Advocate Ansari : Professor! Have you seen the news
item about a marriage case in Bombay ..... the accused
was committed to the sessions.
Doctor Damu : I usually skip over the court news item
.... they are not much too important....
Prof. Pandu : That Sir, is an erroneous impression.
These items about the court proceedings are important
and interesting ..... that is why they are published
.... not all, you see .... but the most important of
them. Some are very instructive....
Advocate Ansari : Particularly this one, Doctor. This
concerns an young man and the fraudulent marriage he
contracted .... Well, I was simply furious when I read
about that....
Doctor Damu : You can as well narrate it, Mr. Ansari
..... I realise, the item has kindled your wrath ....
what is the fact.....?
Advocate Ansari : The usual thing at the beginning.
They were neighbours-the boy and the girl. And there
was the usual love making .... the girl as usual pined
for this boy... the mother of the girl had to consent
.... the bridegroom procured the services of the Registrar_the
marriage was registered...
Doctor Damu : So far it seems to be of the regular sort.
..-there was the registration .... as a sort of safety
measure I suppose ..... what then is the trouble.....?
Advocate Ansari : Why Sir! Can't you imagine? After
the first flush of happiness was over, this ungrateful
boy began to neglect the girl.
Doctor Damu : That is too bad .... and that makes one
ponder about the very theory of Love.
Advocate Ansari : The girl ought to have wept and pleaded
.... the boy finally announced that he has married another
girl ..... and what is more cruel .... this young man
stated that his marriage with this girl was not at all
valid....
Doctor Damu : You told me Sir? that the marriage was
registered.....
Advocate Ansari : Yes, it was registered - but the registrar
was not really a registrar. He brought one of his friends,
to act as the registrar, fraudulently.....
Doctor Damu : What an atrocity! And this foolish young
girl believed in that feller......
Advocate Ansari : Yes, Sir, she was in love, you see,
and so blind. The news came as a shock, and she filed
a suit against this young man.
Doctor Damu : Poor girl, the incident ought to have
broken her heart......
Advocate Ansari : Doctor! The incident took her very
life ... some time after filing the case this girl died
.... heart-broken we can well imagine. But this girl's
mother carried on the struggle and the magistrate committed
this man to the sessions - for this bogus marriage.
And what are you thinking about Professor? What is the
impression that you get, out of this incident....?
Prof. Pandu : Out of this incident Mr. Ansari? Well,
I realise that the mother of the girl had the fortune
to get the services of a good lawyer....
Advocate Ansari : Taunt apart, Professor! What do you
think about the whole incident........?
Prof. Pandu : Sir! This is part of the age-old tyranny
and duplicity carried on by fraudulent people. Our marriage
laws need reshaping .... I understand that in Kenya,
jurists and social reformers are attempting to bring
about radical change in the marriage system there. Polygamy
has been in existence for a long long time and now there
is such an awakening amongst the women-folk there that
they have risen in revolt against polygamy. New laws
are being drafted to do away with this system.
Doctor Damu : Girls are bought I am told, in certain
African countries...
Prof. Pandu : .... and hasty critics term it as a barbarous
custom .... forgetting that in our own country there
is the system of 'Vara Dakshina' and inspite of all
our tall talks about social reform, the evil persists.
Doctor Damu : True, True .... which goes to show that
evils cannot be annihilated by legislation .....! We
have seen for instance the grim tragedy .... I am referring
to the 'Varnish Death!' That tragedy proves only the
sad truth that evil cannot be annihilated by law. We
have prohibited the evil of drink by passing a law,
and yet the evil is there ..... ready to take its toll....
and coming stealthily.....
Advocate Ansari : One cannot but be shocked by that
tragedy. All of us are of course moved....
Doctor Damu : But not the people in power.... they refuse
to reconsider. No rethinking on the prohibition question,
they say....
Prof. Pandu : Do you mean to say Doctor, that prohibition
should be scrapped just because of the Varnish death?
It is neither logical nor humanitarian ... Those responsible
for prohibition never recommended varnish a substitute
for attack. If addicts turn to such poison, is that
the reason for scrapping prohibition? We should with
far more logic plead for the prohibition of varnish
manufacture... especially varnish with poisonous contents.
