Downslide of the Janata and Rise of Congress (I)

The Janata government began with full popular support and high hopes, but cracks soon started showing with marked differences on ideological and political lines coming up. What is more, the concentration of some leaders on revenge against Indira Gandhi worked against the party and revived the Congress leader’s popularity. In combination these two factors worked towards the fall of the first non-Congress government at the Centre.

Futile Commissions Various commissions of inquiry were set up to look into alleged malpractices and wrong doing by Indira Gandhi and her son. The most famous of these was set up under the chairmanship of Justice J.C. Shah, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, to enquire into the atrocities and excesses of the Emergency. Most of the allegations, however, could not be proved, and few convictions could be obtained. The cases against Indira Gandhi could not be maintained as there was lack of evidence.

Belchi and Indira’s Masterstroke Then in May 1977, came the violence in Belchi, a village in Bihar: a group of

Harijans were burnt to death by a mob from the upper castes, allegedly over a dispute over land. It may be noted here that the social set-up in India was undergoing a transformation. There was a rise to prominence of the backward castes (who later came to be called the ‘other backward classes’) who had got rich in the wake of the Green Revolution and the White Revolution and bought land from the forward castes and had elected representatives to further their cause. Unfortunately, they also took this as a licence to act as they wanted. The Harijans worked on these lands, but they were at the receiving end of much abuse from the landlords. With the spread of education and scope for political representation, the younger among the Harijans, especially, were no longer ready to meekly accept the ill treatment handed out. They too gave a fight. There was thus a spurt in caste violence.

The Belchi incident was exploited to her own advantage by Indira Gandhi. She travelled to Belchi, the last bit on an elephant as there was no clear path on which to even walk to reach the village, and showed her sympathy for the affected people. Besides showing up the Janata government as callous to the poor and marginalised, Indira Gandhi’s action built up her own image as a friend of the poor and the Harijans even as her party members were made to realise that she was the leader to follow if power was to be regained.

Indira makes Gains Charan Singh’s single minded hounding of Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay worked in her favour. Indira Gandhi was arrested on some vague corruption charges and kept in police custody for a day, after which the magistrate released her, rejecting the charges as insubstantial. She was now very much back in the game, and made speeches critical of the government.

The Congress split once again in January 1978; the group led by Indira Gandhi becoming the Congress-I (for Indira). Her party won the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh state assembly elections, defeating the Janata Party as well as the rival Congress party. She herself contested elections from Chikmagalur in Karnataka and won a seat to the Lok Sabha. Now, a parliamentary committee reported on Indira Gandhi having misled the house on the Maruti enterprise, and the

house said she should go to jail. She was disqualified from her seat. However, she won again from Chikmagalur. Indira Gandhi was now seen as a victim of a witch hunt and her popularity grew.

Differences within the Janata Party and Fall of Morarji’s Government The Janata Party was in the meanwhile disintegrating, with growing factionalism and personal rivalries overshadowing the efforts at governance. The antagonism between Morarji Desai and Charan Singh, who was not satisfied with his second number position in the cabinet, grew to such an extent that Desai was forced to dismiss Charan Singh as well as Raj Narain from office in mid-1978. Charan Singh retaliated by organising a farmers’ protest march to Delhi in December 1978. In an effort to keep peace, Charan Singh was recalled to the cabinet by Desai in February 1979 and allotted the finance portfolio as well as the post of deputy prime ministership. Things, however, failed to move smoothly. The divide was getting deeper with two sides being formed: the Socialists siding with Charan Singh and the Jana Sangh with Desai. There was further the issue of ‘dual membership’ of the Jana Sangh members who maintained their ties with the RSS. They would not give up the membership of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) as they considered it to be merely a cultural entity. The Socialists and Charan Singh’s party walked out of the coalition reducing the government to a minority. Desperate bids to get support from the Congress factions did not succeed and the Morarji Desai government resigned in July 1979.