Vol. 76 No 2
MAY 2012
Rs. 20/month
THE RADICAL HUMANIST (Since April 1949) Formerly : Independent India (April 1937- March 1949)
Founder Editor: M. N. Roy
506
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
The Radical Humanist Vol. 76
Number 2
May 2012
Download and read the journal at www.theradicalhumanist.com
- Contents -
Monthly journal of the Indian Renaissance 1. From the Editor’s Desk: 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 Editor: Dr. Rekha Saraswat Contributory Editors: Prof. A.F. Salahuddin Ahmed, Dr. R.M. Pal, Professor Rama Kundu 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 in favour of ‘The Radical Humanist’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
Please Note: Authors will bear sole accountability for corroborating the facts that they give in their write-ups. Neither IRI / the Publisher nor the Editor of this journal will be responsible for testing the validity and authenticity of statements & information cited by the authors. Also, 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
Who is this Common Man? —Rekha Saraswat 1 2. From the Writings of Laxmanshastri Joshi: Spiritual Materialism: A case for Atheism 3 3. Guests’ Section: Discourse on Public versus Private Schools —K.S. Chalam 7 Music in the Mind —Madhu Dandavate 10 Rabindranath Tagore and Science —Amitabha Chakrabarti 12 On Inclusiveness: Challenges of Inclusive Society —Sukhdeo Thorat 15 Need for Death Sentence—Capital Punishmment —H. Suresh 19 Deconstructing Indian History: The Roots of Dalits —B.P. Rath 22 4. Current Affairs’ Section: U.P. gives maximum justice to the Dalits —Avatthi Ramaiah 25 5. IRI / IRHA Members’ Section: How Indira-Abdullah Accord was signed in 1974 —Balraj Puri 29 The Food Security Act in Historical Perspective —Dipavali Sen 32 6. Teacher’s & Research Scholar’s Section: Nuclear Deal and Nuclear Diplomacy —Anupam Tyagi 36 7. Humanist News Section 38
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
From the Editor’s Desk:
Rekha Saraswat
Who is this Common Man? virtues of a superior man are like the “The wind; the virtues of a common man are like the grass; the grass, when the wind passes over it, bends”. This statement of Henry David Thoreau brings various points of inquiry to the mind. Who is this common man? Who is this superior man? Why are the virtues of the superior man like wind? Why are the virtues of the common man like grass? Why do the virtues of the superior man always pass over the common man? And, finally, why should the common man’s virtues always bend when the superior man’s virtues come to visit him? The English dictionary defines the common man as ‘the average citizen, as contrasted with the social, political or cultural elite’. Thesaurus simply says he is ‘a person who holds no title’. Cambridge Dictionary feels that the common man deserves only as less a space as two words and it abridges the definition to ‘ordinary people’. Webster leaves no confusion and declares that ‘the undistinguished commoner lacking class or rank distinction or special attributes is a common man’. One comes to the conclusion that according to the description in these dictionaries the common man has no significance of his own. He has no class, no
1
rank, and no special attributes. He is ordinary, average and holds no title. His life is purposeless and worthless. It reminds us of those light winged sparrows sitting on roof-tops and near water-tubs, breeding, dust-bathing, preening, water-bathing, singing and always remaining in flocks. The common man, likewise, seems to do nothing more than growing his progeny and socializing in groups if we go by these definitions. His virtues, thus, cannot be more important than that of grass. But then who is this superior man? And how different is he from the common man? Confucius says that any person who is genuine, ingenuous and clean in thought and action is a superior man. He equates him to a ‘sage’ who is good and humane. And he also expects every human being to develop into a superior man irrespective of his background. Is superiority today, identified as per his classification? Is today’s superior man greater in mind, knowledge, talent, ability and experience? Or do his status, caste, wealth, class, post, race and family decide his designation? This confusion makes the situation grimmer in a democracy where people like Thoreau and Confucius expect the superior men who govern public affairs to love virtue so that the people become virtuous automatically without employing punishment. But, the million dollar question here is that are we selecting our superior men for their knowledge, talent, capability and experience or are we electing them for their status, caste, wealth, class, post, race and family? Are our rulers good and humane; like sages-honest, trustworthy and spotless in their thought and action? The cycle becomes all the more vicious because when we as common men have neither the intelligence nor experience of the social, political or cultural elite nor the knowledge and capacity of the superior men how can we select or elect the right and best people from amongst them for handling our affairs?
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
How so ever much we, the common people dislike our descriptions in the text books our choices about our representatives in government prove their points. We are those ordinary, average citizens who have no special attributes to distinguish between the higher by birth and the greater by worth! Thus, the so-called virtues of these pseudo-superiors are not winds but mushy grass, spread all over the society into labyrinths of dishonesty and corruption, dissipation and debauchery. The recent exposition of the degradation in their ethical-standards (both in the ruling as well as in the opposition groups) simply leaves us aghast! Are the sparrows picking up birds from their own
MAY
2012
flock for administering the country? Are the ordinary unable to choose the extra-ordinary to manage our public affairs? Is democracy showing its actual form and debasing its very meaning? Is the superior man as average as the common man? Is his elite status a farce? Are his titles and honours mere shams to cover up his malevolent baser instincts? Are now the winds of molasses bending the grass of nectar? Or need someone change the statement of Henry David Thoreau, with which this editorial started, in the present circumstances? You tell me!!
From the Writings of M.N. Roy: The characterstic feature of the modern civilization is the progressive triumph of science over superstition, reason over faith.The struggle had been going on ever since the dawn of history. Even during the dark middle ages when scientific knowledge acquired by the ancient Greeks was nearly forgotten, rationalism asserted itself in the form of the scholastic Christian Theology which conceived the grand idea of a law-governed Universe, and thus prepared the ground for a revival of science. “The most profound and penetrating of the causes that have transformed society is a mediaeval inheritance”- (Lord Acton, Lectures on Modern History)…….. The revolt of man known as the Renaissance heralded the modern civilization. It took place over a period of two hundred years from the middle of the fourteenth to that of the sixteenth century. As a matter of fact, it was a much longer process. The revival of science began a century earlier, with Roger Bacon and Albertus Magnus. They, on their part, had been inspired by the Arabian scholars who had kept the fire of scientific research burning while Europe was merged in the darkness of ignorance during the four hundred years between the conquest of Rome by Genseric and the restoration of the Western Empire by Charlemagne…….. It has been said that the discovery of the new world enabled Europe to come out of the dark Middle Ages. The consequence of the discovery of the Heaven of Copernicus was much more revolutionary and fa reaching; and that great revolution, perhaps the greatest of all times, resulted from yet another great discovery- the discovery of the antiquity............................
2
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
From The Writings of Laxmanshastri Joshi: Appendix I— Definition of Bharatiya Philosophy: The word philosophy has been defined by Vatsyayana in his commentary on Nyayadarshana – Nyayadarshana (1-1-1) as Tadvadnyana. Tat in this word means that which denotes both real and unreal while tatva is the abstract noun. Tatvadnyana or philosophy means accordingly the knowledge of either real or unreal or such Laxman S. Joshi knowledge that corresponds to truth or the state of affairs. It is that knowledge which is unimpeachable. Tatvadnyana is that knowledge Spiritual Materialism – A case which is definite and obtained through evidentiary for Atheism proof system i.e. pramana. It is such a certain and Translated by —Arundhati Khandkar unerring knowledge, reached at by pramana. The proper knowledge of any object or the state of thing [The book Spiritual Materialism – A case for ‘as it is’, means philosophy. The state of reality Atheism, A New Interpretation of the means an object ‘as it is’ or as ‘it is not’. Philosophy of Materialism written by Gautama, in his Nyayasutra (1-1-1) has mentioned Tarkateertha Laxmanshastri Joshi has been that with the study of philosophy one attains translated by his daughter, Arundhati Nishreyas. Vatsyayana has stated the same in the Khandkar, who was formerly Professor of context of discussion on Nishreyas. The term Philosophy at S.I.E.S. College, University of Nishreyas has been used in two different senses – 1) Mumbai, India. He passed away many decades Moksha and 2) the purposes of the study of various ago but his contribution in building up the branches of knowledge. philosophical base of Radical Humanism has In the illuminating critique of Nyayabhashya called been no less. Roy acknowledged it in his life time Nyayavartika, one finds the following analysis. and the followers of the philosophy continue to do Every branch of knowledge includes its philosophy so. I had requested Ms. Khandkar to translate her and its purpose. This applies to each and every father’s major works from to Marathi to English division of science. Consider for instance the for the benefit of the contemporary readers of RH. knowledge of the four branches i) the Veda trinity, And to our pleasant surprise she informed that ii) commerce, iii) judicature, iv) and metaphysics. there is already the above mentioned book in The study of Veda involves science of the ritual of English done by her. It is being serialised in The sacrificial pyre which is essentially the philosophy Radical Humanist June 2010 onwards. She has of the sacred fire and its purpose is attainment of also promised to send us in English, gradually, heaven. The attainment of heaven is the objective of this philosophy; this objective is nothing but more of his Marathi literature. Laxmanshastri wrote this essay with the title Nishreyas. Knowledge of commerce is the science Materialism or Atheism in 1941. How of means of producing wealth. Agriculture is also meaningful and necessary it is, even now, 70 the science of production of wealth. It implies the years later, can be understood by the following knowledge of farming which is its philosophy paragraph given on the cover page of the book. while Nishreyas is constituted of actual generation of wealth such as grains, vegetables, fruits, etc. —Rekha Saraswat
3
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
Judicature implies administration of government. Even here philosophy is implicit. This knowledge involves the usage of conciliation, containment, punishment and division considering region, timeframe and the available power. Nishreyas is the victory of an emperor here on the earth. In metaphysics, knowledge of atman is the philosophy and moksha its Nishreyas. Moksha is said to be the reward for the study of metaphysics. All Bharatiya philosophies are in a way, spiritual sciences, even if they describe in detail the true character of the cosmos. This is obvious from Nyayadarshana, which explains the main topics of the philosophy. Nyayadarshana has listed 12 topics as worth studying: 1) Atman, 2) Body, 3) Organs, 4) Sensory Objects, 5) Intellect, 6) Mind, 7) Tendency, 8) Fault, 9) Rebirth, 10) Reward, 11) Sorrow, and 12) Moksha. Lokayata (Chravaka-materialism) philosophy does discuss the issue of separateness of the soul from the body even if it does not accept the soul as independent of the body. Buddhism does not accept eternal and constant atman. Except the Buddhist Madhyamic branch of philosophy of Zeroism, all the other Buddhist theories assume the soul or atman as the flow formatted knowledge or the river of consciousness with neither beginning nor end. This flow-form knowledge, meaning the soul acquired samsara which is the endless cycle of death and rebirth to which life is bound. Moksha or nirvana is the goal attached to the soul for deliverance from samsara through study of philosophy. All other philosophies oriented towards the doctrine of atman and god think about the truth or falsity of the visible world as a part of the knowledge of the Self. Sankhya Darshana considers the visible cosmos or the actual universe as the evolution of the potential and inanimate Prakruti. This Darshana gives, however, importance to the elemental inanimate triple-string Prakruti as a primary principle necessary in the deliberation of the doctrine of
MAY
2012
atman or Purusha, which is same as the soul. Dualism, Qualified Monism, Monism-Dualism, and pure Monism are the philosophies which do not accept the reality of actual universe, irrespective of their origination in Shaiva or Vaishnava doctrines. Shankara’s Monism is called Kevaladwaita. According to his doctrine, the world is false and the soul or atman is the only reality. In short, all the Bharatiya systems of philosophy contain the discussion of the universe as an integral aspect of knowledge of the soul. It is a major topic that examines the relationship between the soul and the universe. Therefore, it is proper to say that they are all spiritual philosophies. Spiritual System according to Nyayadarshana, is only one kind of a philosophy while the term philosophy has much wider denotation that includes philosophies other than those belonging to the branch of spiritual metaphysics. Appendix II— The Dawn and the Development of Philosophy in India: The essence of life in a developed human society is expressed in its philosophy. The meaning of culture or of the social institutions created by civilised human beings is instilled in their philosophy. Specifically, their psychological values are completely harmonised with their philosophy. The motivational power behind their intellectual efforts, resides directly in their philosophy alone. Social institutions are the concrete philosophical embodiments of the psychological values and the intellectual efforts. Philosophy can be inferred implicitly or explicitly from the social institutions. When philosophy changes, human life changes. The powerful nature of philosophy comes fully in the range of view in the field of human goals and psychological values. Religion, morality, arts, and sciences are the main areas of goals and psychological values. In them, the individual soul of a human being experiences its own nature. These goals and values are experienced in mixed and confused form in law and politics. This is why, it is
4
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
more difficult to show direct relation of philosophy to them. Just as an individual, is not directly aware of light while working in light, ordinary social mind has no clear perception of the ideological relationships pervading its social life. The philosophers, however, do not fail to comprehend the influence of the pervasive ideology in social intercourse because those social institutions and values in which man has spent his total energy, represent truly the full spectrum of the cultivation of human spiritual energy. Function, Form, and Transform of Philosophy: Human activity does not bear fruit without knowledge. Philosophy is an important achievement of man’s quest for knowledge. Moreover, creation of knowledge is the test of the power of philosophy. The society in which the pace of creation of knowledge is slow or where society has regressed in the field of knowledge, the social mind is removed from the reality. Philosophy is that knowledge, which interprets the entity called universe meaning the significance of the universal reality along with the human life and which formulates the general and fundamental concepts regarding them in a consistent and logical manner. This feature is applicable equally to both materialism and spiritualism as monistic materialism is required to make the statement about the place of man in the material universe and also about the rationale for moral values. Similarly, monistic spiritualism is also obliged to fix the placement of natural creation in the world, side by side with the individual soul and the universal soul. The success of both the materialist and the spiritual philosophies depends on the determination of the causal or logical relationship between the matter and the spirit. The philosophies materialist and spiritualist alike, suffer defeat because of their failure to find logical connection between the ideal world and the material world. Their failure not only appears in the intellectual field but it displays unavoidably, also the signs of defeat in the sphere of their influence in the practical social life. The
5
philosophies of dualism and pluralism are born after the realisation that monism does not present a satisfactory rationale for the logical relationship between the worlds, ideal and material. The dualist and the pluralist philosophical visions, the Darshanas accept the separate existence of matter and spirit both and while struggling to unravel the mysteries of their mutual influence and of the character of their relationship, end up in exhaustion. It is the function of philosophy to offer explanation for our each and every experience. We must be able to fit our experiences in the pervasive mould of philosophy. Whatsoever is seen, apprehended, experienced, known, and expected must become an example for proving the theorems of metaphysics. We should be able to test the relevance or irrelevance of our institutions, our victories, our goals, our arts by means of our philosophy. Philosophy must become a constant supply of mental strength for providing meaning and importance, to changes in our experience, to completion of our objectives, to our new victories far more surprising than ever before the moment they appear on the horizon, and to our joy in novel artistic achievements. The history of knowledge has shown to us that there exists such a functional power in philosophy. When a particular philosophy is seen to exhaust its capacity to offer significance of new experience, new goals and new victories, it begins to change. It evolves and readies itself for correcting the previously accepted paradigms. The fundamental basis for such a correction is experience only. Philosophy which is based on fundamental concepts, self-evident or apriori and does not change, piles up hindrances on the path of human progress because of its inability to evolve. Such a philosophy which is unable to explain new experience satisfactorily victimises itself with false justification and cloaks its own true nature while seeking refuge in mysticism. Experience based philosophy is in the form of continuous flow. On the contrary, philosophy founded on apriori
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
concepts has its structure like a fortress fortified all around. In reality, any philosophy is a conclusion of experience and knowledge. Philosophy is involved in proper discussion and formulation of the ideological and scientific concepts, knowingly or unknowingly assumed to be true and is also involved in the very generation of their foundation. Experiences, concepts and sciences assume specific forms through human institutions and arts. For this purpose, philosophy evolves by analysing the accumulated experiences and the concepts gained through application to the latest forms of institutions and arts and also through critique of the fundamental scientific theories. Mutual Relationships among Different Philosophies: There exists another important responsibility for philosophy to fulfil. Critiquing of the other ancient and contemporary philosophies is that responsibility. Any philosophy, comes into existence only with the help of a body of firm evidence supported by reason. No ideology otherwise acquires the distinction of philosophy. After assessing the importance of the weight of the basic body of evidence and its rational discussion essential to the ancient and the contemporary philosophies, a judgment which needs to be eliminated also has to be made. That judgment is accomplished in three different ways. Firstly, the fundamental principles of the other opposing ideology are abandoned as illusory, only after their refutation. Or secondly, they are relegated to history as an important step in the evolutionary stage of philosophical thinking. Or thirdly, the other ideology is recognised as one side of the large design of one’s own philosophy. After some
MAY
2012
improvement or adjustment the other opposite ideology is then incorporated within one’s own philosophical framework. Darshanas, the classical philosophies in India resort to the first method. They justify their own case through refutation of the counter argument. Nowadays historicists, the philosophers who believe that a given philosophy is only a step in the social evolutionary ladder use the second method. The Vedanta Darshana of Shankaracharya accepted the first as well as the second method. The atman-vision philosophy of Hegel followed the second and the third method. A modern researcher is obligated to assess the Darshana philosophies of India by harmonising the tally of all the three methodologies. Moral Motivation of Philosophy: Ennobling philosophical thoughts can help when they see the slow upward ascent of humanity during its goal-oriented cultural progress by providing mental strength. We in India are in need of a new progressive heroic ideology. The Indian society and the whole human race is whirling in the vicious circle of successive destruction. Therefore, in order to escape from this vicious circle, we must create a powerful ideology. Various different cultures and varied different nations are caught up in escalating conflict and enmity. There is an urgent need for the rise of a new humanitarian culture that can diffuse the conflict among the traditional societies, harmonise and balance life for all the nations. A moral ideology, superior and stronger than the historical religions and traditional cultures can place truly the world and India out of harm’s way. The moral ideology which incorporates and celebrates in its human heart fraternity and rationality, alone can save us all at this time. Continued in the next issue.......................
