A prominent daily newspaper is publishing the history of the founding of New Delhi a hundred years ago.
On December 12, 1911, King George the Vth held a Durbar in Delhi. It was on that day that the Emperor of India made two momentous announcements. One, the capital of India would be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi. Two, the partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon in 1905 was undone. Only twelve people knew of these proposals. Not even the wife of the King knew till she landed in Bombay.
The Durbar was the most meticulously planned, spectacular imperial ceremonial event in the history of the Raj. Nothing of similar grandeur, on so large a scale had ever been held in the British Empire: two hundred camps covering 25 square miles and with 10 miles of canvas laid out. Forty miles of new roads were constructed. Also 26.5 miles of broad gauge and 9 miles of narrow gauge railway with 24 new stations were built. The Durbar amphitheatre could seat 100,000 guests.
The invitees were chosen with meticulous care. Distinction and loyalty were the criteria. Pandit Motilal Nehru, the father of Jawaharlal Nehru (JN), was among those invited. In December 1910, he was vice-chairman, Reception Committee of the 25th session of the Indian National Congress held at Allahabad. He was a leading lawyer and at that stage his life an Anglophile. He was among the twenty gentlemen from the United Provinces specially chosen for attending the Durbar. As I have written elsewhere, “In the heroic saga of the Nehrus, so imperial a function should find no place, but it does. The younger Nehru was at the time in London at Lincoln’s Inn. Father and son exchanged half a dozen animated letters relating to the Durbar.”
On july 18, 1911, Motilal Nehru informed his son that he had received the “command” of His Gracious Majesty King Emperor George V to be in attendance at Delhi. He thought it a funny way “to inviting a gentleman”. The command had to be obeyed. Motilal’s court dresses were ordered from London. He wrote to JN on October 5, “to note that the lounge suits I have already asked you to order for me should be such as may be worn in presence of the King”. A solar helmet was also to be sent by parcel post. He told his son that the “silly show has already cost me a lot of time and money”.
At Delhi, Motilal and his family stayed at the camp of the Lt Governor of UP. They attended all the functions except the state dinner and had no reason to grumble as “we cannot say we were superseded”. At all other functions, they were given the “most prominent places and received special bows from the King and the Queen”. He also wrote to JN about the Baroda incident: “I was one of the twenty from the United Provinces specially selected to pay homage to their Majesties and did not make an ass of myself as Baroda did.” What did the Gaikwad of Baroda do? He made a semi-bow, turned his back on their Imperial Majesties and returned to his seat twirling his stick. It was an example of lese-majesty on a grand scale. The Gaikwad and Motilal Nehru were seated not far from each other. He asked Motilal what he thought of the show. The distinguished lawyer replied, “this is the grandest tamasha I have seen”. The Gaikwad’s response was that all were being asked to act as “animals in a circus”. The bravado did not last long. Gaikwad made an abject apology. Motilal Nehru had a photograph taken of himself in court dress, with the coronation Durbar medal adoring his attire.
The murder of Salman Taseer, the late governor of Punjab, is a chilling reminder of the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. Religious fundamentalism is now a terrifying component of life. The man who pumped half a dozen bullets into the body of the man whom he was to protect, shows no remorse. He has become a hero for many in Pakistan. This is 2011, not 1711. This was not the doing of an impulsive man. It was a well-planned murder.
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Tailpiece
How does one describe the phantasmagoria of 2010? I am attempting a half-serious, half jocular alphabetical summing up. Apprehensive, adventurous, amoral, banal, bingey, bawdy, bollywoodish, cricket crazy, confident, confused, commercial, commonwealth gameish, debunking, damnable, depressing, dolce-vitaish, daring, disposable, enthralling, enterprising, entrepreneurial, ersatz American, effete, floccose, frangible, forgettable, futuristic, god-fearing, gold-worshipping, hedonistic, haute mode, inane, inventive, Kafkaish, luminous, leaky, lobbyistic, lecherous, materialistic, mobile, magnanimous, opportunistic, night clubby, permanent fiveish, self-confident, self-serving, self-doubting, sensual, seedy, thoughtful, trashy, tenet-free, unmemorable, yuppy, zestful.
If I have left out anything, kindly fill the gaps.