Mumbai: “We can’t forget it even if we want to,” said poet, writer and lyricist Gulzar, when he read poems on the indelible scars partition left on many of its victims. He was setting the tone for a discussion on 70 years of Independence organised by Literature Live and presented by the JSW group.
The speakers were Homi K. Bhabha, professor of humanities at Harvard University, Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairman of State Bank of India, N. Ram, chairman of Kasturi & Sons Ltd. (the publisher of The Hindu ), and Shekhar Gupta, founder of The Print , with Ayaz Memon, journalist and columnist, moderating the chat.
The evening’s discussion covered a range of subjects with roots in newly independent India that remain pertinent today, including the fall of Congress in the last general elections, the ongoing Kashmir dispute, caste, liberalisation, relations with Pakistan, regional identity and politics of language, nationalism, freedom of the press, judicial activism and corruption.
On the fall of the Congress, Mr. Gupta said, “The majority of voters in 2014 were people born after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and by then the Congress had ceased to be what it was and what it stood for.” He emphasised the importance of understanding the demands and aspirations of young voters in today’s India.
When Mr. Memon asked the panel for their opinions on caste, which remains deeply entrenched in India, Mr. Ram said, “It’s a Romantic idea that casteism will go away. But what is shocking is that untouchability still remains.” Ms. Bhattacharya spoke of the role of education across generations to make a dent in the system. Prof. Bhabha drew attention to the importance of controlling the quality of education and its underlying ideologies.
Moving to the related area of regional identity, which included the politics of language, Mr. Ram said that majoritarianism is a real threat to India at the moment: “Our pluralism has come under assault.” Prof. Bhabha noted that what he called a wave of hypernationalism is global. “We have broad-chested leaders with narrow majorities everywhere,” he said.
Discussing the ‘post-truth’ and ‘post-fact’ world, especially in the U.S., where he teaches, Prof. Bhabha said, “We’re now living in a post-guilt situation, where there is no shame anymore; and shame is what drives change.”
Ms. Bhattacharya, from her perspective as the first female chairman of SBI, shared insights on the gender factor, especially in corporate India. “Things have improved tremendously,” she said. “But we still have a long way to go. We lose 43% of our women in their first 15 years of joining.”
With three journalists on the panel, the discussion ended with freedom of the press and the health of the Indian media. Mr. Ram said that vigorous, robust and sharp criticism by the press is essential. Mr. Gupta injected a note of optimism: “India is also the only country where media is growing, which is a welcome sign.”
