Ramachandra Guha fully deserves Rajyotsava Award, critics wrong in questioning his facility with Kannada

Ramachandra Guha was invited to speak about Mahatma Gandhi at the Culture Camp , Ninasam, Heggodu on 2 October, 2017. He called it his attempt to introduce Gandhi to the new generation. After the lecture, an interaction was organised with Guha for the participants of the culture camp. Well known Kannada critic D S Nagabhushana was asked to initiate the question answer session. He asked the questions in Kannada. Guha’s answers in English were not satisfactory to Nagabhushana. After returning from the camp, Nagabhushana sent a long mail to Guha going into details of the issues raised at the camp. Guha replied.

What followed in the next four days was an exchange of 14 pages of debate. At the end of it they became friends and Nagabhushana went on to publish the mails and said this of Guha: “The one aspect that deeply touched me was that a well-known historian like Guha showed enough interest to get into a dialogue with an non-entity like me, that too in my broken English and at the end put aside all his fame and accepted that with all his expertise there were things that were beyond his knowledge. That humbleness won me over.”

In a strange coincidence, this year both, Ramachandra Guha and D S Nagabhushana, were among the 60 who received the Rajyotsava award . While only congratulatory notes poured over for Nagabhushana, there was a divide in the Kannada population with one section criticising Ramachandra Guha not knowing Kannada and the fact that he was honoured. The other section defended him to the teeth adding that the historian’s contribution to the state undoubtedly deserves not just Rajyotsava but much more.

Guha has always claimed to be a proud Kannadiga. He represents Karnataka and the state is equally proud to claim him. He responds to all issues concerning the state, be it cultural or political. He is even described as the conscience keeper of the Kannadigas. Guha has claimed, on several occasions, that his favourite personality in Karnataka is Dr Shivarama Karanth and that he is greatly influenced by Karanth. The cultural and emotional relationship Guha has with Karnataka goes beyond the language politics. A Rajyotsava award for him is long overdue.

But on the flip side, for someone who has lived in a place for over 20 years how difficult is it to learn the local language? When Guha was asked this question at the Heggodu seminar, he had answered that when he arrived in Bengaluru he was already 40. It was too late to pick up a new language, he had said. But he is not without roots anyway, he knows Hindi very well. So he is well versed with the language of the street.

None of that mattered to people who criticised him on the social media. They asked how someone who is so eloquent arguing about regionalism versus nationalism and its consequences can claim it is not necessary to learn the language of the region. They said it is not acceptable for an intellectual to claim inability to learn the local language.

They said Guha quotes only U R Ananathamurthy, Girish Karnad and D R Nagaraj and ignores other literary giants like P Lankesh, Poornachandra Tejasvi, K V Subbanna, Chandrashekhara Kambara, Devanura Mahadeva. Nagabhushana called it a ‘cultural crime’ of the ‘dear frog in the English well.’ In fact in one of the seminars Guha defended his stand stating “goddess Saraswathi has given birth to English too!” But that baby was born in England and not in Karnataka and Rajyotsava awards are given here. Should that be the mandate for the award?

While to some the reasons that he gave for not learning Kannada seemed childish, a large number also defended that one should not attach morality to knowing or not knowing a language. To test a person’s language capabilities and judging him on that basis seems an intrusion into their privacy. That is actually, in a sense, as bad as imposing Hindi on the populace. If we are opposing imposition of Hindi, why make an exception for Kannada?

But then Guha is living in Karnataka and like Kuntady Nitesh (who runs online portals like KeliKatheya , Adiga Angala and Ruthumana , which also published the Kannada translation of Guha and Nagabhushana’s emails) posted on his Facebook wall and claimed that he “has every right to question Guha’s intent to not learn a language of the land where he lives.”

This is questionable. Nobody has the right to question anybody’s personal choices and especially link it to question a prestigious award given by the state government.

Guha has a column in a popular Kannada newspaper Prajavani. It is called Guhankana and it is undoubtedly good. It discusses various issues concerning the state and the nation. Majority of people in Karnataka think Guha writes it originally in Kannada. Actually it is in English and the paper translates it. There is a huge following for Guhankana and nobody has ever questioned Guha’s ‘Kannadaness’. As far as readers are concerned ‘he is one of us.’ Otherwise also he is one of us.

The other ‘angle’ being ’explored’ by some is that the BJP lodged a complaint with the police against Guha for his statement alleging that right wing extremists had a hand in journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh’s murder. BJP and RSS went all out to condemn him. For the ruling Congress may be it was a way of countering the allegation. They honoured him.

It could be a political move to make the best of the situation. But in fact, Guha has also criticised the Congress. Guha has often targetted and criticised Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and has repeatedly said that “this family should go.” He is as straight in his criticism of Congress as he is about the BJP.

In fact, he is honest to the core in his brutally frank comments and it has earned him lot of enemies. He can only be placed next to U R Ananthamurthy in courting controversies. If BJP thought a case would cow him down they don’t know him at all. At the Bangalore Literature Festival last week, I heard two men walking towards the stage where Guha was to deliver his speech commenting between them “will Guha’s speech lack lustre?” Not at all.

The debate about Guha being conferred the Rajyotsava award despite not knowing Kannada is miniscule. Does it make any difference to Guha? None. May be he will enjoy and chuckle at this small number on social media fighting for and against him. To the lakhs of Kannadigas across the state who read his column in Kannada and agree with his thoughts, it is time to celebrate.

That in a nutshell captures the sense with which Guha responded to the Kannada flag issue on twitter. “The Karnataka flag is not ‘official’ yet widely used and appreciated. Citizenship is about citizens before it is about governments.”

A Rajyotsava award is about significant contribution to Karnataka. It’s not about knowing the language. Ramachandra Guha stands tall when measured against the first aspect. I congratulate him.

The author is a Kannada poet, screenwriter and journalist.