Watching history as it unfolds: Remembering September 16, 1984.
My Sunday siesta was rudely shattered by an office call asking me to rush to the Raj Bhavan. Governor Shankar Dayal Sharma, I was told, invited N.T. Rama Rao to form the Government. He was back in power a month after he was undemocratically toppled by a Congress-scripted coup.
The entire opposition in the country, including such hardened rivals like the BJP and the Communists, joined the popular uprising against NTR’s dismissal in what was called ‘Struggle for Restoration of Democracy.’
It was the first time that a dismissed Chief Minister had ever been reinstated solely on the strength of people’s support. I was in the thick of the month-long agitation as The Hindu reporter, camping overnight at NTR’s studio in Musheerabad and journeying with NTR to the AP-Karnataka border point in Mahbubnagar district to receive his MLAs who were sheltered at the Nandi Hills by NTR’s friend and Karnataka Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde.
I was in the convoy returning to Hyderabad when the police detained it at Pahadi Shareef on the outskirts of the city, citing ‘security’ reasons.
They gave in under loud protests from leaders of national parties, and others like Arun Shourie, civil liberties chief Justice V.M.Tarkunde, and eminent police officer K.F. Rustomjee.
After swearing in as the Chief Minister, Rama Rao rode atop his Chaitanya Ratham amidst rapturous welcome by the people and the Telugu Desam workers. It took 30 minutes for the ratham to leave the Raj Bhavan.
Just then, the Chennai-bound express rolled in. The passengers detained the train at the railway crossing opposite the Raj Bhavan gate for 10 minutes to enable them to watch ‘history in the making’ right before their eyes.
History followed the charismatic NTR, whether in victory or defeat.
