A quick timeline...

India After Gandhi - The History Of The World's Largest Democracy (2016)
Author: Ramachandra Guha 
(Updated and Expanded) 10th Anniversary version

My knowledge of Indian history is limited to what I was taught in school, which only covered up to the time when MK Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. Since then, for someone from Malaysia, it was patchy, relying on whatever few articles and newsreels managed to reach us. 

This book helps to bridge that gap. It provides a detailed account of the critical events that took place after Nehru’s ‘tryst with destiny’ speech up to circa 2014, when a milestone event emerged. It mainly describes the political landscape and major events during that period. 

All these were penned by one of India’s eminent contemporary historians, Ramachandra Guha. Historically, Indian history throughout the 20th century, both before and after independence, was crafted by left-leaning historians under the influence of the Congress leadership. These historians are said to elevate the Imperial rulers, attempt to gloss over their mistakes, and depict colonial masters as saviours of the nation. On the other side of the rink are the bad boys, as determined as the British and other imperial powers, the members of the Hindutva movements. Guha is classified as a centrist liberal historian. The challenge with such a stance is that he will be criticised by both the left and the right.

The British did not have much hope for India’s future when they left. They predicted that the union would balkanise within ten years along ethnic, religious or linguistic lines. Anyway, towards the latter part of the 20th century, India became too expensive and rebellious to administer. The natives had wised up. The British had to leave to cut their losses. 

While celebrations continue in Delhi with pomp and splendour, chaos reigned in Calcutta at best. The exchange of people between the newly formed Pakistan and India did not proceed in an orderly manner. People were unaware of where the actual demarcation line was. 

From the get-go, India had to confront border skirmishes and the opposition of many princely states to joining the union. In Kashmir, with a Hindu ruler and a Muslim majority, Pakistan wanted Kashmir to cut itself away from India and join Pakistan. Maharajah Hari Singh wished to remain independent, but when Pakistani soldiers disguised as herdsmen infiltrated Kashmir to cause trouble, he abdicated to Jamu and sought assistance from India. 

Instead of deploying troops to take control of the situation, as his team advised, Nehru, in his great wisdom, believed the United Nations should intervene. The consequences of this quick, arguably mistaken decision are still apparent today. 

Then, the princely states had to be coaxed into staying within the coalition. The Nizam of Hyderabad gave India the runaround. Their situation was the opposite of Kashmir — a Muslim monarch and a Hindu majority. The Nizam was reluctant to hand over his wealth to India. Just a few years earlier, the Nizam was crowned the wealthiest man on Earth. He was adamant about either remaining independent or forging a close relationship with Pakistan. The problem was that Hyderabad was a landlocked state. The Islamic fanatics among the ruling class, the Razakkers, went on a killing spree to usurp lands from peasants. At that time, the Communists were also attempting to expand their influence. 

Vallabhai Patel, during Nehru’s absence in the UK, took the bold step of deploying his tanks to annex Hyderabad in a police action codenamed Operation Polo. The Nizam abdicated to Pakistan. It was not called a military action to avoid it being seen as an invasion of a sovereign nation. 

The Portuguese aimed to retain Goa as a Portuguese colony. However, the Goans did not share their sentiments. This prompted India to invade Goa and annex it through Operation Vijay.

 

The states in the North East region also experienced their own resurgence. Conflicts between tribes over land rights and reservations persisted. These conflicts continue in various forms even today. 

 

China and India were not on the best of terms after the Chinese Communist Party took control of China. The writing was on the wall that China posed a threat to India’s sovereignty. Despite the albatross around India's neck, Nehru thought it was wise not to strengthen defence within its borders. China had been encroaching into Tibet. In Nehru's view, after achieving independence through satyagraha (passive resistance), maintaining a large army was inappropriate. Nehru promoted the idea that China was a friend. The slogan of the early 1960s was 'Chinni Chinni Bhai Bhai' (Chinese and Indians are brothers). The Chinese later backstabbed India by attacking and taking over Aksai Chin, west of Nepal.

It was a wake-up call for India. They strengthened their military with help from the Soviet Union. In 1965, Pakistan, supported by the USA, provoked India by claiming a barren piece of land in Gujarat. Through Operation Gibraltar, they infiltrated Kashmir. India, following its humiliating 1962 encounter with China, quickly defeated Pakistan in 22 days, gaining confidence.

