sept 2011 - rh

The Real Mahatma Gandhi: Questioning the Moral Heroism of India’s Most Revered Figure

—Christopher Hitchens

Shirdi Sai Baba – A Myth and Business?

—P.K. Nanawaty

Two Historical Judgements

—Mastram Kapoor

The Inner Bourgeois

—Dipavali Sen

PUCL: Its History of Struggle in Fighting the Structures

—Mahipal Singh

System vs. the People! —Rekha Saraswat

From the Editor’s Desk: Founder Editor: M.N. Roy

498

THE RADICAL HUMANISTSEPTEMBER 2011 Rs. 20 / monthVol. 75 No 4

(Since April 1949)Formerly : Independent India (April 1937- March 1949)

THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011

The Radical Humanist

Monthly journal of the Indian Renaissance

Institute

Devoted to the development of the Renaissance

Movement; and for promotion of human rights,

scientific-temper, rational thinking and a humanist

view of life.

Founder Editor:

M.N. Roy

Editor:

Dr. Rekha Saraswat

Contributory Editors:

Prof. A.F. Salahuddin Ahmed, Dr. R.M. Pal, Professor

Rama Kundu

Publisher:

Mr. N.D. Pancholi

Printer:

Mr. N.D. Pancholi

Send articles to: Dr. Rekha Saraswat, C-8, Defence

Colony, Meerut, 250001, U.P., India, Ph.

91-121-2620690, 09719333011,

E-mail articles at: [email protected]

Send Subscription / Donation Cheques in favour of

‘The Radical Humanist’to:

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111 (Near Post Office), Supreme Court of India, New

Delhi, 110001, India [email protected]

Ph. 91-11-22712434, 91-11-23782836, 09811944600

Please Note: Authors will bear sole accountability

for corroborating the facts that they give in their

write-ups. Neither IRI / the Publisher nor the Editor

of this journal will be responsible for testing the

validity and authenticity of statements &

information cited by the authors. Also, sometimes

some articles published in this journal may carry

opinions not similar to the Radical Humanist

philosophy; but they would be entertained here if the

need is felt to debate and discuss upon them.

—Rekha Saraswat

Vol. 75 Number 6 September 2011

Download and read the journal at

www.theradicalhumanist.com

- Contents -

1. From the Editor’s Desk:

System vs. the People!

—Rekha Saraswat 1

2. From the Writings of Laxmanshastri Joshi:

Spiritual Materialism: A case for Atheism 3

3. Guests’ Section:

Shirdi Sai Baba – A Myth and Business?

—P.K. Nanawaty 6


—Mastram Kapoor 12

4. Current Affairs:

Crop Holiday; European economic crisis; Strategy

of the Opposition; Bill on Telangana; Clause 14 (f)a)

—N.K. Acharya 15

5. IRI / IRHA Members’ Section:

Humanist movement in India (Andhra Pradesh)

—N. Innaiah 18

PUCL: Its History of Struggle in Fighting the

Structures

—Mahipal Singh 21

6. Teachers’ & Research Scholars’ Section:

Nilmani Phookan: A Distinctive Poet-Laureate of

Assam

—Ashok K. Chaudhury 23

Land Acquiisition Bill

—Ashish Saxena 27

7. Book Review Section:

Impending Destruction of Environment: A Myth?

—Subhankar Ray 30

The Real Mahatma Gandhi: Questioning The

Moral Heroism Of India’s Most Revered Figure

—Christopher Hitchens 34

The Inner Bourgeois

—Dipavali Sen 36

8. Humanist News Section 38

From the Editor’s Desk:

System vs. the People!

There has been a regular criticism of

Anna’s ‘movement against corruption’

on the grounds:

That it was anti-system;

that it challenged the established norms of the

Parliament;

that it defied the powers of the elected members of

the Parliament;

that it was dictatorial by behaving not merely as a

pressure group but by trying to blackmail the

Central Government through Anna’s

hunger-strike;

that it was creating serious doubts in the minds of

the people upon the efficiency of the democratic

institutions of the country;

that it was daring the autonomy of the Judiciary;

that it was striking at the very root of the Indian

Federal structure by calling upon the Central

Government to pass a Bill on appointing the

Lokayuktas in the States and,

above all, that it was creating a distrust in all the

mechanisms of checks-and–balances set in our

Constitution upon the governing Executive and

appointed Administrative machinery of our

country.

One can, as a political scientist, give direct

Constitutional answers to all these man-made

criticisms. But the restriction of space checks me

from doing so. Still, let me try to make this editorial

very simple and direct this time, again, through a

question answer process.

Who makes a system? The man!

The system is made for whom? For the man!

Why is the system made? For the support of the

man!

Therefore, once the man begins to find no gain

in the system for whose benefit should the

system continue?

We have borrowed our Parliamentary System from

the British. The origin and development of British

Parliament has been a process of over one thousand

years, from the Anglo-Saxon Witan to the reign of

Elizabeth I. Signing of Magna Carta in 1225, the

Glorious Revolution of 1688… the changes in the

legislative authority bear centuries’ long progress

of decentralization of monarchical powers. And it

was only 19th Century onwards that the people’s

representatives came to the British Parliament

through the Reforms Act and Representative

Democracy and gradually the power of these

representatives grew in the House of Commons.

Do we have the cultural background of a

Parliamentary System that U.K. has? No!

We elected our members to the Parliament but on

what measures?

On the basis of caste, class, party, minority, money,

fear, authority?

Are these criteria the deciding factors of a

democratic process of electing our representatives

to the Parliament? No.

But unfortunately for us they have been the main

conditions almost always.

Then who is defying the powers of these elected

representatives?

The Casteists; the communalists; the racists; the

party-loyalists; the money-launderers; the

mafia-lords; the upper-class/royal scions; whose

commands they are in a habit of following? No,

none of them

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Rekha Saraswat

Then, why are we suddenly crying hoarse about

our democratic credibility and parliamentarian

ethics?

Is it because, this time, for the first time, after the

national struggle for independence – the common

man is raising his voice? That common man who is

the weakest person, the most susceptible

sentimental fool who sways at the slightest

emotional upsurge?

These parliamentarians are fully aware of this

limitation of the voter in the street because they

have till now gained upon him through this

vulnerability alone.

Why is then the entire lot of parliamentarians

annoyed? Is it because this time, the common

man’s feelings have been aroused by a selfless

Anna who has taken the guiding wand in his own

hands?

Peep into your own hearts, for once, friends. And

you will find that our monarchical past still hangs in

our sub-conscious psychological mindsets as a

picture perfect model.

And we put the blame upon the dictatorial

tendencies of Anna Hazare’s obstinacy in getting

the civil society’s wishes fulfilled by the

Parliament?

Could we, till date, establish our own cultural ethics

towards the democratic institution of Parliament?

About which established norms are we talking;

the British model? Can norms also be

borrowed?

None of us, from the intellectual elite class, from

the educated middle class, could find time to

muster courage to confront our MPs and MLAs

from the Ruling or Opposition Parties upon the

daily life corruption issues.

We were so used to passing on the buck upon

everyone else except on our own that instead of

taking charge of the precarious situation we were

in, we were making the most of the nepotist

benefits of the sleaze of bribery most blatantly in

our personal lives.

It has been a long, painful, insulting and

self-disgracing period of 65 years of suffocation for

the common man helplessly caught in the cobweb

of a corrupt system of the so-called democratic

functioning of his State. And when one man comes

to the fore to fill the vacuum, to help us, to give us

courage, to pick up the lost thread of honesty,

decency and culture, to weave the labyrinth of an

honest-democratic society, we begin to doubt upon

his credentials and motives, his methods and

intentions!

When a vast majority comes out on the streets on

his clarion call, we disgrace this belief of the

common men in him by blaming them for toeing

the lines of a dictator and being slaves at his beck

and call.

We have been doing that for our honourable

ministers and parliamentarians since we gained

independence, now why are the Parliamentarians

afraid of changing places with him?

These common people waited to find in them the

same benevolent monarchs, the same affable

dictators that he is blamed to be since more than

half a century.

Their loss is his gain.

But is this an accomplishment of the one man,

Anna? Or is it a success of the civil society? Is it a

triumph of the media? Or is it an achievement of the

Opposition within the Parliament?

Anyone may take the praise upon himself today but

I believe that any democratic structure, any

dictator, any parliamentarian, any king, any

leader, any civic society, any political system,

any norm, any culture and any civilization bears

positive fruits only when the common man sees

his own gain and benefit in it.

Otherwise, sooner or later all these

super-structures, super-men and super-ideologies

see their natural end!!

Jai Ho to the latent power of this common

man!!!

