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Congress and the Making of the Indian Nation
Edited By :
Pranab Mukharjee
Editorial Board :
Aditya Mukharjee, Mridula Mukharjee, Sucheta Mahajan, Rizwan Qaiser, Bhashyam Kasturi
Published By :
Academic Foundation, New Delhi
Foreword by Pranab Mukherjee
The Emergence of the Indian National Congress
The Militant Nationalists
And Then Gandhiji Came
Khilafat and Non-Cooperation
India in the 1920s
Civil Disobedience and After
Princely India in the Freedom Struggle
National Movement During the Second World War
Towards Freedom
The Nehru Era
Indira Gandhi
Rajiv Years
Narasimha Rao Government
Years in Opposition
Congress in Coalition
Second Innings under Sonia Gandhi's Leadership
List of Congress Sessions
Extracts from Select Resolutions/Manifestos
Extracts from Addresses of Congress Presidents
Other Significant Speeches
Brief Life Sketches of Congress Presidents
Members of the Interim Government of India
The Central Cabinet
Provincial Chief Ministers (Premiers)
Indira Gandhi
On Nehru's death in May 1964, Gulzari Lal Nanda, the senior-most minister in his Cabinet, was made the interim Prime Minister. Even during Nehru's last days, some of the powerful Central and state leaders of the Party had formed themselves into an informal group evidently with a view to guiding and directing the Congress politics in the post-Nehru era. This group came to be known as the Syndicate. It initially consisted of K. Kamaraj, N. Sanjiva Reddy, S. Nijalingappa, Atulya Ghosh and S.K. Patil. Subsequently, C.B. Gupta and quite a few other leaders joined it. Barring Kamaraj, the rest were conservatives. Morarji Desai, known for his conservative ideas, also moved closer to the Syndicate at a later stage. There were many names that were discussed, but the choice was narrowed down to Morarji Desai and Lal Bahadur Shastri.
The Shastri Era
Kamaraj, who was then the Congress President, consulted the members of the Congress Working Committee, state Chief Ministers, the Deputy Leader and Chief Whip of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) and eight other leaders to decide the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party. There was a broad consensus in favour of Lal Bahadur Shastri. He became the Prime Minister on 2 June 1964. Indira Gandhi became the Minister for Information and Broadcasting.
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An experienced minister in Nehru's cabinet, Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first choice of the party leadership to resolve intra-party conflicts. Though India had taken giant strides, a lot was yet to be done for socioeconomic development if the objectives of self-reliance, eradication of poverty, removal of illiteracy and promotion of health were to be achieved. A hostile China continued to be a threat at the borders. Shastri affirmed his commitment to the principles of socialism and turned his attention to the task of reinvigorating rural society.
The land reforms proposed by the Congress in the 1950s had still to be fully implemented and rural economy was still underdeveloped. Shastri took forward the process of technological development of Indian agriculture—the Green Revolution—the foundations for which had been laid in the Nehru period. This was to lead India transforming herself from a food deficient country to a food surplus country in a short period under Indira Gandhi's leadership.
Even as Shastri was engaged in tackling economic problems, Pakistan launched military action to take over certain border areas in Gujarat, and followed it up with a full-scale war in the autumn of 1965. Shastri demonstrated to the world that India could defend its territory with the modest resources at her command. The aggression by Pakistan was effectively checked.
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The Indian troops even crossed over to Pakistani territory near Lahore. However, the hostilities ceased after a while, following pleas for amicable settlement by a number of countries. The Soviet Union brought the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan together at a conference in Tashkent in 1966 to arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement. While the country was rejoicing over the triumph of Shastri and the leadership he provided to the Indian defence forces, news came of his death in Tashkent on 10 January 1966.
G.L. Nanda was again made interim Prime Minster to get time to choose another leader. The exercise proved to be more difficult now than in 1964. The ideological differences between the various groups in the party were sharper. The conservatives within the party looked upon Morarji Desai as the most appropriate choice. The radical elements, on the other hand, preferred Indira Gandhi.
The preference was not merely because she was the daughter of Nehru. Earlier, in 1959, she had been the President of the Congress and at that time had demonstrated her political skills. In the Shastri Cabinet, she had served as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting. The two groups openly canvassed for their respective candidates. Kamaraj, as the Congress President, preferred Indira Gandhi. As one wedded to socialistic ideas, Kamaraj did not like to have Morarji Desai, known for his conservative policies, as the head of the government.
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However, Kamaraj did not follow the "consensus" method now. He allowed the CPP to choose their leader by a battle of the ballot. Indira Gandhi was chosen as the leader of CPP defeating Morarji Desai, receiving 355 votes as against Desai's 169. She became the Prime Minister at the age of 48.
Challenges before Indira
The challenges she faced were many. She tackled the Punjab problem by accepting the demand for a Punjabi suba. She also accepted the Naga rebels' demand for autonomy. The economic situation demanded attention. Economic recession prevailed and drought worsened the situation further. The drought and famine situation was handled effectively but one of the measures taken to resolve the economic plight proved to be counter-effective. This was the devaluation of the rupee by 35.5 per cent.
It failed to increase exports and attract foreign capital. The Green Revolution, a strategy of introducing high-yield seeds and fertilizers in order to jump-start a sharp rise in food production, was taken forward in her time. Between 1967-68 and 1970-71, food grain production rose by 35 per cent. India was no longer seen as standing with a begging bowl before the Western countries and successive droughts were handled without foreign aid.
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Foreign policy was another field which demanded application of a new approach. For example, the United States used its position as a supplier of financial aid, food and capital investment to India to twist India's arm towards taking a pro-US line on Vietnam. However, she went ahead to decry the US bombing of Vietnam. In addition, Indira Gandhi chose to develop links with the Soviet Union in order to build a counter-alliance to the US-China-Pakistan axis.
Two features of the political system were a source of great trouble for Indira Gandhi. One was the decline of Parliament as an institution. Members of Parliament took to undisciplined behaviour and she was often the target of attack. The party was another trouble spot, beset with groupism and factionalism. Her own position in the party was not secure. Though she was the Prime Minister, the important portfolios were held by leaders not chosen by her.
Indira Gandhi had hardly taken the reins of office when the country went in for General Elections. Apart from the factionalism within the Congress, this was the period of extreme "anti-Congressism" where opposition parties of completely divergent views and ideologies joined hands to form anti-Congress fronts. Lohiaites, socialists, communal Jan Sangh, communists, the right wing Swatantra Party, Akalis etc., all made opportunistic alliances against the Congress.
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As a result, the Congress Party suffered an unexpected defeat at the polls in Bihar, UP, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Orissa, Madras and Kerala, besides securing a reduced majority in the Lok Sabha. The vote share of the party went down to 41 per cent while the number of seats now stood at 284 seats in a house of 520. The worst aspect was that the decline in the states had now reached the Centre. If one analyses the election results in terms of social groups, it was evident that the rich and middle peasants had deserted the Congress.
The poor electoral performance of the party again brought up the issue of leadership. The Syndicate was critical of the "dismal performance" of the Government under Indira Gandhi's leadership. Secondly, her style of functioning as the Prime Minister of India seemed to have offended Kamaraj and his colleagues. One of the factors that strengthened the position of Indira Gandhi was the near rout of the Syndicate leaders in the general elections. The only prominent Syndicate leader elected was Sanjiva Reddy.
She had been the star and the only all-India campaigner and vote-catcher for the Congress. Her unchallenged leadership of the Congress parliamentary party (CPP) was now established giving her a free hand in forming a Cabinet and deciding the portfolios.
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As on the past two occasions, Morarji Desai was an aspirant for the Prime Ministership. But a contest was averted and he was offered the position of Deputy Prime Minister which he accepted. However, this was merely a formal position without any real authority. This time, a pressure group in the CPP, backed by the Congress President Kamaraj, a few Chief Ministers and some members of the Congress Working Committee saw to it that Indira Gandhi was made the Prime Minister.
