Over the last seven years, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been instrumental in bringing over 200 stolen artifacts or antiquities worth millions of dollars back to India from across the world while the previous UPA government was only able to bring back one stolen artifact to India in its 10 years of government.

Prime Minister Modi announced last year that an ancient statue of Devi Annapurna, stolen from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh about a century ago, is being brought back home from Canada. The statue of the goddess of food, holding a bowl of rice, is said to be an 18th-century idol carved in the Benaras style. The return of the idol is a major success story in India’s quest for its lost ancient treasures, a mission being spearheaded by PM Modi. “Every Indian will be proud to know that a very old idol of Devi Annapurna is returning to India from Canada. The coming back of the idol is pleasing for all of us. Just like the idol of Mata Annapurna, a lot of our invaluable heritage has suffered at the hands of international gangs,” the Prime Minister said.

India’s archaeological treasures have been constant victims of plundering and looting, resulting in several rare specimens of antiquity scattered throughout the world. Under the guidance of PM Modi, the initiative to bring them home has been revived and has transpired into a mission. Several programs and efforts have been initiated by authorities to procure these artifacts from all over the world. The Ministry of External Affairs, along with law enforcement agencies, has been actively pursuing the retrieval of stolen and smuggled Indian artifacts, and several pieces have been returned to India from various countries, including the US, Australia, the UK, Canada, and Germany.

Here’s a look at some that have successfully found their way back home:

Over the last few years, the United States of America has returned 178 antiquities to India. The list includes some of the finest pieces of terracotta idols belonging to various periods, along with elegant statues of religious and sentimental value. One of the most significant in this consignment is a bronze idol of Manikkavachakar, a saint who had found patronage under the Chola Dynasty (9-13th century AD). The idol had allegedly been stolen from a temple in the Sripuranthan Village in the Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu and smuggled into the US. The idol, worth at least a million US dollars in the open market, was recovered by American authorities in 2015 and returned. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha earlier this month, the Ministry of Culture said that in total, nine antiquities or artifacts were repatriated to India from Australia, two from Canada, eight from the UK, and one each from Germany and Singapore.

Another important idol returned by the USA is an idol of Manjusri, a Bodhisattva associated with Mahayana Buddhism. Dating back to the 12th century, the idol depicts Manjusri holding a sword and a lotus in his hands, and is painted in gold leaf. It has immense significance in the history of Buddhism, with the sword symbolizing the Bodhisattva’s intent to cut or remove the fog of illusion and bring forth light. The idol also denotes wisdom and is highly revered in the Indian and Buddhist pantheons. The statue was allegedly stolen from a temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, in the late 1980s. It was repatriated in 2018 from the Auckland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina.

Along with the idol of Manjusri, a granite phallus idol of Lord Shiva was also returned. The iconic Shiva Linga dates back to the 12th century and traces its origin to the Chola Dynasty rulers of Southern India. Carved in accordance with the laws of traditional iconography, the idol depicts the Lord holding a parasu, or battle axe, along with Krishna Mruga, or a deer. It was stolen from Tamil Nadu and was on display at the Birmingham Museum in Alabama.

In November 2020, a set of three bronze idols of Lord Rama, Lord Lakshmana, and Goddess Sita was returned to India by authorities of the United Kingdom. These bronze idols, rich in artistic heritage and belonging to the Vijayanagar Empire (1336–1646), had been stolen in the 1970s from a temple in Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district and were recovered from a private collector in London.

Another valuable statue that was returned to India last year by the UK is an ancient Lord Shiva idol, which was stolen from Ghateswar Temple in Baroli, Rajasthan. The idol, standing around four feet high, depicts Lord Shiva in a Chatura Nataraja pose and dates back to the 9th-10th century. It was in the possession of a private collector. The High Commission of India in London played an active role in the repatriation of this priceless piece of art.

Canada, too, has returned several heritage artifacts to India in recent years. Among them is the statue of the “parrot lady,” a prized cultural representation of Indian history. The delicately carved sandstone statue of a woman holding a parrot is almost 900 years old and represents aspects of everyday life in ancient India. The sculpture that was in the possession of a private collector was returned to PM Modi by former Canadian PM Stephen Harper in 2015 during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Canada.

Among other Chola Dynasty artifacts returned to India are the bronze idols of Nataraja and Ardhanarishvara recovered in Australia. The idols date back to the 11th century AD and are regarded as some of the finest specimens of skilled bronze casting from the Chola period. Ardhanarishvara is an amalgamation of Lord Shiva and his consort Goddess Parvati in a half man-half woman form. Along with these, a stone relief of a pair of dwarpalo (mythical temple guards) had also been retrieved from Australia. Australia also returned to India a stone statue of Nagaraja (serpent king) from the 6th to 8th century period. These statues had been allegedly stolen from Indian temples.

In a similar appreciable and welcoming gesture, Germany returned a piece of Indian history during German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to India in 2015. The 10th-century idol of Mahishasuramardini, a form of Goddess Durga had gone missing from a temple in Kashmir over 20 years ago.

Over many decades, India has lost thousands of artifacts of cultural importance. In recent years, the government of India has been assiduously working towards the repatriation of stolen art objects, and the records of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) show that the government has been able to retrieve 40 art objects between 2014 and 2020 while an additional 75-80 art objects are in the pipeline to be returned. These priceless artifacts returned to India facilitate research and analysis on their origin and antiquity that further enriches our history and culture. Dr BR Mani, former Director General of the National Museum, New Delhi, said, “Due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his emphasis on the importance of preserving national folklore and culture, returning of lost treasures and heritage exchange between nations have gained incredible momentum. This process has compelled other countries to look up to India as a cultural icon.”

Such pursuit of bringing back pieces of our history and filling gaps in historical information is of the utmost importance in integrating a sense of cultural assimilation. Artifacts of cultural significance are an integral part of Indian heritage and play an important role in defining the historical context of the country. These rare antiquities have not only helped revive India’s impressive past, but have also managed to build and foster strong cultural, social, and economic ties with other countries and their people.

About the Author

Juhi Mirza holds a Master’s Degree in Archaeology and is a keen enthusiast for all things ancient. She takes a deep interest in the cultures and traditions of India and the world. She has traveled extensively to document ancient ruins and cultures across the world.

   

Independent India: A Prosperous and Self-Sufficient Nation after 73 Years of Independence

From the demoralised country she had been due to her having been devastated by long colonial rule, India has come a long way since her independence from British rule in 1947. India has made remarkable achievements in a variety of different fields ranging from economy to agriculture. These have brought it soaring through a breathtakingly stratospheric journey of celestially upward economic curves that now make it the fifth-largest economy in the world! This is in terms of nominal GDP, as per the data presented by the IMF’s October World Economic Outlook. Not only that, it has been predicted by Standard Chartered in its long-term forecast that India will become the second-largest economy in the world – superseding the USA and following only China. 