2


From The Writings of Laxmanshastri Joshi:

Spiritual Materialism – A casefor Atheism

Translated by —Arundhati Khandkar

[The book Spiritual Materialism – A case for

Atheism, A New Interpretation of the

Philosophy of Materialism written by

Tarkateertha Laxmanshastri Joshi has been

translated by his daughter, Arundhati

Khandkar, who was formerly Professor of

Philosophy at S.I.E.S. College, University of

Mumbai, India. He passed away many decades

ago but his contribution in building up the

philosophical base of Radical Humanism has

been no less. Roy acknowledged it in his life time

and the followers of the philosophy continue to do

so. I had requested Ms. Khandkar to translate her

father’s major works from to Marathi to English

for the benefit of the contemporary readers of RH.

And to our pleasant surprise she informed that

there is already the above mentioned book in

English done by her. It is being serialised in The

Radical Humanist June 2010 onwards. She has

also promised to send us in English, gradually,

more of his Marathi literature.

Laxmanshastri wrote this essay with the title

Materialism or Atheism in 1941. How

meaningful and necessary it is, even now, 70

years later, can be understood by the following

paragraph given on the cover page of the book.

—Rekha Saraswat]

“That religion more often than not tends to

perpetuate the existing social structure rather than

being reformist and that it benefits the upper

classes. They perpetrate the illusions and are used

for impressing the weaker sections of the society.

Many taboos which might have had some

beneficial effects are given a permanent sanction

and these put a fetter on further progress. The

argument that religion promotes social stability and

social harmony is examined and rejected. Without

the dubious benefit of religion various secular

worldly values have been developed and they have

benefited mankind more than the vaunted religious

values. With no sops of religion men have laboured

hard and the finest admirable qualities of men’s

spirit have been developed inspite of religious

influence – the scientists and the reformers are

examples. The humility that should force itself in

the presence of the infinite and the unknown is

more to be seen with the scientist, the philosopher

than the religious leaders and often this drives them

to fathom the depths of thought in the quest for

truth. Rarely does religion explain the how and

why. These have become the preoccupations of

people in secular fields. With a sense of

self-reliance and self-confidence guiding him, man

has dropped the earlier props of religion. In India

too, the social order was seen as embodying moral

values.”

Contd. from the previous issue............

Kantian Practical Reason

Kant in his Critique of Practical Reason has

worked out the analysis of practical reason. He has

constructed steps in his ideological ladder for

proving the ideas of immortal soul and the perfect

god. It looks like the echoes of that ideology have

reverberated in Western and Indian thoughts. An

important thing in this matter needs attention. Kant

has stated clearly that the concepts of immortal soul

and God do not pass the test of Pure Reason. He has

formulated these concepts on the basis of human

reason. What needs to be kept in mind is that Kant

has presented these concepts on the basis of deep

3


Laxman S. Joshi

impressions of the human mind and strong feelings.

Kant has drawn some inferences which are his

conjectures about immortal soul and god.

Categorical Imperative

Man has desire for boundless happiness and infinite

virtues. The desire for them is embedded deeply in

his mind. This desire is his true innate character.

This invariable and intense desire, rooted in the

soul is itself the categorical imperative. No living

soul can come across boundless happiness and

righteousness in one single life; therefore, Kant has

put forward the theory that the soul must last

forever so that it can experience infinite joys and

virtues. From that Kant draws the inference that the

living soul must be immortal. If we start from the

concept of boundless happiness and righteousness

then existence of God is also a foregone

conclusion. It is easy to conclude that there must

exist absolute, the true principle, which is the abode

of happiness and virtues with no limits. Such

happiness and virtues cannot be conceived at all

unless the absolute transcendental entity is

accepted. This principle is the same as God. God is

therefore most beautiful and full of bliss. God or

that absolute principle is the ultimate grace and the

ultimate beauty. Perfection in joy and virtue is truly

synonymous with the ultimate frontier of beauty

and beautitude.

Lofty Logic

Kant has used lofty logic for arguments on

foundation of weak and foolish human desires.

Man wishes for eternal youth; man desires that he

should live forever; many a people feel that

beautiful delicate flowers should never wilt or

parch and Kant has drawn such inferences about

indestructive and eternal soul apart from the body.

Therefore there is not much difference between the

naïve person expecting non-wilting flowers and

Kant. Psychology of human desires maintains that

man has in the innermost part of his unconscious

mind, so many desires that are unreasonable,

superficial, unorganised and stupid which lie there

for a long time. Comparatively, the proportion of

desires that are carefully organised on proper

thought is less. It is so because of the teaching of

religious institutions. The concept of immortality is

founded on uncritical thoughts of the dissatisfied

soul.

What is expected does not necessarily take place.

There are a number of exaggerated and

contradictory ideas, rooted deeply in imagination,

which are full of contradictions. Some such ideals

deal with infinite happiness and boundless virtues.

Kant has derived conclusions which are removed

from reality. His efforts are in vain. There are many

people, who, when explained the true meaning of

infinite happiness and right course, get convicted

that such ideas are without objective basis and are

just imagination. Many strong-willed persons do

not wish for immortality, infinite joy and infinite

virtues. They have healthy attitude and understand

reasonably well the meaning of life.

Atheistic Pure Reason

Not all human beings get carried away with

exaggerated notions and become bloated with

inordinate concepts. Healthy mind does exist in this

world. The followers of the Kantian school should

come to realise that there are many human beings in

this world who lead a life of self-control,

simplicity, and modesty, having understood the

proper and limited purpose of this limited life. Kant

is regarded in philosophy as a founder of an era;

nay, also as a maker of an epoch! His enriched

thoughts have reduced the poverty of thinking in

this world. In his Critique of Pure Reason, Kant has

not only left any scope for either immortal soul or

god. It shows his intellectual honesty since there is

no room for those concepts only in his

interpretation of ‘pure reason’.

Word as Evidence

We have examined above, the logical evidences for

the existence of the independent soul. We will now

analyse the word i.e. verbal authority as evidence.

Shabdha, i.e. the verbal authority is duplex. 1) The

first kind of evidence is scriptural such as Vedas,

Bhagavat Geeta, Bible, Koran and others and 2)

4


The second kind of evidence is the words of the

mahatmas who have received direct experience of

the transcendental world or have revelation. The

scriptural authority is established by custom only.

Scriptures are the authority or proof because people

have always regarded them as so. Generation after

generation holds scriptures as divine. How can one

prove that a given scriptural book possesses

extraordinary power? There is no reinforcing

evidence for this, other than faith. If some

individual refutes the authority and validity of the

concepts of life hereafter, soul, and god as

unsupported, there is no possibility of proper

rebuttal to his claim.

Whose Word?

It is hard to say that the intuition and

self-experience of mahatmas is based on reality.

Instead, it is preferable to say that deep faith creates

in them that kind of perception for the other worldly

objects. Even the worldly wise men are often

observed to carry the inherited baggage of the

primitive beliefs of the people living in forest tribal

communities. The transcendent experience of the

mahatmas is of similar type. The delusory belief

that there resides a spirit in the objects such as the

tree, stone, river, brook and so on, is observed to be

popular among many primitive communities.

Scholars of primitive religion like Sir Tyler have

termed such a delusion as animism or devilism.

There exists a belief among the primitive people

that a ‘Homo’ lives in all the physical objects,

including living Homo sapiens or humans. If the

Homo exists in living beings and the man dies then

Homo vacates the place. They are convinced that

the spirits of the dead haunt. They feel that we

dream of the dead people, because the souls of the

dead appear in dreams. The improved

animistic-edition of these delusory spirits is the

spiritualism!

Self-realisation

Realisation of the self as the experience of people is

possible owing to the deep impressions made by the

exposure to these concepts from ancient times to

the present stage of civilisation. For such revelation

of the self, one must be obsessed with it all the time.

Revelation is not possible without reflecting on it

for long with faith, ceaseless contemplation, and

corresponding daily devotional practice. The

scriptures advise us to think ceaselessly that the

soul is separate from the body. If this feeling is

instilled in the mind, from that infusion a new but

similar experience will be born. Such an experience

is not object dependant. Study of feeling, even in

the absence of an object, does offer us

object-experience or direct perception. In

psychology, especially in psycho-pathology, one

finds many examples of these kinds of abnormal

experiences. Mahatmas are no exception to such

aberrations. Many afflictions even originate in the

minds of the mahatmas, offer evidence of their

mental abnormalities. Revelation of self is one

example of affliction of such psycho-pathological

defects.

To be continued.....................

5


PLEASE DO NOT SEND ARTICLES BEYOND 1500-2000 WORDS.

Dear Friends, Also, inform me whether they have been published elsewhere.

And, please try to email them at [email protected] instead of sending them by post.

