Today the nation pays rich tribute to the fifth Prime Minister of India, Chaudhary Charan Singh, on his 34th death anniversary. Truly, a great man with great ideas, he was the tallest leader of the peasant class. But he remains a much-misunderstood man in Indian politics. Most people do not know that he was a scholar of great eminence and his scholarly contributions in the fields of agricultural reforms, economics, politics, and social dynamics were widely acknowledged and cited by international scholars. He was a rare breed of politicians who wrote extensively on agrarian reforms and economic issues. Prof. Terence of the London School of Economics was so impressed by his scholarly contributions that he regarded him as an extraordinary intellectual. Some of his outstanding contributions are Abolition of Zamindari, Agrarian Revolution, Joint Farming X-rayed, India’s Poverty and its Solution, India’s Economic Policy: The Gandhian Blueprint, and Economic Nightmare of India. If someone is remotely interested in Indian politics and rural India, then these books become a must-read.   

Chaudhary Charan Singh was born on 23 November 1902 in the family of a small farmer in Nurpur village of Meerut district. His father was not an owner of the land, rather a tenant farmer who used to pay revenue to the landlord of the village. A little later the family moved to a neighbouring village Bhadaula. Chaudhary Charan Singh had his early schooling in a rural setting deprived of basic infrastructure. He was an immensely talented student with a keen interest in knowing almost everything. After earning his Master’s degree from Agra college and Law degree from Meerut College, Meerut, he started his practice in Ghaziabad which provided him with a platform to join the Indian National Congress in 1929. Soon, he joined Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha movement and suffered imprisonment thrice during the freedom struggle between 1930 and 1942. 

He was elected for the first time to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly on the Congress ticket from Meerut district with a massive poll mandate in 1937. There was no looking back after that in electoral politics for him. After his second victory in 1946 in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, he was appointed as a parliamentary secretary. He had worked as a Cabinet Minister with several Chief Ministers right from 1951 until he severed ties with the Congress in 1966, and became the first non-Congress Chief Minister in 1967 after an impressive victory of his newly created Bhartiya Kranti Dal (BKD). He became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh a second time in 1970, and after that, he renamed his party Bhartiya Lok Dal (BLD) in 1974. 

Chaudhary Charan Singh was a great advocate of peaceful resistance to oppression. When people’s freedom was trampled in 1975, he was one of those prominent leaders who stood up with full force to the emergency leading to his political imprisonment till 1977. After the emergency, when the sixth Lok Sabha elections were held in March 1977, Chaudhary Charan Singh contested from Baghpat seat and emerged as a strong claimant for the post of Prime Minister with a large number of MPs from his camp. But as luck would have it, Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister of the Janata government and Chaudhary Charan Singh the Home Minister, first in March 1977 and later on the Deputy Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. But when the Janata government collapsed in July 1979, Chaudhary Charan Singh became the fifth Prime Minister of India on 28 July and continued until 14 January 1980. Thereafter, he was elected twice to parliament on his Lok Dal party ticket, once in 1980, and again in 1984. After his long and unblemished political journey of over five decades, he left for heavenly abode on 29 May 1987. 

His knowledge and understanding of rural life were of unparalleled magnitude and reliability. He did pioneering work for the abolition of Zamindari and the consolidation of landholdings in Uttar Pradesh to the advantage of small farmers. His model of agrarian reforms became so popular in the country that it was adopted by several other states. Often he used to remind the political and the executive class that the passage of India’s prosperity passes through its fields and villages. 

Most remained woefully ignorant about his land reform crusade and his unflinching commitment towards providing a dignified life to the poor and downtrodden and which is why he was a much loved and respected leader of rural masses. He was considered unprogressive by some for his opposition to big dams and the soviet model of large scale industry. But this conviction of his was rooted in his understanding of rural life and its problems. He knew that the construction of big dams would lead to the submergence of huge tracks of cultivable land and displacement of villagers besides causing other colossal environmental hazards. Instead, he worked for the installation of tube wells for irrigation and the establishment of small scale industries to provide work to landless labourers and artisans. 

He had mooted the proposal for providing 50% reservation to the wards of actual tillers of the agriculture land as he believed they would have a better appreciation of the problems of 80% of the population living in rural India, and secondly, he knew that engagement of too many hands in agriculture would neither eradicate illiteracy nor address the issues of underemployment and unemployment in rural India.

