By Mohammed Anas for TwoCircles.net
Rai Bahadur Maakhan Singh of Kohat (present day Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) was a legendary landlord and an affluent noble man) in his region during the British Raj. A local saying Maakhan Singh ban-na hai kya? (Do you desire to become Maakhan Singh), is still in currency and is spoken to those who want to amass a lot of wealth and influence.
Partition brought Maakhan Singh’s descendants to Delhi and his great grandson, Ajay Garkal, a noted public relations entrepreneur works with real estate firms, fashion houses and consumer brands. Ajay with his interest in politics penned the novel “Making The Gods Dance” in 2006. The book is about the rise of a radical Hindu outfit named Sangram Sena, which as in the case of most such outfits is financed by foreign-based NRIs.
In the story, the Sangram Sena recruits youngsters from all walks of life and conduct their activities across the world, target Muslims, plan assassinations and even get representation in the Parliament. They are supported by parties in power which helps them to map out their pan-India agenda of Hindu dominance. When they are down or ridden with intra-party conflicts, they organise riots, but… somehow wisdom dawns on some youngsters in the party who rebel against the evil-gripped old guard and expose them with the help of independent media.
After the fall, the party is led by more rational, development-oriented leaders leaving the reader to imagine if the righteous path would become permanent. When Ajay imagined all this, the names of Sriram Sena, Sanatan Sanstha and Samadhan Sena (of Dadri notoriety) were unknown but now they seem to be prominent forces behind the communal atmosphere created in the country in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls of 2014 and thereafter.
This correspondent caught up with Ajay in a Noida cafe to know his hindsight, insight and foresight into the current and upcoming political atmosphere in India.
Q- Ajay, when you conceived your novel, making The Gods Dance, did you imagine that your imagination would someday come largely true and niche rabid right-wing groups would share power in states and in the centre, and even more such outfits would keep surfacing? See, in Dadri, an outfit named Samadhan Sena is being said to have strirred the communal cauldron and coaxed youth to violence. Even name wise it is close to Sangram Sena of your book. What do you say?
A- When I was struck with the idea of this book (it was in 2003 but the story’s timeline is 2008 onwards), I sensed the signals, or rather the stirring of signals indicating more polarisation. I could also see the emergence and ballooning of this regressive-aggressive pattern among radicalised Hindus. Where the name is concerned, that is a chilling coincidence. But the reality today requires rationalists and progressive people to make it their mission to not only be vigilant against divisive leaders but also to be vocal in voicing the disgust.
Q- Tell me about the background and personal reasons (like coercion as a writer) about writing a book about such murky politics, and that too in the form of a fiction.
A- In 2003, when the Vajpayee government was said to have a tight grip at the Centre and India was shining at least in it slogans, the prospect of right wing violence was an unlikely one. But once the idea struck, the sequence of events written flowed like a tide. The characters too were easy to establish. To be honest, once I started writing, it was primarily about finishing a cohesively narration. The socio-political aspects only struck me fully once it was completed and my family and close friends pointed out the coincidence. Later, once it was published and I gathered data on its sales, I was learnt that Maharashtra, specifically, Mumbai, Nagpur, Goa and Pune were where the largest volumes of the book were sold. (Today, Bharatiya Janata Party is in power Mahrashtra and Goa and right wing outfit Sanatan Sanstha is based here and its cadre are accused of allegedly murdering the rationalist writer-activist, Govind Pansare).
Q- Ajay, the leader of your Sangram Sena, Raj Tawalkar, is from Maharashtra and your book was sold maximum there. Even Sanatan Sanstha and Shiv Sena are based there. Such an eerie coincidence! How do you read this?
A- I can only hope that the story didn’t egg on any influential people or opinion leaders on this foolish path. Raj Tawalkar, to whom you refer, was interestingly Maharashtrian as well as Punjabi. Also, he was born and raised in the UK with close connections and the patronage of very wealthy and powerful NRIs. Hence, he was a deadly cocktail that brought many elements together in the sinister design which forms the backdrop of Making the Gods Dance.
