WHY NOW, WHY NOT THEN? (IN RESPONSE TO A QUERY BY A CERTAIN GENTLEMAN)

You see this is a complex question that may not be answered in a simplistic manner. The exigencies of life may compel different people to react to their realities in different ways. Not all are of revolutionary fibre to begin with and go about the business of life like others. But when men mature and see things in an altered light owing to altered conditions, and when circumstances change, the pressure of events often draws such people into the vortex of the developing scenario and the result is this involvement somehow in the scheme of things. It is difficult for me to pass a judgement on the motivations impelling such involvement and I cannot adequately address that issue with effective clarity of perception or articulation thereof, for my judgement may fail to make its mark. But it is public perception that we are addressing here as well and herein lies the knotty problem. While we may be unrealistic in our inordinate expectations from members of a revolutionary family through successive generations, to see them at the opportune moment cast in their 'might' in the task of salvaging the glory of their illustrious ancestor and so sink into the mire of contemporary politics may seem a trifle unsavoury to some, unwholesome to many and downright detrimental to the revolutionary cause to some others but it cannot be gainsaid that as citizens they reserve the right to participate in the ensuing events as much as any one of us without necessarily being branded as opportunists. Moreover, their participation adds fillip to the movement for the resurrection of the hero of epic proportions from the debris of historical oblivion and inconceivable perfidies that have been perpetrated against him. I know you raise your eyebrows there as to where such commitment to the cause was in yesteryears when others toiled and they 'watched' but then things map out as they do in the fullness of time and mere mortals may not exceed the limitations of their nature cast upon them by past impressions (sanskaras). However, you must admit that their present participation in the movement, each in his own way, has generated considerable enthusiasm among the general public about the almost lost cause of Netaji's resurrection and to this end I heartily thank them. Differences of approach, opinion and aim notwithstanding, I believe the involvement of the family to a considerable extent is holding the movement together and carrying it forward to a desirable end. It is up to all of us who are ardent admirers, fervid followers of Netaji to cast in our lot as well instead of bothering too much as to what the relative contributions of any may be and so we may rise above pettiness of all sorts in the name of the one who shone like the radiant sun in the firmament of freedom like none other. Thus, we may hope to make a significant contribution, a sizeable difference to the entire episode unfolding before our eyes by the blessings of the martyrs and the revolutionaries who smilingly bled to freedom. Jai Hind!