Charan Singh was always willing to sacrifice himself for the cause of the farmers and agriculture labourers. He was the first to have brought the peasant issues in electoral politics, and the only one who opposed Nehru’s resolution on Cooperative and Collective farming during the annual session of the Congress at Nagpur in 1959. He believed that the pooling of agricultural land in the Indian context would be suicidal for the country’s economy. Although he could not succeed in stalling the resolution, his spirit and passion were admired by one and all. The very fact that despite the approval of Nehru’s resolution it was not implemented on the ground validated his foresight and knowledge of rural India in general and Indian peasantry in particular. Notwithstanding his massive mass base and his highly relevant pro-poor policies, he was not given his due in the then upper-caste dominated Congress which he ultimately had to part ways with in 1966. 

He was an advocate of smaller states for good governance. He had floated the idea of “Delhi Suba” by merging some western districts from the state of Uttar Pradesh and some districts of Haryana. But when some of his opponents gave colour to this idea of making a Jatistan, he immediately distanced himself from the move because he never wanted to be identified with a particular caste. People remained equally oblivious about the fact that he was the man who had written to Pandit Nehru on 22 May 1952 to accord preference in government services to those who were willingly ready to embrace the idea of inter-caste marriage. But, alas, his opponents tried to portray him as a leader of a particular caste. 

He had a much bigger vision for developing political leadership in the country. He enlarged his political influence in almost all the northern states by assimilating all castes and communities. He had identified politically potential people and supported them to the hilt in electoral politics regardless of their castes and faith. They were Banarsi Das Gupta, Ramnaresh Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Madhu Limaye, B.P. Maurya, Karpuri Thakur, Ramvilas Paswan, Rasheed Masood, Sarver Husain, just to name a few. 

While he exuded unblemished honesty and uprightness, in truth most of the people barely knew this quality of the man. He remained a relentless crusader against corruption at all levels from the lowest revenue officials to irrigation and transport department, including nexus between police and politicians. He had the integrity to remain uncompromising, all through his political journey spanning over five decades, on issues that were not grounded in truth. 

He was a man without fear who always stood up against the odds without flinching. His straightforwardness and characteristic of calling a spade a spade created more foes against him than friends within and across the party. His only unassailable shield was his candour, honesty, incorruptibility and truth. There are numerous instances on record wherein he had cancelled the tickets of his party candidates at the eleventh hour with the slightest hint of their any socially undesirable conduct. 

He was a prudent statesman and an astute politician who had great ability and skills in handling all types of situations. But all his political manoeuvrings were based on his principles of honesty, truthfulness, and public relevance of his policies. His forthright approach and straightforwardness gave him an edge over his opponents. The people of the country will continue to remember him for his simplicity, honesty, secular credentials, intolerance to corruption, and above all for his tireless work for the cause of peasantry. 

The writer is former Chairman, UGC. The views expressed are personal.

Sushant Singh Rajput’s roommate Siddharth Pithani has been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) nearly a year after the actor’s death in Mumbai, which is being investigated by multiple agencies. PIthani was arrested By NCB from his Hyderabad house and bought to Mumbai on Friday morning, Pithani was produced before the court and was granted 5 days of NCB custody. According to an NCB source, Pithani used to supply drugs to numerous film celebrities.

Siddharth Pithani was on the NCB radar for a long time and was not traceable even after multiple summons were issued by NCB. Pithani’s house was searched by the NCB from where the vital documents were procured.

Siddharth Pithani was among the four people present at Sushant Singh Rajput’s home in Mumbai when he was found hanging in his room on June 14 last year. Pithani was questioned multiple times by the Mumbai police and the CBI in connection with SSR’s death that captivated the nation and triggered many conspiracy theories leading to a big divide in the Mumbai film industry.

The arrest comes almost two and half months after a 12,000-page charge sheet was filed against 33 people, including actress Rhea Chakraborty and her brother Showik.

The Narcotics Control Bureau stepped into the case after WhatsApp chats found on Rhea Chakraborty’s phone revealed texts involving the buying of drugs for the actor. The investigations led to a wider inquiry into the link between the Bollywood fraternity and drug abuse.

