Writer and dissenter Tariq Ali in 2011 (left) and in 1984
When I interviewed writer and dissenter Tariq Ali in 1984 his demeanor was rough hewn. Even as he seemed amused by the the media attention he got during his brief stopover in Bombay, he was equally eager to share his views. Over a quarter century later he appears polished in a professorial sort of way, although he still gives you the sense that given half a chance he could take the gloves off and take to the street to protest a wrong of historic proportions.
The main purpose of his visit then was to attend a debate on “Has the Left any future in India?” that was hosted by The Telegraph newspaper. In the context of West Bengal, the question has been partially answered after over a quarter century in the victory of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress Party by defeating the Communist Party of India (Marxist) government. Whether that means the Left has no future left is another matter.
I happened to catch an interview with Ali with Riz Khan on Al Jazeera English and was transported back to 1984. While Khan’s conversation with Ali is far more reflective and personal, mine was more focused on the immediate situation in Pakistan, a country he had left for good in January, 1977. That was the time when General Zia ul Haq had banned his entry. I asked Ali how long Zia might last, “At the most five years from now.” I then suggested that the regime looked well entrenched. To which Ali said, “A smiling Zia in Indian newspapers does not mean he commands popular support. His days are numbered.”
His days were indeed numbered. Four years after Ali gave him at best five years, Zia was killed in a plane crash on August 17, 1988. The crash was widely believed by the Pakistanis to have been an assassination. Of course, Ali had a somewhat different idea to oust Zia. He was for a popular uprising but he also noted that the people of Pakistan were “tired.” “How many times can they take to the street?” was his question.
Firebrand is a word routinely used to describe Ali. That worked for him perfectly in 1984. In 2011, a better description would be contemplative. He does speak about his friendship with John Lennon and Mick Jagger and having to live for the last 30 years “in a period of defeat” in so much as it concerns the marginalization of his leftwing ideology. “It is not pleasant but one accepts it,” he says. While that comment is not necessarily out of character for Ali, I wonder whether he could have said it with such ease in 1984.
Here is my conversation with him.
On a separate note, it is amazing how similar men of certain background sound, not in terms of their views and thinking, but in the way they intone.