PRICE 30 PAISE

-The Slippery Price Line. Krishna Leela In OrissaI

Show At Marlborough House. In China-The OldAnd The Ricer. The Economics Of The Vietnam

I

• Paddy And P. C. Sen • Utpal Dutt's Latest

". l.OII)

Following close on the first shipment to Czecho-slovakia, this repeat order proves that LEX iswining staunch friends abroad-just as it isdoing at home-with its inimitable taste that's"just right".

It is this universal appeal that is making recordsales for LEX in many parts of the country-so much so that demand sometimes outstripssupply.

SPECIAL VIRGINIA

~ ~'

Ib~X~

DIRTY SOAPABOUT three or four units produce the bulk of the toilet and wash-

ing soaps manufactured in this country. They constitute a tightly-knit oligopoly, determining both the level of production and the ex-factory and retail prices for the different items. At least in some of theseunits, foreigners hold 'a substantial portion of the total equity. Makingsoap is a fantastically paying proposition in India, as is illustrated bythe rate of dividend paid out by these concerns. Not once in the lastfifteen years has the dividend on equity for any of the soap-manufacturingunits dipped below 15 per cent; rather, the 'norm' has been 20 per centand above. Little wonder that in published annual reviews of perform-ance by individual firms in the organised industrial sector, year after yearseveral of the soap concerns have received laurels for showing the highestrate of return on invested capital. Success provides assurance, and chair-men or managing directors of such concerns have gone about the countrylecturing to all and sundry, Ministers and members of the Planning Com-mission induded, on how to raise the rate of'return through introductionof sophisticated management devices. Efficiency breeds profit, the 'wizards'of the soap industry have pontificated.

Mae West had candour, and she could confess that goodness hadnothing to do with her success. Soap ·tycoons have gone to other schools,and would be unwilling to admit that it is not any abstract efficiency,but the simple process of fleecing the consumers in a. captive market,which has been yielding 'them' their bulging profits. In the week follow-ing the devaluation in June, several soap manufacturers took space outin the leading newspapers to announce, with much ersatz solemnity,that they 'have decided to peg soap prices a~ the pre-devaluation levels,and the public must help to hold the price line by refusing to pay moreto the retailers. But between June and September intervened the long-drawn summer, and the follies of yester-months must not be allowed tovitiate the profit-promoting decisions of today: that, to be blunt, wouldhardly be efficient management. Besides, the cue has been provided bythe Prime Mihister herself. In her broadcast to the nation on Septem-

. ber 4, she went to great lengths to distinguish the price rise followingdevaluation from the price rise a~ a result of devaluation. After suchsophistry, where is the inhibition? Laying the blame on 'an absoluteshortage of imported raw ~aterials', the leading manufacturers have nowannounced a 10 per cent increase in the price of toilet, laundry and barsoaps.

Whom do they think they are fooling? Nothing of substance hashappened between June and now to alter the state of shortage of suchimported raw materials as tallow; if holding the price line was notcausing any strain three months ago, it should not cause any objectivestrain today either. The manufacturers have tried to suggest that substi-tutes for scarce tallow, such as extractions from groundnut oil or palmoil, cost very much more. But the f~ct is that a sharp set-back, amount-ing to a virtual collapse, in ready groundnut and oil prices has been themain feature of thlt pattern of trading in the oilseeds market in recent

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EDITOR: SAMAR SEN. PRINTED BYHIM AT MODERN INDIA PRESS,7 RAJA SUBODH Mt;·LI.ICK SQUAR>:.CALCUTTA-I3 AND PUBLISHED BY HIMFOR NATION TRUST FROM 54 GANESH

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On Other PagesCOMMENTS 4

REGIONAL LANGUAGESBy A CORRESPONDENT 6

CALCUTTA DIARYJ. MOHAN 14

THE PRESSBELATED WISDOM 16

THE PLAY'S THE THINGBy A DRAMA CRITIC .. 19

TRAVESTYING T AGOREBy A DRAMA CRITIC 19

BOOK REVIEW 20LETTERS 20

DELHI LETTERWHIRL OF DISSIPATION?

FROM A POLITICALCORRESPONDENT 12

THE TASTE OF POWERFROM A CORRESPONDENT 13

HEY-DAY IN THEUNITED STATES?

O. PRAKASH 7WATER-BUT NOT

EVERYWHEREFROM A CORRESPONDENT 9

COMMENTARYPGjLITICAL GOODy-GOODYISM

OUTSIDFR 10

Vol. 2: No. 48:: Sept. 16, 1966

weeks. More steep falls are nowanticipat~d on account of re~ewe~reports of a bumper crop, the ImmI-nent arrival of substantial soyabeanimports from the USA under PL480,and the expectation of an early re-laxation of the curbs on inter-Statemovement of oilseeds.

If the soap tycoons had waiteda few weeks; the only argu- .able ground for hiking prices wouldhave crumbled under them, which isperhaps why Lhey had to rush withthe announcement. It is sheer gallon their part to hint that the alterna-tive to the price increase 'was to layoff workers'. Even if one assumesfor a moment that the cost of mate-rials has gone up, there was one clea~alternative to the price rise-themanufacturers could have absorbedthe additional cost, and taken a cutin their profit margin.

That, however, would have beenneither fair nor socialism. Any en-croachment on the rate of return forthe private sector must not be con-doned. The Government thereforebenignly looks on, and overnightsoaps cost 10 per cent more. Thisofficial magnanimity will' of coursedisappear the moment factoryworkers or poor-paid office employeesask for a 10 per cent rise in wagesto compensate the rise in the cost ofliving following devaluation. Someof us may be searching in vain obs-cure legal clauses· to sue the soapmanufacturers for false advertis-ing, but meanwhile Mrs IndiraGandhj, with energetic assistancefrom Messrs Patil and Nanda andP. C. Sen, will be telling the poorworkers in no uncertain term' whereto get off. After all, it is the socialobligation of the poor to experienceprogressive immiserisation, just as itis of the industrialists to sustaintheir rate of profit. It would be asin to upset this apple cart of naturaljustice.

Puppet Play

The future of the Tripathy Min-istry in Orissa can at the momentonly be a matter of inspired spe-culation. On Sunday night MrKamaraj firmly repeated that MrTripathy's colleagues must first. with-draw their resignations before theirgrievances could be considered. Healso seemed hopeful that they wouldfollow this directive. Whether the

4

NOW

optimIsm was warranted is unlikelyto be known until Mr Biju Patnaikhas had time for a tactical reviewwith his friends in Orissa. At hismeeting with the Congress President,he is reported to have said that hehad nothing to do with the Minis-terial crisis in the State, nor did heintend to be Chief Minister. Thelatt.er may well be true; in recentweeks Mr Patnaik has done little toconceal the fact that Orissa is hardlylarge or important enough to con-tain his political ambitions. MrKamaraj's anxiety to see him instal-led as Chief Minister even before thegeneral erections might have hadsome shrewd political motivation,but Mr Pat.naik declined the offer onan eminently reasonable plea; at thesame time, he thought it worth hiswhile to accept the Congress Presi-dent's suggestion that he should takeoverall charge of Congress politics inthe State before and during the elec-tions. He must remain king-makerin his native State, which after allwould be the base for his war of im-perial conquest.

There would have been no troubleif Mr Patnaik himself wanted to be-come Chief Minister; none in Orissacould have stood in his way. Norwould there have been any troubleif he did not care who became ChiefMinister in a Cong~ess Government.But it is apparently important tohim that the State Government owescomplete allegiance to him, whichmeans that it must be a Government

. of his own men. That is where thetrouble arises. For some time MrTripathy has been behaving in arather . embarrassing manner; theot.her day he resigned from theKalinga Trust whose financial originshave been the subject of some un-savoury rumour. He was reported tohave had talks with Mr NabakrushnaChaudhuri. And, the cheek of it, hemade the suggestion that. his "old-fashioned ideas about administrativeproprieties and political fairplay"were not popular with infl~entialmembers of the Congress party in theState.

Mr Patnaik maintains that he didnot advise Mr Tripathy to keep him-self "in readiness to resign", that hewas in no way responsible for thedevelopments in the State. It is theresigning Ministers who are not res-ponsible for their act.ion; they afterall are marionettes worked by stringspulled by a hand which is not even

quite invisible. "No one everderstood Sri Srikrishna's Leela,"Mr Patnaik remarked in his Jmashtami day letter to Mr T.ripaA puppet pla~ is an appropnatedium to depict the lee la, an~Patnaik might as well fancy hlI?as Lord Krishna in his own poiluleela; he pulls the strings. Butmetaphor should end there.. Ab.Srikrishna's leda, Mr Patnalk sal"Perhaps all that is happening isthe good of the Orissa .Co~?ress Paand the people of Onssa. Weonly see Mr Patnaik's own leela aare not so hopeful about its outco

The Unquiet ClubAt the time of going to press,

simply do not know what the evtual inevitable, Commonwealth comu~ique may contain. That .. piof verbiage will in all probabilityou t before this issue of Now reacits readers. Comment on some otaspects of the. Com~onwealth ispossible and Immediately called fIn recent days the British Presseither been proclaiming the deaththe .Commonwealth with indecglee, the Spectator leading the choor been moaning the collapse orleast weakening of the Commowealth with tears distinctly croclish. We neither rejoice nor grieWe record.

We record that the speech rnaby Mr Swaran Singh, India's ForeiMinister, on Thursday, Septembercould not have been improved upby Mr Wilson himself .. ~ritain,said, had helped 700 millIon peopmarch to freedom. The Commowealth, he said, had certain "bavalues", of which one was "rac'equality". This sh~~eless paeanpraise for the Bntlsh (~homrather like after our fashIOn) cafrom a Congressman, one of thsands who never tire of tellinghow terribly they suffered undBritish oppression during their glrious struggle for the country's £1'dom, how much they sacrificed, fwhich they must now by a grate!count.ry be rewarded with power aprosperity in perpetuity. After tperformance, Mr Swaran Sinshould, we think, be awarded a page, maybe a life baronetcy, or giva high position in the British Infmation Service. Mr Wilson owesto him; Mrs Gandhi owes it to h

SEPTEMBER 16, 1

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self to get a less sycophantic Forei17nMinister. ~

How the African delegates reactedto the Indian "moderation" has notyet been reported; but Rhodesiansentiments on that bit about "racialequality" are not hard to imagine.It is not our case that India shouldin every instance endorse African orWest Asian extremism; but on theracial question at least India was un-der no obligation to apologise on be-half of Mr Wilson, whose failure, orunwillingness, to deal with' the illegalSmith regime firmly has bee~ rain-fully clear sin~e the report 0 theSanctions Committee. The LabourGovernment is committed to theTories on not using force; a sanctionmoreor less will not make the slight-est difference to Mr Ian Smith, whononchalantly said in a pre-recordedbroadcast: "They can talk to theirhearts' content-that's all they cando". This "they" includes Mr Wil-son. He has in advance been award-ed the title of Her Majesty's FirstMinister who presided over the dis-solution of the Commonwealth.

