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‘Young man, any news about Subbaiah?’ Ganapathy called out to Moon who had dozed off on the patio chair, a book on his tummy.
‘No sir,’ he said rubbing his eyes and glancing at his watch. It was 4 pm. ‘There is no telephone here, he may call you.’
‘Oh right, I forgot. What are you reading?’ he said pulling a chair next to him.
‘The Discovery of India,’ Moon said, handing him the book.
‘Very good choice, it was written by our first Prime Minister while he was imprisoned during our freedom movement, it is a classic.’
‘There are too many pages, and I am easily confused by all the names.’
‘Don't worry, read it carefully and you will understand our history, philosophy and culture, you will realize that we are all one race with common roots.’
‘Pakistanis and Indians also must be the same race, but they are different countries now.’
‘That is because of the divide and conquer policy of the British.’
‘Your Prime Minister appears to be following the same policy now. India may be divided again.’
‘That will not happen, the army is already here, I heard thousands of people have been arrested.’
‘How many have been killed so far?’
‘Only around 300.’
‘Only? Sir you are saying it as if more should be killed.’
‘If more are killed it will stop this nonsense.’
‘They are innocent people.’
‘Who told them to go out on the streets and protest? They are rowdies, burning public property and spreading fear. Do you have any idea of the economic loss to India?Everything has come to a standstill, factories, schools, colleges, offices, transport. Many daily wage earners may be starving.’
‘Shouldn't you be blaming the government for this situation?’
‘No, I blame Anna and his party. Even sensible people like Subbaiah have been trapped by their rhetoric. The government is not stopping economic activity. The January agitation cost us almost 5 percent of our domestic product. This time it will be more, if the army does not stop them. We are a poor country and cannot afford it at this stage of our development.’
‘The same logic could have been extended to Gandhi's protests against the British or our fight against the Japanese. I think these agitations are justified.’
‘There is a fundamental difference between freedom fighters and anarchists. I am not against protests, as long as they are peaceful.’
‘I was at Marina Beach for the first meeting which began as a peaceful movement, it was the unprovoked police firing that killed many innocent people.’
‘That is not what I heard. Many protestors attacked the police first.’
‘I was there sir. Nothing of that sort happened.’
‘Did you see the police firing first?’
‘No, I got caught in the stampede, but I heard it.’
‘How can you be sure that they were not attacked first?’
‘Professor Subbaiah told me so, and the newspaper reports also mentioned it.’
‘Newspaper reports, The Hindu, eh? Don't believe everything in that newspaper. They have their own agenda.’
‘What agenda?’
‘I do not know for sure, but I heard that they are giving financial support to Anna's party. It is some kind of an understanding they have. If DMK comes to power, they plan to diversify into other business areas. The traitors, siding with an anti-Brahmin party.’
‘Why do you call them traitors? They may be supporting a cause they believe in? I heard the newspaper played a crucial role in India's freedom struggle.’
‘That is right, but they have now lost their way. Do you know that the family, which owns The Hindu, is Iyengar? How dare they support a political party which wants to drive out Brahmins from Madras?’
‘I believe this fight is against Hindi and not Brahmins.’
‘No, you are mistaken. Hindi is just an excuse, and DMK's political agenda is still driven by anti-Brahmanism.’
A sudden shout from Vijaylaxmi interrupted their conversation. ‘There is phone call for you from Inspector Balasubramanium.’
‘Wonder what he wants?’ Ganapathy said with a frown, his eyelids twittering.
He does look embarrassed, maybe he is a police informer as Professor Subbaiah suspected.
‘Isn't he the same inspector who contacted you when I was injured?
‘Yes, he is my school friend, we grew up together, our families are very close. It may have something to do with his sister's wedding next month.’
Lies. Damn lies.
‘I guess I will try reading Discovery of India without falling asleep.’
‘Yes, you do that. I will check on you later in the evening.’