C M Y K

The book throws more light on the century between 1846 and 1947, leading to Pakistan being deeply dissatisfied with inheriting, in the words of Jinnah, a 'moth-eaten' country, and in Kashmir a longing for independence... A review P3

SUNDAY, 26 JANUARY 2020 Mahatma and a ravaged Calcutta While India celebrated its freedom on the night of 14 August 1947, Gandhi was at Hydari Manzil in the city, away from the euphoria. During the next 25 days in Calcutta, he braved an angry mob, punished himself by fasting and walked for long durations — only for peace to return

SOMEN SENGUPTA you kill me?” he said while coming down the stairs with folded hands. Though the n that moment of glory Mahatma police was called to clear the mob, his Gandhi was missing from every cel- indomitable power of confronting the truth ebration. In London’s India House, a was still working. He was unvanquished Ifestive mob had assembled in front before the mob. of his life-sized photograph. In Delhi, Babu Calcutta was in flames the next day. Rajendra Prasad and Lord Mountbatten At Miyabagan, as a Muslim family was shift- were praising him as an icon of the time ing their belongings in a truck, a bomb in Raisina Hill’s Constituent Assembly. was tossed from the roof a mansion In every city, town and hamlet of nearby, killing two people on the spot. Gand- India, people were on the streets at mid- hi rushed to the place and wept over the night hailing his name, singing songs and dead bodies. Even in September, Calcutta dancing with joy. Every news agency, news- was in no mood to listen to the most dec- paper and radio station of the world was orated man of India’s freedom. In Hydari struggling to catch him but he was Manzil, Gandhi prepared himself for a fast nowhere to be found. As Jawaharlal till death if amity did not return. On 2 Sep- Nehru delivered his “Tryst with destiny” tember, The Statesman front page speech, the man who had led the nation Hydari Manzil as it looks today announced, “Mahatma Gandhi Begins Fast to a new dawn was asleep in a dark, dilap- —Will end it only if sanity returns to Cal- idated house in Calcutta. cutta.” After his dinner at 9 pm on 14 August But soon Gandhi’s condition deteri- 1947, Gandhi made a silent round of the orated. His heart beat was faint and a mas- city in his car to see how people were cel- sage was needed to bring it back. An anx- ebrating. He practically rejected the coun- A clipping from The Statesman Archive ious Calcutta rushed to his house but there try’s freedom when it became a reality. was no sign of the riots stopping. From In 1947, Gandhi realised that his posi- 3 September, Gandhi could only murmur tion in the Congress was not the same as and his pulse weak. Even in his weakest before. His party consented to the Parti- voice he was trying to say that revenge tion without even discussing with him. was foolhardy. Except him, everybody else was directly The thought that Gandhi was dying negotiating for power. Gandhi was an iso- and his death would deface Calcutta lated man, both personally and politically. beyond recovery filled the air. The Cal- His wife Kasturba, Rabindranath Tagore, cutta Police and Calcutta Bar Association Mahadev Desai and Charles Andrews — joined his fast to express their support. all his close friends had died. Still, he was Soon University students joined them too. running around the country trying to stop “We cordially wish him unqualified suc- the riots that were raging at the time. He cess” commented The Statesman, which was visiting Bengal frequently since was always ruthlessly critical to Gandhi’s November 1946 and spent time in Sodepur fasting as a political tool. from 4 March to 14 May 1947. That afternoon, 27 people came to When freedom was at the doorstep and Beliaghata and surrendered their weapons. the power corridors of Delhi were abuzz, Even culprits of the Miyabagan arrived. Gandhi decided to spend 15 August in East By evening, it seemed Gandhi had changed Pakistan. He chose Noakhali again because the heart of Calcutta. violence against Hindus was seeing no The next day, while still fasting, Gand- end there. On 9 August, he had arrived hi made five representatives of three reli- from Patna and directly moved to Sodepur. gious communities sign a pledge to keep The Calcutta of August 1947 was a city Calcutta away from communal flames. of fear and hate. In March that year, 80 Finally at 9.15 pm, on 4 September, after lives had been lost during four days of riots. 