‘I may never write fiction’

Guha’s connection with Bengal goes beyond his very Bengali surname ( Bengali’s promptly assume me to be one of them because of my surname”). Kolkata is the city where he started his career. “My first job was at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences. I did my doctoral studies at the Indian Institute of Management. Though I stayed in Joka,I would visit the city every week. I had my intellectual awakening in this city. So,my bond with the city is an old and an affectionate one,” says Guha.

The seed of Makers of Modern India was sown about 15 years ago. That’s when Guha was working on his book India after Gandhi. “That’s when I was acquainted with a host of other thinkers and leaders who in many ways shaped our nation. Some where in the forefront,some weren’t. Modern India is unusual in having so many politicians who were also original political thinkers,” says Guha.

The book is an anthology of writings of political and social leaders who explore and analyse issues like gender,caste,religion and nationalism. “I have included figures like Rammohan Roy who was perhaps the first Indian thinker to seriously engage the topic of Westernization. I have also included Hamid Dalwai who was little known in his lifetime and has been forgotten since. He talked about changing the attitudes of Indian Muslims towards democracy and modernism,” says Guha.

Amongst other thinkers,there are also the strong and distinctive voices of little known woman leaders like Tarabai Shinde-a subaltern feminist from Maharashtra-and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay-one of the pioneers of the feminist movement in India. “I have included Tarabai Shinde in this anthology mainly because of the literary quality and political resonance of the only she published. Tarabai demanded equality and parity between men and women in mid 19th century. Her amazingly confident voice is something we cannot afford to forget,” says Guha.

Guha knows that many might have problems with the inclusion and indeed exclusion of thinkers in this book. “But I couldn’t possibly have included all the leaders who had a role in shaping our country. Which is why I invite others to bring out such anthologies too,” smiles Guha.