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CHOICEST ESSAYS
1
EVILS OF TERRORISM
The menace of terrorism has been increasing over the years, though there
are spells of intense, widespread activity, followed by periods of relative calm
as if to give respite to the innocent millions and the governments oncerned. The
evils of terrorism are so obvious and the world has become so familiar with
them that it is perhaps unnecessary to describe them in detail. Even so, the
multi-faceted, pernicious consequences of this challenge to mankind need to be
fully known to all to facilitate the formulation of effective anti-terrorist plans.
Notable among these are a soul-killing sense of insecurity and instability, the
heavy loss of life and the erosion of confidence in the administration’s capacity
to ensure safety.
Several countries, including the world’s mightiest Power, are affected by
the scourge of terrorism which has taken many forms bomb explosions, assas-
sinations of selected people and sometimes indiscriminate killings, blackmail,
threats of murder if the demanded ransom is not paid and hijacking. While stray
shootings and explosions are a feature of terrorist activity within countries where
there is seething discontent among a section of the people, air transport is a
favourite target for international terrorism.
American experts have defined terrorism as “the use of international vio-
lence by individuals or groups to achieve political goals”. It is, in effect, a type
of war, though it is not openly fought. This definition applies to lawless acts in
the international arena; in the national sphere terrorism implies acts of violence
indulged in by politically motivated people who have some real or imaginary
grievances which have remained unredressed for some reason.
Both national and international terrorists believe in the cult of the gun
and the bomb. The funds which feed the terrorists come from various sources;
foreign supporters and collaborators, drug money, the yields of bank robberies
and stray looting of persons carrying bags containing cash, etc.
The usual aim of terrorists is to wreak vengeance against those whom
they regard as their enemies, oppressors and usurpers or otherwise acting as
obstacles in the achievement of their goals. It matters little to these elements
that their aims are unethical, illegal and disruptionist. Some of them aim at
CHOICEST ESSAYS
4
bringing about a social revolution and causing political upheaval. The terrorists
are in a minority, but they manage to terrorise large majorities and defy the
police month after month.
Terrorists recruit young people in their ranks. Idealistic fervour, appar-
ently, inspires them to join the ranks.
In recent years many steps have been taken to fight terrorism. Sponsors
of resolutions in the U.N. against hijacking, terrorism and hostage-taking have
been trying to find ways to strengthen the machinery to counter the evil. Crack-
downs on the centres of terrorist activity, tighter security at the airports, railway
stations and Government offices have been ordered.
Social analysts rightly assert that the ultimate battle against terrorism will
have to be fought by the people. Since there is widespread revulsion against the
ruthless acts of terrorists, the people’s cooperation is vital. But public enthusi-
asm to fight the evil must not be allowed to fade away for lack of effective
assistance by all sections of society and all wings of the administration.
CHOICEST ESSAYS
5
NATIONAL INTEGRATION
India is a huge country of myriad languages, a veritable babel of tongues,
with several faiths and religions; in fact, the diversities are generally more in
evidence than the forces of unity and harmony. But there are certain common
links and uniting bonds that some people seek to develop so as to achieve the
eminently desirable goal of national integration.
There has been much talk of national integration, especially since Inde-
pendence. The highly commendable concept postulates communal unity, har-
mony and concord. It also implies sinking of differences in order to ensure the
emergence of one nation with a common approach to national problems and
widely shared goals, despite the communal, linguistic and other differences,
and the divergent political viewpoints. But genuine integration has proved elu-
sive because of the intense social and economic differences which selfish peo-
ple seek to exploit to serve their own selfish ends.
Among the issues thus exploited are those of culture, language, real and
imaginary social injustices, the atrocities committed in the name of caste, sect
and community. Linguistic fanaticism and chauvinism raise their ugly heads
every now and then. To these familiar factors has been added, quite recently,
another the activities of extremists and terrorists who seek to create fear as well
as a sense of uncertainty all round.
Some years ago the Central Government established the National Integra-
tion Council and also a Council for Emotional Integration. The former body,
comprising mostly of retired veterans, Ministers and officials, occasionally holds
meetings at different places and passes high-sounding resolutions emphasising
the need for promoting national integration in as many ways as possible. But all
such resolutions remain unimplemented. In fact, amidst the conflicts on various
platforms and the re-emerging fissiparous tendencies which seek to perpetuate
discord, these pious expressions are soon forgotten; they merely swell the offi-
cial records in musty secretariat corridors.
The problem of caste, a relic of social strata in ancient Hindu society, is
acting as a disruptive force in the countryside today. The question of bounda-
CHOICEST ESSAYS
6
ries and distribution of river waters also continue to occupy a notable place in
Indian politics. Then, there are the problems of integration of tribes with the
national mainstream. Though they should participate in the process of eco-
nomic development, their distinct culture should be maintained at the same
time.
The present state of economic backwardness provides fertile soil for im-
perialists to hatch their plans for secessionist agitations. The internal and the
foreign reactionary forces have been using the toiling masses and the demoral-
ised, frustrated, angry, unemployed youth as their tools to serve their narrow
class interest. National integration can be promoted only to the extent to which
all round national economic development is assured. In this connection, the
historic accords, hike reached on the baffling issues of Punjab and Assam,
which had been major causes of disharmony in our body politic could pave the
way for greater integration.
Recent experience teaches us that all disruptive forces need to be at-
tacked collectively and jointly, with full cooperation of non-official organisa-
tions, to achieve national integration. Piecemeal reforms do not go a long way
as each major problem is not only deep-rooted but also intrinsically connected
with many others. The administrative machinery should not only keep a watch
over forces of discord and suppress them with dedication, it should also work
towards creating a new social order that may give a sense of protection and
dignity to all ethnic groups, especially the minorities. It is essential that the
minorities should feel safe and secure, and also as proud of India as the major-
ity.
Mahatma Gandhi gave his life for communal unity. Though there are
Punjabis, Kashmiris, Biharis, Rajasthanis, Bengalis, Maharashtrians, Dravidians
and several other groups in our country, the fact remains that, despite the divi-
sions and distinctions, we have had a long common history and have lived
together for thousands of years. Those who regard the unity of India as a myth
and a dream are sadly mistaken. Of course, there cannot be uniformity of out-
look, habits and dress in this huge country, but there is a basic link. Ours has
been the homeland of many religions. India may be described as history’s “func-
tion station”, but some people forget this.
