Blitz published promuicntly on the front page a libellous item against Indira, alleg- ing that she took from an unnamed businessman several costly sarees. Nehru consulted Kailas Nath Katju. As advised by him a notice was sent to the editor of Blitz calling upon him to publish prominently on the front page an apology or face legal action. The editor considered discretion the better part of valour and complied muz never repeated the performance. '
While Aneurin Bevan was in India for the first time, he was stay- ing in Rajkumari Amrit Kaur's house. There he came across a piece of wnting by Frank Moraes attacking Nehru for creating the Atomic Energy Department, which he described as a "white-
104 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
elephant." Bevan remarked, "This man is said to be one of your top journalists." I replied, "Of late he has developed bats in his belfry. Goa is a bee in his bonnet; and the Atomic Energy Commission is his latest allergy; he cannot see beyond his nose." Bevan recalled that fce had had the most determined opposition from the press in push- ing through the National Health Service. He added, "A statesman -who has rapport with the people need not be unduly perturbed by the fulminations in the press. The Almighty did not deposit all the wisdom in the press. The greatest thing Nehru is doing in India is his massive support for science and technology. This will bring you *ich; dividends in the future in terms of economic development and social change,"
Nehru was not unaware of the exaggerated claim of the press to represent public opinion. When Harry Truman stood for elec- tion in 1948 for the American presidency, practically the entire press was against him. They claimed to represent public opinion and went all out in support of the Republican candidate Dewey. Truman confounded everyone and won the election to become "the great little President of the United States."
The London Times editorial of 3 October 1938 on the Munich Agreement was a constant reminder to Nehru of the "foresight" and "wisdom" of the press! The editorial read:
The volume of applause for Mr, Chamberlain, which continues to grow throughoutthe globe, registers a popular judgment that neither politicians nor historians are likely to reverse. One fundamental truth that Mr. Chamberlain's daring diplomacy brought into the light was this— that even in a totalitarian State the people will have their influence in the last resort upon the Party. The man who has arrested universal destruction by appea- ling to that truth need not fear that in his own country the cavillings of Party will outweigh the people's gratitude. But, even if there is the inevitable reaction, there must be no retro- grade step. Relief from intolerable strain cannot be followed by mere relapse into inertia. The lessons-of the crisis are plain and urgent. The policy of international appeasement must be pressed forward. There must be appeasement not only of the strong but of the week— of the State that has allowed itself to be weakened for the common good. Czechoslovakia has deser- ved well of humanity, and it should be a first international
Nehru and the Press 105
responsibility not only to guarantee the contracted frontier, but also to assist in solving the new problems that the settlement has imposed upon her. As between the greater Powers the field * for necessary appeasement is wide.
The editor of the London Times then was Geoffrey Dawson who belonged to the disreputable Cliveden Set, the members of which met at Cliveden, which was Lord Astor's estate. The Cliveden Set was passionately in favour of an understanding with the dictators Hitler and Mussolini. The frequent Cliveden social functions were greatly enlivened by the two beautiful young daughters of Lord Curzon — Lady Ravensdale and the Lady Alexandra Metcalfe. The Cliveden Set was bitterly opposed to Winston Churchill.
Page 106
20 Nehru's Sensitivity to his Surroundings
Nehru once told me of his working knowledge of the German language and how he lost it. When he visited Germany in September 1935, to be with his ailing wife at Badenweiler two years after Hitler had taken over the Reich, the shock of developments in Germany was so complete that he forgot the German language altogether. However much he tried, he could not utter a word. His knowledge never revived.
On our trip to the United States in October 1948 I took with me a sufficient stock of State Express 555 cigarettes to last Nehru for the entire period. I did so because I knew that American cigarettes, with their toasted tobacco, were too strong for him. At the White House I removed all the American cigarettes from his room and replaced them with some State Express cigarettes. He saw me doing this and got annoyed. He asked me, "Don't you know that when I go to a place, I would like to use the things that are locally available?" I said, "All right, you try an American cigarette and be in tune with your surroundings/' and offered him a Chesterfield, the mildest of American cigarettes. He snatched it from me, lighted it and began to smoke. After two puffs he started. coughing. I said, "Throw it away, I have used American cigarettes- for a number of years and I know they are strong. On a trip tike this you have to talk endlessly and it is important that you should preserve your throat." He looked at me and smiled. He was childlike in many ways and sometimes had to be treated as a child.
Nehru's first visit to the United States was a disaster from the point of view of acquiring a favourable impression of the American people. To a large extent, some immature, uncouth and arrogant American businessmen were responsible for it. At a lunch in New York it was mentioned with emphasis in the hearing of Nehru that "it is a hundred-dollar lunch." At a dinner in New York by top
Nehru's Sensitivity to his Surroundings f07
American businessmen, one of them in his welcome speech declared, "Around this table sits one hundred billion dollars." At another time Nehru was reminded that the budget of General Motors was larger than that of the Government of India. All these "truths" jarred on a refined man like Nehru.
Soon after our return from the United States, I was having break- fast with Nehru one morning as he was alone in the PM's house. Out of the blue he came out with a statement, "Americans think they can buy up countries and continents." I asked him, "Aren't you judging a whole nation on the basis of your brief experience of some coarse businessmen in New York? I think Americans, on the whole, are a warm-hearted and generous people. In your judgment of the United States you are no better than the average American tourist who spends two weeks in this vast country of ours and writes a book about it," Nehru listened, lighted a cigarette and offered me one; but I never smoked in his presence.
Nehru did not normally eat bacon, ham or pork. Denmark is famous for its bacon because skimmed milk is fed to the pigs. Nehru had heard about this. While we were in Copenhagen, Nehru asked me to order bacon and eggs for breakfast.
On our Japanese tour Nehru had heard that Osaka was famous for suckling pigs as an item of food. While in Osaka he ordered it; but on that particular day it was not available. Nehru was dis- appointed.
While visiting an oystef farm in Japan, Nehru was persuaded by the Japanese Foreign Minister to eat some fresh oysters with a strong sauce. It took some persuasion for Nehru to agree.
While we were in Kobe, I told Nehru that about seventy-five years previously the Japanese never ate beef. Now they claimed Kobe beef the best in the world, and I asked, "How about ordering some for dinner?" He said, "Don't be silly." He knew that I was aware that he never ate beef anywhere in the world.
The grey-haired Japanese Foreign Minister Fujiama arranged a small dinner party in a posh restaurant in typical Japanese style with Geisha girls in attendance. The party consisted of only four persons — Nehru, Fujiama, Secretary-General N. R. Pillafand my- self. We sat on mats spread over a quilted floor with a Geisha girl on her knees behind each of us. Nehru and I sat on one side, Fujiama and Pillai opposite. As is the custom, women are not invited to Geisha parties. So, mercifully, Indira was not present.
108 - Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Nehru took it all in his stride and allowed himself to be fed by his Geisha, and, according, to custom, he did not fail to feed her occa- sionally. N. R. PUlai looked as shy as a bride. How he wished to exchange places with me because Nehru had to crane his neck to look at me! Nevertheless he did so twice and smiled at my activities. Nehru refused to touch the rice wine, but had helpings of green tea. The Geisha girls were well educated and well trained as hostes- ses.
I once told Nehru, "I think, if you were not Nehru, you would perhaps have liked to be a ptarmigan." His curiosity was roused and he asked, "What is that?" I told him, "The autumn moult of the rock ptarmigan helps to camouflage this ground bird of the Tundra and Alpine slopes by giving it a patchwork appearance. Brown feathers are replaced by white ones. The winter plumage of the ptarmigan is pure white to blend with the snow. The spring moulting, triggered perhaps by the change in temperature, will produce a brown summer coat, almost all brown." He laughed and asked me, "Where do you get all these from?" I told him, "I am a sort of naturalist, and Hike to read books on animals and birds, trees and plants, mountains and oceans." From then on I lent him many of my books on these subjects. He was very careful in handling books and returned them promptly.
Once I got into trouble with Nehru for no fault of mine. From Calicut in Kerala he wrote a long note to his Private Secretary on 27 December 1955 with a copy to me. I reproduce it below:
I do not know what instructions are sent to places which I visit on my tours. Whenever I criticise the food or any arrangement, I am told it is strictly according to instructions. The food con- sists usually of long many-course meals of the type one normally gets in a railway refreshment room. Sometimes the food is fairly good, sometimes not. But the main thing is that very elaborate arrangements are made for my meals and some hotel or restau- rant is put in charge of them. Usually a large group of persons from the hotel comes from some other city with a good deal of paraphernalia and arranges the long meal.
2. People have been told that I should have meals after the European style and that various kinds of meat are necessary. As a matter of fact I usually take only half the meal and even there I leave out most of the meats. I am not particularly fond of
109 - Nehru's Sensitivity to his Surroundings 109
either meat or of the European style although, if it very good, I like it.
3. When I arrrived in Calicut and reached Krishna Menon's house, I found that there was much consternation at the pros- pect of my having to be provided with plenty of meats after the European style. The house is vegetarian and they were unhappy about this. Worse still, the District Magistrate sent four chickens to be slaughtered and cooked. The lady of the house was com- pletely upset at this idea. Fortunately I came in time to prevent this outrage on her sentiment and I asked specially for a Mala- yan vegetarian meal, A very good dinner was given to me which I enjoyed.
4. At Nilambur where the local Raja provided our party with lunch, this was the first occasion in his life meat entered his house. Evidently he disliked the idea, but did not wish to come in the way of my presumed tastes. As usual, some hotel had been asked to organise the meal and they gave a seven-course affair full of heavy meats and fruits which I hardly touched.
5. I am not a vegetarian, but I do not eat much meat at any time and often I do not eat it at all at home. Therefore, there is , not only no need for laying stress on meat, but I would much rather not have it when I am touring and require light meals, The only instruction that should be sent is that I am prepared to eat anything provided the meal is a light one and there are no chillies or spices in it. On the whole, I would prefer a vegetarian meal unless this upsets the party or the hosts. In any event, the meal should be a light one. Normally I would like food after the local fashion except for the chillies and the spices.
