Indian agriculture needs agents of change.

Indian agriculture needs agents of change.

Farmers are in distress today in India. Here are some facts :

Over 3,00,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last 20 years; Almost 42% of the farmers want to quit farming;70% of the farmers own less than one hectare of land and supplement their income with non-farm activities like livestock rearing; More than 40% of the farmers avail the MGNREGA ( Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) card. Then there are hardy annuals - floods and droughts.

In spite of many irrigation projects, irrigated land is less than half of arable land.

Even when the farmers produce more, they are in distress as indicated by farmers’ agitation in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh this year. Prices of onions ( from Rs.800 to Rs.450),grapes ( from Rs.50 to Rs.15), soybeans ( from Rs.3500/3600 to Rs.2700/2800), red chilli ( from Rs.12,000 per quintal to Rs.3000 in A.P.) No wonder farmers in many states are on a warpath. Many state governments like Maharashtra, Punjab and UP have come out with loan waivers. This is just a band-aid, not a solution to the endemic problem of agriculture.

There has been a bias against farmers in India’s economic development. There was an effort to curb agricultural prices to contain inflation which affects the urban people, especially workers. “ Unfortunately,” say two agricultural economists, Ashok Gulati and Siraj Hussain, “ our policy is biased in favour of the consumers and that inadvertently makes it anti-farmer.” Mahatma Gandhi was right when he observed that urban people would do everything for the farmer except getting off from his back.

A farmer’s life is not a bed of roses, but of thorns. Indian agriculture is subject to vagaries of weather, input prices, government policies and the market prices. How to protect the farmer from these uncertainties is a challenge not just to the farmer but the country itself.    

Independence and after

Our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru built  what he poetically called ‘ temples of India’ - many irrigation projects were launched and many agricultural colleges and universities were established to promote agriculture after Independence. After a while, India had to depend on PL 480 wheat from the USA. It was derided as ‘ ship-to-mouth’ existence. Old generation still remembers Lal Bahadur Shastri asking people to miss a meal every week to help cope with the scarcity of food. Then came the Green Revolution during the regime of Indira Gandhi.

Apart from subsidized inputs like fertilizers and power, distribution of good seeds, the government now provides interest subsidy and minimum support price (MSP). The Green Revolution started with hybrid seeds and extension services and this brought prosperity to Punjab, Haryana, Western UP  and some parts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. However, it failed to reach other parts of the country after India became self-sufficient in foodgrains ( rice & wheat). Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) which are supposed to be the link between R&D institutions and the farmer failed in their role. KVK are not staffed fully, nor equipped for the task now.

Agriculture after 2000.

In the recent years, two state governments excelled in agriculture, and they are Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. While Gujarat notched about 10 % growth for a decade, Madhya Pradesh scaled more than 10% for over a decade. Gujarat undertook massive conservation activities through watershed development and provision of power for 8/10 hours at subsidized rates. In Madhya Pradesh  ‘ bijli-paani-khreed-sadak’ formula did wonders for MPs agriculture’ says agricultural economist, Ashok Gulati. This growth in agriculture ensured success in the elections to both Narendra Modi and Shivraj Singh Chowhan. Too much success also brings too much pain. This year glut in the market crashed the prices of agricultural commodities which was compounded by imports.This highlights the need for fine-tuning the imports with production. All governments are scared of rising prices which leads to agitation by rival political parties. This time it is the farmers who were on a warpath with government.   

After 2014, Modi government has taken many initiatives to promote agriculture and doubling farmers’ income - Irrigation ( Krishi Sinchayi Yojana), insurance( Fasal Bima Yojana), e-NAM (National Agricultural Market) linking 585 regulated markets in the country. Neem-coated urea has prevented its diversion. Soil-health card enables the farmers to know what to produce and what fertilizer to use for better yield from his land.   

Agents of change

The Green Revolution helped India become self-sufficient in foodgrains in a short period, thanks to KVK - Krishi Vigyan Kendras. Strengthening them is the key. There is enough schemes with the government for the farmers’ prosperity. The timely delivery of the seeds and fertilizers, information on weather conditions, credit from the banks and marketing his produce are of prime needs of a farmer. The majority of the farmers have small farms and they need guidance to make them profitable ventures.

