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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