Communists Controlling Shimla Are All From Elite Schools
Saeed
Naqvi
The takeover of the country’s oldest Municipality in Shimla by young members of the CPM as Mayor and Deputy Mayor is a piece of history I witnessed by the sheer accident of being present in the celebrated Hill Station.
Most north Indian hill stations – Shimla, Naini Tal, Ranikhet, Mussoorie – have fallen from grace because of burgeoning populations.
Therefore,
our expectations were low when we accepted friends’ invitation to escape the
torrid heat of the plains to take refuge in their 100 year old
cottage-bungalow, not far from the Shimla Railway station, itself one of the
world’s wonders.
It was a
surprisingly pleasant experience for several reasons. First, the road to Shimla
is a six lane highway, like the New Jersey Turnpike, with clever deviations
which by pass Kalka. A drive to no other hill station could be more convenient.
Contrary to
the impression I had, the Mall is free of cars, except for the absolutely
essential ones. It is the cleanest space for pedestrians. Apparently there is a
fine of Rs.500 for spitting and sterner punishment for carrying or scattering
polythene bags.
The restored
Gaiety theatre resembles the finest of theatres in London’s West End, something
the National School of Drama should take an interest in.
It is quite
creditable that local Communists do not claim Shimla’s many improvements as
their achievement. They give the credit where it is due – primarily with the
administration of Yashwant Singh Parmar from 1963 to 1977 and Virbhadra Singh
through four stints as Chief Minister intermittently from 1983 to 2004.
Indeed, it is
the enlightened social base left behind by the earlier leadership that has
created a secular platform on which the Left offers itself as an alternative to
the quarrelsome Congress and the BJP.
It might
please the Malabar Hill – Maharani Bagh bourgeoisie that the seven member state
committee of the CPM are all public school alumni. The Secretary of the party,
Rakesh Singha, passed out from one of the country’s oldest Public Schools,
Lawrence School, Sanawar, founded in 1847. In other words it preceded Shimla’s
elevation as the summer capital of the viceroys from 1864.
Mayor Sanjay
Chauhan studied in St. Edwards and Bishop Cotton School. Deputy Mayor Tikender
Singh Panwar is not only from Bishop Cotton School but also of Princely stock,
against whom communists of earlier generations waged extended “class wars”.
These
communists have not sprouted overnight. The solitary University in Shimla and
six other colleges in the city have been in the grip of Students Federation of
India (SFI) for decades.
A simple
reason for the Congress defeat recently is the division in the Congress at New
Delhi. Virbhadra Singh, four times Chief Minister, is not comfortable with
Vidya Stokes, Kaul Singh and Anand Sharma who derive their power from Sonia
Gandhi. If Virbhadra Singh finds himself ignored by the Congress High Command,
he may break away and join hands with the Left and dissident elements in the
BJP. This trio may well win the coming state elections in October.
In many ways,
Himachal Pradesh resembles Kerala in its socio-economic structure. The
enlightened Princely rulers of Travancore and Cochin, left behind an efficient
administrative infrastructure.
Communism and
the Christian missionary school system laid the foundation of a joint, formal
as well as political education. Complete literacy in Kerala is matched by
universal literacy in Himachal Pradesh. Like Kerala’s Rajas, Himachal Pradesh
had 30 small “rajwaras” or principalities with as many State People’s movements,
primarily anti feudal, but, with Congress support, anti colonialist too.
Here was an
irony. While State Peoples Conference had an anti colonial edge, it also sought
facilities, the British had begun to provide in Shimla. This explains the countless
Public Schools (in the British framework public school was a term for expensive
private schools) which has begun to churn out the current crop of communists.
“What is
helping the CPM are the application of neo-liberal reforms on civic bodies”,
says Singha. For instance, the Irrigation Department provides 3.7 crore litres
of water for distribution in water starved Shimla of which 60% is lost in
leakages. The CPM has launched a mass mobilization drive to conserve water and
it is working. Outsourcing of water will cost Rs.40.00 per thousand litres as
against Rs.8.00 today. Outsourcing brings in the exploitative contractor. In a
secular framework, the public organizations then begin to talk to the Left. So,
if you wish to arrest CPM’s growth, sow seeds of communalism!
#
#
#
#
#
#
No comments:
Post a Comment