C. K. Jaffer Sharief: Passing Away of a Veteran Leader from Karnataka’s Political Horizon
Bengaluru, Nov 25: The State of Karnataka has lost one of the most senior politicians in the death of Mr. Challakere Kareem Jaffer Sharief who breathed his last in Bengaluru on November 25 afternoon after a brief illness.
The veteran Congressman, Jaffer Sharief was elected to the Lok Sabha for a record eight times between 1971 and 1999. But he will be more remembered as a Union Railway Minister for his signal contribution of imparting unigauge to the Indian Railways thereby making trains to run from Jammu to Kanniyakumari and Trivandrum to Dibrugarh in Assam. Prior to his advent to the Ministry, the Indian Railways had three different gauges—Broadguage, Metregauge, and Narrowgauge—which posed hassles in cross country travel of passengers and considerably delayed transport of goods.
Sharief is one among the three politicians I know who represented predominantly non-Muslim constituencies over and over again and were known for accomplishments that had nothing to do with Muslims alone. The other two were: 1-Kamaluddin Ahmed who was elected from Warangal LS constituency at least four times and rose to become a leader on the strength of his stint as a trade union leader. His constituency had only 7% Muslims. Second was Mr. Farook Maricar who was twice or thrice chief minister of Pondicherry (now Puducherry), was elected Lok Sabha MP (I remember twice) and was appointed Ambassador to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Puducherry too has only 7% Muslim population. Jaffer Sharief represented Bangalore North constituency seven times which has 25% religious minority population (19% Muslims + 6% Christians). Though he never raised Muslim issues in an emotive manner, maintained active contacts with minorities and counseled moderation.
Jaffer Sharief rose from the humble background in an agriculturist family in Challakere in Chitradurga district of Karnataka and did not have the opportunity to pursue education beyond the high school. He however gathered political training under astute Congress leader and two times State Chief Minister S. Nijalingappa.
As a member of his personal staff, Jaffer Sharief is said to have got the air about the machinations of the strong internal coterie within the Congress comprising Morarji Desai, Atulya Ghosh, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, K. Kamaraj and a few other members who were opposed to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s leftward shift (or drift) in policies to reclaim the popular base of the party way back at the end of 1960s. Mrs. Gandhi’s nationalization of 14 major banks and supporting the candidature of V. V. Giri for the President of India’s office (against the Congress’ official candidate Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy) had angered the coterie and they were about to throw her out of the party. In fact, Morarji Desai had resigned as the Union Finance Minister after Mrs. Gandhi sprang a surprise of nationalization of the 14 major banks. Sharief is said to have conveyed the new of the planned move of the senior leaders to Ms. Gandhi which resulted in her preemptive strike against the coterie and splitting the party carrying a major chunk of the MPs with her. This backstage role of Mr. Sharief won him the lifelong debt of the Nehru-Gandhi clan and saw him being nominated on the Congress ticket first from Kanakapura Lok Sabha Constituency in 1971 and later from Bangalore North constituency for seven times in 1977, 1980, 1984, 1989, 1991, 1998 and 1999. The only time he did not represent this Constituency during these years was between 1996 and 1998 when he was not fielded by the Indian National Congress in 1996 elections. Sharief had resigned from the Ministry of Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao complaining of INC’s wavering stand and compromise on the issue of secularism. 2009 was the last election he fought from Bangalore North in which he was defeated by BJP’s D. B. Chandregowda.
Sharief was though a Minister of State for Railways between 1980 to 1984, he is more recognized as the Union Railway Minister between 1991 and 1995 when he took up with crusading zeal the implementation of single gauge for the Railways all across the nation. The Railways saw gauge conversion of nearly 6,000 kilometres, of which around 1,000 kms were in Karnataka alone. It was during this period that Bengaluru emerged prominently on the Railway map of India with direct trains crisscrossing the city. He was also instrumental in bringing the Wheel Axle Plant for the Indian Railways to the city (in Yelahanka) and setting up Railway Container Terminal at Whitefield and creation of a new Railway zone i.e., South Western Railway with Headquarters in Hubli and establishment of a third railway terminal at Yeshwanthapur in Bengaluru. These facilities greatly enhanced the access to Bengaluru which was enjoying a booming economy what with MNCs lining up for setting their India headquarters here.
Sharief also served as a Minister of State for Irrigation (1984-88) and Minister of State for Coal (1988-89). Besides he served on a number of Standing Committees of the Lok Sabha during his 34-year Parliamentary career.
Married to Amiena Bi, he had two sons and two daughters. However his sons predeceased him. Younger son Khader Nawaz Sharief died in 1999 while the second son Abdul Karim died in 2009, even while he was fighting Lok Sabha elections. His wife died in 2008. He established an Engineering College (Khader Nawaz Sharief Institute of Technology) in Hegde Nagar, Bengaluru in memory of his late son. One of his sons married a daughter of Mufti Sayeed, later PDP leader from Jammu & Kashmir. (I am not certain which of the sons.)