There is a vast man-power waiting to be harnessed to improve agriculture. India has 66 agricultural universities with 265 agricultural colleges affiliated to them. They produce 15,000 graduates, 11,000 post-graduates and 2500 Phds every year. There are about 3,15,000 professionally qualified personnel who can be tapped to serve KVKs. They should be contracted for a period of three to five years to guide small and marginal farmers. If they improve the productivity of the farmers and improve their income, they should be given promotion, incentives and even partnership with the farmers. They can suggest pooling of land in a village or form a co-operative like Amul. They can seek the help of NABARD for finance. Every village farm should be provided with professional help in every possible way.

Small farmers overuse fertilizers, pesticides, and do not know what to sow. They frequently change cropping pattern and this leads to overproduction of onions, potatoes and other crops.Recently 20 farm labourers died after inhaling poisonous pesticides in Yavatmal district in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. Vidarbha is the region where many farmers have committed suicide. It is also rain-shadow region of Maharashtra.  

Anna Hazare changed the face of Ralegan Siddhi by harnessing water resources through water-shed development,and many other villages followed suit. One of them is Popatrao Pawar who brought prosperity to Hiware Bazar and he availed many of the schemes of the government to the village. Many villagers have returned to their earlier agricultural profession and some of them have become millionaires.

A leader or a guide for a village or cluster of villages can change the fortunes our villages. This is what the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis intends to do in 1000 villages especially in the drought affected villages. He has enlisted cooperation of corporates, and deployed a team of graduates.

Indian agriculture has a great future.

A few years ago the World Bank study had said India is a global power-house in agriculture. It is the largest producer of milk, pulses, spices, and has the largest cattle herd ( buffaloes), largest area under wheat, rice and cotton. It has the potential to be the largest exporter of farm products if we can increase the yield of our crop to the world level. It will make our farmers prosperous. All that we need is the agents of change.

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Liberalism has deeper roots in India.

Liberalism has deeper roots in India.

“ For the liberal “, writes Lord Alderdice, Member of Parliament, House of Lords, UK, “ the central principle is often described as ‘freedom of the individual’, which explains why choice, tolerance, rule of law, civil and political rights, property and entrepreneurship are so important for the liberals. Without them, freedom of the individual would be meaningless.”

He agrees that the liberals are a motley crowd - classical liberals, new/social liberals, libertarians, and neo-liberals. However, they all agree ‘the freedom of the individual’ is of supreme value. It believes in liberty and liberality, and distrusts decisions made on his behalf by the collective entities such as nations, classes, castes and religious groups which ignore differences within such entities with different needs. They create new injustices.

The above liberal principles are elaborated by Lord Alderdice in his essay, “ S.V.Raju : Keeping the Flame of Liberalism Alive”, in the book, Liberalism in India - Past, Present and Future, Essays in Honour of S.V.Raju, edited by Parth J.Shah,President, Centre for Civil Liberty,New Delhi. The book contains 15 essays by eminent writers, economists, journalists and authors like Lavesh Bhandari, Surjit S.Bhalla, Gurcharan Das, R.Jagannathan, Ashok V.Desai, Jayaprakash Narayan, Jaithirth Rao, Hindol Sengupta, Atanu Dey, Nirvikar Singh,Pranay Kotasthane & Nitin Pai, Barun Mitra and Seetha. It also contains a brief review of the Indian Economy by Nadir Godrej in verse. The essays are thought-provoking.

The liberal principles are accepted all over the world after the Second World War. It is well-reflected in the United Nations and its various organs which are based on these principles. They emerged from the long struggle of people against the Kings in England and other European countries  - Magna Carta, the French Revolution, the American Declaration of Independence.

Liberalism in India

The Indian Constitution too is based on these liberal principles. The fathers of the Indian Constitution were well-versed in the democratic and republican constitutions of the Western countries. Not so well-known is the fact that the values that are proclaimed in our Constitution are also values that are the foundation of Indian Civilization.  

The Indian Renaissance started with Raja Rammohan Roy who pleaded with the British Government to ban the practice of Sati which is not sanctioned by the scriptures, nor by the law-givers like Manu and Yajnavalkya. “ They (the British) not only brought English liberal philosophies to India but also helped Indians discover their liberalism in their own heritage”, states Hindol Sengupta, in his piece, ‘Mind of the Indian Liberal : Liberal Thought in India’. Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Lokamanya Tilak, Sri Aurobindo and many others highlighted the liberal ideals and ideas of Indian Civilization.

