Author’s interview by Dr. Sanjukta Banerji (author – Deferred Hopes : Blacks in Contemporary America)
Why should a practicing electrical engineer suddenly leave his profession and devote himself to writing a book on Slavery and the Civil War? If one were to learn that the writer concerned was not simply a professional engineer, but an engineer from India who had gone to the United States for higher degrees in this subject and had later joined major American companies where he had worked in the field of Mass Transit and subway controls, one would certainly be quite amazed. It is out of sheer curiosity that I picked up Paul Kalra’s first book, From Slave to Separate but Equal and was suitably impressed with the depth of understanding shown towards a subject which should have been alien to him, both as a person whose academic discipline is far removed from the Social Sciences and as an Asian Indian who spent his formative years in India. My subsequent talk with him turned some interesting lights on how objective a person who comes from another clime and is not burdened by the paraphernalia of an academic degree in the subject can be.
Q ‑ What made you want to write this book?
A ‑ I have been living in the U.S for 50 years and I have been seeing certain things going on, specially the treatment of blacks. To me, the problem was obvious with an obvious solution. But I did not hear anybody talking about solutions in a realistic manner. That’s how I got interested in the subject and I started reading and doing research. And I found that there were all sorts of things which nobody wanted to talk about. Later on, I saw a program on PBS on the Civil War, and there was again a lot of talk about battles, about who was shooting whom, but there was nothing said about what they were actually fighting about, or about the causes of the war, or whether it could have been avoided in any way. Since so many people died in the war ‑ more than half a million Whites ‑ there must have been major issues which made the war unavoidable. After doing research into the subject, I found it very logical. And so I thought I would write a book to share my views ‑ my answers ‑ with all.
Q ‑ There are thousands of books on the subject, especially the Civil War. Did not any other aspect of the Black problem interest you?
A ‑ The book started with slavery and the treatment of blacks. But when I got to the Civil War I found that they were all connected and then it became a combination. The thing I discovered about American Slavery is that it was unique in depriving the blacks of their humanity. But this is an aspect which the books on American history do not talk about. Originally, I got a hint from Ulrich Phillips’ book (American Negro Slavery, 1918) that slavery in Louisiana had been somewhat different. That made me inquisitive about the nature of American Slavery. Later, I came across Tannenbaum’s Slave and the Citizen and although he was careful to talk about slavery in the Latin American context and avoided any comparison with the United States ‑ it put me on the right track regarding Catholic and Protestant Slavery.
Since I have never taken a course in American Slavery, I started with a clean slate. I found the relationship between American Slavery and the Civil War very logical, although some historians are now revising history and saying that the war was accidental. This, for me, was hard to believe. I felt that the historians were trying to hide something. Working logically, I came to the conclusion that Protestant Slavery created the peculiar problem in the American class system.
Q ‑ You have talked of the American Class System as one of the major causes of the War. What do you mean by the American Class System?
A ‑ The American Class System is not supposed to exist ‑ most Americans are supposed to belong to the middle class, and there is a very small percentage who are very rich or very poor. But if you have slavery, you straight away have two classes ‑ the slaveholding class and the non‑slaveholding class. I’ve also identified other classes like the wage slaves in the North and the white trash in the South. The class system depends on wealth, not on income which in time bound. In America, the subject is so sensitive, that they do not even collect any data on wealth. But unless you admit there is a class system, you cannot really explain what happened during the Civil War.
Q ‑ So was it slavery or was the existence of a class system which caused the war?
A ‑ Class war came about because there was slavery. Denying citizenship to slaves itself is a class concept. If there had been no slavery, there would not have been any civil war. It is a question of as you sow, so shall you reap. The slaveholding whites had been doing things to the slaves which put them in a bind, and the Civil war was needed to restore the balance in the southern class system. One of the main issues was slavery and the freeing of slaves once they had lost their utility. The problem was that they could not free the slaves even if they wished to because of the system which they had created. Historians so far have not pointed out this southern dilemma.
Q ‑ Slavery and the Civil War go back more than 150 years. Do you have any plans of writing anything on the current situation of the blacks?
