Ramachandra Guha QUOTES

121 " To my knowledge, the best summation of this ideology appears in D. R. Goyal’s authoritative history of the RSS. In Goyal’s rendition, the core beliefs of what the Sangh Parivar calls ‘Hindutva’ are as follows: Hindus have lived in India since times immemorial; Hindus are the nation because all culture, civilisation and life is contributed by them alone; non-Hindus are invaders or guests and cannot be treated as equal unless they adopt Hindu traditions, culture etc.; the non-Hindus, particularly Muslims and Christians, have been enemies of everything Hindu and are, therefore, to be treated as threats; the freedom and progress of this country is the freedom and progress of Hindus; the history of India is the history of the struggle of the Hindus for protection and preservation of their religion and culture against the onslaught of these aliens; the threat continues because the power is in the hands of those who do not believe in this nation as a Hindu Nation; those who talk of national unity as the unity of all those who live in this country are motivated by the selfish desire of cornering minority votes and are therefore traitors; the unity and consolidation of the Hindus is the dire need of the hour because the Hindu people are surrounded on all sides by enemies; the Hindus must develop the capacity for massive retaliation and offence is the best defence; lack of unity is the root cause of all the troubles of the Hindus and the Sangh is born with the divine mission to bring about that unity.29 "

― Ramachandra Guha , India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy

123 " For perhaps the first time in public, he used the neutral ‘Africans’ instead of the pejorative ‘Kaffirs’. The change in language reflected a deeper change in his way of thinking about the world. When he first came to South Africa, Gandhi had pleaded for Indians to be distinguished from Africans, whom he then considered ‘uncivilized’. Now, fifteen years later, he brought all races within a single ambit. They all had similar hopes, and would one day have the same rights. In the future, Indians and Africans would be absolutely free men, mingling with Boers and Britons in a nation where one’s citizenship did not depend on the colour of one’s skin. "

― Ramachandra Guha , Gandhi Before India

125 " Narayan was manhandled by the police while on his way to a public meeting in Patna. While warding off a baton, he stumbled to the ground; the picture was splashed across the newspapers the next day. He was an old man as well as a sick one (he suffered from diabetes), and although the injuries were slight the indignity provoked much outrage. The Bihar administration was compared to its colonial predecessor – as one journal somewhat hyperbolically wrote, ‘JP was, for the first time in free India, a victim of police repression. "

― Ramachandra Guha , India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy

127 " In 1962 one Naga faction had made its peace with the government of India, as had another faction in 1975. But there remained a group stubbornly committed to the idea of an independent and sovereign Nagaland. This was the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, led by Isaak Swu and "

― Ramachandra Guha , India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy

129 " Asian Relations Conference "

― Ramachandra Guha , India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy

131 " New version: A republican Government was established under George Lavoff, a member of the Royal Family. It failed to secure popular support and proved incapable of ending the war or of effecting social and economic reforms. At this time, Lenin arrived in Russia and this gave impetus to the Russian people. A new Government with Lenin as President was evolved. First, Lenin made the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany. Then land and other capital goods were nationalised. All agricultural land was taken away from the landlords and divided among the peasants. All factories became the property of the State. The privileges of the clergy and the nobility were abolished. Mines, railways and banks were taken over by the Government. And thus to the astonishment of all, a new world, based upon Socialism, took shape in Russia and the dreams of Karl Marx were realized in this way. Old version: Lenin established a Workers’ Government. But the first election showed that the Bolsheviks had no majority. However, to maintain themselves in power, they dissolved the Duma on the ground that it was reactionary. Local Soviets who did not support the Bolsheviks were also disbanded. Private schools were forbidden and education was taken over by the State. Voting right was denied to the nobility and the clergy. Communism encourages violence, and does not believe in an omnipotent God. The Communists forget that man has a soul. It is a one-party Government that prevails in Communist Russia. There is neither freedom of opinion nor of religion. Many other defects in the System may also strike the eye of an observant critic. "

― Ramachandra Guha , India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy

133 " Do we believe in a national state which includes people of all religions and shades of opinion and is essentially secular . . ., or do we believe in the religious, theocratic conception of a state which considers people of other faiths as something beyond the pale? This is an odd question to ask, for the idea of a religious or theocratic state was given up by the world some centuries ago and has no place in the mind of the modern man. And yet the question has to be put in India today, for many of us have tried to jump back to a past age. JAWAHARLAL NEHRU "

― Ramachandra Guha , India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy

135 " மேத்தா கோபால கிருஷ்ண கோகலேவுக்கு ஒரு வியக்கத்தக்க கடிதத்தை எழுதினார். அது இப்படி ஆரம்பிக்கிறது: அன்புள்ள ஐயா, நான் சென்றமுறை ஐரோப்பாவுக்குச் சென்றிருந்தபோது திரு காந்தியை அதிகம் கண்டேன். ஆண்டுக்கு ஆண்டு (எனக்கு அவரை இருபது ஆண்டுகளாகத் தெரியும்) இன்னும் அதிகமாக அவர் தன்னலமற்றவராகிறார். இப்போது அவர் ஏறக்குறைய ஒரு துறவு வாழ்வு வாழ்ந்துவருகிறார்-நாம் வழக்கமாகப் பார்க்கும் சாதாரணமான துறவி அல்ல; மாறாக ஒரு மகாத்மா. தன் தாய்நாடுதான் அவரது மனதை ஆக்கிரமித்திருக்கும் ஒரே சிந்தனை. தன் நாட்டுக்காக உழைக்க விரும்பும் அனைவரும் காந்தியையும் அவரது சமீபத்திய நிறுவனங்களான ஃபீனிக்ஸ் குடியிருப்பு, ஃபீனிக்ஸ் பள்ளி ஆகியவற்றையும் குறித்துக் கற்கவேண்டும் என்று எனக்குத் தோன்றுகிறது. டிரான்ஸ்வாலில் அவரது வழிகாட்டலின்கீழ் நடத்தப்பட்ட சாத்விகமான எதிர்ப்பைப் பற்றியும் நேரில் சென்றால் நன்றாக அறிந்துகொள்ள முடியும். திரு போலாக் இப்போது இங்கே எங்களுடன் தங்கியிருக்கிறார்; ‘இந்தியாவின் சேவகர்கள்’ பிரமாதமான வேலை செய்வதாக என்னிடம் சொல்கிறார். எனக்குத் தோன்றுவது என்னவென்றால், இந்தியாவுக்காகப் பணியாற்றும் எந்த ஒரு ஊழியரின் கல்வியும் திரு காந்தியையும் அவரது நிறுவனங்களையும் பற்றிக் கற்காகதவரை முழுமையடைய முடியாது. கோகலேயின் "

― Ramachandra Guha , Gandhi Before India

137 " While Marx himself was a great champion of modern technology, Indian Marxists are technophobic. "

― Ramachandra Guha , The Past and Future of the Indian Left

139 " In March 1950 Sukumar Sen was appointed chief election commissioner. "

― Ramachandra Guha , India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy