The man witness to the making of the modern world

Saeed Naqvi is that rare being: a polymath.

And to hear him speak is to be taken on a rollercoaster ride through modern history and ancient cultures, through encounters with superstars and subversives, demagogues and democrats. Through Cuba and Libya, Syria and Russia; and through the incredibly syncretic culture of both pre-partition and post-Independence Awadh.

And in an intimate conversation at Algebra that covered the broad sweep of history, Saeed combined his formidable knowledge, sharp intellect and unparalleled global experience to challenge settled notions about the world around us: from startling revelations about Gaddafi and how the world’s perception of him was skewed by western narratives, to a comparison of Fidel Castro’s Cuba with Agartala to, closer home, laying responsibility for the otherisation of Muslims in India firmly at Nehru’s door.

He also put out two other challenging ideas: one, that it would perhaps have been more honest to construct India as a Hindu nation imbued with secular values, and two, that had India not been partitioned, the 500 million Muslims in the sub-continent together would have comprised a powerful engine of modernity and moderation because the nature of Islam’s encounter with Hindu civilisation was different from how it evolved in the desert countries.

Swirling from rich Urdu poetry, invoking Muslim poets’ love of Krishna and Varanasi to raw admissions of disillusionment, it was a conversation equal parts mind-bending and moving: Saeed reminded us how much Indians have forgotten about themselves.

His arguments are provocative and complex, and deserve much deeper engagement. We suggest you order a copy of his recently-released Being the Other: the Muslim in India to have your worldview challenged, if not changed. Plus: watch his riveting conversation at Algebra above.