HVK Archives: 'Politics today is the law of the jungle' - Sikander Bakht
'Politics today is the law of the jungle' - Sikander Bakht - The Afternoon on Sunday
Ranjit Khomne
()
23 March 1997
Title : 'Politics today is the law of the jungle' - Sikander Bakht
Author : Ranjit Khomne
Publication : The Afternoon on Sunday
Date : March 23, 1997
Mr. Sikander Bakht has been made and unmade into many things by the
media. The reason: He is a prominent Muslim who places his die-hard
faith in the 'Hindu party' the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This,
to an outsider, may be surprising and even unusual but not to the
leaden "I am in the BJP by choice, not by compulsion," says the
79-year-young leader of opposition who speaks for, and defends the
BJP in the House of Elders.
Young, because, in a political scenario where chaos, anarchy and
destruction rule supreme to make oneself age prematurely, Mr. Bakht
has managed to remain youthful in more' than one ways. Maybe it is
because of his zeal for hockey that he played during his college
days or his love for Urdu poetry, which invites encore from the
Rajya Sabha members quite often.
"Meri nekiyaan khoon mein tarbatar; main harfesadakat magar
darbadar; main sadiyon se is tarah masloob hoon; merey saath jaise
khooda tak nahin (I tread the path of truth, but I am still
searching; I have been on the cross for centuries as if even God is
not with me)," muses the man whose life spans half a century of
active politics.
Politics is, however, not a play. field for the science graduate,
who, himself confesses, does not know anything about science. "I
was more interested in Urdu poetry and Indian classical music",
says the man who was among those who formed the BJP on April 6,
1980. Active social work with the Jamiat-ul-Uemae-Hind in the
pre-independence days assumed political significance when Mr. Bakht
joined the Indian National Congress (INC) only to quit it in 1969
(that year, the INC ceased to be what it was, he says).
A political battle with Mrs. Gandhi, siding with the Congress (Q)
which stood for organising democracy of the Congress, and later in
1974 teaming up with Jayaprakash Narain for the Save Democracy
Movement. That was a fast-forward flashback of his long innings in
politics. Post emergency, the Janata Party was formed in jails and
Mr. Bakht was one of the prominent members.
That also did not last long for him. The communists in JP raised
the question of dual membership, which Mr. Bakht says, was totally
against the very constitution of the Janata Party. "The communists
wanted to throw out the Jana Sangh constituents for which some of
us were not prepared. That led to the formation of the BJP".
If those were the turbulent days of Indian politics, today's are no
different. He minces no words, defining the politics of the day.
"It's chaotic. It is difficult to rind any rationale behind it".
Why? Does he think that the quality of parliamentarians is
decreasing by the day? "That's too tough a question", he pauses to
say, "it won't be fair to pass a sweeping judgement about all the
745 members in the two houses".
"There are people of all colours and shapes. Some with transparency
and credibility, some with either or neither of the two". He,
however, admits that the quality of debates has gone down over the
years. And, to him the increasing number of graduate MPs is an
enigma.
That, besides the zero hour is increasingly becoming a cipher hour,
and more often, instead of issues getting resolved, they get
dissolved quickly. The Lok Sabha speaker, Mr. P.A. Sangma is
already worried about the conduct of MPs, both inside and outside
the house and is contemplating setting up an Ethics Committee to
oversee the conduct of MPs outside the house.
Mr. Bakht tries to trace the causes of such degeneration. "Well,
three primary reasons. Firstly, there was a deliberate attempt to
scuttle the growth of second-rung leadership in the states.
Secondly, the so-called split in the Congress in 1969. I don't call
it 'split'. I say, the Congress which won us freedom was buried in
Bangalore and the seeds of immorality were sown in the politics of
India'.
That was when prime minister Indira Gandhi challenged her party's
constitution by defeating Dr. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, the official
Congress candidate for the presidential election, and getting Mr.
V.V. Giri elected. Mr. Bakht, who left the Congress after that,
feels that it was then that values took a plunge in Indian
politics. "That, however, was not all. Her emergency in 1975 was
the greatest assault on the democratic fabric of the country", Mr.
Bakht says.
"Practically, the BJP is the only party that has held
organisational elections every two years. Others have fixed or
nominated presidents. They split not in the name of principle, but
merely as per the whims and fancies of individuals. Result:
Today's politics is the law of the jungle," he declares.
Mercifully, jungle is not infested with the men-made poison of
caste and community and does not reek of criminals disguishing as
high-flying operators from every walk of life. Mr. Bakht concurs,
"True, today's ordinary votes is guided by the aberration of voting
on the basis of fragmentation of society in the name of caste and
religion".
He however, differentiates between corruption and criminalisation.
"See, the political leadership in India is being produced by the
country's two largest and prominent states, namely, Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar. UP, which has produce stalwarts, today throws up a
Phoolan Devi. Bihar, which gave us Rajendrababu and Jay Prakash
Narain, today claims jokers."
"Immorality breeds when the benchmark of politics based on morality
is lowered. Corruption is the most serious ailment for us today.
Politicians as a tribe. are in the dock. And surprisingly, nobody
speaks about bureaucratic corruption. If the people are disgusted
with the politicians, and they have every right to feel so".
And despite the United Front government's claims of utmost.
transparency in governance, Mr. Bakht finds no reason to appreciate
it. "The UF is an irrational creation. it was constituted as an act
of negativism against the BJP The 13 constituents have embraced
each other only to keep us at arm's length. Each contradicts the
other. They are anti-national because they are disrespectful of
the popular vote in favour of the BJP".
The defence of the BJP is not at all embarrassing for Mr. Bakht.
He declares that the party gained from its 13-day experiment at
Centre and cites the Lok Sabha victories in Chhindwara, Nagaur and
in the byelections.
"The question is who's secular and who is not. The UF which
comprises the CPM, claims to be secular. The communists in Kerala
have ruled in coalition with the Muslim League which is
historically known to be communal. The supreme court has itself
said that 'secularism has not yet been defined in India. It can't
be defined. It's better to leave it undefined."
Okay, how did he mentally react to the demolition of the Babri
mosque? "The question is wrong", he counters. Corrected: "How did
you feel when the Babri structure was demolished?" That's perfect
for him. "I would ask what exactly was demolished? Since 1949,
Ramalalla idols had been there, no Azaan was ever recited there. So
what was demolished was a temple,' he argues.
"And why were these people silent when the Somnath temple was built
after taking over Muslim kabrastan and a dilapidated Alamgiri
mosque and an active 'chabootaira' on which namaaz was being
offered? Nehru's cabinet passed a resolution to build the Somnath
temple and nobody objected. President Rajendra Prasad went for the
installation of the idols and nobody protested. Innumerable mosques
and dargahs were raised to ground while Jawaharlal Nehru was the
prime minister. Nobody said a word. Now suddenly, why so much
euphoria about the Ayodhya structure?'
He however, is reticent about his views on Kanshi and Mathura
sites. Does he consider them as Hindu shrines or are they Muslim
shrines? "See, I am not an expert on these matters. All I can say
is Kanshi and Mathura are not on our agenda. And I may mention
that Islam clearly says that a mosque cannot be built on an usurped
land".
Okay, how would he feel if an active mosque was demolished? 'I
respect all places of worship of all religions!" Another question:
"Are you happy to be in the BJP?" He declares, "Absolutely, I am
here with a very conscious mind." Well, did the saffron party ever
try to use the name of a prominent and capable Muslim leader like
him for political purpose? "What, no never, I have no regrets
about being in the BJP. I am a proud member". Next time, if you
are ever tempted, Mr. Sikander Bakht is not the person, I told
myself.
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