Comment of Jaiprakash Narayan on contemporary Indian Politics and Proposed Indigeneous Political System

October 2001 marks the beginning of Jayaprakash Narayan’s (JP) centenary year. Long regarded as one of the tallest leaders of our freedom struggle, JP, founder of the Congress Socialist Party, took sanyas from politics soon after the first elections and dedicated himself to the Sarvodaya movement. Years later, deeply disturbed by the deteriorating trends in our democratic polity, he launched the Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution) movement, was imprisoned during the Emergency, and on his release help found the Janata Party.

We reproduce below extracts from his seminal essay, ‘A Plea for the Reconstruction of the Indian Polity’, written for the Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh (Kashi) in 1959. Even four decades hence, its relevance for the ongoing discussion on electoral and political reforms remain undimmed.

I PROPOSE in this paper to describe the main outline of the polity which to my mind is not only most suited for us but also most rational and scientific, with a brief statement of the reasons for my views.

I have pleaded for our present political institutions to be based on the principles that had been enunciated and practised in the ancient Indian polity because (a) I believe that would be in line with the natural course of social evolution and (b) those principles are more valid from the point of view of social science than any others.

Present western polity is based upon an atomized society, the state being made up of an inorganic sum of individuals. This is both against the social nature of man and the scientific organization of society. Ancient Indian polity was much more consistent with both these.

Let me make clear that this paper is not a treatise on democracy or government. I am dealing here with a practical and immediate question: what should be the principles and form of Indian polity at the present time.

I have not looked at this question from the point of view of any readymade preconceptions and have avoided giving any label to the views expressed here. Even the phrase, communitarian, is reluctantly used, because a descriptive term sometimes becomes unavoidable. My search here has been for the forms of social life, particularly of political life, that would assure the preservation of human values about which there is hardly any dispute in the world today, and my approach has been non-partisan and non-sectarian.

My colleagues in the Sarvodaya movement might miss the word ‘Sarvodaya’ in this paper. But, I hope they will recognize that the goal of this enquiry is nothing else but the ultimate good and rise of all. At the same time, I should like to remind them that I am not concerned here with the ultimate state of things, but with the next immediate step towards a better way of life. Furthermore, my enquiry has been mainly confined to the political field.

On the very portals of democracy – irrespective of its form and structure – are words written that can never be wiped off without wiping off democracy itself. No kind of democracy can exist without the democratic freedoms – freedom of conscience, of association, of expression – and the rule of law. Where these freedoms do not exist, nor the rule of law, there can be no democracy. For my enquiry here I take these words as axiomatic and inscribe them in bold letters on the doorway before entering the house of Indian democracy.

II

If our present political institutions are to be soundly based, if they are to draw sustenance from Indian soil and, in turn, are to sustain, revive and strengthen the whole fabric of Indian society, they must be related to the social genius of India described above, and their texture must be woven again with an organically self determining, self developing communal life in which occupations, professions and functions are integrated with the community.

This is not only a question of constitutional forms or political systems. It is a creative question in the widest sense of the term. It is a question of an ancient country finding its lost soul again.

The old village communities have survived in nothing else than their physical existence. They are no longer living communities acting jointly for the solution of individual or communal problems and for the development of their moral and material life. It is not necessary here to go into the story of the destruction of the village communities. It would be enough to note that it was a result of the deliberate policy of an alien government that neither understood the character of a communitarian polity nor felt secure in the presence of such strong traditions of self government and self help. Nevertheless, the very fact that the villages do exist physically provides us with a readymade foundation to build upon.

A word that figures boldly on the ancient signpost is dharma. Indian polity held that the state was subject to the rule of dharma, which it was its duty to uphold and protect. The concept of dharma was of great importance in ancient India; it prescribed and regulated individual and group behaviour in all walks of life.

This concept of dharma and its role in Indian polity and the wider life of society is another example of that synthetic, organic, communal organization of India society which has been discussed above. Communities, territorial or functional, had developed laws and codes of behaviour to regulate the internal life of their communities and groups and their relations with the rest of society. There were in addition codes and laws that were common to and accepted by all of them and that made up the universal social ethics. The ensemble of these social ethics exercised a powerful influence over the state.

Communal life having been completely destroyed, the roots of dharma have no soil from which to draw sustenance. Dharma has therefore declined and ceased to exercise any influence not only upon the present polity, which is a wholly foreign implantation and has no roots in the India soil, but upon all social activities such as commerce, education, labour, administration, priesthood. Unless life in India is again organized on the basis of self-determining and mutually coordinating and integrating communities, that organic self-regulation of society, which the concept of dharma represented, will not be possible. To that extent democracy will remain distantly removed from the life of the people. Vinobaji is already speaking, for instance, of a gram dharma (the dharma of the village). But gram dharma will not arise, as he has stressed, unless the village becomes a community. Only then will it be possible for the village to adopt as its dharma the welfare of all the villagers so that none goes without food, clothing, a roof over his head, work to do; no child goes without a knowledge of the three R’s; none goes without the benefit of a minimum health service.

The ancient concept of dharma has to be revived and the appropriate dharma for a democracy has to be evolved. This, as of old, will not be brought about by a legislative process. It can be done only in an organic manner: dharma must arise from life itself – life that is vital enough, real enough, organic enough to be able to throw up codes and laws for its internal regulation. The experience of recent social engineering may and should be drawn upon, but the main mould of life must be indigenous and consistent with the genius of Indian social organization.

III

I believe it would be fair to say that even the most ardent defenders of parliamentary democracy agree that it has serious defects. But they console themselves with the thought (a) that there is no better alternative; and (b) that, within limits, it is possible to amend and improve it. No one will deny that the system is capable of much improvement and it is undergoing change all the time, though not always for the better. But no matter how much improved, its fundamental defects will yet remain because they are the very premises on which its entire structure has been raised.

The fundamental defect, from which other serious defects arise, is that this form of democracy is based on the vote of the individual. We have already examined this situation and found that it is the atomization of society that is responsible for this kind of political system. But that does not alter the fact that the system is based on a false premise; the state cannot be an arithmetical sum of individuals. The people, the nation, the community can never be equated with the sum of individual voters.

The partisans of parliamentary democracy claim that under it the government is at least representative of the majority of the voters, if not of the people. First of all, this is not true. More often than not it is commonly believed that governments elected under universal adult suffrage are minority governments, in the sense that they represent a minority of the voters. Wherever there are more than two parties, this happens quite often, but even under two party systems it is not a rare phenomenon. At the last general election in this country, for instance, minority governments were established in a majority of the states, i.e., in seven out of the thirteen states, excluding Union Territories.

It will not do to brush aside, as it has been done in this country, such serious anomalies and glaring defects in the parliamentary democratic system by the smug remark that such things are inevitable under a multi-party system. If such things are inevitable and if we are serious about democracy we must seriously set about to find a better type of democracy. The alternatives of plural constituencies, proportional representation, alternative vote cannot, even if there was general agreement about them, which there is not, take us far.

The claim that parliamentary democratic governments at least represent a majority of the voters breaks down in a still more serious manner. Experience has shown that present-day mass elections, manipulated by powerful, centrally controlled parties, with the aid of high finance and diabolically clever methods and super media of communication, represent far less the electorate than the forces and interests behind the parties and the propaganda machines. It is not only in the totalitarian countries that the ‘rape of the masses’ happens. The basic difference is that in a democracy there is a competition between the violators while there is no competition in totalitarianism.

