Dec 2010 rh

Vol. 74 No 9

489

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THE RADICAL HUMANIST (Since April 1949)

DECEMBER 2010 Formerly : Independent India (April 1937- March 1949)

Founder Editor: M.N. Roy

A French Villager: In Freedom's Quest —Amitabha Chakrabarti Nature Culture Synchrony: Woman-Centric Society —B.P. Rath Beginning of the Present Phase of Alienation in J&K —Balraj Puri Toxicologist view of Changing Environment —P.C. Vyas Icons of Mumbai —Uday Dandavate Globalization – An Illusion —Ramesh Korde The Future of Democratic Society in India —Kamal Wadhwa

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Mr. Ugamraj Muhnot is no more.

Our dear octogenarian Radical Humanist, Muhnotji has finally become quiet for ever.

He breathed his last this morning (30th October 2010) in Jaipur, Rajasthan. His body was donated to the Sawaiman Singh Hospital in Jaipur by his son, Mr. Mahipat Muhnot, this evening, as per his last wishes.

His frail figure is coming before my eyes, walking with difficulty yet so full of enthusiasm always!

He would limp in pain, as his feet had begun causing him great trouble, but would not miss any study camp or seminar held in any part of our country. He was always his animated self avoiding questions about his health, saying “My body does create problems but my mind is alert and healthy.

And so no worries.”

Yet, he would so many times begin crying in despair saying he had promised Tarkunde Saheb that he would make all efforts to promote the RH Movement and that he was not able to do much due to his failing health.

But none can forget his unique contribution in starting the M.N. Roy Memorial Essay Writing Competition in Rajasthan which gained momentum in different states of the country and since the last couple of years it was being held on the international level with contributions pouring in from U.K. and U.S.A. as well.

He did not hesitate to personally go to meet or write to the family members of those Radical Humanists who were not alive to contribute a small sum each year to distribute prizes in their parents’ names to the winners of this essay competition. This would serve both the purposes, he would say - carrying on with the movement’s agenda and carrying on their dear ones’ memories! That is how he collected some of the funds to organize this program each year.

Many of us were witness to his impatient and determined struggle in bringing all the regional 1

humanist journals under one umbrella so that they could mutually motivate and assist in each others’ growth. He was trying to convince all of us about the same in all our camps and conferences since the last so many years. He had held special meetings also for the same. Let us hope his endeavor bears fruit now and these journals come closer!

He himself was publishing a Hindi bi-monthly, Nav Manav, by name, single-handedly, working against all financial and other odds, since so many years.

He was assiduously organizing seminars on humanist themes in various colleges with the help of the college faculties in Rajasthan. He would cajole and coax our Humanist friends from all parts of the country to reach there for delivering lectures in these seminars.

He was one Radical Humanist who had a tremendous amount of patience. He would go around to each one of us in our Radical camps giving us new ideas on how to promote the movement’s popularity. Even if we did not find time to pursue on matters that were suggested by him umpteen times, he would still, without any pride-lost or ego-hurt, again propose to us with renewed vigour to take up the matter.

I am also remembering today, all those occasions on which I had literally fought with him for certain matters and decisions which were taken with regard to the movement asking him to justify them. His endurance was to be seen to be believed. How with his habitual calm he would listen to me, and then implore me not to take things to heart and behave like his achchi-beti (good daughter); and would entreat me to continue to work with all my devotion for the cause of the movement without getting affected by such matters!

He would always say, “Let us work together neglecting each others’ personal weaknesses. We are already just a handful of us left”. My father and Sibda (Prof. Sibnarayan Ray) too would say the same when I would coax them to respond to

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unanswerable queries often arising from regrettable human follies.

One can also understand the frustration his family members so many times felt when he would not listen to them and would continue to neglect his health going beyond his physical capacities to work for the Radical Humanist cause. The pain must be all the more poignant today when he is not there with them.

We, the members of the Radical Humanist family share with them their deep grief. And convey to them that we also have lost in him one of our very

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dear and near family members, and we are also going through the same sorrow and anguish of this irretrievable loss.

We sincerely hope that his enterprise will not go waste and will continue to inspire us to go on with renewed verve and energy to work for the humanist cause.

We will always be proud of this elderly man who defied his age and went on relentlessly creating an example for the new generation of Radical Humanists!!

Rekha Saraswat

Ugamraj Mohnot -A Radical Humanist to the Core: The news that comrade Mohnot is no more came as a great shock to me. He used to be present in almost all the meetings of the IRI and IRHA and made meaningful contributions to the discussions. He was a living embodiment of the cherished principles of radical humanism. He strived his best to promote and strengthen the radical humanist organization in Rajasthan. For this purpose he organized various seminars and meetings at several places in Rajasthan. M.N.Roy Essay competition among youth and students is his most valuable contribution to the movement. Another notable work he did was the launching of the Hindi journal Nav-Manav from Jaipur. He was also founding member of the Citizens For Democracy and the PUCL and whole heartedly devoted to the cause of democracy and civil liberties.

I remember his youthful enthusiasm in his old age when about three years back I was going with him in Jaipur for a meeting. On the way there was a religious procession and the processionists were chanting the slogans of “Jindabad” for their diety. He was so angry on the superstitious belief of the processionists that he began to shout loudly “Murdabad” with each cry of “Jindabad” unmindful of the repercussions. In January, 1999 when a delegation of about 20 young students –girls and boys from Pakistan came to visit India, I was looking after their tour. They wanted to visit important places in Rajasthan and I had to ask Mr. Ugamraj for assistance. He along with his other colleagues in Rajasthan organized their tour meticulously. Mindful of the security of the delegation in the prevailing atmosphere of hostility, he personally accompanied them to all the places in Rajasthan.

Rajasthan forms a very important chapter in the history of the radical humanist movement and Ugamraj Mohnot will always be remembered for great role he played in the state. His contributions to the movement in general are not less spectacular. His life and work will always be great source of inspiration to all concerned.

- N.D. Pancholi, Secretary, IRI Condolence meeting of IRI and IRHA on the sad demise of Sri. Ugamraj Mohnot A meeting of the executive members of the IRI and the IRHA took place at Delhi on 9th November, 2010 to condole the sad demise of our old comrade Ugamraj Mohnot who recently passed away at Jaipur. Glowing tributes were paid to the memory of the departed comrade who was a great strength to the Radical Humanist Movement and had devoted his entire life to the cause for which the Indian Renaissance Institute and IRHA stand. His demise is a great loss to the movement. IRI and IRHA convey their condolence to the members of the family of the departed comrade. Meeting was presided

by Shri B.D. Sharma, President, IRI. Members present included Shri Vinod Jain, Shri Narottam Vyas, Shri Vikram, Shri Asit Roy, Shri Pramod Mishra, and Shri N.D. Pancholi. News sent by N.D. Pancholi 2

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DECEMBER 2010 Download and read the journal at www.theradicalhumanist.com

The Radical Humanist

- Contents -

Vol. 74 Number 9 December 2010

Monthly journal of the Indian Renaissance 1. From the Editor’s Desk: Let us shift the blame-game on ourselves this time Institute Devoted to the development of the Renaissance Movement; and for promotion of human rights, scientific-temper, rational thinking and a humanist view of life.

Founder Editor: M.N. Roy Contributory Editors: Professor A.F. Salahuddin Ahmed Justice R.A. Jahagirdar (Retd.)

Dr. R.M. Pal Professor Rama Kundu Editor: Dr. Rekha Saraswat Publisher: Mr. N.D. Pancholi Printer: Mr. N.D. Pancholi Send articles to: Dr. Rekha Saraswat C-8, Defence Colony Meerut, 250001, U.P., India Ph. 91-121-2620690, 09719333011 E-mail articles at: rheditor@gmail.com Send Subscription / Donation Cheques to: Mr. Narottam Vyas (Advocate), Chamber Number 111 (Near Post Office) Supreme Court of India, New Delhi, 110001, India n.vyas@snr.net.in Ph. 91-11-22712434, 91-11-23782836, 09811944600 In favour of: ‘The Radical Humanist’ Sometimes some articles published in this journal may carry opinions not similar to the Radical Humanist philosophy; but they would be entertained here if the need is felt to debate and discuss upon them.

—Rekha Saraswat 3

—Rekha Saraswat 4 2. From the Writings of Laxmanshastri Joshi: Spiritual Materialism: A case for Atheism 5 3. Guests’ Section: A Toxicologist view of Changing Environment —P.C. Vyas 9 Icons of Mumbai —Uday Dandavate 13 A French Villager: In Freedom's Quest —Amitabha Chakrabarti 17 Nature Culture Synchrony: Woman-Centric Society —B.P. Rath 22 The Future of Democratic Society in India —Kamal Wadhwa 26 4. Current Affairs: Beginning of the Present Phase of Alienation in Kashmir —Balraj Puri 29 Bihar Elections; Micro Finance; Leftism Shall Not Wither Away; Obama’s Visit; Scandals Galore —N.K. Acharya 31 5. IRI /IRHA Members’ Section: Globalization – An Illusion —Ramesh Korde 34 7. Book Review Section: A Fascinating Thesis —Jacques Attali 38 The Human Identity —Dipawali Sen 39

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From The Editor’s Desk:

Rekha Saraswat

Let us shift the blame-game on ourselves this time!

Dowry-deaths! Child-abuse!

Female-feticides! Sexual-harassments!

Honour-killings! Child-labour! Caste-facades!

Where do we find all these in abundance?

In the upper-class? In the lower-class? No doubt, in the middle-class.

Who sets the rules for the social order?

Who decides the moral norms of the general public?

The industrialists? The politicians?

No, they are the patriarchal chiefs of the family, the castes and the village who dictate the rules and set the trends of behaviour?

Who pampers the religious bosses to continue to hold the reigns of the people to commit all sorts of bigotry in the name of blind faith? All classes put together? No, it is the pompous middle-class which is involved in pampering them the most and wasting enormous amounts of money in performing religious rituals to show off their affluence citing unhealthy irrational examples for the poor.

Who has the highest scale in getting its progeny literate and technically trained? The middle-class without any qualms!

Yet have these youngsters been able to get educated enough to help in mitigating these tribulations from the society?

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No, how can they do so when they do not even accept these as ills in the first place?

Political democracy needs a social democratic fabric. We still do not have it within our social set-up. And the biggest culprit for still maintaining this lacuna after 63 years of our independence is our class of well placed citizens who fend for their very personal and narrow aims, treading their own egotistic alien paths and remaining ecstatic in their individual comfort zones.

The roles that middle class had to play as members of a civil society to assist the marginalized sections of the country by raising the demands for their basic needs and human rights before the government; to assist the government in reaching the benefits of a welfare state to the last unit of the society; and to awaken the ignorant masses to the advantages of leading a realistic, rational and scientific life in the modern world and last of all, to help them learn to perform their civic duties as responsible citizens of a democratic political set-up of an egalitarian society has been sadly and badly neglected by them.

Engels’ fears that the middle-class would usurp the rights of the common man and bring obstacles in creating a classless society have been proven true to the last word.

But the greater tragedy is that Engels had over-estimated the worth of the middle-class!

Neither they are as educated nor as enlightened as he had expected them to be. They are simply literate and trained, equipped and aware for their own rights to meet their own selfish ends. And even if some are aware they continue to try to keep the rest of the world in ignorance by all means to protect their own personal needs and aspirations.

They have sadly failed in setting such idealistic democratic trends that the rest of the people would follow. This is why we see no end to the unbridled moral degeneration in the society. I end my writing today on this pessimistic note fully accepting the blame on myself for the moral and social deadlock that we are facing and creating in our country

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From The Writings of Laxmanshastri Joshi: argument that religion promotes social stability and

Spiritual Materialism – A case for Atheism Translated by — Arundhati Khandkar [The book Spiritual Materialism – A case for Atheism, A New Interpretation of the Philosophy of Materialism written by Tarkateertha Laxmanshastri Joshi has been translated by his daughter, Arundhati Khandkar, who was formerly Professor of Philosophy at S.I.E.S. College, University of Mumbai, India. He passed away many decades ago but his contribution in building up the philosophical base of Radical Humanism has been no less. Roy acknowledged it in his life time and the followers of the philosophy continue to do so. I had requested Ms. Khandkar to translate her father’s major works from to Marathi to English for the benefit of the contemporary readers of RH. And to our pleasant surprise she informed that there is already the above mentioned book in English done by her. It is being serialised in The Radical Humanist June 2010 onwards. She has also promised to send us in English, gradually, more of his Marathi literature.

Laxmanshastri wrote this essay with the title Materialism or Atheism in 1941. How meaningful and necessary it is, even now, 70 years later, can be understood by the following paragraph given on the cover page of the book.

—Rekha Saraswat] “That religion more often than not tends to perpetuate the existing social structure rather than being reformist and that it benefits the upper classes. They perpetrate the illusions and are used for impressing the weaker sections of the society.

Many taboos which might have had some beneficial effects are given a permanent sanction and these put a fetter on further progress. The

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social harmony is examined and rejected. Without the dubious benefit of religion various secular worldly values have been developed and they have benefited mankind more than the vaunted religious values. With no sops of religion men have laboured hard and the finest admirable qualities of men’s spirit have been developed inspite of religious influence – the scientists and the reformers are examples. The humility that should force itself in the presence of the infinite and the unknown is more to be seen with the scientist, the philosopher than the religious leaders and often this drives them to fathom the depths of thought in the quest for truth. Rarely does religion explain the how and why. These have become the preoccupations of people in secular fields. With a sense of self-reliance and self-confidence guiding him, man has dropped the earlier props of religion. In India too, the social order was seen as embodying moral values.”

Contd. from the previous issue............ he term Samvit means knowledge or consciousness while the term Samvedya is that of which one acquires knowledge or consciousness. Samvedya, is often called vishaya, the object, the knowable or the experienceable.

Vishaya means the subject, the knower. The words used as attributes of the soul of a person or the universe in various Darshanas are interchangeable.

For example, the term Samvit may be understood alternatively as Chit, Chaitanya, Bhana, Bhasa, Anubhava, Anubhuti, Samvedana and Samvitti. In short, consequences, awareness, knowledge, experience, and perception, respectively, in spite of their technical subtleties, are often used synonymously. When I look at the yard, I obtain the knowledge that, ‘There stands a mango tree in the yard.’ This knowledge is about ‘The tree in the yard.’ The mango tree in the yard is Samvedya, meaning the object of Samvit. Whatsoever one knows through the outer sensory organs or mind, or by means of the central nervous system is the object while the knower is the subject.

