Makers of Modern India
Page 56
4 Yajna and kurbani both more or less mean the same thing, namely, sacrifice. The fact that one word is Sanskrit and the other Urdu is significant, in that by using them both in one breath Gandhi was symbolically signalling the imperative of Hindu—Muslim unity.
5 From Young India, issues of 27 April and 4 May 1921, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 19, pp. 573–74.
6 From Young India, 14 January 1926, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 29, pp. 399–400.
7 The name by which Untouchables were referred to in south India—it literally means ‘of the fifth class’, that is, outside the four orders of the caste system.
8 From Harijan, 5 January 1934, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 56, pp. 393–95.
9 From Harijan, 9 March 1934, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 57, pp. 259–62.
10 In south India, Harijans were variously known as Adi-Hindus, Adi-Dravidas, and—as already noted—Panchamas.
11 From Harijan, 16 March 1934, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 57, pp. 285–86.
12 From Young India, 7 May 1919, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 15, pp. 201–03.
13 From Amrita Bazar Patrika, 15 August 1925, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 28, pp. 17–23.
14 William Hunter, civil servant and scholar, was the author of many books on Indian affairs, among them histories of Bengal and of the Indian Muslims. Hunter was also chairman of the Education Commission of 1882 to which both Syed Ahmad Khan and Jotirao Phule testified.
15 A nineteenth-century British theosophist and author.
16 A nineteenth-century British army commander, who served and died in the Sudan and is one of the four subjects of Lytton Strachey’s Eminent Victorians.
17 From Young India, 17 October 1929, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 42, pp. 4–6.
18 The Sarda Bill, in a bid to stem the then widespread practice of child marriage, forbade the marriage of girls below the age of fourteen.
19 From Young India, 3 February 1927, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 33, pp. 44–45.
8. The Rooted Cosmopolitan: Rabindranath Tagore
1 From Rabindranath Tagore, Greater India (Madras: S. Ganesan, 1921), translated by Surendranath Tagore, pp. 79–101.
2 From Rabindranath Tagore, Nationalism (1917; reprint New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 2009), pp. 15–30 and 40–45.
3 From Rabindranath Tagore, Letters to a Friend, edited by C.F. Andrews (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1928), pp. 128–37.
9. The Annihilator of Caste: B.R. Ambedkar
1 From Arjun Dangle, editor, Poisoned Bread: Translations from Modern Marathi Dalit Literature (Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 1992), pp. 223–33. Ambedkar’s speech was transcribed by Changdeo Khairmode and is translated by Rameshchandra Sirkar.
2 From B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste (1936; reprint New Delhi: Arnold Publishers, 1990), pp. 47–84.
3 This ‘you’ is the upper-caste reformer.
4 As reproduced in Vasant Moon, editor, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Writings and Speeches, Volume 9 (Bombay: Government of Maharashtra, 1991), pp. 262–69.
5 Not reproduced here.
6 A.V. Thakkar was a respected social worker, a senior member of the Servants of India Society and a friend of Gandhi’s.
10. The Muslim Separatist: Muhammad Ali Jinnah
1 As reproduced in Jamil-ud-din Ahmad, editor, Some Recent Speeches and Writings of Mr Jinnah (fourth edition: Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1946), pp. 27 and 30–35.
2 From Ahmad, editor, Recent Speeches and Writings, pp. 128–31.
3 From the presidential address to the annual session of the All-India Muslim League, Lahore, March 1940, in Ahmad, editor, Recent Speeches and Writings, pp. 176–80.
4 From Ahmad, editor, Recent Speeches and Writings, pp. 261–69.
11. The Radical Reformer: E.V. Ramaswami
1 First published in Kudiarasu, 11 September 1927. Translated for this volume by A.R. Venkatachalapathy.
2 Medieval saint-poets of the Tamil country.
3 Originally published in Kudiarasu, 23 October 1927. Translated by A.R. Venkatachalapathy.
4 Originally published in Kudiarasu, 22 August 1926, here reproduced from K. Veeramani, editor, Periyar on Women’s Rights (Madras: Emerald Publishers, 1994), pp. 26–31. The translation is by R. Sundara Raju.
5 Originally published in Kudiarasu, 6 April 1930, here reproduced from Veeramani, editor, Periyar on Women’s Rights, pp. 45–47.
6 Originally published in Kudiarasu, 17 August 1930, here reproduced from Veeramani, editor, Periyar on Women’s Rights, pp. 68–71.