To urge for the scrapping of prohibition because of
the varnish death, would be as meaningless as asking
for closing down Tirupathi temple because of the death
of nearly twenty devotees due to stampede. Sir! Stampede
should be controlled and regulated; the remedy is not
in closing down Tirupathi temple.
Doctor Damu : That may be logic, Professor! I do not
deny the logic in your argument... but when such a colossal
tragedy has happened.....
Prof. Pandu : People are bound to rush to hasty conclusions
and seek remedies worse than the disease ....! but surely
as a seasoned Doctor, you won't allow that .... Why
an ex-Minister thundered forth, that the DMK Chief Minister
should forthwith resign ..... because of the varnish
death .....
Advocate Ansari : His reasoning Professor, was this
.... The DMK people, it seems demanded this ex-Minister's
resignation when there was a Railway Accident ... and
tit-for-tat he is now asking the DMK Chief Minister
to resign....?
Prof. Pandu : Sir! Did this ex-Minister yield at that
time, to the demand for resignation....?
Advocate Ansari : Of course, not. He did not resign....
Prof. Pandu : What moral right then has he got to demand
the resignation of the DMK Minister? None! Moreover
Sir, if I remember right, there was a fearful railway
disaster a couple of months ago. The Railway Minister
is of the Congress Party. Did that Minister resign?
No. Did this moralist with the righteous indignation
demand the resignation? No! Why?
Doctor Damu : A very pertinent question, Professor!
But the motive behind such a kind of speech is so patent,
that none would take it seriously. Petulant and peevish
.... that is the explanation for such talk.
Advocate Ansari : The Congress leaders, it is said are
slowly and steadily mounting up steam against the DMK
Ministry so as to create a hot atmosphere for them.
The Congress wants to inflame the people's mind, just
to cook up an opposition to the DMK Ministry.
Prof. Pandu : Sir! Apart from the tenability or otherwise
of their scheme of things, what is it that they hope
to get or gain by toppling the DMK ministry?
Advocate Ansari : Why .... if the DMK ministry is ousted
there would be fresh elections.... and then the Congress
could win... and form ministry.....
Prof. Pandu : Let us grant even that. Then, what? Will
the DMK, then sit with folded hands? Will it not then
raise up a storm from the opposite ranks? What then
would be the state of affairs?
Doctor Damu : That cannot be overlooked. A party capable
of capturing power if driven to the wall, will naturally
retain strength enough to fight back....
Prof. Pandu : Which means this Doctor! There will be
incessant fight on the political arena.... and no stability
at all. Not a state of affairs to be commended at all.
Sir! Democrats should give due respect to the verdict
of the people and allow Non-Congress Governments to
function for a full period..... and then place before
the public at the time of the general elections, a balance
sheet. That is civilised politics.....
Advocate Ansari : But that means, that for five long
years, the Congress should remain without power....
position .... glitter and glamour .....
Prof. Pandu : Sir! I would put it this way. The five
long years should be utilised for introspection, for
cleaning the stable, for building up cohesion in the
party, for constructive work.... not for digging tunnels
nor preparing explosives. Sir! I am certain of one fact,
the DMK will not lose an iota even if it is sent out
of power and position. The victory registered by the
DMK has established one salient truth, and that can
never be lost. The Congress leaders thought and made
the world to believe, that it is unassailable. Today
it stands, beaten and bruised, discarded and damaged.
And it needed that lesson very very much. And the people
have taught that lesson. None could challenge our might,
the Congress leaders declared, with dictatorial fan-fare.
And they stand today humbled. Strong enough lesson I
should say. And even if they come back to power, the
warning will be ringing in their ears, 'Remember 1967!'
Never again can that right royal air - that 'I am the
state' mentality, persist. It is dead, for ever-never
again to rise. Whatever achievements the DMK is going
to get, I do not know -but as a democrat I cannot forget
that the one big lasting and important lesson - the
humbling of the haughty is due to the DMK, and all democrats
should offer their thanks for that...
Doctor Damu : But Professor! Why this travel in the
land of fantasy....? Who believes in the threat of the
unseated .... the wounds are yet raw, the sword split,
steps faulty, the very sight is defective.... for this
warrior to brandish threats and planout schemes is a
sight amusing .... that is all.....!