States in India underwent division along linguistic and administrative lines. Punjab was divided to form Haryana. Bombay was separated from Maharashtra. Himachal Pradesh was established. Telangana broke away from Andhra Pradesh. Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, and Uttarakhand from Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, the Madras Presidency was divided into Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Andhra Pradesh attempted to claim Madras as its capital but had to relinquish it.

MK Gandhi once described India's heart as residing in its villages. Farming was the primary livelihood for the majority. Nehru promoted industrialisation, machinery, and the expansion of higher education to help the country progress towards modernity. IITs were established to support this goal. The Soviet Union provided assistance. On the international stage, Nehru, with his Fabian ideology, advocated for the Non-Aligned Movement, which aimed to remain independent of either side of the Iron Curtain. The US was quite agitated when he was seen as influential in the 1955 Bandung Conference, where China participated and its premier, Zhou Enlai, attended.

Nehru died in 1964 and was briefly succeeded by Lal Bahadur Shastri. He was beloved by the public and considered a hero of the common man. His rallying cry, 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' (Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer), boosted the nation's morale during India's 1965 war with Pakistan. He mysteriously returned in a body bag after signing a peace treaty in Tashkent to end the conflict.

Indira Gandhi was quickly promoted to the position. Throughout, she had been mentored by Nehru for the role. As with Shastri, Indira’s appointment was supported by a committee led by Kamaraj, a Congress leader. 

One of Indira Gandhi’s legacies must surely be when West Pakistan attacked East Pakistan after Mujibur Rahman’s party won the 1971 elections. Somehow, West Pakistan thought it was not appropriate for them to be governed by dark-skinned Bengalis. They sent in the army, and East Pakistan turned to India for help. 

In a swift and decisive 13-day war, India's security forces compelled West Pakistan to surrender unconditionally. India concluded the conflict before the arrival of US naval ships to support the West Pakistani forces. 

 

On Buddha Purnima, 18th May 1974, India became the sixth nation with nuclear capability, joining the USA, UK, USSR, France, and China, when it tested its nuclear bomb in Pokhran. The operation was named the Smiling Buddha. 

Another indelible event in Indira Gandhi’s leadership is the declaration of the National Emergency in 1975. After being guilty of electoral malpractice for using government machinery in her 1971 elections, the Allahabad Court declared the election invalid. This would automatically disqualify her from appointment and prevent her from holding any political post for 6 years. As the public cries grew louder, Indira Gandhi declared an Emergency. Hundreds of opposition leaders, social activists, student leaders, and journalists were arrested under the MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act), which allows detention without trial. Prominent leaders arrested included JP Narayan, a key icon of the post-Emergency era; Morarji Desai, who became Prime Minister in 1977; LK Advani, later a deputy Prime Minister; Atal B. Vajpayee; and the rebellious George Fernandez. The radio, TV, print media, and cinema were placed under strict government control. 

The Emergency period saw Indira Gandhi preparing her son, Sanjay, in an attempt to ensure dynastic continuity. He was granted extra-constitutional powers to undertake tasks not approved by the cabinet. He gained considerable notoriety through his unsavoury activities. He attempted to promote forced sterilisation and oversaw slum demolitions. There was an effort to mass-produce India’s affordable people’s car, the Maruti, which did not succeed at the time but was revived much later.

When the Emergency was lifted and elections took place, Indra was defeated. A fragile coalition was formed. The Emergency period, in a way, demonstrated to Indians that there is life after the Congress Party. In fact, this period also saw the splitting of the Congress.

The following years saw a few landmark events. The first non-Congress coalition did not remain in power for long. Due to internal conflicts, the government collapsed. Indira Gandhi returned as Prime Minister in 1981. Sadly, her dynastic ambitions of passing her realm to Sanjay Gandhi were shattered when he was killed in a plane crash.

1984 was another sad year when Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguard just months after she ordered Operation Blue Star. In that operation, the Indian Army entered the Golden Temple in Amritsar to suppress arms-wielding Sikh extremists. Rajiv Gandhi, Indira's other son, was promoted to fill the gap. The 1984 elections saw Congress winning a large majority due to Indira's assassination. Rajiv Gandhi became the youngest Prime Minister at 40.

His premiership was marred by a few controversies. First, there was the Bofors scandal, India's disastrous meddling in the Sri Lankan issue with their ethnic Tamils, the Bhopal tragedy, and Shah Bano's Supreme Court decision on her divorce maintenance settlement. He lost the 1989 elections.