We record that the RhodesianHigh Court, which had not since theUnilateral Declaration of Independ-ence in November last year, distin-guished itself by its judicial courage,has now been obliged to pronouncethe 1965 Constit.ution, the one that

r Ian Smith fathered, illegal. Upo Sunday morning there was novidence at all that Mr Wilson at-ched much significance to the judg-ent delivered by a judge underth of allegiance to the Britishueen. At the Lagos conference incember last year Mr Wilson got

way'with a promise of Rhodesi'anBapse in a "mat.ter of weeks ratheran months". Nine months later,r Wilson seems up to some such

tick again. Watch Mr Wilson.Wasit necessary for the Indian dele-pte to be a part.y to the 'swindle?

We record that Dr Hendrik Ver-rd of South Africa has met his

ath at the hands of a white assas-. Most people must have been

lieved that it was not. after all, alack terrorist who did h'im to deat.h,though how many hundreds ofousands of black South Africansvemet cruel deaths under his racistime may never be known. Racistrderers rarely record their deeds.Verwoerd was buried on Saturday.

e must by now have met his God,om he was believed to fear, Let

NOW

there be no illusions, however, thatthe death of a racist means the endof racism. South African whites,commanding the finest and bestequipped army in the continent, willfight, and fight hard, before they willbe persuaded to share power, in cor-rect proportion to their numbers,with the black majority. The mag-nitude of this coming fight, sure asdea th, has' not even begun to bemeasured by most African nation-alists.

We record still that, but for MrWilson, Rhodesia could have been avery different proposition; it may yetbe, if the Labour Party can find aless devious leader or Mr Wilson be-comes another man. Many of thewhite Rhodesians originally migratedfrom South Africa because they didnot possess either the brutality of theAfrikaner or t4e will to live in trulyliberal societies; Rhodesia was theirwat.ershed. Washed oui it wouldhave been if on November 11 lastthere were British troops in Zambiaand Tanzania. A bully like Smithis 'also a coward; and Harold Wilsonis not so guileless as not to know it.

We record that whatever may bethe Commonwealth's eventual rolein world affairs, India's camp-follow-ing role in the Commonwealth is al-ready disgusting and daily getting-more so. None but Nehru couldhave kept India' in the Common-wealth; Nehru himself would nothave thought of it except for theMountbattens. It was plain for allto see that membership of the Com-monwealth was nothing short of ananticlimax to the struggle for free-dom. But Nehru is gone; with himhis abilit.y to invest apparently sub~ordinate positions with a personaldignity all his own. Swaran Sing-has the chief Indian deleg-a te to theCommonwealth Prime Minister's con-ference is altogether anot.her sight.In attire and articulation he resem-bles rather a member of the sort ofpersonal staff Buckingham Palaceonce used to recruit in India. W~must finally record the reasons forthe continued misalliance. In theCommonwealth association the rulingclique thinks it has a talisman; se-condly, the Commonwealth is thesenior civil service's iron lung.

Cultural RevolutionFor obvious reasons, leader-writers

and political commentators have not

taken notice of the August 31 massrally in Peking, the second in twoweeks to be attended by Mao Tse-tung, in military uniform, MarshalLin Piao and others. The DefenceMinister, making the principalspeech again, said, "we must ...carry out the struggle by reasoningand not by coercion or force. Don'thit people. This applies, too, instruggling against those persons inpower who are taking the capitalistroad and against the landlords, richpeasants, counter-revolutionaries, badelements and rightists." Half-a-million teachers and students heardhim make almost ,a Gandhian state-ment: violence can only touch theskin while reasoning would touchthe soul.

Earlier the Central Committee ofthe Communist Party had stated that"any method of forcing a minorityholding different views to submit isimpermissible. The minority shouldbe protected, because sometimes thetruth is with the minority ... To pre-vent the stuggle from being divertedfrom its main objective, it is notallowed, whatever the pretext, to in-cite the mas.ses.. ."

The. Red Guards have now beenasked not to be so militant. For,leaving aside those suspect inparty and goverment, if there arestill 'capitalists' in China (theirnumber is put at 2 million) and ifsome of them live in ostentatiouscomfort, it is because the Chines~Government has so far allowed themto co-exist. Revolutionary vigilancedoes not mean physical attacks onsuch persons by the heady young,some of whom tend to be hooliganswhen entrusted with too much res-ponsibility and when admissions toeducat.ional institutions have beenput off for a while.

There have been many explana-tions for the cultural revolution. Infact, the spate of reports coming frombehind the so-called bamboo curtainand the comments thereon by China-watchers which have suddenly flood-ed the space-starved, advertisement-ridden 'free' Press all over the worldhas been surprising. It would dowell to remember, however, that thespeculation began on the premise thatMao Tse-tung was either dead or dy-~ng and that this had led to in-fight-mg, 'to a power-struggle throughpurges in the name of ideology. Butthen Mao Tse-tung-, at 75, went for aswim in the turbulent Yangtze. The

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SEPTEMBER 16" I

administrator should have stamina,imagination and the intention towork and it is curious that he ispicked up on the basis of his profi·ciency in Sanskrit, Stat~stics or Bo·tany. However, until the UPSC de·monstrates that knowledge of thewritten examination tricks ipso factomakes a redoubtable administrator,it will be altogether pointless to decrythe acceptance of Indian languagesalong with English as the media ofanswer in the UPSC examinat.ionsthough this might lower the stan·dards for ·a time. Young men andwomen will content themselves withL. Mukherji in vernacular and ignoreKetelby. But does it matter? Whowants a doctor of philosophy for adistrict ,food controller?

The introduction of regional Ian·guages will virtually mean a quotasystem, detractors of the new schemepoint out. That inter-State rivalriesexist and that they have seeped downto individuals, few would deny. Andthere is no reason to assume that theUPSC examiners will be speciallyimmune from provincial favouritism.So, to keep away from avoidable sus-picions the UPSC might have to fixthe quota of recruitment from eachState, instead of letting overzealotlexaminers run riot. Some good students who could have competed sllecessfully in an open examination wiDpossibly be eliminated in this proceBut again it must be rememberedthat t.he UPSC does not require tvery best brains of the country to rtlthe Government. Any hard-wor~ing god-loving fellow can manathe district and the secretariat whithese days seem to be surfeited witoo many talented bounders.

The scheme does not affectissue of national integration eithEngl ish has ceased to be the 0link language so far as the officof the lAS and IPS are concerned, ~they have to pick up the regiolanguages as soon as they are posoutside their home States. The ot

,central services can also be dividinto zones on the basis of languaBut the fact remains that, thoacceptance of regional languagesbe unavoidable and even weleofor various reasons, it will also wen the case of English as the link Iguage. Whether we can afforddiscard English, the only livingternational language in India, isother matter.

jobs or been downgrated, their headshave not rolled. Nor have they beenarrested en masse under the Defenceof China rules, though, according tot.he Red Star, "some in authority areput.ting up unprecedentedly strongresistance and stubbornly taking theposition of reactionary bourgeoisieand relen tlessl y striking against themasses ... " . "'. I

Inevitably, aberrations will accom·pany the cultural revolution, becausein such times t.he puritans draw theworld in exaggerated black and whiteand because there is a touch of buf-foonery along with bravery in timesof emergency. But China in the re-cent past is known to have returnedto tolerance at. home sooner than ex-pected. If this time the vigilance isprolonged and harsh, it will be be-cause of the war tension. As for thefuss over what a barber said, who candeny t.hat hair-styles represent a wayof thinking? Ask any Beatnik. Andas for revaluations of bourgeois cul-ture, Shakespeare and Beethoven willsurvive their denigrators just as thedenigrators themselves will soon beshort of breath. Can it be hoped,however, that Mao Tse-tung will sur-vive the mass cult of his personality,despite the fact. that he is a remark·able man by any standards ?Stalin didnot, when after the war the Russiansbegan t.o outgrow the psychologicalneed for a fat.her· figure.

Regional Languages

NOW

A correspondent writes:

The one good thing that can besaid about the superior services ofthe Central Government is that theyare to a very large extent open to all.But to consider these services ortheir members as specially giftedwill be wrong. The UPSC doesnot and cannot skim the creamof society. Not all talentedyoung men sit for the UPSC exami-nations and among those who sit notalways the best brains are located,because the UPSC too follows thelines of subjective written tests likea school final examination board.It was a big blunder on its part toreduce the marks allotted for theviva voce tests and make the writtenexamination all important. What ismore pertinent, however, is that theUPSG has yet to justify its basicassumption that a good student isnecessarily a good administrator. An

Old Man and the River provided theChinese with an occasion for lyricalraptures, and the 'free' Press for someclever writing ridiculing them forthinking that Mao alive and kickingis a big blow to imperialism. It alsocame to light that it was Mao him-self who had decided on the ideologi-cal spring-cleaning. The power-strug-gle story then gave way to accountsof the cult.ural revolution or, to bemore precise, of the violence of theRed Guards as the vanguard of thestruggle against the reactionaries.

Mao Tse-tung's obsession to keepalive the Yerran spirit, which is be-hind the latest movement, is wellknown. He has seen how, under theenchanting influence of the USA,young men even in socialist countriestend to slip into drainpipes and wo-men into mini-skirts, how rock- 'n'-roll and the twist shake the bravenew world, how revolutionary elanis replaced by longing for thegood life. Maybe the old manis swimming against the tideand the younger Chinese, given areasonable spell of prosperity, willcare a damn for the austere ideals ofthe historic Long March. But, in it-self, there is nothing that one can ob-ject to in the single-minded, puritani-cal fervour to hold back the Ameri-can cultural tide among a peoplewho ,make up one-fourth of theworld's inhabitants.

The purges, it also appears, havebeen precipitated by forebodinRs 01an imminent conflict. In 1956, atthe 20th Congress of the CPSU, MrKhrushchev during his famous de-stalinization speech asked with pain-ed surprise why at all the departedleader had gone in for purges afterthe successful implementation of theFirst Five Year Plan. He chose toforget the international situation, thatHitler had appeared on the scene;that even a man like Churchill hadlater admitted that, in view of whathad happened in France and else-where, the Russian purges were some·what necessary. China today faces anenemy far more ruthless than NaziGermany, an enemy whose militarypower is awesome and whose inten-tions· are murderous. It is the pre-sence, almost on the doorstep, of thiswarfare State that has lent urgencyto internal changes in China. Nodoubt many innocent people will suf·fer in the process-as they did inRussia. But, unlike in Russia, whilethe purged in China have lost their

6

Rate of Growth of National Output

Country 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965

France 2.8 2.7 7.6 4.6 6.6 5.1 5.4 2.5West Germany 3.3 6.9 8.8 5.4 4.1 3.5 6.6 4.4Italy 4.4 7.7 7.1 8.5 6.6 4.8 3.0 3.0Sweden 1.2 5.5 3.6 5.6 3.7 5.1 7.2 3.5Britain 0.5 4.1 4.9 3.3 0.9 4.6 5.3 2.0USA l.l 6.4 2.5 1.9 6.6 3.8 5.0 5.5

Sounes : OEeD Handbooks. U.S. Department of Commerce pub-lications and Monthly Statistics published by the HMG,London.

UnitedHey-day. In States?rican economy-for instance LatinAmerican countries-the greater thechances of this 'developmentrdrag' inits economy because of escalation ofthe Vietnam war.

In the short term the West Euro-peans and the Japanese, however,may slightly benefit from this artifi-cial American war boom, but it isalso clear to them that eventually theboom of war profiteering would leadto a slump. Some ominous symp-toms of an approaching turn are be-ginning to be visible. For instance,motor vehicle production is beingcurtailed in the USA and so are pas-senger car imports, the imports thatmostly come from Western Europe.On balance, however, it is conceiv-able that developed capitalist nationsmay get some financial benefits fromthe American boom. But this bene-fit would begin to disappear as theinternal purchasing power of theAmerican people is eroded in courseof an inflationary spiral. The signsare ominous.

