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27 May 2004
It's Gandhi with an 'h' between the 'd' and the 'i'
Amidst the wide uproar and drama of the elections, many things have changed and some still remain the same. It is not often that the name Gandhi gets thrown about freely (except about October 2 or January 30 and even then only in the Indian media) but just this last month, Sonia Gandhi was amongst the most "in the news" according to Google News. The foreign media, I suspect, adopt a patronising sneer when they speak of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. Oftentimes, the first invocation is that they are India's Kennedys. Then, there is the sordid saga of two assassinations. So, admittedly there is a lot of print material on the Gandhi clan and one would expect that they would at least get the name right when there is so much else to chew cud on. But far too many times have I been frustrated at reading news articles, even from venerated sources like the BBC, that start off with a "Ghandi" and then revert to the original spelling. What could be the motive, I fail to understand. Is it that people can only connect to Ghandi and not Gandhi? Is it a deliberate ploy to disambiguate the Rajiv Gandhis and Indira Gandhis and Sonia Gandhis of this world from Mahatma Gandhi? Or is it sheer colonial contempt for the name; for the Mahatma was seldom referred to as Gandhi and instead as Mr Ghandi (to rhyme with brandy) with every syllable carrying spiteful invective and condescension (So most movies on the Indian freedom struggle lead me to believe. Sure, they were biased but given the difficulties the West has in getting most Indian names right I am more inclined to lend credence to the indigenous version)? The most perplexing example of this faux pas was in the transcription of a radio broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in which the presenter, Mr. Thompson is believed to have said "Of course, Sonia Gandhi is not just any foreigner, she's a Ghandi." Is it that hard to get?* * * * *
June gloom in May
It is nearing a year since I moved to Pasadena. I remember then how puzzled and put off I was with the weather in June. Somehow, this year it has not been as unsettling. The mornings begin with murky expanses of clouds but as the day wears on, they are reconciled with and a solemn peace is made with the elements. The mellow and diffract colours of sunshine bring with them a dispassionate, calming glow gently impressing their equanimity on me. And the season of growth and nourishment has begun, as young tendrils full of impishness venture out of their bounds behind the glass-crusted fences and hedge-disciplined rank and file to challenge the unsuspecting passer-by as he weaves past them. The leery crow takes flight along a low trajectory with yellow victuals in its beak and a scowl for anybody that downcasts its intent to feed the new offspring.* * * * *
Nehru
Today is the fortieth death anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru. Somehow, it seems rather ironic that Nehru has been relegated to the footnotes of the Indian freedom struggle as we sought to worship Gandhi's high ideals and martyrdom. It was not Nehru that asked to lead a young nation, but Gandhi who vested him with it. Nehru's significance in the years before 1947 was countervailed by his "stooping" to become a common politician and his subsequent policies. What do we owe Nehru? There is a fascinating article at Rediff that synopsises this question. For someone belonging to a generation that only witnessed in passing the fading glory of the Nehruvian era and its after-effects and not the man's stalwart statesmanship or his devotion to the Mahatma, I am bound to be cynical and dismissive of his legacy. I was endoctrinated to believe that Nehru was misled into following an idealistic path of socialism and non-alignment by virtue of his close association with Gandhi and that his autocratic ways and belief in the responsibility of the state contributed to the large festering swathes of bureaucracy and corruption that prevail to this day. But we only need to look north of India to thank Nehru and mull over what might have happened if his "misguided" socialism had churned further into communism. Autocratic he might have been, but to him we owe our hugely successful democracy -- like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, he cherished and respected its notions and fully understood what it signified for a people to pursue its dreams and goals unfettered. One of the anecdotes Shashi Tharoor attributes to Nehru was when he publicly lambasted a high court judge and apologised profusely to him the following day admitting he ought not to have condemned the judiciary. Admittedly, Nehru's foreign policy, particularly the Kashmir crisis and relations with China, showed severe lack of realpolitik and pragmatism. His pretending that no problems existed with regard to the border led to three wars and had a sturdier man like Sardar Patel taken hold of the situation, things might not have come to a boil.Whatever the man's shortcomings and over-zealous idealism, India at the time needed someone as respectful of its polity as Nehru was. Since his death, his name has piled on more stigma not because of his own failings but more because of his progeny. Quite on the lines of filial twists provided so often not just in a Shakespearean artefact but also in the living annals of history over the ages, his very daughter in declaring a state of emergency after being convicted of electoral malpractice mocked at his convictions in pluralism and federalism. Yet, it speaks volumes of Nehru's commitment and strong foundation-laying (not just with the nation, but at home too) that Indira Gandhi suffered the wrath concomitant with the hurt pride of an entire nation and lost heavily to bring on what was then the first non-Congress government. (Given a similar performance this year, one may be forgiven for invoking déja vu.)
Finally, no homage is complete without paying tribute to the vast riches of literature that Nehru left behind. His erudition and unique gift of writing made him the finest commentator, archivist, historian, eulogist and conscience-keeper of a nation then still in the throes of foreign suppression and void of self-conviction. It is sad that Nehru's birthday is celebrated in so callous a manner as to deem it Children's Day when India owes him so much more than that.