T

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Experience: Private and Public: All mental states such as perception, inference, guess, lust, anger, affection, hate, desire, etc. contain awareness of some object or another. All mental states are sensory in nature. There is a continuous thread of anubhuti, or sense experience running through the entire gamut of mental dynamics. Joy, sorrow, lust, anger, etc. are the mental activities meaning awareness or experiences of different hues.

There are two kinds of objects of experience, external and internal. Body and the surrounding universe are the external objects, while all the mental acts such as thirst, hunger, lust, anger, happiness, sorrow, and so on, are the internal objects. The states of mind, like joy, sorrow, thirst, hunger, lust, anger, are matters of personal experience. No individual can have a direct experience of states of mind of someone else. A person can only draw the inferences of the mental state of another individual. One can infer about the alterations in the state of mind or in thoughts of another individual by observing either his behaviour or emotional effects on his body or by what he says. That is why, the internal object of experience can be called, either private or personal.

According to Bertrand Russell, since the experience of external object can be (*8) shared by many, it can be called a public object. Many people can directly experience the same sun, the same ocean, the same moon, the same tree, the same horse or the same boy. This is not the case with the internal mental objects. Those are experienced directly only by each individual himself. (7) Universe exists independent of Sensations: The first tenet of materialism is that the perceptible beings exist outside perception independently. The universe is nothing but a perceptible being or a perceptible object. The universe is real; it is neither false nor fictional, nor maya, the illusion. The mango tree I observe is certainly there, even if I or anyone else knows it or not. ‘I am standing on the earth’ is my experience. This earth has existed even

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when, I or anyone else experiencing it existed or not. The independent existence of the earth is absolutely beyond doubt even in the absence of the knower such as either I or anybody else. The sun does rise even if an old woman hides her rooster from it. So do the various events connected with the objects in the universe continue their operations even in the absence of a knower. These do not depend on anybody’s sensation, knowledge, or perception. Even in the absence of a knower, knowable exists. It is really not true that there is no fragrance if there is no nose or there is no beauty if there is no eye. Who will say that there is no horse if there is no rider?

Views of Buddhist preceptors, Berkeley, Hume, Kant and Hegel: There have been a few philosophers who preached that only experience, or consciousness or knowledge is true, however, its object is false.

There were Buddhist preceptors in ancient India, who taught that there is no independent existence for any object other than its knowledge.

Dharmakirti, a great scholar in the 7th Century held a similar view. (8) Modern Western philosophers such as Bishop Berkeley and others have also maintained that there is no independent perceptible object whatsoever, except the stream of perceptions or consciousness. Wakefulness is a very long dream! The only difference between dream and wakefulness is that the so-called dream lasts only for a short time. Dream is true but the elephant seen in the dream is false. Similarly, sensations or the states of mind are true. There is never a doubt about the existence of the states of mind but the objects therein for sure, are false, according to Berkeley.

In reality, there have been only very few philosophers in the world, who declare that there is no independent universe outside knowledge and consciousness. Bishop Berkeley has stated that only perceptions are true and the object of perception is not true. He even tells us that there are countless conscious living beings and one wishful God, however, separate from these conscious

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beings. Volition of God is eternal and as a result of his ruling power from his dominion, vital streams of consciousness have emanated. Volition of God is by itself an independent object residing outside the consciousness of living beings. This assertion by Berkeley is totally inconsistent with his own theory. Only the theories proposed by ancient Buddhist teachers such as Dharmakirti and others are far more consistent than that of Berkeley. They too had accepted only the existence of consciousness of living beings.

Hume and other philosophers maintain that there is no reason to doubt the existence of consciousness or experience. There is, however, no proof at all for the proposition that the objects of consciousness per se exist separately, outside consciousness or without consciousness. These philosophers only doubt the reality of the world outside. Their thinking has given rise to the theory of agnosticism.

The materialist philosophers disagree with both the above views of Berkeley and Hume. Kant has divided reality into two domains, the real universe which is the Thing in itself and the other one which is accessible to experience, that is, the phenomenon. The real universe means the ultimate reality, or the true object, or the truth. According to Kant, the truth ultimately belongs to the objective reality which however is outside the reach of human comprehension. The phenomenal world is only an appearance of the true one. This false appearance eclipses the truth. The materialists disagree with this Kantian division of the reality at large. The teachers of the Vaibhashika School among the Buddhists were of the opinion that even if it is not possible to obtain direct knowledge of the external universe, still one can draw inferences about the existence of the external reality from the effects or the modes of mental operations. Hegel, on the other hand, rejected altogether the Kantian theory. Knowledge or experience exists only about some thing. If the thing out of which we obtain either knowledge or experience, does not exist at all, then neither knowledge nor experience result.

The statement that there exists either knowledge or 7

experience yet it is of not any object or thing is devoid of any meaning. It is as senseless as the quote, ‘A child is born out of no mother!’

Universe is real as well as knowable: If the real world is outside our reach, if it does not become the object of our knowledge or experience, then we will not be able to differentiate at all, between true knowledge or true experience and a false one. Because of the impossibility of discovering any truth about anything in any information or anybody’s knowledge, all the knowledge will be proved to be false; all the people will be equally stupid or mistaken; all of them will be said to be insane; and all the world experienced will amount to just a trade centre of fools. Concepts like conscience and judgment about true or false, right or wrong will come to naught.

We feel like questioning the philosophers who say that there exists a true object behind ‘this external appearance’ but its comprehension is not possible.

How do you even know that there exists an incomprehensible true object? And also, how do you know that comprehension of such an object does not take place? Without prior knowledge of that true object, the thing in itself how is it possible to make any statement about it? We will have contradictory statements on our hands, if such a thing is taken to be known somehow, and then still claim in the same breath, that however it cannot be comprehended.

Validity of Science: Discovery and Measurement: We are required to assert that those who do not agree with the assessment that the external world exists independently and its true knowledge can be obtained do not accept the validity of any science.

This is because all the sciences are motivated by the assumption of the existence of the external universe and also by the possibility of acquiring its true knowledge. If it were not so, why would the astronomers struggle waiting with their telescopes pointing to the sky, hoping to discover new and still newer stars? Why would the physicists and

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biologist yearn single-mindedly in their search of minute objects using instruments like microscopes? Mathematics is also a science of application of numbers and measurement of objects. What is the necessity of thinking of numbers and measuring of phenomena, if it is possible for man to discover any external object?

All the sciences will prove themselves to be null and void if the objects and the object-related attributes are only false. Sciences are the result of immense efforts of countless scientists resulting in a fruit as sweet as nectar. On the contrary, the ideology maintaining, ‘This fruit is tasteless or rotten always!’ is nothing but only a captious contention. Such a way of thinking is only dry pedantry! Such a philosophy is harmful to human progress. It induces helplessness and it is detrimental to man.

Truth known and Truth yet unknown: Some philosophers as we have seen earlier consider the universe to be only an appearance or maya while other philosophers consider it to be an unknowable true object, the Thing in itself.

Materialism, however, accepts neither of these two ideological positions. The philosophers of materialism however differentiate between the

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world known till date and the world that is yet unknown. Knowledge moves ahead continuously.

Properties of objects remaining yet unknown, with effort become known later. Unknown part of the universe is only an adjacent part of the known. As the known domain gets expanded, the unknown domain of knowledge gets contracted. The progress attained by science till today and the history of science has established exactly the same thing. This is the esoteric teaching of the history of science that science can reveal innumerable unknown aspects of an object.

No knowledge of man exists as the eternal truth forever. Moving from lesser truth towards larger truth is by itself the characteristic of the advancement of knowledge. The confidence that with effort, the very world yet unknown can be known is at the basis of the progress in science.

Newly acquired knowledge keeps on continually adding to the existing fund of knowledge. That is why, all kinds of knowledge undergoes purification again and again.

References: 7. Scientific Thought, by C.D. Broad 8. 8* Pramanawartika

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Guests’ Section:

P.C. Vyas [DR. P.C. Vyas is Professor and Head at Dr. S.N. Medical College, Jodhpur. He is M.D. in Forensic Medicine and has been teaching for More Than 25 Years. His working fields are: doing all types of Medico Legal Work including post mortem examination & conducted more than 10,000 post mortems, publishing of articles in Journal of Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine, U.G. & P.G. Examiner of Forensic Medicine and having experience OF M.C.I. inspection (MCI Inspector)]

A Toxicologist view of Changing Environment study always remained a Environment field of interest for various experts including medical experts also. Healthy environment without pollution & contamination of all three essential ingredients of life, i.e. air, water & food are responsible for good health & long life of persons. There was purity everywhere & no body can think about such a drastic change in the environment, which has changed the entire eco-system.

Now the word of purity has been replaced by pollution, contamination & adulteration. Even the holy river Ganga has been polluted & plans are in process to purify Ganga. At times when persons heard the word of atomic pollution at Hiroshima and Nagasachi, the whole world was shocked. Few

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years back Bhopal Gas Tragedy has affected thousands of persons by the toxic gases, which are still surviving with tears.

But in this modern era to search the healthy environment is a futile exercise. Polluted sky has affected the OZON layer and whole climate has been changed. Winter & Rainy seasons have been disturbed a lot. Every country is praying to God for its existence in this Global warming. Air, water & food all are adulterated & polluted. It is very difficult to get healthy vegetables, fruits, edible substances, milk & milk products & even medicines.

Occupational & Environmental Toxicology: Human beings live in a chemical environment.

Estimates indicated that more than 60,000 chemicals are in common use & about 500 new chemicals are said to enter the commercial markets annually. Industrialization and creation of large urban centers have led to the contamination of air, water & soil. The principal causes of pollution are related to the production & use of energy, the production & use of industrial chemicals and increased agricultural activity.

Occupational Toxicology: It deals with chemicals found in the work place.

Industrial workers may be exposed to such agents during synthesis, manufacturing or packaging of these substances or through their use in occupational settings. Industrial workers are exposed to dusts or fumes of various metallic salts including lead & mercury. Agriculture workers may be exposed to harmful amounts of pesticides.

Any poisonous compound prepared & packed in any industry can be harmful for the workers working there. Even with due precautions some dust, powder & fumes will come in contact with skin, eyes and also inhaled.

The common compounds in this category are metallic salts, vegetables & herbal products & also irrespirable gases. Even stone dust can cause silicosis & pneumoconiosis.

Environmental Toxicology:

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It deals with potentially deleterious impact of chemicals present as pollutants of the environment to living organisms. The term ‘environment’ includes all the surroundings of an individual organism, but particularly the air, soil & water. Air pollution is a product of industrialization, technological and biological development, increased urbanization & indoor sources.

The Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) & the World Health Organization (WHO) , Joint Expert Commission on Food Additives adopted the term acceptable daily intake (ADI) to denote, “The daily intake of a chemical which, during an entire lifetime, appears to be without appreciable risk on the basis of all the known facts at the time”.

Ecotoxicology: Ecotoxicology has evolved relatively recently as an extension of environmental toxicology. It is concerned with the toxic effects of chemical and physical agents on living organisms, especially in populations and communities within defined ecosystems.

Routes of exposures: There are different routes of entry for chemicals to enter into the bodyIn Industries, inhalation is the main route of entry.

Dermal route (contact poisoning through skin) is also common, but oral route is not very common, but for atmospheric pollutants of water & soil, oral ingestion is the main route of exposure for human being.

Air pollutants: The major substances that account for about 98% of air pollution are carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide & ozone.

The sources of these chemicals include transportation, industry, generation of electric powder, space heating & refuse disposal. These chemicals can lead to severe irritation to the eyes, bronchitis, obstructive pulmonary diseases, bronchial asthma & lung cancer.

There is a large class of poisons, related to agriculture, known as AGRO-CHEMICAL

poisons.

Pesticides: Any physical, chemical or biological agent that will kill an undesirable or troublesome animal is a planter microorganism.

These may be: 1. Herbicides: compounds which kill weeds or prevent growth of undesirable herbs or weeds in the field. E.g. paraquat, propazine etc.

2. Fungicides:-compounds which kill fungi. E.g. thiocabamates, vitavax etc.

3. Rodenticides: compounds which kill rats, squirrel etc. E.g. Aluminium phosphide (celphos), thallium etc.

Organophosphorus Compounds: These are very commonly used agricultural insecticides. They are commonly used as aerial spray & they are mixed with soil. Accidental & suicidal poisoning is very common.

Examples: A. alkyl phosphates- HETP, TEPP, Malathion etc.

B. aryl phosphates- parathion, Diazinon (Tik20) etc.

Poisoning in Conflict: (Chemical & biological warfare agents) Throughout history humans have sought more effective means of killing & disabling their enemies, stones, bows & arrows, gun powder, machine guns, high explosives, war planes, rockets & nuclear weapons etc. comprise a long list of increasing military sophistication.

In chemical warfare, the compound used in form of gas, liquid or solid, which can produce poisonous effects on enemy forces or even the civil population? These agents may include.

(A) Agents liable to be met in warfare: (a) Vesicant agents: causes irritation to eyes, laryngitis, vasication & ulceration E.g. Sulphur mustard, levisite etc. (b) Lung damaging agents: causes intense respiratory discomfort & death by asphyxia. E.g. -

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phosgene, chlorine etc. (c) Nerve agents: phosphate esters d) Nasal irritants: compounds of arsenic in gaseous form (e) Miscellaneous agents: cyanides, arsine, herbicides etc.

(B) Agents liable to be met in riot control/war: (a) Sensory irritants: lachrymatous /tear gases (b) Vomiting agents: sternutators or nasal irritants Biological warfare agents: For biological war, anthrax bacilli or small pox virus are used. Other bacterial toxins may also be used, which can produce disease/death in human being.

Global warming: With this polluted atmosphere with a continuous damage to ozone layer & by reduced traces, a time has come when there is global warming everywhere and now every country is worried for its existence & future outcome.

Hospital acquired infection: In this infection & pollution era, how hospitals can be safe. Hospitals are also the source of infection in various ways.

Definition: Infection developing in patients after admission to the hospital, which was neither present nor in the incubation period at the time of hospitalization.