CHOICEST ESSAYS
7
COMMUNAL HARMONY
Thousands of communal riots have taken place in the country since the
attainment of Independence in 1947. The earlier suspicion that communal dis-
cord was caused by the British rulers in pursuance of their policy of “divide and
rule” has proved partially obsolete. It is true, however, that the seeds of dishar-
mony among the various communities were sown by the British Government.
Factional demands were encouraged and all efforts to bring the Hindus and
Muslims together were purposely thwarted to consolidate foreign control.
Communalists of various shades and categories have consistently harped
on the differences and encouraged divisive trends. This has been especially
noticeable in the highly sensitive and vulnerable regions where the timber had
only to be ignited by a match-stick; the embers remain hot. Even a minor and an
apparently innocuous incident has sufficed to arouse communal passions and
provoke rioting.
The habitual offenders, the anti-social elements who thrive on disorder,
the selfish politicians and others of their ilk are, however, incorrigible. They
revert to disruptionist tactics whenever there is an opportunity. The call of
religion in danger often proves irresistible to the illiterate masses. Such tactics
of mischievous exploitation queer the pitch for those who draw up high-sound-
ing programmes for promoting communal harmony in the country.
Article 51-A, which lays down the fundamental duties of the citizens of
India, inter alia, stresses the importance of amity. According to clause (e) of the
Article, it shall be the duty of every citizen of India “to promote harmony and
the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India, transcending
religious, linguistic and regional, or sectional diversities...” Further, clause (i)
enjoins upon all citizens “to safeguard public property and to abjure violence”.
And yet these duties are blatantly ignored and recklessly flouted by people in
India.
The country’s national traditions and the dictates of real Indian culture,
all point to the importance of maintaining communal harmony. In fact, the basis
of Indian culture is peace, brotherhood and amity. Culture is the result of centu-
ries of evolution and of the growth of ideals and disciplines. In fact, dishar-
CHOICEST ESSAYS
14
mony in any sphere of life is the very antithesis of true Indian culture. Certain
pre-requisites are generally mentioned for India’s distinctive culture a common
approach to most of the basic problems, a broad vision (as against sectarian
viewpoints), similarity of conduct, behaviour and attitudes and sharing of ideas,
ideals and traditions. But far more important is an essential unity of outlook
despite the numerous diversities of language and dialect and the tradition of
tolerance. While the basis of all culture, as T.S. Eliot suggested, is religion, a
true concept of it never seeks to create disharmony.
The distinctive mark of Indian culture, which is based on Hindu philoso-
phy, is tolerance. Religion must not be a matter of exclusive dogma but should
be characterised by a wide tolerance respect for the faith and beliefs of others
and a generous attitude of understanding the approach of other people to the
challenges of life. It is this sense of tolerance, charity and broadmindedness
that imparts harmony to the inner life of cultured people in India. Mahatma
Gandhi’s concept of tolerance was indeed comprehensive. After long study and
experience, he wrote, “I have come to the conclusion that all religions are true,
all religions have some errors in them; and all religions are almost as dear to me
as Hinduism.” His own veneration for other faiths was the same as that for his
own faith.
Indian culture has encouraged a continuous synthesis even when it was
confronted with contrary philosophies. The desire to absorb and assimilate has
persisted and it accounts for its survival over the centuries. The pity is that
Indians, by and large, have forgotten the teachings and precepts of our saints
and sages. Promotion of harmony is the most important duty of each true citi-
zen. The country’s salvation depends upon it. Harmony is creative, disharmony
is essentially destructive. If the nation wishes to make sound progress and con-
solidate its gains in the social, economic, political and scientific spheres, har-
mony has to be ensured all round, not only as a transitory phase but as a
permanent feature of life.
CHOICEST ESSAYS
15
LINGUISTIC FANATICISM
Emerson wrote decades ago that language is a city to the building of
which every human being brought a stone. But language is much more than a
city or a nation; it is a link that forges unity even across the seas. English is used
by nearly one-fifth of humanity. Language implies a manner of expression, a
medium of conveying ideas, thoughts and concepts from one person to another
or to a large section of society. Language is, thus, the dress of thought.
The great author Webster was, however, on a weak wicket when he said
that language, as well as the faculty of speech, was the immediate gift of God.
The very fact that there are people who do not know any language because they
were not exposed to human sounds shows that language is very much an ability
inculcated and developed by human beings to serve as a means of purposeful
communication.
A living language, to quote Nehru, is a throbbing, vital thing, ever-chang-
ing, ever-growing and mirroring the people who speak and write it. A language
is infinitely greater than grammar and philology. It is the poetic testament of the
genius of a race and culture, and the living embodiment of the thoughts and
fancies that have moulded them. The best way to encourage the growth of a
people is through the language they speak, and a language ultimately grows
from the people; it can hardly be imposed by any external agency.
Unfortunately, language, which is supposed to promote unity and cohe-
sion, has often become a highly controversial issue. Many people, working
under a wrong concept or impelled by exaggerated notions, have become lin-
guistic fanatics. They have fought bitter battles in the name of language; they
have killed people in linguistic riots; and they have made many sacrifices in the
name of their languages as if it were a god or goddess who would be appeased
by bloodshed and destruction of private and public property. The principle of
linguism has been exalted to high dogma, which has been the bane of Indian life
in first 50 years of independence.. Linguistic chauvinism seems to be the gov-
erning factor.
Thus, language, which was evolved to serve a vital need and provide a
vital link between man and man, has often brought about destruction and wrought
CHOICEST ESSAYS
18
havoc. In Andhra Pradesh a noble man starved himself to death for the cause of
a linguistic State. Similarly, in Punjab an earnest, well-intentioned person, fasted
unto death for the sake of Punjabi Suba. The Government of India was virtually
compelled to appoint a States Reorganisation Commission to suggest demarca-
tion of boundaries of States and to make proposals for creation of new entities,
if necessary, on the basis of language.
