VV Giri, a President who presented himself before the Supreme Court...and much more

India Today

3 days ago

The life of Bharatratna Varahagiri Venkata Giri was a confluence of labour, political, and legal streams. Organising ability, selflessness, and sacrifice were his natural traits.Popularly known as Giri, he was born on 10-8-1894 at Berhampur, in Odisha, a part of the then united Madras State, to Subhadramma and Jogayya Panthulu. They migrated to Berhampur from Chintalapudi village in the then East Godavari district, now a part of Andhra Pradesh. Both his parents played an active role in the non-cooperation and civil disobedience movements that were part of our freedom struggle. Subhadramma also served a prison sentence for playing a key role in the agitation demanding the prohibition of alcohol.advertisementCharacter Assassination – The Real TruthGiri was sworn in as the fourth President of independent India on 24 August 1969 and held the post for the entire five years.
Due to ignorance of Giri's great services in the labour and political fields, and believing some of the articles that appeared in contemporary newspapers during his tenure, like many compatriots, I also considered him a "rubber stamp" President.In course of time, after some exposure to the history of industrial relations and trade unions in our country, Giri's towering personality struck me, and I tried to know more about him.Still, keeping in mind those of our generation who thought like me then, and those who do not know about him or only know him by name, I will try to present the other side of the coin.Leadership Qualities – Revolutionary Moorings at the Student StageGiri was elected President of Khallikota College Students' Union three times in a row and actively participated in the Indian independence movement even during those years.Not only that. While studying Law and Social Sciences at University College, Dublin, Ireland (1913–16), he came close to Sinn Fin, the political party of Ireland, which was agitating for the independence of their country. With that, his commitment to labour welfare and social justice became stronger. Together with fellow Indian students in Dublin, he produced a pamphlet on the status of Indians in South Africa. It fell into the hands of India's Political Intelligence Unit and police focused on all of them.Consequently, Giri was suspected of being close to those leading the 1916 Rising, an armed uprising launched by Irish republicans against British rule with the aim of establishing an independent Irish Republic. The result was an order to leave the country by 1-6-1916.Vande Mataram – Shramayeva JayateAfter returning home in 1916, he started practising law in the Madras High Court. He gave up his successful legal career and entered the political arena at the call of the Mahatma. He was also playing an active role in the labour movement.Giri was one of the founding members of the 'All India Railway Workers' Federation', which was formed in 1923. He acted as the General Secretary of that Federation for almost a decade.advertisementGiri was elected for the first time in 1926 as the president of the All India Trade Union Congress (A.I.T.U.C), our country's first workers' organisation at the national level.He was also instrumental in starting the Bengal-Nagpur Railway Association in 1928. As a mark of respect to him, the railway station near Kharagpur was named "Giri Maidan".Due to differences about cooperation with the Royal Commission of Labour (1929–31), which was appointed by the then British rulers to examine the living, employment, and socio-economic conditions of the workers, in 1929, he, along with N.M. Joshi, the socialist leader, and others formed the Indian Trade Union Federation (I.T.U.F.). The first president of that Federation was Giri himself.Significantly, the Royal Commission concluded that poverty was the root cause of the social and industrial problems of workers and made several suggestions useful to the working class. Giri's role was prominent in it.With the differences resolved, I.T.U.F. merged with A.I.T.U.C. in 1939. For the second time in 1942, Giri was elected as its President.advertisementThe First Giant Killer in the Political ArenaThe first "giant killer" in the electoral history of our country was Giri, who defeated Bobbili Raja, who was fielded by the Justice Party, in the 1936 elections to the composite Madras State Legislative Assembly. All the resources at the command of the king, including the use of elephants to drown the election campaign of Giri, the candidate of the Indian National Congress, were of no avail and Giri emerged victorious.It may be beyond belief nowadays.To write about the political career of Giri, even briefly, is beyond the scope of this article. But the unbelievable truth must be told.Occupying the chair of the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister at any cost is the order of the day. Most politicians are willing to sacrifice values at the altar of power. Overnight they can split their own political party, entice lawmakers to their camp by hook or crook. Giri was exceptional.When Congress ministries were formed in 1946, the Congress leaders, including Gandhiji, believed that if Giri was the Chief Minister of the composite state of Madras, a stable government could be formed. Giri did not go with them in spite of pressures, as he was of the view that the position rightly belonged to the noble and fearless 'Andhra Kesari' Tanguturi Prakasam. Despite facing some hardships and dangers, Giri succeeded.advertisementUnparalleled Commitment to Labour WelfareWhile it is common in our country to reach the seat of power through the ladder of leadership of the labour unions, Giri gave up the post of Union Minister for the welfare of the labour class.It was Giri's doctrine that the management and labour unions should settle industrial disputes through joint bargaining and mutual consultation. This doctrine came to be known as the "Giri Approach in Industrial Relations". He chose to live up to this ideal rather than continue as a Central Minister. Giri took charge as Union Minister of Labour in 1952 in Pandit Nehru's cabinet. He, however, voluntarily resigned from his post in 1954, opposing the Centre's revision of the Industrial Court's award for settlement of industrial disputes in the banking sector to reduce the wages of employees, as the arbitration was a result of fruitful collective bargaining between bankers and unions.A grateful nation changed the name of the "National Labour Institute" to "V.V. Giri National Labour Institute" when P.V. Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister.advertisementAn Extraordinary Man Who Truly Believed That Everyone Is Equal Before the LawAfter the death of Zakir Hussain, the then Vice-President, Giri took over as the acting President. He resigned from that position and stood as an independent candidate for the presidential election. Due to internal differences, Indira Gandhi supported Giri and not the Congress candidate for the post of President. The theory of "voting according to conscience" was brought to the fore. In that election, Giri was elected President with a narrow margin, defeating Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, the official candidate of the Congress Party, and Chintamani Dwarkanath Deshmukh, jointly fielded by the Swatantra Party and Jan Sangh.A suit was filed in the Supreme Court claiming that the election was invalid. The court may appoint an Advocate Commissioner to record evidence of Giri at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. It is different these days that an accused holding the post of Chief Minister appealed to a State High Court to make such an arrangement to record his evidence.But Giri, who, like the British jurist Lord Denning, believed that "Be ye ever so high, the law is higher than you", appeared in the court to testify.The Hidden Truth Is to Be Revealed and the Cloud LiftedA 20-day strike of railway workers took place from 8-5-1974 to 27-5-1974 under the leadership of George Fernandes. As a result of the strike, transportation of food grains and coal was severely disrupted. If there was a strike for two more days, the power generation companies and steel factories would be shut down. With that, the government took drastic measures to suppress the strike. The families of workers in the railway quarters were also evacuated. It was then the general perception that Giri, the father of the railway labour movement, remained calm despite all that, leading to criticism from many quarters. But the cloud was cleared post-Giri's retirement from politics. It is now known, to some at least, that President Giri had expressed his reservations about these repressive measures to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.In the words of Palagummi Sainath, Ramon Magsaysay Award winner and grandson of Giri, "It was known in our family that he had conveyed his displeasure about the crackdown on the strikers. Also, post-retirement, he told several people that he had. It continued to bother him even after retirement."After a successful life, "Bharat Ratna" Giri passed away at the age of 86 in Bangalore.Salutations to the great soul.- Ends