For the second time, a non-Congress coalition formed the government under the leadership of VP Singh. Singh's tenure marked the beginning of the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid controversy in Ayodhya. The Mandal Commission, established in 1979 to identify socially or educationally backward classes, had its recommendations implemented in 1990. 27% of government jobs were reserved for backward castes. The Mandal-Mandir issue was not well-received by the citizens and contributed to the coalition's loss in the subsequent election.

1991 was a tragic year for the Nehru dynasty. A suicide bomber from Sri Lanka's LTTE detonated an RDX explosive while Rajiv Gandhi was campaigning in Tamil Nadu. The 1991 elections resulted in Narasimha Rao becoming the Congress' Prime Minister. Rajiv's widow, Sonia Gandhi, was disqualified due to her Italian origin.

The 1996 elections resulted in a hung parliament with no clear majority. The previous Congress government was plagued by the 1992 Bombay stock market scandal. Kashmir experienced renewed violence in 1995. The BJP was invited to form the government. Atal Bihari Vajpayee failed to secure enough support and had to relinquish the premiership after thirteen days. Following a series of appointments, resignations, and splits within parties, the 1998 elections were called. Once again, the results were hung, but Vajpayee became Prime Minister again.

 

The following year, Vajpayee lost a vote of confidence when the AIADMK withdrew its support. Vajpayee had refused to dismantle the Tamil Nadu government led by Karunanidhi. The 1999 elections took place after the Kargil War. With that morale-boosting victory in Kargil and Sonia Gandhi, an Italian by birth, on the opposition side, the BJP won.

There was a surprising leadership change in Congress in 2004. Manmohan Singh led the country for two terms until 2014, after which the BJP, under Narendra Modi's mentorship from Gujarat, has held power to date.

 

India, with its complexities, never fails to fascinate. It is a place to learn about humanity, the evil that men do, a treasure trove of knowledge, and a bottomless pit filled with mysteries of a bygone era. 

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Have pedals can travel!

In the 1960s, when the Malaysian government, under the aegis of the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, proposed building a modern highway, the Federal Highway, to ease traffic in the Klang Valley, it drew considerable flak from the Opposition. They said it was a sheer waste of money.

The same kind of antagonism arose in the early 80s when the ruling government considered it another waste of money when a modern toll highway along the spine of the Peninsula was announced. The opposition also cited profiteering and the enrichment of cronies' coffers as the basis for their position. Still, the leaders successfully bulldozed their plan.

Undeniably, these projects have brought so much development to the country. One cannot imagine Malaysia without these highways, and life would not have been the same without the minister responsible for the roads, Samy Vellu, and his antics.

This was the first thought that came to my mind when I participated in a fellowship ride in Cyberjaya recently. It was an 88-km ride organised by the Development Board of the State of Selangor (PKNS) as a sin-washing, oops, CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility project. It was named the Selangor International Ride (SIR), but the only thing close to being international about it must surely be the expatriates who participated. I do not think anyone travelled all the way to partake in this event. It was not a race, there was no podium for medals, and there were no prizes. Just like in India, where SIR (Special Intensive Revision) of the Electoral Roll is chasing away illegal immigrants from places like West Bengal, SIR (Selangor International Ride) kept competitive cyclists away.

The ride was led by a lead police car and outriders, which created a safe gap for cyclists to speed up until they approached the water stations at the 40km and 60km marks. Here, the convoy would stop, regroup and restart after a short break. So, it was not a race, and there was no race chip to record participants' times.

The intriguing thing is the intricate lattice of well-paved dual-carriage roads that serve this whole area. From the Selangor Cyber Valley Lake Park, the convoy moved around the dull, imposing infrastructure surrounding Cyberjaya. In the 90s, Cyberjaya was earmarked to be Malaysia's answer to Silicon Valley. It promised to attract investors and market players by providing high-speed internet free from government controls, with information flowing seamlessly like rivers of glaciers. 30 years on, everyone realised it was just an afternoon post-prandial daydream that cleared when it became clear it was time to go back to work. In 2025, the police are more diligent at being a thought police than at going on their beat rounds, managing traffic, or keeping the community safe.

After completing a short loop near the starting point, the mammoth structure came into view: the Cyberjaya government hospital. Funny, less than 15 minutes' drive was another huge government hospital, the Putrajaya Hospital. In a sparsely populated area, it is mind-boggling that the powers that be deemed it necessary to have two large hospitals so close together. In contrast, other State hospitals, such as KLGH, Sg Buluh, and Selayang Hospital, were packed to the brim. Some things in life remain unanswered. This is one of them; the other may include the strange disappearance of MH370.

