India’s rich and ancient history, shaped by its multitude of civilisations, cultures, ideas, religions is much-fabled and celebrated at home and globally. It’s not a history that we know particularly well though – beyond the often highly politicised narratives that have become enshrined in the history books, and school curricula in both India and Pakistan. It is this truly sorry state of affairs that King’s College London professor Sunil Khilnani sets out to redeem with his BBC Radio 4 series and now book Incarnations: India in 50 Lives.
The radio series is made up of a series of beautifully presented vignettes about the often remarkable lives of different figures from Indian history – kings, queens, poets, warriors, actors – who have played a significant role in India’s history. They’re measured but highly engaging stories of imagination, dissent, defiance – Raj Kapoor’s insistence on romance, love and kindness as the answer to political problems; the Rani of Jhansi’s legendary leap from the ramparts of a Jhansi Fort besieged by the British; Manto’s pioneering use of fiction to tell the truths of partition; the enduring relevance of 14th century Amir Khusrau’s poetry in modern-day Bollywood; and Dhirubai Ambani’s debt to the rise of the chiffon saree as the film heroine’s outfit of choice for the success of his polyester business. And DON’T miss probably one of the most beguiling true stories of all time surely – that of extraordinary mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
It’s a largely highly feel-good affair, but there are powerful moments of argument and contention too. Khilnani examines contemporary critiques of Gandhi, is particularly critical of Jinnah’s arguments for a separate Muslim state, and refers frequently to the dangers of modern-day Hindi nationalism. One of the most poignant episodes is on artist M F Husain, who died in exile after being persecuted by hardline Hindu groups, aided and abetted by the Indian state, for his representations of figures from Hindu mythology. Along with the Jinnah episode, it is one of the more explicit articulations of what is the underlying message for the series – that India has never had a singular identity, and its most celebrated sons and daughters have always struggled with differing notions of politics, society and religion, and it is those ongoing endeavours that form the essence of the country.
There are flaws – only a very small number of women are profiled, parts of India are un- or under-represented, and the whole thing has the air of being an exclusively Indian enterprise, even though many of the individuals are relevant to territory that is now Pakistan and Bangladesh. Still there is information and nuance here that is unrivalled in its accessibility, and for that reason, a real winner.
The Incarnations: India in 50 Lives radio series is available to listen here.
The podcast is available here.
The book is available with Amazon here. But as always please try your local bookshop, and ask them to order in if they don’t have it immediately available.
Posted by SK on 26 March 2016. Updated on 28 March 2016.
Photos from BBC/ Sheetal Mallar