In several regions language has created discord and divisive trends in-
stead of serving as an eminently useful link to establish links and promote
harmony. Language, and sometimes the script issue, thus feeds fissiparous ten-
dencies, even threatening to disrupt society and the State. Exponents of a par-
ticular language, apparently, develop an obsession, which indicates bias and
prejudice. In many parts of India, and also in some foreign countries, sustained
campaigns have been conducted for official recognition of a particular lan-
guage as the State language. Linguistic controversies, for instance, raged for
quite some time in Bangladesh for priority status to Urdu as against Bengali,
and in Pakistan for Urdu as against Punjabi.
In India language controversies were carried on for years in U.P., West
Bengal, Punjab and other areas. Before partition the Congress itself advocated
the formation of linguistic States. The J.V.P. Report may be said to have started
the process, which turned out to be vicious at certain places. Article 343 (1) of
the Constitution of India lays down that Hindi in Devanagari script shall be the
official language of the Union. But there is a provision that English shall con-
tinue to be used during the transitional stage. Because of the strong opposition
of the Southern States to Hindi, the use of English is continuing and is likely to
continue for many years. There are Hindi-speaking regions in the North (U.P,
M.P., Haryana and Himachal Pradesh) which, backed by the Centre, want the
cause of Hindi to be propagated and this language made the national language
without further delay. But the Central Government has assured the people that
there will be no imposition of a particular language and no switch-over without
the consent of the Southern States.
Interestingly, English-medium schools are still popular in the country, and
students seeking bright careers opt for English as the medium of instruction for
the post-graduate courses. Consequently, the political leaders’ initial fervour
for switching over to Hindi has cooled off, for the present. Other controversies
and developments have engaged the prior attention of the politicians and politi-
cal parties.
Thus, there is less of linguistic fanaticism in the country now than a dec-
ade or so ago. This is all to the good. After all, language should be used for
every-day communication, official work and literary pursuits, and it must not
be exploited for ulterior or extraneous ends.
CHOICEST ESSAYS
19
ARE WE SECULAR?
India is a Socialist, Secular Democratic Republic pledged to secure to all
its citizens justice, liberty and equality, and to promote among them all frater-
nity, assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity of the nation. This is
stated in the Preamble of the Constitution itself. Actually, while the word “secu-
larism” is rather vague, and was introduced by the 42nd Amendment in 1976,
Articles 25 to 30 of the Constitution relating to the freedom of religion and
freedom to manage religious affairs are more specific. They contain the clear
directive that “no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational
institution wholly maintained out of State funds”.
There is also the further provision in Article 28(3) that no person attend-
ing any educational institution recognised by the State or receiving aid out of
State funds shall be required to take part in any religious instruction that may be
imparted in such institution, or to attend any religious worship that may be
conducted in such institution or in any premises attached thereto, unless such
person or, if such person is a minor, his guardian, has given his consent thereto.
Thus, complete religious freedom, with the absence of any compulsion
whatsoever in religious matters, is legally guaranteed by the supreme law of the
land. India is, therefore, rightly described as a secular country in which the
State has no religion, nor does it seek to promote or discourage any religion or
religious belief. It is obvious that the Government and people of India are secu-
lar, that is, there is no official religion. That is the legal position. The State
stands committed to a policy of non-interference in religious matters. Religion
is a matter of personal beliefs and con victions.
In January, 1948, Jawaharlal Nehru spoke of secularism thus : “We shall
proceed on secular and national lines in keeping with the powerful trends to-
wards internationalism ... India will be a land, as in the past, of many faiths
equally honoured and respected, but of one national outlook, not, I hope, a
narrow nationalism living in its own shell but rather the tolerant, creative na-
tionalism which, believing in itself and the genius of the people, takes full part
in the establishment of an international order.”
The goal of One World is still far, far away, but since independence the
CHOICEST ESSAYS
25
Government of this country has undeniably kept itself aloof from religious
controversies, not taking any side and taking all possible measures to ensure to
every citizen full religious freedom in accordance with enlightened opinion all
the world over, except in the Islamic countries where the tenets of Islam are
enforced by law and the whole polity is declared as Islamic, not secular in any
sense. In fact, Islam, like most other religions, regards secularism as a danger-
ous challenge.
But how far are we, the people, secular in thought, word and deed? When
we look around us and examine the working of various non-government institu-
tions, the various political parties, especially national parties, which are sup-
posed to be have thrown their membership open to all communities, we find
that the spirit of secularism is being flouted day after day. We are not com-
pletely secular in our approach and attitudes. There are cases where admissions
to educational institutions are decided on a basis that is anything but secular. If
we review closely the working of our political parties, we shall find that candi-
dates for elections are often chosen on communal considerations—Hindu can-
didates for constituencies having a predominantly Hindu electorate, Muslim
candidates for areas where the majority of the voters are Muslims, and so on.
There are exceptions here and there but, by and large, the observation made
above is well founded. The voting in elections is often on communal lines;
Hindus voting for Hindu candidates, Muslims for Muslim candidates and Sikhs
for Sikh contestants. Political parties are not formed on a religious basis, but
how is it that there are some distinctly communal parties in this secular coun-
try?
Again, how is it that in the selection of Ministers of various ranks, ad-
equate representation is generally assured to members of various communities
and even castes? There are “vote banks” in the rural areas where the caste
factor plays a dominant role in determining the decisions of the village
Sarpanches and leaders of the various clans, (and even sub-castes) in directing
their followers to exercise their franchise for a particular candidate. Jats and
non-Jats, Brahmins and non-Brahmins, Scheduled Castes and non-Scheduled
Castes—these considerations, undeniably sectarian and narrow, determine their
actions.
