Dr. Hari Desai
History takes quite unusual turns. Morarji Desai(1896-1995 ), a Wilsonite from Mumbai, was a Deputy Collector with British regime.He resigned the government job to join Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel’s Congress-led freedom movement, fighting British following Gandhian way. He was destined to be the Chief Minister of Mumbai State, Union Minister in the Ministries headed by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. He resigned as the Deputy PM, opposed Congress, was imprisoned during the Emergency(1975-’77) and became the Prime Minister of India in the Janata Party-led Government.
An Oxford-educated Mohammad Ali C. Merchant-Chagla(1900-1981 ) was a Muslim Leaguer under Mohammad Ali Jinnah till Jinnah was a nationalist, rose to be the Chief Justice of the High Court of Bombay. He found T. T. Krishnamachari, the Union Finance Minister involved in an Insurance Investment fraud. The son-in-law of Nehru, Feroze Gandhi, exposed the misdeeds of the government of his father-in-law in the Parliament. Justice Chagla was appointed as a head of one-man Inquiry Commission in Mundhra Case, leading to the resignation of the close friend of the PM. Despite such a track record, he was appointed Union Minister in Nehru Cabinet and Indira Gandhi Cabinet as well ! He was also the Indian Ambassador to US and the leader of the Indian Delegation to UN strongly representing India. He preferred to resign as Union Education Minister and narrowly missed the chance to be arrested for opposing the black Emergency of Indira regime.
The words of Justice Chagla are still humming in the ears of this writer he heard as a cub reporter covering the first national convention of Bharatiya Janata Party at Mumbai on 29 December 1980 : “This huge gathering that I see before me is Bombay’s answer to Indira. This gathering tells her plainly that those gathered here are opposed to her authoritarian methods and her intention of becoming a dictator. ….We are not being ruled by the rule of law but by a group of opportunists, hypocrites and sycophants.”
Unlike the present era, it was Gandhi-Nehru-Sardar era where the leaders could express their differences quite freely and still work together. One would hardly imagine the clash in writing between a Chief Minister and a Chief Justice of the High Court. But honesty and integrity prevailed in those days. Morarji’s Director of Information, Manilal Shah, reported to the CM that Justice Chagla was critical of the government and the hard-hitting correspondence between both dignitaries started. Morarji notes in the second volume of his autobiography “The Story of My Life” : “It is commonly believed that a politician is seldom able to pursue the path of truth but one must have faith that it is possible to pursue truth even though one is active politician.” Morarji took Chagla’s lighter comment seriously and was bit irritated which reflected in his letter dated 24 November 1950. “In that at one stage you have said ‘in the modern and complex society every act of ours is controlled by some law, every minute of our living existence is spent in confirming to or – and I hope that is very rare- contravening some rule or regulation enacted by the mighty State.’ You also said that ‘in this conference, however, the Government is not represented as a publisher. Otherwise, all the stalls would be taken up by the different laws that it has published for the betterment of humanity.’ I do not know what the Government of the State of Bombay or any other Government in the country has done to deserve these comments from you.”
CM Desai incorporates Chagla’s replies in his book but the Chief Justice prefers to have full correspondence in his autobiography “Roses in December”. One needs to read both the books together to understand the rift and psyche. Chagla says in his reply to Morarji dated 10 October 1950, “I violently differ from you in your outlook on life and with some of your views. You will concede to me the right to do so. But I have the greatest admiration for your fundamental integrity and honesty of purpose. We both have the same goal in view. We may try to appreciate it by different ways. But so long as we love our country passionately and desire her well being, there ought to be an unseverable bond between us.” In reply of Morarji’s letter dated 24 November , Chagla is little bitter by saying “it clearly shows how much you dislike my being in the position that I am in, and how much you would have preferred a more docile and tractable Chief Justice. I am sorry you have got to put up with me, but perhaps you will be able to do so better if we understand each other.” “You do not realize how independent thinking is fast disappearing from Government officials.”
In the letter of 26 November 1950, Morarji Desai talks about the British traditions and democratic norms. In this lengthy letter, he says : “ If dictatorship overtakes this country in my lifetime, I shall not be in the seat of Government but am sure to suffer terribly and even lose my head in an attempt to fight the dictatorship with whatever little strength of purpose God may have given me.” He did follow this commitment during 1975-’77. “I consider it very essential that I should give no offence to or irritate the head of the Judiciary in the State as cordial relations between the Executive and the Judiciary are very vital in the interest of a sound Democratic State which both you and I want to build up.”
Both Morarji Desai and Justice Chagla differed on the prohibition policy of the Government and also the judges going to the clubs. Chagla in a reply dated 27 November 1950 states : “The private life of a judge is his own, and everyone in England respects it. It is entirely incorrect to say that judges do not visit clubs…Have I ever attended a political meeting or spoken on a controversial subject? Have you ever known me say anything about prohibition?....Of course I do speak on questions affecting the administration of justice and I will continue to do so. It is not only my right but my duty and in doing so I am following the highest traditions. I also cannot forget that besides being a judge, I am also a citizen and so I am deeply interested in educational, social and cultural matters.” Both Gujaratis differed on so many issues but they had a bond to serve the motherland and democratic norms where their religion was always a private affair.
Next Column : Maulana Azad foresaw disaster of Pakistan
( The writer is a Socio-political Historian. E-mail : [email protected] )