Modes of transmission: 1. Contact:-It is principal route of transmission of nosocomial pathogens. (a) Hands or clothing(b) Inanimate objects- endoscope, bronchoscope etc.

2. Airborne: (a) Droplets(b) Dust(c) Aerosols3. Oral Route: 4. Parenteral Route:

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Common Hospital Acquired Infections: Hospital infection Causative organisms 1.Urinary tract infection-E.coli, Klebsiella, Proteus 2. Respiratory infection-S.aureus, Klebsiella etc.

3. Wound & skin sepsis-S.aureus, Pseudomonas 4. Gastrointestinalinfection-Salmonella, Shigella 5. Burns-S.aureus, Pseudomonas etc.

Vegetables & fruits: Vegetables & fruits are grown in dirty atmosphere with polluted & sewage water. Vegetables are grown overnight by oxytocin injections. To make fruits ripe & edible, harmful chemicals are used. To keep vegetables green, harmful & dangerous chemicals are in common practice. Milk & milk products are having severe & grave adulteration, whose consumption can lead to lot of diseases of various systems of body & even death of person.

This practice all around us is un-believable & horrible.

Extent of problem & its Solution: From the glass of water up to the whole universe including milk, food, medicines & air all are polluted or adulterated with this scientific advancement. Nobody can be escaped from this problem, but still there can be some hope by adopting certain measures: 1. Safe disposal of biological-wastes and other waste-products.

2. To ensure the pure drinking water.

3. Strict monitoring of food products with pure food products, preservatives, proper temperature and packing according to norms.

4. Proper & judicious uses of insecticides & pesticides. For the agriculture purpose ancient methods of cultivation including herbal products can be adopted.

5. Spraying of insecticides with all precautions.

6. Proper cleaning of grains, vegetables & fruits before use.

7. Strict legislations and prosecutions for adulteration, air pollution by vehicles and

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industries and for the persons preparing & selling fake & substandard medicines.

8. International community should come forward to stop the preparation & use of chemical & biological weapons.

When every countryman will think for it’s nation &

will whole heartedly by begin the mission to eradicate all dirt and to purify the complete atmosphere, that will a new revolution. Then only a common man will take breath in a healthy environment and everybody will be assured about purity of water, food, milk & medicines.

Purification of environment with healthy diet, yoga & exercise will blossom, the faces of all Indians.

22 October 2010

Letter to the Editor:

Who are these Non-Believers?

Respected Madam, The article, “Faith versus Rationalism: who are these Non-believers?” by Kwaku ba is a useful one for the Rationalist Activists. Lack of depth in articles of this sort can certainly be condoned. However, I would like to add a comment of mine for RH readers: Those who are not acquainted with History of Philosophy may find this useful. Kwaku ba gives only general and superficial descriptions. Rene Descartes’ belief is one instance where he shows lack of depth. Descartes, even though known today as the founder of modern idealism, in fact, did not believe in any supernatural creator. M.N. Roy , in a small book, written while still he was a communist, has some brilliant observations regarding Des Cartes’ contribution to physical realism in the sense that: “…………the sum total of his doctrines was complete rejection of all mystical explanation of nature.

He provided the rising physical science with the basis of a self-contained philosophical system.”

Here is a glimpse: “It is a strange story how he eventually accommodated in his round- up mechanistic view the idea of a God, and consequently came to be known to posterity not as a great physicist, but as a metaphysician.

But it was not any weakness of his reasoning that compelled Descartes to make that compromise. His hypothetical explanation of the beginning of things was so very rigorously mathematical that it made no room for any supernatural adjunct. It is recorded that he himself did not attach any importance to the metaphysical theory which was subsequently associated with his name. He was primarily concerned with physical and mathematical enquiries, and his sole object was to construct a mathematically rigid mechanistic theory of all natural phenomena. That object he accomplished in his work Cosmos. About that time, Galilio’s martyrdom shocked and terrified the whole of Europe. It is said that, receiving that news, Descartes developed his metaphysical doctrines with the object of hiding the immensely revolutionary implications of his earlier work.

Reference: (pp 73, 74 M.N. Roy, From Savagery To Civilization. Renaissance Publishers Pvt. Ltd; Bankim Chatterjee Street, 2nd Floor, Kolkotta, 700 073. Price: RS. 125.00 for Renaissance Edition of 2009) Abdul Majeed, Thrissur, Kerala, India majeedbinmohamed@gmail.com

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Direct From the U.S.A.

Uday Dandavate [Uday Dandavate studies people, cultures and

trends worldwide and uses the understanding gained from such studies to inspire people-centered innovation strategies. Uday Dandavate heads up a design research consulting firm called SonicRim. He frequently writes and speaks on topics related to people-centered design and innovation in international journals and conferences.]

Icons of Mumbai have fond memories of growing up in the Icity of Mumbai. I was fortunate to grow up in a middle-class family deeply involved in the political, social, and creative life of the city.

Throughout their tumultuous political lives, my parents maintained a balance between pursuing the Gandhian socialist revolution of their dreams and enjoying the artistic, social, literary, and culinary flavor of the city. Some of the key landmarks of Mumbai remind me of a wide variety of experiences that shaped my personality, my curiosity, and my dreams for a better life.

Every year on August 9th a large group of citizens from Mumbai gather at the Statue of Lokmanya Tilak at Girgaum Chowpaty and walk silently to the August Kranti Maidan where Mahatma Gandhi gave the British rulers an ultimatum to “Quit India” on August 9th, 1942. Even today the Statue of Tilak at Chowpaty reminds me of that ritual.

The Rajabhai Tower in South Mumbai, our own version of London’s Big Ben, reminds me of the intellectual traditions of Mumbai. It stands within the Fort Campus of the Mumbai University where my father taught nuclear physics for twenty-five 13

years. I have had numerous opportunities to attend citizen’s meetings in the University Hall where passionate discussions on various issues facing the city and the country took place.

Chabildas High School, under the Tilak Bridge in Dadar, represents to me the history of experimental theater in Mumbai. Amongst the Mumbai theater community it was often referred to as the Chabildas movement.

Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, which was featured in the movie Slum Dog Millionaire, is located in Mumbai. Dharavi is a part of the Mumbai North Central Parliamentary constituency from where my mother twice ran for Parliamentary elections. The campaign took me deep inside Dharavi and to other slums, making me acutely aware of the plight of those who have to make do with sub-human living conditions right in the middle of a city that, in 2009, was named Alpha world city (or a global city) in recognition of its direct and tangible influence on global affairs. Dharavi has helped me develop respect for the intense struggles migrants of Mumbai have to go through to survive. I grew up with a realization that as long as a billion-plus people spread across underdeveloped villages of India do not find opportunities for earning a livelihood near their homes they will continue to migrate to the cities, and slums such as Dharavi will continue to grow and put pressure on urban infrastructure.

The beaches of Mumbai – Chowpaty, Dadar Chowpaty, and Juhu – provide one quintessential experience every resident of Mumbai will cherish for a lifetime – eating Bhel Puri and Pani Puri. As I watched people of different cultural backgrounds and economic strata enjoy a plate of Bhelpuri sitting on the sands of Chowpaty, I gained respect for the plurality of Mumbai. I also noticed a stark reality of the middle-class life at the beaches of Mumbai. Lovelorn couples would cuddle up in the corners, hoping to go unnoticed in the crowds. It made me aware of how many residents of Mumbai did not even enjoy privacy in their homes where

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they could share a few intimate moments with their loved ones.

I admit that my childhood impressions of Mumbai are tainted by the strong influence of Marathi traditions, middle-class values, and a socialist ideological atmosphere in my home. Therefore icons of contemporary, prosperous, and cosmopolitan Mumbai, such as The Taj Mahal Hotel, The National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA), The Prithvi Theater, The Kanchenjunga Building, and Malabar Hills failed to leave deep emotional imprints on my mind. As I moved away from Mumbai and lived for extended periods of time in Panchgani; Ahmedabad; New Delhi; Lucknow; Columbus, Ohio; Boston; and San Francisco, my reservoir of memories has turned into a stew of intercultural awareness. As I work in the field of design and innovation and travel around the world talking to people about their lives and dreams, I begin to appreciate that people hold different perspectives on life, and that seeing the world from other people’s points of view can be a joyous experience. Today when I go back to Mumbai, I look at the city I grew up in with a new lens, inspired more by ideas than by ideologies, more by values than by dogmas, and more by curiosity than by preconceived notions. My memories of Mumbai are revived when I visit old icons, and my pride in and concern for Mumbai grows when I see new icons of Mumbai.

Mumbai has three new icons. The first one is The Worli Bandra Sea Link. To me it symbolizes the engineering excellence India has achieved over the years. Today Indian professionals are recognized worldwide for their innovative, entrepreneurial, and managerial skills. I feel proud that the Worli Bandra Sea Link adorns the skyline of Mumbai. At the same time I remember the small fishermen whose livelihoods were dependent on catching fish around the Mahim Creek. As a child I had the opportunity to visit the Fishermen’s colony, built as an alternate accommodation by the government when their original homes closer to the water were demolished for reclamation. I wonder whatever

happened to those fishermen as we built the Worli Bandra Sea Link over the waters they fished in.

Another icon of Mumbai is the numerous malls that have surfaced in different part of Mumbai. Malls worldwide have become key symbols of consumerism. They stimulate economies by enticing people to buy things they do not need.

They provide entertainment to teenagers by providing public spaces to hang out. They also stand out as a barometer of market economies by providing a visual measure of consumer confidence based on how crowded or deserted they stand. To my mind, the malls near my middle-class community of Dadar remind me of the hundreds of thousands of mill workers who fought a losing battle against clothing mills shutting down under the leadership of Datta Samant for several years.

The malls, constructed at the sites where clothing mills once provided livelihoods to many workers who had migrated from their villages, make me wonder whatever happened to the families of those workers. I wonder because I remember their struggles for survival. I wonder if India’s liberalized economy provided new opportunities for them to earn a living.

A recent addition to Mumbai’s new icons is Antilia, the single-family home of India’s richest industrialist, Mukesh Ambani. The 176-meter-tall building is Mumbai’s tallest. Each of its 27 floors has a ceiling height that is twice as high as a standard apartment. The Ambani home has three helipads on top, hanging gardens, a swimming pool within the structure, a two-story health center, and parking spaces for 168 cars (spread over six floors), a floor exclusively for servicing these automobiles, and a floor for home theater with a seating capacity of 50. The house has a staff of 600 to serve a family of six – Mukesh, his wife, three children, and his mother Kokilaben.

Mumbai has finally found an architectural icon befitting the contemporary culture India’s elite has embraced. Considering that Mumbai is the commercial capital of India and Indian business

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owners are using their financial clout to expand their industrial empires worldwide, the Ambani home stands out as a symbol of new Indian riches.

It reminds me of the Palace of Versailles in France.

The Palace of Versailles, located about twenty kilometers from Paris, was the center of political power in France from 1682, when Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in October 1789, after the beginning of the French Revolution. The opulence of the Palace of Versailles even today represents the lifestyle of a monarchy that was oblivious to the hardships of their people.

The architecture and interior features of Antilia reveal a lot about the mindset of its occupants. It would be interesting to look at the homes of other billionaires.

Warren Buffet, an American investor, industrialist, and philanthropist was ranked as the world's second wealthiest person in 2009. He is known worldwide for his adherence to the value-investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth. He has pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes. Buffet once said, “I don't have a problem with guilt about money. The way I see it is that my money represents an enormous number of claim checks on society. It is like I have these little pieces of paper that I can turn into consumption. If I wanted to, I could hire 10,000 people to do nothing but paint my picture every day for the rest of my life. And the GNP would go up. But the utility of the product would be zilch, and I would be keeping those 10,000 people from doing AIDS research, or teaching, or nursing. I don't do that though. I don't use very many of those claim checks. There's nothing material I want very much. And I'm going to give virtually all of those claim checks to charity when my wife and I die.”

With a net worth of $36 billion, Buffet lives in the same home in Omaha, Nebraska, that he bought in 1958 for $31,500. All the homes in his neighborhood are more expensive than his.

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Bill Gates, the world’s richest person, has built a home on the side of a hill overlooking Lake Washington in Medina, WA. The 66,000 sq. ft.

(6,100 m2) house is noted for its design and the technology it incorporates. It is nicknamed Xanadu 2.0. Key features of Bill Gates’ "home of the future" include centrally controlled music, "smart" lighting, and video-wall entertainment.

Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Mukesh Ambani have all built homes that reveal where their sense of self-worth comes from. Bill Gates’ home reflects his commitment to transforming the world with technology and Warren Buffet’s modest dwelling is characteristic of his humility; whereas Mukesh Ambani’s new home symbolizes a culmination of a life spent in pursuit of wealth, power, and influence.

I recognize that like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, Mukesh Ambani has the right to build a home that reflects his self, his riches, and his success in building a mammoth industrial empire. The success of Reliance Industries truly exemplifies that even in a bureaucratic India, if there is a will there is a way to build a business and succeed. The success of the Ambani family inspires millions of stockholders of Reliance and many other ordinary citizens of India who hope to emulate Dhirubhai’s story of rags to riches. The new icons of Mumbai are representative of the contemporary, liberalized, capitalist mindset of India. India is surging into the future, and it is a matter of natural consequence that Antilia should rise above all the other buildings of Mumbai to remind others across the ocean that India is catching up with the rest of the world. Antilia rises high above the Gateway of India, our own Arc Du Triumph, and reminds the world of India’s days of slavery under the British rule. It rises way above the Rajabhai tower, a symbol of intellectual traditions of India. It rises high above the Lokmanya Tilak statue, which stands there alone as a reminder of an August 9th ritual that was long abandoned by the citizens of Mumbai. Antilia and Mumbai will have a very interesting relationship. The residents of Antilia can look down upon Mumbai feeling good

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about the life they left behind, whereas the ordinary of corruption; red tape; and social, cultural, and citizens of Mumbai, on a clear day, can look up into economic disparities. the sky and dream about a better life, a view which will ironically on most days be lost in dark clouds

Loss of a Rationalist friend: GVK Aasaan passes away All the rationalists are shocked by the sad news of the demise of GVK Aasaan on Friday the 22nd October at Peiryar Thidal, Chennai, a rationalist stalwart and great champion of Periyar EV Ramaswami, and of DK. We lost an intellectual and committed atheist who devoted all his life for the cause of atheism and social change. I got permission for translation of Richard Dawkin’s God Delusion into Tamil; he was instrumental in translating it into Tamil. He invited me for the book release at Chennai where I could not go. He played a major role in the publication of Periyar thought in English and by taking editorial responsibility of “Modern Rationalist” he acted as a link with the activities of Periyar Thidal with the outside world. His contribution to the Atheist movement is substantial. Right from the inception of the World Atheist Conferences, he played a monumental role not only by his participation but also by dissemination of the information far and wide. In the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th World Atheist Conferences he participated and spoke at Vijayawada. He wrote a scholarly book in English on Gora’s Positive Atheism and free will. I was looking forward to his major contribution of thought in the 8th World

Atheist Conference, by editing the Souvenir and also by making thought provoking speech at Tiruchirapalli. He informed me that he received my article to the souvenir and was publishing it. His sudden demise is a great loss to the Rationalist movement. He was a pillar of strength to K. Veeramani whom he extended his unflinching cooperation by dedicating all his life to the Periyar Thidal. He played a major role in Madras University Research Project on Dravidian thought. In spite of his indifferent health he was ever ready to take up new responsibilities like a disciplined soldier for the cause of rationalism and free-thought. He was an unassuming rationalist hero.

