War and peace, calm and disquiet, eloquence and bluster are not merely academic themes at the Tagore Institute of Peace Studies (Tips). They are the daily pulse of our world, as unpredictable as the Indian monsoons and, at times, as noisy as the crowds when the women lifted the Cricket World Cup. If history repeats itself, sometimes it is best greeted with a cup of tea or, if you are Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, with an unflappable smile.
A Historical Encounter in Kolkata
Allow me to take you back to the evening of 3 December 1971. I was among a delegation from the Small Newspapers Association gathered at Raj Bhavan, Kolkata. The air, thick with anticipation, was punctuated by progressive ideas from West Bengal’s then Governor, Shanti Swarup Dhawan. Dhawan, a judge, had a soft spot for rebels and reporters, but before he could share his philosophy with us, H. Y. Sharda Prasad, Indira Gandhi’s press adviser, called us in. In politics, as in cricket, timing is everything.
Inside, Indira Gandhi greeted us in a manner philosophers would commend, with genuine calm, warmth and a surprising lack of hurry. ‘If you do not mind, can I sit in a relaxed manner?’ she asked, not so much making history as quietly unravelling its threads. Her response to a question about entrenched bureaucracies carried the clarity of Tagore’s own lines: ‘All will have to change and will change. For this, I need your support.’ We sensed her disappointment with the large newspapers and her desire to encourage smaller voices, and thought: here was a peacebuilder in sari-clad disguise.
Philosophy in Action: War, Calm and the Power of Equanimity
Here, the universe, always alert to irony, delivered its punchline. In the midst of this convivial gathering, a slip of paper arrived. Indira Gandhi read it, did not flinch, and continued chatting in her customary, amiable manner.
Unknown to us at the time, the note conveyed the news that Pakistan had attacked five major Indian air bases. There was no trace of turbulence on her face as she posed with our group in perfect equanimity. A leader stood before us, calmly smiling for a photograph while her country entered a war.
For the community of the Tagore Institute of Peace Studies (Tips), this is more than an anecdote. It is a living philosophy. Calmness does not amount to denial; it is composure, the art of holding radical uncertainty and quiet resolve in the same hand. In global diplomacy, as in life, such equanimity is the substance from which peace is made.