Mid-term polls took place in four states in February 1969 and the position of Congress deteriorated further. The rate of economic growth had slowed down considerably. Corruption was rampant, unrest in the countryside and discontent in urban areas was widespread. The election results shocked Congressmen and the differences within the party now came to a head. The leftist "Young Turks" did not keep quiet. One of them, Chandra Shekhar, launched a frontal attack on Morarji Desai for not setting up a commission of inquiry into the affairs of the Birlas.
The CWC took serious note of this and warned party men against indulging in personal attacks. It asked Indira Gandhi as the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party to curb this tendency on the part of the members of Parliament. Undeterred, the Young Turks carried on their pressure tactics by criticizing the party bosses for failure to implement the 10-point programme for socioeconomic development.
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This was followed by the severe indictment of the party leadership by the Congress Forum for Socialist Action (FSA). C. Subramaniam, President of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, warned in a report that the party would not make much headway in the 1972 elections unless it adopted a radical programme of socialist action.
He wanted the party's goal to be declared as democratic socialism. He referred to the feeling among the people that Congress was incapable of attacking the vested interests. Different proposals were mooted to prevent a debacle in the 1972 elections. Some favoured an understanding with "like-minded" parties in the Parliament, to form a stable coalition. Indira Gandhi preferred a radical socialist action programme as a solution.
Against this backdrop, the Congress held its session in Faridabad in 1969, which turned out to be a significant event. On the eve of the session, Indira Gandhi expressed the view that the Congress should not move to the extreme left or extreme right but stick to the middle course with democratic socialism as its objective. The coalition idea was not favoured either by her or the Party President, S. Nijalingappa
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This was followed by the severe indictment of the party leadership by the Congress Forum for Socialist Action (FSA). C. Subramaniam, President of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, warned in a report that the party would not make much headway in the 1972 elections unless it adopted a radical programme of socialist action.
He wanted the party's goal to be declared as democratic socialism. He referred to the feeling among the people that Congress was incapable of attacking the vested interests. Different proposals were mooted to prevent a debacle in the 1972 elections. Some favoured an understanding with "like-minded" parties in the Parliament, to form a stable coalition. Indira Gandhi preferred a radical socialist action programme as a solution.
Against this backdrop, the Congress held its session in Faridabad in 1969, which turned out to be a significant event. On the eve of the session, Indira Gandhi expressed the view that the Congress should not move to the extreme left or extreme right but stick to the middle course wThe differences within the party were also founded on ideological grounds. After the electoral defeat, the Congress leaned left-ward. For instance, the 10-point programme in May 1967 adopted by CWC which comprised control over banks, insurance, land reforms, abolition of princely privileges, ceilings on urban property and curbs on business monopolies. The right-wing Syndicate did not appreciate this and wanted better ties with the USA and suppression of Leftist groups.
At Faridabad the intra-party wrangles had set the stage for a split. Morarji Desai was the target of a severe attack from the leftists and the "Young Turks". Bhagwat Jha Azad, who was a member of Indira Gandhi's Cabinet, accused some of his ministerial colleagues of sabotaging the implementation of the 10-point programme. Indira Gandhi came to Morarji Desai's defence at the open session but her differences with Nijalingappa over issues like linguistic reorganization of the country, mixed economy, and the role of public sector surfaced.
The action taken by Nijalingappa against some of the Young Turks for attacking Desai exacerbated the situation. Nijalingappa sought to make amends in his concluding remarks by reiterating his faith in democratic socialism. In the weeks following the Faridabad session, the warring groups prepared themselves for the next round of confrontation. The unexpected death of Dr. Zakir Hussain, President of India, and the choice of his successor became the new bone of contention between the warring groups.th democratic socialism as its objective. The coalition idea was not favoured either by her or the Party President, S. Nijalingappa
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Indira Gandhi preferred a President of her choice with whom she would have a rapport. Her opponents in the Party wanted to have a President of their choice. Their choice was Sanjiva Reddy, who was then the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The decision was to be taken at the Central Parliamentary Board meeting at Bangalore on the eve of the AICC session. She assumed control of the Finance ministry and declared the nationalization of 14 major banks by a presidential ordinance within days of the Bangalore meeting.
This was welcomed enthusiastically by the people. This was her way of showing to the Syndicate that she was the one in control. Following this, Morarji Desai resigned from the Cabinet. However, V.V. Giri, who was the acting President, announced his candidature for the Presidentship as an independent. The Syndicate was surprised by this move of a veteran Congress leader to oppose the official party nominee. Meanwhile, Giri appealed for a "conscience vote". This was probably the first time that such an appeal had been made.
Over the years, elections had been conducted on party basis leaving no scope for the voter to exercise his franchize according to his conscience. It was considered that a conscience vote would break party discipline with dangerous consequences for the stability of the Government, if the party happened to be in power. Giri's plea created a new situation. At the end of it all, Giri got elected with the support of one-third of the party MPs and MLAs, turning the course of the history of the Congress Party.
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Nijalingappa served show-cause notices on Central Ministers for violating party discipline and voting for Giri. Indira Gandhi questioned his authority to take action against party MPs over the head of the CPP. There were over 100 MPs who favoured disciplinary action against those who voted for Giri. They wanted to precipitate a showdown if the CWC failed to act. Indira Gandhi countered this with a threat to recommend dissolution of the Lok Sabha. In the next few weeks, the events took the direction of a compromise. The CWC came out with a resolution on the need to avert a split in the party. The move for disciplinary action was given up. The supporters of Indira Gandhi in CWC relented in their attack on the Syndicate and Nijalingappa. In the process, the Syndicate lost its strength to a considerable extent. Nijalingappa, however, warned against the "personality cult" developing in the country, referring indirectly to the signature campaign started by Indira Gandhi to convene a meeting of AICC to replace Nijalingappa by a leader of her own choice.
The CWC soon met under Nijalingappa and expelled Indira Gandhi from the party and directed the CPP to elect a new leader. One group rejected this directive leading to a formal split creating two Working Committees and two CPPs. The group owing allegiance to Nijalingappa, now called Congress (O) did not have enough strength to stake its claim to run the Government. The group owing allegiance to Indira Gandhi, called Congress (R) had to rely on independents and certain opposition groups like the communists, DMK, etc., for support.
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Two hundred twenty of the party's Lok Sabha MPs supported Indira and only 68 went with the Syndicate. In the AICC, 446 out of 705 members joined the Congress (R). The formal split at the national level had its repercussions elsewhere in the country and the party split into two in all the states.
The Aftermath of the Split
Meanwhile, Indira Gandhi's group held its AICC meeting at which Nijalingappa was replaced by Subramaniam as Congress President, an interim arrangement till regular election took place. Now her position as leader of the party and the government was established.
In pursuance of the Congress Party resolutions, Indira Gandhi initiated steps on many fronts. She set up the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission in 1969 to check concentration of economic power. The existing land reform laws were to be implemented stringently. The Fourth Five-Year Plan was launched. Due to this programme, her support among the poor and middle classes increased.
Another step was the abolition of privy purses and other privileges of the ex-rulers of the Princely States. The legislative measure to carry this out was adopted in the Lok Sabha but lost in the Rajya Sabha. The purpose was then achieved through a presidential order derecognizing the Princes. The Supreme Court struck this down. This provoked Indira Gandhi to seek a fresh mandate from the electorate after dissolving the Lok Sabha.
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Garibi Hatao
Elections to the Lok Sabha were held in 1971, a year ahead of the schedule. This was the first time that Indira Gandhi was contesting elections on her own. She gave the pro-poor slogan of 'Garibi Hatao' highlighting the need for removal of poverty and hunger. Her opponents turned the campaign into an effort for removing her from power. When asked by the press about the major issues in the campaign, she said, "I am the issue." Her rivals called for 'Indira Hatao' to which she responded with 'Garibi Hatao'.
In this mid-term poll, the Congress (R) secured an overwhelming majority winning 352 out of 518 seats in the Lok Sabha. One of the first acts of the government now was to amend the Constitution to delete property rights from the list of fundamental rights and to abolish privy purses. In the elections to five state assemblies too, the Congress (R) performed well. As a result, the Election Commission recognized it as the real Congress, allowed it to call itself Indian National Congress without any suffix and restored the frozen Congress symbol of two bullocks to it.