Mahatma Gandhi’s liberalism is rooted in Dharma and ahimsa. He lived it. His concepts of Swaraj, Swadeshi, Sarvodaya and Satyagraha were based on Dharma and Ahimsa. Lavesh Bhandari, in his essay, ‘Gandhiji’s Dharma Vs Nehruji’s Vikas’, has discussed in detail Gandhiji’s views. “ Dharma is not religion nor is it a duty imposed by society or the state. It is simply a set of principles that an individual attempts to act with a sense of duty and this is what holds world together. Dharma, therefore, is not about obligation to others and does not stem from a fear of god or higher powers. It is a responsibility to the self and to the world. Arguably, the key element of Gandhiji’s dharma was ahimsa or non-violence.”  

Gandhiji had a holistic view of life, and he made it clear by saying, “ I do not draw a sharp line or make any distinction between economics and ethics.”  Gandhiji’s views on Western/Industrial/ Indian Civilizations are in his seminal work, Hind Swaraj. The Acquisitive Society that the West has created has made alienation a part of life.The rat race - race to amass wealth - has made life a purposeless journey.

Liberalism is the essence of Hinduism and it has been expressed in different scriptures/ literature and in different words - ekam sat vipra bahuda vadanti ( There is One Truth but wise call it in different names); tamasoma jyotirgamaya ( let’s go from darkness to Light); vasudhaiva kutumbakam ( world is a family), aham brahmasmi ( I am part of the Divine). The Hindu vision connects the individual spirit with universal spirit just like a drop of water with the ocean, the drop has the same potential as the sea. Man is creative just like the Divine - difference is in the degree and quality.

The post-Independence - socialism & liberalism.

Liberalism in the post-Independence was concerned only with economic liberalism. Mahatma’s chosen successor Jawaharlal Nehru was so influenced by Marxism, Soviet Union and Fabian Socialism he imposed his will - a concoction of the three - on the Congress Party, after the sudden demise of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. The concept of five-year plan was copied from the Soviet Union, formal democratic set up was adopted from UK and he ran a one-man rule for about 17 years. His mixed economy could yield only 3.5% GDP growth for about 30 years with per capita income growth by 1.3 % per annum. Professor Raj Krishna called it, ‘Hindu rate of growth’ - This was a gross defamation of Hindus. Hindustan/ India was invaded repeatedly for its wealth. Some economic historians ( Angus Maddison is one of them) have calculated that half the wealth of the world in the Middle Ages was created by India and China, China a little more than India. Dharma and artha (wealth) are interdependent - one supports the other. Laxmi and Kubera are as much worshipped as Saraswati, Rama and Krishna.

Things changed dramatically only after the Silent Revolution of 1991 surreptitiously ushered in by the PM P.V.Narasimha Rao. He loosened the permit-licence raj and opened many doors for the private sector to contribute to the national economy. The economy grew by 6 to 8% and 4.4% per capita income in the last 25 years. India has the potential to grow at 8 to 10 % per annum and abolish poverty if proper policies are adopted.   

If the socialists did not give attention to cultural and civilizational values of India which sustained Indian Civilization, the liberals too ignored it. Both regarded them as religious and even, communal. They only looked at the rituals of popular Hinduism but not  the spiritual and philosophical underpinnings. For example, Yoga is a unique gift of Hindu thought which promotes physical well-being and can be used for spiritual strength as well. Meditation is another. Ayurveda is the third one. The concept of dharma - that which sustains life, society and the individual - is the next. Ahimsa - reverence for life - is also a Hindu ideal - that is why they worship trees and even animals. Hindus find God everywhere as He animates all. Protection of environment and wildlife are basic tenets of Hindu view of life.

But for modernists, socialists and liberals, it is all communal. They are bringing the European experience to India. This has been brought well in the book, The Closing of the Western Mind ( The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason) by Charles Freeman, and Europe descended in thousand years of darkness - books being banned, Inquisition of heretics etc. The discovery of Greek thought, preserved by the Muslim World, led to Renaissance, Reformation and ultimately Enlightenment.

