The life of Mahatma Gandhi

By Louis Fischer

M.K. Gandhi, the most influential and well known Indian of the last 500 years or more, needs no introduction. His life story remains inspirational and compelling. Anyone wanting to know more about Gandhi could hardly go wrong than starting here!

                                                          

  

Louis Fischer was an American journalist who covered mainly politics and political movements. After working extensively in Europe and India he later became a member of the faculty of Princeton University. He met Gandhi on several occasions and his biography of Gandhi, published first in 1951, was among the earliest works in the area.

The book deals with the life and times of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or to call him by his popular epithet, Mahatma Gandhi. It starts with the Mahatma’s assassination and the world’s reaction to it. One can feel that the classic movie ‘Gandhi’, by Sir Richard Attenborough, owes quite a bit of its screenplay to this book. The first section of the book deals with Gandhi’s childhood and the special influence of his mother on him, his education in England and the firming up of his philosophy and the principles of Satyagraha in South Africa. The middle section describes the bulk of the Independence movement from Gandhi’s return to India in 1915 to the tumultuous years leading almost up to Independence. The final section is dedicated to the tragic and cataclysmic events immediately pre and post Independence, including the attempts at finding a solution to Partition and the aftermath of it.

The book is written in a clear and crisp manner, without any embellishments or florid touches. The author’s background as a journalist is clear; however, the book is extremely readable from the start and does not feel like an overblown magazine article. Gandhi’s thoughts and motivations come out clearly for the most part, which is quite a feat for any biographer.

Highlights:

1.       The vision of the continuous evolution of the Mahatma’s philosophy, which was never set in stone.

2.       The clear communication of the Mahatma’s character throughout the book – his self- discipline, his humility, his arrogance, his disciplinarian character and above all his ability to stay true to himself, his aims and his soul despite gargantuan odds and pressures.

3.       The author’s sketch of Jinnah, who comes out as a self-obsessed and unsympathetic person, burning with envy towards Gandhi and Nehru, whom he felt had displaced him from the leadership of the Congress Party.

Rating:

Overall – 8^1/2 /10

Political history – 8/10

Biography – 9/10

Defeat into victory

Defeat into victory

By Field Marshal Viscount Slim

The British forces in Burma in 1942 are dealt a severe blow by the Japanese army. Reeling from defeat after defeat, one man is called in to stem the tide…

Field Marshall Viscount Slim, or Uncle Bill as he was known to his soldiers, was one of the lesser known generals of World War II. Being from a working class background, he was not as socially connected or as flamboyant as some of the other generals involved in the war. His posting in a relatively obscure corner of the conflict meant that he remained out of the limelight, unlike generals like Patton or Montgomery. However, he was so popular among the men who served under him that his unceremonious removal at the cusp of victory led to mutinies in the army, and he had to be brought back to keep the peace!

The book is written in a clear and lucid style. It is arranged chronologically, starting in 1942 with General Slim being posted to the Burma theatre from his current posting in the Middle East and moving forwards through the British retreat, the battle of Imphal/Kohima and counterstrike into Burma. The author’s recall of the detail of unit names, placements, strength and other military items is exhaustive. Though a treasure trove for military historians, for the lay reader this is may sometimes lead to the feeling that the book is overlong and tedious. General Slim writes freely, without too much embellishments, and his thoughts come out clearly in the text. His description of terrain and eye for detail is impressive, contributing to the feeling that he must have been a very effective commander.

After being defeated in 1942, the British Army steadily pulled back into India, fighting a rearguard action all the way. The onset of the monsoon gave them a respite and breathing space to reorganize. A vivid description of the retreat is given and how it was prevented from being turned into a rout. The British Army in Burma was extremely under supplied and under equipped in comparison to forces in other theatres of the war. Once General Slim took over, he instituted a complete overhaul of the system, from supply of rations to anti-malarial prophylaxis to restructuring of army units. There is an emphasis on delegation of authority, establishment of supply chains, use of local materials and sheer derring do. Indeed, the book sometimes feels like a manual of corporate governance rather than a military memoir!

The Japanese made the fatal mistake of advancing too fast without enough back up and supply. Taking notice of this the British Army lured them into the Imphal/ Kohima region where conditions were favorable to the defenders and defeated them after months long siege. The Japanese routed back to central Burma where they were finally defeated by the advancing British Army at the battle of the Irrawaddy river. In mid 1945, the British Army was back in Rangoon, which it had vacated 3 years earlier.

Highlights:

1.     The passage on how locally made jute parachutes were hurriedly fabricated and use to airdrop supplies to units in the field, in the absence of proper ones.

2.     Glimpses of the General’s management style, relevant for all mangers today as well.

3.     Mention of the INA army in alliance with the Japanese its contemptuous dismissal by the author . Surprising for me!

Ranking:

            Overall 7/10

            Military history 9/10

The Lord of the Rings - book review part 1

The Lord of the Rings

by

J R R Tolkien

A book review - part 1

'Three rings for the Elven kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne

In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them,

One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

In the land of Mordor where shadows lie.'

I can still remember the first time I laid eyes on this rhyme from the 'Lord of the Rings' (LOTR). I chanced upon a copy of the book in the Chandigarh Central State Library, c1995. I had always been interested in fantasy and science fiction, but limited availability of these sort of books had restricted my own reading. Despite being an avid reader and being labelled publicly and privately as a book worm, I had never even heard of the name of J. R. R. Tolkien. Amazing, when I now think of it. For an excuse, pitiable and flimsy as it may be, I can state I was young, isolated and of course, without access to the internet (which in any case didn't exist as yet!)

I can remember the shivers I got while reading these lines for the first time. More than twenty years and multiple readings later, the impact has still not dulled. Even now, when I got out my paperback edition of the book (purchased with the help of a relative) to copy the lines from, I still felt the faint tingle and the rising tide of excitement that I had on my first reading.

It is difficult to define what reading this short poem (if one can call it so!) brings up in my mind. Many possibilities come to mind - the evocation of the spirit of adventure and of the unknown, the allure of musty halls, ruins and forgotten realms or the excitement and fascination of something new. However, I think the best explanation would fall short, so we'll leave it at that.

The 'Lord of the Rings' is, without doubt, the greatest work of fantasy literature published in the modern era (in my humble opinion!) This is despite some tough competition, especially in recent times. I may honorably mention here the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' by George R. R. Martin, who incidentally is a great fan of LOTR. The publication of this book actually kickstarted the genre in the modern era and has influenced almost all writers in this field to some extent. 

In this regard I would like to quote the eminent historian, Ramachandra Guha, here. In an essay on the threats to the freedom of expression in India - in his latest book 'Democrats and Dissenters'  - he mentions that in Modern India, the icons of different regions, castes and/or communities have become - in the eyes of their followers - untouchable and above criticism. The only exception to this seems to be Mahatma Gandhi, whom every Indian feels confident enough to criticize or denigrade (that this is done without knowing a single word of his philosophy is a separate issue!) Maybe it is because Gandhi belongs to all Indians and not to a specific caste, community or region.

Anyway, the point to be made is that the 'Lord of the Rings' serves as a sort of literary counterpart  to Gandhi, in that anyone can rip off or mock it, without in anyway lowering its prestige, quality or popularity and that's a pretty big achievement.