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‘Abid Hasan Safrani: Netaji ‘s Comrade-in-arms’ (ORIENT BLACK SWAN; Rs.895; 2023 ) is a slim volume put together by Ismat Mehdi and Shehbaz Safrani, presenting a crisp and engaging narration of the illustrious personality who is immortalised by the slogan “Jai Hind”. 

The Importance of Being Abid Hasan Safrani

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A Native Mahatma of Communication

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Sainath_part_2_1_770x470_b6a5fb52cb.jpg" alt="Sainath-part-2-1-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Sainath_part_2_1_770x470_b6a5fb52cb.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Sainath_part_2_1_770x470_b6a5fb52cb.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Sainath_part_2_1_770x470_b6a5fb52cb.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">This is the second part of the edited transcript of renowned writer and journalist P. Sainath’s inaugural speech at the Panchajanyam film festival at Chittoor, Palakkad, Kerala. The event took place on February 4, 2024. (For Video, Click <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/p-sainath-speaking-at-the-panchajanyam-film-festival-in-palakkad/"><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Here</a><em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">)&nbsp;We are seeing genocide and are unable to condemn it. We are seeing genocide in Palestine. We are seeing genocide televised live. Yet, it doesn’t move us to action.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">One of the things that I am proud of, and I want to tell you about rediscovering remembrance. Remembrance is resistance, and there is no resistance without remembrance. One of the things that I first remember most proudly about my country is the first passport that I owned, in the first half of the eighties. And, it said: “All countries except the Republic of South Africa and Israel.”<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Do you know that Indian passports had a ban on South Africa even before we became independent. A poor country emerging from famine, from hundreds of millions of deaths, South Africa was boycotted by all countries. That country lost 5% of its external trade because we had a huge trade surplus with it. And, we did that on morality. Ours was a moral position. We may not have been a great nuclear power, but we were a great moral power. Mahatma Gandhi in the 1930s was already condemning what was happening in Palestine. Every single Indian national leader worth his salt was condemning what was happening in Palestine because they knew what British imperialism did.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:600px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_26394" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26394"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/6222_cd293dec1b.jpg" alt="6222.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_6222_cd293dec1b.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_6222_cd293dec1b.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-26394">Gandhi arriving in Britain in 1931</figcaption></figure><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">I have been to over 45 colleges and universities in the last more than one-and-a-half years with my book “The Last Heroes – Foot Soldiers of Indian Freedom” based on the life story of living freedom fighters. Incidentally, it is also published in Malayalam. You know, when you have completely erased history to this extent, Naturam Godse resurfaces as a freedom fighter, as a hero. Savarkar resurfaces as a hero.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Now, I will tell you two things, one about myself and the other about Savarkar. I was not trained as a journalist. I was trained as a historian, and my guide was K.N. Panikkar. My teachers were Romila Thaper, K.N. Panikkar, Bipan Chandra, S. Bhattacharya, and S. Gopal. I dropped out of my M.Phil and P.hD and went into journalism. Now, let me share my understanding of Mr. Savarkar. You know, Vinayak Damodar Savakar was a genuine revolutionary till 1911. Let us not indulge in the erasure of the past. He was a genuine bonafide revolutionary till 1911. That is when he was thrown into the Andamans, and all his revolutionary zeal vanished.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:800px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_17626" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-17626"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/savarkar_e7fc110e15.jpg" alt="savarkar.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_savarkar_e7fc110e15.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_savarkar_e7fc110e15.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_savarkar_e7fc110e15.