Narayani
Basu’s biography of K.M. Panikkar – A Man for all Seasons turns the spotlight
on a key player in the story of Indian Independence, who despite having been in
the thick of things at a crucial period of history remains an obscure figure.
It was not for want of trying, as Panikkar was a towering intellectual and a
colourful figure in his day who had been a strident editor, served as Gandhi’s
emissary, been a noted academic and diplomat, a journalist, constitutional
lawyer, consummate politician and a man of letters. The founder of The
Hindustan Times, he had made waves during his tenure as Nehru’s ambassador to
both Nationalist China as well as the People’s Republic of China and been a
member of the States Reorganisation Commission. Having been active during the
British Raj, the framing of the Constituent Assembly, two world wars and the
cold war, Panikkar’s life did not lack for excitement as he was rubbing
shoulders with the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel,
Chairman Mao, and Benito Mussolini (whom he admired!)
Basu
skilfully reconstructs Panikkar’s life and times with respect, reverence and
intricate detailing. It makes for enjoyable reading and brings to life, action
– packed chapters from Indian as well as world history. His was a life of
privilege and one can’t help but note that despite his initial lack of
scholarly aptitude which resulted in his repeatedly failing the matriculation
exams and led to a suicide attempt, Panikkar’s generational wealth and family
connections ensured that he got many chances and rare opportunities to hone his
potential and launch him into the high – flying, globe – trotting lifestyle he
would go on to enjoy. But his own keen intellect, raw ambition, networking
skills, penchant for hard work stood him in good stead as well.
The
biographer’s great admiration for her subject notwithstanding, she emphasizes
his capacity for aggravating even the most ardent of his admirers with his
arrogant ways and provocative manner while managing to earn the grudging
respect of some among his worst detractors. Likewise, this reader was impressed
in parts while also inclined to be less sympathetic to his stint working with
the Princely States and the cartoonish, often villainous royals he served in
various high – ranking capacities. While Nehru and Gandhi languished in prisons
and Bhagat Singh was headed to his doom, Panikkar was sitting pretty and acting
in the interest of petty Princes whose investment in the freedom struggle was
mostly absent and about whom he writes scornfully, ‘They were under the
impression that this technique of toadying would induce the British to
perpetuate their autocratic rule.’
His
appalling stint as India’s ambassador to China seems to be an endless litany of
blunders and one finds it hard to comprehend that Nehru, though inclined to
complain about Panikkar’s glaring errors in private, stood by him in public for
the most part. The upshot of all the incompetence at the highest levels of
governance saw India betray Tibetan interests, China’s rejection of the McMahon
Line and devious manoeuvring which resulted in large swathes of Indian territory
in the North – Eastern Province and Ladakh swallowed up as Chinese territory,
leading to a border dispute and irreparably fractured bonds, the ramifications
of which are felt to this day. Patel quite rightly was scathing in his
condemnation, ‘Our Ambassador has been at great pains to find an explanation or
justification for Chinese policy and actions…there was a lack of firmness and
unnecessary apology in one or two representations that he made to the Chinese
Government on our behalf.’
As part of
the SRC, on the one hand Panikkar batted for regional identity and demarcation
along linguistic lines while also talking and writing extensively about not
just a Hindu Rashtra but a Hindi Rashtra. Basu insists that his position was an
intellectual and philosophical one and he was not in favour of militant
Hindutva ideals. Leaving that aside, Panikkar still comes across as someone who
was good at bandying words but not quite a man of action for all seasons.
In the end,
what emerges is an authoritative portrait of not just a remarkable if flawed
man but the country he served as well. Throughout his career, Panikkar saw
firsthand the communal and sectarian fault lines that would prove to be the
bane of India. We can feel the bitterness seeping into his words, ‘The lesson
that I drew from it was that with the generality of people in times of peace,
narrow parochial interests count for much more than broad national interests.’
A sad truth if there ever was one. Panikkar made it clear that regional
identity and aspirations ought not to subsume the larger Indian identity and
get in the way of national unity. For this sentiment alone, the man deserves
admiration and respect.
This book review originally appeared in TNIE Magazine
No comments:
Post a Comment