Excerpts from MKK Nair's memoir translated to English by Meena Das Narayan :-
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| MKK Nair |
The meeting started with the arrival of Nehru and Patel at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Rajaji, in his natural and unconventional manner described the situation in Hyderabad and focused on the necessity of taking an immediate decision to save the reputation of the country. Nehru spoke about the implications that it might bring in the international arena.
Then Rajaji revealed his trump card, the British High Commissioner’s letter. Nehru read it and his face reddened with fury, he jumped and banged on the table.
“We should not waste a single second to teach them a lesson,” Nehru said vehemently. Rajaji asked V.P. Menon to instruct the Commander to proceed as per planned.
V.P. Menon called General Busher from there itself and gave instructions. Nehru sat holding his head with both hands; he then drank some tea and remained silent.
Seeing his stunned reaction, Rajaji, smiled and said, “If it is cancerous, it should be removed, though it might be painful”.
V.P. Menon who returned to his office immediately arranged to do the rest of the work. The commander of Pakistani army too was British. He harbored an enmity towards the Indian leaders. General Busher, while taking over charge from General Lackuheart had sworn in the almighty’s name, his allegiance to India.
As soon as he got the instruction, he called Rajendra Singh and Rajendra Singh, in his turn issued orders to General Chaudhary to start the action at 3 in the morning. In the evening, at 7, Busher contacted Karachi and spoke with the Pakistan Army Commander. Their conversation was in French.
Next day morning at 10.00 V.P.Menon came to Busher’s room. Busher, assuming that V.P.Menon had come to learn the progress of action, started briefing V.P.Menon on this. Then V.P.Menon interrupted him, “I have learned about this Busher. I came for something else. Did you talk with the Pakistan Commander, yesterday evening?” Busher’s face changed colour. The conversation went thus:
“V.P. Do you mean that we, friends, should never talk?”
“Was it just a friendly talk?’
“You doubt it?’
“Then, why did you talk in French?”
“So, you have started tapping our phones!’
“If required, we have to do that too, right? Was it just a friendly talk?’
“Of course”
V.P.Menon then handed a paper to Busher. It contained the transcript of the French conversation and its English translation. The conversation went thus:
Busher: “Hyderabad invasion would start tonight. Might not last long. If you want to do something, do it fast.”
Pakistan Commander: “Thanks, I will inform Liyaqat Ali. Jinnah is sinking.”
Busher: “After carrying out my duty, I am all yours thereafter.”
Dumbfounded, Busher looked pleadingly at V.P. Menon, blurting out, “What should I do V.P. I made a mistake. I apologize for that”
V.P. Menon asked “Wasn’t it you, who swore by the Bible, your allegiance to India?”
Busher pleaded again, “V.P. Please help me out. I am ready for any sort of penalty. Don’t put me to disgrace. In the name of our friendship, please help me”
V.P. Menon returned with Busher’s resignation which cited reasons of ‘personal and health related problems,’ he was immediately replaced by General Kariyappa.
General Choudhary’s army rushed into Hyderabad. The Nizam’s army could not resist it. Shells which backfired from the guns which could shoot cartridges weighing twenty-five stones (a measurement) destroyed some of them. These guns are yet, another interesting story.
One battalion of the Nizam’s army had earlier participated in World War. They were promised with free weapons from Indian Army for this participation and thus were given many weapons and ammunition from the Secunderabad depot.
Among those, were four guns, which could shoot cartridges weighing 25 stone. These types of guns had a recoil system built in them. This recoil system would prevent the bouncing back of the guns, which, otherwise would backfire the balance ammunition and would kill even those who used it.
When Nizam’s orders came for these guns, M.S.Ram was the one had custody of the guns. One Nateshan, a Tamilian, was working under Ram. Before giving Nizam these guns, the Ram and Nateshan had pulled out the recoil system. The Nizam’s military officer didn’t realise this trick and hence when they used these guns against the Indian Army, they ended harming themselves.