“The cultural and moral crisis of modern civilisation is compelling sensitive and thoughtful men throughout the world to turn towards its humanist tradition. The movement for a humanist revival grows stronger every day. It is being increasingly realised that the baffling problems of our time call for a sober rationalist approach. The restoration of moral values in public life is the crying demand. There is no doubt about the sincerity of the agonised cry for a better and harmonious life on this earth. Yet, it seems to be a cry in the wilderness”—M.N. Roy 6
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
Guests’ Section:
K.S. Chalam [Prof K.S.Chalam is Member, Union Public
Service Commission, New Delhi. He was Vice-Chancellor, Dravidian University, Kuppam, A.P. and earlier Prof of Economics at Andhra University. He was the first Director of Swamy Ramanand Tirtha Rural Institute, Bhoodan Pochampally during 1997-98. He is known as the pioneer of the Academic Staff College Scheme in the country as the scheme was strengthened by UGC on the basis of his experiments in 1985. He became the first founder director of the Academic Staff College at Andhra University in 1987. He was actively involved in the teachers’ movement, secular and rationalist activities and served as the National Secretary, Amnesty International during 1984-85. chalamkurmana@gmail.com]
Discourse on Public versus Private Schools recent controversy on the role of Thegovernment schools (public school) in generating Naxalites versus the Private Schools producing Swayam Sevaks is an interesting issue on which there seem to be little discussion. Most of the private schools in India are strangely called as public schools. It is a misnomer. However, the debate on public education is as old age as the movement for self respect and modernization.
7
Mahatma Phuley who is credited for the Backward Classes movement was the first in modern India to apprise the British about the parochial nature of English education in India. In his memorandum (reproduced in one of my books) to the Hunter Commission in 1882, Phuley questioned the rationale in restricting public education to dvijas and denying the same to Shudra and ati- Shudra farmers who had contributed to the education of others through special cess. School education became public in modern India after the implementation of the recommendations of Hunter Commission. Thus, the debate on public and private schools is not a new occurrence and has always been there to reflect a deep rooted prejudice against the universalisation of education in India. The apathy and indifference in implementing the constitutional directive of providing free and compulsory education during the last five decades after independence has compelled the government to bring the RTE in 2009. The rules are prepared and individual states are asked to produce rules for the implementation of the Act. The central government has made budget provision for the RTE through Sarva Siksha Abhiyan with a provision of not less than Rs 20000 crores in each budget. In fact, policy makers have delayed the RTE for decades quoting that it would be difficult for the government to find funds for its execution. Now funds are available yet, the allocated money for SSA seem to have not been fully utilized, if spent they are stories of embezzlement. What does it really indicate? We may for a moment get back to the cultural history of this country to understand the low levels of literacy and underdevelopment. While most of the East Asian countries including Japan through Meiji restoration have achieved almost universal literacy by the end of 19th century, the goal is still eluding us. There are still pockets of high levels of illiteracy (around 80%}, while the 2011 census has estimated an average literacy of 75 percent for the country as a whole. But, illiteracy in rural areas is still a problem due to lack of schooling. It is not
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
difficult to identify the groups and we need not spend millions on research to find out the reasons. This possibly could be attributed to our cultural ethos that invokes education as a prerogative of men and for a chosen few. This characteristic perhaps unconsciously guides our policy makers. Therefore, we cannot find fault with some of our gurus and corporate Babas reflecting the popular sentiment. In this context, we can find Andhra Pradesh as a unique state where the dichotomy of large number of higher educational institutions simultaneously flourish with one of the lowest levels of literacy (lower than Odisha} in the country. It never pricked the conscience of policy makers and the politicians. The gap is widening due to the education market created by the policies of the government that purport to slam such tendencies particularly in elementary education. The hullabaloo of public or government school and private school is due to the well entrenched involvement of the private corporate sector in school education. Naturally, they would find ways to undermine the government schools like the statements made by some Babas in whom they have invested to create a brand value. The sentiment that government or public schools produce Naxlites would make the parents even in rural areas to withdraw their children from such schools. This would enable the private corporate sector (they have already produced a document on business possibilities in education) to enlarge its’ tentacles. Nowhere in the developed countries including the UK, USA and the OECD, is primary education left to the private sector. In the USA schooling is compulsory. The state through local governments and educational districts manages institutions with necessary funding. It is reported that the enrollment in pure private and non-profit schools in capitalist America comes to around 10 percent. Even these schools are supposed to follow certain standards laid down by the government as they are identified as denominational with church or other such groups. The situation in India particularly after the debates on compulsory primary education and Art
MAY
2012
45 and now the RTE has become trivial. The enrolment in private schools now stands at 25 percent of the total in elementary sector. This is not an urban phenomenon. The Economic Survey 2012 mentions that enrolments in the private primary schools in rural areas range between 30 to 50 percent of the total. This is preceded by the fall in standards where 48 to 54 percent of students in Fifth standard cannot read a text book of Second standard. In the meanwhile, it is alleged that some courts have interpreted the 25 percent reservation of seats as per RTE in corporate schools include economically weaker sections. Now, it is easy for anyone to get a certificate to admit their children in corporate schools and would get the assistance from the government. The private schools are allowed to collect their dues. This has widened the net of private corporate schools both in urban and in the rural areas as the fees would be paid by government. The policy makers would soon come out with a report saying that they have accomplished the universal (MDG) target like perhaps the poverty figures? It is disheartening to find that the situation in the school education which is supposed to produce secular and responsible citizens is totally out of focus of both the parents and the intellectuals. Most of those who are popular in public life today including the Nobel laureates were educated through the so called panchayat or municipal school. They have learnt from each other group and appreciated the diversity of the country. In fact one of my colleagues, an enlightened Muslim lady has informed me that most of the Madarasas are run in areas that are ghettos without proper infrastructure, teachers and aid from government. I am told they are run with little support from the community sometimes by the jealous so called fundamentalists as they are ones who are coming to the rescue of the poor Muslims. Therefore, the Hindus do not have an opportunity to know how they look like and what they think. It is also true about the other community. Some of the tensions in our society are due to the fact that we do not know enough about 8
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
our own people due to sectarian schooling. Realizing the cultural diversity of the country, the Kothari commission on Education in 1966 recommended a common school for everybody. This has not been implemented and now all kinds of deviations with the sole aim of creating profitable investment opportunities in Education sector are being recommended by those who do not have adequate knowledge about our society and education. India is not USA and not even Pakistan in terms of its diversity and plurality. It is exactly for this reason the British had introduced a secular grant-in- aid code for educational institutions to discourage denominational and communal orientation in education. The Indian republic stands for a secular state and the education system should
comply with it through a uniform curriculum and goals. It was found in a study conducted by us about three decades ago that our education system is class oriented. A Municipal or Panchayat school is for the wretched of the earth, the so called Public school or convent for the rich and the aided school for the middle classes. The students would perhaps never meet and share the sublime dreams of our founding fathers who wished that India should emerge one day as a single Nation and not multitudes of classes and nations through schools that promote parochialism and discordant culture. You may post your comments on this article on RH Web portal: http://www.theradicalhumanist.com/index.php ?option=com_radical&controller=article&Item id=56&cid=506&task=single
Dear friends, Here are 8 more books of M.N. Roy on the following RH Web portal now for you to download and read directly on your Computers: (www.theradicalhumanist.com) They are: 'Revolution and Counter-Revolution in China', 'Science and Philosophy', 'Memoirs', 'India's Message: Fragments of a Prisoner's Diary', 'Materialism', ' 'M.N. Roy: Philosopher Revolutionary', 'Reason, Romanticism and Revolution' Volume I & II You may also download the following earlier uploaded books of Roy from this website: 'New Orientation', 'New Humanism', The Russian Revolution and the Tragedy of Communism', 'Politics, Power & Parties' 'Men I Met' 'Historical Role of Islam' and 'From the Communist Manifesto to Radical Humanism'. You will be able to read the entire collection of Roy's books on the RH Portal soon. It is gradually being uploaded there. Happy reading of the above mentioned books till then!!!
9
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
Reflections from the U.S.
Uday Dandavate
[Mr. 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. uday@sonicrim.com]
Music in the Mind
Beethoven performing had an amazing experience yesterday, Iwhich I am sharing with you. Though I did not experience Beethoven live, but yesterday I witnessed what his audience may have experienced. Beethoven gave the premier performance of his famous 9th symphony on the stage when he was completely deaf. “For the premier concert of the 9th Symphony he stood before the lectern and gesticulated furiously. At times he rose, at other times he shrank to the
2012
ground, he moved as if he wanted to play all the instruments himself and sing for the whole chorus. All the musicians minded his rhythm alone while playing". When the audience applauded Beethoven was several measures off and still conducting. Because of that, the contralto Caroline Unger walked over and turned Beethoven around to accept the audience’ cheers and applause”. (From Wikipedia). Though, I have heard this legend before I just experienced something that reminded me of this story. April 7, 2012 was the 8th death anniversary of the legendary Odissi dance Maestro Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. Every year on his death anniversary his students from around the world get together in their respective cities and perform his choreographies to celebrate his creativity and life. I joined my wife Rohini who is also one of Guruji’s senior students in Sunnyvale, California. The event was organized by Srjan (an organization headed by Guruji’s son Ratikant Mohapatra), Guru Shraddha, a Bay Area Odissi dance school run by Niharika Mohanty and Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose. Guruji’s students of all age groups from different parts of U.S. came together to celebrate the occasion. Right in the middle of the second number, Batu Nritya, the audio system failed and the speakers turned silent. The six dancers on the stage continued to dance in perfect synchronicity until the end in rapt silence. The next number was Pallavi, based on the raga Arabhi. The system failed again. There was a total silence in the auditorium. The girls did not wink for a moment. They continued to dance. Several disciples of Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra, including Sukanya Mukherjee, Shradha Balakrishnan, Aparupa, Mouli, Enakshi and Rohini, sitting in the front rows immediately picked up the notes and started singing the notes. The bols (notes), were in perfect synchronicity. Tears were rolling down their cheeks. The audience was mesmerized. Most of the dancers singing the notes in the audience were probably two generations apart from the girls
10
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
dancing on the stage, yet the their singing was in perfect sync with the steps of the girls on the stage. The dance continued for the next 20 minutes. At the end of the performance the audience gave the artists a standing ovation. It was a great tribute to tradition and perfection of Odissi dance brought to the world stage by Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. I myself could not hold back my tears. I could imagine that the girls on the stage were feeling the presence and the voice of Guruji reciting the notes
and playing the pakhawaj. At that moment I could imagine how Beethoven would have pictured his 9th symphony in his mind while conducting it to a live audience. This was an amazing experience. I did not experience Beethoven, but I witnessed what his audience must have experienced. Comment on the article at: http://www.theradicalhumanist.com/index.php ?option=com_radical&controller=article&Item id=56&cid=504&task=single
BOOKS BY M.N. ROY PUBLISHED by RENAISSANCE PUBLISHERS, INDIAN RENAISSANCE INSTITUTE, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS and OTHERS 1. POLITICS POWER AND PARTIES 2. SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY
Rs. 90.00 Rs.95.00
3. BEYOND COMMUNISM
Rs.40.00
4. THE HISTORICAL ROLE OF ISLAM
Rs.40.00
5. MEN I MET
Rs.60.00
6. INDIA’S MESSAGE
Rs.100.00
7.MATERIALISM
Rs. 110.00
8.REVOLUTION AND COUNTER REVOLUTION IN CHINA Rs.250.00 9.REASON, ROMANTICISM AND REVOLUTION
Rs.300.00
10. NEW ORIENTATION
Rs 090.00
11. ISLAAM KI ETIHASIK BHOOMIKA (IN HINDI)
Rs.25.00
12. HAMARA SANSKRITIK DARP (IN HINDI)
Rs.40.00
13. NAV MANAVWAD (IN HINDI)
Rs.90.00
14 .SAMYAWAD KE PAAR (IN HINDI)
11
Rs.45.00
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
Musings from France: [Prof. Amitabha Chakrabarti is M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics from Kolkata University and Doc.ès. Sc. from Univ. of Paris, France. He first worked at National Physical Laboratory, New Amitabha Chakrabarti Delhi and later entered C.N.R.S. and joined Centre de Phys.Théor. (CPHT) of Ecole Polytechnique, France in 1965. He still continues to work there. Apart from a large number of papers on varied problems of mathematical physics in various scientific journals and conference proceedings he has published a series of articles (covering scientific, philosophical, historical and other cultural aspects) in Bengali in ‘Jijnasa’ (edited by Prof. Sibnarayan Ray). These have been collected in a recently published book by Renaissance Publishers. A few articles in English have also appeared in the earlier issues of The Radical Humanist.]