But, Indira Gandhi's supporters preferred the "Calf and Cow" symbol it had adopted after the 1969 split and dropped the suffix "R". The morale in the Congress Party was boosted by the way Indira Gandhi carried on the administration and projected the image of the country
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Formation of Bangladesh
Around that time, a liberation movement had begun in East Pakistan under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 25 March 1971, Pakistani armed forces cracked down upon the civilian people of East Pakistan and perpetrated genocide on an unprecedented scale. About 10 million refugees migrated from East Pakistan and took shelter in India, leading her to point out that, "an internal problem of Pakistan has become an internal problem of India also." Human rights were violated and world opinion went against Pakistan.
Indira Gandhi stood by the suffering people. On 3 December 1971, Pakistan attacked India. India reacted by recognizing the provisional government of Bangladesh and joined with Mukti Bahini of Bangladesh to resist Pakistan. War with Pakistan broke out on both the eastern and north-western fronts. On 16 December, Pakistani army in East Bengal surrendered and East Pakistan was liberated. A new nation known as Bangladesh emerged. With the surrender of Pakistan in the eastern front, Indira Gandhi declared unilateral cease-fire and a battered Pakistan had no option but to accept it.
Indira Gandhi was at the height of her power in the wake of the 1971 war. She was hailed as Durga, an incarnation of Shakti. The war was seen as her personal success. After all, she had mobilized world opinion on Bangladesh, travelling to all the major capitals of the world except the US which was avowedly hostile.
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The political fallout of the war was evident in the electoral success of the party in the Assembly Elections of March 1972. It won everywhere, including West Bengal. Soon after this, in 1974, India successfully performed an underground nuclear detonation and became a member of the nuclear club. Despite this, she continued to favour disarmament. At a UN conference on human environment held in 1972 at Stockholm, she also stressed the importance of environmental conservation.
The growing popularity of Indira Gandhi and the Congress could not be borne by the opposition parties, particularly those who had left the Congress, and the rightist groups. They all combined in a Grand Alliance on the eve of the 1971 elections. The Grand Alliance parties however did not fare well in the elections. This was an unnatural coming together of the leftist and rightist groups, inspired solely by anti-Congress sentiments. There was no other meeting ground in terms of either agenda or ideology.
In desperation to unseat the Congress, they decided to support any movement which was opposed to the government. An unfavourable atmosphere loomed in the economic crisis resulting from the impact of immigration of Bangladeshi refugees and the subsequent war with Pakistan, rising prices, food shortages and growing scarcity of jobs which caused much disaffection. Other facets of the crisis included the drain of foreign reserves and drought due to monsoon failure in 1972 and 1973.
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The oil shock of 1973 led to a spurt in the prices of petroleum goods, and foreign exchange reserves in many countries decreased appreciably. There were food riots in many areas and soon this disaffection led to large-scale industrial unrest. Strikes occurred in many areas during 1972 and 1973 leading to a 22-day all-India railway strike in May 1974. The strike was repressed and the government's popularity among the working class suffered another setback. In UP, in May 1973, the Armed Constabulary mutinied, leading to a violent clash with the army sent in to suppress it, killing more than 35 constables and soldiers. Demonstrations, protests and strikes continued during the years 1974 and 1975.
Factors leading to the Emergency
Two mass agitations in Bihar and Gujarat were launched turning the socioeconomic discontent into a political movement. In January 1974 in Gujarat, popular anger over high food prices created conditions of anarchy. This was expressed as a student movement and supported by opposition parties. Strikes, arson, looting and rioting became rampant.
President's rule was imposed in the state followed by the dissolution of the Assembly and fresh elections to it were announced for June 1975. Soon after this, in Bihar, a students' movement against the government was launched in March 1974.
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It was led by Jayaprakash Narayan who gave a call for 'total revolution'. He came out of political retirement and demanded the resignation of the Congress government in Bihar, and asked people to pay no taxes and establish parallel people's governments across the state. It was supported by students, traders, middle classes and a section of the intelligentsia.
This was an extra-constitutional and undemocratic movement aimed at unseating the government at any cost. The students clashed with the police on several occasions, leading to 27 deaths in one week. The movement gradually spread to other parts of the country as well. Indira Gandhi refused to succumb to this pressure and did not dissolve the assembly. The movement lost its strength by the end of 1974. The student support dwindled; the poor had never really been mobilized. Indira Gandhi challenged Jayaprakash Narayan to a real electoral battle rather than this unconstitutional approach which he had adopted.
However, the electoral battle was sidelined by the verdict of the Allahabad High Court against Indira Gandhi in the election petition filed by Raj Narain, who had opposed her in her constituency in the Lok Sabha polls and lost. Justice Sinha had dismissed the more serious charges and had convicted Indira Gandhi on the technical and trivial, even frivolous offences against the election law. The verdict charged her with violating the election law to win her seat and invalidated her election, disallowing her from contesting elections for six years.
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Indira Gandhi rejected this verdict and appealed to the Supreme Court which allowed her to continue in office. Soon, the results of the Gujarat assembly elections showed that Congress had secured 75 seats as against 87 of the opposing Janata Party in a house of 182.
These two events strengthened the Janata Party and soon they demanded that Indira Gandhi should resign. On 25 June 1975, in Delhi, they announced that a campaign of mass agitation and civil disobedience to force her to resign would be launched on 29 June. Jayaprakash Narayan asked the people to obstruct the functioning of the government and asked the army, police and bureaucracy to disobey this 'corrupt' government. In response, Indira Gandhi declared a state of internal emergency in the country on 26 June 1975.
The JP movement suffered from many shortcomings. Even though Jayaprakash Narayan could not be faulted on his integrity and selflessness, his ideology remained vague. During the 1950s, he criticised parliamentary democracy and advocated a partyless democracy. During this movement in Bihar, he advocated 'total revolution'. But he never really defined its political, social or economic implications. He himself was not an authoritarian leader but the ambiguity of his ideas provided scope for totalitarian elements.
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It led him to accept support from parties which had nothing in common with his ideas or agenda. Communal groups like Jan Sangh and Jamaat-i-Islami, the RSS, Socialists and Naxalites— all entered his movement making it impossible to outline any coherent political ideology. The good organizational strength of the RSS and Jan Sangh soon dominated the cadre of the movement, with Jayaprakash Narayan remaining only responsible for mass mobilization. The undemocratic nature of the movement was evident in its aim of wanting to overthrow the government in Bihar and the Central government at any cost.
The methodology adopted by the movement was also unconstitutional. Demonstrations and rallies, gheraos of the legislatures and government offices were aimed at forcing the government and the legislators to resign. The army, police and civil services were encouraged to disobey the government. On 25 June 1975, they declared their intention of gheraoing the PM's residence to force her to resign. They wished to intimidate her into giving up office.
The period of the emergency saw the suspension of normal political procedures and fundamental rights, arrests of the leaders of the Grand Alliance, and enforcement of press censorship and strict discipline. Extreme communal and leftist organizations were banned. More than one lakh people were arrested over the 19 months of the Emergency. Powers of the judiciary were reduced drastically.
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Unlimited state and party power was concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister. Vast sections of the population welcomed it initially since general administration improved. But, civil rights activists took exception to the curbs on freedom of expression and personal liberties. Unfortunately, in certain spheres, over-enthusiasm led to compulsion in enforcement of certain programmes like compulsory sterilization and clearance of slums. Sanjay Gandhi had, by then, emerged as a leader of great significance.
It was due to his support to family planning that the government decided to pursue it more vigorously. He also promoted slum clearance, anti-dowry measures and promotion of literacy but in an arbitrary and authoritarian manner much to the annyonce of the popular opinion.
General Elections and the Janata Phase
On 18 January 1977, Indira Gandhi ordered elections to the Lok Sabha, releasing political prisoners and removing curbs on freedom of expression. The decision to call off the Emergency and hold the elections showed the strength of Indian democracy. The Grand Alliance fought these elections under the banner of Janata Party and secured an impressive victory, except in the southern states. It won 330 seats out of 542 in Lok Sabha. The Congress was defeated and it readily resigned from office. The world was impressed with this return to the democratic path in India.