In the 73 years since her independence, India has been able to achieve landmark successes in several important areas. Most remarkably, she has been successful in retaining the democratic structure of the country, upholding the principles laid down in the Preamble as A Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic. The milestones of India’s success are manifold, beginning with economic health and continuing on to agricultural development, industrial growth, and the steady growth of infrastructural facilities. Freedom from imperialist rule set India on anew path of progress and development that has placed her in a commanding position in the international arena today.  

India in the World Forum

Once a poor and devastated country getting freedom from her imperial rulers, India is now a major force in the global arena, and is (in many instances) a showcase of success and sustainability. India truly has become an icon of sustainable development under the aegis of able leadership and smart administration. 73 years after independence, India has excelled in all sectors and has uplifted both the lives and living standards of her people. That has received global acclaim, too.

United Nations’ Voluntary National Review 2020 has highly praised the Sustainable Development Goals of India through the different developmental programs of the Government of India. These have uplifted more than 271 million people from poverty. That became possible through economic development and empowerment; improved health facilities; and much-improved access to child and maternal health, nutrition, drinking water, electricity, and housing facilities through the Sashakt Bharat – Sabal Bharat program (meaning ‘An Empowered and Strong India’). Other programs like Swachh Bharat – Swasth Bharat (meaning ‘A Clean and Healthy India’) stress cleanliness and improved health facilities. Satat Bharat – Sanatan Bharat (or ‘A Sustainable India’) stresses the use of renewable energy sources. It has done so to the point where India ranks third in renewable power, fourth in wind power, and fifth in solar power, globally. Samagra Bharat – Saksham Bharat (meaning ‘An Inclusive and Self-Sufficient India’) stresses better social and civic facilities and the development of entrepreneurial skills. Along with it, there is Sampanna Bharat- Samriddh Bharat (meaning ‘A Prosperous India’), which gives importance to the development of infrastructure and youth in the workforce, along with improving the business and manufacturing sectors.

The numbers also reflect the reality of resplendent India post-independence. As per the statistics by Statista, India’s GDP at factor cost has multiplied more than 70 times from 1960 to 2018 – and the per capita GDP has multiplied more than 20 times in the same period. Achieving self-sufficiency in food grain production, the figure has multiplied 5 times. So has the export and the road network. This is a reflection of India’s achievement through fulfilment of her solemn pledge to rise to the top. 

From Poor to Prosperous: The Economic Journey of India Post-Independence

The British left a ravaged and damaged India with an unknown destiny. However, proper planning and the brilliant think-tank of Indian policy-makers gradually transformed the Indian economy into a prosperous and prospective one, with rising growth in income, purchasing power, and standard of living. The figures don’t lie; they speak for themselves: In more than 7 decades of India’s independence, her GDP in absolute numbers has grown more than 20 times! From $30.6 billion in 1950 to $2870.50 billion in 2019 (according to tradingeconomics.com), it has truly traversed a path of positive progress. This has been made possible due to the rapid pace of development in the agricultural and industrial sectors and due to various beneficial reforms along with enhanced infrastructural growth and rising social awareness. 

Agricultural Advancement: Sustainable and Self-Sufficient

Even after 73 years of independence, agriculture remains the leading means of livelihood for the majority of people. Hence, post-independence, the policy-makers focussed on the development of agriculture and on achieving self-sufficiency in food grain production so that India does not need to depend on any other country to feed her people. Thanks to the extensive agricultural research by Indian scientists like M. S. Swaminathan, the use of High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds coupled with land reforms, increase in irrigation facilities, and the use of superior fertilizers and pesticides, India began to shine bright in agricultural production. 

It began with the Green Revolution in the late ’60s and was followed by a bumper production of milk through the White Revolution (also known as Operation Flood) under the aegis of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), oilseeds through the Yellow Revolution, and fruits and vegetables through the Golden Revolution. It has been a delightful advancement towards pride and confidence. The green cover enhanced and enriched the agricultural sector of India. This green path of livelihood has been acknowledged by international studies, too. According to research published in Nature Sustainability, India and China (since 2000) have created one-third of the world’s green landscape of agricultural lands, forests, and other types of vegetative lands. In India, 82% of the green landscape consists of new croplands. Hence, the promise of tomorrow seems even brighter. 

Industrial Development: Progress through Liberalizatio

Despite her resources, potential and manpower, the colonial rulers treated India as a supplier of raw materials for overseas industries. Therefore, independent India had to traverse a long path of policies of centralization, decentralization, and liberalization to become the confident and self-reliant industrial nation she is today. The immediate post-independence period focussed on the growth of heavy industries like iron and steel; the development of infrastructure; and the categorization of the public, private, and joint sectors of industrial production. The inauguration of several hydroelectric and thermal power projects has helped in the growth of agricultural as well as infrastructural industries. 

The Industrial Policy of 1991 was a trendsetter in many ways. It adopted the policy of liberalization and welcomed foreign investment, thereby spinning the wheel of development further to make it achieve even faster revolutions. With the private sectors increased participation in the country’s industries, India moved faster on the industrial track. Heavy industries like engineering, electrical machinery, automobile, and construction along with the electricity, water, and gas supply has been growing remarkably. Service sector industries like hospitality and tourism have achieved great landmarks. Information technology and telecommunications have placed India astride a prominent place of honor in the global arena. Indian IT professionals are making bright marks and are achieving new heights of success globally.  

The growth of the IT and telecommunications industries has made way for retail and e-commerce in India, and it is boasting a high growth trend. As per a report published in The World Economic Forum, India has the second-largest market for online business. That has initiated Microsoft to enter the rural market of India through its Airband Initiative program wherein they have collaborated with AirJaldi to provide reasonably priced broadband. This will enable the rural population to enter e-commerce more easily and also to gain access to medical, financial and other e-governance services.

Recent government initiatives like the ‘Make in India’ (2014) programme or the National Infrastructural Development Corporation’s Skill Development initiatives are steps towards a bright future in the industrial development of India. According to the World Economic Forum, the real estate sector of India is estimated to contribute 13% of its GDP by 2025; and by 2030, it is projected to reach a market of $1 trillion.

Along with heavy industry, the Indian cottage and small industries sector has also witnessed significant growth and achievements. There are different types of incentives, grants, and export assistance given to this sector.

Infrastructural Achievement: Smooth Roads and Smart Cities

Gone are the days of poor roads and dark villages. India has achieved noteworthy successes in the infrastructural development of both rural as well as urban sectors. The lengths of the national and state highways have increased to a great extent. With a total of 5.89 million kilometres, the Indian road network is the second largest in the world. This has made the transport of passengers and goods; the provision of services across distances; and the ability to stay in contact easier and less time consuming. (For instance, communication between villages and cities has become easier.) 

The power sector of India has achieved great success with the development of thermal and hydroelectric power projects. All the inhabited villages have been electrified. India is also a potential mass-market user of renewable energy and has a promising future in this sector. Leading among them is solar energy. According to a survey by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), India is the cheapest producer of solar power in the world. There is great potential for generating power from wind, tidal, bioenergy, and energy from wastes. 

Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his inaugural speech at RE-Invest 2020, said that India’s renewable energy capacity will increase from 136 gigawatts (GW) to over 220 GW by 2022. 

