Bookwatch
BY ANITA JOSHUA
Gandhi: Epitome of success and failure!
Mahatma Gandhi: A Historical Biography, Bidyut Chakrabarty, Roli Books, Rs. 350.
SO much has been written about Mahatma Gandhi that the task is daunting for any new venture. More so for individuals with strong academic credentials. Which is probably why Bidyut Chakrabarty — Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science and also Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Delhi — labours at explaining how his biography of the Father of the Nation is different.
In the author's words, this biography does not deal exclusively with the "historical Gandhi". "It strives to graphically illustrate the evolution of the Mahatma, who was not merely a pan-Indian political leader, but also a social reformer challenging the inhuman social practices justified in the name of Hinduism". Instead of focusing merely on his life, it is an interpretative treatise that seeks to contextualise Gandhi and his ideas.
In the process, Prof. Chabrabarty brings out some paradoxes. Of particular note is his opinion that Gandhi — the apostle of peace — was prepared to take a more lenient view of violence by 1942; two decades after he stunned the nation by suspending the Non-Cooperation Movement because of violence in Chauri-Chaura.
The book also dwells on the marginalisation of Gandhi in the twilight years of colonial rule ahead of Partition. While bringing up the fact that historians are baffled over why Gandhi accepted Partition despite his vehement opposition to the two-nation theory, Prof. Chakrabarty himself attempts no answers.
Better late than never
Bhagat Singh: Select Speeches & Writings, edited by D.N. Gupta, National Book Trust, Rs. 45.
RECENTLY, the Government — in response to a query made under the Right to Information Act — is reported to have said it has no information in its records about the contribution of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose to India's freedom struggle. Netaji, by virtue of his participation in the Indian National Congress and open tiff with Mahatma Gandhi, at least got some attention in school history textbooks unlike revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, whose collective reference was just a shade longer than footnotes.
Late in the day though it is, an attempt is underway to give these brave hearts their rightful place in the sun. With the year being the birth centenary and 75th anniversary of his martyrdom, Bhagat Singh is drawing much of the attention while others get to bask in his halo.
Joining the mood that is being whipped up — the year is also the 150th anniversary of the First War of Indian Independence and the 60th anniversary of Independence — the National Book Trust has strung together Bhagat Singh's select speeches, writings and letters to the people of India. Most of them were written in prison and all by the age of 23 when he was hanged.
Edited by historian D.N. Gupta, the letters are particularly revealing of a clear and resolute mind. While each is telling, a couple stand out: The letter written to Punjab Governor along with Sukhdev and Rajguru asking to be shot like war prisoners and not hanged; letter to Batukeshwar Dutt advising on how to keep alive the revolutionary zeal through long confinement, and letter to his father reprimanding him for submitting a petition to the Viceroy to save his son from the gallows.
From the Young Turk of Hindi fiction
Not Flowers of Henna, Kamleshwar, translated by Jai Ratan, Katha, Rs. 250.
TWO months after his death, Katha has come out with a translation of 15 short stories penned by Kamleshwar in a literary career that began in 1946. Though the collection has been in the making for sometime now, it was hastened after his death in January this year.
All fresh translations by Jai Ratan, the collection is testimony to Kalmeshwar's belief that "life is not made up of a sequence of big catastrophes, but is woven out of the warp and woof of small everyday experiences". And, in each experience lies a story — be it as a signboard painter, night watchman, and scriptwriter for All India Radio or editor of a literary magazine. Only it requires a good narrator.
With 200 short stories, 10 novels, several film scripts including "Aandhi", "Mausam" and "Mr. Natwarlal", besides reams of editorial writing to his name, this collection is only representative of the corpus of work written by Kamleshwar.
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