No doubt his life mission will be carried forward in spreading atheism far and wide. We are fully confident that the younger generation would rise to the occasion and with great resolve proceed further.

We convey our heartfelt condolences to Aasaan’s wife and family and all other coworkers.

He participated in several CFI India meetings at Hyderabad and contributed his papers. He also carried the messages of Mr. K. Veeramani to these conferences.

Innaiah Narisetti All the members of IRI convey their heartfelt condolences to GVK Aasaan’s family and friends.

Sam Harris’s research book: The Moral Landscape Sam Harris has come out with his latest research book: The Moral Landscape. He argues that based on neurological study science can answer moral questions. Hitherto it was assumed that morality and science are not compatible. Sam Harris disproved that and emphatically established that morality is very much a proper field of Science.

And all these things are based on his research and lot of references are provided.

Roy also had several times said that we must change according to scientific studies.

N. Innaiah 16

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grand daughter of Aimé. At two o’clock in the morning the ninety-five year old Aimé, entirely alert, was sitting by my side and evoking memories.

Beautiful Ophelia, in resplendent bridal gown, was sitting on the other side and listening along with me. I felt that his efforts to help others by constructing clandestine mini-compasses to help the, would be, escapees was heroic and in a great humanist tradition, defying imprisonment. There is also the other side, with the French Police trying to arrest him and deliver him back to the Germans.

Amitabha Chakrabarti Aimé Buffard has always been skillful with his hands. Aptitudes acquired in his village Novet in Jura did not desert him when he became A French Villager In Freedom's French prisoner early in the Second World War. Soon he Quest started making and hiding tiny compasses for himself and other hopefuls planning to escape from [Prof. Amitabha Chakrabarti is M.Sc. in Applied German prison camps with map and compass to Mathematics from Kolkata University and point the way back home.

Doc.ès.Sc. from University of Paris, France. He But let us go back a little in time. On 19 June 1940, first worked at National Physical Laboratory, in the battle of Sentheim, German Guns set fire to New Delhi and later entered C.N.R.S. He joined the factory around which Aimé’s little group was the Centre de Phys.Théor. (CPHT) of Ecole fighting. The French were forced back into an Polytechnique, France in 1965. He still continues underground shelter which was soon overrun. Thus to work there. Apart from a large number of started for Aimé, and others of his company, the life papers on varied problems of mathematical of war prisoner. physics in various scientific journals and The German army urgently needed skilled workers conference proceedings he has published a series in different domains. Arriving at a prison camp of articles (covering scientific, philosophic, near Solingen some prisoners started working in historical and other cultural aspects) in Bengali nearby farms. Aimé’s group started felling trees in ‘Jijnasa’ (edited by Prof. Sibnarayan Ray). and constructing wagons. They got up at 4 o’clock These have been collected in a recently published in the morning, walked about 10 kilometers and book by Renaissance Publishers. A few articles in were given a meal at some village or other. But English have also appeared in the earlier issues their work gave them at least a limited freedom of of The Radical Humanist. He has reviewed the movement and access to various tools. Soon, four volumes of ‘In Freedom’s Quest: Life of secretly, they started using certain equipments for M.N. Roy’ written by Prof. Sibnarayan Ray purposes of their own.

(Renaissance Publishers, Kolkata 2007) on “Work continues on 15 August and All Saints’ latter’s request. It has been serialised in The Day. Three days of respite for Christmas. Some Radical Humanist May 2010 onwards.] incursions of the RAF. Rest for Good Friday. For Pentecost the first mass for prisoners in the Benrath e went to Jura, some time ago, to attend church. …” (Aimé’s notes, written soon after his the marriage ceremony of Ophélie a return.)

Musings From France:

W

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Then came their first ill-fated attempt at escape. At night they were shut up on the first floor of a wooden building. Sawing through the bars of a window was outvoted by those who preferred to stay on, not taking the risk of an evasion. They said “The Germans would immediately know that you had our complicity.”

So the resolute little group decided to go up through a chimney. They pulled themselves up grasping three cut up tubes of bicycle tires, thoughtfully hung up there the night before. All preparations, of course, had to be done during the brief periods of absence of the sentries.

But they had learnt to work very fast and silently.

They came out of the chimney, walked across the roofs of the ground floor rooms, jumped down and came to a side door closed from the outside by a thick pivoting bent nail.

Aimé had carefully turned the nail away before evening. But the guards had made a complete round before leaving that evening and had turned the nail back! So, the valiant ones hid their bags and bundles under a stair and went back the way they had come.

Aimé prepared the next attempt by cutting a slit in the door with his trusty knife and delicately lubricated the nail with a few drops of oil from an empty can of sardine left by the guards. Now they could turn the nail smoothly from inside. But that evening, in a generous mood, the guards decided to provide the prisoners a film show! So they waited and waited, trying not to look as nervous as they felt. At last the guards closed everything down and went away.

This time Aimé and his companions got out. They finally climbed up the outer wall and jumped down through a small opening. They started running in the moonless, dark night clutching their bags and small supplies, biscuits and chocolates sewn up in their prisoners’ underwears.

They came to the Rhine. One of them, Lucien Gallet, worked in a nearby farm and had managed to leave a boat tied at a place he knew well. The

boat already had oars, fashioned by Aimé with planks from their beds. He had never handled a boat in his native Jura. But during his brief training period he had quickly learned to row and how to hold a boat at such an angle that the current steadily pushes it towards the other bank.

They crossed over and started walking. They hid in daytime, walked in dark and ate the meagre rations from their pockets. The aim was to cross the river Meuse and enter Belgium.

But their direction finding was not yet good enough. They ended up in the Dutch town Maastricht (a name now famous in EU). And then they encountered two Dutch policemen who simply handed them over to the German military police!

“20 July: entry into Holland. 23 July: caught by the Dutch police of Maastricht. “(Aimé’s notes) They were brought back to the detention centre of Dalum. They saw wagons piled high with corpses, watched smoke rising from furnace chimneys carrying the stench of burning bodies. The smell stayed with Aimé for years to come. But the need of the Germans of efficient workers was ever greater.

“19 August: Dalum 25 September: Return to Bathorn “(Aimé’s notes) The prisoners were brought back to the camp of Bathorn and set to work. They were thrown together with Russian prisoners and almost died of hunger. They subsisted on small rations of inedible bread and soup. Sometimes there were a few potatoes. And, of course, they started planning another escape. Slowly, with difficulty they acquired a few maps. Aimé started making better and better compasses. Surreptitious distributions of his handiworks became a feature of their secret life.

Aimé’s brother Edouard had given him, when he left, a knife. The guards let him keep it for his work.

They did not notice that it was magnetized. And the prisoners shaved with old fashioned safety razor blades with three aligned holes. Used blades were snapped with precision into three strips, each with a hole at the centre. Magnetized patiently with the knife, each one provided a compass needle. This

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magnetization took time. But then one prisoner managed to smuggle out from a work shop a real magnet for Aimé. Instead of one per week, needles started to roll out four per day. Sometimes, for a longer needle, only a central strip was cut out lengthwise. Only the middle hole was used.

Next each needle had to be provided with a suitable axis and base, leaving it free to rotate horizontally seeking the magnetic north but maintaining a stable configuration even when the compass was upturned.

Happily, by this time, Aimé had acquired a quite efficient set of small tools. He had explained to the prison authorities how he can repair saws with uneven teeth so that they cut evenly through wood, giving planks with smooth surfaces. The Germans were happy to provide the tools he needed. Aimé had also other uses in mind for some of his tools.

The axes were fashioned from segments of metallic pins with one end fixed in a small piece of brass taken from used batteries. Such an instrument, no more than 3 centimeters in diameter, could easily be hidden.

Aimé’s friend Gallet had a special compass. His tobacco pipe had a screwed on ash container. Aimé installed the compass inside that. Gallet had only to unscrew it and take a reading. He kept it afterwards as a souvenir.

Aimé was never caught with a compass. But once, being very hungry, he tried to hide one of the cod fishes being unloaded. The fish was too big. The tail stuck out from under his great coat. A guard pushed a gun under his chin and roared “You, terrorist!” The Commandant calmed him down and asked Aimé “Why did you steal the fish?” The culprit explained “Others receive gift packages from home. But not me. I am hungry and just wanted to eat something.” He was punished — two days in a cell. (On an impulse once Aimé had written home not to send him gift packages with food. So he did not receive any.)

Aimé wanted to complete his compass number 100.

But time ran short.

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“25 November 41, I decided to attempt a new escape with Lucien Gallet via Holland.” (Aimé’s notes) 27 November (morning): The two friends sewed up some biscuits and chocolates in their under-clothing and walked up to the gate mixing themselves up with a fatigue party of prisoners being sent out. The guards were new. They did not know them personally.

Usually some members of such a party were lacking and they hoped to get out without being noticed. But the sentries started counting and found too many in the gang. Other groups were coming up and soon there was a big jostling crowd. The two infiltrators became nervous.

The Commandant, however, came up and noticing the disorder, saved the situation by ordering the sentries to let everybody out –to great relief of Aimé and Lucien.

After a clear dawn, helpfully, a heavy fog was settling down. The two friends discreetly moved away from the gang. The two sentinels at the outer limit marched towards each other with regular steps, stopped and turned smartly back, marching away. Aimé and Lucien dashed soundlessly through the gap and, hidden by the fog, kept running. They heard no shouts or shots. They ran through water logged peat bogs and fields covered with heather.

They checked their compasses and continued again. By 9 o’ clock the fog lifted. They lay down, covering themselves with heather to hide. Lying flat on the cold, damp ground they could see the road and the canal they had to cross and the high miradors (watch towers) of the camp of Alexidorf seemed to be directly looking down on them.

The night came. They got up with stiff limbs and started to follow the canal, looking for a bridge.

After a long trudge they could at last cross over and start to cut through a swampy terrain. Wading through knee-deep water they reached dry ground and at last, at about 4 o’clock in the morning they knew that they have crossed over into Holland. But

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near about 6 o’clock they started to seek shelter to hide during the day. They were, as yet, too near the frontier in the German speaking zone. They entered a wheat loft and lay down shivering in their wet clothes. Sleep did not come.

After nightfall they started walking again, following a canal and a road towards Almelo. They were exhausted. At about 7o’ clock in the morning they decided to take the risk of knocking on a door and asking for shelter.

The young man who opened the door was disconcerted by their appearance and called his father, who came out accompanied by his charming daughter. They spoke only Dutch, but the prisoners’ clothes and papers soon made the situation clear enough. Then, suddenly, there was a joyous atmosphere. Every body in the family started taking care of the two friends who have escaped so bravely. Their soaked clothes were dried and they had a hearty breakfast. Then they streched out on straw beds under warm covers to take rest. They had tea and coffee and a good meal at noon. Aimé remembers how pleasantly the day passed, eating off plates after such a long time and listening to the girl singing happily. Such a change after the cremation furnaces of Dalum and the “halli! hallo! “of the Germans marching.

After evening they were given packets of food and some sweets. The farmer showed them a map of Holland and they set out again. The son and the daughter accompanied them some distance. What a pity, thought Aimé, not to be able to have a good conversation with them in Dutch.

A little before dawn, frozen and exhausted, they sought shelter in a stable. The proprietor was startled to discover them there but offered them a good meal. He did not dare to shelter them for the day, but provided them with civilian clothes. This time they could talk in broken German. Refusing money from the fleeing prisoners, the lady of the house thrust some guldens into their hands.

Now the companions in peril had shed their prison uniforms and could walk during daytime. But it

was a Sunday and they stood out too much in their ill fitting old clothes among dressed up church goers. They preferred to take shelter under trees and cook the food they have been given.

Near about 4 o’clock they set out again and were alarmed to see a man in pursuit. But he was just curious! After explanations he even gave information explaining how to avoid German guards. They went on, shivering and hungry, seeking shelter without success. At Zutphen they encountered a priest who said that it would be too dangerous to shelter escaped prisoners. In case of disclosure, the Germans would brutally punish the locals. But if they want to cross the channel he might help! The two Jurassians were not ready for that. Gallet wanted to go back and help his mother, having learnt the news of this father’s death.

After the Zutphen episode Aimé and Lucien decided that they must have bicycles. They just jumped on two the owners have left to go into a shop and pedalled furiously away in different directions! Here their ways parted. Aimé was pursued by guards and heard shots being fired. He hid in a field and heard, to his relief, the pursuit going away in another direction.

He headed for Arnhem and crossed the Rhine at Niemegen on a boat with superbly feigned nonchalance in company of Germans with cars. He even offered to pay the boatman who muttered “Don’t bother! I can see well enough where you are coming from.” He had kept his velo (bicycle).

After Niemegen he pedalled all night along a road following the river Meuse. He ate only a frozen turnip left in a field and finally found himself at Venlo just next to Maastricht of bitter memories.

This time he carefully skirted Maastricht, left his velo in a village against a wall and crossed over into Belgium. The guard at the frontier whispered in French “Nobody has seen you I hope.”

After that the Belgians started to take care of him.

