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Painting a grim representation of modern India, erstwhile West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi warned that "anger, retaliation and vendetta" present predominate nationalist discourse.
Speaking astatine the ongoing 19th variation of Jaipur Literature Festival connected Thursday (January 15, 2026), helium remarked that the prevailing temper successful the state is marked by "demands for apologies and restitution".
"Today, the ascendant emotion successful India is choler and retaliation. That was not truthful a procreation oregon 2 ago. The tendency to astir travel to blows with the adversary has go a defining emotion," said the writer of 'The Undying Light: A Personal History of Independent India', with a consciousness of quiescent urgency.
The 80-year-old noted that newspapers, with their predominant usage of the connection "slam", bespeak this displacement — underlining that "slam, on with scam and spam, are the 3 cardinal words of our times".
"The connection you work astir often is 'slam' — 'Mamata slams Amit Shah', 'Amit Shah slams Mamata', 'TMC slams Congress', 'Congress slams BJP'. Slam, slam, slam... If 'slam' were an entity of sale, it would beryllium 1 of the fastest-moving products today," helium said to a packed audience, galore of whom applauded and nodded successful agreement.
Mr. Gandhi further warned that "vengeance and hatred are cousins", and that animosity has emerged arsenic a readily marketable commodity successful the arena of nationalist sentiment and sentiment making.
The erstwhile West Bengal Governor said that successful the marketplace of nationalist opinion, the "biggest commodity connected merchantability is hatred, spite and animosity".
"The Hindi connection 'badla' has go different connection that we perceive precise commonly present — 'hum badla lenge, badla lenge'," helium added. “But beyond the vocabulary dominating headlines, what has been mislaid is honesty, apology, and forgiveness successful some nationalist and idiosyncratic discourse,” Mr. Gandhi opined.
“When did we past perceive idiosyncratic say, ‘I made a mistake’? An honorable mistake. Mistakes are made each the time, but precise fewer admit them. And however agelong agone is it that we heard idiosyncratic say, 'I forgive you'? I can't retrieve that being said successful caller times. Forgiveness is simply a known emotion, yet contiguous it is astir regarded arsenic naïve (bhola),” said the erstwhile diplomat. He added that successful modern society, being 'bhola' is often viewed arsenic a weakness.
Drawing connected history, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari, noted that apology and atonement are marks of strength, not weakness.
"Emperor Ashoka, aft sidesplitting innocents, said, 'I person made a mistake. I apologise.' He did not disband the Army oregon abdicate — helium remained a beardown emperor. But helium was honorable with himself." He cited modern examples arsenic well: "A (former) Prime Minister of Australia apologised to the Aboriginal people. Japan's Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi apologised to the countries Japan harmed during the Second World War. And German Chancellor, Willy Brandt, fell to his knees successful Warsaw and apologised. All these were beardown leaders. Honesty, apology, atonement — these are not signs of weakness." "That is missing successful our state today. That is missing successful the satellite today. I bash not person to springiness examples. We cognize that. We cognize that each excessively well," Mr. Gandhi concluded.
The five-day literate festival volition big much than 350 celebrated authors and scholars, including Booker Prize victor Banu Mushtaq, chess fable Viswanathan Anand, British histrion and writer Stephen Fry, Sahitya Akademi Award victor Anuradha Roy, seasoned movie professional Bhawana Somaaya, and authors Manu Joseph, Ruchir Joshi, and KR Meera. The festival volition reason connected January 19, 2026.
