Gandhi as a scientist

Gandhi As a Scientist

Pankaj S. Joshi* Gandhi and Science Was Gandhi anti-Science and anti-machines? That he had a `retrograde' mentality and an opposed setup of mind, rejecting `modern progress', has been one of the biggest accusation against him of the intelligentia, policy makers and planners. As a result, the Gandhian thought and the way of life he suggested and advocated have found very little place or even any mention, whenever thinkers and planners sit together to look up and make the future road-maps for the nations and the society, both at the public and Government levels. In fact, we often hear a statement in this connection, especially within India, that, yes Gandhi was great as a Saint, he was a Mahatma who moved the masses because he had a very superb understanding of the people, but he has had very little understanding on modern Economics, and actually no interest in Science, which are the real drivers and backbone of the modern world and the rapidly progressing societies today. The world is moving and changing today at a breathtaking pace and speed, and without science and technology there is no hope of keeping up with the competition, so how could Gandhi be relevant in such an arena and scenario when he only negatively thought on modern Science and development? This is the kind of sentiment and statement we often come across, if Gandhian elements are at all raised at any official meeting of planners and policy makers. But is it really true that Gandhi was actually anti-science? What do the records and the writings, and his deeds and statements tell us on this? I have tried to examine and investigate the subject, trying to explore it in some detail. This talk was given at the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad, Ahmedabad, where I gave the first Kakasaheb Kalelkar Lecture, for the new lecture series that the Parishad initiated. Very useful discussions took place on the occasion on the subject, with noted Gandhian Shri Narayan Desai also presenting his views, comments and perspective, as available from his personal interactions with both Gandhi and Kakasaheb Kalelkar. In fact, he pointed out that Kakasaheb made Gandhi an astronomy fan, and they at times watched and observed the night sky together! I sincerely hope, the thoughts and work presented here will be of some use to the Gandhian thinkers and workers, as well as it may be of interest to any intelligent person in general. I believe the subject to be of interest and relevance, because only after we understand Gandhi correctly in this connection, it may be at all possible to incorporate and include him in the dialogue when we think and talk of the road-map for our societies and the nation for the future ahead. Of course, no claim to completeness is made in this small study here. While I have tried to see certain segments of the Gandhian literature with the help of his `Collected Works', I am sure much more remains to be explored in this connection. I have the fond hope that this may inspire some others to possibly take up such an important task in a greater detail.  We note that most of the quotations given here are taken from the CWMG (Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi).   Gandhi and Science Download Power Point Presentation * Pankaj S. Joshi is a Scientist and astrophysicist working as a Senior Professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. His main fields of research are Cosmology, Astrophysics and the General Theory of Relativity. He has published more than a hundred and fifty research papers in various reputed international journals as well as conference proceedings. His work is also published in the form of research monographs, by the Oxford University Press (`Global aspects in gravitation and cosmology'), and also the Cambridge University Press ('Gravitational collapse and spacetime singularities'), in their reputed monograph series. He has won many recognitions for his work internationally. The well-known `Scientific American' magazine included and displayed his work as their international cover story article in 2009, which was translated in more than seventeen international languages. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, and a winner of the Gravity Research Foundation prize (USA), amongst other recognitions.

