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Idealism
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Volume LVII, No. 34

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Rajesh Ramachandran

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EDITORIaL maNagER Sumanta Sen
LIBRaRY alka gupta (Chief Librarian), 16 Into The Void empathy that make the Left more like its
Raj kumar (Senior Library assistant)
Weve reached a point where our idealism counter ideologies, far from any utopia
BUSINESS OFFICE
ExECuTIVE DIRECTOR Indranil Roy sits in a waiting room, watching the
aSSOCIaTE puBLISHERS Shishir Saxena,
Ramesh S. (Special projects), Johnson DSilva,
mischief of politics, waiting to be 70 Bramhacharis vs Breadwinners
Vidya menon released. Ashis Nandy analyses our Puranas and shastras hint at a constant
post-normal condition. tension between hermits and householders.
VICE pRESIDENTS abraham uthup,
meenakshi akash
NaTIONaL HEaD (Special projects) archana
Browne
Does spiritual quest ideally warrant
SR gENERaL maNagERS kabir khattar (Corp), 22 Mahatma and The Modernist celibacy? Devdutt Pattanaik explores the
V. Sridhar (South)
gENERaL maNagERS Sasidharan kollery, Irfan Habib on the differences between terrainfrom monks to political leaders.
Shashank Dixit, Siddhartha Chatterjee
NaTIONaL HEaD (Circulation) anindya Banerjee
two schools of thought that raised a
HEaD BRaND & maRkETINg Shrutika Dewan republicGandhi and Nehru 84 And Then, Us Turned to Me
DEpuTY gENERaL maNagERS anuj gopal
mathur, manpreet Singh Sethi From imagining an ideal modern India
aSSISTaNT gENERaL maNagERS
g. Ramesh (South), Vinod kumar (North),
32 Power Can Do Good to disillusionment. Indian cinemas
Diwan Singh Bisht Entrepreneurs have agency, says N.R. journey is tied to the journey of its
REgIONaL maNagER Sonali panda
CHIEF maNagERS ashish Narang, Narayana Murthy, to be virtuous and ambitious project socialism. C.S.
gunjan gulati, manju pravin, Neetu kanjolia,
Shekhar kumar pandey
caring of the society. Venkiteswaran writes.
SENIOR maNagERS Debabani Tagore, Saurabh
Sobti, Vikash keshri
maNagERS amita Diwan Bhatia, Shekhar 46 The Tireless Banks of Justice 90 The Heart Is Still Ideal
Suvarana, Sudha Sharma, Vinod Joshi
ZONaL SaLES maNagER arun kumar Jha (East)
Medha Patkar, the indefatigable crusader Its perhaps the exhaustion of our
DIgITaL Suhail Tak, amit mishra, Chirag patnaik of the decades old Narmada Bachao imagination in the face of an overwhelming
HEaD OFFICE Andolan, talks to Outlook about her world that says idealism is dead. Natasha
aB-10, S.J. Enclave, New Delhi - 110 029
Tel: 011-33505500; Fax: 26191420 unshaken belief in peoples movements Badhwar narrates true stories of hope.
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 O
Comment
Why I am A Gandhian
I
dealism never really
counted in our epics. Karna
the noble, the idealist, the
truthful always gets let down
by his mother, brothers and
finally the lord who asks
arjuna to take aim at the great
warrior, who gets down
unarmed from the chariot,
trying to be civil to his chariot-
eer. Bhishma, the patriarch,
cant stop the disrobing of his
grand daughter-in-law in the
midst of a full court. if our epics
are our collective consciousness, we are a terribly
practical people seeking what we want, however
ephemeral they be and whatever the cost be.
But there was an interlude of idealism. it was so
bright that it shone the path of redemption to the
rest of the world. Gandhi and his peaceful protest
against naked, brutal, racist power became chosen
methods of self-liberation for Rev martin luther
King and Nelson mandela. Gandhian nationalism
was different because his nation did not have
enemies and armies. His boundaries were moral and
his incessant hostilities were internal. He chose
justice over independence and death over bigotry.
Gandhian idealism, which consumes the practi-
tioner, could also cleanse souls. His best followers
were those who cleaned toilets to become ideal
scavengers. No modern philosopher or social
reformer could hold the mirror to the indian elite
castes across the British empire the way Gandhi
could, while talking to them in a language they could
understand, without completely disowning their
way of lifethe chaaturvarnya superstructure. That
was the moment of indias biggest triumph as a
people. The transfer of power in 1947 was a mere
moment of terrible human cost, but the denoue-
ment of that grand drama was Gandhis martyrdom.
We have been on a downward slide since. The trial,
the acquittals, the governments refusal to go on
appeal and the birth of a new elite were all early signs
of the end of Gandhian idealism. Well, indira Gan-
dhis appointment as Congress president in 1959 by
Jawaharlal Nehru was the first act of big betrayal. she
was just 42 and didnt deserve to be the president of
the ruling party, particularly when her father was its
granddaddy. That event institutionalised conflict of
interest in our body politic. it was like injecting
cancer into the body of a
12-year-old. One of the first
acts by the newly appointed
Congress president was to
recommend the dismissal of a
democratically elected govern-
ment, rather the first elected
Communist government in the
world. That was the first lesson
in undemocratic behaviour by
our founding father and his
daughter. a lot more was to
come and they did in quick
succession.
The cancer injected into our minds so early has
eaten up our nations soul. We are once again in the
mahabharata times, when we hang the killers picture
along with the martyrs. Ours is a savarkar Republic
now. The only third option for an idealistother than
suicide and murderis to lose ones idealism, to lose
ones soul, to get coopted, to seek a Gymkhana Club
membership and a house in Jor Bagh.
But still it rankles deeply when semi-literates (any
indian who reads and writes only english is definitely
a semi-literate) abuse Gandhi in the name of ambed-
kar. separate electorates for muslims and the then
untouchables were not ambedkars idea but the
Britishs. They succeeded in creating a separate
muslim nation, but got defeated at Poona because
Gandhi was staking his life for his people to remain
one. if we have a country called india now, it is only
because of Gandhis near-death fast at Poona. ambed-
kar got defeated in election after election in independ-
ent india because he never went to jail or fought for
indias independence. He was a member of the
Viceroys executive Council in 1942-46. still Gandhi
invited ambedkar to head the committee to draft the
Constitution because Gandhi had no doubt that
Babasaheb was a dalit messiah. and nobody under-
stood it better than the ultimate idealist, Gandhi, that
for the indian Constitution to have any legitimacy it
had to written by the greatest living dalit.
The finest act of idealism was that of ambedkars,
when he rejected the religion of the colonialists and
chose Buddhism while fighting casteism. if he had
listened to the colonialists, he could have probably
won a Nobel prize. Gandhi takes me closer to
ambedkar. i hope amedkarites will also reach
Gandhi one day.
Rajesh Ramachandran
21 August 2017 OutlOOk 5
 letters
The Far Behinds
BELGAUM Aditya Mookerjee:
This refers to The Black Hole In The
Heart, your story on laggard states
of India (Aug 7). These bimar states
showcased in your story are all from
north India. What is the reason for
this? Referred to by many as the Hindi
belt, cow belt, etc, north India claims
hegemony over politics in India; be it
pushing Hindi as a national language
or the countrywide ban on beef. Delhi,
the countrys capital, is located right
in the middle of the north and is the
true seat of power. But, although
urban areas have developed at a rapid
scale in the north, hardly any devel-
opment has taken place in the rural
areas. States like UP and Bihar hold
great sway in the countrys politics,
giving the maximum number of lead-
ers to Parliament, but their own state
of development remains in tatters. In
general, the caste systems inequities
are also very alive in these states and
no major reforms have taken place
to change this. What alternative to
the caste system can the government
offer? Currently, there seems to be no
alternative in sight.
MUMBAI K.P. Rajan: Its amazing
how Kerala, a tiny state compared to
other Indian states, with a manageable
population of 35 million, is one of the
countrys most developed states. On
the other hand, Uttar Pradesh, the state
with a humongous population of 210
million, is lagging way behind in the
human development index when com-
pared with states like Kerala. Perhaps
the solution for UP is the one suggested
by former CM Mayawatidivide UP
into four smaller states and see the
encouraging results.
ON E-MAIL Deepak Chopra: In the
data given in the article, the per capita
income of West Bengal is shown as being
one-liner
PUNE Anil S.
An eagle eye view can make states look good, bad and ugly but cant offer many solutions.
6 OUTLOOK 21 August 2017
August 07, 2017
lesser than that of Orissa. This is incor-
rect. As per data given by the NITI Ayog,
the per capita income of West Bengal is
approximately 50 per cent higher than
Orissa. Also, in terms of HDI, Bengal
is nowhere in the bottom quarter
but has an average all-India ranking.
Bihar, your bimar, is also growing far
faster than the national average and its
per capita income has also increased
considerably over the years.
Our Correspondent Replies: All
poor states are indeed growing fast, as
you mention. Thats more because of
their low bases. To gauge prosperity,
we used per capita net state domestic
product (NSDP) at constant prices.
Net, unlike gross, deducts consumption
of fixed capital to offer a more accurate
picture. We sourced NSDP for 2013-14
for Orissa from RBIs Handbook of
Statistics on Indian States. Orissas
NSDP, it shows, was about 42 per cent
higher than West Bengals.
DEHRADUN Rakesh Agrawal: The
picture of north Indian states is not as
bleak as painted by your article. Theres
Himachal Pradesh, for instance, with
an impressive human development
index and per capita income. The tiny
hill state is a role model for holistic
and inclusive development. Between
1993-94 and 2011, the poverty level of
the state dropped from 36.8 per cent
to 8.5 per cent. Himachal also has a
good and growing education system.
Another positive achievement is that
Himachal has the highest rural female
work participation rates among states.
The states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
have become ungovernable on account
of their humongous size. They must
be divided into smaller states. The
relatively new states of Uttarakhand
and Jharkhand, which separated form
UP and Bihar respectively, are many
notches higher in terms of HDI and
GSDP than their parent states today.
Wise Depths
GOA M.N. Bhartiya: This refers to the
book review of Devdutt Pattanaiks My
Hanuman Chalisa by Arshia Sattar (The
Mighty Forty, August 7). The popularity
and wide appeal of the Chalisahymns
to the almightyare a result of their
frankness laced with a scientific
temper. Everyone craves strength, pos-
itive energy, intelligence, knowledge
and cure for all bodily ailments and
imperfections. The first two couplets of
the Chalisa are all about seeking such
boons. I fully agree with Sattars view.
Pattanaiks far-fetched linkage of the
Chalisa, a simple prayer composed by
Tulsidas during the 16th century, with
Vedism is an attempt to win over the
goodwill of those in power.
Form With Care
AMRITSAR L.J. Singh: The update
 letters
on the India-China impasse on the
Doklam crisis was illuminating (Bowl
Him A Chinaman, Aug 7). The standoff
is now over a month old, but no solution
appears to be in sight. Resolving Doklam,
dare I say, is more in Indias interest. We
have fought a war with the Chinese in
1962, when also we could have solved
the issue diplomatically. We must keep
that debacle in mindit sprung largely
from our giving asylum to the Dalai
Lama, who set up a government-in-exile
here, thus antagonising the Chinese. We
are running a great risk now by taking a
similar stand vis-vis Bhutan. China has
already objected to Indias involvement
in a matter that concerns it and Bhutan,
and says Indias action violates Bhutans
sovereignty. India should want peace
on the China-Bhutan borders without
any interference. Indian diplomacy
needs to engage intensively with all
our neighbouring countries to expose
Chinas expansionist strategy. We should
not try to match their rhetoric with
equally strident remarkson this point
this government has done very well.
Moreover, the government should take
the opposition along in forming a strat-
egy on the Doklam crisis. They should be
united in support on the issue, unlike the
CPI during the 62 war with China.
Conspiracy Theory
CHENNAI Kangayam R.
Narasimhan: This refers to The
Centre Ups the Ante (August 7), your
story on the arrests of seven Hurriyat
leaders by the National Investigation
Agency (NIA). The NIA has claimed
that Kashmiri separatists use the Haj
subsidy and trade across the LoC to
fund extremism in the Valley. How can
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8 OUTLOOK 21 August 2017
INBOXED
Robbed Immaculate
PUNE G.L. Karkal: This refers to
your cover story May I Overcharge
You? (July 31). I am 83 years old.
In May, I chose to close my sav-
ings bank account with the State
Bank of India because I could not
afford to maintain the mandatory
minimum balance of Rs 5,000.
When the account was closed, I
realised the bank had deducted
Rs 544.38. Arent the public sector
banks supposed to be serving the
nation, especially the needy such
as senior citizens like me?
any government hold talks with those
whose sympathies lie with Pakistan-
sponsored terrorists and stone-pelters,
who want to keep the Valley on the
boil? The demand for azadi cannot
sit well with the views of New Delhi,
which sees J&K as an integral part
of India. There can be talks only to
dissuade the Hurriyat from raising the
demand for azadi and only when there
is an atmosphere of peace in the Valley.
SECUNDERABAD K.R. Srinivasan:
The NIA probe exposing the nexus
LOG ON TO OUR LIVE DISCUSSIONS,
COVERAGE OF EVENTS AND MORE
MORE THAN JUST THE NEWSMAGAZINE
of terror in the Valley is a major
breakthrough. Conversations and
confessions on tapes confirm that
Pakistan is funding the burning of
schools and other subversive activities
in Kashmir. I am sure the interrogation
of the arrested separatists will expose
the larger conspiracy hatched by the
Hurriyat along with the Pakistan
government. It is time the Centre took
stringent measures to uproot terror
while invoking its constitutional obli-
gations to restore normalcy by working
towards a meaningful solution within a
fixed time-frame.
Nurse a Grudge
KOCHI George Jacob: This refers to
The Casualty Sisters (August 7), your
story on the plight of nurses. That
they are paid a pittance compared to
what doctors earn is only the tip of the
iceberg. To the avaricious modern-day
business behemoths commonly called
hospitals, they are veritable slaves held
captive on the excuse of training. As
workers, their wages and work hours
are shameful to even mention.
Eye on Both
JALPAIGURI Janga Bahadur
Sunuwar: The RJD-JD(U) split was
predestined. Nitish has betrayed Laloo
and left him when the RJD leader
needed the CM most to tide over a crisis
of graft charges conspired by the BJP.
Laloo was at loggerheads with the BJP at
the Centre, but never opposed Nitishs
initiatives in Bihar. The coalition gov-
ernment could have resolved differences
if the two ruling parties had trust. The
break-up shows the state of politics in
the country todaypure opportunism.
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 a blank to fill

hibernati
ashis nandy The sly interplay between idealism and ideology keeps excess at bay.
A political psychologist, hatred that leaves isolated, targeted individuals meekly facing a
he is one of Indias
foremost philosophers

16 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 i
dealism and ideology come to
us naturally, when we are young.
most of us do not have to strug-
gle to acquire them; we are eased
into them by our early life experiences
and our significant others. as we pass
through childhood and adolescence,
we reconfigure the moral sensitivity
that comes from identification with
parents, peer groups, religious and
political leaders, and from heroic
figures we have read or heard about.
Out of that emerges forms of idealism
and ideology that we can call our own.
Obviously, i am not talking here of the
idealism associated with philosophi-
cal schools such as Neoplatonism or
perennial philosophy in the West or
Buddhism and Vedanta in the east,
nor about ideology as defined by
Photograph: Getty ImaGes

ng idealism
In these times of total politics in Indiacharacterised by a jam-spread of
gargantuan Statethat healthy mutual vigil has been summarily suspended.

21 august 2017 OutlOOk 17

 a b lank to fill
reVOlutiONary Bhagat singh at a lahore prison in 1927 with a Cid officer
Karl Marx and Karl Mannheim. I am using the two concepts
as they are used in everyday life and in political sociology
and political psychology.
The base of idealism is laid once the child crosses the stage
of conventional morality and is able to make increasingly
complex, socially sensitive, moral choices. That change
takes place mostly outside the range of the childs aware-
ness. It is part of normal child development that falls under
the regime of what psychoanalysts call the superego and is
part of what child psychologists Jean Piaget and Lawrence
Kohlberg call normal moral development.
Attempts to find an ideology that demands long-term,
personal commitment comes later, during adolescence. It
can be a more self-conscious, intellectual
search. One usually knows when one is
looking for an appropriate ideology for
personal use and can give reasons for ones
choice. But such reasons can be misleading.
For, the choice can be shaped by deeper
forces within one, to which one has no clue.
An ideology can be a defensive manoeuvre
to find certitudes, to keep at bay deeper
uncertainties and insecurities; it can be
constrained by the moral sensitivity and
idealism one has grown up with. It can even
be something as predictable as a disem-
powered, marginalised man opting for a
hyper-masculine ideology to feel vicariou-
sly powerful and potent.
Being a more self-conscious process, one
can control ones allegiance to an ideology.
18 OutlOOk 21 august 2017
lOkNayak JayaprakashNarayan addres
One can embrace an ideology with unbending passion or
with some detachment, so as to use it as an instrument of
political power, social status, academic respectability or
even as a handy, post-facto self-justification for all kinds of
Satanismfrom organising or presiding over a full-fledged
genocide to running a free-for-all kleptocracy.
Ideology is also a time-tested way of discrediting ideal-
ism as an irresponsible, naive, romantic response to real-
life political and social issues. This is often so effective
that many learn to package their idealism in the language
of ideology to deflect damaging criticisms. If that does not
work, you can deploy an ideology to discredit a trouble-
some idealism, however impressive or lofty, by calling it a
hidden counter-ideology with a built-in
political strategy. No wonder, many insist
that, as adults, we should be able to rise
above idealism and ideology and to use
both in public life as political technologies
at opportune moments.
However, there is also something in these
two concepts that is intensely seductive, if
not fatally attractive. Even those who lead
an obscenely successful, high-cholesterol,
calorie-counting life love to talk of fits of
idealism and ideology through which they
have passed. I have heard veteran politi-
cians and successful business tycoons
proudly saying how naive and idealistic
they once were, till experience taught them
to be tough, shrewd and cynical. Perhaps
they want to convey that they too had an
 ht ht

sing a rally in delhis ramlila Ground in 1975 their liNe Naxal leaders Charu majumdar and kanu sanyal

innocent, lovable, moral self, till they were forced to disown
it to pursue a more realistic dream. Had he been young, G.D.
Birla once said, he too would have joined the Naxalites.
Fortunately, those were not the days of UPA-II or BJP.
Otherwise, Birla would have kept the company of the 6,000
villagers in Tamil Nadu, fighting cases of sedition slapped
on them for opposing the building of a nuclear reactor in
their village. Their leader Udayakumar, a peace researcher,
has 101 cases against him. The villages are still trying to find
out what sedition is and why, if the reactor is such a safe and
beautiful thing, it cannot be built in pla-
ces where the powerful and the rich stay.
of survival on the other, Deng was merely revealing his
priorities as a practising politician.
In Indian public life, doing politics has become a term of
abuse. Yet, the ability and the freedom to do politics is the
ultimate sign of life in a democracy. Democratic politics is
not only the right to vote but also to organise and seek votes
in the name of a party or movement of ones choice. North
Korea regularly holds elections and its dynastic rulers
regularly win these elections, getting more than 90 per cent
votes. Nobody has accused the country of being a democracy.
Democracies begin to die when nor-
mal, open interplay amongst idealism,
ideology and open politics stops and

i
DEALISM and ideology are cous-
ins. In normal times, they check
each others excesses. But, these
are not normal times in India. As
in the Mahabharata, these cousins live
in a dysfunctional family. They work
together only when under attack from
politics. The job of politics is to dissolve
idealism, often in the name of ideology,
and to subvert ideology, usually in the
name of political realism. I can find no
better example of this than a statement
of Deng Xiaoping who, I am told, once
claimed, The West builds capitalism,
for the sake of building capitalism. We
build capitalism to build socialism.
Faced with a clash between ideology and
idealism on the one side, and the politics
Politics dissolves
idealism in the name of
ideology, and subverts
ideology in the name of
political realism. as
deng Xiaoping said,
the West builds
capitalism for capitalism.
We build capitalism
to build socialism.
total politics takes over. Such politics
has four components. First, everything
is reduced to politics and politics
intrudes into everything. Once, caste-
and religion-based politics and dynastic
politics were cases of primordial ties
trespassing into democratic politics.
Now they are part of normal politics. If
you think they are parts of an unavoid-
able phase in a highly diverse, unequal
society where political ideologies do not
have much play, there is, for your enter-
tainment, university politics (which
subsumes student politics, politics of
college admissions and appointment of
teachers and vice-chancellors, and poli-
tics of curricula); politics of science and
science-bureaucrats; politics of sports

21 august 2017 OutlOOk 19

 a b lank to fill

and cinema; and, cutting across some of these domains,
awards politics (which was always seen as part of normal
politics till it produced an unworthy progeny called politics
of returning awards, which was quickly dubbed, officially, as
nasty, anti-national, conspiratorial politics). Now, to this long
list you could add a new, colourful entrantthe politics of
post-retirement benefits.
In almost all such forms of politics, the key player has
been the Indian state. Yet, no one has affirmed that the
Indian state is getting overloaded. Not even the ones who
spend sleepless nights on Indias overloaded judiciary; nor
the ones who wonder why our terribly busy prime minister
did not find time in two years to comment on the countrys
newly popular sportlynching.
gly face the state alonewith no autonomous institution,
community or movement left to intervene between the
two. The judiciary, one of the few checks on the state,
tends to be inaccessible to ordinary citizens due to its cos-
tly, time-consuming ways. And the various commissions
supposed to protect the human rights of different sec-
torsminorities, women, scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes, the pressare often ineffective or, as in the case of
vigilance, not in place. Over time, (1) the plurality of voices
itself becomes a casualty of high-pitched, divisive politics;
(2) the very existence of opposition in the polity is made
to look like a conspiracy against the ruling regime and the
nation-state and (3) the reigning cabal of decision-makers,
small to begin with, shrinks further.
Fourth, the waves of what Ziauddin Sardar, philoso-

s
EcOND, the technology of political warfare and poli- pher and historian of science and of Islamic thought, calls
tical mobilisation has been changing dramatically in post-normal times has already reached the shores of India.
India in recent times. As populist rhetoric, clever use This requires, Sardar believes, a different set of beliefs,
of media, especially social media, and smart sloga- which even many well-meaning Indians will find difficult
neering have acquired salience in political campaigns, we to gulp: Post-normal times demand...that we abandon the
have failed to notice that our politicians have rediscovered ideas of control and management, and rethink the cher-
an important truth, which clever demagogues and propa- ished notions of progress, modernisation and efficiency. The
ganda chiefs have always known: hatred way forward must be based on virtues
goes much farther than positive senti- of humility, modesty and accounta-
ments in politics, particularly when you bility, the indispensable requirement
are trying to mobilise people or when of living with uncertainty, complexity
the state faces a crisis of governance. and ignorance. We will have to imagine
Hatred defines our enemies. And that ourselves out of post-normal times and
definition is always sharper than that into a new age of normalcywith an
of our allies. That is why all national- ethical compass and a broad spectrum
isms, especially if they are state-cen- of imaginations from the rich diversity
tric, tend to be hate-based. The only of human cultures.
exceptions are those nationalisms If I may add a post-script to this
that defy the conventional meaning of challenging statement, we are talking
nationalism and use it as a synonym of a post-normal culture of public life in
of patriotism, a much older word that which the idea of normality no longer
refers to a natural human sentiment applies to the present; it is exiled to the
called territoriality. Unlike national- past, often distant past, or to the future,
ism, it is not an ideology. It is easier to often an undefined future or a refur-
mobilise people against enemies than bished past-as-the-future. (This is not
for friends; people usually know better Gandhis Ramarajya, which is a power-
what they hate than what they love. A ful critique of the present; it is a version
dystopia can quickly produce a mono- the new, post-normal of Ramarajya that is complicit with the
lithic wall of public opinion deaf to all present and endorses it uncritically.)
isolated voices of sanity. life abolishes normal to The present, thus, has to be renegoti-
third, statist nationalism invariably ated through this dark reality and read
seeks a one-to-one relationship with another realm. that as a transitory, doomed state of affairs
the individual citizen. It suspects all waiting for a decent burial. In these
communities and has an instrumental realm is not gandhis times, ordinary decency, idealism of any
view of all religions, sects, castes as well kind, political sagacity and vision, even
as other non-state actorstrade unions, ramrajya, which is a the distinctive spiritual contents of var-
NGOs, students unions, citizens move- ious religious faiths will have to survive
ments and professional bodiesthat
powerful critique of the in small oases-like locales.
can become an alternative means of present; but a ramrajya As for the larger public sphere, unlike
mobilisation and alternative source of in the last days of the Roman Empire,
power. At least on this issue there now that is complicit which reportedly survived by ensuring
seems to be a perfect consensus among its citizens a steady supply of bread
all political parties in an otherwise with the present and and circus, Indians will have to be sat-
chaotic, bitterly divided polity. isfied with an endless supply of circus
Individual citizens, thus, increasin- endorses it uncritically. and circus. O

20 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 ideal clash

on pARAllel,
Gandhijis vision of Indiaa moral, secular version of village life and economywas the opposite

i
t is possible to
argue that the Indian
national movement
has been the
greatest achievement of
the Indian people. Like all
revolutionary movements
irfan habib it had modest beginnings,
One of Indias top
historians, he teaches
at Aligarh Muslim
traceable in complaints
University against particular policies
and measures of the
British government, without yet any notion
of direct opposition to that government, let
alone any vision of what India would be, if
or when the colonial rule was to end.
By the end of the century, Indian nationalists had pro-
duced brilliant critiques of British rule. Dadabhai Naoroji,
the Grand Old Man of Indian nationalism, published his
Poverty and UnBritish rule in India (1901), a collection of his
writings of over some 30 years. R.C. Dutt brought out his
two volumes of the Economic History of British Rule in India
(1901 and 1903), and G. Subramaniya Iyer his Economic
Aspects of British Rule (1903), all devastatingly critical
of British rule, of the tribute Britain exacted, its heavy
taxation, and its forcible capture of the Indian market. But
beyond calling for certain specific measures of reform,
they could counterpose no large vision of a liberated India.
Indeed, R.C. Dutt disowned any such intention, when he
wrote, for example, in his preface to his first volume of the
Economic History of British Rule: The people of India are
not fond of sudden changes and revolutions. They do not
ask for new constitutions, issuing like armed Minervas from
the heads of legislative Jupiters. They prefer to work on
lines which have already been laid down. It almost seemed
that what was desired was an improved or reformed British
rule with larger Indian collaboration. It is true that that
Illustrations by sajIth kumar

22 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

shining pAths
of Nehrus ideals of socialism, democracy and science. Both made compromises in their stands.

great leader of the militant nationalists, Bal Gangadhar

Tilak, already spoke of Swaraj or self-rule, but he also held
that what India would be like under Swaraj would be for
Indians to decide when they actually possessed it. At least,
this is what he held in respect of social reform, over which
he denied the right of foreign rulers to legislate.
In this background, Mahatma Gandhis attempt, while
on voyage from England to South Africa in 1909, to write a
tract especially devoted to what India should be like after
attaining Swaraj, was a remarkable enterprise. This was his
Hind Swaraj, whose text is in the form of a dialogue between
the Editor (Gandhiji himself ) and an imaginary Reader.
It is natural that Gandhijis leadership of South African
Indians struggle for their rights should have raised in his
mind the question whether the principles of the mode of
struggle he had adopted in South Africa would apply also
to India. But the more important question for him was
practically unrelated to South Africa: what was India to be
like once its national struggle conducted by these methods
was successful and swaraj or self-rule was attained? To
Gandhiji, method and object were inter-connected. If the
violent group succeeded by their methods, they would apply
the same methods of force against their own people upon
seizing power. On the other hand, the petitioning procliv-
ities of the Moderates were not going to yield results, since
such pleas were not going to affect British rulers. Passive
resistance or Satyagraha (a then recent designation of it by
Gandhiji), namely, a peaceful defiance of laws, was accord-
ingly the only permissible mode of struggle, which was
moreover bound to be successful once the masses joined it,
at the call of leaders who observed moral rectitude (chast-
ity). He now boldly raised the question of what should
come after success was attained through such means.
Gandhiji rejected in toto leading Indian nationalists adm-
iration for constitutional evolution and the development of
India into an industrialised country: There was no room, he
proclaimed, for English rule without the Englishman. He
went on to draw a lurid picture of the civilisation and nature
of current institutions of England, denouncing its parliamen-
tary system and its society and culture, especially its indus-
trial order. Apparently, the influence of Leo Tolstoy and John
Ruskin, whom he had avidly read in South Africa, was at work
here. In direct opposition to the Moderates (and most Ext-
remists), he protested against the destructive effects of the
railways on the social-economic landscape, and against the