Rabindranath Tagore and Science [This is the English version of a talk in French presented at a conférence on various aspects of Tagore organized by Sharmila Roy at La Maison de l’Inde in Paris. Maison de l’Inde is the Indian students’ residence and a cultural centre in La Cité Universitaire of Paris. Bikas Sanyal is its Director and Priti Sanyal is the Cultural Secretary. So far as I know Tagore’s book, Visya Parichay, I discuss here, is available only in Bengali (has not been translated in English) and presumably only a very limited number of Bengalis read it. When I read it attentively to prepare the talk in French at Sharmila’s suggestion I was more than impressed. I was amazed by Rabi Babu’s far reaching knowledge
2012
and deep understanding of Science. When did he just get the time, not to speak of other aspects, with all his vast creativity in literature and music, organizing the functioning of Visya Bharati and so many other engagements to study and grasp science so deeply? It was an exalting sensation. I still feel stunned.] n the south cemetery of Munich there is a tomb with two dates spanning a short life (1787–1826) and an epitaph in two words. Those two words resonate across centuries – Approximavit sidera(He brought the Stars Closer). This is the tomb of Joseph von Fraunhofer, a contemporary of the poet John Keats. Like the poet he died of tuberculosis. He noted in stellar spectra the presence of relatively dark lines which gave the key to the atomic structure of stars. We learnt that the stars twinkling far away are made of the same atoms as our Earth. Thus Fraunhofer brought the stars closer. More than a century later, far from Bavaria, in Bengal we find a great poet whose superhuman creativity overflowed boundaries and barriers, explaining with care and precision Fraunhofer lines in his Bengali book – Visva Parichay (Getting acquainted with the Universe). He was bringing the stars closer to Bengali readers. He calls the lines barna lipi (alphabet of colours). They are letters composing words speaking about stars. Can one find a term more compact, more apt? But who could have delved deeper into the resources and richness of Bengali than Rabindranath Tagore? Tagore starts with the tiny: fundamental particles, their strong, electromagnetic, weak and gravitational interactions, how they form atoms and molecules. Then with him we visit the vast: stars, galaxies, and the cosmos. With the frame thus in place he moves from both ends step by step towards the centre, towards us, human beings. He describes what we know about our star, the Sun – the source of solar energy and what one learns from the study of eclipses about the
12
I
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
solar corona. Fraunhofer lines are not forgotten. One learns how the presence of three grouped lines signalled the presence of an element unknown at that time on Earth. It was named Helium – an element found on Helios, the Sun. Rabindranath proposes the name Sauraka derived from Surya, the Sun, in Sanskrit. He then describes how it was searched for and finally also found on Earth. After contemplating the solar system with its planets, asteroids and its visitors, the comets, we find ourselves on our own planet, our Earth. After a study of geological aspects the stage is set for encountering life on Earth: life in all its diversity, starting with protozoa, becoming more and more complex in the course of biological evolution to culminate in Homo-sapiens. Life and consciousness, the supreme marvels, do they exist elsewhere in the Universe, away from our Earth? Tagore is aware that no evidence is available of life elsewhere. But he refuses to believe that we are alone and isolated. Rabi Babu, sharing your refusal we continue to search. We have started to locate exoplanets, revolving around distant stars. Yet evidence of life on such planets remains to be detected. Tagore also refuses to accept final, total disappearance of life in the universe. He explains expansion of the universe and its envisaged thermo-dynamical death. But then he says that the antinomy of a beginning and an end of time disappears if one adopts the vision of our shasrtas, our sacred texts where pralayas (destructions) are followed by new beginnings – like sleep and awakening, says Rabindranath. Here again, one may point to recent cosmological models of ‘crunch and bounce’. In them the universe contracts and then, at a certain stage starts expanding again with a period of ‘inflation’. No model has, as yet, been generally accepted. Some theorists base their model on ‘string theory’, others on ‘loop theory of quantum gravity’ pioneered by Abhay Ashtekar. 13
But such periodic models exit. Rabi Babu would certainly have been intrigued. I have presented above a brief outline of Visya Parichay. A closer look makes it even more impressive. One should note that the first edition was published in 1937. Electromagnetic fields, curved space – time of General Relativity, quantization of the orbits of electrons in atoms, cosmological expansion are all presented with clarity. Chadwick discovered the neutron just a few years before Tagore wrote his book. Not only is Tagore aware of the discovery but also of its significance, the role of the neutron in the atomic structure. What is the motivation at the root of such an enterprise? Rabindranath explains that in a long dedication addressed to a person whom I knew, of whom I have fond memories. He is Prof. Sateyndra Nath Bose, whose name is associated with Bose –Einstein statistics and ‘bosons’. In these pages we learn about the thrill and wonder of a boy encountering science. That boy was Rabindranath. We learn that the first writing of Rabindranath was not a poem nor a song but a résumé of what he had learnt from his father about planets and stars as they sat and looked together at the night sky. One can imagine, Debendranath and Rabindranath, the father and the son, sitting on the terrace of their residence in the hill-station of Dalhousie. Above them the limpid blue sky darkens and stars come out twinkling. Later the boy learnt that stars are composed of atoms and atoms of particles. He continued to learn. But personal feeling of wonder is not Tagore’s sole motivation. There is also his deep conviction that scientific culture, at least up to a certain level, is essential for a balanced development of our minds. In its absence the whole society suffers a sclerosis. He feels that though he is not a specialist it is his duty to try to make modern science accessible to Bengalis in their mother tongue. He declares that in spite of his own limitations he does not intend to aim at facile access for his readers. A habit of effort
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
and concentration is expected, indeed demanded. He says that inviting somebody and serving a poor meal is not his intention. If some guest prefers to avoid some dish that would be his personal choice. My friend Palash Baran Pal is a physicist with varied literary achievements. He received Rabindra Award for his book, ‘Science: Individual, Logic, Time, Society’. (I have translated the title literally). There his first article presents Rabindranath as a creative scientist in linguistic study of Bengali. He is not only a commentator. In his book Shabda –Tatya (science of words) Tagore collects, classifies and analyses data and thus discovers laws implicit in development of the language. These laws are thus brought to light for the first time. If this is not science, asks Palash Baran, what else can it be? He wrote to me, “Amitabha-da, read again Shabda Tatya. One feels that a physicist is writing!” From a professional physicist this is admiration indeed. How would have Tagore reacted to recent developments in science? One may think of the concepts of dark matter and dark energy in
2012
cosmology and indeed of science probing consciousness in modern neurology. Any prediction would be presumptuous – except one. Rabindranath would have been deeply, passionately interested. The word culture has usually literary and artistic connotations. C.P. Snow, a prolific novelist with a scientific background, set out to give this attitude a thorough shaking in his essay The Two Cultures. If a physicist asks you ‘Do you know the Second Law of Thermodynamics? In his language he is asking a question equivalent to ‘Have you read these plays of Shakespeare? If he asks ‘Can you define the terms mass and acceleration? It is as if he is asking ‘Have you learnt the alphabet? Absence of a scientific dimension truncates, impoverishes culture. Rabindranath invites his readers to attain plenitude. You may comment upon the article on RH Web portal: http://www.theradicalhumanist.com/administr ator/index.php?option=com_radical&controlle r=article&task=edit&cid[]=508
Dr. Ketaki Kushari Dyson, a foremost specialist on the life and work of Tagore, has sent the following relevant comments after reading Amitabha Chakrabarti’s above article Rabindranath Tagore and Science on the RH Web portal. The comment is, in particular, on the statement —“Rabindranath Tagore wrote in Visvaparichay that his earliest writing was not a poem but an account of what he had learnt from his father about stars during their stay in a hill station”: Dear Amitabha-da, I have looked at the link and read your article. Of course, Visvaparichay is a wonderful book. No doubt about that. But the poet in his old age was very fuzzy in his memory of his own past. He does make some notable errors as regards dates when he recalls his early years. His earliest writings were when he was eight, on the famous Neel Khata or blue exercise book, and they were poems. His earliest poem seems to have been about a lotus. This preceded the journey to the Himalayas with his father by several years. This is in Jibansmriti and is endorsed by Tagore's biographer Prashanta Pal. As regards dates, Jibansmriti is more reliable than anything he wrote when he was approaching his death. In his Religion of Man, written in 1930, he has already forgotten when the episode that led to the composition of Nirjharer Swapnobhango happened. He wrongly attributes it to the time when he was a teenager, but it didn't happen then. It happened when he was in his early twenties, staying with his Jyoti-dada in Sudder Street in Calcutta and saw the sun rising through trees. Again, the testimony of Jibansmriti is more reliable than what he says in 1930. —Ketaki
14
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
Sukhdeo Thorat
[Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Chairman, Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), delivered the following M.N. Roy Memorial Lecture on the occasion of Roy’s 125th Birth Anniversary at Indian Law Institute, New Delhi on 24th March 2012.]
