MP and prolific writer Jairam Ramesh tells Medha Dutta how his book brings to the fore the life and times of PN Haksar, a bureaucrat who was pivotal in the making of Indira Gandhi, the leader. Excerpts.
Why a book on PN Haksar and Indira Gandhi?
Haksar was arguably the most powerful civil servant India has seen. Between 1967 and 1973, he was Indira Gandhi’s alter ego. He was her ideological beacon, her moral compass. And in all the magnificent achievements of Indira Gandhi—from nationalisation of banks, abolition of privy purses, the 1971 mid-term election and the phenomenal victory of Indira Gandhi, dealing with Pakistan, creation of Bangladesh, Indo-Soviet treaty, Simla Agreement—Haksar played a pivotal role.
He was the man behind the scenes. Even in 1987, Rajiv Gandhi used him as his Special Envoy to China to open the doors to reconciliation with that country. He left behind a large treasure trove of papers, so a good biography could be written. He was a very fascinating man at the most turbulent period of Indian politics.
Do you think this book will end up being fodder for the BJP to take shots at the Congress?
It’s history—you can’t obliterate history. This is the way it was. And this is not me speaking, it’s the records. I believe that a biography should be written through the eyes of the subject. I have not sat in judgement of Haksar or Mrs Gandhi. Whatever I write should be based on primary archival material. It should not be based on oral recollections or interviews or memories which are notoriously fickle and unreliable. There is much in Haksar’s papers which is critical of the Congress party.
Does this book take the sheen off Mrs Gandhi?
No. I think we tend to look on history in terms of supermen and superwomen. Every leader has errors of judgement and magnificent moments. Iconic figures should be subjected to critical biographies too. Haksar would not have been possible without Indira Gandhi. She got him in. Her relationship with him went back to the 1920s. It does Indira Gandhi great credit that she got a man like Haksar and made him a central part of her innermost orbit—a man who could tell her where she was going wrong.
So, did Haksar contribute to the evolution of Indira Gandhi, the leader?
Yes, absolutely. I think he had a critical role in the making of Indira Gandhi. The Indira Gandhi of 1966-67 was tentative and cautious Indira Gandhi, but the Indira Gandhi of 1969 was a tigress. Haksar had a major role to play in the transformation of Indira Gandhi. I think he gave her the confidence of his conviction and helped her to develop the confidence of her conviction. But Haksar remained frozen in time, where as Indira Gandhi actually evolved and outgrew Haksar by the late 70s.
In these times of economic uncertainty, can we have another Haksar?
Brajesh Mishra came close to being a Haksar.
He had a great relationship with Atal Bihari Vajpayee. I don’t see anybody else having that same degree of intellectual gravitas. But every leader needs somebody who speaks the unvarnished, unadulterated truth.