Prof. Pandu : Doctor! You have given the correct diagnosis.
Nor am I accepting the fact that the Congress will topple
down the DMK from power! I was but arguing this fact
... even if the Congress succeeds in toppling the DMK,
things won't become rosy.
Advocate Ansari : Of course.... the position of the
Congress even at the Centre is not strong. They should
first safeguard their citadel before they attempt to
scale the walls of Fort St. George! I read in the papers
that Mr.Vajpayee M.P. stating, that at the Centre the
Congress will go the Bhopal way....
Prof. Pandu: That is a possibility and easier of achievement
than the scheme of the Congress to scuttle Non-Congress
ministries. But I am inclined to support Mr.Gurnam Singh's
view that without being assured of a stable alternative
government it will not be desirable or justifiable to
oust the Congress Government at the Centre.
Advocate Ansari : And the funniest part of this state
of affairs is the audacity commissioned by the Congress
leaders-some of them at any rate - in announcing and
giving false hopes to their followers that they are
ready with a blue print for toppling non-Congress government.
Doctor Damu : But do you mean to say that there should
be a political moratorium for the five years?
Prof. Pandu : No, Sir! None would advocate that. Intertia
of indifference or inactivity is not to be encouraged.
Even the ex-Chief Minister. Mr.M.Bakthavatsalam. is
under the erroneous impression that the C.M. of our
State wants such a moratorium. If I have understood
the C.M.correctly, I should say that he pleads only
for responsive co-operation wherever possible and responsible
criticism wherever necessary. It is only the vindictive
vendetta carried on by the Congress that he has objected
to. Knowing the mind of the DMK people to some extent,
I should say that they will not flinch to meet the challenge
of the Congress. In fact, such an attitude of the Congress
will only give the DMK, the much needed opportunity
to keep the drums beating. Usually the propaganda carried
on by a ruling party becomes dull and even dreary. If
the Congress party indulges in vituperation and vendetta,
the propaganda of the DMK, will naturally gather momentum,
vigour and pep.
Doctor Damu : That is true. Already the DMK is vigorously
propagating, the proposal for more powers for the States.
Prof. Pandu : And the vacillating policy of the Central
Government as regards the language question, is already
making the people gather around the DMK. If even the
resounding victory of the DMK registered at the polls
has not opened the eyes of the advocates of Hindi, then
hope for concord is bound to get dim and damped.
Advocate Ansari : And at the Independence Day Rallies
Congress leaders are going to be loud about National
Integration.
Prof. Pandu : Independence should not mean and make
one part of India to be in dependence to some other
part. The unity and integration of India depends to
a very large extent on how the Centre handles the Hindi
problem. As somebody has stated very correctly there
can be a United, Indivisible, Strong India but never
Hindia!
Doctor Damu : And a true patriot will choose India in
preference to Hindia...
Prof. Pandu : It is statesmanship to give up the idea
of Hindia for the sake of maintaining the unity of India...
Doctor Damu : It is so simple and yet some of the Congress
leaders refuse to realise this simple truth.
Prof. Pandu : Not because of their ignorance or inability,
but due to their wrong notion that by supporting Hindi
they could get the 'big stick' to beat the DMK down.
The Congress people of our State are not devotees of
Hindi, but they want to parade as advocates of Hindi,
just to get a pat and patronage from the Centre and
the powerful Hindi block in the Congress so that they
can get power and position....
Doctor Damu : To my mind it appears that the urgent
necessity today, the first problem today is to devise
ways and means of making the common man, the average
man happy and contented.... Hunger and poverty should
be hounded out. The average man ought to be amazed at
the urgency shown to enthroning Hindi as the official
language.
Prof. Pandu : He, the average man would be wondering
equally about the continuednegligence shown by the rulers
for the past twenty years.
Doctor Damu : Even the most uncharitable critic could
say that there has been no progress at all under the
Congress regime. Professor! I don't think that you will
refute the claim of the Congress.
Prof. Pandu : Sir! I am not blinded by prejudice nor
puffed up with party passion, so I do not refute the
claim of the Congress. But, Sir, one should measure
the progress achieved with a well-known yard stick.