You may post them (only if email is not possible) at C-8 Defence Colony, Meerut, 250001, U.P., India.

Do also email your passport size photographs as separate attachments (in JPG format) as well as your

small introduction, if you are contributing for the first time. Please feel free to contact me at

91-9719333011 for any other querry. —Rekha Saraswat

Guests’ Section:

Shirdi Sai Baba – A Myth andBusiness?

—by P.K. Nanawaty

[The Author is an active Rationalist and

Humanist, Editor of Thought & Action-Internet

monthly, Pune, Maharastra, India]

There is a climax shot in popular Hindi

film Amar, Akbar, Anthony of erstwhile

era. Akbar is singing at the top if his voice in front

of Saibaba’s giant statue. Two bright and colourful

rays emerge out of the eyes of statue and enter in

the eyes of Akbar’s blind mother. Mother shouts: “I

can see now! God blessed me!” All the spectators in

the cinema hall are excited.

“Saibaba is a GOD’ ‘What a wonderful thing to

happen’.... Saibaba of Shirdi has become a symbol

of money-spinners for film industry people.

Without his blessings neither film shooting will

start nor will a completed film be released in the

cinema halls. While travelling to Shirdi, a place

regularly visited by the film industry people and

thousands of devotees from all over India we will

hear the dialogues like “We are devotees of Baba

for last twenty years’. His blessings saved me many

times. “The Great Saibaba!’ There is no point in

arguing with devotees since all of them have

immersed in Sai miracle. The impact of this strong

belief will not allow one to think nationally or think

at all. While travelling one can observe many

people reading loudly ‘Sai Charit”. Late Govind

Raghunath Dabholkar has written this book. This

book is mostly about the miracles performed by

Saibaba. The followers vow that they have read the

book 20-30 times. The contents have been

impregnated in their brains permanently if you just

glance through the pages you will find miracles like

Saibaba taking out his intestine, drying it in the air

and again pushing it inside the abdomen.

One will get nausea while reading such miracles.

But the book had been reprinted more than 20 times

in the last 50 years selling thousands of copies.

Saibaba Trust officially publishes this book and

glorifies such myth. Dadasaheb Khaparde’s son

had swelling on his skin and was in severe pain. His

mother rushed to meet Saibaba. Saibaba told her,

“Don’t worry, it will rain”. Saibaba started taking

out his clothes and mother saw the swelling on

Saibaba’s body. Saibaba said that he suffers all the

pains of his followers. The author, Govind

Dabholkar was a magistrate and he confirmed that

all these events have happened in reality and no one

should doubt about them. One co-passenger started

babbling: ’my daughter-in-law had some problem

while delivering. I took holy ash from the Sai

temple and pasted on her stomach and within five

minutes she delivered a healthy baby.” As soon as

we enter Shirdi town, handouts and cards will start

passing through the windows. “Sai Shankar Flower

Merchants: All items required for Pooja and

Abhishek are available at reasonable prices”.

However there is one more precautionary sentence

for the benefit of devotees: “Beware of thieves”.

One cannot imagine that in miracle place of

Saibaba.

In the year 1838, a Phakeer (Muslim priest) lands

here. For want of any other name the local

goldsmith calls him Saibaba. Shirdi was a small

village consisting of dilapidated houses. Villagers

had great fun to see such a stranger in their village.

Most of them were farmers. Nowadays the farming

has been set aside and every one is engaged in only

one industry.... Sai baba industry! Sai is business

for this town. Enter any shop. By paying Rs. 25 one

will get all the essential items of Abhiskek.

Talkative shop owners murmur; Saibaba blesses

you. “How to get Darshan?” Innocent question, but

not difficult to answer! Abhishek is performed at 9

‘O’clock in the morning. For this you should stand

in queue right from early morning at 5‘O’ clock.

Satyanarayana Pooja will be at noon 12 ‘O’ Clock.

In the evening there will be Aarati will be at 10 pm.

He listed the timetable. ‘Will it be possible to avoid

6


standing in queue...?’ ‘You need right contacts at

highest level. Or you should be political bigwig like

MP, MLA, Minister or Govt. Bureaucrat from

secretariat. Permission is granted to enter the main

temple to these influential persons only. But if one

is ready to pay huge donation, say Rs.50, 000, will

open the gates of main Mandir immediately.

Money has more miraculous power than Sai. A

board is displayed in the office of Sai trust about the

special category for Darshan. Some are more equal

than others even here too. Whom do you complain?

The trust has built a big hall for devotees anxious

for Sai Darshan. Marble benches have been

provided to take rest. Close circuit TV has been

installed to view the Pooja performed in the main

temple by other devotees.

Most in the waiting are fully satisfied with this

virtual reality. All the walls in the hall have been

painted with the scenes showing Saibaba’s

miracles. Miracle1: When the villages were

infected by cholera, Saibaba put jowar flour around

the village and cured cholera affected people.

Miracle 2: Chandbhai who brought Saibaba to

Shiridi, wanted to smoke Chilum (sort of

handmade pipe). He couldn’t find fire anywhere

nearby. Phakeer touched the green grass and fire

was lit! Miracle 3: A river started from the toe of

the feet of Saibaba. Miracle 4 Thousands of lamps

were lit on the water while Saibaba is standing on

the shore. If someone stands in a queue surrounded

by such scenes, one will certainly start believing

anything. Mind will be conditioned to accept

anything without thinking. The books like Sai

Charit or Sai Leelamrit are continuously glorifying

the miraculous power of Saibaba. The glorification

of anything has become a core theme of Indian

society. The believer will become helpless and

intellectually week and will start losing confidence

in himself and his efforts. Anything good that is

happening in his life will be attributed to God, Guru

or somebody except himself. Anything determined

will be result of his fate. No one wanted to go into

details of these miracles. Those who describe them

never bother to give any references and historical

evidences. Perhaps there may not be any base.

Everything is just for these miracles. Probably

everything is just imagination to make money.

Even the photographs displayed are fake or created

by Imaging. On enquiry at trust office, the

concerned official said that there no original

photographs of Saibaba anywhere. One starts

wondering how the cult is being built around such

imaginary things and the market force to flood the

photographs of Saibaba. In one of the books

published in 1914, there is a reference that district

collector Desai has taken a snap shot. But the

reference does not have any credibility. Trust

released a photograph in 1922. But the trust also

took the miracle route.

The serpentine queue was moving at snail’s speed.

The devotees were mostly from Gujarat. Every

10-15 minutes you would hear the shouting in

unison: Bolo Sainath Maharaj ki Jai, Jor se bolo Sai

bolo. Every one is holding a plate with flowers and

other items of worship. A saffron scarf was used as

headgear. Queue was moving slowly. Even the

toilets have been provided for nature call of

devotees. If some miscreant tries to jump queue,

people will express their anger by shouting the

slogan with higher pitch. Some one said “Sai will

punish the intruder”.

Meanwhile, someone started selling Laddu for Rs.

Two. The devotees are expected to put Laddu at the

feet of Sai’s idol at main Mandir and eat as

Prasadam, which is blessed by Sai to wash away the

sins committed by devotee knowingly or

unknowingly. On an average four thousand

devotees are visiting every day. On Thursdays this

figure will rise to sixty thousand. So you can

imagine the turnover in a place like Shiridi,

Satyanarain pooja will cost twenty five rupees. The

Pooja itself must be fetching straight away more

than 20 lakh per week. At the basement 15-18 huge

sealed steel boxes are kept to receive the donations.

No receipts are demanded for the donations

deposited by the devotees. Some times the total

collection goes upto Rs. Fifty lakh per week. In this

7


money collecting game, one day Shiridi Saibaba

will surpass Tirupati Balaji.

After going through all the hassles, battering by the

security guards and the anxiety, at last one enters

into the main Mandir where the devotees can

physically touch the Sai Idol. Suddenly a few in the

queue roll on the floor and beat their head as

through possessed by some invisible thing.

Devotee hands over the plate. The priest touches

the plate at the idol’s feet in a flash and hands it

back to the devotee. Devotee is not satisfied. He

wants to be kept longer time. Everything needs to

be charged by the Sai power. The priests start

protesting. However, some one pacifies both the

parties. Queue has to move. There are 24 priests

who work in two shifts. These priests are

middlemen between God Sai and the devotees. The

total staff consists of 45 persons who are attending

Sai round the clock. Out of 24 priests, 9 of them are

holding diploma certificate from

Tryambakeshwaar School of Veda, which conducts

regular courses of 3 years duration on priesthood.

This includes idol worship, offering flowers,

Satyanarayan Pooja and various Mantras to be

chanted at various occasions etc. Even the priests

have to go through the shifts to earn their livelihood

like any industrial worker though all of them are so

near to Saibaba and everyday seeing him in person.

