Rare are people of integrity and compassion | Humra Quraishi

2nd January 2025

As Khushwant Singh and I put together his book ‘Absolute Khushwant’ (Pengiun, 2010 ), where he spoke and I wrote, he spoke in great detail about the various personalities and politicians he’d met all through his life. When he spoke about Dr. Manmohan Singh he, of course, focused on his calibre as an economist, his outstanding contribution, bringing the country’s economy on the path of economic progress. Khushwant had also highlighted Dr Manmohan Singh’s simplicity and integrity.

Let me quote these relevant paragraphs on Dr. Manmohan Singh from this book: “…He is also very humble and simple. He grew up in a small village in a family of very modest means and struggled to get an education. Initially his ambition was only to be a college professor, find a small flat and settle in Chandigarh. Then chance changed the course of his life and took him to Cambridge and Oxford, the UN and the highest positions in India’s financial institutions; and now he is prime minister. But he remained grounded.”

Khushwnt detailed much more, “I really got to know him at the election he lost from South Delhi, This was in 1999. I was surprised and impressed because his son-in-law, whom my family knew, came to borrow some money – just two lakhs – to hire taxis that were needed for the campaigning. That they didn’t even have that much to spare! I gave the money, in cash ... Only days after he lost the elections, Manmohan Singh called me himself and asked for an appointment. He came to see me with a packet. ‘I haven’t used the money,’ he said and handed me the packet with all the cash I had given his son-in-law. That kind of thing no politician would do! …When people talk of integrity, I say the best example is the man who occupies the highest office.” ( significant to point out that when this particular book was published in 2010, Dr Manmohan Singh was the prime minister of the country.)

WHERE ARE THOSE BOLLYWOOD ACTORS WHO PLAYED FARMER ROLES TO FAME!

Where are the Bollywood stars who played the role of farmers! I do realize they were make-believe portrayals, more along the fairy tale strain. What, with them singing and dancing in and around lush green fields and meadows and forests, if not bathing in the various streams and rivers and village ponds!

As those countless filmi characters gained popularity because of their farmer roles, so they ought to come up with a word or two on today’s farmers and their ongoing struggles and plight. Yes, if particular Bollywood stars could go up the graph by the farmer portrayals in the village and rural locales, then this is the time to stand up in solidarity with the farmers of the country.

Today several actors and actresses own farms and farm lands, yet they do not speak out about the ground realities that the farmers face. Strange and bizarre, the way they flaunt their farms and yet keep shut about the farmer’s long standing demands and dues and the struggles they face, leading to suicides and deaths and a life riddled with challenges and financial strains. Ironical, the farmer who feeds us is himself facing acute hardships, struggling to make two ends meet; coping with the burden of loans, battling sarkari onslaughts.

Yes, it’s more than disappointing that none of the Bollywood stars have come forward and spoken out. Why? Is this because they have little time or the required inclination or are they more than worried about the reactions of the political rulers of the day and the machinery under their control?

I’m stating this because though many prominent poets, academics and intellectuals of the country did speak out against the Gujarat pogrom of 2002, but Bollywood had even then more than disappointed. Few dared to speak out against the communal killings and carnage. Why didn’t the big names and surnames and bigger banners of Bollywood take on the political rulers of Gujarat? Their answer was as stark as this: If we had reached out to the dying and near-dying victims of the pogrom, we would have been in the ‘bad books’ of the government and our films would be targeted and we would have been ruined!

The grim fact is this: Bollywood’s top actors, directors and producers rarely come up with any possible criticism of any of the upheavals, big or small, taking place in the country. Probably they want to safeguard their careers! Writ large the communally surcharged disasters spreading out in the country but Bollywood’s creamy top layer sits too quiet!

Thankfully there existed sensitive-passionate poets who wrote from their heart and soul, unbothered by the politicians and political aftermath.

Do ponder on this particular verse of Sahir Ludhianvi:

If there is a reason for my angry songs, it is this
That is when I see the hungry farmers
The poor, the oppressed, the destitute, the helpless
My heart cannot participate in assemblies of pleasure
Even if I wish, I cannot write dreamy songs of love.