India After Gandhi - pg. 149

One way of telling the story of the election campaign is through newspaper headlines. These make interesting reading, not least because the issues they express have remained at the forefront of Indian election ever since. "MINISTERS FACE STIFF OPPOSITION" read a headline in Uttar Pardesh. "CASTE RIVALRIES WEAKEN BIHAR CONGRESS" read another. From the north-eastern region came this telling line: "AUTONOMY DEMAND IN MANIPUR." From Gauhati came this one: "CONGRESS PROSPECTS IN ASSAM: IMPORTANCE OF MUSLIM AND TRIBAL VOTE." Gwalior offered "DISCONTENT AMONG CONGRESSMEN: LIST OF NOMINEES CREATES WIDER SPLIT." A headline in Calcutta ran: "W. BENGAL CONGRESS CHIEF BOOED AT MEETING" (the hecklers being refugees from East Pakistan), "NO HOPES FOR FREE AND FAIR ELECTION," started a story dateined Lucknow: this being the verdict of J. B. Kripalani, who claimed that state officials would rig the polls in favour of the ruling party. And the city of Bombay offered, at three different moments in the campaign these quite timeless headlines: "CONGRESS BANKS ON MUSLIM SUPPORT";  "CONGRESS APATHY TOWARDS SCHEDULED CASTES: CHARGES REITERAITED BY DR. AMBEDKAR"; and "FOURTEEN HURT IN CITY ELECTION CLASH." But there was also the occasional headline that was of its time but emphatically not of ours -- notably one in The Searchlight  of Patna which claimed: 'PEACEFUL VOTING HOPED [FOR] IN BHAR."