Remembering Gandhi

Youth, Non-violence And Gandhi

Dr. Savita Singh In his valuable study, 'Revolutionaries: Contemporary Essays, E. J. Hobsbawm says, 'that of all the vague words of the late 1960's violence is very nearly the trendiest and the most meaningless'. The root meaning of violence comes from the Latin 'Violentia' meaning vehemence, a passionate and uncontrolled force, the opposite of a calculated exercise of power. Violence is so much a part of modern society that one is easily led to think of it as the dominant characteristic of the times we are living in. No country seems to have been left untouched by the phenomena of violence. But the Indian sub-continent which is reeling under unprecedented violence appears particularly vulnerable to a variety of violence and terrorism- communal, ideological, theological, ethnic, social, cultural, the list seems endless. No facet of our life has remained untouched by conflict. The sheer vastness of India as a nation serves to attract mercenaries and terrorists of all hues from within and without. It is also a fact that violence now sweeping across the globe gets more and more pronounced with each passing day as human society takes long stride towards "Development and Progress". India's message, with all her diversities to the world has been Sarva Dharma Sambhava, a nationality founded on the basis of universal peace. The mind of India has for centuries been able to receive and absorb the new without a violation of its root or direction. But today, as the 21st century unfolds before us, it is not the loss of idealism alone that is disturbing . That loss could have been made up to a great extent by the dynamism of the young. Whither our youth today? This is a question uppermost in everyone's in everyone's mind. It is deplorable that some of our youth in their ignorance are attracted by the culture of violence. One hears on all sides that the youth is in revolt. Many of us have a good deal of sympathy with this attitude if revolt, the one complaint we have is that it is not sufficiently widespread. The general tendency to regard our ancient civilization as idealistic and the modern one as materialistic is not the expression of revolt but of reaction After passing through rapid zigzags during the past quarter century, the world youth scene has shifted, as if to a plateau. If the youth does not come forward to help the nation in crisis, history will look askance at them. Injustice thrives on the difference of the people. Youth is active in certain pockets but in a negative sense. They have allowed themselves to be the willing tools in the hands of certain misguided elements who are using them to realise their own ends. Whether in the Punjab, Kashmir, or Sri Lanka, or the Taliban in Afghanistan, it is the same story. Why do the youth get lured on the wrong path and take to violence? What is that help create the terrorist personality, the terrorist ethos and the terrorist World view? The youth must ponder over these questions in search of plausible answers for in these answers lies the chances of a misguided youth's journey back to sanity. Psychologists have from time to time advanced certain theories to explain the working of the working of the terrorist mind. Lawrence Zelic Freedman in a recent anthology entitled 'Perspectives on Terrorism' for instance offers four hypothesis in this regard 'The Affirmation of self-esteem', particularly where an ego has been deeply hurt and denied identity Depersonalization i.e. the surrender of one's personality in the service of a group to escape the terrible burden of human responsibility Terrorism as a" method of establishing intimacy" that is to say, it's a means to enforce recognition and thus establish a subjective relationship with one's victim and "a belief in the magic of violence" wherein the elements of secrecy, mystery, wonder and sacrament fuse to propel the terrorists toward an unknown territory To this list may be added terrorism as 'game' as big business link up and political nexus with the underworld and the local mafia and a quick means to make a quick buck above all the lure of sheer (mis) adventure. What is the root cause of growing conflicts? Different reasons underlie the rural and urban violence. The reasons are various. The failure to implement the reform laws, the courts of law where the procedures and costs of justice have conspired to deny a fair deal to the weaker sections of our society and the system of education producing an ever expanding army of ill-educated, frustrated unemployed youth. The Universities have failed to arouse a sense of national fervor and purpose in the life and minds of the young. They have become an agency for distributing degrees, which is in most cases nit even worth the paper they are printed on. But while all this is understandable it is relevant to ask, if violence will prove to be the saviour it is promised to be? No it won't. Today we find that there is an all round drift in our society. Youth rebellion is held out to be basically a reflection of the growing gulf between the young and the old The old are seen not merely as out-of-date but also as hypocritical Youth finds the world in a mess and blames older generation for it The latter are not exactly models deserving of emulation by the young. In a span of fifty-four years of achieving Independence, there has been marked change in the character of leadership in the social and political fields In the pre-independence period youth was in the national movement; the leaders were 'accepted'. Today we find that leaders in almost every walk of public life have lost the respect of the young In this land of the Buddha and Gandhi, we are today, after 54 years of independence, surrounded by violence of thought, word and deed. Gandhi on Youth This independence was won under the leadership of the treat souls and amongst them was the magician Mahatma Gandhi, who came like an hurricane sweeping away past prejudices and ways if living, giving in their place new values Or rather he resurrected old values and gave substance and fresh meaning to forgotten words like Truth and Non-violence. His message was built around these two words and his slogan was " Be Fearless". For the ancient land of India nothing was ever the same again Like the Buddha and Jesus before him, Gandhi gave his countrymen the Mantra of Compassion and live for fellow brethren The people of India were bound to each other by bonds of love Even women in thousands crossed the threshold of their homes and plunged into the battleground A new sense of brotherhood appeared on the horizon- though unfortunately it remained short lived. Mahatma Gandhi understood the dynamics of social change that could be executed only through Youth Power Which he tried successfully during