The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant - Linkis.com:
'via Blog this'
This wonderful fable raises several issues and answers them.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Brahmins Fought for Imam Hussain in the Battle of Karbala
Brahmins Fought for Imam Hussain in the Battle of Karbala:
'via Blog this'
We still have many Hussaini Brahmins among us. They don't know that they are Hussainis, yet they act and work like one.
'via Blog this'
We still have many Hussaini Brahmins among us. They don't know that they are Hussainis, yet they act and work like one.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Grandfather of populism Poujade who shook France and the world -
Grandfather of populism Poujade who shook France and the world - BBC News:
'via Blog this'
Like other words in political vocabulary, the word 'Populism' has different connotations.
'via Blog this'
Like other words in political vocabulary, the word 'Populism' has different connotations.
Monday, December 19, 2016
The unmaking of Parliament -
The unmaking of Parliament - The Hindu:
'via Blog this'
Parliament gets its power and prestige as representative institution. But if Parliament is held hostage by some stake holders, it is not only desirable but imperative for the PM to appeal directly to the people.
'via Blog this'
Parliament gets its power and prestige as representative institution. But if Parliament is held hostage by some stake holders, it is not only desirable but imperative for the PM to appeal directly to the people.
Friday, December 2, 2016
Monday, November 14, 2016
Lucky Nehru
आचार्य कृपलानी ने एक बार कहा था कि पंडित नेहरु वास्तव में भाग्यशाली हैं| मोतीलाल नेहरु के घर में जन्म लेने के चलते जन्म के समय लोगों ने कहा की नेहरु की जय | प्रधानमन्त्री बनने पर जयकार हुआ | अभावग्रस्त भारत के लोगों को खिलाने के लिए जब वे विदेश से कर्ज लाते हैं तो लोग कहते हैं 'नेहरु की जय'| जब बाद में नेहरु का अभागा उत्तराधिकारी फिर धन लाने के लिए विदेश जाएगा तो वे कहेंगे 'पहले का चुकता करो फिर नया लो' | जब वह बिचारा अपना सा मुंह लिए वापस लौटेगा तो लोग कहेंगे 'नेहरु की जय' |
परंतु स्थिति अब बदल चुकी है| नेहरु का आकलन अब अलग तरीके से होने लगा है| परन्तु प्रथम प्रधानमन्त्री के रूप में नेहरु ने भारत निर्माण में जिस शिल्पकार की भूमिका निभाई उसे नकारना असंभव है|
परंतु स्थिति अब बदल चुकी है| नेहरु का आकलन अब अलग तरीके से होने लगा है| परन्तु प्रथम प्रधानमन्त्री के रूप में नेहरु ने भारत निर्माण में जिस शिल्पकार की भूमिका निभाई उसे नकारना असंभव है|
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
There is no such thing as western civilisation | Kwame Anthony Appiah | World news | The Guardian
There is no such thing as western civilisation | Kwame Anthony Appiah | World news | The Guardian: "Civilisation, as Arnold understood it, was merely one of culture’s many modes."
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Monday, October 31, 2016
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Cult of Mao and Xi : The Chinese disdain for democracy.
Cult of Mao and Xi:
'via Blog this'Money is mother’s milk for ‘the game of democracy’: “The West has always preached that Western capitalist democracy is sacred and equal, and that the process is fair. In fact, money, business, media and vested interest groups often manipulate Western-style democracy.”
'via Blog this'Money is mother’s milk for ‘the game of democracy’: “The West has always preached that Western capitalist democracy is sacred and equal, and that the process is fair. In fact, money, business, media and vested interest groups often manipulate Western-style democracy.”
Friday, October 21, 2016
Kolkata, my ancestors, and me - William Darlymple
William Darlymple -Kolkata, my ancestors, and me - BBC News:
Darlymple traces his 'Black Hole' root.
"Calcutta," wrote the British colonial general Clive, "is one of the most wicked places in the Universe... Rapacious and Luxurious beyond conception."
Darlymple traces his 'Black Hole' root.
"Calcutta," wrote the British colonial general Clive, "is one of the most wicked places in the Universe... Rapacious and Luxurious beyond conception."
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Nehru's Make Believe World and the Chinese Betrayal - October 20, 1962
20th October 1962 cannot and should not ever be forgotten by us Indians. It had proved the Arab saying that an army of sheep led by a lion is more likely to win the war than an army of lions led by a sheep correct. Our leaders let us down. It is not that our leaders were naive. Nehru had clearly foresaw that China would use " international communism" and Pakistan " pan Islamism" to gain support against India. Yet, Nehru failed to comprehend the design of China against India. The " Five Fingers" doctrine of PRC was well known, yet India did nothing to meet this challenge by China. Rajinder Puri, a noted cartoonist with the Hindustan Times then, drew two cartoons . One cartoon showed Nehru returning on a donkey with his face towards China & back towards India with the caption "The Retreat"; another cartoon showed the then Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon offering Chou En Lai " First Sofa, then NEFA". Our leaders have been sacrificing national interest either for self aggrandizement or for some ulterior motive.
Nehru's Make Believe World and the Chinese Betrayal - October 20, 1962
20th October 1962 cannot and should not ever be forgotten by us Indians. It had proved the Arab saying that an army of sheep led by a lion is more likely to win the war than an army of lions led by a sheep correct. Our leaders let us down. It is not that our leaders were naive. Nehru had clearly foresaw that China would use " international communism" and Pakistan " pan Islamism" to gain support against India. Yet, Nehru failed to comprehend the design of China against India. The " Five Fingers" doctrine of PRC was well known, yet India did nothing to meet this challenge by China. Rajinder Puri, a noted cartoonist with the Hindustan Times then, drew two cartoons . One cartoon showed Nehru returning on a donkey with his face towards China & back towards India with the caption "The Retreat"; another cartoon showed the then Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon offering Chou En Lai " First Sofa, then NEFA". Our leaders have been sacrificing national interest either for self aggrandizement or for some ulterior motive.
