K.Sachindanandhan’s poem ‘Questions from the Dead : An essay on Nationalism’

Review of  K.Sachindanandhan’s poem ‘Questions from the Dead : An essay on Nationalism’

The poem

(please see the last one of three poems in the link)

I request readers to read his poem from the above link and then my review. Thanks.

Modern poetry, as a genre gives lots of liberty to the creator; he has his freedom in the format. While revisiting the heritage and history the poet successfully has woven questions stressing importance of professionalism in analyzing history. His posers unmask the communal agenda of upstart ‘nationalists’. Out of nearly two dozen pungent queries the following stand out:

Whence came the races that spoke

Dravidian and Aryan tongues? Was there no one in India

when they landed here? Not even a tribal?

Where were the borders of the India of Fahien

and of Al-Biruni? Where was Taxila? Which was

the India Alexander set out to conquer? Which

country did Ashoka and Akbar rule?

When did Earth come to be in the history

of the universe? When did nations come to be

in the history of Earth? How many nations

make a human body? What is the kinship between

human soul and nations’ maps? Did all the births of

Bodhisattva take place in India? How many oceans

are there in each language? How many skies

in winds? How many seasons for love?

Ramila Tapar or many other eminent historians might differ on their approach and analysis of history, but they all agree that ancient history is indeterminate. There is no scope to trace any evidence or lead to establish any school of thought or belief. A neutral and professional approach based on established historical research standards only can give an approximate picture of the nearest possible life and culture of ancient times. Innately ancient times are unwieldy and any analysis can be challenged, which is conveniently used by communal elements for distortion and racist agenda. The following stanza is a wakeup call for the youth to understand that all nations are children of geography and the racist nationalism is the biggest fraud conspired by the power mongers:

My land, I do not loathe you, nor do I worship you.

Had I been born elsewhere I would have lived another

life; I would have needed a passport to enter you.

Voices of sanity and reason will snowball into an immense awakening amongst youth and all the unsavory attempts to hijack history and culture for communal ends will be defeated. India will regain its prestigious pluralistic image. Many writers and intellectuals like K.Sachidanandan give us the hope.