I have a ocnfession to make. Having read this book ages ago - years ago, in fact! - I put it on my pile of things to do (i.e. with the intention of doing a short blog on it) but have been swamped with other priorities.
Well, here we are, finally!:
Mani is a social activist and independent researcher, and has put together a powerful demolition of whatever little I thought I knew about Hinduism and about Indian society.
Essentially a documentation and assertion of Buddhism Sufism/ Sikhism as "rational-liberating traditions" against the sort of Brahminical traditions that most Indians know.
It is not that I don't know of Buddhism, Sufism and Sikhism (quite the contrary) but Mani's denunciation of what I have regarded as "my" and "the mainstream" (Sanskritic/ Gandhian/ Nehruvian) tradition is quite a shock - at least to my system.
Holding up Phule and Ambedkar (as might be expected) as the real heroes for the majority of Indians, Mani also draws on the work of people such as Iyothee Thass, Narayana Guru and Periyar.
I do have some problems with Mani's book:
First, the book is unnecessarily repetitive and could have done with a strong editor.
Second, there are minor niggles, such as the reference to the Buddha as "the first major challenger to caste and Brahminism" (well, I guess it boils down to what one means by "major"!) or the reference to "the thousand years of (the) overwhelming influence" of Buddhism. True, Buddhism was influential over this perion. But "overwhelming"? And whether or not "overwhelming", there is the question of why that influence faded asn well as what factors internal to Buddhism enfeebled this "rational-liberating" paradigm? Those are questions that Mani does not attempt to answer.
Overall, however, this book is a must read for all Indians who wants to be aware of all facets of their country (and Brahminism is probably even now the most important facet of which one should become aware and self-critical). The book ends with typically bluntness: " Sita (forbidden from acquiring knowledge and power), Karna (treacherously deprived of life-saving device) and Eklavya (robbed of his thumb for his "illegitimate" prowess in archery) are still clamouring for their rightful place in society. The greatest sports award in India is still given in the honour of Arjuna, and not (in honour of) Karna or Eklavya, both of whom, according to legend, were greater archers. And the best coach award has been instituted in honour of Drnacharya, the perfidious guru who forced Eklavya to cut off his thumb as guru-dakshana in order to (leave) Arjuna the best archer of his time. How can a country whose moral foundations are based on bricks of (such) deceit and double standards excel in social democracy?". (Brackets mine)
Ouch!
Friday, 5 November 2010
Thursday, 2 September 2010
Does Pune (Poona) really consume so much water? WHY?
In a recent communication from a company, I read the following: "Pune consumes more than 300 litres water per capita per day as against the national norm of 135 litres and New York city's 200 litres. Pune also does next to nil recycling of water. "
Let's leave aside for the moment the question of whether and why Pune recycles water.
How come the average citizen of Pune consumes approx 225% of the national norm, and 200% of what the average citizen of New York consumes?
Any explanations that you are aware of?
Let's leave aside for the moment the question of whether and why Pune recycles water.
How come the average citizen of Pune consumes approx 225% of the national norm, and 200% of what the average citizen of New York consumes?
Any explanations that you are aware of?
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Self-Governance: Swiss versus Indian
My article titled "Self-Governance: Swiss versus Indian" is the latest in my "Guptara Garamagaram" series in The International Indian magazine (published from Dubai)
If interested, please see pages 72 & 73 at http://www.theinternationalindian.com/current_issue_flash.html
If interested, please see pages 72 & 73 at http://www.theinternationalindian.com/current_issue_flash.html
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
M J Akbar on the depressing state of the nation
"As far as the people are concerned the difference between grace and disgrace has evaporated. It could hardly be otherwise given the scale and sheer audacity of the corruption....(what we have) is nothing but big-budget back-scratching between pals, an insurance policy against exposure: if everyone is guilty then no one is guilty....But there are always a few who refuse to be co-opted. They keep our democracy democratic."
I am glad he thinks there are still a few who refuse to be co-opted. That is the only hope.
