Wednesday, November 21, 2007
With blood and fire in backdrop, great actors strode freedom struggle stage
When Mother History gave birth to the twins -- India and Pakistan -- in 1947, could anyone have foreseen how differently the two would shape up in the next 60 years? The lines that the great Irish poet, W.B. Yeats, wrote on the pain of childbirth and on whether, adding up the achievements and disappointments of age, all that price was worth paying, must find echoes in our hearts (with a few words changed) as we look at India and Pakistan at age 60.
"With 60 or more winters on their heads, Are they any compensation for the pang Of their birth, or the uncertainty Of their setting forth?"
After many off-again, on-again sputtering starts, India seems to be moving towards becoming a global economic power. One hopes that Pakistan's tottering constitutional walk too, will someday steady into a purposeful march towards democracy. In the meanwhile, let us have a look -- not at the carnage that preceded the Partition, but the colorful characters who strode the Indian stage during the enactment of the tragedy.
Two recent books take us back to the pang of the birth of the two nations, and the uncertainties of their setting forth -- ‘An American Witness to India's Partition,' by Phillips Talbot; and ‘'The Shadow of the Great Game,' by Narendra Singh Sarila.
Both Talbot and Sarila were at the bedside of Mother History during the blood-splattered delivery of the two nations. The accounts of the momentous events they witnessed have a freshness that professional histories often lack. The official history of Partition has been told before; in these columns we will refrain from a retelling.
But, apart from the big outline, these two books give us telling details, making historic figures step down from their pedestals and seem human.
In 1938, the New York-based Institute of Current World Affairs awarded 23-year-old Talbot a fellowship with a mandate: visit South Asia and learn about the intricacies of life in India.
Until 1950, Talbot graphically recounted the buildup to Indian and Pakistani independence, and the early experiences of the new states, in the form of a series of letters to the institute. (Talbot is President Emeritus of the Asia Society; he was Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs in the Kennedy Administration and Ambassador to Greece.) Sarila was an ADC to Lord Louis Mountbatten, last British viceroy and first governor general of independent India, being at Mountbatten's elbow not only at conferences and political meetings, but also when the viceregal family was on vacation or at play. Among the illustrations in ‘The Shadow' are photos of SarilaTo read the complete article click here..
To read the complete e-paper click here:www.newsindia-times.com
article and image source:NewsIndiaTimes
article taken from the issue:23 Nov, 2007
Labels: 60years, independence, india, indian and pakistani, pakistan
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
