Obit: Son of a 'socialist' , A M Gokhale served Nagaland as a catalyst of development
He disliked red-tapism of Delhi babus and often would say: "New Delhi often tends to be Aurangzeb's Delhi".
New Delhi: The media-friendly phrase 'catalyst of development' was not abundantly in use in Nagaland journalism those days. But for a Dimapur-based publication - March 16, 1995 - I had penned an article titled 'Man who means Development'. It was on A M Gokhale.
Former Nagaland chief secretary, Achyut Madhav Gokhale passed away on Sunday (April 18) due to Covid-19 in Pune in his home state Maharashtra. He was 75. Truly, he leaves behind a rich legacy of a sincere and functional bureaucracy, who could play the role of a catalyst of development in Nagaland.
I interacted with him closely in the 1990s during President's Rule under the then Governor Loknath Mishra and later during the tenure of Chief Minister S C Jamir.
The architect of highly successful schemes, the Nagaland Empowerment of People through Economic Development (NEPED) and Village Development Board (VDB), he used to often complain more about the babudom than the political class.
Someone who understood the local sentiment of Nagas very well, in course of an interview, he had told me: "Nagas feel hurt when they see the imperious attitude of government officials and others in Delhi....So, I say, New Delhi often tends to be Aurangzeb's Delhi".
A bureaucrat who always loved to try innovative development schemes both at the national and state level was awarded Padma Shri in 1990 for his pioneering roles in launching of the Village Development Boards in Nagaland and also for his role in introducing a national-level employment guarantee scheme, the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana.
"I am not a blind follower of Shivaji, but I never like the way New Delhi's bureaucracy functions at times," he had said trying to justify his remarks about Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. "Babus should not behave like that," he had said.
It is altogether a different chapter that Gokhale had his grievances against Aurangzeb too. "Of course, he had arrested my hero Shivaji," Gokhale sahab would often used to say in a lighter vein.
At the same breadth, I reproduce from a newspaper article (written by me for the Dimapur-based daily), Gokhale sahab had said - "One good thing with the poor politician is that they listen and also agree to your reasoning. My only complaint is against my colleagues. We have failed to encourage people. We have not learnt to say Shabash to the villagers".
Late Gokhale sahab was also "credited" for the introduction of the Compact Area Development Scheme (CADS) under which funds are provided to the state legislators for developmental works in respective constituencies.
This scheme was introduced in Nagaland during the tenure of Late Chief Minister Vamuzo. Now, even MPs have this scheme at the national level.
The regional politician Vamuzo stole all the limelight for the launch of the CADS. However, a Congress politician Shikiho Sema, now deceased, used to mock : "Mr Vamuzo is taking all the credit; but the idea came from his friend A M Gokhale".
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| Vamuzo and blogger |
Later on Gokhale confessed he was often identified with 'regional and non-Congress politicians' because of his socialist background "from my father's side".
To sum up, I would recall Late Gokhale as a man who lived by himself most often in silence. Of course, he was an expert with a sharp analytical mind especially on economic and agricultural related issues; and most importantly, he had sincerity.
Bengal renaissance time or heading to get a Quixotic mandate
There is a big wish list from elections 2021 in Bengal. It is this quest that might actually throw up 'different numbers' and the table would be turned against negativity and the state would march ahead.
Does West Bengal need to be 'reborn' ?
It is not enough to ring the bell.
It is more important to ensure that people hear it.
Electoral politics can often turn out to be a historical accident. All eyes are on May 2 vote count and the outcome in West Bengal.
Obviously there is much more to the West Bengal elections of 2021 than what would happen to Mamata Banerjee or the Trinamool Congress or the BJP in the state.
The enthusiastic among BJP leaders is eyeing a big win and prove the Left-liberal and intellectual pundits both in Delhi and in Kolkata wrong; on the other hand the Mamata camp is insisting that they would eke out a victory and return to power.
Most surveys have given Trinamool Congress a clear edge and yet there have been more often display or nervousness by the Mamata camp while the BJP leaders have always exuded confidence.
Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed good show by the saffron party in first four-five rounds and stated that these have irked Trinamool supremo and cadres alike. For BJP, Home Minister Amit Shah has claimed that the party would win 200 plus seats in 294-member assembly and even Suvendu Adhikari himself claimed that he has able to humble Mamata Banerjee at Nandigram, one time an epi centre of anti-Left protest. This had finally helped Mamata stormed to power in 2011.
