courtesy: http://www.newindianexpress.com/
Pushpesh PantThe country hasn’t lacked amusement in the past fortnight. The Indian History Congress has passed a resolution cautioning—just short of censoring— the PM to steer the ship of state clear of the minefield that is considered by its members the Exclusive Economic Zone of professional historians. The dons (pun unintended) are oblivious of the fact that those who make history have scant regard for the views of mere practitioners of the art or craft or science, call them gold diggers, grave diggers or by any other name. If historians of a certain hue were bitten by the ‘scientific’ bug, our scientists swerved dramatically towards history—to be honest, they seemed to have suddenly discovered the secrets of time travel. Many of us were surprised by the eloquence of speeches at the Indian Science Congress exhorting us to acknowledge the wisdom of our ancestors. From plastic surgery to nano technology, nuclear science to space exploration, ancient India had it all and more. Those of us who prefer our intellectual stimulation unadulterated have inevitably suffered from a severe hangover left behind by the heady cocktail of myth, history, science and science fiction.
Perhaps it is best to make it clear at the outset ‘where we stand’. We certainly don’t take all that is narrated/complied in the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the various Puranas literally. Nor can we convince ourselves that ‘none other than Indians’ are favoured by nature or Gods more than the unfortunate people born and dwelling elsewhere. While we do believe that the borders between physics and metaphysics are blurred, not all frontiers of different disciplines are fuzzy. What is important to remember is that people’s shared memories are shaped and opinions formed by lived experiences, not papers presented or resolutions passed—laudatory or condemnatory—in History Congresses, nor can scientific temper be cultivated or injected by insertion of amendments in the Constitution.
Even before the NDA II government had been installed, grave threats were expressed during the run-up to elections that how the saffron brigade was waiting in the wings to destroy our social fabric and pluralistic heritage, and alarm bells were rung to warn voting for Modi could only spell disaster. Once he came to power, we were told, the Nehruvian idea of India would be lost forever and the country pushed to the precipice of another Partition. Dark forces of fascism would destroy democracy and so on. The Congress chorus regarding the ‘nightmare’ failed to enthuse the voters and the caricature of a political party was all but wiped off in the elections.
Over six months have passed and no calamity has befallen us. True, some Central ministers have shown a penchant for faux pas and repeatedly floundered. But none has yet touched the depths that deep-diving sycophants in UPA I and II regularly reached effortlessly. But we digress.
Deliberations of the Indian History Congress and Science Congress have failed to cause the slightest ripple. Retirement drama staged by Dhoni and pillorying PK have pushed not only these but also the ‘Ghar Wapsi’ antics of the Hardcore Hindu Nukkad Natak Co. off the headlines. What is clear is that it’s not only the family proprietary concern run by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi that is in dire straits. Mulayam, Maya, Mamata too are under great pressure. Matrimonial alliances didn’t ensure the survival of monarchies in Europe or avert destructive imperial rivalries. Nor, in the changed context, they are likely to provide firm foundations for Yadav supremacy in Hindi heartland. The fellow travelling historians, it seems, are destined or determined to bear the ‘loneliness of the long distance’ runners humming Tagore’s Ekla Chalo Re.
Congressmen appear totally lost. They can’t make up their mind whether the ‘aggressively secular’ stance will go down well with the people—including themselves—whose DNA has undeniable traces of ‘soft’ Hindutva. The hardliners in Sangh Parivar may not be members of a happy joint family, but the ‘secular fanatics’ are people who present a sadder picture of defeated soldiers in disarray. People like Azam Khan don’t make their task easy with inane but dangerously provocative ‘jocular’ statements.
We began by stating that recent events haven’t lacked amusement. Much to our regret, we must conclude with great anguish that the New Year has begun with some extremely disturbing trends. The interception of an intruding suspicious boat in Indian waters by the Coast Guard and its sinking after an explosion is being treated in a most irresponsible manner by the critics of the present government. Matters concerning national security and intelligence pertaining to threats to it can’t be trivialised. Nor can all military and intelligence operations—overt or covert—discussed threadbare in public. We must learn to rise above party politics—from History and Science Congresses—to combat poverty and pollution.
Pushpesh Pant is a former professor of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Perils of Petty Politics in the Time of History and Science Congresses