In an ideal, well-established, modern polity— religion should have no
connection whatever with politics. But is that really so in India today? Why do
communal riots take place with such disconcerting frequency wherever mem-
bers of both communities live in parts of the same city or town? Why are there
so much destruction, ruthless killings and callous indifference to the plight of
people of another community? Outbursts of communal frenzy are totally in-
compatible with true secularism, and every well- educated community should
CHOICEST ESSAYS
26
have no narrow considerations of religion and caste in worldly matters. And
yet, there are tensions, strains, fears of the impact of liberalisation on a particu-
lar religion, the inward hostility and suspicion towards other religions, and the
lack of tolerance. All these point to a state of affairs where genuine secularism
has taken a back seat.
CHOICEST ESSAYS
27
ADVERTISING
Advertising, though a close companion of market economy, is an unpleas-
ant feature of modern life. Watching from the sidelines, the glut of consumer
goods and the crass craze for something quick and queer, the conscientious
critic sees the menace and mesmerism that advertising has brought about in the
lives of all. To be taken in, or taken for a ride, the confused consumer is always
at his wits’ end on how to sift the chaff from the grain. Besides the bewilderment
that advertising causes in many a case, sometimes strange but sensational com-
mercials on TV can cost heavily to one’s pocket or even to one’s life. Recently
an innocent student tried to imitate the acrobat of the youngman in a commer-
cial ad and lost his precious life, for nothing.
Advertising and consumerism have reached a stage in America where
critics are demanding adequate checks and balances, because it has begun to
influence even human relations on an everyday basis. In some cases, advertising
has started to erode individual provacy. In the name of educating and enlighten-
ing the consumer about his rights to choose the right product, the magazines,
television and movies keep dinning into the ears that material things and sensual
pleasures are what life is about. The happiness lies in automatic appliances and
automobiles churned out in various forms and colours. When this instant grati-
fication does not get translated into reality, the world seems to fall apart. Gradu-
ally, the voices of sanity and restraint are being raised to rein in the wild animal
within all and sundry, before it becomes too strong to stop in the face of tempta-
tions let loose by the awful agent called advertising.
There is no denying the fact that advertising has invaded every aspect of
human existence and this is being reached and achieved through sponsoring of
events, especially sports, on a global basis. In everyday life, we find advertising
aims at selling goods and services, exploring new avenues and markets and,
finally, reaching out to those people and places that have remained untouched
by its ever-expanding shadows and shades. Propaganda—a cheap or inferior
form of affecting people’s minds and influencing their thinking and psyche—
too plays a vital role on certain occasions and situations where static senses and
CHOICEST ESSAYS
38
sensibilities have to be stirred and stimulated to new ideas and ideologies. In the
words of Jacques Ellul: “Propaganda by its very nature is an enterprise for
perverting the significance of events and insinuating false intentions....The propa-
gandist will not accuse the enemy of just any misdeed; he will accuse him of the
very intention he himself has and of trying to commit the very crime he himself
is about to commit.”
It is now recognised that solving complex social issues is a managerial
task. Communication and advertising find a crucial place in this new approach.
“The Green Revolution could not have come about in India without the help of
radio and TV advertising”, says an expert. “Advertising sells not only goods, it
sells ideas as well. Ideas like national integration and communal harmony have
been spread through advertising.” Advertising flourishes in an environment which
is free—an atmosphere which encourages a different point of view, an environ-
ment where people can disagree without being disagreeable.
In addition to commercial advertising and ideological propaganda there
is social advertising, which refers to the advertisements which deal with social
causes and are aimed at the welfare and well-being of the people. Its target
audience is not specific class but the masses who can be educated about socially
relevant issues like health, family welfare, literacy, national security, to mention
a few issues only. The importance of such advertisements has reached such
heights that even the government falls back upon them quite often to highlight
the issues to immediate concern. Undoubtedly, in today’s context, carrying out
compaigns through social communication is of paramount importance. The so-
ciety, the economy, the politics and the media exposure are bringing about changes
which are so radical and dynamic that they are creating dissonance and upheav-
als. In order to withstand the negative effects of changes, we certainly need
these kinds of campaigns through advertising or propaganda, for sustaining com-
munication with the masses at large. In short, advertising not only influences the
buyer’s perception but also his responses to social problems. It has its negative
effects but the positive side far out-strips the negative side.
CHOICEST ESSAYS
39
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
“The advent of freedom released a number of forces making for radical
changes in the rural areas of India. The introduction of Universal suffrage is a
revolutionary measure which has placed a powerful weapon in the hands of the
traditionally under-privileged sections of our population, i.e., the village dwell-
ers. They have awakened from the deep sleep of prejudice, illiteracy and de-
generation. With the addition of another great factor of national re-construction
Panchayati Raj they have been inspired to develop themselves as healthy and
self-supporting community.”
The Community Development Programme, which had its august inaugu-
ration in 1952 six years after the independence of our country is a land-mark in
the history of the development of rural India and, at the same time, it is a
dynamo of inspiration for our future village constructors and social reformers.
The scheme, in a nut-shell, aims at providing “first increased employment
and increased production by the application of latest methods of agriculture,
including horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries etc. and the establishment of
subsidiary and cottage industries; secondly self-help and self-reliance and the
possible extension of the principle of co-operation, and thirdly, the need for
devoting a portion of the vast unutilized time and energy in the countryside for
the benefit of the village community.”
There were in 1960, more than two thousand Community Development
blocs each one consisting of a hundred villages and they were expected to
serve about 194 million villagers all over the country. By now, virtually all of
India’s 560,000 villages have come under the Community Development Pro-
gramme. A huge administrative machinery, engaging hundreds of officials in-
cluding the ‘Gram Sevak’ units at the base has been created. Villagers are be-
ginning to be aware of the fact that there is a Governmental organization charged
with the responsibility of rural development.
Our Indian villagers have been suffering from a chronic disease indebted-
ness which has been one of the major causes of their economic miseries. Ac-
cording to the Community Development Programme arrangements are made
for giving loans to poor and deserving cultivators to be paid back conveniently
by easy methods. This had a remarkably encouraging effect. The Indian culti-
CHOICEST ESSAYS
56
vators, who from ages had been squeezed and exploited by money lenders and
zamindars, are now having a sigh of relief. It is natural that economic well
being leads to social well being. Being economically unworried and unbur-
dened, they can now look to other avenues of their progress social, cultural and
moral. Again, backward groups, like Harijans, who were throttled by the high
caste ‘moneyed groups’, have been greatly benefited by the agricultural loan-
giving system.
