2014 - The Election That Changed India

Title: 2014 – The Election that Changed India

Editor: Rajdeep Sardesai

Publisher: Penguin Viking, 2014 (First)

ISBN: 978-

Pages: 372

Prime Minister Narasimha Rao liberalized a stagnated Indian economy that was overburdened with ridiculous licensing stipulations designed only to maximize the illegal gratification squeezed out of the entrepreneurs. Visual media was one such beneficiary. A nation that was bored to death with the sycophantic programs being aired by the state television company, Doordarshan, awoke to a new era in which private TV channels vied with each other to bring out breaking news and entertainment that appeal to the viewing public. News anchors of a new age suddenly appeared on the horizon and the author, Rajdeep Sardesai, is perhaps the brightest star of that first generation. He perfected the art of shooting a slew of pointed questions in a fearless manner at a politician who had the (mis)fortune of being the centre of attraction. Elections provide a carnival atmosphere in the country when every citizen feels empowered and the political leaders pander to them at least for once in five years. India is the world’s largest democracy and understandably, the costs for making this exercise happen are also huge. Money of both hues, that is, black as well as white flow like water during the run up to elections. Such a huge cash flow ensures mirth to the people as well as the media. Many media megastars cut their teeth through election reporting. The author had proved himself through some excellent association with NDTV and Prannoy Roy during the early 1990s. This is his first book ever, and he confesses that for a journalist who writes about 1000 words a day, embarking on a 100,000 word book was a gigantic task. But needless to say, the work has been an immense success and nobody has put out a similar work with so profound a ringside view. Sardesai is intimately known to the mighty leaders and he has access to gossip and loose talk even in the highest echelons of power. With his bold style of attacking the problem in the eye, he has published this eminently readable book.

The 16^th General Elections that was held in 2014 was a landmark event in Indian history. This was the first time a clearly right-of-centre party assumed power with a clear majority on its own. The days of bickering among the allies for plum posts and lucrative ministries (ATM, as he calls them) are over. The book may be divided into three major sections. Two of them provide glimpses of the persona of the main contenders of the battle – Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. The curious personality traits of the leaders are laid bare before the readers. Thus we come to know that Modi doesn’t brook any miff from the media and won’t tolerate rebukes on past deeds. He literally walked out of an interview when the host mentioned the 2002 Gujarat riots. A section of the intelligentsia in collusion with a section of the media always made the issue very much alive in public discourse. They never let Modi forget it, and he grew paranoid at the slightest mention of the riots. Sardesai cites many instances when the Gujarat chief minister accused him of partisanship that was alleged on the English-language media. However, this book faithfully covers the flagship programs implemented by the state of Gujarat under Modi at the helm. Jyoti Gram and Kanya Kelavani are two such projects which were huge successes in supplying electricity to villages and ensuring girls’ education. Rahul pales into insignificance when compared to Modi’s achievements. Rahul had excellent ideas, but lacked the will power to make them happen. There was no follow up to his rhetoric and the Congress supporters gradually lost touch with him. As the author says, “Even in the sycophantic tradition of the Congress party, respect has to be earned”. Rahul’s stage-managed media conferences in which he belittled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his wavering on corruption issues only made the matters worse. Besides, he harboured an undesirable habit of leaving the country on important occasions with the supporters having no clue of his whereabouts.

One section is dedicated to cover the famed Indian election in great detail and how Team Modi made it a grand success. The author explains in detail the mighty PR machine put up by the BJP. The party has been fortunate in enlisting the support of a few highly qualified and competent people who were so committed to the goal as to willingly back out of the limelight and work ferociously from behind the screen. Modi’s most valuable faculty is his ability to spot talent in others. A great deal of the campaign mimicked Obama’s strategy in the U.S. presidential race. The author strikes a note of caution on the immense amounts of money being spent by all parties in the run up to elections. When the author guessed a figure for the total expenses, party treasurers laughed at him. Reading between the lines, the book poses a question mark on the advisability of depending solely on the charisma of a single individual. RSS had some compunction at first in adopting such a personalized campaign paradigm, but later, they sensed the direction in which the wind was blowing and contributed their entire machinery into the effort. Ironically, the personal appeal of a leader has once again begun to sway the voters, after that era was thought to have been forever gone with the death of Indira Gandhi.

