Speakers: John Kampfner, Anne Applebaum, Meghnad Desai, Steve Coll, Niall Ferguson

Journalist Tarun Tejpal started with a brief summary of two major stories his magazine, Tehelka, covered in this context: one was a report on jailed Maoist Dr Binayak Sen, and the other, The Rape Testimonies, focused on foreign women travellers who were raped by policemen in Maoist-infested areas of India. Each of them testified, but till date, no action has been taken against the perpetrators of the crimes. Tejpal also briefly touched upon what he termed “draconian” laws like the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), which he stressed must be done away with in order to prevent human rights violations in India in the future. John Kampfner spoke next, outlining why he set out to write a book on the correlation between rising consumerism and diminishing freedom; Kampfner used eight countries as models to illustrate his theory. Kampfner maintained that there needed to be a redefining of freedom, between public freedom — freedom of the press, of public expression — and private freedom. By private freedom, he referred to the choice “to lead an atomised life, as you wish. Freedom to make and spend your money.” For the majority, he said, “these private freedoms suffice”.

The next speaker, Anne Applebaum, is writing a book on the 1940s and 50s, based in Central Europe. “In this period, most people began to struggle for their own families,” she said. “In Russia [for example], you have a very particular kind of wealth; state-controlled, no entrepreneurial growth. In countries where the state maintains economic control, there is little choice or opportunity for change.” Applebaum particularly

disagreed with Kampfner’s premise that rising consumerism was killing off freedom, even in non-totalitarian-regime-ruled states. “I don’t see the connection between wealth and loss of freedom,” she said, contradicting Kampfner’s premise that “consumers provide the ultimate anaesthetic for comfort.”
Niall Ferguson, who was at Oxford with Kampfner, said the sample size of countries was minuscule, and disagreed with his Oxonian mate that ”capitalism is against freedom. People abandoned individual freedom altogether to create totalitarian regimes. In order to become oligarchs, people are willing to make trade-offs…. As long as there or less autonomous institutions, then freedom will flourish. Freedom of thought is needed to produce, for example, a Google.”

Lord Meghnad Desai spoke “strictly in my capacity as a legislator.” He said many more violations were coming to light “because we have far better instruments of dissemination now. The UK Parliament is subject to the EU code of human rights. Again and again, the rights of terrorists have been staunchly debated by the House if Lords. We wanted to make sure the govt had a proper case when they wanted to incarcerate even a terrorists.” Desai said the final test lay in protecting the rights of those who perpetrate evil. “That’s the ultimate test of a democracy.”He also opposed the consumerism-against-freedom hypothesis. “Consumerism is not the opium of the masses. We’re actually advancing inch by inch in our fight for human rights. I think you’re not old enough to be despairing; and neither am I.”
Coll also commented on freedom in America, post the 9/11 Pentagon and twin-tower attacks. “What is the nature of terrorism and how does one survive in an environment of insecurity?” And India, where “there are very few instances where people are afraid to speak, even where the state has perpetrated extra-judicial actions. There is a pervasive culture of redress.”

In one of the first discussions in the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival, the two guests were prominent in their separate ideas about the manifestation of Gods in literature and in contemporary culture as a whole. However, they rarely engaged with one another in debate, leaving Vajpeyi to attempt to instigate an argument that, although present beneath the ideas, was never realized. In response to the question of the identity of Gods,

Calasso focused on the human condition stating that there was a distinct difference between those who recognize the “numan” (the divine) and those who don’t, and stated that ‘the Gods might get bored of us, and retire to another place’. When directed with the same question, Pattanaik was more methodical in his answer, stating that the specific identity of the Gods is strongly subjective to individual cultures, going on to state that the Gods were ‘an idea…a notion of perfection’. Pattanaik stated that on a fundamental human level, we have always ‘looked for meaning’, but that today, we find it in a ‘mobile phone and a Mercedes’, instead of in a ‘ritual or chant’. Pattanaik was arguing that it is forms that change, and gave the example of the recent death of Michael Jackson as a contemporary style of ritual – the celebration of a God. Specifying the question of modernity, Vajpeyi then asked the two about the internet, and its relation to the issue of the Gods. Calasso responded that the mind was ‘the God before the Gods’, and that the internet, as the vast collection of human minds, along with the modern improvements in worldwide literacy was an enormous revolution, but prospectively ‘a dangerous one’. Pattaniak stated that both the internet and the Gods are accesses to infinity, but ones which humans must experience individually.

