Comparison of Two Books Relevance to South Asian History - Research Paper Example

Comparative review of two books relevance to South Asian history Comparing two personalities who have imprinted their own indelible marks in history is really a puzzling question. When the selected personalities are world popular, one has to wade through various materials and details concerning their popularity. As their contributions to nation as well as its people are invaluable, one should be very cautious in presenting even the minute details regarding them. This is quite applicable to the comparative study of Subhas Chandra Bose, the great Indian revolutionary, and Mother Theresa, the Nun Mother who taught the world the real values of love and kindness in human life. Attempting a comparative study of these two eminent personalities one should first of all focus on their background. The people of India keep everlasting memories about Subhas Chandra Bose even after fifty years of his death, but he is not much popular to many of the westerners. As the extremist leader of the Provisional Government of Free India after its establishment by the Axis powers during World War II, many regard him as the Asian Hitler or Quisling. But he was soon forgotten just after the Allies defeated his Indian National army. For the Indians, he is still “Netaji” or "revered leader." Mother Theresa, the Nun Mother was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia, on August 26, 1910. She was born to Albanian descent parents and it is said that she had the call of God at the age of twelve. This prompted her in joining the sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India (The Nobel Peace Prize 1979). When Mother was assigned to India after her initial vows as a nun, she happened to meet the pathetic state of the poor people outside the convent wall and decided to uplift their dismal state. Though she was devoid of any funds to support them, she herself felt that she had the Divine Providence which helped her all through her life. This selfless and endless sympathy along with kindness for the fellow beings, make her different and it is the same that earned her The Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Therefore, analyzing the biography of Netaji and Mother, one can certainly identify certain similarities; both fought for the freedom of people, Netaji for physical freedom and Mother for spiritual freedom and the main contrasts are concerned with Netaji as an extremist leader and Mother as the one followed non-violence like Mahatma Gandhi to attain her goals. 1) What subject matter does each author cover? The texts selected here for comparing and contrasting the characters of Mother Theresa and Subhas Chandra Bose are; "Subhas Chandra Bose: a biography" (2002) by Marshall J. Getz and, "Mother Teresa: helping the poor" (1998) by William Jay Jacobs. Both the texts attempt a down to earth study of the given personalities without avoiding even the minute details. This is quite identifiable when observing the way the authors arrange the texts. Marshall J. Getz has arranged his book, “Subhas Chandra Bose: a biography” very systematically, beginning with the childhood of Netaji. The text has a logical sequence of development in the arrangement of incidents occurred in his life. The minute observation of the author is quite visible when he narrates Netaji’s father, Janakinath, a lawyer. Here the author, Marshall J. Getz writes, “His father, Jnakinath Bose, enjoyed an outstanding reputation as a lawyer among the local population of 20,000” (7). The subject matter of this book is concerned with Subhas Chandra Bose, his childhood, towering as a great political leader, the factors helped for attaining this position, his path-by putting an end to education and beginning politics, visits to foreign countries intended to seek help and support for his Indian National Army, and so on. The author has colorfully portrayed his towering as ‘Netaji’ and as the darling of the Axis. The chapter entitled; ‘The falling Tiger’ describing his disappearance and death, which is still left as a mystery. William Jay Jacobs has presented the biography of Mother Theresa like a story arranged in five sections. As found in the biography of Subhas Bose, Jacobs also has attempted a logical development of the incidents in Mother’s life. The author identifies that it was “On 10 September 1946 in the train to Darjeeling, Mother Teresa received a clear call from God to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them” (Jacobs 20). The gradual growth of Mother in engaging charitable activities has been clearly described in this book. The author makes it clear when he writes thus, “Two years later she started her work in the slums of Calcutta and set up the new congregation of the Missionaries of Charity; this new order has now spread throughout India and centers have been established in a number of other countries” (Jacobs 20). This clearly exposes the subject matter of the book and the poetic style of the author. 