Tag: enough said

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Enough said

As the book launch season approaches…

The winter comes and brings with it the usual book launch season. Meanwhile, political developments continue to cast a spell.
by Humra Quraishi

Instead of launching into a record of negatives in the country – corruption, sickness, escalating crimes, to name a few – let me start this column on a positive note. Though more and more amongst us are taking to writing both long and short stories, I am still amazed at the number of books being released all over the country. Come autumn and the season of book launches takes off.

New Urdu writingsI have just returned from a great little book launch, by Westland-Tranquebar. Titled New Urdu Writings: From India and Pakistan, this anthology carries 30 short stories by Indian and Pakistani Urdu writers. It has been edited by Delhi-based writer Rakshanda Jalil.

This book launch was different from the usual ones. The three speakers at the event – Sudha Sadanand, Managing Editor of Westland-Tranquebar, lyricist Javed Akhtar (who launched the anthology) and Rakshanda Jalil – spoke from the heart. Rakshanda (in pic below), particularly, stressed that she was Rakshanda Jalilfocussing on contemporary writings from India and Pakistan.

Naturally, focus shifted to the fate and future of the Urdu language and the misconceptions around it, as also the roles of translators. In fact, now that I think about it, we wouldn’t have read so much Urdu writing if it hadn’t been translated from Urdu to English.

But bringing me back to the present with a thump was the shocker that the BJP was planning to felicitate two of their party men – Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana, both MLAs – both of whom have been named as the prime accused in the recent Muzaffarnager riots. And then emerged the sordid ‘Sahib, biwi aur ghulam’ saga involving Amit Shah and his sahib, on whose orders the former used State machinery to stalk a young woman.

Amit ShahAnd while a purported BJP worker throws ink on Arvind Kejriwal’s face, the dynamics between the AAP and Anna Hazare’s supporters continue to confuse us all. Why are Anna’s supporters trying their best to sabotage Arvind Kejriwal’s election campaign?

Hard questions, with no answers in sight.

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

 (Pictures courtesy www.westlandbooks.in, www.thingsontop.com, zeenews.india.com, www.thehindu.com)

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Enough said

Where basic questions go unanswered

This election will hinge on big issues and bigger controversies, but what about the small questions that need immediate answers?
by Humra Quraishi

The election scene is hotting up in the capital city. Of course, no concrete plans or discussions on future policies have been touched upon yet – there is a lot of silly posturing and even sillier allegations being levelled against opponents. The Government could not give us enough bijli-paani and the Opposition claims that it did, the Government didn’t erect this or that building, while the other side laid out the entire Games Village.

And so on.

Delhi smogAnd yet, no politician is even remotely addressing a basic problem we’re seeing her for the last few days. Nobody’s talking of the smog that is enveloping this city, nor of the mess on the ground. The smog is causing every fifth person to cough or get a viral infection. Compounding this situation are piles of dirt all over the city, dogs foraging around in them, and roads and lanes in a severely pitiable condition.

Our dear politicians don’t care about these things, because they don’t have to walk on the roads or travel by foot or public transport. Their airconditioned cars have so far insulated them from the harsh realities of the lives of us mere mortals. The only party seemingly removed from this usual style of rule in our country is Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP; of course, this could be because they want to keep their aam aadmi profile very much alive.

However, there are doubts about this party cropping up – with allegations of foreign funding. I am however, more disappointed that Arvind KejriwalKejriwal too has not spoken about some basic issues – why are more private hospitals-medical centres coming up in the capital city? Why are we constantly coughing and falling ill? Why are so many getting bitten by dogs? Why are street urchins treated worse than animals? Why is the place a mosquito capital – is dengue being used as a measure of population control?

And why are so many of us being deprived of the joys of a solitary walk without the fear of being molested or chased by stray dogs or being bitten to the bones by mosquitoes? Of what use is our freedom if we can’t enjoy small joys?

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Pictures courtesy www.livemint.com, www.thehindu.com, www.indiatvnews.com)

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Enough said

The mark of a journalist

Nikhil Chakravartty was everything a journalist should be – ethical, simple and scholarly. They don’t make journalists like him anymore.
by Humra Quraishi

This year, on November 3, noted journalist Nikhil Chakravartty would have turned 100. On the occasion of his birth centenary, there were several people from the fraternity and outside it, who got together in New Delhi for a two-day international conference organised by the Editors Guild of India, India International Centre, Nikhil Chakravartty Foundation and the Centre for Media Studies (School of Social Sciences, JNU).

I loved what Bangladesh’s former Foreign Minister, Dr Kamal Hossain said. “As we look forward to a common future for South Asia, we should begin to identify basic common objectives. Clearly, the first on the list must be peace and stability in our region in interests of the poor and the deprived in each of our societies. Development, in this context, must mean sustainable human development that must be sensitive to environment and social concerns. A sound test of a people-centred development is how it improves the conditions of the bottom 50 per cent of our populations?” he said.

birth centenaryI first met Nikhilda in the spring of 1987. He was then the Chairman of NAMEDIA, editor of the weekly Mainstream, and his column in the Sunday Observer was said to be the ‘pulse of the country’s political scenario’. He used to stay in New Delhi’s Kaka Nagar, a typical government colony, but his ‘D11’ type apartment stood out from the rest with its post office-red gate. I was so impressed by the colour that the very next day I went out and bought the same paint and painted all the doors and windows of my house with it!