There is a subtle clue the book provides to the reader. The media, especially the visual one, is so powerful now, that no politician can escape its watchful gaze. If at all he manages to do so, that is going to be the end of his career. Without being in the limelight, a leader is nothing in today’s India. Perhaps, nobody understands it better than Arvind Kejriwal, the adventurous angry young man of Aam Admi Party. Each one of his acts was so designed as to ensure maximum visibility among TV viewers. Media men jokingly predicted in early 2014 that his resignation from Delhi Chief Minister-ship would be at the time of prime time TV and it happened exactly as expected! The media men are so powerful in making or marring a politician that they have direct access to most of the leaders at any time of the day. The author was conversing with Laloo Prasad Yadav in his bathroom while he was shaving! Leaders like Rahul Gandhi who want to preserve their privacy fall foul of the media. Such a glamorous career, as exemplified by that of the author, is sure to attract impressionable young minds on to pursuing journalism. One of the direct fallout of the book will be this.

The book and the author are the happy products of freedom of speech and opinion and a free press that can only be found in a functioning democracy. Sardesai mentions the remarks of Pakistani premier Nawaz Sherif when he was in exile in Saudi Arabia in 2004. On the change of government in India in 2004, Sharif said, “Your democracy is truly special. One government comes in, another goes but there is no vendetta or bloodletting. Look at us in Pakistan. I am here in Jeddah, Benazir is shuttling between London and Dubai. Neither of us can return home. You are a lucky country” (p.331). Those few of us who ridicule democracy and long for an efficient military rule should read these lines and realize the good fortune we are experiencing in having had the opportunity to live in a democracy. This volume is a mirror on the political lives of most of the politicians who are something in the country. Not only Modi and Rahul, but we also read detailed narrative of the functioning of Amit Shah, Sonia and Priyanka Gandhis, Mamta Banerjee and others.

As can be expected, the author has gone a bit pompous on at least a couple of occasions. He claims that Anna Hazare’s satyagraha was shifted from the originally planned venue in Mumbai to Delhi on his suggestion to its organizers that such a major political campaign modeled on Tahrir Square Protests should set out from the national capital. Then again, Sardesai’s expose of Sharad Pawar’s bid for power immediately after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination is said to have damaged Pawar’s prospects of striking a deal with other prominent Congress leaders and Pawar is said to have mentioned this to the author with regret. Lack of an Index is a drawback for a book of this genre. Also, a small but candid collection of rare photographs would have added great interest.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 3 Star

The Men Who Ruled India

Title: The Men Who Ruled India

Editor: Philip Mason

Publisher: Rupa & Co, 2006 (First published 1985)

ISBN: 978-81-7167-361-2

Pages: 368

India has a tradition several millennia old, of which the last two centuries wrought more change than all the others combined. A great part of this last period saw the country ruled by the British, who first came here as traders, then accumulated military power for the protection of trade from brigands who arose from the unsettled nature of affairs caused by the political vacuum of post-Mughal era, and who afterwards found it expedient to set their own rules and administer the country. This strange combination of factors is unique, as the British were unique in their deals with the conquered. Indian mainland had colonies, albeit very small, of the French and the Portuguese. These colonies were administered as part of metropolitan France or Portugal, but India was always separate from the home country for the Britishers, she was a jewel in the crown – a thing to show off, but then to be safely tucked away from the reaches of a predator. This book is about the founders and administrators who made the empire and ruled it, till at last the educated Indians found their hegemony resentful and the ‘guardians’ left the country for good. Philip Mason (1906 – 1999) was himself an English civil servant who joined the ICS in 1928 and served nearly two decades in India in many administrative capacities. Don’t read this book to know the history, read it only if you already are familiar with it which is essential for understanding the background on which Mason weaves his web of personalities. This book tells the story of the personnel who built up an empire and then dismantled it themselves, right from the arrival of William Hawkins in August 1608 to the departure of the last platoon of the Somerset Light Infantry in February 1948, which has more reason for pride than shame, as the author asserts. This book was first published as two volumes in 1954, titled the Founders and Guardians. This general bifurcation is still visible in the two main parts along which this volume is divided. The book is pleasant to read, but the author’s wit is heartier in the first part. Mason reiterates one fact repeatedly to drive home the point that the British never ruled India with an iron hand. At its most numerous, the Englishmen in India who administered the country numbered around 1200 as against the population of 300 million.

