The Public Intellectual in India by Romila Thapar - Book Review

"To Question or Not to Question? - that is the Question"


Romila Thapar is a renowned Indian historian with a number of excellent history and philosophy books to her credit. However, this book is different – it tries to examine the current status of the public intellectual in India. The origin of the book is a talk that she gave at the third Nikhil Chakravarty Memorial  Lecture (yes, I had also not heard of him but checked up on Wikipedia -  Nikhil was a respected journalist in India who founded the journal Mainstream) in Oct 2014. The lecture was titled “To Question or Not to Question, That is the Question”. That lecture has been revised and expanded in this book and five more essays added from other well known intellectuals – Sundar Sarukkai, Dhruv Raina, Peter deSouza, Neeladri Bhattacharya and Javed Naqvi, which were in response to Romila’s essay. The book concludes with a brief summary by Romila Thapar with her comments on the other responses.

In Romila Thapar’s lecture she laments the state of the current Indian affairs, the declining role of the Public Intellectual in India, the increasing communal polarization by religion, the rising Hinduvta extremism and trend towards increasing authoritarian behavior by the Indian Government. Surprisingly she downplays the economic development since the liberalization of 1992, and strangely believes that it has not made much impact. (I guess you have to be really living in an intellectual cocoon not to see how the last twenty years of development has brought millions of Indians out of poverty!). Other than that her essay is great and it brings out a large number of issues and points that all Indians need to think about, with her principal concern being about the legacy of colonialism that still leaves a significant mark on all major Indian policies.

Sundar Sarukkai’s essay focuses on nature of questioning and whether Thapar’s call to question needs to take into account certain fundamental characteristics of the act of questioning such as scientific rationality, knowledge/ignorance level, intellectual honesty, and ethics. Dhruv Raina’s essay focuses on Science and Democracy and argues that the institutional transformation of science over the last couple of years (a transformation in which the scope of criticism and skepticism is limited) has altered the relation between science and the public as well as the critical discourse on science and society.  According to him the world of ‘Big Science’ and dependence on large funding has reduced the independence of scientific thinking and thus reducing the effort to work for the good of society. Peter deSouza in his essay focuses on the definition of the public intellectual and his or hers different personas to examine the logic at work in the public intellectual. His essay is in three parts, with the first part covering the stories of three individuals (Priya Pillai in India, Yeshayahu Leibowitz in Israel and Avijit Roy in Bangladesh) which are tragic examples of what public intellectuals can face in today’s world. The second part examines the factors that prevent public intellectuals being more active and third part looks at how these factors work in Indian politics today.

The fourth essay is by Neeladiri Bhattacharya and it questions the framework of Thapar’s question and the type of public individual that she is referring to. He is more optimistic than Thapar on the state of Indian affairs and feels that the role of the public intellectual in India has not diminished much. I found the final essay by Jawed Naqvi, the best of the lot. Starting with a couple of examples where the Public Intellectuals have played an important role in recent developments in India, he still highlights the major challenges faced by questioning voices in the supposedly democratic fabric of Indian society. Urging us to look beyond the much-hyped Hindu-Muslim divide in India, he brings to open the caste consciousness still highly relevant in India.

All the essays are of very high quality and I salute Romila Thapar for this endeavor to bring them out in a single book format. This is a must read for all Indians who are concerned with the future of our country.

Gem in the Lotus by Abraham Eraly - Book Review

A Gem of Indian Literature!

The Indian Civilization goes back over 6000 years and is the most confusing among all the ancient civilizations. There is not as much grandeur in it as the Egyptian pyramids or the Greek heroes, but there is nothing anywhere in the world to match the Indian philosophies and thinking that are highlighted through the Vedas and great thought leaders like Buddha. However ancient Indian history is documented very little and the grand mythologies of Mahabharata and Ramayana eclipses actual facts to a large extent.

Good books that explain ancient Indian history are also very few; but Abraham Eraly with the ‘Gem in the Lotus’ has created a marvelous narrative that bridges the gap to a large extent. Starting of with a lesson in geology on how the Indian subcontinent and the towering Himalayas were created, Eraly provides a good background to the geography, climate and topography that played a major role in early developments in India. He then describes the Indus Valley civilization and explores the causes of its sudden disappearance. Eraly really excels when he explains the Vedas and takes us through a detailed tour of how they came into being and what we can understand of the social dynamics of that period through them. Intellectually the grandest period for India would have been from 500 BC to 100 BC when not only Buddhism and Jainism came into being, but also the hundreds of other philosophies that disappeared over the subsequent centuries.

Alexander’s invasion and its effects, the first Indian empire of the Mauryas and Asoka’s grand reign are covered in detail. The world’s first treatise in politics and economics – the ‘Arthasasthra’ is leveraged very well to provide us an understanding of the life and culture of that period.

Indians even now suffer from considerable cultural baggage – the most unfortunate of them being the easy acceptance of ‘fate’. Nowhere else will people accept unfortunate events with so much equanimity that Indians can. This might have stood them in good stead at some critical periods in the past, but it has seriously affected their ability for critical inquiry. Though Eraly does not address this directly, through his book one will get a good understanding of the various factors that must have led to such a condition.