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The Janata Party took over the reins of Government and set up the Shah Commission to inquire into the alleged emergency excesses. Jagjivan Ram and some other Congressmen left the party in February 1977 and formed a new party known as Congress for Democracy. It joined forces with the Janata Party.
The impact of defeat in the general election in 1977 was severe. Congress could only win 154 seats in the Lok Sabha, Indira Gandhi herself was defeated in Rae Bareilly by Raj Narain. Sanjay Gandhi was defeated in Amethi. Congress did not get any Lok Sabha seat in UP, Bihar, Haryana and Punjab; Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan returned only one member each to the Lok Sabha on the Congress ticket.
The performance in West Bengal, Orissa and Gujarat was equally dismal. Only the South stood by the Congress solidly and Maharashtra gave a marginal majority to the Congress. Y.B. Chavan, was chosen as the leader of the Congress Party in the Parliament. On the organizational front there was almost a knee-jerk reaction. Many people demanded the resignation of the Congress President and members of the Working Committee. Indira Gandhi accepted the verdict of the people and assumed the responsibility of the defeat.
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A section of the Congress leaders demanded that Congress must get rid of Indira Gandhi and her supporters. K. Brahmananda Reddy was elected Congress President defeating Siddhartha Shankar Ray and 10 members were elected to the Working Committee. The 81-year old Morarji Desai took over as the Prime Minister in March 1977. One of the first acts of his government was the dismissal of Congress ministries in 9 states. In the ensuing elections, in June 1977, the Janata Party won in 7 states.
Sanjiva Reddy was elected as President in July 1977 with the support of the Janata Party and its allies. The Janata government spent the first two weeks in euphoria and in dismantling the structures of the Emergency. Indira Gandhi was found guilty of committing a breach of privilege of the Parliament and sent to Tihar Jail from the Lok Sabha. All such actions only helped to generate sympathy in her favour among the public. Indira Gandhi was soon engaged in regaining the lost confidence of the people.
An incident in July 1977 in Bihar (Belchi) where Harijans were massacred provided an opportunity for her to visit the place and express her sympathies in the cause of the downtrodden. This helped in her campaign when she contested the bye-election to the Lok Sabha from the Chikmagalur constituency in Karnataka held in November 1978.
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She was returned to the Lok Sabha and took her place as the leader of the Opposition. In the meanwhile, ministers deposing before the Shah Commission squarely placed the blame for the Emergency on Indira Gandhi's shoulders. The Janata Party and a section of the Congress leaders started a campaign against her on all fronts. She was arrested on 3 October 1977 on the charge of abusing the office of the Prime Minster by obtaining illegal benefits from industrialists by seeking some jeeps for her party candidates in the election of 1977.
The whole nation was stunned at the triviality of the allegations. However, the next day the judge acquitted her by pointing out that there was no case. The AICC was summoned to condemn the atrocious, vindictive act of the Janata Party government but instead of condemning the Janata government's action, the session criticized Indira Gandhi and her so-called coterie. Hereafter, she was ignored in major party decisions.
In the selection of party candidates for the Assembly elections in June 1977 neither her services were called for nor was she consulted in major policy matters. So, her supporters started a move to have a requisition meeting of the AICC members to replace K. Brahmananda Reddy and elect Indira Gandhi as the Congress President.
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The Janata Party failed to deal with many important problems. Social tensions in rural areas accelerated; their opposition to Nehruvian economic policies did not bring out any alternative framework; inflation rose to more than 20 per cent in 1979. On top of this, the constituent parties of Janata Party started clashing with each other. Soon, the party broke up in 1979 with Charan Singh forming a government that lasted only a few months.
Second Split and Indira Gandhi's Return to Power
A National Convention of Congress workers was held in Delhi on 1 and 2 January 1978. Indira Gandhi was elected President and authorized to constitute the Working Committee, Central Parliamentary Board office bearers, Provincial Congress Committees (PCCs) and other subordinate Congress Committees. Ultimately, the Party split formally.
Elections were to be held in Andhra, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in February 1978. The Election Commission refused to recognize Indira's group as the Congress. So the symbol of "Calf and Cow" was retained by the other faction led by Sanjiva Reddy and the suffix "I" was added to the faction led by Indira Gandhi. A new reserved symbol "Hand" was allotted to the party.
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The Party headquarters and bank accounts were not given to the faction led by Indira Gandhi. So, a new party headquarters was established at 24, Akbar Road. For all legal purposes, this party was considered as a new Party and the other faction was called "Congress" till Congress (I) was recognized as "Congress" by a court verdict in 1982. However, people gave their verdict in favour of Indira Gandhi's party much earlier by putting her party in power with two-thirds majority in Andhra and Karnataka.
In Maharashtra, it swept the Vidarbha region by winning almost all the seats. As no party got a clear majority in Maharashtra, a coalition government of the two factions of the Congress was formed. In Assam, the party did not do well and won only eight seats. However, the victory spree demonstrated the popular support which Indira enjoyed. The common people saw the attempts by the Janata government to imprison her as vindictive and sympathized with her.
By the end of 1979, elections were ordered to the Lok Sabha, two years ahead of schedule and Indira Gandhi's Congress was returned with a thumping majority of 353 out of 529 seats giving it a two-thirds majority. She became the Prime Minister once again in 1980. One of the first acts of the Congress government was to dissolve the governments in nine states where the Janata Party ruled.
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In the subsequent elections, the Congress swept the polls in all these states except in Tamil Nadu. Now, 15 out of 22 states were under Congress rule. Soon after she assumed office, Sanjay Gandhi was killed in an air crash. After getting over this personal loss, Indira Gandhi devoted herself vigorously to the problems awaiting to be resolved. An important event of that period was the Summit Meeting of Non-Aligned Movement hosted by India in March 1983.
Her contribution in shaping the NAM was regarded quite significant. Similarly, she took an active role in the meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet (CHOGM) and many other international forums. Indira Gandhi's growing popularity attracted many youngsters to the Congress. By then Kamaraj had died and his supporters in Tamil Nadu returned to the Congress (I).
In this period, growing communal, linguistic and caste conflicts were issues of major concern. Moreover, terrorism raised its head in Punjab, Kashmir and Assam. Besides these, the problem of the people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka was becoming complex. In Assam, the problem centred on illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. In Sri Lanka, she supported the aspirations of the people of Indian origin, without affecting the national integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka.
Page 26
In Punjab, the Akali Dal presented a series of demands, including formation of a separate Khalistan. The Government was prepared to concede anything but secession. The terrorists, backed by Pakistan, were disrupting law and order, gunning down innocent people and damaging public property. In dealing with legitimate demands, she had earlier accepted the demand for a Punjabi-speaking state in March 1966 and made Chandigarh a Union Territory which would be the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.
This took away the political grounding of the Akali Dal and now, they started taking up more and more communal demands and terrorism struck root in Punjab. The terrorists were targeting Hindus and creating a reign of terror in the state. In 1984, Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian Army to liberate the Golden Temple in Amritsar from the hold of terrorists. This was portrayed as an attack on the Sikh community and their religion and calls for revenge were raised by terrorists against her. On 31 October 1984, she was shot dead by two of her own security men. She thus paid the ultimate price in the service of the nation, trying to retain its integrity and secular character.
Indira was a lion-hearted lady who successfully steered the country through some of its worst economic and political crises. She won the hearts of the poor and they responded to her assassination as if they had lost their protector. Kitchen fires were not lit for days in the huts of the poor in remote villages as the news spread that she was no more.
Page 27
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Living with Pain
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Much of the pain that we experience can't be eliminated or treated, so we have no choice but to learn to live with it.
Pain is an inevitable part of life. In living with a chronic illness or chronic pain, pain is no stranger to us and we are likely to endure more than the average person may endure. Much of the pain that we experience can't be eliminated or treated, so we have no choice but to learn to live with it. In my struggle to learn how to do this and to still find meaning and purpose in life I have learned many things and developed a new relationship with my pain.