7 The princely state of Baroda was known for its progressive maharaja and its progressive administration.
12. The Socialist Feminist: Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay
1 From the presidential address to the All India Women’s Conference, Bombay, 7 April 1944, reproduced in Kamaladevi [Chattopadhyay], At the Crossroads, edited by Yusuf Meherally (Bombay: The National Information and Publications Ltd, 1947) pp. 90–99.
2 This is a reference to the reforms of Hindu personal laws recommended by a committee headed by the civil servant B.N. Rau. The reforms, aimed at greatly enhancing the rights of Hindu women, came into operation a decade later, in the mid-1950s.
3 A rupee then contained sixteen annas.
4 In 1943 there had been a serious famine in Bengal, in which several million died owing to starvation.
5 This refers to the fact that many Congressmen who had participated in the Quit India movement of 1942 were still in prison.
6 From a speech to the Provincial Socialist Convention, Mangalore, April 1947, reprinted in At the Crossroads, edited by Meherally, pp. 90–99.
7 The Muslim League had been in power in provinces such as Sind and Bengal.
13. The Renewed Agendas of M.K. Gandhi
1 ‘The Poet’s Anxiety’, Young India, 1 June 1921, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 20, pp. 161–64.
2 A former viceroy of India.
3 ‘Dr Ambedkar’s Indictment’, in two parts, Harijan, issues of 11 and 18 July 1936, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 63, pp. 134–36 and 153–54.
4 From Harijan, 7 July 1946, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 84, pp. 388–89.
5 A close and long-time associate of Gandhi, based in Gujarat.
6 Reproduced from CWMG, Volume 76, pp. 385–91.
7 A famous Muslim scholar from Lucknow, who had worked with Gandhi in the 1920s.
8 This is Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, then the most prominent Muslim in the Congress.
9 B.S. Moonjee and V.D. Savarkar were leaders of the Hindu Mahasabha, a party which believed that India was (or should be) a state for Hindus only.
10 From CWMG, Volume 90, pp. 37–42.
11 From CWMG, Volume 90, pp. 191–94.
12 From Harijan, 9 January 1937, CWMG, Volume 64, pp. 217–18.
13 C.F. Andrews, an English priest and writer, an intimate friend of Gandhi’s (and Tagore’s) and a long-time supporter of freedom for India, was known affectionately as ‘Deenbandhu’ (friend of the poor).
14 From Harijan, 28 July 1946, as reproduced in CWMG, Volume 85, pp. 32–34.
15 It had been announced that an assembly, representing the widest possible spectrum of Indian opinion, would be convened to frame a constitution for free India.
14. The Wise Democrat: B.R. Ambedkar
1 Speech in Constituent Assembly on 4 November 1948, as reproduced in Constituent Assembly Debates: Official Report (reprint New Delhi: Lok Sabha Secretariat, 1988), Volume 7, pp. 31–44.
2 C.T. Metcalfe was an influential colonial administrator of the early nineteenth century, who had served as governor of Agra, lieutenant-governor of the North-Western Provinces and acting Governor General of India.
3 Speech in Constituent Assembly on 25 November 1949, as reproduced in Constituent Assembly Debates, Volume 11, pp. 972–81.
4 The president of the Constituent Assembly was the senior Congress leader, Rajendra Prasad.
15. The Multiple Agendas of Jawaharlal Nehru
1 See Ja
waharlal Nehru, Letters to Chief Ministers, 1947–1964, in five volumes, edited by G. Parthasarathi (New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, 1985–89—hereafter LCM), Volume 1, pp. 2–4.
2 M.A. Jinnah, then Governor General of Pakistan.
3 LCM, Volume 1, pp. 33–34.
4 LCM, Volume 1, pp. 48–49.
5 Gandhi had just gone on a fast in protest against the continuing attacks on Muslims in Delhi and East Punjab.
6 LCM, Volume 2, pp. 375–80.
7 LCM, Volume 3, pp. 203–06.
8 LCM, Volume 3, pp. 252–55.
9 From Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s Foreign Policy: Selected Speeches, September 1946-April 1961 (1961; reprint New Delhi: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, 1971), pp. 249–53.
