Patriots And Partisans
Language: English
Pages: 0
ISBN: 0670083860
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
A remarkable book by one of india's foremost writers, covering wide range of subjects of contemporary relevance, including politics and culture, social trends, and profiles! 'i am a person of moderate views', writes ramachandra guha, 'these sometimes expressed in extreme fashion'. In this wide-ranging and wonderfully readable collection of essays, guha defends the liberal centre against the dogmas of left and right, and does so with style, depth, and polemical verve. Patriots and partisans begins with a brilliant overview of the major threats to the indian republic. Other essays turn a critical eye on hindutva, the communist left and the dynasty-obsessed congress party. Guha then explores the contemporary relevance of gandhi's religious pluralism, and analyzes the fall in jawaharlal nehru's reputation after his death. The essays in part 11 of this book focus on writers and scholars. Guha explains why bilingual intellectuals, once so dominant in india, are now thin on the ground. He presents sensitive portraits of a magazine editor, a bookshop owner, a great publishing house and a famous historical archive. Whether writing about politics or culture, whether profiling individuals or analyzing social trends, ramachandra guha displays a masterly touch, confirming his standing as india's most admired historian and public intellectual.
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Interviews be conducted of remarkable Indians now in their seventies and eighties. Among the names we mentioned were the social worker Ela Bhatt, the veteran worker for communal harmony Satyapal Dang, the environmentalist and founder of the Chipko movement Chandi Prasad Bhatt, the writer–activists U.R. Anantha Murthy and Mahasweta Devi, the security specialist K. Subrahmanyam, the Gandhian freedom fighter Narayan Desai, and the trade unionist Parvathi Krishnan. We volunteered to set up these.
Through the priceless collections of the NMML. I saw the promotion of the First Family come and grow; and the morale of a once-devoted staff shrink and fade. On one of these visits, I made a discovery that underlined the staggering distance between the NMML as it once was and as it had since become. In a back drawer of an upstairs hall, I found nine microfilm reels containing records of the South African government for the period 1893–1910. These had priceless information on the life and labours.
Members of Parliament, even Union Ministers’. [P. 571] This is followed by a reference to the ‘deeply insensitive’ comment of Rajiv Gandhi. Later, he compares Rajiv Gandhi to Narendra Modi. He writes, ‘In both cases the pogroms were made possible by the willed breakdown of the rule of law. The Prime Minister in Delhi in 1984, and the Chief Minister in Gujarat in 2002, issued graceless statements that in effect justified the killings.’ [P. 657] In Shri Guha’s view, Modi was guilty of issuing only.
Attacked, as has been the experience of journalists in Mumbai and lawyers in Tamil Nadu. This essay is being written to deplore the dynasty’s role in the degradation of Indian democracy, but also to clear Jawaharlal Nehru of the false and motivated charge that he had anything to do with its creation. It was Indira Gandhi who founded the dynasty—she brought her sons into the Congress, and made it clear to all, within and outside the party, that she expected them to succeed her. There is another,.
Rout in West Bengal? It is certainly a defeat for dogmatism and close-mindedness. I suppose that, as a critic of that dogmatism and close-mindedness, I should feel vindicated and even triumphant. I know that they had to go. Thirty-four years in power was too long. But one must not be tempted to write an epitaph. In Kerala, they will be back in five years. In West Bengal, the bhadralok intelligentsia were nostalgic about them after five months of Mamata Banerjee assuming office as chief minister.