Chronic DeficitInflationary processes are being in-

tensified by the chronic deficits in thebudget of the US Government. Thisdeficit is going up every year. In1965-66, it amounted to $5.3 billion,equivalent to Rs 3,975 crores, almostas much as the combined budget ofthe Central and State budgets in In-dia. In 1966-67, it is going up to$7.5 billion, equivalent to Rs 5,725crores. As a result, the national debtstands at $330 billion (Rs 247,500crores). It is but natural that partof this budget deficit is transformedinto deficit financing, with its inevi-.tal;>le effect of an upward push onpnces.

On the other hand, debts incurredby consumers are also spiralling. TheUS Department of Commerce hasshown that unpaid consumer creditsat the end of 1965 were more thandouble the figure obtaining a decaaeago. The overall debt of the Gov-ernment, corporations, non-incorpo-rated firms and the population, in-cluding the debt on mortgages andthe debt of consumers on goodsbought on credit, amounted to the

O. PRAKASH

Theone of the best deposits of bauxitein the world.

Whatever the short-term advan-tages might be, it is clear that thelong-term effects of this Americanboom are going to be disastrous, asin the postrKorean war period. Warbooms inevitably burst one day. 'tVemust take care of that day from now

and should not get involved in theAmerican mad rush. Actually, evenin the short run this artificial Ame-rican boom is beginning to hit thedevelopment plans of the developingcountries. The methods are rathersubtle and indirect, but no less dis-turbing. It is something like this.

War spending in the US has over-heated the economy, resulting in in-flation. The costs of production aresharply rising, mostly because of anartificially created shortage of rawmaterials, equi.rment and skilledlabour. The prIce rise in the ys hasboosted European and Japanese pri-ces of machinery and capital goods.It is these capital goods that areneeded for the development projectsof the developing countries. Thecommensurate rise in commodityprices to offset this dire disadvantagehas simply not come about. Thus,the terms of foreign trade of manydeveloping countries, India included,during the last two years-years ofescalation of the Vietnam war-haveworsened and continue to worsen,which is leading most of them, Indiaincluded, to lower the tempo of theirdevelopment. In fact., the greater acountry's involvement with the Ame-

How has this 'miracle' happened?By escalation of the Vietnam war.Today nearly 300,000 Americantroops are in Vietnam and nearlyone million workers in administra-tion, supply lines, munition factoriesand the like are required to sustainthem in action. In the fiscal year1966-67, the American war budgetwould be some $60.5 billion, equiva-lent to Rs 45,375 crores. Out ofthis sum, nearly 25 per cent, oraround Rs 11,000 crores, is to bespent directly on intensifying theVietnam war. The Korean Warparallel is being drawn and repeated.Economic activity is entering afeverish pitch, something that isfrightening even the Americans.

The result is that on international·markets prices of many commoditieslikealuminium, steel, copper, leatherand textiles are soaring. Exportsfrom Western Europe, Japan andeven from India to the USA are in-creasing at a break-neck speed. Dur-ing this boom, the Americans areready to invest money in the Indianaluminium industry in a big way.They are not asking for any specialfavourseither, except that this indus-try be delicensed. India possesses

, 'fHE American economy is boom-ing. Corporate profits are go-

ing up merrily. Unemployment hasbeen brought down substantially.For the first tjme in postwar historythe American rate of economicgrowth has surpassed that of Wes-tern Europe, as the table belowshows:

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8

this pitch would increase, crealimore labour unrest in the US.

Such are the wages of the Vietnwar. They afflict developing natioby creating imbalances in their delopment plans, they are beginnito curtail consumer durables expoof the West European countries, athey are lowering the living contions of the American working cIthrough high prices, insecurityemployment, and a possible slump'economic growth. Practicallywhole world-except perhapssocialist countries-would experienthe tremors released by the boomiguns and rockets in Vietnam.

The Papal Commission on bircontrol was considerably embarrasswhen la,rge Va'tican holdings appearto have been disclosed in a firm seing contraceptives.

Report in Spectat

For NOW readers in Westernmay contact

S. D.CHANDAVARKAR10, Kanara House

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TRAVELLI!:R.

IN INDIA

SEPTEMBER 16, I

NOW

be ruled out-or as a result of nego-tiations. Such a phenomenon hap-pened after the Korean war. Conse-quently, a sizable idle capacity in in-dustry would become inevitable be-cause of the indiscriminate capitalinvestments being made today for in-dustrial expansion without long-termeconomic justi~cation for them.

UnemploymentNaturally, more unemployment

will result than during the pre-Vietnam war period even if the mili-tary manpower remains unchaqgedfor some time. Big corporationshave taken this capital boom oppor-tunity to get rid of their surpluslabour and has gone in for WIderautomation of their plants. Theywill be able to hold on to their ownas against the smaller and middle-grade manufacturing undertakings,which employ more workers today.Thus, the effect on the employmentsituation in the next recession in theUS economy could be very sharp in-deed, something that has begun toworry even right-wing labour leadersof the AFL-CIO. They have begunto voice their misgivings in their ownpublications, though necessarily at alower pitch. In the measure thisunemployment threat materialises,

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astronomical figure of approximately$1,300 billion (Rs 975,000 crores).The sum is growing.

All this has resulted in a steadyerosion of the purchasing power of

_ the American people. The menac-ing rise in the cost of living and in-crease in taxation to the tune of $6billion (Rs 4,500 crores) has totallyneutralised the concessions won byworkers in their stiff struggle againstthe big corporations in recent years.More than that, the US Governmentis contemplating the introduction ofcontrol over wages just like at thetime of the war in Korea. Thesedevelopments would indicate that alimitation of personal consumptionis being sought by the US Govern-ment, something that would hit Wes-tern Europe and Japan quite sharply.

Inflation, however, is not the onlyoutcome of the present war boom inAmerica. The irrevocable processesthat are now occurring in the Ame-rican economy would have their ownfar-reaching repurcussions. It is quiteclear that the US cannot maintainthe high level of militarisation reach-ed during the escalation of the Viet-nam war. It would have to lowerthe level either at the tail end of amilitary defeat-a defeat that cannot

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1966

Letter From The Suuth

Water-But NotEverywhere

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

AUGUST 3 this year was a red-letter day in Andhra's history,

(or, on that day, water from the giantI Tagarjunsagar project was releasedto the great joy of thousands of pea-sants in Nalgonda and Guntur dis-tricts.

The State Government's announce-ment that water was being released(or 5.7 lakh acres was, however,meant for outside consumption. Peo-ple in the State, particularly in thosetwo districts, know it too well thatland was not reclaimed, developedand levelled to receive the water.Funds for giving loans to peasants todevelop their lands have not been(ully utilised. Water was not beingreleased in sufficient quantities intothe project canals as the authoritiesthemselves were not quite sure whe-ther the new embankments wouldstand the pressure. In fact, therewas a breach at one point owing tothe weak foundation and loose for-mation of the embankment. Thanksto the uncertainties of weather, waterin the reservoir was not enough "toreach that height when it could bereleased into the canals. As a parto( the integrated development of thisarea is likely to come under irrigation,various Government departmentsdrew up plans to develop roads, ani-mal husbandry, rice mills, industriesand so on, but none of these couldbe pursued at the rate at which theyought to have been. All these fac-tor prove once again that the Gov-ernment never learns from past mis-takes. It has been the view of thePlanning Commission that becausegovernments fail to undertake deve-lopment of the ancillaries simultane-ously with the main project, it hasDOt been possible to reap the fullbenefit from a project when it iscompleted.

Another problem that came upring the construction of the pro-ct was its financing. The firsta e alone cost Rs 150 crores, whichdefinitely beyond the means of anyte Government. Practically, thetire finance had to be provided by

the Centre by way of loan to theState Government and the latter ispaying interest at a high rate. TheState Government raised the questionlong ago why the Andhra Govern-ment alone should finance thisproject. Weren't Bhakra-Nangal,Neyveli, DVC, Hirakud and similarother irrigation and industrial pro-jects which are spread over vanousStates financed by the Central Gov-ernment? Let alone financing itfrom State resources, the AndhraGovernment is finding it difficulteven to pay the interest on the loanon this project, which alone has cros-sed the Rs' 100 crore mark. TheCentral Government has so far re-fused to consider the problem andsolve it on the basis of some prin-ciple.

Andhra is already a surplus Stateso far as foodgrains are concernedand if projects like N agarjunsagarlead to more production it would goto meet the deficit of other States likeKerala and Mysore. Therefore, it wasargued, the financing of the projectshould be the Centre's responsibility.

There is, however, a lesson thatcould benefit other States engaged insimilar construction works. Nagar-junsagar was essentially a labour-intensive project and very little ma-chinery was used. This enabled em-ployment of over 30,000 workers.The project could have been com-pleted long ago if machinery hadbeen deployed. This is in directcontrast with Bhakr~-Nangal, wherehighly mechanised proceses were em-ployed. In a country like Indiawhere unemployment has been onthe increase from plan to plan, em-ployment of labour-intensive pro-cesses is desirable and necessary.

Whatever might be the other de-fects, one important factor thatshould not be forgotten is that Nagar-junsagar is also a flood-control pro-ject and its construction would savethousands of acres of land fromthreat of floods for ever.,. ,.

While Andhra is suffering fromlack of power for development of in-dustries and agriculture, Mysore issuffering from an excess of it. Whilethe per capita consumption of powerin Andhra is about 26 units, in My-sore it stood at 60 units by'the endof 1964-65. Adjacent to each other,one is starved of power while theother is having plenty of it showingthe fallacy of our planning.

The commissioning of the Shara-vathi hydel project in Mysore hasonce for all put an end to the night-marish decade of power starvation,sending up the total productionfrom 185.5 mW at the begin-ning of the Third Plan to 430 illWat the end of the same Plan. Ano-ther project on the Kalinadi is in thepreliminary stage of investigationand when it comes through, lVlysorewill be entering the era of plenty.

In view of the low off-take of thepower now being generated, theUnion Finance Ministry is withhold-ing sanction for the last two gene-rator sets for the Sharavathi project.This is only a passing phase, since theindustrial projects to be developedwould, in due course of time, con-sume large blocks of power.

Good so far as M ysore is concerned.But why should Andhra, Madras andKerala suffer for want of power whenthere is plenty in the neighbouringState? Though Mysore suppliedsome power to Madras and Andhra,it did so at a fancy price, whichbrought as much as Rs 4 crores toMysore during a short period of sixmonths. While Andhra is asked topart with its surplus rice at ratesfixed by the Government of India,M ysore is allowed to trade on theneighbouring State's difficulties. Ano-ther interesting factor is that, whilepower was sold to Madras at one rate,it was sold to Andhra at another.AU these things need to be straight-ened out and some formula evolvedregarding such inter-State transac-tions.

Too much dependence on hydelpower brought all the Southern Statesto grief when drought prevailed dur-ing the past few months and whenwater levels in various reservoirsreached all-time low levels. Perhapsthe reason is that it is cheaper toproduce hydel power. But in viewof the huge losses suffered by thou-sands of industries during the recentpower famine, it is time to ask whe-ther i~ is sound economics. Thoughan attempt is being made to removethis imbalance in Andhra by produc-ing huge blocks of thermal power atKothagudem, there appears to be nosuch diversification in Mysore.

