Published January 22nd, 2007
in History, India and Media.
Sandipan Deb writes in the Indian Express about the weaknesses of the Bengali character and specifically about the futility of the actions of the passionate Bengali, seen in the larger context of history. As an example of this, he tells us how insignificant the contribution of Bengali revolutionaries was to the freedom struggle and how incompetent Bengali freedom fighters (as opposed to those from other parts of the country) were on the whole. (the Bengalis could not even hit their targets).
But Bengali passion has traditionally been unproductive.Thousands of young Bengalis went to the gallows or to the living nightmare called Cellular Jail for terrorist attacks on the British. But their fervour and their sacrifice hardly made a dent in the Raj. And most of the time, they could not even hit their targets. Sometimes, they ended up killing innocent men and women.
My grandfather Jyotirmoy Ray was one of those people who endured the living nightmare in Andaman Cellular Jail (Regular visitors to this blog may have read this post which is based on a letter my mother wrote to me after visiting Andaman Jail where my grandfather spent many years as a guest of the British empire. If you have not, kindly do so). So allow me to be a bit surprised when Mr. Sandipan Deb not only denies the impact my grandfather and his fellow Bengali revolutionaries’ sacrifices had on India’s history but also impugns their competence by saying that they were so punch drunk with “passion” that they could not shoot straight.
Continue reading ‘Thank You Mr. Deb’
Published January 11th, 2007
in History.
Taking a break from the attempted hilarity over here at RTDM , I present something serious—from an article published October 18, 1946 (I am assuming this is genuine)
[Update: Puneet points out a one typo in the piece which he feels calls into doubt its authenticity. So here, to support the above “suspect” article is another one (October 18, 1946 and containing essentially the same report about Gandhiji asking for women to commit suicide), written by one Preston Grover, whose bonafides as a correspondent for the Associated Press is attested to by this obit in the NY Times.I also now have the full scanned page of the front page of the newspaper where this article was published originally. If anyone else doubts the veracity of the piece, kindly email me.]
Mohandas K Gandhi advised women in the riot-torn areas of Noakhali tonight to commit suicide by poison or other means to avoid dishonor.
Later on in the article,
Gandhi addressing several hundred listeners in the untouchable’s colony here advised “everyone running the risk of dishonor to take poison before submission to dishonor. ”
In the official version of his statement given out by his secretary, no reference was made to other forms of suicide, but listeners fluent in Hindustani said he advised women in imminent danger of dishonor to use knives or guns to kill themselves, or to throw themselves into the water to drown.
[Full article here posted on this blog] (Link via Utsav)
For those who may be unaware, here is what Noakhali was. I urge you to follow this link and read about it, if you don’t already know the facts.
Continue reading ‘Dishonor and Death’
Published October 12th, 2006
in History and Politics.
The HBO documentary “The Journalist and the Jihadi: The Murder of Daniel Pearl”, that premièred this Tueday is the story of two people: very similar to each other in terms of having had a privileged upbringing, having being high achievers in school and having achieved success in their respective professions at a very early age.
One of them is Daniel Pearl, a “rising star” journalist with the Wall Street Journal— a musician, a humanist and a true “liberal”.
And the other: Omar Sheikh, an urbane British-public-school educated Muslim fundamentalist who had made a name for himself in the world of Jihad with his masterfully executed kidnappings. [Yes the same Omar Sheikh who was released by India (along with his spiritual guru Azhar Masood, the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed) during the IC814 crisis.]
Continue reading ‘The Urbane Murderer’
Published October 2nd, 2006
in History and India.
Boyfriend become boring? Well now you can dump him and feel good by invoking the Mahatma. Just like Shweta Polanki who cited “Gandhigiri” as the reason she broke off with her boyfriend after he made “hissing sounds to get the attention of the waiter”. Murderer and extortionist on the way to trial, looking to get some media attention? No problemo. Hand out roses in a Lucknow courthouse ala Babloo Srivastava. [More here]
If it was the Rang-de-Basanti-inspired “be the change” in early 2006 that captured the imagination of the nation, the last quarter has seen the the Return of Bapu—courtesy “Lage Raho Munnabhai”, a predictable yet pleasant movie about a Don who reforms himself after being visited by the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi.
Continue reading ‘Gandhi Reloaded’
Published September 6th, 2006
in History and India.
So I get an email which asks me my opinion on the “Vande Mataram” controversy.
Simple. Making it mandatory to sing “Vande Mataram” is a gross infringement on individual freedom. No government has the authority to force a word out of my larynx. Or block me from reading a blog. Or prevent me from reading a book (like say for instance “Satanic Verses”) . End of story.
Continue reading ‘Vande Mataram’
[Originally published November 13, 2005. Reposted because of technical difficulties experienced by many in accessing the old post]
It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce the death of an old friend.
Desibaba is no more.
Desi Baba Desi Babes
Is closed till further notice.
Copyright © 1998 - 2005 DesiBaba.com
For those who came in late, Desibaba was the original Indian porn site. But it wasnt merely a “porn site”—it was a landmark in desi pop culture.
Let me explain.
Continue reading ‘The Passing Of a Friend —Desibaba’
Published April 13th, 2006
in History, India and Politics.
I have been asked by a few of my blog readers about my opinion on extending reservation to OBCs in IIT/IIMs thus increasing the quota in these institutions to 49.5%. I had blogged about my general opinion on reservations albeit in a slightly different context (quotas in private sector), and much of what I said then (with respect to the futility of trying to correct historical wrongs by perpetrating similar injustice in the present day) holds for this topic too.
But there is more to talk about.
Continue reading ‘And Now It’s 49.5%’
Published January 26th, 2006
in History, India and Personal.
I have never had a guest blogger here at RTDM. But as of today, I am going to make an exception. I present (fanfare)—-my mother. A little context: My father, a professor at IIM Calcutta is going to retire in February. So on his last LTC, Baba and Ma went to Andaman Islands—both for some peace and quiet (they deserve it for having brought me up) as well as to visit Andaman Cellular Jail—-the place where my grandfather (my father’s father) , Jyotirmoy Ray [his picture in the Cellular Jail museum on the left] spent 4 years of his life [his sentence was for 7 years commutted to 4 as part of an amnesty program] as a political prisoner (He was part of the revolutionary movement in Bengal and transported arms to the revolutionaries). He died in 1991.This post is based on a mail my mother wrote to me after coming back from Andamans—-I have added some things to it based on phone conversations I had with her since then. In all, it’s a joint effort between mother and son—in some places the feelings are Ma’s (as conveyed through the telephone) and the words are mine and in some places both of them are Ma’s (being part of her original letter).
With January 26 here, I thought of sharing it with you.
Continue reading ‘A letter from Andaman Cellular Jail’
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