He had food and rest and set out next day with instructions about where and who to ask for help.

Aimé took a tram in Liège, slept successive nights

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in a farm and a presbytery and crossed the frontier near Givet. He was instructed to avoid the Customs — “You go down the slope and you will find yourself at “Chez Alphonse” the town cinema hall.

There a cheminot (railroad worker) will meet you and help you over. “He indeed met this guide, whose first advice was “Take off your beret. The Germans will immediately spot you as French.”

Aimé was put on a train. He found himself face to face with a German who carefully observed his shabby Dutch dress, his beret (which he had kept obstinately) and the sturdy shoes Aimé had bought from a Russian prisoner in the camp. But somehow he said nothing.

His ordeals were not quite over. He had started limping. At Besançon a cheminot solicitously put him in a tram – “You cannot walk with that foot”.

But there were long distances to cross, fording the river Loue. The passeur (passer) had a whole group including women. That night, for the first time, Aimé tasted pumpkin soup. (“Oh, how good it was!”)

They crossed over into “zone libre” (free zone of France) and next day, getting up in a bus Aimé had his first taste of welcome in France. A French gendarme found out that he had no papers and was about to arrest him. But most fortunately Victor Jacquemin, the Mayor of Aimé’s native village Prémanon, was in the bus. He came over shouting “Look!

He is an escaped prisoner. He is Aimé, my neighbour.” The over -zealous gendarme let him go. Aimé thought bitterly “I made two compasses for a fellow from Dole. Now I reach Dole and I am about to be arrested. “He prudently waited two days

at Bourg to get new papers done. Then he took a train to Saint-Claude and, half limping, walked back home to Novet.

His parents knew that he was coming. Victor had sent them a telegram after saving Aimé from the gendarme. Lucien had fallen ill in Belgium. But he was well taken care of and reached home two weeks later.

But the war was not over. In 1944 the retreating Germans arrived at Novet. A neighbour lady shouted “Look out, the Germans are over there!”

Aimé ran. There was an explosion just where he was heading. Aimé turned and ran for the wood and found himself with a group of young men from the village. The Germans noted the way they had taken and mounted their machine guns on a height commanding the wood. They entered Aimé’s house. His father, milking a cow, pretended to be entirely surprised by the visit. Fortunately, the retreat continued and the soldiers left near the evening.

Aimé is now 92 and lives in Longchaumois a village near Novet. He rides around on his old bicycle. The story I have told is adapted from a longer French version by his son Noel Buffard.

Noel, his wife Maryline, my wife Michelle and myself we were assembled in Aimé’s parlour evoking memories. Michelle is Edouard’s daughter, Aimé’s niece. Noel said that for Aimé’s 90th anniversary his children proposed to present him a new “vélo” but their father preferred to have his old one repaired! Aimé’s reserved smile traced light wrinkles about his lean features as the others laughed. We raised our small glasses of country liquor. We said “Santé!”

Dear Friends, Please do not send articles beyond 1500-2000 words. Also, inform me whether they have been published elsewhere. And, please try to email them at rheditor@gmail.com instead of sending them by post. You may post them (only if email is not possible) at C-8 Defence Colony, Meerut, 250001, U.P., India. Do also email your passport size photographs as separate attachments (in JPG format) as well as your small introduction, if you are contributing for the first time. Please feel free to contact me at 91-9719333011 for any other querry. —Rekha Saraswat

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B.P. Rath

[Mr. Bhagwat Prashad Rath, who calls himself a heretic, is a Gandhian socialist. He built educational institutions, got elected as a chairman of a Panchayet Samiti, resigned and worked as a lecturer in English. A believer in Lokayata philosophy, he is an editor of journals—Vigil-English, Sarvodaya-Oriya. He is also a writer of several novels, poems (in Oriya) and essays (in Oriya and English). He has often been subjected to police harassment, false cases and threats from anti-socials due to his association with people’s movements and connection with human rights organizations.

Presently, he is researching upon the works and literature on ancient Indian culture. bagwat_prashad@rediffmail.com]

Nature Culture Synchrony Produces a Developed WomanCentric Society. this century, Inbetween the

a gap has developed available scientific knowledge and the mindset of the leading thinkers of the world. This mindset was formed by the three nineteenth century great thinkers Marx, Freud and Darwin. Nineteenth century science was reductionist, where as twenty first Century Science is synthetic (Prof. Paul Davies). The present theories are open-ended and capable of multiple equally valid interpretations (Nobel winner R.

Feynman). Biology, Physics, Anthropology, Brain - Science are the cutting edges of modern science.

A paradigm – shift has occurred in these sciences affecting the whole field of culture and different knowledge systems. Fritjof Capra wrote “And since emergence is an integral part of the dynamics of open systems…….(The species) develop and evolve. Life constantly reaches out into novelty.

Creativity is a key property of living systems.” 1 A child of Judeo- Christian and Greek culture, the Euro-centric modern knowledge –systems dominating the whole world are unable to cope with the findings of modem sciences. Nor is the Vedic –Culture or Chinese culture in a better position though many Western thinkers are seeking solace in these alien fields.

Buddhism rightly attracts lots of modern scholars and writers. Thus writes Prof Anne Harrington, “On some level, we believe in evil as a basic capacity always lying dormant in us, waiting for the right provocation to come out…..Unlike Buddhism, we generally do not believe that we have the resources within, to purify our selves without help”.2 Exclusivism and hierarchy are the two evils which demonize societies when violence becomes their legitimate favorite weapon. Mercifully, Buddhism is free from the first evil and has propagated compassion based on nonviolence as a creed.

Buddha’s stress on celibacy and his dependence on the donations received from the rich and powerful introduced some distortions by legitimizing hierarchy and Patriarchy. Anthropology throws light on societies that were non-hierarchical. (The Amazonian civilization is not hierarchical).

Historians and philosophers have failed to trace out the genealogies of Buddhism and Jainism in India as they have failed to grasp the glories of the Anwikshiki civilization of the pre-Vedic days. The activities of Gandhi and his most illustrious disciples, Lohia and J.P, can not be understood without tracing out their genealogies rooted in the remote past of India.

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No more is the controversy regarding the importance of Nature or Culture incapable of solution. Nature is definitely the deciding factor and our present culture which goes against the laws of nature (as discovered by the latest evolutionary – scientists) is slowly reversing the process of human evolution. The bigness of the human brain which is responsible for all the glories of the human family is getting affected and forces of nature are active in reducing the size of the human brain. Within the last 28,000 years, human brain has lost 15 – 20% of its bigness. Thus the question that menaces our mental sky is whether human species is heading towards becoming a monkey like creature.3 (Complex connectivities of neurons also get affected when the number of neurons suffer a steep fall; this affects the capacity of the brain).

In addition to these two unhealthy tendencies of exclusivism and hierarchy, European civilization also nurtures the attitudes of fatalism, hostility and competitiveness. European thinkers made the mistake of considering all these unseemly tendencies as natural and so, universal ones. Not only Christianity (GODISM), Hegelism, Marxism and capitalism all exhibit the intense attachment to the theories of some sort of invisible laws or forces, directing the course of humanity. They are not like Anwikshiki (Yoga, Samkhya and Lokayat), Buddhism and Jainism which give full importance to human will, social values and brain exercises.

Hostility, which the myth of God and Satan illustrates, colours the cultures and philosophies of the West and the East (Iran). Anthropology tells us that there were peaceful civilizations like the Semai which were free from the feeling of hostility.

Similarly competition is not present among the Pueblo Indians (Einstein), whose society has been described in detail by Ruth Benedict in her book ‘Patterns of ‘Culture’. Buddhism and Jainism laid stress on compassion rather than competition. In the book ‘Early India, Ramila Thappar categorically denies the presence of the concept of hostility in early Indian culture. Fatalism was a trait

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that led to the Karmic theory of rebirth in late Vedic India. This lent justification to the caste system and the system of untouchability. Pre-Vedic India was free from these evils.

Darwin’s ideas had great influence on the culture and philosophy of the world. Freud, Marx and Darwin: all were votaries of violence, strife, and competition. Today, science has rejected the concept of ‘infallibility of its theories’. This automatically excludes the theories of Marx and Freud from the field of science.

Darwin’s theory of competition has been proved to be a partial truth. ‘Not strife and competition, but co-operation and interactions are the prominent factors in the field of evolution’, say the present scientists, exploring the emergences of complex entities like life, brain and consciousness.

Prof. of Biology, Lynn Margulis (the University of Massachusetts) writes, “From where comes the useful variation upon which the (natural) selection acts? - I claim that most significant variation comes from mergers. A merger between microbe and animal cell or microbes and plant cell … mergers result in the emergence of new and more complex beings.”4 She calls this process of merger symbiogenesis.

Many of the scientists exploring the theories of evolution are calling it a self – generating process.

Somehow, the elements involved in the evolution process spontaneously combine to produce a new entity undreamt of by its creator because the properties possessed by the new entity’s components have absolutely no resemblance to the unpredictable properties (qualities) of the novel product.

A leading scientist of the U.S, a visiting professor of the Santa Fe institute, writes “We let all the organisms interact with one another in the context of a dynamic environment and the selective criteria simply emerge naturally. To any one of these organisms ‘Nature” in the computer, is the collective dynamics of the rest of the computerized organisms there. The world inside a computer can

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be every bit as wild and wooly as the world outside……………..We created in our computers ‘universes’, that were complex enough to support processes that, with respect to those universes, have to be considered to be alive. These processes behave in their universes, the way living things behave in our universe.”5 J. Doyne Farmer, a physicist, an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute, is another scientist, who has conducted experiments on evolution.

He rightly points out, “More than ever, it’s becoming impossible to contemplate seriously any philosophical or social question without understanding recent developments in science.”6 Explaining his thoughts on evolution, he writes, “We were interested in the logical possibility for this (evolution) to happens in an artificial world, simulated in side a computer, following chemical laws that were similar to those of the real world…..At first, things were totally chaotic, but, somehow; over the course of time, complex structures began to form. ….We see that there is a general tendency to get things more organized….”7 W. Daniel Hills is the co-founder and the chief scientist of ‘Thinking Machines’. He is editor of several scientific journals. He, too, has shown great interest in the process of evolution.

W.D. Hills distinguishes between the engineer’s and nature’s way of getting things done. Nature moves from chaos to order spontaneously and automatically. As C. Langton says there is no central agency, no controller directing nature. All elements, involved in nature’s process, enjoy complete freedom.

Francisco Varela (Professor of Cognitive Science and Epistemology at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris) treads the same path. He says, “This phenomenon (the evolutionary path of Nature) is something so productive that it does not cease creating entirely new realms: life, mind and societies. Yet these emergent selves are based on processes so shifty, so ungrounded, that we have an apparent paradox between the solidity of what

appears to show up and its groundlessness”. Mr. Varela confessed that he has dedicated his life to the under standing of this process of Nature.

To come to D Hills, he expresses surprise and excitement when he simulates the process of evolution in his computer, “If you step back a zillion years, you can look at the history of life on Earth as fitting into this pattern (of organization).

First, fundamental particles organized themselves into Chemistry. Then chemistry organized itself into self-re-producing life. Thus life organized itself into societies, bound together by language….”8 To quote D. Hills again “I am trying to reproduce within the computer the process of evolution, with the goal of getting intelligent behaviors out of machines…I think that something is happening now–and will continue to happen over the next few decades–which is incomprehensible to us, and I find that frightening and exciting.”9 All these scientists are sure about one thing. They are sure about the way the process works, but they are not sure about the future products of evolution.

To summarize the findings of these scientists discussed above in the words of Stuart Kanf man (Professor of Bio-Chemistry, Penny Sylvania University). “We have discovered the fact that in the evolution of life very complex systems can have convergent flow, not divergent flow…the impulse was to find order for free. As it happiness, I found it and it’s profound.”

What are the conditions that guide millions of random elements to form complex entities? It naturally surprises scientists who have found that instead of chaos which we normally expect in such situations, a complex entity emerges.

The first condition is perfect freedom of one and all. There should be no interference in the evolutionary process. But freedom is an individual value. Bertrand Russell Says,” Freedom may be increased either by maximizing power or by minimizing wants.” The proper word that can describe the appropriate condition for evolution to

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take place can only be described by the word ‘non-violence’. (Freedom of all the constituting elements is possible only when there is the ambience of non-violence).

Brian Godwin, Professor of Biology, Open University (G.K) agrees with the famous philosopher White head when he says that evolution is the ‘creative advance into novelty’.

About Darwin he writes”, Darwin stresses conflict and competition which does not square with the evidence.” He thinks that the Calvinist view influenced Darwin who believed in progress and struggle. He uses the metaphors ‘play’ and ‘dance’ to express what nature does. Brian Godwin makes an insightful remark when he says”, there is too much work in our culture and there is too much accumulation of goods. The whole capitalist trip is an awful treadmill that is extremely destructive. ….This is why indigenous cultures are beginning to be recognized for their values, because they were not accumulating goods….Nature and Culture then come together.”

When we examine the whole galaxy of findings of these experimenting evolutionary scientists, nature’s method of evolution comes out, loud and clear…For millions of years nature brought about changes in the original species by observing two conditions scrupulously. They are: 1) Freedom of all in every situation. Only non-violence only can provide such freedom. 2) Absence of greed so that all the components that converged to form a new entity, only use as much material and energy as they need. The inequality in the use of energy by them is only 1:2. (The brain uses twice the energy per volume compared to other human organs).

Primitive societies which, because of the factors of geography, were of the gathering type rather than the hunting type, were societies where women were having the decisive role (‘Matricentric societies’ as defined by Erich Fromm). All the philosophies of pre-Vedic India (Anwikshiki), Buddha and Mahavir categorically assert that the two most mind–disturbing tendencies are violence and greed.

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Human mind stopped growing when the hunters gained prominence in society because of their capacity for violence. The human societies which had their existence in the vast grass lands of different continents survived by domesticating and killing animals. The study of the genetics of the migrating humans and the archeological discoveries of the killer weapons of the late stone age (Upper Paleolithic age) provide us with a picture of the culture of that age, which explains how Patriarchy over came the Matricentric Societies.