He goes on to say: "The tendency to elide through crises with token gestures can become a self-defeating habit...(with the result that) now the people do not take even a well-meaning gesture seriously."
Well, if things have really become that bad, then any hope could be short-lived.
He concludes: "A weak government weakens the nation". This is not a startling new bit of wisdom that has been revealed from on high. Even so, I would like to question it.
Do we really have a weak government? Rather, do we not have a government so strong that it can continue to ignore with impunity the needs of the majority of the people who elected it? How can we say that the government is weak when it can continue to line its own pockets in cahoots with the so-called opposition?
I am glad he thinks there are still a few who refuse to be co-opted. That is the only hope.
He goes on to say: "The tendency to elide through crises with token gestures can become a self-defeating habit...(with the result that) now the people do not take even a well-meaning gesture seriously."
Well, if things have really become that bad, then any hope could be short-lived.
He concludes: "A weak government weakens the nation". This is not a startling new bit of wisdom that has been revealed from on high. Even so, I would like to question it.
Do we really have a weak government? Rather, do we not have a government so strong that it can continue to ignore with impunity the needs of the majority of the people who elected it? How can we say that the government is weak when it can continue to line its own pockets in cahoots with the so-called opposition?
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
The inclusion of Caste in the next Indian Census
A friend sends me an article by someone arguing that caste practices have no justification in our scriptures, and were basically the invention of Western colonialists.
This is a peculiar point of view. I do not know in what world such writers live. If they even read Indian newspapers, they would get more than enough evidence of the reality of violence against Dalits in our country even today.
Anyway, I responded basically as follows:
The problem with our scriptures is that they are multifarious and can be used to "prove" almost anything. For example, if one takes just the Manusmriti, "While verses such as III - 55, 56, 57, 59, 62 glorify the position of women, other verses such as IX - 3, 17 seem to attack the position and freedom of women. Similar contradictory phrases are encountered in relation to child marriage in verses IX - 90 and 94. PLEASE NOTE that I am quoting and have not had the time to check the refereences myself.
However, in practice, all over the country, there is no doubt that caste practices were prevalent for centuries, and have even now not disappeared - for contemporary accounts of caste discrimination see, for example, the website of Dalit writers such as Chandra Bhan Prasad www.chandrabhanprasad.com
The focus of the Jaipur Literary Festival this year was Dalit literature (see for example: http://himalmag.com/blogs/blog/2010/01/17/600/)
On the Dalit literary movement as a whole, see for example: http://www.himalmag.com/The-emerging-complexity-of-Dalit-consciousness_nw3952.html
On Gujarati Dalit Literature see for example http://gujaratidalitsahitya.blogspot.com/2009/08/poems-by-neerav-patel.html
If you are seriously interested in finding out about the relationship between foreigners and the rediscovery of our own heritage, you might want to start with my article titled "The Impact of Europe on the Development of Indian Literature" (published in the Review of National Literatures, New York, Special Issue on India, 1979. I sent my friend a copy, and will happily send it to anyone reading this Blog who wishes to have it).
Specifically, on the issue of whether or not caste should be included in the census, my view is that it is not up to the oppressor castes (such as my own) to tell the oppressed castes what is the best thing to do.
In general, anything that the Dalits think will help them to get equality has my support, and it is clear that Dalits overwhelmingly support the inclusion of caste in the censsus.
Again, my own view is that neither the upper caste focus on religion and "Bharat Mata" is going to help them, nor the inclusion of caste in the census.
What the oppressed need is release from their systematic oppression, and the best way of achieving this is to encourage and help them to gain education - but not the sort of education that is usually offered in India (that is, more or less useless education, from a practical point of view).
The best would be "useful education" that is really going to help them, including a focus on starting and growing their own businesses. Of course, that cannot happen in reality without the provision of finance for such new Dalit businesses - providing which, in turn, would involve the extension of normal banking and credit facilities to Dalits, and the removal of the scandal of microfinance (though that is miles better than the sort of finance traditionally provided by baniyas of my caste).