On Inclusiveness: Challenges of Inclusive Society, Economy and Polity in India Continued from the previous issue............... and ethnicity Thebasedcaste/untouchability exclusion thus reflect in inability of individuals and groups like former untouchables and other backward caste and other similar groups to interact freely and productively with others and to take part in the full economic, social, and political life of a community (Bhalla and Lapeyere 1997). Incomplete citizenship or denial of civil rights (freedom of expression, rule of law, right to justice), political rights (right and means to participate in the exercise of political power) and socio-economic rights (right to property, employment and education) are key dimensions of impoverished lives. Consequences of social exclusion and discrimination: The concern about discrimination is precisely because of its linkages with underdevelopment, inequality/poverty and the potential inter-group conflict that it can lead to
15
between the dominant and discriminated subordinated groups. On Economic Development: The standard economic theory of discrimination indicates that economic discrimination generally generates consequences which adversely affect overall economic efficiency and thereby economic growth. The market discrimination leads to failure of market mechanism, which in turn induces inefficiency due to misallocation of labour and other factors among firms and economy. Factor immobility also brings segmentation of the markets. In case of caste system for instance, fixed occupations by not permitting mobility of human labor, land, capital and entrepreneurship across caste, the system creates segmented markets and brings imperfections in each of these markets. Thus far from promoting competitive market situations, it creates segmented and monopolistic markets. Labour and capital fails to shift from one occupation to another even if the wage rate and rate of return (on investment) are higher in the alternative occupations. Factor immobility brings gross inefficiency in resource allocation and in economic out come. (Ambedkar 1936 and 1987). Economic efficiency is also affected by reducing job commitment and efforts of workers who perceive themselves to be victims of discrimination and by reducing the magnitude of investment in human capital by discriminated groups. In caste based segmented markets, the economic efficiency is thus lower than in the model of perfectly competitive market economy. (Birdstall & Sabot 1991) Factors immobility also leads to unemployment which is typically associated with the customary rules governing employment in various occupations. (Ambedkar 1936 and 1987). By not permitting the movement of labour between occupations, caste becomes a direct cause of much of voluntary unemployment for higher caste and involuntary unemployment for low caste persons. The higher caste Hindu would generally prefer to be voluntarily unemployed for some time than to
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
take up an occupation which is considered to be polluting. For the lower caste on the other hand the restriction to take other caste occupation will compel them to remain involuntarily unemployed. Thus involuntary unemployment in the case of lower caste and voluntary unemployment in the case of higher caste is one of the negative outcomes of the caste system. The economic efficiency of labour suffers severely in another manner also. In so far as the division of occupations is not based on individual choice, the individual sentiment, preference and the natural aptitudes has no place in it. The social and individual efficiency requires us to develop the capacity of an individual to the point of competency to choose and make once own career. The principle of individual choice is violated in the caste system in so far as it involves an attempt to appoint a task to an individual in advance, selected not on the basis of training or capacities but on caste status of parents. Further some of the occupations are considered socially degrading which reduce the social status of persons engaged in them. Forced into these occupations on account of their caste origin, people do not derive job satisfaction. In fact such occupations constantly provoke them to aversion, ill will and desire to evade. (Ambedkar 1936) The caste system also disassociates intelligence from work and creates contempt for physical labour. The dignity of physical labour is nearly absent in the work ethics of caste system. The lack of dignity of labour thus affects the incentive to work adversely. This implies that the caste system (as an economic organisation) lacks several elements, which are required to satisfy the conditions for optimum use of resources and optimum economic outcome. On inequality, poverty and inter group conflict: This brings us to the consequence of discrimination and exclusion on income distribution and poverty. The consequences of the caste system in terms of equity and poverty are more serious than that for economic growth. Since the access to source of income and economic reward under the caste
2012
system are determined by unequal job assignment of rights, the result is an income distribution generally skewed along caste line. Lal writes, “Much of modern abhorrence of the caste system is due to the legitimate dislike in my view of the system of economic inequality it perpetuates.�(Lal 1989) Ambedkar argued that whatever may have been the original purpose behind the origin of the caste system but later as it evolved in its classical form it certainly involved an economic motive, the purpose of which is income maximization through coercion rather than economic efficiency of any sort. (Ambedker 1936 and 1987). The manner in which the customary rules and norms regarding right to property, occupation, employment, wages, education, social status occupation, dignity of labour, are framed and defined they involve denial of educational, social and economic rights, and resultant deprivation and the poverty of the lower castes. Economic and educational disparities in general and poverty of lower caste like former untouchables and other backward caste in particular is a direct outcome of the unequal assignment rights under the caste system. There is an additional social and political cost of caste based social exclusion. By exacerbating current inequality between groups, and by contributing to its perpetuation from one generation to the next, it also fosters inter-group conflict (Birdsall and Sabot 1991). Caste based discrimination in access to sources of income and human development of subordinate groups thus has potential for inducing inter-group conflict. Continuity and Change -Dynamics of Exclusion: The caste system as an institution has also undergone a significant change from its original form, which have been discussed in the preceding section. Only a few have ventured to explain the dynamics of the caste system. Akerlof’s economic model of the caste system emphasized that the provision of social ostracism (with social and economic penalties involving social and economic boycott and isolation) against the violation of customary rules of caste system act as
16
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
main deterrent for any change. The fear of being socially and economically boycotted and isolated, acts as an imminent force for the survival of the system. This implied that there are social costs associated with change, which discourage the caste system from being dynamic in nature. (Akerlof 1976). Scoville, emphasized the role of the economic cost involved in the enforcement of the caste system. Enforcement of the system involves economic cost,-transaction and enforcement - and these costs are too high for the individual members to break the rules of the system. (Scoville, 1991). Scoville thus locate the reasons for rigidity of caste system into enormous economic costs, which inhibit the change in the customary rules governing caste system. This implies that in situation of low economic costs the inefficient rules governing the caste system would change and make the system dynamic. The “cost and efficiency” explanation however remained silent about the other motive behind the discrimination. Marxist and Ambedkar explanations go beyond the “costs and efficiency “and emphasized the role of social, educational and economic gains of monopolization accruing to the higher castes persons as reason for continuation of the caste system. The higher caste will continue to support the caste system as long as it brings gains in social, economic and educational spheres. The customary rules governing the social and economic relations and those relating to education under the caste system would change, if the alternative (or new) rules yield higher economic and social gains to the higher caste. Conversely, traditional rules would continue if the alternative rules (or new rules) yield lesser gains to the higher caste persons. Ambedkar further added that the change in the ideas about human rights and equality also induces the change in the social relations, in so far as the concept of human rights and justice involved under caste system is contrary to the modern tenets of human rights and justice. Thus the prevailing theoretical literature indicates that the changes in caste system will depend on the 17
relative magnitude of social costs (in terms of social isolation/standing), economic costs (that is, transaction and enforcement costs), and the social and economic gains associated with change. It will also depend on the extent of acceptability of the modern ideas about human rights, justice and equality. The lesser gains to the higher caste in the existing system (compared with gains in system governed by new rules) and the low social and economic costs of such change will induce change in the traditional social and economic relations of the caste system. Similarly the recognition and pursuit of human rights and justice will also induce the change in the system. Conversely if the gains to higher caste in social, education and economic spheres in the traditional system are higher and the cost of change is high and also the notion of human right and justice as prevalent among the masses is against the progressive norms of human rights, there will be less incentive for higher caste to go for change. Remedies Against social exclusion –Free market versus Interventionists Policy: Given the adverse consequences of economic and social discrimination, reducing discrimination is thus a worthwhile strategy because it is likely to increase economic efficiency and growth, and reduce poverty and inequality and also minimize the potential for conflict between the groups. How to overcome the discrimination has been the subject of central concern of social and economic theories. Two alternative solutions have emerged in the economic literature. One theoretical stand predicts that, in highly competitive markets, discrimination will prove to be a transitory phenomenon as there are costs associated with discrimination to the firm/employer, which result in lowering the profits. Firms /employers, who indulge in discrimination, face the ultimate sanction imposed by the markets. The theory sees the resulting erosion of profits as a self-correcting solution to eliminate discrimination. Thus this view would suggest promotion of competitive markets to reduce economic and social discrimination.
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
However others argued for different policy to overcome economic and social discrimination. This view argued that there are several reasons why economic discrimination might persist over long periods. Firstly, even if the markets are sufficiently competitive the exclusion and discrimination will still persist, if all firms practice discrimination, the possibility of which is high. The persistence over decades of labour market discrimination in high-income countries attests to that. Secondly, in reality not all markets are competitive. Indeed in most of the economies the market are highly imperfect and are government by oligopoly and monopolistic market situation, which give power to the firms to discriminate at will. The limitation of the competitive market as a solution is summarized by Shulmen and Darity:“The analytical stance of the main stream neo-classical economists is charateristized as methodological individualism and it presumes that economic institutions are structured such that society-wide outcomes result from an aggregation of individual behaviours. It presumed that if individuals act on the basis of pecuniary self-interest then market dynamics dictate equal treatment for equal individuals regardless of inscriptive characteristics such as race. Consequently, observed group inequality is attributed to familial, educational, or other background differences among individuals who are unevenly distributed between social groups. The causes of a dissimilar distribution of individuals between social groups may be genetic, cultural, historical, or some combination thereof. The differences in cultural attributes include the value families and neighbourhoods place on education, attitudes, and work habits. The historical refers primarily to the impact of past discrimination on current inequality. In contrast, economists who may be classified as methodological structuralism do not accept this interpretation. Structuralism as an analytical method holds that aggregate outcomes are not the result of a simple summation
18
2012
of individual behaviours, but rather arise from the constraints and incentives imposed by organizational and social hierarchies. In this view, individual behaviour achieves its importance within the context of group formation, cooperation, and conflict. Economic and political outcomes are thus a function of the hegemony exercised by dominant groups, the resistance offered by subordinate groups, and the institutions that mediate their relationship. Discrimination, in this view, is an inherent feature of economic system. Competition is either not powerful enough to offset the group dynamics of identity and interest, or it actually operates so as to sustain discriminatory behaviours. Discrimination is due to the dynamics of group identification, competition, and conflict rather than irrational, individual attitudes. Market mechanisms, far from being relied upon, to eliminate discrimination of their own accord, must be scrutinized and pressured to further the goal of equality of opportunity�. (Shulmen and Darity). These two views have different policy implications to overcome discrimination. A view which predicts discrimination to be self correcting argues for strengthening competitive market mechanism. The alternative view asserts that market discrimination will persist, despite the presence of competitive market forces or for other reasons; therefore the interventionist policies will be necessary. In their view correcting discrimination would requires legal safeguards against discrimination and policies for equal share in various spheres. It calls for state interventions not only in land, labor, and capital market but also in product and consumer market and social needs such as education, housing and health, as the discriminated groups face discrimination in multiple spheres in transactions canalized through market and non market channels. Continued in the next issue................ Read & comment on full article posted on RH Web:http://www.theradicalhumanist.com/inde x.php?option=com_radical&controller=article &Itemid=56&cid=498&task=single
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
H. Suresh [Justice H. Suresh (retd.) delivered this lecture on
the occasion of M.N. Roy 125th Birth Anniversary celebrations by Centre for the Study of Social Change (CSSC) at M.N. Roy Human Development Campus, Centre for the Study of Social Change, Mumbai on 21st March 2012]
The Need For Death Sentence For Capital Punishmment Continued from the previous issue........ takes me to the question whether This death sentence is ultra-vires our Constitution. It is universally recognised that death penalty is an affront to human dignity. The death penalty legitimises an irreversible act of violence by the State. The death penalty is discriminatory and is often used disproportionately against the poor, minorities and members of racial, ethnic and religious communities. The death penalty is often imposed after a grossly unfair trial. But even when trials respect international standards of fairness, the risk of executing the innocent can never be fully eliminated: the death penalty will inevitably claim innocent victims, as has been persistently demonstrated. In an earlier campaign this is what we had said: Death penalty violates the right to life guaranteed in the UDHR and the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). These documents affirm this right in several ways. For instance, they
19
clearly state that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is clear that, like torture, an execution is an extreme form of physical and mental assault on a person, already rendered helpless by incarceration. Besides, neither the physical pain caused by the action of killing a human being, nor the psychological suffering caused by a foreknowledge of death at the hands of the State can be quantified. Whether a death sentence is carried out six months after a summary trial, six weeks after a mass trial or after 16 years of lengthy legal proceedings, the person executed is subjected to uniquely cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment. Therefore, on no account can a State justify imposition of death penalty, while it continues to affirm the right to life. Before I deal with the cases that upheld death sentence as valid, I must refer to the recent case of Dalbir Singh (Feb 2012), in which the Supreme Court has declared the mandatory death sentence as provided u/S. 27(3) of the Arms Act, 1959 as invalid and ultra-vires of the Constitution of India. We have certain provisions in the Arms Act, Drugs Act and in S. 303 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), which provide for mandatory death sentence, leaving no option for the Court to consider any other mode of punishment. The Constitutional validity of mandatory death sentences was examined by the Supreme Court earlier in the case of Mithu v/s State of Punjab (1983), in which S. 303 of the IPC (which provides for death sentence for a person who commits a murder when he is already undergoing a sentence of life imprisonment) was held as invalid and violative of Article 21 and Article 14 of the Constitution of India. In other words, the Supreme Court treated all such cases as falling under S. 302 of the IPC and not as any separate offence under a separate section. In that the Supreme Court re-asserted its right to exercise judicial discretion which is “the safest possible safeguard for the accused�. Thus, mandatory death sentence is struck down, not because death sentence, by itself, is bad,
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
but because the law does not provide for any exercise of judicial discretion to decide if such a sentence should be imposed or not. This has been approved in all the cases that have considered the constitutionality of the provisions providing for death penalty. The first one is the case of Jagmohan Singh (1973). The challenge was under Art.s 19(1), 14 and 21. The challenge under Art. 19(1) was negatived on the basis that Art. 19 does not deal with the freedom to live. The challenge under Art. 21 was disposed off on the ground that we do not have the “due process” clause as under the American Constitution. The only test could be one of reasonableness, and the procedure for the trial was found to be fair and reasonable and therefore Art. 21 was not violated. As regards Art. 14, the challenge was on the ground that the judges are given uncontrolled and unguided discretion. The Court held that Art. 14 cannot be invoked in matters of judicial discretion. Some of the disturbing observations made by the Court were: (i) capital punishment has been with us from the ancient times right up to the present day; (ii) we cannot transplant Western experience in our country where social conditions and intellectual levels are different; (iii) the Law Commission, in its report published in 1967, has stated that capital punishment as such cannot be considered as unreasonable or not required in the public interest; (iv) some murders are “of the common type”, while some others are “diabolical in conception and cruel in execution”. The next case is Bachan Singh (1980), where Bhagwati, J., in a minority judgement, held that the death penalty was void as violative of Arts. 14 and 21, while the majority of four judges overruled him to uphold the Constitutional validity of the death penalty. The approach of the majority judges was the same as the case of Jagmohan, even though Menaka Gandhi (1978), which brought the American concept of “due process” into our Constitution while considering Art. 21, was cited. Here again, the Court relied on the 35th Report of
2012
the Law Commission, 1967, which has summed up the conclusions as under: “The issue of abolition or retention has to be decided on a balancing of the various arguments for and against retention. No single argument for abolition or retention can decide the issue. In arriving at any conclusion on the subject, the need for protecting society in general and individual human beings must be borne in mind. It is difficult to rule out the validity of the strength behind many of the arguments for abolition not does the Commission treat lightly the argument based on the irrevocability of the sentence of death, the need for a modern approach, the severity of capital punishment and the strong feeling shown by certain sections of public opinion in stressing deeper questions of human values. Having regard, however, to the conditions in India, to the variety of social up-bringing of its inhabitants, to the disparity in the level of morality and education in the country, to the vastness of its area, to diversity of its population and to the paramount need for maintaining law and order in the country at the present juncture, India cannot risk the experiment of abolition of capital punishment.” The Court sets out in detail the age-old debate between the Abolitionists and the Retentionists only to say at the end that for the purpose of deciding the constitutional validity of death penalty, “It is not necessary for us to express any categorical opinion, one way or the other, as to which of these two antithetical views, held by the Abolitionists and Retentionists, is correct. It is sufficient to say that the very fact the persons of reason, learning and light are rationally and deeply divided in their opinion on this issue, is a ground among many others, for rejecting the petitioner’s argument that retention of death penalty in the impugned provision, is totally devoid of reason and purpose. If, notwithstanding the views of the Abolitionists to the contrary, a very large segment of people, the world over, including sociologists,
20
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
On the question of judicial discretion, the Court agrees that it is not possible for any one to lay down any standardised guidelines as to how and in what manner, and in what cases, death penalty should be imposed. They said that “Judges have to decide cases as they come before them, mindful of the need to keep passions and prejudices out of their decisions.” Broadly what they said was that in each case, the concerned judge should arrive at a balance sheet after taking into account the aggravating circumstances as against mitigating factors, and then decide, keeping in mind that “The scope and concept of mitigating factors in the area of death penalty must receive a liberal and expansive construction.” And then the final say: “A real and abiding concern for the dignity of life, postulates resistance to taking a life through law’s instrumentality. That ought not to be done save in the rarest of rare cases when the alternative option is unquestionably foreclosed.” Continued in the next issue........................ You may read and commnet upon the complete article on RH Web portal: http://www.theradicalhumanist.com/index.php ?option=com_radical&controller=article&Item id=56&cid=500&task=single
legislators, jurists, judges and administrators still firmly believe in the worth and necessity of capital punishment for the protection of society”. The learned Judge however refers to the fact that since Parliament has, repeatedly, rejected all attempts to abolish or specifically restrict the area of death penalty, it would not be possible to hold that the death penalty is “unreasonable and not in the public interest.” The Court, after referring to Maneka Gandhi (1978), observes that having regard to the provisions for the trial and appeal, and having regard to the provisions for mercy and pardon by the President of India or the Governor of the State, “it cannot be said that the framers of the Constitution considered death sentences for murder or the prescribed traditional mode of its execution as a degrading punishment which would defile ‘the dignity of the individual’ within the meaning of the Preamble”. The Court refers to International Covenants, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which had been (then) recently accepted by India and takes note of the fact that most of the countries who have subscribed to the International Covenant still retain death penalty, etc.
