Urban India, 2008

Eric Hobsbawm about Europe in mid-nineteenth century in The Age of Revolution -

The middle-class world was freely open to all. Those who failed to enter its gates therefore demonstrated a lack of personal intelligence, moral force or energy which automatically condemned them; or at best a historic or racial heritage which must permanently cripple them, or else they would have made use of their opportunities. The period which culminated about the middle of the century was one of unexampled callousness, not merely because the poverty which surrounded middle-class respectability was so shocking that the native rich learned not to see it, leaving its horrors to make their impact on visiting foreigners, but because the poor, like the outer barbarians, were talked of as though they were not properly human at all.

Pre-season

After three months of existentialist crisis, filled with wandering and things such as books and films, the new football season is a purveyor of meaning. In August, the theatre of the absurd ends. There is no more waiting for Godot.

Like battle-hungry warriors who have filled our days with hollow rhetoric, the start of the season signals the shift from word to action. For henceforth, words cannot exist in a vacuum – they must be validated by the spoils of war.

The beginning of the war calls for much celebration. The groups are organized – the hyenas are usually the ones who change affiliations. There is beer and rum. The stage is set, and profanity rules in the early exchanges of battle. As the season progresses, reality sinks in. Resigned to fate, everyone except the one or two contenders has mellowed down.

But before the beginning of every season, it is a pre-written script. Winds of radical change are anticipated to blow, hope and optimism rule the roost. Heartbreak and despair have not yet arrived.

The Last Dictator

Musharraf’s exit must be used as a platform to secure democracy’s long-term future in Pakistan

The imminent impeachment of Pervez Musharraf will be a significant step forward in strengthening democratic rule in Pakistan. The euphoria over the election victory of the PPP and PML-N had dwindled sharply after the failure to implement the Murree declaration. The exit of the PML-N from the government had further exacerbated fears that the democratic forces would fail to work together, and play into Musharraf’s hands.

In this gloomy scenario, Zardari’s announcement to move impeachment proceedings against Musharraf has considerably lifted spirits. It is not completely clear what prompted this clean break. Zardari was probably unnerved by Sharif’s soaring popularity, fuelled by his commitment to restore the judges and his consistent opposition to Musharraf. The PPP, and especially Zardari, were on the other hand were increasingly seen to have secretly aligned with Musharraf. There was constant speculation about a tie-up with the PML-Q as it appeared that Sharif’s patience would soon run out. Zardari also realised that public perception of his apparent proximity with Musharraf was also increasingly becoming a political liability.

It looks fairly certain that Musharraf will go. The army, under General Ashfaq Kayani, seems unwilling to support him. Another Emergency, replicating the events of November 3, is unlikely. Kayani has shown no inclination so far to meddle in political affairs. The Army has learnt its lesson, it is aware that dissolution of Parliament will be catastrophic. Within the top echelons of the military, there is an increasing clamour for Musharraf’s exit. Sections of the PML-Q have decided to back the impeachment motion. The PPP-PML (N) alliance has the numbers to oust Musharraf. It would be surprising, if subsequent events establish a case to the contrary.

With Musharraf’s ouster, the short-term future of Pakistani democracy would be secured. The larger question still remains – what needs to be done for the long run? Electoral democracy in Pakistan has always functioned as a form of feudal elitism. There are no political leaders in Pakistan comparable to grassroots politicians in India, such as Mayawati or Lalu Prasad Yadav. This space has come to be occupied by the religious parties, which could explain the swift rise of fundamentalism in Pakistan. The major political parties, the PPP and the PML-N, must take steps to address these concerns and ensure wider representation. A policy of affirmative action needs to be evolved to check antagonistic sentiment towards the state, especially among ethnic groups such as Balochs and tribal groups. Comprehensive development also must take place in these under-developed areas.

The future of democracy in Pakistan would also depend on the current regime’s ability to build sustainable democratic institutions. The restoration of the judges would be a major statement in declaring the independent nature of the judiciary in Pakistan. Further safeguards in the Constitution to protect the judiciary from the executive would be welcome. The courts must function in an autonomous manner, free from the threat of political interference. Steps must also be taken to formulate an independent Election Commission that is able to conduct free and fair elections on a regular basis. The Supreme Court and the Election Commission must become inviolate institutions for civil rights and electoral democracy to be upheld.

