Catherine Clement,French philosopher,feminist and the author of Edwina and Nehru,says Congress president Sonia Gandhi was not shocked at all with Clements novel in 1993 and cant understand why her government didnt back Universal Studios film based on the same relationship between Indias first prime minister and the wife of Lord Mountbatten,the countrys last viceroy. The Edwina-Nehru affair had become the subject of renewed interest in India when Universal Studios announced a film based on British historian Alex Von Tunzelmanns book,The Indian Summer. But last month,the proposed film had to be shelved,ostensibly due to spiralling costs but the real reason,reports alleged,was that the Congress government was uncomfortable projecting any image of Nehru other than that of a statesman and wanted changes in the script. The government,though,denied any censorship. I havent read the book but I dont understand why the government wont allow the movie to be shot. Why should they object to the truth? Clement,71,told Indian journalists in Paris last week. Clement first visited India in 1983 to prepare for the Year of India in France in 1985 and later with her husband Andre Lewin,who was French Ambassador to India between September 1987 and February 1991. Even after the couple left for Vienna,where Lewin was posted after his India assignment,Clement visited India frequently as part of her work with the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. I met Sonia Gandhi several times and when my book was out,gave her a copy of it. The next time I saw her,she said the book was fine. The Edwina-Nehru relationship was never a secret. Its a magnificent love story. This is not a sex scandal, she said. Clement says the first time she read about the affair was in Winston Churchills biography by William Manchester. The book had three to four pages devoted to the affair. It quoted extensively from one extraordinary letter that Edwina wrote to Lord Mountbatten which said that her love for Nehru was mostly platonic. That means,it wasnt always platonic. Clement said she began working on her book as soon as she and her husband moved to Vienna. I started writing during the summer of 1991. I was sad to leave India and the book was probably one way to remain in the country, she said. Khushwant Singh released the novel in India in 1995 and she remembers how,at the book release function,an old man in the back row put up his hand and said something about how foreigners shouldnt be writing unsubstantiated stories about Indian leaders. Khushwant Singh told the man that he had seen Edwina in Nehrus arms on a London street. Singh was then the press attaché at the Indian embassy in London. Edwina is said to have been so happy to see Nehru that she came rushing out in her gown. Clement is the author of several books on India,including La Princesse Mendiante (on Mirabai) and Le Roman du Taj Mahal. She will be in India next month for Bonjour India,a three-month festival of France that will feature more than 100 events and 250 artists across 18 cities. Clement,who is one of the scientific advisers for the event,will be part of several literary debates and dialogues.
