Book Review

Chatterjee is unsparing in his criticism of the congress under Indhira Gandhi both before and during emergency. He speaks about Sanjay Gandhi’s maruthi factory “At this time, it came to be known that Sanjay was very keen on setting up an automobile factory, though he had no experience or resources. To make his dream come true, he was given over 300 acres of land at a nominal price by Bansi Lal, the chief minister of Haryana, one of the Gandhi loyalists. The heir apparent was allowed to misuse the machinery of government, and most Congress chief ministers and leaders, as well as senior bureaucrats, entered into an unseemly competition to fulfill his wishes. The Maruti factory was a monument to governmental malfeasance and the most talkedabout act of nepotism of the era.”

KEEPING THE FAITH He is not a doctrinaire Marxist but a liberal constitutionalist. Chatterjee’s memoirs offer an insider’s view of forty years of the country’s political life. by Somnath Chatterjee

THE MEMOIRS Keeping faith ,Memoirs of a parliamentarian is a journey through the slopes and shallows of the life of the one of the most renowned personality in the history of Indian politics and Indian parliament. The book starts with his childhood memories which resemble the life of our father of nation Mahatma Gandhi. Somanath Chatterje the enduring man, Indian politics ever seen began his career as a lawyer and joined active politics in 1971. He is not a doctrinaire Marxist but a liberal constitutionalist. Chatterjee’s memoirs offer an insider’s view of forty years of the country’s political life. He is a staunch believer in the rules and norms of democracy, constitutionality, and the fairness principle. Hence the title, Keeping The Faith.

Born in Tezpur, Assam, in 1929, Somnath Chatterjee was educated at the Presidency College in Calcutta, at Jesus College in Cambridge, and at the Middle Temple. Chatterjee’s father Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee was a Hindu Mahasabha leader and he was elected as a councilor to the corporation of Calcutta from Ballygunje in 1940. Chatterjee claims strongly that he is not the leftist son of a rightist father. He writes about how he wanted to get away from the suffocating atmosphere of the Emergency days. As his passport had expired, he had applied for the renewal. His passport was not returned. Chatterjee requested Siddhartha Shankar Ray to help. It was of no use. Ray had apparently spoken to Om Mehta, minister of state for home, and a close

aide of Indira Gandhi. Chatterjee writes: “Mehta met me once in Central Hall and requested me not to press for it as ‘Madam was adamant’. Thus, during the entire period of Emergency, my passport was not returned. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the foreign minister in the Janata government, I told him about the fate of my passport and I must recognise his prompt action. I received my passport the same evening, duly renewed, and delivered at my residence by an official of the foreign ministry. I realised that we had regained our freedom and I thanked Vajpayee for his decision and action, which I could not but appreciate.”

Chatterjee equally criticizes B J P. He writes of the surreptitious cabinet approval of “the controversial counter-guarantee to Enron” during the BJP’s 13-day stint in government in May, 1996: “The government had neither the authority nor any justification to take such a decision, keeping the Parliament totally in the dark, entering into a subterfuge regarding its proposed action of ratifying the counter-guarantee in favor of Enron...” . He tries to maintain a juridical position of without fear or favor in all positions he had taken in his parliamentary career. Through this book Chatterje looks back on his eventful four decades in his career capturing all the highs and lows. His entry into the politics is also described in detail and also about the emergence of communal and coalition politics in the country. Chatterjee discusses why he chose not to resign the speaker post when his party, the CPI(M) withdraw the support from the

Manmohan Singh led UPA government in 2008 over the Indo U S nuclear deal. This 400 page book is not only a personal journey of Somath Chatterjee, but also the saga of a nation. He also speaks about his positions in several committees. His long career as an M P, he served with

distinction as chairman, committee on subordinate legislation and standing committee of I T, committees of privileges, committee on railways and communication. He has been a member of the Rules committee, general purpose committee, business advisory and ethics committee. In 1996 he was conferred the outstanding Parliamentarian award by the Indian parliamentary group. He concludes the book with an advice given to each and every leader in the Indian democracy reminding them of their responsibilities towards the people. Democracy is for the people and people are the major

ingredient here. So the leaders should unite to eradicate poverty and to provide sufficient education to children especially in rural areas. He calls for the consolidation of political parties to direct India to the zenith of victory.