NOWis available at Students' Corner,

P.O. Kharagpur Technology,Kharagpur, S.E. Railway

SEPTEMBER 16, I

knows that in the Hindu jointlies when the elder brother ising a younger one and ill-thim, all the relatives and neigtake the side of the suffering band call the elder one a rascal.the younger brother ftles a pasuit or one day gives the rascalDada a shoe-beating, at once thdict goes against him.

Once a relative of mine wasdeprived of his patrimony by anbrother. I asked him to file atition suit. He cried out in adalized tone. "What will otheof me?" Be nice, be long-suffbe non-violent, be an earthworma shrimp, and everybody willmire you. But for heaven's sayou want to be well thought of,spoken of by your Hindu reiand neighbours, refrain from aing your rights and giving toman what he deserves.

The tradition is old anddown at least from Chaitanyafamous: "If you have hit me .potsherd, should I not holdlove ?"

Even after the introductionEnglish education in India thedition remained strong, and iteven reinforced by Western analTagore has described how onehad to hear an essay writtenschoolboy in English on moThe story will be found in a I~f his dated 21 or 22nd January, Iwritten from Shajadpur in Pabnatrict. I quote only the passagethe boy's essay.

"Modesty is an ornamentmind. Modest men are pand immodest men are blameall. Every man is pleased tomodest man, but a proud rnavery much disliked.

"N ewton was a modestWhen his dog upset an inkon his papers Newton said todog, 'My friend" you do notwhat harm you did to me'-was his modesty. Brethren, le\be all like Newton.

"One day Chaitanya wasing in the street-a dog was Ion his way-Chaitanya said,friend, please move a little'dog moved away at once-suchthe power of modesty. Therequired no beating.

"We should treat every manthis dog."So say our intellectuals if a

gress dog lies in our way. "My fri

provincial, eat their word over anumber of questions. For thisachievement alone, I salute the Op-position, much as I dislike its ideasand policies, so far as they are posi-tive. Today we are concerned, notwith the positive role of the Opposi-tion but with its destructive role.We do not want the politicians inthe Opposition to be reasonable andprudish, but to be ruthless, so thatthey might be able to make peacefulenjoyment of office by the Congressimpossible, and give some unambigu-ous bounders a hiding.

Intellectuals of India would dowell to remember another saying ofLord Acton's, which is more relevantto our situation. It is this:

"I exhort you never to debasethe moral currency or to lower thestandard of rectitude, but to tryothers by the final maxim thatgoverns your own. lives, and tosuffer no man and no cause to es-cape the undying penalty whichhistory has the power to inflict onwrong. The plea in extenuationof guilt and mitigation of punish-ment is perpetual. At every stepwe are met by arguments whichgo to excuse, to palliate, to con-found right and wrong, and reducethe just man to the level of thereprobate."And to add a rider, the kind of

thinking and feeling which considersMrs Renu Chakravarti to be morecorrupt than Mr Atulya Ghosh is fartoo common among our intellectuals.

All this plea for good manners,suspension of judgment, and temper-ing the wind for the shorn lambs ofthe Congress party comes from thetype of Indian intellectuals who callthemselves Secularists, who are asham-ed to confess that they are Hindus,and who, if they are Bengali, wouldrather be regarded as Indian thanBengali. They are _so sterilJzed atthe conscious level of all positiveattributes that they q111 be regardedonly as living bundles of sterilizedsurgical cotton-wool.

Yet at the sub-conscious level theyremain absolutely true-to-type, honest-to-goodness Hindus. Everybody

10

1'" HOUGH I try to keep 111 touchwith the political practice

which obtains in Calcutta, I am un-able to remain abreast of the poli-tical thinking in that city. Perhapsit is because the practice is loudenough to be heard even from a dis-tance of a thousand miles, whereasthe thinking is too deep for any kindof sound. Off and on, however, afaint note comes to my ears. Onesuch I found quoted in The States-man for Sunday, September 4. Itran as follows:

"While absolute power corrupts,Opposition parties are being CQr-rupted by absolute exclusion fromp-ower."This is from Mr Amlan Datta who

I am informed, is one of the l~adingintellectuals of Calcutta. I hope Ishall not be misunderstood if I donot employ the designation Professorbefore his name, as was done in TheSta~esman. In respect of the desig-natIOn Professor I adhere to the res-trictive English practice. Besides, Idislike designations. I am sick ofseeing Tagore referred to as Dr Ra-bindra N ath Tagore even on gramo-phone records issued recently. I donot want to call Dadabhai NaorojiDr Dadabhai Naoroji, as I am com-pelled to do if I have to write lettersto a. firm in that street in Bombay.I thmk Subhas Bose remains himselfwithout the Netaji, which is neithergood Bengali nor good English, nora good translation from the Germanwhich has no equivalent of the ji. '

Be that as it may, Mr Datta shouldnot have used Lord Acton as a spring-~oard to. ma~e a l,:g at the Opposi-tlon partIes m IndIa. It is not cor-rect . to suggest that the OppositionpartI~s hav~ been. corrupted in anyway m IndIa. It IS not the businessof the Opposition to be nice, sweetlyreasonable, and soft-spokt·n. TheOpposition exists to oppose, and tooppose in everything, and by everymean~, the only criterion being theeffectiveness of the attacks. There isno doubt that with even the insigni-fi.c~nt num?ers. they have, the Oppo-sItIOn partles m India are makingthe Governments, both central and

OUTSIDER

Commentary

Political Goody-Goodyism

A VAzrR SULTAN PRODUCT ,

, WORLD CLASS.

THAT S ~lHAT!

Among th~ w~rld's top 20 cigarettes, India's billion-seller bas what it takes'to give real smoking pleasure. The secret is in its tobaccos. They're deepbrown ... rich. Just like the tobaccos in the world's ten most popular brands.Remember, Charminar tobaccos are specially developed. And, triple matured.They give every Charminar a flavour that's rich ... a taste that's unique. If you~moke Charminar, you know what we're talking about. If you don't, find outfor yourself-today'

~There's nothing like_Charminar-lndia's greatest cigarette!_0-.----

man.lottIeD hisknow-suchet us

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n of~ tra-twasogies.:e heby adesty.letter1890,a dis-from

walk-lying

'My-the1 was

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1966

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Con-iend,

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elected members of the WorkinCommittee.

Obviously, Mr Kamaraj was tryingto forestall the Prime Minister's int.ervention in the Orissa affair by talk·ing of indiscipline. Mr Kamaraj inot against Mr Patnaik or Mr Rout

• ray taking over iq Orissa but thashould not be made a precedent bMr C. B. Gupta to topple Mrs Krip~lani.

The strongman myth died ",henMr Kamaraj failed to whip theBPCC and Mr Patil to order duringthe similar resignatiol) crisis in Bom·bay. So on Saturday, when an intre·pid Bengali correspondent asked himwhy he did not denounce Mr Shantj·lal Shah's act of indiscipline in Bom-bay, Mr Kamaraj smiled it away andlike a delphic oracle said that all thiwould be borne in mind while dis-tributing party tickets for the 1967poll. The fact is Mr Kamaraj couldnot stand up to Mr Patil's challenge.His explanation was that he waaway touring his home State andeven the Chief Minister, Mr Bhakta·vatsalam, could not reach him by telephone when the Bombay crisis brokeout and the BPCC chief wanted toconsult Mr Kamaraj.

If Mr Patnaik stands firm, ~hKamaraj's prestige would wilt andhe would no longer be the strong.man that he is. made out to be.

Another myth, part of the Kamaraj-lore, is that he is an unchallengedleader in his home Stat.e. But let itnot be forgotten that he could notwrest the Madras Corporation backfrom the DMK and the Congrepolled only 43 per cent of the vOlein 1962 general elections, before thelanguage riots and before the DMKcould rally six opposition parties be·hind it against the Congress.

De-Escalation?The Government has suddenh

piped down on the Indo-Pak borde~tension. Maybe it is keen on "de.escalating" tension. Maybe Mr Ches-ter Bowles' plain talking to the Ex-ternal Affairs Minister has had itseffect. But certainly, the trip orga·nised by the Government for Indianand foreign correspondents to theKasrur-Khem Kharan sector on theborder was iII-advised. The corres-pondents filed alarming stories ofPakistani build-up and the demandof the villagers for stationing of In·dian forces near the border.

There was no need for all the

NOW

for using the word dog, which ex-cept in very special context.s is notused pejoratively in English. It israther a term of endearment. Ishould really have used .the word cur.But the young essayist forced me toemploy the other ten?

ing comment.ary on the total lack ofrefinement in our public life. Weare not morally sick as a nation butthere is no limit to corruption inhigh places.

What comes of all the exposureswhen the Government is so ll1sensi-tive to everything and takes corrup-tion for granted and would even blessit if it helps the party in power?The Prime Minister, of course, wouldnot like us to talk about corruptionany more. Soon a stage will comewhen we would be tired of talkingabout it: the same old kind of scan-dals, the same old skeletons rattlingin the Government's cupboard. Allthat could happen is that we wouldbegin believing we would have t.olive with this kind of political cor-ruption.

The Opposition's racket-bustingspree had hardly ended with the Par-liament session dragging to a closewhen the Orissa crisis stole on MrKamaraj unawares. The strong silentman is no longer silent; he is no long-er strong. On Friday, he told re-porters that he would even have to.uspend leaders responsible for part.y

.indiscipline and even if they weremembers of the 'Vorking Committee.I t was indiscreet, to say the least, be-cause Mr Patnaik could not be ex-pected to take kindly to it. On Sun-day, before the 'Vorking Committeemeeting began, the Orissa crisis re-mained unresolved and Mr Kamarajwas in a tight corner. Mr Patnaikfound expected support from MrSanjiva Reddy and Mr Darbara Singhwhile Mr Atulya Ghosh assumed therole of a mediator. But Mr Patnaikwas getting tough. He was not inthe Working Committee on Mr Kama-raj's charity, he told his old faithfuls.After all, he was one of the seven

Delhi Letter

move away," and they expect thatthe creature would not require beat-ing. That is where the mistake lies.No Congress dog in India is a Chai-tanyanite dog. And therefore thepath of almost every intellectual inIndia is blocked by these dogs, unlesshe cringes to these dogs. I apologize

Whirl Of Dissipation ?FROM A POLITICAL CORRESPOr\DEl'\T

THERE have been too many scan-dals and racket-busting has al-

most lost its thrills. Even then, thephotostat copy of a letter from aCentral Minister to a Congress leaderin West Bengal introducing the chiefof a famous group of companies andasking him to be "treated as a friend"is being passed from hand to hand.There is nothing in it to shock any-one. But alongside is circulated acopy of a letter from the person, whowas asked to be treated· as a friend,to another Central Minister demand-ing unqualified apology for defaminghim. Two Central Ministers couldhold contradictory views about thesame person. But that is nothing toshock anyone eit.her.

This minor episode aside, it isworth pondering how the Congressleadership manages to get involvedin so many things. Mr Atulya Ghoshand Mr Patil, according to a Bombayweekly, could raise Rs. 55 lakhs torthe Congress fund sitting in a Bom-bay bank in Just one day. Surpris-ing neither of them has been madeFinance Minister at the Centre yet.