21 august 2017 OutlOOk 23

 i deal clas h
Photographs: Getty ImaGes
their position in traditional society.
Finally, there is no place for democr-
acy in this vision, especially its
electoral from. He had condemned
Parliament in Britain; so there was no
question of installing anything like it
in India. There is no word, therefore,
about adult suffrage or womens right
to vote. Apparently, elevated leaders
were to get things done through per-
suasion. He even seems to have played
with the idea of letting the English rule
over India, once they agreed not to exp-
loit it or ill-treat Indians, and agreed
also to listen to good advice!

t
HE Gujarati version of the text
was published in South Africa
in 1909 and an English transla-
tion, made by Gandhiji himself,
was issued there in 1910. When Gopal
Krishna Gokhale, the famous moderate
leader, whom Gandhiji regarded as his
mentor, came to South Africa in 1912
to give his support to the cause of the
Indian community there, and read the
book, he could not but dismiss it as so
worLdLy yogI Leo tolstoy in his study. gandhi read crude and hastily conceived, and even sought its withdra-
him avidly and corresponded with him while in S. Africa wal. This did not happen; and the first Indian edition of the
English version of Hind Swaraj came out in 1919 and a Hindi
impact of the practices he attributed to lawyers and doctors one in 1921. (A British ban on it was apparently not lifted
on the culture and health of India. To him, indeed, pre-mod- until 1938). Gandhiji continued to maintain till his very
ern India had one of the finest civilisations in the world, so late years that he stood by what he had said in Hind Swaraj,
that India, as so many writers have shown, has nothing to though in 1933 he admitted that he had discarded many
learn from anybody else. things and learnt many new things since its writing.
Some of his statements in this vein may please our present Gandhiji could, perhaps, partly overlook the gulf between
RSS pracharaks. But he also firmly held that India, as a the idealisation of India in Hind Swaraj and the reality on
nation, had nothing to do with any single religion, and so all the ground because of the very fact that the intermediate
religious communities must live in unity. Hindus were ground between the texts ideal and the current reality was
not to grudge any special concessions given to Muslims. so vast. Within that ground, Gandhiji took up grievances of
But his main concerns lay elsewhere. large sections of the poor and fought
In the India of his vision there would for them under the banner of ahimsa.
be no machinery, but only work done nehrus Fundamental But he was thereby himself rousing
with simple instruments; no modern masses whose actual aspirations lay
(especially English) education, but Rights resolution in the in quite a different direction than the
traditional village schools; and villages moral heights to which he wished to lift
with their simple ways of life, not the Karachi Congress was them. Increasingly, as they entered the
crowded towns with their evil ways. No struggle, it was their material expecta-
social reform apparently was neces- an antithesis of tions that they wished to see satisfied
sary. In two sentences Gandhiji comes in a free India, rather than the puritan
very near to even approving the caste gandhijis vision society, celebrating its poverty, that
system, set against the modern cult of Gandhiji loved to project.
equality: We have had, he claimed,
universal suffrage, state It is this gap between Gandhijis
no system of life-corroding competi- control of industry etc. ideal and the masses aspirations that
tion. Each followed his own occupation provided space for Jawaharlal Nehrus
or trade, and charged a regulation wage. gandhiji accepted it alternative vision. Nehru had always
Nor is there a word against the oppres- had a special relationship with Gandh-
sion that women suffered in India (sati, unconditionally and iji. From the beginning of his politi-
seclusion, ill-treatment of widows), but cal careercertainly, from 1920he
rather only commendatory words for moved it himself. remained steadfast on Gandhijis side

24 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 Go outside
& explore

Jammu
Tourism
Be it the multi-hued flags representing the temples and shrines in the city,
the tantalizing aromas that lift and diffuse from its spectacular cuisine or
even the snow capped mountains that promise adventure and action, this
City of Temples has something to offer to everyone.

A land of grand ancient temples and beautiful palaces, Jammu is the

winter capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Nestled against the
backdrop of the snow-capped Pir Panjal Mountains, the region of Jammu
constitutes the southernmost unit of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. It
forms part of the transition between the Himalayan range in the north and
the dusty plains of Punjab in the south. Between these two extremities lie
a series of scrub-covered hills, forested mountain ranges and river valleys,
encompassing several microclimatic regions that extend from Kishtawar
in the north-east to Akhnoor in the south-west, and the historic town of
Poonch in the north-west to the borders of Kangra (H P) in the south-
east. The Shivalik hills cut across the area from the east to the west while
the rivers Ravi, Tawi and Chenab cut their way through the region.

www.jktourism.org
 i deal clas h
ShAkIng the worLd V.I. Lenin and his audience in
Moscow. For nehru, he was a redeemer of the poor.
in all the movements Gandhiji led; and, but for a passing
misunderstanding in 1928, their affection for each other
remained seemingly unimpaired. Nehrus deep admiration
for Gandhiji was often expressed in his Glimpses of World
History, where he set him by the side of Lenin as the red-
eemer of the poor. Yet in a profound sense, Nehru was, by
orientation, an irreconcilable critic of Gandhijis worldview,
and the vision for India that he presented from the late
1920s onwards, especially in his Glimpses of World History,
published in 1934, and An Autobiography, published in 1936,
along with his articles, speeches and addresses, was totally
opposite to that of Gandhiji.
t
O begin with, his starting point was markedly
different. Gandhiji had appealed again and again to
dharma, which he himself rendered in his trans-
lation uniformly as religion, but according to
context could mean Hinduism, morality or even imagined
or established custom. For Nehru, reason, not religion, was
the starting point. He disowned all belief in God or afterlife,
going so far as to say that if to be atheist meant a person
who refuses to make reason subservient to faith, then he
wished the more we have of them (atheists) the better.
Contrary to Gandhiji, who had given a special status to India
and its ancient culture, Nehru felt disturbed about ones
commitment to only ones own nation, since nations tend
to divide mankind into separate units. He felt that the use
of nationalism could be justified only when one was fighting
the ruling colonial power, but not in other circumstances.
Whereas Gandhiji had been influenced by Tolstoy and
26 OutlOOk 21 august 2017
Ruskin from the West, Nehrus
sources of inspiration were obvi-
ously Marx, Lenin and socialism.
Unlike Gandhiji, therefore, his
vision could not accommodate
Indias traditional social order.
He openly espoused socialism,
about which he spoke even in
his presidential address to the
Congress in December 1930. He
saw India as an industrialised
country, but without capitalism,
and he wished India to get rid of
its zamindars or landlords. Unlike
Gandhiji, he had no use for Indias
traditional education but wished
science to be cultivated as widely
as possible. He often underlined
the need for a scientific spirit.
Finally, as against Gandhijis
denunciation of parliamentary
democracy, he was steadfast in
upholding the principle of adult
suffrage and a democratic society.
While Gandhiji had been silent
on the matter, Nehru felt that
economic development could not
be left to market forces, but had
to be guided by the state, through
planning, an idea obviously influ-
enced by the system of planning
instituted in the Soviet Union.
Nehru stressed in his Auto-
biography that the Congress
party, committed essentially to
the objective of independence,
could not be expected to adopt a
socialist programme. However, it
needed to present some picture
of what India would be when free,
and, therefore, besides a constitutional scheme (like the
Motilal Nehru Report, 1928), it had also to present a plat-
form outlining the political, economic and social measures
that would be undertaken in Free India. Such a document
(the Fundamental Rights resolution) Nehru drew up for
the Karachi session of the Congress (March 29-31, 1931).
This provided for adult suffrage, equality between men and
women, absence of discrimination on the basis of caste, and
the states neutrality in regard to all religions. In agrarian
matters, it did not call for the abolition of zamindari, but for
substantial rent reduction. Similarly, capitalism was not to
be abolished, but the State shall own or control key indus-
tries and services, mineral resources, railways, waterways,
shipping and other means of public transport. True, as
Nehru insists in his Autobiography, this was not a socialist
programme and could conceivably be carried out by a cap-
italist state. It was, however, in a large part an antithesis
of Gandhijis own vision for India. Gandhijis unconditional
acceptance of it, so that he moved the Fundamental Rights
resolution himself at Karachi, was regarded by the liberal
 i deal clas h

politician Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru as a subsequent statements.

heavy price [paid by Gandhiji] for the
allegiance of Jawaharlal. But the reality,
perhaps, was that Gandhiji too realised
that after the massive participation of the
poorer classes in the Civil Disobedience
Movement in 1930-31, they were entitled
to expect that free India, for which they
had been called to battle, would give them
some tangible relief in material life: and
for this purpose, the Karachi resolution
provided the necessary text for a general
programme of the Congress.
If Gandhiji made a concession here, it
does not mean that he himself was really
converted to it. True, some things that
the Hind Swaraj had ignored, such as
the oppression of untouchables and the
maltreatment of women in traditional
Indian society, now figured greatly in
Gandhijis thought and action. But the
glorification of the village and mistrust
of machine and modern science remained.
Karl Marxs writings shaped
Nehrus ideas of socialism
attained under a democratic system.
Gandhijis assassination on January 30, 1948, by Nathu-
On the other hand, it can be argued
from a reading of Nehrus Discovery of
India (1945) that some important conces-
sions now came from Nehru himself. In
this book, despite the objective spirit it
maintains over much of its length, there
is a new celebration of India as a nation.
We can never forget the ideals that have
moved our race, exclaims Nehru here
an echo of Hind Swaraj? Further, we are
now told that even religions have helped
greatly in the development of humanity.
So, are we back to Gandhijis dharma?
Nehru now could see some logic also in
the theory of reincarnation and appre-
ciate to some extent the conception of
monism! Yet, despite these concessions
to the realms of race and spirit, Discovery
of India reveals no other hints of depar-
tures from Nehrus personal commit-
ment to a socialist India in the future,

T
hIS can be seen in his note on his Constructive ram Godse and his backers led Nehru to exclaim, the light
Programme, prepared in 1941. In it communal unity, has gone out of our eyes. Gandhiji left no successor to rea-
already emphasised in Hind Swaraj, is given primacy. lly pursue his vision. One is reminded of Nehrus own remark
The removal of disabilities of depressed castes and of an earlier time that Gandhiji himself tended to exercise
womens uplift are now also major issues. Otherwise, there a psychic coercion...which reduces many of his followers to
are no indications of any departure from Hind Swaraj. While a state of mental pulp. This seemingly cruel remark turned
he acknowledged the existence of the gulf between the rich out to be a far-sighted one: once he fell to the assassins gun,
and the hungry millions, there is no concession to any shade there were few who could creatively carry on his cause.
of socialism or land reform. I adhere, he firmly declares, During the 17 years (1947-64) that Jawaharlal led this
to my doctrine of trusteeship [entrusted to mill-owners country as prime minister, he at last obtained Congresss
and landlords over their workers and peasants] in spite of acceptance of the goal of a socialistic pattern of society
the ridicule that has been poured upon it. In a statement in (Avadi session, 1955). In 1958, in a note titled the Basic
1947, Gandhiji had conceded that machine power can make a Approach, he reiterated his commitment to both democ-
valuable contribution towards economic progress, and it was racy and socialism, calling them means to an end, not the
just a few capitalists [who] have employed machine-power end itself. There came about the construction of the public
regardless of the interests of sector, some degree of agrarian reform,
the common man. Yet, even promotion of scientific education and
after such an observation, he a very english loot the apparatus of planning. Despite
would invite those very capi- The drain of wealth from India to England inadequate resources, much advance
talists to be custodians of the gathered pace after 1757, when the East India was made, though it is not the purpose
interests of their labourers. Company acquired immense political power. The here to weigh the degree of success
Nor was there any question wealth extorted from Indian rulers amounted to 6 actually attained.
of handing over industries million between 1758 and 1765. What is important for us is to realise
to the state, for that would The Government of India had to that both Gandhiji and Nehru had
be socialism. Nehru says in make huge payouts to England, known ideals which were in content so very
as Home Charges. An estimate puts
his Autobiography that he different, yet had this in common:
it at 35 million annually.
had hoped he could influ- a sincere urge to serve the poor
While this huge drain ruined Indias
ence Gandhiji to move in a and the down-trodden of this
economy, it resulted in huge investments
socialist direction, but he country, without much regard
in Britains agriculture and industry after
now realised that there are 1750 and were partially responsible for for the interests of the rich and
basic differences between an agricultural revolution and the powerful. It is surely the trag-
Gandhijis ideals and the Industrial Revolution after 1750. edy, not of these two men, but
socialist objective. Indeed, In addition, the huge public debt of our nation, that we are today
there was no recognisable undertaken by the government and its seemingly bereft of any ideal, amidst
concession given to socialist interest meant a spiralling, regressive our worship of the corporate sector
sentiments in Gandhijis tax burden on Indians and the narrowest nationalism. O

28 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 honest Corp

ideals know
no boundary
Any business has a direct effect on the social condition. In a society such as
ours, where the divide between the rich and the poor is gigantic, it becomes the
responsibility of entrepreneurs to act ethically and give back in some way.

T
heres a very simple question that lies at the heart of every
decision that a business will have to take. If that were the talis-
man that one always wore, well be adding tremendous value to
the lives of people and, quite naturally, enhancing the countrys
economic prosperity. By extension, we will, as a business, also grow in
finance and in peoples estimation. The question is merely this: Would
my action enhance respect for my company and for me in the society?
n. r. This is, I believe, at the heart of the idealism of capitalism. At this stage
narayana in the history of India when capitalism is new, when we see a lot of pov-
Murthy erty around us, when 700 to 800 million Indians live with hardly two
The writer is the
co-founder of Infosys meals a day, it is incumbent on every leader of capitalism to demonstrate
that idealism. I believe that entrepreneurship is the only instrument in
our hands to create jobs and put income into the hands of people and
make them economically viable.
Many of us may recollect a time when ent compassionate capitalismfair, decent, honest
repreneurship and business people were not actions in creating wealth and jobs.
looked upon in India in the same positive way Of course, even today, there are firms with lots
as they are now. By and large, you could say of governance deficits or with the kind of boards
businessmen have been decent people. Even that you may not want. Again, they are the
in the past, like it is today, it was always a small exceptions. In India, we have seen a transfor
percentage of businessmen who created a bad mation towards better governance ever since
name for businesses by their action. Such peo economic reforms in 1991. First, the economic
ple create an environment where being wealthy reforms removed a lot of hassles for Indian
is frowned upon. But poverty is not a virtue businessmen and, therefore, the need to grease
and Leftism is not the way forward. We have to the palms of politicians and bureaucrats greatly
embrace whatever instrument we have to create reduced. Second, lots of foreign capital started
more and more jobs with better and better inc flowing into India and these were people whod
ome. That, whether we like it or not, is possible seen wellgoverned companies across the world.
only through entrepreneurship. And, entrepre If Indian companies aim to be world class today,
neurship will thrive only in an environment of they must realise that not embracing good gov

32 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 and debate issues and come out with
their honest opinion, the maxim being
you can disagree with me as long as
you are not disagreeable.
Around the time we were starting
out in 1981, J.R.D. Tata was a great
role model for all of us. I dont know
if there are too many examples in
India of a company built by a group of
youngsters from middleclass families
(total outsiders to the business world)
that have run this marathon as long as
Infosys has (its been 36 years). But I
do think that there are several compa
nies in the making. Id rather not name
anybody specifically because I dont
want others to think that I have forgot
ten them. But I can definitely say that
there are several such examples on the
horizon of up and coming companies
which have embraced the principle
that Infosys demonstrated.
My view has always been that the
people of this generation are smarter
than the earlier generation. They have
better values and are more adventur
ous. The very fact that the world has
made such tremendous progress is a
validation of this belief. The current
entrepreneurs are products of a cer
tain set of forces that are determining
the equilibrium in the market place. At
least I will not criticise them for any of
the stance that they may have shown.
Illustration by sajIth kumar As a generation, their value system is
better than our value system.
ernance will result in investments not Generally, I find that I am a As we move forward over the next
coming, their stock not being traded 100200 years, Im sure, you will see
well, and the market cap not improv very emotional person. A lot of an Indian way of doing business taking
ing. Thirdly, the Indian businessman shape. After all its just 70 years since
realised the power of price to earnings my decisions are based on Independence. We were not in control
(PE) ratio which, till 1991, he hadnt idealism and probably, I of our destiny for long. Therefore, it
known as well as he does today. The is not fair to say that Indians have not
fact is that if I improve my earnings by should have listened to them achieved as much as the Germans
just one rupee through better cost con have or the Americans or the Japa
trol, better management of finance and (former colleagues who had nese. Theyve all been in business for
better processes, then my own wealth advised him to carry on). much longer. So, a culture like ours
will improve by 10 to 20 rupees. will take probably long to regain its
For quite a few years now, I have not n.r. narayana Murthy own selfconfidence, and to become as
served on the board of any major com on quitting as Infosys chairman in 2014, confident as some of the western coun
pany in India other than Infosys. So, in a television interview tries. I may not see it in my life, but Im
thats the only large company board I sure my great grandchildren will see an
can speak of. And, I can guarantee you India which you and I wish for.
that till October 2014, when the founders voluntarily left the But heres where compassionate or idealistic capitalism
institution, the board of Infosys went deep into every issue. comes in again. Ive always believed that a stable, progres
It asked the question: will this decision of ours enhance sive, harmonious and peaceful society is one where the rich,
respect for Infosys, will this decision enhance respect for us, the powerful and the elite demonstrate selfrestraint. Japan
the board members, and will this decision enhance respect is a good example. Most of Europe is a good example. Only
for our employees in the eyes of society. We created an envi in the US and in some cases, in India have business leaders
ronment where every individual was encouraged to discuss taken the ratio of the lowest salary to the highest salary to

21 august 2017 OutlOOk 33

 honest Corp

tata Central archives

There are certain areas where idealism is

absolutely essential. They are in your values
which are timeinvariant and contextinvari
ant. What are values? Values form a protocol
for behaviour among individuals in a commu
nity to enhance trust in each other. So, there
is nothing like a particular set of values for
business, another set of values for social in
teraction and a third in politics and a fourth at
home. The universal values of honesty, integ
rity, fairness, decency, openness to learn from
others, tolerance for other views and practices,
Namas BhojaNI hard work, and transparency transcend geog
To The Top (From left) Narayana Murthy on a ladder, J.r.D. Tata raphies, religions, castes and even eras.
Let me give you an example. In 1995, we, at
an unbelievable level. But in most of Europe and in Japan, Infosys, could not continue our contract with a Fortune 10
theres a certain selfrestraint that is working. If people get corporation due to lower prices demanded by the custo
the feeling that their leaders are accruing to themselves a mer. Had we accepted this customers terms, we would have
disproportionate part of the companys result, theres going to do the same for other customers too, which meant we
to be anger and dissatisfaction. would not have enough money to invest in training, quality,
Its the leaders of capitalism who have to pay heed to the productivity, technology, better buildings and better salaries.
worrying signals that are showing up around us a couple Hence, we took the tough decision to discontinue working
of decades after the economic reforms because the poor with that customer. But, within 48 hours, T.V. Mohandas
can suffer only so much. Hunger knows no law. So, if we Pai, Nandan Nilekani and I went to Mumbai to address the
continue to make the poor people in the society suffer, at analysts. And we told them that we had lost this important
some point of time they will say enough is enough. We have customer who contributed 25 percent of our revenue. We
to take preemptive action because also presented our plan to replace that
we have the power and we have the revenue in the next 3 years. The stock
money. Already, there are refugees At twenty, if you are not an price did not go down. It went up.
rushing into various European coun So, if you are honest and level with
tries. At some stage, millions of poor idealist, then you dont have a your investors, they are likely to excuse
in India may also simply take over your mistakes. Investors understand
our swanky corporate headquarters, heart. And if you continue that every business will have ups and
our big cars and our huge mansions. being an idealist at forty, then downs, but what they want you to do
I will not blame them because we are is to be honest with them. If you try to
not making efforts to improve the you dont have a brain. hoodwink your shareholders, you will
lives of the poor as much as we can. eventually lose. That is the most impor
We are stuffing our pockets as if there sudha Murthy tant lesson I have learnt in business. O
is no tomorrow. in her novel, House of Cards as told to Ajay sukumaran

34 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 Rising
Jharkhand
EmpowEring
and Employing
RURAL JHARKHAND
J
unaid Kamal Ahmad, the Director
of the World Bank in India, might
not have even thought that his
visit to tribal-dominated
Jharkhand could present before
his eyes live examples of rural
women empowerment and self-employ-
ment, courtesy the innovative planning
and executional approach of the State
government. That he visited various
tribal districts in the State and was all
praise for the efforts is now an oft-quoted
news.
Jharkhand might arguably be the most
backward region of the entire Indian
sub-continent but the way Raghubar
Dass government, through its various
programs, including the Jharkhand State
Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS),
has embarked on a mission to empower
rural women and enhance the prospects
Government is taking the
services of Sakhi Mandals in
implementation of various
schemes like toilet
construction, open defecation
free(ODF) campaign and
awareness initiatives
strengthening Panchayati raj.
RaghubaR Das
Honble Chief Minister, Jharkhand
36 OutlOOk 21 August 2017
By Aziz Haider
of their livelihood while still staying in
the villages, is not only praiseworthy but
could also serve as an example to be
followed.
Describing the efforts,Paritosh
Upadhyaya the CEO, JSLPS cum
Special Secretary, Rural Development
says: Under rural department,
through JSLPS, we are implementing
various schemes which are aimed at re-
ducing or eliminating rural poverty and
at the same time empowering rural
women to take up gainful livelihood ac-
tivities. The main program we are imple-
menting is the National Rural Livelihood
Mission (NRLM) and through this we
are promoting community institutions
of poor, for the poor. And through these
community livelihood missions, we are
targeting rural households all across
Jharkhand.
Elaborating further, Paritosh says:
We are building their capacities, we are
training them to take up gainful liveli-
hood activities and also linking them to
financial institutions, mostly banks, to
avail credit, which is prerequisite for any
economic activity.
The programs are actually people led
programs and the Government has gone
a step ahead by even eliminating the
NGOs and middle-men from the execu-
tion process. The community members
are being directly trained with an aim to
create a cadre of trained community
professionals, who will eventually hand-
hold their neighbours and household
members.
Tells Paritosh: In the initial phase we
have our own professional team who are
placed at cluster level, block level and
district level, but subsequently we are
also grooming and nurturing these
community institutions through trained
community professionals, and be it so-
cial mobilization, financial inclusion or
even livelihood promotion, all these ac-
tivities are being taken care of by the
cadres only. These community profes-
sionals have been provided quality
technical inputs and then they are dis-
seminating and sharing the knowledge
with community members.
Giving further details, Program
Manager with the Society Kumar Vikash
says that the women self-help groups so
created have been given the name Sakhi
Mandal. A group of ten to fifteen
women from the same socio-economic
background, and from the same village,
are grouped to form a Sakhi Mandal.
While some funding is done by the so-
ciety, and their micro credit plan ana-
lysed, they are passed on to banks for
credit linkages so as to meet their credit
needs.
Various cadres are being promoted,
all of whom have their own success
stories. One such cadre is Pashu Sakhi
which seeks to promote livestock (goat/
pig/poultry) rearing as a source of

livelihood for rural poor especially
women. Pashu Sakhi is a practicing goat
rearer from the community (mostly an
SHG member) who is promoted as para
veterinary worker in the villages to give
services to the goat rearing farmers
from within their villages for better up-
keep of their livestock. This has helped
in reducing the goat mortality rate in
villages where Pashu Sakhis are in oper-
ation. Till now access to on time, low
cost, door-step livestock health care,
first aid and knowledge has been a key
constraint in livestock production,
which has adversely affected poor peo-
ples livelihoods.
Another innovative enterprise by
Sakhi Mandals is the Ajeevika Didis
Towards women empowermenT
Caf. Through Ajeevika
Didis caf, JSLPS aims at
creating a brand for restau-
rants, dhabas and catering in
the form of an enterprise run
by women entrepreneurs of
Sakhi Mandals, thereby not
only creating a chain of
quality eateries all across
Jharkhand, but at the same
time also involving a team of
women entrepreneurs from
each village, cluster, block or
district, to create high income business
mode. Ajeevika Didis caf would be a
community owned and managed brand
aimed at providing livelihood to women
entrepreneurs in Jharkhand. It will be a
for-profit venture. Through these cafes,
the people can also avail traditional,
home-made, and healthy food away
from their homes.Almost 40 Ajeevika
Didi Cafes have already started opera-
tions whare already selling mouthwa-
tering foods. The Chief Secretary has
recently issued instructions to initiate
these caf in all district and administra-
tion offices.
TabletDidi is another innovative
program based on Narendra Modis
Digital India program. Consequently,
the women of rural India who did not
even know how to use mobile phones
are working on Tablets today to seek
information, are also keeping accounts
of others and even playing games and
seeking knowledge through the
Internet. Interestingly, there are more
than 700 women in Jharkhand today
who are working as Tablet Didi, many
of whom didnt know till sometime
back the difference between this elec-
tronic Tablet and the medicinal tablet
that we consume upon falling ill.
Ajivika Krishak Mitra too are out
there telling the poor villagers the latest
techniques related to farming and
training them in their use. Consequent
to these efforts, several rural women
have become self-employed and taken
themselves out of poverty. Whereas
they were unable to make the ends meet
despite farming and working as petty
labours, many of them are now sending
their children to private schools.
Empowerment is the key to poverty
alleviation and Jharkhand realized it far
earlier than most Indian states. This
empowerment is happening through
community institutions in the form of
Self Help Groups (SHGs). Through
nurturing and strengthening these
community institutions and providing
them with relevant training through
professionals, it is possible to make a
significant impact on the rural
community.
Seeds of the good work have already
been sown and the buds in the shape of
results have already started showing!
21 August 2017 OutlOOk 37
 re ligion

Gods
Marital
status
Is celibacy or singleness a prerequisite to seek an ideal world? Its another
matter that marital pleasures are fine for temple deities with their consorts.