Here we are face to face with another serious defect of parliamentary democracy – demagoguery. The need to ‘catch’ votes creates an unlimited opportunity for indulging in half-truths, even outright lies sometimes; for exciting the passions, more often than not, the base passions; for arousing false hopes by making dishonest, but pleasing promises. Hardly any issue of public policy is presented to the people in its true light; everything gets distorted by partisan demagoguery. The consequence of all this is that the real interests of the nation are sacrificed, more often than not, at the altar of demagoguery.

Perhaps the most serious fault of parliamentary democracy, from the point of view of democracy itself, is its inherent tendency toward centralism. At one extreme of its political spectrum is the nation state and at the other the individual voter, with a blank in between.

The local bodies that may exist have (a) little self-government powers, and (b) no direct or indirect influence on the nation state. Add to this the complexities of a highly industrialized civilization that are beyond even the understanding of the ordinary citizen, and you have a central state of overwhelming power and resources and the individual voter reduced to abject helplessness. The ‘sovereign people’ being dispersed over the length and breadth of the country like particles of sand over the desert and having no other organized political force than the nation state itself to interpose between themselves and that state, the latter naturally becomes all powerful.

The issue of power in such states is decided not by the fictitious ‘people’, but by a balance between political parties and such organized interests as industrialists and bankers and powerful labour unions. The people represent a wholeness, while the organized interests are sectional. Even a sum of the sections cannot make up the whole. Only their organic integration can do so. Such integration takes place only in the community – at its various levels. In the communal or communitarian democracy that we are advocating there is natural decentralization and a multi-central pluralistic state.

A natural outcome of centralization of power and administration is bureaucracy. The central executive or cabinet is so overburdened with work that it is compelled to leave more and more to, and depend more and more upon, the permanent officials, who in course of time gather more and more power for themselves. This soon leads to a dangerous autocracy, the autocracy of the bureaucrat, which is difficult to fight because it ‘works in the shadows’ and is hard to get at.

The only answer to the problem of bureaucracy is more and more decentralization so that the people directly participate in the administration of their affairs and control the civil servants who owe their jobs and are directly responsible to them. This is exactly what will happen in the communitarian democracy outlined here. The communal administrations might make mistakes and there might be inefficiency. But as they themselves will be the sufferers, they will learn and improve things. Moreover, during the British rule did we not say to ourselves repeatedly that good government was no substitute for self-government? Is that less true now?

An inevitable concomitant of parliamentary democracy is the party system. So much has been written in criticism of this system that it seems unnecessary to dwell upon it here at any length. Some criticism of it has been implicit in what has been said above. It is clear that parliamentary democracy cannot work without parties. Parties of a sort will perhaps exist everywhere and at all times. Even in the family there may be ‘parties’. In the ancient Indian republics, which were aristocratic democracies, parties and factions were a common feature. But the highly organized, centralized mass parties of modern times are a far cry from the factions of old, whether of the ancient Indian republics or the Greek city states.

The old democracies were small and the factions and the people were not so far removed from one another. The people therefore could judge them and the issues that were raised with intimate understanding. The issues in those days were also simple enough. All this has changed now and parties have become a sort of state within the state. They are now the real arbiters of the people’s fate, whose control over them is fictional. The citizens who cast their votes for the parties have nothing to do with the running of the parties: they are complete outsiders. Even the enrolled members of the parties have no say either in the policy-making or the inner administration of the parties. The parties are run by caucuses that are beyond democratic control.

Party rivalries, we have seen above, give birth to demagoguery, depress political ethics, put a premium on unscrupulousness and aptitude for manipulation and intrigue. Parties create dissensions where unity is called for, exaggerate differences where they should be minimized. Parties often put party interests over the national interests because centralization of power prevents the citizen from participating in government; the parties, that is to say, small caucuses of politicians, rule in the name of the people and create the illusion of democracy and self-government.

No doubt the party system has its good points and because parliamentary democracy cannot work without it, those who swear by that type of democracy and see no alternative to it, are prepared to accept the evils of the party system as inevitable and satisfy themselves by pointing out their virtues. For my part, it is not the party system that is the main culprit, but parliamentary democracy itself, which gives rise to it. In the communitarian democracy that I have proposed here, there may conceivably be parties, but they are likely to be local factions, and, in any case, their role in the state will not be as commanding as that of the parties in the parliamentary system.

Another serious fault of parliamentary democracy is the system of elections that it fosters and requires for its proper functioning. First of all, the system is very expensive and appallingly wasteful. The fabulous expenses involved have the effect of mortgaging democracy to moneyed interests or large sectional organizations like trade unions. As compared with this, elections in the communitarian system would cost practically nothing.

It would have been a matter of some consolation if the huge expenditure had resulted in any public good. In fact, the result is just the contrary. A general election, as noted above, creates unnecessary passion and excitement; instead of educating and enlightening the people it befogs their mind; instead of resulting in the election of able and good men, it tends to favour demagoguery. Serious political and economic issues and other questions of policy, it is obvious, should be considered calmly and dispassionately and not in the heat of partisan warfare. That is why I hold that the practice of general elections should be abolished. The elected houses should be continuous in nature, with a part of them being renewed periodically.

IV

It is time now to gather all the threads of the argument and tie them together. Ancient Indian thought and tradition; social nature of man; social science; ethical and spiritual goals of civilization; the demand of democracy that the citizen should participate in the ordering and running of his life; the need of saving man from himself and from the fate of robotism; the requirement that the state and other institutions of society be reduced to a human scale; the ideal, above all, that man should become the centre of civilization – all these point in the same direction: to a communal or communitarian way of life; communitarian ethics and education; communitarian social, economic and political organization. In this paper I have been mainly interested in the political aspect of the matter: the shape of the political organization, or polity, most desirable for our country.

The foundation of this polity, as I have pointed out, must necessarily be self-governing, self-sufficient, agro-industrial, urbo-rural local communities. The existing villages and townships provide the physical base for such reconstruction. A laudable beginning has been made in this connection by establishing gram panchayats and instituting such programmes as community development, ‘intensive area’ development (of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission), and co-operativization of the rural economy.

But from the point of view propounded in this paper these programmes suffer from several serious defects: (a) they lack an integrated social philosophy; (b) they have no clear concept of community; (c) they do not aim to create a balance within the community between agriculture and industry; (d) even though the aim is to create communities (no matter how vaguely understood) at the bottom level, the concept of social organization at the higher levels remains the same as that of the atomized industrial society of the West (which for our purpose here includes Russia).

V

Let me return now to the foundation of our polity. The foundation, as stated already, must be self governing, self sufficient, agro-industrial, urbo-rural local communities. The highest political institution of the local community should be the General Assembly – the gram sabha – of which all the adults should be considered members. The selection of the Executive – the panchayat – should be by general consensus of opinion in the sabha. There should be no ‘candidates’, i.e. no one should ‘stand’ for any post. There should be clear-cut qualifications, as in ancient times, laid down for all selective posts. No individual should hold the same post for more than a defined period of time. The panchayat should function through subcommittees charged with different responsibilities. There should be no official or member appointed or nominated by the state government in the panchayat or its sub-committees.

It may be questioned if there can ever be a general consensus of opinion amongst villagers who are divided into castes and factions and have conflicting interests. We have seen already how for thousands of years the villages of India elected their executive councils by general agreement. Those villages were by no means homogeneous and ideal communities. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that the experience of centuries cannot be repeated again.

We may also recall that the only alternative method of election of village councils or panchayats was that of drawing lots. There is nothing undemocratic in selection by general agreement or by drawing lots; alternatively, it might be provided that the villages first try the former method, and failing therein take recourse to the latter. Something similar happens in the Bhoodan movement. When the landless families are unable to agree about the distribution of bhoodan lands between themselves, the issue is decided by drawing lots. It is not our experience that there has been in any case dissatisfaction with decisions reached in this manner.

