I survived Emergency disguised as a Sikh: Subramanian Swamy
Soumya Shankar @shankarmya 24 June 2015
The beginning
- Subramanian Swamy first met Jayaprakash Narayan when the latter had come to Harvard in 1968.
- By 1972 PM Indira Gandhi was at the peak of her power. There was corruption in the government.
- JP decided to join politics. Swamy joined him. He acted as a bridge between JP and RSS leader Nanaji Deshmukh.
- JP was arrested the night after he addressed a massive rally at Ramlila Maidan in 1975. Swamy managed to evade arrest.
The adventures
- RSS was banned but Swamy helped set up underground units. He remains in close contact with Deshmukh until the latter's arrest.
- Swamy escaped the country by going from Madras to Colombo and from there to London. There he mobilised opinion against Emergency.
- He returned to India and sneaked into his own house disguised as a Sikh.
- Though a wanted fugitive, he managed to enter Parliament and mark his presence as an MP.
Looking ahead
- Swamy says Emergency can't be replicated, but India is moving towards a soft dictatorship.
- He says institutions are being castrated, ministers are dummies and there is more paranoia.
A strong opponent of the Emergency, Subramanian Swamy's exploits during the 19 months when fundamental rights were suspended, have become part of political folklore.
A Member of Parliament from the Jan Sangh at that time, Swamy recounts how he managed to circumvent arrest and escape overseas to garner international support against an autocratic regime.
More personal stories of the Emergency - the fear, the friendships and the memories: Virendra Kapoor, Swaraj Kaushal, DP Tripathi, Anand Kumar
Soumya: How did you forge a relationship with Jayaprakash Narayan?
SS: He had come to Harvard when I was teaching there, in 1968. I got a call from the university marshall saying that there is an Indian here who wants to see the university. He said it's Jayaprakash Narayan.
A pure economist, I wasn't political at the time. But the name rang a bell because my father, who was in the freedom movement, had spoken much about him. JP was wearing a suit and a tie, and I was in traditional Indian clothing. JP's wife was impressed with this, as she was herself a freedom fighter. When his wife mentioned this to JP, he went back and changed his clothes.
As President of the Harvard Student's Association, I arranged a lecture for JP. Most people didn't know who he was, I introduced him as a great Gandhian, a man who refused the offer of deputy Prime Ministership from Jawaharlal Nehru and quit politics to do Sarvodaya.
At the end of the lecture, JP posed one question to the audience, "What was the last advice that Mahatma Gandhi gave to the Congress Party?" Nobody in the audience, except me knew the answer which was to "Wind up the Congress." JP was very appreciative of me and invited me back to India. I said I was thinking about it, to which he said these things have to be done like surgery. So I said I would return the next year.
A pure economist, I wasn't political at the time. But the name rang a bell because my father, who was in the freedom movement, had spoken much about him. JP was wearing a suit and a tie, and I was in traditional Indian clothing. JP's wife was impressed with this, as she was herself a freedom fighter. When his wife mentioned this to JP, he went back and changed his clothes.
As President of the Harvard Student's Association, I arranged a lecture for JP. Most people didn't know who he was, I introduced him as a great Gandhian, a man who refused the offer of deputy Prime Ministership from Jawaharlal Nehru and quit politics to do Sarvodaya.
At the end of the lecture, JP posed one question to the audience, "What was the last advice that Mahatma Gandhi gave to the Congress Party?" Nobody in the audience, except me knew the answer which was to "Wind up the Congress." JP was very appreciative of me and invited me back to India. I said I was thinking about it, to which he said these things have to be done like surgery. So I said I would return the next year.
Soumya: What were the events that led to the imposition of Emergency?
SS: In 1972, Indira Gandhi had won the Bangladesh War and became all powerful. There was corruption in the government. JP sent a telegram calling me to White Fields, Bangalore. He was convalescing from a heart attack. JP wanted an opinion on whether we should join politics. I was of the opinion that the people of India would not align with us in a serious way unless we take strong political positions.
JP agreed to enter politics and launch an anti-corruption movement. Thus started my involvement in the JP Movement. The movement needed an organisational base which only existed in the Jan Sangh - because of the RSS' backing.