The first two parts of the narrative tells the story of how the English who came as merchants dug themselves in and assumed administrative control of Bengal, the richest province at that time, by the end of 18^th century. We also learn about the excessive centralization of power and dispensation of officials at the mere whim of the emperor under Mughal rule. When the English landed at Surat in 1608 and wanted to build a warehouse (called factory in those times), no official in the local administration was competent enough to grant permission. Trade and commerce were incomprehensible entitites for the Mughals. William Hawkins trudged all the way to Agra to get proper sanction from Jehangir, who was too busy with heavy drinking and eating cartloads of opium. The officials, who were entrusted with the task of collecting revenue from villagers called zamindars, performed their duties only at the pleasure of the emperor. When he died, his employer inherited all worldly possessions of his subordinate and if the family had been lucky enough, they might hope to get some meager amount for their maintenance. The English East India Company stepped into this tumultuous state of affairs in the 18^th century, when their power began to be felt around the middle of the century in India while the Mughal Empire slowly disintegrated into nothingness. Strange it might seem, but the first positive acquisition of the company was facilitated by the over ambition of Dupleix, the French governor who meddled freely in the internal tussles of Indian kings. Robert Clive led a force against Arcot and settled his nominee, Mohammed Ali, on the throne as Nawab in 1751. This marked the beginning of British dominance in India. When the century ended, we see the company establishing the right to collect taxes and conduct administration in the provinces of Bihar and Bengal and exercising civil and judicial powers. The country lay vulnerable to the forays of Afghans and Marathas, who tried to exploit the state of lawlessness caused by the weakness of Mughal Empire.

Mason’s moral justification for the establishment of British rule in India hinges on the benefits accrued to the populace who were reeling under anarchy, lawlessness or the law of a single man, excess demands of taxation and the inhuman superstitious rituals like Sati and human sacrifices. The British reduced the tax demand after assessing each plot and its crop-bearing capacity, but collected the revenue efficiently. Under the Mughals, the burden was far higher, but the net revenue to the state was less, as the peasants opposed them fervently. The British established the concept of ‘Rule of Law’, whereas the whims of one person controlled the destinities of the poor in earlier times. This was so alien to the Indian psyche that the rulers and the common folk alike could not digest the strange notion that the governor general or the resident who was the most powerful man on the subcontinent or the province couldn’t do what he wished! Attempts to curb the practice of Sati were opposed by Brahmins on the plea that it constituted an affront to Hinduism. This line is familiar to us even today. When reason revolted against a boorish religious ritual, conservatives fight against the intellectuals citing this same argument. Christianity faced this acid test in 18^th century Europe, Hinduism did in the 19^th and Islam is facing the challenge now. Opposition to light that reveals every dark corner in the religion’s cupboard comes out in the form of armed struggle or terrorist attacks, but it is certain that sooner, rather than later, the cold light of reason shall prevail. It must also be remembered that there were some genuine cases of voluntary immolation by grieving widows, which is mentioned in the text. By setting this glorious picture of an India that turned enlightened to some extent by British rule, Mason is compelled to explain why the people resented their rule, even though it was so magnificently benevolent for them. And his reasoning is far from convincing, because he argues that life became dull, since the law was predictable and brigands were suppressed. This looks as if the people were denied an adventurous life by British administration. Mason goes on to say that people looked at nearby princely states and longingly wished for the unexpected twists and turns of life over there.

The conqueror’s role changed to that of guardians after the Mutiny in 1857 to 1909, when serious reforms were contemplated to hand over ‘some power’ to Indian hands. The Mutiny came as a surprise to the British, though Mason observes symptoms pretty clearly with the benefit of hindsight. For about four months, the British Empire in India teetered on the edge of an abyss. The number of white soldiers in India was much less as compared to the rebels and minuscule when compared to the total native population. After the initial success of the mutineers, their decision to flock to Delhi and accept the overlordship of the last Mughal sultan proved to be their undoing. Indecision and ambivalence made the king to be equivocal. Meanwhile, the British strengthened their positions and greatly augmented their strength by importing soldiers. The siege of Delhi was the critical moment. As soon as the city fell, passive spectators who were keenly watching the state of affairs entered the fray on the side of the British, especially the Punjabi soldiers, whose kingdom was the latest in the long list to be annexed to the Raj. After the Mutiny was over, the distrust was soon overcome and the Indian Civil Service confidently undertook the burden of administration unmolested by considerable reforms. Several famines occurred during this period, particularly in Orissa in 1866, in which a large portion of the population perished, but that of Bihar in 1874 is reported to have dealt with decisive measures that helped to minimize deaths directly attributable to starvation.

