I WAS A young assistant superintendent of police in 1973 when the Banka by-election was announced. The Lok Sabha constituency was a part of Bihar’s Bhagalpur district and the district magistrate (DM), Bhagalpur, was the returning officer. One morning, Wati Ao, the DM, curtly called me to his office. “Jaldi ao,” he shouted in his heavily Naga-accented Hindi. I scurried over to the DM’s office which was just 50 yards away.
A bizarre sight met my eyes in the DM’s chamber. There was a sizeable crowd in the room and the DM sat in a corner with a resigned expression. Sprawled on the large office table was an unkempt man with a green bandana on his head! I was about to scream at the kurta-pyjama-clad man, but Ao’s expression made me hesitate. Politely, I asked the man what he thought he was doing. He said he was on satyagraha.
This story is from the May 12, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the May 12, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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