November 7, 1959

Politics in Orissa—IX

The Congress since 1947 ON M a y 8, 1959 the A m r i t a Bazar

P a t r i k a reported an in terv iew w i t h Dr H K M a h t a b , the Chief Min is te r and leader of the Congress Pa r t y in Orissa.

'As f a r as I can judge, the Orissa Congress w i l l be s t reng th ­ened and i ts influence extended to a l l par ts of Orissa, i f i t accepts the offer of the G a n a t a n t r a Par i -shad to w o r k the Congress pol icy and p rogramme . . . (bu t if pre­sent condi t ions were a l lowed to cont inue, in the next general elec­t ion the Congress pa r t y ) is l ike ly to be en t i re ly crushed. '

The same newspaper, on May 24, 1959 reported an in te rv iew w i t h the (now) President of the Gana tan t ra Par ishad.

'Just a f te r the new Min i s t r y ' s swear ing- in ceremony was over the M a h a r a j a o f Ka lahand i , Sr i P ra tapkesar i Deo, M P ( G P ) said, at a press statement , t h a t i t should be quite a great re l ief to the people of Orissa t h a t the Con-gress regime had come to an end, and tha t , he hoped, f o r a l l t ime to come. He once came to the R a j b h a v a n in Cu t tack a t the t ime of the l iqu idat ion of the Pr incely States and f o r the second t ime to-day to see the l iqu idat ion of the Congress regime in Orissa, the M a h a r a j a added.'

In the same issue the newspaper reported a s tatement by Sr i Suren-d rana th Dwivedy , M P , leader o f the P r a j a Social ists in Orissa,

' (The ) on ly mo t i ve behind th is unusual coa l i t ion (Congress-Gana-t a n t r a Par ishad) in Orissa is to share power together. I t i s w r o n g to t h i n k t h a t i t has a n y other signif icance at all........But I feel t h a t a f t e r th is coa l i t ion the Oppo­s i t ion in Orissa w i l l emerge as a a force w i t h def ini te pr inciples and object ives' .

Period of Triumph T h e 1946 elections were held on a

l im i t ed f ranchise, a n d the Orissa in w h i c h these elections took place consisted o f the f o u r coasta l d is­t r i c ts , together w i t h Sambalpur and Ko rapu t . Th i s electorate, in these d is t r ic ts , re tu rned 45 Congressmen

in a house of 60, and as m a n y as 37 of the 45 seats were uncontested. I t was a clear and overwhe lming v ic to ry fo r the Congress.

The reasons fo r th is v i c to ry are clear. Congress was v i r t u a l l y the only pa r t y in the f ield. I t s candi­dates consisted large ly of 'mar ty rs ' , men who had a few months before been released f r o m the secur i ty pr i ­sons. Independence was jus t a round the corner, and the credi t f o r th is seemed to lie w i t h the Gandh ian w i n g of the Congress. Aga in , since Congress was clear ly about to be­come the 'Ra j ' , a l l those factors wh ich I have discussed ear l ier as 'a vote for the R a j , ' operated in i ts favour . Th is is c lear ly seen in the 37 uncontested seats: few people could be found who wou ld r i sk b rand ing themselves as the imp la­cable opponents of the pa r t y t h a t was about to assume power. The same fac t testifies to pa r t y disci­p l ine: at t h a t t ime those Congress­men who were not g iven a t icket could be persuaded no t to t r y the i r luck as Independents, in opposit ion to the Congress.

A f t e r the merger of the Feuda­tory States, 31 people were nomi­nated by the Government to f o r m an Orissa States Assembly. A year la ter this was dissolved and mem­bers were nomina ted to sit in the regular Legis la t ive Assembly wh ich then used to meet at Cu t tack . Since these members were nominated by the Congress Government , the i r pre­sence made no dif ference to the Con , gress hold upon the Legis la t ive Assembly

All Exemplary 'Freedom-Fighters'

There was a cabinet, i n i t i a l l y of six members. Four of these came f r o m the two nor thern d is t r ic ts o f the coast, one f r o m P u r i , and one f r o m Korapu t . A l l six cabinet members were exemplary ' f reedom f ighters ' and at least f ive o f t hem had been secur i ty pr isoners. La te r three persons were nomina ted f r o m the ex-State areas and g iven cabinet r a n k : a l l three were leaders o f the P r a j a m a n d a l Movement ,

In 1948 t w o o f the o r ig ina l mem­bers, of the cabinet resigned. One,

who sat for a Korapu t const i tuency, was replaced by another m a n f r o m Koraput . The port fo l ios were re­shuff led a n d one was given to a member (since dead) who was bo th a R a j a and a member of a Sche­duled Tr ibe . Th is gent leman's suc­cess in g i v i ng the J h a r k h a n d Move­ment of Orissa a go-by' has been ment ioned in a quota t ion in an earl ier ar t ic le . He came f r o m Sam­balpur, and i t m a y be presumed t h a t he was taken in to the cabinet bo th in order to g ive t ha t area some representat ion and because he was especially qual i f ied, as a t r i ba l chief, to counter the g row ing menace of the J h a r k h a n d Movement in the nor thern hi l ls of Orissa. He, alone in the cabinet, d i d not have a record as a ' f reedom f ighter ' .

