The Rediff Interview/Mukesh Patel
'It was unfortunate that some extremists
equated local Muslims with Pakistan'
Meet Mr Mukesh Patel, president of the Gujarat Chamber of
Commerce and Industry,'' announced The Indian Express photographer. I looked at Mukesh. A little less hair on the top, a little more flesh,
a lot more prosperous looking. Yet there was something very familiar
about him. Then I got it. "Mukesh Patel, weren't you one of the
leaders of the Nav Nirman agitation. I am V Gangadhar"
"Of course, I remember," burst out Mukesh. "How can I forget your write-ups on the Nav Nirman agitation in the Times of India?
I quickly went back in time by 25 years and remembered the hectic four months of
the Nav Nirman agitation which led to the death of around 150 people
(mostly in police firings) in their struggle against the corrupt Congress
government led by Chimanbhai Patel. For the first time, people demanded the
'right to recall' a corrupt government even if it had not completed its full
term.
Manishi Jani, Umakant Mankad, Mukesh Patel, Sagar Raika,
Narhari Amin, Rajkumar Gupta. These were the student leaders who
suddenly became famous. Mukesh, son of an income tax
commissioner, was the most sober, articulate and disciplined and became
the respected spokesman of the lot. He made it clear that the agitating
students should go back to their classes once their goal was reached. This did
not happen with many, but Mukesh today, is one of the leading taxation
lawyers and NRI investment advisers in Gujarat. In his book-lined office, we
talked for hours, reliving those hectic days and the present problems of
Gujarat:
What drew you to the 'Nav Nirman' movement? After all,
you belonged to a respectable, upper middle class family and
your father was with the government.
That is true. But I was a student activist even during those days. I mean, a Senate member, active participant in students union activities. Since the Nav Nirman agitation began as a student movement, I was drawn to it. Being fluent in English, I became an official spokesman for the
students, particularly to the outsiders.
Was 'Nav Nirman' a spontaneous agitation?
Resentment had been building up among the students for a long time. Mess bills in college had skyrocketed. The LD Engineering College students were the first to agitate and were followed by others. The main problem was the soaring prices of edible oil. We all knew that Gujarat
was being ruled by the 'oil kings' and the Chimanbhai Patel government was
getting money from them to finance the UP assembly election of
1974.
Was food prices the only issue which sparked off the
agitation?
Initially it was. But the government was not sympathetic and reacted with lathis and bullets. You remember all those lathi-charges and firings! Had Chimanbhai chosen to negotiate with the students and adopted a sympathetic attitude, we would have responded positively.
Further, the political system in the state was poisoned. Chimanbhai's
'aya ram gaya ram' tactics, the Panchvati farm episode where groups of MLAs
were kept under near-detention and provided with, well, whatever they
demanded, infuriated the people. From food prices the focus shifted to
'Chiman hatao'. The then prime minister Indira Gandhi sent out feelers, but
we would not negotiate till Chimanbhai was out.
So, the agitation became political.
That is true. Opposition to Mrs Gandhi was building up
all over the country. The Nav Nirman took a stand that Gujarat did not
want any dummies from the Centre and demanded fresh assembly
elections. There was some violence and unpleasant activities when student
volunteers harassed Congress MLAs who refused to resign. I mean, like
blackening their faces and parading them on donkeys. We initiated the 'right to
recall' issue and 'JP' supported us. Morarji Desai began a nine-day fast
demanding dissolution of the state assembly and fresh polls. Finally, Indira had
to agree.
Did the movement peter our after that? Wasn't it taken
over by politicians who exploited the students?
In a way, yes it did. But the main aims of 'Nav Nirman' were achieved. Some of its leaders did join political parties. But my stand was clear. I was for educating people on choosing and then
voting for the right type of candidates. We did not want the same old faces getting elected again and again. To a certain extent, we were successful. You see, Gujarat, for the first time, voted for a non-Congress government, the Janata Morcha, which became the base for anti-emergency activities in 1975. Later on, we had a Janata government at the Centre. Everyone recollected our
contribution to these historic changes.
