NATIONAL POLITICS

JD: Views of V.P. Singh

I do feel a sense of satisfaction and achievement when after such a vehement opposition by a section of society. today every party has endorsed Mandal.

I also feel vindicated by the fact that the highest forum of the country, the Supreme Court, also upheld it and certainly, the judges were not looking for any political gain... It was natural for the upper classes to protest, because the Mandal Commission affected the very power structure of the socio-political order, and then the conditioning of the mind over thousands of years cannot be done away in a day.

(In 1989) the main desire of the people was to dislodge the Congress which had become a symbol of corruption, which had distorted the symbol of democracy. It was an atmosphere like 1977 when Mr. Jai Prakash Narayan led the opposition. The basic point was that Jai Prakash also took support from every quarter including the BJP. So, I drew lessons from history, that was the way to dislodge the Congress. I also had the comfort that when the BJP walked out of the Janata Party, its membership in Parliament fell to two! So I thought that if it becomes aggressive communal, we can part ways and it will meet the same fate in future Anyway, now I have learnt better.

If we look to India's record its system has shown a lot of resilience and strength. Indian democracy has withstood wars, change of government, assassinations of its prime ministers, the oil shock, natural calamities of floods and droughts. So, there is a basic strength in its economic and political system as it has withstood all the possible laboratory tests that can be made on a nation's democracy. Certainly, India will make it.

Consider the decisions of the Supreme Court on communalism as well as social justice. The Supreme Court has clearly come out against communalism, but has fully endorsed the Mandal Commission. Would you consider the Supreme Court to be casteist? They were upper caste judges in it, and they delivered the judgement when I was not in power but when Narasimha Rao was in power.

Consider how it is in the US, which is an open democracy, they have affirmative action for the Blacks. About the past, there have always been things done not the right way from our assessment today. But does it mean that we again rehearse all the conflicts that have occurred in the centuries past. Is there not enough blood on the pages of history that we have to spill more?

I am not pessimistic about India's future, while there are many things to be angry about, but it is anger that is the hope also, because it provides the steam for change. So, I would visualize India having its place of respect in the comity of nations, and that can come only by making India   strong in various fields of economy, of diplomacy ad defense. Within the country, fraternal India which is not ridden by emotional divides, is my dream.

There is a time-window for the solution of the Kashmir issue. My assessment during my visit to Srinagar that the people there are totally fed up with violence. Two, while many of them are still alienated from India they are totally disillusioned with Pakistan on the ground that Pakistan will only use them as pawns. They have also realized that the Indian state is too powerful to be dislodged. Therefore, the Kashmir people and the sovereignty of India can be honorable solution, within the parameters of the dignity of arrived at.

 (Source: The 177777777, 13 September, 1996)