Some Swara j is ts , who had taken the lead In forming" the wa r t ime Coal i t ion M in i s t r y , had appl ied to re jo in the Congress, bu t whi le Con­gress clemency extended to l e t t i ng t hem re tu rn , i t d id no t extend to l e t t i ng them s tand f o r elect ion on a Congress t icket . They remained outside the Congress.

Period of Uncertainty

The 1952 elect ion covered the whole of the State and was held on a un iversa l adu l t f ranchise. There were 140 seats in the new house. Of these Congress w o n 67: In the coasta l d is t r ic ts 41 out of a possible 68, and in the h i l ls 26 out of a possible 72,

I sha l l analyse the Congress membersh ip in the 1952 House and the 1957 House and in some of the cabinets, and in order to do th is I shal l use three categories. The f irst are the ' f reedom f igh ters ' ( F F ) , w h o m I define as those people who ga ined an Orissa-wide reputat ion fo r the i r pa r t i n the Independence Movement , and I take as a cr i ter ion of th is the men t i on of the i r names, as leaders, in Vo ls I I I , I V , or V of the H i s t o r y o f the Freedom Move­men t in Or issa. The second cate­go ry consists of Congress workers and sympath isers ( W & S ) , people who are n o t ment ioned in the His­t o r y , b u t w h o were active or passive sympathisers of the Move­men t and cer ta in ly who never op-

1603

THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY

P G Bailey

November 7, 1959 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY

THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY November 7, 1959

posed i t , Th is category includes a few men who have come to the Congress since 1947, and who were too young to have played any ser i­ous p a r t in the Independence Movement . The t h i r d category are the opponents of the Congress, and this includes those who act ive ly op­posed i t in the per iod bofore Inde­pendence, those who at some t ime le f t the Congress and opposed i t (eg, the Swara j i s t s ) , those who have been w o n over f r o m Opposit ion part ies since 1947, and finally those who, wh i le no t themselves act ive opponents of the Congress, belon­ged to groups or categories w h i c h were ranged aga ins t the Congress (eg, some Zemindars and Ra jas ) .

These three categories of F F , W & S , and Opponen s are not ent i re­ly sa t is fac to ry . The H i s t o r y o f the Freedom Movement in Or issa cer­t a in l y overwr i tes the w o r k o f some ind iv idua ls and probab ly under­wr i tes the s ign i f icant pa r t played by others, and i t is possible t ha t some persons in the W & S category deserve to be considered as F F . Also the W & S category is a very broad one and probab ly includes persons whose Congress sympathies on ly became apparent a f te r 1946: bandwaggoners, ' in other words, or,

to recal l an ear l ier quo ta t ion , 'new types of persons, who . . . h a d sty led themselves po l i t i ca l workers . ' There is, in short , a cer ta in a r b i t r a ­riness in the three categories, but they are the best t ha t could be con-s t ructed on the i n f o r m a t i o n ava i l ­able, and , crude though they are. they meet the present purpose, wh i ch is to t race the progressive d i lu t ion o f Congress 'pu r i t y ' in Orissa.

Progressive Dilution

Accord ing to these categories the Congress members of the 1952 house are analysed as fo l lows :

Of the 26 members f r o m the h i l l d is t r ic ts

4 were FF ( t w o coming f r o m B r i t i s h d i s t r i c t s ) ,

20 were W & S and 2 were Opponents, b o t h R a j

f a m i l y , one be ing the ex-M in i s te r ;

Of the 41 members f r o m the f o u r coastal d is t r i c ts

18 were F F , 21 were W & S , a n d 2 were Opponents, bo th f r o m

R a j fami l ies . The cabinet in 1952 inc luded 13

Min is te rs . Of these

5 were F F , 3 being Min is te rs and 2 Deputy Min is te rs ,

0 were W & S , 2 being Min is te rs and 3 Deputy Min is te rs , and

3 were Opponents, a l l R a j f am i l y , one Min is te r and two Deputy Min is ters .