Even during the heady days of the Nav Nirman agitation, I
remember some student leaders moving around in flashy cars,
smoking imported cigarettes.
I don't deny this. The movement became too big to control, and
some student leaders did exploit the situation. A lot of
money was floating around. But this did not affect the top leadership which
functioned from Ahmedabad. I can assure you on that. Our agitation was not a
personal struggle against Chimanbhai Patel. We knew the state was in
the grip of a terrible drought during those days. But the chief minister
was collecting funds for the UP election, acting as a puppet of the oil
lobby and the central government.
Once the 'corrupt' Congress was out of power, the
movement fizzled out. What about its successors? Were they pure as the snow?
I would not say Nav Nirman fizzled out. Some of us
wanted the movement to be actively involved in politics and fight
the election. I was totally against it. We were after all students. Our aim
was to study and prepare ourselves for our future. In the years which
followed, several of the movement stalwarts, did join political parties, particularly
the Congress.
Wasn't it ironic that a man who was called 'Chiman Chor'
and thrown out of power, after some years, was wooed by all political
parties and once again became the chief minister of Gujarat? Where was the
Nav Nirman spirit then?
Personally, I was very disturbed by these developments. The pendulum had swung so much to the other side. Chimanbhai claimed he was a 'transformed' man. In those 15 years, one young generation had given way to another. There were scams, and more scams all over the
country. The sensitivity of the youth had been blunted. There was a steep
fall in standards all over, starting with the government and the political
leadership.
One of the Nav Nirman stalwarts, Narhari Amin, even became
deputy chief minister to Chimanbhai Patel. Wasn't this the
height of irony?
Well, it was his choice. I have nothing to comment on this.
In your youth, as a Nav Nirman leader you had fought
for certain values. Why didn't you resume these activities instead of
becoming a successful taxation lawyer? Why did the
revolutionary ardour disappear?
Even in those days, my aim was go back to my studies and
build a career. I did not want to enter politics or become a
permanent revolutionary. I felt I could help society in other ways. My work as a
taxation lawyer is mostly in specialised areas where it would not affect my
conscience. I don't practise at lower levels and mostly do appellate work on
various legal issues. My work is such that I do not concern myself with search and
seizure cases. At the same time, I had branched out to teaching of law,
doing newspaper columns, deliver public awareness lectures on various issues
and helping national economy by helping with NRI investment.
You could still spend some time on public interest
litigation. I mean, a person of your background and calibre.
Yes, I am fascinated by PIL work. But my hands are so full that I have
no time for it. But my teaching in various institutions gives me enormous
pleasure. I consider that as social work.
Okay, let us now discuss the communal situation in
Ahmedabad. I am shocked to witness feelings of ill-will, distrust and hatred
between Hindus and Muslims.
That is not strictly true. The present situation is much better than the
one in the mid 1980s and early 1990s. There is no enmity
between the two communities at the grass-root level. Unfortunately, people
are exploited by politicians and anti-social elements.
What caused the current riots? Over-enthusiasm of the
Kargil effect?
No one seems to know how and why the riots started. As
for Kargil, local Muslims were as enthusiastic as Hindus in
denouncing the role of Pakistan. They contributed to the Kargil funds and danced in
joy at our victories. It was unfortunate that some extremists
equated local Muslims with Pakistan. But this was only a small minority.
At the meeting organised by the Gujarat Chamber of
Commerce and Industry to discuss the riots with the chief minister and
the home minister, there were hardly any Muslims. Wasn't that surprising?
We do have Muslim members at the Chamber who are quite
active and vocal. Our local industrialists do employ Muslims in their
factories. For instance, most of the mechanics in the city are Muslims. The
engineering industry also employs them.
But I still see a chasm dividing the two communities.
Well, there are various factors at work. Food habits, ethnic beliefs and so on. Tolerance levels in both the communities has gone down. But I am an optimist and the city will soon regain communal harmony.
The Rediff Interviews
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