The Smart City Mission of the Government of India (launched June 2015) is an innovative approach to sustainability and local development. This is a great move towards urban development and improving the infrastructural and civic amenities of a city or town. The objective of this competition-based program is to promote developmental models in sustainability, quality of life, and cleanliness in the cities and towns. 

Science & Technology: Achievements Influencing Progress 

From spaceships to vaccines, India’s achievements in the field of science and technology have been phenomenal. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) under the Department of Science has been successfully launching satellites and exploring the moon and Mars. These achievements have made India a major player in the area of space science. Satellites have created a sea change in the communication system of the country and have enabled her to move ahead. In the fields of nuclear power and weapons, India has been able to develop a trend of success due to her able and competent scientists. 

The pharmacy sector of India’s many noteworthy contributions include producing low-cost generic medicines and supplying them worldwide. Described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the Pharmacy of the World, the Indian pharmaceutical sector has also been able to produce Covid-19 vaccines in her laboratories. 

The telecommunications and information technology sectors have revolutionized India’s communication system and have made the lives of common people easier and more convenient along with developing the economy and creating a lot of employment opportunities for the youth. 

The relentless efforts and initiatives of the scientists of India have been able to make her agricultural sector green and promising with projects like the Green Revolution and the White Revolution. Not only in terms of achievements and accreditations but also in terms of science and technological development, these have been able to elevate the lives of the common people. 

The Societal Achievements of Independent India: A New Outlook; A Broader Perspective   

Post-independence India has witnessed a host of social reforms and changes both in the structure of the demographics and in the mindset of the people. Primary and secondary education was made free, which helped a large part of the common people including rural and underprivileged children. The result was a highly impressive rise in the literacy rate. The rate of literacy increased from 18% in 1947 to 77.7% in 2020. The increase in literacy caused greater awareness among the masses. Along with that, legislation for abolishing the zamindari system; ensuring fair wages for workers; and preventing child marriage, female feticide, and the dowry made many things mandatory. Untouchability was already prohibited in the Constitution.

Education has expanded the thought process of common Indians, especially in the case of women. They are no longer treated as if they were a burden on the family because their marriage would drain the resources of the family. On the contrary, more and more women are being educated and getting appointed in various jobs, even in so-called ‘only for men’ jobs. The Gandhi Nagar Railway station in Rajasthan is a unique example. This station is staffed by women only. From station master to the porter, all are women. Not only that, the station is clean and organized, and it pays a good income.

The constitution has ruled that 33% of the legislative assembly or parliament seats must be reserved for women; and this law is well-implemented now. This has given rise to the emergence of many prominent and eminent women politicians.  Corporate affairs have also categorically mentioned that companies with a paid-up share capital of Rs 100 crores and above, or a turnover of Rs 300 crores and above, must appoint at least one woman director. 

Women empowerment has been prominent at the rural level, too. There are women members of the Panchayats, self-help groups of women; and even farming is done by women, in many cases. The ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ or ‘Save and Educate the Girl-Child’ program has been immensely popular in rural India. 

Not only women empowerment, but also the Society of Post-Independence India, has also undergone several changes in its outlook. Inter-caste or inter-religion marriage is no longer taboo now. Liberalization, followed by digital communication and exposure to the greater world, has opened up Indian society and has made it free from certain irrational notions about life as a whole.

Entertainment and Sports: Indian Achievers Making Us Proud

The entertainment and sports arena of post-independence India has produced many milestones and achievers who have made the country and their countrymen proud. Filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt, and G Aravindan along with actors like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Uttam Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikant, Kamal Hassan, Mohanlal, Uttam Kumar, Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Nargis Dutt, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Vyjayanthimala, Waheeda Rehman, Sharmila Tagore, Rekha, Hema Malini, Shabana Azmi, and Smita Patil have portrayed various roles with incredible élan and competence that has made Indian cinema famous worldwide. International festivals regularly screen Indian movies; and they are critically acclaimed. 

The area of performing arts, including musical and instrumental genius, has also produced noteworthy personalities like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Uday Shankar, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Ali Akbar Khan, and many more. India has been acknowledged around the world for her soulful music – music which reflects the ancient and storied tradition and culture of the country. 

Sports are a national passion for the people of India. From the Cricket World Cup to the Olympics, Indians have achieved success everywhere. From the ‘Flying Sikh’ Milkha Singh to the latest young archer Deepika Kumari, all have struggled with poverty and many other hindrances and have emerged as champions! This not only makes India proud, but also inspires the common people. The cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar or Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli can truly be called national heroes. Women Cricketers like Jhulan Goswami or Mithali Raj have also become household names. 

Overcoming the Impediments

Independence from British rule gave India freedom – but with that freedom came the responsibility to grow into a self-sufficient, peaceful nation with prospects of sustainable growth in all sectors. It was a difficult task to overcome, given the many obstacles and shortcomings which had been created and left by the colonial rulers. However, with intelligent planning and strong leadership, India moved ahead with achievements in all sectors and emerged as a major force in the world. There is no area of activity that can be discussed without laudatorially addressing the significant role and contribution of India. That is the greatest achievement of the country after 73 years of independence.         

Common misconceptions about India (misconceptions such as assuming it to be a poor, superstitious, dirty, or unhealthy country) can easily be answered by the tremendous achievements of the country post-independence and by the impressive list of successful non-resident Indians throughout the globe. India has emerged as a major power in the fields of international economy, politics, and defence. She is proud of her heritage, and – head held high (with the confidence and class of a glamorous Bollywood actress) – walks hand in hand with the developments of the new global order, in which she is an active participant and bold leader.

demoralised country

agriculture

fifth-largest economy in the world

World Economic

second-largest economy in the world

USA

China

economic health

agricultural development

industrial growth

the steady growth of infrastructural facilities

able leadership

smart administration

An Empowered and Strong India

A Clean and Healthy India

A Sustainable India

Sampanna Bharat- Samriddh Bharat

A Prosperous India

India’s GDP

he Economic Journey of India Post-Independence

Agricultural Advancement: Sustainable and Self-Sufficient

Industrial Development: Progress through Liberalization

spinning the wheel of development, country’s industries

Information technology and telecommunications

Smooth Roads and Smart Cities

Science & Technology: Achievements Influencing Progress

pharmacy sector

The Societal Achievements of Independent India

A Broader Perspective

The former U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons that the episode was “a shameful scar on British-Indian history.” However, she stopped short of apologizing.

The massacre is still remembered in India as a symbol of colonial cruelty. Here is what happened one hundred years ago.

Killing unarmed protesters

After World War I, the British, who controlled a vast empire in India, agreed to give Indians limited self-government due to India’s substantial contribution to the war effort. These reforms, named the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms after the secretary of state for India and the viceroy of India, promised to lead to more substantial self-government over time.

However, around the same time the British had passed the draconian Rowlatt Acts, which allowed certain political cases to be tried without trial. And the trial was also to be conducted without juries. The acts were designed to ruthlessly suppress all forms of political dissent. The Rowlatt Acts were designed to replace the constraints on political activity that had been embodied in colonial rules, known as the Defense of India Rules, which had been in force during World War I.