There was something about his personality, too, that stood out as much as the red gate of his home. Forthright and bold, he never looked hassled or angry, and was one of those few journalists who spoke and wrote fearlessly against the political establishment and the mess in society. He was one of those veterans in the field who believed in delving right into the causes of issues, fishing out the details.

I asked him, “How do you travel for work?” He replied, “Well, I catch a bus. I have no reservations about that. And I prefer to travel alone. For my profession, travelling is a must, as I want to see for myself the situations and ground realities as they unfold, whether here or in Iran, Poland or in Afghanistan. You have to travel and meet the masses.”

I mused on that for a while, then said, “What would you say about the hypocrisy in society, affecting our attitudes towards women?”

He said, “It is a complex situation. Our society is one of extremes – either we are totally withdrawn [from issues] or we are head over heels in love. The balance is missing. It is deep rooted because of our social background, which is a mix of feudalism and modernisation. But someday, we will be able to get out of this. Take the example of China, where women were oppressed, but Mao’s revolution changed the whole nation.”

I asked him his opinion on modern India. This is what he said, “In modern India, society has less taboos and individual freedom is encouraged. But do let me add, with emphasis, that with all our modern living, a great amount of insensitivity has crept in. Norms have been shattered. There is no ‘Indianness’ left, the only views thriving belong to the RSS and Arun Shourie. We have not developed culturally, and that’s the root cause of our decay.”

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Pictures courtesy www.outlookindia.com, wearethebest.wordpress.com)

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Enough said

Of old-fashioned remedies and exploring nature

We have turned our backs on the natural medicines our country offers us, putting our faith in expensive, chemical cures.
Humra Quraishiby Humra Quraishi

For the last two days, I have been plucking and piling up leaves. My nephew has been down with dengue and the only natural cure for it is papaya leaves, or rather the papaya pulp and juice. Also, with my diabetes playing hide-and-seek with me, I was told that the only way out was to chew guava leaves.

I went to the nearest nursery but it was too fashionable to stock our ‘outdated’ amrood plants. The jeans-clad maali rattled off the names of some japani-chini-vilayati imported plants that the nursery had, so I had to take my leave. But not one to give up, I went to a far-away orchard full of guava trees and plucked some off the trees. Since then, I have been chewing on them like a goat. With my usual dal roti, these leaves are becoming a staple part of my diet.

There are so many benefits to be explored from nature’s bounty, but we often overlook them. My doctor, Dr GP Sharma, has been insisting for so long, “You are fortunate that that younatural medicines are a diabetic in India, for there are so many natural remedies available – jamun, neem, cinnamon, karela, bhindi, several herbs and seeds, so many trees and shrubs. All of these are natural ways to combat high blood sugar levels.”

But to recap from diabetes to dengue, it is now becoming obvious that dengue is fast becoming something to fear. It is virulent and severe, with mosquitoes thriving (or should I say, allowed to thrive) by the municipal authorities, who are unable to clear up the mess even around our health centres. If this state of affair continues, we may have to trash the oft-quoted ‘A for apple, B for ball…’ for a newer version of the alphabet that our future generations can easily relate to. We might have to teach them, ‘M for mosquito, D for dengue, C for corruption, K for killer…’

And while we have been paying little heed to nature and whatever it can do for, nature seems to be getting back at mankind, too. First the havoc at Uttarakhand, now along our country’s coastline. And even in the midst of the chaos, we see, perhaps only in our country, that in the midst of the stampede, those stranded devotees are not rescued but thrown into rivers and nullahs! This happened this week in Madhya Pradesh, when hapless devotees were flung into nullahs and rivers by dreaded Chambal dacoits by MP cops.

And even as we grapple with everyday worries – inflation, infectious diseases, cyclones, corruption – the election fever slowly catches on and makes fools of us all in several different ways. But that’s a column for another time.

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Pictures courtesy www.nytimes.com, www.hemroidharry.com)

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Enough said

The USA’s problem, in Chomsky’s words

Humra Quraishi recalls an old meeting with Noam Chomsky, especially since most of his words then are coming true now.

Total anarchy seems to be the order of the day. It’s happening in the Middle East, it’s happening in the African belt and to an extent, in our subcontinent.

The more I ponder over the situation, the more I recall a 2001 meeting with Noam Chomsky in New Delhi, when he’d given forewarnings of the shape of things to come. During the interview, he had repeatedly stressed that more disasters were waiting to hit as countries like the USA continuing with their expansionist policies.

arms raceHe’d said, “The threat of terrorism is not the only abyss into which we peer…an even greater threat is posed by the very expansion of the arms race. The arms race is inappropriate, because the USA is, for now, competing alone. Its goal is to achieve ‘full spectrum dominance’. These plans have been available in Government documents for some time and their plans are being developed.

