The Cold war of the 20th century had visited upon the Vietnamese people
who had been fighting against European (French) colonialism before the
US forces landed in the Indo-Chinese region to drive out the communist
from Asia. During 1964-72, I taught at Michigan State University and was
visiting faculty at Columbia, Berkeley, Harvard and Hawaii. Based on my
experience of Indian freedom struggle, I protested the Vietnam War, and
with a few hundred students marched in Washington DC. I was part of a
radical intellectual group in the U.S. that organized Teach-ins in the
universities against the Vietnam War. In the 1960s, under the leadership
of Chairman Mao, Red Flag of Revolution was high over Chinese mainland.
I defended the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and offered reasoned
justification even for the Pol Pot’s crimes against his own Cambodian
people.
In 1969-70, I was awarded a Faculty Research grant by the U.S. Federal
Education Department. A conservative Republican senator petitioned to
the White House against the grant to an “anti-U.S. Maoist Communist.”
The Nixon administration dutifully cancelled the research grant. But
during that anti-Sharma campaign in the U.S., The Association of
American University Professors, and the liberal intellectual community
in America fully defended my academic rights. Having lived for over 22
years abroad, in 1973, I returned to India to serve my motherland. Dr.
B.D. Nag Chaudhury, formerly the Defence Scientific Advisor to the
Government of India, was then the Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru
University - the citadel of Marxist academics. Nag Chaudhury – himself a
nuclear scientist, asked me to assist the university in organizing the
Centre in Science Policy Studies at JNU.
Soon after I joined the university, a few “revolutionaries” approached
me for assessing my ideological radicalism. As they were committed to
create a new socio-political world order by Revolutionary actions, their
meetings were secret which indicated their sense of adventurism. I urged
them to take to the path of non-violent revolution. Since the majority
people were poor in the country and we were in an open democratic state
with voting rights, I argued, it would be possible to overthrow the
bourgeoisie politico- economic system by constitutional means. They
found me un- fit for revolutionary struggle.
In November 1983, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet (CHOGM).
Conference was held in India. Earlier that year I had published a
full-length first critical study “India’s Nuclear Estate”, and had
formed the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (COSNUP). I considered
CHOGM a good opportunity and appealed the Heads to agree for a Nuclear
Free Commonwealth. My memorandum was singed by fifty-seven eminent
social scientists, writers and thinkers of our country and legal pundits
included Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer, Vijaylakshmi Pandit, Soli Sorabjee,
V.M. Tarakunde, Madhu Dandavate, Renana Jhabvala, O.V.Vijayan, CGK Reddy
and Suresh Kalmadi.
Reacting to the COSNUP campaign the establishment scientists led by Dr.
Raja Ramanna advised the Indira Gandhi Government to stop the peace
campaign. As I was then chairman of Science Policy Studies Centre at
Jawaharlal Nehru University, A Review Committee was constituted to
evaluate the work of my Centre. Dr. Raja Ramnna, then the chairman of
the Atomic Energy Commission, and the Father of India’s A-Bomb was
nominated by the Government to head the Review Committee of the
autonomous National University named after Jawaharlal Nehru.
I requested a meeting with the chairman but his curt reply was that “As
I have seen several of your articles especially the one that appeared in
the Manchester Guardian (London), it is clear that we have very
divergent views on development of atomic energy in this country. I also
feel that these articles have damaged the country’s reputation abroad.
In view of this, I feel that there is no point in having a discussion on
this matter.”
The Ramanna Committee ordered closer of the Centre for Studies in
Science Policy at JNU. My petitions remained unacknowledged. My appeals
were rejected without any hearing. JNU Executive Council, Academic
Council, and JNU Teachers’ Association did not protest.
Around this time I was inclined to join the Communist Party of India
(CPI-M) specially since the party had joined the electoral politics and
I was keen to work towards economic –social reforms through
parliamentary system. For the first time in life, I had wished to join a
political party. An enthusiastic local secretary assured me that the CPM
functioned with “ inner party democracy”. I was conducted to the
Secretary General Sarder Har Kishan Singh Surjeet for a lengthy
discussion.
I had published a first full length (200
pages) Hindi book on “Vietnam ka Swatantra-Samgharsh” (Freedom Struggle
of Vietnam). I was rebuked for publishing the volume without clearance
from the party. The title of the book was considered “politically
incorrect”, that should have been “Liberation Struggle” (Mukti-Samgharsh).
I must learn politically correct expressions and was further instructed
that in future all my writings to be cleared before publication by the
party secretary.
At an appointed time and place I attended
my first and the last party meeting. A few JNU colleagues with whom I
had been interacting on campus for months without coming to know their
political affiliation were present in the meeting. But there was hardly
any dissenting voice. Always it was an enthusiastic assent to anything
the Secretary said. There was little discussion about any critical
issues. I realized that the Political Dictatorship doctrine was still
operative in the party and therefore most top ranking leaders of the
executive council of CPM were overwhelmingly high caste Hindus with no
female and/or low-caste or minorities included in the decision-making
forum of the CPM.
I was closeted with the local Secretary at my residence. He offered me
access to high positions in the academic bodies and university
administration. I was offered handsome research grants on condition that
the funds awarded to me would be passed on to the party pool.
Nonetheless, I could not be persuaded to join the party. I proposed two
conditions: First, the CPM renounced the doctrine of Political
Dictatorship. Second, make the party membership open and public. I
refused to join the Party. But the secretary was not easily to be wished
away. He threatened to inform the US Embassy about my association with
the Communist Party in India. Still I could not compromise my Freedom to
dissent and as the JNU comrades could not make me politically correct, I
was declared a “ CIA agent”.
The Secretary-General, and the CPM Party members in Parliament did not
acknowledge my representations. No JNU colleague defended my academic
freedom. I was rebuked that since I did not belong to the party " no one
would defend you now". One senior JNU professor offered best advise, “
to pack and leave our university”. He was a party member.
There was, however, one exception. The then leader of the opposition in
Parliament, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. ( 1998-2004, Prime Minister of India,
Vajpayee made the country a Nuclear Power by conducting five Nuclear
Tests at Pokhran –2, in May 1998.) He wrote to the Chancellor of JNU,
Dr. D.S. KOTHARI that "dissent and debate, on public policies in
particular, is an essential element of the democractic way of life. As a
member of the Lok Sabha from Delhi, and as a member of the Court of the
JNU, I feel particularly concerned about the case of Dr. Dhirendra
Sharma… It appears from the circumstances of the case that Dr. Sharma
has been victimised because of his views - his critical examination of
India's nuclear programme. If so, I am sure you will agree that this is
a serious matter" and Vajpayee "urged reconsideration" of the case.
