Book Review: Bob Marley by Garry Steckles

 

Garry Steckles, the author of this book has written a wonderful biography of Bob Marley- one of the renowned personalities from the Caribbean region who made his name on the global level. On 6 February 1945 Nesta Robert Marley was born in rural Jamaica. His father was a white man named Captain Norval Marley and his mother black named Cedella. Nesta had a typical rural childhood where he engaged in working on the farms and playing games. When Nesta was five year-olds he could read the palms of people. To this his mother became very astonished.

Nesta moves to Kingston after his father convinces his mother. Later it is discovered that Nesta does not live with his father’s brother, as the captian had promised earlier. At the age of ten Nest lost the father he really not knew. Cedella moves to Kingston leaving her son Nesta under the care of her father Omeriah- who was happy to have his grandson help him on the field. In 1957 Nesta joined his mother in Kingston. His mother spent a tough time doing domestic jobs with low pay. For the next couple of years, she and Nesta were virtual nomads, moving from rented room to rented room.

Bob Marley later went to the United States, but he could not bear the cold. He returned back to his native town where he was happier. Bob Marley gained fame but initially this fame did not give him the monetary return which he wanted. When Bob Marley got famous throughout the world along with his band of musicians he developed differences with the band manager. Reportedly, one of his managers stole large amounts of money from his concert payments.

Marley popularized reggae music throughout the world. His politically conscious lyrics and melody won him millions of fans around the world. He was not only a popstar. Having strong attachment to Rastafarian beliefs and practices he was a strong opponent of injustice. His wholehearted support for the downtrodden and oppressed are shown in his songs.

Steckles has written about Bob Marley’s early rural life in Jamaica, his recordings, performances and rise to become a famous star throughout the world. Marley’s political and religious beliefs are also briefly discussed. Moreover, his relationships with family members, fellow musicians and other international figures are also mentioned. The more money he earned the more he tried to distribute it. In Jamaica he distrusted money among thousands of needy people on a regular basis, after listening to their issues.

In the second last chapter the issue of royalty of the songs of Bob Marley is discussed. After his death there rose a series of legal cases in which very sad incidents took place. Fabricated signatures of Bob were used by his closed ones. Bob Marley was never so much attracted to material benefits. His whole philosophy of life had different set of principles. His manager and many band members were now busy contesting cases.

The concluding chapters of this book mention the sad demise of Baob Marley at the young age of thirty-six. Furthermore, it elaborates how the cancer developed in his foot and spread to his brain. Marley was initially very careless with the injury and by the time he got serious, it was unfortunately too late. In chapter eighteen Marley is quoted on life, fame, music, politics, marijuana, Africa, race, religion, money, mortality and poverty. Bob Marley says: “Me don’t love fighting, but me don’t love wicked either… I guess I have a kinda war thing in me. But is better to die fighting for freedom than to be a prisoner all the days of your life”.

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Book Review: Power and Terror: Post-9/11 Talks and Interviews by Noam Chomsky

 

Noam Chomsky completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his PhD degree from the same university in 1955. Moreover, he has received many honorary degrees and has written extensively on important themes. Considered a world-renowned political activist and professor, Chomsky in this book presents his views through a lengthy interview and a series of public talks he gave in the spring of 2002.

Without mincing words, the author writes about the double standards of the United States. He stresses that the United States should apply to its own actions the same moral standards it demands from other states. Addressing the issues related to terror, the author brings in the stark realities of the American intervention in Vietnam, Central America and the Middle East region.

Chomsky sees himself as the enabler of social change by providing his audience with information and analysis. In history imperial countries have always remained immune to atrocities. The author stresses that as he was growing up he along with other children used to play cowboys and Indians. He says: “We were the cowboys and we killed the Indians”. He tries to the antagonism that existed within American society.

Chomsky says that Turkey was the first country to offer troops to the U.S in Afghanistan because U.S was the only country willing to provide massive support for Turkey’s atrocities in southeast Turkey against Kurds. He further gives many examples from recent history in which he points out the hypocrisy of some of the world powers. Haiti, Cuba, Honduras, North Korea, Vietnam, Palestine, Iraq, Iran and many other examples are also quoted. In addition to that, he also criticizes hypocrisy of the western media and the intellectuals in addressing genuine issues of the world.

Chomsky concludes by saying that the world is a far more civilized place than it was in the past. Highlighting the challenges of the present age, Chomsky does not present pessimism in any case. In fact, he espouses optimism. His optimism is based on the point that armed with knowledge the public with not fail to act.

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Book Review: Setting the East Ablaze: Lenin’s Dream of an Empire in Asia By Peter Hopkirk

In 1920 Lenin had declared that England was Soviet Union’s greatest enemy and they must be hit in India hard. During this tense period of the twentieth century various intelligence gatherings missions were carried out, both on the Soviet and the British side. The Soviet secret police known as Cheka as rival of the British intelligence, which was still the world’s most formidable intelligence service. Disguised as member of shooting trips, scientific expeditions and covering as native traders, acts of espionage gained new highest in the Central Asian region. In Summer 1918 a small party on ponies led by Colonel Fredrick Bailey of the Indian Political and Secret Department were travelling through Chinese Central Asia heading for the Russian frontier. Another British officer included in this party was Major Stewart Blacker.

