Goodbye Syal fest, see you soon!

Tribune News Service
Amritsar, February 1

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The month-long and first-ever virtual edition of Syal festival by the Majha House culminated with a session by Rajmohan Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson and an art historian. The festival was impregnated with series of literary virtual interactions throughout the month of January.

The final session was dedicated to the death anniversary of the father of the nation and Rajmohan, who is based in the US these days, spoke on the topic of belonging and unbelonging. Talking to Sanjay Hazarika, director of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Rajmohan said this is a very sensitive and deep thought because an individual is not just connected to one city or one country, but our roots are very vast. “If we look at history, we get to know that India was the richest country in the world till 18th Century and people from far-off lands used to come here to get employment or settle here. During the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, there were many people in his court who belonged to various religions. The concept of belonging is very complicated to understand and define for them.”

Referring to Kamala Harris, he said she is half-Indian half-Jamaican, but has lived all her life in the US. “So, how does the concept of belonging apply to her? When India was under the British rule, Indians did not get the feeling of belonging to their own land because they were not respected and were treated badly. Many Indians consider Kashmir as part of the country, but only associate themselves with Kashmiri Pandits and they consider other Kashmiris as separate class,” he explained, adding a passing reference of abrogation of Article 370. “Kashmir has been made a Union Territory by removing Article 370; the spirit of belonging does not come on its own. The idea of one nation, one language, one religion, is completely the opposite to the concept of belonging.”

He also marinated the concept with the ongoing farmer agitation. “The farmers were not consulted at the time of taking the important decision related to the farm laws, which hurt their feeling of belonging. For this reason, they have all come together to tell that this country that leaders cannot be their rulers because they have chosen them. This movement is a manifestation of the spirit of belonging,” Rajmohan said.