I have been writing a series of columns, titled The Long View, for the New York Times' India Ink blog. The Long View examines Indian current events through the telephoto lens of history, relying on primary sources to establish context and precedent for many of today's news. (This would be a good place to say: If you have an idea for a Long View, do please leave a comment below!)
Here are the first three installments of The Long View --
On Sonia Gandhi's mysterious illness:
In this, Sonia Gandhi appeared to be following in an established tradition, by which Indian political leaders guard news of their health as if it were a state secret. Not for them the publicly fought battles of Rudy Giuliani against his prostate cancer, of Dick Cheney against his troublesome heart, or of Hugo Chavez against his recent pelvic abscess. Even the example of Mahatma Gandhi — who let it all hang out, often greeting his ashram’s residents with updates about his bowel movements — is an aberration in Indian politics. The health bulletins that Mr. Gandhi issued during his various imprisonments and protest fasts may have been tools of political leverage, but they were also ways to reach out to a population that loved him deeply.
On how the renaming of West Bengal as Paschimbongo validates a colonial decision:
The choice of “Paschimbanga” has been puzzled over, since it is simply a near-direct translation of “West Bengal.” The name defines the state in opposition to an “East Bengal” that no longer exists, that is now the country of Bangladesh. In retaining this geopolitical marker, Paschimbanga appears to have validated, rather than reversed, a colonial decision: the halving of the state of Bengal, which occurred first not in 1947, during the partition of India, but in 1905.
At the time, united Bengal straggled over much of east India, with a population — of roughly 84 million — greater than that of present-day France. The viceroy of India between 1898 and 1905, Lord Curzon, thought a Bengal of that size too dif