Sai Idol is made of Italian marble. There is a throne

embedded with designed carved in silver and gold

plates. The Idol has been dressed with red and

saffron coloured garments. A pearl necklace is

around the neck. Like in any other temples, there is

no mound of coconuts near the Idol but heaps of dry

flowers occupy the major portion of floor space.

Dabholkar, Deshpande and Saagasrabuddhe trio

initially started the flourishing business of Saibaba

idol worship about hundred years ago. If one

critically tries to analyze the stories and myths

propagated, one will start doubting whether such a

person was really alive or was it a figment of

imagination of a few gangsters to rob the gullible

public. A Phakeer comes to remotest village, stays

in a sort of mosque, and takes the name of Allah. It

means the person was never a Hindu. In fact the

person had a very abnormal pattern of behaviour.

He was a smoker of chillum (a sort of pipe). He

wandered all around the place on river banks and

hill tops, always wearing torn clothes. Most of the

time he stared at the sky without blinking his eyes.

Villagers called him a mad phakeer. Beggars stole

his food. Bayajabai cooked food for him. But he

was never regular for his meals and got irritated

very quickly. Sometimes he used to dance on the

streets. Once he put out his hands in the fire. He

used course language whenever women

approached him. No one was able to make sense of

what he was saying in the undertone. All these

details are available in the biographies published by

the trust. While going through his biography one

gets convinced that there is a deliberate attempt by

Dabholkar, Despande, Dasganoo etc. to project

Saibaba as a Hindu saint.

Infact Saibaba stayed all his life in a dilapidated

mosque and prayed to Allah in Muslim style. But

most of the Hindu Traditionalists imagined him as

incarnation of their favourite God or saint. Some

worship him as Swami Ramdas of 16th century era.

Some say he is an Avataar of Shankar. Some vouch

that he is incarnation of Dattatreya. Some had gone

to the extent that he is an incarnation of Akkalkot

Maharaj of 18th century. There is neither logic nor

consistency in these biographies. Sai baba’s

famous slogan is Allah Malik Hai. But in spite of all

these supporting evidences that he is not a Hindu,

every devotee assumes that there was an ardent

Hindu but behaved a bit abnormally.

The prestigious gang, who elevated Sai to God’s

status to fulfill their vested interests, had given him

a new dimension of Hinduism. Chandorkar went to

an extent of saying that he had assisted Saibaba

during his bath and confirmed that Sai’s ears were

punctured like in Hindu tradition. Thus, an aura of

Hinduism was built around Sai. In fact Saibaba had

nothing to do with Ram Navami festival. This was

started by the trio to make money. The tomb built

on his death body was also in Hindu tradition.

8


Sai Baba’s Secularism appears to be deceptive: If

one goes through the historical details of Saibaba’s

life there was not even a single Muslim devotee. As

per Muslim religion worshipping an idol is banned.

As such the secularism attached to Saibaba or to his

place is an outright fraud. No Muslim visits this

place. No Muslim priest performs prayer. Even

then media advertises this temple as a symbol of

secularism. Secularism in the world of faith is a

complex concept. Both Hindus and Muslims have

to come to an agreement to evolve a methodology

without hurting the religious feelings. However,

vested interests have dominated and Hinduism is

flourishing.

One will realize the extent of exploitation while

coming out of the temple and looking around it.

Gullible Hindu devotees have contributed

whole-heartedly to build mansions and high rise

buildings, now owned by the Trust. The property

may be 7-8 crore rupees worth. The building

projects are still continuing and everyone except

the devotees is benefited. A Neem tree with

thatched roof is nearby. The legend says that the

leaves of this Neem tree are very sweet. However,

you can’t confirm the same since one is not allowed

to pluck the leaves from the tree for eating.

However, Hindu religion has a solution for any

Catch 22 situation! You can eat the leaves fallen on

the ground. If they are not sweet, it means you are

not a pious person. God is not blessing you. One of

the trust official announced that a German scientist

was not able to explore the secret of sweetness.

After asking for the report, he expressed his

inability to produce the same. There is a very small

lane passing through this place. The lane is

crowded with the beggars. At least 800 beggars

might have been there out of which 50-60 are

women. If you just wait for a while, a bread seller

will pop up with 4-5 loves of bread and request you

to distribute bread to beggars. Each loaf will cost

Rs.20 or more. Like him 5-10 bread sellers are

standing among beggars to give an opportunity to

feed the beggars. The beggars are earning at least

400 Rupees per day; most of them are bank account

holders. In this economically liberated era

everything has become ‘instant’: instant beggars,

instant food in the form of bread chunks. Instant

sellers!

Everyone wants to make a fast buck: Across the

road there is a place presumed to be the location

where Sai baba distributed the holy ash. The place

is popularly known as Chandorkar Chavadi. Inside,

there is a nicely carved wooden plank; above which

a notice board is hung indicating Baba’s sleeping

place. If you keenly observe, the plank might have

been carved 5-6 years ago. There is also a notice

board, which warns that no woman is allowed

inside. In fact as per Saibaba’s biography,

Bayajabai took care of him throughout his life.

But no one could explain why such a ban or

discrimination towards women in these days. It

appears even in 21st century some one wants to

follow the dictates of age old Manusmriti.

Saibaba’s contemporary, Abdul Baba’s house is

very near to this place. An old man, poses of

photographs that look exactly like the portraits of

Saibaba. He pointed to holy book and other items

and told that all these belong to Abdul baba.

Devotees are coming inside and Rahim baba

blesses them. They put a few coins in return. “Have

you seen Saibaba?” ‘I don’t lie and I don’t want to

talk on this issue. Everything is commercialized

nowadays. Who is bothered about Saibaba and his

whereabouts?’ He vented his sorrow. ‘Is there any

original snapshot of Saibaba?’ ‘You see, Abdul

baba was his contemporary and we have his

genuine photographs. I don’t know about anything

else. No place for the truth, Sir”. There is one more

place known as Dwarakamai’s Mosque. The items,

like wheat bag, bath stone, Chulha etc. have been

displayed in this place like in historical museum

and people come to this place with all the

reverence, The wheat bag has fresh look as though

purchased very recently and certainly not 100 years

old. The Chulla is painted in various colours. The

fireplace is still burning. All devotees bow in front

of each item very piously expecting blessings from

Saibaba. No one seems to have any doubts in their

9


minds about whether these artifacts are genuine or

fake. No one displays inquisitiveness while looking

at these almost fake items. Thinking power,

rationality, spirit of enquiry are totally absent. The

manipulators of religious values have made

everyone slave. Baba has all the remedies for any

problems. He can cure all the diseases. Ashes given

by him (or his associates) is an ultimate medicine

for diseases ranging form common cold to severe

type of cancer. Tatyasheb Noolkar recovered from

blindness. Padmanabh Swamy was able to hear

clearly though he was deaf right from birth since he

had received blessings of Baba. Balasaheb Shimpi

recovered from Malaria fully by just feeding the

food to dog by Baba. Shrimant recovered from

diarrhea. Like these, there may be thousands of

myths percolating every generation and at every

place. No one dares to doubt Baba’s glory, his super

power and his compassion. Mahadevrao

Deshpande was cured of his piles by eating peanuts

given by Saibaba. Just by exhaling, Baba cured the

snake and scorpion bites. Swallowing the holy ash

cured Dattopant’s stomachache. Although the

whole village was suffering from plague,

Chandorkar’s friend was saved because she had put

holy ash on her face. TB patient of Malegaon could

recover by just applying the holy ash all over the

body. All these miracles printed in Sai Leelamrit,

are told, retold, modified, glorified and improved

so that no one will have an iota of doubt about its

truthfulness. Everything is described as though the

narrator was invisibly present all the while and at

all the places till the end. Mind is conditioned and

devotees are addicted to listen to such trash. If the

diseases can be cured by Darshan or by applying

the holy ash, why has the trust built an ultra modern

hospital? The hospital incurs Rs.25 lakh loss every

year since it subsidizes the medical bills of ‘poor’

devotees. Why is Saibaba not able to prevent any

diseases? Why is he not able to cure poor without

any medical assistance? If the place and person are

so powerful why do you need diagnostic centers,

operation theatres, surgical facilities, ICUs, trained

medical staff, experienced surgeons? Shamdas

Foundation owned by a devotee of Saibaba had

built an ultra modern hospital at Hong Kong.