Not surprisingly, there were widespread public protests, led by the noted Indian nationalist leader, Mahatma Gandhi. As part of this nationwide agitation, some 10,000 individuals gathered in a park in the northern Indian city of Amritsar on April 13, 1919. Since this protest was in defiance of a curfew which prohibited political gatherings, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, who was stationed in the nearby city of Jalandhar, decided to take action.

Troops under his command blocked the sole entrance to the park, called Jallianwallah Bagh. Without warning they opened fire. The British officially estimated that 379 people died. The unofficial count was more. Close to 1,200 were injured.

Dyer’s men stopped firing only after they had run out of ammunition. The soldiers did not offer any medical assistance to the wounded, and others could not come to their aid because of the imposition of a curfew on the city.

An apology long overdue

Then viceroy of India, Lord Chelmsford, convened an inquiry commission that led to Dyer being relieved of his command. However, upon returning to the United Kingdom, he found support for his actions among a segment of the British population.

In India, there was widespread shock and horror over this wanton use of force. The Nobel Laureate in literature, Rabindranath Tagore, protested by renouncing his knighthood, which he had received from the British Crown in 1915. Writing to the viceroy, Tagore decried “the disproportionate severity of the punishment inflicted upon the unfortunate people.”

As a political scientist who has written on the impact of British colonialism on India, I believe that the legacy of this episode, along with a host of other ugly events, continues to trouble Indo-British relations.

Britain, for the most part, has failed to come to terms with its tragic colonial heritage in South Asia and elsewhere. In the wake of the archbishop’s apology, I believe, it is time for the British government to follow suit.

An unequivocal apology to the memory of the victims is long overdue.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

About the Author

Sumit Ganguly is a Distinguished Professor of Political Science and the Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby

Jallianwala Baugh

British colonial rule

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May

British-Indian history

World War I

Rowlatt Acts

Mahatma Gandhi

Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer

viceroy of India

Sumit Ganguly

   

March 26 marks 50 years since the start of Bangladesh’s liberation war, a bloody nine-month campaign that culminated in the nation’s independence on December 16, 1971.

It was a violent birth, with some of its roots in the 1947 partition of India – when Pakistan was created as a separate nation.

As the British Empire left the subcontinent, an estimated 200,000 to 1.5 million people were killed in sectarian violence associated with the partition and 10 million to 15 million were forcibly displaced.

Newly independent Pakistan comprised two separate geographical areas separated by over a thousand miles of Indian terrain. While both regions included significant Muslim populations, West Pakistan was made up largely of Punjabi, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Baloch and other smaller ethnic groups. In contrast, the population of East Pakistan, which became modern-day Bangladesh, was predominantly ethnically Bengali, as the territory was formerly part of the Indian region of Bengal.

Deepening fault lines

From early on, the issue of language was a difficult one. In 1948, the founding leader of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, emphasized that only Urdu, spoken by Muslims in the north and northwest in British India, should be the state language of the country. Bangla, spoken overwhelmingly by East Pakistanis, was considered by West Pakistani leadership as a “non-Muslim” language.

The Urdu-only policy aimed to create a single identity out of two culturally distinct regions united by a common religion – Islam. More broadly, it aimed to consolidate the national identity of the recently independent Pakistan.

In East Pakistan, the declaration was followed by the banning of Bengali books, songs and poetry by Bengali Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Bangla language as the medium of education and primary mode of instruction was also banned. All currency and official documents, including postal stamps and railway tickets, were printed in Urdu.

The language ban deepened tensions that had already emerged between West and East Pakistan. A major reason for this was significant economic disparities between the two regions. West Pakistan controlled the country’s industry and commerce while East Pakistan was predominantly the supplier for raw materials, setting up a situation of unequal exchange.

In 1959-60 the per capita income in West Pakistan was 32% higher than in East Pakistan. By 1969-70, it was 81% higher in West Pakistan. Investment policies including in educational infrastructure consistently favored West Pakistan.

East Pakistanis had little access to the central government, which was located in the West Pakistani city of Islamabad. They were severely underrepresented in politics. West Pakistani political leadership did not see Bengalis as “real” Muslims. Both in political circles and socially, Bengali cultural practices were considered of a lower social status.

Mass uprising

The efforts to “Islamize” East Pakistanis through Urdu and “purify” Bengali culture from “Hindu influences” resulted in massive nonviolent demonstrations and strikes.

On February 21, 1952, students and other activists launched a language movement called the “Bhasha Andolon,” which demanded Bangla be recognized as the state language for East Pakistan. Thousands of school and college students protested, defying Section 144 of the Criminal Procedural Code, which prohibited assembly of five or more people and holding of public meetings. The crackdown that followed claimed several lives. From 1950 to 1969 it also galvanized a growing movement for autonomy across East Pakistan. A mass uprising in 1969 was brutally put down by police and led to the imposition of martial law.

In 1970, a devastating cyclone called “Bhola” in East Pakistan claimed 300,000 to 500,000 lives. The indifferent response of the West Pakistan government further inflamed tensions.

A big turning point came the same year when the sole majority political party in East Pakistan, led by Bengali politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won a landslide victory in national elections. The Pakistani leadership was reluctant to accept the results because it did not want an East Pakistani political party heading the federal government. This resulted in the start of a civil disobedience movement in East Pakistan.

As the demand for Bengali autonomy grew, the Pakistani government launched Operation Searchlight,” a military operation to crush the emerging movement. According to journalist Robert Payne, it killed at least 7,000 Bengali civilians – both Hindus and Muslims – in a single night.

On March 26, Bangladesh was declared independent and the liberation war began.

The violent birth of Bangladesh

The liberation war was fought mostly by civilians – men and women, Muslims, Hindus and non-Bengali Indigenous people.

Bangladesh’s independence struggle took place in the broader context of the Cold War, which meant external actors were involved in the conflict. During the Cold War, India allied with the Soviet Union, while the U.S. allied with Pakistan to counter Soviet influence in South Asia and to protect its geostrategic interests vis-a-vis Afghanistan and China.

When the Pakistani military intensified its campaign to quell the independence movement, it did so with the knowledge and support of the Nixon administration. The Pakistani military and its local collaborators specifically targeted Hindus, who in the 1961 census represented 18% of East Pakistan’s population of 50 million.

An estimated 10 million Bengalis became refugees in India. A further 20 million were internally displaced. An estimated 200,000 to 400,000 Bengali women were systematically raped.

Independent research estimates 500,000 to 1 million people were killed in the genocidal campaign. The Bangladesh government maintains that 3 million Bengalis were killed in the war.

On Dec. 3, India officially entered the war on the side of Bangladesh. Ten days later, in one of the last military operations, over 300 Bengali academics, doctors, engineers, journalists, artists and teachers – Hindus and Muslims alike – were massacred by Pakistani soldiers and their local collaborators.

On Dec. 16, 1971, the Pakistani military surrendered to the Indian Army, marking it as Bangladesh’s Victory Day.