s
ex is a natural reality. Marriage is a cultural requirement. And
celibacy is simply an assumption. We have to keep these three
ideas in mind while exploring the mythology of singlehood. In most
mythologies around the world, the sky copulates with the earth to
give rise to all living creatures. The firstborn, usually male, separates the
two, and establishes dominion over the earth. We find this theme in Greek,
Mesopotamian, egyptian, Vedic and even Maori mythology.
DevDutt However, monotheistic mythologies have a Buddhists and Jains did not believe in one
PAttAnAik problem with this theme. For, it suggests that
creation needs two entities, not just the one. So
all-powerful God, but believed in the existence
of multiple gods. So they were atheistic as well
is a bestselling author
of several mythological while polytheistic mythologies are comfortable as polytheistic. Hindus spoke of one God who
books. My Hanuman with the idea of a Father-God and a Mother- manifests as many, but argued whether that
Chalisa is his latest Goddess, monotheistic mythologies have one God was formless (nirguna) or had form
literary work. just one God, who is either neutralised as (saguna), and if the form was male (Shiva,
beyond gender or sexualised as andro- Vishnu) or female (Devi). A formless god
gynous, the great He-She. would not be concerned with sex, reproduction
The dominant monotheistic religionsJuda- or marriage. A god with form could be self-
ism, Christianity and Islamof the world have created (swayambhu) or womb-born (yon-
taken the neutral route, though the singular ija), and that affected his status in the sacred
God they refer to as creator is invariably refe- hierarchy. In the Gita, Krishna declares he is
rred to using masculine pronouns, revealing the origin of all things, and insists, despite his
their patriarchal tilt. In Jewish mythology, masculine form, that he has two wombs (yoni),
God and most of his prophets are male, and the substance and spirit.
prophets have many wives. In Christian mytho- At the heart of the myriad Indic mythologies
logy, sex is declared sin and the son of God is was the tension between the hermit and the
born of a virgin, and chooses to stay single. In householder. The hermit shunned family and
Islamic mythology, the last Prophet has many lived solitary lives in the forest. The househol-
wives, and refers to heaven as a paradise full of der embraced family life. Who was superior? To
virgins. Clearly celibacy, sex and marriage are answer this question, we have to look at history.
major issues in the mythologies of the world. Roughly 2,500 years ago, monastic orders
In India, complex mythologies emerged, such as Buddhism and Jainism began domina-
some polytheistic, some monotheistic, some ting Indian society. The great teachers were
atheistic. These were dynamic, mingling visualised as walking out of their families to
and merging with each other. For example, pursue higher goals. With this, the single status

38 OutlOOk 21 August 2017


became very important, even glamorous. All the Buddhas of
Buddhist mythologies and Tirthankaras of Jain mythologies
are visualised as single monks. However, their single status
is post-marriage. They first have to marry, raise a family,
and then abandon marriage. There are a few exceptions,
such as the Jain sage Neminath who renounces the world
on his wedding day after hearing the cries of the animals
brought for slaughter for the wedding feast.
In ancient times, producing a child was critical. We
hear stories of Agastya and Jaratkaru being tormented by
dreams of their ancestors and being forced to take wives,
and produce children, before pursuing their intellectual
and spiritual goals. More than marriage, producing a child
Illustration by DevDutt PattanaIk
was important, for ensuring the rebirth of dead ancestors.
This was a debt to ancestors (pitr-rin) that had to be repaid
by those who sought liberation (moksha) or isolation
(kaivalya) or oblivion (nirvana).
This tension between hermits and householders can be
seen in the Dharmashastras, as well as in the epics, Rama-
yana and Mahabharata, that reached their final forms
roughly 2,000 years ago. Some students (brahmachari)
chose to become hermits (sanyasi) directly while most were
encouraged to become householder (grihasthi) before
embarking on the forest (vanaprasthi) route.
In Buddhist monasteries (vihara) and Jain monasteries
(vasadi) higher status was given to the unmarried monk
21 August 2017 OutlOOk 39
 r eligion

over the monk who gave up married life. But in Hindu
temples, that started being built on bigger and bigger scales,
from around 1,500 years ago, the deities had consorts and
enjoyed the pleasures of married life. Thus Vishnu had
Shri-devi on his right and Bhu-devi on his left. Shiva had
Parvati on his lap, and Ganga on his head. Grand festi-
vals were held to celebrate the marriage of Meenakshi at
Madurai to Somasundareshwara, and of Tirupati Balaji
to Padmavati. Marriage became the metaphor that bound
kings to clans.
Around 1,000 years ago, Tantra became a dominant
force. Sex became a technology that could be harnessed
for spiritual powers. The point was to
engage in sexual activity but release
semen outside; instead techniques
were created to churn it, empower
it, and force it to move in the reverse
direction (urdhva-retas). These were
ancient esoteric techniques that were
now in full public display. Images of
Buddha especially in eastern parts of
India appeared showing him copulating
with a goddess called Tara. This was the
age that saw a vast amount of Sanskrit
literature talking about chakras and
kundalini and siddhis.
shadeVedic, tantrik, Buddhist, Jain, Sufi. Two worlds
coexisted of the single monk and the married commoner.
Sikh gurus gave great importance to marriage, though, over
time, the idea of Sikh monks who formed the Udasin Akhara
under leadership of Baba Sri Chand.
Bhakti saints were divided into householders and hermits.
And often, the householders spoke of the anguish of family
life and their preference to immerse themselves in God.
Women saints like Akka Mahadevi, Karaikal Ammaiyar and
Meera are imagined as abandoning all traces of family life,
even all traces of femininity. It reveals a shift in attitudes
towards sex. If at one time, sex was seen as necessary for
family and desirable for pleasure
and power, it gradually was seen as
a distraction from higher pursuits.
This is the period when Hanuman
rises to prominence: he is celibate, he
serves Ram, who is a householder, and
Hanuman becomes the patron god of
warrior-ascetics who serve Hindu and
Muslim kings as mercenaries, until they
were disbanded by the British.
Did Buddhist monks also do social
service along with their meditative
practices? One is not sure. But the idea
of singlehood and celibacy for social
service seems to have to come to India

a
new range of ascetics emerged: from Catholic missionaries, especially
the Nath-yogis. They were wild Jesuits who valued education and built
ascetics, who were followers of a millennium ago, schools. In early Christian church, celi-
Matsyendranath and Gorakh- bacy was a form of penance to find God.
nath. In their legends, Gorakhnath lib- tantrik sex became a But in later Christian churn, celibacy
erates Matsyendranath from the land of provided the way to shift focus from
women (Stri-Rajya). It marks the rejec- technology that could family to society. If Indians saw celibate
tion of the tantrik and sexual way, and monks as mystic mendicants and occult
women in general, for in their lore, be harnessed for masters, the arrival of European monks
women were yoginis, sorcerers, who changed all that. Suddenly, the monk
stole the power of the yogis, by forcing spiritual powers. the became the symbol of social service
them to shed semen and produce bab- (seva): one who sees the world as his
ies. While in ancient Buddhist lore, we point was to empower family. It fired the imagination of the
find women being seen as temptresses, Hindu reformers.
who enchant Buddhist sages, in Nath semen by moving it in This perhaps explains the tortured
lore, the temptresses are witches who relationship Mahatma Gandhi had with
must be avoided at all costs. the reverse direction. sex and marriage. And the fact that
Contrast this with the story of Adi Jawaharlal Nehru, C Rajagopalachari
Shankaracharya who lived 1,200 years and Sardar Patel chose not to remarry.
ago. He chose the celibate monastic And the RSS valorised celibacy. And we
life, but was chastised by Ubhaya Bharati, wife of Mandana find the rise of Ramakrishna and Chinmaya missions very
Mishra, for having incomplete knowledge as he had not different from the Vedic mathas of Kanchi, Sringeri and
experienced sexual pleasure. So Shankara uses his tantrik Puri, focussing on religion as well as education.
powers to enter the body of a dead king, Amaru of Kash- In many ways, the Hindu monks and single political
mir, and through him learns about pleasure. Here, he also leaders of India are products of the Hindu Reformation.
encounters the Goddess. Does that mean Kama-shastra They tend to get terribly upset if it is even suggested that
(manual that elaborates on technology of sexual pleasure) their founders were inspired by Jesuit missionaries or the
mingled with Tantra-shastra (occult science that uses sex as glorious Knights Templars of the Crusades, whose courtly
a tool for spiritual power and liberation)? celibate love was directed to only one woman, Notre
The Muslim kings of India embraced Indias positive Dame, Our Lady, embodiment of the Church, who belonged
relationship with sex and saw marriage as part of social res- to another man (God). Of course, in their case, Notre
ponsibility. Kings, both Hindu and Muslim, were expected Dame, was Bharat Mata, or the People of India, depending
to marry many women. They all revered monks of every on party affiliations. O

40 OutlOOk 21 August 2017

 the chosen ones

in the
Singular:
hum ek,
hamare
Shoonya
Call it coincidence or civilisational
acumen, atop mountains of the Indian
political landscape sit single leaders

Illustrations by R. PRasad

by Bhavna Vij-Aurora

t
he profound ways in which modern democracies are infected by
dynasticism, it becomes an intriguing questionis singlehood an
ideal state to be in for those who dedicate their life and work to a
larger cause? even with all his faults, the one who sought to craft
a model life in politics is Gandhi. In the quasi-ascetic prototype he created
and tried to fill, the inner tension is immediately evident: the model strains
towards singlehood; family is an encumbrance. Power naturally creates
vested interests with a stake in continuing that powerwhether through
family or through a parallel group formation ages sitting in high officewith Prime Minister
based around a set of ideas. But dynasticism Narendra Modi perched on top.
flows directly and exclusively from descenda Positive arguments valorising that status are
ncy, like with the royal houses of old, and fairly common. When Yogi Adityanath took
concentrates power within too narrow a office recently, there was no dearth of soulsea
poolan essentially antidemocratic feature. rching on what it connoted in political terms, but
Though it would be bizarre to imagine his single status was extolled as a virtue. Yogi, of
singlehood being in any way prescribed as an course, is not a chance bachelor. The mahant of
ideal for public life, by some stroke of accident, Gorakhnath temple, he is by choice outside the
Indian politics seems suddenly blessed with a field of matrimonylike members of a monastic
whole pantheon of unmarried/single person order. He is single and unencumbered. He can

42 OutlOOk 21 August 2017

 work with more commitment and focus. Most of all, of Haryana, Orissas Naveen Patnaik and Mamata Banerjee.
he has no family for whom he might be tempted to It may be difficult to demonstrate the efficacy of being single
amass wealth through corrupt meansthis was in governance terms, but the politicians themselves unfailin
the refrain of BJP leaders who sought to explain gly allude to it in selfflattering ways as a desirable element in
the curious choice. their resume. The firebrand chief minister of West Bengal
Political corruption, with family enrichment claims in public meetings that she has no time for herself as
the most conspicuous symbol of it, has framed she has dedicated herself to the people of the state. Patnaik
the context in which singlehood comes to be too likes to tell his voters, in a lighter vein, that they will never
held up as an ideal. Coming after the scam have to worry about Congresslike family rule. Two other
tainted UPA, Prime Minister Modi too has chief ministersMehbooba Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir and
found it useful to flaunt his solo status, Rajasthans Vasundhara Rajeare divorced, while Goas
painting it in the colours of ascetic Manohar Parrikar and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar are both
renunciation, offering it as a marker of widowers. Former UP chief minister and Dalit icon Mayawati
his capacity to work with singlemin also takes pride in her single status. She has often proclaimed
ded devotion. Addressing a public rally in her election ralliesI am of low caste, I am unmarried, and
in Himachal Pradesh in April, he said, I am yours. The late J. Jayalalitha of Tamil Nadu was another
Mere liye na koi aage hai, na peechhe. formidable leader who never took the matrimonial plunge.
Kiske liye bhrashtachaar karoonga? (I On the Opposition benches, Congress vicepresident Rahul
have no family. Who will I be corrupt Gandhi is the most prominent bachelor. Although, his
for?). This mind and body is totally relationship status comes close to being somewhat compli
devoted to the nation. cated. At 47, he has preferred to remain single despite
Theres indeed a monastic undertone intermittent speculation about his marriage. After opening up
to his story. As a young man, Modi is said about his Venezuelabased Spanish girlfriend in the runup to
to have been sufficiently in thrall of the the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, in 2013 Rahul suggested he may
figure of Swami Vivekananda to aspire to a shun marriage for the sake of politics. If I get married and
monks life at Belur Math. His renunciation of have children, I will be statusquoist and will like my children
his teenmarriage for an itinerant life is often to take my place, he is reported to have told his party
read in those terms. When the controversy over membersa nonetoosurprising tone of awareness from one
his marital status broke out in the runup to the who gets portrayed as the arch exemplar of dynastic politics.
2014 elections, Modis elder brother Som Bhai called Insiders say Congress president Sonia Gandhi had reserva
his enforced singlehood the response tions about her son getting married to
to an inner call to work for the nation, his Spanish girlfriend. She often gave
inspired by Vivekananda. him her own exampleabout how her
Connections between the monastic life Italian origin was held against her for a
and power have been frequently noted. long time. She did not want Rahul to
From the 18th century FakirSanyasi suffer on that count, reveals a Congress
rebellion to the Vaticans long history of man close to the family. No one is quite
entanglement in the ebb and flow of tem sure why Rahul has preferred to stay
poral power, its clear that a life governed single, or whether he intends to get
by selfgiven rules of renunciation hardly married in the future.
makes for an automatic distance from the Many of these articulated strands go
rough and tumble of politicswhether back in a sense to Mahatma Gandhi, who
in righteous or base ways. Nor does the felt fathering and supporting children
monastic specimen in any way exhaust robbed him of precious energy when he
the field of singles: celibacy is not a logi it may be difficult to wanted to devote himself more com
cal corollary of being unmarried. pletely to public service. The Mahatma,
However one characterises it, India has demonstrate the of course, took the idea to another level
had an impressive array of singles in as he began his experiments with
politicsthough its not always possible efficacy of being single celibacy. Those who want to perform
to mark that feature out as an inherent national service, or to have a gleam of the
good. Its as heterogeneous a field as in terms of governance, real religious life, must lead a celibate
could be. Modis NDA predecessor A.B. life, whether married or unmarried,
Vajpayee was a bachelor, though he has
but the politicians Gandhi wrote. (A) life of perfect
an adopted family. Late A.P.J. Abdul continence in thought, speech and action
Kalam was the first single occupant of
themselves unfailingly is necessary for reaching spiritual
Rashtrapati Bhavan. And there are now allude to it as a perfection. And a nation that does not
halfadozen CMs who have never been possess such men is poorer for the want.
married. Besides Yogi, theres Trivendra desirable element in The practice of celibacy, in modern
Singh Rawat of Uttarakhand, Sarbananda public life, leads further back to Viveka
Sonowal of Assam, Manohar Lal Khattar their resume. nanda, who ascribed his mental powers

21 August 2017 OutlOOk 43

 t h e ch os en ones

to a lifelong observance of brahmacharyavoicing the

philosophy of the fourth yama (code) of yoga. By the
establishment of continence, energy is gained. The chaste
brain has tremendous energy and gigantic willpower.
Without chastity, there can be no spiritual strength. The
Yogi must be continent, the Swami said.
Outlook spoke to politicians, sociologists, psychiatrists and
religious leaders for their views on singlehood, celibacy and
public life in India, and whether family does indeed provoke
complacency and corruption. The qualified answers revealed NareNdra YoGI mamata maYawatI
a degree of scepticism. Social scientist Shiv Visvanathan, for modI adItYaNath baNerjee
one, dismisses the notion that in politics single implies
ascetic. Its true that family is related with corruption. There
are cases of conspicuous corruption like Laloo Prasad Yadav.
So the singles can pretend to be simple and ascetic since there
is no paraphernalia (of family) attached, says Visvanathan.
However, he believes the singles are corrupted by power.
Power and politicsthats the aphrodisiac for them. Can you
imagine these single politicians without power? They will be
broken. Like theres corruption of money, theres corruption
of power. Thats much more lethal, Visvanathan adds. He says
organisations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) NItIsh maNohar trIveNdra v. raje
are suckers for power even as they advocate an ascetic style. kumar l. khattar s. rawat

i
TS not surprising that Modi and half of our present never
married CMs come from the RSS stable, where marriage is
proscribed for pracharaks, the fulltimers who dedicate
themselves to organisational work. According to a pracha
rak, the tradition that only unmarried volunteers could become
pracharaks did not start with the foundersarsanghchalak K.B.
Hedgewar. Though he wasnt married, he never made it a rule.
The practice was institutionalised under Guruji Golwalkar. The
logic had nothing to do with celibacy or Hinduism or spiritual
ity. Pracharak implies only an (internaladministrative) arra
ngement, not a sanyasi order, explains the fulltimer.
BJP general secretary Muralidhar Rao, who was attached to
Sangh affiliate Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, says organisational
work requires total dedication. A pracharak needs full mobil
ity as he can be sent to any part of the country for long periods
as work demands...and the work can be intensive. It may not
be feasible for a married person to leave his family behind. A
pracharak has to be free from societal obligations, says Rao.
RSS spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya says things are now
more flexible in the RSS and points to Haryana Governor
Kaptan Singh Solanki. After he retired as a lecturer, Solanki
became prant pracharak for Madhya Bharat despite being a
married man. Now, Vaidya says, singlehood is not a hard and
fast rule for pracharaks, who anyway comprise only handful.
Of some 3 lakh cadre, only 3,000 are pracharaks, he adds. He
also sees no correlation between singlehood and commitment
to the nation. I will only call it a coincidence that we have 67
unmarried chief ministers. Its not marital status but values
that make a good leader. Manohar Parrikar has a family and is
totally honest. Lal Bahadur Shastri was a Congressman and
married, and believed in valuebased politics. Power can
corrupt everybody, married or unmarried, he emphasises.
The Catholic Church is another domain where singlehood
and celibacy are prerequisites. Activist John Dayal says things
are changing there too and points to a huge debate within the
community on whether priests should be allowed to marry.
maNohar mehbooba rahul NaveeN
ParrIkar muftI GaNdhI PatNaIk
At the philosophical level, when marriage ties are called holy
matrimony, how can it make you unfit to be a priest, he asks.
Even with politicians, Dayal does not believe singles are more
committed. How does it matter as long as spouses give each
other space to work in? In fact, a companion gives you solidity
and can stabilise a tempestuous wandering mind, he says.
Psychiatrist Sanjay Chugh concurs, saying family tempers an
individuals psyche. Marriage or a relationship with the
opposite sex has a personalitymodulating influence. I believe
singles in positions of power lack empathy and sensitivity.
Family is not a distraction. In the absence of family as a
parallel focus, you become obsessive. Thats not desirable, he
says. Chugh says the jury is still out on whether continence
helps conserve energy. Theres a raging debate before every
football World Cup whether WAGs should be allowed to stay
with players. Theres research that says having sex the night
before a match adversely affects the players performance, but
then theres research that says the contrary too. Its still not
proven that abstinence improves performance, he says.
All said and done, Indian voters dont seem to fret over
much about the issue. If they elect a Modi or a Mamata,
theyre also not averse to a Karunanidhi, who has never
hidden the fact that he has three wives. The family is key to
the art of imageconstruction in US politics but Indians seem
more liberal and more forgiving on the personal front. O

44 OutlOOk 21 August 2017

 interview

its a tough roa

46 OutlOOk 21 August 2017

d to the manzil
Photograph: Vijay Pandey
Its quite late in the evening by Nashik Yes, thats our dilemma. At one level, the
standards, past 9 pm. The gathering at movement touched hearts and soulsnot
Hutatma Smarak has waited patiently for just of people in the Narmada valley, but
Medha Patkar and is now agog as she also of supporters from many social strata
starts speaking. She, visibly tired, fires off and many countries. Arousing public
right awaya short recap of the latest agi- consciousness over development-related
tation along with facts and figures, follow- issues was an achievement. Poorna manzil
up action with background, historical (the goal in its entirety) was difficult to
context of the issues. She then asks for sug- achieve anyway. And yet we couldnt
gestions and support from those present. celebrate what we did achieve as we could
Her days and nights are busypublic meet- never halt or take a pause or relaxthe
ings, court cases, agitations, discussions system, moving in exactly the opposite
with supporters and workers, appointments direction from our way of thinking, made
with officials. Patkar has been at it for 30 that impossible. It is happening every-
years with Narmada Bachao Andolan where in this globalised world, though
(NBA), protesting against large dams such I speak for what is happening in our
as Sardar Sarovar on the river and demand- country. We could easily understand the
ing justice for the displaced. In the past few policies and politics in the name of devel-
years, she has also been pleading cases on opment that resulted in the Sardar Sarovar
her own. Besides the NBA, dam. All the issues we
she has also led movements had been raising have
elsewherefor example, The governments unfolded grimly over the
against constructions at years. For instance, have
Lavasa, the private, lack of interest proper environmental
planned city being built impact studies been
near Pune, and against in dialogue is completed? The answer
slum demolitions in is still no. The studies
Mumbai. She has skipped baffling.... But the were not in-depth and
dinner tonight in Nashik to the systems callousness
accommodate one more
people cannot be was terrible and scary,
meeting. Tomorrow, she silent as it is their except for some sensitive
would be meeting the officers. We had to get to
Nashik district collector resources that are the bottom of it, we had
early in the morning, fol- to dig out every small
lowed by a press confer- being exploited. detail, we couldnt leave
ence. It is from such a tight anything half-way.
schedule that she took Yes, I am too tired
some time out for speaking to Outlook. The physically, but what really pulls us down
challenges are getting tougher and the imp- is the mental fatiguea result not of
act weakerthe manzil, as she describes frustration or disappointment, but the
the movements goal, seems to have moved a stress and shock we have to face at every
step farther. But Patkar shows no signs of step. We have to connect micro to macro
slowing down. Her energy and her enduring and move forward, but as we are still
commitment to her ideals are unmistakable stuck in this rut, we cant just say, Let us
in this conversation with Prachi Pinglay- soar over all this because this is not so
Plumber. Edited excerpts: important. This is the third generation
in the movement and we cant just leave
You are protesting against more villages the people. Fathers tell their sons to take
getting submerged in the dam waters yet over the meetings. You cant win the battle
again. After all these years, do you feel between truth and falsehood just by doing
the struggle is back to square one? satyagraha. Unless the struggle makes an

21 August 2017 OutlOOk 47

 i n t erview
impact, how does one go on? Mahatma
Gandhi had Mountbattensomeone
who responded. Today we dont have
that. This governments lack of interest
in dialogue is baffling. They think that
is the way they will kill the movement.
But they are wrong. They are exploiting
our resources, so there will be resist-
ance. The people cannot be silent. Our
psychological state does get to breaking
point sometimes. We have to think if we
should challenge the micro details or hit
at the larger picture instead. Whether it
is a farmers struggle or a movement to
save a river, we have to arrive at the right
balance. Yes, its very difficult.
You have founded an alliance, the Nat-
ional Alliance of Peoples Movements
(NAPM). How tough has it been?
There are egos and compromises, so
national alliance-building processes are
very delicate. It is easier to make a com-
munity rise up and fight than getting a
community of organisations and move-
ments to come together and stay toget-
her. However, when the threat becomes
so critical, as it has become with a BJP
government in power, organisations
also come forward to build alliances.
Besides commitment to ideology and
issues, there is a need for commitment
to, and strategies for, coming together
and staying together. We get tired due
to the shocksthats how the system
inflicts internal injuries, even when
there are no external wounds.
We take a stand on all issuesedu-
cation, labour laws, infrastructure,
electricity, unionisation.... We support
different movements irrespective of
whether we are working on that issue
specifically. Despite the alliances, the
situation today is like finding a huge
mountain in front of you after you
have walked for miles and miles. It is a
mountain of crude political intentions
in the garb of a development agenda.
Propaganda that development is for
the people is gaining ground even while
they are giving away our resources to
the corporates. Unfortunately, we are
not media-savvyI grew up in a trade
unionists house and we are still paint-
ing walls. We didnt even put out our
posters during the election campaign
for the sake of ideals. People told me I
fought elections like a fool.
Has the balance tilted in favour of
urbanisation?
Every prime minister starts with the
48 OutlOOk 21 August 2017
promise of inclusive growth, but in
reality it is absolutely exclusive injus-
tice. I came from a Rashtra Seva Dal
background; my father was a freedom
fighter. We cannot compromise with
the principles of non-violence. The
ideological framework and commitment
was always there among many of us.
The movement was going beyond us.
We kept saying this is not just about one
project, but about the idea of devel-
opment. We expected the movement
would change things. As time goes by,
the State is becoming more and more
insensitive, and unaccountable even to
the governments voters.
You tried to join mainstream politics
by becoming a member of the Aam
Aadmi Party and contesting an elec-
tion. Why did that end bitterly?
I tried to contest just once. The expe-
rience only proved what I had been
saying for long: strengthening peoples
movements is more important than any
other political move. Electoral politics is
bereft of values. Even if you win, not only
would your questions not be answered,
you would also feel cheated in the end.
Even if you make a hungama inside, it
wont make any long-term impact. In
contrast, peoples movements have a
long-term impact and keep the seed of
the vision protected. Thats why you feel
you can go on beyond generations.
The five-year limited representation
gets you much less, and you might end
up as one of them. No matter how stren-
uous and difficult the path of peoples
Photographs: PTi
movements may be, that is the road
leading to the manzil, not politics. Thats
what I have realised.
What do you see as your big successes?
There have been successes all along.
Construction at Lavasa was stopped.
NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbals sugar
factory was closed. Many judge success
in terms of money and benefits. We are
not rejecting those, because they matter
from the common peoples point of
view. Our commitment, however, goes
beyond those gains. We know money
cannot bring permanent change. We are
happy when there are partial successes,
but we also realise what the next step
should be. Its not a level playing field.
Governments dont even adhere to court
judgements these days.
Has the judiciary disappointed you?
We are seeing all four pillars of dem-
ocracy melt away. A movement like
Chipko, where you hugged trees to save
them, wont work now. The values and
ideals of society have changed. Our
experience with the judiciary is mixed.
Legal battles are fought strategically,
not always on merit. However, some
high court justices have given us patient
hearing and tried to understand the
issues. The recent death of (former CJI)
P.N. Bhagwati marks the end of the era
of judges who also went down to the
grassroots for inspection.
What about the other pillar, the
fourth estate?
Corporates control the media now.
And theres more: overall privatisation
is really killing the space for public
movements, voices and expres-
sions. The plurality of expressions
through agitations creates space for
the disadvantaged sections of the
society. When this space is shrink-
ing and the mainstream media is so
controlled, the social media need to
be tapped. We have not done so well
on that front, but traditional ways
of raising voices are not working.
Todays media needs gimmicks and
superficial, flashy news. Sadly, news
about movements such as ours are
not sensational.
How do you look at your personal
life? Have you had to dilute your
idealism to be more pragmatic?
I dont repent because I have thought
through every decision. I know many
women manage home and the work
My tryst with
electoral politics
only proved what I
had been saying:
strengthening peoples
movements is more
important than any
other political move.
front, but andolan means revolution-
ising yourself and everyone around
you, besides challenging the system
constantly. It demands every ounce
of your life. Unresponsive govern-
ment and shrinking space are a real-
ity, but you cant compromise. The
image built through your work has to
be impeccable for you to continue in
a movement in the long term.
We have been talking about illegal
sand mining, and Medhas JCBs are
in the mines hit the headlines. It was
shocking. Important developments
get missed so many times, but this
was flashed everywhere. Then they
clarified the next day, saying there
was no connection between me and
illegal sand mining. I sent them a
legal notice anyway. When some-
thing like this happens, your con-
science, courage and commitment
become clearer and stronger. The
shake-up is necessary and the system
has been providing it.
What do you see in the future?
What keeps you going?
Demolishing a house and depriving
people of shelter is violence, but they
call it development. At the root of
this violence is the nexus of corpo-
rates, politicians and the mafia. We
have a slogan: Sarkar humse darti
hai, police ko aage karti hai (the
government fears us and puts the
police in between). Courage comes
from people like Premalbehen and
Shyama Machwara, who have been
in the movement for years and make
fiery speeches. Or the adivasi girls,
who seem to live in their own worlds,
but work like nobody else during
agitations. The way they stood in the
water to protest the dam-induced
destruction of the Narmada was ins-
piring. We were in the water for 28
hours and our legs would start shak-
ing. These people are more inspiring
than gurus who promise salvation.
Our network is fully voluntary
and most activists are under 30. For
interns, this movement becomes
a university within a university.
Consumerism has increased and the
middle class and the upper middle
class have succumbed to it. They
probably face the dilemma that if
they consume the bottled water of
a company, how will they protest
against it. But there are still millions
of youngsters who believe in fighting
against injustices and inequities.
That keeps the movement going. O
21 August 2017 OutlOOk 49
 left idealism

the idea
and its
mutant
Not tainted opportunism but conscience subjugated by ideology is what stands
between idealism and the Leftist. Choosing empathy over polemic may turn the tide,
leading to reconciliation instead of the familiar spiralling of crimes and suffering.