So why do Dalits want the question of caste to be included in the Census? Because, regretfully, government-controlled education and government employment are still the main channels for Dalit liberation in India.
The biggest hurdle facing Dalits even today is discrimination against them when it comes to employing them, let alone promoting them, in "normal" areas of life, including companies.
So of course discrimination against them in buying and selling would need to be eliminated if Dalit businesses are to succeed.
This is a peculiar point of view. I do not know in what world such writers live. If they even read Indian newspapers, they would get more than enough evidence of the reality of violence against Dalits in our country even today.
Anyway, I responded basically as follows:
The problem with our scriptures is that they are multifarious and can be used to "prove" almost anything. For example, if one takes just the Manusmriti, "While verses such as III - 55, 56, 57, 59, 62 glorify the position of women, other verses such as IX - 3, 17 seem to attack the position and freedom of women. Similar contradictory phrases are encountered in relation to child marriage in verses IX - 90 and 94. PLEASE NOTE that I am quoting and have not had the time to check the refereences myself.
However, in practice, all over the country, there is no doubt that caste practices were prevalent for centuries, and have even now not disappeared - for contemporary accounts of caste discrimination see, for example, the website of Dalit writers such as Chandra Bhan Prasad www.chandrabhanprasad.com
The focus of the Jaipur Literary Festival this year was Dalit literature (see for example: http://himalmag.com/blogs/blog/2010/01/17/600/)
On the Dalit literary movement as a whole, see for example: http://www.himalmag.com/The-emerging-complexity-of-Dalit-consciousness_nw3952.html
On Gujarati Dalit Literature see for example http://gujaratidalitsahitya.blogspot.com/2009/08/poems-by-neerav-patel.html
If you are seriously interested in finding out about the relationship between foreigners and the rediscovery of our own heritage, you might want to start with my article titled "The Impact of Europe on the Development of Indian Literature" (published in the Review of National Literatures, New York, Special Issue on India, 1979. I sent my friend a copy, and will happily send it to anyone reading this Blog who wishes to have it).
Specifically, on the issue of whether or not caste should be included in the census, my view is that it is not up to the oppressor castes (such as my own) to tell the oppressed castes what is the best thing to do.
In general, anything that the Dalits think will help them to get equality has my support, and it is clear that Dalits overwhelmingly support the inclusion of caste in the censsus.
Again, my own view is that neither the upper caste focus on religion and "Bharat Mata" is going to help them, nor the inclusion of caste in the census.
What the oppressed need is release from their systematic oppression, and the best way of achieving this is to encourage and help them to gain education - but not the sort of education that is usually offered in India (that is, more or less useless education, from a practical point of view).
The best would be "useful education" that is really going to help them, including a focus on starting and growing their own businesses. Of course, that cannot happen in reality without the provision of finance for such new Dalit businesses - providing which, in turn, would involve the extension of normal banking and credit facilities to Dalits, and the removal of the scandal of microfinance (though that is miles better than the sort of finance traditionally provided by baniyas of my caste).
So why do Dalits want the question of caste to be included in the Census? Because, regretfully, government-controlled education and government employment are still the main channels for Dalit liberation in India.
The biggest hurdle facing Dalits even today is discrimination against them when it comes to employing them, let alone promoting them, in "normal" areas of life, including companies.
So of course discrimination against them in buying and selling would need to be eliminated if Dalit businesses are to succeed.
Monday, 5 July 2010
India's poor record at patents does not improve much in 2009
The Yearly Review of the International Patent System, for 2009, has just been issuedby the World Inntellectual Property Organization.
For the first time in its history, the number of patent applications is down on a previous year (primarily due to the recession, apparently).
At the same time, patent applications from China went UP 29.1%, and it now ranks 5th in the world in terms of its patent applications.
By contrast, India does not appear in the top 15 countries.
China's patent applications went from 2,512 in 2005 to 7.906 last year. India's patent applications in 2005 were 679, and moved to 1,070 last year .
