Succeeding in spite of itself

This is a success story. In the 60 years since Nehru proclaimed India’s tryst with destiny all has not gone as he would have wished. Only just over 60 per cent of adult Indians are literate, far less than the comparable figure for China. Life expectancy has nearly doubled since independence, but here again China has done much better. Many millions of Indians still live in degrading poverty. Child mortality remains high, leprosy is rife, 15 million Indians suffer from tuberculosis, Aids is a new and yet more fearful threat. The barriers of caste and class have not been exorcised. The open sore of Kashmir remains unhealed. But, against all the odds, India has remained unified. Economically it is flourishing as never before. Above all, in a series of more-or-less fair and well-conducted elections, the Indian people have continued to choose governments which reflect their wishes. This is, as Ramachandra Guha proudly proclaims in his subtitle, ‘The History of the World’s Largest Democracy’.

It is a formidable undertaking to write in a single volume a history of this vast country; rent as it has been by caste, class, religion, language; led by a galaxy of remarkable and sometimes indecently colourful men and women; absorbed by its internal problems yet determined to play a part on the world stage. Such a task demands the ability to marshal a formidable array of facts, to keep them in proportion and to assemble them in a lucid and readable narrative. Above all, it calls for a clear and open mind, a capacity to understand if never to condone the forces that breed fear, prejudice and hatred; to see through the clap-trap of politicians to the stark reality that underlies their posturing. Guha rises nobly to these challenges: his history is not, could not be, definitive, but it is as comprehensive, balanced and elegantly crafted as any reasonable reader could expect.