The question may also be asked if the village panchayats, as they are today, would be able to function in the manner visualized above. There is no better way to teach the young except by giving them responsibility. In the same manner the only way to make the villages self-governing, self-reliant and self-sufficient is to throw upon them real responsibilities. There was a time when the Indian village republics were self-created, like the Swiss communes, and their powers and functions were not given to them from above. But in the present conditions they have to be recreated by a deliberate and bold process of devolution and decentralization if Indian democracy is to have a firm base and living reality.

I believe that the responsibility given to the gram sabha and the panchayat should be in things that really do matter. For instance, it should be the responsibility of the gram sabha and its panchayat to ensure that no one in the village goes without food, clothing and shelter; no child without primary education; every one receives primary medical care. The sabha and panchayat should see that the village becomes self-sufficient in the matter of food and clothing as soon as possible. Further, they should so plan that within five years, let us say, there is no unemployment in the village and every family reaches a minimum standard of living. Self-government, to be real, should be about essential problems of life.

It would be necessary for some time to help the village from above, but the responsibility must be clearly defined and the demand for help must come from the village in specific terms, meant to supplement what has been or is proposed to be done by the collective effort of the village. No help should be given until the village has proved that it has done that and is prepared to do its best to help itself. Eventually such help will have to come from the next larger communal organization, the regional community, but at the beginning it will have to come from the state government. Social and political workers must go in large numbers to the villages, not to make promises but to preach self-reliance and to help them to practice it.

The development of the rest of the polity need not wait till the villages and townships become real communities as visualized here. Our work must begin at all levels simultaneously, otherwise it will not succeed at any level.

The next level of the political structure would obviously be that of the regional community. Here, as already indicated, the gram panchayats will have to be integrated into the panchayat samiti, as recommended by the Balvantrai Mehta team, with this difference that the nature and functions of the samiti should be those of an autonomous self-governing community as discussed in the previous section: the samiti should have powers and obligations to do all that may be within its competence. As suggested already, the panchayat samiti, comprising the optimum community as defined above, would play a key role in the political and economic life of the country, particularly in the processes of planning and development.

There is one important point which I wish to emphasize in connection with the formation of the panchayat samiti. The samiti should be elected by the gram panchayats and not by their members. This at first might appear to be a distinction between six and half-a-dozen. But that is not so. We have here a major principle of communal life involved. It is the gram panchayat as a body that represents the village community and not its members. The panchayat samiti, in its turn, is a representative of the gram panchayats, and it is the latter that should be represented as such and not their members.

Following the pattern of social organization described in the previous section, the political structure would rise storey by storey from the foundation. The next storey above the panchayat samiti would be that of the district council (or whatever name given to it), which will be formed by the integration of the panchayat samitis of the district – again the samitis as such electing their representatives and not their members. The district councils, in their turn, should have all the powers and obligations necessary to do everything that may be within their competence.

In a similar manner all the district councils of a state would come together to create the state assembly. The state assemblies, in like manner, would bring into being the Lok Sabha. Thus the political institution at each level is an integration of all the institutions at the lower level.

VI

The picture drawn here of the polity of India, and of social organization in general, might perhaps appear to be idealistic. If so, I would not consider that to be a disqualification. An ideal cannot but be idealistic. The question is if the ideal is impractical, unscientific or otherwise ill-conceived. I have tried in the preceding pages to show that all relevant considerations lead irresistibly towards it.

The achievement of this ideal would, however, be a colossal task. Thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of voluntary workers would be needed over a number of years to accomplish it.

The governments should lend their full support; but it is necessary to remember that the main burden of the task would have to be borne by voluntary political and social workers and institutions. The heart of the problem is to create the ‘spirit of community’, without which the whole body politic would be without life and soul. This is a task of moral regeneration to be brought about by example, service, sacrifice and love. Those who occupy high places in society – in politics, business, the professions – bear the heavy responsibility of leading the people by personal example.

The task also is one of social engineering, needing the help of the state; of scientists, experts, educationists, businessmen, experimenters; of men and women; of young and old. It is a task of dedication; of creation; of self-discovery. It is a task that defines India’s destiny. It spells a challenge to India’s sons and daughters. Will they accept the challenge?

posted by Shanta Kumar @ 10:17 AM 0 comments

On 28 August, 1963, Martin Luther King delivered his magnificent "I have a dream speech" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Below is the full text of his speech.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds'

But 100 years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

And so we've come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a cheque. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we've come to cash this check - a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

Sweltering summer... of discontent

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.

There will be neither rest nor tranquillity in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: in the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back.

Trials and tribulations

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights: "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied and we will not be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

The dream

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.

With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning: "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California.
But not only that.
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Martin Luther King (1929 - 1968)

Martin Luther King © King was an American clergymen, Nobel Peace Prize winner and one of the principal leaders of the American civil rights movements. King was born on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a Baptist minister, his mother a schoolteacher. Originally named Michael, he was later renamed Martin. He entered Morehouse College in 1944 and then went to Crozer Religious Seminary to undertake postgraduate study, receiving his doctorate in 1955. Returning to the South to become pastor of a Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, King first achieved national renown when he helped mobilise the black boycott of the Montgomery bus system in 1955. This was organised after Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man - in the segregated south, black people could only sit at the back of the bus. The 382-day boycott led the bus company to change its regulations, and the supreme court declared such segregation unconstitutional. In 1957 King was active in the organisation of the Southern Leadership Christian Conference (SCLC), formed to co-ordinate protests against discrimination. He advocated non-violent direct action based on the methods of Gandhi, who led protests against British rule in India culminating in India's independence in 1947. In 1963, King led mass protests against discriminatory practices in Birmingham, Alabama where the white population were violently resisting desegregation. The city was dubbed 'Bombingham' as attacks against civil rights protesters increased, and King was arrested and jailed for his part in the protests. After his release, King participated in the enormous civil rights march on Washington in August 1963, and delivered his famous 'I have a dream' speech, predicting a day when the promise of freedom and equality for all would become a reality in America. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1965, he led a campaign to register blacks to vote. The same year the US Congress passed the Voting Rights Act outlawing the discriminatory practices that had barred blacks from voting in the south. As the civil rights movement became increasingly radicalised, King found that his message of peaceful protest was not shared by many in the younger generation. King began to protest against the Vietnam war and poverty levels in the US. He was assassinated on 4 April 1968 during a visit to Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King Jr For many, Martin Luther King Jr was the most prominent civil rights movement leader in the twentieth century. His most famous speech, which contains the words "I have a dream", has come to symbolise hope and faith for all. King was born in 1929 as Michael Luther King Jr. Growing up in separatist America, he attended the Morehouse College of Atlanta, a distinguished institution for black people, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. After receiving a doctorate from Boston University, he became pastor for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Martin Luther King Jr tribute outside the Enoch Pratt library, Baltimore, USA © Always interested in civil rights, he was heavily influenced by Gandhi's policy of non violence, after he visited India with his wife and met with Muhammad Jinnah. His involvement with the black civil rights movement was closely related to his Protestant faith. After gaining a major victory in the Bus Boycott of 1956, when the boycotting of the bus services by black people led to their de-segregation, he became president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. The ideals for this organisation came from Christianity, but the method of non violence from Gandhi. Over eleven years from 1957 to 1968 he travelled over six million miles, gave over two and a half thousand speeches, and addressed a quarter of a million people in his 'I have a dream' speech alone. His policy of non violence led to his arrest twenty times, and he was personally abused four times. He became a figurehead for not only black people in separatist America, but as a leader for human rights wherever there was injustice, locally, nationally, and globally. After being the youngest ever person to win the Nobel Peace Prize at age just 35, he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. True to his revolutionary spirit, he had been just about to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking street cleaners of Memphis, Tennessee.

posted by Shanta Kumar @ 10:34 PM 0 comments

Rajmata Ahilyabai

(1725-1795)

“For thirty years her reign of peace,

The land in blessing did increase;

And she was blessed by every tongue,

By stern and gentle, old and young.

