BEING INDIAN: a review
By Pavan K Varma
Viking/Penguin
Price: Rs 325
Pages: 238



Being Indian is a hard-hitting book that asks some mind boggling questions and seeks to answer them with a matching candour. The author, Pavan K. Varma, a distinguished career diplomat, shocks us with his unorthodox analysis of the traits of Indians—their psychology, aspirations, motivations—and have us awed with the sheer sharpness of his observations.

The author demolishes the stereotypes about being an Indian, convincingly and rationally with recourse to anecdotes, facts, citations and his wide experience in the corridors of power.

Are Indians democratic by temperament; are they non-violent; are they spiritual, ‘other worldly’; are they secular and tolerant? It is tempting to answer “Yes”. Mr. Varma, backed by his illuminating reasoning, says “No” to all these posers; and after considering his arguments you will also invariably find yourself agreeing with him.

Sample this argument: Can a people who are cannily attuned to the validity of social hierarchy and status be considered democratic by temperament? Doubtful. Democracy in India has survived and even flourished because it was quickly seen by the masses as the most effective way to upward mobility and for gaining personal wealth and power, not because they harbour any illusions about its ideals.

Mahatma Gandhi, whom the Indians reverentially call the Father of the Nation, won the freedom of the country by relying on ahimsa; so are all Indians peaceful and non-violent? Unlikely, if you consider the number of dowry deaths, torture of undertrials, physical abuse of domestic servants — all acts of bestiality perpetrated by the educated Indians.

Indians are not spiritual people either. How can a nation which calls a trader “mahajan” or great soul, which pervasively worships Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and exalts the pursuit of material well-being, artha, as a principal goal of life be regarded as ‘other worldly’? On the contrary, Indians pursue profit more tenaciously than most.

In the same vein, Indians are no paragon of tolerance. The Hindus are the practitioners of the world’s most rigid system of exclusion in the form of caste system and untouchability against their own members.

To be fair to Mr. Varma, any generalization about India and Indians is bound to be not completely accurate. For such a large country like India with its diversity, she presents a puzzle that can only be solved in grays, not black and white.

But one thing is crystal clear: Indians are power hungry people, and will resort to any means, ethical or not, to attain it. The Indians are extraordinarily sensitive to the calculus of power. They consider the pursuit of power a legitimate end in itself, and display great astuteness in adjusting to, and discovering the focus of power. “Those who renounce the lure of power are worshipped, not because their example is capable of emulation, but in sheer awe of their ability to transcend the irresistible,” says Mr. Varma.

However, two factors will change the mindset of the Indians in the coming years: pan indianness and erosion of the social hierarchies due to democratic process. These changes in tandem with her leadership in IT will bring about a veritable revolution in her social landscape and give her a stake in the global power play. Considering that Indians have a panache for hope and the quality of resilience in the face of adversity, they may well pull their dreams off.

Being Indian reads like a thriller though it is not one. Many myths about Indians keep tumbling out from every page that will hook you till the last sentence. Highly recommended for the foreigners, and also the Indians who want to know about themselves. Honestly.