The inaccessible Naxal-affected areas of Bastar, where it was difficult to navigate, now have roads, electricity, education, and myriad health facilities. A few years ago, all these basic amenities were a dream for the people here. The administration has tried to make this dream a reality.

To speed up the development works, 28 security forces camps have been set up in the Naxal-affected areas of Bastar in the last two years. With the establishment of these camps, development works have accelerated in these areas.

Since December 2018, 21 roads have been built in Naxal-affected areas. Remote areas are being connected through a network of about 700 km of roads such as Bijapur-Awapalli-Jagrgunda Road, Narayanpur-Palli-Barsur Road, Antagarh-Bedma Road, Chintanapalli-Nayapara Road, Chintal Nar-Madai Guda Road, Konta-Golla Palli Road, etc.

At the same time, 450 km of roads have been completed in the areas of Bastar during the lockdown period. 132 bridge-culverts have also been constructed. These roads are built in areas that were held by Naxals. Chindanar Bridge, one of the four major bridges under construction on the Indravati River, along with smaller bridges, is almost complete. The bridge will open to the general public by the last week of June.

With the formation of this, the way of the forests of Abujhmad from Dantewada will be opened. Road work is going on across the river. With the construction of this road, a dozen villages including Karka, Handwara will be added.

To curb Naxalism in Bastar, the strategy adopted by the security forces to set up camps in the affected areas has now restricted Naxals in a smaller area. Most of these camps have been set up in such inaccessible areas, where development was unable to reach due to the fear of Naxalites.

Now, roads are being constructed rapidly in these areas, traffic is getting smooth, government schemes are effectively reaching the villagers, as the landscape of interior areas is changing rapidly.

Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said that the life of tribals has changed with the establishment of new camps. Four bridges are being built on the Indravati River. Since independence, till now there were only 3 bridges in 200 km on Indravati River, which will be increased to seven by next year. Similarly, the Palli-Barsur Road, Basaguda-Jagrgunda Road, Usur-Pameed Road, which has been closed for the last 30 years, have opened with the help of camps by security forces.

NEW DELHI: Amid rising incidents of black fungus in the national capital, the Delhi government on May 27 declared it an epidemic with Lt Governor Anil Baijal issuing regulations under the Epidemic Diseases Act to contain and manage cases of the deadly mucormycosis in the city. According to a senior official, 153 cases of black fungus or mucormycosis were recorded on Thursday, taking the total number of such cases in Delhi to over 770. Delhi government on Thursday declared Mucormycosis or black fungus as a ‘notified disease’. Under the Epidemic Diseases Act, Delhi L-G Anil Baijal issued regulations on black fungus and cited the threat of a mucormycosis outbreak. As per the notification, no person, institution, or organisation will spread any information on black fungus management without the permission of the health department.

On this notification, BJP state president Adesh Gupta, while protesting, told The Daily Guardian that through this decree, the government wants to remove people from the truth. Like the government is fudging the corona figures. Now, something similar will also be done with the data of mucormycosis. It should not happen, we oppose it. The government should promote this among as many people as possible, and not ban it.

Opposing it, Anil Chaudhary, the Congress state of Delhi, also told The Daily Guardian that experts say that it is important to tell people about mucormycosis, that is, black fungus. People can have information only then it can be defended. This is the Tughlaqi decree of the government.

On the statement of BJP and Congress, AAP MLA Atishi Marlena told The Daily Guardian that the AAP government is the most Transparent Government. Even at the time of Corona, every day we release the bulletin and tell how many cases are coming, how many people are dying? Which state government does this, let us also tell you. This order means that when mucormycosis has been declared an epidemic, it becomes the responsibility of the state to provide accurate information about the epidemic to the people, rather than spreading rumors.

The mismatch between reported production numbers of Covid vaccines in India and the level of daily vaccination seems particularly acute in the case of Covaxin. Official data shows 2.1 crore doses of Bharat Biotech’s vaccine had been administered across the country till Thursday morning. Putting together statements from the company and the Centre indicate at least 6 crore doses should have been available for use in India. So where are the missing two-thirds?

Moreover, the Aam Aadmi Party grap the issue and party MLA Atishi told The Daily Guardian that the government’s vaccine drive has stopped in schools and this is the case throughout the country while in private hospitals, vaccination is still going on at different rates. India is currently using mainly two ‘made-in India’ jabs – Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute and Covaxin of Bharat Biotech – and Russian-made Sputnik V at a smaller scale to inoculate its population.