A ‑ When I started this book, I only planned to write two chapters on slavery and the Civil War. The rest of the book was meant to trace the problem down to today. In fact, while working as an engineer, the question of why the blacks had not been able to better themselves while white immigrants had been able to move up the ladder, cropped up again and again. Some of my colleagues hinted that it had something to do with color, with having African blood. But I felt it had nothing to do with color, especially because I myself had grown up in a different country with a different value system. So my interest was basically on the current problem. But while doing my research on the subject, I found the connection that current problems have with slavery and the Civil war too interesting. I was seeing things in America which were irrational and I found some of the answers in Slavery and the Civil War. And so I had to write this book.
Q ‑ Do you feel that your book will open any new direction in research on slavery or the Civil War?
A ‑ Historians tend to talk to each other. They know a lot of things but they do not tell the public. The subject is sensitive and there appears to be a sort of conspiracy ‑ if you know, you do not tell, if you tell then you do not know.
In this sense, I feel that I have contributed something by being more direct about the subjects. The basic material is there, hidden in the books, but I have expanded topics like the difference between Catholic and Protestant slavery and its relevance to America. I have also written the book by subject areas ‑ law and order, family values, Civil Rights and so on. If anyone wants to know what slavery did to human rights, he needs to only look at the relevant chapter. I have also tried to show what slavery did to the Whites, since the Constitution was written for the Whites. So far as the blacks were concerned, they would be conveniently ignored anyway. Further, I have clearly defined the class system, with an emphasis on wage slavery, which exists even today. To me, the Civil War is a logical consequence of circumstances resulting from the practice of Protestant Slavery. I have tried to clarify this cause and effect relationship in the book.
Q ‑ Some of the issues that you have dealt with are controversial.
A ‑ My book is controversial. When I was working on it, I was told that I should be either Black or White to write on the subject and that I did not have any credibility in this field. But some things which were done during slavery were indefensible. And I felt that I had to find logical answers to questions which troubled me.
Q ‑ Did you get any grants to fund your research?
A ‑ No, I financed myself out of my savings. With my background in engineering I didn’t have any credentials in history. Therefore, grants were out of the question.
Q ‑ Did you have anyone to guide you? What was your experience in getting research materials?
A ‑ This was a personal search. I had questions to which I had to find logical answers. I had no problems because library systems in America are fantastic.
Q ‑ Did any books have a special impact on you?
A ‑ Tannenbaum’s Slave and the Citizen and Kenneth Stampp’s books on both slavery and the Civil War were especially helpful. I was lucky to find confirmation in these books on what I was thinking about. They told me I was going in the right direction.
Q ‑ Did any person or thing influence you in your writing?
A ‑ As i said, I have never taken a course in American history. But my background in India with its class system and castes did influence me. My engineering background helped me work things out logically. Primarily, it was a self motivated thing. If I did not write it, people would not believe what I had to say.
Q ‑ Do you see any similarity between the minority problems of America and India?
A ‑ The problems both here and there center around the class system, but in India they think that the Americans have all the answers, and so they tend to copy the Americans blindly without understanding what is going on. You have to understand the class system to solve the problems. The fundamental problem in any country is the problem of wage slavery, which involves a certain amount of coercion ‑ either the wage slaves work or they starve. In America about 40% of the population are wage slaves today. But the property owners are about 60%. Therefore, the wage slaves in America are not a threat. In India the wage slaves add up to about 90% of the population, and the property owners are a minority. In a democracy, therefore, they have the potential to take over power, and then there is a chance that there will be chaos. The question is how do you link democracy with poverty?
Q ‑ How do you think your book will be received in America?
A ‑ That is one of the unknowns. I know it is very controversial. However, the feedback I have received until now has been very encouraging.
Q ‑ You have talked about Catholic and Protestant Slavery. Are you a religious person?
A ‑ Not really. Catholic or Protestant Slavery ‑ the terms came about as labels. I am neither a Catholic nor a Protestant. My father has a Sikh background, but my mother is a Hindu. I am comfortable with all religions.
Q ‑ What are you plans for the future?
A ‑ I am working on another book. The American Class System : Divide and Rule. There are other areas too that I am interested in. All my books are in the form of questions and answers and there are enough questions around. A lot will depend upon the response to this book.