Ramachandra Guha is a UPwalah

As for the other escape route, I must declare an interest—I am a Tamil who grew up, in an intellectual sense, in Bengal, while the two periodicals I regularly write for are printed in Calcutta and Chennai respectively. That said, it does seem that newspapers published in cities distant from Delhi have succumbed somewhat less to the seductions of power or the cult of celebrity. - See more at: http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm#sthash.GUpZGUWg.dpuf

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm

As for the other escape route, I must declare an interest—I am a Tamil who grew up, in an intellectual sense, in Bengal, while the two periodicals I regularly write for are printed in Calcutta and Chennai respectively. That said, it does seem that newspapers published in cities distant from Delhi have succumbed somewhat less to the seductions of power or the cult of celebrity. - See more at: http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm#sthash.GUpZGUWg.dpuf

Rashmun wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm

As for the other escape route, I must declare an interest—I am a Tamil who grew up, in an intellectual sense, in Bengal, while the two periodicals I regularly write for are printed in Calcutta and Chennai respectively. That said, it does seem that newspapers published in cities distant from Delhi have succumbed somewhat less to the seductions of power or the cult of celebrity. - See more at: http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm#sthash.GUpZGUWg.dpuf

I am confused. In his twitter feed, Guha writes:

The star of the ToI Lit Fest the day I was there was my fellow Uttarakhandi Ruskin Bond. Ruskin is a wonderful writer and human being...

Rashmun wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm

As for the other escape route, I must declare an interest—I am a Tamil who grew up, in an intellectual sense, in Bengal, while the two periodicals I regularly write for are printed in Calcutta and Chennai respectively. That said, it does seem that newspapers published in cities distant from Delhi have succumbed somewhat less to the seductions of power or the cult of celebrity. - See more at: http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm#sthash.GUpZGUWg.dpuf

I am confused. In his twitter feed, Guha writes:

The star of the ToI Lit Fest the day I was there was my fellow Uttarakhandi Ruskin Bond. Ruskin is a wonderful writer and human being...

bw wrote:

Rashmun wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm

As for the other escape route, I must declare an interest—I am a Tamil who grew up, in an intellectual sense, in Bengal, while the two periodicals I regularly write for are printed in Calcutta and Chennai respectively. That said, it does seem that newspapers published in cities distant from Delhi have succumbed somewhat less to the seductions of power or the cult of celebrity. - See more at: http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm#sthash.GUpZGUWg.dpuf

I am confused. In his twitter feed, Guha writes:

The star of the ToI Lit Fest the day I was there was my fellow Uttarakhandi Ruskin Bond. Ruskin is a wonderful writer and human being...

"Guha was born on 29 April 1958 at Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, where his father Ram Das Guha was a director at the Forest Research Institute. His mother tongue is Tamil."

bw wrote:

Rashmun wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm

As for the other escape route, I must declare an interest—I am a Tamil who grew up, in an intellectual sense, in Bengal, while the two periodicals I regularly write for are printed in Calcutta and Chennai respectively. That said, it does seem that newspapers published in cities distant from Delhi have succumbed somewhat less to the seductions of power or the cult of celebrity. - See more at: http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm#sthash.GUpZGUWg.dpuf

I am confused. In his twitter feed, Guha writes:

The star of the ToI Lit Fest the day I was there was my fellow Uttarakhandi Ruskin Bond. Ruskin is a wonderful writer and human being...

"Guha was born on 29 April 1958 at Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, where his father Ram Das Guha was a director at the Forest Research Institute. His mother tongue is Tamil."

b_A wrote:

bw wrote:

Rashmun wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm

As for the other escape route, I must declare an interest—I am a Tamil who grew up, in an intellectual sense, in Bengal, while the two periodicals I regularly write for are printed in Calcutta and Chennai respectively. That said, it does seem that newspapers published in cities distant from Delhi have succumbed somewhat less to the seductions of power or the cult of celebrity. - See more at: http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/rgh-obits.htm#sthash.GUpZGUWg.dpuf

I am confused. In his twitter feed, Guha writes:

The star of the ToI Lit Fest the day I was there was my fellow Uttarakhandi Ruskin Bond. Ruskin is a wonderful writer and human being...

"Guha was born on 29 April 1958 at Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, where his father Ram Das Guha was a director at the Forest Research Institute. His mother tongue is Tamil."

Das is not a typical tamil name. Is he from Kerala border area? I know some malayalees with names like Ramdas and Haridas.

Guha likes to call India an unnatural state and an unlikely democracy on account of its linguistic and cultural differences.

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:this is going to make some synthesists and integratists very unhappy.

Guha likes to call India an unnatural state and an unlikely democracy on account of its linguistic and cultural differences.

garlic risotto? why isn't he ordering panneer dosa and kheema idli? i am very disappointed with this uttarkhandist bengali iyer.

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:this is going to make some synthesists and integratists very unhappy.

Guha likes to call India an unnatural state and an unlikely democracy on account of its linguistic and cultural differences.

Rashmun wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:this is going to make some synthesists and integratists very unhappy.