On 22 April Bailey left India and on 7 June he reached Kashgar. Messages from Kashgar took at least three weeks to reach India by runner. On June 16, 1918, when Bailey and his party were about to leave Kashgar Tsar Nicholas and his family were executed in cold blood in the soviet territory. As they travelled towards Tashkent Bailey stopped to catch butterflies. On 14 August 1918 Colonel Bailey and Major Blacker stepped off the train in Tashkent and drove to Regina hotel. The two officers were lucky enough not to get shot. Invisible ink and code was used to convey news of their situation to Etherton in Kashgar. On September 1, 1918 Sir George Macartney had arrived in Tashkent and both were summoned to the White House, residence of the former Governor-General, to see President of the new republic.

One of the reasons why forbearance was being shown to the mission was that Bolshevik’s desire for recognition by the British, the then leading power of the world. At Tashkent there was the American Consul named Roger Tredwell. The author of this book says that Bailey finished his lunch and made his way home. Safely inside he made the final plan and left for Tredwell’s, for supper. After supper he entered a narrow row of houses nearby, after which he disappeared.

Another character in the great game was Paul Nazaroff who was the ringleader of a White Russian plot to overthrow the Tashkent Soviet and link up with the British to the West. Nazaroff was caught by two Cheka agents. Osipov had overthrown the Tashkent government and before the Revolution he was a junior officer in the Tsarist army. ‘For months now those Russians opposed to Bolshevik rule in Central Asia had been looking in desperation to the British for deliverance’, says Hopkirk.

Bailey was still on the run from the Cheka and was out of touch with his government. Indian revolutionaries had arrived in Tashkent with Bolshevik assistance and Bailey had noted them, not for the first time. King Habibullah of Afghanistan strictly remained neutral throughout the war from 1914-18. An Afghan mission had visited Moscow and met Lenin, Trotsky and other senior Bolshevik leaders.

Bailey’s former companion in Tashkent was now engaged in Bolshevik-watching from Meshed. To Bailey in Tashkent it had become obvious that the British were not aiming to drive the Bolsheviks out of Central Asia. He was simply wasting his time there and was at considerable risk. Bailey with the help of Manditch, a Serbian police contact got recruited in the Bolshevik Secret Service. Before leaving Tashkent Bailey managed to obtain a letter of introduction from the Bokharan consul to his opposite number in Kagan. It was acquired through mutual friends on ‘a solemn promise that Bailey was not a Bolshevik’. It was the last Bolsheviks were ever to see of Bailey.

It occurred to Bailey that once established in Bokhara, with the Emir’s blessings, he would be well placed to supply to Meshed regular intelligence about what was going on in Bolshevik Central Asia, just as Etherton was doing from Kashgar. Bailey made his escape to Persia on January 6, 1920. Bailey’s party crossed the river and narrowly escaped Bolshevik arrest. After seventeen months Bailey was finally on friendly soil. After Bailey, the author places Major (later Colonel) Etherton in the Soviet order of villainy. Etherton spent four years as Consul General at Kashgar. His book Across the Roof of the World is also mentioned by Hopkirk. In January 1918 a wireless receiving set was installed which intercepted Bolshevik radio traffic between Tashkent, Moscow and elsewhere. Officially the Consul General was there in Kashgar to protect the rights of British –Indian subjects in Chinese Turkestan. The Consul staff included a Vice-Consul, British wireless monitors, chief clerk, an assistant clerk, a Chinese secretary and numerous orderlies and servants. In case of trouble this British outpost had thirty sepoys commanded by an Indian officer who were changed annually.

The author describes the Chini Bagh residence at Kashgar. In 1913 Chini Bagh was demolished and a new twenty roomed European style residence was constructed. Before 1914-18, this English home was the oasis for rare European travelers. Albert von Le Coq and Aurel Stein also visited this place. The Bolsheviks were pressing the Chinese to be allowed to open consulates in Sinkiang and handover those who still remained loyal to the Tsarist cause. Etherton was determined to sabotage the Bolshevik move. Etherton warned the Chinese that the Bolsheviks would foment trouble among the Muslim population, which was already restless. Not until three years after Etherton’s departure from Kashgar was Moscow allowed to reoccupy its own Consulate-General at Kashgar.

On the second of March 1919, fifty-two leading revolutionaries including Lenin and Trotsky met within the walls of Kremlin to lay the foundations of the Communist International, which became better known as Comintern. Lenin wanted Bolshevism to spread in India. For this Manabendra Nath Roy was ready. He was a native of Bengal and from a well-known Brahmin family. He began his revolutionary career in as anti-British secret society. Wanted for treason by the British authorities Roy fled via Japan and China to the United States. Roy had disagreed with Lenin on two issues. First, Roy insisted that the colonies should first be liberated and secondly Roy did not want cooperation with non-Marxist liberation movements.