Though Sharief was never into State politics, he was one among the contenders for the chief ministership after 1999 Assembly election when the Congress stormed back to power in the State. However the High Command anointed Mr. S. M. Krishna as the chief minister. This was the closest he came to grabbing the high position in the State. For some time after losing 2009 elections, Sharief got close to Mr. H. D. Deve Gowda with whom he had shared a great personal bonhomie. He also appeared with BSP leader Mayawati on one occasion leading to speculation that he was on the verge of terminating his ties with the grand old Congress party. Yet the speculated denouement never came.
The CBI instituted a case against Sharief in 1995 (after his resignation from the Narasimha Rao cabinet) alleging him to have utilized services of four Ministry officials while he was under medical treatment in London. The CBI closed the decade long case in 2006 while the United Progressive Alliance was at the saddle of power in Delhi.
Jaffer Sharief was into organising a function to release the Urdu translation of Maulana Azad’s English book “India Wins Freedom” next week in a grand function in the Bangalore Palace. Former Vice President of India Mr. Hamid Ansari had been invited for the occasion.
Sharief was an extremely moderate and secular leader who had adroitly managed power equations without pandering to any communal politics. He was a leader with mass appeal and never exploited religious sentiments for partisan ends. In his death, Karnataka has lost a visionary politician and a worthy leader.
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Russian President Putin says India, Russia collaboration not directed against anyone
New Delhi (PTI): The India-Russia collaboration is not directed against any country and it is solely aimed at safeguarding the national interests of the two sides, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said against the backdrop of Washington's aggressive approach towards New Delhi and Moscow.
In the context of India's energy ties with Russia, Putin said certain "actors" dislike New Delhi's growing role in international markets in view of its close relations with Moscow and these elements are aiming to constrain India's influence for political reasons by imposing "artificial obstacles".
In an interview to India Today news channel that was released on Thursday evening, the Russian president, referring to Western sanctions against Moscow, said his country's energy cooperation with New Delhi largely "remains unaffected".
Putin landed in New Delhi this evening on a two-day visit to hold summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
ALSO READ: PM Modi presents copy of Gita in Russian to Putin
His trip comes at a time India-US relations are going through possibly the worst phase in the last two decades after Washington imposed a whopping 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, including 25 per cent levies for New Delhi's procurement of Russian crude oil.
"Neither me nor Prime Minister Modi, despite certain external pressure we face, have never approached our collaboration to work against someone," the Russian president said in response to a question on Washington's aggressive approach.
"President Trump has his own agenda, his own goals, whereas we focus on ours -- not against anyone, but rather aimed at safeguarding our respective interests, India's and Russia's interests," he said.
Rejecting Washington's objection to India procuring crude oil from Russia, Putin said if the US has the right to buy Russian fuel, why "shouldn't India have the same privilege".
"As for India's purchase of energy resources from Russia, I would like to note and have already mentioned this once, the US itself still buys nuclear fuel from us for its own nuclear power plants," Putin said.
The Russian president also responded to a question on India lowering procurement of crude oil from Russia in view of Western sanctions on Moscow.
ALSO READ: Russian president Putin arrives in Delhi on 2-day visit
"Well, there is a certain decline in overall trade turnover during the first nine months of this year. This is just a minor adjustment. Overall, our trade turnover stands almost at the same level as before," he said.
"I can't give you exact monthly figures right now, but trade in petroleum products and crude oil, as well as the production of petroleum products for consumers of oil, Russian oil, is running smoothly in India," he said.
Putin also said that India cannot be treated the way it was several decades back.
"Prime Minister Modi is not someone who succumbs to pressure easily. The Indian people can certainly take pride in their leader. This is absolutely obvious," he said.
"His stance is unwavering and straightforward, without being confrontational. Our goal is not to provoke conflict; rather, we aim to protect our lawful rights. India does the same," he said.
On the Ukraine conflict, Putin said he believed the US is actively seeking a solution to this problem. "I am absolutely certain, with no doubt at all, he (Trump) sincerely aims for a peaceful resolution."
Putin said Trump genuinely wants to end the hostilities and prevent further loss of lives. "But there could also be political interests tied to ending the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, or economic motives too."
On bilateral trade, Putin said over 90 per cent of "our transactions are already conducted in national currencies".
"While some complications arise due to the presence of numerous intermediaries, there are also solutions," he said.
The Russian president also complimented PM Modi's leadership.
"Our collaborative endeavours with Prime Minister Modi carry significant weight because they transcend our mutual ties," he said.
"Given its direct relevance to both nations, ensuring stability in key areas of engagement is crucial, as it helps secure the fulfilment of our objectives. Prime Minister Modi sets very challenging tasks for the country --and for himself in the first place, then for the administration, and eventually for the nation," he said.
The Russian president did not give a direct reply to a question on if India was looking at procuring additional batches of S-400 missile systems.
"India stands out as one of our reliable and privileged partners in this area. We are not merely selling something to India and India isn't merely buying something from us in the sphere of defence and security.
"It is a different level, a different quality of relations we have with India, and we value this. We see how India values this relationship too," he said.
Putin said Russia is not simply selling defence technology to India but it is sharing it with the country.
"It is a very rare thing to see in the sphere of military-technical cooperation. It speaks to the level of trust between the two countries and the level of trust between the two peoples.
"We have a broad portfolio indeed, including naval construction, rocket and missile engineering, and aircraft engineering," he added.