; 6. When I.am staying in some circuit house, then some outside arrangements normally have to be made. They can provide me with any food which is convenient, including European food. But there should be few courses and the meal should be light. Ela- borate hotel arrangements requiring staff to travel about are undesirable.
When he returned to Delhi, Nehru angrily asked me, "Who sent the stupid circular?" I said, -Some time ago Padmaja Naidu asked me to send a circular to all Raj Bhawans, Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries about what food and fruit juices should be served to you She had even put mphalsa juice which i$ unheard of in the south.
110 - Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
As I did not like petticoat interferences, I refused and told her that nothing should be done about a matter like that unless it had your personal approval. She kept quiet. On enquiry I discovered that Padmaja imposed herself on one of the Private Secretaries who sent a circular, as drafted by her without my knowledge." I told him, "On receipt of your note, a new circular was sent to all concerned cancelling the old one and incorporating the suggestions contained in your note." He said, "Padmaja is good at some things; but she is, by no means, a culinary expert in either Indian or European dishes."
It was the same sensitivity to surroundings that made him make a rather unwise statement before his departure from Moscow. After a tour of the Soviet Union where he received a tumultuous welcome everywhere, he said, "I am leaving a part of my heart behind." It was the same thing which prompted him, after his visit to China, to encourage the slogan "Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai."
Soon after the Chinese overran Tibet, Nehru and Krishna Menon started talking in public that India and China had lived in peace for 3,000 years, implying thereby that eternal peace would reign. About this time Nehru and Krishna Menon happened to be in my study in the PM's house one evening. I told them, "My study of history has led me to the inescapable conclusion that in the past whenever China was strong, it was expansionist." Nehru frowned and Krishna Menon looked glum. I added firmly, "Both of you may live to realize this in your lifetime because China is now strong." And they did realize it after the treacherous Chinese invasion of India. Then Nehru and Menon repeated in public exactly what I had told them in the privacy of my study.
Nehru was not a good judge of situations. After the partition of India was decided upon, he visited Lahore in 1947. 1 was with him. We stayed in the house of Dewan Ram Lai. At a press conference in Lahore, Nehru held forth and asserted that when partition was brought about, things would settle down and both contending parties would want to maintain peace in their respective areas. Most pressmen were sceptical. They asked, "What makes you think so?" Nehru replied, "Forty years of public life." We all know what happened subsequently.
After his visit to Spain, he met A.C.N. Nambiar in Europe. Nambiar asked Nehru what would be the ultimate outcome of the civil war in Spain. Nehru replied that the Republicans would win. He then waited for Nambiar 's comments. Nambiar told him bluntly
111 - Nehru's Sensitivity to his Surroundings HI
"Like all the Liberals in England, Europe and the United States and Krishna Menon, you are indulging in wishful thinking My assessment^ is that, much to my dislike, the Republicans have not got the ghost of a chance. More blood will flow and Franco will emerge as the ruler of Spain." This made Nehru not only annoyed but angry. We all know what happened.
Dr Konrad Adenauer, the late Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, whom Winston Churchill once described as the greatest German since Bismark, has, in the third volume of his Memoirs relating to the period. 1955-59, devoted twenty pages to India and Nehru. Among other things, he wrote: .
Nehru made a good impression on me at our first meeting. He was an attentive listener. His own statements were made calmly and in polite and low tone. His movements were measured and his ways were unobtrusive and restrained.
Towards the end of the twenty pages, Adenauer stated:
Nehru did not impress me as a realist. He struck me as being all too ready to believe what fitted into his picture of the world To let modifications into this picture of his, Nehru manifested little disposition.
Undoubtedly Nehru is a very cultivated person. He is clear m the use of words and at formulations. But difficulties of deep political issues, he did not estimate rightly. His way of thinking ' represented a curious mixture of British and Indian views. This led him not to see the realities of politics.
Adenauer ended up with a quotation from an article by the editor of the German periodical Aussenpolitic (Foreign Affairs) which underlined the disappointment Nehru felt over the turn in China's policy, so very different from the expectations so firmly held by Nehru. J
Page 112
21 Nehru's Attitude to Money
When I joined Nehru in Allahabad early in February 1946 I discovered that his finances were being looked after by Bachhraj and Co., Bombay, a private firm of the late Seta Jatnnalal Bajaj, a close associate of GandhijPs and a bussinessman. After a couple of months, when I accompanied him to Bombay, Nehru asked me to visit Bachhraj and Co. and make a study of his finances. After some time, at Nehru's instance, I took over all his assets from Bachhraj and Co. His assets consisted of what he inherited from his father and what could be salvaged out of the royalties on his books which V. K. Krishna Menon mismanaged in the early stages. Krishna Menon's jurisdiction was originally limited to the United Kingdom, the British Empire (including India) and Europe. There was a separate publisher for the United States and Latin America.
As soon as Nehru accepted office in the interim government on 2 September 1946, all his assets except his ancestral house and his personal bank account were gifted to India. They amounted to about Rs 150,000.
When the book Discovery of India was ready for publication, the publication rights for India were taken away from Krishna Menon and given to the Indian publisher. The Discovery of India brought in good amounts in royalty from everywhere. . As and when royalties swelled and savings began to accrue Nehru continued to transfer amounts to Indira and, occasionally, some as gifts to the Kamala Nehru Memorial Hospital, apart from putting in Rs 25,000 each in the names of his two grandsons in Government of India Small Savings Certificates. I felt sad that Nehru did not make some provision for S. D. Upadhyaya and Hari who had served his father and himself for long years on mere pittances.
One day Chairman A. K. Roy of the Central Board of Reve-
113 - Nehru's Attitude to Money
uee told me that Nehru could deduct up to fifteen per cent from his royalties for secretarial assistance, and that he could claim, refund for the past five years-which would be a substantial! amount, and then continue the deduction annually
At about this time Nehru was on a holiday in Mashobra (Simla) . On his return from Mashobra, he handed me the draft of his Will. He asked me to read it and tell him what I Thought. I read it., and again felt sad that he had provided nothing for his two faithful employees, Upadhyaya and Hari.
„The next morning while going to office, I told Nehru that I hadread the will and have found the language very moving. He asked me to get it typed. The will was signed in my presence and witnessed by Kailas Nath Katju and N. R. Pillai who was then the Secretary- General of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Two days later I spoke to Nehru about A. K. Roy's talk with me regarding refimd for the past five years for secretarial assistance on the royalty income. I said I had the papers, asking for the refund ready for his signature. He was annoyed and said, "I am not going to follow the advice of that fathead; I spend no money on score tanal assistance; so, why should I claim refund?" I stood my ground and quietly told him, "I do all the work in connection with the royalties on your books; and I see no reason why I should not take the refund due and deductions in subsequent years." Then 1 placed the papers before him. He kept quite and then said, "in. that case I will sign the papers" and he meekly did.
When the refund cheque for a substantial amount came from the Income Tax Dept I took it to Nehru and told him that 1 did not need the money. I said, "Your will as well as some of your previous actions in disposing of your savings totally ignoring Upadhya and and Hari.made me sad The refund cheque is to ratify that omission. I want to open a separate bank account to be called the Employees Welfare Account in your name, pav the bulk of it to Upadhyaya and Hari to be kept in small saving certificates and keep the rest for the benefit your servants in Anand Bhawan who worked for you while you were not in a position to help them. I want this exercise to be repeated every year for the rest of your life." He looked at his desk with his head bowed in thoughtfulness . Then he looked at me with a celetial smile , I could read all his emotions from his face which was a mirror , he could never hide his emotions ; and. at times , he
114 - i Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
had the peculiar capacity to speak volumes without uttering a word.
Early in the Khrushchev era in the Soviet Union, Ambassador Menshikov asked Nehru, at an interview, for permission to publish his books in Russian. Nehru agreed. Later he told me about it— for- tunately well in time. I asked the Secretary-General of the Ministry of External Affairs to tell the Soviet Ambassador that the matter had to be finalized with me before he could make any proposals to Moscow. The Ambassador promptly came to see me. I told him that our practice was to charge fifteen per cent on the sale price as royalty and repatriate the royalties to India in rupees periodically at our request. The Ambassador agreed to do this as a special gest- ure to Nehru. Normally the Soviet Union does not allow royalties to be repatriated. The authors concerned can spend the money . within the Soviet Union.
Later, I told Nehru that if other Ambassadors of Communist countries asked fiim for similar permission, he might generally agree but ask them to fix the details with me. I added that I wanted to do business with them on my terms. Thus I had to deal with the Ambassadors of China and several East European coun- tries. In fact, over a period of years, Nehru received more royal- ties from Communist countries than from all the Western countries put together. As a consequence, Nehru's gifts to Indira and Kamala Nehru Hospital went up and Upadhyaya and Hari and the old Anand Bhawan employees continued to receive substantial sums from the Employees Welfare Account.
It might be mentioned here that Indira will continue to live largley by her father's pen now that she has ceased to hold office. It was amusing and pathetic to see her attempting to put herself two steps higher than her father while she was Prime Minister. Poor fish! I suppose most women are overburdened by illusions.
After my resignation from the Prime Minister's office in 1959, I was going to Moscow and London for three months in the summer of that year. Nehru knew I had no foreign exchange. He graciously wrote to Ambassador K. P. S. Menon in Moscow and to his literary agent in London asking them to give me as much money as I needed or asked for, and forwarded to me copies of these. I replied thanking him for his kind gesture and telling him, "I have not taken any money from you so far. Both in Moscow and London I will be staying with personal friends; I intend
115 - Nehru's Attitude to Money « , -
to make no purchases; my requirements will be limited to a couple of haircuts for which my hosts will gladly pay." I declined to -accept his offer.
While he was Prime Minister, and even before, Nehru never asked anyone for money privately even for a good cause. He consistently refused to accept any donation in cash from anyone for any cause. I am afraid not all his successors followed this prac- tice. His technique was public appeal. He would also accept purses jpven to him publicly for a political or public cause
Once Nehru made an exception. After the death of Sir Stafford Cnpps a committee in London requested Nehru's assistance to collect a token amount in India for a memorial to Cripps. After much hesitation and deliberation Nehru wrote to a few people including the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Jam Saheb of Nav- nagar, for small contributions not exceeding Rs 5,000 in each case A sum of about £5,000 was thus collected and remitted to the London committee.