As a mental health professional and a person who lives with chemical sensitivity, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, I deal with a great deal of pain daily. In my own exploration of pain, and in my professional experience, I have found there are several intertwined levels of pain: the physical level, the emotional/psychological and the spiritual level. Severe physical pain is likely to cause emotional distress as one struggles to cope with feelings of loss, grief and anger associated with diminished abilities or changes in lifestyle or identity. In forming a new identity that includes being ill, one may struggle with the spiritual pain of existential aloneness. Questions such as "Why me?" and "What is the purpose of my life now?" may arise.
I endure excruciating pressure, aching and pinching in my muscles, joints, bones, and head and I live with excessive fatigue and weakness. I have chronic headaches, which frequently turn into migraines. I have severe aching and stabbing pains throughout my gastrointestinal system and in my internal organs. I also have a great deal of grief and loss in response to the limits the illness imposes on me.
For example, I have to completely avoid common everyday chemicals such as perfumes, air fresheners, pesticides, scented laundry products, and disinfectants. In avoiding these substances this means that I must also avoid people who may have these odors on their person. A large part of my life is spent alone at home or doing outdoor activities like walking or country rides. Even so, I have to be careful to avoid lawn chemicals or pollutants in the air. It is particularly painful and frustrating to be prevented from participating in life as fully as I would like.
There is no doubt that pain on any level is unpleasant and disrupting. It is only natural that our first response to it is to want to eliminate it as quickly as possible with whatever means are available. But I think there is a problem with how we are taught to view and deal with pain. Our culture teaches that pain is bad, unnecessary and should be quickly eliminated. If we are not successful at eradicating our pain we are viewed as weak or malingering. If we are in pain, then we (or our doctors or medical science in general) have somehow failed. The message in our society is that we should not feel. We are bombarded from advertising, media, medical authorities, etc. That we should never let ourselves feel any pain. The promise of pain relief is everywhere. If we have a headache or stomachache or muscle aches, or if we feel sad, lonely, anxious, depressed or shy we should take a pill that will fix the symptom or feeling. And then we wonder why one of our largest problems in society today is addiction. This attitude actively promotes addiction. We are obsessed in finding and providing quick fixes and quick relief from every little ache, twinge, pain, grief or discomfort.
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The title echoes Euripides' play Women of Troy. The women of Lockerbie are represented by a three-strong chorus of locals, who are struggling to come to terms with the horror they witnessed (one came home to find her living room filled with 71 bodies still strapped into their plane seats).
The key confrontation is between the women and a US State Department official. With the forensic examination of the remains completed, the government wants everything burned. Regarding it as their duty to show that evil can be turned to love, the women beg for the victims' clothes to be released so they can wash them and return them to the families in an act of ritual purification.
Presented on a set of rocks and streams, Auriol Smith's production conjures up the right grave dignity of atmosphere, and the performances are strong.
But the events that cause the crucial change of heart in the government official (Todd Boyce) come to us, frustratingly, in a Greek messenger report of an off-stage event. And in disappointing contrast to Athenian drama, the political context is thinly outlined. The idea that the explosion of the Pan Am plane was revenge for America's destruction of an Iranian passenger jet is left dangling.
The women of Lockerbie did spend a year washing and ironing every piece of clothing. I was left feeling that the significance and beauty of this gesture would have been better conveyed in a documentary-style piece where the poetry was allowed to emerge from the prosaic pragmatics.
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Finnyby Justin Kramon
We meet Finny Short as an observant, defiant fourteen-year-old who can't make sense of her family's unusual habits: Her mother offers guidance appropriate for a forty-year-old/b>
Justin Kramon's debut novel, Finny, is a sweeping, enchanting voyage, an insightful story about a young woman's complicated path to adulthood.
We meet Finny Short as an observant, defiant fourteen-year-old who can't make sense of her family's unusual habits: Her mother offers guidance appropriate for a forty-year-old socialite; her father quotes Nietzsche over pancakes. Finny figures she's stuck with this lonely lot until she meets Earl Henckel, a boy who comes from an even stranger place than she does. Unhappy with Finny's budding romance with Earl, her parents ship her off to Thorndon boarding school. But mischief follows Finny as she befriends New York heiress Judith Turngate, a girl whose charm belies a disquieting reckless streak.
Finny's relationships with Earl and Judith open her up to dizzying possibilities of love and loss and propel her into a remarkable adventure spanning twenty years and two continents. Justin Kramon has given us a wickedly funny odyssey with a moving and original love story at its core. Finny introduces us to an unforgettable heroine, a charmingly intricate world, and an uncommonly entertaining and gifted young novelist.
Editorial Reviews
Baltimore Sun
"Imagine Charles Dickens had been bundled into a time machine, given a stack of Judy Blume novels to read en route to the 21st century, then asked to write a coming-of-age tale set in modern America. He might well have produced something along the lines of Justin Kramon's gently charming and slyly subversive debut novel...Adult readers will find echoes of their own youth in Finny's story as she grows up, goes to college and finds work. The arc of her romance with Earl is movingly realistic, and the descriptions of their sexual experiences is refreshingly honest: unsentimental but full of heart...If I had a teenage daughter, I'd give her this book and hope it would help her turn out the same way."
The Financial Times
"There are sad moments in Finny...but Kramon finds humor in sadness, and the novel's overall impact is optimistic...Kramon is a talented young author and Finny a worthy read, and a dickens of a first novel."
Boston Globe
"Justin Kramon's moving and engrossing, Finny, is as refreshing as it is unusual: Dickensian in its span and generosity, contemporary in its exuberance and furtive humor, timeless in its assessment of family and friendship, innocence and love, this is a debut novel of exceptional achievement and considerable rewards."
Jim Crace
National Book Critics Circle Award-Winning author of Being Dead
Featured in New York Times New Releases for July.
"Justin Kramon explores the multifaceted ebb and flow of human relationships. He dispels the myth that the relationships we choose, whether with friends or lovers, are any less conflict-ridden than the familial ones into which we are born...Kramon is especially adept at moving Finny's story from the stark drama of adolescence...to her tempered, grown-up world where she makes peace with the flaws in herself and those whom she loves."
Iowa Press-Citizen
"Think Holden Caulfield, Augie March and Garp rolled into one...girl."
The Standard-Times
"It's [Kramon's] delicious way with a phrase that makes this a great read…It is a super summer book; buy it as a beach book or a rainy day book, but buy it."
Galley Cat
"Finny is so many things: funny and brave, loyal and giving, but the one thing she most certainly is not is boring. In the pages of Finny, Kramon captures the difficult transition from girlhood to womanhood with remarkable tenderness and insight... Without a doubt, Finny is the perfect coming-of-age read for those who are eternally young at heart."
"People are talking about Finny... both inside of and outside of Justin Kramon's debut novel."
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
"Justin Kramon's beach-perfect debut... is full of unforgettable oddballs...the most refreshing summer novel I've read in a long time."
Philadelphia City Paper
"Kramon's wit and impish cast of characters call to mind the work of Roald Dahl..."
Time Out New York
"A fresh, appealing, funny, and big-hearted first novel by a fresh, appealing, funny, big-hearted, and talented young novelist. With Finny, Justin Kramon has made a winning debut."
John Burnham Schwartz
National-Bestselling Author of The Commoner and Reservation Road
"What starts off like a funny episode of Freaks and Geeks spins into a full-blown coming-of-age adventure..."
Daily Candy ("Best New Summer Reads")
"Justin Kramon has written a magnificently odd and fantastic book, bursting with whimsy and humor. Finny is a heroine you will never forget."
Cristina Henriquez
Author of The World in Half
"In his impressive debut, Kramon takes on a number of familiar coming-of-age plots—smalltown fish-out-of-water adolescence, frustrated first love, boarding school friendships, big city escapes—and pulls it all off with flair and humor….Kramon is at his best sending up Finny's innocence by means of an endearing, Dickensian coterie of side characters...Combining snappy dialogue, frank attention to sex, and convincingly detailed characters—eccentric and sympathetic, but not sentimental – Kramon is clearly a find."