the Independence movement He had realised the tremendous potentialities in the youth. Youth have by nature greater fellow feeling and sympathy, which make them fit instruments of social change Ethical and spiritual values can provide a sure basis for a creative social order. Analyzing the social milieu, Gandhi must have thought that students and youth are the only sections where idealism is still a force to reckon with. The first and the foremost reason for according such high priority to youth power as a vehicle of social change lay in Gandhi's perception that the youth have got the least vested interest of all At Gandhi's call youth in thousands and thousands in number in number responded And what an array of youth- Dr Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, J B Kripalani, Sarojini Naidu, Kamala Devi Chattopadhyaya, Subhash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, C Rajagopalachari and the likes, all towering figures in their own right, joined the Gandhian movement that added lustre to their personalities Gandhi made heroes and heroines of ordinary men and women, and those who opted for violence, warfare and destruction did not find place on his honor's list What was important for Gandhi was heroism pertaining to dignity of labour and the murmuring of human values So far Mahatma Gandhi's ideas and ideal have not been fully utilized They need to be disseminated with reinforced zeal, particularly amongst the youth, which will help them discover the Revolutionary Gandhi. The Need to Follow Gandhi Today The name of Mahatma Gandhi, today, transcends the bounds of race, religion, and nation- states, and has emerged as the Prophetic Voice of the twenty-first century Gandhi is remembered for his passionate adherence to the practice of Nonviolence and his supreme humanism After the Great Buddha and Jesus, he once again demonstrated that Non-violence could also be an effective instrument of social change. Gandhi successfully demonstrated to a World, weary with wars and continuing destruction that adherence to Truth and Non-violence is not meant for individual behaviour alone but can be applied in global affairs too. The unshackling of the majestic personality of Black Power, destroying the enslaving apparatus of Apartheid in South Africa, was the culmination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's non-violent fight against racial discrimination that he had launched on the cold wintry night, on the isolated railway platform of Petermaritzburg in faraway South Africa on June 7, 1893. Had Gandhi been alive today he would have been the least surprised, at the new turn of events in South Africa, for this is only an affirmation of the implicit faith he had in his mission. Gandhi had relentless and unshakable optimism He remained an optimist till his last Gandhi would often say, "My optimism rests on my belief in the infinite possibilities of the individual to develop non-violence". "Good" said Gandhi, "travels at a snail's pace" On another occasion, he wrote, "Non-violence is a plant of slow growth It grows imperceptibly but surely" The sheer power of these words and the impression they leave on our hearts, derives from the fact that they are the quiet expression of the credo of a man, whose beliefs and actions were in complete accord. Gandhi would have us work ceaselessly for the realisation of what the sociologists call "common human" values, for the triumph of the common human way of life. Mahatma held up before all mankind the image of what every human being could be; he held up before us all a mirror reflecting the spiritual heights all of us could reach The world in which Gandhi was born, lived, worked and died, was beset by a number of problems, some peculiar to his age others recurrent in every age He worked for universal human values His life is a sure guide to a meaningful existence He embodied the Eternal Indian concept of the superior being-of the Mahatma Anyone can become a Mahatma if one makes a vocation of living the meaningful life- putting principle above expediency, duty above pleasure-service above self, as reflected in the life of the Buddha or several of our epic heroes. Gandhi had a dream for India Realizing this dream has become a nightmare Today, we are living in a constant adjustment to changing conditions, which require a different kind of discipline. Now it rests on our shoulders, yours and mine to see that the democratic values in our country remains intact and that social justice, equity, gender equality is achieved for all Rights should follow duties If we are able to achieve this, we shall be helping to reinstate Mahatma Gandhi's dream, I firmly believe it can be done. Gandhi's unfinished task is the biggest challenge before the youth After all it is their future It is their world Does not look like it Does it? But it is Gandhi had great faith in the ultimate success of his mission, because he had infinite faith in the individual's capacity to change He firmly held that the human nature is capable of radical reorientation; all one needs is a will to explore his own true self This explains why Gandhi, all through his life was striving to take humanity on to the path of spiritual and moral growth The progress of civilization, as it has evolved through the ages, id proof that human nature is a developing entity, capable of change for the better. Remember that the contemporary crisis demands not only a careful analysis of the roots of current social disorder and strategies of transition away from the current violent system but also demands a total rejection of some of our present narrow cherished beliefs, images, creeds , and above all, a drastic reorientation of our life style and restructuring our political, social and economic institutions on radical moral lines. Can we face the challenge of Gandhi's ideals and ideas? They have not yet been fully utilized The Revolutionary Gandhi, who was far ahead of his times, has not been fully understood by the younger generation Gandhi's thoughts need to be disseminated amongst our youth It is the ideas, which have a stupendous role in taking the human society forward; towards the desired pacifist goal. It is said that it is not the conquerors but the long line of men and women of thought, individually powerless, who are ultimately the rulers of the world Mahatma Gandhi certainly belongs to this August Hall of Fame- His Life's message will lead a new humanity on to a new path of Universal love and Harmony. Today, Gandhi is the sign at the World's crossroads. Is it too late to retrace the steps and follow the non-violent path of recovery shown by Mahatma Gandhi? But is there a future for us at all, if we don't- is the moot question. [Source: Employment News, Vol. XXVI, NO 26, 29 September-5 October 2001]