Yea, even the children at their mother’s feet

Are taught such homely rhyming to repeat

"In latter days from Brahma came,

To rule our land, a noble Dame,

Kind was her heart, and tight her frame,

And Ahalya was her honoured name”

In the glorious past of Indian women, Ahilyabai Holkar is remembered for her religious, pious, spiritual character and service to the people. She was a saint in the palace who ruled her country in best possible manner. She was even noted for her administrative skill and military organization. During her 30 year long reign, she accomplished lots of affection and respect from her people for her generosity, for her extraordinary amount of building at holy sites all over the country. This period is remembered in Malwa as a model of benevolence and effective government.

She was born in the village of Chaundi in Beed district on 31^st August, 1725. Her father, Mankaji Shinde was the Patil of Village. On those days, girls were not allowed to go in schools, but he sent her to the school for education. Once, Malhar Rao, a commander of Bajirao Peshwa and the lord of Malwa, was on his way to go Pune. He took halt in this village and saw one eight year old girl doing temple service. Being impressed her character; he took her with himself to Malwa for marrying her with his son Khandel Rao.

In spite of carrying all homely responsibilities, she also assisted her husband in administration. By her religious nature and service, she got immense affection and love from her in-laws. But time has taken different course and just after 9 years of her marriage, her husband Khandel Rao was killed in battle in 1754. Till then, she has one son and one daughter. She went for sati deliberately for keeping the honour of family tradition, but she was opposed by her father-in-law. He told her, after their son, only she could look after them and also their subject had great expectations from her. She left the idea of sacrificing her life. She was given all the administrative power to rule the country and people. She did all this with a feeling of doing service to her people. Twelve year later, her father-in-law, Malhar Rao died in 1766. Then her son, Maleram sat on the throne. His nature was different from her mother’s modesty and good nature. He also died soon. After her death, she took the power in her own hand. The main sardar of Malhar Rao, Gangadhar Yashwant, was not happy with this. He had his own opinion that Ahilyabai should adopt a boy in her own Kul and then should rule the country. But she opposed his plan claiming that she is the wife of a king as well as daughter in law of a king and so she had administrative skill as well experience to rule the country. So she will do the management of state by herself. Military has faith in her and in her command.

Jealous and unsatisfied Gangadhar Yashwant planned to capture the power by removing Ahilyabai with the help of Raghunath Rao, the military head of Peshwa. Showing courage and diplomatic skill, she got the assistance from Gaikawad and Bhonsle to fight with the Senapati of Peshwa. To see the courage and political cleverness of Rajmata, Peshwa went back leaving the message that he came there only to test that she was able to face the enemy or not. Showing her generosity, she forgave Gangadhar and reinstated at his position.

During her rule, Ahilyabai had done a lot of public works. Due to her better rule, her state progressed a lot and prosperity came to all. She got enough as revenue and lawful gains due increased production and economic activity. One of the remarkable works was the development of Indore from a small village into a prosperous and beautiful city. Her own capital was at Maheshwar, a town on the bank of Narmada River. She built forts and roads in Malwa. She built dozens of temples, ghats, wells, tanks and rest houses across an area stretching from the Himalayas to pilgrimage centres in south India. The Bharatiya Sanskriti Kosh lists as sites she embellished, Kashi, Gaya, Somnath, Ayodhya, Mathura, Hardwar, Kanchi, Avanti, Dwarka,Badrinarayan, Rameshwar and Jaganathpuri. Ahilyabai also rejoiced when she saw bankers, merchants, farmers and cultivators rise to levels of affluence but she did not claim that she had any legitimate claim to any of that wealth, be it through taxes or feudal right.

She took care of her subjects in all possible ways. She helped widows retain their husbands’ wealth. She made arrangements so that widows would be allowed to adopt a son. Once, her minister refused to allow a woman adopts a son on account of bribery, she herself financed to her for further rituals.

Literary, musical, artistic and industrial enterprises flourished in Ahilyabai’s capital at Maheshwar. She entertained the famous Marathi Poet, Moropant and the shahir, Ananthphandi from Maharashtra. She also patronized the Sanskrit scholar, Kushali Ram. Craftsmen, sculptors and artists received salaries and honour at her capital. She established a textile industry at her capital.

The only time, Ahilyadevi seems not to have been able to settle a conflict peacefully and easily was in the case of the Bhils and Gonds, "plunderers" on her borders; but she granted them waste hilly lands and the right to a small duty on goods passing through their territories. Even in this case, according to Malcolm, she did give "considerate attention to their habits".

Historian has described Ahilyabai Holkar as a saint and mentioned her as a magnificent woman, able ruler and a great queen. To honour remember her services and sacrifices, leading citizens of Indore instituted an award on her name in 1996 to be bestowed annually on an outstanding public figure. First award is given to Nanaji Deshmukh by the then Prime Minister.

One of her old retainers told Malcolm the facts of her daily life: She rose an hour before daybreak to say prayers. Then she had scriptures read to her, distributed alms and gave food to a number of Brahmins. Her breakfast, as indeed all her meals, was vegetarian. After breakfast, she prayed again, and then took a short rest. From two to six she was in her durbar; after religious exercises and a light meal, she again attended to business from nine to eleven. Her life was marked by prayer, abstinence and work, with religious fasts, festivals and public emergencies affording the only change in this routine. Her devotion was to Shiva, although she respected all religions. "Shri Shankara" appeared on all royal proclamations along with her signature.

In spite of all that is known about the warrior queen and all that she has left behind—timeless testimonies of her imagination and beneficence—she has not, in my opinion, been given the recognition that she rightfully deserves. Visitors to Varanasi know of the golden domed temple of Vishvanath, Lord of the World, in the heart of the city. Pilgrims headed for Pandharpur, a major sacred site in Maharashtra, go a little further along the same route to Mangalvadhe, to a place called Gopalpur, a large endowment for religious travellers. Both are part of Ahilyabai’s building and charitable legacy. It is said that she even repaired the road from Varanasi to Calcutta, as well as other routes to sites of pilgrimage.

"This great ruler in Indore encouraged all within her realm to do their best, Merchants produced their finest cloths, trade flourished, the farmers were at peace and oppression ceased, for each case that came to the queens notice was dealt with severely. She loved to see her people prosper, and to watch the fine cities grow, and to watch that her subjects were not afraid to display their wealth, lest the ruler should snatch it from them. Far and wide the roads were planted with shady trees, and wells were made, and rest-houses for travelers. The poor, the homeless, the orphaned were all helped according to their needs. The Bhils, who had long been the torment of all caravans, were routed from their mountain fastnesses and persuaded to settle down as honest farmers. Hindu and Mussalman alike revered the famous Queen and prayed for her long life. Her last great sorrow was when her daughter became a Sati upon the death of Yashwantrao Phanse. Ahalya Bai was seventy years old when her long and splendid life closed. Indore long mourned its noble Queen, happy had been her reign, and her memory is cherished with deep reverence unto this day

posted by Shanta Kumar @ 3:27 AM 0 comments

Jaisalmer 2006
A rural expedition ! 26/11 to 02/12
Motivation for the Camp:
Every semester Group for Rural Activities (GRA) organizes a trip to some Rural Area in various parts of India. The aim of these camps is two fold. On one side it aims to expose IITians to Rural setting so that the technology developed at IIT is not just cutting edge, but also socially relevant; not just Òtechnology Ó, but Òappropriate technologyÓ. The other aim is to learn from the wealth of existing traditional knowledge systems. Observing the social and cultural lifestyles of those parts is also an important component of the trip in addition to the above mentioned goals; after all, life is not compartmentalized and each aspect of life has an effect on all the other spheres of life in varying degrees. Jaisalmer district in Rajasthan, known for its extreme weather conditions was the location of this semester Õs camp. The arid weather of Jaisalmer district, which is covered by deserts, is quite unfavourable for the sustenance of any life form let alone humans. In such severe conditions, some of our brethren have taken up the herculean task of improving the life of rural folk in the region. Some of their ongoing efforts include revival of traditional water management techniques, animal husbandry and addressing the social issues. Our motive was to learn and take inspiration from such endeavours in addition to experiencing the hospitality and rich heritage of this land.

