Mechanical approach

B G Verghese, as editor of the Hindustan Times in the 1970s, described the socio-economic situation in the country two decades after Independence as "two Indias," India and Bharat. His objective was to evolve, through exchange of views, the means of bridging the multi-layered gap between India and Bharat, respectively the elite and aam admi. Somewhat similarly, the theme of this attractively produced and breezily written book by Patwant Singh is "second partition" or repetition, sixty years after the formation of Pakistan, of the traumatic experience of August 14-15, 1947. The reason: "fault-lines in India's democracy." Beyond that the text is more descriptive, with a massive array of data, than prescriptive in the sense of homing in on solution to the ills highlighted by him. He says that "if the two Indias""meaning the remnants of post second partition""are to be integrated into one strong, unified nation, the time to act is now". How? Can the fault-lines be bridged?

Patwant Singh treats the two "partitions" differently, both qualitatively and in content. In the case of the "first partition" he dwells only on the tragedy and its horrendous aftermath in terms of loss of lives and sufferings of the survivors, in a kind of retrospective of what veterans like Khushwant Singh and Yusuf Meherally had described in their soul-churning accounts. A passing reference to the Muslim League as the party "which pressed for partition" while recalling Maulana Azad's "moderating influence in the midst of mass hysteria" sums up the author's peek at the first partition. There is no such reserve in dealing with the "second partition," apparently because it is his baby and the "fault-lines in India's democracy", crying for attention, cannot be shoved under the carpet.

The demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, the "mass killing of Muslims across the entire Gujarat State (2002)," and the "horrendous burning alive of Pastor Graham Stuart Staines and his two sons" in Orissa in 1999 are mentioned as "images which represent the moment" to crucify the BJP. More explicitly is recalled "historian Gyanendra Pandey's image of an uncouth Murli Manohar Joshi, clenched fist raised in egotistical salute". Apparently, these are the "fault lines in India's democracy", which the author is concerned about.

The opening chapter, "Liberty and Its Aftermath", highlights the efforts of India's first Prime Minister to develop agriculture on modern lines by ushering in what is called the Green Revolution. (Incidentally, "liberty" is an inappropriate synonym for independence, especially of a country or a nation. Nehru preferred freedom to "independence" because it would not jell with his vision of an interdependent international system. Be that as it may.)

In that connection, irrigation projects, called dams by the author, naturally have pride of place. Among them, he lists the Tehri, Kishu and Bhakra, in that order, besides Parambikulam in Kerala, transplanted straightaway from the Internet "as among the world's top ten". In the process, the Damodar Valley Scheme on the Damodar, now flowing through Jharkhand, as well as Dr K L Rao's brainchild, Nagarjunsagar on the Tungabhadra, cheek by jowl with the historic Hampi, a heritage site, go by default. The Hirakud Dam in Orissa, which its architect, Dr A N Khosla, had envisaged as a giant version of the more famous Tennese Valley Project in the US is also given the go by.

The Tehri project in Uttarakhand, on the other hand, is located in the Central Himalayan Seismic Gap, a major geological fault zone, many times more hazardous than "fault-lines". Started in 1978, it has been limping, with its first power unit slated to go on stream a few months ago. The 1991 earthquake epicentred just fifty kilometres away from the dam caused jitters in the area.

More strikingly, while the first chapter lauds Nehru's foresight in accenting on agriculture, irrigation and water supply by going in for giant hydro-electric projects, undeterred by the millions displaced by the reservoirs, in the very next chapter, the author faults the Supreme Court's lack of concern for people who would be displaced by the completion of the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada. In short, the book bristles with a mechanical approach to the "fault-lines" in India's democracy.

THE SECOND PARTITION FAULT-LINES IN
INDIA'S DEMOCRACY

Patwant Singh
Hay House India
Pages: 318