Often people ask for answers to questions which might not have any realistic relevance. Given my usual antipathy about how things are done in this world, many friends and colleagues have put this hypothetical question before me, "What would you do if you were the Prime Minister?" How am I supposed to answer that question? The average age of Indian Prime Ministers is one at which I would like to blissfully lead a retired life, with great-grandchildren and all. On second thoughts, "I'll remove that column from government forms which asks for religion," I reply.
Religion to me is a very private affair, I don't like to discuss my beliefs and practices but often I have to, much to the displeasure of many. I don't like to visit temples - at least the modern ones. The gaudy architecture and the vulgar 'religious' imitation of popular Hindi film item-numbers being a few of the reasons. Religion is supposed to answer the unanswered. It delves into the unknown realms and fills the gaps of cognitive human knowledge and therefore should provide solace to the troubled soul. But when religion becomes an identity, things become complex and the troubles of the soul increase. When I complain about the unearthly noises at a time when I'm ready to depart for the oneiric realm, I am antireligious.
Is religion keeping the whole neighbourhood awake just because something you had yearned for happened, and you want to thank someone above for that? Or is religion about chanting something that I can't even remotely comprehend? Does religion ask for a circumcision check before thrusting that dagger into the abdomen? I don't want the answers. I've already witnessed the consequences.
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in commissions of inquiry.
'Netaji' - a name which might rank as one of the most common prefixes for youth clubs. The locality where I grew up, also had its fair share of 'Netaji Clubs,' and two portraits adorned the sitting room wall of the Bengali families - Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. January 23 every year was the big day. On that shivering cold winter morning, year after year, we kids were wide awake well before dawn. As the prabhat pheri (literally morning walk, but not exactly) did its rounds along the winding roads of the city, the chant "Netaji tumi phire esho (Netaji you come back)," sounded almost a plead. The mystery surrounding his death gave him a different stature and different versions did their regular rounds. The conspiracy theories were especially interesting and almost convincing.
The Shanawaz Khan Committee (1956), GD Khosla Committee (1970-74) had reached the conclusion that Netaji Subash Chandra Bose died in a plane crash over Taiwan on August 18, 1945. The latest Manoj Kumar Mukherjee Commission report was rejected in the Parliament yesterday. It had deviated from the stand of the earlier commissions and stated that though Netaji is dead, he didn't die in the said plane crash and the story was a hoax to help Netaji escape. The theory of Bhagwanji-Gumnami Baba being Netaji was also refuted. Gumnami Baba was a hermit, who died in Faizabad on September 16, 1985 and had striking similarities with the leader of the Indian National Army. Morarji Desai, the then Prime Minister had also rejected the GD Khosla Commission report in 1978.
Bengalis in the heart of their hearts wouldn't like to know for sure that Netaji died and how. The mystery surrounding it helps maintain his heroism on a different plane from the other contemporary national leaders. Whether Netaji died on August 18, 1945 in Taiwan or forty years later in Uttar Pradesh or someplace and sometime else doesn't matter much. What does is that the enigma lives on...
Linkin'
Mumbai Mirror: Netaji mystery still alive
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