Book Review: Democrats and Dissidents

At a time when debate over the controversial sedition law, Kashmir crisis and rising intolerance in the country is raging, historian Ramchandra Guha's new book explores different facets of current Indian politics and traces the origins of these contentious issues.
Titled, "Democrats and Dissenters" the book published by Penguin Random House India, comprises of 16 essays on a wide range of issues like India's relation with its neighbours, freedom of expression, discrimination against the tribals among others.
In one of the essays, the author traces the origins of Tamil activism in Sri Lanka and builds a parallel with the ongoing Kashmir crisis to point out how particular communities or regions in both the nations have not been treated as "full citizens by their purportedly democratic governments".

He goes on to blame the Indian state for "betraying" its Kashmiri citizens, first by arresting Sheikh Abdullah, an elected chief minister in 1953 and then the rigging of 1987 state elections.
Batting for greater autonomy for Kashmiris here and Tamils in Sri Lanka, Guha says, "It remains the most reasonable, the most viable and most humane solution to the terrible and tragic conflicts."
Talking about how retention of archaic colonial laws like section 124A, section sedition, poses a threat to the right to freedom of expression, he argues that even though the Indian left and right both claim to dislike Thomas Macaulay (who drafted sections of Indian Penal Code), both have used it with impunity.

In reference to the recent incident when the sedition law

was arbitrarily used putting several university students behind the bars, Guha quotes Gandhi and says the section (124A) was "established by the naked sword, kept ready to descend upon us."
He says, "Indians are increasingly touchy, thin-skinned, and intolerant and humourless."
However, Guha also rues that too many writers, scholars, artists and editors identify with a single party or even with a single politician - an association that often leads to the suppression of facts.
This "betrayal" he says occurs across the spectrum.
The author has also dedicated an essay to highlight the plight of adivasis who, he feels, have not got their due in comparison to Dalits and Muslims in the country.

He states that literacy rate among Adivasis is not only less than the Dalits, but there is also a considerable gap in the Below Poverty Levels between two communities.
"Unlike the Dalits and Muslims, the Adivasis continue to be seen only in discreet, broken-up fragments. The Dalits are a minority in every state but unlike Adivasis, they live in mixed villages.
"This means, when election time comes, the Dalits can have decisive impact even when constituencies are not reserved for them. On the other hand, Adivasis can influence elections only in a few isolated districts where they are concentrated," he says.

Other topics that Guha touches upon in the book include a critical analysis of the history and downfall of the Congress and emergence of regional political parties in the states; how a potential IIT bred Chief Minister chose an uncertain career in activism and politics among others.
The author, at several instances, has also tried to bring in his personal experience and compare modern political histories with China and Pakistan.
A quick read, Guha's latest work is among the rare social science tomes by Indian authors that offers an alternative perspective to analyse the contemporary history of the country.