Day 1: Jaisalmer City
We reached Jaisalmer city by train passing though Jodhpur, Pokhran etc. on 27th November, 2006. We spent the Þrst day exploring the ÒGolden CityÓ Jaisalmer, with its forts and palaces, attesting for its historical splendour. The artisan and construction expertise displayed in those forts is beyond description.
Day 2: Water Management Systems in and around Jaisalmer
The focus of earlier part of second day was to see some traditional water management systems. The water table can be divided into three main categories: surface water, seepage water and underground water. Tradition wisdom suggests that Þrst surface water from sources like khadeen and lakes should be used, followed by water from bavdi. Underground water should be used only as a last option. Bavdi is a small water storing body in the ground. It is replenished by a seasonal rain-fed stream. We were surprised to hear from the villagers that once Þlled, the whole village can manage water for a whole year from one Bavdi. We were even more amazed to know that Bavdi is not a huge, gigantic tank, but of simple one, 5-7 meters deep and the secret was careful usage of the water by the villagers. We also saw some man-made lakes like Ghadisar lake, constructed four centuries ago. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that King Ghad Singh himself used to come and participate in digging of the lake everyday to set an example and stress the importance of water systems. Khadeens are the main component of traditional rain water harvesting techniques in Jaisalmer. A Khadeen typically constitutes of a sloping tract of land with an embankment which acts as a catchment ground for rainfall. This type of land, called a ÔkhadeenÔ, due to the collected water becomes fertile by the time of the rabi sowing season. In fact, it is cultivated without fertilizers and gives a rich harvest of wheat or mustard (sarson). The collected water is let into a well on the other side of the embankment by an opening gate. This water is used to maintain a beautiful vegetable garden by a system of channels. And so the khadeen has generated food, livelihood, a beautiful garden and an ecosystem. The reason why this is exclusive to this region is that the land can hold the water for a very long period of time because of a layer of gypsum beneath the soil. This ÔharvestedÕ water is effectively utilized to grow rabi crops which are typically grown with two doses of irrigated water elsewhere. Some of the khadeens were 400-800 years old. We visited one such khadeen at ÒBada BaghÓ. We also saw vast number of wind mill in some areas. These wind mills generate the necessary power for the whole Jaisalmer district. In the afternoon we visited a village called ÒM edhwalon ki DhaniÓ and interacted with some of the villagers. It was a very different experience from the rest of the dayÕs scheme owing to the perplexing situation of these villagers which they shared with us. With the Forest Department taking the esponsibility of the fertile land earlier inhabited by them for expanding the Desert National
Park (DNP), most of them got displaced from their traditional dwellings. Ironically, the trees planted for expanding the DNP by the forest department was an Australian variety of Babul,which though grows faster, draws more water and which animals do not graze on, thus effecting the natural food cycle. This experience set our minds thinking about the possible causes of such asynchronous state of affairs.
In the later part of the second day, we visited a farm owned by TISDS (Thar Integrated Social Development Society). Covering a land area of 150 bigha, this is a showcase project of the Society for supporting indigenous vegetation of sewan grass that consumes minimal ground water. It also acts as a fodder for the cattle and helps in restricting the growth of desert, thus making it a preferred option over other varieties of trees in the desert atmosphere. Jetu Singh Bhati ji, the founder of TISDS explained that due to the improper understanding of the technology, many people instead of adapting the technology to suit their conditions are going for blind imitation. One such instance is that many people in the extreme water scarce conditions of Jaisalmer moving towards growing of crops which require very high amounts of water. These crops give temporary high proÞts for a couple of years. But owing to the scarce rainfall, all the ground water reserves are drained in the process. Thus after a couple of years, the land becomes useless not just for the new set of crops but also for the traditional crops. To express it in a simple simile, it is like the story of hen giving golden eggs. Based on this experience, we then realized that itÕs not just ÒdevelopmentÓ,but Òsustainable developmentÓ that must be our keyword.

Day 3: Cultural and Socio!Economic tour of Jaisalmer Distric"

The next phase of our camp was Sultana village near the border. We started in the morning from Jaisalmer and reached Sultana by evening while halting at various points in the journey. Our Þrst signiÞ-cant halt for the day was a stone quarry at Jethawai known for excellent quality sandstone. But this place is more famous for the coral-like fossils which are formed only in places having huge water bodies. The local tradition attributes this rock- formation of layered limestone to the vast sea-like Saraswati river that has been known to ßow in this region in the Vedic times. Our next halts were at ÒVaishakhiÓ and ÒPaliwalon ka KhabaÓ, both the ancient towns of Paliwal community which lived there eight centuries ago. The whole Paliwal community which was spread over 84 villages is said to have vacated all those villages in a single night and ßed to a different place in order to save the honour of one of their daughters from the then king who set his eyes on her. What appealed to us was the whole community stood together as a single unit against the force of the king for the sake of a single family instead of abandoning the neighbour just because the problem does not concern ÒthemÓ. The vil- lages though now totally deserted and in ruins stand as proof for the excellent town planning and community living eight centuries ago. The origin of many khadeens and bavdis is also attrib- uted to the Paliwal community.

Later in the journey we stopped at a village ÒKhabhiaÓ. We split into groups of four with each group visiting a house and discussing their everyday life. We also conversed with the Sarpanch of the village, who enthusiastically educated on various facts related to the village.Finally, on the evening of day 3 we reached the Sultana village. Our main agenda here was to visit the surrounding places and learn more about their lifestyles. Our stay there was arranged in the villageÕs community hall referred as ÒVivekananda HallÓ named after the patriotic monk of India, Swami Vivekananda. The community hall serves as an important pivotal point of the villageÕs social life. It was very pleasant experience to see the whole village come to receive us. Many of us from urban backgrounds were amazed by seeing in real all ideals of Òathidi devo bhavaÓ and community living which till then were only theories to us. We were assisted by ÒSeema Raksha DalÓ in the present phase of our expedition. ÒSeema Rakha DalÓ is an initiative by some of the villages along the border at the height of cross-border trafÞcking to protect their villages (which are just 50 KM away from the border). The Sultana village was burned down completely twice by mercenaries across the border, once in 1948 and another time in 1965. But on both the occasions, the determined villagers came back to their ancestral home and rebuild the whole village again. In fact that is the Þrst thing which struck us when we went to this region. They live in extreme climatic and conßict prone area, yet their conÞdence is incomparable. They never see problems, they only see challenges. The ÒSeema Raksha DalÓ widened its scope into the overall social development of the area after the international border along Rajasthan was fenced in the last decade.