Friday, October 14, 2016
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Monday, October 10, 2016
The Right to Vote Should Be Restricted to Those With Knowledge
The Right to Vote Should Be Restricted to Those With Knowledge
It's an erroneous assumption that power is diffused in democracies. It's in the nature of power to concentrate. Rule by knowledgeable people is not a bad idea after all.
It's an erroneous assumption that power is diffused in democracies. It's in the nature of power to concentrate. Rule by knowledgeable people is not a bad idea after all.
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Friday, September 30, 2016
How They Wrestled with the New by Thomas Nagel | The Story of Philosophy
How They Wrestled with the New by Thomas Nagel | The Story of Philosophy
The Dream of Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Philosophy
by Anthony Gottlieb
Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, and Rousseau all produced theories of political authority starting from the subject’s rather than the ruler’s point of view.
Monday, September 26, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016
Friday, September 16, 2016
Monday, September 12, 2016
Who will judge the judges? - Abhijeet Bhattacharya
Who will judge the judges? |- Abhijeet Bhattacharya
Is our Collegium system collegium licitum?
'via Blog this'
Is our Collegium system collegium licitum?
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
“Asymmetric Politics”: A deep dive into the mysterious puzzle of America’s political divide - Salon.com
“Asymmetric Politics”: A deep dive into the mysterious puzzle of America’s political divide -
This study debunks the notion that the two American political parties are two empty bottles with different labels.
'via Blog this'
This study debunks the notion that the two American political parties are two empty bottles with different labels.
'via Blog this'
Friday, August 26, 2016
Six Paths to India's Future - First Path Veer Savarkar's Hindu Nationalist path
In Sources of Indian Tradition, edited by Wm Theodore de Bary, Six Paths to India's Future have been suggested. "In this concluding chapter of our survey of more than three thousand years of Indian thought, the doctrines of six contrasting schools - not of metaphysics but of political philosophy - are presented by authoritative spokesmen. Hindu nationalism in its most virulent form (sic), dictatorial National Socialism (sic), liberal Democratic Socialism, revolutionary International Communism, evolutionaru National Communism, and Gandhian decentralism - all vie with one another for control of men's mind in independent India. Which school, if any, will win out is perhaps in the long run is less important than the fact that all together have been slowly but surely acting to leaven the dough of age-old custom and belief with the bitter yeast of politics.
1. V.D Savarkar's Hindu Nationalist path;
2. S.C. Bose's National Socialist path;
3. J. Nehru's Democratic Socialist path;
4. M.N. Roy's From International Communist to Radical Humanist path;
5. 'National' Communist path; and
6. Vinoba Bhave's Gandhian Decentralist path.
It's significant that of the six path only Savarkar's path has been associated with Hindu nationalism.The fact that the book was published in 1958, when Nehruvian influence was at its strongest, colours the thinging of scholars, both foreign and Indian. Not surprisingly Savarkar's Hindu Nationalist, Netaji's National Socialist ( a la Hitler!), Nehru's liberal democratic socialist and most surprisingly 'National Communist' as opposed to International Communism of MN Roy find place here.
V.D. Savarkar: Hindu Nationalist.
Unaffected by the new political ideas that came into India after the First World War, but exacerbated by the rise of Muslim nationalism, the tradition of extreme Hindu nationalism has been carried forward into the post-independence period by a group of zealots deeply imbued with its ideology. Its most outstanding proponent and theoretician in recent decades has been Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Born in 1883, and a Chitpavan brahman like his fellow Maharashtrians Ranade, Gokhale and Tilak, Savarkar was the second son of a landowner known for both his Sanskrit scholarship and his Western-style education.
Two incidents from his youth presaged his lifelong antipathy to those he considered Hinduism's foes. At the age of ten, hearing of bloody Hindu-Muslim riots in the United Provinces, he led a gang of his schoolmates in a stone-throwing attack on the village mosque. At sixteen, his anger at the hanging of two Maharashtrian terrorists (sic) made him vow to devote his life to driving the British out of India.
On entering Fergusson College at Poona, Savarkar quickly organized a patriotic society among his fellow-students. Through poems, articles, and speeches he reminded them of India's glorious past and the need to regain her freedom. In 1905 he arranged for a bonfire of foreign cloth and persuaded Tilak to speak to the crowd gathered around it. For this he was rusticated from his college, but with Tilak's help secured a scholarship to study in London from an Indian patriot there, on the understanding that he would never enter government service.
From 1906 to 1910, in the guise (sic) of a student of law, the young Savarkar bearded the British lion in its den. His "New India" group learned the art of bomb-making from a Russian revolutionary in Paris, and planned the assassination of the hated Lord Curzon. One member of the group electrified London when he shot and killed an important official of the India Office and the proudly went to the gallows. Savarkar himself was arrested a few months later, but by this time he had already published his nationalistic interpretation of the 1857-58 Mutiny (sic) and Rebellion, entitling it The First Indian War of Independence of 1857.
When the ship carrying him back to India for trial stopped at Marseilles, Savarkar created an international incident by swimming ashore and claiming asylum on French soil. The Hague International Tribunal ultimately judged his recapture by the British authorities irregular but justifiable, but by this time he had already been sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1911 Savarkar was transported to the Andaman Islands ( India's "Devil's Island " in the tropical Bay of Bengal) ehere he found his elder brother, a renowned terrorist (sic), already there before him.
Agitation in India secured his release from confinement in 1924, but until 1937 his movements were restricted and he was forbidden to take part in politics. Nehru, Bose, and Roy all sent him congratulatory messages on his final return to the political arena, and the Hindu Mahasabha, founded in 1919 (or 1921!) and the largest Hindu communal party (sic), elected him as their president for seven consecutive years, until failing health forced him to resign.
Intending to unite and strengthen all Hindudom, Savarkar advocated the removal of inter-caste barriers, the entry of untouchables into orthodox temples, and the reconversion of Hindus who had become Muslims or Christians. During the Second World War he propagated the slogan: " Hinduize all politics and militarize Hindudom," and urged Hindus to enlist in the armed forces in order to learn the arts of war.
