Lost but Won

Prashant Kidambi (2019). Cricket Country: The Untold History of the First all India Team, Penguin Viking, pp. 453.

The last two years have been exceptional for the historical cricket literature genre in the Indian sub-continent. Two excellent histories on the Indian women’s cricket came by in quick succession (Free Hit by Supriya Das & The Fire Burns Blue by Karunya Keshav & Sidhanta Patnaik), both exhaustive and celebratory, followed by this story of the first all India cricket team by historian and Leicester University associate professor Prashant Kidambi. This tome is written in the great tradition of cricket prose in the subcontinent, the pre-eminent of which is Ramachandra Guha’s A corner of a foreign field. What the claim means is that the historian’s meticulous research into archival materials is matched by the story teller’s felicity of expression, to bring out Indian cricket’s birth in the hotbed of its political history.

Historian as Story-teller

Kidambi brings his historian’s arsenal to aid the digging and unearthing of the hidden people and incidents that make up this compelling story. Cricket’s idyllic and expansive Victorian mores undergo a fiery transformation when supplanted on the subcontinental shores. Layered by religion, caste, class, and political ideology, cricket becomes a ‘game of thrones’ between the British, Indian pundits, and the plebeians. Kidambi lays out, with an archeologist’s precision, the barebones of the politics, economics, and sociology of the sport that presciently reverberates to the present day.

The most poignant parts of this historical sketch are the extensive and empathetic portrayals of some of the least known pioneers such as the Dalit brothers Palwankar and Shivram Baloo, whose stupendous achievements in the face of adversity is as epic as their exploits in the field. Kidambi also unwaveringly captures the ebbs and flow of history beyond the boundary, to narrate how some waves passed cricket by, whereas some others changed the course of its future.

If you are like me, partial to cricket in its long format and its prose in the equally long form, this book is for your collection, to be read, re-read and bequeathed to heirs, like you would a Neville Cardus, CLR James, or Ramachandra Guha. If you have no idea why cricket prose should be gushed over, try this book. Like a good beverage, you may grow a taste for it. Cricket (like literature and monogamous marriage) should be battled with a gentle life-long commitment. Unlike the short ebullient high of the more thrilling avenues of adventure, this one works on your system slowly, and wins you over completely. If at all, you are destined to have an unfortunate affliction, why not be the gentle moon-faced cricket aficionado?

Gandhi: The Definitive Biography

Ramachandra Guha (2018). Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World, Penguin Allen Lane, New Delhi, pp. 1129

This year marks the 150^th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the man who in many ways defined the twentieth century. Gandhi had a long, eventful, and public life in three continents, the most prominent of which was spent at the helm of the mass struggle for freedom in the largest empire of the colonial world in British India. Furthermore, Gandhi shared in a lucid and direct manner, the arguments and counter-arguments that governed his political life, and the experiments that shaped his private world, through his published works that run into 95 collected volumes and personal papers that span many decades.

What is new for a biographer of such a prominent personality on which many scholars have spent a lifetime? In the second (and last) part of this extended biography, Ramachandra Guha does the astounding feat of throwing new light into a well-rehearsed story with the academic authority that comes from sustained scholarship and undying interest in the subject. Perusing sixty archival sources including the collected works, letters, contemporary newspaper articles and published secondary resources, Guha is also the first biographer to use materials from the recently released personal papers of Mahatma Gandhi that was entrusted with his last secretary Pyarelal. Divided into five parts, the second volume of this biography begins in 1915 when Gandhi returned to India from South Africa, until his death in 1948.

From Empire Loyalist to Satyagrahi

The story begins with Gandhi’s return to India, fresh from his struggle on behalf of Indians in South Africa, as a loyalist of the British Empire and a decorated volunteer during the Anglo-Boer war and the Zulu rebellion. In the next three decades, the political experiments of Gandhi take its course through three experiments in Satyagraha (or truth-force), non-cooperation movement, civil disobedience through the Salt March and Quit India proclamation. Throughout the narration of this political struggle, three characteristics stand out in this biography.