On the eve of the first general elections, the Nawab of Bhopal Mk ™ SOl,C,t , ed chet >f f ° r ^ 50,000 throngh Vyaya Lakshmi Pand.t. Since returning the cheque would have offended the senti-
ftft „ a thC 1 NaWab> Nehra handed over «* cheque to
afwetst'ot.™ ^ *"» ° f NeWs ** ta "»»~*
Until the influx of refugees to Delhi from 1946 onwards Nehru
TuW "Ti!" 8 *"*? ab0Ut Rs 200 » <-"- Soon the amount
r d nZ V£ w f d 8i r away moneyto P e °P ,e in ***!
Z* *L Tk aSk "" f ° r more - TJus became a daily aff ai ; much beyond he capacity of any individual. I stopped it, saying
toW mlT T^r* l ° ° arry m ° ney ° n his **» Nehru told me "Then I will five on credit." And he began to borrow
S" «™°ty officer to give to refugees. I warned all the security staff not to lend more than ten rupees a day to Nehru ?*"* 1 ,«™?*l fo r money to be placed at the disposal of one of Nehru's Private Secretaries from the Prime Minister's
^enZn *"? 2? ™ S Hindi - kn -^ officia, started to fin H.! T, . f Neh ™ S resMenCe ear 'y ta "* morning daily
"al Imlo h^° D ^, SPOt f?"" fr0m NehrU fOT « ivin « fin ^ «al aid to those in distress. Such people were also directed to meet
the Private Secretary in his office to receive assistance and ™d!
116' - Reminiscences of the Nehru Age.
j
Eventually this official came to be called "Private Secretary (Public)."
Nehru was very frugal, to the extent of being parsimonious, about spending money on himself. But he did not hesitate for a moment to buy a painting "of Gandhiji's in meditation done by Mrs Sass Brunner for Rs 5,000. Aneurin Bevan once told me that the personality of a man can be judged by how much of his income he spent on himself. Bevan, a poor man himself, would buy- paintings from struggling artists whenever he could and present them to various people.
Nehru was particular to keep his hands clean in regard to money matters; but he did not object to others dirtying their hands. to raise funds for the Congress Party or causes in which he was- interested. More about this in the next chapter.
When Nehru died on 27 May 1964, all he left behind was. his ancestral house in Allahabad and just enough money in his per- sonal bank account to pay his meagre estate duty.
In matters financial, Nehru had a dread of public opinion. In this he was quite different from Sardar Patel. In one instance,. Nehru took this dread and fright to a ludicrous extent. I laughed. He asked me gravely, "Why are you laughing?" Then I narrated to* him a story about public opinion. While Lloyd George was- Prime Minister of Great Britain, the British Ambassador in Moscow called on the Bolshevik Foreign Minister Chicherin. Tea and snacks were served. The British Ambassador started telling Chicherin how difficult the position of his Prime Minister was- because he had to take into account public opinion in Great Britain. He added that in this respect the Soviet Government was in a much easier position. Chicherin contradicted the Ambassador and said that they in the Soviet Union also had to take public opinion. into account in their country. He added, "It all depends how one- handles public opinion." At that time a friendly cat of the Kremlin walked into the room mewing. Chicherin caught hold of the cat and fondled it. He took the honey bottle from the tea table and poured some honey into a saucer. Then he handed over the cat to the Ambassador asking, "Mr Ambassador, can you make the cat drink the honey?" The Ambassador fondled the cat and gently bent its head to the saucer. The cat sniffed and turned its head away. In triumph tMs Ambassador said, "Ah, that proves my point/*" Chicherin smiled and took over the cat and dipped its tail in
Nehru* s Attitude to Money \yj
the saucer of honey and let it go. The cat sat there and lapped up the honey by licking its tail. Chicherin sat back and told the Ambassador, "In most cases public opinion is a convenient excuse. There are ways and ways of dealing with public opinion unless you want to be its victim."
Nehru listened with attention and amusement. But he said noth- ing. I asked myself, "What can he say?"
22 G. D. Birla
Soon after Sardar Patel's death on 15 December 1950 Ghanshyam- das Birla rang me up to say he wished to meet me. I received him in my study in the Prime Minister's house. It was the first time I was seeing him, even though in the past he had been sending for the Prime Minister, through me/Alphonso mangoes from Bombay and luscious figs from Nasik once, a year and good asparagus from his garden in Delhi, occasionally. At the meeting he told me that the Finance Ministry was creating difficulties for him and his firms inasmuch as his firms were going to be taxed and otherwise penalized for the very large donations made to the Congress during the freedom struggle over a period of years. This was on the basis of the report of the Income Tax Investigation Commission appointed by Liaqat AH Khan while he was Finance Member in the interim government. He said that Finance Minister CD. Deshmukh, with his civil service background under the British, had no conception of the circumstances under which. these donations were made. Practically all these donations were made at the instance of Gandhiji and Sardar Patel. He added that he was deeply distressed at the injustice being done. He did not know jiow to proceed in the matter. He said his relationship with. Pandit Nehru was never close and that there was always a distance between them. I told him that Pandit Nehru was never associated with fund collections for the Congress and that, instead of approaching him directly, he might meet Maul ana Azad and explain the situation to him. I added that I felt sure that Mauiana Azad would speak to the Prime Minister. In the meantime I mentioned to the Prime Minister about G. D. Birla's meeting with: me and what transpired.
G. D. Birla did as I asked him. Subsequently, Mauiana Azad spoke to the Prime Minister; and the PM sent for G. D. Birla and
<7. D. Birla U9
had a talk with him. Incidentally, whenever G. D. Birla asked for interviews, the PM invariably met him at the PM's house in the mornings, before leaving for office. After the meeting with Birla some correspondence took place between the PM and Finance Minister Deshmukh. The latter took a rather rigid attitude initially. The PM made it clear to Deshmukh that donations given to the Congress before independence should not be treated as donations to a political party but to a national movement engaged in the freedom struggle against a foreign power. The, PM made it clear that he would not like to be a party to penalize people who took risks in helping the freedom struggle. The Finance Minister at last agreed to do the right thing. Later, the PM told me that I might verbally inform G.D. Birla about the outcome.
One day, soon after, G.D. Birla had a long talk with me. Among other things, he said, "I was considerably influenced by Gandhiji's trusteeship theory. Before independence I divested myself of all my assets. Some was distributed to my children, but most of it went to public charitable trusts such as the Birla Education Trust which runs the Institute of Technology at Pilani. All I get now is Rs 5,000 per month, free of income tax from Birla Brothers (Private) Ltd." I commented, "There is talk of government introduc- ing wealth tax and estate duty in the future; then you won't be affected by them as you are as free from assets as a frog is from feathers." He admitted it would be so.
One day Nehru related to me an encounter G. D. Birla had with him in the winter of 1925. Nehru had written to Gandhiji and said that he was unhappy about being a financial burden on his father and wanted to stand on his own feet. The difficulty was that he was a wholetime worker of the Congress. Gandhiji, in his reply dated 15 September 1924, wrote, "Shall I arrange for some money for you? Why may you not take up remunerative work? After all you must live by the sweat of your brow even though you may be under Father's roof. Will you be correspon- dent to some newspapers? Or will you take up a professorship?"
On 30 September 1925 Gandhiji again wrote, "I would not hesitate to ask a friend or friends who would consider it a privilege to pay you for your public services. I would press you to take it from public funds if your wants, owing to the situation in which you are and must be, were not extraordinary. I am myself convin- ced that you should contribute to the common purse either by
120 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
doing some business or by letting your personal friends find funds for retaining your services. There is no immediate hurry, but without fretting about it come to a final decision. I will not mind even if you decided to do some business. I am sure that Father will not mind any decision you may arrive at so long as it gives you •complete peace." (Gandhiji had not realized the extent of the pride •of the Father and the Son.)
Obviously, Gandhiji mentioned the matter to G. D. Birla who turned up at Allahabad. With great diffidence G.D. Birla spoke to Nehru and offered to make adequate arrangements in whatever manner Nehru liked. Nehru succeeded in suppressing his annoy- ance, but gently declined the offer.
G. D. Birla and his close relatives were generous to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur for a project sh<* had sponsored and with which I subsequently associated myself with Nehru's knowledge. Ulti- mately this brought trouble to me. About this I shall write separa- tely.
Nehru once told me what he thought of G. D. Birla. He said, "Ghanshyamdas Birla is a curious combination of a buccaneer in his early days and a very generous man."
Early in 1955, G, D, Birla had a long talk with me. He said that Gandhiji and Sardar Patel made use of him in several ways. He added, "The second general elections are to be held this winter. For the first general elections the AICC had some funds left behind by Sardar Patel. I shall be happy to help in the collection of a central fund from prominent industrialists if Panditji welcomes it." I told him that it was not very desirable to bring Panditji directly into the picture. I said I would discuss this matter with a few people and also mention it to the PM and then get into touch with him. I called a meeting attended by T.T. Krishnamachari, Lai Bahadur and U. S. Malliah. I told them of G.D.Birla's talk with me and that I had appraised the PM of it. I said we should give a target to G. D. Birla for the central fund, taking into account the fact that the Provincial Congress Com- mittees would be collecting money from all except the big indus- trialists. The consensus at the meeting was that a target of ten million rupees for the Congress Central Election Fund should be aimed at. ,
Another meeting of the same persons was subsequently held at T. T. Krishnamachari's residence with G, D. Birla also present.
<G.D. Birla 12I
Birla said that the target was not impossible to achieve. He suggested that a separate bank account should be opened in the name of the PM. G. D. Birla was asked to go ahead with the ■ collection anticipating the PM's acquiescence.
