Imaginery Homeland by Rushdie

Imaginery Homeland is a collection of essay published in 1981-91  by Diasporic writer Salman Rushdie. This book contains essays like "Attenborough's Gandhi", "Commonwealth literature does not exist", "Hobson Jobson", New Empire within Britain", "Imaginery Homeland" etc.

Imaginery Homeland

The title is very suggestive and appropriate. He was born in India. But due to partition, their family has to move to Pakistan. But even there they are tagged as Kafir. He has written book "Satanic verses", and due to this there was Fatwa against him

 so he has to live in secrecy for many years. Now he is living in U.K. But there he is Immigrants. An Asian or outsider.

so the question comes that where to belong? THE ANGST OF BELONGING IS VERY MUCH VISIBLE in this essay.

Attenborough's Gandhi :-

It is a critical essay in which he makes critical remarks on the movie "Gandhi". He begins the essay by saying that " Deification is an Indian disease". But what happen to Western people that they have given 8 Oscars. He says it is neither Biography nor history but it is HAGIOGRAPHY.

He also questions the absence of figures like Bose, Tagore. Nehru was also shown as his follower where as he was equal to Gandhi. Jinnah is presented as counter Dracula.

He also makes critical observation on the scene of Jalianwala bagh. That after this massacre Dyre was rewarded in England rather than punished.

Why they are interested in deifying Gandhi? the answer is that it satisfies West's longing for spirituality. Gandhi is  also Christ like figure for them , who sacrificed themselves for the betterment of mankind. and to promote the idea of non violence . But he says that Gandhi was a shrewd, crafty Gujarati lawyer.

Though he praises that Ben Kinsley deserves the award for the role of Gandhi

He agrees that in art one has to be selective. one cant include everything in single film. But then even he says that what Attenborough did is problematic.