Musings on a book and a movie

MY dear wife, who left this world when she was 84, used to bemoan the rigours of old age. My reaction to her lament was always the same — "What is the alternative?" I would ask. Death answered the query, while the one she left behind occupies himself by reading and watching movies on television. A book I read and a movie I saw last week absorbed my time and my attention. I write on my reflections on that book and the film.

The ouster of the Syrian Strongman, Bashar al-Assad, by rebels in his own country prompted me to write this article. My neighbour Mona Roy had sent me a book titled "Autocrats — Charisma, Power and their Lives" written by her family friend Rajiv Dogra, a distinguished Indian Foreign Service officer, now retired. Dogra is a scholar and a writer. Two of his previous (he has written seven) books "Where Borders Bleed" and "Durand's Curse" are a must read.

What I worry about is the spread of fear and divisiveness in a multi-religious, multi-cultural society that has been spawned by our present regime.

When reading his latest book "Autocrats", I got the uneasy feeling that he had Narendra Modi in sight. But Rajiv is a trained diplomat, unlike me, a policeman who served for four full years as Ambassador without any grounding in diplomacy.

Incidentally, Rajiv Dogra was Ambassador to Romania, simultaneously accredited to Albania and Moldova, as I also was a few years earlier. The intelligentsia in Romania recognised him as a scholar. He was honoured with an honorary doctorate by the University of Oradea and made an honorary professor in the University of Targoviste.

Rajiv's assertion that the "word authoritarian does not convey the immense harm that an all-pervasive atmosphere of fear does to a society" attracted my attention. Since such an element of fear does prevail today in the minds of the minority population of our beloved country, I read his book with more care than normal. The book had a profound effect on me and I would recommend that it be read by all compatriots who think and question.

The modern authoritarian's cult of personality, for instance, can be compared to that of the ancient Roman emperors, like Nero and Caligula, who were deified by their compatriots. In the 20th century, Benito Mussolini of Italy had his image imprinted on every bar of soap so that none would or could forget him even in the bath.

I did not find any reference to Modi in the book. Was that diplomacy at work? Or, did the author want his readers to draw their own conclusions? He does mention Indira Gandhi, "who did not flinch at anything to maintain herself in power even if her actions proved a danger to democracy."

Dogra lists some characteristics of an autocrat which "should be taken as a sign of worry":

1. Belief that he or she is special and unique.

2. Lack of empathy for others.

3. Need for excessive admiration.

4. Obsessive sense of self-importance.

Rajiv mentions many world leaders through the ages with autocratic tendencies. Some could even be described as tyrants or dictators, but all were autocrats. Hitler, of course, leads the pack, as does Mussolini. On the other end of the scale is Lee Kwan Yew of Singapore, whose balancing act in a camouflaged dictatorship, earned him more plaudits than curses. Yet, he detained for two years many political opponents and allowed only one party, one newspaper, one trade union and one language. Rajiv concludes that "the quest for a benevolent, all-performing dictator has more often than not led to a bitter dead end."

That there are many similarities that can be listed in the actions taken by strongmen in the course of history is an accepted conclusion that readers will draw on reading "Autocrats". The author has meticulously studied their doings and their differing personalities and family backgrounds. The facts will fascinate students of history and politics, alike. Even cursory readers like me will benefit from the knowledge that the book so lucidly disseminates.

Applying this knowledge to present-day India and specifically Narendra Modi, I would not place him in the slots allotted to tyrants and dictators. He is authoritarian alright. So was Indira Gandhi. Does India need an authoritarian leader to steer our democracy? My view is it does. What I worry about is the spread of fear and divisiveness in a multi-religious, multi-cultural society that has been spawned by the present regime. Will that lead the country to prosperity and greatness? I harbour serious doubts on this score. Of course, time alone will tell. But can the country afford the price it is bound to pay at the end? Can the caste divisions, embedded in the culture of the majority, be surmounted so that the 80 per cent-strong majority becomes one, as intended?

While mulling over the answers to my own questions, I found that my eyesight would not allow me to read for more than three hours at a time. My need to keep my mind occupied led me to the television. The fine print of the written word is substituted by pictorial representations of life on television.

I found a movie titled "Amaran" made in Tamil Nadu by leading movers of the state’s film industry. I saw the film dubbed in English. I could relate to the script and the story because it was based on the courage and devotion to duty of an army officer, Major Mukund Vardharajan of the Rajput Regiment, seconded for duty to the 44 Rashtriya Rifles, which operates mainly in Jammu & Kashmir to keep terrorists in check.

My friend Rahul Bose, the actor, had a big part to play in the movie, but the principal character was a Hindu Tamilian officer married to a Malayali Christian girl, whom he had met while they were students in Vellore Christian College. Their travails in getting their respective parents to consent to an inter-faith union was compounded by the fact that the mothers of both the boy and the girl were not happy with the protagonist's choice of a career in the army.

The rapport of the officer with his own men was built on his determination to lead them personally in battle, unlike the Duke of Plaza Torro, "who led his regiment from behind whenever there was any fighting."

I loved the film and the message of patriotism, true qualities of leadership as well as the inter-religious amity it exuded. Readers should see it. And I wish that my country's acknowledged leader, PM Modi, sees it and recommends it to his faithful followers.