In the 1946 House bo th the Govern­ment and the Congress P a r t y were s t i l l n a r r o w l y based on 'o r thodox ' Congressmen, and had a dominan t number o f F F . E i g h t o f the n ine members of the 1949 cabinet were in t h a t category. Bu t in the 1952 House there are clear signs t h a t the cleavage between the FF a n d the i r ers twhi le opponents was beg inn ing to close. The Congress Assembly P a r t y included four mem-bers f r o m R a j fami l ies , three in the 1952 cabinet and one who had pre­v iously held a por t fo l io . One other member of a R a j f a m i l y had been g iven the Congress t icket , but was not elected. The 1946 cabinet i n ­cluded 11 per cent (one person ) f r o m the Opponent category: the 1952 cabinet included 23 per cent ( three persons) f r o m tha t category.

F ive of the 1952 Congressmen in the cabinet were in the W & S cate­gory . Th is pa r t l y reflects the pass­ing of t ime and the p romot ion of ear l ier leaders to the h igher rea lms of pol i t ics. Bu t i t also, perhaps, i n ­dicates tha t some of those who had not the g i f t s to lead an ag i ta t i on d id have the sk i l l s required f o r order ly government , and t h a t i t was becoming clear t ha t the FF badge alone was not a suff icient qua l i f i ca t ion fo r po l i t i ca l leader­ship a f te r 1947.

Competition for Candidates

B u t the gap was as yet f a r f r o m being closed. By and large the Congress t ickets were s t i l l being g iven to o ld Congress workers . The Swara j i s ts were s t i l l outside the f o l d . N o r was the Congress leader­ship happy about t a k i n g in m e m ­bers of R a j fami l ies . I have been t o l d t h a t as m a n y as 18 members o f R a j fami l ies wou ld have accepted the Congress t icket , had i t been of fered to them. B u t i t was n o t : the Congress pre fer red the i r o w n men, and the Ra jas t h rew the i r i n ­fluence aga ins t these candidates and most o f t hem were defeated.

The 1952 elections demonst ra ted t h a t the appeal w h i c h the pa r t y seemed to have in 1946 had no t las ted u n t i l 1952, and h a d no t spread outside the coasta l p la in . They h a d been re tu rned in 1952 w i t h a m i n o r i t y . Even on the coas­

t a l p la in out of 68 Congress candi­dates 27 had been defeated. Twelve of these fe l l to other par t ies (one Gana tan t ra , f ive Communis ts , f ive Social ists, and one M a r x i s t F o r w a r d B lock) and no less t h a n f i f teen sea's were t aken by Independents. Seven of these Independents were Ra jas or Zemindars and two were Swara j i s ts : another Swara j i s t was the F o r w a r d B lock member. F i f teen ind iv idua ls showed t h a t they could w i n seats w i t hou t the back ing of any par ty . I f some of these, and some other persons, had been given the Congress t icket , then the pa r t y m i g h t have come in w i t h a majo­r i t y and not in a m ino r i t y . At least i t mus t have occurred to the pa r ty managers then tha t one day they m i g h t be faced w i t h the choice of compromis ing on Congress 'pur i t y ' or of being ent i re ly defeated. The rea l contest, in m a n y consti tuencies, was not to get votes, bu t to w i n over the person who was sure to get the votes : compet i t ion f o r can­didates, not voters.

Period of Realism

A l t h o u g h the 1952 Congress was elected w i t h a m i n o r i t y , i t d id not have such a di f f icul t t ime in the House as one m i g h t have expected. Some Independents jo ined the Con-gress soon a f te r elect ion: others, who were not permi t ted to j o i n the par ty , nevertheless voted consistent­ly w i t h the Government . A g a i n , many of the measures wh ich the Congress int roduced — par t i cu la r l y ag ra r i an re fo rm — had the support of the le f t -w ing part ies, and these bi l ls went t h rough w i t h major i t ies far in excess of the paper m a j o r i t y commanded by the Government .

