Book Review
Brushes with History
The Birlas founded great educational institutions in Pilani, a mere village in the midst of almost a desert. It is now a premier educational institution - BITS . It has got statutory recognition. Admissions are by an all India on-line competitive test . There are absolutely no reservations based either by caste or religion. It has established three more campuses in Dubai, Goa and Hyderabad .
Sri K.K. Birla reveals a very interesting intervention of Indira Gandhi in regard to admissions to BITS Pilani. Her Secretary went on insisting on Sri K.K. Birla to admit the son of a friend or benefactor of Indira Gandhi. He resisted . The Secretary's insisted that it was Indiraji's unavoidable request. Sri Birla met with Indiraji and explained to her that in the rules and the Charter , there is absolutely no provision for any discretionary admission. She asked him whether even he could not do anything in respect of even a single seat. Sri Birla concluded that she was insistently wanting that a particular person should be admitted. He had a brilliant idea. He suggested to her that he would amend the charter to provide for five seats to be nominated by the Prime Minister of India and then added , " Madame! you will then get 500 recommendations. You will have to displease 495 people. Now the choice is yours. Shall I amend the rules?" Indiraji understood the difficulty and gave up her demand for admission of the son of her benefactor. This shows how shrewed business men are .
Sri K.K Birla reveals a very interesting view point of Sri G.D. Birla, his father and financier of Congress. He was very close to Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel. All of them respected his integrity and patriotism and without involving him in direct political movements, benefited from his munificences for funding the Congress and from his wisdom. The Muslim League's demand for the partition of India and for the creation of Pakistan was a very troublesome affair. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and Rjaaji were convinced and publicly advocated that division was in the interest of India, and Hindus. They also suggested that along with the division, there should be total exchange of minority population between the two countries. Even Md. Ali Jinnah wanted the exchange but Gandhiji and Nehru dogmatically resisted the partition unto the last moment, June 1947, six weeks before independence was to be granted. As there was strong opposition from a section of the AICC to partition, Gandhiji himself had to go to the AICC to plead with the Congress to accept the partition which was purely on the basis of religion and the two-nation theory. In this connection, Sri K.K. Birla reveals the letter that Sri G.D.Birla wrote to Mahatnma Gandi on this issue.. On the 13 of Jan 1942 Sri Birla wrote to Mahatma Gandhi .
"Any partner in a business, if he is not satisfied with the partnership, I suppose , has a right to demand separation. The separation of course has to be on an equitable basis; but I can not conceive how anybody would object to it. It is no doubt a very gigantic affair and may not perhaps in practice be found an easily workable proposition. But it is all the more necessary then that we should not show our reluctance in offering the solution on which the Muslims insist. I would of course make a condition that they will get only what is their due and where we disagree a machinery constituted for the purpose will decide about the alignment of the new frontier and the exchange of populations if that be necessary ."
India is paying very dearly for the thoughtless, unwise, arbitrary and unreasonable opposition of Gandhi and Nehru and the Congress to the partition of India till the last moment and thereafter, refusing the exchange of population. While all Hindus and Sikhs and Buddhists had been expelled from Pakistan ( and later on from Bangladesh) the Muslims in India who rejected the Congress and went on rioting and voting for the division of the country stayed put here multiplying from 9% to between 15% to 20% and stridently reviving the separatism, communalism and communal riots, all intent to assert that they are not part of the Indian nation. "Secular" parties in their greed for their votes are competing with one another to appease Muslims, going to the extent of planning to create about 90 Muslim majority districts within the country by specially allocating 15% of the 11th Five- year plan funds to convert these 90 districts which at present have about 25% Muslim population into full majority Muslim districts which will ultimately become as many Pakistans.
Another relation is about fund-raising for Congress. The Congress (I) applied itself to finding ways and means for raising funds from the people. The problem was how to raise funds from businessmen. Knowing my sympathy for the party and my close association with Indirajhi, she requested me to raise funds for the elections. Ramaprasad Goenka who is a leading industrialist and friend of mine also got associated with me in this task. Under the Companies Act, companies were debarred from giving any donations to political parties. I felt that if the law would be changed, I could approach companies whose managements were pro-Congress for donations. The Company Law Board gave me some clarifications but it did not satisfy me. I explained the position to Indiraji. Giving donations to political parties on behalf of the corporate sector was therefore out.
" Meanwhile, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) had decided to bring out ninety special souvenirs in all the important regional languages. In addition, the Pradesh Congress Committees also decided to bring out their own souvenirs. Advertising in the souvenirs was not illegal. I consulted some of the leading solicitors who concurred within this view. I satisfied myself on this point, Rama and myself undertook the task in right earnest without however putting pressure on anyone ".
(page 179, "Brushes with History" An autobiography by Krishna Kumar Birla)
Sri Birla reveals how Indiraji commissioned him to collect funds for the post-Emergency 1977 elections to the Lok Sabha.
After the Emergency was lifted Indiraji announced elections and she and her son and her party were routed. Chaudhury Charan Singh, as the Janata Home Minister decided to persecute and prosecute Indiraji and all those who raised funds for her and her crony government officers (incidentally, Navin Chawla the present Chief Election Commissioner, New Delhi is one of her cronies whom the Shah Commission severely strictured observing that he was unfit for any government post). Chaudhury Charan Singh zeroed on K.K. Biral for raising huge amounts for Indira. He was wanting to arrest him and prosecute him. His passport was to be impounded. Sri Atal Behari Vajpay, the then Foreign Minister was uncomfortable about witch-hunting that Chaudhury Charan Singh was waging. He secretly tipped off K.K.Birla and advised him to leave the country to escape the arrest and prosecution. Sri Birla pays a grateful tribute to Atalji for his magnanimity.
Sri K.K. Birla's autobiography is very interesting, informative and illuminating as to how the nexus between political parties and rich business Houses works some times in the interest of the country and sometimes in the interest of a family and dynasty.