Prof. Pandu : Doctor! Have you seen the news from Lucknow - last week - a large crowd actually looted the bazars....

Advocate Ansari : Times are indeed very bad - disturbing - dirty. In Bombay too there was a violent clash between two sets of people. Arson too.

Doctor Damu : Yes! There seems to be scant respect for Law and Order. Surely a situation that cannot be tolerated. It all of course depends upon the capacity of those in power - they should see to it that order is maintained and the supremacy of law assured. That is why they are vested with power.

Advocate Ansari : That exactly was what the AICC President emphasised at the Tialk Ghat Meeting.

Prof. Pandu : Sir! I have read his speech with an amount of interest and respect it deserves and my view is, that the President was interested in attempting to damage the image of the DMK rather than discoursing on Law and Order.

Advocate Ansari : That of course is true. It was a down-right attack on the DMK .... just to damage the image of that party.

Prof. Pandu : And Sir! The damage to the portrait of the C.M. was accomplished with gusto earlier by the procession arranged for celebrating Independence. The Government has become inefficient, the police incapable - that is the verdict of the President...

Doctor Damu : .... Based on what factors, Sir? ....

Prof. Pandu : Who are we, Doctor, to question great men even while they indulge in fallacies? The President speaks - and the multitude should hear. 'Listen and learn - question not - for that would be disrespect to the President' - perhaps that is the dictum.

Doctor Damu : Sarcasm apart Professor! Please let us know what prompted the President to pass such a sweeping verdict - about the state of affairs here - while Naxalbari has shaken the very foundations of Law and Order - while the Shive Sena has let loose violence in a volume and velocity unbearable.

Prof. Pandu : Ah! You forget Doctor, that in those states it is not the DMK that is in power.

Advocate Ansari : Who is in power is not the criterion Professor! What are the measures taken by that Government to maintain Law and Order....

Prof. Pandu : Even before discussing that Mr.Advocate, should we not find out what exactly is meant by a break in Law and Order? If assaults or hooliganism, stone-throwing or street fighting are to be considered symptomatic of a break in Law and Order, no day passes without such dirty incidents. Not that I condone these incidents. Nor do I subscribe to the view that these are inevitable. My point is, if these places where these dirty affairs take place are to be classified as places where Law and Order has broken down, well, I can only say that these dirty incidents ....

Advocate Ansari : Sir, I would put it this way. One can say that Law and Order has broken when the Government there is over-powered by hooligans, or when the Government connives at it, condones it, or sits with folded hands unable to bring the culprits to book.

Prof. Pandu : That Mr.Ansari is a correct appraisal ....! No Government can escape this fundamental duty and if it does then it should abdicate its position. It was reported in the press that in Naxalbari, the police force found it very difficult to cope with the situation generated by violent mobs. There seems to have been almost a guerilla war. It is then that one talks about the break in Law and Order.

Advocate Ansari : Only where there is organised violence and defiance of law, widespread, continuous can one talk about a break in Law and Order.

Prof. Pandu : And yet, the President chose to chastise the DMK as incapable of maintaining Law and Order - and he was addressing a mammoth gathering - Law and the police force maintained complete Order - it was there and then that the President spoke in such a vein. One, strange to their method of propaganda and one who had no time to study the facts here would have come to the hasty conclusion that there is mob rule here, none is safe, properties are damaged and cruelty reigns supreme.

Doctor Damu : And what after all can be gained by such a talk?

Prof. Pandu : Why Sir! Does not our Constitution say, that whenever and wherever, Law and Order breaks down, the Centre should intervene, dismiss the Ministry and introduce the President's Rule?......

Advocate Ansari : I too was thinking about that. The Congress leaders seem to be banking their scheme - and it is to raise a hue and cry that Law and Order has broken - and it is time for the Centre to enter and take over power.

Doctor Damu : None in his senses would subscribe to this view. These men to talk about Law and Order is the funniest part of the political melodrama being enacted. Is our memory so short as to forget the chain of disturbances, riots and direct actions, followed by repression that was the order of the day during their regime?

Advocate Ansari : The Congress regime was marked by continuous troubles, agitations, riots and direct actions of a varied nature ..... and yet they raise their accusing finger against the DMK ...... Nothing but prejudice ...... this.