The Radical Humanist—Rates Of Advertisement/InsertionJournal Size:18cm x 24cm-Print Area:15cm x 20cm Ordinary Special Second Back Cover Rs. 2,500 Last Cover
Rs. 3,000
Rs. 3,000
Rs. 2,500
Quarter page
Rs. 900
nd
For One Year 2 Back Cover Rs. 20,000 Rs. 30,000 Last Cover
Rs. 25,000
Ordinary Page: Full Page Rs. 15,000
Quarter Page
Rs.6,000
Rs. 2,500
Special Rs. 3,000
Rs. 3,500
Ordinary Page: Full Page Rs. 2,000 Rs. 600
Third Back Cover
Ordinary
Half Page
Rs. 1,000
Rs. 1,500
3 Back Cover
Rs. 20,000
Rs. 30,000
Half Page
Rs. 10,000
rd
Rs. 30,000 Rs. 20,000
Rs. 9,000
21
Rs. 15,000
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
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]
Deconstructing Indian History: The Roots of Dalits Continued from the previous issue.... deities were imagined to be fond of Aryan animal sacrifices in all lands including India. But after fusion with the pre-Vedic yatis, all the deities (except many female deities), became vegetarians. Regarding the fusion of the two societies (The Aryan and the Dasa Varna), Ramila Thappar in her presidential speech in the history congress (1969) on the subject, ‘Exploring Societies of the Early Past’ quoted the scholar G.C. Mallick thus, “Hence, it was, contrary to the general opinion, but rather the Indianisation of the
2012
Aryan nomadic pastoral hordes.” We cannot understand pre- Vedic India unless we study the Sindhu Civilization that existed before the Aryan migration to India. Edwin Bryant, lecturer in Indology, Harvard University, in his book ‘The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture’ makes a telling comment regarding the social and administrative set up of the Mahenjodaro Harappa Civilization. To quote him, “……it seems relevant to note a proactive new hypothesis suggested by Lamberg Karlosky … who draws attention to the astounding degree of cultural homogeneity in the vast area of Indus valley civilization juxtaposed with the lack of any evidence for a centralized political structure. Not only is there uniformity of culture, but the physical layout of the community is replicated, irrespective of whether it is the 5 acre site of Allahdino or the 150 acre site of Mahenjo Daro. He notes that competition in a class- structured society results in a much wider variety of styles and methods of production, whereas in a caste system, much more uniformity is to be expected as is evidenced by the artifacts unearthed by the Indus valley sites. Caste organization would also explain the social stability of massive culture in the absence of a centralized, state or chieftainship.” That there was no Varna/caste system in Indus culture is asserted by J. N. Kenoyer, Professor of Anthropology (university of Wisconsin, Madison). He says, “Although there appears to have been occupational specialization in the Indus cities, the lack of separate burial area or highly differentiated habitation areas and material culture that rigidly defined social strata such as the later Varna systems or hereditary castes were not the norm”. India: Historical Beginnings and the Concept of the Aryan: Culture and Societies of the Indus Tradition. That the caste system was foreign to pre -Vedic Indus culture is also proved by the remarks of the famous Lokayat philosopher Charvak. He has vehemently denounced Varna system headed by the priests (Sarba Darsana Sangraha). The
22
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
Mahabharata speaks about two categories of people in pre-Vedic non-Aryan India. The aristocracy (Rajarshees-Gita) was distinguished by its devotion to the Yogic values of non violence, truth, limiting one’s wants, fraternity (MAITRI) etc. The Vedic words ‘Brahmin’ and Sudra were retrospectively used to categories the two classes of the pre-Vedic society. “Forgiveness, control of senses, anger-control are the qualities of ‘Brahmins’. Those who do not have these qualities are ‘Sudras’. ‘Gita press Mahabharata Aswamedha Parva (Page-6377)’. No wonder king Sudas, a famous Kshatriya king of the Bharatan tribe, was called a Sudra in the Mahabharata. There are numerous verses / slokas in the Mahabharata mentioning dominating Brahmin values. ‘The Purity- Pollution principle’ is not included amongst them. The slokas mentioning this principle are interpolations. As discussed earlier, Vritra, Namuchi and Bali were the Yogi -Chiefs of Sindhu societies Virtra was a mahayogi (283 Canto: Santi Parva). Vritra maintained dams vital to the existence of cities and villages. He was having Agni and Soma as his friends. Indra had to bribe these two with the promise of sacrificial offerings before they forsook Vritra. ‘Vedic Vritra’ : Virtra in the Later Vedic literature (A. K. Lahiri). Virtra, Namuchi and Bali had all the Yogic virtues mentioned in the Gita (cantos-223 to 227). After Rajarshees Vritra and Namuchi were killed, Indra, because of fear and guilt, hid himself in a lake (Mahabharat Vanaparba -101 Canto). In the absence of Indra, the Devas chose king NAHUS (a king of the Moon Dynasty) to reign in Indra’s place (Nahus was also the name of a tribe- A. K. Lahiri)”. Indra went to the remotest distance, imagining, “I have committed a transgression. (Taitareya Samhita – VI5.5 Taitareya Brahmin 1.6, 7.4, Satapatha Brahman (VII: 4.1.3): A.K. Lahiri). After Indra’s demoralization, the panicky Aryas brought a tribal chief (Nahusa) to occupy Indra’s throne to pacify the local warriors. Soon Nahus showed power – hunger and the Devas headed by 23
Brihaspati plotted his downfall. This was done by a trick that led to Nahus incurring the wrath of the leading Rishis. Nahus’s downfall due to the wrath of the Rishis was a case of rift between Aryan nobility of mixed origin (rishis ) and a non-Aryan warrior tribe chief (Nahus). The Devas cleverly manipulated this rift between king Nahus and the leading Rishis. Because of the constant raiding, looting activities of the Aryan warriors, Dasyus, the aboriginal hunter communities, resorted to armed conflicts. Indra who had killed Virtra hid himself because he was afraid of incensed indigenous warriors. Viswamitra’s attempt to rob Vasista of his cow was also frustrated by the indigenous warriors. Indra seduced Ahalya (wife of Goutama- Rishi) and the result was a thousand arrow holes in his body. So he was called Sahasrayoni and later became Sahasraksha. Parsuram defeated the powerful king Kartavirya with the support of an army of indigenous tribes and the Ishkaku warriors. Parsuram was more a Khhatriya than a Brahmin (The myth of sacrificial product (CHARU) exchange by mistake illustrates this). Nahus was cursed to become a Naga (Most of the Nagas became Dalits) and he lived in the forest. (Curses cannot be real. They only symbolize adverse occurrences due to strategically hidden real causes). Naga Nahus who caught Bhima in his coil put questions to Yudhistira, when he requested Nahus to free his brother. Nahus asked Yudhistira questions about the basic qualities leading to Brhmin -hood. Yudhistira asserted that any human being who has internalized the values of truth, charity, non-anger, non-cruelty , non-violence and compassion is a Brahmin. A man who does not have them is a non- Brahmin. The caste system based on birth is an aberration. The only criterion is SILA (Values); not Achara (ritual), Mantra or Kula (caste). The critical question of the episode is, “Was Nahus cursed to become a low caste man?” Otherwise, why should he put
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
questions that undermine the Varna-based hierarchical caste system? Like Nahusa myth, the Yaksha myth in the Bana Parva also stresses Sila (Yogic Yama values) for attaining Brahmin hood. These two myths together, are meant to undermine the Varna system and also the process of Dalitization based on Kula (caste). The Mahabharata (Santi Parva) also asserts that anybody of any caste can become a Yogi (Brahmin). Had Brahmin hood based on Sila prevailed in India, exclusion or Dalitization of some Dasyu communities would not have occurred. The most militant amongst the ancient Yogis who opposed the birth-based caste system were Lokayats. They were also against Patriarchy. They were the leaders of Yogis (Santi Parva: Conto-38). By eliminating Lokayats and their books, forcing the other nonattached Yogis and Samkhyavadis to become sacrificers (Brahmins), the ground was cleared to declare the greatest aboriginal warrior communities as Dalits. Rishi – Power- which dethroned and degraded Nahus was unleashed against powerful Dasyu Communities to make them Dalits. Rishi (Bahaman) power was so great that even the top Rig-Vedic war-Lord Indra became a Rishi, a disciple of Prajapati, in the later Vedic age. He spent 101 years in Prajapati’s Ahram in search of
2012
truth about self. (Chhandogya Upanishad VIII: II: 3 – Dr. Subhra Sarma’s book ‘Life in the Upanishads P-163)’. Warrior gods like Vishnu and Siva occasionally became ascetics (Yogeswara). Another myth that throws light on Dalitization is the myth of Sarpayagna (The Serpent Sacrifice) king Parikshit lost his life in a war with Takshak. His son Janmejaya knew that he would not be able to defeat Takshak in a battle. So, he lured lots of Brahmins promising lavish Dakhina. He also took the help of Brahmin enemies of Takshaka like Uttanga Rishi to declare entire Naga Kulas as Dalits in a great sacrifice. Dalitization is a sort of death for any caste man or woman in India. Suvira Jayaswal narrates an incident which equates death with decastification She refers to a copper plate inscription of 1414 AD where the following incident is narrated. Twelve Kshatriyas, the attendants of the Tughlok king of Delhi committed a serious offence. For this they were ordered to be shot. Pandit Nandaram Chaube saved their lives by advising decastification (Caste P-131). Continued in the next issue....... You may read and comment upon the complete article on RH Web portal: http://www.theradicalhumanist.com/index.php ?option=com_radical&controller=article&cid= 503&Itemid=56
Dear Radical Humanists, We hope you will organise meetings & lectures or informal get-togethers wherever you are, in India or abroad, to acknowledge M.N. Roy’s contribution to modern Political Philosophy and participate in the celebrations of his 125th Birth Anniversary Year. Please send us the reports and pictures of the programs so that we may publish and post them in the RH & its Web Portal regularly in Roy’s entire Birth Anniversary Year.
24
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
Current Affairs’ Section:
Avatthi Ramaiah
[Dr. Avatthi Ramaiah is a Professor at the Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.]
U. P. tops in punishing those committing crimes against Dalits Continued from the previous issue............... 2.1) States/UTs with conviction rate above the national average: In an analysis of this kind, what is more important is not how many cases the courts disposed in a year, but how many of the disposed cases ended in conviction. In the 1980s, the conviction rate in India in special cases was less than 5 percent. During 1993-1999, the conviction rate, particularly in the POA Act cases ranged from a minimum of 5.41 percent to a maximum of 15.78 percent, and the average conviction rate for the country as a whole was 10.05 percent (see Ramaiah, 2007: 45). However, over the years, encouragingly, the conviction rate in India increased significantly both in IPC cases and in special cases. But the matter of concern is the vast gap between the conviction rate of IPC cases (40.8 % in 2001 and 41.7% in 2009) and special cases (34.1% in 2001 and 29.6% in
25
2009) and the gradual declining trend in the case of later. Although the ideal situation would be that the states/UTs give equal importance in getting high conviction rate in both IPC and special cases, the state/UT level data clearly indicate that the states/UTs seem to be giving more importance to IPC cases as compared to the special cases. For instance, the conviction rate in IPC cases is found to be higher than that of the national average in all the three years under reference (40.8% in 2001, 424% in 2005 and 41.7% in 2009) in as many as 10 States/UTs. But in the case of special cases, the number of such states/UTs was only 5 in 2001, 6 in 2005 and just 4 in 2009. 2.2) Trend in the conviction rate of IPC and special cases: As regard to the trend, the conviction rate in IPC cases showed an increasing trend over the years in India, whereas in special cases it decreased, although the noted increase and decrease is marginal. For instance, in 2001 the conviction rate in IPC cases was as high as 40.8 percent, whereas in special cases only 34.1 percent. While the conviction rate in IPC cases rose to about 42 percent in 2005 and remained almost the same in 2009 as well, the conviction rate in special cases decreased from about 34 in 2001 to about 30 in 2005 and remained almost the same in 2009 as well. As far as IPC cases are concerned, majority of the states (11 out of 20) witnessed encouragingly an increasing trend, while only 6 states witnessed a decreasing trend and 3 others showed no change. But as far as special cases are concerned, 10 states showed an increasing trend while 10 others a decreasing trend. 2.3) High conviction rate only in IPC cases: “More conviction rate in IPC cases and less conviction rate in special cases” is seen to be the reality in most of the states/UTs throughout 2001-2009 period. While 11 states—Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, Chandigarh,
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
Delhi, and Puducherry—are seen with the increasing conviction rate in IPC cases, 9 states—Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand—with increasing conviction rate in special cases. However, since the difference between the number of states/UTs with increasing conviction rate in IPC cases and those with special cases is only two, one might conclude that all the states/UTs give equal importance to both IPC cases as well as special cases. But if one looks at the difference between percentage of conviction rate in IPC cases and special cases, it is revealed that the conviction rate in the former is comparatively much higher than that of the latter, and this is true of most of the states/UTs. For instance, as far as the IPC cases are concerned Puducherry deserves all appreciation for the fact that it is in this state/UT the conviction rate in IPC cases is not only continued to be the highest throughout the 2001-2009 period, but also increased over time: 85.8% in 2001, 87.8% in 2005 and 90.2% in 2009. However, as far as the special cases are concerned, its performance is very poor and disappointing. The percentage of conviction rate in special cases in Puducherry was as low as 8.3 in 2001, 9.1 in 2005 and 0 in 2009. The next state with a similar character is Tamil Nadu which recorded the second highest percentage of conviction rate in IPC cases (62.8% in 2001, 62.2% in 2005 and 62.1% in 2009), but its conviction rate in special cases was just 38.9 percent in 2001, 25.2 in 2005 and 12.5 in 2009. Although in both the cases a declining trend is noticed in the conviction rate, the decline is “negligible” as far as the IPC cases are concerned, but “drastic” in the special cases. Another point to be noted is that Tamil Nadu was known for a vibrant anti-Brahmin movement, also known as “self-respect movement” sphere-headed by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy in 1925 which challenged the supremacy of Brahmins over the Backward castes and portrayed the Brahmins as the real enemy of the Dalits and Backward Castes.
