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His Excellency, Mr Gopal Krishna Gandhi, in smart formal black tunic (in stark contrast to the Mahatma’s white loin-cloth) speaks as softly and as eloquently as his forebear. Speaking to a mixed audience of Indians, English-speakers and Africans, he reminded them of their common colonial experience under the British.
When the English departed, they left behind much pessimism over the ability of an emerging new nation to handle its own affairs. Their parting gift was “And the best of British luck”, offered with a dubious shake of the head. Yet India had survived initial bloodshed and chaos. In 50 years of independence she had held 11 elections and “is one of the few democracies in the world where the military have minded their own business.” One of the few countries which managed to contain its ethnic and religious differences and to aspire to Mahatma Gandhi’s message of “mutuality and togetherness”.
How had India fared without British bureaucratic know-how and “civilised” government? The basic measure of a nation’s wellbeing, said the grandson softly, was the life expectancy of all its people. When the British left, the average life-expectancy in India was under 30 years. “A person could expect to live only until he was 29!” After 50 years of self-rule, however, life-expectancy had reached 60 years. He was confident this would increase.
But grandson Gandhi voiced no anger, bitterness or disapproval of the empire-builders. It was apparent that he treated his second language - English - as if it were his first. “He has an outstanding background in English-literature” an Indian admirer had told Guy. “Young Gandhi’s first novel is in English. He has written plays and poetry in English.”
“Does he speak it as eloquently as you?” Guy asked his informant, who had the voice and manner of a proper English gentleman. His informant smiled.
[What on Earth is 'Guy' doing in this piece? The original was non-fiction, a column I think, about the visiting diplomat, Gandhi, to Pretoria in the 1990s. . . now it is fodder for the proposed novel 'Around the World in Search of Something on the Tip of Your Tongue, it seems (See Books).
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