The invasion, which started on August 14, progressed smoothly and reached Hyderabad on 16th. The Nizam’s Commander informed him that he had no other alternative but to surrender.
The Nizam, who wanted to come out of this mess at any cost didn’t hesitate to sacrifice anyone for achieving this. The Nizam asked Munshi to contact Delhi and secretly expressed his desire to sign in the ‘Instrument of Action.’ The main reason behind this move was bad news, which came from Karachi. Ali and Rizvi, the men who were behind the blood bath of Hyderabad were stunned by the news of Jinnah’s death and Rizvi vanished from the scene.
Within hours of getting the Nizam’s message, V.P. Menon flew from Delhi to Hyderabad. He was not content with getting the Nizam’s mere signature in the ‘Instrument of Action.’ He also made the Nizam issue a declaration of unconditional allegiance to India and forced him to hand over the documents transferring the money stored in London’s bank to the account of Indian Government. V.P. Menon returned only after putting the state under the General Choudhary’s martial rule.
V.P Menon is a name to be written in golden letters in the history of India. But, even today, he hasn’t got the credit that he truly deserved. It was Nehru and some others who had wronged him the most.
During the final days of the freedom struggle he was part and parcel of many of the crucial discussions that were held and he was the one and only Indian who could even guide Nehru and Patel on matters related with the transfer of power. He used to analyze each and every situation that arose and advised Patel on the course of action to be taken.
It is because of his service that India emerged without much harm during the partition. The main issue, which came up after the independence, was that of the Princely States.
It was hardly a month before August 15, which V.P. Menon pulled out a willful Instrument of Action to lure the kings of the Princely States and gave it to Mountbatten. Mountbatten asked Patel to call these Heads of State and, Patel promised to restore them their privileges and rights once they signed the treaty.
As per this condition, V.P.Menon talked with the kings and made them sign the treaty. Among the 565 such states, all, except Hyderabad, Kashmir and Junegad gave their approval even before August 15.
V.P.Menon was the man behind all these moves. He was also the man behind the Previ-Purse system. The system was to give an annual fixed allowance to the rulers during their life time, which would start diminishing with the successive heirs and would gradually come to nil.
The lure of this system along with the possible dire consequences of a refusal forced many of these Princely States to succumb. And this is how the states of Rajasthan, Patiala, and also vast and enormous states of Madhya Pradesh, Vindhya Pradesh and Travancore-Cochi were formed.
V.P. Menon had communicated with these Princely States on the belief that Government offer was concrete. Nehru didn’t concede to VP’s request for adding a paragraph in the Constitution to ensure that these treaties would prevail. It was only when V.P. chose to quit and let everyone know his reason that Nehru finally agreed to add such a paragraph in the Constitution. But Nehru, thereafter, drew away from V.P. Menon.
Nehru and Patel had wide difference of opinion in most issues. Patel had pointed out the drawbacks in Nehru’s approach. Now, everyone will readily agree that it was Nehru’s such policies that brought much harm to the North-Eastern provinces.
But at that time, unlike other states, when Nehru decided to bring these North-Eastern states under the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Patel strongly protested, but to no avail.
It therefore became easy for the Christian Missionaries to prove to the inhabitants that they were foreigners, as they were under Foreign Affairs. Nehru even started a separate Service to look after this administration. The selection of officers was similar to the selection to Indian Foreign Service in its initial stages. Hence, except a few, those who joined in that service were inefficient and lacked experience.
It was the inefficiency of these administrators coupled with the inefficiency of those in External Affairs that was the root cause of anti-national movements in Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Assam highlands.
The difference in opinion between Nehru and Patel, finally ended in Nehru’s personal animosity against Patel. If Nehru, the great leader didn’t bear this personal grudge, the following two things would not have occurred. The day Patel died, Nehru sent two notes to State Affairs Ministry, which incidentally reached V.P.Menon. The first one was to surrender the Cadillac car used by Patel to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Patel died in Bombay.