Savarkar and Gandhi had disagreed from the time of their discussions in London in 1909 ( which may have been what provoked the latter to write his famous Hind Swaraj ). Savarkar now made no bones about his conviction that Gandhi's doctrine of absolute nonviolence was "absolutely sinful." As the fateful hour of independence from British rule drew near, Savarkar and the Mahasabha strenuously opposed the Muslim League's demand for Pakistan. Gandhi's apparent vacillation on this issue and his post-Partition fasts for the protection of Muslims and for good-will toward Pakistan infuriated many Hindu nationalists. Early in 1948 one of them, to avenge what he felt was Gandhi's betrayal of the Hindu cause, felled him with three pistol shots.
The assassin, N.V.Godse, although no longer a member of the Mahasabha, was still known as a devoted lieutenant of Savarkar, who consequently had to stand trial with him. Acquitted because of lack of evidence linking him to the crime itself, but too ill to lead an active life, Savarkar retired to his home in Bombay. The ideology he helped to shape continues to animate the Hindu nationalist organizations, which in addition to the Hindu Mahasabha now include the RSS, the Jan Sangh, and Ram Rajya Parishad. Although greatly overshadowed by the Congress Party, their appeal to both patriotic and religious sentiment gives them a potentially strong position in India politics.
1. V.D Savarkar's Hindu Nationalist path;
2. S.C. Bose's National Socialist path;
3. J. Nehru's Democratic Socialist path;
4. M.N. Roy's From International Communist to Radical Humanist path;
5. 'National' Communist path; and
6. Vinoba Bhave's Gandhian Decentralist path.
It's significant that of the six path only Savarkar's path has been associated with Hindu nationalism.The fact that the book was published in 1958, when Nehruvian influence was at its strongest, colours the thinging of scholars, both foreign and Indian. Not surprisingly Savarkar's Hindu Nationalist, Netaji's National Socialist ( a la Hitler!), Nehru's liberal democratic socialist and most surprisingly 'National Communist' as opposed to International Communism of MN Roy find place here.
V.D. Savarkar: Hindu Nationalist.
Unaffected by the new political ideas that came into India after the First World War, but exacerbated by the rise of Muslim nationalism, the tradition of extreme Hindu nationalism has been carried forward into the post-independence period by a group of zealots deeply imbued with its ideology. Its most outstanding proponent and theoretician in recent decades has been Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Born in 1883, and a Chitpavan brahman like his fellow Maharashtrians Ranade, Gokhale and Tilak, Savarkar was the second son of a landowner known for both his Sanskrit scholarship and his Western-style education.
Two incidents from his youth presaged his lifelong antipathy to those he considered Hinduism's foes. At the age of ten, hearing of bloody Hindu-Muslim riots in the United Provinces, he led a gang of his schoolmates in a stone-throwing attack on the village mosque. At sixteen, his anger at the hanging of two Maharashtrian terrorists (sic) made him vow to devote his life to driving the British out of India.
On entering Fergusson College at Poona, Savarkar quickly organized a patriotic society among his fellow-students. Through poems, articles, and speeches he reminded them of India's glorious past and the need to regain her freedom. In 1905 he arranged for a bonfire of foreign cloth and persuaded Tilak to speak to the crowd gathered around it. For this he was rusticated from his college, but with Tilak's help secured a scholarship to study in London from an Indian patriot there, on the understanding that he would never enter government service.
From 1906 to 1910, in the guise (sic) of a student of law, the young Savarkar bearded the British lion in its den. His "New India" group learned the art of bomb-making from a Russian revolutionary in Paris, and planned the assassination of the hated Lord Curzon. One member of the group electrified London when he shot and killed an important official of the India Office and the proudly went to the gallows. Savarkar himself was arrested a few months later, but by this time he had already published his nationalistic interpretation of the 1857-58 Mutiny (sic) and Rebellion, entitling it The First Indian War of Independence of 1857.
When the ship carrying him back to India for trial stopped at Marseilles, Savarkar created an international incident by swimming ashore and claiming asylum on French soil. The Hague International Tribunal ultimately judged his recapture by the British authorities irregular but justifiable, but by this time he had already been sentenced to life imprisonment. In 1911 Savarkar was transported to the Andaman Islands ( India's "Devil's Island " in the tropical Bay of Bengal) ehere he found his elder brother, a renowned terrorist (sic), already there before him.
Agitation in India secured his release from confinement in 1924, but until 1937 his movements were restricted and he was forbidden to take part in politics. Nehru, Bose, and Roy all sent him congratulatory messages on his final return to the political arena, and the Hindu Mahasabha, founded in 1919 (or 1921!) and the largest Hindu communal party (sic), elected him as their president for seven consecutive years, until failing health forced him to resign.
Intending to unite and strengthen all Hindudom, Savarkar advocated the removal of inter-caste barriers, the entry of untouchables into orthodox temples, and the reconversion of Hindus who had become Muslims or Christians. During the Second World War he propagated the slogan: " Hinduize all politics and militarize Hindudom," and urged Hindus to enlist in the armed forces in order to learn the arts of war.
Savarkar and Gandhi had disagreed from the time of their discussions in London in 1909 ( which may have been what provoked the latter to write his famous Hind Swaraj ). Savarkar now made no bones about his conviction that Gandhi's doctrine of absolute nonviolence was "absolutely sinful." As the fateful hour of independence from British rule drew near, Savarkar and the Mahasabha strenuously opposed the Muslim League's demand for Pakistan. Gandhi's apparent vacillation on this issue and his post-Partition fasts for the protection of Muslims and for good-will toward Pakistan infuriated many Hindu nationalists. Early in 1948 one of them, to avenge what he felt was Gandhi's betrayal of the Hindu cause, felled him with three pistol shots.
The assassin, N.V.Godse, although no longer a member of the Mahasabha, was still known as a devoted lieutenant of Savarkar, who consequently had to stand trial with him. Acquitted because of lack of evidence linking him to the crime itself, but too ill to lead an active life, Savarkar retired to his home in Bombay. The ideology he helped to shape continues to animate the Hindu nationalist organizations, which in addition to the Hindu Mahasabha now include the RSS, the Jan Sangh, and Ram Rajya Parishad. Although greatly overshadowed by the Congress Party, their appeal to both patriotic and religious sentiment gives them a potentially strong position in India politics.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
The Bihar Debate: Call for a middle path
Call for a middle path: "f Gujarat can prosper by eating dhoklas, why can’t Bihar with its litti-chokha?"