I arranged for T.T. Krishnamachari, Lai Bahadur and Malliah
-to meet theTM in my presence. The PM had already learnt from
' m e what had happened till then. T. T. Krishnamachari suggested
that the PM might agree to open a separate bank account in his
name. I intervened and said that even the PM needed protection and
•that the account should be in the names of two persons. I suggested
-the name of Morarji Desai, who then happened to be the Treasurer
■of the Indian National Congress. The PM approved; but T.T.
Krishnamachari was later annoyed with me because he never had
.any use for Morarji.
The collections for the Congress Central Election Fund exceeded the target by Rs 2,500,000.
On return from one of his rare visits to Anand Bhawan, Allahabad, I found Nehru glum and irritable. I asked Indira, "'What is biting the 'old man*?" She told me that when the AICC -shifted from Swaraj Bhawan to Delhi, the building was left in a •shockingly dilapidated condition, and that her father was deeply ; hurt by the callousness of the AICC authorities; he did not know liow to get the extensive reconstruction, restoration and repairs done ;and where the money was to come from. The building was to be used as the Children's National Institute of which Mrs Shyam Kumari Khan was Director.
I spoke to G.D. Birla and told him that something should be •done to restore the building steeped in history. He immediately wrote out a cheque for Rs 100,000 from one of his trusts in favour of the Swaraj Bhawan Trust and sent it to the PM for his accept- ance. Nehru was pleased and informed B, C. Roy, who was a trustee of the Swaraj Bhawan Trust. The cheque was forwarded to Shyam Kumari Khan. G.D. Birla also got a cheque for Rs 25,000 from one of the trusts of Kasturbhai Lalbhai for the same pur- pose.
In the meantime, I had asked Shyam Kumari Khan to get a good architect to make an estimate for a thorough renovation of Swaraj Bhawan. Without delay Shyam Kumari Khan sent me the detailed report and estimate of the expenditure of about Rs 200,000. I placed them before the PM.
J *~ Reminiscences of the Nehru Age-
I mentioned to G. D. Birla that the estimate was for about Rs 200,000. Without a moment's hesitation he wrote out another cheque from his trust for Rs 100,000 in favour of the Swaraj Bhawan Trust and sent it to the PM. Nehru returned the cheque- to G. D. Birla saying that he was very annoyed with me for troubling him so muchi Since Nehru's attitude was negative and he- had no alternative plan to raise funds, I decided to circumvent him. On my advice, G. D. Birla tore up the cheque and wrote out another, for the same amount, in favour of the,Children's National. Institute, I forwarded it to Shyam Kumari Khan with instruc- tions that the amount was to be used exclusively for the restora- tion and renovation of Swaraj Bhawan, Three months later Nehru was told of my action. He kept quiet; probably he thought that scolding would not have much effect on me in a matter like this.
I would like to place on record that as long as I was officially- connected with the PM. G. D. Birla never asked me for any Tavour, big or small. He is too big a man to do any such thing.
After a visit to the Institute of Technology at Pilani, the British statesman, Aneurin Bevan, told me, "Jt is a firstrate insti- tution built up by an imaginative and big-hearted man.*' Ambassador A.C.N. Nambiar, who lived in Europe continuously for fifty-five years and knows much about European universities, particularly in. West Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland and Sweden, told me, after a couple of visits to his niece, who was Dean of Humanities at Pilani, that the Birla Institute of Technology at Pilani in many ways compares very favourably with similar institutions in Europe.
It has been a fashion with secondrate politicians to howl against the so-called big businessmen and industrialists. Some of these men, who have been builders of this country and not slogan- mongers, are bigger than most of the howling politicians put together. If any of them has done irregular things, let the govern- ment penalize them. Why howl?
From 1952 onwards G. D. Birla had been sending to Nehru on his birthdays a sum calculated at Rs 1,000 per year of his age plus- one rupee to be spent at his discretion. These cheques were invariably credited to the account called Distress Relief Fund from which innumerable struggling students, widows, and people do distress have received succour.
123 - Page
23 Nehru and Alcoholic Drinks
Very many people have asked me if Nehru drank. My invariable answer is, "Yes— water." But he was never an intolerant puritan like Morarji Desai.
The only time I have seen him sip a drink was at the mountain resort, Burgenstok, in Switzerland. We had gone there from London for a conference of heads of Indian missions in Europe. At the instance of Lady Mountbatten, Nehru had invited Charlie Chaplin to come up from fcis place, Vevy, to Burgenstok for a couple of days. Nehru had told me in advance that I should be with Charlie Chaplin whenever he himself was otherwise engaged. Charlie Chaplin was Nehru's guest at the hotel where we stayed. This gave me a welcome chance of avoiding the conference of pompous Ambassadors.
Charlie Chaplin had then only recently settled down in Switzerland, having left the United States where he haa some bitter experiences, personal and political. He never became a naturalized American citizen and jealously kept his British pass- port. He spoke to me frankly about his experiences in the United States. He was bitter but spoke very highly of Franklin Roosevelt. For all the rest, including Eisenhower who was then President of Columbia University and a prospective President of the United States after Truman, he had only unmitigated contempt. He spoke very warmly about Greta Garbo and told me about kissing her knees after asking her permission. I told him that I saw Greta Garbo at the Waldrof Astoria hotel in New York, standing in a queue to have a look at Nehru as he passed by. Charlie Chaplin said, "She would not do such a thing to a mere head of govern- ment," and added, "to her and to many of us Nehru is much more than the Prime Minister of India."
Charlie Chaplin's way of talking and gesturing were very
124 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
feminine and endearing. During his two days in Burgenstok I -spent several delightful hours with him.
One evening Charlie Chaplin and I were sitting in a quiet corner -of the hotel lounge, sipping sherry. Just then Nehru walked in and rsat down with us. Charlie Chaplin asked him to have a sherry with us. Nehru told him that he did not drink and that he did not like the taste of any alcoholic drink. Like a woman Charlie Chaplin -charmingly persisted and at last ordered a glass of sherry. In order not to offend Charlie Chaplin, Nehru took a sip, contorted his face, and put it away.
On our way back to Geneva by car, Charlie Chaplin travelled -with Nehru who halted at Vevy on Lake Geneva to have lunch "with him and his wife Oona whom Charlie was never tired of referring to as the luminous beauty. Throughout the journey Charlie Chaplin was on tenter-hooks. He was frightened of motor travel on mountain roads.
During Nehru's visit to Germany, he had to give a return banquet to Chancellor Adenauer and his principal colleagues. Ambassador Nambiar wanted to serve drinks. He spoke to Secret- ary-General N. R. Pillai. They both came to me and asked me to -do something about it. I spoke to Nehru who flatly refused at my first attempt. I persisted and told him, "We are not in India; do you want to be a Morarji and impose prohibition on foreigners in their own country? They are used to drinks and it would be intolerance to deny them here. The Indians present can abstain from drinking." He thought for a moment and said, "All right, tell Nanu he can serve sherry to begin with and Moselle wine <white) and Rhine wine (red) and nothing else. He and N.R. Pillai should abstain from drinking." This was done even though ~N. R. Pillai was annoyed at the decision.
In Delhi Nehru used to put up important foreign dignitaries in the Prime Minister's house. I can remember Aneurin Bevan, Selwyn Lloyd, Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan staying in the Prime Minister's house. During their stay, bottles containing ^alcoholic drinks of various kinds were placed in their rooms for their use by the Protocol Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. An English-speaking servant was put on duty to serve them drinks whenever they wanted. But no drinks were served at ^Nehru's dining table.
Early in 1955 Ambassador K.P.S. Menon sent me a rather
Nehru and Alcoholic Drinks 125
diffident letter about serving alcoholic drinks during Nehru's impending visit to the Soviet Union. I put it up to the Prime: Minister who sent me a note which I reproduce below:
Prime Minister's Secretariat
So far as K.P.S. Menon's letter is concerned, you might make- it clear to him that in any party given by us, big or small, no alcoholic drinks will be served* I am sorry if this upsets the: Russians, but they should know how we function. The only- exceptions may be as follows:
At the small dinner to Government members, the Russians may- be served some sherry or light wine or vodka. No champagne to- anybody. No Indian present will be served or accept any- alcoholic drinks.
At the reception, no alcoholic drinks of any kind. You may tell' him that this was the rule we adopted in China. In fact there- were no exceptions at all in regard to alcoholic drinks. We had. previously informed the Chinese Government that I did not. drink and that we did not serve them. If K.P.S. Menon likes, he? may give this information to the Russians previously.
Page 126
24 Sarojini Naidu
I met her first in 1946 in Delhi. She was a short woman with the wide mouth of a frog. She had heard about me from her daughters Padmaja and Leilamani, She took kindly to me. I have never seen a woman so full of innate authority as Sarojini; and perhaps there never existed such an elderly woman so fond of sweets and rich food as she was. She was a wholly liberated woman, full of under- standing and sympathy for others. When her younger sister and her husband Nanu (A. C. N. Nambiar) fell out and separated Sarojim's sympathies were all for Nanu. She took his side against her own sister.
Under the influence of Gandhiji, Sarojini reluctantly issued a statement mildly, critical of her famous brother, Chatto (Virendra- nath Chattopadhyaya), about his terrorist activities. This infuria- ted her father, Aghornath Chattopadhyaya, who refused to see her ever again. When he was on his deathbed, Sarojini arrived at his house to have a last glimpse of him. The old man refused her permission. This remained with her, throughout her life, as a matter of great personal sorrow.
Sarojini, her son Jayasooriya and daughters Padmaja and Leila- mam, were the products of the composite culture of Hyderabad city. They were absolutely noncommunal; in fact a little too pro- Muslim. They had contempt for the Andhra Reddys. They were Nawabi in their outlook. Sarojini had a soft corner for the Indian princes of the north, particularly a few Muslim ones. She revelled in holding court and in gossip. She liked courtiers like K M Pamkkar to surround her and sing her praises. She had no use for socialism, loved the good things of life, and was a great liberal.
In 1946, when Nehru became Congress President, Gandhiji adv.sed him not to include Sarojini in the Working Committee as he was expecting important negotiations with the British and
Sarojini Naidu 127
feared that she would talk loosely and leak out secrets. Nehru replaced her by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya. Sarojini was furious for some time.