Challenges today

Soon after its independence, in a meeting between officials of the United States Agency for International Development and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Bangladesh was labeled a “basket case.” Years of economic inequities, the 1970 cyclone and the war had left over 70% of its population living below the poverty line.

However, in the 50 years since its independence, Bangladesh has made some significant strides. It has aggressively tackled infant mortality, gender inequality and economic development. Today, with a booming economy, it is on track to graduate from the United Nations’ least developed country category.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh still faces enormous challenges. Violence against women and girls, corruption and lack of press freedoms remain serious concerns. Founded on the principles of secularism, the country today faces a rise of Islamists.

The divide between those who participated in the independence struggle and those who collaborated with the Pakistani military continues to shape Bangladesh’s political landscape today.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.

About the Author

Tazreena Sajjad, Senior Professorial Lecturer, American University School of International Service, currently serves as Senior Professorial Lecturer in the Global Governance, Politics and Security Program in the School of International Service at American University in Washington D.C. Sajjad’s recent publications include “Refugees Welcome? The Politics of Repatriation” and “Return in a Global Era of Security: The Rohingyas in Bangladesh’ in Displacement: Global Conversations on Refuge.”

Notwithstanding anything and everything, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reigns supreme. Despite demonetization, GST, COVID-19, Article 370, CAA, Love Jihad and the farm laws, Modi makes his mark. The timeline shows his popularity graph rising. Detractors just do not have enough mud to sling and none of it will stick. Jair Bolsanaro, Vladimir Putin, Recep Erdogan, Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, Rodrigo Duterte, Kim Jong Un and Xi Jing Pin cannot hold a candle to Maha Magician Modi who continues to hold India in his thrall. This is not hot air. The American firm Morning Consult conducted a survey that found 75% people hold Modi in high approval. His net approval rating is 55%.

No less a person than the BJP President Mr. J P Nadda pontificated on the mega wonders that Modi has wrought and said that it is a matter of pride and honor that the PM stands tall. Mr. Nadda tweeted that Mr. Modi’s popularity has increased across all demographic groups and regions of the country, and the PM is ranked number one among global leaders.

He went on to claim that ever since the Modi-led government took over, the people’s trust and faith have shown remarkable increase. Many in India believe the Prime Minister is on the right track and doing the right thing. Mr. Prakash Javadekar chimed in to say that it is a rare phenomenon that Mighty Modi’s ratings have been increasing.

Other fellow high ranking Indians of undisputable stature have also over time, expressed their opinions and regard for the Prime Minister. The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shared findings by a renowned US research firm, in April 2020 that clearly indicated the rise in popularity of Mr. Modi at an expeditious rate. In a social media post, she wrote, “@PMOIndia leads #IndiaFightsCorona from the front. Consistent high approval ratings for @narendramodi.” She also tweeted about the country’s confidence in his leadership during the “extraordinary situation” that has come about due to the pandemic.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also mentioned in his Twitter post how the Prime Minister was receiving global praise against the background of the COVID-19 fight that he was spearheading in India.

Truly enough, during the once in a millennium crisis of the coronavirus pandemic, as most developed western nations battled with almost futile outcomes, India stood out under the staunch guidance of PM Modi and his novel ideas that steered the country in the right direction during these dark hours.

Be it to protect the country’s economy from the catastrophe wreaked by the virus and keeping her people motivated and united, to disseminating emergency aid to affected countries and even taking an initiative in the process of development and manufacture of effective vaccines against the deadly virus, Mr. Modi has done it all.

Apart from keeping the nation afloat during these challenging times where people were impacted and losing lives by the millions, PM Modi even took the country a step further by effectively channelizing his efforts into the “Make in India” or “Atmanirbhar Bharat” program, thus ensuring that he presented India on the world stage as a more robust and assertive nation that is confident of its ever-increasing global stature that is not bashful of making hard decisions or ameliorations for the betterment of its populace.

According to the much sought after global data Intelligence Company, The Morning Consult’s Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker updated on December 23, 2020, rated 13 global leaders, and the sample size in India was 2126. The tracker showed 75% approval for Mr. Modi.

The Prime Minister not only enjoys great rapport with popular world leaders, but he has also cultivated Gulf region leaders such as Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed; Australian Prime Minister Scott Morison; and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

demonetization

Goods & Sales Tax

COVID-19

Article 370

CAA

Love Jihad

Jair Bolsanaro

Vladimir Putin

Recep Erdogan

Boris Johnson

Donald Trump

Rodrigo Duterte

Kim Jong Un

Xi Jing Pin

BJP President Mr. J P Nadda

Mr. Narendra Modi

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Atmanirbhar Bharat

Indians: A Brief History of a Civilization
by Namit Arora

Indian civilization is an idea, a reality, an enigma. In this riveting book, Namit Arora takes us on an unforgettable journey through 5000 years of history, reimagining in rich detail the social and cultural moorings of Indians through the ages. Drawing on credible sources, he discovers what inspired and shaped them: their political upheavals and rivalries, customs and vocations, and a variety of unusual festivals. Arora makes a stop at six iconic places-the Harappan city of Dholavira, the Ikshvaku capital at Nagarjunakonda, the Buddhist centre of learning at Nalanda, enigmatic Khajuraho, Vijayanagar at Hampi, and Varanasi-enlivening the narrative with vivid descriptions, local stories and evocative photographs. Punctuating this are chronicles of famous travellers who visited India-including Megasthenes, Xuanzang, Alberuni and Marco Polo-whose dramatic and idiosyncratic tales conceal surprising insights about our land.

In lucid, elegant prose, Arora explores the exciting churn of ideas, beliefs and values of our ancestors through millennia-some continue to shape modern India, while others have been lost forever. An original, deeply engaging and extensively researched work, Indians illuminates a range of histories coursing through our veins.

Namit Arora worked in the Internet industry before choosing a life of reading and writing. He is the author of The Lottery of Birth, a collection of essays, and the novel A California Story. For more information visit shunya.net.

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Indians: A Brief History of a Civilization

Namit Arora

Indian civilization

The Lottery of Birth

A collection of essays

The novel A California Story

Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, Pennsylvania State University

Hands over the heart in prayer pose. A little bow of the head. A gesture of respect. An acknowledgment of our shared humanity. And no touching.

As people the world over are choosing to ditch handshakes and hugs for fear of contracting the coronavirus, namaste is becoming the perfect pandemic greeting.

As a scholar whose research focuses on the ethics of communication and as a yoga teacher, I’m interested in how people use rituals and rhetoric to affirm their interconnectedness with one another – and with the world.

Namaste is one such ritual.

I bow to you

Originally a Sanskrit word, namaste is composed of two parts – “namas” means “bend to,” “bow to” or “honor to,” and “te” means “to you.” So namaste means “I bow to you.” This meaning is often reinforced by a small bow of the head.

In Hindi and a number of other languages derived from Sanskrit, namaste is basically a respectful way of saying hello and also goodbye. Today, namaste has been adopted into the English language, along with other words from non-English sources. Many words, when borrowed, keep their spelling but acquire new meanings. This is the case with namaste – it has shifted from meaning “I bow to you” to “I bow to the divine in you.”