Guha devotes considerable space to bring out the Gandhi’s thought process behind his various propositions. One example Gandhi’s insistence on spinning cloth that combines the ideals of personal uplift, social reform, economic self-sufficiency and national pride. Similarly, the other pre-occupations such as learning languages and reading about religions have been given fair treatment. Just as freedom and self-sufficiency went hand in hand for Gandhi, personal relationships and first-hand knowledge was a road map for inter-community cooperation. Understanding the Gandhian rationale helps the reader to appreciate the protagonist’s intense and (often mind boggling) obsession with seemingly disparate activities in the midst of intense political struggle for freedom.

The second feature is that Guha delicately brings out a nuanced evaluation of Gandhi’s outlook. For example, on the women’s question, whilst Gandhi supported education, abolition of the purdah (veil) and gendered division of labor, he also acted like a patriarch who assumed that woman had a prominent role in childbearing. Such seemingly contradictory viewpoints lead to the biographer’s remark that Gandhi was progressive by the standards of his time but conservative by ours. Similarly, Gandhi’s obsession with diet and celibacy, and his changing assumptions are patiently and painstakingly brought out. 

The third feature is that Guha brings out the lesser known personalities in Gandhi’s life and acknowledges the role they played in making Gandhi who he was. An excellent illustration is the generous and tender portrayal of his secretary Mahadev Desai, his unceasing commitment to Mahatma’s life and the poignancy of his death.

Gandhi for Our Times

The book concludes with an epilogue that brings out debates after Gandhi’s passing. What has Gandhi to show for himself in today’s world? Guha enumerates four points. First, Gandhi had that rare quality of being monastically steadfast in his principled stands whilst maintaining an open mind to new ideas and arguments. He permitted himself to change, even contradict himself as he formed and reformed his opinions. It is this quality that leads to what is perceived as ‘inconsistency’ in Gandhi’s thoughts. For example, his take on race, caste and women changed significantly in the course of his lifetime. It is only by thinking through him and walking with him all the way, that we understand the validity of his suppositions.

Second, Gandhi had a heightened sense of self awareness that opened himself to criticism from various quarters. It stands to his merit that rather than withdrawing, he thoroughly enjoyed and engaged in a good fight. Third, Gandhi did not have a private life, in the sense the modern reader understands it. His experiments, inferences and the journey of self-discovery was widely shared with the world, exposing the best and the deeply controversial in him. Finally, Gandhi had immense physical and mental strength to perform these experiments on himself, including some of his greatest fasts and long marches in his act of Satyagraha. Gandhi fasted every alternate year in the last thirty-five years including two 21-day fasts. These four remarkable characteristics, qualify, illuminate and sometimes confound him in the eyes of all who read him today.

Whatever I look for in the best of books- novelty in perspective, persuasion in argument, the beauty of the literary- are abundantly present in this book. Seldom does a larger-than-life historical figure meets his match in the biographer, the way Gandhi meets Guha. Clearly, this is the book of the year for me!

Towards a Fellowship of Faith

Shashi Tharoor (2018), Why I am a Hindu?, Aleph, pp. 297

Works of polemic beginning with ‘Why I am (not) something’ makes for interesting reading because of the focus on a single side of the debate and the force of  arguments. The first of these and arguably the most well-known is Bertrand Russell’s Why I am not a Christian, a speech delivered for the National Secular Society, London which was later published as a pamphlet. So, I was much intrigued when the latest book of Indian Parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor came out last year, considering his brand of secularist Hinduism is increasingly portrayed to be irrelevant in contemporary India.

Tharoor makes his central argument in three parts. In the first, he sketches his personal version of Hinduism with its eclectic mix of beliefs and cosmopolitan view of the world. On the one hand, Tharoor questions several Hindu cultural traditions such as caste system and superstitions that have entrenched inequality among the Hindus over the centuries. He then explains his personal need to be a Hindu, with its emphasis on self-realisation rather than collective advancement, its doctrinal openness and flexibility of practice.