When independence came, Sarojini was the obvious choice for the woman's seat in the Cabinet; but she was considered too old and was sent as the UP Governor. She was a wonderfully good -Governor; but, alas, her tenure was cut short by her sad demise.
I accompanied Nehru to Lucknow on one of his brief visits. I was struck by the care and affection she bestowed on Nehru's old personal servant Hari. Accompanied by her ADC she visited Hari's room, herself carrying a large plate of sweets, with the ADC follow- ing with a bowl of fruits, and placed them in Hari's room. No -Governor but Sarojini would have done this. She was too big a person not to do it.
Poetess and orator, motherly and natural in her behaviour, Sarojini Naidu, hailed as the Nightingale of India, was perhaps the most gifted, the most accomplished and one of the greatest women this country has produced in the past few centuries.
Page 128
25 Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Bora in the princely family of Kapurthala in 1887, Rajkumarx Amrit Kaur was the only girl among six brothers. She had her schooling in England. After passing her Senior Cambridge exami- nation, she wanted to go to Oxford; but her mother stood in the- way. So she had to come back and to content with piano-play ing, some household chores, and tennis, at which she was very good,, and had won many trophies in.
Rajkumari told me once that in her time as a young girl Xh& three outstanding beauties in India were Indi Cooch-Behar, Tai Rajwade and herself. She fell in love with an Englishman; but her parents, particularly her mother, refused to entertain the idea of her marriage to a foreigner.
Progressively, Rajkumari came into conflict with her mother. Her father, though unhappy at the development, chose to keep* quiet. Her eldest brother was sympathetic to her and occasionally- indulged in threatening the mother. That was not of much help, The brother who stood by her was Lieutenant- Colonel Kanwar Shumshere Singh, one of the earliest Indian IMS officers. Rajkumarf left her home and stayed with Kanwar Shumshere Singh for whom she developed a lifelong affection and devotion. She did not return to her ancestral home in Simla until after her mother died. Then, she joined her father and functioned as his hostess. Viceroys and* Governors and other dignitaries were guests at her father's house.
Rajkumari once told me that in her life she hated only one- person. I asked her who the person was. She said, "My mother,'*' and proceeded to use the choicest epithets against her.
Rajkumari took a great deal of interest in the All India Women's- Conference which was an active organization during British times. Early in life she showed her capacity to raise funds for good causes. She was one of the founders of Lady Irwin College in New Delhi
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur 129
and considerably helped in building up that institution.
It was in the middle of the thirties that Rajkumari Amrit Kaur joined Gandhiji as one of his Secretaries. Prior to that she was in correspondence with Gandhiji and did some work for him in Simla and adjoining areas in the field of khadi and village industries. In 1959 the Rajkumari told me that everyone in her family including her beloved brother and protector Kanwar Shumshere Singh, dis- approved of her association with Gandhiji, leave alone staying in his primitive hut in Sevagram. Kanwar Shumshere Singh soon relented and became reconciled to it. In fact he even became the unofficial medical adviser to Gandhiji in so far as his writings on health subjects were concerned.
The actual period of time that the Rajkumari spent with Gandhiji was limited because she was sent out on errands by him and also to look after his interests in the Simla region. Then came Gandhiji's arrest and imprisonment in 1942. During the Quit India movement the Rajkumari was imprisoned in the Punjab. This was her first jail experience. She told me she did not like it, mainly because of the rats, and lizards on the walls. She feared and detested both. Her jail term was short. She was released by the authorities on their own initiative. On Gandhiji's release, she joined him and was mostly with him until she became a Cabinet Minister on 15 August 1947.
The Rajkumari was not Nehru's first choice as the woman minister in his Cabinet. His choice was Hansa Mehta. Nehru had earmarked the Rajkumari for assignment as a Governor or Ambas- sador. However, Gandhiji intervened and pleaded for the Raj- kumari and Nehru fell in line.
Her ten-year tenure as Union Health Minister marked the con- trol and eradication of the scourge of malaria in the country and the establishment of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. As minister, the Rajkumari was a little too much in the hands of her civil servants and her medical administrators. On more than one occasion in the Cabinet she could not adequately explain her ministry's proposals under consideration by the Cabinet. On being cross-examined by her Cabinet colleagues, she burst into tears. The consideration of the matter was postponed and at the next meeting of the Cabinet, the Secretary of her Ministry and the Director- General of Health Services had to be summoned to properly explain the proposals to the Cabinet.
130 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
The two most elegant Indian women I have met were Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. Theirs was an elegance which was simple in person, clothes and general turnout in contrast to the rather vulgar display by most Maharanis.
The Rajkumari was good at making brief, pretty speeches. More than the contents of the speech, her melodious and rich voice made people listen to her with attention. Where a reasoned speech on a specific subject was called for, or in a debate, she cut a sorry figure. As a writer she was poor. I once asked A.C.N. Nambiar, who knows French well, about the Rajkumari's command of spoken French. His reply was, "She is bold."
As a Congress minister, the Rajkumari indulged in talking ill of Congressmen. Congress MPs resented this. She fraternized with opposition MPs, particularly Communists. She liked being invited by Ambassadors and also entertaining them in her own house. It washer practice to speak to Ambassadors in disparaging terms about the Congress. It did not occur to her that it was unworthy of a Congress minister to do so. Once she wrote to Prime Minister Nehru assailing Congressmen and ended up by saying, "Congressmen are rogues and rascals; they are all for themselves and devil take the hindmost." Nehru was more amused than annoyed. He replied to her, "Thank you for the compliment; I am also a Congressman." This reminded me of an American woman Ambassador's visit to Pope Pius XI. She was one of the most beautiful women of her day with an acid and loose tongue, and was a recent convert to Catho- licism. She held forth about what the Catholic religion stood for and what was expected of the faithful. She exhibited all the zeal of a new convert. The austere Pope listened in silence to the long harangue and quietly dismissed her with one sentence, "But, Madame Ambassador, I am also a Catholic."
Once, at a conference of eminent medical men in Bangalore, the Rajkumari spoke about family planning and said that the rhythm method was the nearest to Gandhiji's ideas on the subject. She warmed up and added, "I can tell you from experience that the rhythm method is most effective." Coming from a spinster it was too much for the distinguished audience; but they controlled them- selves from bursting into laughter. What the Rajkumari really meant was "medical experience" and not her personal experience!
Once, the Rajkumari told me, not without girlish giggles, about a wealthy, elderly, distinguished, non.career High Commissioner
131 Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
proposing to her in her late sixties. She was particularly amused at the words he used, "Oh Amrit, won't you come and share, my loneliness?" Poor fellow, had to live out his loneliness all by himself!
In the 1961-62 general elections, the Rajkumari wanted to stand for re-election to Lok Sabha from the Jullundur constituency. Swaran Singh had earlier asked for it. The Rajkumari's own con- stituency was Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. The Congress Central Election Committee favoured Swaran Singh for Jullundur. It was suggested that the Rajkumari might stand from Mandi; as an alter- native the committee offered Kaithal in the Punjab which was a safe constituency. In her obstinacy, the Rajkumari said, "Jullundur or nothing." So she got nothing. This made her bitter. She was further embittered when she was not included in the Cabinet in 1962. When she ceased to be a Cabinet Minister, she had to shift from the spacious bungalow, 2 President's Estate. The government allotted her a smaller house on Akbar Road. Two days before shift- ing, I suggested to the Prime Minister that the Rajkumari might be allowed to stay on at 2 President's Estate. After all she was Chair- man of the Red Cross, T. B. Association, Leprosy Association and Chairman of the Governing Council of the AH India Institute of Medical Sciences which was a government institution. On the PM's recommendation the President reailotted 2 President's Estate to the Rajkumari on a rent of Rs 500 per month, inclusive of electricity and water supply. The Rajkumari was pleased and was grateful to me.
Soon after the Rajkumari ceased to be a Cabinet Minister, Nehru offered her the governorship of Madhya Pradesh, but she declined the offer.
When I left the PM's house in 1959.,! the Rajkumari asked me to stay in hers. I did so for a week. When I discovered that she would not accept payment for my food and other personal items, I left and stayed with a friend who was an MP. Two years later, the Rajkumari asked me to shift to her house and reluctantly agreed to accept payment. So I shifted. Some time later she told me that I should stay on until her death or that of her elder brother Kanwar Shumshere Singh, whichever came last.
The Rajkumari was somewhat overwhelming to the second generation of her family. Her attitude to her own sex was unfriend- ly and forbidding, but when one was in trouble, she would go all
132 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
out to help the person, regardless of who It was.
In 1962 the Rajkumari wanted to revise her will to make a substantial bequest to me. I prevented her from doing so. Then she decided to build a bungalow in the grounds of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on condition that she, her brother, and I could stay there during our respective lifetimes, after which it would become the property of the AIIMS. I now rather regret that I advised her against it. She and her brother also accepted my advice to gift her palatial house in Simla to the Government of India. This was done in 1963, and the President of India, with the concurrence of the Prime Minister, placed 2 President's Estate at their disposal free of rent for their respective' lifetimes. But alas, the Rajkumari died the following year; but her brother lived till the middle of 1975, reaching the age of ninety-six. I remained with him tilt the end, thus fulfilling a promise I had made to the Rajkumari.
The Rajkumari mothered me a great deal. I have the pleasan- test memories of this wonderful and courageous woman.
Page 133
26 Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Born with the century, Swamp, as she was christened, was one of the most beautiful women of her day. As was the practice among Kashmiri Brahmans, she took on the name of Vijaya Lakshmi on her marriage. To Nehru and close relatives and friends she was Nan.
She loved the good things of life, was a gourmet in her younger days and an excellent cook. Like her father and brother, she looked elegant in whatever she wore. It was a joy to look at this petit and elegant woman. Even in her old age she is attractive though she has neglected herself in recent years. She was generous and unfortunately extravagant. This brought her trouble later on.
In the Nehru family only Jawaharlal and Motilal made deliberate decisions to give up the life of comfort and adopt austerity when they threw themselves into the national struggle. All the rest, including Vijaya Lakshmi, were swept off their feet by force of events. Adjustments were not easy.