Eraly used the title ‘Gem in the Lotus’ as a metaphor for the Indian civilization but I feel that his book itself is a glittering gem of Indian Literature.

I want my ‘Hindu law’ back……

                                                                                                                    (A Short Story)

I was in Kerala recently and came across an interesting news item in the front page of a local newspaper. All Muslim groups in Kerala had submitted a joint petition to the Indian Supreme Court requesting that the minimum marriage age for women be reduced from the current 18 years (to what age, was not specified), as per the ancient  muslim ‘Sharia law’. As can be expected this raised a storm of controversy with TV channels and the social media getting very worked up. All kinds of opinions were being aired and it was getting me very confused.

Luckily I have a good friend who knows everything – in fact we call him ‘know all’.  (He does depend on Google and always goes around with a phone or tablet in one hand – squinting with one eye on the screen while talking to you. Not that I have not tried to do the same but any search I try in Google results in millions of hits! I wonder when the folks at Google will be able to give you only what you are searching for). I got back to the U.S the following week and called my friend over to update him of these developments and get his advice.

My friend looked very thoughtful – ‘it does raise a lot of interesting possibilities’ he said.  ‘Do they say why they want this’?

‘That is not very clear’ I replied.  ‘But I think it is mainly to protect the women – the more you wait to get the girls married off, the more chances that they may not be able to control their natural urges’.

‘That is true’ agreed by friend. ‘I have also read that it is getting very dangerous in India for women to move around, without getting molested’.

‘But’ he continued, ‘they are asking this change of law only for the Muslims – right?’

‘Yes’, I replied – ‘that is why I can’t figure out why every one is so upset about this’. ‘Is this something we should fight against?’

‘Well’ said my friend ‘It is very difficult to fight against religion based demands – you will be criticized for being ‘anti-muslim’. It would be better to go with the flow. Why don’t you take advantage of the situation? Demand something based on your religion!

‘Wow!’, I was amazed at his brilliance. ‘That is very smart’.

‘I was born a Hindu – and our Hindu law goes thousands of years back’. Meanwhile my friend was squinting furiously at his screen.

‘Let me see – you used to have Child Marriage – getting the girls married off when they were 6 or 7….’

I was now getting very interested. Kids tuition bills are very high nowadays.

‘Wait – there are many strange things in your religion – caste system, untouchability – and here is something even more strange’ continued my friend  - ‘you guys used to have something called ‘Sati’ or ‘Suttee’ – widows jumping into the funeral fire of their husbands and committing suicide!’

‘Yes ‘, I agreed. ‘I remember – very cruel custom; it was originally meant to protect the women from invaders – you know India kept being invaded by many foreigners. Sati was later abolished by the British – who were also invaders.’

‘Protecting the women is off course very important.’ My friend commented.

I was now silent – a number of thoughts were rushing through my mind. I had been a little worried recently about how young my wife looked while I was looking and feeling much older. I could hear my wife in the kitchen – cooking my dinner. Though she had a full time job, she also took care of the cooking and all household chores. What would happen to her when I died? Who will protect her?.

‘What are you thinking’ my friend asked.

‘I think I want my Hindu law back’ I said. ‘We Hindus need to protect our women!’

I felt proud to be a Hindu.

The noise from the kitchen was getting louder. I wondered whether my wife had overheard our discussions.  ‘What is up my dear? Anything wrong?’ I shouted to my wife. ‘Dinner is ready, dear’ she shouted back from the kitchen. ‘I have made some special chicken curry for you – with some new herbs from Kerala’.

My friend quickly got up to leave. He was looking rather pensive as well. ‘Hey! – Not staying for dinner? ‘ I asked? ‘No – I need to go’ he mumbled. I walked him to the door. Just before stepping out, he turned back and whispered in my ear – ‘Watch out – I have read that some Kerala herbs are poisonous.’.

‘Ha, ha’ I laughed. ‘That is a good joke’. Why would my wife ever poison me? I saw my friend out and walked to the dining room with utmost confidence.

Spiritual Creolization - a discussion with Xavier Gravend-Tirole

It was in a chance meeting at an airport in India with Xavier Gravende-Tirole (Jesus look alike?) that I learnt about Spiritual Creolization - how religions absorb from each other and manage pluralism. Xavier is traveling in India studying the absorption of Hindu rituals in Christianity for his Phd thesis 'Creolization as a new theological category in the anthropology of believing: study inspired by Hindu-Christian cases' at the Trudeau Foundation in Geneva.

"His dissertation explores how creolization can become fertile theological grounds for examining identity, relationships with the other and religious pluralism. Managing pluralism may be one of the greatest challenges for religions today – both within religions themselves and in their relations with other religions – but the many types of creolized religions that arise from pluralism face even greater problems being recognized at their true worth. The sullied, the contaminated, the syncretic and the impure are still widely vilified by religious institutions. And yet while the logic of purity may provide dangerous fodder for different types of fundamentalism, other novel, alternative or liberal ways of being religious are coming to light that merit recognition, whether or not they are emerging from within traditional institutional frameworks."