2) How does each hand this subject? While reading through the biographies taken for this study, one feels that the authors were handling the subject seriously, though one can enjoy them in a light hearted manner. The biography of Subhas Bose unveils various occurrences before and after the Indian independence. It specifically explores the activities of Bose’s Indian National Army. Bose makes clear his aim when he says, “The purposes of war with the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands are to expel the influence of these three countries from East Asia, to establish a sphere for the self-defense and self-preservation of our Empire, and to build a New Order in Greater East Asia” (Getz 77). This also makes clear how gravely the author handles the subject. The seriousness of the subject is evident in the biography of Mother Theresa when narrating Mother’s requests to Rome to get consent for her Missionaries of Charity and official recognition for her new order of nuns (Jacobs 30). 3) What is the major thrust or interpretation of each book? The books emphasize the actions of Mother and Netaji particularly their stubborn nature in attaining their goals. The biography of Mother stresses her strong decisions to proceed with her charitable activities despite the critical situations. She established the Missionaries of Charity to help support the poor and the needy and strongly believed that God’s Providence will be there to satisfy her desires. The biography of Netaji thrusts his obstinate nature that approached many foreign nations to help support his Indian National Army in sending off the British from Indian soil. One can also observe it as his strong will power led him to his tragic doom. 4) What issues, if any, are subordinated so as to bring out the main focus? One cannot find any issues subordinated in both the books as they are giving due importance to the historical incidents involved by the two personalities mentioned in this study. The important incidents mentioned in the biography of Bose include the Swadeshi Movement, the Swaraj or Self Rule Movement, the Labor Kisan Movement, his visits to Europe, Germany, and so on. Almost all the incidents in Mother Theresa’s life have been mentioned in her given biography without any coloring. Therefore, one can certainly say that the books do not waver from the main points. 5) What are the writers sources of information? The authors have gathered information from various historical sources that noticeably provided them enough materials. 6) What are the authors’ biases? How do you know? The authors reach in the biases that Mother Theresa led the war against poverty by the weapons of peace, love, and kindness. But Subhas Bose fought against the invaders through his unquenchable will and unconquerable desires. It is this desire and will that made him travel him various parts of the world, seeking help crush the British dominance in India. 7) What basic assumptions does each writer make about the indigenous history and people of South Asia? About Westerners in South Asia? The natives of India were scattered in various parts of the country which made things easy for the British and other invaders to execute their divide and rule policy quite easily. The South Eastern region has been identified as an area of unrest between the westerners and the Easterners. The European colonization paved the way for various calamities in this region. The westerners in South Asia always tend to suppress the aborigines by hook or crook. 8) How do you rate the authors in terms of scholarship, style, clarity, and persuasiveness? Analyzing both the texts, one is sure that the authors have attempted a deep study over the selected personalities and were capable of presenting even trifles concerned with their life. Marshall J. Getz and William Jay Jacobs, the authors of the given texts have kept a simple and humble style throughout their writing. One of the things that should be commented in this paper is the clarity of the presentation, that is, the readers never get confused with the logical development of the historical development of actions corresponding to their personal experiences. 9) In a final concluding section compare and contrast the two books To conclude, one can infer that there are various similarities and differences with the prescribed books. As it is easy for one to identify the differences between the two personalities discussed in this paper, so also is the case with their actions. Subhas Chandra Bose was obviously one among the great leaders India has ever seen. His extremist ways, intended to attain freedom, were really helpful Indian independence movements and, as such, one can never disregard the role of Netaji. The peaceful activities of Mother have helped a great deal in uplifting the status of thousands of poor Indians. Thus one can conclude that Mother Theresa and Subhas Chandra Bose have imprinted their indelible marks in world history through their immense help they rendered for the country in attaining the present status. Works Cited: Getz, M. J. Subhas Chandra Bose: a biography. Illustrated edition. McFarland, 2002. Print. Jacobs, W.J. Mother Teresa: helping the poor. Illustrated revised edition. Millbrook Press, 1998. Print. The Nobel Peace Prize 1979. Mother Teresa. NobelPrize.org. 8 April. 2011. Web. 9 April 2011. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1979/teresa-bio.html Read More