Although JP and the Sangh were ideologically diametrically opposed, but I brought JP and Nanaji Deshmukh together-- and they hit it off and the movement flowered.
During that time, Mrs Gandhi lost the infamous Allahabad Court Case and the Emergency was declared.
JP agreed to enter politics and launch an anti-corruption movement. Thus started my involvement in the JP Movement. The movement needed an organisational base which only existed in the Jan Sangh - because of the RSS' backing.
Although JP and the Sangh were ideologically diametrically opposed, but I brought JP and Nanaji Deshmukh together-- and they hit it off and the movement flowered.
During that time, Mrs Gandhi lost the infamous Allahabad Court Case and the Emergency was declared.
Soumya: Was JP anticipating authoritarian rule at the time?
SS: No, not in the least. He was in fact anticipating Emergency in 1972-73. But by 1975, he thought his movement was the future and she wouldn't take such a step.
After the historic Ramlila Maidan rally, JP and I were having dinner at Gandhi Peace Foundation. He was very pleased with the massive support the movement had gathered. During the conversation, I mentioned to him that Indira Gandhi could declare Emergency any day. He rejected my suggestion saying the public would rise in anger and that she won't dare to do such a thing - not after the High Court order. I said that's all the more reason for her declare a state of Emergency.
Later that night, JP was picked up by the police at 3 am from his residence. Indira Gandhi, it seemed had declared Emergency.
After the historic Ramlila Maidan rally, JP and I were having dinner at Gandhi Peace Foundation. He was very pleased with the massive support the movement had gathered. During the conversation, I mentioned to him that Indira Gandhi could declare Emergency any day. He rejected my suggestion saying the public would rise in anger and that she won't dare to do such a thing - not after the High Court order. I said that's all the more reason for her declare a state of Emergency.
Later that night, JP was picked up by the police at 3 am from his residence. Indira Gandhi, it seemed had declared Emergency.
Soumya:
How did you manage to escape and later organise politcal dissent while being underground?
SS: I got a phone call at 4 am from an undisclosed police source informing me about the arrest of JP, Morarji Desai and others. I was already expecting dictatorial rule and decided to go into hiding. In the morning we heard the broadcast where Indira Gandhi publicly announced the Emergency.
At first, it was difficult to find shelter. There was havoc in political circles. After the first two days, Nanaji Deshmukh located me through RSS cadres - who, by this time, had also gone underground.
Later, in 1980 Mrs Gandhi would ask me how did the RSS men escape. I told her she made the mistake of banning the organisation at 6 pm, right when they're all in the shakhas. So the message spread like wildfire. She should have arrested them between 1 and 2 pm - after lunch, during siesta hours.
During the month of July and the first three weeks of August, Nanaji and I were hiding in lower middle class colonies in Punjabi Bagh, parts of North Delhi and Timarpur. I used to disguise myself -- sometimes, I wore western clothes, mostly, I was in the guise of a turbaned Sikh.
We held meetings in the dead of the night. Slowly, we re-opened little chapters of the RSS and by the third week of August, a stable underground unit of the RSS was set up.
This was when Nanaji was arrested.
At first, it was difficult to find shelter. There was havoc in political circles. After the first two days, Nanaji Deshmukh located me through RSS cadres - who, by this time, had also gone underground.
Later, in 1980 Mrs Gandhi would ask me how did the RSS men escape. I told her she made the mistake of banning the organisation at 6 pm, right when they're all in the shakhas. So the message spread like wildfire. She should have arrested them between 1 and 2 pm - after lunch, during siesta hours.
During the month of July and the first three weeks of August, Nanaji and I were hiding in lower middle class colonies in Punjabi Bagh, parts of North Delhi and Timarpur. I used to disguise myself -- sometimes, I wore western clothes, mostly, I was in the guise of a turbaned Sikh.
We held meetings in the dead of the night. Slowly, we re-opened little chapters of the RSS and by the third week of August, a stable underground unit of the RSS was set up.
This was when Nanaji was arrested.