It has been the pet fad of patriots in India to ascribe all responsibility of partitioning the country on religious lines on the shoulders of the British. ‘Divide and Rule’, they would say, was the policy of the colonialists. No body stops sufficiently long to examine this fallacious argument in more detail. Hindus and Muslims were two separate communities without any sense of common destiny at the time of partition. Except for a small section of the Muslims who had access to secular, universal education, most of Muslims and also the Hindus were illiterate or subjected to viciously partisan teaching at a local madrassah. Communal riots were common. Mason describes in blood chilling detail some incidents related to the Moplah Rebellion of Kerala in 1921, in which thousands of Hindus were mercilessly butchered in cold blood. Even though there have been attempts by pseudo-secularists to glorify this communal riot in which only one party suffered, as an episode in the freedom struggle, nothing can be farther from the truth in its wanton cruelty and mass conversion of Hindus to Islam. Mason remarks that victims were often skinned alive, and were forced to dig their own graves before they were mowed down (p.288). This was ethnic cleansing on a large scale and was crushed by the British. The stamping down had been so effective that no large scale violence was witnessed again in that area.

As the author subconsciously lets out, the British respected those tribes who were unlawful and uncivilized, but obeyed them after an initial struggle. He has sweet memories of the north eastern tribes who assisted them in the war against the Japanese, or the north western tribes who had a working relationship, though an uneasy one, with the British or even the fanatic Hurs of Sindh. It is said that the British were affectionate with them, but not so with the people of the mainland who never fully digested the strangeness of British rule and rebelled whenever an opportunity presented itself.

The book is graced with numerous colour and monochrome plates of paintings and photographs that are priceless in sharing an informative moment in the lives of the people depicted in them. A comprehensive index adds value to the material, which can’t be compared to the rigour of an academic publication.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 3 Star

Vijayanagar

Title: Vijayanagar – As Seen by Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz and Others

Editor: Vasundhara Filliozat

Publisher: National Book Trust, India, 1999 (First published 1997)

ISBN: 81-237-2658-9

Pages: 370

There are many books available now that offer much information about Vijayanagara Empire. Almost all of them base their conclusions and arguments on the descriptions of three medieval personalities, two of them Portuguese travelers, Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz and the other Ferishta, a historian in Nizam’s court. This book is a welcome change from the run of the mill histories as it has included the accounts of all travelers who had remarked anything about Vijayanagara, including in addition to the two Portuguese above, we have Nicolo Conti, Abdur Razak, Nikitin, Varthema, Tome Pires, Barbosa, Frederici and an anonymous letter. In addition to this, two travelogues on Hampi done in 1878 and the 18^th century are included to provide an interesting comparison to the state of things now. The author has displayed keen intellect in solving some of the riddles in the chronicles which makes this book a worthwhile companion to those who study the history of Vijayanagara. The author, Vasundhara Filliozat was born in Karnataka and brought up in an environment soaked in Sanskrit and Kannada culture. She has studied in France and has published about twenty books and numerous articles in Kannada, English and French. She had married Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat, a Frenchman who taught Sanskrit in Paris. This book is eminently readable even though it reeks occasionally of a strong patriotic Karnataka flavour.

In the section on ‘Historical Introduction’, a bare new idea is propounded. While every book on Vijayanagar are more or less about the name of the empire and its capital city to be the same, the author differs from this assertion and proposes that the capital city was named thus, but the empire was known as Karnataka. It is to be admitted that the effort is well founded on epigraphical evidence. The kings were called ‘emperors of Karnataka’ on many inscriptions, and the branch of classical music which was popular in the South was called Karnataki, in the sense that the music flourished in the empire of Karnataka. However, the author takes much pain to dispel any doubt on the similarity of the name with that of the modern Indian state of Karnataka. She argues that though the empire was named Karnataka, its vassals calling themselves Nayaks of Karnataka ruling from Madurai, were Tamils. Not only that, the court language of the empire was Telugu. Hence, it may be said that the author’s efforts to sing the praise of a Karnataka empire previously not recognized as such, turns out to be a Pan-South Indian kingdom. But there seems to be a flaw in Filliozat’s argument. She states that Ballala III, king of the Hoysala Empire was also called King of Karnataka as noted in a commentary by Ferishta (p.13). This point raises further doubts. There is no contention on the fact that Ballala’s empire was called Hoysala and its capital city Dvarasamudra, but still he is often referred to as a king of Karnataka. This can only mean that the term Karnataka was meant only as a geographic indicator like ‘Deccan’ and there is nothing to eulogize for Kannadigas (the people inhabiting present-day Karnataka state). Being a Kannadiga herself, Vasundhara tries her best to paint the rulers of Vijayanagar in glowing terms. How the kings of Karnataka could be anything but good and compassionate? She omits an incident in the life of Devaraya I, noted by many historians, which ended in much ignominy for the king. His lustful overtures towards a farmer’s daughter in a contested territory with Bahmanis were turned down and the king made a raid on the town. The farmer and his family fled, but the king’s invasion resulted in a counter attack by the Bahmani sultan that ended in Devaraya’s defeat. One of his daughters was handed over to the sultan and the farmer’s daughter, who was instrumental for all these events, was taken over by the sultan’s son. The author is silent on this episode and instead sings praise on Devaraya I for his rule.