Bu t by 1956 the Congress was in di f f icul t ies. F o r personal reasons the Min is te r f r o m Korapu t , who had pi loted t h rough the Zemindar i A b o l i ­t i on measure, resigned his por t fo l io . The Chief Min is ter , who was the ma insp r i ng behind the a g r a r i a n re­fo rms and the a t tempt to in t roduce local se l f -government t h rough the A n c h a l Sasan B i l l , and w h o before the w a r had been the leader of the Congress Social ist P a r t y , resigned to j o i n the Bhoodan Movement . A t the same t ime there was the grave embarrassment of the States Re­organ iza t ion Commiss ion Report and the subsequent disorders. W i t h i n the Congress there was a deep cleavage between those who supported the Chief Min is ter , appro­ved o f Zemindar i Abo l i t i on , and admi red his refusal to compromise

1506

THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY November 7, 1959

on ideological issues, inc lud ing Congress ' pu r i t y , ' and those who believed t h a t a more real is t ic pol icy must be adopted i f the Congress was to rema in a power w i t h i n the State. These were the people who not iced t h a t Zemindar i A b o l i t i o n was 'not popular ' and who con­sidered i t r i gh t to take in f o rmer opponents of the Congress in order to meet the g r o w i n g th rea t o f the G a n a t a n t r a Par ishad in the h i l ls , and of the l e f t -w ing part ies on the plains.

Membership In the 1957 House

An analys is of the Congress membership of the 1957 House and the cabinet shows quite c lear ly t ha t the real is t ic t h i n k i n g had prevai led in the par ty ' s councils. Congress had 56 members, eleven less than a f te r the 1952 elect ion: 42 of these (out of a possible 66) were in the four coastal d is t r ic ts , and 14 in the h i l l d is t r ic ts . Thus they gained one seat in the coastal d is t r ic ts , and lost 13 in the hi l ls .

Of the 42 members fo r const i ­tuencies in the coastal d is t r ic ts

17 had held Congress seats in the 1952 House, of whom 7 were F F , 8 were W & S , and 2 were Opponents, both R a j

f a m i l y : and

25 were new members, of w h o m 3 were Congressmen who had fa i led to be elected in 1952.

2 being F F , and

1 W & S ,

2 were FF who had not stood in the 1952 election, and 10 were W & S newcomers.

Bu t aga inst th is there were as m a n y as

10 opponents re turned on the Congress t icket , of whom 2 were ex-Swara j , one an Independent in the 1952 House and one who had n a r r o w l y fa i led to be elec­ted to t h a t House on a non-Congress t icket , 1 had been a Communist

in the 1952 House,

4 were R a j f am i l y , three o f w h o m had been I n ­dependents in the 1952 House, two of t hem be­i n g the leaders of the p rs -war rent ier Opposi­t i o n in the Legis lat ive Assembly,

I had been an Indepen­dent MLA in the 1952 House in a reserved

seat, and 2 had been off icials, one

of w h o m was an old enemy of the Congress.

In th is way no less t h a n 6 of these 10 Opponents h a d defeated Congress candidates in the 1952 General Elect ions,

Of the 14 members in the h i l l d is t r ic ts

5 had held seats in the 1952 House, of whom 3 were F F , 1 was W & S , and 1 was an Opponent, a mem­

ber of a R a j f a m i l y : and 9 were newcomers, of w h o m

7 were W & S , and 2 were opponents, bo th R a j

fami l y , one of w h o m was unseated by an elect ion t r i buna l and lost the sub­sequent bye-election to a G a n a t a n t r a commoner can­didate, a few weeks before the Coal i t ion came about.

There were thus f i f teen Oppo­nents w i t h i n the ranks of the Con­gress when the elect ion results were announced. Bu t even then the Congress was able to achieve a precarious m a j o r i t y on ly by t a k i n g in Independents and deserters f r o m other part ies, and by re l y ing on the support of the 5 J h a r k h a n d m e m ­bers. Congress support, accord ing to the 'pur is t ' way o f t h i n k i n g , was down to 41 persons, and t h a t must have included a number of 'band-waggoners ' in the W & S c a t e g o r y : th is was in a House of 140 persons.

The Cabinet

Just p r io r to the Coal i t ion in 1959 ( t ha t is. a f te r the scandals o f A p r i l and M a y 1958 and the dismissal of one of the Congress Deputy Min is ­ters) the cabinet numbered 14, 10 being Min is ters and 4 Deputy Ministers. Of these 14

6 had held por t fo l ios in the pre­vious cabinet, o f w h o m

1507

3 were F F , 2 were W & S , and 1 wan R a j f a m i l y ; and

8 were newcomers, of w h o m 2 were Congressmen, both

members of previous cabinets, 1 being FF, and 1 W & S ; and

6 were Opponents, of whom 1 W & S; and 3 were prominent enemies of

the Congress before 1947, 2 being Ra jas , and 1 an off ic ial , and

2 were people who h a d defea­ted Congress candidates in the 1957 elect ion, 1 R a j fami l y , s tand ing as

Independent, and 1 elected on a Gana tan t ra

t icket . Thus, in the four teen-member

cabinet, seven members came f r o m the Opponent category, fou r were F F , and 3 were W & S .

