I, like millions of people, had never heard the name Joseph Lelyveld till the other day. He hasn’t done himself any good, nor can he do Mahatma Gandhi any harm. It is much like spitting on the moon. Gandhi is so great a phenomenon that his dethronement is virtually ruled out.
I have not read Lelyveld’s book Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India. But excerpts from the book indicate that Lelyveld is an insensitive and shallow author, even though he has won the Pulitzer prize. I can name half a dozen authors who should never have been awarded the Nobel prize for literature. The Pulitzer jury is not infallible.
I am generally opposed to books being banned. At the same time, I believe that some books need to be banned — for example, if they lead to communal riots, or hurt the deeply felt sentiments of a large number of people, or grossly debase human values. There is a thin line between banning and not banning a book. Knee-jerk reactions do not help. So Lelyveld’s book should be read before it is banned. Will I read it? Yes, I would, if it comes my way. Will I buy the book? No. I’m not interested in promoting the vulgar curiosity of this author. I do respect the shrines of the minds of those who make our lives and polity purer and richer.
Would Gandhi have been in favour of banning this book? Certainly not. His life was an open book. He was too conscious that those in public life must be prepared to be smeared and tarnished. Yet, he never got stuck in the muck or mud. Lelyveld and his book will be forgotten soon; the Mahatma, never.
Moving on to the various scams, which are taking a heavy toll, some heads have rolled. Others will or should follow. People’s power is being realised all over the world, from Algeria to Bahrain, from Cairo to New Delhi, from Tripoli to Saana. There is a fresh democratic wind blowing all over the Arab world. Even Syria has caught this benign infection.
Take Libya. Except for his rabid followers, Muammar Gaddafi has no takers. Go he will but the price the people in Libya are paying, and paying in blood, is heavy. That leader is a law unto himself, a fearsome comic figure who knows how to dig his heels. Not one Arab or Muslim country has spoken in his favour.
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The arrogance of the Western powers – the US and The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation – is reminiscent of the gun diplomacy of the nineteenth century. Who has made Barack Obama, David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy the policemen of the world? Might is not right, be it Gaddafi or Obama. The United Nations Resolution 1973 passed by the United Nations Security Council is being used as a fig leaf. So much was expected of President Obama and so little has he delivered. Guns and bombings targeted at the protesters are sowing the seeds of an anti-West explosion. But what after the explosion? No new set of leaders has emerged so far. Change is a double-edged weapon; it has to be managed or else the derailment of history is unavoidable. Who will manage the changes in Tripoli, Damascus, Saana and so on? Are people thinking of new Constitutions? Who is looking at this crucial post-dictatorship era? One mess should not be followed by another. Rebuilding requires self-less dedication, hard work and determination.
Once again the weakness of the UN Security Council has been exposed. The gentle but helpless Secretary General, Ban ki-Moon, has made a well-meaning pronouncement. Is anybody listening? India will remain in the Security Council till December 2012. We should be engaged more constructively.
The WikiLeaks revelations have wounded and maimed – politically speaking – many stalwarts in the Congress party and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Heated accusations are cancelling each other. Yesterday’s saints are today’s devils. As the saying goes, “Hamam mein sab nangey hai.” People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. WikiLeaks has dealt the image of United Progressive Alliance-II a blow, and so as that of the Prime Minister, who is getting merciless battering in the entire media, with cartoonists in the lead. This is unprecedented and it tells us which way the wind is blowing.
Moreover, the Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are on the horizon. Not only will their outcome decide several political fates, it will also impact the national political scene. Watch out for Assam — if the Congress party retains the state, it will receive political blood transfusion; if not, it’s doom and gloom for the Congress.