Day 4: Irrigation and Developmental Schemes in Sultana
On day 4, waking up early in the morning (much much early by IIT standards we felt!) with the rest of the village, we Þrst went to visit some of the irrigation farms. Irrigation here has been made possible by Indira Gandhi canal, bringing water to these regions. The problems here were more intricate and complex. The canal brought water to these regions and made irrigation possible. Hence many of the people left their traditional livelihood and moved on to agriculture. So far, so good. But agriculture being followed here is very fertilizer intensive, hence bringing down the proÞts. Also as more people shifted to agriculture the water requirement crossed the estimates hence leading to shortage of available water. They are now in a catch 22 situation where they left their traditional livelihood on one side and shortage of available water and increasing need of fertilizers on the other side. In addition to this, the depletion of sewan grass in order to make the land cultivable also increased the frequency of sand dunes blowing into the farms. This situation again brought the idea of sustainable development and relevant technology to our minds. The problem here was that the solutions proposed, though good in motive, were unidirectional and short-sighted in nature. The problem was approached from a purely technical angle ignoring the human aspect, thus creating more problems than were solved.
We later interacted with some of the farmers there. During the course of our discussion, they urged that people like IITians should also focus their genius on the improvement of agriculture
sector which is the backbone of our country. Our next stop was at a ÒGoadÓ dwelling place. Goads are a nomads having animal husbandry as their occupation. They move from place to place along with their cattle seasonally depending on the availability of grass for the cattle. Ironic it may seem but they have severe water scarcity but plenty of milk. We even came across an old person who did not have water to drink for one whole month and survived by drinking milk instead. We then reached ÒArjunaÓ village for our lunch. The way lunch was planned was very different from the routine manner in which all people sit at a single place, eat and disperse. They divided us into groups of three. Each group will go to a house in the village, eat together with them as part of their family. The warmth with which each of us were received in their houses was really touching. Another interesting fact which struck us was that none of them bothered to ask us our caste or religious background before inviting us into their houses. It was certainly a refreshing experience to note how things are on march even in places notorious for such inclinations. During our later discussions we came to know that this change was made possible because the people realised that a fractured society, divided along caste and community lines can never progress and will become easy prey to vested interests.
Our last halt for day 4 was a visit to Sultana Panchayat School. Though the school suffers from limitations like lack of teachers, the kids were very sharp and talented. Another comforting fact which came to our observation was that the number of boys and girls attending the school was also roughly the same.

Day 5: Settlements in the Desert and some BSF posts
Till this time we were prowling in the moderate regions of Rajasthan, but on day 5 we ventured to go into the extreme limits of the desert. There was nothing but sand on all the sides and between it is a single road meant for movement of army vehicles. We had to travel for 2-3 hours into the desert without any trace of human existence, before reaching a Dhani. Dhani is the local name for a small settlement of people. We went into some of their houses and had some interaction with them. The houses there were made of mud and offered excellent protection from the extreme heat and cold of the desert and also from the rapidly sifting sand dunes. The main occupation of the people here is animal husbandry. Water being an extremely rare commodity here (thanks to the pipeline constructed to the most interior parts in the earlier decade, this problem is now partially solved), is used with great care and their whole lifestyles are woven into such efÞcient use of water. An unexpected surprise was to Þnd a small school for women there. Judging from the standards of urban schools, this school was deÞnitely lacking in infrastructure. But when seen in the context and considering the place where we were standing, it was indeed a valiant effort. Later, we had our share of fun by climbing and playing in the neighbouring sand hills. From there we reached Ramgarh TV relay tower. It is a huge tower constructed to ensure an upper hand in telecommunications in the vital border areas. We also visited the Ramgarh school and interacted with the students for some time. The interaction was very lively and children there were oozing with energy. We then proceeded for lunch and were treated with the famed Rajasthani dal-bati.
Our next important halt for day 5 was at BSF post in Longewala. This place was venue for one of the decisive battles in the two week long war between India and Pakistan in 1971. In a decisive victory, though heavily outnumbered, Indian Army and Air Force destroyed more than 40 tanks and 100 vehicles belonging to Pakistan army. The bollywood hit ÒBorderÓ movie was also based on this battle. We saw some destroyed tank and vehicles kept there as victory symbols. We then visited the memorial, constructed in remembrance of all those who gave their lives protecting the country. Standing there we were Þlled with emotion and patriotism in reverence to the Jawans defending our borders. We also visited Mata Tanut temple, a very famous temple in that region. The special appealing factor of this temple is that it is almost entirely maintained by the Jawans. It acts as a source of much needed spiritual strength for them who leave all their possessions behind to answer the call of duty.

Making our journey back, we reached Jaisalmer by night. From there we took a train to Jodhpur and reached Jodhpur the next morning ie., on the morning of December 6, 2007. With this our camp came to an end and all of us dispersed to our respective. Concluding Remarks:
Over all it was a great learning experience for all of us packed with fun and adventure. The advantage of going in group is that the combined churning of ideas produces much better results and we tend to observe aspects which usually go unnoticed. We also got a chance to enjoy the village atmosphere and hospitality.
But above all, we could witness the various facets of development. Development is usually understood in a unidirectional and compartmentalized sense, as pertaining to purely technical or social sphere. But the important factors like the living style of the people, suitability of a developmental model to that particular place and group are often forgotten. Development has its own pace and efforts to concentrate only on one aspect, ignoring the rest often leads to loss of balance. The local and traditional characteristics should also be considered in framing of the developmental models. Sustainable Development and Relevant Technology should hence become our catch words. These of course may be common sense, but probably the most wanting factors for the very same reason. One element which left a lasting impression on all of us is the power of human will and determination. These people were faced with continuous warfare and climatic extremities, but they never lost their conÞdence and incessantly struggled to overcome those challenges. This reassured us that if such extremities can be overcome by human determination, our country as a whole, which on an average scale is gifted more generously by nature, can surely make great progress if all of us come together determined to take our country along the path of glory.