Q- Could you please identify some characters from your book who can resemble real life politicians? Are they still active in our politics?
A- There are dozens of Raj Tawalkars across our political landscape irrespective of religion or ideology. But if you compare the personality, which was uncompromising and intimidating even with the toughest journalists you would have to think of someone like Raj Thackeray. For that matter, most right-wing leaders like, Yogi Adityanath, Sadhvi Prachi, Sangeet Som are akin to Tawalkar in ideology as well as in belligerence. Tawalkar’s accomplices and henchmen like Divij Wazir and Nirvan Jamwal (other characters from the novel) are also in their hundreds across the country. There are also still influential NRIs with sympathy for the regressive-aggressive Hinduvta cause.
Q- One interesting thing I noticed in your book is that you have shown communalists as suffering from psychological disorder, with sharp criminal leanings. Is that so with real life politicians as well? If yes, why do mainstream politicians end up ganging up with them?
A- I believe that lumpen elements who go about disrupting and murdering in the name of race, religion or caste suffer from a sense of inferiority and inadequacy. So, such bloody and intimidatory acts give them a sense of identity no matter how twisted. Politicians on their part continue to use this misplaced muscle power for their own narrow ends. And as for citizens, we have let them do that for the past 70 years.
Q- Ajay, your novel end on a denouement where poisonous politicians are defeated and are replaced by humane, pro-poor, rurally-inclined and development-oriented leaders, but current political set up in our country informs us that such characters are not dead yet. Rather, some of them are getting more active and, if we can say, more popular as well. Though this government in its spirit is devoted to development and all-inclusive growth only. How do you view this?
A- Good and evil are part of the same coin. What is difficult to understand is why bona fide development is not the main concern and goal of every politician as well as citizen. Surely, we can care more for our country and its unique social fabric?
Q- Ajay, the inability of this establishment to rein in such spoil-sports may mar not even the image of this government, but it may tear apart the social fabric of the country as well. I hope you agree with this. Given that, how much and for how long can we be hopeful of this government?
A- You are voicing the concerns of every rational person in the country. People are getting worried about this new menace. It will also have negative ramifications on how India is perceived across the globe. The PM has spoken and condemned the Dadri misadventure. He’s also issued a clear warning that is in keeping with his party’s stated zero tolerance policy towards communalising elements and incidents. In my opinion, Mr Modi has the potential to be one of the tallest global leaders and the greatest PM that India has had. But for that to happen, he has to have the genuine confidence and trust of every community in India.
Q- What if things get worse and knowing that all political parties in our country pander to opportunistic kind of politics, how do you foresee political atmosphere in coming months, especially as assembly elections to some states are lined up?
A- The average Indian is intrinsically peaceful and progressive by nature. However, being emotional in temperament many get manipulated. But what is more disappointing is the malaise of vote-bank politics that did not ebb with the last regime. In fact it seems to be becoming the go-to option for every political party. Bihar would be a big victory for the BJP at this juncture. However, manipulated polarisation shouldn’t gain further credibility as an electoral victory assurance.
Q- Which political party do you think measure up to the maximum on an idealist scale, and how much trust do you put in it to see it succeed?
A- The BJP is still the best option. It would seem that the PM now takes into consideration the hopes and aspirations of 1.3 billion people rather than any ideology or community that he may be more familiar with.
Q- I hope we don’t end up only imagining sweet days, like fictional writers?
A- It isn’t only a matter of imagining anymore. Opinions can be made and mobilised quicker and more meaningfully than ever thanks to technology, media and the social media. And our opinions today need to create the pressure of good governance among those who govern us.
Q- Your next venture… another novel?
A- It’s future fiction again. Thankfully, it is not menacing like the radical Hindutva intolerance and violence portrayed in Making The Gods Dance.
—
Mohammad Anas is Deputy News Editor at The Sunday Indian news magazine.