Vijaya Lakshmi spent 1945 and part of 1946 in the United States where she did good work for the cause of Indian independence countering the propaganda of the British and their stooge Girja Shankar Bajpai. Appropriately, she was present in San Francisco at the birth of the United Nations as an observer.
In 1947 Vijaya Lakshmi was pulled out of the UP Cabinet and senfas Ambassador to tJie Soviet Union/ a singularly^ wrong place for her temperament. She did not have the capacity as her succes- sor Radhakrishnan had, for philosophical detachment. In the bleak atmosphere of Moscow of the Stalinist era, with its awesome rigidity and regimentation, she was a square peg in a round hole. Even Nehru was then considered in the Soviet Union as a running dog of imperialism! Her tenure in Moscow was short and she was transferred as Ambassador to Washington. She told me that her
134 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
tenure in Moscow was a moral defeat but its end was a relief.
Washington society suited her. She revelled in it and loved holding court, entertaining and being entertained. Extravagance reached the highest pitch. Without permission she withdrew money from Nehru's royalty account with his American publisher. I had to write to the publisher prohibiting him from disbursing any amount from Nehru's royalty account to anyone in future without the written permission of Nehru or myself.
From 1946 onwards, until she was elected as President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1953, with one interruption, she led the Indian delegations to the UN General Assembly with distinction. After 1953 Krishna Menon took over from her.
Vijaya Lakshmi used to be a temperamental person and had the habit of cancelling appointments at the last moment. She once did this to Henry Cabot Lodge at the UN. He was naturally annoyed and sent her a message, "There are Brahmans in Boston also." The old New England families in Boston are called "Boston Brah- mans." Cabot Lodge came from a noted family in Boston.
Soon after Gandhiji's assassination a sealed file kept by Gandhiji was delivered to Nehru by Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. Nehru opened the file and, after a cursory perusal of the papers, called me and said, "These are the papers about young Vijaya Lakshmi's elopement with Syed Hussain. You had better burn them." I pleaded with him to let me keep them in my archives; but he was not in favour of it. I took the file from him and went straight to the kitchen in the PM's house and stood there until the papers were reduced to ashes.
Vijaya Lakshmi had the great gift of being extremely charming when a visitor was face to face with her and being extremely nasty after the visitor had departed. Perhaps it is part of the diplomatic process.
I was not unaware of Vijaya Lakshmi's criticism against me, that I was building up Indira against her. The fact is that I built up nobody against anybody.
After her tenure in Washington, Vijaya Lakshmi returned to India early in 1952 and was elected to the Lok Sabha. She hoped to become a Cabinet Minister. But Nehru did not consider it appropriate, under normal circumstances, to have his sister in his Cabinet. Her election as President of the UN General Assembly in 1953 came as a recompense. When Vijaya Lakshmi became an MP, the PM asked me to speak to the Works Minister to allot her
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit 135
a bungalow in New Delhi. I said it would lead to criticism. I suggested to the PM that the Works Minister might be asked to set apart a few bungalows for MPs who have been Cabinet Ministers, Governors or heads of missions abroad, as well as for leaders of opposition groups in both Houses of parliament. Nehru liked the idea and wrote to the Works Minister. Thus Vijaya Lakshmi got a bungalow without exposing herself or the PM to criticism.
In parliament Vijaya Lakshmi started getting frustrated. Secre- tary-General N. R. Pillai, of the Ministry of External Affairs, persuaded her, in consultation with me, to go to London as High Commissioner in succession to B. G. Kher. So off she went. As High Commissioner she created a good impression.
Swerung Brothers
niu-™. SS BROADWAY
aowu»> «u t iw., NEW YORK 4, N, Y.
June T9, 1954
Mr. B. H. Birla
A Royal Exchange Place
Calcutta, India
Dear Mr. Birla:
I have your letter of June 23rd regarding Mrs. pandit.
In September 19i7 we paid her tJOOO.OO- I think this payment was ae.de under Instructions from Mr. G. D. Birla. V« have a writtei, receipt from Mrs. Pandit for this amount dated September 17, 19i7, and ve also have the cancelled cheque which we sent her, endorsed by her to the Chase National Bank. This has never been repaid to us end the amount stands m our books as a debit against toe Birla Jute Mfg. Co., Ltd.
Please note that oo May 13, IQJO we gave Mrs. Pandit an ' adolUontd cheque for I50O0.00. She requested this amount in writing at the tine as a loan for a short time, but the fact IS tha-t tbi" loan has never been entirely repaid. We wrote and telephoned her severa. time* about it, and riniaiy on November 21, 1951 she paid ut back tJOQQ.UO leaving a balance of HCOQ.OO still unpaid. In Movenber 1951 she promised in writing that the resuming IJ0OO.0O voulj be paid within a short while, but we have never been able to collect this, and several letters which we wrote her about It have remained unanswered.
I spoke to Mr. M. P. Birla about thi: matter, and he has suggested that we debit the balance of tiOOO.OO to the Blrlt Jute Mfg. Co Please advise If you hare any other Instructions i a the natter
While Vijaya Lakshmi was in London, the PM received a letter from Ambassador G. L. Mehta in Washington forwarding a communication from Henry Grady who was the American repre- sentative in Delhi before, Grady enclosed a photostat of a letter from Vijaya Lakshmi, while she was Ambassador in Washington,
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Swerving Brothers
96 Wall Sheet NbwYobjc o.N.Y,
OrUiul Tl» Air Hail BoraaAtr IB, IMS
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S*fBU» NEW VO*K Mr. BHjBOhu lirl* > Seynl Xxaban*;* PI not Client* a. India
DMT Mr. Blrlat copy »• he»t reealTad the folloirtiuj opl-la fit* OalsBita datad HoYmbar sth:
Tny dollar* a* urueh aa reiiuirad llfi, Ti Jayelakanni Paadlt Hearpehlra noun daMt ( a»e out asoount ahall raalt latar hope thomrjui aollara pratloualy iaatmotad airaedy paid*
Blrla
■ I prasicua this eeMe la free you. Mr*, Pandit baa not yet contacted se but rhii wl If ihi doaa ■a *l.ll pay har wasterer ah* aaka for hara. It la ■at quite elear to mt vhlah eac<xLnt you vent ue to dafclt esd, ualeet otharwiee lnatruoted, »e sia debit thaae pajaanta to the Ma* Paper Milla, Ltd.
Ike refaraaa. in tbe oahle to |1,<X>0, pr«Tlous"Ly lBa-truoted la si so not clear to uir. We paid Mr*. Pandit ft.,106; on April Si, 1«« and debited tola amount to tha Orient Paper Mlile, Ltd. aa instructed by you (ou^ Dealt Memo, to Orlant 00}. SuieemnntLy, sb September SO, 1S«, » paid Jl.OJO. to Ura, Anna Mo» for noo^unt of Mrs. panait aa inetrueted by Mr. 0. D. Blrla. This paynent **a debited to tha Blrla Jute Manufacturine C- {but Debit Maso. to than y"33) .
*a Imti O ot repaired rajtm*no*« for either tf these psmente. I bop* you elll lnetruot tha appropriate dayejrlaeata that ahan they naxe rsnlttanoee to ua they are to atstt rary dearly Jujt ythnu tha remittances are for, ahethar they ara for disouresnants for their aeonunt or afalnet oonlaalosa due ua. fa nust bare a lattar of this Mad identifying the rmmanoe 10 order to ketv our account a atralght.
Tours yery truly.
Swkrixng Brothers
as BROVDWAY XEW YORK 4, N. Y. ^S£1«S?^,K-
Juna 29, 1954
Hr. B, «. Blrla 3 Royal Exchange Place Calcutta, India
Dear Mr. Birla:
Further to jay lattar of todey, I find that another awn of $600.00 was paid by us to Hiss Tara Pandit on Hay 1, 1947 under instructions from Hr. Q. D. Blrla. Ua have a receipt frsn Kisa Tara pandit for tola asouot dated Kay 5, 1947.
This aaount was debited to tha Blrla Jut.:- Mf B . Co., Ltd. sincerely, J 101^-5 sL
140 -- Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
asking for the loan of a substantial sum. Her letter gave the astounding reason, of the failure of the Government of India to remit her salary and emoluments on time owing to foreign exchange shortage, for soliciting the loan. Grady stated that he failed to get back the money from Vijaya Lakshmi despite repeated requests. So he asked Ambassador Mehta for his help in getting the money back. The PM was astonished and wrote to Vijaya Lakshmi in London asking her to make early payment of the debt.
In the second half of 1954 the Chairman of the Income Tax Investigation Commission privately informed the PM that there were entries in the account books of two large Birla concerns of substantial sums of money having been paid to Vijaya Lakshmi. The PM asked me to get into touch with G.D. Birla and get confir- mation, I was reluctant to get involved in this. However, I had to do as I was told. G. D. Birla confirmed the report. He said, "There is only one national leader who has not taken any money from us, and that is Pandit ji. All others, including Mrs Pandit, have." He reeled out all the important names— from Gandhiji and Sardar Patel downwards. He added that Jayaprakash Narayan was shown as his Private Secretary in the books of Birla Brothers and was paid a monthly salary for long years until the assassination of Gandhiji. Because of Jayaprakash Narayan's attacks on him in connection with Gandhiji's assassination, Sardar Patel had asked Birla to stop further payments to Jayaprakash Narayan. G. D. Birla requested me to ascertain from the PM if he should resume payments to Jayaprakash Narayan. I said, "The PM is not the man to be consulted in a matter like this. You should take your own decision. If I were you, I would not only start paying him but also give him a lump sum to compensate him for the period for which payments were cut off."
I reported G. D. Birla's confirmation to the PM. He wrote to Mrs Pandit in London enquiring about the matter. She replied defying everything. Tile PM askeld me if I could get aiiy receipts from G. D. Birla. So I reluctantly contacted him again. He said that for any amounts paid in India in rupees there may not be receipts; but for amounts drawn in dollars by Vijaya Lakshmi or anyone on her behalf from the agent of Birlas in New York there would be receipts. He asked me, "Is this not an unprofitable exercise?" However, he asked his younger brother, B. M. Birla, to
141 Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
obtain the receipts from New York. The latter got the photostats of the receipts and I showed them to the PM.
