The Life and Times of George Fernandes

In this episode, I am in conversation with Rahul Ramagundam to talk about his book, ‘The Life and Times of George Fernandes’.

George was a rare individual in politics, who did not care about his self-image or about leaving behind a legacy. His life was his legacy. In 1984, in a note exchanged with Jaya Jaitly, he writes, “There is a commitment to a cause that is much bigger than ourselves, howsoever hopeless that cause may look, and howsoever inadequate we may appear to be in fighting that cause—the cause of remaking our country”- a statement that reflects how his only commitment is to ‘remaking our country’.

A photograph of George “with a defiant fist of a shackled hand raised above the proud bespectacled face, jaw clenched, beads of perspiration trickling down his forehead, veins standing out on his throat” taken when he was held by the police during Emergency symbolised his iron-will to protect the nation from sliding into a dictatorship. That image also motivated Rahul Ramagundam to write a biography of George, which took him 12 years. His book is a superb biography which reads like a novel tracing the trajectory of Indian politics post-Independence. More specifically, this book narrates the complex story of the Socialist Party in many forms till its demise in 1977. The author writes, “Now, it can be said, safely perhaps and with impeccable historical hindsight, that the fate of the political organization, founded in 1934 and annihilated in 1977, was doomed at its very genesis. The ideological choices that it made, the political trajectory it took, the power games that it so ambitiously unfolded, had just one end and that was its end. Of course, between what was founded in 1934 and what went bust in 1977, two years before the death of its veteran leader JP (in that sense, it was with JP that the party was born and died), there were a series of tragic mishaps that define socialism in India”. 

George was a man of action, around the clock. Madhu Dandavate called him an “impulsive leader who crossed reasonable limits all the time”. But he holds many other qualities. Narrating about George’s role in the trade union movement, Rahul writes, “Aggression, commitment and dedication would be staples on which he would build one success after another. His passionate commitment, his sharp oratory, his diligence, unmindful of personal comfort, all drew municipal workers in a body, undivided by primordial loyalties or professional categories. Within a very short time, with an iron-hot determination, by overcoming their constricting categories, he succeeded in welding a disparate municipal workforce into one dedicated organization. Nothing could stop him any more, not even the challenging condition of massive unemployment”. He was someone who “revelled in action soaked in the swear of the working people”. George was also not someone who wasted his time on ideological debates but was more focused on creating an impact for his people. He was not a ‘static’ politician, but someone who responded to changing times.

In this episode, Rahul Ramagundam discusses the complex story of George Fernandes, his socialist party, Indira Gandhi’s Emergency, his relationship with his wife, his role as a cabinet minister, and his religion. We also discuss the trials and tribulations of a biographer in India- the journey of Rahul Ramagundam in trying to access a variety of sources and the importance of sorting and making archives available easily for researchers. 

References: 

The Dream of a Revolution: A Biography of Jayaprakash Narayan by Bimal Prasad and Sujata Prasad 

Books by Rahul Ramagundam: The Life and Times of George Fernandes (2022), Including the Socially Excluded: India’s Experience with Caste, Gender and Poverty (2017) and Gandhi’s Khadi: A History of Contention and Conciliation (2008)

Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World by Ramachandra Guha

Gandhi as Mahatma: Gorakhpur District, Eastern UP, 1921-2 by Shahid Amin, Subaltern Studies Volume- III

Works in Progress: A Struggle to Publish BR Ambedkar’s Writing by Aathira Konikkara

In Pursuit of Ambedkar: A Memoir by Bhagwan Das

The Great Indian Coalition: What the Mahagathbandhan leaders can learn from Ram Manohar Lohia by Akshaya Mukul

Chaudhuri Charan Singh: An Indian Political Life by Paul R Brass

Paul R Brass: An Indian political life: Charan Singh and Congress Politics (Volume 1,2,3)

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