Soumya: That meant your hideouts were gone?
SS: This is where I think destiny played a major role. Nanaji and I were inseparable. Once, he went for a confidential meeting, leaving me with the car, which I drove around while waiting for him. After an hour as I returned to pick him up, I found that the electricity had blacked out and the police were there. Since it was too dark, they didn't see me. I fled while Nanaji was arrested.
Yes the hideout too was gone. Then, I stayed in Vithalbhai Patel House on Rafi Marg, with my wife's sister and her husband. Many Congressmen lived in that building - nobody recognised me.
After Nanaji's arrest, Madhavrao Mule took over the reins of the underground RSS. He called me to one of their hideouts and said JP had sent a message: 'Why is Swami roaming around in India? His strength is the Western world. He should propagate our side of the story there'. Till then, the international media's perception about the Emergency was that only smugglers, thieves and dacoits were being put behind bars by Indira Gandhi.
I had contacts within academia but didn't have any political base abroad. Mule affirmed that the RSS had already set up bases in some foreign countries. I sent my wife first to London and then to Washington. On her return, she confirmed what Mule had told me.
Yes the hideout too was gone. Then, I stayed in Vithalbhai Patel House on Rafi Marg, with my wife's sister and her husband. Many Congressmen lived in that building - nobody recognised me.
After Nanaji's arrest, Madhavrao Mule took over the reins of the underground RSS. He called me to one of their hideouts and said JP had sent a message: 'Why is Swami roaming around in India? His strength is the Western world. He should propagate our side of the story there'. Till then, the international media's perception about the Emergency was that only smugglers, thieves and dacoits were being put behind bars by Indira Gandhi.
I had contacts within academia but didn't have any political base abroad. Mule affirmed that the RSS had already set up bases in some foreign countries. I sent my wife first to London and then to Washington. On her return, she confirmed what Mule had told me.
Soumya: How did you manage to sneak out of the country even when the police were on the lookout for you?
SS: Well, there was only one way. The DMK was in power in Chennai, and they weren't implementing the Emergency. From Chennai airport I flew out to Colombo - those days that didn't require a visa - and bought a British Airways ticket to London.
Soumya: How did you lobby with the international community against the presiding Indian government?
SS: In London we campaigned with overseas Indians in universities like Cambridge, Oxford, SOAS etc. I told them that Morarji was in solitary confinement; JP was in hospital and 1,40,000 people were in jail. Soon, the message began to spread. Questions on human rights were being raised. News of people being subjected to torture in jail reached the foreign press.
While overseas, I established the Friends of India Society where we urged members to send messages to their relatives back home to resist the Emergency. The plan was to turn the common citizens of India against the Emergency.
While overseas, I established the Friends of India Society where we urged members to send messages to their relatives back home to resist the Emergency. The plan was to turn the common citizens of India against the Emergency.
Soumya: Did the international media help?
SS: Yes, the BBC and Voice of America played a big role in spreading our message. Since I was always considered anti-Soviet, the Americans and the British were only happy to talk to me.
From London I went to America where I visited 25 of the 50 states with this message. The Indian underground connected with us, sending regular updates about riots, tortures, Sanjay Gandhi's mass sterilisation programme and so on. Soon, Amnesty International and the American Congress got involved. Slowly, the noise started increasing.
In the meantime, Harvard had offered me my professorship back and my American friends were pushing me to leave this useless fight and settle down in the States.
That is when I decided I had to do something to justify my existence.
I decided to go to India, enter Parliament, make a short speech and disappear.
By then I had been declared a proclaimed offender, a wanted criminal. My passport was cancelled. The Americans, being my friends, supported me. I left America on my own name and passport.
From London I went to America where I visited 25 of the 50 states with this message. The Indian underground connected with us, sending regular updates about riots, tortures, Sanjay Gandhi's mass sterilisation programme and so on. Soon, Amnesty International and the American Congress got involved. Slowly, the noise started increasing.
But even after about six months of campaigning abroad, nothing was happening in India. With no end in sight, the unanswered question still was - how and when will the Emergency end?