10 Towards the end of the conference, Gandhi did come and address the delegates. See CWMG, Volume 87, pp. 190–93.
11 From Nehru, India’s Foreign Policy, pp. 50–55.
12 LCM, Volume 3, pp. 13–20.
13 LCM, Volume 5, pp. 285–88.
14 LCM, Volume 5, pp. 544–52.
15 Lok Sabha Debates, Volume 4, part 2, 22 April to 7 May, cols 7954–68.
16. The Hindu Supremacist: M.S. Golwalkar
1 From M.S. Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts (Bangalore: Vikrama Prakashan, 1966), pp. 122–35.
2 From Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, pp. 166–75.
3 Excerpts from M.S. Golwalkar, Not Socialism but Hindu Rashtra (Bangalore: Kesari Press, 1964), pp. 15–45.
17. The Indigenous Socialist: Rammanohar Lohia
1 From Rammanohar Lohia, The Caste System (1964; reprint Hyderabad: Rammanohar Lohia Samata Vidyalaya Nyas, 1979), pp. 81–105.
2 Not reproduced here.
3 The regional parties mentioned in these paragraphs were very active in the 1950s; some continue to be active still.
4 The three highest castes, Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya, were collectively known as the Dwija.
5 From Rammanohar Lohia, Language (Hyderabad: Rammanohar Lohia Samata Vidyalaya Nyas, 1986), pp. 10–20.
6 This ‘you’ are his party workers.
18. The Grass-Roots Socialist: Jayaprakash Narayan
1 Jayaprakash Narayan, A Plea for Reconstruction of Indian Polity (Kashi: Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan, 1959), pp. 91–107.
2 From The Tragedy of Tibet: Speeches and Statements of Jayaprakash Narayan (New Delhi: Afro-Asian Committee on Tibet, 1959), pp. 8–21.
3 Originally from the Jayaprakash Narayan Papers at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, here reproduced from Balraj Puri, editor, JP on Jammu and Kashmir (New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House, 2005), pp. 61–65.
4 Jayaprakash Narayan, Nagaland ka Saval (The Question of Nagaland) (Varanasi: Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan, 1965), pp. 11–14, 22–24 and 28–31. Translated from the Hindi by Ramachandra Guha.
5 Arunachal Pradesh was then known as the North East Frontier Agency, or NEFA.
6 The word Narayan uses is ‘jangli’, literally of the jungle, but connoting backward, primitive, even barbarian—here glossed as ‘uncivilized’.
19. The Gandhian Liberal: C. Rajagopalachari
1 Originally published in Swarajya, 17 August 1957, and reprinted in C. Rajagopalachari, Satyam Eva Jayate: A Collection of Articles Contributed to Swarajya and Other Journals from 1956 to 1961, in two volumes (Madras: Bharathan Publications, 1961), Volume 1, pp. 70–76.
2 Originally published in Swarajya, 10 May 1958, and reproduced in Rajagopalachari, Satyam Eva Jayate, Volume 1, pp. 149–53.
3 This is from a manifesto issued in August 1959, written by C. Rajagopalachari, and printed in different newspapers and magazines in India.
4 The Congress Party was then thinking of promoting collective or cooperative farming on the model of the socialist countries.
5 Reproduced from Dear Reader: Weekly Colloquy of C. Rajagopalachari with the Readers of Swarajya, 1961–1972 (Coimbatore: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1993), pp. 54–66.
6 This is Sukumar Sen, the mathematician-turned-civil servant who had successfully supervised India’s first two general elections.
7 Article written in December 1959, and reproduced in Rajagopalachari, Satyam Eva Jayate, Volume 1, pp. 474–81.
8 Originally published in Swarajya, 8 October 1960, and reproduced in Rajagopalachari, Satyam Eva Jayate, Volume 2, pp. 643–45.
9 Originally published under the title ‘Panch-Maaya’ [Five Illusions] in Swarajya, 15 February 1958, and reproduced in Rajagopalachari, Satyam Eva Jayate, Volume 1, pp. 135–39.
10 This mandated that from 26 January 1965—fifteen years after the passing of the Constitution—only Hindi would be used in all communications between the Centre and the states. Till then, English was also to be allowed. In the event, owing to protests from the south, this ‘grace period’ for English was extended indefinitely.
11 Reproduced from Vuppuluri Kalidas, editor, Rajaji Reader: Selections from Writings of C. Rajagopalachari (Madras: Vyasa Publications, 1980), pp. 130–32.
20. The Defender of the Tribals: Verrier Elwin
1 From Verrier Elwin, The Aboriginals (second edition: Bombay: Oxford University Press, 1944), pp. 14–19 and 29–32.
2 A character in Charles Dickens’s novel Great Expectations.
3 From Verrier Elwin, A Philosophy for NEFA (second edition: Shillong, Adviser to the Governor of Assam, 1959), pp. 44–60.