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-17626">Vinayak Damodar Savakar</figcaption></figure><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">There were hundreds of others who were sent to the Andamans, but he was the only one who wrote seven begging mercy petitions to the British Raj, saying: “Spare me. I will be your advocate.” There were others who wrote letters seeking remission of sentence in various prisons in India, but the Andaman prisoners did not write mercy petitions except Savarkar. Leaders of the old Ghadar party in Punjab would write letters from prisons. Gurmit Singh, founder of the Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall in Jalandhar, would write letters citing domestic issues, and within a week of being released on compassionate grounds he was bombing the British barracks in Hoshiarpur railway station. These were your revolutionaries, and none of them offered to collaborate with the British.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:850px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_26395" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26395"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Work_party_of_Andaman_Island_Penal_Colony_prisoners_being_fed_by_the_sea_shore_circa_5248d56209.jpg" alt="Work-party-of-Andaman-Island-Penal-Colony-prisoners-being-fed-by-the-sea-shore-circa.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Work_party_of_Andaman_Island_Penal_Colony_prisoners_being_fed_by_the_sea_shore_circa_5248d56209.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Work_party_of_Andaman_Island_Penal_Colony_prisoners_being_fed_by_the_sea_shore_circa_5248d56209.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Work_party_of_Andaman_Island_Penal_Colony_prisoners_being_fed_by_the_sea_shore_circa_5248d56209.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-26395">Andaman Island Penal Colony/ Photo from collection presented to India Record Office by Sir Richard C. Temple in 1922.</figcaption></figure><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">I suggest you read Mr. Savarkar’s letters. A.G. Noorani’s seminal book contains five of the seven petitions. They are in the National Archives. The point is that after spending time writing Mercy petitions to the British, he was released. He was confined to Ratnagiri district. He was not under house arrest, but he could not leave the district. In 1926, a book titled “The Life of Barrister Savarkar” was released. The book was written by the pseudonym Chitra Gupta (Chitra Gupta was, as per mythology, the scribe and book-keeper of Lord Yama). In the 18th and 19th centuries, a lot of people used the pseudonym ‘Chitra Gupta’ because it had some authority. The book was a terrible hagiography. It was, in fact, such a eulogy of Savarkar that it gives hagiography a bad name. The book was proscribed in 1926 by the British, but it was published again in 1942 and a discussion of sorts about the book began in some quarters.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The discussion again was over who Chitra Gupta was. The book was published once again in 1986, and the publisher proudly revealed that Chitra Gupta was none other than Savarkar himself. Interestingly, the source for this information was none other than Savarkar’s younger brother. So, Savarkar had written his autobiography and presented it to the world as a biography. I went back and read it again, and I had to conclude that Mr. Savarkar had a very high opinion of Mr. Savarkar. I wanted to tell you that remembrance is necessary. For a nation that does not know where it came from and has no clue about where it is going.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">You don’t know about the freedom struggle if you don’t know about the incredible fights of the freedom struggle. How many people in this country sacrificed for 190 years, and history tells us about how it all began in 1857, ninety years before the first shot was fired in the North.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:800px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_26396" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26396"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_45_8815fd2b16.jpeg" alt="images-45.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_45_8815fd2b16.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_45_8815fd2b16.jpeg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_images_45_8815fd2b16.jpeg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-26396">Battle of Plassey (Artists Rendition)</figcaption></figure><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">It started with the Battle of Plassey, and the Adivasis and Dalits of the Jungle Mahal region resisting the British for 40 years in what was wrongly known as the Chuar rebellion. In the eighties and nineties, 60 years before a single shot was fired in the North (India), Tipu Sultan, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, and the Maruda brothers led a struggle. The Marud Brothers and Kattabomman actually came closest to bringing down the East India Company totally. This is your history. Please know it and remember it. It was not happening in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">To be continued in Part 3.