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
Friday, August 19, 2016
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
The Philosopher and Her Kisses - Los Angeles Review of Books
The Philosopher and Her Kisses - Los Angeles Review of Books: "Arendt unexpectedly emerges to playfully chastise him for not kissing her goodbye. Blücher avers: “Never disturb a great philosopher when they are thinking.” Arendt, embracing him, replies, “but they cannot think without kisses.”"
The Philosopher and Her Kisses - Los Angeles Review of Books
The Philosopher and Her Kisses - Los Angeles Review of Books: "Arendt unexpectedly emerges to playfully chastise him for not kissing her goodbye. Blücher avers: “Never disturb a great philosopher when they are thinking.” Arendt, embracing him, replies, “but they cannot think without kisses.”"
Friday, August 12, 2016
Friday, July 22, 2016
Friday, July 15, 2016
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Friday, May 27, 2016
Monday, May 23, 2016
Open Sesame in Tehran
Open Sesame in Tehran: "India today inked a slew of pacts with Iran and Afghanistan that could give New Delhi unprecedented access to these countries, Central Asia, Russia and Eastern Europe through a network of ports, rail lines and roads.
But it took a personal commitment on "early implementation" and a Persian Ghalib couplet from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the stern Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to break into a smile after the two-hour-long negotiations.
The pacts, which revolve around the use of the southeastern Iran port of Chabahar as New Delhi's gateway into regions previously hard to reach, represent India's most ambitious overseas infrastructure initiative ever."
'
But it took a personal commitment on "early implementation" and a Persian Ghalib couplet from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the stern Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to break into a smile after the two-hour-long negotiations.
The pacts, which revolve around the use of the southeastern Iran port of Chabahar as New Delhi's gateway into regions previously hard to reach, represent India's most ambitious overseas infrastructure initiative ever."
'
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Should Philosophy Departments Change Their Names? Readers Join the Debate - The New York Times
Should Philosophy Departments Change Their Names? Readers Join the Debate - The New York Times:
The NYT seems to be unaware of Indian philosophy, the birthplace of Philosophy, Darshan.
The NYT seems to be unaware of Indian philosophy, the birthplace of Philosophy, Darshan.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Monday, May 9, 2016
Plebiscite would never happen in Kashmir, said Ayub Khan in 1959 - Times of India
Plebiscite would never happen in Kashmir, said Ayub Khan in 1959:
Husain Haqqani forgets that the hate-India psyche that created Pakistan is still dominant in Pakistan.
One of the little incidents I did not write in the book -- in 1949, Prime Minister (Jawaharlal) Nehru was invited to the United States. It was the first visit by independent India's PM. According to the declassified minutes of the meeting with President Truman, he asks Nehru, "what can we do for India?" Nehru talked to him about how India needed to modernize its agriculture and build institutes of technology similar to MIT. He also asked for American assistance in these massive projects.
A few months later, Pakistan PM Liaquat Ali Khan was invited to Washington. He too met President Truman, who asked him the same question. Liaquat took out of his pocket a list of the military equipment Pakistan needed and handed it over. This episode of two prime ministers right at the beginning encapsulate the different national priorities. The consequence of those priorities is what we are living with today.
Husain Haqqani forgets that the hate-India psyche that created Pakistan is still dominant in Pakistan.
One of the little incidents I did not write in the book -- in 1949, Prime Minister (Jawaharlal) Nehru was invited to the United States. It was the first visit by independent India's PM. According to the declassified minutes of the meeting with President Truman, he asks Nehru, "what can we do for India?" Nehru talked to him about how India needed to modernize its agriculture and build institutes of technology similar to MIT. He also asked for American assistance in these massive projects.
A few months later, Pakistan PM Liaquat Ali Khan was invited to Washington. He too met President Truman, who asked him the same question. Liaquat took out of his pocket a list of the military equipment Pakistan needed and handed it over. This episode of two prime ministers right at the beginning encapsulate the different national priorities. The consequence of those priorities is what we are living with today.
Why Hannah Arendt Matters in 2016 — Pacific Standard
Why Hannah Arendt Matters in 2016 — Pacific Standard:
Hannah Arendt, Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, used
the phrase "the banality of evil" to describe the phenomenon of Eichmann in her book Eichman in Jerusalem. She raised the question of whether evil is radical or simply a function of thoughtlessness
46 KB (5,448 words) - 15:02, 5 May 2016
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Debate Erupts in California Over Curriculum on India’s History - The New York Times
<div>Debate Erupts in California Over Curriculum on India’s History</div> - The New York Times:
Enemies of Truth and Knowledge conspire to erase India from History textbooks. They have problems with everything Indian.
Enemies of Truth and Knowledge conspire to erase India from History textbooks. They have problems with everything Indian.
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Nature and Trends of Indian Politics
Politics always baffles, Indian politics more so. There is a French saying which translated in English states " Everything is always very difficult in politics." The coming to power of Narendra Modi as the PM of India has made Indian politics more exciting with his calls like 'Congress Mukt Bharat' (Congress-free India). The recent disclosures in Ishrat Jahan case, Malegaon and Samjhauta blasts have brought to the fore the confrontationist nature of Indian politics and rigging of institutions by successive Congress governments has become a common knowledge. The impact of Social Media is also changing the nature of Indian polity. Now the probability of India being a participatory democracy is much than ever before.
Politics is a fundamental human activity. Through politics authoritative allocation of values for a society is made and general arrangements of a society are attended to. In ancient India, unlike Greece, politics wasn't accorded an autonomous sphere. Politics, like everything else, was governed by Dharma. During the medieval period and the rule of East India Company people remained indifferent and apathetic o politics and put all its efforts to preserve what it considered was its Dharma. During the British rule, and with the spread of English education, some people came in contact wih the Western ideas about politics. The Western idea of politics has two traditions - one as a struggle for power and the other as an instrument to manage societal affairs.
