[lbo-talk] Gandhi & Bose; the politics of Indian history

[ravi]

On 05/23/05 01:09, Autoplectic wrote:
> 
> But the biggest reason for Bose's renewed popularity, analysts say,
> probably has more to do with India's changing self-image, from an
> underdeveloped, aid-dependent champion of the Non-Aligned Movement to
> a rising economic power with nuclear weapons and an increasingly
> important role on the world stage.
> 
> In that context, Bose -- a militant nationalist and revolutionary --
> has become for many Indians a more compelling symbol of India's
> independence struggle than the ascetic and pacifist Gandhi, especially
> among the fast-growing middle class.
> 

that much is probably correct. hopefully, such fads will come to pass,
as gandhi implied in his response to the bose and testosterone induced
protests of my father: "time runs in my favour. i remain content to be
misunderstood". at least my dad did get over it... ;-)


> 
> With minimal support from the Japanese, Bose's army was never more
> than an irritant on the battlefield. In the aftermath of the Japanese
> surrender, Bose flew to Taiwan, where he was reported to have died in
> a plane crash on Aug. 18,1945.
> 

so, the real question remains: now that gandhi has been dismissed as
unfashionable, when can we expect the che-like bose t-shirts for a
generation of ipod rebels?

	--ravi