Publishers Weekly
"[A book] that is suffused with tenderness and the promise of good things for the author's future."
"[A] story pervaded...with a flavor of Alice in Wonderland...Kramon's taste in quirky minor characters - a screaming headmistress, a sneezing undertaker - lends the story a surreal air..."
Kirkus Reviews
"Finny is a sprawling book about life, love, and growing up. Kramon balances tragedy and comedy as he explores the tension between expectations and reality, hope and disappointment, the people we want to be and the people we really are. Jam-packed equally with laugh-out-loud moments of humor and gently probing moments of loss, Finny is a novel in the tradition of solid storytelling, and it is a rollicking good time."
Rebecca Schinsky, The Book Lady's Blog
"This smartly written coming of age tale can be appreciated by everyone from young adults to senior citizens. Kramon crafts a world that is instantly relatable yet fascinating in this always clever book. As Finny transitions from childhood into adulthood, her character remains genuine and mesmerizing."
"It's a really good and rare thing when you read the teaser of a book and think, "This will be amazing!" and then it actually lives up to the hype in your head...That's what happened with Justin Kramon's debut novel, Finny...Kramon writes with purpose. From the succinct chapter titles...to his poetic descriptions of inconsiderable emotions and moments..."
The Five Borough Book Review
"Calling it a dramatic novel doesn't really do it justice, because it's funny as well. It's [a book] that had me laughing out loud making people around me look over to see what I was reading. And I wanted to tell them. In fact, I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to read them the scene that made me laugh."
5 Minutes for Books
"The characters are great...and the story line is entertaining and amusing... I was satisfied as I closed Finny for the last time, and my affection for the book has grown the more I've thought about it. Justin Kramon is definitely an author to watch for."
Bermuda Onion
"I loved this novel. Loved it."
Book Addiction
"A charming coming-of-age novel with unique characters...a touching debut..."
Celeste Sollod, The Urbanite
Product Details
- 9780812980233
- Publisher:
- Random House Publishing Group
- Publication date:
- 07/13/2010
- Pages:
- 384
- Product dimensions:
- 8.06(w) x 5.32(h) x 0.80(d)
Read an Excerpt
FinnyA Novel
By Justin Kramon
Random House Trade PaperbacksCopyright © 2010 Justin Kramon
All right reserved.
Chapter One
Finny Meets a Boy
She started out life as Delphine, named by her father for the city where the Greek oracle was from, but she'd always had an independent mind about things like names, so she'd gone by Finny ever since she was old enough to choose. It sounded Irish, which went with her dashing red hair, and in any case Finny always liked everything Irish, for no reason she could say. She had an older brother named Sylvan, probably because her father, Stanley Short, wanted to carry on the tradition of the S.S. initials, which always gave Finny the expectation that the name of a ship was to follow. She thought it was dumb to let someone else decide what you'd be called for the rest of your life—what if they named you Pooh Bear or Dishrag?—so she went ahead and made that decision herself.
Finny was a tough, rascally kid, with a plucky assurance, hair as red as a ripe tomato, a spray of freckles across her nose and cheeks like she'd been splashed with mud—cheeks that were puffed up like bread starting to rise, the kind of cheeks old aunties like to pinch. Sometimes when they did that, Finny pinched back. She wasn't the type of kid to be ogled and fondled all day, to go oogly-googly when people told her how adorable she was. Once when she was four and her aunt Louise gave her a pinch on the cheek, Finny pinched the woman right back on the breast, so hard that Aunt Louise howled in pain and dropped Finny on the floor. It was a linoleum floor, and when Finny crashed down, everyone thought she was dead. Then Finny started to laugh. The reason she was laughing was that she'd plucked the button from Aunt Louise's breast pocket clean off her blouse. She had it balled in her sweaty fist.
Finny's mother, Laura, was a tall woman with a bony frame, a small mouth, a sharp little nose. She wouldn't have been anything special to look at, but she put herself together in an appealing way. Hairpins and colorful sweaters and elegant black skirts. Laura had a warm smile, a shy, flirtatious way of speaking to you, and adults tended to talk to her the way they talked to Finny: in a slightly higher voice, with a practiced gentleness, a simple vocabulary. Finny saw the way her mother transformed herself for guests into a pleased, curious child—and Finny didn't like it. All the posturing, the willed submission, the need to grab up people's attention in greedy handfuls. As a girl Finny wore old soccer shirts and jeans cut off so the strings hung down over her knees. She always had a skinned elbow or a bruised calf muscle from roughhousing after school. She liked kick ball, and for a while could take down most of the boys in her class in a wrestling game they played at recess.
Laura was adamant about proper bathing and grooming, looking neat and tidy whenever you went out of the house. It is unfortunate but true that people judge you on your looks, Laura once told her. She had a way of imparting her own beliefs as if they were objective facts about the world.
So Finny responded, "How can I dress if I want to look like an orphan?"
Finny avoided baths, saying she'd bathed the day before and that was enough. Or else she'd get in the bath and neglect to use the soap. Or use it only on her legs but not her arms. Put the shampoo on her feet. Anything to throw her mother off, show her in what little regard Finny held all those careful preparations and disguisings. She came out of the tub sopping wet, dirt under her fingernails, mud on her cheeks, hair as tangled as a bowl of spaghetti. Finny was supposed to comb her hair after she got out of the bath, but for a while, when she was seven or eight, she stopped doing that. She would just comb the front, and then flip it in a way so that it looked neat when Laura saw it before bed, but the back got so knotted her brother, Sylvan, started calling it the rat's nest.
Finny liked that. She modeled it in the mirror, in front of Sylvan, posing with her arms behind her head, or tilting her chin in an imitation of the coquettish poses she'd seen women striking in magazines. "My beautiful rat's nest," she'd say, stroking it like she was in an ad for shampoo. There was a thrill in this, in so brazenly tossing aside her mother's notions. Like parading around with Laura's underwear on her head. It made Sylvan nervous, Finny knew—he tried to do everything the right way—but he wasn't going to tell anyone about it. Her brother wasn't a snitch.
In the mornings and evenings Finny began to wear her hair up, just to hide it. One night she wore a hat—an old beret from a Halloween costume—when she couldn't find a way to gather it up in any kind of decent shape. Laura asked her to take the hat off, and when she saw what was beneath it, she yelled at Finny and made her go to the Hair Cuttery and get it all combed out. It took four hours, and Finny's mother had to pay triple because they needed three hairdressers working at the same time. Sylvan sat in the empty barber's chair next to where the young women were grooming Finny like a prize poodle, and he told her how adorable she looked.
"Shut up," Finny said. "Ouch."
"You look like a strawberry shortcake," he said.
That made her mad, the image of herself as a cute little dessert. "You look like something that gets flushed down the toilet when I'm sick!" Finny yelled in the middle of the hair salon. It was the most disgusting thing she could think of, and one of the young women dropped her comb.
"I'm sorry," Laura said, shooting Finny a cautioning look.
Finny's dad was a lawyer, the managing partner of a small firm in Baltimore, though the family lived far out in the suburbs. All her father ever talked about at the dinner table was "great men." It was his favorite subject, and when they had dinner guests, he liked to sound people out on the issue. He even talked about writing a book one day if he could ever get his ideas in order. He loved to apply quotations by great men to whatever people were discussing. "Good artists borrow; great artists steal," Stanley would offer during any discussion even mildly related to the subject of art. Then he would say, in a more sober tone, "Picasso." Just the name. Never Picasso said that or That was Picasso's idea. "God does not play dice," was another of his favorites, and to Finny it sounded like a warning, as if God were telling you not to mess with Him. Then Stanley would say, "Einstein," in the way other people say Amen at the end of prayers. The name was enough to command respect, dropped like a punctuation mark at the end of whatever point he was making.