2012
As a neighboring territory Puducherry was also under the influence of such movement. And in independent India, both these states/UTs have been ruled mostly by the Backward Caste leaders who were deeply influenced by such movements. It is an irony that even in such states the worst forms of crimes such as forcing SCs to consume human urine and excreta, killings Dalits and raping Dalits women have been happening as noted earlier. And any assertion by Dalits for self-respect is met with dire consequences by the Backward Caste people, and many a times even the state becomes a party to it, as it happened on September 11, 2011 in Paramakkudi town in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu in which the Tamil Nadu Police killed 6 Dalits and injured 30 seriously (Website-2). This self-defeating reality of the self-respect movement may be the result of the willful failure of the so-called self-respect movement led mostly by the Backward Caste leaders to challenge the Backward Castes supremacy over and exploitation against the Dalits while challenging the Brahmin exploitation against and supremacy over the Backward Castes. The Backward Caste exploitation against Dalits is not confined to southern States, but all over India including Maharashtra which had similar assertion by leaders like Mahatma Phule and Dr. Ambedkar who challenged not only the Brahmin exploitation but also the caste system itself. There are many other states/UTs such as Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Delhi which achieved a high conviction rate in IPC cases, but miserably failed to achieve the same in the special cases. All these seem to indicate that most of the states/UTs take the IPC cases more seriously, not the special cases. 2.4) High conviction rate only in special cases: The state-wise data on conviction rate in both IPC cases and special cases pertaining to 2001, 2005 and 2009 reveal that there is hardly any state/UT where the conviction rate in special cases is found to be higher than that of the IPC cases. Though Bihar was found to be such a state with its conviction rate in special cases being 33 percent in
26
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
2001 and 30.6 in 2005, while the conviction rate in IPC cases was just 23.1 percent and 15.2 percent for the respective years, the state followed the national trend of high conviction rate in IPC cases with 18 percent and low conviction rate in special cases with just 11.6 percent in 2009. 2.5) Low conviction rate both in IPC and Special cases: There are states/UTs where the conviction rate is found to be very less both in IPC cases and special cases during 2001-2009 period. Maharashtra tops the list among such States/UTs with the percentage conviction rate of just 13.1 in 2001, 11.7 in 2005 and 9.6 in 2009 in IPC cases, and 1.8 in 2001, 5.9 in 2005 and 6.5 in 2009 in special cases. What is obvious is also the fact that there is a marginal decline in the conviction rate of IPC cases and marginal increase in the conviction rate of special cases. Maharashtra is followed by Orissa with 14.2, 14.9 and 13.2 as percentage of conviction rate in IPC cases in 2001, 2005 and 2009, while 13.4, 11.1 and 7.2 in special cases respectively. 2.6) Uttar Pradesh shows the way-High conviction rate: While carefully examining the data on conviction rate, Uttar Pradesh is found to be the number one state with not just one, but four worth-mentioning characteristics. One, it is the state which, as noted earlier, accounted for the highest conviction rate in special cases during 2001-2009 period: 49.2 in 2001, 49.4 in 2005 and 52.6 in 2009. Two, it is the state which figures among the top five states with high percentage of conviction rate in IPC cases: 54.9 in 2001, 58.6 in 2005 and 54 in 2009. Third, it is the state where the conviction rate both in IPC cases and special cases is more than 50 percent particularly in 2009. And fourth, it is the state where the average gap between the conviction rate of IPC cases and special cases is comparatively low during 2001-2009: only 5 percent. The gap is much wider in the case of all other states. The states that followed Uttar Pradesh with high conviction rate in
27
special cases in 2009 include Uttarkhand (46.4%), Rajasthan (43.3%), Madhya Pradesh (38.4%) and Chhattisgarh (28.7%). Among the states/UTs where there is minimum gap in the conviction rate between IPC cases and special cases in 2009, Jharkhand takes the second rank, the first being Uttar Pradesh, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. In the above analysis, most of the states/UTs are seen with high percentage of conviction rate only in IPC cases. However, Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the only state where the conviction rate in special cases has been very high (52.6%), almost to the level of the conviction rate in IPC cases (54%). The performance of states such as Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh is also worth noting. This proves that the States/UTs have the power to protect the lives, livelihood and rights and dignity of vulnerable and excluded sections of the society such as the Dalits and that, laws can be an effective means to punish those violating the rights and dignity of Dalits. Conclusion: The increasing incidence of violence against Dalits in UP reflects that the Dalits in UP, with Ms. Mayawati as their Chief Minister, are increasingly becoming conscious not only of their self-respect and dignity but also the value of their votes. It also reflects their determination and hope not only to through away their caste based stigmatized identity and subsequently their caste itself, but also to become the giver instead of being the receiver as they have been as ‘Hindu Untouchables’ for centuries. The increasing conviction rate in the PCR and POA Acts cases (special cases) in UP is an encouraging development which in turn would certainly encourage other states/UTs to take such laws more seriously. However, one cannot ignore the obvious fact that the increasing conviction rate is bound to result in more crimes and hatred against Dalits by the caste Hindus and other political opponents which in turn could even derail Ms. Mayawati from her political career. But if she could go ahead the way she has been since her first Chief
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
Minister ship for another 10 years, there is every reason to hope that the violence against Dalits is bound to come drastically down subsequently. Unfortunately, such a success has not been given the due visibility in the media, nor it has reached the center stage of larger academic discussion. But such states are few in number. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the present leadership in the state would continue forever. This also brings to light another obvious fact that the vulnerable sections in most of the states/UTs would have to depend on the state support perpetually for their safety and security. And when the states do not guarantee the safety and security, the Dalits are left with no option but to demand for what the architect of the Indian Constitution Dr. Ambedkar once demanded, viz., “separate settlement” within the state (Ramaiah, 2011).
2012
References: 1) Ramaiah, A, ‘Growing crimes against Dalits in India despite special laws: Relevance of Ambedkar’s demand for ‘separate settlement’, Journal of Law and Conflict Resolution, Vol. 3(9), pp. 151-168, November 2011. 2) Website-1: http://www.facenfacts.com/News Details/3391/up-has-high-rate-of-violence-agai nst-dalits.htm (accessed on October 29, 2011). 3) Website-2: http://news.oneindia.in/2011/09/12/jayalalithaa -justifies-use-of-force-on-dalit-protest.html (accessed on October 28, 2011) Concluded...............
28
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
IRI/IRHA Members’ 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 01912542687,09419102055 www.humanrightsjournal.com]
How Indira-Abdullah Accord was signed in 1974 1964, after sudden death of Pandit InNehru, Sheikh Abdullah returned from Pakistan, cutting his journey short. I went to the Delhi airport to receive him. After landing, he told me to take him first to Nehru’s Samadhi. He was too stunned by the tragic news that he could hardly utter a brief sentence. He said that had he known that Panditji’s death was so near, he need not have gone to Pakistan. He had got full agreement here on all points. I just said that “be sure you do not miss the bus again.” The bus did come again in the form of revolt in Bangladesh, which India was supporting. I advised Sheikh Sahib to issue a statement offering support to India’s Bangladesh policy, whether it agreed to apply the same principles to Kashmir for which it was supporting revolt in Bangladesh, whether it was for its independence or autonomy. India was at that time prepared to pay maximum price for support on Bangladesh. Since Sheikh
29
Sahib was the tallest Muslim leader of the sub continent, his support was most valuable. Sheikh Sahib asked me to draft a statement for him, which I did. But the actual statement that appeared in the media was exactly opposite to what we had agreed. Sheikh Sahib told me that his advisor had taken the liberty to change the statement. I told him that he had missed the bus again. He suggested that he should start the process. Let it take its time. Meanwhile, Mrs Indira Gandhi visited Jammu after Bangladesh revolt had succeeded. In celebration of the victory, she addressed series of public meetings. She was hailed as goddess Durga. At a public meeting she was addressing in Jammu, I requested her secretary for an appointment with her. He told me “absolutely no appointments at Jammu. She is too tried. This is her but activity. She would have a quite dinner and retire. Even the Governor and Chief Minister would come to see her off. But no appointments with her.” I had a letter addressed to her in my pocket. I requested her secretary to deliver that letter to her which would not tire her. The brief letter requested for an appointment which stated. “An agreement with Sheikh Abdullah is possible in which if you like, I can help.” The secretary agreed to deliver the letter. When I reached my house, I was told that there were continuous calls from Mrs Gandhi asking me to come to see her immediately I rushed to the Raj Bhavan, where she was staying. She asked me “What are Sheikh Abdullah’s terms? I replied that it was not possible to accept all his terms. His right to demand autonomy should be conceded without conceding it. She felt interested and said, “Let us sit and you explain this point.” I explained, “a number of regional leaders and chief ministers are demanding autonomy for their regions which was not conceded. Same can be applied to Kashmir.” She asked “will it work.” I said “let us try.” Eventually G.P. Parthasarthy and Mirza Afzal Baig started series of talks on behalf of Mrs Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah respectively.
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
The talks proceeded smoothly till the negotiations were struck on the nomenclature of the Governor and the Chief Minister. Both Mrs Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah complained to me about the deadlock in the talks. I did not betray any disappointment and suggested that let them agree to disagree on one point. Agreement to disagree was also a form of agreement. The agreement, as suggested by me and signed by the negotiators on November 13, 1974 at New Delhi, was as follows. The following is the text of the Accord, signed by G. Parthasarthy and Mirza Mohammad Afzal Beg, as representatives of the then Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, at New Delhi on November 13, 1974, which paved the way for resumption of power by the latter on February 25, 1975. 1.The State of Jammu and Kashmir, which is a constituent unit of the Union of India, shall in its relations with the Union, continue to be governed by Article 370 of the Constitution of India. 2. The residuary powers of legislation, shall remain with the State, however, Parliament will continue to have power to make laws relating to the prevention of activities directed towards disclaiming, questioning or disrupting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India or bringing about secession of a part of the territory of India from the Union or causing insult to the Indian National Flag, the Indian National Anthem and the Constitution. 3. Where any provision of the Constitution of India had been applied to the State of Jammu and Kashmir with adaptations and modifications, such adaptations and modifications can be altered or repealed by the an Order of the President under Article 370, each individual proposal in the behalf being considered on its merits, but provisions of the Constitution of India already applied to the State of Jammu and Kashmir without adaptation or modification are unalterable. 4. With a view to assuring freedom to the State of Jammu and Kashmir to have its own legislation on
2012
maters like welfare measures, cultural, matters, social security, personal law, and procedural laws, in a manner suited to the special conditions in the State, it is agreed that the State government can review the laws made by Parliament or extended to the state after 1953 on any matter relatable to the Concurrent List and may decide which of them, in its opinion, needs amendment or repeal. Thereafter, appropriate steps may be taken under Article 254 of the Constitution of India. The grant of President’s assent to such legislation would be sympathetically considered. The same approach would be adopted in regard to the laws to the made by Parliament in future under the Proviso to Clause 2 of that Article; the State government shall be consulted regarding the application of any such law to the State and the views of the State government shall receive the fullest consideration. 5. As an arrangement reciprocal to what has been provided under Article 368, a suitable modifications of that Article as applied to the State should be made by Presidential Order to the effect that no law made by the Legislature of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, seeking to make any change in or in the effect of any provision of the Constitution of the State of Jammu and Kashmir relating to any of the undermentioned matters shall take effect unless the Bill, having been reserved for the consideration of the President, receives his assent; the matters are: (a) The appointment, powers, functions, duties, privileges and immunities of the Governor; and (b) The following matters relating to Elections, namely, the superintendence, direction and control of Elections by the Election Commission of India, eligibility for inclusion in the electoral rolls without discrimination, adult suffrage, and composition of the Legislative Council, being matters specified in Sections 138,139, 140 and 50 of the Constitution of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. 6. No agreement was possible on the question of nomenclature of the Governor and the Chief Minister and the matter is therefore remitted to the
30
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
principles. The next step was automatic Sheikh Abdullah assumed power as Chief Minister of the state on 26 February, 1975. He received a tumultuous reception everywhere. The people in the valley were particularly hysterical in welcoming their hero back in power. In case of Jammu, the response to the Kashmir Accord was far less sharp. Apparently, because people and political elite of the region were not directly involved in Abdullah’s relations with the centre. The new cabinet he announced for the state, included his second in command Mirza Afzal Beg from Kashmir and DD Thakur, a retired judge of High Court from Jammu. Mrs Gandhi offered to include me in her cabinet to compensate me for non-inclusion in Abdullah’s cabinet. She advised
me to tell Abdullah that you had done enough public work and wanted to retire. When Abdullah came to Jammu to assume power, I invited him to dinner. He did come and said that I could not leave him in the lurch. He needed my support to workout at the Accord. For he argued that his following in Jammu was zero. I agreed to organise the National Conference, from the scratch, as its provincial president. The arrangement did not work. But that is a different story. You may post your comments on this article on RH Web portal: http://www.theradicalhumanist.com/index.php ?option=com_radical&controller=article&cid= 489&Itemid=56
Please register yourself on the RH Website http://www.theradicalhumanist.com ¨Please log in to it to give your comments on the articles and humanist news which are uploaded from the world over on the Website almost daily. ¨You may also send in news and write-ups from your part of the land for uploading on the Website. ¨Please send in your views and participate on the topics of debate given in the debate section. You yourself may also begin a debate on any topic of your choice in this section. ¨Please suggest themes for the coming issues of The Radical Humanist, discuss them in the Themes Section of the Website; the content of which may be later published in the RH journal. ¨It is your own inter-active portal formed with a purpose of social interaction amongst all Radical Humanists as well as Rationalists and Humanists from different forums also. ¨Do make it a practice to click on the RH Website http://www.theradicalhumanist.com URL daily, ceremoniously. ¨Please utilise the RH Website to come closer for the common cause of ushering in a renaissance in our country. —Rekha Saraswat, (Editor & Administrator RH Website)
