The Ghost of Mrs. Gandhi Questions and Answers

The Ghost of Mrs. Gandhi Questions and Answers

SHORT QUESTIONS ANSWERS

. 1. “Nowhere else in the world did the year 1984 fulfill its apocalyptic portents as it did in India“.- What is the source of the line? What is said in support of this comment?

Ans. The line is quoted from the essay “The Ghost of Mrs. Gandhi” by Amitava Ghosh.

Remembering the year of 1984 in India the author comments the quoted line. He says that separatist violence in the Punjab, the military attack on the great Sikh temple of Amritsar; the assassination of the Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi; riots in several cities; the gas disaster in Bhopal – the events followed relentlessly on each other. He comments that there were days in 1984 when it took courage to open the New Delhi papers in the morning.The Ghost of Mrs. Gandhi Questions and Answers

Q. 2. “Looking back, I see that the experiences of that period were profoundly important to my development as a writer; so much so that I have never attempted to write about them until now.” – What is the source of the line? Which period is referred to here?

Ans. The line is quoted from the essay “The Ghost of Mrs. Gandhi” by Amitava Ghosh.

The period of relentless events of violence and unrest in India in the year of 1984, including the assassination of the Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, is referred to here.

Q. 3. What introduction does the author give about himself in his essay “The Ghost of Mrs. Gandhi”?

Ans. Amitava Ghosh says that he was twenty-eight. The city he considered home was Calcutta, but New Delhi was where he had spent all his adult life except for a few years in England and Egypt. He had returned to India two years before, upon completing a doctorate at Oxford, and recently found a teaching job at Delhi University.

But it was in the privacy of his baking rooftop hutch that his real life was lived. He was writing his first novel, The Shadow Lines in the classic fashion, perched in garret.

Q. 4. The assassination had occurred shortly before, just a few miles away, but I had no knowledge of this when I boarded the bus. What is the source of the line? Which assassination is referred to here? When did the author board the bus? Where was the speaker going? How long did it take to reach his destination?

Ans. The line is quoted from the essay “The Ghost of Mrs. Gandhi by Amitava Ghosh.

The assassination of the Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, on 31st October, 1984 is referred to here. The author boarded the bus at about half past nine. The author was going to Delhi University.

It took ninety minutes to reach his destination.

Q. 5. How does Amitava Ghosh describe the college campus when he reached there on the day of the assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi?

Ans. When he walked into the grounds, he saw not the usual boisterous, Frisbee-throwing crowd of students but a small group of people standing intently around transistor radio.

Q. 6. According to the buzz of the town, what was the reason behind the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi?

Ans. A young man in the University campus who approached Amitava Ghosh said that no one knew for sure, but it was being said that Mrs. Gandhi had been shot. The word was that she had been assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards, in revenge for her having sent troops to raid the Sikhs’ Golden Temple in Amritsar earlier that year………..

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Short Essay Type Questions with Answers

1 Q. . Describe Amitava Ghosh’s experience in the bus while he was going to Safdarjang Enclave with his friend Hari Sen?

Ans. Amitava Ghosh says that he left the university in the late afternoon with his Hari Sen, who lived at Safdarjang Enclave. Ghosh says that to get to Hari’s house they had to change buses at Connaught Place, that elegant circular arcade that lies at the geographical heart of Delhi, linking the old city with the new. Ghosh says that as the bus swung around the periphery of the arcade, he noticed that the shops, stalls, and eteries were beginning to shut down, even though it was still afternoon.

Their next bus was not quite full, which was unusual. Just as it was pulling out, a man ran out of the office and jumped on. Ghosh describes that he was middle-aged and dressed in shirt and trousers, evidently an employee in one of the government buildings. He was a Sikh, but the author scarcely noticed this at the time.

He probably jumped on without giving the matter any thought, this being his regular, daily bus. But, as it happened, on this day no choice could have been more unfortunate, for the route of the bus went past the hospital where Indira Gandhi’s body then lay. Certain loyalists in her party had begun inciting the crowds gathered there to seek revenge. The motorcade of Giani Zail Singh, the President of the Republic, a Sikh, had already been attacked by a mob.

None of this was known to them then, and they would never have suspected it: violence had never been directed at the Sikhs in Delhi.

As the bus made its way down New Delhi’s broad, tree-lined avenues, official-looking cars, with outriders and escorts, overtook the author’s bus, speeding toward the hospital. As the bus drew nearer, it became evident that a large number of people had gathered there. But this was no ordinary crowd: Ghosh says, it seemed to consist of red-eyed young men in half-buttoned shirts. It was now that the author noticed that his Sikh fellow-passenger was showing signs of anxiety, sometimes standing up to look out, sometimes glancing out the door. It was too late to get off the bus; the ruffians were everywhere.
The bands of young men grew more and more menacing as we approached the hospital. There was a watchfulness about them; some were armed with steel rods and bicycle chains; others had fanned out across the busy road and were stopping cars and buses.

Then, Ghosh, recounts, a stout woman in sari sitting across aisle from the author was the first to understand what was going on. Rising to her feet, she gestured urgently at the Sikh, who was sitting hunched in his seat. She hissed at him in Hindi, telling him to get down and keep out of sight.

The man started in surprise and squeezed himself into the narrow footspace between the seats. Minutes later, our bus was intercepted by a group of young men dressed in bright, sharp synthetics. Several had bicycle chains wrapped around their wrists. They ran along beside the bus as it slowed to a halt. We heard them call out to the driver through the open door, asking if there were any Sikhs in the bus.

The driver shook his head. No, he said, there were no Sikhs in the bus. A few rows ahead of the author, the crouching turbaned figure had gone completely still. Outside, some of the young men were jumping up to look through the windows, asking if there were any Sikhs in the bus. There was no anger in their voices; that was the most chilling thing of all.

Someone answered in negative and immediately other voices picked up the refrain. Soon all the passengers were shaking their heads and sying, no, no, let us go now, we have to get home. Eventually, the ruffians stepped back and waved the pessangers of the bus through. Nobody said a word as the bus sped away down Ring Road

2 Q. . What description of Defence Colony is given by Amitava Ghosh?

Ans. In his reminiscent essay, “The Ghost of Mrs Gandhi,” while describing his life in New Delhi, in 1984, Amitava Ghosh describes the Defence Colony where he used to live that time………..the remaining answers are on you tube.