In the meantime, Harvard had offered me my professorship back and my American friends were pushing me to leave this useless fight and settle down in the States.
That is when I decided I had to do something to justify my existence.
I decided to go to India, enter Parliament, make a short speech and disappear.
By then I had been declared a proclaimed offender, a wanted criminal. My passport was cancelled. The Americans, being my friends, supported me. I left America on my own name and passport.
Soumya: How did you enter India without being detected?
SS: I evaluated various options of arriving in an illegal boat, taking a flight via Nepal etc. I finally decided to buy a hopping flight ticket to Bangkok, via Delhi. So not being a Delhi-bound passenger, my name would not figure in the Delhi passenger manifest. Moreover, I carried no luggage and chose Pan American airlines - they were the most disorganised airline at that time.
When the plane landed in Delhi at 3 am, all passengers were taken to the transit lounge. I sneaked out of the transit lounge and walked towards the Departures section. There was a lone policeman sitting at the door. I pulled out my Parliament pass. He saluted me. Walking out, I hired a taxi and checked into a hotel. In a disguised voice I called my wife, passing off as Mark Tully.
She had already prepared my false beard, turban and a pair of zero-powered spectacles. That evening, disguised as a Sikh mechanic, I entered my own house - which was heavily patrolled by policemen - and stayed there for 5 days. Here, I planned the Parliament episode.![Swamy interview on Emergency embed 2]()
When the plane landed in Delhi at 3 am, all passengers were taken to the transit lounge. I sneaked out of the transit lounge and walked towards the Departures section. There was a lone policeman sitting at the door. I pulled out my Parliament pass. He saluted me. Walking out, I hired a taxi and checked into a hotel. In a disguised voice I called my wife, passing off as Mark Tully.
She had already prepared my false beard, turban and a pair of zero-powered spectacles. That evening, disguised as a Sikh mechanic, I entered my own house - which was heavily patrolled by policemen - and stayed there for 5 days. Here, I planned the Parliament episode.
Swamy in disguise
Soumya: What happened in Parliament?
SS: It was the first session of Parliament. The plan was to go in, make a little noise, sign my attendance register and walk out.
My wife and I drove our car to the House - those days, one could drive straight to the gates of Parliament. I told my wife, if I make it out without being arrested, you would find the car parked at Birla Mandir. I had a change of clothes in the car - a Gandhi topi, a shirt, a pair of trousers and a kada - the then 'Congress goon' gear. If you see the car, I told her, under the mat will be the key, take the key and drive the car back. I will take a train and from Mathura I will send a telegram saying 'books have arrived' which would indicate my safe escape from Delhi.
I got down, parked the car, walked in. The Watch and Ward staff of the Parliament asked me, 'Have you been let off?' I said that nowadays anybody could be let off by signing the 20-point programme.
My arrest warrant was in the police station. The police were in Pragati Maidan where Sanjay Gandhi was addressing a meeting. The foreign press had already been tipped off and they were present in the Parliament. All this was planned. I had about 15 minutes.
I walked into the House, and signed the attendance register, just as the obituary announcements were being made. Just as the Speaker concluded the list, I got up and said 'Sir, I have a point of order. In this intercession period, democracy has died. So please include that in your obituary'.
The Congress MPs saw me, they were frozen stiff! Indira Gandhi was not in Parliament that day. Later, she would be furious at her party men for their callous behaviour and letting me leave the House.
My wife and I drove our car to the House - those days, one could drive straight to the gates of Parliament. I told my wife, if I make it out without being arrested, you would find the car parked at Birla Mandir. I had a change of clothes in the car - a Gandhi topi, a shirt, a pair of trousers and a kada - the then 'Congress goon' gear. If you see the car, I told her, under the mat will be the key, take the key and drive the car back. I will take a train and from Mathura I will send a telegram saying 'books have arrived' which would indicate my safe escape from Delhi.
I got down, parked the car, walked in. The Watch and Ward staff of the Parliament asked me, 'Have you been let off?' I said that nowadays anybody could be let off by signing the 20-point programme.