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This is the second part of the edited transcript of renowned writer and journalist P. Sainath’s inaugural speech at the Panchajanyam film festival at Chittoor, Palakkad, Kerala. The event took place on February 4, 2024. (For Video, Click Here)

Remembering History is Important: One should Know that Savarkar Wrote his own Biography to Glorify Himself

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Ae_watan_01_1_770x470_88e39b006e.jpg" alt="Ae-watan-01-1-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_Ae_watan_01_1_770x470_88e39b006e.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_Ae_watan_01_1_770x470_88e39b006e.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_Ae_watan_01_1_770x470_88e39b006e.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">I normally do not write on films. But “Ae Watan Mere Watan” is such a special movie that it deserves some extraordinary interventions and appeals. The film has been released on Amazon Prime Video. It has been written by Darab Farooqui, a close friend and associate in the realm of ideas and ideological preferences. Kanan Iyer is the director of the movie.<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LIq144fT4c4" title="Ae Watan Mere Watan - Official Trailer | Prime Video India" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>The film is inspired by the story of “Congress Radio” of 1942 and the struggle of Usha Mehta in setting it up and sustaining it. In this film, Ram Manohar Lohia appears in a very important role on screen for the first time in the history of Indian cinema. The film is indeed historical, but this is a very important film for our times too! This film gives us the words and ideas to address our contemporary challenges. But more than that it gives us hope and self-confidence.<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:690px;" id="attachment_27179" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-27179"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/usha_mehta_sixteen_nine_3_cf7a67c6ab.jpg" alt="usha_mehta-sixteen_nine-_3.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_usha_mehta_sixteen_nine_3_cf7a67c6ab.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_usha_mehta_sixteen_nine_3_cf7a67c6ab.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-27179">Usha Mehta and Sara Ali Khan playing as Usha Mehta in the movie</figcaption></figure>Many scenes of the film are mirrors of today’s world. You will feel as if you are watching today’s film and not that of 1942. The situation the country is going through today is indeed similar to the one that existed during the British era. The very same dictatorship, cruelty and inhumanity.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:300px;" id="attachment_27189" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-27189"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_49_e814c502d6.jpeg" alt="images-49.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_49_e814c502d6.jpeg 245w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-27189">Ram Manohar Lohia</figcaption></figure>Make sure that not only you but your entire family watches this movie. In this time marked by false and malicious propaganda, this film will impart in you courage, energy and patience in many ways. This is our film. It is a film of our thinking, a film of our hopes, a film of our struggle, a film of our ideology. It is our responsibility to take its message across India and the globe.</div></div>

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“Ae Watan Mere Watan” – A Brief Introduction to the film by Yogendra Yadav

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Renowned writer and journalist P Sainath presents an extensive narration of Indian history and underscores the importance of remembering a country’s past truthfully and drawing the correct lessons from such remembrance. He points out that rampant and aggressive attempts are on from the Narendra Modi regime to erase heroic chapters from India’s freedom struggle in order to manipulate the narratives of the present. “A country that does not know its past does not know where it is going too”. He points out in this inaugural speech made at the Panchajanyam Film Festival at Chittoor, Palakkad on 4 February 2024.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">“സ്വന്തം ഭൂതകാലത്തെ പറ്റി ഒന്നുമറിയാത്ത ഒരു രാജ്യത്തിന് അത് നാളെ എങ്ങോട്ടാണ് പോകുന്നത് എന്നും അറിയില്ല” – ഇന്ത്യൻ ചരിത്രത്തിൻ്റെ ഒരു സമഗ്ര പരിപ്രേക്ഷ്യം അവതരിപ്പിച്ചുകൊണ്ടാണ് പ്രശസ്ത പത്രപ്രവർത്തകനും എഴുത്തുകാരനുമായ പി സായ്നാഥ് ചിറ്റൂർ പാഞ്ചജന്യം ഫിലിം സൊസൈറ്റിയുടെ ചലച്ചിത്രോത്സവം ഫെബ്രുവരി നാലിന് ഉദ്ഘാടനം ചെയ്തത്. സ്വന്തം ഭൂതകാലത്തെ സത്യസന്ധമായി ഓർത്തുകൊണ്ടും അതിൽ നിന്ന് ശരിയായ പാഠങ്ങൾ പഠിച്ചും മാത്രമേ ഏത് രാജ്യത്തിനും ജനതയ്ക്കും മുന്നോട്ടുപോകാൻ ആവൂ എന്ന് സായ്നാഥ് ചൂണ്ടിക്കാട്ടി. നരേന്ദ്ര മോദിയുടെ ഭരണം നടക്കുന്ന സമകാലിക ഇന്ത്യയിൽ നമ്മുടെ സ്വാതന്ത്രസമര ചരിത്രത്തെ വികൃതമാക്കാനും വികലമായി അവതരിപ്പിക്കാനുമുള്ള ഭ്രാന്തവും സംഘടിതവുമായ ശ്രമങ്ങൾ നടന്നുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുകയാണ് എന്നും സായ്നാഥ് പറഞ്ഞു. പ്രസംഗത്തിന്റെ പൂർണ്ണരൂപം ഇവിടെ കാണാം.