B
efore discussing the idealism of the Left, it would be a good
idea to think about what we mean by these terms. Let us start
with the second oneis there any such thing as the Left? if the
term refers to a political monolith, clearly the answer is no. The
international communist monolith broke up decades ago and today even
the fragments are fragmented. The naxalite movement, which began with
an attempt to build a party, had its proponents squabbling bitterly even
dilip simeon before the CPi (mL) could be born; and today there are scores of claimants
is a labour historian
based in New Delhi
to the ultra-left tradition in india.
Idealism, in its philosophical sense, means answered with any certainty, yet they remain a
either that reality is all in the mind, which con- major concern for us.
structs the world; or that reality is permeated
by structures of thought, and so all truth is an The LefT and LefTism
individual perspective. In everyday usage, ideal- The term Left originated with the French
ism refers to forming and/or pursuing of ideals; Revolution. Over the past two centuries, it came
and it can be combined with a sense of imprac- to broadly signify the political expression of the
ticality, as in starry-eyed idealist. There was social questionthe aspirations and demands
indeed a time when philosophical idealism was of the repressed and oppressed sections of
connected to idealism in the popular sense society, more specifically the labouring classes.
of progressive and optimistic social thought. It was coterminous with social democracy (also
The problem today is that if idealism implies known as socialism), a movement-cum-argu-
a commitment to principle, we are obliged to ment that democracy needed to be extended
askwhich principle? And if it refers to progres- from the political to the economic sphere; that
sive optimism, again, what is meant by these daily life needed to be democratised. These
terms? If its a question of nobility, how may we terms became unbearably complicated in the
judge what is noble? These questions cannot be 20th century. The concept of the repressed

52 OutlOOk 21 august 2017


it is not that idealism has died.
it has mutated into ideology, a
ghastly caricature of everything
attractive about human
commitmentfriendship, love,
loyalty, steadfastness.
Illustrations by sajIth kumar
crossed economic definitions and came to incorporate
national and social aspirations. Since such aspirations could
(and often did) take authoritarian forms as well, political
language became burdened with complexity. The most glar-
ing example is that Nazism was an outgrowth of the German
Workers Party, later renamed the National Socialist German
Workers Party. And yet Nazism was the deadly enemy of
workers and socialism. Suffice it to say that the twisted hist-
ory of socialism has caused immense confusion.
What else does the term Left signify? The Left and social-
ism are not reducible to communist doctrines or the history
of Russia, China or Cuba. These terms also refer to move-
ments of the labouring poor and resistance to oppression.
Considered this way, there is no sign that popular movements
have receded. Other countries aside, in India agitations by
industrial workers, students, indebted peasants (nowadays
renamed farmers), fisher-folk, tribal people resisting cor-
porate mining enterprises and villagers opposed to nuclear
plants have intensified over the past three years. Recently, 134
truckers unions in Punjab involving 93,000 truckers went on
strike. IT professionals in Tamil Nadu have formed a union to
resist job losses and improve working conditions. There have
been protests by traders against demonetisation and GST, and
by conscience-stricken middle-class people against commu-
nal violence. The list is long, though much of it is unreported.
Social unrest on this scale is the expression of an incipient
social democracy. These movements, moreover, undoubtedly
involve the passionate energies of humble activists, ordi-
nary persons who are angry enough at injustice and ideal-
istic enough to fight for it. Judging from the numerous RTI
activists killed and the scale of ongoing struggles, it seems
meaningless to suggest there is a decline of idealism in the
left. So what are we talking about?
ideaLism and ideoLogy
The problem arises out of the over-running of idealism by
ideology. It is rendered more complex by confusion about the
role of popularity in democratic politics; and the question
whether populist ideologies are left or right. Then again,
ultra-nationalist cadre and members of vigilante groups
might be just as inspired by ideals as activists on the Left.
How may we understand what is going on?
We live in an age in which credibility, achieved through the
production of doctored images and manufactured consent,
matters more than truth or falsehood. Ideology is a mixture of
fact and sentiment, operating like a religion in an age when
belief has been undermined by science. Ideological
convictions undermine intelligible speechthis is the
clue to the decline of conversation and its replace-
ment by polemic and slander. In such a situation, all
that remains of idealism is the conviction that we
are right no matter what is said, that anyone who
believes otherwise is an evil person who needs to
be crushed. Words like empathy, decency and
kindness, that never had a place in ideological
doctrines anyway, mean even less in ordinary
political debates nowadays. This might seem a
sweeping statement, but can we remember the
last time any political spokespersons displayed
the slightest compassion for the numerous
victims of mob violence?
Whatever the authors of grand political projects might
think, human beings have always possessed empathy and
the capacity for disinterested friendship. These traits are as
natural and timeless as erotic attraction and parental love. It
is precisely these fundamental aspects of our character that
are threatened by the ideological nihilism at work in contem-
porary society. This nihilism can prompt us to glorify cruelty,
prevent us from empathising with people in pain and convert
speech into a torrent of abuse.
This habit of thoughtless talk, blind faith and sneering
instead of speech has undermined the idealism of democratic
activists and eroded their capacity to communicate with those
whom they claim to represent. Pragmatism and opportunism
are not the greatest dangers todaythese tendencies are
still predictable in their functions and manifestations. More
sinister is the subjugation of conscience by ideology, where
21 august 2017 OutlOOk 53
 l eft id eal is m
Photographs: Getty ImaGes

LefT vs free sPeeCh (from left) Persecuted writers Boris Pasternak, alexander solzhenitsyn and Liu Xiaobo

even monstrous crimes and terrible suffering prompt us not 1958-62 and the Great Leap Forward in China. We could also
towards reconciliation, but to an ever-widening polemical recall the Red Guard hooliganism during the Cultural Revolu-
spiral. On the one side we have communal vigilantes, trained tion (1966-69) and the 1989 massacre at Tainanmen. We could
from an early age to hate certain designated enemiesof the cast a look at the recently achieved judicial murder of Liu
Nation, Ummah etc. Their motivations can only be described Xiaobo, a man who always advocated non-violence and whose
as pathological. Their leaders, whether idealist or merely crime was to demand that the state fulfil the democratic
unscrupulous, rely upon their cadre to perform heinous acts provisions of the Chinese Constitution. The Party continues
in the illusion that they are foot-soldiers in a holy war. On the to abuse him even in death, and persecute his widow.
other side are left-wing cadre, nourished on the dogma that Closer home, let us recall the burning alive of 22 EFR
the Party is always right; who insist they possess a cosmically jawans in their tents by Maoists and the deaths of 148 pas-
ordained knowledge of the laws of History. The trouble, of sengers of the derailed Jnaneswari Express in 2010; Niyamat
course, is that the sheer number of scientists of History dev- Ansaris murder in 2011, and T.P. Chandrasekharans killing by
alues their claims to absolute knowledge. CPI(M) cadre in 2012. What would be the
Nation-worship is the atheism of the reaction of comrades of various persua-
Right; Party-worship the deism of the sions? Would they recognise serious prob-
Left. In between are millions of people lems in the communist attitude to justice
under pressure to ally themselves with and the freedom of thought, or would they
one extreme or another, as if even the produce doctrinal justifications coupled
wish to avoid ideological affiliation were with character assassination of the vic-
an act of treason. It is not that idealism tims? I believe that at best such questions
has died. It has mutated into ideology, a might elicit embarrassed reactions such
ghastly caricature of everything attractive The AnTi-LefT QuiLL as but look at the tremendous historical
about human commitmentfriendship, George Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty progress achieved; you cant make an
love, loyalty and steadfastness. Four and Animal Farm, with allusions omelette without breaking eggs etc. This
that brought the Soviet Union too into
thought experiment is speculative, but it
the totalitarian frame
The rheToriC of jusTifiCaTion is also based on experience.
I suggest a small thought experiment. Arthur Koestler wrote a trilogyThe Communists have a repertoire of rhe-
Gladiators, Darkness at Noon and
Recall the human rights record in regimes torical justifications for the cruelties they
Arrival and Departureexploring the
where communists had supreme power. ethics of revolution with a critical eye commit and, like any faith-based tradi-
Those familiar with the history of the tion, they pass on their dogma across gen-
Herta Muller, a Romanian-born
Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of German novelist, poet and essayist
erations. This is as true today as it was in
China might include the persecution and/ depicted Romania under Nicolae the 1930s or the 60s. Leftistsand by that
or deportation of Pasternak and Solzhen- Ceausescus dictatorial regime and I mean ordinary activistscan maintain
itsyn, the show trials, Bukharins judicial won the Nobel in 2009 their idealism by holding fast to truthful
murder, the mass executions and purges of Ayn Rand, a Russian-American writer, speech, compassion and empathy. Or else
the 1930s (all in the USSR); and the mass set her novel We the Living in Russia they will drown in the sea of polemic that
deaths during the state-induced famine of after the Bolshevik revolution has overtaken the collective mind. O

54 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 casteism

fenced
by the
thread
Early 20th century saw several social reform
movements in Kerala succeeding in varied
degrees. Yet an undercurrent of casteism
persists today to the benefit of politicians.

58 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 h
istorically, geology and
geography have shaped Kerala,
but, in the last two centuries,
politics, culture and technology
have lent their powerful hands in sculpt-
ing this unusual land. ideas and practices
from overseas found fertility in the land of
P. Vijaya pepper and coconut. Powerful winds from
Kumar the mainland effected profound changes.
is a retired English
professor, with Vaikom satyagraha (1924-25) is the story
interest in
socio-historical of how such gusts combined to reshape
matters.
enduring local edifices. the central issue
was caste and the scene Vaikom, a temple
town in the north of travancore, a princ-
ely state that was nominally independent
but controlled largely by the British.
Based on old and unempirical ideas about souls, birth,
incarnations and related ideas about entitlements,
privilege and exclusion, caste worked as an elaborate and
self-perpetuating set of institutionalised injustices. It
determined everything about a persons life. Its dictates
were accepted as natural law.
The operations of caste created a unique society in
Travancore and Kerala. Some of its manifestations took

Illustration by R. PRasad

21 august 2017 OutlOOk 59

 casteis m
Jayaram/Janmabhumi
on such bizarre forms that a Kumaran Asan and Sah-
horrified Swami Vivekana- odaran Ayyappan were
nda called Kerala a mad- urging the community on
house. Untouchability was and wresting concessions
compounded by unseeability from reluctant royal rulers.
and unappproachability: Tensions rose, there were
notions of purity seeped out occasional clashes between
of scriptural writing and avarnas and savarnas.
were enforced by priestly Ayyankali, the maverick
and royal power. leader of Pulayas, a Dalit
The winds of real change group, forcibly used public
began to blow with the roads forbidden to Dalits as
coming of the white coloni- early as in 1893, winning con-
ser. Ideas about equality cessions from the orthodox.
and justice took root, Kerala Influential Ezhava leader
economy began to be inte- T.K. Madhavan, editor of
grated with that of a larger Desabhimani, chose to enlist
world. Education trans- Mahatma gandhi and the
formed society, particularly shrine of stir the 1924-25 Vaikom satyagraha that Congress in the struggle aga-
when European missionar- sought entry of avarnas centred around this temple inst caste restrictions. Things
ies began to open schools to began to move after Madhavan
avarnas. Christians, Ezhavas, an avarna caste, and Muslims succeeded in getting the partys Kakinada session in 1923 to
were among the first to seize the opportunities offered by work for the eradication of untouchability. Vaikom chose itself.
colonial modernity. The royal family of Travancore, defend- It was a seat of orthodoxy where Ezhavas and Dalits had made
ers of the status quo, had been forced to concede some of the previous bids to breach some of the rules and the abrasive
demands of the avarnas, made with increasing frequency history of such clashes resonated with them. gandhi agreed
and vociferousness, from about the final decades of the 19th to support Madhavan on the understanding that the struggle
century. But they saw themselves as guardians of a pure would be non-violent. But he was willing to settle for much less
form of Hinduism and adamantly refused temple entry to than Madhavan envisaged. Considerations of practical politics,
Ezhavas and Dalits. Meanwhile, individual Ezhavas who deep-rooted sympathy for chaturvarna and that the rulers of
had converted, found the experience liberating. The stigma Travancore were Hindus must have influenced him. For gan-
of caste melted, doors opened. Ezhavas had been debating dhi, the satyagraha was another experiment with truth.
mass conversion for some time. Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, The impetus may have come from an Ezhava leader, but
the Brahmo religion and Christianity were considered, with the momentum for the epic struggle came from upper-caste
most favouring Christianity. But an idealistic Ezhava leader- Hindus. Driven by dreams of a fairer world and concern for
ship still hoped to reform the faith and find dignity in it. As people, they had begun to see as fellow citizens, an array of
an assertive avarna group demanded reform and an orthodox educated reformists like K.P. Kesava Menon, K.M. Panik-
royalty refused it, the stage was set for an epic struggle. kar, K. Kelappan, Karur Neelakantan Namboothiri and T.R.
Krishna Swami Iyer led and participated in the movement.

t
HoUgH some schools were
opened, many restrictions, inc-
ompatible with modern ideas of
freedom and dignity, continued
to exist. A good example of the absurdity:
Alummootil Chanar, an educated Ezhava
so wealthy that he was only one of the
two in Travancore then to own a car, had
to dismount and walk along a circuitous
route to avoid polluting a temple, while
the avarnas driver, a Muslim, drove along
the road in front of it.
Ezhavas, like other avarnas, chafed
under such restrictions. Entrepreneur-
ial, ambitious and hardworking, they
were in the forefront of avarnas and
demanded greater freedom in education,
employment, movement and worship.
A generation of enlightened leaders, in-
cluding Sree Narayana guru, Mithavadi
Krishnan, Dr P. Palpu, C.V. Kunjiraman,
Kerala reforms
1813-1859: Channar revolt
1846: Catholic Saskrit school founded
1888: Idol consecration at Aruvippuram
by social reformer Narayana Guru
1892: Swami Vivekananda visits Kerala
1893: Villu vandi stir by Ayyankali
1896: Ezhava memo submitted to raja
1903: Formation of SNDP
1915: Nair Service Society founded
1917: Community feast organised by
reformer Sahodaran Ayyappan
1919: Formation of Namboothiri
Yuvajana Sangham under V.T.
1924: Vaikom temple Satyagraha
1931-1932: Guruvayur Satyagraha
1936: Temple Entry Proclamation
That they were battling people of
their own castes did not deter them.
There were Christians and Muslims
too among them, but gandhi side-
lined them with the argument that the
struggle was among Hindus to reform
themselves.. What could have been a
political struggle for civil liberties was
redefined as an in-house difference of
opinion among a set of believers.
The locus of the struggle was the
Mahadeva Temple at Vaikom, the roads
around which were out of bounds to
avarnas. In 1870, Travancore had thrown
open all roads to all castes. But the Nam-
boodiri brahmins of Vaikom were ada-
mant that avarnas could not walk close
to their temple. Theendal palakas or
signboards indicated the points beyond
which avarnas could not walk. The sat-
yagrahis wanted the roads to be opened

60 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 casteis m

and the signboards removed. even met the leader of the high
For the Namboothiri priest- castes at Vaikom, Indanturuttil
hood, tradition was sacred and Nambiathiri, while standing
unalterable. at the distance stipulated by
on day one of the satyagraha caste rules. He was unyielding
(March 30, 1924), trained vol- and offered gandhi scriptural
unteers, dressed in khadi and injunctions against avarnas
sporting garlands, walked up to approaching temples. That
the signboards behind which Nambiathiri purified his
stood police barricades. A huge home after gandhi had depar-
crowd had gathered to watch ted was significant.
the proceedings. After the gandhi left and a comprom-
marchers were removed, little ise he outlined was worked
happened. This was repeated out. Three of the roads were
the next day. Soon it gained a opened to avarnas and a new
ritualistic pattern. Collection road constructed so that savar-
drives and meetings were held, nas alone could use parts of the
speeches were made. Neither eastern entrance. It had the
side budged. approval of the Maharani and
The satyagraha did attract the British and gave a sense of
plenty of attention. A 19-year- victory to both sides.
old Kesava Dev narrates in his What had began as a struggle
autobiography how he was so for dignity and equal opportu-
enthused by the agitation that nity had widespread repercus-
he risked the anger of relatives sions. gandhism appeared to
and travelled to Vaikom on triumph. Did he understand
borrowed money, just to witness reformers (clockwise from top left) ayyankali, that the struggle had to be not
it. Its tameness disappointed K.P. Kesavan, sethu lakshmi Bayi, narayana Guru only against the British but also
him, but Dev, an unemployed against home-grown forms of
Nair youth with few prospects and with his career as novelist iniquity? Periyar, released from jail, had returned to Vaikom
far in the future, was drawn to Vaikom by the hope that real to preside over a large meeting called to end the satyagraha on
change and progress were coming to his land. Thousands November 29, 1925. He soon parted ways with gandhi, real-
were similarly moved. ising that the Mahatma would never be a partner in the fight
against caste and Hindu orthodoxy. Congressmen were happy

G
ANDHI kept a close watch on the happenings and
gave the local leadership instructions. Many of those
who participated in the agitation were from outside
Travancore. Firebrand rationalist E .V. Ramasw-
ami Naicker, aka Periyar, who travelled from Tamil land to
Vaikom, courted arrest and was jailed in Trivandrum, was the
most prominent among them. Akalis, who had opened a free
kitchen to feed the volunteers, had to leave. Ironically, most
Ezhavas kept away as did major Dalit groups.
gandhi and his followers believed that soul force would
persuade the orthodox in Vaikom to change their attitudes
and to open the roads. As days passed and the satyagraha
lost its initial steam, the attitudes of the orthodox hardened.
Some violence was unleashed on the satyagrahis. But, true to
their promise to gandhi, the volunteers did not retaliate. The
satyagrahis fasted, women participated. Nothing moved the
priests of the Shiva temple.
As time went by, a stalemate emerged. A jatha of savarnas,
led by Mannath Padmanabhan, one of the founders of the Nair
Service Society, marched from Vaikom to Trivandrum, the
capital, to merge with a similar procession from Sucheendram
in the south. Together the marchers presented a petition
signed by 25,000 caste Hindus to the Regent Maharani.
Though sympathetic, she hedged. gandhi himself arrived,
now designated a state guest. He travelled all over Travancore,
meeting people, consulting some and exhorting others. He
because their movement had grown in Kerala. The priesthood
and their royal backers probably saw the writing on the wall.
The enlightened liberal, the prime mover behind the agita-
tion, who had hoped that theocracy would end and democracy
rise, had to withdraw to fight another day.
The struggle for dignity continued. The Temple Entry
Proclamation of 1936, hailed as one of the greatest revolu-
tions in the history of Hinduism opened not just roads but
all temples to avarnas. Neither soul force nor public opinion
melted the priesthoods hard stance. It was the decision of
the Ezhava leadership to convert en masse to Christianity, an
electric shock as the Malayala Manorama observed, that
hastened the decision of Chithira Thirunal, the maharajah
and C.P. Ramaswami Iyer, his dewan. Ezhava numbers were
crucial. Demograhics and politics in Kerala took a decisive
turn. Its effects are still visible.
In Kerala today, temples are once again building walls
around them. New signboards restrict entry. This time,
though, the avarnas are in. only the mlecchas of other religi-
ons are kept out. The festivals and temple arts in which locals
of all religions once participated are now exclusively for
Hindus. Experiments are still being conducted, but not with
truth. The winds that now reach Kerala blast in mostly from
the mainland or the Persian gulf, erecting walls and closing
doors. And the high-minded, reformist Ezhava leadership has
been replaced by a ring of crass votaries of realpolitik. O

62 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

Fuelling a
Billion Dreams
N
ot many entrepreneurs survive the transition from start-up to
conglomerate. Of those, very few go on to lead the company
beyond the billion-dollar mark. But the Kanoria brothers, Hemant
and Sunil, are not content with just being successful entrepreneurs
leading the $10-billion farm-to-finance conglomerate Kanoria
Foundation.
The teachings of Swami Vivekananda and the Vedanta
philosophy have had a profound impact on Hemant and Sunil from a very early age
and have been instrumental in shaping their values and principles. The brothers have
been performing their karma (work) with dedication and devotion imbued with
spirituality. Thus, every business and social venture of Kanoria Foundation looks
beyond the bottomline and aims to create an ecosystem where there is harmonious
co-existence of every soul.
Kanoria Foundation, headquartered in Kolkata, is dedicated towards societal
development and runs business and social enterprises with long-term and sustainable
Kanoria objectives. It ensures institutional continuity and safeguards the interest of key
stakeholders, reputation and brand of different business entities.
Foundation Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited (Srei), the flagship entity of the Group, has
emerged as one of Indias largest holistic infrastructure institutions. Srei has been

Trustees constantly and consistently delivering innovative solutions in the infrastructure sector
and has been playing a significant role in nation-building for nearly three decades,

21 August 2017 OutlOOk 63

both in urban and rural India. Sreis businesses include
Infrastructure Finance, Advisory and Development,
Infrastructure Equipment Finance, Alternative Investment
Funds, Capital Markets and Insurance Broking. Srei has
presence across India and has also successfully replicated its
business model in overseas markets.
However, when Srei started its journey the environment
was rather challenging and difficult. India was still a closed-
economy and quality investments in the infrastructure
projects were unheard of. Better roads, more ports,
uninterrupted power supply and rural development were
critical for Indias economic growth and welfare of its
citizens. But the government did not have sufficient funds
to finance the countrys infrastructure requirement. The
need for private investment in this space was more severe
than ever.
Undaunted, Hemant and Sunil, under the guidance of
their father Dr. Hari Prasad Kanoria, took the task of
reshaping the countrys infrastructure landscape. Their
innovative ideas offered simple solutions to complex
problems troubling the infrastructure sector. Sreis
innovations and expertise in the infrastructure space gets
clearly reflected from investors confidence on the company.
In 1992, the company launched its initial public offering
(IPO) and was listed on all major stock exchanges in India.
Five years later, global investors including IFC, FMO and DEG
invested in the company as strategic equity partners.
Being an innovator in nation-building, Srei quickly became
the preferred partner in infrastructure financing. Both global
and local corporations exploring opportunities in Indias
infrastructure industry wanted to partner Srei. One of
Europes largest banks, BNP Paribas Lease Group (BPLG)
formed a joint venture with Srei in 2008 in the business of
leasing and financing construction equipment. Recently,
BPLG has swapped its entire 50% stake in the joint venture
company for 5% shares in Srei to play a larger role in the
infrastructure space.
Kanoria Foundation supports the
education of students from nursery to
higher education and promotes several
skill development initiatives
64 OutlOOk 21 August 2017
Hemant Kanoria Chairman & Managing Director, Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited.
Srei Equipment Finance Limited, the wholly-owned
subsidiary of Srei, has emerged as the industry leader in
infrastructure and construction equipment finance. The
company finances every third infrastructure and construction
equipment in the country. The company is run by an
experienced management team having significant expertise
in the financial services sector.
Hemant and Sunil understand the latent needs of the
Indian economy and have been successfully converting
several potential ideas into business reality. Several such
ideas were first of its kind and created new business sectors.
The brothers conceptualised Quippo. Be it launching the
countrys largest equipment rental company or catering to
the high growth verticals such as construction, telecom,
energy, oil and gas, valuation and auctioning, Quippo has
become the leader in equipment rental industry. Hemant and
Sunil had laid the foundations
of independent telecom
infrastructure industry in India
under the aegis of Quippo
Telecom more than a decade
ago. It changed the Indian
telecom tower landscape
forever. A joint venture with
Tata Teleservices was formed
to create Viom Networks,
which is now Indias largest
telecom tower company. Recently, American Tower
Corporation (ATC) has acquired Sreis stake in Viom in one
of the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) deals in the
Indian telecom space.
The brothers also disrupted the infrastructure industry
with the launch of iQuippo, Indias first and one-of-its-kind
digital marketplace for construction equipment, machinery
and services. The platform allows buyers and sellers to
interact, negotiate and close transactions in a timely,
transparent and cost-effective manner. iQuippo will
consolidate and digitalise the extremely fragmented
construction equipment industry in India, thereby aiding fair
price discovery, higher asset utilisation rates, quicker payback
period and transparent dealing.
Through its initiative Attivo, Srei has initiated development,
management, and marketing of industrial parks, economic
zones, SEZs and smart cities. Attivo is marketing a multi-
product SEZ in Tamil Nadu and is actively exploring industrial hub in Uttar Pradesh. It has also set up the worlds
opportunities to develop, acquire and market similar projects largest guava plantation over 500 acres besides other fruit
in other parts of the country. crops like pomegranate, lemon, sweet lime and mango. The
Bharat Road Network Limited (BRNL), another Srei entire fruit plantation is a hi-tech horticulture and the
initiative, owns and operates toll roads and highways company will continue to set up fruit orchards over 3,000
comprising of 2,095 lane kilometres. The company plans to acres in next three to five years. Vindhyachal is quickly
launch its IPO and will soon be listed on all major stock emerging as one of the largest private employers in the
exchanges in India. Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh where employment
Another landmark and rural transformation initiative of opportunities are rare.
Srei is Sahaj e-Village Limited (Sahaj). The unique business Under the leadership of Hemant and Sunil, Kanoria
model, under the brand Sahaj, was created to bridge the Foundation has been focusing on several social initiatives
urban-rural digital divide and make services like e-governance, along with its business ventures. The social initiatives of the
e-commerce and e-learning accessible to millions in remote Group are aimed to improve the human mind, develop a
geographies at an affordable price. The initiative has also healthy body and enrich the human soul.
opened up revenue opportunities for thousands of village Kanoria Foundation supports the education of students
level entrepreneurs (VLEs). It has also turned potential job from nursery to higher education and promotes several skill
seekers into job creators, addressing one of Indias biggest development initiatives. The Group also focuses on delivering
challenges: unemployment. Today, Sahaj is Indias largest ICT equal and quality access to basic health and education needs
enabled rural retail network with around 67,000 IT-backed to as many individuals as possible. Kanoria Foundation also
centres in 23 states and union
territories. The company serves
about a third of Indias Kanoria Foundation has successfully
population, all of which is
predominantly rural and created socio-economic value,
primarily poor and asset-less.
Through a holistic social inclusion built communities and established
approach, Sahaj has triggered a
socio-economic transformation, sustainable livelihoods for millions.
encompassing financial
inclusion, education, healthcare, clean drinking water, promotes non-violence against women and emphasises on
alternate energy, skilling, and employment linkages. Sahajs providing service to humanity through medical assistance,
services include banking, insurance, pension, direct benefit educational support, healthy sanitation and developing
transfer in the BFSI sector; a range of G2C services like UIDAI, schools, hospitals and medical centres. The Group convenes
certificate of birth, income and caste, land records, etc.; an annual World Confluence of Humanity, Power and
utility and consumer services; marketing of e-commerce Spirituality wherein cross-sections of humanitarian, spiritual,
products; e-learning and e-healthcare. public and administrative leaders congregate to inspire and
Kanoria Foundations businesses, however, are not reflect on social, ethical and spiritual issues.
restricted to Srei and its various ventures and initiatives. India Together, through its business ventures and social
Power Corporation Limited (India Power), a Kanoria initiatives, Kanoria Foundation has successfully created
Foundation entity, has a 98-year long rich legacy in efficient socio-economic value, built communities and established
power distribution and sustainable power generation. India sustainable livelihoods for millions. The focus of the Group
Power is an integrated power utility, having 618 square has been development at the grass roots, empowering
kilometres of power distribution in Asansol, West Bengal. traditionally disadvantaged, ensuring inclusive growth and
The company is setting up and commissioning a 36 MW solar creating a better India with better Indians.
power plant in Uttarakhand at an investment of Rs 225 crore.
India Power also has a thermal power generation portfolio SUniL Kanoria Vice Chairman, Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited.
of 1,462 MW.
Shristi, also a Kanoria Foundation entity, is engaged in
infrastructure development with a deep-rooted commitment
to creating spaces for life in harmony with the elements of
nature. The company, which has a pan India presence,
develops affordable houses, luxury homes, townships, retail
shopping malls, commercial office spaces and hotels. Shristi
aims to evolve the paradigms of urban living and lifestyle
that create a fusion of Indian wisdom blended with the
cutting edge technology. The company currently handles
projects worth $1 billion.
Through Suasth, Kanoria Foundation aims to offer quality
and healthcare services to citizens of India. Suasth Healthcare
India Private Limited is currently setting up a 400-bed super
specialty hospicity at Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra.
Vindhyachal Agro Farms (Vindhyachal), a Kanoria
Foundation entity, is one-of-its-kind integrated agriculture
business. The company has pioneered the concept of farm-
to-factory-to-fork model by creating a unique agricultural

