Not Mutiny but War of Independence

For those who have not being following, there is a place in Unnao a district close to Kanpur, called Dhaundiya Khera. A local seer dreamt of a tonne of Gold hidden in the womb of a fort of an erstwhile local Raja, who was executed by the British after the revolt of 1857 or better say our first War of Independence.

Mrinal Pande is some reporter who has in parts covered the ASI’s excavation of the Unnao site of Dhaundiya Khera.

Rao Raja Ram Baksha Singh was the local king of that area, that was the seat of the Bais Rajputs.  And apparently the Raja was also the leader of the Bais Rajputs of the area. The Bais have often been alluded to as the Bhale Sultans - for the dexterity in the wielding the long lance called the Bhala in India. Whether it was the Trilokchandi Bais or the Solankis who were the original Bhalesultans is a subject of debate though, as the Solankis also claim to be Bhale Sultans.

This journo, Mrinal Pande, in her/his coverage of the Unnao Dhaundiya Khera excavation alluded to Rao Raja Ram Baksha Singh, whose fort was being excavated, and whose treasure it is believed was being hunted as the leader of the Mutiny. At many places the fight against the British was called a “mutiny” and the fighters have been called “rebels”.

While to me, such reportage is not only retrograde but also weak on the knowledge of history, this also establishes what happens when others document your history, and all that you control is oral allegory that will never have the credibility of penned down history.

While Mrinal Pande or her ilk will never call the American War of 1775 as Mutiny, even when it actually was, but they even today call the Indias war of Independence 1857 as Mutiny and our freedom fighters as rebels.

One of the reason for this could well be that the scribes usually have only a very functional knowledge of English and lack the sense to nuance the closely related words.

The other reason is, that, most of the history has been documented by foreigners, who looked at the natives with either condemnation or condescension, and hence, while their accounts might have been objective on dates and data, but never on interpretation and understanding. On the contrary, the local accounts were always more allegorical, less accurate on dates perhaps, but substantially more credible on the sentiment.

When a preamble to a government scheme or documents opens with the lines “60 years of independence” something in me is killed.

Officers, scribes and hoi-polloi need to be sensitized on the use of words as they should not be pejorative for the people who fought to secure our freedom.

INDIAN MEDIA NEEDS TO BE MORE POSITIVE

The USA today had the front page carrying tributes to Madiba. The appellation makes a reference to the clan that Mandela belonged to. A photo of a car poster said, Tata Madiba, and in the Zulu language, Tata means father, as Madiba was fondly called just like Gandhi was called Bapu (father) by the Indians.

Other front-page news of a USA Today, a newspaper still trying to graduate from its tabloid type presentation and its unique Gulliver font, was a feature of the rover on Mars.

Contrast this to the front page news of Indian newspapers, which are replete usually with sexual escapades of the high and mighty, or the gory details of some heinous crime or with similar offences so repugnant to the mood in the wee hours of the morning, when you wish to wake up to positivism and propriety.

One of the reasons for this over exposure to negativity could well be the distrust that the people have in the system. While, most of us have, at some point of time or the other, bent or endeavored to get around the system and get our job done, but when others do so, we decry it. We also tend not to trust the system that we have ourselves have been able to bend. Additionally, when people in public gaze commit a misdemeanor or a crime, we are always very curious to know, if the system will indict them or cave in to shelter them.

Therefore the Indian media is always front-paging such news. Be it Tejpal, or Justice Ganguly. Both of the have committed crimes and those crimes have been reported, and then the system should just take over, follow the due process and bring them to justice.

The USA Today also carried an item, tucked away on the inside bottom somewhere, about an ex Mayor being jailed, when he pleaded guilty on 2 counts of felony and one of misdemeanor, for crimes like pinching a lady colleagues bottom when he was Mayor, but such news did not find space on the first page.

Here, if the media ignores, then perhaps, many culprits like them will manage to bend the law and either get away scot-free or face punishment disproportionately low compared to the enormity of their crime. In the past, the media did ignore. TV news used to be only Doordarshan (government) and news papers few, making it simpler for the government to gag it. But today, that option is not so simple for the government, as the an active social media cannot be gagged so simply.

If it would not be for media gaze, Bal Thackeray would ensure that Sanjay Datta is not be incarcerated for wrongful possession of arms.