India had a different story. There was no thought control. Reformation was a continuous process -  Buddha, Mahavir, Shankaracharya, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya, Sant Kabir, Guru Nanak, Alwars, Nayanars, Sant Tukaram, Purandaradasa, Kanakadasa, and many others preached liberty, equality, fraternity and dignity of all human beings. Even the king cannot transgress these social norms.

The disconnect with the people and their values

Most of the liberals are arm-chair politicians. They have a huge disconnect  with the people and thier values. This is discussed by Jaithirth Rao, in his essay, “ The problems with Liberal Parties”. He says New York Republicans are worried about taxes, deficits and free enterprise. But the rank-and-file Republican supporters are interested in only three issues - opposition to abortion (euphemistically referred to as the Right to Life), support to guns ( presented as a defence of the Bill of Rights), and opposition to the legislation giving citizenship illegal immigrants ( a reward for law-breakers).

Even a fine liberal like Konrad Adenauer in post-1945 West Germany had to bank on social and religious identity, and his party is called, Christian Democrat, says Rao. The identity in politics can be based on language, caste, region or religion. And he concludes, “ But the chances that a non-identity based classical liberal party will actually have millions of passionate members and will win at the hustings without the veneer of identity politics in any electoral democracy - be it in India, the U.S., Germany, Japan, or that matter even in Britain - seems a very low probability event. And in politics as elsewhere, realism must prevail.”  How true !

However, one has to add that Hindu Civilizational values are human values, and Hinduism respects all diversities and pluralities. It is based on human identity, not on any race,language,caste, region or religion.

It is sad that the Indians have forgotten their heritage. When the foundation is weak ( without values), superstructure is bound to be fragile ( corruption, inefficiency, lack of work ethics). Modern India requires the strong foundations of values ( dharma - what is right and what is wrong) to build a just society or a society of equals.

July 10, 2017

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Modi's three years - Dwan of a New India.

Modi’s three years -  Dawn of  A New India.

What are the achievements and failures of Modi’s government in the last three years ?  

‘ Structural change’ says well-known economist, Surjit Bhalla in his article in the Indian Express, and adds, “ This structural change has occurred across various dimensions, and it is continuing. Whether it be economics, politics, social policies, foreign policy, you name it - distinct stamp is being placed on India.”

Another commentator, veteran journalist Virendra Kapoor, writes in DNA, under the headline, “ Modi and his 24X7 delivery” and explains that ‘his government is reining in inflation, cleaning up bad loans, and jump-starting investments’. And then states, “ On the completion of three years of Modi sarkar, the Opposition criticised it for everything under the sun but NOT corruption. This is one unalloyed success the Prime Minister can be genuinely proud of. Neither he nor any minister can be accused of being in bed with moneybags. Indeed, no government in free India has escaped the taint of scams.No, not even Nehru’s, nor, for that matter, Vajpayee’s. This one has. Full marks for that.” And then he observes that “ there is lot that the government has done to lift the national mood from one of cynicism and despondency to that of hope and optimism.”

Structural change, yes. No corruption, yes. Hope, yes. What about economy ? Remember what President Clinton said ? “It’s economy, stupid.”

Indian economy in the last three years

Even the Indian Express, a well-known critic of Modi government, has appreciated the economic upturn in the last three years. The editorial under the headline,” On an even keel” says, “ Modi government has shored up economic stability- Now for the leap”.   

The real GDP growth, which was 5.5% in FY 13 & 6.4% FY 14 has steadily gone up to 7.5% in FY15, 8.0% in FY16 but dipped to 7.1% due to the disruption in money circulation as a consequence of de-monetisation, according to the data of Central Statistical Office (CSO).The economy will resume its upward path thanks to the normal monsoon after two drought years, and the investment boost both by the state and hopefully by the private sectors. Inflation has come down, and the government has maintained macroeconomic stability. Sluggish world economy, inward-looking US and the large farm loan waiver announced by a number of states in India may affect the growth prospects in the near term. Consumption-based Indian economy may easily overcome these factors.  

Infrastructure : While private investment has not yet taken off in a big way, public sector investment in infrastructure has created many job opportunities. Shipping and road transport sectors have orders worth Rs.6 lakh crore, says Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari,  which creates jobs for 60 lakh crore people. Infrastructure investment creates informal jobs for the manual workers but the ‘Make in India’ which creates permanent jobs for the skilled and educated workforce is likely to pick up in the coming years. The government has made efforts through the removal of restrictions on foreign investment, removing the red-tape through ‘ ease of doing business’ and the GST  (the Goods & Services Tax) and many other measures.

