January 30th, 2000
It is now quite clear that the RSS government in India has no grand plan to hoist India onto its rightful place in the comity of nations. We are dependent upon tamaashaas and hyping up non-events such as visits by retiring US presidents. Not shy, modest, not retiring by choice but because rules do not permit a third term. The man in question is collecting mementoes of his presidency. Perhaps he will get a souvenir or two. The regulation photograph with the Taj as background will brighten up some corner or wall of the retirement home. The point to consider for Indians is “What is there in this for the US?”The US have always been closer to Pakistan. At Independence they had a Senate sub-committee study India and Pakistan in depth. The conclusion was that Pakistan was more likely to be stable of the two. This finding was further gilded by Pakistan opting for being force fed doses of military dictatorship. The US has always found it easier to deal with dictators than with the elected leaders of democracies. The Taliban of Afghanistan are US armed and trained by a Pak-US combine. The recent hijack saw no reaction in the US which could possibly be said to favour India or condemn the outrage and its perpetrators.
In the world outside the subcontinent but bordering on it, the most favoured nation continues to be China. A huge US investment has been made there and anything one buys in the US from mirrors to scissors, clothes or costumes is likely to have a “Made in China” label. The industries which produce these goods are US collaborations and good money is invested in them. How can we expect the US government to condemn the Chinese for human rights violations? The Chinese have not even made a token show of regret at the Tiananmen Square happenings.
The other question that arises is “Will Indians ever learn?” All the brutality they suffered from the racism of the Anglo Saxons in 1857/58 and the loss of lives (1/4 million to 1/2 million), buildings destroyed (city centres of Dillee and Lucknow). The capital loss of gold and jewels looted. The indignity of being at the mercy of uncouth and uncultured barbarians.
To illustrate what happened then, we discuss a picture from a book produced by the London Times correspondent who covered the events of 1857/58.
The illustration shows the London Times correspondent looking on or witnessing the sack of one of the magnificent palaces in Lucknow called “Kaiserbagh” The Garden of the Caesar or the “Garden Palace of the Emperor” it is a sad ruin today. It stands as if in mute testimony to what happens if you put your faith in the white man. For in 1798/99 the East India Company interfered in the succession to the gaddi or throne of Lucknow by deposing the son and heir of their lifelong ally Asafuddolah and put a pliable puppet on the throne. No Nawab/Vizier stood up to the Company in the whole of the 19th century. Despite this abject surrender the cupidity of the English continued to increase. They wanted it all and not what they were given by treaty and obtained by extortion. They deposed the last ruler, Wajid Ali Shah and deported him to Calcutta.
This betrayal and breach of trust was one of the causes of the Great Uprising of 1857. The feringhee was not to be trusted. In fact, anything at all could be believed about his depravity and double faced cunning. He could mix cow’s fat with pig’s fat to make grease for cartridges which had to be bitten for the bullet to be released. Thus they would cause the high caste Hindus, the Pandeys to become outcast and easy prey to Christian missionaries for conversion. The treatment of the Indians by the British was uniformly awful as it was based on discrimination and exploitation and no holds barred.
1857/58 were the years of British terror let loose upon the Indians from cannon to set an example. In places like Kanpur the Hindus were forced to lick the earth where cow’s blood had been spilt during the slaughter. They were then killed and buried. Muslims were made to lick pig’s blood before being killed and burnt. The idea of desecration and defilement was uppermost in British minds. As all these horrible tales of blood and gore turn stomachs we hope the illustration will provide relief.
What the London Times correspondent is finding newsworthy is the perplexity or confusion of the Tommy (British soldier) who has found a string of large, graded pearls. He has never seen anything like it before. He is asking, “Is this string of little stones worth anything? “Little stones indeed!”
It is an axiom of history that yahoos and barbarians, ignorant of pearls are able to prevail over the rasikas or cognoscenti and aficionados. Readers familiar with the history of West Asia may remember that when the Arabs, mostly uncouth Bedouins conquered Iran and saw camphor crystals for the first time they mistook them for salt and sprinkled it on their bread!
The loot and rapine continues under the name of “globalization.” All the attempts of Gandhiji and Nehru to make India self-reliant have been or are being undone. The present Prime Minister is MP for Lucknow and would be well-advised to study the history of that place.
It may dampen the “Welcome Clinton” spirit too garishly apparent in his government’s ranks.