Rediscovering India in the Times of Manipulation of History

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How NCERT Cripples the Idea of India

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240717_WA_0030_770x470_d6b15a67b8.jpg" alt="IMG-20240717-WA0030-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240717_WA_0030_770x470_d6b15a67b8.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240717_WA_0030_770x470_d6b15a67b8.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240717_WA_0030_770x470_d6b15a67b8.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, holds profound significance due to the tragic events of Karbala that unfolded in 680 CE. The martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, along with his family and supporters, marked a pivotal moment in Islamic history. The battle of Karbala, a tale of resistance against tyranny and the struggle for justice, transcends religious boundaries and has resonated deeply within various socio-political contexts, including India. This essay explores how the message of Muharram has influenced and continues to shape socio-political structures in India.&nbsp;<h2 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:25px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">Historical Context and Cultural Integration</h2>India, with its rich tapestry of religious and cultural diversity, has a unique relationship with Muharram. The observance of Muharram, especially the Day of Ashura, has been an integral part of India’s cultural fabric for centuries. The commemoration of Imam Hussain’s martyrdom through processions, lamentations, and reenactments (known as “tazias”) is not confined to the Muslim community alone. Various sects and even non-Muslim communities partake in these observances, symbolizing a broader cultural integration.The message of Karbala—resistance against oppression and the quest for justice—finds a particular resonance in India’s historical struggles against colonial rule and internal social injustices. Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi drew inspiration from the sacrifices of Karbala, emphasizing non-violence and steadfastness in the face of tyranny. Gandhi’s analogy of Imam Hussain’s martyrdom as a symbol of non-violent resistance underscores the deep-rooted influence of Muharram’s message on India’s socio-political movements.&nbsp;<h2 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:25px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">Social Justice and Reform</h2>The narrative of Karbala emphasizes the principles of justice, equality, and standing up against oppression. These principles have profoundly influenced social reform movements in India. For instance, the fight against caste-based discrimination and untouchability has parallels with the stand taken by Imam Hussain against the unjust rule of Yazid. Social reformers in India, like B.R Ambedkar, echoed similar sentiments, advocating for the rights of the marginalized and oppressed communities.The essence of Karbala has also been instrumental in promoting communal harmony and unity. The shared commemoration of Muharram by diverse religious groups fosters a sense of solidarity and mutual respect. This unity is crucial in a pluralistic society like India, where communal tensions can be a significant socio-political challenge. The inclusive spirit of Muharram serves as a reminder of the common human values that bind different communities together.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:480px;" id="attachment_28964" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28964"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240717_WA_0026_972dd38a31.jpg" alt="IMG-20240717-WA0026.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240717_WA_0026_972dd38a31.jpg 245w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-28964">The mass of followers outside Asafi Imambada, in traditional black attire, paying homage to the martyrs of Karbala.</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<h2 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:25px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">Political Activism and Resistance</h2>The story of Karbala is inherently political, rooted in the defiance against a tyrannical regime. This aspect of Muharram has inspired political activism and resistance movements across India. The struggle for independence from British rule saw many parallels drawn with Karbala, where freedom fighters viewed their struggle as a continuation of Imam Hussain’s fight for justice.In contemporary times, the message of Muharram continues to inspire political movements against corruption, authoritarianism, and human rights abuses. Activists and leaders invoke the spirit of Karbala to mobilize people and galvanize support for causes that aim to uphold justice and fight against systemic oppression. The enduring relevance of Karbala’s message is evident in various protests and movements, where slogans and symbols from Muharram are prominently displayed.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:480px;" id="attachment_28965" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28965"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240717_WA_0027_3dd7c70d50.jpg" alt="IMG-20240717-WA0027.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240717_WA_0027_3dd7c70d50.jpg 234w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-28965">The traditional Alam Fatah-e-Furat (Flag of the victor of Euphrates) is a procession marking 8th day of Moharram. It is in commemoration to martyrdom of Husain’s brother Abbas, who was martyred at the banks of Euphrates in the battle of Karbala.</figcaption></figure>The socio-political significance of Muharram, particularly in the Indian context, is a testament to the timeless relevance of the events of Karbala. The principles of justice, resistance against tyranny, and the pursuit of equality that define Muharram have permeated India’s historical and contemporary socio-political landscape. From inspiring leaders and social reformers to fostering communal harmony and mobilizing political activism, the message of Karbala continues to shape and influence the ethos of Indian society. As India navigates its complex socio-political challenges, the legacy of Muharram remains a powerful beacon of hope, guiding the nation towards a more just and equitable future.</div></div>