Archeology and genetics both inform us that an unusual situation prevailed in the Indian subcontinent. To quote the famed geneticist of Harvard, Spencer Wells, “Even before the current era of globalization, the world had its killer apps… grouped into a common cultural phenomenon, known as the Late Stone Age (the Upper Paleolithic). India is unusual; since there is actually very little evidence of the upper Paleolithic age there… at least there are abundant tools from earlier periods. The supper Paleolithic provides no tell-tale signs until very late in the day….”10 Ex-Prof. of Archeology (JNU), Shereen Ratnagar, writes in her book ‘The other Indians’ that in India, early agricultural societies predominated and the nomadic communities had little influence in society. Nomadism was a fringe phenomenon in India till the Aryan advent.

That the Mahenjodar-Harappa civilization was without killer weapons indicating the absence of wars is a fact, accepted by the leading archeologists and historians. This was a unique phenomenon in those days of blood soaked murderous empires in other parts of the world. That domestication of animals did not take place in ancient India can be inferred from examining the list of animals available in the seals of the Sindh (M.H.) civilization. Elephants, bulls tigers, water buffaloes, rhinoceros are not capable of domestication.

Contd.in the next issue..................

THE RADICAL HUMANIST

DECEMBER 2010

Kamal Wadhwa

[Mr. Kamal Wadhwa is the proprietor of K. Wadhwa & Associates, Mumbai, who assist in giving solutions in Life Insurance, Banking, Editorial & Translation work. He has studied Economic & Social Development as well as Public Administration at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has worked in an editorial capacity at various places such as Chief Sub-editor with Fortune India magazine; Sub-editor with Complete Cinema; Consulting Editor of Auto Galaxy magazine; Assistant Editor of Electronic Products Finder; Writer and Advisor to the Urban Development Institute in Mumbai; Sub-editor with Business Express in Mumbai and Nagpur and Assistant Editor of Lex et Juris – The Law Magazine.He can be reached at wadhwa.kamal@ymail.com]

The Future of Democratic Society in India the coming years our planners will Inconfront a variety of national obstacles as the country casts off poverty and moves toward a genuinely democratic society. While it would be premature to speculate on the dominant features of this new democratic society, five characteristics may readily become apparent to the thoughtful planner as he surveys the national scene. These five characteristics are: incremental thinking, utility, regimentation, documentation and alimentation.

Incremental thinking: The exigencies of modern planning have introduced incremental notions into

our national culture. Witness the scaled remuneration offered by an employer to prospective job applicants: Salary scale: Rs. 8,500-9,000-9250-10,000; Plus sick leave and other benefits.

Similarly, wage rate structures manifest the same quality of incremental increase. While few people will deny the need for such planning, incremental thinking, if unchecked, may throttle genius and breed mediocrity. We risk becoming addicted to gradients. As a result, substantial vision and wholeness may be lost in our personal lives. We may wind up becoming pygmies rather than complete human beings.

This pernicious incremental thinking manifests itself particularly in the setting up of rail and bus fare tariffs. Thus every year these tariffs are increased by what is termed as a ‘nominal’ amount without being accompanied by any improvement in commuter comfort or amenities.

Added over several years, these so-called nominal bus and rail fare-hikes amount to a tidy sum that sorely pinches the commuter’s pockets. A better alternative would be to halt all nominal fare increases and revise them in one jump once every ten years combined with provision of substantially new infrastructure and passenger amenities.

In the present set-up all the annual nominal fare hikes go to pay higher staff salaries and bonuses with little or no improvement in services and amenities for the commuter. Is it at all a wonder that we are saddled with a hopelessly antiquated public transport system with rail and bus models dating back to decades!

Commuters would only be too happy to pay higher fares for new coaches and buses that may even lead to more savings in power and petrol consumption.

A paradigm shift in thinking and planning is needed in the transport sector.

Utility: Are the concepts of utility and use henceforth to be the yardsticks by which we judge much of human activity in India? Any thoughtful observer is bound to ask himself this question,

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bombarded daily as he is by utilitarian stimuli. The emphasis on planning and rational change, I submit, has introduced utilitarian values and notions of use into contemporary lifestyles.

Witness, for example, the changes undergone by our educational curriculum. Specifically, consider the downgrading and slow death of the Humanities curriculum in our colleges. Once considered to be essential for human development, Humanities are now dismissed as ‘useless’ subjects in contrast to technical and engineering subjects that are deemed to be ‘useful.’

Witness also the low aesthetic element in our industrial products. For instance, Indian-made machinery and other technology products have functional designs (to reduce cost) but they do not sell as well as foreign models because they lack aesthetic appeal! Indian goods are simply grounded in concepts of use and utility. The same can be said of our consumer products.

Regimentation: With the growth of housing colonies and complexes, rural agglomerations, urban sprawl and the accompanying loss of green cover, a great deal of regimentation has seeped into our national culture. While there is little doubt about the efficacy of such schemes, few planners had foreseen the ugly regimentation and loss of aesthetics that are the natural by-products of these built-up areas.

Moreover, given the burgeoning of our urban population, greater regimentation is inevitable in order to maintain minimum levels of public infrastructure such as adequate water supply and electricity. The effects of regimentation are particularly severe on the industrial worker. How can he survive eight hours of work in a grimy industrial unit topped by a seedy life in an urban ghetto?

While we do not know the true psychological and social cost of regimentation, that it augurs ill for the nation, is beyond question. The emphasis on ration cards and the frenetic race to buy that dream plot of land in Pune, Bangalore or Chennai may be healthy

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developments, but will the ordinary citizen be able to look beyond his ration card and plot of land and think of the public good?

Documentation: With the immense growth of our population, an enormous amount of paper work has become necessary in order to maintain adequate quantity of public records. The sheer volume of paper that must be processed in public offices often results in ineffective service to the individual citizen.

Indeed, public officials in an attempt to provide service to a maximum number of people may overlook the individual case. Standards of delivering justice may become arbitrary and decline as there is a general loss of discretion in decision-making.

Large-scale computerization may solve the problem of document accumulation but this solution is expensive. To illustrate, the yearly electricity bill of IBM Corporation exceeds the entire budget of the Brazilian government in the same period. Moreover, there is no hard evidence to indicate that the hard disks on which data is stored last longer (are not corrupted) than paper files.

To benefit India, computerization of public offices and records must be selective and cost-effective.

The kind of computerization that is being carried out in the United States may encroach on the citizen’s privacy. Therefore, some kind of public debate on the limits of computerization must be encouraged in the media and institutions of higher learning. Within the government itself, this topic should be thoroughly discussed before large-scale and comprehensive computerization of public records and documents takes place.

Alimentation: Do we need the public distribution system (PDS) especially when the food grains so distributed are considered sub-standard and unfit for human consumption? Do these food grains have nutritional value? Can these food grains benefit schoolchildren who are the Government’s prime target? A hard and dispassionate study must be carried out on these vexing and controversial

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issues. For all we know, the Government may be offloading surplus food grains that nobody really wants!

A better solution – one that would greatly improve national health, particularly that of young people is to distribute milk and eggs at subsidized prices through the PDS. This suggestion makes eminent sense since India is one of the world’s largest producers of milk and eggs that are exported at throwaway prices!

Since a large number of Indians are vegetarians, these two food articles could compensate for the chronic shortage of protein in the Indian diet.

Moreover, given the endemic unemployment besetting India, these two food articles could serve as a safety net for the unemployed, particularly in the urban areas where food is so expensive for the proletariat.

A viable food safety net as recommended could also give the urban educated youth who are unemployed an incentive to remain in India and even become patriotic. There is simply no love for the country in a starving or underfed citizenry.

Food security must be made the bottom line of Indian citizenship and no social stigma should be attached to availing of such subsidized food.

Food security is particularly important in the new

globalized scenario in India where the number of unemployed people is likely to grow as a result of the structural adjustment policies implemented by the government and corporate sectors. Under no condition freedom should mean poverty!

Conclusion: Together, the five preceding features of the new democracy pointed out in the preceding text will lead to an environment where the role of the government will be of paramount importance.

True, we will have certain political rights but the centrality of our economic needs will dominate all other aspects of our lifestyle.

There will be a great deal of uniformity and conformity in the new India. The urban Indian will have a job, an unpaid for flat and a car purchased on credit, but no real economic independence. For those less fortunate, the government will be running on a treadmill against time and limited resources to create jobs, to ensure timely supply of water, kerosene and electricity at subsidized rates.

The one avenue for success that could enable and empower the talented to break out of this cog-like lifestyle is entrepreneurship. The business-minded will succeed handsomely in this environment while the rest struggle with their daily travails. Only the businessmen and the entrepreneur will be able to call the shots in the new democratic society envisioned in this article.

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THE RADICAL HUMANIST

DECEMBER 2010

Current Affairs’ Section:

Balraj Puri

[Mr. Balraj Puri is an authority on Jammu and Kashmir Affairs. He is Director, Institute of Jammu and Kashmir Affairs, Karan Nagar, Jammu-180005;Phone numbers:01912542687,09419102055 Www.humanrightsjournal.com]

Beginning of the Present Phase of Alienation in Kashmir: When Loyalty to India and Government of India became Synonymous Home Minister, P Chidambaram Union observed, in a an exclusive interview to Hindustan Times, that there was a need to look into the promises made in the Delhi Agreement in 1952, Indira-Sheikh Accord in 1972 and in an understanding of 1986 (between Rajiv Gandhi and Farooq Abdullah).

In the present context the understanding of 1986 is most relevant. Commenting on it then, I had written in an article “net effect of the accord would be that Kashmir will go Punjab way (when it was in the grip of terrorism) and Farooq then Chief Minister of J&K State) would go the Barnala (the dismissed and isolated Chief Minister of Punjab) way.”

Farooq met me the same day when the article was published and asked me how could I compare him

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with Barnala, who used to live in a fortress whereas he was roaming freely. I replied that it took Barnala two months to destroy himself politically whereas his father had left so much rich assets that even if he squandered it with both hands, it would last for two years. In any case, it was a friendly warning. If he listened to it, he might be saved. Almost after two years, first incident of militancy occurred when the president of a block committee of the ruling National Conference, Yusuf Habvi was killed in Srinagar by a militant.

My argument was that before the accord the National Conference provided an outlet to anti-Centre sentiment whereas the Congress had become an effective outlet for anti-State government sentiments. The accord destroyed both outlets which were bound to seek secessionist outlet.

Rajiv Gandhi is reported to have realized that “the accord was the single biggest mistake he made while in office.” He told Vir Singhvi, then editor of the Sunday weekly that he thought “it was important that the and the National Conference remained at opposite ends of the political spectrum.” Otherwise, he said, “protest vote would end up going to the extremists.” (Hindustan Times, November 2, 2005) Earlier Farooq, government was dismissed in 1984, after he had hosted a conclave of opposition parties, which were no less patriotic than the ruling party.

The moral in both cases (1984 and 1986) was that Kashmir, unlike other states of India, could not elect a government which was not loyal to the party in power at the centre.

The Indira-Abdullah accord of 1975 had received massive popular applause. In the first election to the state assembly in 1977, the Janata Party, the ruling party at the centre, mobilized all anti-Abdullah elements. Some of them had become anti-India or pro-Pakistan for want of a pro-Indira outlet. This was made available in the form of the Janata Party, they joined it, though it included Jana Sangh in Jammu while in Kashmir Valley, it was a

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joint front of Mirwiaz Farooq’s Awami Action Committee, Jamat-e-Islami and G M Karra’s Pro-Pakistan Political Conference, besides other disgruntled groups.

In the fairest election so far, the National Conference swept the poll, the Janata party won only two out of 42 seats in Kashmir valley. The route of the ruling party at the centre by the regional party was a unique and thrilling experience for the people. It made them realize, for the first time, the potentialities of being a citizen of India and marked a momentous step towards emotional integration of Kashmir with the rest of India as it established that loyalty to India and to the government of India were not synonymous. Sheikh, who remained in power in the state from 1975 to 1982 could make people of the valley proud Kashmiris as well as proud Indians.

His son and successor Farooq had also won a resounding victory in the election of the assembly of the assembly in 1983 defeating the main opposition which was now the Congress, the ruling party at the centre. Within a he was dismissed for what Indira Gandhi called “hobnobbing with the opposition parties of India. He had the audacity of convening opposition conclave. When BK Nehru, the then Governor of the state, was reluctant of do so, he was transferred to Gujarat and replace by Jagmohan who dutifully carried instructions of

Delhi. Meanwhile 12 MLA’s of National Conference were purchased to reduce the brother-in-law of Farooq, formed the new government supported by the Congress. But it did not last long curfew and was nicknamed curfew sircar. It collapsed soon and Farooq again returned to power. But he was so shaken by the experience that he welcomed Rajiv’s offer of an accord in 1986, dismissed above.

Later he snitched loyalty to any party that came to power, including the BJP led NDA government in which Omar was a minister of state for External Affairs. The centre, too, got used to this pattern. It is evident in the latest eight point package for JK announced by the Union Minister on September 25, seven points of the package were within the jurisdiction of the state government. Any dictation from the centre on them was uncalled for. The Congress party could, at the most, advise the Chief Minister through its coalition partner, the state branch of the party on these points or even directly to the Chief Minister.

The first step for a rational Kashmir policy should be that the state government gets, at least, as much autonomy as other state government in federal India have got and the State government should be persuaded to adopt a federal and decentralized set up so that urges of its three regions and all ethnic identities are reconciled.

Check out the Google site: Your books might have been uploaded by Google without your prior knowledge or permission: It has come to the notice of Dr. Innaiah Narisetti that Google has put all his books on its website without seeking any permission either written or oral, either in the past or now from him. In his own words “I stumbled at the site and traced all the books. It is a surprising development that all my English and Telugu writings, translations, edited books are kept on this site. Normally copy right books are addressed to the author or publisher. In this case they copied not only mine, but of many others throughout world. Then some body went to court in USA. It seems there is some world publishers’ federation which obtains copyright permissions from various publishers and authors. I do not know anything about it. Google might have done this copying of the books with service motive, according to them.

If anyone wishes to read any book or download it, permission from Google should be taken and perhaps pay some amount.

Google says that claims from the authors will be honored and what ever Google gets from the subscribers, it will be shared with the authors. Hence as author I claimed and they provided me the claim form with all their conditions and rules. Of course I am submitting that claim form through internet. This is the background. One surprising thing is that Google could collect all my writings and kept them on its site. That is an amazing feat which I myself could not have done. This collection covers my publications 1969 onwards. After reading this news item, I hope authors would try to locate their writings on the Google site, for which they can also claim. There is time stipulation.