After independence, under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress set the ideal of modernizing India. In order to modernize, seven national goals were set. These were : national unity, parliamentary democracy, industrialisation, socialism, development of scientific temper, secularism and non-alignment. Prof Bhikhu Parekh has described this idea of India the Nehruvian model. The Constitution of India as framed by the Constituent Assembly is in harmony with these goals. However, it should be pointed out that nation-building and economic development were the twin goals of all newly emerged nations. Socialism is now considered an albatross round the neck of development. These ideas were to be translated into practice through the instrumentality of politics, but the nature of Indian politics made their realization difficult, if not impossible. Let us examine the nature and trends of Indian politics. These can be put as
1) Clash between Modernity and Tradition - Political schizophrenia; three languages of Indian politics -Traditional, Modern and Saintly;
2) Democratic & Federal foundations of politics - the Constitution;
3) Politics as an Instrument of Socio-Economic change, political development and personal aggrandizement;
4) Personalised politics;
5) Lack of ideological commitment among leaders - computerised politics. #PrashantKishore phenomenon;
6) Erosion of Moral Values;
7) Five Scourges - Casteism, Communalism, Corruption, Criminalization and Conspiratorial politics;
8) Influence of Money-bags;
9) Regionalism;
10) Linguistic Fanaticism;
11) Violent politics - confrontationist politics, secessionist politics;
12) Devaluation of Institutions;
13) Centre-State schism;
14) Coalition politics;
15) Populist politics;
16) Desire for short cuts in politics - politics of Amendments, Reservation;
17) General Apathy of the Masses - subject political culture;
18) Growing Rural Influence;
19) Unstable Party Structure;
20) Dysfunctional Role of Pressure Groups.
Politics is a fundamental human activity. Through politics authoritative allocation of values for a society is made and general arrangements of a society are attended to. In ancient India, unlike Greece, politics wasn't accorded an autonomous sphere. Politics, like everything else, was governed by Dharma. During the medieval period and the rule of East India Company people remained indifferent and apathetic o politics and put all its efforts to preserve what it considered was its Dharma. During the British rule, and with the spread of English education, some people came in contact wih the Western ideas about politics. The Western idea of politics has two traditions - one as a struggle for power and the other as an instrument to manage societal affairs.
After independence, under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress set the ideal of modernizing India. In order to modernize, seven national goals were set. These were : national unity, parliamentary democracy, industrialisation, socialism, development of scientific temper, secularism and non-alignment. Prof Bhikhu Parekh has described this idea of India the Nehruvian model. The Constitution of India as framed by the Constituent Assembly is in harmony with these goals. However, it should be pointed out that nation-building and economic development were the twin goals of all newly emerged nations. Socialism is now considered an albatross round the neck of development. These ideas were to be translated into practice through the instrumentality of politics, but the nature of Indian politics made their realization difficult, if not impossible. Let us examine the nature and trends of Indian politics. These can be put as
1) Clash between Modernity and Tradition - Political schizophrenia; three languages of Indian politics -Traditional, Modern and Saintly;
2) Democratic & Federal foundations of politics - the Constitution;
3) Politics as an Instrument of Socio-Economic change, political development and personal aggrandizement;
4) Personalised politics;
5) Lack of ideological commitment among leaders - computerised politics. #PrashantKishore phenomenon;
6) Erosion of Moral Values;
7) Five Scourges - Casteism, Communalism, Corruption, Criminalization and Conspiratorial politics;
8) Influence of Money-bags;
9) Regionalism;
10) Linguistic Fanaticism;
11) Violent politics - confrontationist politics, secessionist politics;
12) Devaluation of Institutions;
13) Centre-State schism;
14) Coalition politics;
15) Populist politics;
16) Desire for short cuts in politics - politics of Amendments, Reservation;
17) General Apathy of the Masses - subject political culture;
18) Growing Rural Influence;
19) Unstable Party Structure;
20) Dysfunctional Role of Pressure Groups.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
The Statesman: Nationalism - 70 years after
The Statesman: Nationalism - 70 years after: "The only way to challenge the rise and rise of the Sangh Parivar is to devise an alternative ideology that appeals to the ordinary Hindus"
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
Friday, April 8, 2016
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Sanskrit texts offered way to Mughals to rule India:
Sanskrit texts offered way to Mughals to rule India: Book
The British used Francois Dupleix's three findings about India to get a foothold in India; they used the Mughal tactics to endear themselves with the Indians as rulers.
The British used Francois Dupleix's three findings about India to get a foothold in India; they used the Mughal tactics to endear themselves with the Indians as rulers.
Monday, April 4, 2016
Princeton rebuffs calls to rename Woodrow Wilson school - BBC News
Princeton rebuffs calls to rename Woodrow Wilson school
Don't sacrifice Truth for political correctness.
Don't sacrifice Truth for political correctness.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
In fact- Bharat Mata: From freedom struggle metaphor to patriotism’s litmus test | The Indian Express
In fact- Bharat Mata: From freedom struggle metaphor to patriotism’s litmus test
Janani Janmabhoomishcha Svargadapi Gareeysee by Maharshi Valmiki is unknown to this writer.
Janani Janmabhoomishcha Svargadapi Gareeysee by Maharshi Valmiki is unknown to this writer.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Monday, March 14, 2016
The Historiography of Medieval India Needs a Middle Way | The Wire
The Historiography of Medieval India Needs a Middle Way | The Wire:
Political Scientists give lesson to Historians in #Historiography.
Political Scientists give lesson to Historians in #Historiography.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
JNU row: Ekla cholo re
JNU row: Ekla cholo re
You dont't know the truth Martha. India has long remained a playground of disruptionist elements; now there's time for national assertion.
'via Blog this'
You dont't know the truth Martha. India has long remained a playground of disruptionist elements; now there's time for national assertion.
