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Journalism of Courage
V.S. Srinivasa Sastri
Mohan Ramanan
Sahitya Akademi, Rs 130
As the moderate politician and scholar Srinivasa Sastri lay terminally ill in hospital in 1946, his friend and political opponent Mahatma Gandhi visited him. The dying Sastri looked at the Mahatma, and recited a Sanskrit sloka, which meant that if somebody has not seen Rama, or been seen by Rama, he was open to all criticism. Except, for Rama, Sastri substituted Gandhi.
Sastri was born in a poor family in Madras province, and through sheer brilliance and effort rose to become a headmaster and teacher of English. He came under the influence of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the pre-eminent leader of the Congress. He joined Gokhale8217;s Servants of India Society, assisting him in all his public work. Upon Gokhale8217;s death, he became the president of the society, serving till his own death. Like his mentor, Sastri belonged to the moderate wing of the Congress, and broke with the party after it decided to boycott the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. He provided evidence on responsible government in London, and privately helped Montagu also.
Ramanan sheds light on a now-forgotten aspect of Sastri8217;s life 8212; the role he played in securing the rights of Indians in South Africa. Sastri was a member of the Indian delegation to the 1926 Conference with South Africa, which committed the South African government to improve the lot of Indians. He was persuaded by the Indian government and Gandhi to become the Indian agent in South Africa, a job he did with integrity and commitment. Sastri was elected both to the Madras Legislature and the Central Legislature. Sastri opposed the non-cooperation movement and attended the constitutional talks in London. Among all these activities, Sastri still found time to quietly edit Mahadev Desai8217;s translation of Gandhi8217;s autobiography, a fact the Mahatma was unaware of for a while.
Sastri was a prolific writer of letters, articles, pamphlets, and books. His biography of the firebrand Pherozshah Mehta, and his sketch of Gokhale are closely-argued and well-documented pieces of writing, which can even today be read with great value. Sastri is today noticed largely for his lectures on the Ramayana 8212; they were possibly the first attempt to treat Rama as a human being, rather than as a god only. Ramanan has also brought to light two interesting aspects of Sastri8217;s thought. In the Kamala Lectures of 1926, Sastri was the first to speak in India of a citizen having not only rights, but also duties 8212; a good 30 years before the Indian Constitution was framed. For someone who is tarred as being 8220;conservative8221;, it is startling to read how radical his views on the role of women were.
Sastri was politically a moderate all his life, and opposed Gandhi8217;s anti-British mass movements, believing that they would lead to anarchy. Yet, he never questioned his motives, and always spoke and wrote of the Mahatma with the greatest respect. Sastri exemplified a value that has vanished 8212; that it is possible for honourable men to oppose each other, without becoming enemies.
