Why did the Jathedar of Akali Takht’s ultimatum on Amritpal remind of Indira’s Operation Bluestar?
Jai Prakash Narayan is called Loknayak. His personality was huge. JP treated Indira like a daughter. JP’s wife Prabhavati and Indira’s mother Kamala Nehru were good friends. Due to that reason, Prabhavati did not consider Indira less than her daughter. Prabhavati died of cancer in 1973. After this JP was away from politics for a year. Then he created such a movement which has been recorded in history.
Indira put JP in jail
JP had turned against Indira Gandhi’s policies. In 1974, the students started the movement in Patna. JP accepted its leadership with the condition that it would be peaceful. This movement emerged as a big campaign against government corruption in Bihar. Then it became a total revolution movement. Many political stalwarts emerged from the JP movement itself. These include leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar.
After the complete revolution, an anti-government atmosphere was created in the country. It became difficult for Indira Gandhi to stay in power. Indira Gandhi imposed emergency in 1975. JP was arrested. He remained in jail for about 18 months. When the elections were held after the Emergency was over, JP swept the Congress in North India. Indira had lost the election.
JP went to meet the ‘daughter’ who was defeated in the election
After this election victory, when JP came to Delhi, he first fixed a plan to meet Indira Gandhi. People found it very strange. Then someone asked him what are you doing. It was Indira who kept you in jail for 18 months. To this JP’s reply was, ‘I am going to meet Indu, daughter of my elder brother Jawahar.’
Instead of celebrating the victory, JP had reached Kothi number one on Safdarjung Road to meet Indira Gandhi, who had tasted defeat for the first time. Indira was in tears after meeting JP. The bigger thing than that was that JP, who won from his daughter like Indira, was also full of tears.
Today the bitterness in politics has increased so much that the leaders of the opposition parties have started seeing each other as enemies. For the country, this politics full of leg-pulling and enmity is not right. This will make the atmosphere poisonous.