There is no end to the gossip inNew Delhi. Someone got an orchardin California as gift from someonewho is p~rt of a roaring scandal now.Someone's son got into a scrape(complete with a divorce suit) inEngland and a now notorious firmhelped him out of it with enoughteding to get out of the scrape by

paying alimony. And the like. Fewbot.her to check the stories. Readybriefs (howeyer' unreliable and in-complete) are readily supplied by in-terested parties. "Did you see thatphotostat?" someoI)e asks you andyou try to look intelligent implyingyou know all about it. It is a viciousatmosphere no doubt and a disquiet-

]2 SEPTEMBER 16, ]956

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alarm if the GO\'ernllJent had knownthat the January 22 agreement signedby the army chiefs of both the coun-tries provided for joint consultation,and either Government could requi-sition a meeting of the two chiefs.Gen. P. p. Kumaramangalam soughtthe meeting on August 30 but thePakistani reply took quite some timecoming. As this is being written, ameeting looks certain.

But the alarm stories have had adevastating effect on the people inthe border areas. The Home Min-istry in New Delhi as well as thePunjab Government made their dis-pleasure clear to the Defence Minis-try for not giving them a dope aboutthe plan to take a Press party. Andthe Punjab Government sent out itsown Press party from Chandigarh tocounter the alarm creat.ed by theDefence Minist.ry-sponsored Pressparty.

But the moment the Governmentdecided to "de-escalate" tension,t.here was a briefing here to tell im-portant newsmen to play down, storiesof the Pak build-up. This might bethe right thing to do. But the Gov-ernment is trying to be too smartwith the Press of late.

KashmirOn September 4, a news agency

put out a story on Mr .Taya PrakashNarain's letter to the Prime Ministeron June 23, suggesting "full internalautonomy" [or Jammu and Kashmir,that is, "a return to the originalterms of accession." But minutesafter the story was on t.he wires, thePress Adviser's office got busy. Atop official called the agency andasked it to withdraw the story atonce, which was promptly done.

This is the letter the pu blica tionof which was demanded in Pa1;lia-ment. In this letter, Mr Narainwants a solution to be found for t.heKashmir problem within the limita-tions of accession, and if there is any(hance of settlement, it was ani\' withthe help of Sheikh Abdullah. '

"The Sheikh is the only Kashmirleader who can swing Muslim opi-nion in the valley towards his side",he says. Mr Narain believes that theSheikh would accept full internalautonomy as the basis for a settle-ment between the Kashmiris and In-dia "provided history were not al-lowed to repeat itself" with encroach-ments on autonomy stich as theShiekh believes occurred in the past.

Mr ~ arain also demands the re-lease of the Sheikh so that he couldparticipate in the elections on thebasis of the terms of Kashmir's acces-sion to India. "To hold a generalelection in Kashmir with the Sheikhin prison is like the British orderingan election in India while JawaharLal Nehru was in prison. No fair-minded person would call it a fairelection."

"We profess democracy but. rule byforce in Kashmir unless we have auto-suggested ourselves 'into believingthat the two general elections underBakshi Sahib had expressed the willof the people or that the Sadiq Gov-ernment is based on popular supportexcept for a small minority or pro-Pakistani traitors. We profess secu-larism, but let Hindu nationalismstampede us into trying to establishit by repression," he wrote further.

Both the Home Minister, MrNanda, and Mr Sadiq wanted thecontinued detention of the Sheikhthough the Prime Minister is believ-ed to favour his release. The anti-secession ordinance could take tareof the Sheikh and the ordinance it-self was in preparation for the releasewhich never came.

It would be well to recall anothercontroversy in this context. Whensome other contents of this letterleaked out earlier, the Prime Min-ister refused to confir.m or deny atCalicut whether Mr Narain had de-manded that Kashmir be taken awayfrom Mr Nanda, who he said wasobstructing a solution of the Kash-mir problem. Mr Jaya PrakashNarayan contradicted the reportabout the letter promptly. But im-mediately, Mr Nanda came out witha rejoinder. The portion of t.heletter was read out to him by thePrime Minister and there was nodoubt that Mr Nar?yan wanted Kash-mir taken out of the Home Minister'spurview.

So the Government's anxiety toprevent publication of the letter is11l1derstandable. This is the role ofthe Press Advi ers now.

11 September, 1966

Some old sets of NOW(Oct. 9, 1964 to September24, 1965) are a"ailable atRs 20 each: postage extra.

The Taste of PowerFROM A CORRESPONDENT

-IT may seem to be a dramatic deve-lopment to an outsider but to

Mr Sadasiba Tripathy it was no sur-prise. He was expecting it. To oneof his friends, he regretted a few daysago that "this man is torturing me"and he identified "this man". "Bijuwants me to resign", was his pathe-tic remark to his friend. Mr Tnpathyknew that the time was fast approach-ing for a head-on collision with MrPatnaik. He knew that some of theMinisters would rise in revolt but hedid not know that it would be sosoon. In utter agony he wrote toMr Kamara j offering his resignationto make room for Mr Patnaik. Ashrewd politician, Mr Kamaraj, how-ever, preferred not to rep~y to ?!soffer in order to avert a senous cnS1Sin the Orissa Congress with the gene-ral elections a few months ahead.Mr Kamaraj, however, blessed MrPatnaik with the task of conductingthe general elections as the su premecommander.

But what the taste of blood is toa tiger, power is to a politician. Hiscritics say that Biju Babu is not sa-tisfied with the post of supreme com-mander in the election battle. Hewants to head the Government alsojust to convince the people that he hasbeen given clearance by the CongressHigh Command. This is not possiblewhile he himself agreed with MrKamaraj that there should be nochange in the leadership in Orissa un-til the general elections.

The opportunity came in the re-allocation of portfolios by Mr Tri-pathy. The Chief Minister was ac-cused by his Cabinet colleagues oflacking confidence in them. Itwas e\'en remarked that the realloca-tion of portfolios was done by M1'Tripathy aft.er discussion with theleaders of the Orissa .lana Congress.The Chief Minister came out imme-diately with a denial.

The storm thus st.arted brewingand it burst on September 8 afterthe dissatisfied Ministers and DeputyMinisters had met M1' Patnaik on hisarrival from Delhi and had two daysof hectic consultations. Mr Patnaikwrote to Mr Tripathy expressingstrong disapproval of his action. Thewide gap between the two now be-came wider and beyond repair. The

SEPTEMBER 16,

The Chief Minister's decision totour North Bengal just when a no-confidence motion against his Min-istry was being debated in the Legis-lative Council is one more instanceof the contempt with which the Gov-ernment treats the elected representa-tives of the Legislature. I have onearlier occasions pointed out how theChief Minister has made it a regular

o'f\ice,9ne would naturally think(ha~ 9,24,000 tonnes o[ rice had been

"procUl'ed,. ' Bu i ,of course, he would..l,Je COIUp}etely lllistak~n because MrSen's 11l.~thelllatical laws are ratherdiffere~t 1rom those we 'know. Theflctual pro~urenlent. figure is only6,00,000 tQnnes, of ,which 3,94,OOlltoirnes have been procured f~om thelarge producers and the rest frompoor peasants as distre~s sale.

The major source of procurementreveals blatantly the influence of thelarge producers, on the Congressparty. This is also highlighted bythe recent decision to increase theprocurement price 0f paddy by a~much as three rupees. Instead of theearlier price range of Rs 14.50 toRs 16.50 for each maund of paddydepending on quality, it will nowbe Rs 17.50, Rs 18.50 and Rs 19.50.No wonder. This is the seasonwhen the large producers sell. Theincrease ln, prices will mean a subs-tantial bounty for them. Earlier

. when repeatt;d deIl)ands were madein the. Assernbly for an increase inthe procurement price and when itwas pointed out that the present pri-ces were uneconomic-it has beencalculated that the cost of produc-tion of a maund o[ paddy is at leastRs l7-the Government insisted thatthe prices fixed were attractiveen04gh [or the peasantry. The {actwas that as long as there was somehope of getting paddy out of thepoorer peasants the Government re-fused to increas~ its price. Now thattheir stocks are exhausted and manyof t11em will have to buy from themarket the Government has raisedthe pr~ces. The higher procurementprice also knocks the bottom out ofthe Government case that. no pro-fiteering was involved in the marginsbetween procurement and sellingprice of rice. If despite a three-rupeeincrease in prices of procurement theGovernment is still able to sell atthe old rates it clearly shows thatthere was a considerable margin ofprofit all these days.

*' '"

comes with long practice. But hisstatistics have a habit of contradict-ing one' another and leave the list-ener mystified. Where does he gethis statistics from? The Food De-partment? Not always. The evi-dence before the Lahiri Comroissionhas revealed that the Chief Ministersometimes has his own sources. At

, the beginning of the harvesting sea-son he usuallY: gives inflated figuresof production~to bring down theprices. This is the time of the yearwhen the rice mills and the rice mer-chants as well as the jotedars buyfrom the poorer peasantry. Towardsthe end of the year, before the newcrops have come, his statistics alwaysreveal that the crop was muchsmaller. This is the time when thejotedars and rice merchants, who areoften the same persons or clos·ely,associated, sell to clear. their gadownsfor the next crop and are interestedin pushing up prices. No wonderthese ,statistics are often irritatingand this is not the first time that MrSen's figures have led to a row in theAssembly.

The latest instance of confusingstatistics-this habit of giving statis-tics seems to be a kind of compulsivebehaviour that is steadily growingupon him-was his procurementfigures. To prove that his food po-licy has been completely vindicatedhe said that as much as 840/0 of thelevy had been realised, Since theprocurement target, even the revisedversion, was as much as 11 lakh tons

NOW

~'J'he Congr~ss, President' ~snot fullya"\:Vareof tpe deep-rooted .<;or.spir,~cyto, cripple, anti damage the, Cong~~ssmg~l)isation from within~, Our quic.k

_~ctjqn' has (rustrated the designs ,of,our; oppoI}ent ....· ,. 'Who is .this opponent ? Is it MrTrip.athy himself? In the words ofMr Patnaik: "They (Nil' Tripathy'sCabinet colleagues) appear to bedeeply hurt at your (Mr Tr~pathy)behaviour" .

Opposition leaders·in the State arenow keenly watching the internal dis-sensions in the Congress, some withsorrow, some with jubilation.

14

"WHOM God wishes to desttoyhe first makes mad." This

is what came to my mind as I satlistening to the proceedings of theWest Bengal Assembly on the day itwas adjourned by the Speaker afterrepeated attempts had failed to getthe Congress benches to behave.This utter disregard on the part ofthe ruling party for democratic pro-cesses on the eve of the general elec-tions was sheer madness. Either the,ruling party has already written offthe State or is depending on processesother than democratic to return topower. It is the latter that seemsmore likely.

What did the Congress party hopeto get out of its tactics of 'disruptingthe Assembly proceedings? Clearlythey were apprehensive of the possi-ble effects of heated debates in theAssembly in the background of themounting discontent outside and thewave of struggles in the offing. Butsurely it would have been, even fromtheir own point of view, much betterto allow the Assembly forum forletting off some steilm. The effectof bottling it up t.ao tightly mightbe disastrous for the ruling party,as the. experience of the last occasion,when the dialogue jn the Assemblywas abruptly broken off, showed.