For many American yoga teachers, beginning most likely with Ram Dass in the 1960s and 1970s, namaste means something like “the divine light in me bows to the divine light within you.” This is the definition of namaste I first learned and have often repeated to my students.

In the words of the popular American yoga teacher Shiva Rea, namaste is “the consummate Indian greeting,” a “sacred hello,” that means “I bow to the divinity within you from the divinity within me.”

Deepak Chopra repeats a similar definition on his podcast “The Daily Breath with Deepak Chopra”: namaste means “the spirit in me honors the spirit in you” and “the divine in me honors the divine in you.”

Namaste has a sacred connotation. When you bow to another, you are honoring something sacred in them. When you bow to another, you are acknowledging that they are worthy of respect and dignity.

I bow to the divine light in you

However, there are critics who say that global yogis have taken namaste out of its context. Some claim that the greeting has been infused with a religious meaning that doesn’t exist in Indian culture.

I see things differently. Many common salutations have religious roots, including adios, or “a Dios,” to God, and goodbye – a contraction of “God be with you.”

Most Indian religions agree that there is something divine in all individuals, whether it’s a soul, called the “atman” or “purusha” in Hinduism, or the capacity for awakening in Buddhism.

As I argue in my forthcoming book The Ethics of Oneness: Emerson, Whitman, and the Bhagavad Gita, this idea of bowing to the divine in others, also resonates with a deep spiritual inclination in American culture.

Beginning in the 1830s and 1840s, the influential philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, in dialogue with a number of other thinkers, invented a form of spiritual practice that encouraged Americans to actively address the divine soul in others every time they spoke.

Of particular note is that Emerson often used the metaphor of light to imagine this inner divinity, likely because of his great admiration for the Quakers, whose Christian denomination holds that God lives inside of us all in the form of an “inner light.”

The definition of namaste as “the divine light in me bows to the divine light in you” is very much in the spirit of both Indian religions and 19th-century traditions of American spirituality.

Namaste as an ethical commitment

In today’s global yoga culture, namaste is typically said at the end of class. As I understand, for yogis, saying namaste is a moment of contemplating the virtues associated with yoga – including peacefulness, compassion, and gratitude and how to bring those into one’s daily life.

I asked Swami Tattwamayananda, the head of the Vedanta Society of Northern California in San Francisco and one of the world’s leading authorities on Hindu ritual and scripture, how he felt about Americans like me saying namaste.

He responded: “It is perfectly appropriate for everyone, including Westerners like yourself to say namaste at the end of your yoga classes.” He also reiterated that namaste means “I bow down to you” – in the sense that I bow down to the divine presence in you.

One need not be a Hindu, or a Buddhist, or a yoga teacher to say namaste. Namaste can be as religious or secular as the speaker desires. What matters most, I believe, is the intention behind the word namaste. When you bow to another, the question to consider is this: Do you truly recognize them as a fellow human being worthy of dignity, bonded in shared suffering and a shared capacity for transcendence?

This recognition of our interconnectedness is what namaste is all about – and exactly what we need during the pandemic.

About the Author

Jeremy David Engels investigates the rituals and rhetoric of oneness—how human beings talk about oneness, interconnectedness, interbeing, and union, and then how they attempt to enact their imaginative visions in action. He is the author of The Ethics of Oneness: Emerson, Whitman, and the Bhagavad Gita (Chicago, 2021), The Art of Gratitude (SUNY, 2018), The Politics of Resentment: A Genealogy (Penn State, 2015), and Enemyship: Democracy and Counter-Revolution in the Early Republic (Michigan State, 2010). For his work, he has been awarded the Karl Wallace Award and the New Investigator Award from the National Communication Association. Jeremy is also a yoga teacher and the co-owner of Yoga Lab Studio in State College, PA.

Prayer pose

 Namaste

Pennsylvania State University

gesture of respect

 Fear of the coronavirus

American yoga teachers

Indian greeting

Hinduism

The Ethics of Oneness

the Bhagavad Gita

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Swami Tattwamayananda

Vedanta Society of Northern California

TIME magazine released its list of 100 Most Influential People of 2020 which features pioneers, celebrities, musicians, artists, leaders and titans who have helped in their own ways to shape the world through their influence. Some of these notable figures include physician Dr. Anthony Fauci, NASA Astronaut Christinia Koch, and tennis player Naomi Osaka. Five Indians and Indian Americans also made the 2020 list. Narendra Modi who is serving his second tenure as the Prime Minister of India was the only Indian leader to make the list.

Learn more about the South Asians earning a spot on this prestigious list.

Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi, the 70-year-old Indian Prime Minister, has been featured on TIME Magazine’s annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people four times since he first took office in 2014. Despite facing increasing criticism from opposition political parties and news media, Prime Minister Modi continues to be the most popular leader in the country according to a survey conducted by Karvy Insights Mood of the Nation.

Ayushmann Khurrana

The actor was nominated by actress Deepika Padukone who said that Khurrana has “successfully and convincingly transformed into characters who challenge those very stereotypes.” Through his iconic roles along with his sheer talent and hard work, the actor has made a palpable impact on society.

Sundar Pichai

Sundar Pichai, Alphabet CEO, represents the immigrant story in the United States. Having emigrated from India when young, Pichai’s hard work and commitment led him to becoming the CEO of a $1 trillion corporation. Nominated by Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Dimon believes that Pichai’s analytical thinking, humbleness and inclusive leadership make him the leader he is today.

Ravindra Gupta

A pioneer in the field of medicine, Ravindra Gupta, Professor of Microbiology at the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, has made significant contributions through his research work in functional HIV cure. In his quest for a cure, Gupta has empowering the millions who live with HIV.

Shaheen Bhagh’s ‘Dadi’ Bilkis

As the face for peaceful protests and resistance fighting for the fundamental right to live, this 82-year old woman has been an inspiration for hundreds of thousands of Indians at the time when the country was out protesting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Shaheen Bagh.

TIME magazine

list of 100 leaders

Xi Jinping

Dr. Anthony Fauci

NASA

Christina Koch

Donald Trump

Narendra Modi

Prime Minister

NDA Government

Karvy

Ayushmann Khurrana

Deepika Padukone

Sundar Pichai

Jamie Dimon

JPMorgan Chase

Alphabet CEO

Ravindra Gupta

Microbiology

Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease

HIV cure

Shaheen Bhagh’s ‘dadi’ Bilkis

Citizenship (Amendment) Act

Shaheen Bhagh

The opening address by the President of India to the new Parliament is really an occasion for the new government to outline its policy agenda for the next five years. The presidential address on June 9 was probably one of the most ambitious in the history of independent India: the goal of building 100 new smart cities; a promise to provide urban facilities to rural India; a commitment to providing basic needs (housing, electricity and clean drinking water) to every Indian by the 75th anniversary of Indian independence (2022); and a pledge to ensure that the demographic dividend of a youthful India is realised through a massive programme of skilling as well opening an Indian Institute of Technology and an Indian Institute of Management in every state.