73 hours when not a single communal clash From June to August, the city streets was reported for the entire day, Gandhi were thick with Army personnel and broke his fast with a glass of orange juice. every communally sensitive area was The next two days Calcutta remained under curfew. completely calm and normalcy started The archive of The Statesman shows returning to every corner. Gandhi decid- the ugly face of a city, which was still India’s ed to go to Punjab as there was no sign biggest and richest metropolis. “Condi- The hall inside the house The weapons surrendered to Gandhi of peace there. He held a civic reception tion Greatly Deteriorates in Calcutta — from Calcutta Municipal Corporation Clashes in Beliaghata and Chitpur” read ond, Gandhi would stay with Suraward- a dormitory was set up. In the last 45 years the mob saw the Surawardhy behind Gand- to celebrate Id-Ul-Fitr. Another grand gath- on 6 September and left the city for the the headline of The Statesman on 8 hy in a locality were Muslims were being or so, Gandhi had stayed at the Grand Hotel, hi. To tame the tensed atmosphere an exas- ering took place at the Maidan on 25 August. last time on 7 September. August. In its 4 August edition, it had report- killed and no police protection was to be Birla House and the posh residence of the perated Gandhi finally said, “I am a Every evening, there was a prayer meet- Gandhi’s mode of leaving Calcutta was ed 13 more communal clashes with deployed. The latter sounded irrational Bose family in Woodburn Park. This time, bania. I know my business.” That night ing to spread the message of harmony. an affront to the city. As there was a report killing and arson in Muchipara, Taratala but no one dared question him. he negotiated Hydari Manzil. Sardar itself he decided to stay back till the time When everything was looking fine for of an attempt on his life near College Street and Beliaghata. A dilapidated house called Hydari Patel wrote to him, “You are in Calcutta Calcutta returned to peace. Calcutta and Gandhi was planning to leave and Harrison Road crossing, he took a secret Gandhi arrived in a Calcutta, which Manzil, owned by a Gujarati trader from and that too in a murderous place, a ver- On the morning of 15 August, Gand- for Noakhali, the situation changed on the route. His car was diverted to BT Road and was far away from reason and peace. S Surat named Gani Miya, was selected. It itable den of goondas, and what a choice hi woke up early. The city that had been midnight of 31 August. A group of Hin- took him to Bally Station instead of Surawardhy, the premier of Bengal, who was located at 150 Beliaghata Main Road. of companion.” witnessing riots for one year was converted dus came to him with a wounded person Howrah. There, from an almost dark has been disgraced in history as “The Butch- Beliaghata, a Hindu-dominated locality, On arriving at Beliaghata on 13 August, into a haven of cordial co-existence but claiming his injury was inflicted by a Mus- platform with a thin presence of officials, er of the Great Calcutta Killings of 1946”, had witnessed large-scale communal Gandhi was confronted by an angry on that day itself, Barrackpore and lim. As his wounds were not serious one of the greatest icons of the century rushed to meet him. He requested Gand- clashes in the year before. A big slum named Hindu mob. They wanted him to move Kanchrapara saw communal killings. He Gandhi did not entertain the mob. They boarded the Punjab Mail to Delhi. hi to stay back and protect Calcutta’s Mus- Miyabagan, inhabited by Muslims, was to places like Kankurgachi or Ultadanga realised that not enough was being done. returned at midnight in larger numbers Gandhi’s long association with Ben- lims, who were under tremendous threat almost evacuated during the riots. where Hindu lives were being devastat- Gandhi started taking long walks from and with weapons in tow. They wanted gal that had started from 1896 came to from the retaliatory Hindus. Gandhi It was a shabby house open from all ed. He called around 20 of them inside his Beliaghata abode every day covering Surawardhy to be handed over to them. an end. In those 25 days in Calcutta, he agreed but put a couple of conditions. sides. As it had been locked for a long while, and explained that his presence in Sarkar Bazar, Phoolbagan, Jora Mandir, Bricks and stones were pelted, and lath- had braved an angry mob, punished First, the Muslim League government the doors were broken and windows had Beliaghata would create pressure on Rasmoni Bazar and some parts of Narkel- is rained on every window and door. himself by fasting and walked for long dura- of Pakistan had to protect Hindus in no latches. There was only one toilet and Surawardhy to protect Hindus in East Pak- danga. On 18 August, he visited the icon- Some stones narrowly missed Gand- tions — only for peace to return to a rav- Noakhali and other parts of Bengal. Sec- no electricity. It had one big room where istan. The situation became worse when ic football club, Mohammedan Sporting hi himself. “Kill me… kill me… Why don’t aged city.