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From Karbala to Modern Times: Muharram's Socio-Political Significance

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240720_WA_0012_770x470_970911e623.jpg" alt="IMG-20240720-WA0012-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240720_WA_0012_770x470_970911e623.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240720_WA_0012_770x470_970911e623.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240720_WA_0012_770x470_970911e623.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">R. Rajagopal, the Editor at Large of The Telegraph, continues his close observation and analysis of the Indian media space and the manner in which mainstream newspapers covered serious developments such as the tragic fate of Rahim Ali, a resident of Kashimpur village in Assam’s Nalbari district, whose Indian citizenship was recently reinstated by the Supreme Court without knowing that he had died in his village two and a half years ago, in December 2021 at the age of 58. Ali was branded a foreigner and his citizenship was revoked by the Foreigners Tribunal in the State in 2012. In this analysis, Rajagopal also pays a tribute to EP Unny, Chief Political Cartoonist of The Indian Express (IE), highlighting the cartoon he drew on this issue. The IE editorial too is specially mentioned in this important media critique written by one of the tallest newspaper editors of the country. The AIDEM has sourced this from R Rajagopal’s social media posts.<hr>Ruthlessness is the irreplaceable sidearm of cartooning. But every once in a while, the merciless craft drops the snub-nosed weapon and picks up the feather to offer a healing touch. EP Unny does so in The Indian Express, making Calvin pay graceful tribute to Rahim Ali, whose first name means compassion, something that was denied to him in life.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:329px;" id="attachment_29032" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-29032"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_20_T173700_4832_300x243_d936ec5b72.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-20T173700.4832-300x243.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_20_T173700_4832_300x243_d936ec5b72.jpeg 193w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-29032">Rahim Ali</figcaption></figure>But Unny does not forget to wield the scalpel, referring to the risk that can be faced by those who, unwittingly or otherwise, showed compassion to Ali. The Express has a strong editorial also. I leave it you to find out which other newspapers followed up one of the most important stories after the general election.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:25.2%;"><img style="aspect-ratio:undefined/undefined;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240720_WA_0005_195x300_71211f9358.jpg" alt="IMG-20240720-WA0005-195x300.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240720_WA_0005_195x300_71211f9358.jpg 101w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure>The other day, I had told a sceptical friend that this is too big a story to be ignored by the rest of the media. I think I have largely been proved wrong. Calvin’s compassion reminds me of the farewell cartoon to Nehru by Rajinder Puri (which I am attaching below from Unny’s Twitter account). Puri was kind enough to treat me to coffee and scones (I heard the word first from him) and his vision of journalism at the Embassy Hotel (or was it the Ambassador? Delhi overdoses on diplomatic jargon) in Connaught Place when I gatecrashed his idyllic haunt when I was a student.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img style="aspect-ratio:undefined/undefined;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240720_WA_0008_768x851_3162e7e51a.jpg" alt="IMG-20240720-WA0008-768x851.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240720_WA_0008_768x851_3162e7e51a.jpg 141w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240720_WA_0008_768x851_3162e7e51a.jpg 451w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240720_WA_0008_768x851_3162e7e51a.jpg 677w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure>Unny unfailingly pays tribute with his craft to many people when they pass away or cross milestones. I am particularly touched by his tributes to artist Namboodiri and actor Irrfan Khan. I also recall now a cartoon that made me cry when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. Ungratefully, I cannot recall where I saw it or who drew it. Was it on Sunday magazine? It was a full-page cartoon showing Rajiv, who was a pilot, steering a flight to the skies, with the immortal words of Shakespeare: “Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”If my friend Sumit, who was with Sunday, confirms and clarifies whose cartoon it was, I will let you know. 33 years later, Unny’s cartoon has done to me what I felt in 1991 when the cartoonist I cannot recall borrowed from Hamlet and Horatio. “Good night, Sweet Prince” would also have been the most apt headline I could not think up when Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi died.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img style="aspect-ratio:undefined/undefined;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240720_WA_0007_768x805_41aca38d07.jpg" alt="IMG-20240720-WA0007-768x805.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240720_WA_0007_768x805_41aca38d07.jpg 149w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240720_WA_0007_768x805_41aca38d07.jpg 477w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240720_WA_0007_768x805_41aca38d07.jpg 716w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure>Deepayan Chatterjee, the wizard with words who passed the baton to me, told Sumit about that unwritten headline later. I was deeply affected by Pataudi’s death although I have been merciless when he was arrested in the hunting case. Technically, only technically, he was my colleague for three years because he was the editor of Sportsworld which was owned by the same management I worked for and located a floor below the newspaper I was with then although I have never met him.The coverage of Pataudi’s death was also one of the first instances that informed my mentors that something is wrong with me — a reckless gene that runs amok once in a while — in the sense that I can get carried away by news events, unlike poker-faced editors who revel in affecting the inscrutable visage.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:361px;" id="attachment_29033" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-29033"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_20_T174125_041_5399f7bca3.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-20T174125.041.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_20_T174125_041_5399f7bca3.jpeg 104w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_07_20_T174125_041_5399f7bca3.jpeg 334w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-29033">Rajinder Puri</figcaption></figure>Shocked by the display, a journalist I respect the most told me the next day, poker-faced of course and the upper lip as stiff as Modi at that rare media conference: “I thought the Prime Minister died.” It was his polite way of suggesting I went overboard. I leave you with some of the farewell cartoons of Puri and Unny. I still harbour the hope that other newspapers will follow up the Ali story until the executive and judicial leadership takes note and puts in place checks and balances.</div></div>

