Meeting a Social Activist Businessman

Social and political struggles produce activist citizens. But a storm of new ideas is necessary for turning a citizen socially active. Motivation in the person needs to be ignited to work for a social cause or a political lakshya. But must we have an interesting issue on which you can build a movement. The Upanishadic mantra says: Lead me from darkness to Light. (tamaso ma jyotir gamaya). And we light a candle that symbolizes active struggle for truth. If you light a candle, and your friend lights another one, we have created a chain reaction that goes to infinity.

In 1979 (?) Indira Gandhi had lost her Paliamentary seat at her tradition safe constituency in the north. She scouted for another safe seat to get reelected to the Lok Sabha from southern constituency Chickamagalur. I belonged to no political party but to uphold democracy, I felt it my dharma ( duty )to do my bid to stop the dictator coming to power again. I knew no one in that area and had no party affiliation except my strong desire to do something for democratic political forces. So I flew to Banglore and went to the town Chickamagalur.

That morning around 8.00, I was in front of the local Janata Party office: a small room with a small board “Janata Party”. But there was no one to man the office. Just around this time two well-to-do young men drove in an ambassador car. They parked and said to me: “We have come to help your Party electioneering. Give us campaign material…” Evidently, from my kurta-pyajama style they mistook me to be the chaparasi awaiting to open the party office. They had come all the way from Banglore with a single wish to work against the dictator.

I was happy to meet someone local Kannadiga youth, and so I said:
“myself have come from New Delhi, but there is no one here to organize the electioneering. There are no party workers, no office, no one.. except you and me. We are the people – citizens of India, and want to support democratic forces in the country. So,” I continued, “ why to wait for some one to tell us what to do…You have a car, and I can lecture in Hindi and English. You can translate in Kannada. Let us move on - village to village, and we can organize small road-side corner meetings.”

We managed to get a small Janata flag tied on the car, and went across the towns and villages, addressing the people, pleading and urging them to vote for the Janata party. The question was not whom to vote but whom not to vote in this election.

“Whatever your party be, but always remember our national commitment to Democratic Constitution. We must not support the dynastic aspiration of those who consider themselves above the nation. ...” I would cry and make the villagers to shout Jai Hind.

My Kannadiga translator was the young businessman - Srinivasa Raju. He was also my driver, my supporter –my guide, my financier, and also my body-guard. How many towns and villages we covered I do not remember but I think it was that afternoon, around 3 pm, when we were driving towards a small town that we saw hundreds of people running out of the center Chowk of the town ………... Some of them holding small Janata flags and shouting at us not to go to the Chowk… We spotted a man who looked like a leader. “Police firing is on the Janata party and with the party flag it is no safe for you to go there. Turn the car and run….” He was the local party secretary.

I asked my comrade Srinivasa if he would come with me as I must go forward and stop the firing. Otherwise, let me drive the car. Or else stay behind with the car but must I go forward. He affirmed his resolve to stay right with me come what may. “O.K. then, drive straight to the center – firing or no firing. You would not stop, unless I say so..let them fire on me..but go straight to that officer in the center of the Chowk.”

Unarmed citizens were running helter-skelter and an officer was standing in the middle with a dozen policemen in a semi-circle ready in firing position. The officer was taken aback when I jumped out of the car shouting at the gunmen: “Stop firing.. Who is in charge here? Who had ordered the firing on unarmed citizens?”

“Not me, sir, I have just come here,” replied the officer apologetically. Probably he thought I was some minister in kurta-pyjama?

I shouted: “withdraw all your gunmen from the Chowk . We shall hold here an election meeting.”

As I was confronting the police officer, hundreds of people emerged from the nook and corners and rushed to us pleading that the firing was unprovoked, planned to scare the people. One college girl had been shot dead.

The situation was serious. The public was angry and the official policy was to disturb the election campaign. I went up to the podium and appealed for “ calm and courage”. I asked the citizens to come out of the shops to a peaceful assembly and exercise their constitutional right to hold the election meeting. I also appealed to the authorities to withdraw uniformed men from the scene as their presence was likely to provoke the public anger.

Soon, the police force was withdrawn. Srinivasa drove me to the local hospital where the girl’s body was kept. Thousands of college girls and boys had gathered demanding the body of their college girl which they would take to the girl’s village for the last rite. Authorities on the other hand, fearing more civil unrest, were not willing to release the body. If the stand off continued, the public anger would go out of hand, I realized.

I picked up the mike and asked everyone to stand in formation of a disciplined Youth Brigade to counter the official force. Once a crowd of few hundred boys and girls had now turned into a disciplined but unarmed army. I insisted that our Youth Force would stay totally peaceful. But we were determined to carry the body to her Mother’s village, pay our homage shradhanjali collectively and help the family with the last rite. I also sent a written message to the District Magistrate with a kind of ultimatum:

“Hand over the body of the college girl within 40 minutes” thereafter I shall order my Youth Force to march in and take the body away by force. I assured the DM that we wished no confrontation with the authorities.

Without further delay, the body was handed over to us and in a silent procession we walked to the mother’s house some four kms. in sweltering heat. Poor Srinivasa who was not very athaletic had suffered blisters in his sole.

Next day, in a huge gathering at the College campus in Ujire town, we held a prayer assembly and I announced a Memorial Fund in the name of the girl. The first Rs.100.00 was my contribution for scholarship to deserving and needy students of the college.

Usually, a businessman works for the profit. But in Srinivasa I found a comrade-in-arm for socially benefiting actions without profit. Still both of us have been rebuked as “impractical idealists”, struck in an abiding friendship whose only concern is to find some mythical “human values” in “social action”. But isn’t the Gita says: “nishkam karma” - social work –must be self-less service, and I found in Srinivasa Raju – an impractical idealist businessman who is always enthusiastic to work for societal issues.

Behind every successful man there stands a woman saying he was wrong. Please, God! Bless this businessman- Srinivasa Raju.