Long years ago, Edward Behr, the former Newsweek man in Europe, wrote a fine book on the travails of the language-challenged western journalist titled, ‘Anybody here raped and speaks English?‘
After sixty years of freedom, we could well overturn the question and ask if there is anybody here who is Indian and regrets Independence from the British.
Granta editor Ian Jack, an old India hand, has an interesting take in The Guardian, London:
“In India, there is probably nobody left alive who regrets independence, but in 1947 not everyone threw their caps in the air. On a visit to Bangalore last week I talked to several people old enough to remember August 1947 and their reactions were unexpected.
“Until independence, Bangalore was ruled by the Maharajah of Mysore, a famously enlightened monarch. Krishna Urs, a retired engineer aged 70, said: “Certain sections of the Mysore community—like mine—were very sad at independence. They thought the Maharajah would go away.”
“M.V. Krishnaswamy, a film-maker aged 82, went to jail for three months in 1942 for supporting the Quit India movement, but he was a reluctant participant in the struggle. “I was not a politician of any shape or kind. In other parts of the country people were trained to believe that the British exploited them and that one must hate them. That was never the case in Mysore.” He came to Britain in 1948. “I had become a free man. I spent my best days in your wonderful country. I got to know the whole documentary movement… They all became such good friends of mine that this independence thing hardly came to my mind.”
“Last, I met Jeanne Roby, a sprightly Anglo-Indian former gym teacher aged 78. The Anglo-Indian stereotype would suggest a woman who lost her bearings when the British left. On the contrary: “It was so nice to belong to India. I started to call myself an Indian and I started to wear a sari—a beautiful blue sari. My grandmother said, ‘Why are you wearing that winding sheet?’ I think it was a discovery of India and a discovery of me. So among Anglo-Indians I was a real misfit, being proud to be Indian.”
Read the full article here: Historical anniversaries obliterate the kingdom of individuals
No regreta at all. Independence is independence. It was not offered on a platter. Indians have fought for it, suffered for it, sacrificed for it. True, the present generation may not understand the worth of it. But at the same time it is the duty of elders to enlighten about the struggle. Gandhi should not be rememberd in the form of MG Roads. Neither is is Indira/Rajiv/ Sanjay/Sonia Gandhi. Freedom / Independence /Liberty _ these are very abstract things like happiness/sorrow. It can only be felt it cannot be measured. Yes, we Indians are really PROUD of our independence.
I read the entire article of Ian. Very interesting. There are a couple of comments on his article which is also interesting.
This reminds me of a eloquent statement made by Mr. K.T. Bhashyam Iyengar in the Dasara Session of the Mysore Representative Assembly in 1938:
“I say that you treat my soul as a child treats a toy; you say, i will feed you, I will clothe you , I will bathe you and i will make you happy but you have done it all according to your likes and fancies. That is alright so long as people are willing to be guided like that but to day we do not want to be fed, clothed or bathed by anybody according to his desire. We want to feed ourselves, cloth ourselves and bathe ourselves in the manner we desire. That desire has to be determined by him and not by an outside body HOWEVER, BENOVALENT it might be”
After 23 years after independence, Mrs. Gandhi coined the Garibi hatao slogan and abolished the Privy Purse and today it is difficult to bathe according our wish as there is no water!
In the Mysore Kingdom, the governing council consisted of Diwan and Two Councilors who managed the affairs of the State efficiently. In the first Responsible Govt. formed in 1947 there were as many as 11 ministers. Now after 6o years it is multiplied by six times over.
Right to property is no longer a fundamental Right.
It is all Kissa Kursi ka and for ordinary non political man constitution or no constitution, he still looks for some one benevolent to feed, bathe and cloth him. The issue of Roti, Kapda and Makan is more acute then ever before.
Yes, awesome article. And it’s particularly relevant nowadays, with the media’s way of doing things… almost branding the hapless subjects of whatever issue they’re dissecting at that moment, with their opinion of it. And then calling it Public opinion.
I’ve always felt sweeping generalizations do tend to rub out the fine etchings. And as a young reader of this blog i frequently find myself questioning if ‘mainstream opinion’ is always the ‘right opinion’…especially when it comes to learning about past events, of which my generation could have no knowledge of, if not for its (accurate…or not) depiction on the media. So much depends on the WAY the story is told…
No body on the face of earth, to what ever country he may belong can regret independence let alone an Indian. Individual interest is important but not at the cost of nationality. One amusing part of the interview is, all the people with whom he interacted belong to pre independence period, and it is natural as they have seen both the periods. But the biased view of an old person who likes to live in the past memories need not be the basis of generalization. It is desirable to note all the things we enjoy are to a large extent the fruits of our effort in the post independence period.
There are a few things that can make us wonder at the turn of events but we have to remember that only permanent thing in life is change. Let us accept it gracefully; even it may pass with the changing time
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The thought of being called an INDIAN is pretty fragmented.
There is no Uniform law for all the Citizens in this Country.
What Heck ?
We have got the same policies which the British left us with .
DIVIDE and RULE.
Ofcourse there is a section of the elite which wants to rule the masses who call themselves as Indians. Their had first hand view on how to shape their Children’s future in an Independent India.
After 60 Years the economy is in shambles. Black Money culture is rampant and hardly we have 5 % of the population paying taxes.
We have had famous board room economists from Harvard and Oxford trying to liberate us, however they learnt only to tax the salaried class. Tax them more because they are already in the trap.
Do not tax the Black money hoarders. 60 years has been a royal good trip for these guys because a Harvard and Oxford too could not clean the system.
Now when Inflation hits them they state that its imported commodity.
Corruption is the main stay of the INDIAN Society….
Of course we are not bound together as Indians because the guiding principles of the Constitution made us think that we are
HINDUS,MUSLIMS and CHRISTIANS…Ooops somebody forgot the SIKHS,JAINS and Buddhists as he was napping…
We are also known as GOWDAS,LINGAYATS,KURUBAS,NAIRS,PATILS,VISHWAKARMAS,MUKHERJEES,BANERJEES,REDDY,NAIDU, BRAHMINS,IYENGARS etcc….
We have suffixed this with our names to make us UN-INDIAN.
We have corruption as our mainstay……
Lok Ayukta can conduct a raid but cant convict anyone….. Law without a tooth….
We have riots and bombs all round not withstanding the errors created by accident.
Primary Health Care, Unemployment, Education is not on anyone’s agenda…LIP SERVICE.
Patriotic zeal has died a sudden death…..
Garibi Hatao in 1970’s…. Just a Slogan..
GARIB is still Garib…