Anger and vendetta rule, forgiveness absent in India: Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Jaipur, Jan 16 (PTI) Painting a grim picture of contemporary India, former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi warned that "anger, retaliation and vendetta" now dominate public discourse.

Speaking at the ongoing 19th edition of Jaipur Literature Festival on Thursday, he remarked that the prevailing mood in the country is marked by "demands for apologies and restitution".

"Today, the dominant emotion in India is anger and retaliation. That was not so a generation or two ago. The desire to almost come to blows with the adversary has become a defining emotion," said the author of 'The Undying Light: A Personal History of Independent India', with a sense of quiet urgency.

The 80-year-old noted that newspapers, with their frequent use of the word "slam", reflect this shift -- underlining that "slam, along with scam and spam, are the three key words of our times".

"The word you read most often is 'slam' -- 'Mamata slams Amit Shah', 'Amit Shah slams Mamata', 'TMC slams Congress', 'Congress slams BJP'. Slam, slam, slam... If 'slam' were an object of sale, it would be one of the fastest-moving products today," he said to a packed audience, many of whom applauded and nodded in agreement.

Gandhi further warned that "vengeance and hatred are cousins", and that animosity has emerged as a readily marketable commodity in the arena of public opinion and opinion making.

The former West Bengal governor said that in the marketplace of public opinion, the "biggest commodity on sale is hatred, spite and animosity".

"The Hindi word 'badla' has become another word that we hear very commonly now -- 'hum badla lenge, badla lenge'," he added. But beyond the vocabulary dominating headlines, what has been lost is honesty, apology, and forgiveness in both public and personal discourse, Gandhi opined.

“When did we last hear someone say, ‘I made a mistake’? An honest mistake. Mistakes are made all the time, but very few admit them. And how long ago is it that we heard someone say, 'I forgive you'? I can't remember that being said in recent times. Forgiveness is a known emotion, yet today it is almost regarded as naïve (bhola),” said the former diplomat.

He added that in contemporary society, being 'bhola' is often viewed as a weakness.

Drawing on history, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari, noted that apology and atonement are marks of strength, not weakness.

"Emperor Ashoka, after killing innocents, said, 'I have made a mistake. I apologise.' He did not disband the army or abdicate -- he remained a strong emperor. But he was honest with himself." He cited modern examples as well: "A (former) prime minister of Australia apologised to the Aboriginal people. Japan's prime minister Nobusuke Kishi apologised to the countries Japan harmed during the Second World War. And German Chancellor, Willy Brandt, fell to his knees in Warsaw and apologised. All these were strong leaders. Honesty, apology, atonement -- these are not signs of weakness." "That is missing in our country today. That is missing in the world today. I do not have to give examples. We know that. We know that all too well," Gandhi concluded.

The five-day literary festival will host more than 350 celebrated authors and scholars, including Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq, chess legend Viswanathan Anand, British actor and author Stephen Fry, Sahitya Akademi Award winner Anuradha Roy, veteran film critic Bhawana Somaaya, and authors Manu Joseph, Ruchir Joshi, and KR Meera.

The festival will conclude on January 19. PTI MG NSD NSD