4 The North East Frontier Agency, to whose administration Elwin served as an adviser.
21. The Last Modernist: Hamid Dalwai
1 From Hamid Dalwai, Muslim Politics in India (Bombay: Nachiketa Publications, 1968), pp. 32–40. The translator of these and later excerpts from this book is Dilip Chitre.
2 From Dalwai, Muslim Politics in India, pp. 85–90.
3 M.C. Chagla was a distinguished jurist and public servant who had served as chief justice of the Bombay High Court, as India’s ambassador to the United States and as a senior cabinet minister in the Government of India.
4 From Dalwai, Muslim Politics in India, pp. 94–100.
Epilogue: India in the World
1 This recalls Winston Churchill’s remark that parliamentary democracy was the worst form of government, except for all the others. The echo was probably unconscious.
2 Jayaprakash Narayan to Jawaharlal Nehru, 7 March 1957; Nehru to Narayan, 3 April 1957, both in Brahmanand Papers, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi.
3 In the 1990s, after Nehru and Narayan had both died, the Congress government of the day passed a legislation mandating the creation of village councils in all states of the Union. Those responsible for what was now the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution did not appear to recognize that this was in continuation of the efforts of a long-time opponent of the Congress Party.
4 As in, among other works, André Béteille, Society and Politics in India (London: Athlone Press, 1987); Béteille, Chronicles of Our Times (New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 2000); Sunil Khilnani, The Idea of India (New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 1997); Niraja Gopal Jayal, editor, Democracy in India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000); Pratap Bhanu Mehta, The Burden of Democracy (New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 2004); Partha Chatterjee, The Politics of the Governed: Reflections on Popular Politics in Most of the World (Delhi: Permanent Black, 2004); Niraja Gopal Jayal and Pratap Bhanu Mehta, editors, The Oxford Companion to Indian Politics (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2010). Apart from books, these debates are also conducted in essays in serious journals of opinion, such as the Economic and Political Weekly, published out of Mumbai, and the monthly Seminar, published in New Delhi.
5 Gertrude Himmelfarb, The Roads to Modernity: The British, French and American Enlightenments (2004; reprint London: Vintage Books, 2008). Some writers have spoken of a specific ‘Scottish’ Enlightenment as distinct from a more general ‘British’ one. Himmelfarb, however, collapses the two, on the grounds that philosophers like Hume and Smith ‘chose to identify themselves as North Britons rather than as Scots
’ (ibid., pp. 12–13).
6 Himmelfarb, Roads to Modernity, p. xvi.
7 D.W. Brogan, The Price of Revolution (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1951), pp. 111–13.
8 See Ramachandra Guha, India After Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest Democracy (New York: Ecco Press, 2007), Chapter 9 and Epilogue.
9 Ronald Dworkin, Is Democracy Possible Here: Principles for a New Political Debate (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006), pp. 163–64.
10 As illustrated by the text and bibliography of an excellent survey of the historiography of modern India, Sekhar Bandopadhyay’s From Plassey to Politics (Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 2004). The few books that do exist are written by political scientists rather than historians; they are in the nature of general surveys rather than works based on primary research. See, for example, A. Appadorai, Indian Political Thinking in the Twentieth Century from Naoroji to Nehru (Bombay: Oxford University Press, 1972); K.P. Karunakaran, Indian Politics from Dadabhai Naoroji to Gandhi: A Study of the Political Ideas of Modern India (New Delhi: Gitanjali Prakashan, 1975); and, most recently, V.R. Mehta and Thomas Pantham, editors, Political Ideas in Modern India: Thematic Explorations (New Delhi: Sage, 2006).
11 The relevant works are cited in the ‘Guide to Further Reading’ that follows.
12 M.S. Golwalkar thus asks each Hindu to remind himself that ‘for generations, my great forefathers have striven to make this the greatest and noblest nation—an ideal nation of ideal men—on the face of this earth’. He further asks them to take ‘pride in our glorious national past, in our unique cultural heritage and aspiration to see our Bharat Mata reseated in her pristine glory and honour in the comity of nations …’ and to ‘pray to the Almighty … [to] guide our leaders in this dark hour and inspire them with the right understanding and instil in them courage to tread along the right path for a glorious revival of our Great People’. Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts (Bangalore: Vikrama Prakashan, 1966), pp. 290, 325 and 437.