Is One Pandemic not Enough?

By AMITA KANEKAR

What can you expect from a government that responds to a disaster by creating new disasters? Hard on the heels of the news that Covid19 had reached India, came the announcement of an unplanned but instant national lockdown, sending the well-to-do into a panic grabbing of all available provisions, and pushing millions of daily wage earners into horrific misery and desperation which the government, almost unbelievably, has done little to ameliorate even three weeks later. And then – to distract from its own mammoth failing – came the demonisation of the Tablighi programme, resulting in violent harassment, social boycotts and more deaths, this time targetting poor Muslims, on top of the general turmoil. (more…)

COVID-19 meets a Casteist Health Care System

By AMITA KANEKAR

Where are the face-masks, gloves, and hand-sanitisers – forget boots and body-suits – for city cleaners and garbage collectors, those who in the current Covid-19 ‘lockdown’ are still working, to keep Goa free of dust and dirt? Where is the water and soap to wash up after work? Nowhere to be seen, and not a word mentioned either by our loquacious Chief Minister or Health Minister, both pontificating about how the state government is committed to protecting people’s lives. But which people? Everybody, or just some? (more…)

CAA-NRC-NPR and the Denial of Land Rights

By AMITA KANEKAR

India annexed Goa in 1961. The argument of the Nehru government of the time was that Goa was an integral part of India that had been colonised by Portugal and thus needed to be liberated. But now, with the enumeration for the National Population Register (NPR) already started, to be followed by the National Register of Citizens (NRC), or, in other words, with Goans now having to prove that they are Indian citizens, isn’t the government questioning its own declaration, that Goa is an integral part of India? Or – as is becoming clearer every day – is it only the land that’s integral? While the people are another matter, or rather, people don’t matter. The land of Goa is deemed unquestionably Indian – even worshipped as Bharatmata – but the people of Goa are not. They may be deemed foreigners, and might even get kicked off the ‘Indian’ land they have lived on for generations… (more…)

The Usefulness of Tiger Deaths

By AMITA KANEKAR

Vishwajeet Rane, minister in the Goa cabinet and MLA of Sattari, says that he was in a state of shock at the news of tiger deaths in his constituency. The chief minister Pramod Sawant has also expressed deep pain, sadness, concern, and everything else possible, while promising a high-level investigation to find out the reasons for the tragedy. Could these worthies be so shaken and stirred because they’ve suddenly realised that it’s their own rotten development policies that are responsible for the tiger deaths? Of course not. But if you think that the expressions of official shock and outrage are all just drama for the cameras, you would be mistaken as well. No, this outrage is intended to achieve more than a picture in the press, for tiger deaths – provided they result in enough public anger – offer a very convenient way of land-grab. (more…)

Review: Fear of Lions

Courtesy: Anupama Chandra, The Free Press Journal.

It’s important to have a periodic relook at history, even if it’s through fictional accounts. And additionally, to observe it from the point of view of the marginalised makes the retelling even more relevant.

Fear of Lion, a historical fiction by Amita Kanekar is set in the time of Emperor Aurangzeb’s rule and discusses various social, economic and cultural aspects with the backdrop of the Satnami rebellion of 1673.

The rebellion is name after the community which led the movement. The earliest Satnamis (seekers/followers of truth) were a sect of mendicants and householders and the sect had been founded by Barbhani in Narnaul in Punjab, not far from the seat of imperial power in Delhi, in 1657.

In 1673, the sect defied Aurangzeb and was subsequently crushed by his army. The novel is extremely relevant in today’s times since the author sets out to showcase how even failed protests/rebellions can have a lasting effect and shouldn’t be termed failures just because they couldn’t achieve the goal they set out for.

The protests that are making headlines and those that aren’t, but may not be getting the results they want to achieve are not inconsequential/ineffective.

The author wants to reassure that even doomed rebellions have a significance that may be lost in the immediate present. Amita while showcasing the Satnami uprising also presents another rebellion – an individual one.

This too is doomed and is the tale of a daughter of a high-ranking Mughal noble. She is running away from an arranged marriage to join her Rajput lover, who is in Narnaul. And that is how the two rebellions cross paths.

Another key character in the novel is Sant Kabir. But it’s best to understand how this ‘lion’ fits in here on your own.

The author infuses her work with historical titbits that spice up the work and keep the readers engrossed. It presents various aspects of the time, like the succession wars that led to Aurangzeb coming to power, the marginalised position of women, the social structure of ear, and more. The author also beautifully brings to life the clothing, cuisine and architecture of the time.

It is an interesting, though somewhat heavy, read and requires concentration on the part of the reader. But the reward is being introduced to characters and situations that elucidate an era and open our eyes to a reality that’s still relevant.

Citizenship Under Attack? Not for the first time.

By AMITA KANEKAR

December seems to be a month for remembering. There is the feast of Goencho Saib, a man deeply connected to the identity of Goa, and also famous for his connection to the Inquisition, that much-reviled institution which, as scholars have pointed out, was also probably the first systematic codification of crime and punishment in Europe and Goa, at a time of widespread traditional and casual violence. There is the death anniversary of civil rights champion Dr B R Ambedkar, who chaired the committee which produced the Indian Constitution, offering caste society a path towards modern republicanism. The same day is the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, perhaps the biggest moment in the BJP’s ride to power.  There is also the anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Disaster, still the worst industrial disaster in the world. Finally, we have the anniversary of the Indian annexation of Goa, when the new Indian citizens had perforce to give up their hardwon Portuguese citizenship, a real loss as can be seen by the many Goans – and neo-Goans – determined to regain it. (more…)

Review: Fear of Lions

Courtesy: Bobby Kunhu, Raiot.in.

If history is to be creative, to anticipate a possible future without denying the past, it should, I believe, emphasize new possibilities by disclosing those hidden episodes of past when, even if in brief flashes, people showed their ability to resist, to join together, occasionally to win. I am supposing, or perhaps only hoping, that the future may be found in the pasts fugitive moments of compassion rather than its solid centuries of warfare

The above quote from Howard Zinn’s classic, A People’s History of the United States, captures the essence of Amita Kanekar’s, Fear of Lions! Unlike what the blurb would lead you to believe, it is not the recounting of the adventures of two young Mughal nobles, but the story of a people who want only dignity and peace and are exterminated for that desire as sacrifice on the altar of caste imperialism. The nobles are the spark for igniting the narration. (more…)

What’s new in a new Temple?

By AMITA KANEKAR

A new temple is announced. Thanks to the recently-delivered Supreme Court verdict in the Babri Masjid land dispute case, it looks like we – in a land short of many things, but definitely not new Hindu temples – are going to get a new temple, the grandest of them all, on the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. The judgement has seen strong reactions, with some raising the legal issue of how the same judgement which declares the demolition of Babri Masjid by a mob in 1993 as illegal could reward the perpetrators (or their instigators) with the land, instead of trying to undo their crime; and others criticising the historical argument in the judgement that the site has always been believed to be the birthplace of the Hindu diety Ram, for using very questionable sources. (more…)