Ideology of No ideology

AAP leaders have repeatedly gone on record asserting they have no ideology-Left or Right. Yogendra Yadav wrote in a paper that they are trying to transcend the Left and the Right. All they focus is on processes of goverance, However, their assertions fall flat in the face of recent happenings of Delhi.While Kejriwal declared and acted like an anarchist, Somnath Bharti showed his true colours-appearing more as a rabid rouser of Shiv Sena  Moral Police . The Dharna no longer attracted the students of IIT or DU. There were much fewer women. The petty' bourgeoise'  and the Lumpen dominated. Suddenly Kejriwal thought He could hijeck Republic Day Parade. One recalled similar hyperbole of the Maoists  of bygone era who used to see Revolution knocking the door.
A good experiment of deepening indian democracy seems to be losing ground in a very brief time. Kejriwal and Co need to remember that anarchy leads  only in dictatorship. So they are going to welcome Modi.
The conclusion: issues divorced from ideology get washed in the drains faster than you expect.
It is high time the Congress, the Left and other Democratic forces lead from the front and throw up issues with genuine sincerity, walk the talk and fight their losing irrelevance.

Back To Gramsci ------By Sukhinder Singh Dhaliwal

Karl Marx became a hot  favourite after the US economy fell miserably in 2008  His 'Capital' began to be read  all over the world by one and all and Marx was declared to be still relevant.

After the grand show of AAP in Delhi elections, even the Left took them seriously. Parkash Karat wrote in Peoples Democracy while Sita Ram Yechury in HT . Both called AAP Non- Congrss Non- BJP alternative though questioning its economic vision and approach towards communalism.This blog had expressed the same earlier. 

However, we need to go further. Recently, Arun Jaitley candidly admitted on India TV that AAP success shows Trust Deficit in political parties. One thinks it is losing hegemony of conventional establishment and its positioning of power. The AAP succeeded in building hegemony of IDEAL politics. It created hegemony of confidence and Trust that its positioning of power sought to build. This is what Gramsci spoke of hegemony of civil society in his 'prison note books'.The issues become so formidable that the society and power structure can ill-afford to ignore. Now, if AAP even thinks of going one step backwards, it will face public ire. Kejrival is learning. That's why he backtracked on a number of gestures like refusing to get a decent home after the people called it KHAS action of AAP.
Others have to learn. Those who are thinking of image makeover need to study this new hegemonic paradigm of politics.
The Left can go back to Gramsci and study him if it wants to remain relevant in India

The Message of AAP

The message of AAP is loud and clear-ACCOUNTABILITY and GOVERANCE REFORM .
Have you ever seen an MP or MLA coming to you after the elections are over? Even the defeated ones don't come, The opposition waits for five year and wakes up a few months before the polls to cry anti-incumbancy.  The people seldom get solutions of day-to day problems. The budgets are shown to be allocated and spent. But where? Search the pockets of leaders, bureaucrats, Thekedars and you will find the spent wealth. Come Elections and we listen to rhetoric of caste, communal and such other sundry issues, No doubt they r important but not at the cost of  life of the people,
The political parties run by High Commands and Polit Bureaus  be in Nagpur or Delhi have to listen to this clarion call. 

Reservation race

Capt Amrinder Singh, the former CM of Punjab has demanded reservation for the JATS in govt jobs. The Congress has already advocated reservation for JATS in Rajasthan and some other states. A pandora box is about to open before the coming parliament elections.Sadly. Such demands and promises make the mockery of democracy. Whither should other categories go who have merit but no means and ofcourse, no political support? Already, many a lives have been lost against Mandal Commission report and during other agitations.
Pro Bipin Chandra, well-known historian had argued in Indian Express in early nineties that reservation fit in a place in a periphery economy. But when the economy is liberalised, the no of jobs decline and can be found only in private sector. Who will give get reservation in IT, management or hospitality sector? Such demands are delusions. They create more divisions and do not help the common people.
Interestingly, Punjab has had only Jat CM since 1978? Even before, Only Giani Zail Singh belonged to OBC. Since Kairo, only JAT CM ruled the Punjab, They headed  Akali Dal and Congress. What they did for JATS that they still need reservation?
The govt, instead, make a list of categories who do not need reservation. Of course, 'Maharaja Amrinder Singh' and  the likes of him do not deserve reservation!

AAP KAISE HO ?

Why is AAP important in Indian Politics?
Because it has usurped Congress' stated agenda of Gram Swaraj.  It has succeeded to reach the people where Congress has failed miserably. It has demolished the politics of Elite. It has brought Goverance and transparency on the national agenda for .which Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul had clamoured loudly. Its respectable success states that people want democracy to be down-to-earth as they are themselves. They shun VIP culture. They want identity.
However, AAP lacks something. It is the crux of economic vision they have yet to work for. They have to be candid on secularism and communal politics too.  It is wrong to equate Congress and BJP on the same wicket. They have to work out their vision of growth and development. Just sloganeering on distributive justice, they can run the risk of retarding the growth and entrepreneurship which is so vital for an emerging economy like India. The other parties like Congress and the Left need to learn from AAP's mobilisational stategies, nevertheless.