Jai Hind
Group for Rural Activities, IIT Bombay

posted by Shanta Kumar @ 11:19 AM 0 comments

Bhagat Singh
(1907-23rd march 1931)
Bhagat Singh is one of India's greatest freedom fighters and folk heroes. Most people know him for his daring defiance of the British colonial raj and his martyrdom at the young age of twenty-three. But more than that he was a revolutionary socialist and one of India's early Marxist thinkers who was deeply influenced by the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. More than anybody else, Bhagat Singh's name has been utilized by people of all political shades for their own political objectives and little has been said about his revolutionary ideas and his vision of India.
Bhagat Singh was born in 1907 in Lyallpur district of Punjab (now in Pakistan). He was the nephew of Ajit Singh, leader of the 1907 Kisan Movement. He came from a family of patriots. One of the first events in his early life that made a deep impression on him was the execution of Kartar Singh Sarabha in 1915. He spent his early years in Lahore. The sudden withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation movement by Gandhi in February 1922 disillusioned a lot of patriotic youth with the politics of the Congress Party. They turned to revolutionary activity. The events in India were unfolding at a very fast pace and provided a background against which Bhagat Singh's politics crystallized. In 1925 he was for a brief period at Kanpur where he wrote for Pratap Press. On his return to Lahore a warrant for his arrest was issued and he went underground for five months and wrote for a daily Vir Arjun in Delhi. At Lahore he and Sukhdev organized study circles and carried out revolutionary propaganda. He also contributed to Kirti, the publication of the Kirti Kisan Party and wrote for various Urdu and Punjabi newspapers. In his articles he called on the youth to take up cudgels against British colonizers. By 1926 Bhagat Singh was beginning to move away from individual acts of heroism to mass action.Naujawan Bharat Sabha was formed in March 1926 and Bhagat Singh was its secretary and a principal organizer. He now turned to Marxism and came to believe that only popular broad based mass movements could lead to a successful revolution. The Sabha was to carry out political work among the youth, peasants and workers. Many branches were opened in villages where he delivered political lectures with the help of magic lantern slides. Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev also organized the Lahore students union for open legal work among the students.
Bhagat Singh was vehemently against communalism. At a 1928 conference of Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Bhagat Singh and his comrades openly opposed the suggestion that youth belonging to religious, communal organizations be permitted to become the member of the organization. Religion was one's private concern and communalism was an enemy to be fought, argued Bhagat Singh. Significantly two of the six rules drafted by Naujawan Bharat Sabha were:
To have nothing to do with communal bodies or other parties with communal ideas.
To create the spirit of general toleration among the public considering religion as a matter of personal belief of man and to act upon it fully. Bhagat Singh revered Lala Lajpat Rai as great leader. But he would not even spare him, when Lajpat Rai turned to communal politics. He then launched a political-ideological campaign against him. Because Lajpat Rai was respected leader he would not publicly use harsh words but he referred Lajpat Rai as a "Lost Leader".
In 1928 he came in contact with young revolutionaries Chandrashekhar Azad, Bejoy Kumar Sinha, Shiv Varma, Jaidev Kapur, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Sukhdev and in September of that year they met in Delhi to consolidate the Kirti Kisan Party in Punjab and Hindustan Republican Association in U.P. into one revolutionary organization, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HRSA).The objective of HRSA was to not only free India from the British but to change it into a socialist republic.

"This association stands for revolution in India in order to liberate her from foreign domination by means of organized armed rebellion," declared the manifesto of HRSA. Critical of Gandhi for calling off the Non-Cooperation movement and his methods on nonviolence, the HRSA manifesto declared:
"Revolution is a phenomenon which nature loves and without which there can be no progress either in nature or in human affairs. Revolution is certainly not unthinking, brutal campaign of murder and incendiarism; it is not a few bombs thrown here and a few shots fired there; neither it is a movement to destroy all remnants of civilization and blow to pieces time honored principles of justice and equity. Revolution is not a philosophy of despair or a creed of desperadoes. Revolution may be anti-God but is certainly not anti-Man. It is a vital, living force which is indicative of eternal conflict between the old and the new, between life and living death, between light and darkness. There is no concord, no symphony, no rhythm without revolution."
A socialist revolution was HRSA's battle cry. When the HSRA office was shifted to Agra, he immediately set up a library and urged members to read and discuss socialism and other revolutionary ideas. The atmosphere of reading and deep thinking pervaded the ranks of HSRA leadership, who were intellectuals of high order. Chandrasekhar Azad, who knew little english would not accept any idea till it was explained to him. He followed every major turn in the field of ideas through discussions.
The death of Lala Lajpat Rai from a brutal lathi-charge during an anti-Simon Commission demonstration changed the course of HRSA. On December 17, 1928, Bhgat Singh, Rajguru and Azad avenged the death of Lajpat Rai by killing J.P. Saunders, the British police officer who had led the lathi charge.
On April 8, 1929, Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly "to make the deaf hear" as their leaflet described the reason for their act.

As intended, nobody was hurt by the explosion. The bomb was thrown to protest the repressive Public Safety Bill and Trade Disputes Bill and the arrest of 31 labor leaders in March 1929. Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt let themselves be arrested, even when they could have escaped, to use their court appearances as a forum for revolutionary propaganda.
Every day they entered the court and raised the slogans
"Inquilab Zindabad"
"Down down with imperialism"
"Long live the proletariat"
During the trial in court they displayed exemplary courage and became legendary figures. Bhagat Singh was admired throughout the country for his heroism. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev were sentenced to death. There were country-wide protest but despite that three of India's precious sons were executed in 23rd march 1931. There were hartals, processions, mourning throughout the country.
"Shaheedon ki chitaon per lageinge har baras mele,
Vatan per marane walon ka yahi antim nishan hoga"
One can also say that on his day of martyrdom, he was born into an immortal life...
He was truly born in the minds of indians the day he died..