The issue which sparked off thecommotion in the Assembly relatesto a theme very dear to Mr Sen. Itis food statistics. He always hasthese statistics at his finger tips andreels them off with the ease that

J. MOHAN

Calcutta Diary

entire Council of Ministers sent theirresignations to the Chief Minister.Although Nilamani Babu said' thatthe Pradesh Congress chief, Mr Pani,had been hpt informed of the deve-lopment, 1\11' Pani himself dentedthat either Mr Tripathy or roth~rMinisters had told him '.anythingabout the intended resignations, .

Here again the critics of Biju Babusay that he has misfired. Mr Kamarajis reported to have said: ,"Maybethey (Ministers) have grievances. Butthey should have consulted me beforetaking the decision." On the otherhano, in the words of Nilamani Babu:

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ment have now driven them tothis course. Support. is being ex·tended to the movement by a jointcommittee of nearly 80 organisationsof middle-class and working.classtrade unions. The action will pro·vide a kind of background to thefood movement that is scheduled tobegin from September. 15 and culmi-nate in the two-day general strike ofSept.ember 22 and 23. How will theGovernment deal with all these de·monstrations? Tactfully or with thevast police force deployed in theS.tate, much of it made up of con·tmgents brought from other States?The next few days will provide ananswer.

SEPTEMBER 16, I

quired far greater urgency. TheGovernment has realised the [utilityof imposing an unpopular social reoform through purely legal means, un·aided by the spadework of educativepropaganda. Such propaganda wasruled out because the higher echelonsof the ruling party themselves dis-played little faith in the reform.They were lukewarm in the begin.ning and subsequently became in·creasingly hostile. That is why theGold Control Order, even in its pris-tine form, had become untenable.Mr Morarji Desai's eventual exitfrom the Cabinet paved the way forthe first major retreat, sealing the fateof the law.

,The Times of India says that thl4-carat rule was cen tral to the poliaimed at weaning the people awafrom the gold habit, and to that etent the new concession adds upabandoning a desirable socio-econmic measure even before it was givea ~air trial. For a greater part treSIstance to gold control came frogoldsmiths themselves. Apart frothat, the change in the attitudethe sponsors and supporters ofGold Control Act and the increasiopposition to it from within the raof the ruling party had decideweakened the Government's positiThe paper, however, calls the PriMinister's decision "a golden mea

Belated

NOW

By the time these lines are in printthe strike of the school teachers willhave begun and the mass one-dayabsence on casual-leave of Govern-ment employees will also have takenplace. Last Friday's massive Maidanrally showed the grim resolve of theGovernment employees whose action'will mark a new phase in theirstruggle. They have staged quite anumber of impressive demonstrationsin the past but have refrained fromany kind of stoppage of work. Risingprices, scarcity of food and ill-treat-

firing followed. The pattern in Ba-lm'ghat seems to have been much thesame.

The Press

THE Government's decision to re-move all restrictions on the

making of gold ornaments of morethan 14 carat purity has not beensupported by the P~ess. Though thepapers had kept quiet all thesemonths when: the cont,roversy wasraging, they have now condemnedthis retreat from a "highly laudablepurpose". Much has been made bysome papers of the Government'sfailure to create the necessary atmos-phere for willing acceptance of theGold Control Order through propa-ganda; but none has paused to con-sider whether the Press performed itsrole in educating the public opinion.It is quite possible that the Govern-ment's policy would not have beenwhat the Prime Minister has an-nounced if the Press were as out-spoken a few weeks ago as it is now.The Government has no doubt yield-

. ed to pressure, but the Press didnothing to build a counter-pressure.On the contrary, its studied silenceon the merits of the Order and theprominence it gave to goldsmiths'agitation created an impression thatit was in favour of relaxation of goldcontrol. ' ;'1 ;

. "

There is really no cause for jubi-lation, says The Indian Express, forthe reasons which had justified themeasures in the eyes of its framersover three years ago have since ac-

16

practice to absent himseH from theAssembly except on the few' occasionswhen he is due to speak himself.

If, however, he was hoping thathis absence from the Council debatewould give him a chance to avoidthe fire of hostile criticism, he wasmistaken. In undertaking the tourhe was merely taking a leap from thefrying pan into the fire. Reports[rom West Dinajpur reveal that MrSen got a reception he had hardlybargained for. It is clear that it isnot only the Assembly members whoare not in a mood to listen to him.The mass of the people are develop-ing an allergy for him that bodes illfor the Congress in West Bengal.

This practice of the people turn-ing their backs on him began at thetime of the February-March incidentswhen at a funct.ion in DeshapriyaPark even the women refused tolisten and turned round to face theother way when he began to speak.Black-flag demonstrations and protestrallies have dogged him at everymeeting he has since tried to address,not excluding meetings in his ownconstituency at Arambagh. A dra-matic description of the kind of wel-co~e th~t t~e .Chief Minister getsdunng hIS dIstnct tours was given byMr Ajoy Mukherji in the Assembly.On earlier occasions whenever aChief Minister visited Midnapore hehad usually driven in State fromK~~ragp~r in an open car gentlyralSlng hIS hands from time to timeto greet the assembled crowds thatlined th~ road to welcome the augustpersonalIty. But on his recent visitlast month Mr P. C. Sen entered Mid-napore almost like an absconder. Thevenue of the meeting was most un-usual-Mr Mukherji stated that hehad never seen any meeting beingheld there during his entire politicallife of more than 40 years. It wasin the compound of the Collectorate.But even there the Qlack-flag demons-trators could not be held off and themeeting was disrupted. At one stagea Government official was seen hold-ing the mike and shoutin?; at thecrowd not to disturb "our" meeting.Ajoy Mukherji pointed out that themeeting was called by the DistrictCongress Committee and not by theGovernment but this was of coursenot the first time that the ruling partyhad used the State machinery forparty interests. Ultimately the policewere asked to take over and the usuallathi charges and tear-gas attacks and

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for the ultimate goal of a certain de-gree of control on consumption andcirculation of gold had not been lostsight of. It advises the Governmentto call for an immediate declarationby individuals of their holdings ofgold to prevent conversion of primarygold into ornaments and to intensifymeasures against smuggling and thecircula tion of illici t gold.

The Hindustan Times thinks theblanket ban on private holdings of."primary gold may facilitate the driveagainst smuggling and, in the shortrun, release sufficient supplies of themetal into the market to prevent amarked rise in the demand for smug-gled gold. But to check smugglingin tlle long run and to discourge thegold habit in the people a heavy pur-chase tax on gold ornaments shouldbe imposed. It would be even better,the paper says, if adequate incentivesare offered to the people t.o bring outtheir hoarded gold and invest theirwealth more fruitfully. The decisionto revoke the 14-carat rule appear~to the paper as yet another exampleof the Government's bowing, some-what unceremoniously, to extra-par-liamentary and unconstitutional pres-sures. The fact that the decision wastaken in pointed disregard of the re-commendations of the Government'sown committee of experts may glVerise to the suspicion that politicalconsiderations have weighed morethan they should have.

The biggest shortcoming of thegold control policy was, according toPatriot, the lack of social sanctionwhich only an effective campaign onthe part of the socially advanced sec-tion of society could provide. U n-fortunately, neither the Congress norprogressive parties in the Oppositionrealised the need for such a campaign.In its absence, the measure appearedto impinge only on the not-so-affluentgoldsmiths. The proper remedy forthis situation was not to succumb tothe pressure of an ill-informed pub-lic opinion but to plug loopholesthrough necessary legislative and ad·ministrative action and a widespreadeducative campaign.

Condemning the decision as anunprincipled subordination of a so-cial objective to election-eve expedi-ency, The Statesman says in a coun-try in which personal saving is low,and only a portion of it is findingits way to tlle institutions throughwhich it can be mobilised for publicpurposes, further encouragement to

NOW

traditional forms of keeping it ingold ornaments is not only a retro-grade step but also inconsistent withthe enthusiasm which politicians pro-fess for large plans involving massiveoutlays. The advantages of the 14-carat rule have been thrown awaybecause parties of all shades of opi-nion have made common cause Withthe protesting goldsmiths. In thepaper's opinion the agitation shouldnot have been thus appeased and al-lowed to reverse a policy which, be,ginning with Mr Desai's Gold Con-trol Order, was re-affirmed throughsubsequent legislative processes. Thatall these have been disregarded onnarrow political considerations augursill for the future. Accelerated deve-lopment calls for many changes insocial attitudes, and some of themwill call for greater hardships thanthose involved in a change from 22-carat to 14-carat ornaments.

On VerwoerdIndia's relation with South Africa

being what it is, it was natural tllatthe assassination of Dr Verwoerdshould make lead story in most ofthe papers. Few of them, however,took care to mention that the assas-sin was a white man, though this wasthe most significant bit of news apartfrom the act itself. In the commentsthat appeared subsequently fearswere expressed that the manner ofDr Verwoerd's death might impel hissuccessors to follow his policy withgreater determination and ruthless-ness. Assassination as a political.method was condemned, but at thesame time it was argued that Dr Ver-woerd's brutal methods of repressionwere responsible for this equallybrutal expression of protest.

Hindusthan Standard says an as-sassin's dagger has ripped open thedeceptively glorious canvas of the all-white South African State and hasfelled its chief architect by thrustingindividual terror against the organis-ed terrOr that is Dr Verwoerd's policeState. His violent end must havequite naturally shocked the SouthAfrican whites. But this is not likelyto shake their faith in apartheid.South Africa's military strength hasincreased enormously during the lastfew years. Even ~ith the best ofwill black Africa cannot at presenthope to be able to do much for theirblack brethren in South Africa. DrVerwoerd's death removes from theSouth African scene the most deter-

mined defender of white supremacy,and this points to the explosive na-ture of the South African situation.But a total blow-up from withinseems yet a remote possibility.

Regretting the circumstances inwhich death came to the principalarchitect of apartheid, The Times ofIndia says the assassination will notmean the end of apartheid. On thecontrary, by giving him in the eyesof his followers the halo of martyr-dom it may spur them on to pursuehis policy with an evangelical zeal.A policy which is derived from thesuppression of human liberties inevi-tably creates a climate of violence inwhich moderation becomes less andless acceptable as a posture for thosewho have to enforce the policy. ThatDr Verwoerd's assailant was a whiteman does not show that his policy islosing ground. If the campaignagainst apartheid is to be won, it hasto be aimed at making the SouthAfrican whites realise that their ownstature as a civilised community isdiminished by the denial to theirAfrican and coloured fellow-citizensof the rights which ought to be theinalienable possession of all men.

The Statesman thinks Dr Verwoerdwas not, by his lights, a bad man.He was financially honest, hard-work-ing, clean living, g~nuinely religiousand a sincere lover of the Afrikanerpeople. But his nationalism was atthe expense of the most basic humanrights of others. than Afrikaners. Thepaper is certain that the regime willnot be impelled to mildness. Theremay be further repressive "security"legislation. There probably will, inany event, be harsher application ofexisting law less laws, even greaterpolice brutality, a still quicker fingeron the trigger if public disorderoccurs,

Expressing its shock at the assassi-nation The 'Indian ExjJress says DrVerwoerd was one of the most viciousenemies of the African people. Butthere are many white South Africanswho believe that Dr Verwoerd wasfar too liberal in his treatment ofnon-white South Africans. Over theyears the white regitne in SouthAfrica has becQ,me increasingly racistin character, though at various timesit has looked as if the regime couldnot possibly become more racist.From Smuts down to Verwoerd everySouth African Prime Minister hastaken the country further al~mg thefascist road. Malan's policies were

17

KEEP

NWHAT THE GOVERNMENT HAVE DONEFood is sub~id1sed; there can be no rise in the cost of wheat and ;ice.So with kerosene.Day to day needs like vegetable oil, matches, soap. drugs and cloth have beenbrought under the Essential Commodities Act.Prices are being watched. industry is being helped and supplies are beingarranged.Raw materials and spare parts are liberally imported to activise all consumerindustries.