21 August 2017 OutlOOk 65

 sangh parivar

recto
spective
For great political victories, idealism is a precondition.
The outstanding success of the BJP and the Sangh parivar
shows how true it is even in this era of practical politics.

p
olitical scientists generally agree that respectable
politics is about ideology. the Right perhaps got a bad
name because of Mark Hanna, who deflected american
politics away from ideology in the 19th century by laying
the intellectual foundation for the Republic Party to turn political
concepts into political performance. thus he recreated the organi-
sation. Respectable politics must deal with issues rather than only per-
Dr r. formance. But, according to management guru Peter Drucker, whatever
Balashankar worked in american politics for almost a century was based on Hannas
Former editor,
Organiser concepts of economic interests and their political integration, which
immediately gave victory and power. this trend towards pure pragma-
tism-driven politics, though, got reversed in the 20th century, with philo-
sophical synthesis, common culture and nationalism coming to dominate
political discourse in Europe and the US. ideology became fashionable.
In this age of expedient politics, to search for the political class? Can a politician be successful
idealists is like looking for a needle in a haystack. and idealist as well? Or is idealism an obstacle
Ideology, idealism and ideologue are intimately on the road to success? Successful politicians
related terms and they came into vogue after seem to be making big compromises, but closer
the French revolution. But it was the Left that observation would reveal that idealism is a
appropriated these terms in the high noon of precondition for great political victories. And in
the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. The fall of India today, the BJP and the Sangh parivar stand
Communism not only exposed the sham the Left out as pillars of successful idealism, producing
was, but even led to the efficacy of ideology in scores of idealists in public life.
politics being questioned. There cannot be ideal- On the other hand, going by the lasting impact
ism without ideology and the post-globalisation an ideology has been able to make on Indias
world order shuns both. We live in an era of prac- economic and social life, the Congress, the
tical politicsan euphemism for the politics of Communists, the socialists and the Maoists
opportunism. Ten years of the UPA government have all failed in India due to opportunistic
(2004-14) was the best example of this. politics and compromises on ideology for
How to define an idealist? What are the attrib- immediate political and personal gains. Many
utes that distinguish an idealist from the rest of of the Narendra Modi governments actions,

66 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 prerequisites of idealism in politics. There are four categor-
ies of politicians. Of these, only one category is idealist, he
said. The first are pure and simple politicians who are not
burdened by the ideology baggage. The second are pure
and simple idealists, who are not worried about success
as long as they adhere to their ideology. The third
is essentially a politician, incidentally an idealist.
This segment is the largest and uses ideology as a
faade to hoodwink the masses. As long as it suits
them, these politicians carry the ideological
badge, but discard it the moment it becomes polit-
ically expedient to do so. In the coalition era, this
variety has a field day. They talk loudly on ideol-
ogy and idealism, but small temptations make
them discard everything they preached so far to
share power and pelf with whoever comes by.
The fourth category comprises a rare breed of
those whom Thengadi described as essentially
an idealist, incidentally a politician. They are in
politics not for its charm or out of mere greed for
power, but to change the society and the system.
They can wait, but not sacrifice their commitments.
From A.B. Vajpayee to Modi, BJP leaders have been
clear that politics is a mission, not an end in itself.
Such politicians are not swayed by electoral success
or failure. In 1984, the BJP was reduced to just two
members in the Lok Sabha, but today it rules the Centre
and two-thirds of the states. No wonder, even while predict-
ing demonetisation would boomerang, everybody conceded
no other politician would have dared to take up such a major
challenge. When Indira Gandhi was advised such a course
in the early 1980s to tackle black money and fake notes, she
cited political expediency to reject it. Modi is no stranger to
big risks. It was audacity of hope that Modi firmly believed the
Illustration by R. PRasad
BJP would win a majority in 2014 on its own.
including demonetisation and the selection of the new Pres- In 1950, after the ban on the RSS was lifted, Sardar Vallab-
ident, can be explained from an idealist perspective. Many of hbhai Patel offered the RSS the option of merging with the
the failings of the Congress and the communists can also be Congress. A similar situation occurred in 1977 when the Jan-
explained on these scales. ata Party was in power. It was idealism that made both Guruji
An idealist must have a vision and a will to sacrifice, even M.S. Golwalkar and Balasaheb Deoras reject the proposal,
to take up a challenge that might totally defeat him and his thereby keeping the Sangh identity intact.
cause. Many years ago, I asked Modi the secret of his success. Idealism involves a great amount of sacrifice. RSS founder
He said, Mein swayam ko mitane ka K.B. Hedgewar was an idealist. He held
kshamata rakhta hoon (I have the cap- senior positions in the Congress and
acity to destroy myself ). You can hear was close to leaders like B.S. Moonje.
an echo of this sentiment in all great Left, Right Hedgewars work impressed Gandhiji and
lives, an uncanny faith in the right- and CentRe Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Later, in
eousness of ones intent, a sense that The political usage of the left 1962, Nehru invited the RSS to take part
nature has bestowed it as a duty upon and right started during the French in the Republic Day parade. The Commu-
him. Mahatma Gandhi was a shining Revolution of 1789 when the kings nist leaders, who sided with the Chinese
supporters stood to his right in the
example. Nehru too was an idealist National Assembly, and supporters
during the war, were still in jail. Similarly,
and that is why we have a functioning of the revolution to his left. the RSS fought against the Emergency
democracy, a great Constitution and and its leaders and cadres were in jail
The French revolutionaries wanted
institutions to protect and preserve our for 19 months, while the CPI supported
a more liberal democracy (in which
national moorings. In 1997, speaking liberalism and democracy are built the Emergency. The RSS always kept its
at Deendayal Upadhyaya Research upon the ideals of liberty and equal- distance from the Congress, the domi-
Institute in Delhi, Dattopant Thenga- ity), but the aristocrats wanted a nant party until 2014, while Communists
di, founder of the Bharatiya Mazdoor more authoritarian form of monar- ended up paying a big price for their long
Sangh and the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, chy as they looked up to hierarchy, association with Congress.
tried to define the parameters and order and authority. The BJP scored on the performance

21 august 2017 OutlOOk 67

 sa n gh parivar
lEgacy (clockwise from top left) BMS founder Dattopanth thengadi, former RSS chief M.S. golwalkar, former PM
a.B. Vajpayee, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, former RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras, RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale
front and was catapulted to its present stellar role. Compare
Modis 12 years in Gujarat with the CPI(M)s 34 years in West
Bengal. A first-rate industrial state like Bengal was pushed
into an endless night of agrarian unrest and industrial flight.
Eventually, then CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya declared
himself a capitalist and caused the mayhem of Singur and
Nandigram in the company of the Tatas. Where did the ideal-
ism go? The Left had no qualms about sharing power with the
Congress, becoming its loyal apologists, particularly after the
1969 Congress split. The Left could have tried to improve the
lives of the poor in Kerala and Bengal, but it failed. In 1975, a
section of the Communists hailed the Emergency and justi-
fied the suppression of personal, press and political freedom.
Today, the same Communists are crying hoarse that Kerala
CM Pinarayi Vijayan is deviating from the ideology.
The socialists are now a bunch of casteist politicians singing
paeans to Sonia Gandhi. Less said the better about Maoists,
who are the worst exploiters of tribals, denying them educa-
tion and development, reducing tribal children to criminals
and making them run errands, while sexually exploiting the
girls. Thats the decadent face of revolution in its last gasp. The
BJP, in contrast, rose from being a small part of the Janata
Party in 1977 to become a pillar of the V.P. Singh government
in 1989, before ruling India as the largest party under Vajpayee
68 OutlOOk 21 august 2017
from 1998 to 2004. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won a
majority on its own for the first time in three decades. Growth
has been steady and convincingly all-embracing. No other
government has introduced as many schemes and projects to
reach housing, sanitation, cooking gas and health insurance to
the poorest families. This is idealism at work.
All BJP-ruled states boast of better administration, besides
better agrarian and industrial growth than the rest of the
country. After all, good ideology is that which brings maxi-
mum welfare to the largest number of people. The BJP has
not let populist concerns stop it from implementing its core
commitments, be it Antyodaya, cow protection, gender
equality, complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with
the rest of India and justice to Hindu families from Kashmir.
This is a corruption-free working model of idealism in politics,
in which the PM is a yogi and a commissar rolled into one.
The Right in India has produced more selfless men in public
life, contributed greatly to restoring pride and confidence
about the countrys future. There are hundreds of men in
the Sangh like Mohan Bhagwat, Bhaiyyaji Joshi, Dattatreya
Hosabale and Krishna Gopal, who can take any position, but
choose to be in the shadows and work for the country in the
most hostile conditions, not expecting anything in return.
Idealism, in fact, is a vision in action. O
 malabar moral

malappuram Is
Kerala Muslims have largely followed the path of peaceits been one century free of vio

I
n the 1990s, an RSS-leaning coconut tree belonging to a
Hindu household often damaged the clay roof-tiles of a
Muslim shrine in a small Kerala village. The coconuts would
fall on the roof of the mosque, causing such damage that the
issue soon built up communal tension. Repeated requests to cut
the offending tree fell on deaf ears. Finally, both parties decided
to take the matter for mediation to the much-revered spiritual
Shajahan leader, Panakkad Syed Mohammedali Shihab Thangal (1936-
madampat 2009), the supremo of the Indian Union Muslim League.
is a cultural critic and
After a patient hearing of both sides, the Pluralist idealism
commentator, writing in
Thangal took out some money, gave it to Vs intra-Communal
Malayalam and English.
the president of the mosque committee and ChauVinism
declared, The masjid has to be demolished. The weird irony of Malappuram,
The clay roof-tiles should be replaced with or for that matter the whole of
concrete. Popular beliefcall it superstition if Malabar, is that inter-communal
you willis that if the first donation is from the relations are always mana-
Thangal, his blessings will follow the project ged in idealistic terms while
until its successful completion. The parties intra-communal issues are dealt
returned to their Malabar village by night. The with in an extremely sectarian
old lady in the Hindu household was distraught and belligerent manner. Much
when told of the Thangals verdict and chided of the goodwill showered on the
her son, at the age ripe for Hindutva, for the Hindus in Malappuram by the
curse hed brought upon the family. She rushed majority Muslims may never
in a car to the Thangal that very night. The wise be on offer when it comes to
old man received her with grace and dismissed relations between the three pre-
in his famously reticent and soft manner her dominant markers of sectarian
promise of cutting the tree and profuse apol- schism within the Kerala
ogies for her sons indiscretion. The coconut Muslim community: tradi-
tree is the elixir of our life, the Thangal (1936- tionalist, Salafist and Isla-
2009) said. It should be protected at any cost. mist. Mind you, the first
This is Malappuram for you, dear Subrama- two of the three markers
nian Swamy. Why him? Because the 77-year- of sectarian identities
old politician, with the BJP since 2013, has for are host to further
some time been waxing belligerent about the splits within. That
pathetic plight of the Hindus in Kashmir and violence between
Malappuram. Its of a piece with the numerous them, verbal and
canards the Sangh parivar has been spreading physical, is so
about Malappuram in its cynical attempts to commonplace
import Indo-Gangetic barbarism into the har- that it hardly
monious social fabric of Kerala. Malappuram, a attracts wide
Muslim-majority (70 per cent) district upstate, media att-
is being demonised ad nauseam in order to whip ention.
up communal passions in the rest of Kerala, to
the obvious advantage of the saffron party.

70 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

nt mInI kashmIr
lence. Of late, extremism is rearing its head, but the literate state still has the antibodies.

In pure anthropological terms, Malappuram is in fact a

fascinating case study for a place where the entire majority
community, in this instance the Muslims, stands united in
favour of harmonious social relations with the distinctive
other while all markers of othering within are consid-
ered unworthy of humane treatment! In the Mappila folk
consciousness, being communal is a cardinal sin while being
religiously sectarian and schismatically bellicose is kosher,
even essential for salvation in the hereafter. In fact, if they
choose to be as nice to the different sects within as they are
naturally to the Hindus or Christians or to outsiders in
general, Malappuram can actually become the worlds most
beautiful experiment in pluralism! But Malappuram decries
intra-Islamic pluralism while it not only celebrates but also
romanticises inter-communal fraternity.
The sectarian hostilities among the Muslims of Malappu-
ram are relatively less known outside the Muslim fold, but
the famed inter-communal harmony within the district
between the Muslims and the Hindus is widely acknowl-
edged in the state (if, alas, not outside). No major communal
conflict has occurred in the district for nearly a century,
although pseudo-nationalists often confuse Malappuram
with Pakistan. The last memories of communal hatred go
back as far as the Mappila rebellion of 1921 or the expedi-
tions of Tipu Sultan in the 18th century. Although the agrar-
ian and anti-colonial nature of the former and the expan-
sionist power designs of the latter are not to be disputed as
the predominant tropes of the periods, there is no denying
the not-so-subtle manifestations of naked Muslim fanati-
cism that ruled the roost during both the occasions. But it
will be unfair not to recognise that the Mappilas of Malabar
learned their lessons and never nurtured exclusionary
tendencies ever since.

historiCal trajeCtory
Hindu-Muslim relations in Malabar did undergo many ups
and downs over long centuries. The nature of relations and
the intensity of closeness or degree of distance fluctuated
throughout history until India gained independence and
the state of Kerala was formed on the basis of Malayalam as
the common language. The pre-colonial period hardly saw
a significant rupture in inter-communal relations, though
historians mention some sporadic localised incidents. This
was primarily due to two factsas Theodore Gabriel points
out in his book, Hindu-Muslim Relations in North Malabar,
1498-1947. First, Islam came to the Kerala coast via peaceful
traders from Arabia. It was in their vital interests to forge
harmonious and symbiotic relations with their hosts. Sec-
ond, the Muslims in Kerala never made any attempt at politi-
cal conquest in spite of the military and financial muscle at
Illustrations by sajIth kumar

21 august 2017 OutlOOk 71

 m a labar moral

their disposal. They functioned largely as an orderly compo-

nent of the society, contributing substantially to collective
security and economic welfare and to the cultural pool.
They also played a leading political role in the dominions of
the regions Hindu kings, particularly under the Zamorin of
Calicut, dealing with the kings from a standpoint of self-
confidence and latent power rather than subservience.
But this state of amity was not to last very long, as powerful
foreign elements soon entered the scene and bitter political
rivalries ensued. The solid economic base of the Muslims
in the region faced an existential challenge from the Por-
tuguese. The accommodation and tolerance extended to
the Muslims by the Hindu kings were primarily because of
the prosperity that they had brought to the land. When the
Hindu kings saw in the Portuguese a powerful contender for
that role and felt they could bring better benefits in terms of
revenues and military wherewithal, all of them except the
Zamorin shifted their patronage to the new arrivals, infuriat-
ing the Muslims. This marked the beginning of a long period
that saw a wane in the trust between the two communities.
Hostilities thus generated during the Portuguese era were
sharpened during the rule of Malabar by Hyder Ali and his
elder son Tipu (1766-1792). The Muslims welcomed the
Mysoreans, for it meant for them an end to the deprivations
and loss of status brought by the Portuguese. The brutalities HaTRed To HaRMony The 1921 Mappila rebellion (above) was
the Mysoreans unleashed on the Hindus in complicity with
segments of the local Muslim community exacerbated the Post-indePendenCe transformations
mutual distrust and hostility. By the time Tipu ceded Malabar However, the Muslim leadership in Malabar seems to have
to the British under the Seringapatanam Treaty of 1792, the learned their lessons from the tragic events of Partition
marginalisation of the Muslims that began with the advent of and the disastrous effects of communal politics. The
the Portuguese was at its nadir. While they resented the Hin- Indian Union Muslim League, which undoubtedly was a
dus for supporting the Portuguese, the Hindus felt betrayed relic of Jinnahs Muslim League but with unmistakable
by the support the Muslims extended to the Mysoreans. In Malayali characteristics, adjusted its politics and strate-
short, the relationship between the two communities was gies to the values of Indias secular constitution. It took
extremely strained by the time the British came into Malabar. utmost care to function as a communitarian party commit-
The period of British rule in Malabar saw the eruption of ted to working for the constitutionally guaranteed rights
a series of armed uprisings by the of the minorities. It began to articulate
Muslims against the British gov- its politics in a language and idiom totally
ernment and the Hindu landlords in sync with Keralas cherished pluralist
hillock of hope
(Against Lord and State, in historian traditions. That its stronghold was the
K.N. Panikkars memorable coin- l Muslim-majority (70.25%) Mala- Muslim-majority district of Malappu-
age). Although agrarian protests in ppuram can be the worlds most ram made it all the more conscious of
beautiful experiment in pluralism.
essence, the uprisings that reached the importance of fostering harmonious
its apogee in the 1921 Mappila l No major communal conflict has Hindu-Muslim relations. The distinc-
rebellion had clear communal occurred in this north Kerala tive feature of the Muslim League
district since the 1921
overtones. The subsequent three in Kerala is that it strove
Mappila rebellion.
decades saw many instances of the to keep the community at
l Malabars Muslim
growing divide between the two the centre of the states
leadership has been for
communities in Malabar, including communal harmony.
politics, unlike other Muslim
the demand for Mappilastan and Result: genuine political political formations elsewhere
the overwhelming support of some empowerment. in India that revelled in
Malabari Muslims to Mohammed l The Hindus in the confessional isolationism. As a
Ali Jinnahs Muslim League and the district also have com- result, the Kerala Muslims emerged
demand for Pakistan. In hindsight, plete faith in the local as probably the only community
a Muslim in Kerala supporting the leadership and its com- of that faith in India that achieved
demand for Pakistan appears ridicu- mitment to the collec- genuine political empowerment
lously un-geographical and counter- tive wellbeing of the on the one hand and, on the
people regardless
intuitive, but it reflects the mutual other, lived out the promise of
of their religious
distrust that existed between the identity.
equal citizenship enshrined
communities at the time. in the Constitution.

72 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

the last instance of communal violence in Malappuram. Late spiritual leader Shihab Thangal (centre) was a proponent of peace.
targeting malaPPuram
Once the culture of communal harmony that thrives in
Malappuram is sabotaged, the Hindutva designs for the
state become easier to realise. The bogey of Hindus under
threat in a Muslim-majority district can help majoritarian
mobilisation in other parts of the state, but most of the
Muslims and Hindus have foiled such cynical moves until
now. In recent times, instances of temple desecrations
increased in the district, immediately followed by protests
by Hindutva organisations that pointed fingers at Muslim
outfits. Huge social media campaigns also ensued, demand-
ing that refugee camps be opened for Malappurams Hindus
in other parts of the state. But the designs failed miserably
because the culprits behind the desecrations turned out to
be criminals with Hindu names.
The collective wisdom of the people of the district was on
full display last year when RSS goons killed a young Hindu
convert to Islam in Kodinhi village. Hindu and Muslim
zealots did their best to fish in troubled waters, but the
villages Islamic leadership immediately called a meeting of
families from both the communities, who decided to thwart
all such attempts and maintain peace. They proudly recalled
that the Juma Masjid in the village had donated the land on
which the Koorba Bhagavati Temple stood.
When the Shree Lakshmi Narasimha Murthy Vishnu Tem-
ple in Punnathala village hosting Iftar for hundreds of Mus-
lims this year grabbed headlines, the temple authorities dis-
missed the hype as unwarranted, saying they have been doing
it for decades. The times have become so cynical that normal
social gestures of the past have come to be seen as extraor-
dinary spectacles of communal harmony. The results of the
recent bypoll to the Malappuram parliamentary constituency
was another fitting reply to the canards spread against the
district. In a district where the Hindus are said to be under
threat, a large majority of Hindus cast their votes in favour of
the two Muslim candidates representing the Muslim League
and the CPI(M), leaving the BJP with just about 65,000 votes.
That the BJP candidate promised the voters quality beef if
elected was a hilarious side story of the election.
ideals intaCt but threats galore
Hilly Malappuram, contrary to stereotype, is indeed an
island of hope in a sea of communal venom. But it will be a
mere fantasy to wish it will remain this way for long. Hindu
and Muslim fanaticisms are on the rise. There are a few
fringe groups that spare no opportunity to instigate Mus-
lims to react violently to provocations from the Hindutva
outfits. The support base of Hindutva organisations has also
grown steadily over the years, though not to an alarming
extent. But the wisdom and patience characteristic of the
districts Muslim leadership has prevailed so far. The Hin-
dus in the district also have complete faith in this leader-
ship and its commitment to the collective well-being of the
people regardless of their religious identity.
The story narrated at the start is one of the numerous
instances of how that mutual faith is instilled and sustained
over the years. The solution the Thangal offered for the
problem at hand may not have been to the liking of the
extremist elements from both sides of the divide, but it kept
the peace in a way that generated enormous goodwill. The
role of the various mainstream Muslim organisations in
keeping the social fabric of the district is commendable. The
Muslim League and the Thangals of Panakkad continue to
consider the preservation of harmony in the district as their
primary responsibility, refusing to fall for populist instincts.
Will Malappuram remain this way for long? Cant say. So
long as it does, harmony in the rest of Kerala will prevail.
Once Malappuram falters, the rest of the state will, too. O
21 august 2017 OutlOOk 73
 IndIan aerospace & defence revIew
Military
Modernization Key
to Global Stature for
IndIa
W
ith India rising as a strong economic power
in the region and attaining a global stature, it
must concurrently build on its modern mili-
tary power, to thwart any likely threats and
challenges from potential adversaries.
However, building up military power is not easy,
given the budgetary constraints, especially when the
country needs to meet the important requirement of
socio-economic development to better human lives.
The Army of the future will have to be technologi-
cally oriented, with many specialists, as compared to
generalists. It will have to be equipped progressively
with modern weapon systems, supported by technolo-
gy-based processes and automation to meet the needs
and challenges of the future battlefield.
It will need to replace or upgrade its aging inven-
tory of weapons and equipment, while
also restructuring and right-sizing in a
transformational way. However, con-
sidering that the modernisation plans
of the Army are lagging far behind al-
ready, budgetary constraints will play
an important part in formulating and
executing plans. As far as weapons and
equipment are concerned, the Army
needs to arm itself on priority.
The infantry, which is continu-
ously being employed in counter-terrorist or counter-
insurgency operations, needs to be empowered imme-
diately with new generation lightweight assault rifles,
bullet proof jackets and helmets, hand held thermal
imagers (HHTIs) as well as a host of other modern
weapons like carbines, machine guns, rocket launch-
ers, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), mortars,
night vision devices, radio sets and better back packs.
There is an urgent requirement of new 155 mm
artillery guns, including indigenously manufactured
Dhanush system, BrahMos cruise missiles, Smerch
and Pinaka systems to replace vintage 105mm and 130
mm guns, rocket and missile systems.
Now, with the procurement of M-777 light
howitzers from the US based BAE Systems, the Army
Building up military power is not easy, given the
Budgetary constraints, especially when the country
needs to meet the important requirement of socio-
economic development to Better human lives.
headquarters should try to get it deployed early along
the mountainous terrain of the northern borders.
More Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) of latest
technology must be inducted in adequate numbers for
surveillance and precision attack operations in both
peace and war.
T-90 tanks and ICVs, night enabled and equipped
with long range ATGMs, need to be inducted on pri-
ority. Older generation T-72 tanks and ICVs must be
refurbished and technologically upgraded. The Future
Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) and Future Infantry
Combat Vehicle (FICV) projects must be pursued with
vigour so that the next generation state-of-the-art re-
placements of tanks and combat vehicles are inducted
within the next 10 years.
The Army Air Defence is undergoing a total
revamp of equipment. The various army air defence
weapon acquisition projects such as surface-to-air
missile systems, as well as upgrading old generation
systems must be provided fresh impetus.
Recommending that all arms of the Army must
be night equipped with light weight, long range,
experts urge that where possible, old equipment must
be upgraded indigenously. Indigenous development
of modern defence hardware continues to remain a
concern and Indian policy aspiration for defence self-
sufficiency remains largely elusive.
The Indian defence industry suffers from major
policy, structural, and cultural challenges that beset a
military industrial complex that continues to struggle
in terms of delivering modern defence hardware that
could have added to the greater Indian defence indi-
genisation and production. Experts see many systemic
flaws in the Indian defence establishment and civil-
military relations, which present major challenges for
Indias military modernisation aspirations.
As Indias defence requirements are likely to in-
crease in the foreseeable future because of the dynamic
security environment, indigenous development of
modern defence hardware and technology is likely to
remain a top priority. n
 Make in India
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

OVER 60 YEARS. 6 AIRCRAFT TYPES. 1 N AT I O N

w w w. ra f a l e. co. i n
TO O FA N I MYSTERE IV ALIZE JAGUAR MIRAGE 2000 R A FA L E
 One wOrld
Photographs: Getty ImaGes

Towards a sTr
Broadminded global politics did find proponents in the Indian subcont

T
he world is in crisis. The risks from climate change, a renewed
threat of nuclear weapons, the Long War on Terror, a refugee
catastrophe and the possibility of ecological collapse have fed
widespread anxieties about economic security and personal
safety. everywhere there is clamour for solutions, yet never have the
options felt more restricted. On the one hand, there is the liberal order,
which has brought us austerity, global corporatism and soaring inequality.
Manu On the other lies a return to majoritarian nationalism, which, unfettered
Bhagavan by international institutions, helped lead humanity to two world wars.
teaches history and
human rights at India, for its part, has sought to play it safe, dreamt of a country on the move, in the world,
Hunter College and the adopting muscular, majoritarian nationalism alive with possibility. They brought com-
City University of New at home while embracing the liberal order mitment, energy and an undeniable zeal for
York, and is the author abroad, unwilling or unable to make a clear tackling intractable problems, to make the
of The Peacemakers: choice between the two, or to think creatively impossible possible. The fate of India and that
India and the Quest beyond them. In contrast with this lack of of the global polity, they insisted, were inex-
for One World. imagination, Indias anti-colonial pioneers tricably linked. As they applied their ideals,

78 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 LINeS OF ThOUGhT (From left) Indias PM Jawaharlal Nehru at
the 1961 NAM summit in Belgrade; Rabindranath Tagore wasnt a
votary of nationalism; B.R. Ambedkar pinned vitality to fraternity.

aTegic vacuum
inent early last century. The country today is embracing hardline positions.
they inspired a generation to think and act in new ways,
and their insights may well yet offer a pathway out of our
current predicament.
Beginning in the late 19th century, but drawing from an
older well of ideas, visionaries across the world saw that
many of the biggest social issuespoverty, identity, mi-
gration, violence were interrelated, and so demanded an
integrated set of solutions. Across a wide swath of the polit-
ical spectrum, internationalists, as they came to be known,
argued that one had to look at things from a planetary
perspective to find the most viable and enduring answers. In
the United States, for instance, Franklin and Eleanor Roo-
sevelt brought both optimism and determination to bear as
they unleashed programme after programme to help com-
bat the despair of the Great Depression of the 1930s. They
profoundly reconfigured the American political economy
before FDR declared a universal quest for Four Freedoms:
of speech and worship, from fear and want.
This kind of broadminded global politics resonated with
a wide array of founding figures in the Indian subconti-
nent, who came to similar conclusions on their own terms.
Despite disagreements and debate, they found common
ground on a substantial set of goals: a belief in collective
responsibility for the social good, a sense of justice, a duty
to raise up the wretched, and a desire to emphasise shared
human dignity.
B.R. Ambedkar gave the highest place to fraternity as the
only real safeguard against the denial of liberty [and] equal-
ity; and fraternity was another name for brotherhood or
humanity. What else can give to all living beings the same
happiness which one seeks for ones own self, he asked, to
keep the mind impartial, open to all, with affection for every
one and hatred for none? Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay,
quoting Mahatma Gandhi, insisted we must recognise that
our nationalism must not be inconsistent with progressive
internationalism. K.M. Munshi declared that India had
to have a sense of fairness, a burning desire for peace and
a faith in One World. Informing all of these views was a
scathing critique of nationalism that Rabindranath Tagore
had penned in 1917.
Railing against the cruel epidemic of evil and the
warmongering exclusivity at its core, Tagore argued that
nationalism was no solution to the peoples ills, and instead
a cause of them, juxtaposed to an international cosmopol-