The broadening of the base of Congress, cu lm ina t ing in the clos­ing of the breach between i t and i ts pre-1947 opponents on the Orissa plains, is summarized in Table 5 and Table 6. F r o m these tables i t is clear that the pre-1947 opposi­t ion to the Congress on the coastal plains now f inds i ts po l i t i ca l repre­sentat ion w i t h the Congress,

Politics Outside the Legislature

F r o m 1946 to 1952 Congress was dominant in the Legis lature, but outside the House there was a vocal and act ive opposit ion, w o r k i n g on the whole not t h rough const i tu t iona l means but by direct act ion. ' In a previous ar t ic le I have out l ined the troubles in the ex-States and the h i l l d is t r ic ts , where the Opposit ion even­tua l l y emerged as the Gana tan t ra Par ishad, and in the extreme nor th ­ern areas of the J h a r k h a n d Par ty , On the plains Opposit ion was ex­pressed- in ag i ta t ions, both ag ra r i an and indus t r ia l , organized by the le f t -

November 7, 1959 T H E E C O N O M I C W E E K L Y

w i n g parties. The f o l l o w i n g quota­t ions, t aken f r o m Orissa 1949, pub­lished by the Publ ic Relat ions Depar tment , are a few examples of w h a t was go ing on in the areas where Congress h a d domina ted the 1946 elections.

(1947) In P u r i d i s t r ic t the Communis t - ins t iga ted tenants of M a l i p a r a were prosecuted for for­c ib ly en ter ing upon the l and of a local Zemindar . I n K a k a t p u r and M i n a p a r a areas the a g r a r i a n ag i ­t a t i o n was more wide-spread, and several cases were ins t i tu ted aga ins t the r a iya t s fo r i n d u c i n g in assaults a n d preven t ing land­owners f r o m c u l t i v a t i n g thei r lands.' (p 27)

(1947) T h e a n t i - H i r a k u d agi­t a t ion became more widespread and the ag i ta tors inc i ted the v i l ­lagers in the area l i k e l y to be affected by the d a m to prevent survey operations. ' (p 27)

(1948) 'The Communis t s i n ­tensified the i r ac t iv i t ies in the d is t r ic ts o f Cut tack , Pu r i , Gan jam, and parts o f Sambalpur and Balasore. I n C u t t a c k they inci ted the ra iya t s of Pa t i a to under take repair to the D o m u h i n embank­ment in spite of p r o h i b i t o r y or­ders w i t h the result t ha t several arrests had to be made to ma in ­t a in l a w and order. I n P u r i dis­t r i c t p a r t i c u l a r l y in Gop and K a k a t p u r areas, the a g i t a t i o n amongst the ra iya t s led to several instances of forcible c u l t i v a t i o n of lands of Zemindars for w h i c h specific cases were ins t i tu ted . The s i tua t ion deter iorated in Shergada (Gan j am) in M a y when a large m o b a rmed w i t h l a th i s and other weapons a t t acked a Police search pa r ty w i t h the resul t t h a t f i r i ng h a d to be opened resu l t ing in 5 dead and 16 in ju red . In Sambal ­pur d i s t r i c t the Communi s t lead­ers were rounded up and proceed­ed against . The Communis ts established a A r m hold over the sweepers in P u r i and successfully ins t iga ted t h e m to l aunch a s t r ike . The Communis t s also Ins t iga ted the worke r s o f the l b r i ve r col l ie ry who fo rmed an un ­l a w f u l assembly a n d h a d to be dispersed af ter a l a t h i charge, . . . S e c t i o n 144, Cr P C, h a d to be p romulga ted in the T i r t h o l and E r s a m a areas o f C u t t a c k d i s t r i c t a n d M a n g a l p u r o f P u r i d i s t r i c t to check the Social is t-sponsored a g r a r i a n ag i t a t i on . ' (p 29)

(1949) 'In the beginning of the year the Communis ts concentrated on the r a i l w a y employees to b r i n g about a s t r ike w h i c h was aver ted by the arrest and detent ion of the m a i n ins t iga tors . They t u r n ­ed thei r a t t en t ion towards the forcible r emova l of paddy, usur­pat ion o f l a n d and i n t i m i d a t i o n of local landowners and Zemin­

dars at A r d h a u l l a ( C u t t a c k ) , in Shergada area in Gan jam, Chandka , K a k a t p u r , T a n g i a n d Begunia i n P u r i , a n d Rasam and Kande ike la in Sambalpur. ' (P 31)

(1949) 'The Communis t s took to large-scale leafleteering in d i f ­ferent areas of the Province . , . several o f the i r p rominen t w o r k -

1508

THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY November 7, 1959

era were arrested and kept under detent ion. The Social ists i ns t i ­gated the ra iya ts to launch satya-g r a h a against e jectment and harves t ing of paddy by land­owners i n D h a r m s a l a and T i r t h o l areas of Cu t tack and at M a n -ga lpur in P u r i . Twen ty - two per­sons were arrested at T i r t h o l . . . and . . . proceedings . . . in­s t i tu ted against the prominent Socialist inst igators, ip 32)

The t roubles cont inued in 1950, as the fo l l ow ing excerpt f r o m Orissa 1950-51 p 5 shows.

