Friday, August 8, 2008

Storming the fortress gates

Well, this makes one working week in Pratapgarh, but it certainly hasn't been the work I expected.

Let me first give you a sketch of a man who embodies the district. This is thanks to an interview by Prem Panicker:

Kunwar Raghuraj Pratap Singh urf Raja Bhaiya: MLA of Kunda

"How does one classify you? A raja, with the princely 'Kunwar' tag to your name, seeking votes from your 'subjects'? What are you, monarch or democrat?

(Laughing) I am whatever the times dictate I should be, I guess. Ours is a royal family, you cannot wish that away. You cannot, too, wish away the fact that despite democracy and government and all the rest of it, villagers typically look up to the powerful person in their midst -- landlord, raja, whoever -- for their needs. For them, I am their raja, their court of last resort.

And you hold court. A daily durbar, at your Raj Mahal residence, where you listen to grievances and deliver verdicts none may disobey. How does that gell with the fact that you are a member of the state government?

Again, I do what needs to be done. You will have very little idea of what life in a village community is like. Here, people have real problems that demand quick solutions. Someone encroaches on someone else's land, someone illegally harvests what belongs to another, what do you expect the villager to do? Go to court? You know how courts are -- ten years from now, they will still be giving you dates, the list of postponements will swell your case file. A villager cannot afford that -- he needs justice right now, because his existence depends on getting it. If he has to wait 10 years, he will be dead. So, he comes to me, and I help in whatever way I can.

What way is that? Assume someone occupies another's land, what can you do?

I call both parties, listen to their claims and counter-claims. If I need more information the headman of the village in question is there to provide it, and after listening to everyone, I give my verdict.

And it is obeyed. Why? What prompts this implicit obedience?

Respect. Our family ruled this land. My father, Raja Udai Pratap Singh, still flies the royal flag on top of our palace in Bhadri. Every morning, people throng to him, he distributes milk and halwa, he engages in social service. We have looked after this land and its people for centuries, and people respect us for that. Look, if you go to any royal territory, you will find it is the same -- go to Gwalior, for instance, and see the respect the Scindia name commands, see how everyone goes to them for justice.

So it is only respect? Not fear?

Isn't there always some fear mixed in with respect? You respect the courts, but isn't there also some fear, fear of punishment, mixed in with that respect?

That is because the court can punish me, send me to jail. Do you have the right to punish the people here? And how do you do it?

Rights are what people give you. Courts are appointed by governments, governments are appointed by people, so ultimately, the courts too derive power from the people. So do I -- the people come to me, they ask me for justice and when they do that, they give me the power to render justice.

....

So there is no truth to the reports that you depend on strong-arm tactics, on your squad of bully-boys?

None.

When some Muslims spoke out against your candidature in 1996, Dilerganj village was attacked, five houses torched, three girls trying to escape were chopped to death, the men fled. Is that true?

That the incident happened is true. That I had something to do with it, is not. Here, you are in a feudal society -- quarrels sometimes lead to bloodshed, but how am I to blame for that? If I am supposed to be that sort of person, how is it that there are 10 people contesting against me in Kunda? Why are they not all dead?

I travelled through the constituency, and through Bihar -- and there is not one single poster, flag, bunting, party office, of anyone. Your posters are the only ones to be seen there. Surely, that is because the others are terrified of you?

It could be because the other parties realise it is a lost cause, campaigning against me here. Last time, I won by over 85,000 votes in a constituency with just 2 lakh 45 thousand (245,000) people. This time, my margin will increase. The other parties must have realised that it is a waste of money to put up flags and buntings and all that."

I'm hoping to meet Raja Bhaiya shortly, but til then this is my story:

Day One: Impassable rail and roads made a three-hour trip a day's journey.

Day Two: Cut short by a snake-worshiping holiday (it's the monsoon season, and hence time to worship Shiva) and a new ritual called "Tehsil Diwas" (this is actually a highly worthwhile activity I will explain in the future). However I arm-wrestled officials for meetings. Or the near-equivalent; my able translator Priya Singh got Pratapgarh's reigning heavyweight, Mr. Amitendra Srivastav, Bureau Chief of Sahara News, to help introduce me to a great number of lawyers and arrange a meeting with one of Pratapgarh's elder statesmen, Mr. Tej Bhadur Singh. The wise 80-year-old lawyer still advises his juniors at court daily and holds what seems to be a court of earlier times from his mansion as benevolent elder Zamindar.

Day Three: In breathtaking succession I got access to the Sub-District Magistrate's Land Revenue Court Record Room, learned about ten relevant sections of UP land law; then met the incredibly vigorous District Magistrate, Sendhil Pandian C, who gave me blanket access to all records and a ream of statistics; rushed to SSP sahb HR Sharma, who validated many of my old theories on caste that I had long considered as dear, deceased friends; and with Amitendra's support all seemed effortless.

Day Four: Black despair returns. The Record Room Keeper revoked my access to their files once he learned that I want (pained expression as he contracts his face in horror)... ek hazaar (1,000) case files. Only now does written permission from the DM become a prerequisite. Of course, the DM won't answer his phone. Waiting became so frustrating that I eventually took to sleeping in officials' offices to avoid conscious recollection of the time. In the evening, upon our return to the RRK with Omnipotentent Amitendra, everyone suddenly agreed that I had crossed two continents to do my research, and they should do everything possible to help my work. Hope springs eternal.

Day Five: An early-morning meeting with the local Tehsildar (land revenue official) brings promises of cultivation records to come... However only one record into my data collection at the court, the RRK decided that the information I want is "far too secret" to share openly.

Repeat from beginning of Day Four.

As luck would have it, the RRK took me to a very reasonable SDM (Sub-District magistrate) who relented and gave me complete access after a five-minute, rapid-fire quiz on the minute tenants of Uttar Pradesh's land revenue law. !

An evening meeting with the local Naib Tehsildar (Tehsildar's Junior) gives me reasons to question my current work. However she is taking Priya and me into the field to visit officials in two neighboring villages of my choice tomorrow, and a local survey team will take us out Sunday.

Time moves unpredictably here, and for better or worse this doesn't seem to be a condition particular to me. I'll continue adjusting and learning as best I can.

2 comments:

Lord Brinjal said...

hi nice post about raja bhaiyya - i had long ago heard something rather funny about him - like he throws govt officials into agilator infested ponds - so no one rea;lly wants to do an inquiry on him.

Lion heart said...

no king brother (raja raghuraj pratp singh )is not at all what is heard or said , but his family is taking care of the same for last 1100 yrs , it doesnt mean that he throws off somebody in pond (all is rubbish) , he is basically a royal icon who takes care of everybody in his court .for more click on this link .http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=26957373