21 august 2017 OutlOOk 79

 O ne wOrl d
itanism. In his forlorn, soul-stirring way, he concluded
with a lyrical warning: The naked passion of self-love of
Nations, he wrote of the sunset of the century, in its
drunken delirium of greed, is dancing to the clash of steel
and the howling verses of vengeance. The crimson glow
of light on the horizon is not the light of thy dawn of peace,
my Motherland. It is the glimmer of the funeral pyre burn-
ing to ashes the vast fleshthe self-love of the Nation
dead under its own excess.
s
UCh words spoke to Jawaharlal Nehrus heart, and
appealed to his tactile understanding of politics.
From the end of the First World War, he sought ways
to turn such poetry into political prose. After his ini-
tial hopes were raised and then dashed by Woodrow
Wilsons Fourteen Points, he found an opening when
Gandhi began quietly talking about internationalist ideals
in the late 1920s. The two soon began to exchange ideas,
agreeing, first and foremost, that the imperial order had to
be upended, for therein lay the ultimate manifestation,
if not the root, of systematic dehumanisation, discrimina-
tion and domination. These triple terrors led not only to
everyday misery for millions, but also, inevitably, to
violence and to war.
But the fate of the Fourteen also revealed a tragic truth.
Internationalism in and of itself was no panacea, for it was
not inherently anti-imperial. Instead, as the League of Nat-
ions willed into being by South Africas Jan Smuts demon-
strated, the two could go hand in hand. Combinations of
empires, would notand could notalter the ideologies and
ambitions that were hardwired into their constituent units,
making such an organisation an ineffective instrument of
80 OutlOOk 21 august 2017
K.M. MUNShI declared as an educationist that India had to
have a burning desire for peace and a faith in One World
SIBLINGS Nehruvian realpolitik mitigated Indias idealism.
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit furthered it at UN general assembly.
peace. The Leagues failure to prevent the outbreak of
World War II proved this point as much as it revealed the
need for all, including the Great Powers, to be included
in a functional international union.
That internationalism did not inherently serve as a
negation of imperialism didnt mean that it could not.
For Gandhi, the takeaway was obvious: [i]nternationalism
is possible only when nationalism becomes a fact, i.e.,
when peoples belonging to different countries have
organised themselves and are able to act as one man.
But for this to be true, the type of nationalism mattered,
as did the type of internationalism that followed. This
meant that narrowness, selfishness, and exclusiveness
all had to be rejected and expunged. As with all other
things, for Gandhi the way one travelled to a destination
determined the nature of the arrival and where one might
be able to go thereafter.
Writing in July 1942 to a prominent disciple, Gandhi
proclaimed, I was trying to takeeverybody towards world
federation. I want free India too for that purpose. Ifpower
of non-violence is firmly established, Empire idea dissolves
and world State takes its place, in which all the States of
the world are free and equal. Just weeks later, the Indian
National Congress committed the anti-colonial movement to
this ideal in the Quit India Declaration. In the wake of World
War-II, India formally adopted the creation of One World
as its grand strategic objective, a world government, with all
 O ne wOrl d

its requisite organs for executive, deliberative, and judicial
functions...[where] the absolute sovereignty of each nation
will have to undergo an agreed upon modification.
Progressive internationalism was premised on the prin-
ciple that free people everywhere should determine their
futuretogetherunder the aegis of forged common ideals.
Difference and the will of the locality had to be respected,
under the proviso that neither could serve as an excuse to
oppress. Gandhi explained that individual, national, and int-
ernational independence were all interconnected, and one
could not have one without the others, each limited only by
the legal maxim to not use what you have to harm others.
Indian leadership attracted admirers from all over,
from eccentrics like first world citizen Garry Davis, to
minences grises, like Albert Einstein. Arnold Toynbee,
who had achieved renown for his grand Study of history,
travelled to India in 1960 to deliver the first Azad Memo-
rial Lectures at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations,
a year after Nehru inaugurated them. Introduced, along
with the prime minister, as citizens of a world state which
is not yet in being, Toynbee pointed to what he called
Indias characteristic fabulous variety-in-unity as the
only alternative to mutual destruction. he brought his
talk to an end reflecting the catholicity of the Maulana for
whom his talk was named: We have not merely to appreci-

T
hIS is what led Indians to embrace the new concept ate our neighbours distinctive contributions, he affirmed,
of human rights then in gestation. In parallel with we have to love our neighbours themselves as precious
decolonisation, and as part of it, India understood members of a human family.
such rights as a way to embody the basic values that But the Cold War created an impenetrable cloud of con-
all societies shared, essential for the common good. Each fusion and paranoia. Suspicion bred more suspicion, until,
right carried with it an attendant obligation, so every per- finally, mistrust between a polarised world restricted and
son, every people, and every state had a range of duties to then smothered any opportunity to forge stronger bonds.
one another, inflecting the protections all were guaranteed. The 1962 Sino-Indian War was but one symptom of the
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit and hansa Mehta helped shape the malaise, after which India abandoned the high road. From
formal UN instruments with this in mind. its descent, it has never regained the standing.
For nearly two decades, India advanced this agenda Indias turn away from its former positions following the
with tenacity, though of course not without domestic and Chinese incursion was not a sharp, immediate reversal, but
international setbacks and inconsistencies. The countrys rather a gradual one. The country continued to work within
idealism was practically mitigated by a sense of realpoli- international frameworks like the Non-Aligned Movement,
tik, shaped in part by Nehrus Fabianism. India saw the and to build regional cooperatives like SAARC, to stand
big picture, but also approached each apart from the superpowers, though
constituent situation clear-eyed. Com- now in service of much diminished
promise that validated opponents while aims. It jettisoned its larger dream of
not betraying principles was essential grand concepts One World, and started to take more
to progress, and small achievements Internationalism: A political principle hardline, aggressive positions, embrac-
were to be celebrated. that transcends nationalism and adv ing a perceived new realism. Nonethe-
A liberal international order took the ocates greater political or economic less, India never retired its high-min-
cooperation among nations.
place of the imperial regime, coinciding ded talk either, and the result has been
with its demise, and centred on the Socialism: A range of economic and a growing gap between rhetoric and
social systems characterised by social
nation-state. But, for India, this was action, the countrys hollowed-out
ownership and democratic control of
not at odds with its goals, since decol- the means of production.
moral proclamations betraying the
onisation and self-determination were bigger strategic vacuum.
Cosmopolitanism: Ideology that all
seen as fundamental elements and human beings belong to a single com
Yet, the world is now in crisis. And
preconditions for functional global gov- munity, based on a shared morality. both nationalism and the existing libe-
ernment. The liberal order was a step in ral order have fallen short in addressing
Transnationalism: A social phenom
the right direction. enon grown out of the heightened our underlying distress, and have, in
interconnectivity between people some ways, even exacerbated matters.
and the receding economic and social And so perhaps it is time to think anew
significance of boundaries among about Indias unfulfilled internation-
nation states. The term was alist vision of a world governed by
popularised in the early 20th century. political and civil liberties, as well as
economic, social, and cultural rights
of a world that celebrates differences
of custom and community within such
norms, and that empowers people at
both the local and the global level.
Keep watch, India, Tagore imp-
lored. Be not ashamedto stand
before the proud and the powerful with
your white robe of simpleness. And
know that what is huge is not great and
Illustration by sajIth kumar pride is not everlasting. O

82 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 The perfecT ploT

desire and
c.S.
Gospel of d
VenkiTeSwaran Cinema, the site of endless possibility. Could there have been a bet
The independence generation tried, then decades of
The writer is a film critic,
professor and documentary
filmmaker experience brought in fatigue. Now the landscape is barren, selfish,
 t
he oxford Dictionary defines ide
alism as the belief that a perfect
life, situation, etc can be achieved,
even when this is not very likely

the
and as the unrealistic belief in our pursuit
of perfection. if one looks at idealism as
arising out of an individuals or societys

ream
ter place to create our utopias?
the nation-state
but flowers bloom in corners.
relationship with time, it involves a yearning
to break with the past and a dream about the
future; and both call for an intense engage
ment with the present. Art, even while it unf
olds in the present, draws from the past and
imagines futures, both utopias and dystopias.
it invariably leaves its traces in thematics
and narratives; one can find it in an auteurs
body of work and in the variations of a theme
or a motif that persists through time.

Auteurs of the NAtioN

Satyajit Ray, one of the greatest film chroniclers of the idea,
ideal and reality of India, died on April 23, 1992. The date is
significant as it marks a critical juncture in Indian history;
the nation was undergoing some of the most transformative
and traumatic events since independence. Manmohan Singh
announced the New Economic Policies that ushered in
globalisation, privatisation and liberalisation nine months
before Rays death. They marked a definitive departure from
Nehruvian economic ideals, and were to have a far-reaching
impact upon economy and society in the decades to come.
Babri Masjid was demolished eight months after Ray dep-
artedand it was an event that left the secular democratic
fabric of Indian polity tattered and severely challenged.
Rays oeuvre, spanning four tumultuous post-independence
decades, presents layered and nuanced narratives about the
Nation and the people. The trajectory of his romance with
idealism can be captured through a cursory examination
of the two trilogies that mark the beginning and end of his
careerthe Apu trilogy that includes Pather Panchali (Song
of the Road/1955), Aparajito (Unvanquished/1956) and Apur
Sansar (The World of Apu/1959), and his last three films:
Ganashatru (Enemy of the People/1990), Shakha Proshakha
(Branches of a Tree/1992) and Agantuk (The Visitor/1992).
The Apu trilogy follows three phases in the life of its pro-
tagonist Apua spatio-temporal journey from childhood
through adolescence to youth, and also from the village to the
holy town of Benaras and finally to the modern city of Calcu-
tta. It is also an inner journey for Apu, who goes from a happy
and innocent boy frolicking in the open spaces of the village

21 august 2017 OutlOOk 85

 T he perf ecT ploT
hope AND DespAir (Clockwise from left) satyajit
rays Pather Panchali, Apur Sansar, Ganashatru
with his sister Durga, to a moody, but ambitious student
exploring the magic of the city, and later as a carefree young
man, who wants to be free and pursue his literary passion. At
the end of the trilogy, he comes back to reclaim his son, and
we see both embarking on a journey which has no definite
destination or predetermined goal. It is a journey into a world
that has tragic potential, but is also full of hope and oppor-
tunities. The story of Apu resonates with a kind of indom-
itable idealism, one that has immense faith in life and the
world despite bereavements, deprivations and challenges; it
obviously resonates with the youthful energy and Nehruvian
optimism of the young, post-Independence nation.
Cut to Rays last three films, made at the fag-end of his life.
For the most part, these narratives unfold in the interiors
(a conscious choice due to his medical condition), and were
about aged men. Ganashatru, an adaptation of the Ibsen
play, is about an idealist doctor who fights a valiant battle
against the corrupt powers-that-be around him. The holy
water from the temple in his pilgrimage town is polluted
and could soon cause an epidemic. The doctor blows the
whistle but all arms of the Establishmentspiritual, bur-
eaucratic, legislative, and that of mediaconspire against
him to silence him. Shakha Proshakha is about an idealist
industrialist on his death bed, who is visited by his four sons
and their family. What devastates the patriarch more than
his impending death is his realisation about the corrup-
tion that has seeped into the lives of his offspring. Agantuk
again has an old man, bitten by wanderlust in his youth,
who returns to his home town Calcutta to spend a few days
with his blood relations. A worldly man in the profoundest
sense of the term, he is astounded and revolted by the level
of suspicion and inhospitality that welcomes him at home.
If the Apu trilogy was about a gradual opening out to the
world, the farewell trilogy is marked by an overwhelming
sense of disillusionment, degeneration and corruption
looming over everything. If there is melancholic youthful-
ness in the Apu films, one thats ready to explore and take on
the world even when it is harsh and bleak, in the last films,
the world is aged and sick, and there is a gradual closing in of
86 OutlOOk 21 august 2017
the narrative universe, spatially and socially: Ganashatru is
about a small pilgrim town, Shakha Proshakha is about a joint
family with a patriarch at the centre, and Agantuk is about a
nuclear family that has insulated itself from the world. Dont
be a koop manduk (frog in the well) is the parting advice of
the departing guest to the child in the family.
References to the rise of blind communal forces that are
manipulating the mind, heart and soul of the people recur in
all these films: both the idealist doctor who stands for reason
and scientific temper, and the wanderer who wants openness,
tolerance, humanism and rationality to prevail are pilloried
about their stand on religion and faith. These protagonists of
a bygone era of idealism are pushed to the corner and inter-
rogated like criminals. A staunch Nehruvian idealist that Ray
was, his last films are an indication of the depth and intensity
of his despair about the times, and the predicament of the
nation he was narrating throughout his oeuvre.
Now, let us look at the oeuvre of Adoor Gopalakrishnan, a
contemporary filmmaker and successor to Ray, who began
his career when Nehruvian idealism was on the backfoot
and only a couple of years before that dark authoritarian
interlude in Indian political historythe National Emer-
gency. His first film, Swayamvaram (1972), was about a
couple running away to the city to build a life of their own.
Swayamvaram means ones own choice and, as the narra-
tive unfolds, we find their choices gradually shrinking and
dreams falling apart. But behind the bleak surface, there
tuNNel of love (from left) Adoor gopalakrishnans to speak out against the System, voicing anger, dreams, ideals
Swayamvaram, Pinneyum and frustrations; it spoke for justice (idealist and futuristic)
as against law (status quoist and of the present).
is an undercurrent of hope and struggle to survive; the In early films, it appeared as a site of trenchant critique
womans unflinching stare at the audience at the end of the of the colonial order, often arguments of a colonial subject
film is one of defiance and overcoming, not of surrender that now resonated with nationalist fervour and the spirit
and despair. His latest film Pinneyum (Once Again/2016), of freedom (Pukar/Sohrab Modi/1939; Ram Rajya/Vijay
returns to that themethe struggle of a couple to survive in Bhatt/1943; Shaheed/Ramesh Saigal/1948). In the new,
this hostile world. But here, there is not an iota of idealism independent India, they began to articulate the aspirations
or ethics left in this world. The protagonist, in his greedy of citizens; they argued for and dreamt of a just and equitable
search for shortcuts in life, goes to the length of murdering world, and advocated ideals of justice that were expected of/
a random youth to steal insurance money and lives incog- from the new nation (Aawara/Raj Kapoor/1951; Kanoon/
nito, hoping for a return that never happens. The hesitant B.R. Chopra/1960). In these films, courts were sites of appeal
but complicit woman suffers all the ignominy to hold the to the state power, reminding and pleading with it to live up
rest of her life and family together. From the idealist lovers to the promises of the anti-colonial and nationalist strug-
of Swayamvaram, Viswam and Sita, to the practical and gles. The breathless courtroom speech of Sivaji Ganesan
doomed couple of Pinneyum, the distanceethical and in the legendary Tamil movie Parasakthi (R. Krishnan, S.
humanis huge and abysmal. In a way, Adoor seems to take Panju/1952), that launched his acting career, is a striking
off from Rays anguish and explores its despairing depths in example from the period. The passionate defence by Gun-
the current world and time. asekharans character is an appeal for justice from the State
against the violence and humiliation inflicted upon the
orDer! orDer! CourtiNg iDeAlism common man by the legal, religious and economic system.
Idealism is related to the idea of justice, which is an inces- In a similar vein, Malayalam movie Rarichan Enna Pouran
sant process of expanding awareness and rebellions against (Citizen Rarichan/ P. Bhaskaran/1955) culminates in a court-
unfreedoms of various kinds. And the site that reflects and room scene where the advocate arguing for the adolescent
enacts the changing ethical and idealist conflicts in Indian Rarichan, accused of stealing, poses a disturbing question to
cinema is the courtroom; it is a recurring site of pleas and the judge (and the audience)who made him a thief? One
appeals, argumentation and conflicts encounters such culminations in several
about law, justice and order, where trials films of the period from all over India.
are carried out, arguments heard, eviden- In the third phase of the post-Emerge-
ces laid out and judgements pronounced. in film after film, ncy era, there was an all-pervasive sense
It is an ideal arena where the struggle of disillusionment and despair. An over-
between the polar abstractions of good the court, a site for whelming sense of despair marks these
and evil, justice and crime, what is and courtroom dramas. For instance, films
what ought to be are played out. From the
exploring the idea of like Insaf ka Tarazu (B.R. Chopra/1980)
beginning, courtroom drama was part of justice, provided the and Damini (Rajkumar Santoshi/1993)
Indian cinema, especially in the genre of etc, voiced their anguish about the state
socials. The court, the seat and fount of platform for idealism of women within the family, society,
justice, was a site that enabled the narra- economy and the nation; films like Mohan
tive to elaborate upon the idea of justice to speak out against Joshi Hazir Ho!(Saeed Mirza/1984) dealt
vis-a-vis the powers that be; in film after with the frustrating ways in which the
film, it provided the platform for idealism the system. Indian legal system got around justice

21 august 2017 OutlOOk 87

 T he perf ecT ploT
Indian Express Archives
CourtiNg justiCe (Clockwise from top left) Damini,
Kanoon, Insaf Ka Tarazu, Parasakthi
without ever delivering it to the common man. Aakrosh
(Govind Nihalani/1980) was a devastating critique on how
the subaltern classes have been kept out of the orders of
justice of all kinds, social, political and economic. The new
millennium and the expectations and promises fuelled by
globalisation saw the emergence of the Market as the sole
new dispenser of equality and justice, where convoluted
ethical argumentation and the tortuous legalities of the
court seem to begin to lose their relevance and sanctity.
Courts begin to lose their aura and, most importantly, their
status as dispensers of justice, and as a
site where competing claims of civil society
could be expressed and settled, as Court
(Chaitanya Tamhane/2015) powerfully personal is the
and heartbreakingly shows. In Aakrosh,
the subaltern peasant played by Om Puri beginning and end
is silenced and silent; he is muted by the
brute power of caste and the economic
of the horizon for
and political order, he does not entertain characters in many
any hope of getting justice from it. On
the other, in Court the subaltern voice contemporary films;
of Narayan Kamble, the Dalit activist, is
loud, clear and rebellious, but his voice is their dreams wholly
never heard or listened to within a legal
matrix that caters only to the privileged. devoid of the social.
88 OutlOOk 21 august 2017
Indian Express Archives
iDeAlist Cries of DespAir
We are living in a post-truth age where idealism as an imag-
ination or yearning for an egalitarian world is at its lowest
ebb. What we encounter at the centre of many successful
contemporary films are individuals fired by personal ambi-
tions and the will to succeed. But their aspirations and dreams
are devoid of the social; personal is the beginning and end of
their horizon. Another kind of imagination that accompanies
this market aesthetics is one turned towards itself; it has eyes
only for an imagined past that never was, and a future that inc-
ludes only mirror images of itself, with no space for the other.
They cultivate and celebrate a demonic variety of social and
historical amnesia where idealismif it is imagination about
possible futuresis totally redundant.
But running parallel to these celebrations
of narcissism are narratives of human
despair, especially of the subaltern classes.
Films like Masaan, Sairat, Anhey Ghore Da
Daan, Papillio Buddha, Khwada, Chaura
nga, Visaranai, Thithi, Fandry and Court,
among others, rage against the oppressive
sediments of the past and its hegemonic
legacies in the present. Their narratives are
filled with a kind of unbearable void that
they elaborate upon and rebel against; one
can sense in them the pulsations of a new
and vibrant idealism that will strike new
paths and visions of the future. O
 hope springs

The PosiTive
Power of
DesPair
A school for kids of remote Himalayan villages. A school for Bhil-Bhilala children in
the Vindhyas. People chasing dreams, despite the despair. No, idealism isnt dead.

N
ow it is all integrated, my work and my life, Mannan
Gupta told me. what do you mean? I asked him. In
response, he spoke these words, touching a common core
somewhere: when I was working at a technology com-
pany as a newly-minted engineer, fresh out of college, I felt my personality
had split into two. I was someone else at work. My interests and personality
natasha were irrelevant during office. I had a good package, but I felt numb.

Badhwar I first met 26-year-old Mannan at the Social

Media for Empowerment (SM4E) award
is an independent
ceremony organised by the Digital Empow-
film-maker, media
erment Foundation in Delhi this year. Along
trainer and author of
with Asha Gond, a 12-year-old Gond adiv-
the forthcoming My
asi child from Janwaar, near Khajuraho in
Daughters Mum
Madhya Pradesh, and Ulrike Reinhard, the
German founder of the Janwaar Castle pro-
ject, Mannan was here to receive an award for
promoting social change through skateboard-
ing in the community mobilisation category.
During a round-table discussion where the
nominees and award-winners shared details
of their work and dreams, Asha revealed she
was on her way to London for a month where
her hosts had volunteered to teach her Eng-
lish. Asha is the first adivasi child from her
village to travel abroad.
A month later, I was chatting with Asha
about her adventures in England on Face-
book Messenger, which she had installed
on her smartphone, just like I have. Man-
nan preferred to speak on the phone from
the village, whenever the signal was strong
enough and he could be in one place for a
while. The key words in our conversations
were disruption, skateboarding, connectivity,
learning and creativity.
Perhaps it is a harder life than living in the
city, but I feel in control now, says Mannan.
I have something to hold on to. I feel my
work makes a difference. Because Janwaar
Castle is growing organically, it can be sus-
tainable. The introduction of a skatepark and
skateboards has disrupted traditional caste,
class, gender and age equations in the village.
Slowly but surely, this community of Gond
adivasis and Yadavs, which had otherwise
fallen off modern Indias development grid, is
witnessing radical, positive change. Not just
has the attendance surged at the government
school, the children have also been travelling

90 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

across the country visiting other projects and attending
art workshops. Janwaar has also become a hub for visiting
artists, keen to contribute and learn from this community.
I live in the suburbs of New Delhi with my husband and
three school-going children. Our day often starts with pick-
ing up the newspapers from our doorstep and then alter-
natively reading and rejecting to read the headlines across
the pages. We browse through our smartphones and scroll
down social media streams. I am diligent about deleting and
blocking mindless forwarded memes and messages.
There is a sense of despair that pervades the socio-
political climate of our times. Like a permanent intrave-
nous drip, news, fake news, maybe-news and opinion soak
into our consciousness all day, depleting our energies
whether we choose to react or struggle to ignore. In doc-
tors waiting rooms, restaurants and showrooms, multiple
television sets are always tuned in to news channelsas if
Illustrations by sajIth kumar
the ruckus of televison debates, raging anchorpersons and
looped videos of violence and lynching on the streets is
meant to be idle entertainment.
As a parent, one feels compelled to intervene in some way
between what seems to be happening all over the world and
what we want our children to believe about the world they
are growing up in. I find myself answering a lot of questions
from my children about everyday violence with the generic
lines, This isnt supposed to happen, beta. This is not right.
We are supposed to be safe. To be free. We can ask ques-
tions, we can disagree and express dissent. This is what it
means to be a democracy.
They nod quietly. I cannot tell to what extent they bel-
ieve what I am saying. How powerful can the lone parent
voice be, I wonder.
Last month, my children brought home a school mag-
azine and showed it to me with a certain pride. Our
eldest daughter has newly been included on
the editorial board in her school. Amidst the
admirable artwork and predictable adoles-
cent poetry was an article on the dark side of
Mahatma Gandhi. I wish I could say it was a
well-researched, evidence-based critique of
the popular, revered persona of the man whose
birthday is a national holiday across the country.
Instead, it read like a bitter WhatsApp forw-
ard manufactured by the burgeoning cottage
industry for fake news in India. It was a poorly
argued, repetitive mass of distortions. No one
had written it; it was attributed to Anonymous.
Another occasion for me to shake my head and
mumble inarticulately, This is not supposed to
happen. School is where your sense of enquiry
is meant to be encouraged, where you acquire
skills to discover answers. Not where you learn
to copy-paste hate messages.
Breswana is a Himalayan village at 7,500 feet
in Jammus Doda district. The nearest road is
a three-hour trek away and the nearest city,
Doda, is another hours drive by car. Almost a
decade ago, when Sabbah Haji and her family
had returned to their ancestral village and set
up the Haji Public School in Breswana, they had
30 students in kindergarten from the village.
Today they have 400 students, who come from
15 villages in the area.
Sabbah addressed the challenge of running a
school in Breswana by putting out a call for vol-
unteer teachers on social media. The students of
Haji Public School receive exposure to the wider
world and cultures beyond their village directly
through a string of volunteer teachers who visit
every academic session. They have appeared on
national and international television, in stories
featuring the phenomenal growth of their school
and community. An isolated community sought
connections to sustain itself and, in turn, offers
experience and inspiration to those who visit.
We want to provide an environment in which our
students can become good, intelligent or, at least,
21 august 2017 OutlOOk 91
 h ope s prings
Courtesy: sabbah haji

chanGe-MakInG haji Public School at Breswana in Jammus Doda district has 400 children from 15 villages

enabled human beings, says Sabbah Haji. Im just doing
what I think education should do, which is to give people the
ability to think reasonably, with all the facts in hand.
Imtiyaz Latief Dev and Amjad Latief Lohar are two of their
senior students who have moved on
to Kishtwar for higher studies. Amjad,
who is the son of a blacksmith and a
first generation learner, has got a schol-
arship to support his higher studies.
group of trainee journalists.
As we spent long summer days learning to frame shots,
conduct interviews and film scenes, I listened to the life
stories of Safina, Laali, Sunita, Sangeeta, Manisha, Babita,
Saroj, Shyamkali, Sunita, Meera and
Kavita. The common thread was pov-
erty, caste oppression, domestic abuse
and a struggle to get an education and
financial independence. There was also
grit, abundant humour and a determi-

o
NE way to rise above despair
and the onslaught of bad
news is to assume agency over
ones own choices. To sum-
mon ones own resources to create,
rather than to just react. In June 2016,
I found myself on the bank of the
river Mandakini in Chitrakoot Dham,
Karwi, amidst a group of womenall
of them armed with smartphones and
filming video clips. Earlier last year, I
had conducted a workshop in mobile
journalism with these women in the
Delhi office of Khabar Lahariya, a
women-only news organisation that
reports from all over Uttar Pradesh in
Bundeli, Awadhi and other dialects.
Now I had arrived in Bundelkhand to
provide technical training to a larger
fakebooking news
Fake news, defined by the New York
Times as a made-up story with an
intention to deceive, is arguably the
biggest challenge facing the news
industry worldwide
At least 62 per cent of US adults
get news on social media. Political
commentators and surveys suggest
that Donald Trump would not have
been elected president were it not for
the influence of fake news.
At least 115 pro-Trump fake stories
were shared on Facebook 30 million
times, and 41 pro-Clinton fake stories
7.6 million times
nation to make the best of opportuni-
ties around them. A focus on telling
stories of their own land and people in
the way they understand them.
Like the skateboards for adivasi
children in Janwaar, the smartphones
in the hands of poorer-caste women
journalists in Bundelkhand are
equally disruptive of hierarchies and
traditional social equations. Today,
khabarlahariya.org hosts not only a
rich archive of video news and features,
they also create The Kavita Show,
where Kavita editorialises on national
news from a local perspective. Their
focus has remained consistently on a
local audience and perhaps this is why
their appeal is far wider. The closer
they report from the ground, the more

92 OutlOOk 21 august 2017

 Courtesy: ulrike reinhard

See theM Play an evening at Janwaar castle, where Gond and yadav kids skate this way to a new tomorrow

authentic their content is for all audiences. there are ways in which this despair has its uses. Feeling the
Hope is just a beginning, but hope is critical to guide act- dissonance between what was meant to be and where we
ion. James Baldwin famously said, Not everything that is find ourselves instead is the first step towards change.
faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is Is this the end of idealism? Ideals are what we make of
faced. The lone voice of the parent can break out of its iso- them. They can remain restricted to protest banners and
lation. It will find power and nurturance from other voices. election slogans, or we can draw inspiration from each
On the gentle slope of a hill in the Vindhyachal range in others work and attempt to live them. Pure cynicism is as
Sendhwa, Madhya Pradesh, is another school called the impotent as pure idealism.
Adharshila Learning Centre. Started in 1998 by Amit and The alumni of Adharshila Learning Centre return to
Jayashree, this residential school for Bhil and Bhilala children their school as PhD students and young professionals to
has become a case study for how local both give and take from the source
language, traditional knowledge and that had first been a fertile ground of
family history can be seamlessly incor- learning for them.
porated in pedagogy to make education a ideals are what From Janwaar, Mannan quotes
holistic instead of alienating experience. Shivraj, a teenager who has been stud-
we make of them. ying him with keen attention. When

B
EYOND the world of priv-
ileged, elite schools in the
metros, there are many other
learning institutions in this
country where reverence for knowl-
edge and independent thinking is being
nurtured. Beyond the shrill, motivated
noise of mainstream journalism, there
are other ways in which news is being
reported. If there is an overwhelming
feeling that the battle of individual
freedoms and equality is being lost in
India today, then we must also know
They can remain
restricted to protest
banners and election
slogans, or we can
get inspired by each
others work and
attempt to live them.
you first came here, you looked like a
typical city kid. But you have matured
now. You have become like a big man,
Shivraj says, offering approval.
In every generation, there are those
who smash the scaffolding of an
out-of-date value system and rebuild
again, starting from scratch. Their
stories contain many permissions
that nurture both the individual and
community. Success stories have
power and hope, they must travel as
far as we can take them. O

21 august 2017 OutlOOk 93

 NEW BRUSHES

BETWEEN MOTI
Indian art issued forth from a deep need to establish an ideal aesthetic.

by Stuti Agarwal

T
HE story of art is a story of its being harnessed to various ideals
the religious, moral and classical ideals that the Renaissance and
post-Renaissance painters strove for, or an ideal bucolic arcadia
so dear to the Romantic landscape artists, or even the mimetic
perfection that was the proclaimed telos of the Impressionists. A need to
engage the masses with the gathering forces of nationalism occurred in
modern times. Two famous worksboth embodying a national idealspring
to mind: Eugene Delacroixs Liberty Leading People (1830) and Abanin-
dranath Tagores Bharat Mata (1905). Created at pivotal moments in the
history of France and India, one is a clarion call to revolution; the other a
serene image of benevolent motherhood. Both are unalloyedly idealistic.