Further in the book, Baron Ungern-Sternberg who brought terror to Mongolia and Enver Pasha who dreamed of a Turkish empire in Central Asia is well explained. Their photographs are also published in the book. In 1921 Anglo-Soviet Trade Agreement was mad, which according to the author made partial recognition by the greatest of the imperialist powers. The news of the agreement was a bombshell to Colonel Etherton, who was at Kashgar. In India Mahatma Gandhi had appeared on the political scene. Gandhi had transformed the Indian National Congress into a nationwide political party. Mongolia on the other hand, was the second country to turn Communist. Ungern-Sternberg had it made easy for the Russians, says the author.

The entire Muslim population of Central Asia was alienated when the ancient Muslim town of Kokand was brutally sacked by the Soviets in 1918. Basmachi bands were formed as a reaction to this. Lenin chose Enver Pasha, a former Turkish General to break the basmachi and persuade the Muslim masses to join the Bolshevik cause. Enver wanted to deliver British India to the Bolsheviks in exchange their help in restoring him to power in Turkey, which by now was in the grip of one of his former colonels, Mustafa Pasha, better known as Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk showed himself to be friendly towards the soviet neighbors and hostile towards the British.

Enver Pasha’s political fortunes reached a low ebb on March 16, 1921 when Moscow finally signed a treaty with his arch-foe Ataturk. The author says that: “But it appears that the unsuspecting Lenin dispatched him to Central Asia hoping that he would exert his considerable influence on the local Muslim population…”. Enver arrived in Bohara which was now in firm Bolshevik hands. He made secret contact with basmachi leaders. Enver is said to have found himself in the cradle of the Turkish race. He was to lead against the Bolsheviks. Enver had to unite Uzbek, Turkoman, Kirghiz and Kazakh. He sent messengers to Khiva, Samarkand and Ferghana to invite basmachi leaders to join forces with him. On 14 February 1922 Enver captured Dushambe, in present-day Tajikistan.

On the other side, Roy considered Gandhi’s ideas as ‘positively reactionary’ and not being revolutionary. Ten of Roy’s Indian agents were picked up after entering the India across the Pamir. They were charged under section 121-A of the Indian Penal Code. Satlin who had been placed in charge of the Comintern’s eastern operations by Lenin, was now becoming increasingly impatient at Roy’s lack of results. On May 8, 1923 Lord Curzon sent an ultimatum warning Moscow that unless, within ten days, it withdrew all its agents operating against British interests in Asia, or anywhere else, trade relations between the two countries would be terminated forthwith. Moscow was momentarily stunned by Curzon’s bombshell but for the Bolsheviks Soviet India remained the ultimate Prize in Asia, and Moscow had no intention of abandoning its hopes. Comintern now aimed at expanding Eastwards towards China as well as into French Indo-China and the Dutch East Indies. Bolshevisk had links with China dated from 1920.

On February 1, 1924, Britain accorded full diplomatic recognition to the Soviet Union, becoming the first major power to do so. Major George Gillan who took charge as Consul-General at Kashgar pointed out to Taoyin that incase of trouble the British Consul-General could become a refuge for the most obvious victims of the mobs. In Kashgar Gillan and his Russian counterpart were indulging in these shadowy pursuits, elsewhere in China there had been dramatic developments. Borodin wanted the communists in China to go along with the Kuomintang and to seize victory from them at the last moment, from within. The warlord-held territories could be captured in this manner was what Borodin planned. Roy exited from the Soviet Union with the help of Borodin. Roy was arrested in Bombay and was found guilty and sentenced to twelve years of rigorous imprisonment.  He argued in court and quoted Hume and Bentham. His sentence was cut half.

Chapter sixteen is about the last of the central Asian dreamers. In this chapter the political turmoil, killings, conflicts and the last foreigners who observed the various changes in that part of Central Asia are mentioned. Khotan, Kucha and Yarkand are mentioned in the next chapter, serving as important positions in the great game. Colonel Reginald Schomberg, after travelling through Chinese Central Asia produced a twelve-page report. He warned that there is great threat of ‘Red intrigue’ in ‘India, Tibet, Chitral and Punial’.

Peter Hopkirk espouses that the East fails to ignite as he says that: “Lenin’s great dream of an empire in Asia, like those of Sternberg, Enver and Ma, had ended in failure”. Hopkirk considers that the only permanent gain has been Mongolia. Bailey described as the last player in the Great Game was to serve the British government for another eighteen years. First as political officer in Sikkim, later resident in Srinagar and lastly as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Royal Court of Nepal. Bailey passed away in 1967 at the age of eighty-five. The author considers him as the last survivor of those stirring days in Asia’s back.

The bloody struggle is a story of British intelligence officers, armed communists of the Communist International, Muslim leaders, Chinese political figures and other regional stakeholders. A very interesting read for all those interested in understanding Great Game in the Central Asian region.

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