WHAT THE INDUSTRY IS DOINGManufacturers have agreed to co-operate in keeping the prices down.Goods sold in packages will have prices stamped on them, to preventprofiteeri ng.Prices are advertised and also displayed at shops.Goods are supplied at factory rates to consumers' co-operative societies.

WHAT WE CAN DOBuy our needs through Co-operative Stores whenever possible.Buy only what we need immediately; avoid storing for the future.Start consumer Co-operatives in our areas.

IT CAN BE DONELET US CO-OPERATE

harsher than those of Smuts; mattersbecame worse in Strijdom's time, andthey worsened further during prVerwoerd's eight years of premier-ship. One would like to believe thatthe worst is over, but that would bewishful thinking. The apartheidpolicy will almost certainly be pur-sued by Dr Verwoerd's successor evenmore viciously than before. Theneed for effective international actionagainst South African racism has,therefore, also become great.er.

The Play's TheThing

By A DRAMA CRITIC

- VIETNAM is not a mere placename. To many, it is man's

conscience, it is a word that standsfor his indomitability, his defianceof death, his courage, his will, hislove of freedom. Viet.nam is all thisand more. To t.ake the name ofVietnam is to feel that a terriblebeauty is born.

There are many moments of suchbeauty in Utpal Dutt.'s production ofAjeya Vietnam at the Minerva Thea-tre. A blinded little girl seeking herkilled mother; the wounded doctor-his face coloured bv blood like aglorious flower, his body and the stagehidden in. a, void, only his face shin-ing with that intensity that is Viet-nam-reciting Whitman with moreconcentrated power than a thousandbombs; the complete stillness of thesquatting grandmother, her facebroken into a myriad planes with in-describable suffering; the dynamic re-volutionary groupings which climaxlinal1y into an unfurling flag. I wishI could write in this strain and end

SEPTEMBER 16, 1966

NOW

my note here. But. the critic's (lessermortal that he is!) responsibility un-fortunately does not permit total sur-render and he has to quest.ion. Myquestions arise in the context ofUtpal Dutt's intentions. I accepthis agit-prop theatre as the most vitalwe have today in the country and al-though I am averse to gimmickry, Jam prepared to yield ground there,as quite rightly, at this given moment.,this is perhaps inevitable for the po-pular theatre, both emotionally andcommercially. An agit-prop playtherefore operates at a different leveland unless you totally reject the verypremise of it, you have to accept itsstylistic ramifications. So withinthese limits; I raise the follOWIngpoints:

(l) Is the central question in Viet-nam American sadism and tort.ure?We have know.n of torture in Algeriaby the French, in Kenya by the Bri-tish, by the Japanese, in Hitler's gaschambers, during the communal riotsin India and now in Vietnam. Sot.here is nothing spec~fically ethnicabout brutality, it is an inhuman butalmost inevitable stance of the bullyin times of violence. In the currentplay the sadism of the American sol-dier almost becomes the main theme,but surely, the main focus ought tobe that the Americans have no rightto be there, a feeling which is un-doubtedly shared by an increasingnumber of Americans themselves. Wehave all noted that the statementsemanating from Vietnam always em-phasise this point rather than theacts of torture, and it is not right t.odeviate from that, particularly in anagit-prop play. Obsession with atro-cities has more in common with thedecadent theatre of cruelty ratherthan the t.heatre of Brecht and Tol-ler. Cruelty, sadism, torture aretoo easy a theatrical device for theanguish of Vietnam.

(2) Need the sound t.rack be soloud? The result of t~e ear-splittingcascades of recorded song and musicis noise, a deafening cacophony,whereas restraint could have beenmore evocative.

(3) Is it not possible to he a lit.tleless clever? An Ame,rican officer whois about to rape a Vietnamese girland behave as a latter-day De Sadein general-how is his mispronuncia-tion of a Beethoven piece relevant tohis characterisation?

(4) Is it necesary for the nurse toread Mao-Tse tung while Tapas

Sen's lighting suggests -heavy air at:tack and when the wounded needurgent attention? The most strikingfeature of the Vietnamese must betheir fantastic discipline, and theywould not be reading a book whent.he wounded cry Wi ~rgent a~tention.

(5) Is Mr Dutt so sure that theSoviet contribution t.o Vietnam COn-sists merely of· packets of' cigarettes.?

(6) Is it necessary for the sake ofconventional relief 'to introduce tWfJpartisans who walk, talk, and behavelike characters out of Malanga Lane?A great movement embraces andtransforms even the lumpen. Nostretch of naturalistic manoeuvre canbridge the gap betw'een Vietnatn andMalanga Lane. . , . '. /

Enough of listing: Basically, thefirst half is somewhat shaky and un-satisfactory, but the second half 1Smoving and powerful, although fau1t~ed by some personal predilections-itis our misfortune that Dutt, the most.virile, courageous and active theatri-cal talent we have, fails so often todraw the line between the mawkishand the moving. But. perhaps theend justifies the means. Therefore,three cheers to butt for his play.Vietnam Zindabad ! .

Tracestying TagoreBy A DRAMA CRrtIC

THE authorities of the RabindraSadan could not care less, but

the unsuspect.ing people who attend-ed the drama festival (September 3-September 8) ,of the SantiniketanAshramic Sangha were taken aback bythe free traffic which the Sanghaallowed itself into Tagore's writings.For instance, Bhanusingha ThakurerPadabali was produced as Bhanu-singher Padabali and -all sorts ofsongs for which the subterfuge ofBhanusingha was hardly necessarywere merrily intrOduced.-The Sanghaenlightened the audience aboltt thetwo versions of Mayar Khela but irwas not understood why, adopting theearlier version, it ahose to present theplay through dances. If Tagore wasdissatisfied with the music drama ver-sion and considered changing it intoa dance drama, he certainly did notcontemplate the sort of dances theSangha presented. A few spurts ofjives, continual wagging of fingers,

19

1of h"cuItimeinitithe'begsmaalsomucnlOl

infoChiandlike~ammgthroInworlenellowlatioher

RC. Sdidpel'sChineedcult~lence_·po

SEP.SEPTEMBER 16, 1966

Letters

Messrs Asit Sen, C. S. Rajamaniand S. R. Gupta's letter on "CulturalRevolution" in China (August 26)reminds me of the hullabaloo GvrrMr Satyajit Ray's silence on theIndo-China border conflict. Mr Raywas then exhorted to discard his siloence and come forward instead witha super-patriotic film to inject" na.tionalist fervour and pat.riotism into

Inside China

variety, is basically honest, hanlwork·ing, efficient and devoted to hiaduties. Experience, at least in thepublic undertakings manned by thicadre at every high level of mana~e·ment, has proved otherwise. Whatthe author has perhaps failed to ap-praise is the limitations-some ofthem very severe-Of these adminis-trators, limitations that lead to Ire·quent failures in the economic field.Since these failures are sought to hecovered by these civil servants evenwhen they are caught out, they havebeen lately stressing that public ac-CDumability for public undertakingsis inconsistent with prudent manage·ment of government undertakings.This suggestion itself has tended toslur over democratic processes in In·dian society and has tended to weak·en them. Too many foreign inves-tors have taken advantage of this fatt.It is surprising that such things haveescaped the attention of an other-wise acutely observant auth~lr. t\perusal of reports submitted by :h~Public Accounts Committee to theIndian Parliament would hcl.\·e mCltl~him realise the hollowness of IllS

praise for Indian civil servants.Arising out of this is also the per·

tinent fact that the Indian :ldminis-trator has a propensity to delay deci·sions, something that the foreign in.vestor needs to know in some detail.These delays and vacillations haveprolonged the period of gestation 01many industrial projects irrespectiveof their sectoral location. Mr Kust'sstudy suffers from insufficient. apprai.sal of the effect of delays in licensin~enterprises with substantial foreigninvestment.

To sum, the book, though useful'in its own wa}'1s, ,is incomplet.e incertain fundamental aspects, notwith·standing the erudition of the author.

SIKANDAR AI.!

Major FailingAttention must also be drawn to

one major failing in this book. MrKust thinks that the Indian civil ser-vant, whether of the ICS or the lAS

yet his liberal stance is not wholly inlirie with the concession-seeking Ame-rican investing fraternity. He doesnot twist facts. He states them asthey are and with a certain amountof insight which is refreshing. Hedoes not plead for more' concessionsto foreign investors.

He -discusses ICconomic planning,foreign collaboratiol'l, basic legalstructure, protection of property andbusiness interests, licensing and regu-lation of industry, protection of newindustries, foreign exchange control,~usiness organisation, capital issuescon troI, taxation" industri!ll proper-ty rights, labour laws and policies.petroleum and mineral rules and po-licies, and arbitration in a straight-forward manner without angling hi~presentation. Statements made arethoroughly annotated and bear astamp of scholarship. The book pro-vides most of the basic informationto foreign investors seeking to sinkfunds in India.

With all this stated, one does feelthat his over-detached and sometimesgrossly objective view of the Indianlegal' framework as a whole becomesooreft of sympathy for India; itdoes not provide the investor withthe design and vista of developmentand the immense market India repre-sents. Maybe, he did not set out todo this at all. But can a legal frame-work be like a desiccated calculatngmachine? This is a question worthseeking, especially as the book iswritten t.o provide guidance to in-tending investors. Had Mr Kust ap-pended another chapter delineatingthe possible risks and gains the foreigninvestor'may incur in investing inIndia, the value of this book wouldhave increased tremendously.

Despite the fact that all majorideas and facts have been accommo-dated in the present ,edition, legal andpolicy changes brought about withinthe last three years ought to be ac-commodated in a future edition.These relate to partial dilution ofthe Industrial Policy Resolutions of1948 and'1956, the role and curb ofthe limitation of areas of managingagencies. These changes are houndto influence the course of foreign in-vestment in India in the near future.

NOW

20

THIS is a reprint of Mr Kust'swell-known study of the legal

environment in which foreign capitaland technology participate in India.The present edition seems only slight-ly dated; its usefulness is not substan-tially diminished by changes in fo-reign investment policies that havecome about during the last two yearsin India, the years of succumbing toforeign pressures and granting t.hemconcessions far beyond the value offoreign investments both in the shortas well as the long-term view.

Mr Kust is an American lawyer;

FOREIGN ENTERPRISES ININDIA: Law & PoliciesBy Mathew J. KustOxford University Press, B~mbayRs. 15

occasional folding of hands overbreasts and romping around the stagedo not make a dance. Tagore wasnot a great exponent of dancing buthe tried to complement poetry andmusic with movements of the body.The girls who frequently forgot. theircue and looked back at the wingswith unabashed grins are hardly thetype who can do justice to Tagore.

