If his politics had been consistent and not laced with bitterness, Satyapal Malik in his death would have been remembered as a politician characterised by socialism and honesty, and courage. Unfortunately, while he kept the honesty of finance, he lost it in ideology as he moved along in years.
His passing is a loss though, as his voice had regained some of the lost timbre in his last years. A bit too late, as it seemed more of the carping of a frustrated politician than the resounding voice of a socialist who was genuinely angry and unhappy with modern-day political trends. But even so he did seem to be making new beginnings, and after the governerships bestowed on him by the government, had moved back to his small apartment with no coffers to declare or show. This in itself was a major achievement in times when money defines politics, and enabled him to defy the odds of free speech.
His love for the farmers did bring him out of the walls of governorship. Even though many insist that it was his fall from favour with the government, the fact that cannot be contradicted is that this was due to his decision to speak out. With the farmers – and perhaps his stint in Jammu and Kashmir – providing the trigger.
Malik was part of the Jan Morcha founded by VP Singh, Arun Nehru and Arif Mohammad Khan – all in the Congress party at the time. They left in opposition to then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and formed the motley group that led Singh into a highly successful electoral campaign and brought him into power after he left the Congress. I knew him well then, as indeed the rest, and when everything fell apart for the Janata Dal and its government, found him to be the most consistent in his politics.
VP Singh fell seriously ill and was compelled to move out of politics and into a world of painting and poetry. He continued to support the extraordinary steps he had taken as the prime minister but confided once, “I am a Congressman at heart” tinged with visible regret of not being able to die a Congressman. Arun Nehru chose the dignity of retirement and lived at his farm, entertaining just the few, with his usual wit and humour. Arif Mohammad Khan had no regrets and moved with the tide, happily and quite brazenly.
Malik was always in a dilemma. He was not able to settle down, and did not have a political party where he felt comfortable and respected. He had his friends of all hues, and kept them close. One of them was the late industrialist Kamal Morarka whose annual parties Malik made a point to attend, even as an exalted governor. He came quietly, without the pomp, sat with his friends and stayed till the end. A ‘yaaron ka yaar’ as someone at these events said.
But his dissatisfaction with the political scenario was evident. And that he was being tugged towards the Bharatiya Janata Party also visible. “Where do I go” is the question he once asked me. There is no platform left. Perhaps he did not see any party where he would get the respect he wanted, and be heard. So he joined the BJP finally in 2012 as the national vice-president. His role even then was limited and perhaps his politics would have followed a different trajectory had the party not won the elections under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, and formed the government.
In 2017 Malik was appointed governor of Bihar and served the central government well. So much so that in 2018 he was given additional charge of Odisha, and then moved as the governor of Jammu and Kashmir, a high-profile job that immediately catapulted him on to the larger national stage. That this job pricked his conscience, and his old socialist politics was evident from his hasty removal from J&K within a year, and he was appointed as the governor of Goa. This too proved too mainstream for the central government insofar as Malik was concerned, as by now he had started airing his differences with the BJP top brass to friends, and he was shifted further to Meghalaya where he managed two years.
But in the last year of this post Malik had become a visible rebel. The farmers’ movement had taken the country by storm by then and the governor of Meghalaya was invited to the Global Jat Summit. He accepted the invitation despite the gubernatorial post and appealing to the farmers said, “Indira Gandhi knew that she would be killed and she was killed [for ordering Operation Bluestar]. They killed General Vaidya in Pune [for leading Bluestar] and Michael O’Dwyer in London [lieutenant governor of Punjab during the Jallianwala Bagh massacre]. I have even said that don’t test the patience of the Sikh community.”
Malik moved from this into a full-blown attack on Modi and started spilling controversial beans, particularly about the Pulwama attack that he said he had been asked to keep quiet about. He created a sensation, and perhaps his decision to speak out did act as a balm after long years. Malik never lacked courage, and defied the government and all efforts to silence him during this time. But the confrontation and tension took its toll, and soon after he fell ill, and did not recover.
He was a good man, an honest politician, who started his political career with idealism and ambition, lost his moorings somewhere in between, tried to reclaim the space with courage towards the end but did not really succeed. But he did reconnect with the farmers, the base that he always held close.
Rest In Peace Malik Sahab.
The Citizen
(Seema Mustafa is an Indian
print and television journalist)