Hundreds of medical experts from all over the

world are attending this Hospital in one or the other

capacity. In spite of all these modern facilities and

blessings received from Saibaba, the recovery rates

are at par with any other hospitals of the same

caliber. Saibaba did not make any difference, in

spite of all these statistical probabilities, realities

and apparent evidences, the Trust still publish

various types of miracles in its monthly bulletin Sai

Leela. One can understand the illiterate devotees

may not be aware of the process of spread/origin of

diseases or may not know the nuances of

diagnostics, immunization, recovery process, or

healing methods. However one thing is clear that

anything good that is happening in the life is

attributed to Saibaba. This mindset is playing a

major role in the spread of curing power of Saibaba.

Nowadays the patients suffering from polio,

cancer, and heart ailments are visiting in large

numbers. Couples come here very often to be

blessed with a child. Offerings are made at the spur

of the moment. Enormous amount is promised if

the wish is granted without taking into

consideration the financial conditions. To fulfill the

vow one has to be in the clutches of pawnbrokers.

However, main beneficiary is the Trust which is

hoarding a large sum donated by the gullible

devotees. The stories of miraculous curing power

of Saibaba plays greater role in amassing wealth.

Trust goes on printing and reprinting the books,

magazines and other materials depicting the

miraculous power of Saibaba, just changing names

here and there. All stories read alike.

Sometime back KS Pathak, an IAS officer was

nominated as receiving officer of the Trust. He

found that misappropriation of large fund by the

local trustees. They were looting the public. The

golden and silver ornaments, belonging to the

Trust, were found in the houses of the trustees.

When police raided their houses, they threw the

ornaments in the nearby fields. Charity

commissioner imposed inquiries. CID officials

10


investigated the frauds. Trustees tried their best to

put political pressure on the receiving officer and

charity commissioner to stall further investigations.

A few of the trustees were punished and put into

jail. In spite of these headlines in the media, the

devotees are deterred to visit. ‘Saibaba is great! He

will take care of our sins’. That is the attitude of the

devotees. Political leaders come here to enhance

their ‘power’. But sometimes they too suffer badly.

Ex-President Shankar Dayal Sharma paid a visit

with all its pomposity: within a few days after the

visit he was suffering with severe ailments. Sharad

Pawar visited the temple while he was

experimenting with like-minded parties. Three

months after the visit his experiment utterly failed.

Shankarrao Chavan, Vasantdada Patil also suffered

very badly. P.V. Narasimha Rao came to this place

as a Prime Minister, but by the time he returned

Delhi he was no more a minister! This may also be

a miracle of Saibaba!

Even if we keep aside the devotees and their

problems, the trustees and local population are at

daggers head. Each party wants its share of flesh in

this money game. One of the trustees was arguing

that villagers don’t know what they are missing

since too much familiarity breeds contempt.

Villagers argue that Trust has turned whole villages

into five star hotels with money flowing like water.

High rise buildings, asphalt roads, even airport but

local population is still deprived of basic

necessities... Trustees want that the local people

should also cooperate with trust so that they too can

get benefited. Villagers erected shanty shops all

around the temple and started earning their

livelihood by selling the goods required by the

devotees. This irritated the trustees. They wanted

these ugly structures should be removed

immediately. Since years together this

confrontation is continuing and sometimes the

situation is turning violent. If Saibaba cannot solve

these problems amicably how can one expect him

to take up problems of other individuals?

Nowadays devotees have to take care of their

belongings, cash etc. The question that arises is that

why pick-pockets and thieves are flourishing at a

place that is blessed by Saibaba? Even while one is

inside the main temple bags, purses etc. are stolen.

While devotees are gathering on auspicious days

like Ram Navami, Guru Purnima, Dasera it

becomes very easy for thieves to do their own

business! But ardent belief in Saibaba gives the

devotees to absolve these misdeeds. To overcome

the minor problems trust has started ‘Sai Darshan’

on internet. The prominent message on the internet

is “If you look at me, I will look at you”. Devotees

from distant places can have instant Darshan and

get blessed by Saibaba. A few foreigners’ e-mails

pasted on the website make very interesting

readings. Varah Appikatla is an NRI staying in US.

He took ‘Darshanam’ of Saibaba and managed to

secure top position in IBM. Now he is ready to send

huge donation to the trust. The assistance of

advanced science and technology is sought to

strengthen their superstitions. Saibaba cult is

contagious and is not restricted to only Maharashtra

region. In the south Puttaparthy Saibaba has

surpassed the original Saibaba in all respects.

Dharma Sai Seva Trust has already spread its

tentacles asking for huge donations to feed the

children of downtrodden and marginalized poor

people and to construct Hindu nationality and Veda

teaching school. People from all over India come to

Shirdi. All of them are emotionally choking while

they visit this place. Each one’s story is quite

unique. But if one probes deeper, the devotees have

lost their self-confidence and are afraid of

everything – the wealth, luxuries, people around

them, the place where they stay, family members

etc. They are not in a position to trust anybody. A

sort of mental disease has taken over these

devotees. From outside they all look normal human

beings who can believe all these legends, miracles

and power of blessings and artifacts like amulets

and charms. While returning from a place like this,

even a rational human being will start doubting

whether this society is normal enough to realize in

what trap it is bound. Once again you are amidst

“Saibaba Bolo ... Saibaba Bolo...”

11


[Mr. Mastram Kapoor is a freelance writer and

journalist in Hindi. He has written, edited and

translated more than 100 books and pamphlets on

literature, social and political thought, education and

children’s literature including 11 volumes of

documents on freedom movement and 17 volumes of

collected works of Dr. Lohia. He has had a long

association with the socialist movement.

[email protected]]


The Supreme Court Bench of Justice

Sudarshan Reddy and Justice SS Nijjar

has delivered a historical judgment on July 4, 2011

which has triggered a serious discussion among the

intellectuals. This judgement was given on the

petition of senior advocate Ram Jethmalani who

had requested the court to intervene in getting back

the black money stashed in the foreign banks.

The Bench expressed dissatisfaction over

efforts made in this connection by the government

and said that it was a failure that goes to the very

heart of the constitutional imperatives of the

government. It said: “unaccounted monies,

especially large sums held by nationals and entities

with a large presence in the nation, in banks abroad,

especially in tax-havens or in a jurisdiction with a

known history of silence about sources of monies,

clearly indicate a compromise of the ability of the

state to manage the affairs in consonance with what

is required from a constitutional perspective.”

The court appointed a 13-member Special

Investigation Team (SIT) headed by former judge,

Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, assisted by another

retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice M.B. Shah, as

vice-chairman and directed that the high level

committee, constituted by the government recently

to look after the issue of black money would be part

of the Special Investigation Team.

Justifying the creation of SIT the court said: “we

are of the firm opinion that in these matters,

fragmentation of the government expertise and

knowledge across many departments, agencies and

across various jurisdictions, both within the

country and across the globe, is a serious

impediment to the conduct of a proper

investigation. It is therefore necessary to create a

body that coordinates, directs and where necessary,

orders timely and urgent action by various

institutions of the state.” The court said that the SIT

would have continued involvement of this court in

a broad oversight capacity.

The court rejected the government’s argument that

the double taxation agreement with some countries

was an obstacle to disclosure of the black money

deposited in foreign banks. The court said that it did

not find merit in such arguments since such

agreements transgressed upon the boundary

erected by our Constitution and that could not be

permitted.

The court ordered the government to disclose the

names of all individuals who have accounts in

Liechtenstein, as revealed by German authorities,

against whom investigations have been concluded,

partially or wholly and show cause notices have

been issued and proceedings initiated. The court,

has directed the government to file compliance

reports.

The other judgment delivered by the same Bench

two days later, relates to the recruitment, training

and use of special police officers, against the

Maoists by the Chhattisgarh government, under the

name of Salva Judum. The Bench asked the Union

Government to cease and desist forth with from

using any of its funds in supporting directly or

indirectly, the recruitment of SPOs for the purpose

of engaging in any form of counter-insurgency

activities against Maoists-Naxalite groups. It

observed that appointment of tribal youth as SPOs,


12

Mastram Kapoor

who are barely literate for temporary periods, will

necessarily, endanger the human rights of others in

society. In these judgements, the court has also

criticized the socio-economic policies of the

government in the following words: “The

primordial problem lies deep within the

socio-economic policies pursued by the state on a

society that was already endemically and

horrifically suffering from gross inequalities.

Consequently, the fight against the

Maoists-Naxalites is no less a fight for moral,

constitutional and legal authority over the minds

and hearts of our people.” According to the S.C.

Bench, the policy of privatization has also meant

that the state has in capacitated itself, actually and

ideologically from devoting adequate financial

resources in building the capacity to control the

social unrest that has been unleashed. Both-these

judgements have created a furor among the votaries

of the status-quoism, hard state and the neo-liberal

economic policies dictated by the corporate regime.

Shekhar Gupta, editor, Indian Express, in his article

wrote on July 9, that the ideological bent of the

higher judiciary has never been a significant aspect

of glorious (and sometimes not quite so)

uncertainties of democratic politics in India.

