Romila Thapar, an eminent name across the globe and an authority on Indian history, was born at a time when India was under British rule. Thapar has witnessed the pre-Independence years, attended Mahatma Gandhi’s prayer meetings in Pune, and gave her first public speech as a student on August 15, 1947 when witnessing India’s Independence.
On the eve of Independence Day, Thapar spoke to My Kolkata about her memories from the day India became independent, bridging the gaps between ancient and modern India, and shared a message for young India.
Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.
My Kolkata: You were born in 1931 — What are your memories of the pre-Independence era?
Romila Thapar: I was born in 1931 and the years up to 1947 were all spent in school. My father was a doctor in the army, so was transferred every three years or so. I changed a few schools as we moved from Peshawar, to Dalhousie, Rawalpindi and Pune. The longest period of eight years was in Pune, where I spent some time in boarding school when my father was transferred out of Pune, but then he was transferred back to Pune. My final year in school was 1947. My childhood was spent in a variety of places.
Citizens celebrate India’s Independence in 1947 on the streets of Calcutta, and (right) Jawaharlal Nehru addresses crowds on August 15, 1947 Getty Images
A look back in time to August 15, 1947 — how did the day unfold for you?
August 15, 1947, was a memorable day for me for two reasons. One was that we had all experienced the national movement in the early 1940s as teenagers. We had been present at Gandhi’s prayer meetings in Pune. So, the culmination of that movement was a day of tremendous excitement. To add to this, we had a small ceremony in the school that morning in the presence of all the parents and other invitees. The Union Jack was lowered and the Indian National Flag was hoisted, and we also planted a sapling to remember the occasion. In addition, the principal had asked me to make a small speech — my first public speech ever. I was extremely nervous. I spoke about the coming of freedom, and touched on the future, anticipating our becoming an independent nation-state.
Which three people, according to you, made the most significant contribution to the freedom struggle and why?
The three people of these early years of Independence who stood out as the more important persons, were Gandhi, and although his life was cut short by assassination, some of his perspectives influenced aspects of independent India. Such an influence was more direct with the ideas of Nehru, since he was governing, and to which end his actions were pertinent. The third person was Ambedkar who brought to the forefront a substantial problem in Indian society, namely, the condition of the Dalits.
Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, B.R Ambedkar were the three most significant contributors of the freedom struggle, believes Thapar Wikimedia Commons
What have been the three most important milestones/events in independent India and why?
The three milestones were, firstly, the writing and adoption of the Constitution, which hopefully ensures the healthy continuation of democracy in this country; second, the establishing of adult franchise so that each citizen has a right to vote, which is a most valuable right; and thirdly, the termination of the Emergency in 1977, when a dictatorial government was overthrown through an election.
Do you think there is anything that modern India could borrow from ancient India, and why?
Some elements of the past do survive into the present. One aspect to which we have not given sufficient attention is the manifestation of the various ways of expressing social dissent — some mild and some aggressive. These do occasionally surface and turn our gaze towards the past. Or alternatively, we hold up elements of the past, and search for them in the present. We have upheld the ethics of tolerance and non-violence as being characteristic of the Indian past and its civilisation. If there was more tolerance of others in our living and thinking today, and a greater effort to value ethics in our actions, we could claim some presence of these values. But their lack of visibility and practice, as in current times, suggests their absence.
Romila Thapar wants young Indians to put human values over personal gain Naveen Kishore
Romila Thapar’s message to a young India on Independence Day?
Aspiring to money and power at the cost of human values may appear to bring success, but eventually it inevitably brings failure.