It was on foreign policy, however, that the Modi government was most surprising.

Power is the ability to influence the behaviour of others. In international relations, as the Harvard academic Joseph Nye reminds us, power can be exercised in three ways: by threatening or actually using military force, by offering economic incentives or imposing economic sanctions, or by building what Nye famously dubbed “soft power”. That is, the soft power of nations to persuade others based on the attractiveness of their technology, politics, culture, ideas or ideals.

If president Pranab Mukherjee’s opening address to the Indian parliament is anything to go by, the foreign policy of the new Indian government under prime minister Narendra Modi will likely employ a nuanced combination of all three of Nye’s instruments of international influence. All those who had expected the Modi foreign policy doctrine to be defined by a new muscularity or even machtpolitik – the wielding of the conventional stick – will probably be disappointed.

Instead, there will be a renewed emphasis on using the carrots of economic levers and soft power. This suggests a thoughtful understanding of the importance of what Nye terms “smart power”: a clever combination of the tools of conventional hard, or military and economic, power and soft power. It is this integrated approach that will best serve India in a complex interdependent world, which is defined as much by conflict and competition as it is by cooperation and the need for greater coordination in confronting common global threats.

The incipient Modi doctrine has five key elements. First, and most important, is the idea that a strong, self-reliant and self-confident India will pursue a foreign policy of “enlightened national interest”. National interest is a contested term; enlightened national interest even more so. Often national interest is defined as raison d’ etat, or “reason of state”, and can be viewed as the selfish pursuit of national ambitions, mostly as defined by the government of the day.

Enlightened national interest adds a moral prism to the policy. When Alexis de Tocqueville wrote his masterly Democracy in America, in the early 19th century, he described enlightened self-interest as that which made the United States unique: the ability of its citizens to work for the common good because the pursuit of a better life for everyone serves the self-interest of all.

In international diplomacy, enlightened national interest is arguably the recognition that the narrow pursuit of self-interest in an interdependent world can lead to suboptimal policy outcomes. Japan – a nation Modi clearly admires – has used the term enlightened national-interest to define many of its policies, including those steering its overseas development assistance. Through supporting other nations via giving and via attractive development funding and loans, Japan has greatly increased its regional influence. The concept opens up the possibilities of creating cooperative outcomes for many issues, even those traditionally seen as difficult, zero-sum conflicts by realists in the establishment.

Within the Indian tradition, this sense of enlightened national-interest is captured in this verse from Hindu scripture, the Mahoupinishad, “Only small men discriminate by saying ‘one is a relative, the other is a stranger’. For those who live magnanimously the entire world constitutes but a family.” Its essence, it may be recalled, can be found in the BJP’s manifesto as well.

And while Mr Modi may not be comfortable with this notion, his idea of enlightened national interest sits at ease with Nehruvian thinking. After all, it was Jawaharlal Nehru who believed that while foreign policy must be rooted in a spirit of realism, it should not be stymied by the narrow realism that lets you look only at the tip of the nose and little beyond.

Second, is the idea that India will help to build and strengthen a democratic, peaceful, stable and economically inter-linked neighbourhood. This, of course, is not particularly new thinking. In the past, the Gujral Doctrine was perhaps the strongest articulation of a policy of reaching out to the neighbourhood, even through gestures that did not demand reciprocity. What was both novel and encouraging, however, was the presence of heads of government or senior representatives from all the South Asian countries at the swearing in of Prime Minister Modi and his Cabinet, effectively turning the ceremony into a regional celebration of democracy.

In the recent past, India has not been explicitly seen as a champion of democracy in the region. Whether or not the strong links in other parts of the world between mature democracies – and absence of conflict – are mirrored in South Asia, it is clear that the strengthening of democracy in the region is the first step towards building what the political scientist, Karl Deutsch, described as a security community. That is, a region in which the large-scale use of violence has become unthinkable.

That said, it must be recognised that only a strong and economically resurgent India can lead the process of South Asia integration and so much will now depend on how quickly India’s economy can be revived. Meanwhile, however, enlightened national interest will demand India considers making unilateral gestures to serve longer-term self-interest. For instance, arriving at an accord on the sharing of the Teesta rivers with a stridently India-friendly regime in Bangladesh would clearly be an important step that should not be undermined by the capricious behaviour of one leader from West Bengal.

Third is Modi’s emphasis on soft-power, explained through yet another Modi alliteration of five Ts: tradition, talent, tourism, trade and technology. For this to translate into reality, will require real effort. For a start, the Ministry of External Affairs will need to be restructured and every major mission abroad would need to include a trade, scientific and cultural counsellor knowledgeable in the relevant domains.

In addition, the role of the Diaspora in the future development of India has been emphasised. One clear step that would ensure deeper engagement between India and the Diaspora would be to allow Non Resident Indians to carry dual passports. For many Indians continuing to hold an Indian passport is a badge of honour which they will not give up for any convenience, glory or money. Allowing dual citizenship for NRIs carries virtually no additional risk; and indeed most countries in the world allow their citizens this privilege.

Fourth, the incipient Modi doctrine moves beyond the former delineation between “non-alignment”, “non-alignment 2.0”, and “alignment” to suggest that India could follow a policy of what MP Shashi Tharoor may describe as “multi-track alignment” with all the great powers. This was emphasised in the President’s address that explicitly stated the government will work with China to develop a strategic and cooperative partnership, work with Japan to build modern infrastructure, build on the firm foundations of the relations with Russia, pursue the relationship with the United States with renewed vigour and make concerted efforts to achieve progress in key areas with the European Union.

Finally, there was only about 50 words of the address devoted to what may have been seen, pre-election, as the most vital part of a future Modi government’s foreign policy: the willingness to raise issues of concern at a bilateral level (read Pakistan) and the uncontroversial claim that stability can only be built in the region if there is an end of the export of terrorism. Clearly, concerns about Pakistan have deliberately not been emphasised as this may still be a work in progress. Or perhaps the Modi government recognises that there is much merit in the adage: carry a big stick, but speak with a soft voice. For, in the past, as my colleague Ashok Guha once remarked: “India has carried a toothpick, and shouted from the roof top and from television studios.”

If the Narendra Modi government can deliver on the promises within the President’s speech, it will make history. If he lets himself be distracted by divisive social issues or is provoked into adopting zealous nationalism, he will prove his critics right.

As the election results were announced, I was interviewed by a Chinese Radio station. The first question they asked me was whether Narendra Modi would be India’s Deng Xiaoping. I replied tentatively that it was too early to tell and that, in any case, India was a messy democracy and not an authoritarian state. However, if Modi does want to be like an Indian Deng, it is well worth recalling the great Chinese leader’s 24 Character Strategy:

Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership

In other words, India requires stability within and peace in our neighbourhood and beyond for at least the next decade to emerge as a great power of some standing. During that period it is best not to get dragged in external conflicts, assume leadership or prominence on the international stage, or attract attention. That will be Mr Modi’s biggest challenge.

