P. N. Haksar
Encyclopedia
Parmeshwar Narayan Haksar (1913-1998) was one of the earliest and most important political strategists in the political democracy of independent India
. His most important role was in the political ascent of Indira Gandhi
, as the Prime Minister in her own right and personal political strength, and the evolution of Indira as an Indian icon and leader. He was an advocate of centralization
and socialism
.
Brahmin
family and was the grandson of Pandit Swaroop Narayan Haksar, who was the Dewan of the Indore imperial state. Haksar was an Indian student activist who worked as an aide to the Nehrus and grew close to the family. When he was a student in England
, he became good friends with Nehru's daughter Indira and her prospective husband Feroze.
While in England, Haksar developed a strong interest in socialism
, akin to Jawaharlal Nehru's own loyalty to the cause of the downtrodden millions of India.
In 1936, he became a lawyer at Allahabad High Court, but developed alongside a strong political savvy and acute knowledge and understanding of the Indian political system and the mindset of the masses.
He was not a very successful lawyer.
In or around 1946-47, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru noticed Haksar languishing in Allahabad and recommended his name to B.K. Nehru, who sent him to Washington DC and later, to Korea.
When Indira's administration hit political difficulties after the 1967 election, where the Congress Party's majorities were greatly reduced, Haksar and P. N. Dhar
were amongst a small coterie of Indira's most trusted and loyal advisors, known as the Kashmiri Mafia. Fearing that Indira would be made a scapegoat by the Congress establishment, Haksar crafted an ingenious political strategy for Indira to develop a public base of support akin to her iconic father.
Under Haksar's strategy, Indira moved sharply to the left. She became the icon of hundreds of millions of India's poor, by adopting socialist economic policies. She eliminated the privy purse to India's ex-royalty and demanded the nationalization
of the banking system. The latter was seen as the disempowerment of India's industrial and capitalist elite by putting their money supply under Government control, even though it had no benefit to average, poor citizens. Between 1967 and 1969, Indira held several important rallies, speaking to literally millions of people on the whole, cultivating Nehru's legacy and her personal zeal to fight for India's poor. Instead of being the dummy doll of the party establishment, Indira went independent and to the radical left of the party's only other vigorous leader, the conservative, pro-business Morarji Desai
.
A charismatic young heroine that Indira became, took the political steam out of the party establishment, popularly known as the Syndicate, an ageing coterie of Congress machine bosses identified best with government inefficiency and corruption, with only their work in the freedom struggle keeping them politically important and at the top of the party. Her support amongst individual Congress members of Parliament increased, as political survival deemed it wise to be associated with her. Haksar cultivated ties with individual MPs and Congress Party officials, especially the youth wing. Haksar also pushed Indira's views and attitudes amongst Indian journalists, labour union leaders, student leaders and young Indians who had not seen the freedom struggle.
in 1969 created an opening to the Syndicate to re-assert their control over Indira as party bosses, Haksar carved out Indira's political dominance. The Syndicate chose Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
, while Indira supported Vice President V. V. Giri
, a man with impeccable leftist credentials and labour ties. The All India Congress Committee voted to bind lawmakers to vote for Reddy, while Indira appealed to lawmakers to follow her and vote for Giri.
Enraged, the Syndicate called an AICC meeting to censure Indira and expel her from the Congress. But at Indira's residence met half of the AICC and many lawmakers, who called themselves the real AICC and expressed loyalty to Indira. P. N. Haksar encouraged Indira to split the Congress Party, the Godfather of Indian nationalism and the freedom struggle. Forming a thin parliamentary majority, Indira's loyalists called themselves the Congress (R). (R) stood for "Reformist." The Syndicate called themselves the Congress (O), standing for Organization, but often referred to as the "Old Congress".
P. N. Haksar then planned out a massive political campaign under the slogan of "Garibi Hatao" (Eradicate Poverty), a direct call to war for over 300 million poor Indians. Haksar's strategy made Indira travel all over the country, seeing tens of millions of people on the whole, and the Congress (R) Party to sweep the 1971 elections with a powerful majority.
, the temple of Indian nationalism and the Indian Independence Movement
, built and defined by men like Mahatma Gandhi
, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
and Jawaharlal Nehru
, Indira's own father.
But this perhaps infamous achievement was most beneficial to India's young democracy and millions of its people. Mahatma Gandhi himself had been in favor of dissolving the Congress after Indian independence. According to Gandhi, the Congress mission and raison d'etre was Indian independence and nothing more. But after Gandhi's death in 1948, the Congress Party became vital to plug the gap in leadership, as well as protect the culture of democracy and republicanism in a young country.