The Minister of State for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy Mines, Piyush Goel, has successfully tackled power shortage, and India has become a power surplus state. With his reform formula, UDAY, covering the entire value chain in the power sector -fuel, generation, transmission, renewables, distribution, consumers. The energy mix in the country has more renewables than a few years ago - Coal (66.99%), renewables (17.40%), hydro (13.55%), and nuclear (2.06%). Toady India is in the 26th rank in the World Bank’s electricity accessibility from the earlier 99 in 2014.

Railways have mobilized enormous resources to make it the lifeline of the nation with faster and cleaner trains, double lines in busy sections, dedicated freight corridor, attracting investment by the private sector and many other ideas. The Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and the Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj have given a human touch by attending to the problems of the common men and women.     

      

Not just reform but transformation.

However, I would venture to say that the Modi government has laid the foundation for a new India (a) based on participation of the people in  nation-building; (b) Antyodaya - the poor-centric policies; ( c ) pragmatic, not dogmatic, and (d) inspiring leadership.

( a) People’s participation : Modi has taken a leaf out of the book of Mahatma Gandhi who was able to rouse the common people to achieve swaraj. He is aware of the immense problems facing the nation, and he also knows government alone cannot solve them.   

The most important change that Modi has brought to the country is the change in the mindset of the people. He, like Mahatma Gandhi, sought the participation of the people in nation-building. The Mahatma changed the elitist Congress which petitioned the British government to one where people took the lead to change things in the country. It was not just agitation, there was constructive programmes as well.  

All the governments since 1947 have told the country what they are doing for the people, and for the first time the government is telling people,  ‘let’s join hands to change the country’.  Whether it is ‘Swatch Bharat’, ‘ Digital India’, conferring national awards, suggestions to improve governance, Modi government has asked people to participate - give suggestions to improve governance. The government’s website has thrown open to people for suggestions and also complaints. Democracy is as good as people’s active participation. When the people ( general public, ngos, corporates ) and the government ( politicians and the bureaucracy) join hands miracles can happen. Modi government is not a ‘ma-baap’ sarkar but a ‘self-help’ sarkar. Modi government wants to empower people, and it wants to encourage innovation and enterprise.

His rapport with people enabled him to successfully carry out the de-monetisation scheme which affected the poor the most. He was able to get one crore people to surrender their LPG subsidy.   

( B) Antyodaya ( helping the last man):  Modi is inspired by the concept of Antyodaya ( helping the poorest of the poor) propounded by Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, ideologue of Jan Sangh and Sangh Parivar, based on the ancient wisdom that every man has a Divine presence.  The day he became the prime minister ( or pradhana sevek, as he put it) he had declared that NDA government is dedicated to the poor and the exploited - dalit.pidit and vanchit. India can become great and prosperous only when the poor are empowered with health, education and employment or sustainable means of living. Top-down policies that India followed in the last 70 years have failed. Empowerment of the poor is the only way.

After 40 years of planned economy and 24 years of liberalisation, India has a massive 30 to 40 crore people out of about 120 crore living below the poverty line. It is a failure of all the policies and programmes of the previous administrations.

Though the banks were nationalised in 1970 in the name of the poor, they have not even been able to open a bank account. The colossal amount of NPA with the nationalised banks - running into almost 8  lakh crore - is the legacy of ‘the socialist’ government of the Congress and the UPA. After 45 years of nationalisation, the Modi government opened  28 crore zero-balance account for the poor. A bank account gives an identity and an opportunity to save, and prove his credit-worthiness.    

The government has implemented a number of measures to improve the living standard of the poor - Health Insurance and Accident Insurance for the poor at a small premium, Old Age Insurance, free distribution of gas cylinder for two crore women and the target is five crore in the next two years. The government has provided incentives to build houses for all by 2022 - the 75th year of Independence.

( c ) Pragmatic, not dogmatic : Another idol of Modi is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who integrated India with persuasion, and in some cases, coercive power. We all remember how the Sardar took over Kingdom of Hyderabad with police action and how Prime Minister Nehru messed up the Kingdom of Jammu & Kashmir which remains a sore spot in our polity.