An immense trove of the most important royal historical material for decades has quietly been released in the United Kingdom. These are the diaries of Lord Louis Mountbatten and his wife Lady Edwina, from the 1920s until 1968.

As the last great-grandchild and godchild of Queen Victoria, uncle of Prince Philip and adored great-uncle of Prince Charles, Mountbatten exercised a “Rasputin-like influence” in the court of Queen Elizabeth.

He had a long, typically aristocratic, naval officer career from head of combined operations during the second world war to admiral of the fleet. He was also the last viceroy of India, presiding over transition and partition. All this gave Mountbatten an unmatched insight into the royal family and its intersections with the highest levels of wartime and post-imperial governance.

But the release of this material doesn’t just shed light on the royal family. It again highlights the significant barriers to accessing our history; specifically, the claimed “convention of royal secrecy” that imposes strict secrecy over royal communications across the Commonwealth nations.

A four-year battle

The release of the Mountbatten diaries is entirely due to the work of historian and Mountbatten biographer Andrew Lownie, who fought for four years to get public access to the previously secret diaries.

They are held in the Broadlands Archives, purchased by Southampton University from the Mountbatten family in 2010 for £2.8 million ($A5.3 million) using public funds. At the time, the university said it would “preserve the collection in its entirety for future generations to use and enjoy” and “ensure public access”.

The university’s catalogue gives their legal status as “public records”, and states they were “open on transfer”. Yet the papers were closed after an officious university historian warned the government the papers contained “many references to the royal family”.

Lownie’s initial request for access under the UK’s freedom of information regime was rejected by the university, citing a cabinet directive preventing the release of the diaries and letters. A successful appeal followed, which the university ignored until threatened with a contempt action.

Finally, late last month, 22 MPs signed a motion tabled in the House of Commons calling for “their publication without further obfuscation and delay”. The university finally released many — though not all — of the diaries.

Lownie, meanwhile, has spent £250,000 (A$472,000) of his own money in pursuit of public access to the Mountbatten archives, which were always purportedly a public resource.

A fascinating window

Former US ambassador to India John Kenneth Galbraith has previously described Mountbatten’s unabashed use of royal privilege for personal advancement:

no one was ever better served by the accident of birth or put royal connection to greater use.

So the Mountbatten archive will provide a fascinating window into a rare familial link to the final years of a fading, disintegrating, European royalty and its intersection with key episodes in British political history.

Many of Mountbatten’s (at times conflicting) roles attracted significant controversy, on which the diaries and letters in particular will shed great light. This includes the fiasco of the raid on the French coast at Dieppe in 1942. As Galbraith also noted, this was

widely believed the single most ill-advised, costly and generally disastrous operation of the war.

There is also the contentious, brutal, partition of India. And his unconventional “open marriage”, including Edwina’s close relationship with the first post-independence Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. All of these will be re-evaluated in light of this remarkable shared archive.

Yet, several files Lownie is particularly interested in are missing from the public release.

These include the 1947 and 1948 diaries covering the Mountbattens’ involvement in pre-Independence India, transition and partition, among “scores of files” not yet released. These crucial historical documents covering a contentious time in British imperial history remain locked away and the fight for public access to them continues.

‘Eeerily similar’ to the palace letters

Lownie’s case has been described as “eerily similar” to the long-running palace letters case I took against the National Archives of Australia, in its denial of access to archival documents relating to the royal family, “the effect being that public knowledge of key constitutional and political events is limited”.

The denial of access to royal documents shields royal activities from the consideration of history, simply because of their absence from the public record, profoundly distorting the history itself.

Our own history gives us a clear example of this. The queen did not want the palace letters — her correspondence with governor-general Sir John Kerr about the dismissal of the Whitlam government — to be made public. And the National Archives of Australia and federal government unsuccessfully fought against public access to the letters all the way to the High Court, to a total cost of close to A$2 million. With their release, the history of the dismissal of the Whitlam government has changed dramatically.

As Australian National University historian Frank Bongiorno recently concluded:

the claim the palace had no involvement in the dismissal is now unsustainable. The palace was indeed a player.

Backlog at the archives

Unfortunately, the routine removal of royal material from the public archival record under the claimed “convention of royal secrecy” is just one means of denying access to key historical records.

The failure to deal with everyday requests for access to documents is, for the individual researcher and for history, more prevalent and no less severe.

The National Archives of Australia recently revealed the extent of this denial of access through institutional inaction, in answers to independent senator Rex Patrick in Senate estimates. Although the archives is statutorily required to deal with requests for access within 90 days, it has a backlog of over 20,000 requests that are at least one year overdue. More than half of those were submitted five to ten years ago.

Even more shocking is that 256 of these unfulfilled access requests are more than a decade old. Several applications for access which I submitted nine to ten years ago are still drifting somewhere in this archival black hole. I’ve written three books since then, and I’m still waiting for the archival documents intended for them.

My experience is, regrettably, by no means unique. As Patrick notes:

These chronic delays have had a severe impact on historical research and the understanding of our nation’s past […] Numerous research projects have been abandoned because of the failure of the archives to provide timely access.

These figures are an extraordinary indictment of Australia’s national archives’ failure to meet its core statutory function “to make Commonwealth records available for public access”. Little wonder it has ceased publishing figures on the access clearance backlog in its annual report.

Still waiting

Lownie has done us all a great public service in his efforts to bring the Mountbatten archives to public view. However, it should not be up to individual historians to take arduous legal action to ensure public archives — whether in universities or government-funded national archives — adhere to their requirements to make official records publicly available.

This includes royal communications between governors-general and the monarch, as our High Court ruled in the palace letters case in 2020.

The National Archives of Australia has said that, as a result of the High Court’s decision, it would also release the royal correspondence of all governors-general from Richard Casey to Bill Hayden (1965 to 1996), thirty years of exceptionally significant archival records.

More than a year later, we are still waiting for their release.

About the Author

Professor Jenny Hocking is Emeritus Professor at Monash University and the inaugural Distinguished Whitlam Fellow with the Whitlam Institute at Western Sydney University. She is the author of eight books including the two-volume biography of Gough Whitlam – Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History (Melbourne University Press, 2008) and Gough Whitlam: His Time (MUP. 2012) – short-listed for several awards, including the Prime Ministers Awards for Literature, The Age Book of the Year and the National Biography Award, and winner of the Fellowship of Australian Writers’ Barbara Ramsden Award. Her latest book The Palace Letters was published by Scribe in October 2020 and her essay ‘Archival secrets and hidden histories – Reasserting the right to public access’ appeared in Griffith Review Issue 67 ‘Matters of Trust’ (2020). Jenny Hocking’s case against the National Archives of Australia seeking access to the ‘Palace letters’ relating to the dismissal of the Whitlam government succeeded at the High Court of Australia, which found in her favour in May 2020 in a 6:1 decision. As a result of Professor Hocking’s successful legal action the National Archives released the Palace letters in July 2020. She is a frequent media commentator and public speaker on biography, Australian politics, the Whitlam dismissal and an Australian Republic.