hidden image

Bob’s Banter by Robert Clements Enid Blyton and Kipling..!

Robert Clements Robert Clements
21 Jun 2021

Racists! That’s what the two have been branded as! Two writers, Enid Blyton and Rudyard Kipling, who shaped our formative years, both in reading and in the unleashing of childhood imagination, and who today, are not there to defend themselves have been flagged as racists by a charity called English Heritage.
The charitable trust goes on to say, that Enid Blyton’s work, contained ‘racism, xenophobia and a lack of literary merit.’ And on Kipling, the writer’s, ‘racist and imperialist sentiments’!
Whoa! Whoa! That’s crippling Kipling and blighting Blyton indeed!
I have only one argument for such criticism; that views expressed by thinkers are influenced by the times they live in!
Unfortunately, we judge those views by the times we live in now.
Take for example the idea of women having equal rights! Just over a hundred years back, the US thought women did not have the ability to choose who would sit in government. It was only after the Great War, when weary men trooped home after playing their war games, realized that home and hearth had been held, stitched and patched together by the very women they thought were the weaker sex both physically and intellectually. Today, a hundred years later, yes, one hundred full years later, a woman finally sits a heartbeat away from the White House!
While writing my daily column for the Khaleej Times, Dubai, I once called the Hezbollah, terrorists, and was firmly censured by many readers there, who wrote they were freedom fighters, which made me realise that many of our country’s own freedom fighters who fought for our independence were branded terrorists, mutineers and traitors by our then British rulers.
Today they are not.
My mind strays two thousand years to another rebel hanging on a cross outside the walls of Jerusalem. Even as he is spat upon, pierced, and nailed by his hands and feet he cries out to a God above, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do!”
He meant that his killers, the Jews who were under the Romans, expected a Messiah who would save them from the tyranny of Roman rule, and so were killing him, because they did not understand, that he had come as a bigger savior than just for the Jews of that era.
They did not know what they were doing.
And that is how we need to understand the past. Today, our people are stirred up by politicians who bring back memories of past atrocities inflicted on us, and armed with such recollections we attack their descendants for crimes they were not part off.
Enid Blyton and Rudyard Kipling were brilliant writers, powerful storytellers, and stirred the childhood imaginations of millions. Let’s not judge yesterday, by today’s enlightenment, even as we hear a dying voice cry out to us, “Forgive them for they didn’t know what they were doing..!’

bobsbanter@gmail.com            

Recent Posts

The Emergency must be remembered, not as a tool to target a political party but as a lesson against authoritarian excess. Yet, we cannot ignore that worse violations of democratic norms and human righ
apicture A. J. Philip
30 Jun 2025
Fifty years later, India faces a chilling déjà vu with an 'undeclared' Emergency. Freedom of speech is stifled, dissent is suppressed, and institutions are compromised. True democracy demands resistan
apicture Cedric Prakash
30 Jun 2025
Amit Shah's claim that those who speak English will be ashamed evidences that the BJP-RSS is trying to bring down the populace and push India into another Vedic dark age where ignorance and superstiti
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
30 Jun 2025
The NSE's ?1,400 crore settlement with SEBI raises critical concerns about India's financial markets. Any perceived regulatory capture risks eroding trust.
apicture Jaswant Kaur
30 Jun 2025
Christian education in India has had a profound influence on democracy and social justice in the country. It played a pivotal role in challenging caste oppression, promoting inclusivity, and fostering
apicture Fr Soroj Mullick, SDB
30 Jun 2025
"The spread of digital culture, particularly evident among young people, is profoundly changing their experience of space and time; it influences their daily activities, communication, and interperson
apicture Joe Eruppakkatt
30 Jun 2025
Welcome to the Happy State of Emergency: Where freedom is carefully curated, minds are pre-cooked, and Big Brother doesn't need to frown—he just raises one eyebrow... and we salute…!
apicture Robert Clements
30 Jun 2025
The North-South divide reflects India's broader regional and cultural tensions. The progress of Southern states in health, education, and development contrasts with the Hindi belt's struggles on devel
apicture Thomas Menamparampil
23 Jun 2025
India's 2027 census and ensuing delimitation will redefine its political landscape. As northern states gain influence due to burgeoning population, southern states will face reduced representation des
apicture Dr John Singarayar
23 Jun 2025
For India to become a global healthcare power, it must democratise medical education—revise outdated rules, invest in public institutions, expand seats, embrace technology, and ensure affordability. A
apicture A. J. Philip
23 Jun 2025