Commenting on the judgement, the article said:

“Not only is the language out of tune with the time,

it is also as if the apex court had made a dramatic

ideological shift or almost as if a new president in

America had just made a bunch of his own

appointments. Large parts of these judgements are

just lectures on political economy that makes you

ask a legitimate question. What is the job of the

judges, to interpret law or to criticize make/change

economic policy?”

The funny argument, the writer has advanced

against the judgement is that it is not the economic

reforms, that is responsible for the corruption but

the too much discretion still left in the system, is the

real cause of prevailing corruption and to overcome

this corruption, all discretion on the part of the

government functionaries should end and give

place to free-for-all loot by the corporate sector. In

this connection Karnataka Lokayukta Justice:

Santosh Hegde’s report on mining in the so called

‘zero-permit-regime’ of Yeddyurappa will make an

interesting reading.

Shri T.R. Andhyarujina, the former solicitor

general of India, has also criticized the judgements

in his article dated July 20, in ‘The Indian Express’.

It said: “Regrettably, given the pressure of work

from such PILs and other minor cases on its

working, the Supreme Courts’ historic and

essential role of laying down the constitutional and

national law of the country in important matters is

being sidelined-as if the court is only meant to be a

supreme correction body for administration in the

country.” Quoting Justice Jackson of the U.S.

Supreme Court, he said that the doctrine of judicial

activism which justifies easy and constant

readiness to set aside decisions of other branches of

government is wholly incompatible with a faith in

democracy. He however, adds that the legitimacy

and accountability of the judicial activism depends

on its being exercised within the confines of the

power conferred by the Constitution on the

judiciary.

An other dignified court singer of the neo-liberal

economic policies, Shri Pratap Bhanu Mehta of the

Centre for Policy Research in his article in Indian

Express of July 22, connects this debate with 20th

anniversary of this neo-liberal economic revolution

and deplores that the Congress Party is doggedly

determined to undo the major gains of economic

reforms, by empowering an intellectual climate

where all the constricted psychological inhibitions

are coming back and by shifting the emphasis from

vibrant job-creation and empowerment to welfare

as if success will be measured by the more people

we can make dependent. He says that the two

pillars of the current crisis are: (1) The sense that

the gains of growth are uneven and (2) The scale

and depth of corruption has irremediably eroded us.

But surprisingly, he does not blame the economic

reforms for this crisis. Instead he blames the

government saying that uneven governance is

primary cause of uneven growth. It is indirectly an

13


attack on the judgement criticizing economic

policies. Explaining it further, he says that our

conflicts on land or mining are not a sign that

economic reforms did not work, it is a sign that two

tectonic plates are colliding: a pre-liberalisation

state practice that has failed to understand the new

dynamics of aspiration. Even after admitting that

no society, whether the United State, Korea, Japan,

China or Britain experienced rapid growth without

massive corruption accompanying it, it is

unpalatable to these intellectuals if the highest

court comments on the injustice that result from

these policies. Shri Mehta compares the economic

revolution with mythological episode of churning

of the ocean and corruption with the poison which

requires a Neelkanth (Shiva) to hold. Perhaps he

wants to assign the role of Neelkantha to Prime

Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and of Vishnu to

himself.

Not satisfied with all this denunciation of the

judiciary this paper on 5th August brought out a full

page article by Krishnadas Rajagopal on recent

pronouncements of Supreme Court judges against

the government policies of neo-liberalism and

counter-terrorism and their contradiction by

eminent people. But these judgments must have

been silently hailed by the dumb masses and are

definitely appreciated by intellectuals sympathetic

to these masses. ‘The Mainstream’, a reputed

weekly founded by Nikhil Chakravarty,

commented in its editorial of July 9 issue, that

“those who are well aware of the ground realities

and whose vision is not blurred by the machinations

of vested interests, have no hesitation in conveying

their whole-hearted endorsement of such rulings

which definitely help in restoring the concepts of a

welfare state and justice for all in equal measure.

Nandani Sundar, a Delhi University scholar, on

whose petition (along with co-petitioners) the

judgement relating to Salva Judum was given,

called this judgement against the

institutionalisation of the policing paradigm

(Indian Express July 22). She described this

judgement, as continued views of the Supreme

Court which has observed in 2008: “You cannot

give arms to somebody (a civilian) and allow him to

kill. You will be an abettor of the offence under

section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.” The article

further says that if the government succeeds in

review petition, the court will be going back on the

collective wisdom of at least 10 judges who have

heard this matter at one time or the other.

Endorsement of the judgement appointing Special

Investigating Team to supervise the black money

operations, has also come from the former secretary

and chairman of the TRAI, Shri Nripendra Mishra

who had given authentic detail of the black money

in the foreign banks, in his article in Hindi Daily

Dainik Bhaskar of July 22, 2011.

Happily, these two judgments, one against the

corrupt state and the other against the brute state,

have come at the moment when the needs of the

two-third population of this country are being

contemptuously ignored by the advocates of the

one third population benefited by the neo-liberal

economic policies. The corporate regime, which is

creating a new heaven for the one-third and new

hell for the two-third of population, has only two

things to give to the masses i.e. corruption and

terror, and it has made the state an agency to deliver

these two ‘rewards’ to them. It is but natural that the

votaries of the corporate regime, react maliciously

to these judgments, but these judgments will

remain as memorable judgments in the history of

our democracy, like the judgment of the Supreme

Court of USA in the case of Brown vs Board of

Education, which broke the colour bar in America.

Of course, the three wings of the state __ legislature,

executive and judiciary are autonomous but they

together are there to protect the state and if one or

two fail to act in the interest of the state due to

neglect or compulsion, the third must come forward

to help them even if it means going beyond its

jurisdiction. This was what Eart Warren’s

judgment did in USA and this is expected of our

judiciary now. What else does the organic unity of

the Constitution mean?


14

Current Affairs’ Section:

[Sri N.K. Acharya is an advocate, columnist and

author of several books on law. He was formerly

Secretary of Indian Rationalist Association and

had edited the Indian Rationalist, then published

from Hyderabad on behalf of the Association

prior to its transfer to Madras.]

I

Crop Holiday:

Crop holiday is a protest by the riots of

East-Godavari Dist. of Andhra Pradesh against the

Government of India demanding fixation of the

minimum procurement price at rs.4, 000/-per

quintal as against the present rate of less than Rs.

1,000/- per quintal of paddy. Their demand for

higher price is based on their contention that the

cost of production of paddy per acre exceeds Rs.40,

000/- per year. The costs of production include the

price of seed, fertilizers, pesticides wages for

labour and rents for machinery etc. Rural labourers

are demanding, they say, more than Rs. 200/- to

Rs.300/- per day while the Government is paying

Rs.60/- to Rs. 100/- to unskilled labour under the

Employment Guarantee Scheme. The season for

cultivation (khariff) commences in June and ends

with October, the stoppage of agricultural

operations for cultivating paddy this year has

become operational. Such stoppage called crop

holiday would certainly result in the loss of return

for the whole year. A strike in the case of workers

deprives them of their wages for the days they

absent themselves from work. In the case of

businessmen, a bandh by them results in the loss of

business for a day. A strike by professionals does

not result in any loss to them. But in the case of crop

holiday observed by the riots, it deprives them of

their livelihood for the whole year.

The possibility of the Government yielding to the

riots demand is very remote, for it is sure to result in

high consumer prices for rice which may affect the

general public who are already suffering due to

inflation and may burden the Government with

huge subsidies. Possibility of export of paddy and

rice to other states within India and abroad gets

affected adversely.

In the near future, crop holiday may give rise to

demands for financial help for those who lost their

livelihood. As a step to avoid such contingency and

mitigate the hardship, it appears some of the riots

have taken up cultivation of alternative crops in the

place of paddy.

II

European economic crisis:

America and Europe are once again facing an

economic crisis. Previous crisis which engulfed

America and Europe a few years ago arose out of

the failure of the debtors to pay back the housing

loans liberally granted by the banks earlier in U.S.

The failure of the customers to repay their debts

deprived the banks of cash availability. The U.S.

Government provided the necessary cash to the

banks and save the crisis. Now, the problem is

about inflation. The Federal Bank of America has,

as a measure of controlling inflation reduced the

interest rate to near 0 or 0.5% and assured that such

interest rates will prevail for at least two years from

now. The stock markets then stabilized in America

and the markets in Europe which are dependent on

American Stock Markets which went haywire got

settled.

In India what was feared was that foreign investors

operating in Indian share markets might withdraw.