31
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
Dipavali Sen [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 Food Security Act in Historical Perspective Food Security Bill proposes Thethat:recent Priority households (BPL) should be entitled to 35 kg of food grains (7 kg per head) every month at the price of Rs 1 per kg for millets, Rs 3 for wheat and Rs 3 for rice). General households (APL) should be entitled to 15 kg (3 kg per head) at a price not more than 50 % of the MSP rate). Its standard criticisms are that it will: (i) Increase the already high Fiscal Deficit, and (ii) Increase problems of administration and implementation, without tackling the fundamental problem of rural employment and income generation. To this we add another criticism: it reflects Indian Western economic thought rather than Indian; specifically, it is in response to the concerns of Globalization as articulated by the U.N. - rather than those of the masses for whom it is supposed to
2012
be. Viewing the FS issue in historical perspective, we find that India has a long history of food shortage and scarcity: annabhava, doorbhiksha, and manvantara. It is this insecurity that found expression in the famous Vedic prayer: “Kaley varshatu parjanyam Preithivi shashyashalini Loka santu niramayah” (Let there be timely rain and abundant food crops. Let people be cured of diseases.) Nature was all in primitive times. But as Feudalism developed and matured, there was increased recognition of role of the State in providing food security. By the time of Chandragupta Maurya, a set of famine relief measures had evolved. Kautilya’s Arthashastra mentioned measures like: distribution to the public, at concession, of seeds and food from the royal stores; undertaking of food-for work programmes such as building forts or irrigation works and sharing out the royal food stocks. Yet there was no unified and coherent code or policy towards famine-relief or food security even in Mughal times. It is really during the colonial era that a policy towards food security began to emerge in India. As Industrial Capitalism matured in Britain, it expressed itself in the form of imperial control over India, Burma and various other parts of the globe. The British found famines occurring and re-occurring in various parts of India, e.g., 32 (recorded) famines in various parts of India between 1860 and 1908. Not so much for the famine-stricken Indians but for the sake of preventing any uprising against their rule, the British government had to play a role in famine relief. True to its character, it set up Famine Commissions and spelt out Famine Codes. Economic historian Ira Klein has described them as Darwinist, Malthusian and Individualistic. It was indeed those ideas that were then predominant in
32
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
Britain, as manifest in her New Poor Law. This system, started by the Poor Law Amendment Act, 1834, was built on the principle that able-bodied persons would get only indoor relief in amounts just sufficient to survive, and that too when they were in such desperate straits that they preferred such meager indoor relief starvation outside. The Famine Code formulated by the First Famine Commission (1878-1880) was in tune with this. It said that work was to be provided to all the able-bodied, but wages paid were to be just sufficient for food grains, gratuitous relief in their own villages was to be given (only) to the aged and infirm (and women in purda) who could not offer themselves for labour on public works). From 1878 the GOI made regular provision of a Famine Relief Fund and an Annual Famine Relief & Insurance Grant. Its primary duties were provision of famine relief, creation of protective irrigation works, and avoidance of debt. The 2nd & 3rd Famine Commission endorsed the recommendations of the First, with increasing degrees of generosity. This was because attitudes towards poor relief were now changing in Britain. Poverty: A Study of Town Life (1901) by Rowntree had been an eye-opener to the British public. In India too the Western-educated and therefore more articulate people were pressing for better treatment for all. Dadabhai Naoroji’s Poverty and Un-British Rule in India had been published. But it was the change in British attitude itself that was probably the greater influence in the change in colonial policy towards India’s insecurities of food. Famines kept on recurring till about 1920 after which there was a long respite till 1943. There were no major changes in Famine Relief policies either. The Government of India Act 1919 (the Mont ford Reforms) made famine relief a provincial subject. Each province was required to create and maintain a Famine Relief Fund by regular annual assignments from its regular revenue. This would be invested with the Central Government which 33
would pay the Provincial Government interest due interest on it. The GOI Act of 1935 contained no provision for the creation of separate Famine Relief Funds (Perhaps that was because after 1920s, the famines had reduced in number and influence). However, practically all the provinces instituted FRFs on the old lines. In England, right from the start of the 20th century, there had started a process of change. A Royal Commission was set up in 1905 to enquire into the workings of the New Poor Law. Path-breaking laws were passed, e.g., the Pensions Act (1908), the Labour Exchange Act (1909), the National Health Scheme (1911), the National Insurance Act (operative since 1912), the Local Government Act (1930). Following the Depression years of the 1930s, and the spread of Keynesian prescriptions, a committee (1941-43) under Sir William Beveridge drew up a Plan for Social Security that would ensure that every citizen willing to serve according to his powers has at all times an income sufficient to meet his responsibilities. Attitudes as well as laws were changing in Britain. In India, the struggle for independence was gathering strength. It was at this stage of colonial history, in 1943 that there occurred the man-made Bengal Famine, killing more than 3 million. The ‘Famine Inquiry Commission’ (The Woodhead Commission, 1944) recommended the prompt introduction of Rationing in towns with a population of about 25,000 or more. This was the beginning of the Public Distribution System (PDS) in India. As it followed close upon the heels of the Beveridge Report, it Britain, it is likely to have been an indirect influence. Once the World War II was over, Britain built up a social insurance system based on the Beveridge Plan. The New Poor Law was replaced by the Welfare Sate.
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
Meanwhile India embarked on a so-called ‘independent’ path. The 1st Five Year Plan paid only lip-service to the Primary or Agricultural sector. The 2nd Plan, based on the Soviet ‘Feldman Model’ openly gave priority to the Secondary or Industrial sector. But the harvest failure of 1967-58 caused serious food shortages in India. India even had to import food grains from the United States under Public Law 480. Then India opposed the Vietnam War, and President Lyndon Johnson threatened to withhold food aid in an attempt to change India’s stand. Indian policy-makers became greatly concerned with food insecurities. The New Agricultural Strategy was applied, along with a policy of domestic price support, insulation from world markets, and subsidization of inputs. It was a success leading to the famous Green Revolution. The production or output of food stopped to be a problem in India. India achieved Self-sufficiency in food grains. The ‘90s brought the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Liberalization, and Globalization. The Indian policy-makers moved away from the Soviet model. There was talk of dis-investment in Public Sector units (PSU) and dissolution of the Public Distribution System (PDS, or simply, rationing system). But in the advanced Western economies, new concerns began to be voiced, concerns about security in essentials like food. It was from those global concerns that the recent Indian concern for Food Security originates. During the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), an international treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was negotiated with India playing an active role in its formulation. It was entered into in 1 January 1995. In The World Food Summit of 1996 hosted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Food Security was a major concern and was defined as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to
2012
maintain a healthy and active life”. In 2000, the Millennium Summit was held where world leaders adopted the United Nations Millennium Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by the year 2015. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and various UN-led conferences were also behind their formulation. The Declaration said that every individual had the right to dignity, freedom, equality, a basic standard of living that includes freedom from hunger and violence, and encourages tolerance and solidarity. Of course, there were endogenous concerns with Food Security as well.In spite of the achievement of Self-sufficiency in Food grains, people in various parts were still going desperately hungry. There were several media reports of starvation deaths while rats gnawed at the sacks piled up at the Food Corporation of India (FCI). In May 2001, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (Rajasthan) submitted a writ petition to the Supreme Court, demanding that the country’s food stocks should be used to prevent hunger and starvation. “Hunger among plenty” caught the attention of the media, the activists and the government. On 28th November 2001, the Supreme Court passed an interim order clearing the way for consideration of the PUCL petition. The most important of these was the order to introduce cooked mid-day meals in primary schools. A Working Group on the Public Distribution System and Food Security, chaired by Dr Kirit Parikh, submitted its report in November 2001. While admitting that all was not well with the PDS in India, it made it clear that it was not on its way out. In January 2003, the legal basis of the right to food was spelt by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). It related it to Article 21 of the Constitution of India which guarantees a fundamental right to life and personal liberty. The NHRC judicially interpreted it as not mere animal existence but a life with human dignity in which the
34
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
Right to Food is inherent. In 2009 came the Global Food Security Act, aimed to provide assistance to foreign countries to promote food security, to stimulate rural economies, and to improve emergency response to food crises, and for other President Barack Obama called for a comprehensive food security strategy to alleviate chronic hunger that affects nearly one billion people worldwide. On 16-18 November 2009, the World Summit on Food Security took place in Rome, convened by the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The FAO stand is that the global food security situation is worsening with prices remaining high in developing countries and global economic crises increasing unemployment and poverty. The Summit declaration pledged to substantially increase aid to agriculture and committed all the nations of the world to eradicate hunger at the earliest possible date so that the world’s 1 billion hungry can become more self-sufficient. The countries too agreed. The
Resolution of the World Food Summit was criticized as saying nothing new. But it certainly re-iterated that developing countries should seriously focus on food security as one of the MDGs.It is only subsequently that the UPA government turned its attention upon Food Security. Just as in the pre-Independence era, famine relief in India was dictated by British attitudes; the FS Bill is largely governed by global attitudes. Although there were indigenous concerns for food security, it is the MDGs, the AoA, and eventually, the Global Food Security Act which led to the FS Bill. It is an offshoot of Globalization. But, for many, Globalization is another name for Ultra-imperialism or Super-Imperialism. Is the Food Security Bill then yet another manifestation of imperialist forces? You may comment upon this article on thw following URL: http://www.theradicalhumanist.com/index.php ?option=com_radical&controller=article&Item id=56&cid=505&task=single
Important Announcement
Encyclopedia of the Radical Humanists To be loaded on the RH Website (http://www.theradicalhumanist.com) Dear Friends, This is to request you to send in your personal details, contact numbers etc. (along with your passport size photographs) as well as a brief account of how you got associated with M.N. Roy/Radical Democratic Party/Radical Humanist Movement directly or indirectly through the philosophy of New Humanism. This is also a request to all those friends, whose deceased parent/parents were involved in or were sympathetic with Radical Humanism and its Movement, to send in accounts of their parent’s/parents’ association (as much as they can recollect and recount). This will be a loving and emotional tribute to their memories from your side. All this effort is being made to form an encyclopedia of the Radical Humanists right from the days of the beginning of M.N. Roy’s social and political activities in India and abroad. All this information will be uploaded and permanently stored on the RH Website in the Profile section for everyone to read and come in contact with one another. This will be a historical check-list to connect with all the crusaders who worked or are still working for the human cause on the humanist lines. —Rekha Saraswat 35
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
Teacher’s & Research Scholar’s Section:
Nuclear Deal and Nuclear Diplomacy —by Anupam Tyagi politics is a constant struggle “International for Power”. It appears that this remark by Prof. Hans J. Morgenthau in his book Politics Among Nations was a clear premonition to the present scenario of world politics where there is a continuous conflict for power and security among the nations. Every country wants to capture the world’s energy resources so as to fuel its economy and dominate other countries. This conflict is evident especially in South Asia, where there is a constant struggle and race between super powers for this domination. The Indo-U.S. nuclear deal is a leading example of this series, leading to power race and contradictory conditions in South Asia. This deal laid down a new era of strategic and energy cooperation between India and U.S. in the reign of South Asia. The background of this nuke deal was established by B.J.P. government in the year 2000 but deal was struck when our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the US and took the civil nuclear treaty a step forward on 18th 2005. Again on 2 March 2006, when the American President George W. Bush visited India, the Bush administration presented the separation plan between civilian and nuclear reactors of India.1 The joint statement on March 2, 2006 had the following main provisions: (i) India will make separation of nuclear reactors into Military reactors (Research and development) and civil nuclear reactors. (ii) Till 2014, India will take her 14 reactors out of 22 under the safeguards of I.A.E.A. (Inter National Atomic Energy Association). (iii) Indian fast breeder reactors would be out of the safeguards of IAEA agencies. (iv) In case of the import of nuclear fuel, nuclear energy development
2012
