P Kharel

In these days of assertive identity, words like assimilation, integration and melting pot seem to be in less use because some people fear that the slightest of insensitivity could rub the nerves of individuals and sections the wrong way. Both the acclaimed figures were from democracies — one who first hailed from the United Kingdom, known to many as the mother of parliaments — and India, which prides in claims to be the world’s “largest” democracy on the strength of being the most populous nation with a multiparty political system.

Individual sense of pride can be a burden of a torment turning a raging anger. You can’t just smear away the lost years and deprived opportunities. John le Carre and Maqbool Fida Hussein were the two famous names in the UK and India, who, in deep sense of despair, opted for quietly becoming the citizens of other nations toward the very end of their illustrious lives. The duo’s drastic decisions generated jolts that should offer lessons as to where their governments might have gone wrong and compel attention to the sensitivities of anguished souls’ faith in their respective political systems.

What put them off
Acute despair over the state of affairs in their countries were apparently the reasons that put them off to the extent of taking unusual steps, saddening many of the former fellow citizens who shared the two celebrities’ success stories with great relish.

David John Moore Cornwell in real life but widely known by the pen name John Le Carre to his huge fan following, he died an Irish citizen. Similarly, Hussein died a Qatari underscoring the need for governments in the two countries to make self-appraisals as to the discrepancies and disorder in their existing policies might have harboured. It was mind-jolting that some members of their own fraternity took the steps clearly out of unbearable personal pain.

To reiterate, the celebrated figures abandoned the citizenships of the countries where they grew, succeeded and prospered for so many decades. Their decisions to give up the nations they served for almost the whole of their lives and careers signalled the need for both Britain and India to take serious note of events. Both felt betrayed. Le Carre on account of Brexit, and Hussein because of a spate of criticisms his nude works on Hindi deities felt disturbingly isolated. The lesson applies to other governments as well.

Le Carré’s decision to die as an Irish citizen was his way of defying Britain’s exit from the European Union, which the “greatest” author of the thriller genre that steered him to the classic literary height, missed deeply. Brexit, to him, represented a highly reactionary interpretation of “belonging”. The author’s connection with the Irish Republic was via his mother’s nation of origin.
Likewise, one of the most celebrated painters in India for decades, Moqbool Hussein, too, felt humiliated by the treatment he received after the nude paintings he created of Hindu deities in 1996. This part of his work attracted strong criticisms year after year from sections of India’s Hindu communities. He was reviled by some sections. With some 30,000 paintings to his credit, Hussein became a Qatari citizen.

For relatively exceptional long innings, the duo made their fellow Britons and Indians proud of their works — Le Carre as a classic spy pen and Hussein with his noted paint and brush. They represented two different cultures and backgrounds, yet they took similar drastic steps in the autumn of their lives.
The autumn of their lives did not cruise as smoothly as any civilised society should have ensured. So the tall figure of English letters and prominent painter of international repute preferred to belong to countries other than the ones they first opened their eyes in. Born in India in 1915, Hussein died in 2011 at age 96, whereas Le Carre, born in England in 1931, breathed his last in 2020 at age 89.

Invisible identity can clash with injustice, generating grievance and conflict. Social environment, cultural legacy, political habits and economic conditions guide state governance and individual decisions. Functioning of citizenship, political parties, business establishments and national outlook are equally important factors affecting the outcomes of handling of state structures and social outlook.

For much of their lives, the duo made their fellow Britons and Indians proud of their works. In the end, Le Carre died an Irish national while Hussein died a Qatari compelling Britons and Indians to make self-assessments as to what went wrong with their existing policies that some of their own decided to obtain citizenship elsewhere.

Sensitivity involved
Assertion of invisible identity can become a big source of injustice, grievance and conflict. Social environment, cultural contexts, political habits and economic conditions are among the major factors that guide governance. Functioning of citizenship, political parties, business establishments and national outlook are among the equally important aspects affecting individual and institutional reactions.

Community identity and national integration entail a complex series of issues. In many instances, individual social units and individuals can’t bear what they see and feel as being ignored, stalked or wronged. Take the case of the British royalty’s constant fear, which is an outcome of also institutional tradition, individual identity crisis and consequential crises. The situation calls for a carefully charted course.

American presidents do not hesitate to make remarks on vast numbers of issues involving other places and their practices; not necessarily so when things focus on home ground. They have their own “sensitivities” to cope with. Barack Obama, the first Black to become the president of the United States, spoke basically what the language of the dominant class, colour and creed were comfortable with.

To cut a long story short, the two famous names — Le Carre and Hussein — from the world of literature and art bring into sharp focus the fervour for identity and belonging.. Personal pain was too overpowering to submit themselves to the changed circumstances they saw as regrettable.

(Professor Kharel specialises in political communication.)