But, that did not happen for the reason that foreign

15


N.K. Acharya

investments were allowed only in the field of

infrastructure and such others which have a very

strong foundation. Since, infrastructure industry

remained stable and z strong. The inflow of foreign

investments is not adversely affected. Thus, the

impact of fluctuations in the share markets in U.S.

and Europe is proved to be negligible. It may be

mentioned here, incidentally that policy makers in

India have seen to it that the foreign investments

have been so regulated that they are allowed only in

the fields which are strongly built.

III

Strategy of the Opposition:

In India today, the strategy of the opposition

commences with issuing public statements against

the Government and the party in power. Then

follows, the holding of demonstrations in various

forms including forcing bandhs, and undertaking

fasts, the futility of which has been a deprecated

matter particularly after the judiciary has lain as a

rule that the Government shall take all steps

including forced feeding to save the life of the

person fasting. Now, the latest form of protest by

opposition is to stall proceedings in Parliament and

legislatures. In order, allegedly to force a

discussion, a situation is created whereby the

discussion itself could not take place. Often, violent

scenes are enacted; abusive language unbecoming

of Parliamentarians is hurled at each other with

inevitable result of adjourning the house for the

day. There are plenty of incidences where such

actions are repeated till the end of the session. Even

as the public are condemning such conduct, it is

highly regrettable to hear the leaders of the

opposition, particularly of BJP, threatening to

resort to such things even before the scheduled

meeting of the Parliament is held or the session is

commenced.

Parliament is the place where discussions take

place. In democracy, this is the only way in which

different opinions can be focused on the basis of

which decisions are made. It is certainly not a place

where opinions are forced against those who hold

different views. Scuttling democracy is not a

democratic process. Co-operation of all political

parties is achieving the welfare of the people is the

need of the hour.

IV

Bill on Telangana:

The demand of Telangana protagonists that the

Central Government shall introduce in Parliament a

Bill creating Telangana is premature since it is not a

matter of routine legislative procedure. A Bill to

that effect may be introduced in Parliament only

after the President recommends it. Therefore, it

necessarily implies the drafting of a detailed bill in

the first instance. Such Bill shall be approved by the

Cabinet. It is only after it is forwarded to the

President accompanied by the Cabinet Resolution,

the President will make his recommendations to the

Parliament to consider the Draft Bill.

The Bill to be drafted shall contain all the

particulars regarding the territory division of assets

and liabilities, apportionment of river waters,

allotment of service personnel, application and

adoption of the existing laws, transfer of

proceedings pending with one authority to the other

and finally the Constitution of Legislatures and the

High Court. All these issues, being controversial,

the Central Government have to decide upon them

before the Bill is drafted. A mere intention or a

mere decision to create a new State cannot be g the

whole content and substance of the Bill.

Another condition is that the President shall refer

such Bill to the State Legislature for its opinion on

the different aspects contained in the Bill. At this

stage, the President is not bound by the opinion of

the state but must take into consideration the

opinions expressed by the State Legislature. What

is required here is the opinion of the legislature and

not its resolution. Opinion of the Legislature

includes the opinions of the legislators on the

contents of the Bill. The President while referring

the Bill to the State Legislature may fix a period

16


during which the State Legislature shall consider

the Bill and render its opinions If the State

Legislatures remains silent, the President is not in

any way prevented to recommend the Bill to the

Parliament,

The Bill so drafted, approved by the Central

Cabinet, considered and discussed by the State

Legislatures and recommended by the President

may be adopted by both the Houses viz., the Lok

Sabha and Rajya Sabha, by simple majority of the

Members present and voting. Thereafter, the Bill

becomes Act on its being accented to by the

President.

When that being the procedure, the demand that

Central Government shall introduce the Bill, even

before any as such is drafted after due consideration

of the several matters which are incidental and

consequential to the formation of a new State out of

the existing state, is premature.

On December 9, 2010, the then Home Minister, P.

Chidambaram has committed an error in indicating

that the matter be considered first by the State

Assembly. The legal and constitutional position is

that it is only the Central Government which has the

absolute power to create a new state out of the

existing state. Moreover, to imply in such

suggestion a non-existing decision of the Central

Government is untenable. The allegation that the

Central Government has retracted from its decision

is imaginary. The present discussion the

Government of India is holding with the political

parties in Andhra Pradesh after it received and

circulated the report of the Commission it has

appointed to study the problem, is the proper

procedure. The discussions are centered on the

issues. It is open to the Government of India only to

finally decide not only the principle, whether to

form a new state or not and also the several issues

which arise out of the bifurcation. Excepting the

Ruling Congress, no political party has yet said that

they would abide by the decisions of Centre.

Therefore, the stalemate continues.

V

Clause 14 (f):

Central Cabinet accepted deletion of Clause 14(f)

of the Presidential Order issued under Article 371D

of the Constitution. The concerned original

Presidential Order was issued while settling the

unrest created by the previous agitation (1969) for

separate Telangana. Instead of providing

safeguards for all Telangana employees in

Government service in general, Central

Government divided the whole state of Andhra

Pradesh into Six Zones wherein the employment is

reserved to the extent of 85% to the locals. A local

is defined as one who belongs originally to the

Telangana region by birth and residence and in the

case any other person who had his education in

Telangana region for five years. And, the Sixth

Zone is called Hyderabad Zone is left out as free

zone where anybody from any zone can be

employed. Telangana agitators demanded the Sixth

Zone shall not be left free lest the employment

opportunities in this zone may not be shared by the

persons of other zones. In order to comply with this

demand which happened to be unanimously

supported by the State Legislature, the Government

of India has decided to delete Clause 14(f) of the

Presidential Order and the same is also notified on

13th August from which date the notification will

become operational.

The legal question now raised is whether the

President can amend his order or the Parliament

only can do the same? Under General Clauses Act

which applies to the Constitution also, the authority

which passes any Order is competent to withdraw

the same or amend it unless any special enactment

restricts that power. Since, there is no bar under any

enactment in this regard; the President undoubtedly

has powers to delete Clause 14(f).

The other legal question which is raised is whether

the deletion of Clause 14(f) would affect the

employments made under it prior to its deletion.

Presidential Order deleting Clause 14(f) is not

made retrospective.

17


IRI/IRHA Members’ Section:

[Dr. N. Innaiah, former Director, Centre for

Inquiry (CFI), India, did his Ph.D on Philosophy

of Modern Science. He is a veteran Radical

Humanist who has translated maximum books

written by M.N Roy as well as other books on

humanism in Telugu.]

Humanist movement in Indiawith special reference to

Andhra PradeshContd. from the last issue.........................

There is one journal now running from

Chirala town edited by R Venkatadri and

Mr. M. Satyanaryana. One dynamic group of

radicals from Inkole is continuously devoting its

time and energy from Inkole village. They are Mr.

M Satyanarayana, Hanumantharao Hharibabu,

Shaik Babu who devote their time and energy for

the radical humanist center.

Mr. Lavu Ankamma from Pedanandipadu worked

for the Humanist movement when Roy was alive.

Mr. Gumma Veeranna who just retired from

government service devoting his time and energy to

the humanist movement since three decades. He

contributed several thoughtful articles in Telugu

journals and published books on humanist thought.

He also translated books into Telugu for the cause

of Humanism. Veeranna participated in several

study camps, meetings and continuously putting all

his efforts to sustain the movement. He published

translations of V.M. Tarkunde’s humanist thought

into Telugu.

From outside Mr. Aramalla Purnachandra (now in

New York) constantly helped the humanist

movement and humanist center. He wrote scientific

books and articles.

Persons who extend their help in Andhra Pradesh

are Mr. Kotapati Murahari Rao, supported the

movement with financial help and cooperated for

bringinout many publications.

Mr. Narra Kotaiah, Mr. Narne Venkatasubaiah, Mr.

C. Ranganayakulu, Raghavarao, Parvataiah.

Mr. Paula from Tenali contributed his thoughtful

writings to the movement. Mr. C.L. Gandhi in

Hyderabad is not only helpful but very encouraging

for the movement.

Malladi Subbamma worked constantly for the

upliftment of women and stood for secular

humanism. She functioned from her residence. She

edited one monthly for sometime and spread the

thought of Humanism.

Mr. Avula Sambasivarao, who was chief justice of

Andhra Pradesh High court gave inspiration and

help to the humanist movement throughout his life.

He contributed several articles on Humanist

thought.

Mr. Mandava Sriramamurty from Vijayawada, Mr.

Koneru Kutumbarao from Avanigadda, Mr.

Gokulchand, Polu Satyanarayana, Y. Raghavaiah,

and B.A.V. Sharma Mr. Aleru Bhujangarao

worked for the movement at various levels.