94 OUTLOOK 21 August 2017

VES AND MOTIFS
Market forces have hewn off the two, but a vanguard still explores the frontiers.
Then there is the art of protestcautionary records of
humankinds egregiousness, of the displacement of ideals.
The anti-clerical ghouls and idiot monarchs of Francisco Goya
condemn the social and moral rot in Spain, his disasters of
war series are a systematic impeachment of militarism, and
A Military Execution in 1808 is the first great anti-war picture.
Over a hundred years later, his countryman Pablo Picasso was
to express much the same in Guernica (1937)the howling,
cowering, contorted mass of sufferers a lasting testament to
the brutal destruction of the Basque town during the Spanish
Civil War. In India, Chittoprosad Bhattacharyas paintings of
of the Bengal famineoften done for journals of the Commu-
nist Party of India, often in spare pencil, brush and inkare a
horrific record of death, decay and indignity.
The first decades of the 20th century saw the Bengal school
in intense cogitation over the direction of Indian arthow to
evolve an Indian idiom that broke from the representational
reality of Western academic painting, yet was eclectic and
open. They did so with a refined revivalismgoing back to
Mughal miniatures and Ajanta frescoes (and thematically to
Indian mythology), but also to Japanese wash techniques. The
Bombay school sought to forge its own indigeneity too.
Indian artists, inevitably, responded to the freedom struggle.
Jamini Roy forsook his individualistic style and, as a radical
critic of colonialism, embraced the utopia of his pata-inspi-
red primitive style. Nandalal Boses frescoes in Santiniketan
were a meld of traditionsfrom Rajasthan, Tibet and Bengal
to that of China and Japan. These were cast in a nationalist
mould in the posters and murals Nandalal did for the 1938
Congress session in Haripura, Gujarat. They depict common
folk, artisans, musicians, farmers in scenes from village life
the Gandhians tribute to the Mahatmas vision of an ideal,
traditional village life containing the real soul of India.
The stage, finally, was set for the first generation of postcolo-
nial artists who had their creativity dipped in a deep sense of
national idealism and yet were primarily inspired by Western
modernism. The Progressive Artists Group in Bombay was
founded in 1947 by F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza, M.F. Husain, K.H.
Ara and H.A. Gade. Their commitment to their credoa
concern for significant formto the utter disregard of the
THIS INDIA
Far left, an
ink-work by
Chittoprosad
depicts the
victims of the
Bengal famine;
Three Dynasties
from M.F.
Husains Indian
Civilisation
series
21 August 2017 OUTLOOK 95
 NEW BRUS H ES
market is legendary. So are their process-driven, provocative
canvases. They were pure artists and lived as suchwhen
Krishen Khanna left his comfortable bank job and chose to
work full-time as an artist, his friends, Husain and Raza, held a
celebratory dinner in Paris. Acclaim came after a long, hard
apprenticeshp before the easel. The struggle of the older
generation has been immense. The art market only opened
up in the last 15-20 years. Their fight to make a living
through art instilled in them a connect to
art as an extension of themselves, says art
critic and curator Uma Nair.
Souzas journey from his widely accla-
imed (and equally berated) nudes, to his
own critique of Christianity, the Church,
or the corruption of the upper class, stood
firm on the belief that anything destructive
in society must be confronted. He once
said, I use the aesthetic rather than bul-
lets or knives as a form of protest against
stuffed shirts and hypocrites. Razas early
abstracts are often a reworking of his own
memories as the son of a forest ranger in
MPs Narsinghpur district. Husains last
works, The Indian Civilisation series, eight
monumental triptychs, were a summation
MODERN MASTERS Clockwise from top
left, Subodh Gupta, Atul Dodiya, F.N.
Souza, Chittoprosad Bhattacharya,
S.H. Raza and M.F. Husain
96 OUTLOOK 21 August 2017
SPOT FIXING Left, A Bindu painting by S.H.
Raza; above, Atul Dodiyas Mahalakshmi
of how he saw India. V.S. Gaitonde talked of art as waiting.
The most important aspect of painting is waiting, waiting,
waiting, between one work and the next, he once said.
This primal need to create meaningful art has attenuated
under the grasping blade of commercialism, say old-timers.
The numbers are certainly impressive: Artery Indian Auction
Report 2017 showed a turnover of Rs 609.03 crore from global
sales of Indian art in 2016. Art as investment, and artists enr-
ichment through auctions and commissions
was only inevitable. Earlier, masters never
compromised. Today, the work of the youn-
ger generation has become market-driven
and repetitive, says Yashodhara Dalmia,
art historian and curator. There has been a
qualitative degeneration, she adds. Senior
art critic Kishore Singh agrees. Artists do
tend to be market-led. To sacrifice to be an
artist is an old concept, and the artist in the
garage idea is long gone..., he says.
But many demur with this line if the art is
relevant. If artists can make money, why
not, says art collector Abhishek Poddar.
A change from the late 70s when, as Atul
Dodiya remembers, everyone believed art
could not provide sustenance and required
one to have an alternate career. In a letter
to Raza dated September 29, 1952, painter
and sculptor Sadanand Bakre wrote, I get
very little time to do my work. I still have
to do a full-time job, which is an unhealthy
CROSS TO BEAR Above, Crucifixion by F.N.
Souza; right, Subodh Guptas Line of Control

sign for my work. But it is bread and butter. But today, for his shutter series, Dodiya painted Mahalakshmia com-
says senior artist A. Ramachandran, The opening up of the mon, Ravi Varma-esque calendar art goddess, yet, behind the
market has led to parents wanting to make artists of their shutter, it depicts the tragedy of three dowry suicides. Then
kids, because even art school graduates could sell a pleasing there was his Gandhi series in response to communal violence
landscape for as much as Rs 2 lakh. after the Babri Masjid demolition. Bharti Khers signature
Dodiya is glad that he finds books and materials more bindis signify the third eyecelebrating an object of ritual
affordable these days, but agrees the market can circumscribe and questioning perceptions about the common object
the kinds of art deemed desirable. Yet, is the ideal artist, Then there are others like Jitish Kallat, Nalini Malani and
creating relevant arta response to the political or historical Jagannath Panda with their own visual languages.
context or a pure personal aestheticbut in sync with the mar- But the overall field has so much that is pure dross. The
ket, an impossibility? Sure, there are definitely artists who are number of artists has gone up drastically in the last decade, and
making attempts to do more than just sell art, says Dalmia. so has the number of factories producing art, says Poddar.
Still, the hand of the market can be more Artists inner lives have changed too.
insidious than the mere, bald fact of there Ive had long conversations with the
being commerce. It can seep into a whole masters about art, technique, society
epoch, thinning out the aesthetic fibre, and life, reminisces Dalmia. Today, she
valorising the trite, the spectacularthe A thriving art market is saddened by how self-centred artists
artist may labour earnestly to create what are. Its all about them, their next
he or she deems to be a relevant, topical flush with funds has show, their current work. Art is now a
message and yet be under its sway. confined space. The value system has
Subodh Gupta has his own signature
adversely affected leached out, agrees Ramachandran.
lexicon. Not for him pretty landscapes many artists need to A spirit of conscious awarenessa
or New Age spiritual derivations that positive self-importance, if you like
appeal to the parvenu buying culture. create meaningful art. about the artists responsibility is a
Known for his use of steel utensils casualty among contemporary artists.
as a symbol of the common man, his The number of artists Yet, its only the real art and artist that
installation, Line of Control, is a mush- survive. Only because parts of India are
room-shaped cloud made with shiny has shot up, and so romancing affluence, theres no call to
utensilsa dire message to nuclear give up on the regenerative power of
neighbours India and Pakistan. In 2001, have art factories. art. A light will break through. O

21 August 2017 OUTLOOK 97

 THE FALL

FROM OLYMPUS
TO THE ARENA
Simulated to exhibit the best in the human spirit, sport was the site of
ideal competition. Now, individual glory is the one rule of the games.

W
HAT is sport? Is it an activity that is an end in itself, or
is it a means to an end? Can we put a professional sports
person on par with a corporate honcho and say both
get wages for the acts they perform, the better the
performance the greater the money earned? Is sport today just like any
other job or is it the pure pursuit of excellence in a given discipline,
where life begins and ends in performing a physical act with great skill
PRADEEP that awes audiences worldwide. Is winning an Olympic medal or a
MAGAZINE cricket world cup the ultimate reward for these set of skills, or is
is consulting editor
with the New Indian becoming the highest buy in an IPL auction the ultimate dream?
Express
Before I confuse you more and more by riches, especially if that person belongs to a
bombarding you with questions, let me make medal-parched country like India. Overnight,
the reasons for becoming a quiz master clear. from a nobody to a national icon, the transition
My brief is to explore whether there is any ide- is so swift that even the athlete fails to adjust to
alism left in sports as we know it today, or is it the new reality. The clamour is not to provide
just another commercial activity where money, more and better facilities and a conducive
cheating and corruption are as much a part of environment to all those who want to pursue
life as is professional expertise. sport and are good at it, but to produce a win-
When in 1896 Pierre de Coubertin, a French ner and then to load the winner with so much
baron, founded the modern Olympics, his money that he faces the danger of getting
words The important thing in life is not the crushed by the weight of those bounties.
triumph, but the fight; the essential thing is Ironically though, there was a time when the
not to have won, but to have fought well, lent biggest threat to the Olympics was supposed to
competitive sport an idealistic halo. Today, come from professionalism. The ideas of purity
these words sound archaic, an anachronism in sport had led to the founders of the Olympic
in times where the only essential thing in life movement believing that money is a corrupting
seems to be to win, regardless of how one has influence and anyone taking money to perform
fought: well, indifferently or with the grease of risked a ban. One of the most versatile athletes
money or drugs fuelling you to the top, it does ever, Jim Thorpe, won two medals in the 1912
not matter. What matters is the podium finish. Olympics but made the mistake of participating
Winning is everything. Those who only com- in a professional baseball event where he took
pete fall by the wayside, it is a world of winners two dollars per game. This led to such an out-
take all, and national anthems are played for rage that he was stripped of his medals.
them and not for those who may have risked As the world moved along, earnings of
losing out but adhered to the spirit of sport: an athlete were no longer seen as an act of
Pursuit of excellence for its own sake. obscenity. The Olympic organisers were now
Today an Olympic winner is showered with confronted with a far greater menace which

98 OUTLOOK 21 August 2017

 Illustrations by SAJITH KUMAR
has today become a threat to the integrity and idealism of
sport than professionalism ever wasdrug abuse.
In the 1988 Olympics, Jamaica-born Canadian Ben
Johnson blazed the Seoul tracks by running the 100 metres
in 9.79 seconds to leave the legendary runner Carl Lewis
far behind. It stunned the sporting world. This disbelief
soon turned into disgust when the world came to know that
Johnson tested positive for having taken a banned sub-
stance that was responsible for his enhanced performance.
The drug menace, that had from time to time shaken the
sports world, had ensnared its biggest victim, turning him
from hero to villain in just a day.
The motto of this new world was fast turning to win-
ning is everything, from the earlier idea of participation
mattering more and it was paying the price of
these changed values. No amount of condem-
nation or moral outrage could cover up for
the widespread systemic doping programmes
that various countries had experimented with
or were unleashing to produce winners.
Billions were being spent in laboratories to
produce drugs that could give an athlete an
advantage that separates a winner from the
loser, at times the difference being a 100th of a
second. A hairs breadth, as they say.
East Germany, Italy, Russia and even
America were not immune from these secret
experiments that helped them stay unde-
tected by the testing regime of the Interna-
tional Olympic Committee. No matter how THE DREAMER Baron
much resources and manpower the Olympic Pierre Coubertin
organisers are putting together to fight the drug-abuse that
helps athletes run faster, jump higher or swim better, they
are, it seems fighting a losing race. One suggestion commo-
nly heard is to let doping not be an offence, as it will at least
create a level-playing field. It is a suggestion that implies
that since we cant catch a thief, let stealing be made legal!
Howsoever outrageous this suggestion may sound, it is once
again in keeping with the changing times, where winning
a medal, bringing glory to the nation, is considered like
fighting a war at the border. An athlete today, especially in a
jingoism-driven nation like India, is equated with an Army
soldier who is out to vanquish an enemy. In a battle of unim-
aginable high stakes, risking lives to drugs is a minor issue.
But drugs alone may not be the only issue, especially in
India, where sport begins and ends with a
game called cricket. Even its worst critics
concede that the drug menace is not a threat
for a game where different set of skills come
into play and pure fitness may not be such a
decisive factor. Here the threat, as we all know,
is the all-pervasive greed that has from time to
time, shaken the very core of the sport.
Cricket, a game rooted in tradition, but now
being torn asunder by the onslaught of its
much shorter, faster and furiously paced ver-
sion called the T20, has always been seen from
the colonial prism. A pastime of the British ari-
stocracy, where the amateurs were respected
and the working class players were paid and
hence called professionals, a derogatory term
in those days, the sport was supposed to be the
21 August 2017 OUTLOOK 99
 T HE FAL L
Photographs: GETTY IMAGES

DAWN TO DUSK (From left) Jim Thorpe

makes the broad jump, Olympics 1912. Ben
Johnson on the 100M track, Olympics, 1988.

symbol of justice and fair play. The Britishers spread this Money is pouring into the game and some suspect even
sport wherever they ruled and their pomposity led them illegally. Allegations of players on the take are so rife that
to believe that since they played the game, it represented many compare the event with the WWE (wrestling) bouts
whatever is good in a human being. that have phenomenal popularity, even when everyone
Today, it wont be a misnomer to call this game completely knows they are fixed.
Indian, played for and by a nation which fuels 80 per cent But the most amazing part of sport is, despite all these
of crickets economy. If India proven charges, doubts and cyni-
threatens even to withdraw cism that the fan has to live and deal
from an international event, with, he still watches cricket matc-
the world shivers. Some Indian hes with the same intensity as he
cricketers are among the richest did before. A Rahul Dravid flourish
athletes in the world, compet- on the on-side, a Sachin Tendulkar
ing in earnings with the likes straight punch, or a Sourav Ganguly
of a Messi or a Federer. But, caress through the covers always
we all know, that despite the satiates a fan, whets his appetite
amount of riches that the game RICHEST SPORTING EVENTS and leaves him with the euphoric
and its players are making, the UEFA Champions feeling that there is so much beauty
sport has been devastated with League (Soccer) ............................ $43.4 million in perfection that nothing can spoil
players having been caught for UEFA European Football it. It is this aspect of sport, its skills
match-fixing, spot-fixing and Championship (Soccer) ................... $33 million and their display in very adverse
its administrators part of an FIFA World Cup (Soccer) ................. $31 million and competitive circumstances that
eco-system where the basic FedEx Cup (Golf) ............................. $10 million bring the sagging muscles and brittle
name of the game is corruption. bones of even the aged alive.
UEFA Europa League (Soccer) .......... $9 million
The Indian Premier League, When Roger Federer on the run,
World Series of Poker (Poker) ....... $8.9 million
a bedazzling two-month long unleashes his backhand, not a muscle
event, that sends fans into The Super Bowl (Football) ............. $8.5 million out of place and the body moving like
raptures with the best players The World Series (Baseball) .......... $7.9 million a ballet dancer, you feel sport is after
in the world competing for who The Dubai World Cup all worth watching for its own sake,
can hit more sixes and fours, Night (Horse racing).......................... $6 million winning and losing be damned.
has captured the imagination of Nascar Chase for the Sprint Idealism in sport may be dead.
audiences and sponsors alike. Cup (Auto racing) ........................... $5.8 million Long live sport. O

100 OUTLOOK 21 August 2017

decisive moments

HOW
CAGED
BIRDS
SING
Holding fast to their
Made Of A Different Clay
beliefs, gaols didnt daunt,
When someone is unbelievably cocky, unbelievably talented,
death nor defamation with the steel of idealism running down his spine, all the state
deterred them. can do is wring its manacled hands. Mohammad Ali struts def
iant in New York in 1970 with the Black Panthershe was
We recall them thus. handed five years for dodging the Vietnam draft, stripped of
his heavyweight title. Look into his eyes to see if he cares.

The Bell
Tolled Thus
Quit Indiathe
pithy urgency of
Before Robben Island that call to action
Adoption of the Freedom Charter by the by Gandhijiexa
ANC meant treason for S. Africas apa A Stand Still Potent ctly 75 years
rtheid state. Nelson Mandela (third from Once upon a time, politics used to burst upon the niceties of agogalvanised
right, seen here at the trial in Johann Olympics. In 1968 in Mexico City, the 200m victory ceremony Indians as never
esburg in 1956) and others were jailed, saw US athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their before. Even as
but later acquitted. The tallest of terms gloved hands in Black salutes, ignoring anthem and flag. For Dr. the top leader
awaited him. Hed remain unbroken. King was killed in April that year, and no hope was in sight. ship was put in
jail, the unde
terred masses
fearlessly con
fronted the pol
ice, as in this
picture from
Bombay. As the
Right, on both
sides of the religi
ous divide, were
jockeying for
positions in the
Viceroys
Council, Indians
fought on.
 Photographs: GETTY IMAGES

Freedom Song From Every Molehill

Americas homilies about injustice are legion, but the deaths of
Philando Castile, Michael Brown and hundreds of other una
rmed Black persons show many of the dreams of Martin
Luther Kingunforgettable in a style honed at the pulpitdel
ivered that August day at the Lincoln Memorial remains unre
alised. Yes, and how many deaths will it take....

This Life Of Toil

Modern India was ten in
1957, and fighting a
thick encrustation of
socioeconomic evil
to break through into
a new age. Mehboob
AP
Khans Mother India
metaphorised the bone Chinas Greatest Hero
crushing struggle in A lone protester stalling a troop of tanks in
our villages in the Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989: is this
indomitable person late 20th centurys most defiant act of ideal
of Radha. Epic in ism? Beijings students asked for free speech
scope, powered by and press and accountability from their one
a careerchanging party. Their Communist fathers gave
performance by them bullets. Put all of Chinas eco
Nargis and Sunil nomic progress and global clout
Dutt, this is one of on a scale. Now put the tank
our national man on another. Which one
movies. weighs more?
decisive moments

Since 1969...
Music sings of Utopia. At
Woodstock, that impossi
ble ideal was realised, if
fleetingly. For four August
days 48 years back,
5,00,000 fans chewed up
the turf in New York state,
waking up to The Who,
having Jefferson Airplane
for brekka, CSNY for
lunch and the Grateful
Dead for dinner. Smoke
from pot raised a purple
haze, rain created slush,
Ravi Shankar played....
Twas for peace and music,
but at the height of Nam,
it marked a generation.
AP
Death For The Ballot
We are lucky; we got universal adult suffrage along with ind
ependence. But half of Britonswomenfolkhad to wait till
1921. The struggle was tough and bloody, and suffragists like
Emmeline Pankhurst had to face a brutish state. The mili
tant Emily Wilding Davison chose a dramatic martyrdom
throwing herself in front of a racing horse at the Epsom
Derby on June 4, 1913. Her epitaph? Deeds not Words.

A Small Step For Mankind

Even after Americas Great Emancipation in 1865, political
expediency and a cunning system of Jim Crow laws meant
half the country was cruelly segregated and criminally
treated. Schools were desegregated in 1954, but nobody con
fronted the Souths wolfish vigilantism. In 1960, Ruby
Bridges, 6, attended a whiteonly elementary school in New
Orleans. Well protected by marshals and police to keep at bay
a howling pack, her courage moved the world. It was a signal
moment in the Civil Rights Movement.
 NE WS & RE VIE WS

NECL Signs Annual MoU With its Parent Company PFC Signs MoA with Meja Urja
Nigam Pvt. Ltd.
N BCC (India) Limited and
NBCC Engineering & Consul-
tancy Limited (NECL), a wholly
owned Subsidiary of NBCC, have
recently signed MoU for the FY
2017-18. As per the MoU, signed
between Dr. Anoop Kumar
Mittal, CMD, NBCC and Shri S D
Sharna, CEO, NECL, the targets
for NECL under various parame-
ters for the FY have been set. The
event was graced by S/Shri S. K.
Pal, Chairman, NECL; Rajendra
P ower Finance Corporation Ltd. (PFC) has signed
a Memorandum of Agreement with Meja Urja
Nigam Pvt. Ltd. (A JV of NTPC Ltd & UPRVUN Ltd)
Chaudhari, Director (Commercial), NBCC; Neelesh Shah, Sr. Executive Director, for a loan of Rs.6608 Crore to be advanced by PFC
NBCC; N. P. Aggarwal & M B Singhal, Directors, NECL and other Senior Officers for setting up of 2x660 MW Meja TPP at Allahabad,
of the Company.. A general review of various projects were also held at the UP. Shri Rajeev Sharma, CMD, PFC, Shri N.N. Rai,
event when Dr. Mittal, CMD, urged upon NECL to put in their best to further CEO, Meja Urja Nigam, Shri. Gurdeep Singh, CMD,
consolidate the position of the Subsidiary and to ensure achievement of all the NTPC and senior officials of PFC, NTPC and UPR-
targets fixed for the FY 17-18. VUNL were present on this occasion.

NTPCs JV Company - Meja Urja Nigam Pvt. POWERGRID bestowed the D&B PSU Award
Limited signs loan Agreement with PFC PDun & Bradstreet PSU Award 2017 in
OWERGRID has been conferred the

the Electricity: Power Transmission Sec-

M eja Urja Nigam Pvt Limited , a 50:50 joint

venture of NTPC Ltd and Uttar Pradesh
Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd. , signed a Loan
tor category. Shri Ravi P. Singh, Director
(Personnel) received the award from
Shri Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Secretary,
Agreement Dept. of Investment and Public Asset
for Rs 6608 Management, Ministry of Finance at a
crore to glittering ceremony held in New Delhi
finance on 25th July, 2017. Dun & Bradstreet is
capital ex- the worlds leading provider of business information and knowledge.
penditure
of power
project
BEL wins D&B Top PSU Award 2017
consisting
of 2 units of N avratna defence PSU Bharat Electronics
Limited (BEL) has won Dun and Bradstreet
Indias Top PSU Award 2017 in the Manufacturing:
660 MW being set up at Meja near Allahabad, UP.
The Agreement was signed in the presence of Medium and Light Engineering Sector category.
Shri Gurdeep Singh, CMD NTPC, Shri K. Biswal , Shri M M Joshi, Executive Director (National Mar-
Chairman, MUPNL and Director (Finance), NTPC keting), BEL, received the award on behalf of BEL
and Shri Rajeev Sharma, CMD, PFC and other from Mr. Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Secretary, Department of Investment & Public
senior officials of NTPC, MUNL and PFC. Asset Management, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, at the awards
ceremony held at New Delhi.

Inauguration of First Skill Development Centre at CISF campus 5th Reserve Battalion, Ghaziabad
O n 5th June, 2017, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between CISF and National Skill Development Coop-
eration (NSDC) and MSDE to develop skills amongst the retiring/retired personnel of CISF, their families, students and Low
Medical Category personnel. Under MoU, Skill Development Training will be imparted for five years and skill development centres
will be set up focusing on following sectors :-
Food preservation Handicrafts and apparels
Beauty and wellness Jewellery making
Industry related skills like mobile repairing etc.

On 01.08.2017 the first skill development Centre has been opened

at CISF 5th Reserve Battalion Ghaziabad in the presence of senior
officers from CISF, NSDC, MSDE and CISF personnel and their families
were also present on the occasion. At this Battalion skill training on
Beauty Therapist in the Beauty and Wellness sector will be im-
parted. CISF has provided the required infra-structure for the Skill
Development Programme and rest all verticals are taken care by the
Training partner identified & given responsibility by NSDC. NSDC will provide skill certificate after successful completion of course
to the trainees, which will assist them majorly in entrepreneurship & business. Training partner will assist in employment by plac-
ing them in different salons & being entrepreneurs by opening their own salons and supporting them in getting Mudra Loan.