Stanley was a shortish man, with red-brown hair, perfectly round wire-rimmed glasses, and a nose that looked slightly too large for his face. He had a finicky stomach, and he chewed Pepto-Bismol tablets like they were after-dinner mints. He didn't like to announce trips to the bathroom, so when he had to get up from the table to attend to his stomach, he would always say he was going to brush his teeth, and then click his top and bottom teeth together, as if to illustrate what he meant. Sometimes he brushed his teeth three or four times over the course of an evening. Because of the Pepto, his breath had a milky, minty smell, like peppermint ice cream, which Finny would always remember waking to on Sunday mornings, when her dad got her out of bed.
Sylvan, who was a year older than Finny, seemed to gobble up everything Stanley said. Or at least he saw no reason to fight against it. When Stanley talked about his theories at the dinner table—about how and why these great men were such geniuses—Sylvan nodded, or asked little questions to spur his father on. He liked the show of it more than anything else, Finny thought later, the sight of his father so engaged, so dynamic. "Look at Jefferson," Stanley would say. "Rousseau. Spinoza." And when she was very young, Finny used to actually turn and look around the room, half-expecting these great men to be found crouching beneath the floral tablecloth, or beside the marble buffet where Finny's mother kept the cracked teal candy plate, the birthday and holiday cards they'd received that season. "They all believed in the rational self-sufficiency of man, the potential of people to do good. Even if it's rarely the case that they do."
Sylvan nodded vigorously, then asked, "What's 'rash on all selfs'?"
Finny laughed. "It's what you have," she told Sylvan.
"Be serious," Sylvan said.
"Be normal," Finny shot back.
"Be quiet," Laura said, "and let your father finish his point."
Then Finny began to feed the dog, Raskal (after Raskolnikov; Crime and Punishment was the book that had turned Stanley on to Dostoyevsky), under the table. She liked to pinch little morsels of fish and potatoes off her plate, then slip them like secret messages into Raskal's mouth. Like Stanley, Raskal had a sensitive stomach. He was a loafing, overweight golden retriever with asthma, and when he ate human food, he passed gas noticeably. As soon as Finny began to smell something funny, she heard her father say, "Fiiinnny," his voice gradually rising through her name, like the volume being turned up on a stereo.
"What?" Finny said.
"Goddammit," Stanley said. "Can't you just sit still and listen?"
"I am listening."
"Don't feed the dog people food."
"I don't feed him people food. I feed him doggy food."
"Food at the table is people food, and the doggy food is in the doggy room."
"Sometimes people eat people food in the doggy room when the dog is eating doggy food," Finny said.
"The point is, don't feed him the food we're eating, Finny."
"How could I feed him what we're already eating, Daddy?" Finny said, holding her palms up like it was the craziest question in the world. She knew it would get Stanley riled up. It was great men and mediocre men he wanted to make distinctions between, not people food and doggy food.
"Get up to your room," he told her.
"I said get up there!" He was red, and he glared at her. It wasn't that she liked teasing her father, getting him steamed; she just felt like he wasn't speaking to her when he talked about his great men, like everything he said was offered with a wink in Sylvan's direction.
One time, when Sylvan and Finny were much older and they were talking on the phone about their father, Sylvan said, "It's the dinners I always remember. The way Dad held court."
"The thing was," Finny said, "he always seemed to be talking to you, don't you think?"
"I think it's only because I was listening. Really, you were a lot smarter than me. He knew you saw through it."
It was like Sylvan to do this, jumble up all the pieces and rearrange them in a pleasing way, make everyone seem earnest and well-intentioned. She had never thought of the situation that way before, and she wasn't sure if her brother was saying these things now only to make her feel better about what she couldn't change.
"But that time I made fun of him?" she said, trying to pull their conversation back to surer ground, a silly story they could both laugh at.
That was the time her dad had yelled at her for feeding Raskal under the table, and from some perverse motivation, when he was done yelling, Finny had said, "Aristotle." Just that one word, but in a voice that was clearly an imitation of the way Stanley quoted great men.
"What did you say?" Stanley asked.
"I heard you."
"It wasn't anything."
"Don't mock me, Finny."
"I don't mock," she said, unable to resist the opening. "I steal."
Stanley's eyes lit up. "Get out!" he screamed, jostling the table so the plates clattered.
On the phone, Sylvan said to Finny, "I'd never seen him so angry before."
"Me neither," she said. "To tell the truth, I was a little frightened."
"I don't think you were ever frightened, Fin."
"You're wrong about that, Syl. I was more frightened than any of you ever knew."
Finny grew up in northern Maryland, in the area of rolling farmland just west of Interstate 83, just south of the Pennsylvania line. The Shorts' home sat on a hill, and from the back windows you could see the whole scoop of the valley where they lived: cornfields, clusters of trees, horse pastures, all threaded with fences and gravel driveways, dotted with big manorish houses. It looked to Finny, from her bedroom window, like a huge gaudy quilt. The air outside their house smelled like grass and dirt, honeysuckles in the late spring, horse manure when the farmers were planting. One lap around the block was eleven miles long, by the car's odometer. (It had been Stanley who'd measured, on a Sunday, with Sylvan in the passenger seat: they'd reported their findings as soon as they'd walked in the door. "Eleven point two," Stanley said. And Sylvan nodded.)
Finny's childhood memories were a clutter of impressions: dried-out fence posts, the feeling of wet grass slapping her feet and the swishing sound it made when she walked in it, swampy summer air, dandelion dust, snow days where everything was bleached white, bright cool fall afternoons turning to silver evenings, hills like a great green sea rolling into the distance. Only at the farthest edge of her vision did the land appear to flatten out. At the horizon there was a kind of green-gray ribbon, which could have been trees or even mountains, some sort of border. It was too far away to tell. But when she was very young, Finny always imagined going there, and in her mind that far-off and magical place got mixed up with ideas she had about her future, about what lay beyond this house.
Another thing Finny remembered: Sunday mornings. It was the only day Stanley didn't go into work at the law firm, and he spent it with the family. He was very adoring of Finny's mother. It showed in his formality in social situations, holding doors and pulling out chairs. Then, at least one Sunday every month he made breakfast in bed for Laura. He was an awful cook, and managed to impart the flavor of five-alarm chili into any dish he prepared. Even when he made French toast, he was able through a combination of seasoning and cooking techniques to capture the essence of five-alarm chili. Some avant-garde New York restaurants would have appreciated his secrets.
Excerpted from Finny by Justin Kramon Copyright © 2010 by Justin Kramon. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Meet the Author
A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Justin Kramon has published stories in Glimmer Train, Story Quarterly, Boulevard, Fence, TriQuarterly, and others. He has received honors from the Michener-Copernicus Society of America, Best American Short Stories, the Hawthornden International Writers' Fellowship, and the Bogliasco Foundation. He teaches at Gotham Writers' Workshop in New York City and at the Iowa Young Writers' Workshop. Now twenty-nine years old, he lives in Philadelphia.
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I read this book in 2 days because I couldn't put it down. It was one of the best books I have read in a long time. The writing was beautiful and the story was unique and touching. The characters felt like people I would like to know as friends. I am looking forward to more of Justin Kramon's work - what a talent with words and storytelling he has!


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Fourteen years ago, Gail Katz-Bierenbaum stormed out of her Upper East Side apartment after an argument with her husband and never returned. At least that is what police documents show her husband, Robert Bierenbaum, said at the time.
But yesterday, prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney's office offered another explanation as they arraigned Mr. Bierenbaum, 44, on charges of second-degree murder. They say there is evidence that Mr. Bierenbaum, a plastic surgeon who now lives in Grand Forks, N.D., killed his wife, drove her body to Essex County Airport in Caldwell, N.J., then dumped her body as he flew his private plane over the Atlantic Ocean somewhere between Montauk Point, N.Y., and Cape May, N.J. Her body was never found.
Calling it a ''powerful and compelling case,'' Assistant District Attorney Daniel Bibb told Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder of State Supreme Court yesterday that more than a decade of investigation had led prosecutors to this conclusion, adding that Mr. Bierenbaum had been free for too long.