I told the PM that it served little purpose to worry about the matter any more and that the melancholy chapter might be closed.
On return from her tenure in London, she was sent as Governor of Bombay. In 1962 she hoped that she would be selected as the candidate for Vice-Presidentship in place of Radhakrishnan; but Nehru had other ideas. He brought in Zakir Husain.
Some time after Nehru's death, Vijaya Lakshmi wrote to me from Poona to ask if I could visit her for a few days as she wished to discuss her future with me. I went. She told me that she would like to stand for election to Lok Sabha from Nehru's constituency in the by-election, but that Indira was dead set against it. Lai Bahadur and Kamaraj were not opposed and she felt that finally she would get the Congress ticket. She asked for my opinion. I told her that she should enter active politics only if she was mentally reconciled to being only an MP because, with Indira in the Cabinet, there was not the slightest chance of a second Nehru woman being in it, I added that if she was not mentally conditioned, a mere MP's job could only result in frustration and disappointment. On the other hand, she had all the facilities and time in Raj Bhawan to write the memoirs she had been planning for a long time. She said she was fed up with being a Governor who was no more than an organ-grinder's monkey. So she plunged into politics again and got elected to Lok Sabha. I felt sorry for her.
The years after Nehru's death had been not only an unrewarding but a tormenting period for Vijaya Lakshmi. She and Indira had never got on well in the past. When Indira became PM, things became worse for Vijaya Lakshmi. Indira foolishly took delight in being vindictive to her aunt. She was excluded even from official social functions. Word went round that contact with Vijaya Lakshmi was viewed with disfavour. Most people began to avoid her. When- things became intolerable, Vijaya Lakshmi resigned from the Lok Sabha, went away from Delhi and settled down in Dehra Dun.
In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections Vijaya Lakshmi came out of her retirement like a wounded tigress and helped in flattening out her niece, j watched as the inexorable process of one of the greatest of basic human passions— revenge with a vengeance— un- folded itself. Vijaya Lakshmi would, of course, say that it was for
142 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
the restoration of democracy, rule of law, and human values. That also is not incorrect.
A couple of years ago Vijaya Lakshmi asked me, "Why did Bhai drop me completely during the last phase of his life?" I did not wish to answer that question at the time, and managed to change the subject. I have already given in this chapter part of the reason. The other part is that Nehru did not want to build up a rival to his daughter who was much younger. More about this in the chapter on Indira!
Page 143
27 Some Books
S. Gopal's "Biography of Jawaharlal Nehru" (Vol. 1)
This is a disappointing book for which the author was extravagantly paid and certain other facilities were provided by the Nehru Memorial Fund in addition to allowing him to keep the royalties. The book is as dry as midsummer hay. It reads like a thesis of a young student for his M. Litt in History. It will remain at best as a miniature filing cabinet.
A concocted story in the book about what transpired at Krishna Menon's meeting with Molotov in 1946 should not be allowed to pass as history. Here is what Gopal has written:
As a step in building up an independent foreign policy unaligned to any Power, Jawaharlal had preferred to develop informal contacts rather than utilise British diplomatic representation Acting as Jawaharlal's personal envoy, Krishna Menon met Molotov, conveyed the new Government's earnest desire for friendly relations with the Soviet Union and sought assistance in food-grains. He also, stepping beyond his brief, spoke to Molotov about the possibility of Soviet military experts visiting India. This upset not only the Foreign Office and the Indian External Affairs Department but also some of Jawaharlal's colleagues in the Congress; and Krishna Menon received the first of, over the years, very many mildly worded cautions from his chief:
'I want to make it clear that I have complete faith in you and I am qmte sure that whatever step you will take will be taken after full consideration and with a view not to create any difficulties. So far as I am concerned, that is all right. But other people, who do not know you well, have also to be taken into
144 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
consideration and hence I have suggested to you that you might bear these people also in mind'.
When Nehru appointed Krishna Menon as the personal represen- tative of the Vice-President of the interim government in September 1946 to visit certain European capitals to pave the way for establish- ing diplomatic relations, Moscow was specifically excluded from his itinerary due to opposition from Gandhiji and Sardar Patel. Krishna Menon was upset at this exclusion. On his return from Western Europe Krishna Menon wrote a personal note in his own hand and gave it to me. In that he appealed to Nehru to send him to Moscow to do at least preliminary soundings for establishing trade relations. Nehru's letter to Krishna Menon dated 13 October 1946, quoted above by Gopal, was in reply to that.
Nehru wrote a letter to Molotov on 21 September 1946 and sent it directly to Moscow. In it he had enquired if the Soviet Union t
could render some food assistance to India. As Soviet Foreign h
Minister M. Molotov, happened to be in Paris for the Peace Con- ference, V. K. Krishna Menon, who was then in Europe, was asked to pay a personal visit to him to convey the request for food assis- tance as well as the greetings of the interim government. This was disclosed by Nehru in the Central Legislative Assembly.
So the. British Foreign Office, which in this context is the British Intelligence, planted on S. Gopal an absurd story of what transpir- ed at the meeting between Molotov and Krishna Menon. GopaL's concern at the British Foreign Office and the Indian External Affairs Department getting upset is amusing. The Indian External Affairs Department at that time consisted of Weightman, Duke, Fry and the young H. Dayal whose qualification was that he knew nothing about foreign affairs.
Whatever might have been Krishna Menon's faults, he was not *
capable of any blatant violation of Nehru's directives, more especi- ally in the early stages.
It was foolish to seek assistance in foodgrains from the Soviet Union as that country had no surplus food so soon after the war during which it had lost Ukraine and certain other fertile regions to the Germans, apart from the continued adverse effects of the scorched-earth policy during the war. It was one of Nehru's impul- sive moves. I was then not working in government as I had refused to join government for a whole year and preferred to assist Nehru
145 Some Books
at his residence. I have no recollection of India having received any foodgrain assistance from the Soviet Union in the early years of our independence.
_ The facts about the spadework for establishing diplomatic rela- tions between India and the Soviet Union are as follows:
In the autumn of 1946 Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was leading the Indian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly. V.K. Krishna Menon was not a full delegate; he was an alternate delegate. K.P.S. Menon was the Secretary-General of the delega- tion as well as an alternate delegate. Nehru sent a telegram to the leader of the Indian delegation suggesting that Krishna Menon and K.P.S, Menon might proceed to Moscow after the General Assembly session and broach with the Soviet Government the question of establishing diplomatic relations. The matter was mentioned to a Soviet delegate by the Secretary-General of the Indian delegation to be conveyed to Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Minister, who was leading the Soviet delegation. Thereupon, Molotov invited Mrs Pandit and the entire Indian delegation to a delightful luncheon at his house, with vodka and wine flowing freely. By the time lunch was over, diplomatic relations had been practically established between India and the Soviet Union. Molotov said that it was un- necessary for anyone to go to Moscow for this purpose, that he would communicate with his government, and that he felt certain that the Soviet Government would only welcome our move.
It might be mentioned that during Nehru's lifetime Krishna Menon never visited the Soviet Union. I believe that it was in 1967 or thereabouts, when he was no longer in government, that Krishna Menon first visited the Soviet Union. It was in connection with some meeting of the World Peace Cqtmcil.
Gopal has, several times in his book, referred to Krishna Menon as an Anglophil. It seems to be a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Maulana Azad's "India Wins Freedom"
This is a book dictated to Humayun Kabir by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in the evenings when the latter used to be in an expansive mood.
The Maulana has praised Nehru for dropping the case against the political officer in Malakand, North- West Frontier Province,
146 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
This official acted in an unabashed manner as ,the virtual agent of the Muslim League by instigating tribesmen to stage demonstrations against Nehru during his visit to that area in the middle of October 1946 and to fire at him and his party. Nehru and Khan Sahib were in the first car. I was following in the second car with a couple of senior police officers, Nehru's car was hit by a bullet. We all got down. A bullet whistled past me almost touching my nose. For the first time I felt content that I^3id not have a pronounced nose.
On return to Delhi, Nehru took up the question on disciplinary action against the criminally erring official. Viceroy, Lord Wavell did everything to frustrate it. It dragged on and Nehru finally let it slide in disgust. He made no secret of his displeasure. The Maulana's conception of magnanimity to an official charged with criminal misconduct is absurd. ■ -
Maulana Azad says that when the first dominion government was formed on 15 August 1947 Gandhiji had insisted that he should take up the Ministry of Education as it was of vital importance. This is totally incorrect. On Gandhiji's usual silence day on a Monday he wrote a personal letter to Nehru on the inside of a used envelope advising him not to make Maulana Azad the Education Minister as he was convinced that the Maulana would ruin education. Gandhiji added that the Maulana should be a Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet and function as an elder statesman. Nehru could not comply with Gandhiji's wishes because the Maulana adopted the attitude "Education or nothing."
Gandhiji's letter is in the archives I painstakingly built up from 1946 onwards and left behind in the old Prime Minister's house, now called Teen Murti House.
Incidentally, Gandhiji's choice for the Education Ministry was Zakir Husain.
HlREN MUKERJEE'S "THE GENTLE COLOSSUS"
Of all the books written about Nehru after his death, this little book has appealed to me the most. Of course, its size proclaims that it is not an exhaustive biography. And the author has no pre- tensions on that score.
Page 147
28 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
This handsome, impressive-looking Muslim divine, made more impressive by his neat moustache and well-trimmed goatee with tall fez cap, was an orator in chaste Urdu. During the rare occasions he spoke in parliament, there was a rush for seats. He was a divine- only in so far as his vast knowledge of Muslim religious lore and his internationally famous commentary on the Koran were concerned. For the. rest he was a man of the world who loved the good things of life.