Three authors with different cultural backgrounds and childhood memories led a contemplative discussion about how childhood stories have influenced their writings. Sadia Shepherd introduced the morning event by stating that they would explore how ‘the stories you grow up with as children shape us as authors.’ Each read a short extract from a book of their own that they felt reflected the heading ‘coming of age’ Jaspreet Singh defined childhood as, ‘one of the most ignored areas’ He employed the child’s perspective in his story ‘17 Tomatoes’ to add a sense of lightness to his somewhat heavy subject-the location of Kashmir, this method had been previously explored by Italo Calvino who Jaspreet Singh said he was most influenced by. In contrast Esther Freud

used her childhood memories to make sense and decipher her childhood as an adult. As Ali Sethi said, ‘a child’s perspective can renew the world for an adult.’ The coming of age process was also defined negatively as Ali Seth said, you ‘realize the world is more horrible and dangerous that you could have imagined’. From the often very emotive readings from their respective books it became clear that the juxtaposition of a child narrator read by an adult author was what made this such a fascinating talk.

A comprehensive and good natured debate regarding the issues facing literary criticism. Prolific critical writer, Amitava Kumar began by enforcing the importance of individualism in criticism, stating his admiration for writing which “functions as something of a personal essay.” Drawing focus to contemporary Indian criticism, Amit Chaudhuri stated, “sometimes it seems to me in India, the novel is viewed through the prism of social science concerns.” British writer, Geoff Dyer highlighted the decreasing relevance of reviews suggesting, “a book can be a big hit despite the fact it has been universally panned.” Much attention was paid to form and style. Amitava Kumar and Amit Chaudhuri engaged in a discussion regarding the creative criticism perhaps best encapsulated by Amitav Kumar’s suggestion that, “the writer must identify the point of articulation”, further enforcing the importance of individualization. A question from the floor claming, “the critic is dead!” was immediately denounced by Geoff Dyer as a, “wild claim” and “completely not true”. In parallel to the generality which began the debate, Amit Chaudhuri’s closing statement was that critcism is essentially, “a certain faith in rationality and judgment.”

Jaipur, 21^st January 2010 – The fifth DSC Jaipur Literature Festival was inaugurated in grand style today in the magnificent Diggi Palace. The Durbar Hall was packed with dignitaries and enthusiastic literature lovers who arrived to a fanfare of drumming and singing by Rajasthani musicians. The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival, which is free and accessible to all, has a global reputation as the leading and most exciting literature festival in Asia, as well as the biggest free literature festival in the world. Thousands of people from all over India and the world are expected to gather over the next five days to mingle with writers, film-makers, artists, Ambassadors and royalty of great renown, brought together by a love of literature and its capacity to inspire and entertain.

‘This year’s festival is a true blockbuster, with over 200 speakers and performers including winners of the Nobel Prize Booker and Pulitzer awards.’ Said, Sanjoy Roy, Festival Producer, Teamwork Films

‘It is a great pleasure to sponsor an event which so inspires and invigorates you.’Said Surina Narula, Festival Director, DSC Jaipur Literature Festival 2010.

The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival inauguration concluded with a fascinating reading about some of the greatest Indian poets by the celebrated poet Arvind Krishna Merhotra. A festival rapt audience, who alternated between rapt attention and raucous laughter as Merhotra read from poetry both sacred and profane, saying that ‘God is within, God is within and moreover, there is God to spare.’ He read from his translations of Kabir’s poetry which he did 40 years ago. He also read from Arun Kolatkar writings and called him the greatest Indian Poet.

Festival Director Namita Gokhale, who spoke in a combination of Hindi and English, said ‘The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival mirrors the diversity and plurality of India, and has established itself as a literary Kumbh where a confluence of languages and literatures meet.’ Said, Namita Gokhale.

“Besides showcasing the best of Indian-language and English writing from India, this year the festival will be importing a Nobel laureate, a winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize, two Booker winners and five winners of the Pulitzer prize for literature, as well as leading writers from the world of history, biography, literary criticism, and travel, in addition to the stars of the world of fiction and the novel” saidWilliam Dalrymple, Festival Director, DSC Jaipur Literature Festival 2010.