Abstract
Anecdotage and angst can often make a deadly concoction. In the able hands of an eminent historian like Deepak Kumar, however, in spite of the deliberately chosen provocative style, The Trishanku Nation: Memory, Self, and Society in Contemporary India enrich the reader with a masterful analysis of post-colonial India. The nine essays included in this collection cover a range of issues related to Indian society, politics, the liberalisation process and the slow integration of India into the global economy, and of course, status of state-sponsored education in India along with the state of institutions dealing with science and technological development.
The tone followed in these essays is made clear right in the preface by the author by invoking the Indian mythological figure of King Trishanku, an ancestor of Lord Rama, who while attempting to reach heaven alive became forever suspended in mid-air creating his own Trishanku’s heaven. Contemporary India, according to the author, is the ‘Trishanku Nation’ in which progress is arrested through the continuous conflict between the three Ds (development, democracy and diversity) and the three Cs (corruption, casteism and communalism) (p. X). The narrative style adopted is a mixed one involving personal reminiscing broadly followed in the first three chapters along with reflections on the nature of contemporary Indian state and society in the latter six. The first three chapters (Mofussil in a Mirror, Move to the Metropolis and Tectonic Shifts) are in a sense personal history of the author’s origins from a small mofussil town in Bihar (then Monghyr, now spelled as Munger) and the process of growing up and enrichment and subsequent translocation towards a bigger world both in terms of enrichment as well as shift towards the metropolis (first Patna and then, Delhi). The personal narrative becomes a part of larger historical reconstruction of the initial post-colonial decades in India, the years of hope and enthusiasm along with continuity within core aspects of social life. As noted by the author in his first chapter, ‘Growing up in the 1950s, one could feel that the diverse elements of this society were at peace; there was cohesion and a strong desire to rebuild the nation’ (p. 2). Such hopes and enthusiasm were slowly but surely giving way to despair and ennui as it was being realised that the core deterrents which hamper and deter holistic development in India were not going to be or rather, cannot be wiped clean right away. The author’s tone, however, never becomes too acidic all through the text. Reflections are full of wit, and sometimes self-deprecating humour, which enrich the analysis. While tracing his own personal history, the author provides enough glimpses of ailments connected to the three Cs listed above affecting our institutions.
Chapters 4–6 (Our Polity; The Market and the Watchdogs; Knowledge and Education; Reason and Religion: Historic Rivals; Science, Technology, and Development; and Whither India?) fall within the category of more general reflections on the nature of the evolving Indian state and society in contemporary times. The problems, to an extent, have been inherited from the peculiar nature of the colonial state in India and its inherited institutions and an inherent propensity towards ‘statism’ which became essential in an impoverished country seeking quick progress and development as a part of its declared national goal. The dominant state perhaps became essential in the context that an old civilisation state was on the verge of transforming itself into a modern nation state (or as some scholars would prefer to describe India as a State Nation). But the gaps between the state and nation continued to exist and perhaps the fissures increased as a top-down approach, which was overtly bureaucratised, generated competition and conflicts at intra-national level along with encouraging corruption, nepotism and inefficiency. The author shares some of his personal experiences as to how even some of India’s top academic institutions have been unable to escape the contagion. The liberalisation process and the revolution in communication technology have certainly generated new opportunities but this has not resulted in any path breaking new developments, and progress continues in very slow pace, continuing and sometimes increasing socio-economic inequity.
The author, however, does not end his narrative with a sense of utter despair. The final chapter (Whither India?) retains a positive note throughout the narrative and this ‘beacon of hope’, as the author argues has been inherited from within the Indian tradition like the spirit of the national movement or as reflected in the spirit of the Indian constitution (p. 194). Yet, he remains wary and aware of the dangers and problems within the Indian system. The de-centralisation process and liberalisation, in spite of some material benefits, have been morphed into creating new nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and private capitalists. So the relevance and dominance of the 3 Cs would continue to torment the nation for a long time to come.
Deepak Kumar’s collection of essays reflect the mindset of an erudite scholar with a sharp intellect along with compassion and concern, an increasingly rare combination in today’s world, genuinely concerned with the state of the nation today. Very consciously he also does not allow his own ideological/political beliefs to colour his analysis in any way. He adopts a neutral position in questioning the ideological pretensions across the spectrum right or left which have led to high degree of politicalisation and have had their due share in breeding nepotism and corruption within various institutions sponsored under the state. In spite of the seriousness of the issues discussed and analysed, the author retains a reflective tone throughout the narrative full of lucidity and humour. Numerous references from various literary texts along with archival sources are essential reflections of the author’s own erudition and myriad interests. All these facts contribute to this text being a ‘must read’ for anyone interested or perplexed by contemporary India.