Political Hinduism

In the second part, Tharoor focuses on political Hinduism, which has endangered his personal HInduism. By tracing the ideology of Hindutva or Hindu nationalism through the doctrines of its proponents, the author demonstrates how the liberal and pluralistic ethos of Hinduism as a way of life is incompatible with the cultural nationalist version.

In the third and the last part, the author presents his arguments on how to take Hinduism back to its liberal fold. He argues that reclaiming the intellectual heterodoxy of Hinduism is the key to this project. Hindus were essentially henotheists, i.e., people who worshiped their gods whilst not denying the existence of other gods. For example, Hindus did not have dogma, prescriptive texts or even the need to believe in god to be accepted under its umbrella. This is why Hinduism is sometimes described as a ‘federation of philosophies’ or ‘fellowship of faith’. Reclaiming that version of Hinduism is not only relevant for liberal Hindus but also for inter-religious peace in a country such as India with immense religious diversity. Reform movement within religion may be an important strategy to retrieve other ways of thinking, of which textual work like this, may be the first step.

This book is well researched and duly annotated, catering to lay readers as well as individuals who are familiar with the religion. What makes it a compelling read is Tharoor’s personal conviction of his arguments and his plea to bring back freedom of thought and belief that enables Hindus and non-Hindus to live in peace. A timely intervention in these troubled times!

India through 50 Lives

Sunil Khilnani (2016), Incarnations, Allen Lane, pp. 636

This book is an excellent introduction to the history of India through the lives of 50 individuals who shaped its destiny. Based on the BBC Radio 4 Series, the book traces the period from ancient to modern India, from Buddha and Ashoka to Raj Kapoor and Dhirubhai Ambani to understand the transformation that the subcontinent has gone through and the ideas it offered the world. This is considering that biography as a modern genre is not popular or prolific in Asian history.

The great thing about such a portfolio view of history is that it goes for rich and rare details of the protagonists and puts a human face to the historical incidents. The prose is lively and you turn the page quite naturally to finish large chunks of the tome at one go.  The photos that accompany each piece is equally captivating from classic portraits and paintings to contemporary stills populating the album.

I found a couple of things not adding up for me. For instance, although 50 portraits are taken, the reason for selection is not explicitly mentioned. As a result, you do end up with an eclectic mix of the very celebrated figures like Gandhi and Buddha, the relatively unknown ones such as eighteenth-century artist Nainsukh and nineteenth-century photographer Deen Dayal with the very problematic individuals V.K. Krishna Menon, English Sanskritist William Jones and Ethiopian slave turned strategist Malik Ambar. I did not understand the justification of such inclusion at the expense of some other equally influential individuals. Second, although fields as varied as science, politics, cinema and business find place in the book, the absence of sports stars is inexplicable. And finally, nearly all the ‘experts’ who comment on each of the historic characters are based out of Western universities. This is particularly jarring because some of the best classicists and art historians are to be found within the country, although they may not be proficient in English. Considering the scale and financial scope of the project, such selectivity is not easily excused.

Even then, the book calls for a fascinating read to both Indophiles and neophytes attempting to understand the history and heritage of India. I’d finish the year off with a giant book (at 600+ pages) like this!

Gandhi’s Religion

JTF Jordens (1998). Gandhi’s Religion: A Homespun Shawl, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, pp. 340

As we celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s sesquicentennial birth anniversary on 2 October this year, it is a great time to revisit his life and works. A quintessential introduction of his works would begin with his autobiography (The Story of my Experiments with Truth), personal portraits by his grandson Rajmohan Gandhi (The Good Boatman and Mohandas: A True Story of a Man, His People and an Empire) and the two-volume biography by Ramachandra Guha (Gandhi before India and Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World). Furthermore, his entire oeuvre of 98 volumes is open for the patient scholar (Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol 1-98). Gandhi’s faith seems to be somewhat of an enigma when compared to his political ideas because it evolved as a syncretic mix of various philosophical strands. More importantly, it evolved in the peculiar manner in which Gandhi’s ideas shaped up - through a curious back and forth between philosophy and practice. 

