Pritam's Blog
One Less Battle To Fight
Often on social media, I come across posts from people of my generation ranting about their family members from previous generations - parents and grandparents - being supportive of the right wing fascist regime and how difficult it is for them to cope with it, how frequently they have to confront them, and how they fail to convince them. It is, indeed, very frustrating to see your loved ones believing in something you hate with all your guts.
I think I am luckier that way. Despite being a family that had to bear the brunt of partition, none of my family members ever showed even an iota of support to the idea of a Hindu nation and the political party that thrives on propagating Hindu supremacy in one way or the other. They are a traditional, conservative, Hindu family and their socio-political beliefs and aspirations have many flaws - one of the reasons why I find it difficult to relate to them and maintain my distance with them - but they are not at all the ‘NaMo Namo’ types, if you know what I mean.
My great grandfather, as far as I remember, wasn’t a very politically active person. In his younger days, he was a supporter of Gandhi and even went to jail once. That’s it. For most part of his life later, this youngest son of a rich father was otherwise busy romancing with his wife… and music. I guess I inherited this side of him.
My grandfather, who suffered the most because of the partition, as he had lost everything and had to take the responsibility of his family at a very young age, was a Leftist until his death. In his autobiography, he fondly wrote about his childhood in Bangladesh and how he missed his friend, Faizal or Farukh, I don’t remember the exact name.
He also wrote about what he had to go through because of his ideology. I remember one particular incident. In the 70-80s, he was just a clerk working for the PWD. But Daa was quite an influential man and the ruling Congress government started putting pressure on him to work for their party. He refused. Then the threats started. “We will transfer you to problematic areas…” And he said, “Go ahead.” And they did transfer him. And he went. But they had to transfer him back to his hometown. He was a smart man and there were lots of dependencies on him. The work in his desired location had reached a stalemate after he was transferred. So…
My father, the eldest of my grandfather’s three sons and one daughter, is a proud, mildly casteist Hindu. But even he boasts of being a leftist since he was thirteen. We barely talk because of our differences. But then again, it was him who introduced me to Marxism and I am grateful to him. The ‘Das Kapital’ and Maxim Gorky’s ‘Mother’ that he gifted me back when I was a teenager are something I will treasure till the end of my life.
So, yeah. Despite our differences, this particular side of my family is something I am proud of. But I guess more than pride, it’s a sense of relief. One less battle to fight, you see.