The book would have been much better and objective if the Kannada chauvinism bursting the banks of reason and drowning the sensible part too, had not been so distinctly discernible. In her heroic attempt to depict everything concerned with the Karnataka Empire headquartered at Vijayanagar in favourable light, Vasundhara has crossed all limits of appropriateness. Many visitors had remarked about the gruesome practice of Sati (widow burning or burial) that was widely enforced in Vijayanagar and has written eloquently about this inhuman ritual. But this was practiced in Karnataka and how does the author react to it? She boldly comes up with the ridiculous notion that “the European travelers were wonderstruck at this heroic custom of women of India facing the death so courageously” (p.243, foot note). Here we have a rationalization of Sati and that too, coming from a woman! This was outrageous. Again, the unwarranted comparison of Hampi to the temples of Tamil Nadu is another act of militant patriotism, when she says, “the Karnataka architecture was adopted in the construction of mandapas at Madurai, Sucheendram and other temples, but they cannot hold a flame to the charm and musicality of the pillars of Vittala Temple at Hampi” (p.52).

The foreign visitors provide a glimpse into the lives of the kings, nobles and commoners of Vijayanagar. Regarding the culinary tastes of the royal personages, Nuniz writes, “The kings of Bisnaga eat all sorts of things, but not the flesh of oxen or cows, which they never kill in all the country of the heathen because they worship them. They eat mutton, pork, venison, partridges, hares, doves, quail, and all kinds of birds; even sparrows, and rats, and cats and lizards, all of which are sold in the market of the city of Bisnaga” (p.225). If anyone had an inkling that the kings were vegetarians, that is indeed very far from the truth! The city was neck deep in corruption even under the reputation of Krishna Devaraya as an enforcer of justice and discipline. Nuniz says again, “Every merchant who brings merchandise in horses and other things which he may have brought to sell to the king, if he desires an audience, has to offer him a present of a piece of goods or a horse of the best that he has brought, in order that he may obtain an audience and transact his business. And this, not only to the king. You must perforce pay bribes to all the several officers with whom you have to deal. They will do nothing without some profit to themselves” (p.230). The king’s sexual tyranny was intolerable with modern standards. The nobles and particularly their daughters lived very submissive lives to the whims and sexual fantasies of the king who considered all women as his sex slaves. All of the courtiers were forced to send their daughters to the harem. And they lived a degraded existence in the seraglio, as Barbosa says “The king has in his palace many women of position, daughters of great lords of the realm, and others as well, some as concubines, and some has handmaids. For this purpose the fairest and most healthy women are sought throughout the kingdom, that they may do him service with cleanliness and neatness, for all the service is carried out by women, and they do all the work inside the gates, and hold all the duties of the household. They are all gathered inside the palaces, where they have in plenty all that they require, and have many good lodgings. They sing and play and offer a thousand other pleasures as well to the king. They bathe daily in the many tanks as kept for that purpose. The king goes to see them bathing, and she who pleases him most is sent for to come to his chamber. There is such envy and rivalry among these women with regard to the king’s favour that ‘some kill others’ and some poison themselves” (p.304-5).

This book is noteworthy in the sense that it has successfully explained some of the incongrueties in Nuniz’s chronicle. For example, Nuniz declares that Tughlaq’s invasion took place in the year 1230, whereas the actual year was 1309. Sewell and others believe this to be an error on the chronicler’s part. But the author asserts that this number represents the same year as 1309 in the Saka calendar, which is the official calendar of the country now, but was in widespread use among the Hindu kingdoms. This reasoning enhances Nuniz’s credibility, but the author goes against him in many other places when his description does not lend credit to the glory of Krishna Devaraya or the Vijayanagara kings. Krishna is reported to have blinded his minister Saluva Timma, to whom he owed his throne and who faithfully served him for many decades, under the suspicion that Timma had poisoned the heir apparent, Krishna’s son, who was only 6 years old. This incident rattles against the Raya’s fame as a just ruler when reflected with the ignominy of his ungrateful act. Vasundhara attacks Nuniz for fabricating a ‘cock and bull story’ based on court intrigue, but don’t disclose her own reasons for making this offensive conclusion. The author’s passionate regard for Karnataka bordering on chauvinism overshadows her objectivity on many occasions, including this one.

The book is recommended.

Rating: 2 Star