T h e Social ists organized two labour s t r ikes one at the Tex­t i le M i l l s at Chowdwar and the other in a col l iery at Ta lcher In Dhenkana l d is t r ic t . The Bhag -chas law also af forded them a wide oppor tun i ty to foment ag ra ­r i a n disputes in m a n y parts o f the State, The scarci ty of essen­t ia l commodit ies and the neces­sary t igh ten ing of cont ro l was taken advantage of by a l l these reac t ionary part ies inc lud ing a few Congress malcontents, in m a k i n g propaganda against the Government . Th is propaganda put a p remium on c r im ina l ten­dencies and led to the unautho­rised demol i t ion of reserved for ­ests in Sundergarh and N i l g i r i , in loo t ing o f r icecarts in G a n j a m and obst ruc t ing movement of rice in Cut tack, where Supply officials were in t im ida ted and ob­st ructed in the discharge of thei r duties. T h a n k s to the v ig i lance of the Police, the troubles were everywhere localized and brought under cont ro l w i th comparat ive ease.' Congress and Agrarian Reform

The 1952 Congress Government , under the leadership of a fo rmer Congress Socialist, had made a serious and determined ef for t to b r i ng about ag ra r i an re fo rm. Zemindar i was abol ished and an a t tempt was made to set up local ins t i tu t ions wh ich would per fo rm the funct ions of the o ld Zemindars. H a d the in tent ions of the legisla­tors been t rans la ted in to act ion, undoubtedly i t wou ld have been more di f f icu l t f o r the le f t -w ing pol i ­t ic ians and the 'Congress ma lcon­tents ' to foment ag ra r i an d is tur­bances. Bu t the Ancha l Sasan A c t was never implemented. And , whi le the w ind was taken out of the So­cial ist and Communis t saits w i t h i n the Legis la t ive Assembly, the dif f i­cult ies, delays, and f r i c t ions of im­

p lementat ion gave them plenty of scope fo r cont inu ing the i r ag i ta t ions outside.

The le f t -w ing pol i t ic ians, bo th out . side and inside the Congress, no doubt fe l t t ha t the ag ra r i an re fo rms were not coming about qu ick ly enough. But there were others who opposed the re forms or thought t ha t they were being in t roduced too precip i tate ly. Some of these people w i t h i n the Congress, w i t h one eye on the 'growing threat of the Gana-t a n t r a in the hi l ls and on the f i f teen Independents who had demonstrated tha t they could ho ld seats against the Congress in the coastal p la in , and w o r k i n g , no doubt, on the m a x i m that 'the r ich w i l l a lways be hav ing the i r power', looked w i t h a a r m on the precipi tate advance of social ism and feared the Chief Min is ter 's ideal ism wou ld al ienate power fu l people both inside and out­side the Congress.

In the choice of candidates for election such qual i f icat ions as past services to the par ty , l oya l t y to the par ty and its ideology, and so f o r t h , are desirable. But in the 1952-50 House the real ists among the Con­gress had come to recognize tha t it-is no use pu t t i ng f o r w a r d a loyal par ty "man if the voters w i l l not. have h im . Th ings are easier when the par ty has safe seats and these safe seats are enough to give a ma jo r i t y . Bu t by and large loya l ty to the pa r t y is on ly one, and perhaps even the last, of the loyalt ies wh ich influence the electors in their choice. There are as many seats safe fo r persons as there are for part ies.