For more details see http://www.trudeaufoundation.ca/tf/Xavier_Gravend-Tirole

Xavier has been traveling in different parts of India and Sri Lanka for his research work. I felt envious.

We followed our initial meeting with a dinner the next day and it was great fun to understand Xavier's work. I hope once he completes his research, it would also be published in India. Considering the growing fundamentalism in India and elsewhere, studies like this can teach us how all religions absorb from each and can co-exist peacefully.

'The Hindus - an alternative history' by Wendy Doniger

A fascinating tale of two stories

Instead of just being a excellent history of Hinduism, this book is also a great book of Indian History. The author traces India's history from the period of the Indus valley Civilization to the the end of the British Raj in the 20th century. And what a story!

Without any bias or cultural hangovers, the author provides a very neutral analysis of the development of Hinduism. However it is bound to provoke lot of criticism - especially from the religious groups. Further the emphasis of the author to the alternative voices (that of the women, lower castes etc) will also raise many hackles. However I found the book fascinating.

One of the most impressive aspect of the book is the in depth coverage of the ancient Indian books like Mahabhartha, Ramayana, Arthsastra and Kamasutra and the influence of these books on each other. The influence of the religions like Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism on one another during the centuries makes very interesting reading.

It is amazing how the author has made what typically would be a dry subject into such an interesting narrative. And once in a while the author's sense of humor surfaces with a very apt witty comment. I enjoyed the footnotes also tremendously - one of the best being Longfellow's poem on King Trisanku.

With over 700 pages, the book is meant for the serious reader. Also a good knowledge of Hinduism and India is essential to enjoy the book. A religious Hindu might find it difficult to handle the analysis of the texts and the actions their gods. But if you are really keen to learn more about India and Hinduism this book is one of the best.

Now for some criticism - the Upanishads could have been covered in more detail; The Mughal period was rushed in a few pages; The chapter on 'Hinduism in America' seemed completely out of place. Ideally the book should have been divided into two - the first part stopping at around 1500 AD and the second part (if really needed - there are many books covering the period since then) from 1500 to present date. The influence of Hinduism on the rest of the world could be covered there (and not just America).

I did not see a mention of M.T.Vasudevan Nair's 'Randamuzham' which is an alternative story of Mahabharatha (and more plausible). The author would have definitely found it very enjoyable and it would have been worth using in some places in the initial chapters. It is written in Malayalam - I am not sure if an English translation exists.

An Indian version (in English) with the poems and quoted texts in sanskrit/hindi would be a great next step for 'The Hindus - an alternative history'.

King Trisanku - Poem by Longfellow

Most Indians would know of King Trisanku whom Sage Viswamitra sends to heaven in his human form and God Indra sends him back. Poor Trisanku gets stuck in between by these opposing forces and lies suspended in limbo for ever. This story has provided the Indian idiom 'Trisanku's heaven' which is more or less equivalent to the English idiom 'Between a rock and a hard place'.

However I did not know about the this lovely poem about Trisanku by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - given below:

Viswamitra the Magician,
By his spells and incantations,
Up to Indra's realms elysian
Raised Trisanku, king of nations.

Indra and the gods offended
Hurled him downward, and descending
In the air he hung suspended,
With these equal powers contending.

Thus by aspirations lifted,
By misgivings downward driven,
Human hearts are tossed and drifted
Midway between earth and heaven.

I saw the poem mentioned in the book 'The Hindus - An Alternative History' by Wendy Doniger; a very interesting book by the way. A detailed review of the book later.

Heliodorous Pillar - 2000 year old Garuda Pillar

I had read about the Helidorous pillar in Vidisha close to Sanchi, Madhya prdesh, India and was determined to see it when I visited Sanchi earlier this year.

The Pillar may not look very impressive - but when you consider that it was erected in 100 BC and that too by a Greek (Heliodorous) who came as an ambassador from the Greek King of Takshashila to the court of King Bhagabhadra of Vidisha., you cannot deny its historical importance. It seems Helidorous was a Vishnu devotee and erected this Garuda pillar dedicated to Vishnu (as per the Brahmi inscription in the pillar).

But it took me a long time to find the pillar - the locals did not seem to know much about it, but finally after a couple of hours of searching, I found the dirt road leading to the pillar.

And who says religion is of no use? the pillar has been worshipped in the past and maybe that is why the pillar survived the 2100 years. There was an Asoka pillar nearby which was broken up by an ‘enterprising’ business man and used in his jute mill!

So Heliodorous survived while Asoka perished!!!!

Hanuman's birthplace - no takers?

Considering the furore in India over Rama's birthplace, I was expecting a lot more when I visited Hanuman's birthplace of Kishkinda (now Hampi in Karnataka). However the temple turned out to be a small cement shed on top of a mountain. 

A good climb though of 600 odd steps.