The ghost of Indiramma

The Indira magic lingers strong in this corner of the world. Nearly two decades after her death, the former prime minister is yet to fade aw...

The Indira magic lingers strong in this corner of the world. Nearly two decades after her death, the former prime minister is yet to fade away from collective memory. She looms there as large ever in Bellary’s backwaters, influencing voting behaviour in every successive election. Her symbol, the hand, has a live presence here. No other symbol seems to count. The efforts of other parties to make a dent in the Congress stronghold has come a cropper.

Here is an interesting account of a woman in Neelagunda village of Harapanahalli taluk under Bellary Lok Sabha constituency. The story is dated —it happened during the elections last year—but it is not dated enough not to be a statement on the emotional attachment of the people here to the late leader.

It goes like this. Two BJP workers adopted Neelagunda village, visited the village regularly, enquired about the problems and tried to redress them in due earnest.

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Ramakka and Bheemakka—two old women applied for the old age pension but it was not sanctioned even after a few years. The BJP workers took up the case and got the pension sanctioned from the Taluk office. When the old women received their pension, they offered the first payment to the BJP activists, who politely declined it and told them to vote for the BJP instead.

The women agreed. The activists visited the village regularly trying to wean away people from the Congress by sincere work.

Polling day came. The BJP activists arranged an auto and sent the duo to the polling booth. They were informed about the lotus symbol also. But they voted for the ‘hand’. They apologised profusely later to the BJP men saying they indeed had planned to vote for the BJP while entering the booth. But when they saw Indira’s symbol, her memories flooded back. They also remembered her son Rajiv Gandhi and ended up voting on the ‘hand’.

In the tribal hamlet in Kudligi taluk, Indira Gandhi still lives. Of course, some know she is dead and Sonia Gandhi has taken over the party. But, for the predominant agricultural labourers here, that makes no sense. ‘‘Sonia is Indira Gandhi’s daughter-in-law and Indira or Sonia, there is no difference,’’ they say.

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It is difficult to miss the refrain here. ‘‘Indira Gandhi lives in our hearts. It was Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira who gave us houses and made us live in one place. Earlier we were moving from one place to another in search of jobs. How we can forget the help of Indira?’’

The story is no different in Sanganakallu. A chat with senior citizens waiting for their old-age pension reveals some surprises. The pension, which was sent by money order earlier, is now credited to their bank accounts directly.

For Obavva, 70, the pension is sent by Indiramma from Delhi. She believes Indira is still alive. When somebody mentions that Indira is dead and that Sonia Gandhi is now heading the party, Obavva is not ready to accept it. ‘‘Don’t tell lies brother. We are getting pension. That is proof enough that Indiramma is alive,’’ she says.