Editing Rudyard Kipling (section)

===Reputation in India===
In modern-day India, whence he drew much of his material, Kipling's reputation remains controversial, especially among modern nationalists and some post-colonial critics. It has long been alleged that Rudyard Kipling was a prominent supporter of Colonel [[Reginald Dyer]], who was responsible for the [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre]] in [[Amritsar]] (in the province of [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]]), and that Kipling called Dyer "the man who saved India" and initiated collections for the latter's homecoming prize.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1130221/jsp/frontpage/story_16587696.jsp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225191140/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130221/jsp/frontpage/story_16587696.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 February 2013 |title=History repeats itself, in stopping short |website=telegraphindia.com}}</ref> Kim Wagner, senior lecturer in British Imperial History at [[Queen Mary University of London]], says that while Kipling did make a  £10 donation, he never made that remark.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/punjab/rudyard-kipling-gave-10-for-dyer-fund-756595|title=Rudyard Kipling gave £10 for Dyer fund|website=tribuneindia.com|access-date=22 October 2021|archive-date=22 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022042522/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/punjab/rudyard-kipling-gave-10-for-dyer-fund-756595|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, author Derek Sayer states that Dyer was "widely lauded as the saviour of Punjab", that Kipling had no part in organizing ''The Morning Post'' fund, and that Kipling only sent £10, making the laconic observation: "He did his duty, as he saw it."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sayer |first1=Derek |date=1 May 1991 |title=British Reaction to the Amritsar Massacre 1919–1920 |journal=Past & Present |issue=131 |pages=130–164 |doi=10.1093/past/131.1.130}}</ref>  Subhash Chopra also writes in his book ''Kipling Sahib – the Raj Patriot'' that the benefit fund was started by ''The Morning Post'' newspaper, not by Kipling.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kipling Sahib: the Raj patriot |author=Subhash Chopra |publisher=New Millennium |year=2016 |location=London |isbn=978-1858454405}}</ref> ''[[The Economic Times]]'' attributes the phrase "The Man Who Saved India" along with the Dyer benefit fund to ''The Morning Post'' as well.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/jallianwala-bagh-massacre-when-a-british-newspaper-collected-rs-26000-pounds-for-general-dyer/articleshow/68866316.cms?from=mdr|title=Jallianwala Bagh massacre: When a British newspaper collected 26,000 pounds for General Dyer|newspaper=The Economic Times|date=13 April 2019|access-date=22 October 2021|archive-date=11 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011105310/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/jallianwala-bagh-massacre-when-a-british-newspaper-collected-rs-26000-pounds-for-general-dyer/articleshow/68866316.cms?from=mdr|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many contemporary Indian intellectuals, such as [[Ashis Nandy]], have a nuanced view of Kipling's legacy. [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], the first prime minister of independent India, often described Kipling's novel ''[[Kim (novel)|Kim]]'' as one of his favourite books.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AtESAq0zPZAC&pg=PA137 |title=Globalization and educational rights: an intercivilizational analysis|first=Joel H. |last=Spring|date=2001|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page= 137|isbn=9781410606020 }}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=r6hlAAAAMAAJ Post independence voices in South Asian writings], Malashri Lal, [[Alamgīr Hashmī]], Victor J. Ramraj, 2001.</ref>

[[G. V. Desani]], an Indian writer of fiction, had a more negative opinion of Kipling. He alludes to Kipling in his novel ''[[All About H. Hatterr]]'':
{{Blockquote|I happen to pick up R. Kipling's autobiographical ''Kim''.

Therein, this self-appointed whiteman's burden-bearing sherpa feller's stated how, in the Orient, blokes hit the road and think nothing of walking a thousand miles in search of something.}}

Indian writer [[Khushwant Singh]] wrote in 2001 that he considers Kipling's "[[If—]]" "the essence of the message of The Gita in English",<ref>[[Khushwant Singh]], [http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?211656 "Review of ''The Book of Prayer'' by Renuka Narayanan"]  {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213061351/http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?211656|date=13 December 2013}} , 2001; review and Gita reference cited in [https://indiacurrents.com/if-you-can-keep-your-head-when-all-about-you-are-losing-theirs/ "If – You Can Keep Your Head When All About You Are Losing Theirs"] by Mukund Acharya, ''[[indiacurrents.com]]'', December 26, 2023 (possibly sourced to Wikipedia).{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}</ref> referring to the [[Bhagavad Gita]], an ancient Indian scripture. Indian writer [[R. K. Narayan]] (1906–2001) said: "Kipling, the supposed expert writer on India, showed a better understanding of the mind of the animals in the jungle than of the men in an Indian home or the marketplace."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/when-malgudi-man-courted-controversy/article6492181.ece?homepage=true|title=When Malgudi man courted controversy|work=The Hindu|first=Nitya|last=Menon|date=11 October 2014|access-date=13 October 2014|archive-date=13 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013000955/http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/when-malgudi-man-courted-controversy/article6492181.ece?homepage=true|url-status=live}}</ref> The Indian politician and writer [[Shashi Tharoor]] commented "Kipling, that flatulent voice of Victorian imperialism, would wax eloquent on the noble duty to bring law to those without it".<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/08/india-britain-empire-railways-myths-gifts|title='But what about the railways ...?' The myth of Britain's gifts to India|first=Shashi|last=Tharoor|date=8 March 2017|access-date=20 April 2020|archive-date=1 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501202303/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/08/india-britain-empire-railways-myths-gifts|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Kipling bungalow in the campus of Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai.jpg|thumb|The Kipling Bungalow, located adjacent to the site of his birth and built after Kipling had been sent to England.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Goradia |first=Abha |date=2019-01-31 |title=Kipling Bungalow: Restoration on track, likely to open to public next year |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/rudyard-kipling-bungalow-restoration-on-track-likely-to-open-next-year-5562042/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>]]
In November 2007, it was announced that Kipling's birth home within the campus of the Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai would be turned into a museum celebrating the author and his works.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kipling's India home to become museum |date=27 November 2007 |work=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7095922.stm |access-date=9 August 2008 |first=Zubair |last=Ahmed |archive-date=7 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107091311/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7095922.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> A plaque at the entrance of the Kipling Bungalow, located on campus, is engraved with the words: "Rudyard Kipling, son of Lockwood Kipling, first dean of Sir JJ School of Art, was born here on December 30, 1865."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pal |first=Sanchari |date=2017-01-18 |title=Once Upon a Time: The Inside Story of Rudyard Kipling's Mumbai Connection and 'The Jungle Book' |url=https://thebetterindia.com/82538/rudyard-kipling-jungle-book-mumbai-shimla-seoni/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=The Better India |language=en-US}}</ref> A bust of Rudyard Kipling exists here too.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barnagarwala |first=Tabassum |date=2016-12-31 |title=At Sir JJ School Of Art: Restoration to bring back to life bungalow where Kipling was born |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/at-sir-jj-school-of-art-restoration-to-bring-back-to-life-bungalow-where-kipling-was-born-4452621/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>