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Calvin Cares, But Others...

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Revisiting Quit India Movement and Gandhi’s Idea of Inclusive India

Malayalam (ml)

Tamil (ta)

English (en)

Hindi (hi)

Telugu (te)

Kannada (kn)

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Dancing To Her Tune

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An Unwritten National Autobiography

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_6258d15665.jpeg" alt="images-1.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_6258d15665.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_1_6258d15665.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">People who read literature in India knew him, MT Vasudevan Nair. Language was no hurdle for his works to reach out beyond the state borders of Kerala. While Malayali diaspora took a handful of nostalgia along to the places they went, a little bit of MT was also in that.Today, the big business of literature finds translators to translate anything that moves. All tetrapods of literature are given awards that stink of corporate imperialistic nexus. But MT belonged to a different era when blood recognised blood, genius recognised genius. He got translated not once but several times.Basheer, Takazhi and MT were the triumvirate that could transcend the borders and stand tall among the Indian modernist literature. Yes, MT’s literature also had a fair amount of auto-fiction but he hoodwinked it with the magic of text. He was a persuasive minimalist both in writing and in person.An unsmiling MT could generate generations of readers who could smile through tears. MT wrote about a collapsing social structure that divested the old feudal class with their ill-gotten properties. But their social capital remained intact and could exert a lot of influence among the readers by becoming the surrogate emotional ethos of a transition time of Kerala’s socio-political history.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1196px;" id="attachment_31084" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31084"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg" alt="mt-1024x575.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31084">MT during his Interview with Sabha TV (Watch <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NttnjeaVqn0">Here</a>)</figcaption></figure>When society evolved into a different being altogether, MT turned to the treasure trove of myths and itihasas to eke out allegories that explained the pain of loss, of class, roots and love. His literature spat on the face of bigotry, whether it was religious or familial. He was so stoically poised in his literature that none could have challenged him and expelled him from the world of literature.MT’s literature spoke of love and separation as vehemently as he wrote about the changing social complexions. But he was not sentimental. There was something in his writing that touched some chord in every reader. Before initiating themselves into Ambedkarite politics, the Dalit ideologues also, in their torturous nights of youth, pined for MT’s characters.Those who call the modernists, Dad Vibes, have really lost the sight of the forest while focusing on shrubs and thicket. MT was a forest that moved, as in the great tragedies. He remained a serious writer while the post modernists fell in the trap of publishers and wrote lightning stories and became laughing stokes.MT remains, so is the MT critique. That’s the beauty of a great writer’s life and of course, death.</div></div>