Technically, the bureaucrats would tell us that both hospitals are in different districts. One is in Putrajaya, whereas the other is in the Sepang district. From Cyberjaya, we slowly moved towards Sepang town and its vicinity.

The first time I saw the word 'Sepang' was when I was a teenager. It was written on a bus in thick, bold Tamil script. In fact, it was the only bus company that used Tamil lettering and operated solely on the Sepang route. During those days, rubber and oil palm estates covered these areas. To cater to its passengers, who were mainly plantation workers well-versed in Tamil, such arrangements were considered necessary. 

http://worldabh.info/evobus/benz/of1313/photo01.html

An interesting banner I saw outside a construction site while cycling read 'Keep Sepang Green and Clean'. I thought that message reeked of hypocrisy to the viewer. The whole area was green in the first place, cooling the air and reducing greenhouse gases on the planet. But no! In the name of development, to keep up with the rest of the world, we needed a brand new airport. A new town had to be started from scratch to prove our sovereignty. Industrial estates, expensive bungalows, and housing lots became essential. After clearing the trees, now we want to re-green them. That is the price of development, I suppose. What is development, purists may ask. But even the most spiritually inclined among us may feel that monetary offerings can help spread the Word more smoothly. 

Our journey took us to the outskirts of Banting and Kuala Langat, where we made our initial stop. There were hardly any challenging terrains to overcome. The temperature was mild for Malaysian standards, staying around 25 degrees Celsius throughout the ride. 

After a 15-minute break, the convoy reconvened and headed towards Sepang town proper and Dengkil town. Here, there was a slight inclination near the district office that needed to be conquered. After that, it was all flat all the way. 

A bit of forgotten history of Dengkil was not known to me when I passed through these few points, which are worth mentioning. It had long been of interest to archaeologists, who discovered ancient human activities dating back to the Neolithic period. This period in our history occurred between 10,000 BCE and 2,000 BCE, when humans evolved from hunter-gatherers to settled communities. Tin ore mining was an important industry in Dengkil from the 1920s. At the height of its prosperity, the Dengkil area boasted of having seven large modern dredges. During this period of exploration, bronze bowls, ceramic ware, stone tools, pottery, and agricultural implements from that era were found. Around that time, rubber plantations and Indian migrant workers came to occupy the region. The Chinese were brought in to work the tin mines. The pre-existing Malays in the area could not be persuaded to work for the colonial authorities, hence the need for migrant workers.

Kampong Jenderam Hilir, which we encountered on our route, is an important archaeological site located at the confluence of Sg Langat and Sg Semenyih. Bukit Piatu, which we saw signboards for, yielded a pottery shed.

The 1950s saw the creation of new villages by the Malaysian High Commissioner, Gerald Templer, and his men to combat communists. These settlements were another name for concentration camps. The British sold the idea of winning a war through a 'heart and mind' strategy to undermine communist activities.

Bukit Unggul Golf & Country Club
Courtesy Eric Lim

Paya Indah Wetlands, which is situated in the Sepang district, has seen better days. After flattening the land around Putrajaya and the KLIA (the airport in a jungle), maybe as an afterthought, after brutalising so much of Mother Nature, a disused tin mine was engineered as a wetland to showcase the tropics' fauna and flora. To enhance its allure, the Botswana government donated four hippopotamuses. Pelicans, crocodiles and porcupines were added for good measure. The Wetlands are rarely visited these days.

There is another rarely mentioned news of the oppression of the Orang Asli that has been going on here. The Temuan tribe, who had lived in Bangi, was relocated in the 1970s when their land was used to build the UKM campus. They were given a plot of land around Bukit Tunggul in Dengkil. In 1993, a private golf course was planned to be built on their land. After years of confrontation, by obstructing water and electricity supply, the Court of Appeal, in 2005, reserved that piece of land as their ancestral land. Things, however, are not all hunky dory for the Temuan people.

The ride finally ended back in Cyberjaya with much pomp and splendour. Another ride, another venture to another part of the country not often explored by the mainstream, or at least city slickers. The best way to explore any place is to take a slow voyage on foot or pedal power. Have pedal can travel!

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A dry 'Rain Town'

Taiping Heritage Ride 2025

November 30th, 2025.