But by the end of the 1960s, the Congress Party was a moribund organization without any definitive agenda or leadership of integrity. It was riddled with inefficiency, corruption and machine politics. The party attempted to control both the frustrated right-wing and the restless left-wing, and failed to eradicate poverty, illiteracy or grow the economy. It had become moribund after years of dependence on Jawarharlal Nehru's charisma.
Haksar is also attributed by some for having helped organize the Bangladesh government-in-exile and training of the Mukti Bahini
. Haksar is credited with having constructed India's policies on the affair, and planning for war.
for more information of this new Indian political age.
Haksar retired in 1974, having fallen out of favor of Sanjay Gandhi
, Indira's youngest son who had become personally close to the PM and politically involved. Haksar's retirement came just a year before Indira's worst years began with the Indian Emergency. Only now, not a veteran political wizard, but the Sanjay Gandhi
was steering the wheel.
He died in November 1998.
Years after his death, Haksar remains a legend in Indian politics and political academia.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. His most important role was in the political ascent of Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
, as the Prime Minister in her own right and personal political strength, and the evolution of Indira as an Indian icon and leader. He was an advocate of centralization
Centralization
Centralisation, or centralization , is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, become concentrated within a particular location and/or group....
and socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
.
Early life
Parmeshwar Narayan Haksar was born to a KashmiriKashmiri Pandit
The Kashmiri Pandits are a Hindu Brahmin community originating from Kashmir, a mountainous region in South Asia.-Background:The Hindu caste system of the region was influenced by the influx of Buddhism from the time of Asoka, around the third century BCE, and a consequence of this was that the...
Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
family and was the grandson of Pandit Swaroop Narayan Haksar, who was the Dewan of the Indore imperial state. Haksar was an Indian student activist who worked as an aide to the Nehrus and grew close to the family. When he was a student in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he became good friends with Nehru's daughter Indira and her prospective husband Feroze.
While in England, Haksar developed a strong interest in socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, akin to Jawaharlal Nehru's own loyalty to the cause of the downtrodden millions of India.
In 1936, he became a lawyer at Allahabad High Court, but developed alongside a strong political savvy and acute knowledge and understanding of the Indian political system and the mindset of the masses.
He was not a very successful lawyer.
In or around 1946-47, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru noticed Haksar languishing in Allahabad and recommended his name to B.K. Nehru, who sent him to Washington DC and later, to Korea.
With Indira Gandhi
When Indira Gandhi became the unlikely Prime Minister in 1966, Haksar was selected to serve as her Personal Private Secretary, a position akin to a chief of staff. Haksar's friendship with Indira and links to the clan gave him a special and influential place, and the ear of the Prime Minister.When Indira's administration hit political difficulties after the 1967 election, where the Congress Party's majorities were greatly reduced, Haksar and P. N. Dhar
P. N. Dhar
P.N. Dhar was for some time part of a powerful inner circle in India as Principal Secretary to Indira Gandhi Prime Minister's office especially during the tumultuous days of the Emergency ; he may have had much influence in the unfolding of those events...
were amongst a small coterie of Indira's most trusted and loyal advisors, known as the Kashmiri Mafia. Fearing that Indira would be made a scapegoat by the Congress establishment, Haksar crafted an ingenious political strategy for Indira to develop a public base of support akin to her iconic father.
Under Haksar's strategy, Indira moved sharply to the left. She became the icon of hundreds of millions of India's poor, by adopting socialist economic policies. She eliminated the privy purse to India's ex-royalty and demanded the nationalization
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
of the banking system. The latter was seen as the disempowerment of India's industrial and capitalist elite by putting their money supply under Government control, even though it had no benefit to average, poor citizens. Between 1967 and 1969, Indira held several important rallies, speaking to literally millions of people on the whole, cultivating Nehru's legacy and her personal zeal to fight for India's poor. Instead of being the dummy doll of the party establishment, Indira went independent and to the radical left of the party's only other vigorous leader, the conservative, pro-business Morarji Desai
Morarji Desai
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977–79. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress...
.
A charismatic young heroine that Indira became, took the political steam out of the party establishment, popularly known as the Syndicate, an ageing coterie of Congress machine bosses identified best with government inefficiency and corruption, with only their work in the freedom struggle keeping them politically important and at the top of the party. Her support amongst individual Congress members of Parliament increased, as political survival deemed it wise to be associated with her. Haksar cultivated ties with individual MPs and Congress Party officials, especially the youth wing. Haksar also pushed Indira's views and attitudes amongst Indian journalists, labour union leaders, student leaders and young Indians who had not seen the freedom struggle.