News sent by Innaiah Narisetti

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N.K. Acharya

[Sri N.K. Acharya is an advocate, columnist and author of several books on law. He was formerly Secretary of Indian Rationalist Association and had edited the Indian Rationalist, then published from Hyderabad on behalf of the Association prior to its transfer to Madras.]

I Bihar Elections: Bihar elections now in progress will continue for a month till the fourth week of November. It is a fight between and among the “Lohia Socialists�. Nitish Kumar (Chief Minister) of JD (U), Lalu Prasad Yadav (Ex-Chief minister) of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Ram Vilas Paswan of Lok Janshakti (LJS) were all initiated into politics by Jai Prakash Narayan in the post emergency period and were known as Lohia Socialists. All of them are now fighting with one and another. Nitish Kumar as Chief Minister has alliance with BJP; Lalu Prasad Yadav who was formerly associated with Congress is now in alliance with Ram Vilas Paswan. The Congress and the left parties CPI and CPM are fighting independently without any alliance.

Recently Nitish Kumar has come into conflict with BJP. He does not want to appear or feel himself as dependent on the BJP even though he wants to use the BJP votes. One more feature to note is that persons with criminal background who happen to be in prison are fighting the election through their wives who have filed the nominations.

For Lalu Prasad Yadav, it is now a fight for survival and for Paswan who by his very nature is a clever player in the game of coalition politics, it is enough if he gets a few seats so as to enable him to bargain 31

with whomsoever who seeks his assistance. The Congress is in a mood to revive its old glory by inducting new faces under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.

As far as BJP is concerned it may induct in its campaign only such of the leaders who are approved by Nitish Kumar. The present style of functioning is under the banner of National Democratic Alliance, a term which the BJP prefers to use for its election campaign.

II Micro Finance: Only that institution is called a banking institution which provides a cheque facility. All other banking institutions which provide finance to the public are called non-banking institutions. The latter are registered by the Reserve Bank of India and they function as per the rules and regulations issued by the Reserve Bank. In Andhra Pradesh the micro finance institutions have come to trouble. They came into existence for extending credit to the agriculturists in rural areas. They provide finance to the associations of petty home enterprises particularly of women entrepreneurs and organizations. The arrangement was working well till the micro finance institutions began charging very high rates of interest to the extent of 50% and above and began adopting unethical practices in recovering the debts. While the public and the press are alleging that the activities of the micro finance institutions are forcing the debtors to commit suicides, micro finance institutions are denying the said allegations. However the Government of Andhra Pradesh has already issued an ordinance which made registration with government compulsory for all micro finance institutions. The ordinance also directed that the micro finance institutions shall not recover more than double the amount borrowed. The ordinance did not provide the rates of interest or its ceiling. According to the Government of Andhra Pradesh it has no Jurisdiction to fix the rates of interest for it is not within its power under the constitutional scheme of

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separation of powers between the union and states.

Reserve Bank of India had since constituted a committee to go into the activities of the micro finance institutions and also on the question whether Reserve Bank only is competent to fix the rates of interest, the micro finance institutions can change their customers and if so what should be the rate.

There are about 40 micro finance institutions operating in Andhra Pradesh. Some of them have multi state operations. The most important advantage the borrowers enjoy in their dealings with micro finance institutions is that cash is delivered and collected at their homes. Even as the loan is pending (provided 50% is cleared) another loan is advanced. The loans are advanced mainly for production purposes. The number of installments for repayments of loan is usually 50. If the total amount paid by the end of the period is calculated, it may amount to more than double the amount advanced. In order to prevent the recovery of debt with high rates of interest and prevent unethical method of recovery, Andhra Pradesh Government has issued an ordinance in October 2010 directing the micro finance institutions to register themselves immediately and stop recovery of loans until they are registered. As already stated the ordinance prohibited recovery of any amount in excess of double the amount advanced.

The rule that the creditor shall not collect more than double the amount advanced is an ancient Hindu Law principle which is called “Dandu pat”. The same is not adopted as a jurisprudential principle in any of the modern statues governing the levy of interest. Its re-introduction particularly in short term loans to the poor and needy is welcome.

III Leftism Shall Not Wither Away: At the elections recently held for local bodies in Kerala a majority of them both rural and urban have gone under the parties other than communists. It is a healthy sign that democracy is working.

One party rule in India has become a thing of the

past. The present phase is that groups of parties contest the elections. They also form into coalitions to constitute the Government. Today if one says the ruling party is Congress it means Congress is leading the coalition. If communist party (CPI) and communist party (CPM) is the ruling party it means that the respective communist parties are leading the coalitions. Thus it is the CPM which rules along with its coalition parties, the state of West Bengal.

Similarly it is the CPI which is ruling Kerala along with its partners. The phenomena may continue for sometime more till the coalition parties merge with one another. The present coalitions intended to share power and positions should transform into ideological entities. Anti defection law in its final analysis is intended to encourage ideological unity.

This law is also specially intended to discourage tactical maneuvering for power.

The cases of West Bengal and Kerala where communists have been dominating since a long time and in whose coalitions many insignificant and outdated parties have been forcing themselves illustrate that it is high time that all parties of the genuine left should unite to form into a single party in opposition with all others who are ideologically different. Since leftism has a role to play in the evolution of progressive democracy, it shall not wither away.

IV Obama’s Visit: US President Obama’s visit raised several high expectations in India. It was universally felt that he would sympathize with India’s causes in relation to Pakistan and China. On the contrary, when the US president made some laudatory reference to Pakistan, many felt disappointed.

But one has to understand the relations between US and Pakistan which have certain special characteristics. The US is fighting Islamic Terrorism; whether the US intervention is in Iraq or in Afghanistan it is guided by a single minded mission, to control, and, if possible, free the world of the scourge of Islamic Terrorism which is fast

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spreading into different continents.

Because it has a religion tinge the US has no ally in the Middle East. It is only Pakistan which is offering an opening for the US armies to reach the hideouts of terrorists. Viewed in this way, the US cannot do anything that offends Pakistan when Pakistan itself is fighting terrorists within its own territories. The casualties suffered by Pakistan in this field far exceed the casualties suffered by any other country including India.

What in substance the US president has been clarifying by his pro-Pakistan stand is that US is able to manage its campaign with the assistance of Pakistan and his remarks should not be questioned as involving anti Indian sentiments.

The fact however remains that the US president should have indicated his displeasure at the maintenance of centers in Pakistan for training terrorists who are repeatedly attacking several Indian cities.

IV Scandals Galore: In the recent weeks (October-November-2010), the country was rocked with three scandals. The first one relates to Common Wealth Games. The second one relates to 2G spectrum and the third one relates to the Adarsh housing society in Mumbai. In the first case the allegations are that the monies earmarked for the games were spent in an extravagant way causing loss to the state. In the second case the allegation is that the spectrum allotments were made at old 2001 rates thereby caused huge loss in revenue. In the third case the society was promoted and was given land on the ground that its objective was to help the Kargil war widow’s but all the flats built on the spacious building located on the sea face of Mumbai were

allotted to the affluent and the powerful persons holding high social and political status. The flats were allotted at a cheap rate of Rs 60 lakhs per flat which now costs over several crores.

In the first case the concerned minister Mr. Kalmadi was retired. In the second case the concerned minister Mr. A. Raja has been relieved of his portfolio. In the third case the Chief Minister Mr. Ashok Chavan was replaced and Mr. Prithvi Raj Chavan took over as the new Chief Minister.

Notwithstanding the same the proceedings in the Parliament were stalled for a week. Meanwhile in a reply affidavit filed in a public interest litigation petition the Central Government filed a counter defending the allotment made in the 2G spectrum on the ground that the allotments were made with a view to expand use of the spectrum by larger number of people and that being the policy of the Central Government it cannot be challenged in the court. The Central Government has also claimed that its objective is achieved in the sense that the use of spectrum grew phenomenally far beyond expectations.

In the case of Common Wealth Games scandal, it began with the discovery of high payments made to the berer’s of Queens Baton from London to New Delhi via several Common Wealth Countries.

While it is the report of the Auditor General which sparked off the controversy in 2G spectrum, in the matter of the Adarsh scandal the offer of the Chief Minister of Mumbai to resign gave credence to the allegations of wrongful allotments. The Opposition wants all the matters must be enquired into by a Parliamentary committee, the membership of which is comprised of all the political parties even though the chairman of such committee may be the representative of the ruling party.

“The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference”

Bess Myerson “Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it's set a rolling it must increase.”

Charles Caleb Colton

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IRI / IRHA Members’ Section:

Ramesh Korde [Mr. Ramesh Korde is a Radical Humanist, 83

years of age, associated with the Radical Humanist and Renaissance movement since 1950. Contact: Telephone No. (079) 26745389 Mobile No. 09879545389.]

Globalization – An Illusion phenomena of globalization of Theeconomy and market dominate our age through advertising, propaganda, manipulation and maneuvering. These means are being used to condition the minds of people. If it does not reorient itself to be based on production for use (not solely to earn profit) and distribution with reference to human needs, it will ring the death knell of democracy. Because when general people gather support to threaten the private interest of globalization, it will not have any scruples and will not hesitate to backing totalitarian forces to eliminate threat. This had happened in Germany and Italy after First World War 1914-18.

Globalization of economy and free market must be conceived as means for the attainment of the goal of economic freedom for each and every human being of our planet. How far it can serve that purpose must be judged by experience. Dr. Amartya Sen has described the present global economic condition in his book Identity and Violence. The world is both spectacularly rich and distressingly impoverished.

There is unprecedented opulence in contemporary living and massive command over resources,

knowledge and technology that now we take for granted would have been hard for our ancestors to imagine. But ours is also a world of dreadful poverty and appalling deprivation.

M.N. Roy had observed that the satisfaction of the physical needs of existence is the basic pre-condition of social existence. In the present world, the vast majority of mankind cannot satisfy the elementary necessities of physical existence (This was written some sixty years ago. However things then have gone from bad to worst). Unless these basic necessities are ensured, unless adequate physical needs of existence are guaranteed to every man and woman and child, there is no use talking of developing their potentialities. Unless man’s pre-requisites of his physical existence are satisfied, then only he can develop the finer aspects of human life.

It is reported that, more than fifteen million people, most of them are children, die of starvation each year. Another 500 million are seriously undernourished. Almost 40% of the world population has no access to professional health service. 35% of humanity lacks safe drinking water. About educational and housing facilities, lesser said the better.

The origin and birth of globalization of economy and free market could be traced to the collapse of Soviet Russia. Richard Falk wrote in his book On Human Governance – what Western global economic leadership sought. Instead of change for better, it wanted to take advantage of the disappearance of the Soviet challenge by tightening its grip on South. The main unstated goal was to foster further affluence and consumerism among middle and upper classes throughout the world.

Vigorously insisting that the failure of the command of Socialism demonstrated once and for all that there is no acceptable socialist alternative to the operation of market and that welfare capitalism was an unneeded and inefficient encumbrance on economic growth. And capitalist ideologues in triumphant mood, argue that there is progress even

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if it entails hardships along the way for these societies; and persons that are not competitive are those cast-outs of the market forces that are better pities than helped. Their misfortune is inevitable as this is the necessary shadowy side of efficiency on the use of resources; and according to capitalist mind games, only efficiency should be valued if material progress is to be maintained in an integrated highly competitive world economy. This is the philosophy of globalization of economy and market where man as man, is of no importance in the scheme of economic and market globalization.

The fact is, in the global economic market, its doctrine of laissez faire gave free hand to a small minority, possessing and controlling economic means, to exploit and suppress the vast majority of people. Free enterprise of globalization means freedom of a few to exploit many.

Globalization claims that investments stimulate economic growth and will increase national wealth, which will eventually triple down to poor. However this did not happen. On the contrary implementation of the scheme of globalization of economy and free market has made the rich richer and poor poorer. Further it pushed the lower middle class down below the poverty line.

Dr. Amartya Sen in his above referred book wrote – ‘Many people find it hard to enter global economy at all. The concentration of those who are gainfully engaged in trade leaves out millions who remain excluded and effectively unwelcome from the activities of the privileged. There is considerable evidence that global capitalism is typically much more concerned with markets than with establishing democracy, or expanding public education or enhancing social opportunities for the underdogs of society’.

The globalization of economic activities has neglected the homeless and oppressed; and exploited the wretched of the world. It emphasizes exclusively on the efficiency which is needed for competitive aspect of the world market. The state has been commandeered to promote market

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priorities, thereby eroding its welfare function. On top of it, the media is also propagating a partisan attitude, viewing the future overwhelmingly from the outlook of the rich and powerful.

Owing to globalization of economy, real power, over the course of last about 20 years has been shifted away from the respective governments to a variety of interlinked elites, multinational corporate, financial institutes and media controlled by elites. These small rich minorities having no regard for the sufferings of the wretched of the world have spread their tentacles over the entire global economic activities and have converted state bureaucrats and mediocre intellectuals (lacking humanist inclination and independence of free thought), to become bodyguards to protect globalization of world economy.

Present tendencies of globalization where profitability is the only measure of progress on the pleas of efficiency, disregard the needs of common man and woman and their comprehensive freedom.

Consequently effective form of democracy is not possible. This is leading to atomization of the citizen and he is becoming powerless for all the practical purposes, most of the time. There is considerable evidence that in the present scenario of social and political situation, the people have completely lost their ability to respond and challenge the ill-effects of globalization. Creative minorities having indomitable will, with humanist inclination are still to appear on the battle field to carry out the process of challenge.

The most glaring ill effect of globalization through its internal dynamics will lead inevitably to produce systematic inequality and the existence of liberties will just be formal and of little value because they cannot be exercised in practice. Dr. Amartya Sen wrote in his above referred book – ‘Nothing can be justified in the name of freedom without actually giving people an opportunity for the exercise of that freedom’. Inequalities will severely curtail human freedom on the part of people at large. By focusing on growth it will draw

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attention away from the relation between formal rights and actual rights.

Under globalization major economic decisions are taken by multinational private institutions, unaccountable either to public or their respective governments. This is being used as a means of keeping the general people at arms length from the political process; and under its scheme democratic human values are subordinated to the competitive and acquisiting logic of market.