“The Development officials, in their understandable eagerness to achieve
the set targets and to show quick results have been compelled to ignore the less
tangible but more important aim of teaching the villagers to help themselves.”
The peasants have to be taught that there are resources at their disposal such as
their own capacity for hard work, their skill, initiative and loyalty to the com-
munity and the region. This objective can be realized only by proper local
leadership. Panchayati Raj has already been introduced in a number of States,
like Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and U.P.
“India’s villages have been changing for well over a hundred years. This
fact has been obscured by the myths which educated Indians and foreigners
have perpetrated about them. Since Independence, the Government has launched
a vast programme of developing the country as a whole and agriculture in par-
ticular. The gigantic hydro-electric projects as well as the minor irrigation works,
the development of transport facilities, the determined effort to industrialize
the country, the Community Development Programme and the policy of decen-
tralization will ensure that in the not too-distant future India’s villages will
change radically.”
CHOICEST ESSAYS
57
POVERTY IN PLENTY
‘Poverty in plenty’ may be an expression of contradiction, but as far as
the human race is concerned we have more poverty to see and suffer around
than any other phenomenon. Whatever achievements of mankind may have been
in the areas of development over the ages, the one eye-sore that has remained
abhorrent and abominable by all standards is poverty—economic, intellectual
and ethical (moral). There is no denying that poverty is a curse for those who
suffer it and a blessing for those who sermonise on it. Notwithstanding the fact
that religions generally have sung the praise of poverty, and promised the poor
the kingdom of heaven, it is a virtual hell that they undergo in their lives spent in
slums, hovels, gutters and the like.
Though the modern Messiah, Mother Teresa, loved the poor, she consist-
ently refused to address issues of social justice. Her belief that poverty was a
desirable state, non-criticism of the world-order that perpetuated poverty, runs
counter to the ground realities that are further compounded by the tortuous trin-
ity—poverty, population and pollution. This tyrannical triangle eloquently tells
why South Asia is universally acknowledged as a place of the most wretched,
demeaning poverty in the world. When we eulogize the success stories of those
who go up the ladder from ‘‘rags to riches’’, we indirectly berate poverty as
despicable and dehumanised state of human existence. Who in his senses would
covet such life as holds pompous promise of God’s grace in heaven but yields
virtually no place, pelf and prestige on this planet. Surely, poverty for a politi-
cal-cum-economic thinker like Marx, was an object state of helplessness heapedd
upon those who have nothing to lose but eheir poverty, if properly united and
organised under one banner.
The State of poverty that legendary figures like Raja Harishchander, Ma-
hatma Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi et aland an entire tribe of Indian saints and
sages, embraced, is entirely different from the depressing depths of deprivation
and degradation that millions and millions below the poverty line in India and
elsewhere face. Having led the life of self-abnegation himself, Gandhiji was of
the firm conviction that there was ‘enough in the world for each man’s need but
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65
not enough for even one man’s greed’.
Catchwords and conferences cannot banish poverty. Had it been so somple
the garibi hataoslogan of 1971 would have accomplished in one country what
the United Nations set out to dor for the world at the summit for social develop-
ment in Cophenhagen. The summit was intended to come up with a programme
of policies, actions and measures towards eradication of poverty, full employ-
ment and social integration of the dispossessed and underprivileged. Today in
the world, more than a billion people live in miserable poverty, eight million
children die every year from curable diseases and at least a third of the poor
States’ population is undernourished. The British charity organisation, Action
aid, has warned that by the end of the century, a quarter of the word’s population
will be living in abject poverty. The countries where domestic discord prevails
in the form of civil wars, riots or other disturbances are the worst hit.
It is a meaningless exercise to discuss poverty eradication and full em-
ployment at national and international conferences without reference to who
will pay for it in an unequal world. The issue of raising the estimated $ 235
billion needed to take over one billion people living in abysmal poverty, to a
level where their basic needs can be met, in the next five years, does not figure
in the declarations; nor does the issue of creating jobs for the 120 million people
unemployed in the world. With economic liberalisation programmes concen-
trating on a consumer-oriented global market, it is hard to imagine how the
problems of global poverty and unemployment are going look like in future.
The resources are not scarce but they are cornered and controlled by the
rich. In the opinion of some knowledgeable persons, it is the unsustainable con-
sumption levels of the rich nations that have resulted in the poor being denied
access to resources. Who can deny the fact that less than a quarter of the global
expenditure on arms would be enough to finance a programme for universal
primary health care, vaccination against killer diseases, drinking water and pri-
mary education. ‘‘Too often assumptions are made about what the poor want or
their views are interpreted to such a point that they bear little relationship to the
development priorities originally identified by the poor.’’ (Juan Somavia)
All said and done, let us remember what Rishi Vasishtha tells Rama in
Yoga Vasishtham: ‘‘Poverty is a curse. A very poor person is hardly alive. I see
no difference between a poor man and a dead man.’’ Removal of poverty is
indeed the prime duty of all rulers at all times.
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VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS
Official agencies admittedly form an essential constituent of the govern-
mental set-up in every country, but nowhere can they perform all the functions
and tasks which the people expect of them. The role which such agencies play
has to be supplemented by non-official or voluntary organisations comprising
workers inspired by the spirit of social and national service, without any expec-
tations of regular salaries or other material rewards and perquisites. Such agen-
cies make a substantial contribution to positive and constructive activity, fill-
ing in the gaps and carrying on other useful activity the importance of which is
being increasingly recognised in the modern State.
For several decades the Government of India was indifferent to voluntary
organisations. The vital impact of volunteers’ work during the country’s free-
dom struggle was forgotten. Most of the national activity in those years was
conducted on a voluntary basis; at best some of the workers received a petty
subsistence allowance to keep their body and soul together. In this connection
we may recall the work done in the rural areas, caste-ridden societies, the tribal
regions, and among women to facilitate their social transformation, by volun-
tary organisations established by G.K. Gokhale, Mahadev Ranade, Bal
Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai.
