What makes "India After Gandhi" by Ramachandra Guha an absolute must-read is the beautifully balanced way in which he celebrates the survival & success of democratic India and at the same time acknowledges the numerous shortcomings and the failures we, as a nation, had to endure.
It is a 900 pages worth of astutely researched, carefully backed piece of work. And despite its size, it leaves you wanting more & believe it or not, actually feels rushed at some places. Ramachandra Guha comes across as a no-bullshit academic historian but still the writing feels so spirited that you can't help but get swept away in the whirlwind of pride, patriotism and sometimes shame, anger and helplessness.
The first 75% of the book is a detailed account of India's journey from the day it became independent till the early 1990s. Guha presents his facts fairly objectively, citing references, sometimes actual excerpts from speeches, sometimes actual text from the Indian Constitution. He doesn't shirk away from talking about all the politically incorrect & not-to-be-discussed-at-a-dinner-table topics. For someone only exposed to carefully doctored & disgustingly selective school-level history text books while growing up and then the extremely partisan & laughably mediocre and sensationalist news in the later years, this no-bars-hold "expose" of Indian history comes across as a breeze of fresh air. Yes, it has the stench of regionalism, of communal & religious riots, of nepotism, of corruption, but it also carries with it the echoes of practicing secularism, of unifying princely states, of industrial, agricultural & service sector revolutions and yes - of winning four Indo-Pak wars.
The remaining 25% of the book consists of independent essays by Ramachandra Guha about broad topics like 'riots', 'elections' etc. Unfortunately, it is in this portion of the book that Guha gives up the previous objective stance and takes on his semi-socialist, anti-right-wing, nehruvian stance. Nothing wrong with that since he clearly mentions that these essays are his personal opinions. And instead of reading oversimplified "BJP bad, Congress good and I am the best" journalistic views, Ramachandra Guha gives credit when its due. This I like. Anyone would be more willing to read something they don't agree with wholly if the writer is brave enough to also openly acknowledge the lack of a clear black and white. Yes, the book has a certain pro-Nehru tone, but I felt the majority of the book is fairly objective.
So do go ahead and give "India After Gandhi" a read.
Neither is there an over-emphasize on India's poverty to garner western attention nor is there a one-sided sing-song praise of the Indian State.
Neither is there a sugar-coating of our religious, communal, linguistic conflicts nor is there a glorified account of our solidarity, unity & harmony.
All in all, 5/5 from me.
2 comments:
yes indeed a good read! i liked his observation where he mentions how the personal insecurities of the leaders affect the way they handle power, this he mentions when he talks about Indira Gandhi.
@Ashlesha, spot on ! The Indira Gandhi chapters - the 1971 war, the emergency & the operation bluestar chapters - totally riveting and seriously makes you think.
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