Published on February 26, 1978
A Delhi newspaper earlier this month carried two innocent looking news items behind which lies a much bigger story. According to the Special Representative of this newspaper, “the Shah of Iran said today that he hoped Indian visitors to Iran would feel as at home there as he and the Shahbanou had felt in Delhi during their visit. The Shah said that he andShahbanou do not feel like strangers in India. They felt as if they were in their own country.”
From distant Colombo, far in the south the same newspaper reported that Mr Charan Singh feels at home in Sri Lanka. It quoted him as saying: “It is only technically a foreign country. I do not feel I am in a foreign country.”
Lala Kanshi Ram, cloth merchant of Moga, reading these two little items over his morning tea may have failed to notice their significance. But the “Daily Thunder,” ever vigilant on behalf of the country and its citizens, has brought out the true story behind these innocent remarks.
It can now be told that the Shah of Iran is completely fed up with the burdens of being a Shahanshah and has decided to chuck it all. His recent visit to India though ostensibly for the purpose of cementing relations between the two countries, was in reality made for the purpose of finding for himself a quiet refuge in this vast land.
He is said to be anxious to settle somewhere in India. What could be better therefore than the Rajasthan desert, somewhere between Pokhran and Jaisalmer? The Shah is said to be wanting to buy a small estate of 10,000 square km somewhere in the middle of the desert. He even went looking for a suitable site in the company of the Prime Minister. The whole visit was of course camouflaged as a visit to the Rajasthan Canal Project.
The negotiations for the deal are at an advanced stage and it is said that the Shah is willing to pay India for this estate at the rate of one month's petrol supply for every Indian citizen who owns a motor vehicle. The "Daily Thunder", whose Editor has such friendly ties with the Royal Iranian court, was able to scoop the news before the Prime Minister could announce the glad tidings to Parliament.
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The second bit of news is more ominous and disconcerting. Mr Charan Singh is said to be fed up with the overall situation in the country and the nation's failure to take adequate steps to go back to the land. He also feels that instead of losing himself in day-to-day administration he could play a much greater role by hammering out a long-term plan for the country’s economic policies.
His desire is to write out a 1000-Year Plan, laying down a detailed outline of policies and projects which the nation must follow if it is to achieve Mahatma Gandhi's goals.
He has decided, therefore, to become a beachcomber in Sri Lanka and to give his spare time to either walking on the seaside or writing out his magnum opus. As a hobby he intends to grow coconuts. Asked whether he would feel lonely, he shook his finger in a vigorous “no” and said: “I have already found three good Ceylonese friends who will play 'kot-piece' with me every evening.”
The Janata Party is flabbergasted at the turn of events and Mr Raj Narain has called upon the people to prevent Mr Charan Singh from taking this form of "sanyas." Unfortunately, as always, Mr Charan Singh's mind seems to be made up, and during his Sri Lanka visit he has, in fact, tentatively chosen the beach where he will walk.
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Nearer home, Chandigarh citizens may rejoice over the fact that the Irish President, Dr Hillery, who was in the town a few days ago, has fallen madly in love with it. The Irish President is said to be seriously contemplating resigning his office and settling in Chandigarh. He has even located a big house on the lake front for which he is said to be negotiating with a property dealer.
The President confided to a friend that he had a weakness for sunshine and long walks on lake fronts. Both these he missed in soggy Ireland and found them in abundance in Chandigarh.
This is not all. Samachar has reported from London that a serious crisis is brewing in the Conservative Party, and Mrs Thatcher has indicated a desire not only to leave the party in the coming elections but even to leave the country for good and settle in India, if possible in Punjab.
Cornered and asked by the BBC as to why she wished to do such a thing, Maggie confessed: "My favourite people are the Sikhs. All my best friends live in Southall and I have a weakness for curries, particularly potato curries. Last year, when I visited India, I spent a day in Jullundur, where I was fed the most marvellous potato curries that I have ever eaten. After tasting the Jullundur potatoes I find what passes for them here totally insipid.”
Asked where she was likely to settle in Punjab, she repliedwith a smile: ''Khurla Kingraof course."
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