The Absent Liberal

I first read Ramchandra Guha when he started writing a column on Cricket in The Hindu, Sunday edition. He was entirely different from those who occupy the sports column and his recollections of India's past cricketers made an interesting read.

Then I read excerpts from his essays on Indian History and later came to know that he is a Social Historian. I still remember a piece he wrote on Sabarmati Ashram, I think it was called 733 km from nowhere. That particular piece was about the decline of Sabarmati Ashram, and in turn Gandhian values. And he used the milestone at Sabarmati as his title, 733 km from nowhere. It was as captivating a title I have ever read and immediately focussed on the subject at hand.

Ok, the reason I am tom tomming about Guha is because I just now read his article in Outlook magazine, titled The Absent Liberal. It is a well balanced piece on the polarisation of Indian intellectuals and the absence of a liberal intellegentsia. It is 16 pages online, but is worth the time you spend reading it.