Guha likes to call India an unnatural state and an unlikely democracy on account of its linguistic and cultural differences.

garlic risotto? why isn't he ordering panneer dosa and kheema idli? i am very disappointed with this uttarkhandist bengali iyer.

In fact Guha is an integrationist. Max is simply clutching at straws by tearing Guha's statements out of context.

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Guha began his talk with a bold assertion. “I have a simple thesis to defend today: India is the most interesting country in the world, period,” he said. “Never before in human history was a territory so diverse and divided constituted as a single, unified nation.”
Guha explained that India eschewed the European and American models of nation-building, since it is unable to claim allegiances to a common faith, language, or even enemy, rendering it an “unnatural nation.” Following its independence in 1947, India adopted the universal vote—unlike the West, where the franchise was granted in stages—providing the privilege to a largely illiterate population. “The first elections were called the biggest gamble in history,” said Guha.

Even ardent sympathizers of India forecasted its decline after the death of its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, but the nation’s united and democratic survival was safeguarded by five principle factors, said Guha. He cited healthy participation in nationwide elections (“marginalized communities vote in larger proportions in elections,” Guha stated); preservation of linguistic pluralism (most aptly reflected in the Indian rupee note, which is illustrated with 17 different scripts); the existence of a free press and an independent judiciary; the all-encompassing game of cricket; and, perhaps most surprising, the vibrant Hindi film industry. “The great poet and script writer Javed Akhtar once said there are 28 states in the Indian republic and the 29th is the Hindi film,” said Guha. “I expanded that insight to say the 29th state is actually a receptacle and showcase for the varied influences of the 28 states. It’s a bastion of secularism.”

Rashmun wrote:

Rashmun wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:this is going to make some synthesists and integratists very unhappy.

Guha likes to call India an unnatural state and an unlikely democracy on account of its linguistic and cultural differences.

garlic risotto? why isn't he ordering panneer dosa and kheema idli? i am very disappointed with this uttarkhandist bengali iyer.

In fact Guha is an integrationist. Max is simply clutching at straws by tearing Guha's statements out of context.

----

Guha began his talk with a bold assertion. “I have a simple thesis to defend today: India is the most interesting country in the world, period,” he said. “Never before in human history was a territory so diverse and divided constituted as a single, unified nation.”
Guha explained that India eschewed the European and American models of nation-building, since it is unable to claim allegiances to a common faith, language, or even enemy, rendering it an “unnatural nation.” Following its independence in 1947, India adopted the universal vote—unlike the West, where the franchise was granted in stages—providing the privilege to a largely illiterate population. “The first elections were called the biggest gamble in history,” said Guha.

Even ardent sympathizers of India forecasted its decline after the death of its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, but the nation’s united and democratic survival was safeguarded by five principle factors, said Guha. He cited healthy participation in nationwide elections (“marginalized communities vote in larger proportions in elections,” Guha stated); preservation of linguistic pluralism (most aptly reflected in the Indian rupee note, which is illustrated with 17 different scripts); the existence of a free press and an independent judiciary; the all-encompassing game of cricket; and, perhaps most surprising, the vibrant Hindi film industry. “The great poet and script writer Javed Akhtar once said there are 28 states in the Indian republic and the 29th is the Hindi film,” said Guha. “I expanded that insight to say the 29th state is actually a receptacle and showcase for the varied influences of the 28 states. It’s a bastion of secularism.”

Notice the importance given to Hindi by Guha.

Rashmun wrote:

Rashmun wrote:

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:this is going to make some synthesists and integratists very unhappy.

Guha likes to call India an unnatural state and an unlikely democracy on account of its linguistic and cultural differences.

garlic risotto? why isn't he ordering panneer dosa and kheema idli? i am very disappointed with this uttarkhandist bengali iyer.

In fact Guha is an integrationist. Max is simply clutching at straws by tearing Guha's statements out of context.

----

Guha began his talk with a bold assertion. “I have a simple thesis to defend today: India is the most interesting country in the world, period,” he said. “Never before in human history was a territory so diverse and divided constituted as a single, unified nation.”
Guha explained that India eschewed the European and American models of nation-building, since it is unable to claim allegiances to a common faith, language, or even enemy, rendering it an “unnatural nation.” Following its independence in 1947, India adopted the universal vote—unlike the West, where the franchise was granted in stages—providing the privilege to a largely illiterate population. “The first elections were called the biggest gamble in history,” said Guha.

Even ardent sympathizers of India forecasted its decline after the death of its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, but the nation’s united and democratic survival was safeguarded by five principle factors, said Guha. He cited healthy participation in nationwide elections (“marginalized communities vote in larger proportions in elections,” Guha stated); preservation of linguistic pluralism (most aptly reflected in the Indian rupee note, which is illustrated with 17 different scripts); the existence of a free press and an independent judiciary; the all-encompassing game of cricket; and, perhaps most surprising, the vibrant Hindi film industry. “The great poet and script writer Javed Akhtar once said there are 28 states in the Indian republic and the 29th is the Hindi film,” said Guha. “I expanded that insight to say the 29th state is actually a receptacle and showcase for the varied influences of the 28 states. It’s a bastion of secularism.”

Notice the importance given to Hindi by Guha.