The events happening in Arab world specifically in Libya is not entirely unexpected. The radical elements are gaining much space in this region. Syria too is being sucked into the vortex. All this at the expense of livelihood problems of common people as also issues of environment, biodiversity so on…when stakes are high these are but minor impediments. Some commentators patronize it as “you get what you ask for” or that some societies are “not suited for democracy”. It’s uncanny how the despots in Arab world hold on to power as the West fed them for immediate gains and the common people suffered. It is something that has happened before …
Pankaj Mishra’s From The Ruins Of Empire –The revolt against the West and the remaking of Asia is remarkable book. He used few significant personalities to weave a compelling history. Indeed a history that rather remarkably gives insights into contemporary happening. The reason why this is quite a major book to be published in recent times. The life of Al-Din Al-Afghani is an important study on how a very concerned person’s world view gets radicalized as he deals with despots and is now very much exploited by the fundamentalist and competing forces. He is in many ways representation of common people, the people on the street who fight the modern day tyrant whether Mubarak, Gadaffi or Assad. Interestingly these rulers too adopted the western references –the kind al-Afghani was dealing with –to project their liberal credentials for the liking of West. These references were packaged by West to showcase these leaders as acceptable for dealing. People respond to the developing circumstances by negotiating what they think will give secure livelihood and dignity. It is this that is exploited by power brokers and vested interests (the organized section, the space taken over by the fundamentalists), as is happening in Tripoli or Cairo. Al-Afghani a very sane and rational man, his world view “was not a systematic thinker, and seems to have developed his ideas on the run…” The reason why ‘Arab spring’ is so much a legacy of al-Afghani as much it is of the common people.
As you read the book that traces the history in an entirely new light by chartering lives of few significant people that was sought to be relegated in imperial version of history, you start to get a refreshing context to the contemporary events. The dictators like Mubarak, Assad, Gaddafi (and not very recently Shah of Iran, one may add the Saudi royals too)…were encouraged and patronized by West for their material gain. It was either the western political establishment or the big Corporate, sometimes clandestinely, sometimes openly, in most cases there wasn’t any difference, they never gave a damn. While despots role-played liberalism with rib tickling cadence that made good copy for market media, the profits were filled up in the Scandinavian banks (incidentally these countries consistently top the yearly list of corruption free world!!). Democracy was ruse that was sought to be trickled down. Indeed the dictators actively played on the fears of chaos. Correctly put, the West was an established partner in the loot. If this doesn’t shock what will really shock is the fact that this is repeat play of more than century back. It is a déjà vu moment of deceit. Those were heydays of colonialism and imperialism this is the heydays of democracy and market.
It is also not ironical that in the last years of his life al-Afghani lamented the fact that he had wasted the seed of his ideas ‘in the salt and sterile soil’ of kingly sovereignty. The book quotes him “for what I sowed in that soil never grew, and what I planted in that brackish earth perished away. During all this time none of my well intentioned counsels sank in the ears of the rulers of the East whose selfishness and ignorance prevented them from accepting my word…Would that I had sown all the seed of my ideas in the receptive ground of the people’s thought”. Undoubtedly it took more than a century for al-Afghani’s ideas to percolate. The Arab spring has all the ideas of al-Afghani, as also the emergence of reactionary forces that can be traced to his experiences. It is an amazing insight on the history of the region.
The life of Liang Qichao’s is another reference on the development of pan Asian response to imperialism as also how Japan adapted on the lines of colonial power. Even the recent tense situation between China and Japan could be traced back to the travesties of these periods.
The book gave me insights that Macaulay driven Indian education system miserably failed. I recall in my school in the History subject annual exams we had to shade in the world map the British, French, Dutch colonies and so on. Our intelligence/talent depended on performance in these nonsenses. The teaching didn’t provide the context of depravity in these conquests, atleast a contemporary balance on these historical wrongs (even now the mediocre Indian elite –direct beneficiaries of colonialism, are in awe). Tang Tiaoding quite rightly defined it as “white people’s history”. The book quotes him “They provide plenty of indisputable evidence on the extent of primitive customs and ignorance of the native people, as proof of why these people deserve to be conquered. This type of praise (of themselves) and condemnation (of others) is done with an eye towards the final judgment of history….but now I know that these books were written by white people, where truth and falsehood are confused…I know one thing for sure; if you seek the truth about Philippines in the history books of the Spaniards, you would not doubt for a moment that the country is ignorant and vile, and you would only wonder why it had not perished sooner…”.
Pankaj Mishra is undoubtedly an exciting writer (for the uninitiated he is the author of wonderful book Butter Chicken in Ludhiana), I have read most of his books. He surely reminds me of VS Naipaul in many shades. Take for instance brilliant crisp lines like “The advance of imperialism everywhere forced Asian elites into sideways glances as well as urgent self appraisals”. Must add here that his fiction does lack, where Naipaul glitter (I feel this as a reader). I have reached a stage in life where I know I really can’t be a good writer (English is too complicated a language!) but still Naipaul remains a reference and Mishra a path! I too have spent few days in JNU to know that the real history is history of common people, that which is being relegated as subaltern. The explosion of communication media in true sense is beginning of history, it is the end of elitist history of Fukuyamas and superstructures. It is in this context we can say that Pankaj Mishra is deconstructing history for us. It is the age of Derrida!!
Condolences
Varghese Kurian was truly a Bharath Ratna, it is unfortunate that the incompetent government is not able to recognize his contributions.
Mr.Thilakan was a tremendous actor, arguably one of the best in India. He played some memorable characters over the years, two of my favorite movies are Munnampakkam (legendary Padmarajan) and Perumthachan (scripted by MT)
