( P N Haksar Addressing media before going to Islamabad for talks. Photo July 1973)
PARMESHWAR
NARAYAN HAKSAR ( 1913-1998 )
P N
Haksar was a product of London School of Economics , I say it with conviction
that he stands among 100 most Influential intellectuals that shaped Nehruvian
India . Here is why I believe so ……
(1)
Immediately after partition of the country , From a Career Barrister , he moved
to Foreign Services At Nehru’s behest . India’s Non Alignment Policy was
essentially a result of so many behind the scene posturing and efforts of this
Strategist.
(2)
A Tilt towards Socialism and Secularism was implemented by him . Infact he
created so many institutions for this purpose.
(3)
Abolition of Privy Purse , Nationalization of Banks , Insurance and Foreign oil
companies were purely his initiatives. These were born out of his deep rooted
belief in Socialistic Framework for India .
(4)
Strengthening Public Sector and Ushering an era of a mixed economy for the
country were his concepts .
(5)
He was the architect of the liberation of Bangladesh, Indo-Soviet Treaty and
the Shimla accord with Pakistan. In the period 1967-73, he was Indira Gandhi's
most important and trusted adviser.
(6) His role in creation of institutions like
Planning Commission , Indian Statistical Institute , Delhi School of Economics
, Sindri fertilizer plant , Industrial Development Bank of India, Industrial
Credit and Investment Corporation of India (now ICICI), Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research, Indian Council of Agricultural Research , Indian
Council of Medical Research, five Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian
Institutes of Management, chain of Councils of Social Science, Historical and
Philosophical Research Centres , Sahitya, Lalit Kala and Sangeet Natak Akademis
and many more remains unparalleled .
(7)
Not many people know that Satyajit Ray’s Pather Pancheli was banned initially
and not allowed to be taken to International Film Festivals .It was Haksar who
pleaded Satyajit Ray’s case to Nehru. To Nehru he wrote , “My wife and I
happened to see this film and we were both struck by its beauty. We felt it was
the kind of film which should be entered at one of the international film
festivals… I was informed that as the film showed India’s poverty, it was not
suitable for being entered in foreign film festivals. What is wrong about
showing India’s poverty? Everyone knows that we are a poor country. The
question is: are we Indians sensitive to our poverty or insensitive to it?
Satyajit Ray has shown it with an extraordinary sense of beauty and
sensitiveness.” And Nehru Agreed .
(8)
He was a connoisseur of Poetry, Music and Art apart from being a voracious
reader of Books on Art , History , Poetry and world literature. He combined his
love for Sanskrit and the classics in the language, with the capability to
read, at an a great deal fast pace. Haksar remained a devoted believer in
democracy and the freedom of expression.
(9)
It is well known fact that he criticized the suspension of fundamental rights
during the Emergency.
(10)
He had the courage of conviction to advise Mrs Gandhi to keep Sanjay Gandhi at
a proper distance and not allow him to
interfere with Country’s Policy planning .
Quotes
from his Books and lectures :
1
“Life
demands constant renewal. And our country is crying for renewal – political,
economic, cultural and spiritual. Without such a renewal, our diplomats… might
be reduced to… seller(s) of anti-earthquake pills of Lisbon.”
2
“India
must not, under any circumstances, add to the stock of political capital of
diverse elements in Pakistan’s military, civilian establishments and among the
motley combination of political adventurers who play upon Indophobia-mixed
Islamic atavism… And finally, the moment of defeat must never be converted into
a moment of humiliation.”
3
“It
should be clear to anybody that negotiations ‘from a position of strength’
cannot by their very nature be constructive, since they are intended to impose
one’s will… on one’s partner. They rule out the possibility of achieving
mutually acceptable, balanced results.”
4
"
I have been prone to tears throughout my life. Inexpressible joy and sorrow
turn into tears.Music evokes tears and so does the residue of incommunicable
loneliness. Tears alone relieve that state. And if one can shed them in the
presence of someone in whom one reposes confidence and from whom one has an
assurance of love, tears make life less of a burden. "
( With Aziz Ahmed from Pakistan )
In
his article, PNH: Some Memories , K. P. Unnikrishnan writes:
“It
is evident that Haksar’s range of reading was wide. Even though his friends
estimate his library collection to be of 25,000 books on a variety of themes
(from Aristotle and Shakespere to Iqbal to the Bhagavadgita), his mind was
active, not accumulative. Endowed with a remarkable assimilative power, he
brought his readings to the majestic trial of his judgement and after weighing
and considering these in a detached manner, he would form a fiercely
independent opinion unclouded by prejudice or passion.
Haksar’s
writings show the multiplicity of his interests in natural science, diplomacy,
statecraft, warfare, military strategy, philosophy, religion and poetry. His
writings echo eloquently the hopes and aspirations, frustrations and thwarted
ambitions, and fears and opportunities lost in an age in which he lived.”
About
P N Haksar,K Natwar Singh writes:
“I
wish to relate an incident which shows that in Haksar's company one is never
bored and invariably learns something. Once I invited Anatoly Dobrynin, the
longest serving Soviet ambassador to the US (24 years), to my house to meet
Haksar. Dobrynin had accompanied Gorbachev to Delhi as one of his top foreign
policy advisers, second only to Eduard Sheverdnadze.I had given Dobrynin a
thumb-nail sketch of the phenomenon called P.N. Haksar - lawyer, diplomat,
planner, guru, a Kashmiri pandit uneasy with Brahminical mumbo-jumbo, principal
adviser to Mrs Gandhi till 1973, social scientist, public speaker, scholar,
author, wit, well versed in Marxist-Leninist thought, a moral fifth column and
chief architect of our success in 1971.
As
Haksar walked up to greet my Soviet guest, Dobrynin's opening words were:
"I am very glad to meet the man who outwitted Henry Kissinger."
Haksar looked up and, in his most avuncular tone, said: "Am I expected to
feel flattered?" That broke the ice.”
( Signing Peace Accord with Pakistan 1973 )
Haksar
was married to Urmila Sapru daughter of Pandit Dina Nath sapru of Faizabad.
Saprus were well off kashmiri Brahmins . Bishmber Narain sapru Hijr , well
known Urdu poet , belonged to this sapru family from Faizabad .P.N. Haksar
arrived in Britain to study at the London School of Economics. He was called to
the Bar from Lincoln's Inn in the early 1940s. In London, he was an active
member of Krishna Menon's India League along with other students, which greatly
fashioned his socialist political outlook. Some admired Books authored by P N
Haksar include :
“One
More Life (Delhi: Oxford University Press India, 1990)
Premonitions
(Bombay: Interpress, 1979)
Reflections
on our Time (Delhi: Lancers, 1982)”
Dr
Mulkh Raj Anand , Feroze Gandhi , Krishna Menon were Among his closest friends
.
He
died a lonely man after he lost his eyesight .He fell out with Mrs Gandhi over
many issues essentially interference of Sanjay Gandhi in affairs of Planning
commission . He never created any personal assets . Will our History accord
some space to this forgotten Intellectual..
(
Autar Mota )
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