Saturday, May 26, 2012

rjagannathan: French vs Taseer: Indians need to reclaim their history

may 26th, 

good stuff. this is why the humanities are important. history can be used to enslave you much more thoroughly than anything else. 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sri 
Date: Sat, May 26, 2012 at 6:02 PM
Subject: French vs Taseer: Indians need to reclaim their history
To:


A Must read article.. please read the comments as well

French vs Taseer: Indians need to reclaim their history
http://www.firstpost.com/india/french-vs-taseer-indians-need-to-reclaim-their-history-293948.html


1 comment:

souixsie said...

I do like this Aatish Taseer. He writes quite well; although not quite the complete novelist as yet. He may be better at following his idol Naipaul's path as a sharp and acerbic cultural commentator,which his talented first book showed him to be. However, while he comes across as sympathetic to Hindu aspirations and their temple-going resilience, because of his Sikh and Pakistani Muslim elitist heritage he remains an outsider looking in.

One senses in Naipaul someone who, as he aged, grew increasingly fond of his Hindu civilizational roots; not necessarily the associated religious trappings. Taseer has quickly emulated Naipaul in this manner, but it isn't clear how deeply he shares this genetic bond - which certainly does exist because going beyond the recent labels his deep ancestry is, after all, Hindu.

I am only wary about pinning too much onto young Taseer because without this deepfelt affinity, opinions can change on a dime depending on the latest intellectual fashion. However, the fact that he has taken on a contrary stance that is certainly very unpopular with the current Indian intellectual climate, one that worships odious toads like William Dalrymple, fills a great void in India today and bodes well for the future.