Guha plans book to counter Dalit, Marxist, and right-wing critics of Gandhi, recalls Modi’s 'pernicious lie' on Patel

By Rajiv Shah 

Let me first confess: writing about an event three weeks after it has taken place is no good, especially for a newsperson. However, ever since I attended the public lecture by well-known historian Ramachandra Guha on May 18, organised by Sarthak Prakashan for the release of the Gujarati edition of his book monumental book "India After Gandhi", frankly, I kept wondering if he had said anything newsworthy apart from what had already appeared in the media ever since the book's first edition came out in 2007. Call it my inertia or whatever.

The Gujarati edition of the book — translated by two briliant writers late Dilip Gohil and Urvish Kothari — covers events up to the year 2022, and therefore can be said to include everything Guha updated in his most recent, 2023 edition. Released nearly a decade after what might perhaps have been a herculean task of translating from the original English began, one thing struck me the most in Guha's approximately 45-minute speech before the jam-packed audience at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA).

While revealing how Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru had “suppressed their differences” to unite the country, Guha recalled how, during the 2014 election campaign, a "pernicious lie was told": that Nehru did not attend Patel’s funeral. This took me back to an interview Narendra Modi, then BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, gave on October 26, 2013 to a senior Gujarati journalist, Dhimant Purohit.

No sooner had the interview appeared in Dainik Bhaskar and its Gujarati edition Divya Bhaskar on October 27, 2013, than Congress leader Digvijaya Singh uploaded a video on Twitter showing Nehru's presence at Patel’s funeral. This made Modi backtrack on what had appeared in Dainik Bhaskar, claiming he never said such a thing. The daily — if I recall correctly — even published Modi's denial prominently, castigating the journalist for writing something "without checking facts." 

The journalist, who was the daily's Gujarat bureau chief, was forced to resign. Meanwhile, a rumour was spread that it was not a formal interview, that Modi’s statement was merely a casual remark made during a courtesy call by a media baron in the presence of the journalist — and yet the interview was flashed.

Ironical though it may seem, some BJP leaders enthusiastically repeated what Guha called Modi's "pernicious lie." Thus, BJP’s then deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Ravi Shankar Prasad, told the media: “Nehru had not only not attended the funeral of Sardar Patel but also missed Rajendra Prasad’s funeral. I remember clearly as a very young lad that Nehru had not attended Prasad’s funeral. Dr S Radhakrishnan and Lal Bahadur Shastri attended, but not Nehru.” 

I have no idea how Guha treats what he termed a "pernicious lie" ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in his book. However, he did tell the audience that Nehru and Patel had “the most extraordinary respect for each other,” noting that only the history taught in the WhatsApp University “has made them rivals.” At the same time, Guha observed, “The Congress after Nehru disowned Patel, and the BJP misowned Patel,” adding, “Patel was a lifelong Congressman, which was forgotten since the time of Indira Gandhi.”

The other thing I found "newsy" in Guha's extremely well-received speech was what he said following his revelation that India After Gandhi was the only book he did not choose to write himself, but undertook at the suggestion of a publisher. Referring to the release of an earlier edition of the book in this context, he said that soon after the event, a suited-booted person approached him and said he had a special offer for him, and that he would like to meet him in person for this.

Guha said he agreed to meet this person somewhere on another day. During the meeting, this person offered Guha a proposal to write a book on Gautam Adani. Obviously, he rejected the offer. Guha quipped, while ending his AMA speech, “Had I accepted the offer, the book would have been called India After Adani,” and left the rostrum amidst laughter from the audience.

A day later, during an informal conversation with a small group of journalists and intellectuals, Guha revealed an interesting future plan while answering questions on Rahul Gandhi and the future of the Congress. Following my query about what he had to say regarding Dalit objections to Gandhi's views on casteism, he said no other national movement leader took up the untouchability issue as seriously as Gandhi. In fact, Gandhi had called untouchability “the General Dyer of Hinduism.” 

Following this, he revealed he was in the midst of writing a book which would take on Gandhi’s critics — who include not just Dalits, but also African scholars, Marxists, and Sangh Parivar ideologues. The book was likely to be out in a year or a year-and-a-half. I asked him what the title of the book was, and he said, “It has been decided... I don’t want to reveal it now,” leaving me to wonder how it would be received by Gujarat Dalits, whose inimical dislike of Gandhi I am so familiar with.