material, nuclear weapons and nuclear electricity plant, India would follow the safeguards of nuclear supplier group. (v) This treaty approves India’s minimum defence strategic program. (vi) If any irregularity happens in the supply of nuclear fuel, India would not be bound to follow it. (vii) America will continue to provide nuclear fuel to India and will agree his influent member countries of NSG to provide nuclear fuel as enriched uranium to India. (viii) IAEA will safeguard the Indian civilian nuclear plants.2 (ix) Signing and adhering to an additional protocol with respect to civilian nuclear facilities. (x) This treaty continues unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. (xi) Facilities identified as civilian in the separation plan will be offered for safeguard in phases to be decided by India. (xii) India would be free to store the low enriched uranium for all the reactors determined for a specific period. (xiii) India would be free to declare any reactor civilian and military for use. (xiv) The United States will support an Indian effort to develop a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel to guard any disruption of fuel supply over the lifetime of India’s reactors. (xv) Nuclear technology will not be transferred from India to third countries without safeguards. (xvi) One sided Ban on nuclear explosion in future. In the light of the above main provisions, this treaty is made but some other provisions were also there, on the basis of which it is still being criticized by our nuclear scientists and opposition parties. This treaty is of great debate among the scholars. In one view some scholars take it as a new dawn in Indian region but others take it as a fatal action against Indian nuclear program and foreign policy. It is being criticized on the following basis: (i) Suspension of nuclear test in future by India and India would be bound by that while America is working on the design of ‘Reliable Replacement Weapon (RRW) to modernize its nuclear arsenal. (ii) After this act India would not be able to get fuel supplies from other countries if the U.S. required suspending supplies to India. (iii) This Hyde act
36
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
calls for achieving a moratorium on the production of fissile material for explosive purpose by India. But the China and the Pakistan are producing fissile material from a long time and to stop the production of fissile material in India will lead imbalance in South Asia region.3 (iv) America wants to take India with in NPT treaty indirectly through this treaty. (v) Section 114 which aims to block the possibility of India’s stock piling uranium as insurance against future supply disruption.4 (vi) Critics fear that this deal will capture India’s independent foreign policy and the base of non-alignment. (vii) Through this treaty, the U.S. wants to control Iran by satisfying India’s energy needs. Main purpose is to control Iran by economic blocking. On the basic of the above criticism, it can clearly be stated that without removing these objections, this deal cannot be fruitful for India. Indian opposition parties especially Bhartiya Janata Party and the left parties have opposed and criticized this deal. B.J.P. takes this deal as “humiliating” and left parties as “un acceptable”. Although, this deal has taken place in the Indian region it is going to change the
power structure in entire South Asia as well as in the whole global scenario. But at the same time some questions arise like: Why did United State emphasize so much on this civilian nuclear deal? Why was United States so anxious for this deal? What are the interests of U.S. in this region? And how will this civilian nuclear deal impact the Indian position in the South Asian region? Whether there will be any change in the strategic scenario of South Asia? Continued in the next issue..................... References: 1. Varadaragan, Siddhartha, Bush, India and two degrees of Separation, The Hindu, 3 March, 2006, p. 10. 2. New America Moves in Asia, The Hindu, March 7, 2006. 3. Aiyar, Pallavi, China Returns to Nuclear Power, March 18, 2006, The Hindu. Mr. Anupam Tyagi is a Doctoral fellow, I.C.S.S.R. New Delhi, Mob.: 9410898872 anupam2020@rediffmail.com
PLEASE DO NOT SEND ARTICLES BEYOND 1500-2000 WORDS. Dear Friends, Please inform whether they have been published elsewhere. And, do 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
37
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
Humanist News Section: I
MN Roy 125th Birth Anniversay Memorial Lecture 2012: On the 24th of March, to commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary year of M.N. Roy, the Indian Renaissance Institute organized the “M.N. Roy Memorial Lecture: 2012” at the Plenary Hall, of the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi. The lecture was entitled: On Inclusiveness – Challenges of Inclusive Society, Economy and Polity in India, and was delivered by Padamashri Sukhadeo Thorat, Chairman, ICSSR (April 2011- ) and former Chairman, UGC (February 2006February 2011). Prof. Thorat has been associated with JNU, Iowa State University, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, Vasantrao Naik College and the International Food Policy Research Institute. His areas of interest range from agriculture to Human Rights, Rural poverty to the Thoughts of Ambedkar. His publications are numerous, and awards impressive. The Chairperson was Prof. Ashish Nandy, at present a Senior Honorary Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Studies (of which he had been the Director in 1992-97). Recipient of the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize 2007, he has been a member of the Executive Councils of several distinguished bodies. After tea, Rekha Saraswat, Editor of The Radical Humanist, introduced Prof. Thorat and Prof. Nandy to the audience, as the very appropriate choice for the M.N. Roy 125th Birth Centenary Program. Mr. B.D. Sharma, President, and Mr. N.D. Pancholi, Secretary, IRI, welcomed Prof. Thorat and Prof. Nandy to the stage with bouquets of flowers. Mr. N.D. Pancholi talked briefly about M.N. Roy’s “vision” of social emancipation, and invited Prof. Thorat to speak. Prof. Thorat paid his respects to M.N. Roy and
2012
went straight to the theme of his paper. Referring often to Amartya Sen and Ambedkar, he clarified the concept of “social exclusiveness”, and re-iterated the necessity for an “Inclusive Policy” for discriminated groups. This policy must have two dimensions: “pro-poor policies of general nature” as well and “Equal Opportunity Policy” which will specifically be in the form of “reservation” in access to education, employment, capital assets and socio-cultural rights. This will be supplemented by “participation” in executive, administrative, monitoring and decision making processes at all levels. Stressing that this should be the agenda of social science research, he ended around 7.20 PM. Calling Prof. Thorat’s lecture an “excellent and comprehensive” one, Prof Nandy now emphasized some related issues, and gave a different view of the subject. He reminded the audience that discrimination exists in all forms of life, not just human. All over the world there is exclusion. But these excluded or discriminated-against groups have a “capital” of culture. Be it the Dalits or be it women , they have a rich cultural capital, and the time has come to for us rediscover it. They do not want benevolence; they demand this rediscovery from us. This was followed by a lively Question-Answer Session that stretched beyond the 15 minutes mentioned on the invitation card. Was the policy of reservation justified as a method of ‘compensating’ for the past – even in the case of the “creamy layers” of the discriminated-against category? Was there discrimination even in the world of Hindi films? There were questions on ‘graded inequality’, on Ambedkar, and so on. Prof. Thorat and Prof. Nandy answered several questions , in course of which Prof. Thorat stated that we have developed an important consensus about the SC, ST and OBC. Mr. Pancholi praised the excellent lecture and Mr. B.D. Sharma, on behalf of IRI, gave the Vote of
38
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012
and Maths in the name of miracles. Sri Meduri Satyanarayana, General Secretary of Rationalist Association of India and Dr. P.V. Ranganayakulu, professor, S.V. Ayurvedic College, Tirupati spoke on cosmology and Darwin’s theory of evolution. Sri Kurra Hanumantharao, Chairman, RAI, See this news (and more Humanist News) on RH presided over the camp in the morning session. Web portal: Sri Kurra Hanumantharao, Chairman, RAI, http://www.theradicalhumanist.com/index.php ?option=com_radical&controller=events&cid= 24&Itemid=69 II Chittor Dist. Rationalist Association Meetings: A.P. Rationalist Association and Chittor Dist. Rationalist Association jointly conducted one day training camp on 25th March at SCMM Ambedkar Bhavan, Tirupati Sri Meduri Satyanarayana, General Secretary, Thanks, calling for continued participation in the year-long celebrations of the 125th birth anniversary of M.N. Roy. —Report sent by Dipavali Sen
RAI, Vutla Ranganayakulu, General Secretary, APRA, (speaking), Sri Kurra Hanumantharao, Chairman, RAI. (L - R) Sri Vutla Ranganayakulu, General Secretary, APRA explained about the religious fundamentalism, superstitions and their eradication in the society. Sri Narne Venkata Subbaiah, Joint Secretary, Rationalist Association of India and Dr. A.R. Reddy, child specialist, exposed the exploitation methods adopted by different Babas
39
Dr. A.R. Reddy, Child Specialist, Sri Meduri Satyanarayana, General Secretary, RAI and Sri Gumma Veeranna, President, APRA speaking. (From L - R) In the afternoon session Sri Gumma Veeranna, President, APRA explained the necessity of rationalist movement in the society. Sri Kurra Hanumantharao spoke on the basic tenets of humanism. Sri Meduri Satyanarayana presided over the session. A general body meeting of Chittor Dist. Rationalist Association was held in the evening in which a new Executive body was elected unanimously. Dr. A. R. Reddy was elected as its President. Sri V. Chandrasekhar and Sri. M. Ramamurthy were elected as General Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. The training camp was concluded with the vote of thanks by Vutla Ranganayakulu. Around 50 members attended the training classes. —Report by G. Veeranna, President, APRA —Photos by V. Pridhvee Raj, M.Sc ( Bio.Tech.), Tirupati
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY
III– Exposing the “miracle”: On 10th March, Sanal Edamaruku flew to Mumbai. The TV channel TV-9 had invited him to investigate a “miracle” that caused local excitement. He went with the TV team to Irla in Vile Parle to inspect the crucifix standing there in front of the Church of Our Lady of Velankanni. This crucifix had become the centre of attraction for an ever growing crowd of believers coming from far and wide. The news of the miracle spread like wild fire. For some days, there were little droplets of water trickling from Jesus’ feet. Hundreds of people came every day to pray and collect some of the “holy water” in bottles and vessels. Irla was about to become a pilgrimage centre. But Sanal Edamaruku spoilt this prospect. Within minutes, he clearly identified the source of the water (a drainage near a washing room) and the mechanism how it reached Jesus feet (capillary action). The local church leaders, present during his investigation, were far from pleased. See the investigation in detail on YouTube.: (Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUqhq9M uRG8) TV debate with the Bishop: Some hours later, in a live program on TV-9, Sanal explained his findings and accused the Catholic Church of miracle mongering, as they were beating the big drum for the drippling Jesus statue with aggressive PR measures and by distributing photographs certifying the “miracle”. A heated debate began, in which the five church people, among them Fr. Augustine Palett, the priest of Our Lady of Velankanni church, and representatives of the Association of Concerned Catholics (AOCC) demanded that Sanal apologize. But he powerfully argued against them. Via telephone, Msgr. Agnelo Gracias, auxiliary bishop of Mumbai, intervened in order to rescue the image of the Catholic Church. He claimed the Church was “always cautious in attributing supernatural causes” to such phenomena and always striving “to find 'scientific' explanations.” He even assured the Pope was a friend of science. Sanal countered elegantly,
2012
referring to the case of Giordano Bruno. He also discussed the Vatican’s official process of canonization in which “miracles”, certified by a Vatican commission, are obligatory for every saint. Since there are more than 10,000 Catholic saints, the Vatican surely qualifies for “miracle mongering”. And the allegedly so science-loving Pope allows exorcism in the Vatican itself. According to recent press reports, he even personally lent a hand to cast out the devil from the body of a Swiss Guard man. In this highly interesting debate, Sanal triumphed over his shouting opponents. The whole TV program is recorded. You can watch an abridged version of it on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfJ6_ftih0s Threat live on TV: When they saw their hopes dashed to force Sanal to his knees and apologize, they publicly threatened to file a blasphemy case against him. Sanal pointed out that this would give him an excellent opportunity to support all his statements with evidence in a court of law, with the bishop of Mumbai in the witness box. Foaming with rage, the church people vowed to harass him by filing an array of cases against him in all Mumbai police stations. They did. We know of three petitions on the base of Article 295, Indian Penal Code that have been filed against Sanal. Meantime, Mumbai police announced that they were out to arrest him. Sanal can be arrested any moment. In every single place where a petition is filed against him. He could be forced to appear in person to answer them. If his answer is not found satisfactory, he could be arrested. He could be forced to fight a multitude of criminal cases in different places. This is not only immensely time and money consuming. Given the fanaticism of some Catholic believers, it can be a danger for his life. Sanal Edamaruku Defence Committee: Rationalist International has formed a Sanal Edamaruku Defence Committe. The convener is Supreme Court lawyer and Human Rights activist Mr. N.D.Pancholi.
40
THE RADICAL HUMANIST
MAY 2012 —SUBSCRIPTION RATES—
In SAARC Countries: For one year-Rs. 200.00 For two years-Rs. 350.00 For three years-Rs. 500.00 Life subscription-Rs. 2000.00 (Life subscription is only for individual subscribers and not for institutions.) Cheques should be in favor of The Radical Humanist. For outstation cheques: Please add Rs. 25.00 to the total. In other Countries: Annual subscription (Air Mail) $ 100.00; GBP 75.00 Note: Direct transfer of subscription amount from abroad may be sent to: SWIFT CODE Number CNRBINBBAMHB in the Current Account Number 0349201821034 at Canara Bank, Maharani Bagh, New Delhi, 1100014, India. Cheques and money transfer details from abroad may be sent to: Mr. Narottam Vyas (Treasurer), Chamber No. 111, (Near Post Office) Supreme Court of India, New Delhi-110001, Ph. (Chamber) 91-11-23782836, (Res.) 91-11-22712434, (Mobile) 09811944600 SUBSCRIPTION FORM The Manager, The Radical Humanist
C/o Mr. Narottam Vyas (Treasurer) Chamber No. 111, (Near Post Office) Supreme Court of India, Delhi-110001 Dear Sir, I/We wish to be enrolled as subscriber/s for The Radical Humanist for a period of one year/two years/three years/life. Name........................................................................................................... Address........................................................................................................
Phone No..................................................................................................... E-mail......................................................................................................... Thanking you. Yours faithfully,
RNI No. 43049/85 Post Office Regd. No. Meerut-146-2012-2014 to be posted on 2nd. of every month at H.P.O. Meerut Cantt. RENAISSANCE PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED 15, Bankim Chatterjee Street (2nd floor), Kolkata: 700 073, Mobile: 9831261725 NEW FROM RENAISSANCE By SIBNARAYAN RAY Between Renaissance and Revolution-Selected Essays: Vol. I- H.C.350.00 In Freedom’s Quest: A Study of the Life and Works of M.N. Roy: Vol.Ill H.C.250.00 Against the Current - H.C.350.00 By M.N. ROY Science and Superstition - H.C.125.00 AWAITED OUTSTANDING PUBLICATIONS By RABINDRANATH TAGORE & M.N. ROY Nationalism - H.C.150.00 By M.N. ROY The Intellectual Roots of Modern Civilization - H.C.150.00 The Russian Revolution - P.B.140.00 The Tragedy of Communism - H.C.180.00 From the Communist Manifesto - P.B.100.00 To Radical Humanism - H.C.140.00 Humanism, Revivalism and the Indian Heritage - P.B. 140.00 By SIVANATH SASTRI A History of The Renaissance in Bengal —Ramtanu Lahiri: Brahman & Reformer H.C.180.00 By SIBNARAYAN RAY Gandhi, Gandhism and Our Times (Edited) - H.C.200.00 The Mask and The Face (Jointly Edited with Marian Maddern) - H.C.200.00 Sane Voices for a Disoriented Generation (Edited) - P.B. 140.00 From the Broken Nest to Visvabharati - P.B.120.00 The Spirit of the Renaissance - P.B.150.00 Ripeness is All - P.B. 125.00 By ELLEN ROY From the Absurdity to Creative Rationalism - P.B. 90.00 By V. M. TARKUNDE Voice of A Great Sentinel - H.C.175.00 By SWARAJ SENGUPTA Reflections - H.C 150.00 Science, Society and Secular Humanism - H.C. 125.00 By DEBALINA BANDOPADHYAY The Woman-Question and Victorian Novel - H.C. 150.00
Published and printed by Mr. N.D. Pancholi on behalf of Indian Renaissance Institute at S-1 Plot 617 Shalimar Garden Extension I, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad-201005 Printed by Nageen Prakashan Pvt. Ltd., W. K. Road, Meerut, 250002 Editor-Dr. Rekha Saraswat, C-8, Defence Colony, Meerut, 250001