As a matter of fact, India has for decades been famous for its voluntary
agencies, their mechanism and methods of collaboration. Some of the well-
known voluntary organisations currently doing valuable public service are the
Harijan Sevak Sangh, the Bharatiya Depressed Classes League, the Indian Red
Cross Society, the Ramakrishna Mission, the Servants of India Society and the
Social Work Centre (Rajasthan).
Official recognition of the vital role which non-official agencies can play
was indicated recently through the Central Government’s policy clarification.
The Government now seeks the widest possible participation of voluntary or-
ganisations in the whole range of nation-building and development activity.
The Government has called for voluntary action for women’s uplift, child wel-
fare, family planning, and in health, sanitation, educational, social and eco-
nomic fields. This alone can involve massive involvement in programmes; in
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80
fact, such schemes are ineffective unless mass participation and community
action are assured. In the area of rural reconstruction and poverty eradication,
in particular, the contribution of voluntary organisations has been considerable.
These workers command the local people’s confidence while officials of vari-
ous categories are regarded as outsiders merely carrying on their prescribed
duties and then disappearing like birds of passage.
Voluntary bodies, especially those working at the grassroots level, can
render service of which official agencies and their staff are incapable. Unfortu-
nately, many high officials, for reasons which smack of prejudice and mistrust,
dislike voluntary organisations. During the Emergency (1975-77), for instance,
most of the voluntary agencies became suspect. Very often there is lack of
encouragement by the Government and the necessary atmosphere conducive to
voluntary work is lacking. As a result, according to a recent study, substantial
funds sanctioned under various schemes for voluntary work have remained
unutilised.
It is now officially conceded that the selection of intended beneficiaries
(the individuals and groups for whom certain economic assistance and con-
structive employment programmes are drawn up) is better in every way and the
people’s genuine participation is also greater if voluntary agencies are brought
into the picture in a planned manner. Implementation of Government programmes
implemented through officials suffers from various shortcomings and deficien-
cies bureaucratic attitudes, red-tapism, delays, complacency, lack of earnest-
ness and of sincerity among the workers, waste and leakage of funds, corrup-
tion. No wonder the overall results are poor despite the heavy expenditure.
Human beings are nowhere perfect, but experience has shown that volun-
tary workers, especially when they are given certain incentives, provided with
the requisite facilities and are not looked upon with disfavour by officials, can
ensure better results in the social and economic arenas. They have shown initia-
tive as well as enterprise. They have adopted new paths and motivated large
sections of the masses while officials are able to create only temporary fervour
and enthusiasm.
The tragedy is that many voluntary organisations, except those which en-
joy the patronage of high-ups at the Central or State levels, have been com-
pelled to fold up owing to several adverse circumstances, including intense
rivalries and lack of adequate funds and workers. Unless they are regarded as
partners in progress and accorded their due place (just as the role of the private
sector in the planned economy is described as vital), they cannot function with-
out let or hindrance. Since the field is now wide open for voluntary organisa-
tions, the prospects of expediting national reconstruction are brighter.
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SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF
FILM-MAKERS
India is one of the world’s major film producers, next only, in respect of
the number of motion pictures produced, to the U.S.A. and Japan. Moreover, in
a country like India where the literacy percentage is only 36, the cinema and
television (TV) are the best and the most effective audio-visual media; they
open the flood-gates of communication and heighten the effectiveness and ac-
ceptability of the message sought to be conveyed. The cinema in particular is
the easiest medium to reach the masses in the country because television is
confined largely to the urban areas, the community reception centres in the
rural areas being very limited and these, too, not in full working order.
But the quality of Indian films is distinctly poor; the stories and the method
of presentation of various situations are hackneyed and obsolete. They conform
to a set, all-too-familiar formula, the departures being few and far between, and
where certain film producers show initiative and try to present make a bold
breakthrough in a bid to create pictures of great social utility, the lack of ad-
equate responses by the audiences (poor box-office returns) act as a damper
and a source of discouragement. The result is a return to commercialisation, the
craze for the box-office, cheap popularity and the demand of the masses so as
to make profits or at least to ensure satisfactory returns on the heavy investment
generally made in the productions, partly because of the fabulous fees of the
top “stars”, the attractive leading heroes and heroines, who dictate their terms
and whose names attract large crowds.
It is indeed unfortunate that our film producers forget their social respon-
sibility the duty of imparting real education and instruction to the masses, to rid
them of superstitions and false beliefs and notions. While films should en-
lighten them on various issues and thus promote the causes which the Govern-
ment pursues, they concentrate only on entertainment, dances and songs, cheap
love scenes and lilting, catchy tunes. Instead of presenting life as it is and as it
should be in a country such as India, our film producers create false values,
generally present stories of affluent classes, of life in bungalows and palaces,
CHOICEST ESSAYS
89
gorgeous dresses and costumes, eye-catching dresses and artificial situations
far removed from the actualities of Indian life. The craze for Western styles of
dress and living, the cabarets and the dances, etc., also reflect a failure to dis-
charge the film producers’ social responsibility.
The cinema can certainly act as an effective and highly useful instrument
of social change, a change in the outmoded attitudes and customs, especially in
the rural areas. Instead, Indian films lay stress on deportment and dating (open
or secret meetings of handsome boys and girls) by the urban youth. It is true
that traditions die hard and that social change is a matter of evolution and is a
time-consuming process. Social reformers often use the religious cover to usher
in radical ideas and propagate a noble ideology. The cinema is unrivalled in
many ways as a communications medium, but whatever little it does by way of
conveying sound and healthy messages is confined, by and large, to the urban
and the semi-urban areas. The real fulfilment of social responsibility is needed
in the rural areas where, unfortunately, only the cheap and worn-out films per-
meate, mostly because of the lack of good theatres and cinema halls.
It must be recognised, however, that Hindi films, or rather Hindustani
films, have helped to command an all-India market, thus making this language
popular and understandable in all parts of the country. It is a factor worth noting
that even in Tamil Nadu and certain other South Indian areas, where there is a
strong anti-Hindi fervour, Bombay-made Hindi films are popular. It is true,
however, that if the cinema is to institute the desired social changes, the re-
gional films must conform more and more to the national ethos. Through well-
developed techniques the films in regional languages can be “dubbed”.