The split of 1969
The death of President Zakir HussainZakir Hussain (politician)
Dr. Zakir Hussain , was the third President of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969. He was the first elected Muslim president of India....
in 1969 created an opening to the Syndicate to re-assert their control over Indira as party bosses, Haksar carved out Indira's political dominance. The Syndicate chose Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was the sixth President of India, serving from 1977 to 1982 and was the only person to be elected President of India unopposed....
, while Indira supported Vice President V. V. Giri
V. V. Giri
Varahagiri Venkata Giri , commonly known as V. V. Giri, was the fourth President of the Republic of India from 24 August 1969 to 23 August 1974.-Early life:...
, a man with impeccable leftist credentials and labour ties. The All India Congress Committee voted to bind lawmakers to vote for Reddy, while Indira appealed to lawmakers to follow her and vote for Giri.
Enraged, the Syndicate called an AICC meeting to censure Indira and expel her from the Congress. But at Indira's residence met half of the AICC and many lawmakers, who called themselves the real AICC and expressed loyalty to Indira. P. N. Haksar encouraged Indira to split the Congress Party, the Godfather of Indian nationalism and the freedom struggle. Forming a thin parliamentary majority, Indira's loyalists called themselves the Congress (R). (R) stood for "Reformist." The Syndicate called themselves the Congress (O), standing for Organization, but often referred to as the "Old Congress".
P. N. Haksar then planned out a massive political campaign under the slogan of "Garibi Hatao" (Eradicate Poverty), a direct call to war for over 300 million poor Indians. Haksar's strategy made Indira travel all over the country, seeing tens of millions of people on the whole, and the Congress (R) Party to sweep the 1971 elections with a powerful majority.
End of the Congress
P. N. Haksar, the silent architect of the greatest political crisis and revolution in India's free history, was also the man who tore down the mighty Indian National CongressIndian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
, the temple of Indian nationalism and the Indian Independence Movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
, built and defined by men like Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was an Indian barrister and statesman, one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress and one of the founding fathers of India...
and Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
, Indira's own father.
But this perhaps infamous achievement was most beneficial to India's young democracy and millions of its people. Mahatma Gandhi himself had been in favor of dissolving the Congress after Indian independence. According to Gandhi, the Congress mission and raison d'etre was Indian independence and nothing more. But after Gandhi's death in 1948, the Congress Party became vital to plug the gap in leadership, as well as protect the culture of democracy and republicanism in a young country.
But by the end of the 1960s, the Congress Party was a moribund organization without any definitive agenda or leadership of integrity. It was riddled with inefficiency, corruption and machine politics. The party attempted to control both the frustrated right-wing and the restless left-wing, and failed to eradicate poverty, illiteracy or grow the economy. It had become moribund after years of dependence on Jawarharlal Nehru's charisma.
Bangladesh war
See Also: Bangladesh Liberation WarBangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
Haksar is also attributed by some for having helped organize the Bangladesh government-in-exile and training of the Mukti Bahini
Mukti Bahini
Mukti Bahini , also termed as the "Freedom Fighters" or FFs, collectively refers to the armed organizations who fought against the Pakistan Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It was dynamically formed by Bengali regulars and civilians after the proclamation of Bangladesh's independence on...
. Haksar is credited with having constructed India's policies on the affair, and planning for war.
Retirement and legacy
Haksar's daring strategy created a new era of vigorous politics which regenerated enthusiasm and faith in the Indian population for deliverance through democracy. At the same time he created a political icon who would lead the nation through a period of great tumult, disaster, glory, redemption and drama. See Indira GandhiIndira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
for more information of this new Indian political age.
Haksar retired in 1974, having fallen out of favor of Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi was an Indian politician. The younger son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi, he was a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family...
, Indira's youngest son who had become personally close to the PM and politically involved. Haksar's retirement came just a year before Indira's worst years began with the Indian Emergency. Only now, not a veteran political wizard, but the Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi was an Indian politician. The younger son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi, he was a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family...
was steering the wheel.
He died in November 1998.
Years after his death, Haksar remains a legend in Indian politics and political academia.
External links
- K. R. NarayananK. R. NarayananKocheril Raman Narayanan , also known as K. R. Narayanan, was the tenth President of India. He was the first Dalit, and the first Malayali, to have been President....
: Speech in memory of P. N. Haksar; 7th January 1999 - Ashok Mitra: The P. N. Haksar story