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MT: A Forest that Moved

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An ‘Overture’ Stringing The Pope, Yesudas and the ‘Songster Chaplain’

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/1_cc9df0fe47.png" alt="വലതുപക്ഷവുമായുള്ള-സംവാദത്തിൻ്റെ-വ്യർത്ഥത-1.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_1_cc9df0fe47.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_1_cc9df0fe47.png 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">When old age shall this generation waste,Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woeThan ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is allYe know on earth, and all ye need to know.” (John Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn)<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/6_904b2e9f2a.jpg" alt="6.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_6_904b2e9f2a.jpg 147w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_6_904b2e9f2a.jpg 470w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Siddharth Tagore, Founder Director of Delhi’s <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/artkonsultindia/photos">Art Konsult</a> Gallery is no more. He cannot be contained in such a cold statement, so matter of fact like death itself. Besides the gallery, he founded magazines such as Art and Deal, Travel and Deal and many other publications. Even when he knew that he wouldn’t make any profit out of the publications, he invested money in them because he knew art wouldn’t survive without the literature surrounding it.&nbsp;Yet another venture of Tagore’s was an auction house, namely Art Bull. The name was perfect for a bullish art market of the 2000s. But the glitch was this: Siddharth Tagore was not bullish. Nor was he bearish. He was cherubic, complete with a benign smile on his face and a burning cigarette between his fingers. Whenever I came out after having a meeting with him, I would ask myself, was he cut for this business?&nbsp;Tagore could have been a poet and dreamer like his internationally renowned namesake of yesteryears.. After the pandemic period I met Tagore after a gap of four years at the Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre where Art Konsult had organized a group exhibition. After the inaugural function, I shook hands with him and I realized that his hands had lost the firm grip though the warmth remained. “I have not been keeping well,” he told me.&nbsp;<div class="gallery galleryid-31051 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-full" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:30px -8.96875px 0px;padding:0px;" id="gallery-1"><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg" alt="c-768x993.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 121w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 387w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 580w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg" alt="b-768x985.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 122w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 390w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 585w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/a_7888f94e4b.jpg" alt="a.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 121w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 385w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 577w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure></div>Then on another occasion, at the same gallery, I met him again, this time without the crowd. He preferred to wear a pair of fading blue jeans and white shirt, a reminder of those romantic 1970s when every youth in West Bengal dreamt of poetry, love and revolution. Jeans and Shirt were the uniform of love and revolution. I think, when Tagore came to Delhi as a young man, he carried those qualities along, plus his sense of dressing. Lovers in those days smoked rather constantly and drank Old Monk Rum.&nbsp;On that day when I met him, Tagore told me that he had quit smoking, which was news to me. I couldn’t have imagined the man without a cigarette between his fingers or at least a packet of cigarettes to fuss with. I understood the gravity of the situation.&nbsp;Then again, we met when Praveen Upadhyay of the Progressive Gallery at Laddo Sarai organized a talk session with art professionals that included Tagore, Prayag Shukla, Vinod Bharadwaj and myself. Tagore was supposed to talk about the art market. When the mike was handed over to him, he fussed with it for a while and said that he always wanted to make it big by promoting young artists, but somehow, he never made huge business.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:689px;" id="attachment_31054" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31054"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg" alt="7-768x511.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 235w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31054">Siddharth speaking to the media at Art Konsult</figcaption></figure>Then I remembered Tagore telling the same during the market boom years that lasted in India for around ten years starting from 2005 to 2015. In 2008, the world market had collapsed, but the Indian art market using its cunning and reserve withstood the pressures and dragged the impending failure for a few more years only to revive itself by the beginning of the third decade of the new millennium.