'via Blog this'
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Limits to Indian exceptionalism - The Hindu
Limits to Indian exceptionalism - The Hindu: "Certainly the Constitution is a problematic document in many ways, even though it has the legitimacy for having been voted in favour by 85 per cent in the Constituent Assembly, which itself was elected by 78 per cent of the electorate. As a ‘rights-based Constitution’, drafted by politicians rather than by a committee of jurists, it will be a difficult document to implement because of the promises it makes — including in expanding the scope of fundamental rights to cover a whole slew of economic, social and cultural rights."
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
Friday, February 12, 2016
Violence As A Political Weapon - A Study Of Its Efficacy
VIOLENCE AS A POLITICAL WEAPON : A STUDY OF ITS EFFICACY
— Raj Kumar Jha
Never before has the glorification of violence as a political .weapon been so blatantly pursued as in recent times. Many may call it the Rambo syndrome. There is, today, glory in violence. There is a savage honour attached to violence, one that unfortunately evokes a lust for brutality, destruction and mayhem. There is an inexplicable magnetism to violence, a magnetism that is helping spawn a cult of violence worldwide. It would be a truism to say that the modern world is turning more and more violent. There are groups that consider violence as the panacea of all social and political ills; there are individuals who consider violence as the final arbiter of all disputes. Gone are the days of Albert Camus' The Just Assassins who believed that violence on the innocent, for whatever cause, is unfair. Individual and group violence invites state repression which results in, more often than not, greater violence. This cyclic process cuts at the very root of a civil society. But there are people who do not consider violence as *a vicious circle. Instead, to them, violence consumes. It devours. It grows.1
In less than forty flve years, the Indian sub-continent has seen violence consume Mahatma Gandhi, Liaquat Ali Khan. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, Lalit Narain Mishra, Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Sant Harcharan Singh longowal, General A. S. Vaidya and Rajiv Gandhi. It has been reported that in India "we live today with a daily human toll that should be shattering : thirty a day are killed in Punjab, five or ten in Assam and Kashmir. At least a hundred others elsewhere in the country lose their lives every month in riots, caste conflict or election violence : we do not seem to be able to exercise our democratic rights without spilling blood...what this daily haemorrhage is doing to the quality of the national blood, and I fear that our willingness to live with it is damaging our collective psyche in ways whose lasting harm we may come to see too late''.2 A scholar-diplomat turned politician bemoaning the trend has observed that “Once we were an example to the world. Now we are a warning''.8 It must, however, be noted that India is comparatively a late-comer in adopting violence as a political weapon. Even in the United States of America, as far back as in 1960's, committees were set up to look into the causes and consequences of violence.
Even though violence has so frequently been used as a political weapon, only perfunctory attention has been paid by scholars do the phenomena. Very few universities, if at all, have included "Violence as a political weapon" in their curricula of political science. So much so, that no attempt has yet been made even to define "violence" and its use as a "political weapon”. In this short paper, it is proposed to define violence, categorise various forms of violence and examine the efficacy of violence as a political weapon.
Defining Violence
The term violence is derived from the Latin word Violentus which is akin to another Latin word Violare which means "to violate". Violence is exertion of physical force so as to "injure or abuse"; "intense, turbulent, or furious and often destructive action or force" and "injury by or as if by distortion, infringement, or profanation."4 Thus, we find that violence is a property of force. A force may be said to be violent if it violates, i.e., if it breaks and destroys that to which it is applied. It is an act of violence to strike my neighbour, an act only of force to steer him uninjured but against his will from the room.5 For our purposes we may define violence as a property of force, the application of which, through injury or the threat of it, violates the rights of individuals and groups. Wolff has added another dimension to the concept of violence. He has linked violence with legitimacy. For him, violence is the illegitimate or unauthorised use of force to effect decisions against the will or desire of others.6 Wolff's definition helps in distinguishing between individual and group violence on the one hand and the violence committed by the state on the other. Thus, murder is an act of violence, but capital punishment by a legitimate state is not. But, Wolff's definition blurs the distinction between violence and what has been called naked-power. Violence is something more than an illegitimate act, it destroys or intends to destroy to which it is applied. Violence always has instrumental character. The implements of'violence, like all other tools, are designed and used for the purpose of multiplying natural strength.
When violence is used to affect "authoritative allocation of Values" for a society, or attending to the general arrangements of a society, or affecting the political behaviour of others, affecting the course of political events it becomes a political weapon. Nieberg has termed violence as a political weapon as "political violence". He has defined political violence as "acts of disruption, destruction, injury, whose purpose, choice of targets or victims, surrounding circumstances, implementation, and /or effects, have political significance. That tends to modify the behaviour of others in a bargaining situation that has consequences for the social system." In fact, as violence has an instrumental character, it always is used to achieve some purpose. When it is used for political purposes, violence becomes a political weapon.
Why Violence ?
No one engaged in thought about politics and history can remain unaware of the enormous role violence has always played in human affairs, and it is at first glance rather surprising that "violence has been singled out so seldom for special consideration."7 This statement can be substantiated by pointing out that in the last edition of the Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences .'violence' does not get even an entry.8 There exists, of course, a large literature on war and warfare, but it deals with the implements of violence, not with violence, as such. Sorel remarked some ninety years ago that "the problems of violence still remain very obscure".9 The remark is as true today as it was then. Many social and political theorists have equated violence with power. It appears that there is a consensus among political theorists from Left to Right to the effect that violence is nothing more than the most flagrant manifestation of power. C. Wright Mills said that "All politics is struggle for power; the ultimate kind of power is violence",10 echoing as it were, Max Weber's definition of state as ' the rule of men over men based on the means of legitimate, that is allegedly legitimate violence."11 Weber seems to have agreed with Trotsky's remark that "Every state is based on violence."12
Equating power with violence has caused considerable confusion. MaoTse-tung proclaimed that "Power grows out of the barrel of a gun". Here gun, that is violence, is an instrument of power, not power itself. Even Marx was aware of the role of violence in history, but this role was to him secondary; not violence but the contradictions inherent in the old society brought about its end. The emergence of a new society was preceded, but not caused, by violent outbreaks, which he likened to the labour pangs that precede, but of course do not cause, the event of organic birth. In the same vein he regarded the state as an instrument of violence in the command of the ruling class; but the actual power of the ruling class did not consist of, or rely on, violence.