In 1945, soon after his release from prison, some puritanical people reported to Gandhiji that the Maulana was drinking regularly in jail. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur told me that at their first meeting after release from jail, Gandhiji had asked the Maulana whether he drank. The Maulana denied the reports. An element of doubt persisted in Gandhiji's mind.
On 28 April 1946, while the Congress Working Committee was still engaged in examining the British Cabinet Mission's proposals, news reached Gandhiji that the Maulana, who was then Congress President, had written a letter to the Cabinet Mission without the knowledge of the Working Committee or himself. Humayun Kabir was the one who drafted the letter. The Maulana found similarity between his ideas of the solution of the communal problem and the ideas of the Cabinet Mission. The Maulana's solution was the maximum decentralization of power in the federal structure, with the provinces enjoying the largest measure of autonomy in all subjects, leaving the centre only with defence, foreign affairs, and communications. The Cabinet Mission found in the Maulana an ally in their difficult task. In the private letter to the Cabinet Mission, the Maulana had stated that there was no need for the Cabinet Mission to worry too much about Gandhiji or his misgivings about the Cabinet Mission's proposals. At the instance
148 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
of Gandhiji, Sudhir Ghosh managed to get the letter as a temporary loan from the Cabinet Mission. As Gandhiji finished reading the letter and putting it aside on his small, low writing desk in front of him, the Maulana arrived for his previously arranged interview. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, who was sitting behind a screen nearby, told me much later that she heard Gandhiji asking the Maulana a straight question whether he had written a letter to the Cabinet Mission about the negotiations in progress. The Maulana flatly denied having written any such letter. Gandhiji was stunned and deeply hurt at the Maulana's untruthfulness to him.
Again, on 22 June 1946, it was known that the Maulana had written a private letter to Viceroy Lord Wavell assuring him that, as Congress President > he would see to it that no Muslim name was included in the Congress list for the interim government, and if his own name was proposed, he would not agree to its inclusion. Again, the letter was drafted by Humayun Kabir. This upset not only Gandhiji but also Nehru and other members of the Working' Committee. Events overtook the Maulana and others -and Nehru replaced the Maulana as Congress President. Actually, Nehru included three Muslims in the interim government which took office on 2 September 1946. The Maulana then had no choice but to keep out.
I have referred to the Maulana in several other chapters. The Maulana was a vindictive man. His fierce opposition to Krishna Menon stemmed from the fact that during his visit to London a code telegram sent to the High Commission for the Maulana by the PM was delivered to him only seven days after its arrival in London, Also, Krishna Menon generally neglected the Maulana. Krishna Menon ought to have known that the Maulana was vain and sensitive, and it would have done Menon no harm if he had arranged for the Maulana some "spiritual nourishment."
When the Maulana visited Germany, he stayed at the embassy in Cologne as the guest of Ambassador A.C.N. Nambiar who, as a meticulous person and an excellent host, knew the Maulana's tastes and habits. He set up a small bar in the Maulana's room with plenty of whisky, brandy, Moselle white wine, Rhine red wine, and French vintage champagne. The Maulana specially liked champagne while abroad. Nambiar discovered that the Maulana was most happy to be left alone in his room surrounded by the bottles. NambiaF
149 Montana Abul Kalam Azad
had only one complaint. He had invited several important Germans, ministers and others, for a dinner in honour of the Maulana. Immediately after the dinner the Maulana sneaked out and remained in his room alone sipping champagne. The same thing happened later in London where the Maulana stayed at the High Commissioner's residence in the Millionaires' Lane as the guest of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, who gave a dinner in honour of tie Maulana, The guests included Sir Anthony Eden, Lord Mount batten and several other dignitaries. The moment dinner was over, the Maulana quietly disappeared without attracting any- one's notice. Soon, Eden and others asked where the Maulana was. Mrs Pandit had to resort to a diplomatic white lie to save face. The fact was that the Maulana was in his room sipping champagne.
On return from the tour, the Maulana was all praise for Nambiar as our best Ambassador abroad. T. T. Krishnamachari, without imbibing champagne or any other fluid, said the same thing about Ambassador Nambiar after his visit to Germany. Seeing that Ambassador Nambiar had no wife, TTK told me that he would sanction a social secretary for him if the External Affairs Ministry would send him a note. This was done.
In Delhi, the Maulana never attended a dinner party. He came to the PM's house only for lunches in honour of important foreign dignitaries. At Cabinet meetings, which were normally fixed for 5 p.m. or soon after, the Maulana would get up at the stroke of six, regardless of the importance of the subject under discussion, and leave. Soon he would be before his whisky, soda and ice and a plate of samosas. Only a few persons were allowed to see him while he was drinking. They included Nehru, Aruna Asaf Ali, Humayun Kabir and a Private Secretary whom he personally liked. Nehru avoided seeing him in the evenings except when there was something urgent to discuss.
One day the Maulana's favourite Private Secretary came to see me privately. He told me that he was worried about the Maulana because he was imbibing half a bottle of whisky every evening. Falls were not infrequent. In fact he had broken his back in a fall and had to wear a metal plate to support his back. Since then an able-bodied man was always available to support the Maulana whenever he got up during and after his drinks. The Private Secretary told me that the only person the Maulana would
150 Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
listen to was the PM. He asked me, "Can't Panditji speak to the Maulana and ask him to limit his pegs?" I promised to convey his suggestion to the PM, When I spoke to Nehru, he simply smiled.
As a departmental minister, the Maulana was a disaster, as Gandhiji had feared. He made no contribution to education. He left everything to the trio— Humayun Kabir, K.G. Saidayin and Ashfaque Hussain.
It must be said to the credit of the Maulana that among collea- gues he was a rare one who was not afraid of Nehru. He spoke out his mind without fear or any inhibition.
Around 1956, while the PM was in London, a telegram came from Cabinet Secretary Sukthankar saying that the Maulana was insisting on being officially referred to as Acting PM. He asked for instructions. Nehru replied that there was no such thing as Acting PM as long as he was alive; his absence from India made no difference; and that only the President can designate an Acting PM which can normally be if the PM is incapacitated.
The Cabinet Secretary was asked to send a copy of the telegram to the Maulana. The next day the senior PTI representative in London came to se^ me and said that a comic situation had developed in India and the Maulana had arrogated to himself the title of Acting PM, and was going about with a motor-cycle in front and a security car behind, thereby making himself ridiculous. He added that the only thing the Maulana had not done was to move into the PM's house. I explained to him the correct position as contained in the PM's telegram to the Cabinet Secretary. The PTI representative beamed it to India as a statement from me. On seeing it, the Maulana became furious. He sent a strongly- worded telegram to the PM protesting against my "statement." The PM replied to him giving the circumstances in which I had to explain the position to the PTI representative who should not have used my name. The PM also added that I was not lacking in respect for the Maulana. When we arrived in Bombay from London, Morarji Desai was at the airport. He took me aside and complimented me for my "statement." 1 told him the Maulana was furious with me, to which he replied, "What does it matter to you?"
The Maulana was not wholly free from communal ism as Rafi Ahmed Kidwai was. In the selection -of candidates for the 1952 genera] elections, the Maulana would arrive with lots of slips containing Muslim names and passionately plead for them. U.S.
151 Malliah, who was co-General Secretary of the AICC with Lai Bahadur, got fed up with the Maulana. He played two tricks on the old man. When the Tamil Nadu list came up, Malliah had asked his friend Kamaraj to absent himself during the morning session. During that period Malliah criticized the Tamil Nadu list in so far as a particular constituency was concerned. Malliah suggested the name of a Muslim to replace the candidate suggested by the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. The Maulana was very pleased and said, "Jtakho Bhai" (keep it brother). In the afternoon Kamaraj appeared on the scene and asked for reconsideration of the candidate for the particular constituency as the Muslim candi- date had died thirty years previously and that Malliah was not aware of the death of that prominent nationalist Muslim. Every- one laughed except Kamaraj and Malliah, and the Maulana looked foolish.
Before the Kerala list came up, Malliah had a talk with the representatives of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. In the predominantly Muslim areas of Moplahs in northern Kerala, where the Muslim League was sure to win, the KPCC had decided not to contest. At Malliah's request, they gave him a supple- mentary list of constituencies and names of Muslims who could be persuaded to file their nominations by giving them the deposit money. Malliah told them that the AICC would give the KPCC an additional grant to cover the deposit money. He told them that no money should be spent on campaigns in those constituencies. When the KPCC's original list came up for consideration, Malliah held forth and said that in a state where one-third of the popula- tion was Muslim, the KPCC list contained only three Muslims for the assembly elections. He said it was shocking and reeled out the names of constituencies and Muslim candidates who could be put up. The Maulana was very pleased and thereafter considered Malliah a truly noncommunal Congressman— which, of course,- he was. Eventually, all the Muslim candidates whom Malliah had added, lost their deposits— as Malliah knew in advance.
The Maulana's greatest opponent in the Congress was Vallabhbhai Patel and his staunchest supporter was Nehru who had affection for him and showed him deference as an elder even when he disagreed with him.
In the previous chapter I have referred to the Maulana's book India Wins Freedom. The Maulana, who had already lost his
152 - Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
credibility, had dictated the book in the evenings to Humayun Kabir when he was inebriated. The unpublished portion of the book in the possession of the National Archives; when released to the public, should be treated with the caution and reserve it deserves.
Graphics:-
Nehru and Churchill,
1953 Nehru , Indira and the kids Rajiv and Sanjay in Switzerland with the author,
1953 Nehru, Indira and her children at Burgenstock, Switzerland,
1953 Nehru, Shaw and the author,
1949 MM Rajkumari Amrit Kaur Sarojini and Padmaja Naidu Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit,
Indira and Nehru in Washington,
1948 Krishna Menon at a swimming pool in the United States with a Spanish and Japanese girl
Patel and Nehru (late forties)
Rajendra Prasad and Nehru
Nehru, Upadhyaya and the author,
1946 Lady Mountbatten, Lord Mountbatten,
Nehru and Radhakrishnan
Nehru playing with "Bhimsa" the Himalayan Cat-bear
Nehru at Dal Lake, Srinagar
Nehru with a dove perched on his head A study of Nehru, 1949
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