Of course,
politicians did not create the powerful Hindu caste system. They merely exploit
this fault-line, exacerbating the caste animosities to build vote banks.
In a politically-surcharged atmosphere, no one should doubt
that the appearance of Lord Ram’s idol in the mosque on the night of December
22, 1949 was an act of God.
It was not always like that. Those tracking the progress of
democracy in India should interview political activists above 90 years of age.
Working up public outrage is an art and not all political
parties are able to create mass hysteria.
During a festival celebrating the
Goddess who kills a demon menacing Gods, scores of educated Indian women have unmasked
their tormentors and sparked a mini-revolution.
“India led by you would never think of undoing the Partition. Your party depends on Pakistan for its existence.” A secret letter accessed by the author.
Writing on Gandhi in an India stricken by faux patriotism
and jingoism causes gloom. A poem in Indian English provides an antidote.
The Hindutva storm-troopers would
feel let down, having been trained to abuse the secular Hindus, liberals,
intellectuals, dissenting writers and a minority community.
Naipaul always
felt that his books would stand the test of time. But which of his books on India, after multiple visits to his ancestral land, will stand that test?
"If a principled yet powerful leader does emerge, he can only
come from yesterday’s disempowered classes."
Unlike
in India, British democracy, distorted by Mammon, is spared by God.