Prof. Pandu : Why rake up the past Mr.Ansari, we can as well cite the present. Are those states controlled by the Congress free from strife and riot, agitation and hooliganism, violence and blood shed? And did these stalwarts attribute this state of affairs to the incapacity of those holding power? No. They dare not! Vituperative propaganda has generated violence, and there is a Sena to conduct it. Shops are looted, huts burnt, men stabbed and open ultimatums given. Is this due to the incapacity of the ruling party there - the Congress Party? Will those who raised a thunder at the Marina, charge the Bombay Chief Minister with incapacity? They dare not! They dare not even state that there is no law and order in the State of Maharashtra. Why? Because they are not interested in the general problem of maintenance of Law and Order! They are interested in finding out ways and means of discrediting the DMK rule and invoke the President's rule, and ultimately Mid-term elections....

Advocate Ansari : And they have also charged the police as having become a tool in the hands of the DMK. Reputed for its efficiency the police force of our State has degenerated because of the DMK, says the President of the Congress.

Prof. Pandu : Mr. Ansari, if you but go through the back-number of any journal - say of last year or the year before last, you will find almost identical accusations raised against the then ruling party, the Congress.

Doctor Damu : And the Congress Party promptly repudiated all such accusations.

Advocate Ansari : More than that, when during the language agitation the Congress C.M. brought in the Military force to quell the riots, and maintain Law and Order, there was no talk about the Centre coming in or dismissing the Ministry for its inability to maintain Law and Order. And I may point out here, that one can with justification state that Law and Order has broken down, when the Government unable to cope with situation, commissions the Military force.

Doctor Damu : At least if there is any direct action of a virulent type, continuous and disturbing one can say that the Government of the day has not got a grip over Law and Order.

Prof. Pandu : That, Doctor, is a pertinent point. There was the Dock Workers Demands Day in Bombay, the other day. Massive demonstrations were held in front of the office of the Port Trust. Traffic was held up. The entire city was affected. Yet, nobody talked about either inefficiency or incapacity of those in power in Bombay. Why? That was exactly because, one, it is run by the Congress Party - and two, Hon'ble Mr.V.P.Naik, Chief Minister of Maharastra will not tolerate such a criticism coming from any quarter. He would have turned round and asked sternly, which State can be entirely free from such demonstrations and disturbances, and who is that Canute who can attempt of command the waves.
Advocate Ansari : And more than that these Congress leaders are not interested in unseating the Naik Ministry - it is Congress!

Prof. Pandu : Exactly! Thousands demonstrated in Bangalore against the Ministers there - as they were infuriated by the Minister's policy and attitude. Hundreds of them were arrested. The disturbance was of no mean dimension ..... And yet, no condemnation emanated from the Congress President ....

Advocate Ansari : No talk about break in Law and Order - no talk about the capacity or otherwise of those in power...

Prof. Pandu : Mr. Nijalingappa would not have allowed such strictures ..... he would quote voluminous instances to prove that in Tamil Nad under the Congress regime, there was rioting and repression...

Doctor Damu : But do they not realise - these Congress leaders - that the people will make a comparative study and then dismiss the charges as flimsy and born out of sheer prejudice .....

Prof. Pandu : In Saurashtra there was a virulent agitation over the question of Location of the University. Untoward incidents happened. The President of the Congress kept quiet. Not a day passes without a strike or a lock-out, demonstration or disturbance - one day it is the telephone people, one day it is the coalminers, the other day it is the postmen, in one place it is the teachers in another place it is the Airman, there was actually hungerstrike by some teachers before Mr. Desai's residence, ..... When all these incidents take place, none comes forward to pass strictures against the rulers .... Only here, do we hear the 'War drum' beaten by the Congress leaders. Even 'below-average' people can understand that a deep game is being played - a scheme planned - and that is, how to topple the DMK, in Tamil Nad.

Doctor Damu : I don't think that the Centre would succumb to such machinations, .....

Advocate Ansari : Nor do I think that the Centre is strong enough to pick up a quarrel.

Prof. Pandu : That, friends, is not the important point. The DMK as far as I know, is least worried by these tactics. We will remain as long as we are allowed to remain - and contribute our share for bettering the common man. If unable to tolerate our presence a the seat of power, Congressmen contrive to persuade the Centre to unseat us, Well, we bid good-bye, and go back to the people to report, and await their next verdict - that is the declaration they have made times without number.
Advocate Ansari : Mr.C.Subramaniam declares that the DMK is bankrupt of policy or programme and has not any brilliant record to show to the people.