Ejection of Left wing Extremists

The result of th is t h i n k i n g was the ejection of the le f t -w ing extre­mists f r o m the Congress in the 1957 House and the i r replacement by moderates. The cleavage between the le f t -w ing part ies and the Con­gress, a l ready apparent outside the Legis lature, now became more m a r k ­ed w i t h i n the Legistature. Those who had a h is tory of r i gh t -w ing t h i nk ­ing and a r i gh t -w ing out look now found the i r representat ion in the Congress, a l though the par ty 's pro­g ramme remained le f t -w ing : those whose h is to ry and act ions demon st rate a radica l out look were out­side the Congress and fo rmed the on ly Opposit ion on the plains,

A change of pol i t ical al legiance is setdom viewed in a good l igh t . But there is a side to it wh ich is per­

fect ly legi t imate, and i t wou ld be wrong to assume t h a t everyone who has jo ined the Congress since 1947 has done so for mercenary mot ives. Even when an ind iv idua l Joins a par ty wh ich unt i l t ha t point he has opposed, it does not necessarily mean tha t he is l ack ing in pr inciple. Cir-cumstances may change, so tha t the pa r ty which he fo rmer ly oppo­sed is now closer to his own point of view, and he may consider tha t he w i l l best serve the cause in wh ich he believes by jo in ing tha t par ty and endeavour ing to influence it f u r the r in wha t he considers the r igh t d i rec t ion: a l te rnat ive ly the in­d iv iduals concerned may have chan­ged the i r out look and may have decided that, the interests which they served are no longer defensible in modern Ind ia .

Effects on the Congress Party

But the Congress pays a price for d i l u t i ng its 'pur i ty ' . By streng­then ing the par ty on one w ing , i t loses members on the other. Most of the leading f igures in the left-w ing part ies had already le f t the Congress before the 1952 elections, and were not there to dispute the evident change of out look and policy in 1956. Bu t the adopt ion of fo rmer Opponents has caused some demoral izat ion in the Congress at d ist r ic t and consti tuency level, The a l locat ion of t ickets is a lways a delicate operat ion and at the best of t imes puts a s t ra in on the un i ty of the local organizat ion. Bu t when the t icket goes to someone who has no record of services to the par ty , but may even have a record of act ive opposit ion, then o ld Con­gressmen who wanted the t icket feel free to t r y their luck as Indepen­dents, But. i f the par ty has Judged correct ly, they do not succeed.

Persons adopted in to the Congress f r o m the Opponent category were in a pecul iar ly s t rong posi t ion, since the Government had a very na r row ma jo r i t y . Thei r s t rength d id not rest on pa r t y back ing : they are per­sons of influence in their own r i gh t : and they are o f ten persons of abi­l i t y . This is one reason w h y 7 members of the 1959 cabinet came f r o m the Opponent category.

This results in a fu r the r demora­l izat ion of the 'pure' Congressmen, when they see that some of those 'at the he lm of the admin is t ra t ion of free Ind ia ' were 'un for tunate ly those who had taken pleasure in suppressing Freedom Movement ' . In

1509

November 7, 1959 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY

th is category of dissidents are to be included both those who feel t ha t the prizes of v ic to ry have been g iven to the w r o n g persons, and those more ideal ist ic persons who feel that w i t h such new members the par ty w i l l no longer fo l l ow the poli­cies in approva l of wh ich they gave i t the i r al legiance.

A l l these feelings of f rus t ra t ion and d is t rus t are intensi f ied by the spectacle of people crossing the floor of the House. Of 7 Independents elected to the 1957 House, 6 have joined the Congress, and one of them was made a Deputy Min is ter . One Gana tan t ra member jo ined a f ter the election but before the M in i s t r y was fo rmed : his brother, a lready a Congressman, became a Deputy Min is ter . A f t e r the M in i s t r y was fo rmed one Communis t and seven G a n a t a n t r a members jo ined the Congress. Of the four members elected to represent Phu lban i dis­t r i c t , al l on the Gana tan t ra t icket , three have jo ined the Congress and one of them became a Deputy Min is ter .

The Coalition

The social base of the Congress is ent i re ly changed f r o m what i t was before 1947. The Orissa Con-gress is s t i l l a section of the A l l -Ind ia Pa r t y and its policies are shaped by the A l l - I nd ia Congress but now it cuts across the fo rmer cleavage of Congress and land lord-interest on the plains, and this cleavage has, on the surface at least, disappeared.

There are two ways of l ook ing at th is charge. One a rgument is that th is is an ent i re ly hea l thy develop* ment. I t has removed one of the m a i n cleavages in Orissa society, and has released energies to be devoted to economic and social de­velopment. The other a rgument is t ha t f r o m a progressive point of v iew th is change is bad, because it means t h a t Congress has been captured by react ionary ' elements, who, to pu t i t a t i ts best, w i l l not co-operate whole-hear tedly in the progressive policies l a id down in De lh i . W i t hou t the perspective of h i s to ry one cannot say w h i c h point of v iew w i l l t u r n out to be the cor-rect one.