Universities from the USA continue to dominate patent applications from among universities worldwide (nine of the top ten, 18 of the top 20, 22 of the top 30, 28 of the top 40, and 32 of the top 50 are from the USA).
The University of California not only topped the list from the universities' sector, but was also the only one from that category to make it to the overall top 100 applicants - all the others are companies (a sad state of affairs for the globe, as that means more and more IP continues to belong to private companies - which will inevitably increase even further the gap between the rich and the poor).
For the first time in its history, the number of patent applications is down on a previous year (primarily due to the recession, apparently).
At the same time, patent applications from China went UP 29.1%, and it now ranks 5th in the world in terms of its patent applications.
By contrast, India does not appear in the top 15 countries.
China's patent applications went from 2,512 in 2005 to 7.906 last year. India's patent applications in 2005 were 679, and moved to 1,070 last year .
Universities from the USA continue to dominate patent applications from among universities worldwide (nine of the top ten, 18 of the top 20, 22 of the top 30, 28 of the top 40, and 32 of the top 50 are from the USA).
The University of California not only topped the list from the universities' sector, but was also the only one from that category to make it to the overall top 100 applicants - all the others are companies (a sad state of affairs for the globe, as that means more and more IP continues to belong to private companies - which will inevitably increase even further the gap between the rich and the poor).
Friday, 25 June 2010
How NOT to respond to material on Blogger
Someone calling herself or himself "Arnab" and claiming to be from the Indian Institute of Science, writes as follows:
"Instead of being a Lion, I would say, try being a good indian. Our nation was an educated, spiritually supirior (still is), rich in moral values. Then why and how did a foriegn nation could conquer it? By using our dishonesty, our unpatriotic acts and using our disrespect, lack of love, lack of belongingness to fellow indians.
Lets be realistic, lets find out what the English had done to our culture, but, honestly, not by tampering with the history. Lets have so much respect and honesty to our selves and towards our actions that foreigners also respect us.
--- Arnab"
First, how is it honest or truthful or does it display spirtiual or moral values to write to someone from an email that is titled "Anonymous"?
Second, if "our nation was an educated, spiritually superior... (and) rich in moral values" how come it was at the same time marked by "dishonesty...unpatriotic acts...disrespect, lack of love, lack of belongingness to fellow Indians"?
However, I agree with "Arnab" that we need to find out both the positive and negative impacts of British rule on our culture - and that without trying to distort or tamper with the history. If s/he is really interested, I can send her/ him at least one full article (several articles and books, actually) on the subject.
Let us indeed "have so much respect and honesty that foreigners can also respect us" - and not merely because "Business India" is shining at present for reasons principally outside our control - though of course we should make hay while the sun shines.
"Instead of being a Lion, I would say, try being a good indian. Our nation was an educated, spiritually supirior (still is), rich in moral values. Then why and how did a foriegn nation could conquer it? By using our dishonesty, our unpatriotic acts and using our disrespect, lack of love, lack of belongingness to fellow indians.
Lets be realistic, lets find out what the English had done to our culture, but, honestly, not by tampering with the history. Lets have so much respect and honesty to our selves and towards our actions that foreigners also respect us.
--- Arnab"
First, how is it honest or truthful or does it display spirtiual or moral values to write to someone from an email that is titled "Anonymous"?
Second, if "our nation was an educated, spiritually superior... (and) rich in moral values" how come it was at the same time marked by "dishonesty...unpatriotic acts...disrespect, lack of love, lack of belongingness to fellow Indians"?
However, I agree with "Arnab" that we need to find out both the positive and negative impacts of British rule on our culture - and that without trying to distort or tamper with the history. If s/he is really interested, I can send her/ him at least one full article (several articles and books, actually) on the subject.
Let us indeed "have so much respect and honesty that foreigners can also respect us" - and not merely because "Business India" is shining at present for reasons principally outside our control - though of course we should make hay while the sun shines.
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