It is also a notable and highly regrettable fact that the Indian cinema re-
mains, by and large, reactionary and hence incapable of discharging its social
duty. Like all industrialists, film makers too have a distinct social responsibil-
ity, and they must not forget their duty towards society in their craze for making
profits by all popular techniques, even by pampering to cheap tastes of the
masses. They reflect a deplorable lack of the sense of citizenship when they
make cheap, substandard films merely because these bring them more profits.
Our films seldom give adequate food for serious thought.
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90
EVILS OF INDUSTRIALIZATION
Now-a-days industrialization is regarded as the measure of economic
development and material progress achieved by a country. Economists catego-
rise the nations of the world as “developed” or highly industrialized and “de-
veloping” which means on the way to becoming industrialized. The former are
rich in material wealth and their people enjoy high standards of living. As
compared to them, the latter are backward and an overwhelming majority of
their population is poor. From this it would however be wrong to conclude that
industrialization has been an unmixed blessing for man.
The process of industrialization can be said to have had its beginnings in
Europe in the eighteenth century. It has been continuing ever since in different
places and at different times. That is how in the contemporary world we see that
whereas countries like the U.S.A. and the West European nations are entering
their ‘second’ industrial revolutions, late-comers like India and China have just
made a start in that direction. The socio-economic impact of industrialization
has, however, been similar everywhere.
Wherever it has started and as it has progressed, industrialization has
brought about a very profound and many-sided transformation in society. It has
served to draw away men and women from agriculture, the main occupation of
mankind since the beginnings of civilization, and introduced them to new ways
of working, living and thinking. This in turn has led to increasing urbanization
with its own peculiar problems, development of working class movements,
evolution of new state policies suited to the needs of industrialized societies
and political changes corresponding with the shift in the centres of economic
power.
Industrialization has been made possible by the march of science and the
progress of technology. But while great strides have been made in technology,
international trade has grown manifold, the national wealth of industrialised
countries has multiplied and what are generally referred to as “standards of
living” have gone up, man himself has lost more than he has gained in the
process.
Writing on the industrial revolution in Europe and the U.S.A., Lewis
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Mumford has observed that it produced a “new barbarism” wherein civilization
“shifted from an interest in human values to measuring life in material and
pecuniary terms”. This has already happened in the western countries and is
now happening wherever industrialization is proceeding apace. It has enabled
man to produce more, to travel faster and to communicate more rapidly. At the
same time it has brought within his reach more material comforts and conven-
iences. Employment of the techniques of mass production has brought into play
the arts of advertising and sales promotion to “create” needs where none ex-
isted before. All this has helped in the evolution of the acquisitive society wherein
material prosperity, rather than moral stature or intrinsic worth is the yardstick
of success for every individual. Instead of finding happiness in limiting their
needs, people belonging to affluent society appear to be engaged constantly in
trying to outdo each other in the rat-race for more and more of money and
material comforts, even at the cost of their sanity. This Midas touch is perhaps
the biggest evil resulting from industrialization. It has created in the minds and
hearts of men a restlessness which pines for instant rewards. It is very much in
evidence in the permissiveness we see in the west and the get-rich-quick men-
tality which afflicts the young in most of the countries of the third world. All
this has been acting as social and spiritual corrosive, undermining both the
family and the individual wherever industrialization has been taking place.
Besides the changes wrought in men’s ways of thinking and living, the
transformation of agrarian societies into modern industrial societies has also
brought in its wake a host of other problems. The transition from the cottage in
the countryside to factories in cities was bound to create social tensions. The
lure of regular work and wages has induced a large number of men from the
rural areas to migrate to the cities. But once they have settled down to the new
ways, they find that the drudgery of performing the same task continuously and
the new regimen of factory discipline tends to turn them into automatons, re-
ducing them to machines and making the machines their masters. Alongwith
the growth of cities has come the problem of slums, known as fertile breeding
grounds for crime. In spite of all efforts made to stop their growth, slums have
become a necessary adjunct of industry, particularly in under-developed coun-
tries where industrial growth has just begun and industry is not yet sufficiently
aware of its social responsibilities.
In countries in which the pattern of ownership of industry is oligarchical,
industrialization has served to accentuate the disparities of wealth and income.
The invention and introduction of machinery has no doubt helped man in many
ways but as Karl Marx has observed, it has “without doubt greatly increased the
number of well-to-do idlers”. The introduction of labour-saving devices and
automation which enables one machine to do the work of many men has served
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to add to the difficulties of labour and also to create a new social phenomenon:
chronic mass unemployment. Instead of machinery being used always to help
and ease human effort, in order to increase profits, it is quite often employed to
snatch bread out of the mouths of millions willing to work.
The economic imbalance created by industrialization has had deep rami-
fications at all levels from the individual to the international. The mania for
mass-production which gripped Europe in the eighteenth and the nineteenth
centuries gave birth to economic imperialism and launched European nations
like Britain, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and others on the path of
exploiting the weaker and unorganized races of the world and ultimately subju-
gating them. It plunged a large number of countries in Asia and Africa into
slavery for several generations. To a very great extent, it is the insatiable mate-
rial ambition of the industrialized or developed nations which has repeatedly
led to global and international conflicts in the twentieth century.
Great strides in scientific research and technology have enabled man to
bring into use new basic materials, to develop new sources of power, to invent
new machines and to evolve better and faster methods of transportation and
communication. He claims to have gained mastery over nature but the outcry
now being heard against increasing environmental pollution and progressive
depletion of natural resources available to man shows how nature has been
suffering on account of thoughtless human intervention in its recycling process
ever since industrialization became the vogue. The problem did not assume
serious proportions as long as the damage was containable and not beyond self-
repair. But with the spectacular technological break-through accomplished dur-
ing and after the second world war, those limits were exceeded.