Prosecutors said they could not detail the evidence that had surfaced recently but added that much of it had to do with inconsistencies in how Mr. Bierenbaum had explained his wife's disappearance to others over the last several years. Mr. Bierenbaum's lawyer, Scott Greenfield, refused to comment on the case.Continue reading the main story
Ms. Katz-Bierenbaum's sister, Alayne Katz, sat in the courtroom weeping silently, holding close to her brother and her husband as Mr. Bierenbaum entered a plea of not guilty.
He was released on a $500,000 bond after he turned over both his pilot's license and passport. The judge ordered him not to venture outside New York City or New Jersey, where his parents live.
Outside the courthouse, Mrs. Katz broke into sobs as she described the years of waiting for this day and the pain she had felt as Mr. Bierenbaum went on with his life. Mr. Bierenbaum, who left New York a few years after his wife disappeared, moved first to Las Vegas and then to North Dakota. He is remarried and has a small child.
Mr. Bierenbaum reported his wife missing on July 8, 1985, a little more than a day after he said a quarrel drove her to leave their apartment on East 85th Street, according to police documents. In the missing person's report he filed, Mr. Bierenbaum said that he and his wife had been quarreling during the previous weekend and that they had been seeing a marriage counselor. He added that Ms. Katz-Bierenbaum, a clinical psychology student, had been treated for depression and that she had attempted suicide in the past.
Later, Mr. Bierenbaum told investigators that he thought his wife had gone to Central Park to ''cool off'' and that his doorman had said he remembered seeing her leave.
But by July 13, the police were beginning to doubt Mr. Bierenbaum's story. During further questioning, he said the doorman might have been talking about another day. And when he was asked to recount what he did between the time his wife disappeared and he called the police, Mr. Bierenbaum did not tell the police he had gone on a two-hour flight, the documents show.
Police documents show that the police were told of several instances in which Mr. Bierenbaum was moved to violence. But Mr. Bierenbaum did not want to talk about them when the police interviewed him after he reported his wife's disappearance, the documents show.
Despite their suspicions, the police were unable to charge Mr. Bierenbaum until yesterday.Continue reading the main story


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Heater blowing warm (not hot) air
Bought a 2002 TJ Wrangler over the summer and love it. Issue is that it is blowing warm (not hot) air from the heater. I read hundreds of posts on this and think I have done/checked everything. Coolant level is fine. Temperature is running at 210 degrees. Both hoses going into the firewall are very hot to the touch. I removed both hoses and flushed the heater core both ways. Does not seem to be any obstructions as water flows freely both ways. Blend door actuator motor is working properly. Removed the actuator motor and manually turned the blend door. I can hear hear it move in both directions so that seems fine as well. Air Cond works fine. Its getting cold here in NJ so trying to fix this issue asap. Any advice? This is driving me crazy. Thanks.
Seems like you covered everything. Mine does not blow so hot either. If you figure it out please let us know.
leak in your ducting?
I had this problem last winter. Previously I had put one of the Autozone thermostats into the Jeep that sticks open if it fails. Replaced it with a conventional one and my problem went away.
Have you tried CLR?
I flushed my heater core and some gunk came out, and the heater is warmer now, but it still doesn't get as hot as I'd like.
I've been thinking about putting a little CLR in the heater core for a while then flush it out real good and see if it helps. I've heard some folks have had good results doing this.
PO might have removed the thermostat.
Hope you can find the answer. I'm trying things too. Heater use to make my foot so hot, I couldn't have it on high. Now it's only warm.
Mine's the same way. Runs at 210, flushed the heater core and it flows freely and no junk comes out. Used CLR. Cooling system is clean. Blend door is not stuck. It just doesn't put out much heat. I'm thinking I'll have to replace the core eventually. For some reason it's not transferring heat from the coolant.
Something I found on ours when I had to replace it, the bottom half of the core was all plugged up on the outside. Dirt/debris had built up, coming in through the fresh air intake. When it got wet it turned to more or less mud and the blower had pushed it into the core fins, blocking any airflow on the bottom half.
Might be worth a shot to pull your blower motor and taking a look inside the housing.
with all he has done , this sounds like it could be the problem.
i am saving this post.
A easy check to see if your heater core is stopped up with dirt on the outside and not letting the air flow thru it freely to transfer the heat to the ducts of the Jeep is to set it on defrost and temp on cold and feel how much air is flowing . Now switch it to Hot and see if it loses a lot of air flow( it will be a little less just because it has to blow thru the core but it should not be a lot less ) if so your core is clogged with dust and dirt and need cleaned .
The best way is to remove it but if you pull the blower motor and you have a air compressor and a nice long air gun you can sometimes blow it out.
Be careful and not bend the honeycomb closed.
I just tried it and it flows significantly less switched to warm. Like, it flows as much on cool and low than it does on warm and high. I know what I'll be doing first chance I get.
I'll be checking this tomorrow. Hope this tracks down the problem.
Subscribed until we get heat!
I'll try the defroster test today but one bit of information I forgot to add in my original post was that I noticed if I have the fan set on the lowest setting there is decent hot air coming out of the vent. But the higher I turn the fan the cooler the air gets. Is that also symptomatic of a blocked/dirty core? Or an issue relating back to a clogged fresh air intake?
I'll break out the air compressor today and see if that makes any difference. I will repost later with results.
Love this forum. You guys are great.
Yep that makes me think the heater core just isn't putting out the heat it should. Did you flush the hoses too or just at the ports on the firewall? Maybe the hoses, though they are hot, just aren't flowing coolant well enough.
When I flushed mine, I flushed the hoses as well. I'm getting ready to pull the Jeep up to the shop and pull the blower motor and take a look. I don't know how well I'll be able to see in there, but if there is any debris I'll take a pic and post it.
Jerry might have the answer to this: I was wondering if the heater control valve wasn't opening all the way if you would get the symptoms described?
Well, here's what I found when I pulled the blower motor:
Here's after I blew it out best I could:
I haven't put it back together yet and there are some other things I need to do before I can run the heater to see if it's improved, but I'm betting there's an improvement because a good 25% of the core wasn't allowing airflow through it. I'll post results later.
I was about to go through that whole process, but then realized my heat cable wasn't working, reached down and
Pulled the lever. Boom heat!! I was happy..
It now gets uncomfortable to hold your hand over the defrost vents. I wish I had a thermometer to check the air temp at the floor vents as per the FSM. I did grab one of the wife's candy thermometers and put it on top of the defrost vent and got 125 degrees. The ambient temp is 70 degrees. The specs are for the air temp at the floor vents with the engine at operating temperature to be 147 degrees. Without a proper thermometer, I won't be able to tell if it's within specs, but it's blowing pretty damned hot, so I'm happy. Now to see how it does in the cold :thumb:
s14sh3r...What year is your Jeep?
I was just wondering if you had to remove your blower motor from under the hood (behind the battery) or from inside the Jeep? I think they changed where you access the blower motor sometime around 01 or 02.
I think I may need to clean my heater core like you did and it looks like you had decent access to the heater core.
This preston flush kit works very well and cost only around 15 dollars.
And the preston radiator flush and cleaner chemical will remove an unbelievable
extra amount of rust and corrosion that a water back flush can not remove and it only cost 6 dollars.
I install these flush kits on all my Jeeps and do a back flush every 3 years.
The whole labor time to install kit and do a flush is 20 minutes.
If you do this and pull the blower motor and clean the outside of your heater core with compressed air you will have heat like when it was new.
Jerry, I I flushed through the firewall only. Good suggestion about the hoses. Will do that this week.
Also, I removed the blower motor to see if i could gain any kind of access to the core to blow it out with compressed air. I have a 2002 so it is removed from under the dash rather than under the hood behind the battery. Couldn't see or feel the core so couldn't really do too much.
I'm out of ideas at this point. Any other suggestions?
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Will, it sounds like you have some of the same problems with late
spring/early fall freeze damage that I have here.
Just curious - any once bloomers that have especially impressed you
lately for their ability to thrive/be fertile in spite of late
winter/early spring freeze damage?
<I'm in a valley near sac river and fantastic caverns and the cold seems
to settle here. People close by haven't had a killing frost like I have.
Will Warner Springfield Mo >
Linda Mann east TN USA zone 7