My arrest warrant was in the police station. The police were in Pragati Maidan where Sanjay Gandhi was addressing a meeting. The foreign press had already been tipped off and they were present in the Parliament. All this was planned. I had about 15 minutes.
I walked into the House, and signed the attendance register, just as the obituary announcements were being made. Just as the Speaker concluded the list, I got up and said 'Sir, I have a point of order. In this intercession period, democracy has died. So please include that in your obituary'.
The Congress MPs saw me, they were frozen stiff! Indira Gandhi was not in Parliament that day. Later, she would be furious at her party men for their callous behaviour and letting me leave the House.
Soumya: Weren't the police alerted by then?
SS: While the MPs were observing the two-minute silence ritual, I stepped out. As, they were telephoning the police, I had slipped out of Parliament.
By the time I changed my clothes and reached the railway station, the police had sealed off Delhi. I acted aggressively with a sub inspector, pretending to be a Congress goon. He escorted me to the train - thinking I was a Congress leader.
From there, changing trains, I went to Bombay where the RSS underground network picked me up.
By the time I changed my clothes and reached the railway station, the police had sealed off Delhi. I acted aggressively with a sub inspector, pretending to be a Congress goon. He escorted me to the train - thinking I was a Congress leader.
From there, changing trains, I went to Bombay where the RSS underground network picked me up.
Soumya: Did the Parliament episode create any ripples in the foreign press?
SS: The international press was derisive of Mrs Gandhi. What kind of Emergency was she running, they asked? A man wanted by the State walks into the Parliament, creates a ruckus and then disappears!
From Bombay, I went to Nepal. The King of Nepal, being my former student at Harvard, sent me off of to the United States on a private plane. By then it was December 1976 already.
In January, Mrs Gandhi declared elections and the Emergency was lifted.
From Bombay, I went to Nepal. The King of Nepal, being my former student at Harvard, sent me off of to the United States on a private plane. By then it was December 1976 already.
In January, Mrs Gandhi declared elections and the Emergency was lifted.
Soumya: When you look back at the Emergency, what was the one emotion that was driving you during those days?
SS: I had no fear at the time. I've been brought up with the philosophy of the Bhagwad Gita which says that the only freedom lies in actions, results are unpredictable. I have no expectations. I've never been disappointed.
A year ago, I was supposed to be the new Finance Minister. At the last minute I was cheated out of it. I didn't mind. Today, everybody says you're smart to be out of this government - you would have been discredited by now. Nothing much is happening. Now, if I come in, I'll be equal to the Prime Minister.
A year ago, I was supposed to be the new Finance Minister. At the last minute I was cheated out of it. I didn't mind. Today, everybody says you're smart to be out of this government - you would have been discredited by now. Nothing much is happening. Now, if I come in, I'll be equal to the Prime Minister.
Soumya: When you look back at the Emergency episode, do you think something like that could happen again?
SS: It cannot be replicated.
What can happen is not a hard dictatorship like we had during Indira Gandhi's time but a soft dictatorship - where people selectively die, get killed, run over by cars, poisoned, and fear is spread through word-of-mouth.
What can happen is not a hard dictatorship like we had during Indira Gandhi's time but a soft dictatorship - where people selectively die, get killed, run over by cars, poisoned, and fear is spread through word-of-mouth.
Soumya: Some are saying it's already happening in a disguised way...
SS: Well, it happened in Sonia Gandhi's time also.
It is there, I'm cognisant of it. So I'm preparing for it.
However, I don't think this country will be anything but democratic. We may go through two- three months of unrest.
Today, every institution is being castrated. The media is castrated as is the bureaucracy. There is more paranoia. Ministers are dummies. The situation is also quite brittle. However, there are enough people who will not let it happen.
It is there, I'm cognisant of it. So I'm preparing for it.
However, I don't think this country will be anything but democratic. We may go through two- three months of unrest.
Today, every institution is being castrated. The media is castrated as is the bureaucracy. There is more paranoia. Ministers are dummies. The situation is also quite brittle. However, there are enough people who will not let it happen.
http://www.catchnews.com/politics-news/every-institution-is-being-castrated-today-subramanian-swamy-1435159781.html