Jail Journal

Jail Diary of BP Koirala

• August 21, 1968:

  Invasion of Czechoslovakia by Russia, Poland and Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria. I am upset and grieved. Czechoslovakia was introducing democracy lately which was a very encouraging sign for democrats all over the world. Invasion of a country by another does not affect me at all unless the purpose is to impose democratic system or totalitarian system - if former I support such invasion (invasion of Hitler's Germany by the Allies etc), if latter I oppose it.



• September 12, 1968:

  Notice served extending our detention for further nine months. Deputy Commissioner came to serve the notice. The general was also there.

  Economic development and Tyranny: There is a school of thought that tyranny is sine qua non of development - without dictatorship there can be no economic development - without Stalin USSR would not have developed.

  Economic development and Tyranny: There is a school of thought that tyranny is sine qua non of development - without dictatorship there can be no economic development - without Stalin USSR would not have developed.

  Such thought is as superstitious as the one held in ancient and medieval period justifying human sacrifice to ensure success in a difficult enterprise. Recently, in Rajasthan a boy was sacrificed for unhampered completion of job at the site of a dam which was being constructed. The contractor who had taken the job of the dam construction behaved like Stalin - the only difference between them being that he sacrificed millions and accomplished bigger construction jobs.



• September 25, 1968:

  In the hospital the whole day. Military hospital is an extremely dirty place, for a prisoner it is hell: it becomes both a hospital and a prison. Freedom is doubly curtailed as a patient and as a prisoner. After x-ray photos of my intestine ware taken (barium enema) I was again brought back to Sundarijal jail. I was happy to escape from the hospital. But the decision to send me back to the jail was taken suddenly; because till the evening the doctors were telling me that after the x-ray report and study of the plates they would make up their mind about further investigation which would necessitate my longer stay in the hospital. But even before the x-ray photos were taken in the evening (at 9pm) I was informed that I would be taken back to the jail immediately afterwards from the x-ray department.



• October 5, 1968:

  Mangalaji (Mangala Devi, wife of Ganesh Man Singh) came for a private interview with GM, lasting about two hours. SP wants to create misunderstanding through her between myself and GM. He told her that GP is playing a mischievous role and that I should not tell GM everything that GP tells me of his talks with the King. SP has created an impression with her that he is a powerful man. On whose advice the King appoints his minister and that it was only in the case of Prayag Raj (Prayag Raj Subal) that the King did not listen to his advice and appointed Basudeva Dhungana from Graduates constituency a minister. He wanted her to convey to GM that I am trying to strike a bargain with the King and am prepared to give an undertaking for my release. It is to GM's credit that he reported to me all that she told him.



• October 7, 1968:

  Girija again saw me. He had permission for three hours to talk but we talked only for 90 minutes - that too because I knew that it would be perhaps the last private talk with him and hence I did not want to leave him. He had come to tell me that the King insists on my endorsing Subarnaji's statement and would not listen to my plea that I could not do it under duress. He said to him that unless I endorsed it the current talk should be treated as concluded. I told GP that I am perfectly clear in my mind that I cannot endorse it under duress.

  According to GP the problem will be to hold our active workers under Subarna's leadership. They will be tempted to join the camp of Bharat (Bharat Shamsher) SS (Subarna Shamsher) or drift into the communist camp. Other points: His tiff with the Indian Ambassador who thought since Subarna acted in issuing the statement as the leader of NC I should not hesitate to endorse his statement as a loyal colleague.

  GP told him that he had miserably failed diplomatically twice: (l) once when he got Subarnaji to issue the statement without prior commitment from the King that he would to respond to it; (2) then again this time by asking me to endorse Subarnaji's statement rather than insisting with the King for compliance on his part with his previous undertaking with him. Sengupta, Statesman's correspondent here, says that UK and USA are not in favor of our release. I cannot understand it.

  I am very sad today. When I took leave of Girija he was perturbed. I told him that they should be prepared even for my death in jail. On this note we bade farewell to each other.

  I have been feeling that the King will try to bring about misunderstanding between GM and myself. We may even be separated for this purpose.

  The King goes back upon all his commitments with GP who reminded him of this, upon which the King said that let BP endorse Subarna's statement first, then he would reopen talk with me.

  Apart from other things the whole question centers now round the King on whose words no one can rely.

  Is there a murder plan - to practically finish all political opponents? Refer Bhaktram's son and the murder of Tej Bahadur (Tej Bahadur Amatya).