Skip to main content

The Indian Spirit


The real question is not whether the original Preamble to the Indian Constitution contained the words ‘secularist’ and ‘socialist’ but what the present India really wants to be.  It is not a matter of words as much as about intentions and motives.

A flashback from history

Delhi, June 1947

Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of the British Raj, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and a few others are giving the final touches to the governments of independent India and Pakistan. 

“You be the first Governor-General of independent India,” says Nehru to Mountbatten who is visibly dismayed.

It is a gesture of gratitude and appreciation from the magnanimous people of India to a person who has been working heart and soul for the past four months keeping in mind the welfare of both the countries that are being created.

Jinnah has already declared himself the Governor-General of Pakistan.

“According to the Constitution,” points out Mountbatten, “it is the Prime Minister who will have all the power; the Governor’s role is a symbolic one with no real power attached to it.”

Jinnah takes a deep puff on his pipe and declares as solemnly as a king, “I will be Governor-General and the Prime Minister will do what I tell him to do.”

Should I accept this new role?  Mountbatten asks himself.  His wife is totally against it; she has already communicated her intention to him: leave India to the Indians. 

Mountbatten says, “The Mahatma will take the decision.”

In spite of the numerous arguments and disagreements that they have had in the past four months, Mountbatten and Gandhi have grown to like each other.  Gandhi never hates anyone.  It is the British rule in India that he hated, and not the British people, Mountbatten knows that too well. 

Gandhi is happy to have Mountbatten as the first Governor-General of independent India.  It is symbolic of India’s tolerance and magnanimity.

Mountbatten is flattered by the tribute of the Mahatma.  “We’ve jailed him, we’ve humiliated him, we’ve scorned him, and he still has the greatness of spirit to do this.”  A miasma of moisture rises to Mountbatten’s eyes in spite of himself.

Flashback ends

Delhi, January 2015

The  President of America is the guest at the Republic Day celebrations.  He is aware of the intolerance that has gripped the Indian society.  So he is compelled to speak words such as: “India will succeed so long as it is not splintered on religious lines. Every person has the right to practice their religion how they choose,” and “Our nations are strongest when we see we are all God's children, all equal in his eyes.  Sometimes I have been discriminated against on the basis of the colour of my skin.”

India has a Prime Minister who may not agree.  His government erases or wishes to erase the concept of secularism from the Constitution.  The Prime Minister knows how to create magic with words.  And he has an invisible army of volunteers transmuting his magic into protean shapes of reality, into kaleidoscopic patterns that dazzle a nation’s fancy.

Jai Hind.


Labels:

Comments

  1. Anita SabatJanuary 29, 2015 at 11:47 AM

    Intentions & motives are important. Actions speak louder than words.
    But the 2 words have a lot of weight and cannot be ignored. That'll threaten our India.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 29, 2015 at 1:09 PM

      Especially since people always see through the leader's motives and intentions. Let the PM not do anything for the minority communities. He hates them and let him do that. But let him not allow strife to be sown in the country if he is incapable of appreciating cultural and religious diversity as the American President did.

      Delete
  2. Amrita SabatJanuary 29, 2015 at 5:34 PM

    Well said Sir.but secularism is d basic structure of d constitution so suppose d 'majority' removes it from preamble,it'll alwez remain at heart of d constitution n judiciary-d upholder of our Constitution.
    Similarly socialism.same PM who sez dat nation's wealth (tijori) is for d poorest n excluded sectns cannot disown d concept of socialist nation!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJanuary 29, 2015 at 6:51 PM

      There's no alternative but accept secularism especially in a globalised world and also because India is going out asking other countries, none of which is a Hindu Rashtra, to invest in India.

      Socialism may be an outdated concept for today's world which is run by ultra capitalism. But India should not neglect the millions of its population who are still living on the edge.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Randeep the melody

Many people in this pic have made their presence in this A2Z series A phone call came from an unknown number the other day. “Is it okay to talk to you now, Sir?” The caller asked. The typical start of a conversation by an influencer. “What’s it about?” My usual response looking forward to something like: “I am so-and-so from such-and-such business firm…” And I would cut the call. But there was a surprise this time. “I am Randeep…” I recognised him instantly. His voice rang like a gentle music in my heart. Randeep was a student from the last class 12 batch of Sawan. One of my favourites. He is unforgettable. Both Maggie and I taught him at Sawan where he was a student from class 4 to 12. Nine years in a residential school create deep bonds between people, even between staff and students. Randeep was an ideal student. Good at everything yet very humble and spontaneous. He was a top sportsman and a prefect with eminent leadership. He had certain peculiar problems with academics. Ans
25 comments
Read more

The Adventures of Toto as a comic strip

  'The Adventures of Toto' is an amusing story by Ruskin Bond. It is prescribed as a lesson in CBSE's English course for class 9. Maggie asked her students to do a project on some of the lessons and Femi George's work is what I would like to present here. Femi converted the story into a beautiful comic strip. Her work will speak for itself and let me present it below.  Femi George Student of Carmel Public School, Vazhakulam, Kerala Similar post: The Little Girl
37 comments
Read more

Sanjay and other loyalists

AI-generated illustration Some people, especially those in politics, behave as if they are too great to have any contact with the ordinary folk. And they can get on with whoever comes to power on top irrespective of their ideologies and principles. Sanjay was one such person. He occupied some high places in Sawan school [see previous posts, especially P and Q ] merely because he knew how to play his cards more dexterously than ordinary politicians. Whoever came as principal, Sanjay would be there in the elite circle. He seemed to hold most people in contempt. His respect was reserved for the gentry. I belonged to the margins of Sawan society, in Sanjay’s assessment. So we hardly talked to each other. Looking back, I find it quite ludicrous to realise that Sanjay and I lived on the same campus 24x7 for a decade and a half without ever talking to each other except for official purposes.      Towards the end of our coexistence, Sawan had become a veritable hell. Power supply to the
12 comments
Read more

Thomas the Saint

AI-generated image His full name was Thomas Augustine. He was a Catholic priest. I knew him for a rather short period of my life. When I lived one whole year in the same institution with him, I was just 15 years old. I was a trainee for priesthood and he was many years my senior. We both lived in Don Bosco school and seminary at a place called Tirupattur in Tamil Nadu. He was in charge of a group of boys like me. Thomas had little to do with me directly as I was under the care of another in-charge. But his self-effacing ways and angelic smile drew me to him. He was a living saint all the years I knew him later. When he became a priest and was in charge of a section of a Don Bosco institution in Kochi, I met him again and his ways hadn’t changed an iota. You’d think he was a reincarnation of Jesus if you met him personally. You won’t be able to meet him anymore. He passed away a few years ago. One of the persons whom I won’t ever forget, can’t forget as long as the neurons continu
16 comments
Read more

Pranita a perverted genius

Bulldozer begins its work at Sawan Pranita was a perverted genius. She had Machiavelli’s brain, Octavian’s relentlessness, and Levin’s intellectual calibre. She could have worked wonders if she wanted. She could have created a beautiful world around her. She had the potential. Yet she chose to be a ruthless exterminator. She came to Sawan Public School just to kill it. A religious cult called Radha Soami Satsang Beas [RSSB] had taken over the school from its owner who had never visited the school for over 20 years. This owner, a prominent entrepreneur with a gargantuan ego, had come to the conclusion that the morality of the school’s staff was deviating from the wavelengths determined by him. Moreover, his one foot was inching towards the grave. I was also told that there were some domestic noises which were grating against his patriarchal sensibilities. One holy solution for all these was to hand over the school and its enormous campus (nearly 20 acres of land on the outskirts
13 comments
Read more