Many liberals and free enterprisers were disappointed when the Modi government did not start the first budget with a big bang - privatisation of Air India and some of Public Sector Undertakings which were bleeding the exchequer. His government has proposed merger or upgradation of technology, and the privatisation is the last option.

Many have complained about bureaucratic approach of the government. However, Modi has been able to change this attitude of bureaucracy with periodic interaction among the various departments, directly talking to them ( chintan shibir) asking them not to think in silos - one department fighting against another of the government. He was able to provide 24-hours of water and power to all the villages in Gujarat with the co-operation of the same bureaucracy.  His experience in Gujarat has honed his ability to tame the bureaucracy - like a horse-rider guiding the horse.

( d ) Leadership :  Modi always led from the front. He has been monitoring most of the policies he has ushered in last three years. His ‘mann-ki-baat’ has listeners even abroad. NRI ‘s in all countries he has visited have given him overwhelming support. He has caught the imagination of the young voters in India as also the leaders of the world with his dynamism.His spartan and disciplined life, his dedication to his idea of India - India First, sab ka saath & sab ka vikas ( lifting all the boats), Make in India ( boost to manufacturing and employment), Digital India, start-up India ( innovation, enterprise) etc - has created hope among the young in India, and has attracted attention of the businessmen India and abroad.  

Modi, like Gandhi, had visited all corners of India as one of organisers of BJP. He had interacted with people of all sections and knew the pulse of the people. When he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he could implement his ideas of development. His success in Gujarat catapulted him to Delhi. His emphasis on development won him people's’ confidence.

New India

The ‘socialist’ governments of previous regimes had arrested the economic development of India with many restrictions - the private enterprise was banished in many sectors, ‘commanding heights’ of the economy were in the hands of politicians, economists and the bureaucrats. Every economic activity required a license or a permit. India economic growth was crippled. P.V.Narasimha Rao liberated India from ‘socialist’ restrictions hesitantly, and now the Modi government has freed India from the shackles of the past. With a GDP growth of 8 to 10 percent, a more prosperous and more confident will emerge in the next few years.

June 13,2017

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Liberalism in India.

Liberalism in India

I am glad that a book on Liberalism in India has been published by the Centre for Civil Society, New Delhi, in honour of my friend S.V.Raju, and that it was released on November 20, 2016 on the 111th Birth Anniversary of Late Shri Minoo Masani. These two stalwarts promoted liberalism after Independence. Mahadeva Govinda Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and many others were the pioneers before Independence. All these liberals drew their inspiration from the British institutions and the British experience. There was no connect with the Indian tradition,  the Indian culture and the indian experience. This flaw made it difficult for it to strike roots in the Indian soil. It is so with the Communists and Socialists as well. They remained potted plants.

India adopted liberal democracy with a Constitution which proclaims liberty,equality and fraternity as its guiding principles on January 26,1950. It has granted adult franchise to the citizens of the country whereas it has taken centuries of fight with the Monarch for the citizens of UK, and a revolution for the French citizens. We all know how African-Americans had to fight for it in  USA. Though our constituent assembly was elected by a restricted franchise, and its members were steeped in the democratic ethos of the British, it was not a gift by the elite of the country to the people of India. The freedom struggle by all the sections of society and liberal ethos of the country made it a natural step after Independence.

The general election after the adoption of the Constitution was gigantic exercise held almost without any hitch or violence. It reminds us the Kumbha Mela held every three years in the four tirthas (religious centres)  in India which is also a gigantic exercise held without any chaos. Everybody observes the order agreed upon by the akhadas ( religious order) and the administration. No wonder Indian people have taken to the democratic system like a duck to the water unlike in our neighbouring countries which became free soon before or after India. India’s democratic temper is the product of its civilizational ethos which held ‘ Man is the flame of the Divine’.

Though Indian people have a liberal temperament, liberalism espoused by the liberals did not strike a sympathetic chord among the people like how Mahatma Gandhi did during the freedom struggle. The Mahatma was able to connect with the masses when he invoked Ram Rajya ( welfare state), Rama dhun ( Raghupati Raghava Rajaram and Vaishnava janato). He connected Swaraj (self-rule), Suraj ( good governance), Swadeshi ( made in India) and Swavalamban ( self-sufficiency) with cottage industry, support for artisans, satyagraha ( struggle for fair price for peasants in Champaran, Bordoli). The Mahatma followed on the footsteps of Swami Vivekananda who had repeatedly observed that keynote of India’s life is religion or dharma which has many meanings - that which sustains life or what is right and what is wrong. All the meanings have a role in making the Indian mind.       