If it would not be media gaze, the Janlokpal would never see the light of the day.

Media does drum up public opinion and in a democracy public opinion is the only weapon that governments care for. While I don’t believe in regulating the media, the media must self regulate and guide the mood of the nation than imbue it in negativism.

The high pitched debates of Arnab and Rahul Kanwal should be focusing on positive subjects also like why Indian Defence systems cannot be spruced up to the best in the world or why the Mars mission could not have been launched 5 years ago, or what went in making the Mangalyana a success. How a doctor, fighting against odds is providing medical aid to Dengue victims in some god forsaken village of Andhra Pradesh. But today, the debate is about all that is murky and morbid.

What Patel would have done and Nehru didn't

Whether India gained independence by a quirk of fate, or by distinct design or by the selfless sacrifice of martyrs or by the moral fortitude of the teeming millions who followed Gandhiji from Dandi to Delhi is a debate that will never tire.

But what is substantially clear is that the freedom was dearly bought and  that we cannot afford to pay the cost twice.

The leadership at the time of independence had caliber, commitment and a collective conscience, all of which seem so remote from the people who drive the country today that we are set to wonder if we are indeed the same country.

While the world is looking at the progress that India has made with some awe and significant amazement, not because the progress has been so rapid, but because, they believed, due to the perception of a post independence apocalypse created by the British, that India would plunge into anarchy and chaos, the moment she would be free.

While India did make her tryst with destiny, she at the same time, reigned in the chaos that the British so much expected her to inevitably plunge into, the moment they left.

Today, when a giant statue of Vallabh Bhai Patel is being erected, the marginalization of a stalwart by the Gandhian ecosystem once again became the hot topic of debates right across the country.

There was a very large section of people eg. my grandfather, who wished Vallabhai Patel had become the first PM of the country for reasons which varied from Patels understanding of rural India, of its malaise and their faith in his ability of executing to perfection. While this section found Nehru charming and magnetic, it would rather catapult Vallabhai Patel into lead the Cabinet and let Nehru be the quintessential foreign minister whose oratorical prowess would charm the international audience to a nascent yet resurgent India. But that was not to be, as Gandhiji’s preference for Nehru to a strong headed Patel was no secret.

A few things that I am sure Patel would have done far better than Nehru due to his background and superior understanding of what India stood for would perhaps been :

1. Maintaining a strong, motivated and modern defense force
2. Laying the foundation of a robust rural self governance model
3. Casting a cabinet with an immaculately clean reputation and government that was free of corruption
4. No dynasty

At Hamburg I referred to the Ancient Indian Rope Trick

I watched with relish, the interview of Raghuram Rajan, the new governor of RBI, who seems to have an uncanny flair for flirting with the stock market - a shoulder-shrugging demeanor that gives confidence to investors - despite India having slowed down to a 5 pct GDP growth - having stayed course for about 3 years with 8-9 pct. It is imperative for the Government to set up some corrective mechanisms, as without them, the country will dash asymptotically to the Hindu Growth Rate.

That, India would not lose it’s sovereign-rating, is an event, with much higher odds in its favor and far-fewer against it. The credence with which Rajan assertively stated that India could pay off its short term debt the next day was for sure, confidence giving.

While he was sensible enough not to sound pompous, he appreciated in full measure the propensity of the markets to react to cues which may not always be fully rational.

 

Few months ago, the Economist's cover page screamed if India had lost its magic. While presenting at Hamburg, to a group of Pharma professionals, I had shown this cover page to them as a barometer of mood of disappointment with the India Story.

Of the 9^th century India, the World believed, the Indians had a rope trick. The rope when beckoned by the magician, would rise vertically up into the sky. The Jhamoorah (the English language does not seem to have a parallel to this word) would climb up the rope and disappear, till his body, split in multiple pieces would drop down, and be re-assembled and spewed with life by the Magician.

While I have seen several Magicians and Illusionists, I have never witnessed this rope trick myself. But it has been chronicled in many ancient texts, the earliest being some Buddhist texts dating to 700 AD’s, And such references to the trick continued to appears even in British accounts of people of eminence of none less than Sir Ralph Pearson.

While the cover page of the Economist could in some measure be a barometer of the view of the international media, I still believe, India, under the right leadership, has the wherewithal to perform such tricks.