The world in its many dimensions
Syed Badrul Ahsan reads a multi-layered work
Transition to Democracy, Kaleidoscope of a Changing World, Wali-Ur Rahman, The University Press Ltd.
Wali-Ur Rahman has been a distinctively different breed of diplomat. For one thing, he has suffered for his political convictions and has seen a vindictive government show him the door for those convictions. For quite another, he has consistently made it a point to come forth with his commentaries on a wide range of subjects. Unlike other retired civil servants, who have generally found it convenient to write on the subjects they have dealt with as part of the civil service or have decided to go for an expression of views on politics, Rahman has opted for a widening of the sphere, his sphere. Transition to Democracy is proof of the exhaustive view Rahman takes of the world around him. And that, of course, comes through the combination of aesthetics, politics and diplomacy he presents in this work. On the face of it, the book is a compendium of articles he has written for national newspapers over the years. In real terms, it is a good feast he has on offer through bringing before the reader a variety of subjects and themes that the latter can surely mull over. In Wali-Ur Rahman's writings you will detect a sure, swift move toward drawing the attention of the reader. There is in his expression of opinions a reassuring absence of the conventional, something you spot in such articles as Ah, But a Man's Reach Should Exceed His Grasp. Robert Browning at work? Of course. Rahman invokes the poem Andrea del Sarto and that famous one-liner to develop his arguments on the essentiality of knowledge as propounded by the world's greatest centers of learning through the centuries. And what happens in such essays is a return to a study of history, a necessary part of existence which we in this country have almost lost sight of because of the overwhelming presence of politics in the national psyche. In this particular article, Rahman ranges far and wide in his efforts to explain the human search for knowledge through a rise of universities as diverse as Oxford and Cambridge and Nalanda and Dhaka. It all adds to one's depth of intellect. Move on to a different aspect of history, this one the writer's impressions of Victory Day 1997. The implications are obvious. In the manner of millions of others, Wali-Ur Rahman is clearly in celebratory mood, for he sees in that year a revival of the spirit of 1971 in Bangladesh, a revival brought about by the triumph of secular forces at the elections held a year previously. More than the celebration, it is a recapitulation of the past. Quite a good deal space is given over to Henry Kissinger's visit to Dhaka in 1974. Note this simple yet assertive conclusion: '(The) 1974 visit by Kissinger was a visit that we could have done without.' Rahman has all the reasons for taking such a seemingly hard view. Kissinger was not a friend of the Bengalis in 1971; and his role between 1971 and 1975 where Bangladesh's politics was concerned was not exactly an edifying one. It is a piece which once again connects thoughts. The writer offers here a kaleidoscope of personalities, with all the history attendant on them. In Madeleine Albright, he spots a sense of justice, of the kind that Thomas Masaryk once epitomized in Czechoslovakia. He is happy hearing the words of appreciation of Bangladesh and its history which come from Nelson Mandela. In the chapter, Don't Ignore Diplomats, there is again a tale rooted in history. We are informed that Uzbek envoys arriving at the court of Aurangzeb generally made gifts of thoroughbred horses to the Mughal emperor. That was not something that envoys from Makkah and Yemen could match. Their unimpressive gifts led to their being given shabby treatment at the Mughal court. In the course of the Second World War, Ivan Maisky, Soviet ambassador to the Court of St. James, was summoned to Moscow for a meeting with Joseph Stalin. Maisky waited two whole months for an appointment with the strongman in vain before returning to London. Such episodes apart, there is a staunch defence of diplomats that Rahman offers. He notes, 'Many Bangladeshi diplomats have been reprimanded for not supplying shoes and bags and other merchandises to the visiting premier.' A hint at Bangladesh's ruling class? Perhaps, but Rahman is unambiguous in his report on the Sri Lankan ambassador who was dismissed from his job because a book critical of his president was found in his drawer. The writer does not forget to be appreciative of foreigners who have helped Bangladesh's politics emerge clear of the morass it had become confined in. Peter Fowler, certainly one of the more suave diplomats from the West to have been posted in Dhaka, is one individual held in high regard by Wali-Ur Rahman. Diplomacy apart, Rahman focuses on such a diversity of themes as assassinations which, he believes and correctly too, do not change history. One of the most significant of themes he covers is the life of Francois Mitterrand. Obviously, Mitterrand was the last French president to set great store by French grandeur. It is the man's personality, politics and intellectual acumen that the writer focuses on. And Mitterrand is not the only individual to whom Wali-Ur Rahman is drawn. That much becomes clear from his thoughts on Shamsuddin Abul Kalam, Sullivan Ballou, Emma Lazarus and Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma. Transition to Democracy ought to rekindle old, near-forgotten emotions in the reader. One reason is the very large canvas on which Wali-Ur Rahman builds his images of the world as he has observed it. It is also our world. He writes as a Bengali who has taken part in the making of history in as much as he has observed it taking shape in earlier times. The essays in this certainly comprehensive work make an impression. Some, because of their rootedness in the historical, stir our senses. Some others simply make us wonder. Wali-Ur Rahman speaks of a world restored, in Kissingeresque fashion. And yet he reflects on the need and the time for renewal. This is one good book to have emerged from a writer of passion in a long time. Syed Badrul Ahsan is Editor, Current Affairs and Book Reviews, The Daily Star.
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