British feared Bhagat Singh may become Lenin of India!

Harmony magazine carried in August issue my interview on Bhagat Singh done by Suparna Saraswati Puri 

Colonial and Desi Govt.s on same page to bring anti people ordinances-1929/2015

In all likelihood an ordinance for amendment to ‘The Right to fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013’, No. 30 of 2013 will be issued for fourth time after the present session of Parliament is over. This seems that the bill in this regard will not be able to get approval from Rajya Sabha and the government will resort to continuation with this law through ordinance route. 2013 act was given assent by President on 26th September 2013, which was passed by both houses of Parliament after long wrangling, but mostly with consensus. The Gazette notification in this regard was issued on 27th September 2013. This act replaced many times amended ‘The Land Acquisition Act of 1894, which was enacted by British colonial regime. Government of India made the act functional from 31st December 2013 after Gazette notification in this regard issued on 19th December 2013. The British colonial act of 1894, like so many other colonial acts as Indian Penal Code of 1860 and many more were never fully repealed in ‘Independent’ India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, unity and solidarity at least in preserving colonial legacy! Pakistan and Bangladesh just replaced India with their country names to these colonial acts. So much of ‘liberation’ from colonial legal legacy, shouted all the time as anti people and oppressive during long drawn freedom struggle! In fact The Land Acquisition Act of 1894 underwent major ‘repeal and amendment’ process during British and post 1947 India, in 1914, 1938 and substantially in 1984. But the resentment against this act was so much that now ruling party BJP and its allies in NDA, as opposition in 2013, fully exploited the people’s sentiments to the hilt against Congress and UPA Government and brazenly adopted now being repeated tactics by Congress to ‘disrupt parliament’! After coming to power in May 2014 with commanding majority, BJP realised or perhaps knew well even before, that election speeches of ‘Achhe Din’ are one thing and obliging its corporate patrons is altogether another thing! And after spending nearly ten thousand crore of rupees, as per not denied media reports, on high pitched, high tech election campaign, the corporate fund givers were not going to treat it as an act of charity and will demand its returns! Newly activated Land act of 2013 was a stumbling block to get those corporate patrons obliged through precious lands of poor peasants of India, who do not have many options to their livelihood other than doing hard labour on land to grow crops for preserving their families. So on 31st December 2014, exactly a year after the new act was enforced, NDA/BJP government promulgated an ordinance no. 9 of 2014 to amend “The Right to fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013’ under article 123 of Constitution of India. The major changes being brought in to favour private corporates, which go against the interests of poor peasants have been discussed in detail in almost all types of electronic, print and web media, which need not be repeated here, except the fact that this ordinance has been repeated on April 3, 2015 as number 4 amendment of 2015, third time repeated on 30th May 2015 as number 5th amendment, means continuing the same ordinance with minor ornamental changes to pacify or win over some sections or rather some of its own NDA allies, like Akali Dal and Shiv Sena, who are as much opposed to these amendments as much opposition parties in Congress alliance or other parties like BSP, BJD, TMC different factions of yet to become ‘one Janta Dal’ and of course more stringently opposed are left parties! After three times promulgation of same ordinance, this was recently subjected to comic comparison with three time loss of ‘baseball’ game by eminent jurist Fali Nariman in The Tribune itself, but admitting its legal validity, even if continues to be repeated as ‘ordinance’ endlessly!(Left out in English) The ordinance game on Land act of 2013 brings to mind the ordinance game played in somewhat similar circumstances in 1929. A G Noorani in his celebrated book-‘The Trial of Bhagat Singh’, offers some detail about it in his 4th chapter of the book-‘Bombs in Central Assembly’. Quoting the historian of Congress party and once President of the party as Mahatma Gandhi’s candidate Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramyya, Noorani tells that ‘the repressive Public Safety Bill was moved in the Central Legislative Assembly (Today’s Parliament) on September 10.1928 and referred to a select committee by 62 votes to 59. Home Member Sir James Crerar of British colonial government moved it as a bill in Assembly as per select committee report, on 24th September for consideration. The motion was defeated by 62 votes to 61 with the casting vote of Assembly President (Speaker in today’s parlour) Vithalbhai Patel, elder brother of Vallabh Bhai Patel! Like present Modi Govt. British govt of the day was bent upon reintroducing bill, so it was in January 1929, creating furore like on Land act these days. President Vithal Bhai Patel raised objection to this bill on April 2, 1929 session of assembly and was to deliver his ruling on 8th April 1929. On 8th April 1929, another controversial bill relating to workers conditions was on table-Trade Disputes Bill, but British govt. was able to get it passed with 56 votes to 38. This was known later as ‘Trade Disputes Act’, one of the most oppressive anti worker act of British colonial govt. imposed upon Indian workers, which they could never dare to bring in British parliament for British workers. However when Vithal Bhai Patel was about to give his ruling over Public safety bill, being used as an ordinance, two bombs were thrown from visitors gallery. These were accompanied by red(pink) leaflets thrown against these two bills and slogans of ‘Long Live Revolution’ and ‘Down with Imperialism’! These were thrown by Bhagat Singh and B K Dutt!These leaflets were aptly given title of 'To Make the Deaf Hear". The bombs were made and thrown to make noise and not hurt anyone and so it happened. This incident was repetition of similar one happened in 1893 in French Parliament, where revolutionary Valliant had made similar blast to 'make French Parlaiiament hear about people's hunger', as French rulers were saying that 'if people don't get bread, let them have cakes'! This became history, but this history was created by insistence of British Govt. to impose anti people Public Safety Bill, used as an ordinance upon Indian people. Now Indian rulers are following the same route created by British colonial rulers in similar circumstances in past. Would it create another history? And in what form? *Chaman Lal is retired Professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University and author of ‘Understanding Bhagat Singh’. HYPERLINK "mailto:Prof.chaman@gmail.com" Prof.chaman@gmail.com , 09646494538 H.no. 1098/2, Sector 39-B, Chandigarh. ?03-?08-?2015