Adam of the Yamuna
GOD knows who that fortunate, wise man
wasan emperor, a sultan, a badshah, a
shehanshah, a king, a crown prince, or for
that matter, a holy man, an ascetic, a hermit, a
peer-faqir or an ancestor of the Pandavas and
Kauravas? The man who first set foot on these
blessed banks of the Yamuna and resolved,
in some auspicious moment, to set up a KRISHNA
magnificent city here? Who, indeed, vowed to SOBTI
infuse life into this many-splendoured earth
to keep it ticking and illuminated at all times, (The author is an eminent Hindi writer) And then an imprecation, from a little girl:
with all its lights and leaves, for centuries to
come? So that the first draft would be echoed many times in its
vicinity and beyond, in ever-new Delhis to its north and south,
to its east and west, all teeming with life, throbbing with exu-
berance! So that the resplendence of one Delhi would spawn
reflections all around. History stands witness to the fact that
Delhi has never been shorn either of grandeur or of ruination.
Chasing and vanquishing marauders through the corridors
of time, soldiers then settled and turned into civilians ever so
many times, unknown soldiers of unknown provenance, all
with a part in this Mahabharat of endless reruns.
Dilli, Dipawali
AUGUST 15, 1947. The world is out on the streets. Excitement
is writ large on all faces. Here is Connaught Place, the regal
square in the heart of Delhi. A posse of mounted police passes
by: weaving through that carpet of clip-clop sounds, wafting in
the happy breeze, the voices of revellers. Look, look, some-
body shouts, pointing to the marching cavalry, but is barely
audible. Here is Madras Hotel, and then Marina, and theres
Khadi Bhandar, where the tricolor is selling by the dozens: a
new talisman! The flag already flutters atop the bungalows at
Lady Hardinge Road, and illuminated pots hang on the walls
a la Dipawali. Its like that all along, from the domes of Dais
Square, Foch Square, Havelock Square to the rows of diyas in
front of the houses in Gole Dak-khana, Gurudwara Raqabganj,
the churcheverywhere. Its not an ordinary day, after all.
The First Beating Retreat
THEN comes the Kohinoor, the dome
of domesthe Viceregal Lodge
(yet to assume life as Rashtrapati
Bhawan). Now our flag will fly
here. And what of the Union Jack
that fluttered on the Red Fort for
decades? The British will pull it
down and take it back with respect.
Goron apne gharon ko lauto/ab
yeh desh hamara hai, ab yeh
raaj hamara hai (Englishmen,
return home/ now this is
our country, our rule), kids
on a tonga shout. Hindustan
106 OUTLOOK 21 August 2017
15 AUGUST, 1947 diary
zindabad/Jai Hind, comes the chorus from a
horse-carriage in hot pursuit.
North Block looms, and South Block, and
that dip in the imperial tarmac. Hey, my
grandpas office, says a boy, proudly. Bang
opposite my fathers, says another, on cue.
Fountains spangled with colour and light
evoke a round of patriotic pidgin. Up up
hai Gandhi sachcha/Down down hai toady
bachcha (The truth of Gandhi has won, down
down with the toadies!), a youngster yells.
Toady bachcha haay haay. She gets a dose of
gentle admonition from her mother. We should not wish ill
of anybody today. Its an auspicious day for our country.
Birth and Separation
A sea of humanity presses on towards Dariba. They will be both
the ruler and the ruled now. In the melee, I suddenly find
myself sprawled on the footpath. Did I get up on my own, or
was I helped up? Suddenly, a woman is in labour pain. Some
women take her to a corner and shield her with curtains. Shrill
cries of a newbornthe first free child of a free India! A few
yards away, the march halts, people huddle around two lads.
A boy of 16 or 17 with a dirty rag tied around his locks, one
shirt-sleeve hanging from an armless shoulder. His younger
companion, barely 10, is beating a dhol. The song has no beg-
inning or end. Its an incantatory answer to the question writ
on everyones forehead: Balle balle Jawaharlal, aapne kar diya
kamaal/Dharti phaad Punjab ki, hamein de diyaa ek rumaal ki
aankhen poncho (What a feat, Jawaharlal/tearing asunder the
soil of Punjab/you weave a kerchief for us to wipe our tears).
The Heart is Halwa
IVE probably never seen such a crowd in Delhi since that day.
All of India was right there, in congregation. People of every
stratum of society, age, attire, race, kasba, town, city, from
near and far. Street vendors lined the streets, as though azadi
was meant to be an excuse to gorge on sweets. Laddoo,
motichoor, kalakand, besan ki tukriyan, petha, gu-
labjamun, balushahi murunde, halwa-puri
what was it that was not available that
day? Tricolours flew high out of
each mound of sweets. Each man
was like a celebratory sweet that
day, with a flag rising from his
heart. The yoke of slavery was gone.
Each one on the street was a free
citizen, like the next, and the one
next. Pawned for centuries, their
self-esteem had been redeemed
by Gandhi the Mahatma.
(Translated excerpts from Sobtis
recollections of the first I- Day
celebrations in the capital.)
SAJITH KUMAR
 August, 2017

www.outlookindia.com

Freedom to
HEALTH
 The Health Sector in India has undergone
a phenomenal expansion in terms of
availability of quality public healthcare
facilities, the number of highly experienced
and globally renowned doctors, besides a
strong paramedical workforce that is trained
to support an increasingly large number
of patients. They form the backbone of the
healthcare industry. Even as new medical
facilities are coming up across the country,
Delhi-NCR continues to be the most sought
after medical hub where hospitals think
out-of-the-box and strive to implement
ideal practises for building a healthy society.
Outlook has brought some views of leading
doctors of Delhi-NCR region that illustrate
the scenario prevalent in the health sector.

Comprehensive Healthcare
Is HeRe to stay
Ideal Health Practises in Delhi-NCR

D
elhi-NCR has emerged as a
leading destinations for
healthcare and health
tourism by sheer
magnitude of its reach,
capacity of patient in-take in
hospitals i.e., both OPD and in the
bed count. Many private players
have invested in building super
speciality hospitals equipped with
the state-of-the-art infrastructure
and technology on par with world-
class standards which gives them an
extra edge over state run hospitals.
Further strengthening the public
health service delivery system are
doctors, who with their match-less
competence have brought about a
U-turn in the exodus trend, as a
result of which people from different
parts of the world are now seeking
medical treatment for very critical
cases in hospitals situated in Delhi-
NCR region.
The three-tiered health sector is
broadly categorised into primary,
secondary and tertiary which
together are providing wide-ranging
and effective health services to the
masses. According to a report of
National Capital Region Planning
Board (NCRPB), the region has 4535
general physicians and 1990 general
surgeons in approximately 1488
private hospitals that are supported
by 35,980 paramedical staff.
As medical institutions are under
the process of digitalization for
bringing in more transparency and
efficiency, Dr J.P.S. Sawhney, Senior
Consultant Cardiologist, Chief
Clinical and Preventive Cardiology,
and Chairman of Department of
Cardiology, at Sir Gangaram Hospital
(SGRH), lauding the move said,
Digitization of the healthcare
system has improved overall support
to the management of providing
medical services to a patient, also,
chances of medical errors are
reduced considerable and it quickens
the entire processing from the time
the patient is registered in the
hospital. The stored medical data
about a patient comes as a handy
record, which can be easily accessed
for reference, particularly in case of
an emergency. Also in the long run,
the centralized data bank of
information can be productively

utilized for research to develop a
better medical care system in the
future for the benefit of patients
and people at large.
Dr Praveen Gupta, Director and
Unit Head (Neurology), Fortis
Memorial Research Institute,
Gurugram said, Corporate
healthcare has ushered in a versatile
patient-centric approach where the
treatment and requirements of a
patient are attended to with the
right balance of medical care and
individualised services. Super
specialization healthcare is now
easily accessible and also affordable
to a larger number of patients.
Presently, only a fraction of the
Indian population is covered by
health insurance, but eventually
with protocolization of insurance
and stringent guidelines coming
into force medical services are
bound to improve, but will come
with a slightly higher cost. A niggling
concern of the medical fraternity is
the increasing factor of mistrust in
the patients. This is due to lack of
information and understanding of
medical procedures that are now
highly advanced technologically and
new developments are also taking
place rapidly. To ally this misplaced
fears in patients, remedial steps
have to taken as it is vital for
wholesome development of good
healthcare. Hospitals must assist
doctors in providing better
treatment in an ambience of trust
and Fortis has all provisions of
ensuring transparency that helps to
negate any scepticism.
Expressing his views on ideal
healthcare practises, Dr Suresh K.
Singhvi, Chief Liver Transplant
Surgeon, SGRH observed, Amongst
the affording urban and semi-urban
population, only a fraction have a
health care policy for insurance,
which increases the dependency of
the majority of the population on
government hospitals as the only
source of healthcare. The ideal
package for everyone to access
good opinion from doctors with
expertise, the private hospitals and
doctors have to do their part in
taking care of the less privileged
population by devoting at least 2
hrs of free OPD and to have general
wards to give free treatment to the
deserving category of our countrys
population. SGRH, since its
inception, has provided treatment
to everyone both to the affording
and poor patients in an ambience
that encourages ethical and
evidence based healthcare where
Healthcare
highly trained doctors can do
complex work with ease.
Drawing attention to the
tremendous improvement and use
of technology in Healthcare, cardiac
surgeon of Max Super Speciality
Hospital, Saket, Dr Rajneesh
Malhotra, said, They are much
safer, more accurate and minimal
invasive, thereby helping the patient
to recover faster, and continue with
the daily chores with no
inconvenience. Multi-super specialty
corporate hospitals such as Max
Hospital provide comprehensive
treatment and at the same time aim
for making healthcare affordable
without compromising on the
quality of services delivered. I must
say that we provide the best care
available in the health industry and
are on par with global standards.
We encourage evidence-based
practise for best treatment where a
team based approach is adopted for
accurate diagnosis and treatment
plan.
Talking about the improved
scenario in healthcare, Dr Naimish
Mehta, Chief Liver Transplant
Surgeon & Senior GI, HPB Consultant
at SRGH said, Good counselling is
of prime importance to strike an
ideal doctor-patient relationship.
They are like two faces of the same
coin and any misunderstanding can
put either of them in the defensive.
It is imperative that doctors should
be very transparent to the patient
about the illness, its gravity and the
treatment plan. There are several
instances when patients come with
preconceived notions based on
hearsay, which is counter-productive.
Hurdles are being overcome through
improved and proper communication
skills. Medicine has taken a huge
leap ahead in terms of expertise,
diagnostic modalities, management
and treatment of the ailment, and
super multi- speciality infrastructure,
all under one roof in swanky
corporate hospitals. People are
willing to pay for these facilities to
get undivided attention. With
improved expertise mortality rate
has reduced significantly.
Private hospitals in India have
made a mark in the global healthcare
services by establishing best
practises with a missionary zeal
thereby bringing succour to the
poorest of the poor.
EpidEmic of cardio
Vascular Disease in inDia-
Current Status and Preventive Strategies
Prof UPendra KaUl,
Chairman Batra Heart Centre,
Dean Academics and Research, BHMRC, New Delhi
I
n a relatively short frame of around 2 decades the
disease pattern in India has transformed drastically.
Non communicable diseases like cardiovascular
diseases have replaced infectious diseases, malnutrition
and maternal and childhood diseases. It is estimated
that there are 40 million patients with heart disease in
India at present. Cardio vascular disease has become a
leading cause of mortality and as per the estimates one
quarter of all the deaths in our country are because of
these non- communicable vascular diseases. At least 80%
of these deaths are because of heart attacks and strokes.
Another noteworthy feature is that our population gets
these problems at least one decade earlier than their
western counterparts. The figures tell us that only 23 % of
deaths in western population occur before the age of 70
years while in India this number is 52 %. Contrary to the
general impression rural population is not protected and
about 43% of all heart patients live in villages where
facilities of modern treatment are less developed as
compared to urban. These are facts of major concern and
need a structured solution from all the concerned
authorities and public at large. The World Health
Organization (WHO) had estimated that with the current
trend and burden, India would lose $ 237billion from the
loss of productivity and spending on health care over a
period of 10 years (2010-2015). In a recent study(SITE)
carried out in metropolitan cities of 10 Indian states the
prevalence of hypertension was found to be 46%, Diabetes
35% and a combination of two (twin epidemic) in 21%
subjects.
The reasons for this high incidence, high mortality and
involvement of younger population seem to be diverse.
South Asians are genetically predisposed because of a
preponderance of cardio metabolic syndrome (a
combination of abdominal obesity, high triglyceride levels,
low HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), diabetes mellitus
and high blood pressure) along with multiple social factors
and their interaction. The genetic makeup obviously
cannot be modified in the near future, therefore it is very
important to understand the risk factors which can be
modified to prevent or at least reduce these numbers and
plan preventive strategies.
In a very important global study (INTERHEART) which
had 30% patients from South Asia, Dr Salim Yusuf
reported on potentially 9 modifiable risk factors which
could explain the occurrence of heart attacks in 90% of
instances. These risk factors were consistent in all the
geographies. The risk factors can be divided into 2
categories.
Adverse Risk Factors:
Current smoking, High levels of bad cholesterol, high
blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, abdominal obesity and
Psycho-social stress.
Protective Factors:
Regular intake of fruits and vegetables, regular exercise
and moderate alcohol consumption.
Globally, all 9 risk factors were very significantly
associated with heart attacks except alcohol, which had
only a modest statistical significance. These risks were
consistent in all regions, ethnic groups, and in men and
women worldwide.
The strongest risk predictor globally was the apoB/
apoA1 ratio (a more reliable marker of cholesterol risk),
followed by current smoking (associated with a 4-fold and

3-fold increased risk of heart attack respectively). The risk
associated with lipids and smoking was particularly
marked in the young (Below 55 years of age in men and
below 65 years in women) versus the older.
PREVENTIVE STRATEGIES
Current smoking
Smoking over 20 cigarettes or bidis per day increase the
risk of heart attack by 5 times, 10 to 19 cigarettes or bidis
increases the risk by 3 times and smoking less than 5
cigarettes or bidis per day increases the risk by 1.5 times.
Smoking one cigarette shortens life by 11 minutes and
people exposed to second hand smoke have 90 per cent
excessive rate of heat attacks. Quitting smoking at any age
nullifies this risk in 3 years. It is never too late to give up.
Reducing smoking to minimum also helps.
Optimal Control of Blood Pressure:
What is normal Blood Pressure?
Optimal BP is a pressure less than 120/80 mms Hg. Any
rise in BP above 110/75 mms is associated with a linear
increase in stroke and heart attack rates. This is a fact
proven by several epidemiologic studies and life insurance
statistics. An increase of 10 mms in the systolic or diastolic
pressure is associated with doubling of the risk of a vascular
event. Unfortunately, high BP is invariably not accompanied
by symptoms and therefore its detection and management
is a challenge. It has been described by some as a Silent
Killer.
Indications for taking BP-Lowering Drugs
Ideal Blood pressure at all ages should be below 120/80. In
general, drugs are recommended when BP is more than
140/85 mms Hg. In some situations, medicines are
recommended even at levels more than 130/80 mms Hg.
These situations are: Patients with diabetes, patients with
chronic kidney disease and patients with pre-existing heart
disease and high risk individuals with multiple risk factors.
The drug treatment if required is started after confirming
the presence of high blood pressure and under supervision.
The choice of drug is left to the treating doctor.
Non Drug Methods can reduce BP by 10 to 15 mms Hg:
These measures are Regular exercise, Salt intake of not
more than 4 to 5 grams per day, fresh fruits and green leafy
vegetables (4 to 5 servings /day) regular exercise, avoidance
of alcohol and losing weight.
High Levels of Blood cholesterol:
High levels of bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) and low
levels of good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) promote heart
disease. One per cent reduction in cholesterol leads to two
per cent reduction in heart attacks. Low levels of good
cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) are associated with a higher
Q&
A
chance of getting a heart attack. The levels of less than 40
mgs in men and 50 mgs in women are defined as low.
Decreasing LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol
reduces this heightened risk. A one mg increase in HDL
cholesterol is associated with 6 per cent reduction in dying
from a heart attack.
Methods to increase HDL cholesterol and reducing LDL
cholesterol are regular exercise, weight reduction, increase
in consumption of Omega 3 fatty acids (olive oil, mustard
oil, almonds, walnuts, cold water fish like salmon, trout).
Unfortunately we do not have any effective drugs which
increase HDL cholesterol and reduce events like heart
attacks and strokes
High risk individuals with multiple risk factors and even
modestly raised levels of LDL cholesterol need in addition
the statin group of drugs (simvastatin, atorvastatin or
rosuvastatin). All patients with proven heart and vascular
disease need these drugs in high doses. These tablets
should be taken under medical supervision and once
required, need to be continued for long term.
Psycho-social stress
Stress is an important risk factor. Chronic stress is associated
with increased secretion of adrenaline, which raises blood
pressure, predisposes to diabetes and its complications.
Stress management programs which comprise of exercises,
meditation and yoga, meditation have been found to be
useful in alleviating stress. These approaches aim at
blunting the adrenalin response to stress and have added
advantage of being safe. Drug treatment if required needs
to be under specialised supervision.
Regular exercise which is a preventive risk factor is a very
useful adjunct in bringing down the blood pressure, blood
sugar and bad cholesterol levels besides giving a feeling of
well-being. This combined with intake of plenty of seasonal
fruits and green vegetables goes a long way in preventing
heart attacks and stroke.
Prevention is the Need of the hour:
The most cost effective method of controlling the epidemic
of cardiovascular diseases is prevention. Once a heart
attack or stroke occurs the treatment is very expensive and
at best palliative. Over 80% population in our country have
to pay from their pocket to meet their medical expenses.
In addition there is a significant shortage of trained
cardiologists in India. The doctor manpower at best is 3 to
5 cardiologists per million of population, this in contrast
to 50 to 70 per million in USA. It may take many more
years for attaining the desired facilities in our setting.
Preventive measures therefore are the best way of blunting
this epidemic.
Disclaimer: The information mentioned in the article is only suggestive for
patient education and shall not be considered as a substitute for Doctors advice.
Please consult your Doctor for more information.

DR. NAIMISH N. MEHTA
LIVER TRANSPLANT SURGEON
SIR GANGA RAM HOSPITAL
D
r. Naimish Mehta has
performed over 1000 liver
transplantation surgeries and
is considered to be one of the
finest liver transplant surgeon in India.
Dr. Naimish Mehta is the Lead HPB and
Liver Transplant Surgeon at Sir Ganga
Ram Hospital, New Delhi. He has 18
years of experience in the field of Liver,
Gall Bladder and Pancreas (HPB)
Surgery performing complex
operations. He is a member of various
national and international transplant
organisation and a recognised teacher
for Diplomate National Board(DNB)
for G.I. Surgery. He has set milestones
by performing highly complex and
technically challenging liver transplant
surgeries, such as
Simultaneous Living Donor liver
transplantation and open heart
surgery on a 3 year old child
Dual Left Lobe Liver Transplantation
Transplanted Lowest weighing baby
(7months old weighing only 4.5
kgs)
9 months old hemiparetic girl
Living Donor liver transplantation in
HIV patient
First Intestinal transplant in India
Simultaneous Liver and Kidney
transplantation
During this organ donation week, Dr.
Mehta has enlightened us about
Organ Donation - It is a noble act in
which the body organs are transferred
from one body to another. A recent
survey has shown that about 85,000
patients suffering from end stage liver
disease join the countrys waitlist
annually and only a fraction of these (less
than 3%) get an organ. Indias organ
donation rate is 0.8 permillion population
as compared to 25 per million population
in USA. Sir Ganga Ram Hospital which
has been pioneer in introducing
successful liver transplantation
programme in the country has taken
various intiatives like educating school
children and conducting CME to promote
organ doantion.
PLease dONt taKe yOUr
OrGaNs tO heaVeN
Heaven knows that we need
them here on Earth
What is meant by brain
death?
Brain death occurs in patients who have
suffered a severe injury to the brain as
a result of trauma or some other
medical cause. As a result of the injury
the brain swells and obstructs its own
blood supply. Without blood flow, all
brain tissue dies. Artificial support
systems may maintain functions such as
heartbeat and breathing for a few days,
but not permanently. Brain death is an
established medical and legal diagnosis
of death. Brain death is the most
common circumstance under which
patients donate organs, because while
they have been declared dead, the
mechanical support has maintained
blood flow to the organs. This occurs
only in the hospital, typically in an
intensive care setting.
How is brain death
determined?
Doctors examining the patient will
conduct a series of investigations to
determine whether any brain activity
is present or not, if brain activity is
absent, then patient is declared dead.
The protocol for declaration of brain
death is same irrespective whether a
person is an organ donor or not.
Will the medical or nursing care be
changed because of my decision to be
a donor?
No. The quality of care given does not
alter regardless of your decision.
Organ and/or tissue retrieval is
performed only after all efforts to save
life have been exhausted and death
has been declared. The team of
doctors involved in treating the patient
are different from the medical team
involved in retrieving organs and
tissues.
How are organs from
deceased donors
distributed?
Generally, NOTTO, a government
organization regulates the organ
distribution. The donated organs are
matched with individuals on an organ
waiting list. Matching is based on a
variety of factors including blood and
tissue types, medical need, length of
time on the waiting list and weight of
donor and recipient.
Who can become an organ
or tissue donor?
People of all different ages are able
to donate. It is essential that anyone
who wants to be a donor expresses
this wish to others in the family
Which organs and tissues
can be donated after
death?
Kidneys, lungs, corneas, livers,
pancreases, heart valves, bones,
tendons, skin and bone marrow can all
be transplanted. If desired, a donor
can specify on a donor card which
organs and tissues are to be donated.
What if organ and tissue
donation is against my
religion?
Religious leaders throughout the
world favor organ and tissue
donation and consider it the greatest
humanitarian act.
What are the initiatives
taken at your hospital?
Hospital Organ Donation Registry, has
been set up at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital,
with a purpose of encouraging organ
donations, fair and equitable
distribution and optimum utilization
of human organs. This registry is
maintaining the waiting list of
terminally ill patients requiring
transplants, donor registration,
matching of recipients with donor,
co-ordination from procurement of
organs to transplantation,
dissemination of information to all
concerned hospitals, organizations
and individuals, creating awareness,
promotion of organ donation and
transplantation activities.
 Healthcare

UNBLOCKING
the BLOOd VesseLs fOr LIfe
Highlights of the Department of Vascular
and Endovascular Surgery, Sir Ganga Ram
Hospital:
The largest team of Vascular Surgeons
in the country
The department has a singularly
distinguished reputation nationally and
internationally as a prolific centre of
excellence in vascular and endovascular
interventions
The first in India to start a DNB
(Left to Right - Dr. Ajay Yadav, Dr. Varinder.S. Bedi, Dr. Sandeep Agarwal,
(Diplomate of National Board)training Dr. Apurva Srivastava, Dr. Ambarish Satwik, Dr. Dhruv Agarwal)
programme in Vascular Surgery.

EVAR TEVAR Chimney EVAR Fenestration EVAR Stenting of a narrowed artery

Peripheral Arterial Aortic aneurysms even complex aneurysms are

Occlusive Disease (PAOD)
PAOD causes narrowing of arteries
and reduction in blood flow. It most
commonly affects the legs, but
other organs can also be involved.
Risk factors include smoking,
hypertension and diabetes.
Symptoms include cramping pain
and tiredness in the muscles of leg
and hip on walking. Foot or toe
wounds may develop that are
extremely painful and the leg may
become cold with blackening of
skin (Gangrene), known as a leg
attack. It needs urgent treatment,
as any delay may cause permanent
damage to the limb, necessitating
amputation.Treatment options
include balloon angioplasty
andstenting of the narrowed artery
or a bypass surgery. At our dedicated
hybrid vascular cathlab, we perform
these procedures with expertise
using the latest techniques.
An aortic aneurysm is the term used
for a portion of the aorta which
gets enlarged or balloons out to
1.5 times its normal diameter.
Aneurysms of size greater than 5cm
-5.5cm need to be treated, as the
risk of rupture increases significantly
beyond this size. Famous
personalities such as Albert Einstein
and Jawahar Lal Nehru suffered
from aortic aneurysms. In earlier
times, aneurysms were treated
surgically, which involved a major
incision on the abdomen. Currently,
treatment is possible by a minimally
invasive technique (EVAR Endo
Vascular Aneurysm Repair). EVAR
(performed through the groin) is
minimally invasive, avoids an
abdominal incision and facilitates
early recovery. Our team has
specialised in the endovascular
treatment of abdominal as well as
thoracic aneurysms (TEVAR), and
treatable with our evolved
techniques and expertise.
Diabetic foot
In diabetic patients, neuropathy
(nerve damage) leads to loss of
protective sensation on the foot
resulting in ulceration and severe
infections. This is compounded by
deficient blood supply due to
blocked leg arteries. 85% of
diabetic foot amputations are due
to inadequately treated foot ulcers.
Principles of diabetic foot
management require diagnosis
and management of diabetic
neuropathy, angioplasty to
increase blood supply, surgical
wound debridement and special
treatments such as Ultrasonic
debridement and vacuum assisted
wound healing (VAC Therapy),
which are readily available at our
diabetic foot care centre (DFCC).
Prevention of
Heart Disease - A Challenge!
Though there are many diseases of the heart, but here we are
talking of only coronary heart disease, the most common &
important heart disorder in the present world. In Coronary heart
disease, people deposits of fats, calcium & some other materials
inside their coronary develop arteries which supply pure blood to
heart muscle.
Main symptoms of this disease are: Blood level of bad (LDL ) cholesterol once
Angina, any pain or discomfort in chest, a year. Any form of exercise test once in
jaw, upper part of tummy, left arm or 2 years. If you are high risk category like
even right arm which occurs on exertion, diabetes, family history if CAD, smoker,
but gets better on taking rest. then exercise test should be done once a
Acute heart attack called myocardial year.
infarction. This occurs when one or more Regular exercise of about 45 min at least
of coronary arteries get blocked suddenly. 5 days a week . Regular yoga is very Dr. T. S. Kler,
It needs immediate hospital care. useful for preventing many physical & MD, D.M, MRCP.(U.K) FRCP, D.Sc.,
Sudden cardiac death, that means any mental disorders . Awarded - Padma Bhushan-2005,
death due to heart disease which occurs Decrease stress. Chairman, PSRI Heart Institute
within one hour of onset of symptoms.
Symptoms of heart failure. Breathlessness I would like to dwell more on time is gone you cant get it back.
on exertion, cough especially cough on stress. Never crib, never carry old baggages,
lying down which becomes better in forget all old bad things & relish your
sitting posture. We need to understand stress in life is not good experiences & good deeds.
going to decrease, rather it is increasing
We do not know completely why coronary with so called more development. Always remind yourself that God has sent
artery disease (CAD) occurs but we do you to help other individuals particularly
know it occurs much more in people who We just need to learn to handle who are not related to you.
have CAD riskfactors. Major ones are: stress. Well there is no simple recipe
Diabetes to do that, but following things as Happy Mind Makes a Healthy Heart
Smoking below are worthwhile: How does it work:
High blood pressure Remember daily that one day you are A happy mindset sets in motion a number
Raised cholesterol going to die. It makes you a better and of positive reactions. First and foremost,
clam human being. It will teach you to happiness contributes to a sense of well-
Minor ones: avoid unnecessary ambitions & hoard. being. Many healthy habits spring from
Family history of CAD. ings in life this, such as getting a sufficient amount
Obesity especially truncle obesity. Do activities which relax you like sitting of sleep, exercising and eating a balanced
Raised uric acid in blood. with friends & family, going out, taking diet, all of which contribute to good
Raised homocysteine in blood. holidays. Remember one thing that the cardiovascular health. These habits lead to
Type A personality, people who worry on time to enjoy & laugh is now, dont better biological function, including
even small things, try to be always postpone it. Life is short, enjoy every healthier blood fat profiles healthy weight
perfect. minute, exercise & yoga is great stress and lower blood pressure. This positive
Lack of physical activity . buster & is anti-depressant, so do some cycle can do more than just put a smile on
exercise our faces - it can keep us alive too.
Preventive Measures of CAD It is impossible to be happy all the time
Keep your weight in order . Your In my opinion do only 4 things in and were bound to have a bad day once
maximum weight should be height in life: in a while. But a positive outlook on the
cms minus 100. For example if your Do your job/ profession sincerely, work situation can do a lot to change the way
height is 175 cms, maximum permitted hard that bad day affects us.
weight should be 75 kg. Whenever time permits enjoy to the tilt Dr. Pozuelo concludes, The challenge
Keep your pet (tummy girth ) in order. It Sleep adequately for all of us is to make the best of our daily
should be below 95 cms in men & 85cms Exercise life, to have structure, to engage in
in women measured at the level of pleasurable activities maintain a healthy
umblicus in quire respiration. Things you should never forget: balance at work.
Check your BP & blood sugars every 6 Never waste time, you can waste
months. Dental check up every 6 months. money as you can re earn, but when And dont forget to smile!