“So long as the constitution is not amended beyond recognition, so long as elections are held regularly and fairly and the ethos of secularism broadly prevails, so long as the citizens can speak and write in the language of their choosing, so long as there is an integrated market and a moderately efficient civil service and army, and….so long as Hindi films are watched and their songs sung, India will survive.”
These are the concluding lines in’ India After Gandhi’ the latest book written by Rama Chandra Guha. I haven’t read the book as yet but this excerpt is from the book review by Mushirul Hasan( vice chancellor of Jamia Milia Islamia New Delhi).
from Vishesh :)
from Reema :)
7 Comments
May 8, 2007 at 4:00 pm
So long as Hindi movies are watched…
OUCH!!!
May 8, 2007 at 5:40 pm
what’s abuot watching Hindi movies?
India will survive as long as there are indians
May 9, 2007 at 8:34 am
Hi Rajiv, Hindi movies are very popular so they are a big uniting force. We have too many diversities here in India and other than cricket Hindi movies are a common passion.
Hi Manas don’t you agree with the impact of Hindi movies on our lives?
May 9, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Well not quite. I have rarely seen Hindi movies talking about ideas. And they do horrible when they talk about India. Just as all staunch nationalists do- divide the world into two parts India and non-India, good and bad.
I dislike political nationalism and oversimplification.
Moreover I dislike this identifying India with Hindi. Kind of lying about the multilingual society we actually are.
May 10, 2007 at 6:09 am
Hindi films are popular with most Indians and non resident Indians and that is why they are a uniting force. They are one common factor among all the diversities that we have. I quite agree with you they fare quite badly, mostly when they talk about nationalism. A handful of them are good although.I don’t identify India with Hindi. We are no doubt a mutilingual society and English plays more of a unifying role.
May 11, 2007 at 1:19 pm
With these caveats in mind, I agree with you.
July 26, 2008 at 6:02 pm
I dont understand how an IDIOT and ‘Behuda’ like Himesh Reshammia could be made a ‘judge’ in a musical competition. He neither has a voice nor any knowledge of music nor any manners. This Himsh, a perfect combinationof monkey ( by his face) and donkey ( by his songs) severely needs hard kick on his buttocks to oust him from this show and should never be allowed even to enter any such show. I doubt the wisdom of the organizers of the show who could think of a donkey like Himesh to be made a judge. I hope they might have by now realised that a’monkey’ is not suitable to be a judge in music competition.