posted by Shanta Kumar @ 9:54 AM 0 comments

REDISCOVERY OF INDIA

India is a country of villages. This is well known facts
that about 70% people of India are attached to agro related
occupation. Most of iitians , the greatest innovative mind of India had never seen the village. So they are not thinking much about villages. But without the development of villages we can’t have a vision of India as developed country. But here is some people who have some fascination for country and keep desire for seeing a village .GRA is a institution in IIT which organizes some village related activities and make possible for village visiting.
One such village camp was organized by GRA in the first week of December. This was
from first January to fifth January. The camp includes two parts of visits. First one was the visiting of villages under NBA (Narmada bachao andolan ) and another was visiting of the ideal village ,MOHAD in Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh.
The aim of village-camp is to see the real face of India .The soul of every Indian is being bounded by an unbreakable thread of spirituality which kept the metros of india with the remote "vanwasi " area of india. Initially we went dhule by train.then dhadgao and then bilgao. At bilgao we saw a power plant which was generating 15 kw of power at that time. The plant was well-managed by the villagers themselves. We also looked a small dam which was also well managed by villagers. We enjoyed waterfall too at bilgaon. Actually it was the intercourse of two rivers creating a beautiful scenario and tells that man can’t be better painter than nature is. We enjoyed there and felt pleasure after roaming there in the river. We also captured the scene in camera..
There are many residential schools called "jeevanshala ".Children of villagers get education and also learn how to be self dependent .They are also taught the modern ways of agriculture so they can do good staying in there own villages.
After this we went to Narmada coast by jeep .We reached there at 5.45pm. There we saw the residuals of destroyed village due to increased water level of the river due to building of the dam. There are some people (adiwasi) ,who were worshipping for there dead ancestral. After that we have to travel by boat through the river.This was very pleased journey. But after one our journey ,the driver found some problem in the motorboat engine. One of the piston of the motor was going to be out of order soon. He was wise and patient. It was deep dark night .But he was carrying a powerful torch .With the help of that ,he found coast somewhere and stopped and declared that we have to stay there for whole night. He also denied that we can’t stay on the boat because it would sink in the water. Some of us were frightened but I couldn’t feel any kind of fear. Actually I was excited that we would get the chance to stay in the jungle. The coast was not shallow at all. Actually very deep water was found just near the land. But we were careful.
There was no house near the the coast. We found light coming from diya (alternative of lantern ) seeming hundred meters away from the coast. The driver was helpful. He first went there to get the idea of village and returned soon and told that we could stay there .We reached there carrying our bags in hand and making way through the farm .
There was only one homelike thing. Actually village is somewhere nearby. There was only a big roof closed walls from three sides. There was one old couple living here .There was everything what is found in a room. Actually they are staying there for watching
there fields. I saw old people of my villaeges in the face those old couples and realize that we all are Indians.
When we reached there the old couples who were just going to sleep. They saw us.
and started thinking how to welcome us.Their language was different. Our boat driver talked with him. Their language was quiet different from ours but still
we would be able to understand their language a little & hey too. We including driver were totally strangers for them still they understood our problem and they agreed to
give us shelter. That was a very big thing for us that they agreed. We were given the evidence what real India was and spiritually strong the Indians were .We saw that the spritual thought "atithi devo bhavaha" is still alive.During talk with them in the night we come to know they may remain hungry but can’t live their guest without meal.. They burn bonfire In the night for protection from cold as they do not have much clothes to wear. They somehow arranged big cloth over which we can sleep and insisted for dinner but we refused because that will increased inconvenience for them but they agreed only after getting convinced that we have enough food material for eating in the night. I was lost realizing my childhood in my own village After taking some refreshment many of us slept there and some of us sat near the bonfire and talked with old people. They are living far away from city or some village but their culture are similar to rest of India.They know the Indian epic , Ramyana and Mahabharata as they worshipping the lord “Ram” and the lord “Krishna”.They are also celebrating the major Indian festivals like Holi,Diwali.Dashera etc.We realize the reason behind the unbreakable thread binding every people of India. They are also believing in cast system but he distinguished them on the basis of eating habit. Those who are not eating any kind of flesh are considered Brahman .Goat eater are considered themselves better than fox eaters.In the morning they enthusiastically gave us tea. After we leave the village named Anjanwada.
The driver has already called another boat. We started our journey in the morning at 7.30pm. The scenario of that place was very fine.The range of mountains covered with trees,rising son between two mountain ,flowing river at the bottom ,moving boat in the river ,flying birds in the sky and the green field on other coast of river memorizes what we were doing painting during our childhood in the school. During journey ,one girl came on our boat for her journey in the way. She was Natasha an NRI living there among adiwasi doing her research work which she is going to present in some university of USA. During chat we come to know that she has interpreted many wrong things. She told that people her e do not know much about India and even they are feeling Indian. Really they are innocent and politically unaware .But we already have felt that the adiwasi are true Indians and we ,the city people are loosing elements of indianism.
After having three hour journey in boat we reached Budwani . We started our further journey in open jeep .It was too small for eighteen people but we somehow managed to sit. Really cooperation make tough thing easy and pleasing. We reached in Pichhodi.
In the way whenever we got the chance we try to talk more and more people.In the way recoverd that many people are not happy but satisfied the way of rehabilitation but some more canny people have given their land on rent and came to the region for protest so they could avail double if complete rehabilitation is not done.
Finally we reached the village Badwani. This was typical village ,houses made of soil and banboos having roof. We reached there ,then everyone meet us welcoming with word zindabad. Actually this used for those working and supporting for NBA. The village was
agro-based and people were happy. There was problem that people there were given lots of money so that they would rehabilitate themselves. But the land given to them have more threat. And other problem is that people are poor and couldn’t handle of such huge money hand misused them. Some bought luxurious material,some spent on drinks etc.These increased their requirement and they have now worse situation. But all are not against the rehabilitation .Only few conscious people are against this. Another thing which raise the rage among them that they are using river for water ,fishing etc . But after making of dam everything will undergo some authority and they have to pay for similar things.
Government has also fault that they are inefficient in doing groundwork. They are taking decision only based on estimation which usually have large deviation from reality. They have estimated that they have to rehabilitate only ten thousand wanwasi but there is fifty thousand wanwasi family spreading throughout the jungle .They have distributed money among the poor but do not make guidelines. One should realize that a man engaged in earning for their daily meals , how would manage a pile of money at a time.
Finally we left the village and went to nearby bus stoppage for getting bus for Khandwa..
And this was the ending of first part of the village trip which has lots of adventure ,experience, enjoyment . This has modify and solidify most of ideas. The work of villagers of Bilgaon gives message to developers and planners that the small dams are much fruitful and useful particularly in case of India. They are echo-friendly .They support to small industries .They would help in preserving the Indian culture because there is no need of rehabilitation of wanwasi. One what the most important thing is that big decision should be taken in the conference held in closed door, but should be done after doing lots of good and honest ground work.
Mohad is village which is the evidence the fact that village are self dependent and villagers can be happy living inside their own village. And it also give message to the country ,if every village could made like the Mohad then our country can be considered as a happy and developed country. The actual theme behind the village prosperity is the revival of Indian culture and utilizing modern discovery in more efficient way and in logical way so that purity of nature remain intact. They believe in cooperation and help. They believe in honesty and consciousness. The desire of knowledge how they have changed their village attract us for visiting the village so that we could do something for our own villages.
The flow of love ,cooperation, happiness ,revival of old pattern is motivated by the long ,
Continuous effort of a village big brother Surendra Singh Chauhan ,who is engineer by education, but a great social worker by heart. Everyone ,child to old,is calling him “jayramji bhaiyaji”. They have taught everyone how to live. He is not belieliving in castism at all. They have belief that only love can change one’s life.So he is centering on each home and believe to reach at kitchen of every family. He believes that a village develops on the idea that,
GRAM KA PAANI GRAM ME
GRAM KA PAISA GRAM ME
So they are producing everything in their own village what they are consuming at most possible. Some remarkable feature of the village. Every home is clean .Objects are well arranged in the houses.There is rostrum of Tulsi in everyhome. There are many kind of
plant of flowers. The idea is that these are natural element of decoration and do not require monetary expenditure. There are lots of trees throughout the villages. One couldn’t see many homes even from high places as they are covered with trees.To show love from trees girls brace rakhi on rakshabandhan to trees. There are toilets almost in every home .To be specific there 400 toilets in the village in which 229 have been made only in 35 days. Homes are made according to wastushastra .Many homes have own bio gas plant. Ladies feel more happier now and this also realizes city life. There are 108 bio gas plant .They are made with government help as well as own contribution. Villagers are using very easy technique for converting sugarcane juice into treacle. They are also making kheer from the sugarcane juice which have delicious taste. There are 400 hundred commercial flowerbed in the village and 46 type of industries in village. There are many cattle. Actually the ratio of cows and human is 1:2. There is government nursery spread over an area of 16 acre . There are 13 commercial wormy compost units which make manure with help of tapeworm. Tapeworms are friend of farmers which are killed by the use of fertilizers. One family is making a kalian pey which is alternating of tea .There was an industry of making plates from leaves.,3-4 motor rewinding industries,8-10 groups of 10-15 women who make paper bidi like thing in the village. Villagers started commercial crop of teak tree which show their foresight. There are 200 farms of vegetables and 3 families are engaged in tin-smithy work. One family is doing the business of DJ sound system. So actually they are developing all kind of cottage industry.
The level of education the village are quite high. More than 90 percent population are educated. There are 6 schools and 3 anganwadis over a population of 6000.The peculiar thing is that most of villages are able to communicate in Sanskrit. Everyone at least tell their name in Sanskrit. There is one girl ,daughter of a carpenter ,has done master degree in Sanskrit and is able to talk in Sanskrit fluently.
Actually most of thing is motivated by the thinking of RSS. But they are not trying to poisoning the society by community division. Actually the Muslims are also living happily and with love with the rest of society. They are also preserving their thoughts.
One peculiar thing the villagers are not seeing the mouth of government for help but they are applying all government plans and try to develop the village with operation. Almost every family have extension one power point toward outside so that roads get light.
Finally we returned from the village in the evening. Camp terminates at Careli the nearest railway station .From where some gone to their home and some returned to IIT.
Village trip has been ended but the thought process has started. One should not leave hope. One should be honest and committed to the society. Only then one will be happy.
Watching and observing the wretched condition of India tells us that westernization couldn’t help much to India. But one has to revive old ideas ant have to apply them in modern ways. One fact is that one should think much the revival ,purification of society rather than preaching and abusing the governments. If society becomes conscious then it itself will generate good governmence. Ambitious is good thing but being content is much better. One should rise in life by honesty then only a country will possess a society ,in which every person will get good quality of requirements for living happier life. One should always remember that one can’t be happy until there is happy surrounding.
I want to suggest all guys that never loose hope and be ready to come in ground for the uplift of the society .
JAY HIND………..

posted by Shanta Kumar @ 12:55 PM 0 comments