With a helpful introduction of the author and the context of the work by historian Ramachandra Guha, this book is an excellent tour-de-force of Gandhi’s religious ideas. Beginning as a non-committal youth in London, Gandhi’s first foray into religion as a young adult was through meeting with Theosophists and the vegetarianism movement. Following this experience, his years in South Africa as a lawyer and public activist made him question his own limited grasp of Hinduism, a religion into which he was born. Gandhi sought advice on religious philosophy from a practising Jain ascetic which had a profound impact on the way he interpreted Hinduism in his later years. Jainism which emphasised rational thinking, non-violent conduct and enlightenment of the self as highest ideals appealed to Gandhi’s sense of ethics and the way he conducted his politics. His eclectic reading and friendship across religious boundaries influenced him as he formulated his own ideas about God and the first principles of ethical conduct.  These experiments spanning diet, sex, health, prayer and manual labour became an enduring exploration of truth and meaning.

This book is divided into three parts each focusing on three different periods in Gandhi’s life- South Africa, initial years in India and religion in action during the national movement in India. Jordens relies on the extensive corpus of Gandhi’s own writing as collected in his works as well as the numerous letters in which he corresponded with his mentors, followers and adversaries. Relying on such first-hand account, Jordens deftly brings out the evolution of his thoughts and neatly summarises them at the end of each chapter and substantially in the last chapter. A great introduction to Gandhi and his experiments with religion!

View from the Left

EMS Namboodirippad (2010), History, Society and Land Relations, New Delhi: LeftWord books, pp. 239.

EMS Namboodirippad was the leader of the first democratically elected Communist government in the world when he became the first chief minister of Kerala in southern India in 1957. A political leader and a Marxist thinker of immense influence, his essays are a great introduction to his critical approach to understanding Indian society and history. This is one of the two books of his collected essays in English (the other being The Frontline Years), both published by LeftWord. For the student who is interested in Indian history and society, his work is valuable because EMS was that rare breed of practitioner-theoretician, who had at his disposal data and field observations of considerable scale. Furthermore, he chose to analyze them academically, making the sources of his data and the methodology employed transparent. This is especially evident in his examination of the question of land ownership and social classes, a problem still relevant in many developing countries today.

The core thesis

This book contains 14 essays and one interview. The essays thematically span Marxist analysis of history (3 essays), the question of caste, class and the Indian national question (6 essays) and a detailed examination of the feudal system and land relations in Kerala (3 essays). There are two odd essays- one on the Marxist interpretation of the separation of idealist and materialist philosophy in India and the other on the possible trajectories of evolution of the Indian judiciary.

The core thesis of EMS’ analysis is that he sees Asian societies as exception (along with Germanic, Slavonic and Ancient classical societies) to the linear evolution of history from primitive communism to slavery, feudalism and capitalism of the European kind that Marx argued. Relying on Marx’s Notes (1956-57), EMS contends that these societies underwent a different form of transition into ‘village societies’ that was crucial in deploying property relations differently and eschewing slavery and serfdom. For example, in these societies, the individuals are never fully separated from the society and are tied by bonds of kinship or locality. Furthermore, property claims in land is differentiated from that of labour. Therefore, a land lord is not merely a rent collecting agent (economic role), but the head of an inherited social system (caste and its variants). This duality of economic and social relations needs to be considered whilst analyzing political and social questions in the contexts of such societies.

Barring a few typographical errors, the book is an important contribution to critical historical thinking in India. The essays are thematically presented with a brief introduction. Although the articles are rooted in their historical circumstances, the analytical method and the questions that the author evoke remain relevant to this day. A timely revisit to the old questions!