“This is a big racket. At government centres where vaccination was given free to the youth, vaccines are in shortage there, while vaccinations are going on at higher prices like Rs 900 to 1350 per dose at private hospitals,” she alleged. “Many vaccines are being approved across the world. Pfizer vaccine has been approved in 85 countries, Moderna vaccine has been approved in 46 countries and J&J is approved in 41 countries.

“Then why these three vaccines were not given emergency authorisation. If WHO can approve them, why can’t India? This clearly shows that the Centre has created this artificial scarcity to favour Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech,” she alleged. She further said these two companies do not have manufacturing capacity but the Centre has not approved more vaccines. “The Centre created such an artificial scarcity that states have to buy from them only. The Centre should respond to this,” she said.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said Atishi’s allegation is unfounded as scarcity has not been created by the government. Atishi should know that SII and Bharat Biotech don’t stand to gain by the scarcity because scarcity means the entry of foreign manufacturers. Creating scarcity and putting general people at discomfort is the specialty of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, he claimed. “He spoke about hospital beds scarcity which forced people to pay hefty fees to private hospitals, he spoke of oxygen scarcity and we saw oxygen mafia loot, we saw black marketing of Covid medicines as he spoke of medicines shortage,” Kapoor claimed.

Basically, the whole drama started after the allegation of Sambit Patra said only 13% of people, who have been vaccinated in the national capital, have got their vaccines from the Delhi government.

“Nearly 46 lakh free vaccines were supplied by the Centre to Delhi. Private hospitals procured about 9 lakh doses of vaccines while the Delhi government managed to procure just a little over 8 lakh.”

Patra said private hospitals have managed to get more vaccines on their own than the Delhi government. He said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government should also clarify how many doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine has it ordered and paid for so far.

In between, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said on Friday that the production of vaccines is being planned in the country in a planned manner. The government is determined to provide vaccine supplements to all adults in the country by the end of December this year. In view of this, steps have been taken to increase production. The Union Minister informed that by the end of this year, there is an estimated availability of more than 200 crore vaccine supplements in the country. The government will closely monitor its various phases. Under the nationwide vaccination campaign, the Center is providing free Covid vaccines to the States and Union Territories. Apart from this, the central government is also facilitating the direct purchase of vaccines for the states and union territories. He said that vaccination is the pillar of the comprehensive strategy of the Government of India for the management of epidemics and epidemics, as well as for test, track, treat, and covid-friendly behavior. On May 1, 2021, the third phase of the liberal and rapid strategy of Covid-19 vaccination has been implemented. The Center will provide its share of dosages as before to the State Governments completely free of cost. The government of India has so far provided more than 22.46 crore doses (22 crore 46 lakh 8 thousand 10) of vaccine through both free cost category and direct state purchase category to the states and union territories. Out of these, the total intake of 20 crore 48 lakh 4 thousand 853 vaccine has been consumed including the amount of wasted dose. At present, more than 1.84 crore doses (one crore 84 lakh 92 thousand 677) of Kovid vaccine are available with the States and Union Territories, he added.

Apart from this, the states and union territories have more than 3 lakh ie 3,20,380 vaccine doses in the pipeline, which will be available to them in the next three days, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said.

KOLKATA: A five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday granted interim bail to four Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, including two West Bengal ministers, in the Narada case. The court, however, said that the interim bail with conditions granted to Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee, Madan Mitra and Shovan Chatterjee is only valid till the bench gives a final order in this case.

The CBI can further interrogate the accused but without physically summoning them to the CBI office because of the prevailing Covid-19 situation, the court said, adding that the investigations can proceed via video conferencing. Also, the leaders have been told not to give any interviews to the press on this case or any other legal matters pending on them.

On Friday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed grant of interim bail saying the four are influential people and could whip up public emotions again. Justice Mukerji asked the Solicitor General why the TMC leaders, who have not been arrested during the investigation for over four years, should be kept in house-arrest now, when they are required to do public functions during the pandemic.

The four TMC leaders have been under house arrest in the Narada sting operation case after the HC had stayed a bail given by the Special CBI court.