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/15c2026480c3e85b

May 26,2017.

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Hindu Rashtra & Liberalism

Hindu Rashtra & Liberalism.

A political Science teacher in a Delhi college, Rajshree Chandra, in an article, ‘Saffron Blind’, in the Indian Express, argues that Hindutva and liberalism are incompatible. It is a rebuttal of another article, Developmental Hindutva by Sanjay Baru a few days ago.

It is most unfortunate that our academia is ignorant of Indian tradition of not just of tolerance but respect for other faiths and ideas. This tradition was well-explained by Swami Vivekananda in his speech in Chicago more than 100 years ago. He mentioned that Hindus believe that all roads (faiths) to the same goal (God), all rivers go to the ocean and all prayers go to the same God who is called by different names by different people ( Ekam sat bahuda vadanti, say Upanishads). Swami also mentions that Hindus have provided refuge to all persecuted people of the world - Jews, Parsees, and in Independent India. to the Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism.

Pluralism and tolerance have been the hallmark of Hindu Civilization. They are also the values of democracy - liberty, equality and fraternity. Debates, discussions and disputations were part of all part of Hindu discourse - Upanishads, for example. Many centuries before Greek civilization. This fact has not found a place in the book, Argumentative Indians by Amartya Sen, not by accident.

Mahatma Gandhi envisaged Ram Raj, a civilised life for all Indians in an Independent India. His concept of Sarvodaya ( welfare of all)  and the concept of ‘Antyodaya’ ( reaching out to the last man) that Deen Dayal Upadhyaya proposed are based on the eternal values of Truth and Reverence for Life. This is based on ‘ekatmatawad’ - we are all one. The whole universe is pervaded by the Supreme Being which manifests in many forms and many shapes.

In our schools, colleges and universities, Indian literature on polity ( Shanti Parva in Mahabharata), Arthashastra ( Economics of the state)  and many other sources have no place.The colonial mind-set formed by the British goes on which only highlights the British and the European theory and practise. This has been called Orientalism by Edward Said in his book with the same title. Orientalism is looking at the orient  - Arab World, Hindu World - from the European lense. The West sets the standards, the West interprets our scriptures, and the West judges. In India, Western colonial mind-set has been supplemented by the Communist nihilism - both want all countries to follow the Western model of development. Rajiv Malhotra of Infinity Foundation has contributed immensely to highlight the Hindu civilizational perspective in his book, Being Different, which challenges the western construct of India.

Indians have been slaves for centuries but now we are a free nation. But the slavish mentality persists even after 70 years of freedom. Now the time has come to break the chains of mental slavery. A civilization which contributed the concept of zero and numerals, astronomy, architecture, art, science has to rediscover its soul - its innovative self. Somewhere in our history we lost  the spring of creativity which sustained us all these centuries. We have become the pale imitators of the west - in art, architecture, books, films.  We are good in re-engineering, we can do generic drugs cheaply, we can send our man-power to slog in the deserts of Arabia, What a fall, my countrymen ?

http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/saffron-blind-hindutva-4626874/

April, 27,2017.

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Fact and fiction.

Fact and fiction.

Prasoon Joshi (Indian Express,13/2) is right when he says emotions and beliefs are more important than facts for all of us. It has been so for the right as well as the left, for the fundamentalists as well as the liberals.The ‘post-truth’ is a new word coined by the left to stigmatize the right. Truth is a many splendoured thing like a diamond, and it has many facets. Everyone has his favorite facet or shade. We are all fundamentalists with our own truths and facts. It is all a story of the blind men and the elephant. Everybody is right and everybody is wrong. Yeats has put it neatly, ‘ The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.’ Hubris of the right or the left has place in the real world. Socialism and capitalism have failed bring to peace and prosperity. Pragmatism or the middle path is the only way. We have to heed Joshi’s call for a compassionate society where everybody’s voice is heard and everybody’s needs are met.  

http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/indian-cinema-violence-film-maker-socio-political-environmnet-media-fiction-about-fact-4521256/

Feb.15,2017.

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