People's Democracy

Uttarakhand In Turmoil

Vijai Rawat

A WAVE of spontaneous actions, bandhs, rasta roko, chakka jam followed the death of Baba Mohan Uttarakhandi while in the custody of the government, he had been picked up from ‘Beni-Tal Udiyar’ where the legendry Baba had gone on a fast unto death demanding from the government a settlement of issues which are and have been dear to the Uttarakhandis. The issues were:

1. Naming of the state as Uttarakhand

2. Declaring Gair Sen as the capital of the state 

3. Special provision for the protection of Uttarakhandi resources like land, forests, water etc if need be under section 371 of the constitution

4. Develop Beni Tal as a tourist area as envisioned by comrade Chandra Singh Garhwali

5. Transferring those employees to UP who had opted for UP at the time of division of the state and creation of a new state, thus opening up the possibility of employment for Uttarakhandi youth.

CALLOUS ATTITUDE OF THE CHIEF MINISTER 

Baba died on the morning of August 9, a date remembered by many as a land mark in our freedom struggle, the chief minister of the state described his death as caused by cardiac arrest. The chief minister had made a similar callous remark on the sad occasion of safdars death. There cannot be a greater understatement and a statement aimed at disinformation, whereas the fact of the matter is that the Baba was picked up by the minnions of an irresponsible rule, he was ‘force fed’ and he died. This was his 38th day on fast. No government minister or important member of the ruling party visited him, none bothered about the demands he was raising and fighting for. Even the posthumous announcement of Rs 5 lakh to his family and state funeral etc is a mere eyewash and an insult to the memory of the man and the people whom he wanted to serve. No one from the chief minister’s cabinet had any time to attend his so called state funeral.

Baba Uttarakhandis death is being perceived by the people as a martyrdom in the cause of their issues, their self-respect and the reaction to his death was swift and far spread. 

BABA GROWS INTO A LEGENDRY FIGURE 

At the time of his death he was 57 years old. Born into a peasant family of a village in Ekeshwar block near Sat Puli, he was a typical Hillman. After completing his intermediate and acquiring a diploma from ITI, he joined the Bengal Sappers and retired and returned home in 1993. His homecoming coincided with the separate state movement and he like many ex-servicemen was drawn into the movement. His icon and guiding star remained Chandra Singh Garhwali. The infamous Muzzafarnagar episode and the atrocities committed by the SP-BSP government on the Uttarakhandi people changed the simple ex-service man into a soldier of the people. He donned the garb of Baba, from Mohan Singh Negi he became Baba Mohan Uttarakhandi. During an active public life of only a decade, he opted to go on hunger strikes 10 times, for the creation of the state 3 times, for saving Pauri from destruction due to shifting of government departments to Dehra Dun once, and six times for naming the state as Uttarakhand, and declaring Gair Sen as the capital. His yardstick for measuring the commitment of a political party became the attitude towards these issues. The BJP failed his test, the Congress did not pass it and after his death his rucksack contained the CPI(M) manifesto and an election pamphlet. He had begun to grasp the essence of Chandra Singh Garhwali and his admiration for comrade Garhwali increased manifold.

Increasingly with his own experience while fighting for the causes of the people, helping families with their health problems fighting cases of Police and Forest oppression, he had begun to realise the nature of anti poor policies of the government and came to the conclusion that neither BJP nor Congress nor a regional outfit can serve the people and in his speeches and Chaupal meetings he began to say that it is the communists and communists alone who are the friends of the people and it is they who can save Uttarakhand and fight for its rights and respect. No wonder that during the Lok Sabha elections, in and around Gair Sen; at Sil Kot and Beni Tal Baba carried the CPI(M) flag; organised meetings for the CPI(M) and promised the CPI(M) leadership that after a brief personal struggle, he the Baba would begin to help organise Kisans and the women…the Matri Shakti according to him. His close confidantes were the CPI(M) activists from around Karan Prayag.

TRYST WITH DEATH 

Two months after the Lok Sabha election on July 2, the Baba decided to go for his personal tryst to kindle the fire and went on a fast unto death at “Topri Udiyar” in Gair Sen block at Beni Tal. The people responded by forming ‘Rajdhani Nirman Sangharsh Samiti’ to carry forward the flame kindled by Baba Uttarakhandi. Zilla Panchayat member and DYFI activist Birendra Mingwal a member of the CPI(M) became the chairman of the Sangharsh Samiti at the instance and prodding of Baba Uttarakhandi. As the issues began to take a democratic shape of struggle, the administration decided to ‘force feed’ him and in the process caused the untimely and unwanted death of Baba Uttarakhandi. The Baba is no more but his message to the CPI(M) is not fare well but far forward. Today in every town and village there is unrest.

People want to see what Baba left in his Rucksack, what did Baba write in his daily Hunger Strike Diary/Register. People want to know who visited him during the course of his fast unto death. The Rucksack contained the CPI(M) manifesto, the election Pamphlets, the CPI(M) flag and the register had the following lines:

“Spread my ashes around Chandra Singh Garhwalis Memorial on Dudha Toli Hills and construct a memorial for me near the feet of Chandra Singh Garhwalis Samadhi…so that Chandra Nagar Gair Sen becomes the capital of the state.”

Let is be known that Dudha Toli Hills between Kumaun and Garhwal, the source of Ram Ganga were loved by Chandra Singh Garhwali and the late H N Bahuguna had allotted one acre of land for a memorial, Samadhi and garden in the memory of Chandra Singh Garhwali. The slopes below these hills are known as Gair Sen.

MASSIVE PROTEST 

Fare Forward said the Baba to us and no soon that we came to know of his sad demise the state committee of the CPI(M) decided to join the all state protest marches, bandhs and Rasta Rokos. At Dehra Dun, the activists of the CPI(M) decided to support the Bandh and on our own to enforce a Chakka-Jam. The Rajpur road was barricaded at the busy Clock Tower intersection. The Bandh was also supported by UKD and CPI. Karan Prayag, Gopeshwar, Almora and Pauri followed and one after another the agitated people demonstrated once again that they will not tolerate this negligence, callousness and irresponsible behaviour any more. Two years ago they rejected the BJP and they rejected the Congress in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

The state leadership of the UKD, the CPI and the CPI(M) met and decided in a swift move to jointly organise a protest march to the chief minister’s residence.

Activists of the CPI(M), the CPI and UKD assembled at the Gandhi Park and organised themselves into a “Chetavani March” which was about 500 strong marching on the Rajpur Road to the residence of the chief minister. The march was led by Vijai Rawat, Konswal of the CPI(M), Samar Bhandari of the CPI and Bipin Tripathi, Kashi Singh Airy, Dr Jantwal --- the three UKD MLAs and hundreds of activists of the three parties. The Protest March was barricaded by the police about a km away from the chief minister’s residence. A meeting was held at the barricades addressed by Bipin Tripathi, Kashi Singh Airy, Bachi Ram Konswal, Surendra Sajwan, Indu Naudiyal, Samar Bhandari, Vijai Rawat and others. A delegation of 21 persons was allowed to the residence of the chief minister where the memorandum was received by the OSD of the chief minister. One would like to know where was the chief minister. This attitude towards the democratic movement and struggle is what led to the death of Baba Uttarakhandi.

The unity displayed by people around the CPI, CPI(M) and UKD has the potential of becoming a significant force and if this continues in the coming period on struggles around peoples issues may well provide an alternative. The big responsibility therefore rests with the CPI and the CPI(M) and definitely the greater responsibility on the units of the CPI(M) in the state. Was it not to the CPI(M) that the Baba said not Fare Well but fare forward.