It is the highly developed nations of the world which have benefited most
from this breakthrough and it was in their domains that environmental pesti-
lence bred by advanced technology first raised its head. The outcry against
environmental pollution has been the loudest in the U.S.A. which is one of the
two most industrially advanced countries. The bye-products of industrializa-
tion, e.g., industrial wastes, discarded packaging material and other junk, and
exhaust fumes from automobiles have contaminated the atmosphere so much
that school-children are warned against deep breathing as dangerous to health.
Fears have been expressed that the rapid combustion of fossil fuels for power
and the increasing invasion of the stratosphere by aircraft are rapidly changing
the earth’s heat balance about which men know very little, and this may well
bring on a new ice-age or cause a deluge.
Environmental pollution following in the wake of growing industrializa-
tion is by no means a phenomenon peculiar to the U.S.A. alone. It is a world-
wide problem. In India, the pollution of the Ganga by emissions from the Barauni
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oil refinery a few years ago led to a public outcry. The profound changes which
the relationship between man and his environment has been undergoing as the
pace of industrialization has grown faster, and the continuing and accelerating
impairment of the biosphere by modern scientific and technological develop-
ments have been causing international concern for quite some time now.
At the root of most of the socio-cultural, economic, and ecological evils
of industrialization is a wrong order of priorities which places man and his
welfare below pecuniary benefits which can be derived from modern technol-
ogy.
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RELATIONS BETWEEN ART AND LIFE
Art is life, not something to be placed in a shrine and substituted for life.
Actually, art is an effort to create, besides the real world, a more human entity.
Moreover, a true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection. Indeed,
even those who regard art as an ideal and artists as idealists cannot deny that art
is a faithful mirror of the life and civilisation of a period. Everyone concedes
what Nehru said that Indian civilisation of the past periods was full of life; it
created things of beauty, the arts flourished, and the echoes reached distant
countries. Nehru was also stating the reality when he said that the art of a
people is a true mirror of their minds. Both arts and crafts have indeed close
connections with life; there is no line of demarcation between arts, crafts and
life when the arts have really been an integral constituent of the people’s daily
existence.
Obviously, it is impossible to separate art, or the arts, from life; they are
a part and parcel of it. The idea can also be expressed by saying that when life
declines and the standards of living deteriorate, art also declines. On the other
hand, when life marks an upward swing and shows all-round improvement,
such an upswing inevitably gets reflected in the arts. It is during the regimes of
eminent influential kings and emperors, Maharajas and Nawabs in history, es-
pecially during the Golden Age, that the arts, such as painting, music, dance
and crafts of various types prospered. Who bothers about art and the artists
when there is poverty and destitution all round, when the rulers are constantly
engaged in internecine warfare or struggles for power during which art is the
first casualty? This is also true of the age of exploitation, colonial, imperial or
other.
To say that art is only confined to the artist the painter, the sculptor, the
dancer, the musician, the singer or other craftsman is to take a needlessly rigid
and restricted view. Real art is all-round illumination and adds stature to life.
The object of art, it has been well said, is to crystallise human emotions into
thought, and then fix it in a concrete form. After all, a painter thinks, reflects for
a long time, tries to imagine something good and great, has a vision or a dream,
and then draws a picture, a drawing or moulds clay or metal into a figure he has
dreamed or thought of. Since dreams, thoughts and visions are all a part of our
life, art is also very much a part of our existence. Even the illusions, which often
get reflected in masterpieces of art, can be entertained only by human beings of
talent and cannot, therefore, be separated from life.
Those who seek to present a higher reality are, after all, human beings
and very much a part of life and society. Some people contend that art is mere
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copying Nature, but this is a fallacious belief. It is true that much of art is the
result of inspiration derived from Nature and from what one sees around one-
self the hills, the rivers, the seas, the beautiful environment, the creatures of
God such as birds and butterflies, etc. not to mention human beings themselves.
But even then art is linked with life and living.
An unfortunate aspect of life in the modern world is that misconceptions
about art and artists, and about their role, have been spreading fast. Anyone, it
is said, who finds a way to make a lamp or some other artistic piece out of a
Campa-Cola bottle gets more protection than a humble man who creates a work
of real art. There is indeed a distortion of values in the world of art; really
talented artists often starve because of the lack of patronagte by those who lead
a life devoted to unartistic activity. An artist who revolts against man’s fate in
life may or may not get adequate encouragement. Moreover, what passes for
“art” in today’s world may in reality be fraud or cheap imitation of a master-
piece.
Again, is it not true that the measure of the creator is the amount of life he
puts into his work. A real work of art has to be full of life; if it is lifeless and
soulless or dull, it evidently lacks life. Who can deny that a painting or a piece
of sculpture has great appeal if it is life-like, emanating vigour and activity and
if it inspires human feelings. Besides, the real artist is he who does not cater to
cheap tastes or panders to the low, inhuman or base instincts of men and women.
If an artist sells himself for the baser things, he is a traitor to art.
True art grasps, rediscovers and reveals to us reality which human beings
tend to forget and from which we often seek to get away. Often the reality is
harsh; even that serves as a reminder of what we are prone to ignore. When the
reality is pleasant, and artistic creations please, we begin to appreciate art, not
otherwise. Art, like most human beings, is temperamental; it is no secret that
artists, poets and musicians work when they get the requisite inspiration. Dicta-
tion and imposition of authority are what art and artists firmly resent. In this
sense art is an intense form of individualism. Even so, art should never seek
popularity; on the contrary the people should try to value art and make them-
selves artistic as far as they can.
Life itself is an art, and though artists and poets may seem visionaries,
they have a specific and distinct role to play. The irony, however, is that if art
and artists continue to live in a world of their own, far removed from life, they
may have to starve unless they are able to get permanent and affluent patrons.
Art and artists are now being patronised and encouraged by the Government of
India and the State Governments. But official patronage alone cannot be a
lasting guarantee of the prosperity of art; the people themselves must learn to
appreciate art in whichever form it comes before them.
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Life itself is an art. The swing of the pendulum may raise art to the skies
or bring it down crashing to the earth. Experimentation is what art thrives on,
and such experimentation, as in science, ultimately proves highly beneficial to
society. The progress in art reveals the progress of a country and its innermost
character. The relationship is, therefore, intimate and is becoming increasingly
obvious.