What are the materials placed at the disposal of the
Congress and did we get the maximum out of this? - that
is the question, basic and fundamental. No Government
had been given so much of opportunity to achieve progress,
as the Congress Government was given. And the question
is, whether the dividend paid is adequate and commensurate
with the capital put in. Whoever thought Sir, that twenty
thousand crores would be at the disposal of the Government
of India - for developmental purposes? Was there any
period in the history of our country when help came
from the four corners of the world in such an abundant
volume as during these twenty years? Was there any ruler
in India, to whom such colossal sum was given by the
people by way of taxes as during the Congress rule?
And did we get adequate returns from this massive finance
procured? That is the question. And the answer is, that
the achievement registered falls far short of expectations
and the amount of money invested is very low. None should
forget this fact and none could refute this fact.
Doctor Damu : That may be the opinion of experts and
critics, but the view of the masses is one of gratification.
Prof. Pandu : Sir! You are wrong. Public opinion is
shaped and reflected by the newspapers and they testity
to the fall of the Congress. The Financial Express writes,
"The present state of the country reminds one of
the Moghul empire after the death of Aurangazeeb. The
twelve musketeers could not keep themselves together
to achieve the common objective; the musketeers of the
cracking Congress empire are playing the same role today,
All voices are being raised to ask, where do we go from
here? No voice is heard to provide the answer!"
Doctor Damu : That is a rather scathing criticism...
a bit pessimistic I am inclined to think...
Prof. Pandu : Sir! One should be optimistic, I admit
- but that does not and should not mean to become blind
to realities. And the real state of affairs today is
not far different from the portrayal offered by the
Financial Express! The lot of the average man has not
been bettered. That is the verdict given by the fourth
estate and the thinking section of the Congress are
apprehensive of this verdict.
Advocate Ansari : But, the Congress leaders are not
at all apprehensive about the average man.... they still
hope to delude him by showing charts and quoting figures.
Prof. Pandu : Even that does not help the Congress party.
Their own statistics speak, not about their brilliant
achievements but their failures. But the average man
is a type by himself. Somebody has given a picturesque
description of the average man. He seems incredible
but represents two-thirds of mankind. He lives in a
hut. He cannot read or write. His energy is sapped by
disease. He labours up to fifteen hours a day. He works
on land he does not own. He and his family are usually
hungry. He will die young. But he still has hopes for
his children; that they will be able to read and write,
will earn a good living, will know individual freedom
in a peaceful world. This is the world's Average man.
Doctor Damu : That is a remarkably correct picture Professor,
of the average man .... And he has the first right and
the prime right to demand attention from any government.
Prof. Pandu : And it was Gandhiji's objective to raise
up the level of the average man, to make his life worth
living...
Advocate Ansari : And he wanted the Congress to look
after the common man....
Prof. Pandu : That the Congress has not carried out
the Mahatma's mandate none can refute. As a matter of
fact, when some reporter approached Khan Abdur Gaffar
Khan, the Frontier Gandhi as he is endearingly called,
he had no hesitation to point out the truth. Of course
it was with remorse, not with glee, that that Grand
old man made that statement. The Congress was defeated
at the polls, says the Frontier Gandhi, just because
that party did not keep up the promises given to the
poor. There was a woeful betrayal as we all know. Khan
Abdur Gaffar Khan has pointed this out, as the main
reason for the failure of the Congress at the polls.
Doctor Damu : If only that party realises and accepts
this cardinal truth, the future can become hopeful and
bright.
Prof. Pandu : No, Sir! The Congress leaders are in no
mood for introspection. Instead they are vigorous in
their advocacy of vituperation and vendetta... they
are unable to tolerate the position to which they have
been thrown, and Independence Day parades and speeches,
exhibit clearly their thirst for power, and their hunger
for position.
Advocate Ansari : Hunger, is a troublesome mood Professor!
As a matter of fact, I for the past few minutes was
struggling with hunger...
Prof. Pandu : And I offer you Sir, a delicious plate
of pulav and a cup of hot tea, if you are gracious enough
to accompany me to my residence. My new cook is an ex-cook
at the Exel Restaurant.
Doctor Damu : And Professor! I need no special invitation
for the treat. Aha! That is the horn of my car I am
sure... Shall we then start.... pulav hot is pulav sweet.....
(Home Rule - 20-8-1967)