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The author explains in straightforward manner the anguish and
suffering through which the Soviet people had passed with
stoical indifference and utter passivity. He gives credit to
Putin for creating a viable legal framework for a civilised
market-based system, which threw overboard the old
authoritarian, regimented and monolithic mode of governance that
had throttled the freedom of speech and thought, creating a
squadron of like-minded people habituated to saying always ‘yes’
and never ‘no.’
According to
Goyal, the collapse of Soviet Union "fell into the hands of
the robber community-turned-capitalists who in breathtaking
backroom deals signed over the world’s largest and richest
country to themselves." The author emphasises the courage
and dogged persistence of the Russian people who despite many
odds weighted against them stood up to tide over the crises that
faced them. Then follows a series of articles on President Putin,
the man of the hour and destiny, who earns goodwill and
gratitude for handling the critical situation. The book
emphasises that for any sound amelioration of the people the key
lies in proper legislative enactments and the promotion of
education, which could provide a strong base.
One of the fatal
consequences of the Soviet system has been the dislocation of
the balance of power structure in international politics, which
led to the emergence of the USA as a single supreme power. Such
a situation prevented any possibility of a check on the vaulting
ambition of the foreign policymakers. Andrei Piontkovisky writes
that the Russians have still a considerable potential
influence to enlist support for building up the forces of peace
and goodwill in the world torn by strife. In the recent Iraq
war, despite many constraints Russia was able to enlist
international support to resist the US policy. However, it could
not alter the US policy.
Ajay Goyal’s
illuminating and highly informative compilation of articles
written by experts is a valuable guide to the study of
contemporary Russia for the general reader, and he deserves to
be congratulated for this venture.
***
Dr Hamid Nasim
Rafiabadi has brought out his first volume of poetical
collection in Aday-E-Izhar ki Tammana (Urdu) (Amna
Sayam Publications, Lasjan, Srinagar. Pages I74). A
well-established scholar of Islam, with several works on the
Islamic history to his credit, Rafiabadi is Head, Department of
Islamic Studies, University of Kashmir.
In a short
introduction to his poetical work, the author acknowledges his
debt of gratitude to the stalwart Urdu poets such as Ghalib,
Iqbal and Faiz from whom he has drawn inspiration. Ghalib’s
‘saddest thoughts,’ Iqbals’ philosophy of action and Faiz’s
well-tempered revolutionary fervor worked as a stimulus to his
poetical compositions.
The first two
poems are invocations to God, expressing his utter helplessness
in the immensity of the universe and then surrendering to His
will in complete faith. The next three are addressed to the
Prophet Muhmmad whose charming personality and achievements
invoke in the poet feelings of respect and reverential awe. A
major portion of his work consists of the poems of varied moods,
expressing anguish, sorrow, aspirations and ecstasy over the
vicissitudes of life. There persists in three poems a continuous
quest for the apprehension of beauty, but the entire mood is
sober, serious and even grave—there is seldom the lightness of
touch, except in a few short love poems. It seems the there is a
constant tension and coils within are tightly strung.
Free from moral
exhortation, his poetry is tinctured with amoral sense devoid of
any trace of sectarianism and narrow-mindedness. Quite
unobtrusively, some intimation of the disturbing conditions in
Kashmir is reflected in his poetry. Writing on the blood, toil
and tears in the valley of Kashmir, the poet writes
(translation): "What a strange city and a strange people
that they continues to live in the midst of death and
destruction." The last section of this work contains a
number of poems on various themes such as Mona Lisa, Aligarh and
Hyderabad. This highly promising poetical work reflects
Rafiabadi’s sensitivity to beautiful things, his wide-ranging
interests and lucidity in expression.
***
Another poetical
work published in Urdu entitled Kaho Zall-I-Ilahi Say is
by Munawwar Rana (Keshawa Prakashan, Allahabad). Born in a poor
family that greatly suffered due to the Partition, Rana, while
forced not to complete his BA, emerged as a notable Urdu poet.
The foundation of
his poetry is his own experience. His poetry reflects a
harmonious blend of realism and romanticism. Metaphors and
similes are drawn from commonplace things of life, and the
diction is simply and chaste. The general mood is one of sorrow,
which doesn’t lead to disillusion but to inward growth and
illumination. Some of the verses reflect a state of grinding
poverty and piteous spectacle of the people who suffer from it.
Rana’s admirable poems show his poetical qualities and
maturity of ideas expressed in simple idiom.
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