&nbsp;Had Tagore acquired a penchant for failure despite his resilience in running a gallery, publications and an auction house for over three and a half decades ? Did he enjoy calling himself a failure in the art market? Was he romantically involved with the idea of failure even when he kept others who were with him in the business, floating? I don’t know for sure. But Tagore remained grounded and rooted; he tried his best to keep himself away from the nefarious market practices.&nbsp;There were a few people who stood with Tagore in his highs and lows (lows that lasted for not some months but for years together), never deserting him, following his orders. Prashant Seal and Rajula Bisht are two people I remember. These two people have been so close to his heart and even after his twin daughters joining him in the business, both Seal and Bisht never lost their position as the confidantes of Tagore. He loved them like family.&nbsp;I met Siddharth Tagore in 1995. He had started Art Konsult in Hauz Khas Village. Meena Tagore (now Meena Varma) was with him then. Late Vijayan Kannanpally was the editor of Art and Deal. With the growth of art scene, Tagore’s gallery also grew in stature. Art Konsult was one of the few A listed galleries in the city. Tagore took it to South Delhi’s art district, Laddo Sarai during the boom years and later relocated it to Hauz Khas again.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:562px;" id="attachment_31055" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31055"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg" alt="0-768x512.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 234w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31055">Siddharth Tagore with art critic and curator Jyoti A Kathpalia at the Art Konsult, New Delhi</figcaption></figure>It was in his Laddo Sarai phase that I joined him as the Editor of Art and Deal. It was the same when he decided to start Art Bull and Travel and Deal. I brought out around ten issues of Art and Deal between 2010 and 2013, with a gap in 2012 when I joined the United Art Logistics to establish the United Art Fair. Tagore literally lent me to the other organization with a promise that I could walk into the editor’s office at any time that I wanted. And I did go back.&nbsp;As a part of Tagore’s team, he gave me full freedom to edit the magazine and curate exhibitions. I curated a few shows and introduced a few new artists of which some are very reckonable names in today’s art scene. The exhibition ‘Merging/Submerging’ was a showcasing of contemporary photography art and ‘R.A.P.E’ (Rare Acts of Political Engagement), an all-woman show responding to the brutal murder of Nirbhaya in Delhi. This exhibition was a super hit and was discussed in all the print and television media. Art Bull did do a couple of exhibitions and auctions. I did not take much interest in it though Tagore hoped that his auction house could change the scenario and also break certain monopolies. Tagore also initiated an Art History Lecture series which I conducted on his behalf.&nbsp;Siddharth Tagore remained true to his calling. With a kind of detachment, he sponsored exhibitions that he knew well, would not bring any business. He was an avid collector of folk and tribal art and together with Meena Varma, he initiated an organization called ‘Art of the Earth’ for promoting the folk and tribal art of India, much before the ‘folkploitation’ of today’s art market became rampant. Tagore helped whoever came to him with a request for an exhibition or an immediate financial relief. &nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:640px;" id="attachment_31053" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31053"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg" alt="3-e1734762508660-669x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 102w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 327w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 490w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 653w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31053">Siddharth Tagore signing the <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://amzn.in/d/4TijcgO">book</a> “Ganika- In the visual culture of the 19th-20th Century India” at the Art Konsult</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg" alt="4-560x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 85w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 273w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 410w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 547w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">When artists in Calcutta packed their wares and set out for Delhi, they knew Siddharth Tagore was there if nothing else worked (perhaps he was their primary destination), along with cigarettes and Old Monk Rum. He never discouraged the people who came to him with a clear intention to exploit. He was not cautious about relationships that brought him a fair amount of heartburn. As I said elsewhere, Tagore was a poet in his heart, with a heart ready to bleed for love and art.</div></div>

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