Thus, a large number of individuals with between autistic individuals, who usu- Society tends to compare autistic chil- A hitherto blinkered response autism may even be misdiagnosed in India ally don’t like to speak to anyone.” Also, dren whom they consider “unfit” with and around the world. there will be a single footpath on only children who seem “normal” to them, Suresh Somani, father to an autistic one side of the road throughout the cen- and this frustrates parents and compels Indian Autism Center plans to build a ‘mini-city’ for son and managing trustee of India ter so that people bump into each other, them to explain themselves again and Autism Center (IAC), said, “Everything thus sparking conversations. This phe- again, leaving them in a state of utter autistic individuals in Kolkata where they will learn was late about my son. He started walk- nomenon will promote a friendly and despondency. ing late, hardly spoke and played with inclusive atmosphere among autistic chil- Moreover, guilt arises in parents different skills, including the art of interaction the same toy again and again.” Somani, dren, he added. because they tend to feel helpless along with a group of doctors from The campus will also have an activ- towards their child, who, because of the around the world, organised a confer- ity centre where autistic individuals disorder, cannot express herself clear- ence recently to spread awareness about can undertake different activities, like ly. For example, if she has a physical the disorder and the impact it has on welding, pottery, dance, music et al. Dr illness like a stomach ache, she finds kids. Sungwoo Kahng, a doctor from the US it extremely difficult to convey this to IAC has been planning to set up a res- who was present at the conference, her parents. Thus, gastro-intestinal idential centre on a 52-acre area of land spoke on the sheer ambition with which problems are very common in autis- in Behala, Kolkata, where 600 homes will the project is being pursued. “No coun- tic children. be built for autistic individuals and try has ever taken up a project like this Because of the hitherto lack of aware- their families who can live there for as before. It is an extremely creative ven- ness surrounding autism, treatment long as they like. Somani said, “I was lucky ture,” he said. options in India and the west remain lim- enough to have inherited some land from Even though there is no real cure for ited. However, more people are becom- my family, and I dedicated it to the devel- autism, it can be managed somehow, ing aware about the disorder and asso- opment of the centre. It will be devel- whereby individuals who suffer from the ciating it with their children. Somani said, oped as a “mini-city” for autistic indi- disorder can make the most of their lives “If one has the slightest hunch that viduals. The center will include a school despite being autistic. Early detection their child may be autistic, they should and a college where different vocations and intervention are important for the take them to a qualified psychologist or will be taught, apart from a common mar- holistic development of an individual, psychiatrist at the earliest.” Apart from ketplace. Only those people who are con- Somani said, adding that early inter- a psychologist, special educators are also ‘Art and Love in Unison,’ one of the themed art installations nected to autism in some way, either vention enables a child to be better essential to make a comprehensive made by autistic children at an international conference (From left) Dr Abir Mukherjee, Dr Liliana Mayo, Dr Sungwoo Kahng, Mr Suresh Somani and Dr Jai Ranjan Ram directly or indirectly, will be permitted equipped with social skills and helps her assessment of the child, Dr Mukherjee organised by IAC to stay there.” develop appropriate reactions. said. “For example, an experienced lan- He further said that guests will be “There are several symptoms that can guage or speech therapist will be help- SAKSHAT CHANDOK of abject, inexorable unease. ifests itself differently for every person asked to provide a deposit while they help parents recognise autism in their ful for the communication skills of the One may ask, what is wrong with these who suffers from it. It affects individu- stay at the center, and after their stay child,” said Dr Abir Mukherjee, clinical child.” e doesn’t enjoy talking to any- children? Are they rude, petulant, or are als in varied ways, thus making it hard is over they can take it back. While the advisor, IAC, “like not maintaining eye The scenario in India is such that, one and stares aimlessly at a they just dull-witted? Or perhaps they to define and identify. center will not provide free accom- contact, being lost in her world, lack of because of an increase in awareness, wall, slowly inundating into his suffer from mental retardation? Almost one in 68 children is diagnosed modation for families, people with a social smile and no reciprocal playful resources to tackle autism have been made Hthoughts within a world of No, they are not rude and they’re def- with autism in India. However, since there higher incomes will be asked to pay more behaviour.” Thus, the role of parents in available in metropolitan cities, like his own, unwilling to make eye contact initely not insane or foolish; they’re is little awareness about the disorder, the so that people who cannot afford this regard is extremely essential and their Mumbai and Kolkata; but, rural and sub- when somebody beckons him. She can’t special children who need a different kind number of people suffering from it may accommodation there can access it at behaviour towards their child determines urban belts as well as small towns may abandon that one toy she has been of attention is all. And identifying this actually be much higher. One of the major subsidised rates. to a large extent how an autistic child not have access to these facilities yet. playing with for the last six months and difference is one of the greatest challenges errors in judgment that doctors make What is interesting about the center will emerge out of her shell. “Parents of Thus, the battle is still an uphill one, but doesn’t pay any heed to the other toys that children afflicted with autism face. is diagnosing an autistic individual as is the way its architecture has been autistic children bear a large spectrum it can be won through the right kind of that lie scattered in front of her. Even the It is said that if you’ve met a person mentally retarded, whereas the disor- planned. “It will be made in such a way of emotions to cope with their child that education and awareness about the softest noise represents a cacophony and with autism, you’ve met one person with der they suffer from actually falls in a that roads are interlinked, which will lead ranges from frustration, anger, guilt disorder as well as the collective shed- compels her to cover her ears in a state autism. Autism is a disorder that man- very different category of mental disability. to accidental encounters and meetings and even depression,” Somani said. ding of a parochial mindset.

C M Y K