But the world has changed so much that the adherents of Gandhi and non-violence are on the defensive, and it would be futile to assert that only the 'extremists' are yielding to a glorification of violence and have discovered—like Frantz Fanon's Algerian peasants — that "only violence pays".13
To come to the point of distinction between power and violence it should be pointed out that power always stands in the need of numbers, whereas violence up to a point can manage without them because it relies on implements. "The extreme form of power is All against One, the extreme form of violence is One against All. And this latter is never possible without instruments."14 While power may be construed as the capacity to influence the decisions of others, violence always relies on the instruments of violation. Power is always action in concert, violence need not be collective. Thus Arendt concludes that "Power and violence are opposites; where the one rules absolutely, the other is absent”.15
Many radical thinkers have tried to find violence concealed within existing social structure. For them, if there is such structural violence contained in seemingly peaceful institutions, then violent opposition to them would be more easily justified. If the state is based on violence, then to oppose it through violence can't be ruled out. But, here, the proponents of such view fail to understand the difference between the responsibility of the state and the obligation of the individuals. The primary function of a state is to protect the life, liberty and property of its citizens and in order to perform its primary function the state has to take recourse to violence. The individual, or a group, can't arrogate, the power to use violence as that would violate the rights of other individuals and groups. Again, violence by one group would invite greater violence from the affected group.. The vicious circle would make the functioning and stability of civil society impossible.
Theorists of social and political behaviour have deciphered other causes of violence also. They link violence with severe deprivation. The. New Left also eulogised violence as it considered violence .as the only answer to deprivation. - Sartre, in his preface to Fanon's The wretched of the Earth, has unabashedly advocated recourse to violence. For Sartre through "irrepressible violence...is man recreating himself”, and that it is "through mad fury” that ''the wretched of the earth" can "become men". Sartre further says that "To shoot down a European is to kill two birds with one stone...there remain a dead man and a free man." Thus, for some, deprivations of various types — relative, aspirational, decremental and progressive are the real causes of violence.
Some theorists link violence with societal, economic and political change. Purely traditional societies with long-established patterns of authority and simple but workable economies are relatively untroubled by violence. People live as their ancestors lived and do not expect much from government and society. Similarly, modern, advanced societies with rational types of authority and productive economies have relatively minor types of violence. It is at the in-between stage, when modernisation is stirring and upsetting traditional societies, that the society becomes most violence-prone. The modernising societies have left one world — the world of traditional stability, but have not yet
arrived at the new world of modern stability. Everything is changing in such societies — the economy, religious attitudes, lifestyle, cultural ethos and the political system — leaving people worried, confused and ripe for violent actions. Paradoxical though it might appear, yet the fact is that violence spreads when things are generally getting better, not when they are getting worse.
There are several reasons for this. When people are perennially poor and deprived, they have no hope for the future, they are miserable but quiet. When things improve, they start imagining a better future; their aspirations are awakened, expectations raised. No longer content with their lot, they want improvement at a faster rate than even a growing economy can deliver. Worse, during times of prosperity, some people get richer faster than others, arousing jealousy. Certain groups feel bypassed by the economic changes and turn especially bitter taking recourse to violence. Thus "relative deprivation" is the real problem, not poverty in itself.
Other economic changes can also spur unrest. Eric R. Wolfe16 has argued that the shift from subsistence farming to cash crops dependent on markets, landlords and bankers impoverishes many peasants and turn them from quietude to violence.
Some other theorists and polemologists have found the causes of violence in "helplessness", in "group territorialism", in "rage” and in "human aggressiveness". Samuel P. Huntington has observed that only when the "numbers" of peasants and workers get behind them the "brains" of the intellectuals, who have come to see the political system as oppressive, does violence erupt on a large scale.
Types of Violence
All violence is not the same. Various thinkers have tried to categorise violence in their own ways. One of the better categorisations has been made by Fred R. Von der Mehden, who sees, five general types of violence.17 They are : Primordial, Separatist, Revolutionary, Coups and Issues.
Primordial
Primordial violence grows out of conflicts among various communities—ethnic, national, caste-based, linguistic, regional or religious — into which people are born. Communal and Caste riots in India, the multi-group conflict in Lebanon, and the tribal conflicts in some African nations are examples of primordial violence, it is not necessarily confined to developing countries. Such antagonisms exist in Quebec, the Basque country of Spain and Northern Ireland, where there is something akin to a tribal feud between Protestants and Catholics.
Separatist
Separatist violence, which is often an outgrowth of primordial conflict, aims to break away from the country dominated by other groups. The present violence in Punjab and Kashmir, the violence in Yugoslavia, the violence in Sri Lanka are examples of separatist violence.
Revolutionary
Revolutionary violence aims at overthrowing or replacing an existing regime. This category includes within itself counterrevolutionary violence.
Coups
Coups are usually counter-revolutionary in intent, aimed at heading off a feared military takeover. Coups are almost always military, although the military usually has connections with and support from key civilian groups. Coups occur when the conventional institutions of government — parties, lagislatures, and executives — are so weak that they leave the military with the choice of either taking over or facing chaos.
Issues
There are some types of violence that do not fit in any of the above categories. Violence oriented to particular issues is a catchall category and usually less deadly than other kinds. The Protests against the Vietnam war, the student violence at American and French Universities in the late 1960's, the recent violence against Tamils in Karnataka over Cauvery Water dispute and the anger that grows around some economic problems are examples of issue-oriented violence. There may be a fine line between issue-oriented violence and revolutionary violence, for if the issue is serious enough, protests over an issue can turn into a revolutionary tide The Naxal violence in India is an example of issue-based violence that exhibits revolutionary character.
All these categories are apt to be arbitrary. Some start in one category and escalate into another. No country, not even a highly developed one, is totally immune to some kind of violence. Some writers include a category called anomic violence, representing spontaneous and unorganised rampages.