Prof. Pandu : Mr. Subramaniam? Oh Yes! He is to become the new commander of the battalion! Widely travelled, Mr.C.S. is always known for his sharp intellect. Sharp, I said, not sound! I was told that he has raised this question over and over again - What has this DMK Government done, that is remarkable or revolutionary ... and the answer is I think simple and straight, and it is this, what is it that the Congress Governments in Andhra, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat have done - let him show that dazzling record - we shall then compare that with the record of the achievements of the DMK. He ought to have given a comparative picture..... In Maharashtra, Mr.C.S. ought to have thundered forth, if he could, in that State and under the Congress regime prices have come down, poverty has been driven out no day passes without a new factory coming up, it is all roses there, what have you got here in Tamil Nad ... dismal is your record, dreary your achievement. While we were in power deserts blossomed, but under your regime, earth is scorched, people starve, rivers dry up, the Sun refuses to rise and the moon to smile - Get out, you 'incapables' and let us in .....! - such ought to have been the talk .... is he not a doughty warrior - has he not withstood a barrage of criticism standing on the floor of the Parliament, during that Ameerchand Affair! I forget that a report is to be published - about this episode.

Advocate Ansari : Professor! Do you know, why the Congress leaders talk about a six months period...

Doctor Damu : What is this talk about six months period?

Prof. Pandu : Oh! That! Doctor! The Congress leaders stated that they would not opposes the Non-Congress Governments for six months.... Mr.Ansari is asking me, what is the significance of this time limit - Why six months? Why not three or nine .... The significance is not explicit Mr.Ansari, but I think that the Congress people are influenced by the story about Vikramaditya - it is said about him that he would rule in his domain for six months in a year, and the other six months he would reign in the Wilderness. Perhaps six months is the utmost limit for the Congress to be without power and position, beyond that, they perhaps think they cannot exist. The point is, they are terribly afraid about the time factor. The longer the DMK is in power, the stronger it becomes! They want to begin their assault right now, for they think that one year hence or two years hence, the DMK will become unassailable .....

Doctor Damu : One fact we should admit. It will be very very difficult for them to be without power having tasted it for twenty long years! Memories about yester-day, about those days when the 'chapprasi' was there with his 'salams', the elite with its. 'good-mornings', the Packard at the portico, and the plutocrat at the parlour, come with a gush; they heave a sigh and control their tears, look around them all bleak and cloudy - then apprehension oppresses them - one can understand their plight. What will be the mood? These fellows who have robbed us of our royalty, damn them, .... they ought to be driven out, bag and baggage ....

Advocate Ansari : You are right, Sir! Even at the time when the DMK had only the Madras Corporation in its hand, the Congress became furious - was not able to tolerate that situation ....

Prof. Pandu : And so launched a vituperative attack, unleashed allegations, assured their partymen that the DMK would be driven out.

Doctor Damu : But they did not succeed. The DMK announced that the Ripon buildings is to become the gateway for Fort St. George. And they carried out their assurance ....

Prof. Pandu : The DMK's record in that aspect is really remarkable. They would become the ruling party in 1967 - the Congress leaders ridiculed the very idea! These men, dream! Day dream! They are duping the unlettered who support them blindly. They are going to lose what little they have gained .... perhaps they would be washed out ... annihilated once for all.

Advocate Ansari : But that prophecy so loudly announced was proved to be false.

Prof. Pandu : I have only to slightly alter the proverb and say, Congress proposes but God disposes ....

Advocate Ansari : Having realised that their power of judgement about the future was proved to be wrong, should they not be more cautious at least the next time...

Prof. Pandu : No Sir! Like the gambler, they stake more and more.

Advocate Ansari : Ah! That reminds me Professor, that I should cut short the pleasure of your company and rush home to study certain papers connected with a case on hand, .... it is a gambling case ....

Prof. Pandu : Do not gamble with cases, Mr.Ansari .....

Doctor Damu : I know the case and in a way am connected with it ... You are Mr.Ansari referring to Sait Sunderlal.

Advocate Ansari : Yes! He, along with his friends were arrested .... charge is gambling ..... actually they were playing Rummy.

Prof. Pandu : I remember to have read some days ago that in one court it was held that Rummy too comes under the classification of gambling.

Doctor Damu : And because of that, Sait is terribly upset. He is having a slight blood pressure, and I happen to be in charge of him.

Prof. Pandu : Which means that you too have to start .... well, to one he is a client and to the other he is a patient .... poor man! Convey my sympathies to him ....

Advocate Ansari : Do you hear that Doctor! Always that sharp tongue.....

Doctor Damu : But Mr.Ansari how sweet is his company! How delicious his talk.... But we have to start, come on; and goodnight, Professor! goodnight.

(Home Rule - 27-8-1967)