Today, the Left and Congress parties are marginalised and the BJP is certainly expected to increase seats in a big way.
Mamata has betrayed frustration time and again and has directed her tirade against the Election Commission and even threatened to move the Supreme Court.
People's expectations from this year's elections are immense as people have suffered enough. The chaotic administration guided chiefly 'Muslim appeasement', corruption and chaotic lawlessness in multiple forms have otherwise put Trinamool on back foot and people frustrated.
From jobs to 'justice' for 'marginalised' Hindu caste groups to bridges and solution to problems of Gorkhas in Darjeeling hills, - the wish list is pretty long.
A culture of political violence and 'hatred' among foot soldiers can sap the state of 'unity of purpose', and this has harmed the state.
"For 45 years, the state of Bengal has been fighting against Delhi....Did it help us", apt came a question from actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty.
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| Terrorism linked to borders, 'Bangladeshis' |
Some problems of the state are legacy of Left regime. BJP leader and a candidate in 2021 polls, Swapan Dasgupta says, "Analysing Trinamool Congress's electoral graph and governance in the state must look into the fact that while she could unseat the Left, at the same time she turned more Left than the Left".
Thus, Muslim appeasement - a trump card of communists in Bengal - became Mamata's forte.
There are stories about lawlessness, political violence in the state. In mid-1990s, leading western magazine 'The Economist' did a story under title 'Rascals Rule' and in which it was pointed out that a umber of politicians with criminal record 'appeared' in wanted list of the police and also were more often wooed by different political parties.
Post May 2 - whichever government is sworn in, the people of Bengal would like to see that such polity is immersed in the river Ganges at the earliest.
West Bengal has been also 'carrying the curse' of a vast army of refugees - now for generations. This issue became further complicated as both the Left and Trinamool regimes more often allegedly 'encouraged' Muslim infiltrators to settle down. In the past, Mamata Banerjee has herself raised these issues even in Parliament.
An issue that would look for immediate attention once new government takes charge is to understand that the new administration should look at Bengal also as a 'border state'. This has serious implication in national security and this aspect has not been understood and appreciated much.
Most surveys have showed that there are 90 to 110 seats where the vote difference margin between the BJP and Trinamool Congress would be possibly "very thin".
Thus, pollsters and even commoner have been telling in the run up to the polls that even an error of fluctuation of votes between 1.5 and 2 (two) percent could actually tilt the balance in anyone's favour.
Hence, Mamata's apprehensions are not out of place.
The voters in West Bengal also faced peculiar problems - some of them are hardly similar in other states. Poor people have issues of hunger and jobs; but this joblessness (even among educated middle class) have taken them outside the state. However, there is a complexity as North Indian migrants - UP and Bihar - have been 'hated' outside their states often in a place like Mumbai; the Bengali migrant workforce has settled down easily.
In fact, some conditions in Gujarat and Mumbai enthused Bengali migrant workforce so much that even "sent on punishment posting" from Kolkata to Ahmedabad or Pune, they have later decided to make these places their 'permanent homes'.
Bengal's renaissance is also linked to these sections - who ca be better put in bracket vis-a-vis the phrase 'brain-drain'.
It is possible that democracy back home in a tiny village in Cooch Behar district or in dusty town of Asansol can actually become 'degraded' if real local talent move outside and hooligans and goons are left to be exploited by political 'Dadas'.
This is something people of West Bengal associate democracy or politics with guns and goons and when there is eagerness of 'gold or money' - there is either 'Tolabazi (extortion)' or Saradha chit fund scams.
It is not without good reason that a retired university teacher in Siliguri says, "The Britishers and neo-rich after independence might have made Biharis landless workers and coolies in railway stations across the country; the Left and the Left legacy have made thousands of Bengalis Pravasis (non residents) and forced them to settle either in Pune, Delhi, Bhopal and Ahmedabad and Chennai".
On these fronts also, 'renaissance' is expected and either it is Dilip Ghosh or anyone else - the task would be hugely challenging.
It is a conviction of many today that West Bengal has been paying a high price for its electoral politics.
ends
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