Amartya Sens homage to Tapanda. I add a history story I have quoted: Tapan Raychaudhuri, a retired professor of Indian history at Oxford, told me and Iftikhar Malik, a South Asian studies scholar, in Oxford on 18 January 2003 that Arjun Sen Gupta, a close advisor of Mrs Gandhi, told him (Raychaudhuri) that Indira Gandhi had talked to Sen Gupta and a group of other key advisors immediately after signing the order to send the army into the Golden Temple. She is reported to have said: ‘By ordering the army into the Golden Temple, I have signed my death warrant because I know that religion is a very powerful force in moving Indian people to action.’ It appears that though the electoral considerations of gaining Hindu votes by this action might have been a factor in her decision, the fact that she was aware of the risk to her life indicates that more powerful historical forces were at play in making her choose a path of military confrontation with the Sikhs. Perhaps, she saw herself as a historical victim of the confrontation between Indian nationalism and Sikh nationalism. It seems that she chose to act in the interests of asserting Indian nationalism as a historical necessity. It is debatable, however, whether the interests of Indian nationalism could have been better served by seeking a negotiated settlement with the moderate Akali Sikh leadership. (my book Federalism, Nationalism and Development, p181). Tapanda will always be remembered with great affection for his scholarship, humanity and history-story telling skills.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 23:49:23 +0000
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