“These plans were expanded in the first months of the Bush administration and again after September 11, in a crude exploitation of the fear and horror engendered by these horrific crimes. It is conventional everywhere for attack to be called ‘defence’ and this case is no exception. The plans for militarisation of space are disguised as ‘Ballistic Missile Defence’ (BMD), and even if technically feasible, must rely on satellite communication and destroying satellites is easier than shooting down missiles. This is one reason why the USA must seek ‘full spectrum dominance’.

“Such overwhelming control of space that even the poor man’s weapons will not be available to an adversary. The goals of space militarisation extend far beyond than this. It’s the Clinton era publications that announce the primary goal prominently: ‘Dominating the space dimension of military operations to protect US interests and investment.’ Armies were needed ‘during the westward expansion of continental United States.’ Of course, in self defence against the indigenous population!”

He added, “In the Reagan years alone, US-sponsored State terrorists in Central America had left hundreds of thousands tortured and mutilated corpses, millions maimed and orphaned and four countries in ruins…In the same years, West-backed South African depredations had killed 1.5 million people. I need not speak of West Asia or much else. All of this, however, is barred from the annals of terrorism by a simple device: the term terrorism, like most terms of political discourse, has two meanings; a literal one and a propagandist one.

“The literal one can be found in the official US documents, which instructs that ‘Terrorism is the calculated use of violence or threat of violence to attain goals that are political, religious or ideological in nature (carried out) through intimidation, coercion or by instilling fear.’ But the literal definition cannot be used, because it is close paraphrase of the official policy called ‘low intensity war’ or ‘counter terrorism’.

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Pictures courtesy www.al-monitor.com)

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Enough said

Revisiting Gandhi’s present-day legacy

Would our politics be any different if Mahatma Gandhi’s grandchildren had joined active politics? Or would things continue as before?
by Humra Quraishi

As I write this column a little after Gandhi jayanti this year, I have been recollecting several things about the Mahatma. The very crux of his philosophy was simplicity laced with truth. Nothing complicated or layered, just a subtle and direct way of communicating. Probably this is why we can so easily relate to the great man even today.

gopalkrishna gandhiEvery time I meet any of his four grandchildren, children of his son Devdas Gandhi, I get the sense the same sense of uncomplicated communication. Each time I’ve interviewed Ramchandra Gandhi, Rajmohan Gandhi, Gopalkrishna Gandhi (in pic on left) and Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee, I’ve always got a sense of ‘genuineness’ in their words and views. Even when I visited Tara and Rajmohan’s homes, I was struck by the simplicity. In fact, the late Ramchandra Gandhi had never even owned a home and lived all his life in a rented annexe in very tight financial conditions.

When I first visited Tara (in pic below) at her South Delhi home, I could see it was a very ‘different’ space. Huge hand-made dolls stood in the house, as did charkhas and khadi weaves. When I asked her about her grandfather, she’d said, “Bapu kept a very tight schedule so we couldn’t interact for hours at a stretch, though I’d spent most of my childhood with him and Ba. He spoke on ‘mulya’(values), taught us to value time, to focus on ‘buniyadi usul’(fundamental values). I never saw him angry or cranky. But very often he’d looked sad. In fact, whenever he was upset he’d stop talking and fast or tara gandhi bhattacharjeekeep a maun or roza and stop eating. When upset, he would sit at the charkha spinning for hours at a stretch.”

Rajmohan described his relationship with Gandhiji thus: “As his grandchildren, we didn’t have any special rights to his time. He belonged to the entire nation. At that time, I was a child so I couldn’t understand it, but I later realised that the family had to pay a heavy price to achieve freedom. Looking back, I think even then I had some inkling of why we, his grandchildren, couldn’t spend much time with him.

rajmohan gandhiHe recounted the values he inherited from his grandfather and father, “My father Devdas Gandhi brought us up on the same values – that money making was not to be the purpose of life, that service was to be part of life and that any service ought to be totally unconnected with personal advancement. He always stood for freedom of the Press and told us how important it was for the Press to be free.”

There is much to share on the subject of Bapu and the many anecdotes of his life and times, but I have to share this one thought: I wish Gandhi’s grandchildren had joined active politics. Who knows, the situation in the country could have been somewhat better with their presence? Rajmohan (in pic above), who had joined the Janata Dal briefly before leaving the party and politics after huge disillusionment, said, “Today, political parties have hardened their stance on questions of caste and religion. My inability to do that prevents me from finding a strong voice in any political party. As far as the Congress is concerned, the refusal of the party to fight out corruption keeps me away from it.

“The BJP is out of the question because of its ideology. I am too old to start a new party of movement. I would have done it years back but not now…today I find my skull too  fragile!”

Humra Quraishi is a senior journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Pictures courtesy www.thehindu.com, www.zimbio.com, www.theguardian.com, www.hss.iitm.ac.in)

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