John Kampfner elucidates in a
tête-à-tête with Ravish Khapra
how public freedoms have been
given up for materialistic comforts
by an inertia-ridden middle class

In your latest book you speak singularly of the middle class. Why so?
My book focuses exclusively on those people who are either wealthy or have aspirations to becoming wealthy. Some 20 years ago, it was claimed that the larger the middle class became in any society, the more that country would democratise. In other words, free markets and free societies went hand in hand. I argue, on the basis I assemble from case studies of eight countries of different cultures around the world, that the middle classes value their private freedoms much more than they value public freedoms.

Is there a way the laidback attitude of the middle class can change?
There was a hope that the global financial crash might lead to a rethink. Yet, I fear that time has now passed and the tradeoff that has served the middle class so well since the advent of globalisation is set to continue.

Today, do you see any country where the middle class has not conveniently given up its rights over public freedoms in lieu of prosperity?
No I do not. But that does not mean that the abrogation of public freedoms is universally applied. Different people give up different freedoms according to their customs, history and other specificities. In some countries and cultures people are more actively engaged than others.

Freedom for Sale,
Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, Rs 1,150

The Caravan of White Gold: A 1,600 km odyssey through the Sahara desert,
Michael Benanav, Jaico Books, Rs 295

Michael Benanav joins the world’s last working camel caravan on a 1000-mile mission to haul salt through the great desert to Timbuktu. While Benanav unveils his
story in language as simple and clear as an article, he explores the territory of the Tuareg people, their world
where men cover their faces and women do not, and the very stability of their harvest of salt in an era of the Internet and mobiles.

In Search of Sita: Revisiting Mythology,
Edited by Malashri Lal & Namita Gokhale, Penguin Books, Rs 399

This book tries to delve deeper into what constituted Sita. Definitely not a weakling, Sita was a courageous woman, who could single-handedly lift Shiva’s mighty bow, and a strong woman who could take independent decisions, be it on accompanying Ram into exile, delaying child-bearing until her husband is back on the throne of Ayodhya or on relinquishing the world, when her character was doubted
repeatedly.

Songs of Blood and
Sword,
Fatima Bhutto, Penguin/Viking, Rs 699

The book talks about the Bhutto dynasty and the political violence that has haunted it. The Bhuttos became powerbrokers in a nation coming to terms with
its new-found independence,
religious fanaticism, conspiracy and corruption.
The history of the family mirrors the tumultuous events in a strife-torn Pakistan, confused about where its allegiance lies. But more than anything else, the book is about a daughter’s love for her father and her journey to discover the circumstances
behind his death.

Empire of the Moghul: Brothers at War,
Alex Rutherford, Hachette India, Rs 495

Empire of Moghul series’ Brothers at War, based on Humayun, who loses his throne to Sher Shah Suri and
escapes to Persia, makes for absorbing reading. Ultimately, with the help of Shah Tahmashp’s troops, he
acquires Kandhar and soon wrests Agra from Suri’s descendants. The book is a page turner. However, the
author’s non-familiarity with words like ‘harem’ comes across in passages that mention of Humayun entering
and leaving the ‘haram’ (meaning bastard). This is really irritating.