It was unfortunate that SuchitraMitra, Asoketaru Bandyopadhyay,Gita Sen and Amit Mitra were in-troduced to try histrionics. TheSangha even managed to kill thebroad laughs of Taser Desh withatrocious pronunciation or whateverof it was heard. Graciously enough,Nilima Sen chose to stay away fromthe stage and the harrowing experi-ence was, if for brief moments, re-lieved by the songs she sang exqui-sitely.

If these performances are a point-er, Rabindra Sadan has a bleak futureor none.

r

our anaemic people. Messrs Sen,Rajamani and Gupta also seem to beequally alarmed and worried overyour silence which they construe asan acquiescence in what is happen-ing in China. In an outburst ofangered surprise they want you tospeak out your mind, take up thecudgels and come to the rescue of"culture" which the Chinese are outto destroy. I would refer them toa letter more or less on the sameissue written by Mr Chanakya Senand published in The Statesmansome time in June this year, in whichhe highlighted some aspects of thepurges and the "cultural revolution".He wrote, inter alia, of the ChineseCommunist Party's admission of theexistence of bourgeois elements in theparty, the danger their thinking andoutlook posed to the revolutionarycause of the country and of the needto rid the party of revisionist trends;of how the ideologiaal debate on the"cultural revolution" began a longtime ago under Mao Tse-tung's directinitiative and guidance, and how afterthe issue had been decided, the purgesbegan, affecting, after all, only asmall section of the people. Mr Senalso cautioned us not to read toomuch into the purges as, in his opi-nion, starved as we were of essentialinformation and materials aboutChina our guessing on this issue-and other matters as well-was verylikely to be a wild and misleadinggame. He concluded by almost liken-ing the happenings in China to thethrobbing of a great Power emergingin Asia or, for that matter, in theworld with whom even her archenemy, the USA, and his camp-fol-lowers might suitably adjust their re-lations rather than China adjustinghers with them.

Referring back to Messrs Asit Sen,C. S. Rajamani and S. R. Gupta,did they not read in their own pa-pers only a few days ago that theChinese leaders had emphasized theneed to combat revisionism on thecultural front not by physical vio-lence but by ideological fights andexposures? Instead, they demand an

explanation from you whether youagree wi th the Chinese method otsettling ideological differences byphysical violence. As a reader ofNow I would . like them to explainwhy and how in the second largestdemocracy in the world, the intellec-tuals and progressives opposed to theundemocratic policies of the rulingparty are systematically hunted down,branded as Communists and deprivedof their legitimate place in society,not to speak of the thousands of peo-ple who are put in prison where theylanguish without opportunities ofself-defence?

RATAN SARKAR

Siliguri

The 'Proletarian Cultural revolu-tion' initiated in China and the con-sequent purges seem to have puzzledcertain intellectuals in India. Theletter (Now, August 26) written byMr Asit Sen and others reflects a con-cern for the persecuted Chinese in-tellectuals. Any debunking or deni-gration, in whatever form, of intellec-tuals, more particularly of creativewriters and teachers, is apt to pro-voke indignation. But Mr Sen andothers seem to forget that even ateacher and a creative writer areclass-conditioned beings. The pre-sent apathy and opportunism of In··dian intellectuals and creative wri-ters. who have sold their souls revealhow they have abjured their historicrole.

It is difficult to say anything withany degree of certainty about the roleof Chinese intellectuals, many ofwhom have a bourgeois past. It isalso a law of history that changes inideology are slower than changes inthe economic structure, and whilewe may genuinely appreciate thedilemma and agony of the individualteacheI1S and writers of present-dayChina (who may naturally find itdifficult to adjust themselves to thenew situation), we cannot but admitthat the purge is a historical neces-sity. It is also well to recognise thathistory is relen.tless.

One, however, suspects that the

concern shown in certain quartersabout the persecution of Chinese in-tellectuals is prompted by class in-terest. Humanitarianism is indeedof dubious virtue; more deceptive isthe concern for culture. The samepeople are shamelessly silent whenthe half-starved teachers of Indiasquat on the streets demanding baresubsistence.

A TEACHER

Calcutta

It seems that Lin Piao is being ho-noured for the second time. OnOctober 2, 1958, San Francisco Chro.nicle came out with this headline:Tough Soldier Likely Successor ToMao over the following Hong Kongstory from a New York Herald Tri-bune service report: "Aging MaoTse-tung ... has picked young soldierLin Piao as his eventual successor ...Both Liu and Chou are being SIde-tracked for 'People's Marshal' Lin."

Soon after it was announced inPeking that Mao Tse-tung would re-linquish his post as Chairman of thePeople's Republic of China, not toLin Piao but to Liu Shao-chi.

K. RoyCalcutta

Russian Revaluation

The charges brought against theSoviet Union under "Russian Reva-luation" (Now, September 2) are ofa serious nature. It is desirable that,while commenting on such issues(like the Soviet attitude t.o the CPI(R) and the Congress), expressionslike "said to be" or "seem to be" arenot used and instead definite sourcesof such information are mentioned.This is the least which any seriousreader of Now expects.

S. K. GUPTA

Calcutta

Zhivago

It is amusing to note that in an. attempt to vindicate the sentimenttof the Russian Government Mr Bis-

y

1

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5

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ed a new kind of hero out of agali. A confirmed debauch, afterdissipating night, returned home cpletely drunk in the small hoursthe morning, needing assistanceclimb to his first-floor bedroom,on his feet at sunrise, beaming, aas fresh as could be I Admirable'deed I Or was it hidden or not-hidden persuasion to promatesale of Scotch as a new elixir of life

PITAMBER AnRan

(This correspondence is now do-Editor.)

(Incorporated in England.The liability of members is limited.)

Report in IzYe

Sher Afghan

Jaundice Mostly InSlums. No Cause For W01T)',

Headline

The review of Nandikar'sAfghan seemed to be extremely ptial and incomplete. Your dracritic deserves thanks for a painsting analysis of the theme of the pIabut curiously enough, he does nwrite more than half a sentence abothe production. Is it becausethinks that it does not deserve anthing more than that? If so, I mdiffer with him, for I believe th'She1' Afghan is a tremendous theatexperience.

In response to the demands fro"?'evolutionary students" perfll'~1scent, powder, cream and other pfumery were ?'emoved from lite sl1,windows of the central Pekin,!! departmenl store and other shops, ...The "revolutionm'y students" demondiscontinuation of Ihe outlml of jJerfume1)' .....

E.I.D.-PARRY LTD.

Swapna Niye

Durgapur

A.B.Calcutta

taxed as capital gains, for such landscan often pass for agricultu~al landw~ich is excluded from capital assetsgams.

NOW

Allow me to congratulate A., M. forgiving a vivid and true picture of thepolitical pressures involved in the re-cent Durgapur happenings (Now,August 26). I happened to be inDurgapur for more than three yearsand am aware of the labour relationsprevailing there, particularly in thepublic .sector undertakings. Thoughthe representative character of theHindustan Steel Employees' Union isbeyond doubt, the Workers' Unionaffiliated to the INTUC is recognis-ed. The same'is the case with MAMCLtd. (formerly Heavy EngineeringCorporation) , a Government of Indiaundertaking where the pet INTUCunion is recognised and the electionof a Works Committee has been deli-berately kept in abeyance, lest the re-presentative Employees' Union cap-tures all the seats.

The suspicion that labour laws areviolated most in public sector under-takings is not altogether _unfounded.A thorough probe by a high-poweredbody into industrial relations is re-quired so that recurrence of unhappysituations either in Bhopal, Durgapuror elsewhere can be avoided.

DILIP KUMAR RoyCalcutta

After reading the review and viewson Swapna Niye of your letter-writers,I went to see the film which had cometo Ranchi. Thoughtfully, perhaps;the management of the cinema halladvertised a brand of aspirin before'the interval. But we did not takethe cue and suffered the agony ofwatching the film for about two anda half hours. I am not very muchbothered that the director lacks anykind of sophistication; what is mostirritating is that he.is lacking in thebasic film sense. And I am worriedthat if such a Bengali film is allowedto be exhibited outside Bengal, what-ever good name' Bengali films enjoyamong those whose mother tongue isnot Bengali, will soon be spoiled.

Incidentally, the director has creat-

PURAN PAL

Calcutta

wabandhu .Bhattacharyya (August26) has ,in fact shown scant respectfor the ideas and policies that thepresent Russian regime stands for.That ~he large-s~ale publicity givento Dr Zhivago is politically moth'at-ed nobopy disputes. But then, whatMr Bhattacharyya overlooks is that itis Russia which is at present the sta-unchest advocate of "non-interfer-t;nce" in the internal affairs of othernatIons. She showed admirable res-traint over the mass repression of theCommunists in Iraq, India and ~heUAR. The genocide in Indonesiahardly ~ovec;1.tpem. It follows, there-fore, that. Russia's objection to show-ing of any particular film in Indiaruns counter to her avowed policy.Now has quite faithfully remindedher of th<lt.

22·

Profiteering ?In a rece'nt discqssion in Parlia-

ment there was near-unanimity amongthe members that the Governmentwas guilty of profiteering in urbanlands. The Speaker joined the cri-tics by narrating how his own landhad been taken over at a nominalprice (he has filed an appeal againstthe valuation) while the Governmentmay make a sizable gain by sellingit. Nothing could be more, ~re-hen ible, and all heads in the Houseseemec;1to nod in sllpport. Perhaps theword 'pr:oi.iteeringl than which noth-ing can be dirtier, made all the differ-ence. Certainly, if rice is sold forRs. 40 a maund when paddy is pur-chased for Rs. 15, the profiteering de-serves condemnation. But, pray, doesrtbe same logic hold when the Govern-II\e,nt sells land in urban areas to thehighest bidder and the profit goes tothe public exchequer? Except thevendee everyone else gains. If theargument is for 'a public selling ofland, like rice, at a fair price, thenfirst all urban lands should be nation-alised at a 'fair'/rice, like paddy un-der levy. Woul the bewailers agree?

A little reflection would show thathere is at least one instance whereprofiteering perhaps benefits the pub-lfc, though parodoxically not its re-Iiresentatives. I It helps mop up un-earned profit and purchasing- power,which would escape the public net al-t.ogether. Under the law of the landvery little of the profits reaped fromsale of land in growing towns can be

THE TREASURE HUNT

UNION CARBIDE PRODUCTS FOR INDIA'S HOMES,INDUSTRIES AND AGRICULTURE:

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SOWING THE. ' .: I SEEDS OF PROGRESS

Rs. 41akhs some 12 years ago, Union Carbide's export targethas soared to Rs. 80 lakhs for 1966.

Union Carbide continues the hunt for foreign marketsto support the nation's drive for exports.

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A Union Carbide salesman from India sings songsin Swahili. Another explores Australia ... That's howexport targets have gone up 20 times in 12 years.

The treasure hunt for foreign exchange has been long butrewarding. A Union Carbide salesman ftom India composesrhymes in Swahili, tells stories to children as he takes hisvan through the villages of East Africa. Starting with Egyptsome years ago, sales executives continue to explore marketsas far apart as Australia, Finland, Zambia. This yearUnion Carbide will export to more than 50 countries. Eventhe U.S.A. and Canada buy flashlight components fromUnion Carbide India-so excellent is the quality.

Union Carbide initially exported dry batteries only ..Todaythe export range includes batteries, flashlights, batterydepolariser, zinc products. Chemical and Polyethylene pro-ducts, too, will soon sail across the high seas. From a mere

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