Pakistan’s political establishment must not lose sight of the larger picture, following the atmosphere of pervading triumphalism that is likely after Musharraf’s exit. While celebrating the fall of a military dictator, they must also ensure that he will be the last one.

In conversation, Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan

Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan studied English Literature at Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi University and has been a journalist for many years. She writes the popular blog The Compulsive Confessor where she talks about her experiences as a young, single woman in urban India. Her first novel, You are Here, published by Penguin releases this month.

You have been writing your blog, The Compulsive Confessor, for many years. How important has blogging been in your evolution as a writer?

All writers, I feel, need to be writing constantly in order to be writers. The blog has helped me keep some sort of weekly discipline and hone my voice, so that by the end of two years I was writing exactly as I wanted to.

Tell us a little bit about your first novel.

It’s about a young girl negotiating the world. It’s based in Delhi, but I think it could also be any other big city in the world. Arshi, the protagonist, is trying very hard to get her life in a shape that she recognises. The book sort of goes back and forth between time so that you get a clear picture of who she is and who she wants to be.

There has hardly been any major work on this theme by an Indian writer. How difficult was the process of writing the novel, since there were no precedents to go by.

Not difficult at all. I’ve been writing some version of the same story since I was about seventeen. It began with Poornima who was sixteen in Seventeen And Still Standing and then there was Maya, I think, in In Limbo. (Whose best friend was called Arshi!) It’s basically a story of my generation and of people like me, and since I like to think that my work isn’t derivative, I guess it was okay that there weren’t any precedents.

You Are Here is a curious and intriguing title. How did you arrive at the title, since naming a book is the part writers find extremely difficult.

Oh, it was really, really tough coming up with a good name. I batted around a few hundred before I came to this one. It was the result of a brainstorming session with some friends, one of them said, ‘You are here’ and it clicked in my head. It’s supposed to be like a map sign, because Arshi really wishes she has one to help her see where she is and where she’s going.

People who read your blog often compare it to Sex and the City. How much has popular culture influenced your work?

As much as popular culture has influenced anyone else’s work I guess. I personally don’t believe there is much of a comparison to be made between my blog and any Western thing, whether it’s Bridget Jones or Sex And The City. But I guess for lack of anything else to compare it to, that was the closest label. Yes, it is about being young and single in a big city and the stuff that comes with that–dating, sex, men, friendships–but that’s where it begins to become my descriptions of being young and single and not Sarah Jessica Parker’s.

Tell us a little bit about your literary influences. What books did you read while growing up?

I read pretty much everything I could get my hands on. I loved the Anne of Green Gables books and Laura Ingalls Wilder books and as I grew older, I loved Salinger and  Gone With The Wind. Things like that. Basically, I’ve always loved your ’search for self’ stories, mostly stuff with a female heroine and things that spanned many years and generations.

You represent a new wave of young writers living in India, who are challenging stereotypes and exploring new themes. Do you think that the importance of Diaspora writers will diminish as time passes by?

Is growing up in a big city such a new theme? Perhaps in India, maybe, I mean, my book has no references to mango pickles or snake charmers, but I think it’s time we stopped thinking of ourselves with any labels at all. Women writers, diaspora writers, it’s all very lazy labelling to put people and books in brackets. I don’t see why any of us have to be representative of anything, except ourselves.

How much do you think globalization and its effects has changed the landscape of our cities? How have you dealt with this in your book?

As someone who has lived in two major Indian metros, sometimes when I think back to ten or fifteen years ago Levi’s jeans was something you got your ‘foreign’ relatives to bring back. The poshest localities now were then wilderness and the very first McDonald’s came up – it’s all very startling. I am old enough to remember pre-Internet, pre-cable TV days and sometimes I catch myself wondering what we did back then and if a child from now was teleported back in time how long would it take before they killed themselves out of boredom? It’s been interesting to watch also how globalisation has made us as a people change, I feel that now, a decade later, we are more confident and yet also struggling with a basic identity crisis–balancing the traditions on one hand with the modernity that new India is all about. Most of that is stuff I’ve delved into in my book.

Are there any plans for a book tour?

Yes, I will be launching the book in Delhi on the 22nd of August and then in Mumbai around the end of the month. There will be other cities, but I’m not sure which ones.

What next for you now? Are you working on another novel?

I’m figuring out the life of a writer.  Right now, I have a couple of columns here and there, and I’d like to travel once the book is out. I do have another book in mind but it’s in gestation stages, so I don’t know whether you could call that ‘working’ on something!