One of the outstanding characteristics of globalization of economy and market-oriented economy is an obsession with growth, but growth for whom? Not for vulnerable poor and exploited.

The most unpardonable thing is that most Indian economists and politicians consider economic and technological growth most essential even at the cost of the vulnerable poor. They consider what is good for Ambanis, Tatas and Birlas is good for the country. Interest of an insignificant small part of nation is identified and also considered synonymous with the whole.

Today globalization of economy and market has become an uncontested ideology and its dominance has been accepted globally as the fact of life. This will ultimately lead to the debasement and dehumanization of man of flesh and blood. The greatest tragedy is that the present representative parliamentary democracy is incapable and ineffective to restrain the ill effects of globalization that has further reinforced the structure of inequality. This has resulted into loosing much of respective states’ independent capacity for compassionate economic policy beneficial to their citizens.

The implementation of globalization’s economy policy has declined the integrity and independent capabilities of national states. Consequently, national states have completely neglected the pathetic inhuman condition of their own common men, whose votes have helped the political leaders to capture power to run national governments.

Under disguise, controllers of globalization are

able to exercise undue influence upon democratically elected government by distorting the relation between production and human needs.

There is considerable evidence to establish that the decision makers of the policy of globalization have scant respect for the basic principle of democracy and human values. Its unstated object is the concentration of economic wealth. Consequently democratic rule-government of the people and by the people – can not be consolidated. It is worth reminiscing of the observation of M.N. Roy that ‘To strengthen democracy, economic policy decisions and their implementation are the responsibility of and should be undertaken by those affected by them’.

In this global economic connection Noble Laureate Dr. Amartya Sen wrote that there is ‘Need for seeking a fairer deal for the deprived and miserable and for mere just distribution of opportunities in a suitable modified global order. Global discussion of these issues can be the basics of a constructive search for the ways and means to reducing global injustice’. The most unfortunate part of the situation and there is sufficient evidence is that representative liberal democracies have lost the required effective strength to restrain inhuman effect of economic globalization, particularly with reference to the vulnerable wretched of the world, that form the majority.

Need of the day is to make government financial and multinational economic institutions progressively more accountable for compliance with human rights, satisfaction of their basic human needs and human centered ecological and economic world to the reduction of avoidable suffering of every man and woman with special attention to alleviating the condition of those most victimized. Some sixty years back, M.N. Roy wrote that purpose of any economic organization, be it national or global, is to guarantee every member of our planet the pre-requisite of physical existence, then only he can develop finer aspects of life.

Indians craved for independence from foreign

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dominance as a means to get the minimum necessities for building up a healthy body, decent houses to live, medical care at reasonable price, develop sane and healthy mind, free education to children, etc. People asked for bread and human living, globalization offered them starvation and miserable inhuman living.

The globalization of economy and free market dominated by rich and elite will never protect or promote interests that are beneficial to common man and woman of our planet. Universal humanist center for social and political movement, animated by humanist inclination and ideology is the only hope.

To attain the goal of kingdom of freedom and happiness for one and all human beings, to enjoy fruits of economic growth, the first thing to do is the widening, deepening and enlargement of democratization through pressure and struggle by common man, in short extending the domain of participatory democracy.

It is sufficiently evident that representative liberal democracy did not develop a participation culture among general public. Here the philosophy of New Humanism expounded by M.N. Roy is most relevant. He advocated organized democracy based on pyramidal structure founded on people’s committees at grassroots level, whereby common man can effectively participate in the decision making policy of the government. This will facilitate democratization of economic decision making process.

Roy did say that people are ignorant. However, political ignorance is not a stable quality. People can be educated and made aware about the cause of their pitiable condition. Interest can be aroused by debating on matters touching peoples’ well-being which is likely to motivate them for further learning, the most important factor for their improvement. This education, of course not in the academic sense, is bound to extend the opportunities that will bring political awareness among citizens who are presently suffering from

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apathy which produces withdrawal from political and economic activities. Lack of interest in public-life does not motivate for acquiring knowledge.

In Europe, first came the Renaissance, followed by enlightenment, then the industrial revolution that led to a rise in living standard in the West. It is the renaissance movement in West which brought the change in intellectual, cultural and spiritual (in secular sense) atmosphere that resulted into enlightenment and made all round tremendous progress.

Renaissance was very dear to M.N. Roy. He was firmly of the opinion that until the intellectual, cultural and spiritual essence of the country is changed, it is not possible to bring about a political and economic reconstruction, such as would promote popular welfare and establish democratic freedom and social justice. To promote this renaissance movement, he founded the Indian Renaissance Institute. Renaissance movement is a non-theistic movement and is human centered.

In the exposition of ‘New Humanism’ philosophy, Roy emphasized that the root of society is man. We must go down to the root, that is man, and find out what is necessary for man and what should be done in order to give every man and woman an opportunity to unfold his/her potentialities. Since society consists of individual man, social welfare and economic progress must be the sum-total of the welfare and economic progress of the individuals constituting the society. Therefore, economic globalization and free market must be treated as a means to an above referred end and not an end in itself. Production should always be governed by considerations of human needs, not by the exigencies of the market.

References: (1) Identity and Violence: By Amartya Sen (2) On Human Governance: By Richard Folk (3) Prospect of Democracy: Ed. by David Held (4) Writings of M.N. Roy

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Book Review Section: I [Book Release: The Intellectual Roots of the Independence Movement in India-1893-1918 byPrithwindra Mukherjee Number of pages 473, Some fifty illustrations; Price: 29 EUR, free shipping, Format: 155 x 240 mm, ISBN: 978-2-918783-02-2, Published: October 2010]

independence of India in the Western Thecollective imagination seems to have the father figure of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

However, The Mass Movement launched by the Mahatma from 1919 was not born from nothing.

For a long time, indeed, we have omitted an intense creative period which preceded him; it is the fundamentally radical program of Indian Revolutionaries of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century which was in complete contradiction with the battle of Gandhi with the zeal of non-violence. In this well-researched book which is his doctoral thesis of state headed by Raymond Aron and supported under the chairmanship of Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie 1986, Mukherjee makes us to see the philosophical, historical and religious aspects, in short, the intellectual aspect of Indian nationalism. From Rammohan Roy to Sri Aurobindo-through Karl Marx and Rabindranath Tagore, the whole corpus of Indian nationalism’s ideological influence is analyzed by the Author, and in light of this culture it has a centuries-old history. Hitherto largely

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ignored, an overview of the activities of revolutionaries in India as one of their networks incorporated outside the country (England, Russia, Germany, France, USA and several Asian countries ...) is also revealed for the first time. To destabilize the English yoke, Radical Nationalists did not hesitate, “during the First World War, to turn to William II and Germany, pursuing a policy of logistics, directly relating to the Middle East, who gave them special attention. Supported by many archives which are inaccessible till today, there are unpublished personal papers or direct interviews with the protagonists of the Movement.

The Work of Mukherjee Prithwindra is undeniably a major contribution to the historiography of India.

Following is its Foreword by Jacques Attali: [Mr. Jacques Attali had been personal advisor to the former President François Mitterand, and has been considered to be one of the topmost thinkers in the West.]

A Fascinating Thesis No one leaves this great book by Prithwindra Mukherjee unaffected by it. t is the work of a great intellectual, sociologist, writer, musicologist; a thesis begun under Raymond Aron and completed under Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, supported by the biggest shots of French university, like Annie Kriegel. A wonderful instance of the quality of a university, which can welcome within its fold someone coming from somewhere else and offering to France - in exchange - more than what she has given him. This fascinating book constitutes first of all a passionate tribute to a grandfather, activist and martyr, whose place in the history of India has not been recognised as it deserved to be, in the front rank of the freedom fighters; simultaneously with a look for details, lucid, distancing itself, concerning a period very little known, that which, at the bend of the 19th to the 20th century, opens before India the path leading to the awareness of her identity, and the necessity of her fighting for independence. For too

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long a lapse, indeed, people have wished to think that Gandhi's non-violence had been enough to drive out the armies of the colonizer. That is not true. Before Gandhi succeeded in animating the vast social movement of the 1930s, there had been the great intellectual movement of Aurobindo, of Bagha Jatin, and of all those who strove by their side, at times up to death, enabling India to become aware of herself. This book is essential for understanding what today's India is, even in her violence, and to put back in their due - the first place, all the dreamers who, from Aurobindo to Tagore, from Gandhi to Patel have trodden diverse paths leading her to independence, in its diversity.

It is essential as well for understanding the very special role that intellectuals played in all freedom movements, in India and elsewhere. And first of all their role in kindling the perception of the national idea, often artificial, often imaginary: here, Mr Mukherjee explains very well their driving power and the conditions of their crystallisation.

Essential, at last, for understanding the role of intellectuals in History, so often carried off by the consequences of their ideas, swept out, chased away, censored, by the very persons who implement their concepts. Become, by fluke of history, an exceptional musicologist and a great poet, having been set to music by the greatest musicians of our time, the author of this book reminds us that humanity is one, that music, poetry and politics are mere dimensions among other than human condition, and we have as yet much more to learn from India. Let France take advantage of it and establish relations necessary for our future.

Details of Chapters on RH Website: http://editions-codex.fr/racines-intellectuellesmouvement-dindependance-delinde-p-44.html II Ms. Dipavali Sen has been a student of Delhi School of Economics and Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (Pune). She has taught at Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, and

various colleges of Delhi University. She is, at present, teaching at Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, Delhi University. She is a prolific writer and has written creative pieces and articles for children as well as adults, both in English and Bengali. Dipavali@gmail.com]

The Human Identity [Insan Ki Pahchan and

Dipavali Sen

other books in the series Rajiv Gandhi Pustakmala, National Book Trust, India, with financial support from the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, New Delhi, 2001-7, authors and illustrators, several; pp 12-16, price Rs 9-12]

a village lived two farmers -rich and Inupper-caste Ram prasad and poor Ganpat belonging to the so-called ‘chhoti jati”. Their lands and living quarters were next to each other. Ram prasad had acres and acres of land and a huge mansion. Ganpat had a small plot and a hut with a vegetable garden around it. Ram Prasad wanted to add Ganpat’s land to his own. He began to pester Ganpat. He threw his garbage across the fence into Ganpat’s vegetable garden. He refused to lend money to Ganpat when he needed it for his son’s medical treatment. He made a police complaint, accusing Ganpat of threatening his life. False though the complaint was, Ganpat was put behind the bars for some days. Once he was released, he quietly fell to tilling his own small plot of land. But Ram Prasad gave him an open warning: “If you do not let me attach your land to mine, I will go on making your life miserable.” But one day Ram Prasad’s mansion caught fire. His wife and his daughter were trapped inside. As he cried out for help, it was Ganpat who snatched up a blanket and rushed into the inferno. Suffering severe burns himself, he brought Ram prasad’s wife and child out to safety. Ram prasad realized that “Jaat-paat

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sab bekar ki batein hain. Insaan ki asli pahchan prem se hain. Sahansheelata mein hai.” The human identity is not to be found in caste but character.

Simple, nay, simplistic as this story is, it is quite suitable for the purpose of driving home certain basic points to children and neo-literates, and that is the purpose of the Rajiv Gandhi Pustakmala. This is a series of paperback comic strips or graphic stories brought out by the National Book Trust, India, with the help of financial support from the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, New Delhi. The covers are glossy and colourful though the comic strips themselves are in two or three shades. The illustrations of Insan Ki Pahchan (scripted by Pradip Kumar Sengupta) are true to detail and the text (by Girish Pankaj) is clear enough (though not quite lively).It is only a 16-page paperback, the page-size being 9.5x7 sq. inches. The other books are in the same format. Pindadan (scripted by Jyotsna Milan, illustrated by Nita Gangopadhyaya) is again about caste discrimination. When the Shukla household loses a member, funeral arrangements have to be made. The old aunt stops the bahu of the household from preparing the funeral offerings (pinda) on the ground that she was born in a family lower in caste hierarchy to the one she has married into, that is, the Shukla family. The daughters of the household find this unfair and cruel upon their sister-in-law. By talking to elders of the family, they are able to over-ride their aunt’s instructions, and make pinda cooked by their sister-in-law acceptable in social rituals.Champa (scripted by Lakshmi Kannan, illustrated by Chaitali Chaterjee) is about the evils of drinking and the economic independence of women.

Champa had a husband who drank, gambled, kept Champa house-bound, and even beat her up. In an inebriated condition, he fell down and left Champa a widow. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Chandra began to visit the local Mahila Mandal, and learn stitching and embroidery. She began to sell her work and so take care of her old mother-in-law. The women of the neighbourhood, critical at first, gradually began to follow her

example. Bahadur Didi (scripted by Gargi Chakravarti, illustrated by Santosh Gupta) addresses the issue of dowry. A gardener with four daughters faces a dowry demand for the eldest of daughter, Mira. He collects the amount with great difficulty but Mira herself refuses to be thus traded or sold off. The gardener gets the second daughter, Asha, married off instead. Mira continues with her schooling and once she passes out, takes up small jobs here and there, thereby helping her father replay the loan he had taken. But then there comes a letter from Asha that galvanizes Mira into action.

Asha’s in-laws were harassing her for further dowry payments! With the help of the local police, Mira rescues her sister, and gets the in-laws arrested. Asha gives her the epithet “Bahadur Didi!” Bhabhi Bani Sarpanch (scripted by Virendra Tanwar, illustrated by Prithvish Kumar Roy) describes how the Literacy Drive in a village empowered a woman there to become the head of the local panchayat and usher in modern facilities to the village. And so the series goes on — about social discrimination, gender bias, superstition, illiteracy…There is no doubt about the storylines or plots being too simple. The literary merit of the series certainly has a lot of scope for improvement.

But the relevance or need for the series is equally unquestionable. They are not just idealistic, but educative. There is a crying need for books of this type, for those who do not have the power to read long and complex pieces – be they children or adults. If made available in various localities and corresponding languages, it can make a real difference. It can influence the personalities of young people as well as grown-up neo-literates. It can create for them a new pahchan or identity.

Cynicism intervenes; should one write such effusive reviews? Should one have such hopes? Be so naïve? But there is something in the very simplicity of these books that creates a willing suspension of cynicism. One still hopes in the ability of the human being to transform and the human society to metamorphose. These books may – just possibly – help in the process.

40

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