The trains used to stop at Taiping in those days. It was a game we shared between my sister and me. Each would predict whether it would rain when the train reached Taiping. It would invariably rain, and I would always win. That is Taiping, the wettest town in Peninsula Malaysia. The Maxwell hills, aka Bukit Larut, near the town, recorded the highest rainfall, second only to Bintulu, according to the meteorological report on sustained high rainfall. Historically, the Maxwell Hills are said to have received 5000mm of rainfall. As a result, it acquired the nickname 'Rain Town'.

So when the Meteorological Department issued a warning that a rare storm had arisen in the Strait of Malacca and would bring torrential rains over many towns in the Peninsula, I was concerned. With my planned cycling race in Taiping all in high gear, the last thing that Taiping needed was torrential rain from a tropical storm. Rain in 'Rain Town' on top of a storm did not sound too good. To top it all off, people started marking themselves as safe on social media in anticipation of floods, heightening the already tense situation. The BBC began showing footage of flood victims in Southeast Asia to set the low mood. 

All through the weekdays leading up to the planned Taiping Heritage Ride on Sunday, I was waiting for announcements from the organisers in anticipation of the freak storm called 'Senyar'. Nothing. News of heavy rain, floods and landslides was reported occurring most in the central and southern parts of the peninsula. 

Come Sunday, everything was hunky dory. No rain, no threat of rain, no roads reported to be underwater and dry roads as well. In fact, for once in my life, I did not experience rain while in Taiping. Almost at 7am, as planned, the 90km ride was flagged off. It was a ride as easy as Sunday morning, to quote the Commodores. 

From a town named 'forever peaceful', Taiping, the cyclists rode, under the supervision of marshals and traffic police, to another 'forever' town, a small town named Selama. (Selama-lama could mean forever.) Mainly cruising on flat terrain, it was a pleasant ride, complemented by mild weather: 23 degrees C, with the sun shyly peeking through the clouds throughout the day.

I knew that Taiping town had come into existence ever since tin was explored on an industrial scale in the mid-19th century. In reality, it had already been mined there. The British exploited it by bringing in dredging machines and mined it to extinction. The local rulers had already been using tin coins earlier.

Tin also brought in the Chinese immigrants, the secret societies - Ghee Hin and Hai San, representing the Cantonese, Hakka and Teochew communities respectively. To transport the merchandise, the first railway lines were built between Taiping and Port Weld in 1885.

Besides this, Taiping also boasts many of its firsts in the country. The first post and telegraph offices, the first fire brigade, the first hill resort in Maxwell Hill, the first library and museum, the first English and Tamil newspapers, and, probably, the first mall. There was even an airstrip, Tekah Aerodrom, in 1929, which would qualify as the first Malaysian airport. It is alleged that Amelia Earhart made a stopover here in 1937 during her ill-fated round-the-world trip. There is a mural to vouch for that, it seems. Her navigational log, however, showed stops only in Bangkok and Singapore with no mention of a layover in Malaya. In all accounts, she would have just flown over Taiping and would have obtained permission from Taiping as a possible place to land in case of emergency.

With an impressive past resume, now Taiping, away from the main highway traffic, has to contend with the tag of a retirees' hometown. 

Continuing the ride from Selama district, the convoy turned to pass Bukit Merah town, a recreational park with lakes, greenery and a water-themed park. I remember travelling on the trains through a long waterway. It used to be never-ending, and in those days, my simple mind thought I was travelling across the sea. Until I saw a stretch of railway line running across the Bukit Merah Lake from a flyover in that small town, the avalanche of memories came rushing back. The train had been travelling across the Bukit Merah lake. 

From there, the ride continued back into Taiping through Kamunting. Kamunting earned its notorious name in 1987, when over 100 people from civil society were incarcerated under the cruel Internal Security Act under the orders of the then Prime Minister, Mahathir Muhammad.

It was back we started, and that was it. Another day, another race done.

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Taj Mahal or Tejo Mahalaya?

The Taj Story (2025)
Written & Directed: Tushar Amrish Goel

I have long heard that the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, is a Hindu temple. Firstly, nobody builds a mausoleum in the shape of a mosque. i.e. with a dome. Furthermore, in the Islamic books, it is inappropriate to glorify the dead as they would be deified. That was one reason why the Prophet's grave was never marked till recently. There was the worry of overglorifying the dead so much as to forget worshipping Allah.