Terrorism
In the present age, violence as a political weapon often takes the form of terrorism. In its wider sense, terrorism is the organised use of an act or threat of violence against individuals or groups to change the outcome of some process of politics. Classic terrorism aimed at the elimination of individuals. The ancient tactics of tyrannicide have been preached and practised for many centuries. With the ruler (or important individual) dead, government (or main course) was expected to change. Terrorism may be "expressive", "signalling", "attention drawing" and "fear arousing". In modern democracies getting attention in the mass media — press, radio, film, and television — is often easily attainable by almost any act or behaviour that is unusual; or spectacular enough.
Modern terrorism has certain characteristics that distinguish it from classical terrorism. It is often directed against soft targets;
It is based on organisational support; it has become more frequent; its activities are reported in mass media with sensationalism; a large part of modern terrorism is supported by governments through money, diplomatic facilities, passports, sanctuaries, experts, training camps, weapons, explosives and justifying ideologies. Some governments support these activities but they do so within a context of deniability — trying to conceal the involvement of their personnel and the traces of their actions (As is the case with Pakistan in Punjab and Kashmir).
Is Violence as a Political Weapon Effective ?
It would be naive to dismiss political violence as of little consequence. There are two viewpoints regarding the efficacy of violence as a political weapon. One, like the New Left, believes that violence is not only effective, but the pis aller of change for the better. This viewpoint has its votaries on the side of state also who believe that without total repression, the violence-maniacs could not be challenged, checked and wiped out. The other viewpoint holds that violence can never be a political weapon. Politics is based on dialogue, persuasion and give and take. As soon as violence enters, politics disappears. The truth lies between these two viewpoints.
Generally, assassinations of leaders do not disrupt or change political systems. The assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia only resulted in his replacement by Tsar Alexander III, with the old autocratic government continuing. When John F. Kennedy was murdered his successor L. B. Johnson was sworn within an hour and the main policies of the U. S. continued. Similarly, Mrs. Indira Gandhi was murdered, but the Indian democratic system continued with Rajiv Gandhi as the Prime Minister. When Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the LTTE militants, the Indian resolve to send them back to Sri Lanka did not abate.
Hannah Arendt is of the firm opinion that violence does not promote causes, neither history nor revolution, neither progress nor reaction; but it can serve to dramatize grievances and bring them to public attention. She, therefore, feels that violence can remain rational only if it pursues . short-term goals.16 But one thing is clear. With the modern weapons of mass-destruction and their expanding outside support base have put terrorists in a position where they are feared by the general populace. Arousing fear in a modern democracy is a very serious matter. Since, in a democracy, people are free to speak, write, vote and seek office in elections, terrorist groups are automatically suspected of being small minorities who cannot win elections and whose views are too extreme to make them eligible partners for winning coalitions. If such a minority then arouses fear through the terrorist acts of some of its members it soon becomes hated and a likely target of state repression. Only if this minority is relatively large, predominant in some distinct territory, remote from the majority's centres of interest and power, and has territorial proximity with a country which provides it with support and sanctuaries, are majorities likely to let troublesome minorities and their territories go. Thus, various combinations of terrorism, guerilla warfare, and a helpful international setting eventually led to the independence of Ireland in 1922, of Israel in 1948, and of Cyprus in 1960.
The history of the world during the last forty years has been infested with acts of violence and terrorism. To believe in violence as a life-promoting force is at least as old as Nietzsche. But as has been pointed out by Arendt, "The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is to a more violent world."19 Deutsch has also come to the conclusion that "Terrorism can become a self-perpetuating system...Terrorism usually changes little and solves nothing. It consumes scarce resources of talent, devoted manpower, thought, and attention. In the long run it most often weakens the side that practices it, and it weakens the country in which it takes place."20
The very substance of violent action is ruled by the means-end category, whose chief characteristic, if applied to human affairs, has been that the end is in danger of being overwhelmed by the means. Since the end of human action can never be reliably predicted, the means used to achieve political goals are more often than not of greater relevance to the future world than the intended goals. A Commission to enquire into violence in the U.S.A. concluded in its report that "Force and violence are likely to be successful techniques of social control and persuasion when they have wide popular support".21 In a democracy with wide popular support anything could be done through ballot. Bullets can never be a substitute for ballots. The sooner it dawns upon all, the better will it be for the future of the society and the world.
REFERENCES
1. Arun Katiyar, "Violence : Is India Spinning out of Control-'
The Illustrated Weekly of India, July 6-12, 1 991, p. 9.
2. Shashi Tharoor, "India, Our India", The Statesman (Festival ’91), p. 67.
3. Natwar Singh Cited in Note 1, p. 8.
4. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (1973), p. 1306.
5. See, Roger Scruton, A Dictionary of Political Thought (The Macmillan Press, London, 1982), p. 486.
6. Robert P. Wolff, "On Violence'', The Journal of Philosophy Mo. 66 (1969), pp 601 — 16.
7. Hannah Arendt, "On Violence", Crises of the Republic (Penguin, 1973), p. 87.
8. Ibid.
9. Georges Sorel, Reflections on Violence, Introduction to the First Publication (1906), New York, 1961, p. 60.
10. C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite (New York, 1956), p. 171.
11. Max Weber, "Politics as a Vocation" in Political Sociology (Penguin, 1971), Opening paragraph.
12. Cited in Note 11.
13. Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (Grove Press Edition, 1961). p. 61.
14. Arendt, Op. Cit., p. 111.
16. Ibid, p. 123.
16. Eric R. Wolfe. Peasant Wars of the Twentieth Century ( New York, 1969).
17. Fred R. Von dor Mehden, Comparative Political Violence (Prentice Hall, 1973).
18. Arendt, Op. Cit., p. 140.
19. Ibid, p. 141.
20. Karl W. Deutsch.Th e Analysis of international Relations (PHI, 1989), p. 201.
21. Report of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, June, 1969. See Jerome H. Skolnick, "The Politics of Protest" and H. G. Graham and Ted Robert Gurr, "Does Violence Work ?" in Issues of the Seventies (Belmont, 1970), pp. 490 - 512.
Research Journal Of Politics, Ranchi University, Jan,1992 Vol 1, No2
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