The second note was that, in case anyone wished to attend the funeral ceremony of Patel they should do it at their own expense. When he received this note, V.P. Menon summoned all the officers to his Ministry and without disclosing the content of note, collected the names of officers who wished to attend the function and bought them two-way tickets to Bombay from his own pocket. This incident too infuriated Nehru.
After August 15, V.P. became the Cabinet Secretary. The biggest refugee flow, the communal riots, Pakistan’s attack on Kashmir, all these events frustrated the administration much.
Senior secretaries, felt that their ministers, who were naïve in the field of administration might run the risk of falling into prejudices and committing follies, decided to meet every Friday informally at their residences, on a rotational basis and discuss each and every issues that come up and advise their respective ministers.
H.V.R Iyengar, who was the then Private Secretary of Nehru and who used to attend these weekly meetings used to inform Nehru about whatever was discussed in such meetings. V.P. Menon had an excellent skill in imitating others, and during one such meeting, he imitated Nehru and entertained everyone. Next day, when Nehru met V.P. Menon, he remarked “V.P. I didn’t know that you were good in mimicry” to which VP promptly replied, “Just because we gained independence, I don’t think that we should rein our sense of humour as well.”
But, with this incident, V.P. Menon summoned the secretaries to his home and called for a halt of such Friday meetings.
M.O. Mathai too had contributed in widening the gap between Nehru and V.P. Menon. Many of you may be aware of the false case in which Panampilly Govinda Menon was accused. Though later acquitted in the infamous ‘Five and a Half Lakh issue’ as the case was popularly known, Keralites didn’t stop crucifying Govinda Menon any further.
Sardar Patel who was very impressed by Govinda Menon wanted him to stay away from Kerala politics for a couple of years and asked V.P. Menon to look out for any possibility of sending Govinda Menon as the head of any Foreign Embassy.
K.P.S.Menon was the Secretary of Foreign Affairs then. V.P. Menon made contact with K.P.S.Menon, within next few days, K.P.S.Menon replied that Govinda Menon could be posted as the Representative in Singapore and for that a formal note was required. V P Menon, with Patel’s permission gave a note to K.P.S.Menon who presented it to Nehru.
All the papers that went to Nehru passed through the hands of his ‘head priest’ M.O.Mathai, his stenographer. As soon as Mathai got V.P. Menon’s note, he invited Govinda Menon, who was then residing at Western Court in Delhi, for supper. The day after the dinner, Mathai presented this note to Nehru, with his own note on top, in another sheet of paper, scribbled in a feminine handwriting.
“As there is a chance of deputing Panampilly Govinda Menon as our representative in Singapore and in order to confirm that he suits that position well, as well as Panditji’s concepts, I invited him for a dinner. I was sorry to find out that he doesn’t have any table manners and he even doesn’t know how to use a fork and knife”.
On seeing Mathai’s note, Nehru was angry and in the evening when he met V.P. he asked him. “Since when did our State Affairs Ministry start posting representatives to Foreign Embassies?”
V.P. didn’t understand the significance of this question and asked him to be more explicit.
“Wasn’t it you who have decided to make Govinda Menon our representative in Singapore?”
V.P. Menon took offence and promptly retorted, “The precedence of the Government is to get approval of Ministers on any important policy matters. When K P S Menon agreed to this proposal, I thought that it was with your consent. Even the talk I had with KPS was with the permission of my Minister. I didn’t know that under your Ministry, things were done in a different way”.
Anyway, Nehru disapproved Govinda Menon’s posting, subsequent to his stenographer’s assessment that Govinda Menon didn’t know to use fork and knife.
Notes:
Govinda Menon was a great and eminent politician, he was the Chief minister of Kerala and Cabinet Minister centrally of India for Law. Admired by all, Govinda Menon came from a middle class Nair family and also was a member of the Union Cabinet.
Reference:-
Further reading on differences between Sardar Patel and Nehru :-