Overbuilding mosques at the expense of other places of worship is nothing new. We have seen that done in Andalusia, where churches were converted to mosques when the Ummayads conquered the Iberian Peninsula and reverted to churches after the Reconquista. Hagia Sophia in Istanbul was a church that was later converted into a mosque.

The rumour about the 22 secret rooms beneath the Taj Mahal, which hide the original deities of a Shiva temple upon which Shah Jahan's symbol of love was built, is well known. The alleged temple belonged to Shahjahan's loyal general, Mann Singh, who handed it over to curry favour.

This movie is partially based on a case filed in the Delhi High Court in 2023 claiming that Shah Jahan did not build the Taj Mahal. The Court directed the Archaeological Society of India (ASI) to investigate the matter. ASI determined that the sealed 22 rooms contained only structural elements.

A disgruntled guide at the Taj Mahal files a public interest litigation (PIL) at the Allahabad High Court, questioning Shah Jahan as the one who constructed the Taj Mahal. He wants the courts to instruct the historical society to investigate the matter. The guide ended up arguing his own case because no lawyers would take his case. His arguments are based on those Stephen Knapp put forward on his website. 

This film skirted many controversies. It had been labelled as a Hindutva propaganda film, steeped in conspiracy theories and tries to create division in a society already deeply plagued by communal issues. Films like these are currently garnering much attention as more and more mosques in India have been claimed to have been built on former temple sites, e.g., the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya (resolved), the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi (ongoing), and the Mathura Mosque (soon).

https://www.stephen-knapp.com/jayasree_saranathan_was_the_taj_mahal_a_vedic_temple.htm

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The foreign interloper? 'Harm-onium'

M S Viswanathan, @ Mellisai Mannar,
King of Melody at the Harmonium.

I have always found the harmonium somewhat out of place among other Indian musical instruments. Yet, it plays a crucial role in a composer's toolkit. In a typical Indian musical orchestra, you find flutes, traditional trumpets in various shapes and forms depending on the region (such as nadasvaram or shenai), string instruments like the sitar or the veena, and percussion instruments like drums in various forms, small cymbals, and so on. Having an air instrument that resembles a piano seems somewhat incongruous. It looks like a mini piano with black-and-white keys. Then there is another instrument called the shruti box, which looks similar to a harmonium but lacks a keyboard and produces a continuous humming sound (drone music).

Another instrument that I found strongly rooted among other traditional instruments in a traditional Indian (Carnatic and Hindustani) musical recital is the violin. We know that the violin was adapted and Indianised in the 18th-19th centuries.

The harmonium was developed in 1840 as a bellows instrument operated with a foot pedal to pump air. The church found it very useful because it was portable. When missionaries arrived to proselytise natives, they discovered it was very convenient for getting around. 

The Legendary Dwarkin's Harmonium
https://www.getbengal.com/details/harmonium-by-dwarkin-created-a-revolution-
in-bengals-musical-journey-getbengal-story

The Indian public also developed a liking for the instrument. They found it well-suited for Indian musical styles, which emphasised melody, unlike European styles that relied on harmony. Indians mostly sat on the floor when playing music, so the harmonium lost its legs and foot pedal. The bellows were operated by hand movements. Soon, the Indian harmonium — the small, portable, hand-pumped reed organ — became the preferred instrument for Carnatic and Hindustani musicians. Even Rabindranath Tagore used it in his academy, Santiniketan. 

Musical composers of Tamil film songs from yesteryears, such as MS Visvanathan, Theva, Illayaraja, and even contemporary maestros like AR Rahman, are known to craft their masterpieces from scratch on these harmoniums. 

Interestingly, this essential musical instrument, at times, conferred divinity status, was banned from the airwaves by All-India Radio for nearly 30 years between 1940 and 1971. Nationalists in the Quit India movement regarded the harmonium as a foreign intruder and a symbol of British cultural dominance. The call for a ban on the harmonium was led by Tagore and others who aimed to define and protect pure Indian musical heritage. In an independent India, Nehru sought to establish a 'pure' national music. Even harmonium players could not be on All India's payroll. Nevertheless, the harmonium remained a popular instrument throughout that era and remains significant today.

A funeral of harmoniums in Lahore. (1940)

The harmoniumists staged a mock funeral after

All India Radio's ban on its use. They buried

11 harmoniums, reminding people of a time when

Emperor Aurangzeb banned them during his reign.

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