Seen against this background, the coal i t ion fo rmed th is year (1959) is not a new development; it is a logi ­cal extension of the pol icy a l ready fo l lowed in deal ing w i t h the l and ­

lo rd interest in the p la ins. There is a technical difference in f o rm , in tha t th is is a coal i t ion of two part ies, and is not merely the absorb ing of ind iv iduals f rom the opposing in­terest in to the Congress, But f r o m a s t ruc tu ra l point of v iew the two processes are ident ica l , a new group has been fo rmed by cu t t i ng across groups wh ich previously opposed one another. The same two apprai­sals can be made: on the one hand a deb i l i ta t ing cleavage has been removed, and a step has been taken towards the in tegrat ion ( in a tech­nical sense) of Orissa; f r o m the opposite point of view, the Congress has received a new in fus ion of r igh t -w i n g blood, and, whatever is said about progressive ideologies, the new coal i t ion w i l l be even fu r the r to the r i gh t than was i ts predeces­sor, the Congress Government. Once again we are too close to events to be able to assess which of these views has the more t r u t h in i t .

All Orissa Middle-Class Group

But , whichever of the two h is tory shows to have been the correct view, these events are both a godsend to the propagandists of the Opposit ion part ies, and a source of considerable dissension w i t h i n the two coal i t ion part ies. The le f t -w ing part ies have been presented w i t h t ha t easy and very te l l ing cr i t ic ism t h a t a leopard cannot change its spots, and tha t whatever the Congress or the Coal i­t ion Government m igh t say about its in tent ions, i t is too much to ex­pect t ha t men who were not only born into an ar is tocracy but also fought a long and b i t te r f ight to ma in ta in their way o f l i fe, w i l l overn ight become enthusiast ic pro­ponents of a socialist way of l i fe.

In an earl ier ar t ic le I have said tha t Orissa is not a wel l - integrated whole. In th is ar t ic le I have de­scribed events and changing alle­giances wh ich may make i t possible to eradicate, at least on a pol i t ica l level, two of the ma in cleavages in Orissan society: f i rst ly tha t between the propert ied coastal middle-class and the i r 'progressive' opponents f r o m w i t h i n the same class; second­ly t ha t between the h i l l and the coast. W h a t appears to be emerg ing is an al l -Orissa middle-class group, cer ta in ly w i t h bourgeois roots, a l ­t hough on ly t ime w i l l te l l how fa r they w i l l protect bourgeois interests. As f o r the fu tu re , i f the Coal i t ion is stabi l ized and becomes one pa r t y ra ther than a tempora ry al l iance of

part ies, then one wou ld expect the ma in cleavage to g row between th is new group and one or more of the le f t -w ing part ies, and tha t In t ime the le f t -w ing should g row in numbers and s t rength . I f th is hap­pened, then the cleavage wh ich was based on regional loyalt ies, and the other cleavage wh ich arose in the course of the Independence s t rug­gle, are l i ke ly to be replaced by a cleavage wh ich reflects differences in pol i t ical ideology and u l t imate ly of class.

But th is is mere speculation, fo r many var iables are involved. To name only two, the issue w i l l depend on the g r o w t h of pol i t ical conscious­ness among the lower classes, who up to this point have played a negl i­gible par t in pol i t ics, and i t w i l l de­pend on whether or not the Con­gress succeeds in imp lement ing a socialist p rogramme in Ind ia as a whole.

(Concluded)

Hindustan Aluminium

H I N D U S T A N A l u m i n i u m Corpora­t ion L t d , w i l l enter the cap i ta l

marke t ear ly next mon th . I t has al ready signed an agreement f o r power supply w i t h the U. P, Govern­ment and concluded ar rangements for the supply of bauxi te. The com­pany may go into product ion ear ly in 1962.

The agreement in respect of elec­t r i c i t y , to be obtained f r o m the R ihand Power House, covers a period of 25 years. I t provides for the supply of power up to 55,000 KW f r o m ear ly 1962 at Rs. 175 per KW per year on the basis of the energy consumed. This rate would be operat ive f o r the f i rs t 16 years of the agreement wh ich provides f o r an increase in the charges, not exceed­ing 10 per cent, f o r the remain ing period by mu tua l consent or a r b i ­t r a t i on . The rates f ixed included a l l taxes.

The company wou ld get supplies o f bauxi te f r o m the Loha rdanga mines in B iha r at the ra te of 4,000 tons per m o n t h under an agree­ment w i t h Messrs. Minera ls and Minera ls L t d . The rates, inclusive of royal t ies and taxes, were f ixed at Rs. 16-4 per t on f.o.r. T o r i or R ichu-gu ta s ta t ion . The company was negot ia t ing another lease to obta in m i n i n g r igh ts in respect o f the A m a r k a n t a k baux i te mines.

1510