States: Andhra Pradesh--Freedom Fraud

Those who fought the Nizam of Hyderabad get a pension. So, apparently, do bogus revolutionaries.

In theory, it's all so simple. The Union Government's pension package for freedom fighters is meant to express India's gratitude to the unsung soldiers of its independence. To be eligible, these men and women should have served at least six months in jail, a fact duly verified by the authorities. The Hyderabad Special Screening Committee (HSSC) was set up 15 years ago for exactly this purpose. Its task was to identify the individuals -- or their widows -- who deserved to be compensated for battling the autocracy of the last Nizam of Hyderabad as part of the larger national movement.

Earlier this month, the HSSC submitted its final report. C. Rajeshwara Rao, the HSSC's 75-year-old chairman -- once a freedom fighter and now a CPI MLA -- was suitably solemn: "Nothing gives me greater satisfaction in the evening of my life than being of some service to the widows of martyrs and to those who fought valiantly for freedom."

Even so, the report has triggered a political controversy. C. Vidyasagar Rao, MP and state BJP president, has virtually termed the HSSC's findings bogus. "Perhaps it wants us to believe that even infants fought the battle against the Nizam," he says.

The issue contains all the ingredients for discord. In the absence of authoritative documents or leaders, the HSSC relied on personal accounts of freedom fighters and even secondary oral testimony. Over the years, it submitted its findings to the Freedom Fighters' Rehabilitation Division (FFRD) of the Union Home Ministry. The FFRD's job entails cross-checking the screening committee's list before disbursing pensions.

That the HSSC's earlier performance was not quite efficient is evident from the statistics. Prior to 1998, it recommended 18,000 individuals for the pension scheme. After scrutiny, the FFRD cleared only 7.000 names. Now, in its concluding list, the HSSC has deemed 13,500 cases worthy of pension. Over the past two years, it had received a staggering 41,400 claims. The number of applications shot up after the United Front government doubled the pension package's cash component from the original Rs 1,500 a month. Unscrupulous lawyers and touts also entered the fray, promising clients pensions in return for a share of the booty.

Actually, both CPI and BJP activists have worked overtime to get themselves, their supporters, even their parents recognised as pensioners. Yet, some 4,000 of those recommended by the HSSC are likely to be rejected simply because they were not old enough in 1947. One FFRD criterion is a minimum age of 15.

The lawyer-tout nexus operated imaginatively. It would draw up a list of claimants -- often with a well-known, credible name on top -- and move the high court. The petition would accuse the HSSC of negligence and a court order would invariably force the committee to consider the claims. Equally invariably, the claims would turn out to be fake.

"This shows how falsehood can be stated perfectly," rues Rajeshwara Rao. He points out that 1,450 anti-HSSC petitions were filed. One of the affidavits contained names of 500 fraudulent freedom fighters. Copious "evidence" -- from parchments in Urdu apparently bearing the Nizam's seal to false age certificates -- was provided.

Willy nilly, many such claims may have found their way into the HSSC's final list. Says K.V. Keshavulu, Congressman and HSSC member: "It is a shame that these things are being done in the name of those who made sacrifices for our freedom." Since the plethora of applications slows down the process of scrutiny, the biggest losers are the genuine freedom fighters. That is the real tragedy.

What They Did, What They Get

At Independence, the dictatorial and obscenely rich Nizam of Hyderabad sought to remain autonomous of both India and Pakistan. Then came the revolutionary call from Swami Ramananda Tirtha. Arya Samajists apart, Congressmen (among them P.V. Narasimha Rao), communists, Hindu Mahasabhaites, all responded. "Ours was a people's movement against the Nizam's autocracy," recalls K.V. Kesavulu. The Nizam unleashed the Razakars -- his menacing paramilitary force. The reign of terror ended in September 1948. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, then home minister, ordered the Indian Army to liberate Hyderabad.

Today, those who battled the Razakars are accorded the same status as those who took on the British Raj. They receive Rs 3,000 a month, a comprehensive health cover, unlimited AC II rail tickets and a telephone with a 50 per cent rebate on call charges. No wonder there's a rush of claimants.