An unsung iconoclast

SHABDAVALI: VALLEY OF WORDS

- SANJEEV CHOPRA

Although Jannayak Karpoori Thakur received the long-overdue Bharat Ratna on the Republic Day earlier this year (along with ex-Deputy Prime Ministers Charan Singh and L.K. Advani), not much has been written about him in the English language press, which for some odd reason has appropriated to itself the mantle of being called 'the national press'. Even after the three Bharat Ratnas were announced, the coverage was the highest for L.K. Advani, followed by Charan Singh, with Thakur at the tail end. True, Advani lives in Lutyens' Delhi, Charan Singh lived within a hundred miles from the India Gate, and Karpoori Thakur belonged to the faraway land of Bihar, still one of India's most backward states with a very large percentage of backward caste population. This socialist icon was not part of the elite; he came from a humble background and had his ear to the ground. His politics impacted the rural more than the urban—but to my mind, the main reason for his marginalization was his staunch opposition to English. Those who wrote in English—be they from the left or the right—found 'space' in the editorials and op-eds of the 'national press'; but not the likes of Karpoori Thakur, who were steadfast in their opposition to English.