Several all India humanist leaders visited the state

on many occasions and gave speeches, participated

in meetings, conferences and inspired workers, and

writers. They are: Sunil Bhattacharya, Maniben

Kara, Indumati Parekh, A.B. Shah, C.T. Daru, G.R.

Dalvi, V.M. Tarkunde, K K Sinha, V.K. sinha,

Gauri Bazaz, Pancholi, R S Yadav, Laxman Sastri

Joshi, Jayanti Patel, J.B.H. Wadia, and numerous

others.

Mr. Bandaru Vandanam worked with the

movement at early stage and also contests as

18


Innaiah Narisetti

candidate of Radical Democratic candidate in

1946.

Mr. Jampala Syama Sundararao, Mr. Kosaraju

Sambasivarao, Kosaraju Ammaiah, Vasireddi

Sivalingaiah worked for the movement.

Mr. Ravela Somaiah from 1960 onwards

cooperated with the movement and had

correspondence with all veterans of the movement.

Mr. P.V. Subbarao, advocate from Tenali worked

for the movement in early stages and contributed

books and articles.

Mr. Paramaiah, Chalamaiah Chunchu Seshaiah,

Jana Nageswararao, Kolla Subbarao. Mr. Kolla

Subbarao propagated the ideas of Roy especially

the cooperative economy and also translated couple

of books into Telugu. Guruvulu, P.S. Raju,

Satyanarayana Raju worked for the movement.

Jasti Ramaswami, Jasti Jawahalral, PSR worked

for the movement from various angles and spread

the literature. He along with Mr. Venkatadri

published the history of rationalist and humanist

movement’s in Andrha Pradesh. PSR did field

work through blood donation, eye donation banks

that helped several people.

After the death of Roy:

After 1955, several persons were inactive in the

movement. Mr. Pemmaraju Venkatarao joined

Congress party with a hope to introduce Radical

thought into that party. Later he moved close to

Telugu Desam party.

Mr. M.V. Sastry joined Swatantra party. He was

elected as legislator in council from graduate’s

constituency.

Mr. A. Ramakrishnarao retired from active cultural

activities and drifted into faith.

Mr. Guttikonda Narahari joined N.G. Ranga and

started his own tobacco business.

Mr. Tripuraneni Gopichand gradually moved

towards Aurobindo and became a devotee.

Ellen Roy frequently visited the state and kept

contacts.

Mr. V.M. Tarkunde joined hands with Jayaprakash

Narayan in partyless politics and civil liberties. At

one juncture communists also worked with

Tarkunde through their front organization like

People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

Sibnarayan Ray published the biography of M.N.

Roy which was translated into Telugu by N.

Innaiah and published by Potti Sriramulu Telugu

University.

Mr. A.B. Shah established secular society and

frequently visited state established state unit. He

also worked with Congress for cultural freedom.

A.B. Shah’s Scientific Method was translated into

Telugu by N. Innaiah which ran into three editions.

Osmania University Philosophy department put

Scientific Method in M.A. Syllabi for few years

during 1970s.

The Political Science department taught M.N. Roy

political philosophy for M.A. students.

A.B. Shah introduced much discussion on 22

theses. He suggested that the Philosophical

Consequences of Modern Science should be edited

and updated with modern scientific developments.

His magazines Quest, New Quest, Secularist

helped to further the discussion. Prof Daya Krishna

from Rajasthan participated in the discussion. But

the main task of editing Roy’s thesis is still

pending. Dr. Pushpa Bhargava also discussed 22

theses thoroughly. Prof. Sibnarayan Ray also

suggested proper updating of it is a must. A.B. Shah

established Secular Society Andhra Pradesh branch

with N. Innaiah as in charge. Several intellectual

discussions were held and seminars were

conducted in Andhra. Muslim, Christian and Hindu

organizations participated in the seminars along

with intellectuals from universities. Prof B.A.V.

Sharma and Mr. V.K. Sinha, Prof. Alam

Khundmiri, Prof K. Seshadri contributed much

thought for promoting secular ideas. Many of the

writings of Shah were brought into Telugu by N.

Innaiah. The fundamentalists of all religions

attacked A.B. Shah and secularists in Andhra but

they withstood the onslaught. Mr. V.R. Narla

19


participated in the secular and humanist camps.

Justice Pingle Jagan Mohan Reddi, Justice A.

Gangadhararao, Justice Jeevan Reddi, Justice

Chinnapa Reddi participated in the humanist and

secularist study camps and encouraged in Andhra

Pradesh. After the premature death of

A.B. Shah in 1982 secular movement had a set

back.

Mr. V.B. Karnik worked in Leslie Sahney

organization to develop panchayat raj and visited

the state to encourage study camps. He was in

constant touch with Andhra Pradesh. His biography

of M.N. Roy both large edition and abridged

edition were translated into Telugu by N. Innaiah

and published by Telugu Academy. Mr. W.S. Kane

brought out these volumes and visited Andhra

Pradesh several times.

Dr. G.R. Dalvi was another inspiring economist

who developed many contacts with Andhra

radicals. He was working in the Administrative

Staff College of India. During his tenure he invited

famous radicals like V.B. Karnik, A.B. Shah,

Nissim Ezekiel to Hyderabad. They gave many

lectures and toured the state. Similarly J.B.H.

Wadia, Laxman Sastri Joshi visited the state. Prem

Nath Bazaz also constantly kept in touch with

Hyderabad. Prof Jayanti Patel toured the state when

he was president of Indian Radical Humanist

Association.

Indumati Parekh kept constant touch with the state

as president of Radical Humanist Association.

Maniben Kara visited the state in her capacity as

Chairman of All India Women Organization.

Within the state Mr. Avula Gopalakrishna Murty

carried the torch of humanist flame and struggled to

sustain the interest. His early death in 1967 was a

shock to the movement. Then Mr. M.V.

Ramamurthy took the responsibility and carried the

burden. Later Mr. Ravipudi Venkatadri continued

the Rationalist organization and Hetuvadi

magazine which has become a link to all the

organizers.

Telugu field is rich with literature of Radical

Humanist writers, translations and magazines.

M.N. Roy Centenary year was celebrated in

Andhra Pradesh in 1987.The whole set of books of

and by Roy and books of V.B. Karnik’s biography

of M.N. Roy were released by Telugu Akademi. A

big function was held in Vijayawada with Indra

Reddi, education minister, Mr. Daggupati

Venkateswararao, Prof. C. Laxmanna, Mr. R.

Venkatadri and Mr. N. Innaiah.

Mr. Gahanna Bharati delivered lectures on Roy in

Osmania University and Ambedkar Open

University during M.N. Roy Centenary Year.

Some sister organizations cooperated for camps,

meetings, magic performances and rallies.

Several times efforts were made to establish a

Humanist Center, but in vain. Only individuals are

working from their houses or offices.

One center was established in Inkole, a big village

near Chirala town. Few committed humanists are

working for the center with annual celebrations,

occasional meetings and publications.

Now The Radical Humanist movement is very

weak in Andhra Pradesh. Very few people are there

to work for it. Youth are not coming forward.

Educational institutions are not teaching Humanist

thought. It is a challenge for the future.

Concluded...........................

20


Letter to the Editor:

Dear Rékhâ,

Behind an immediately enigmatic appearance, some personalities inspire our confidence. You have

helped me better situate Anna's move. Thanks. Warm regards.

Prithwindra-dâ

[Mr. Mahi Pal Singh is the President of Indian

Radical Humanist Association (IRHA) of the

Delhi Unit and Gen. Secy. of Peoples’ Union for

Civil Liberties (PUCL), Delhi-unit. C-105,

D.D.A. Flats, Sindhora kalan, Delhi-110

[email protected]]

PUCL: Its History of Struggle inFighting the Structures

Introduction: The People’s Union for Civil

Liberties (PUCL) was founded by Jayaprakash

Narayan, and originally named as People’s Union

for Civil Liberties and Democratic Rights

(PUCLDR) in 1976, in the wake of the internal

Emergency which was imposed by Indira Gandhi,

the then Prime Minister of the country, on the

nation on the midnight of 25th and 26th June 1975.

The imposition of the Emergency was intended by

her to destroy the democratic fiber of the country in

order to concentrate unlimited power in her own

hands. With the declaration of the Emergency

Fundamental Rights of the people enshrined in the

Constitution, including the right to life, liberty and

freedom of speech and expression were suspended,

more than a lakh of persons including ailing

Jayaprakash Narayan, Morarji Desai, Atal Behari

Vajpayee, L.K. Advani, Madhu Dandavate, and all

the other leaders of opposition parties were

illegally detained under the Maintenance of

Internal Security Act (MISA), the most draconian

law at that time, without trial, stringent censorship

was introduced on newspapers and, above all, even

the right to life could not be enforced by the

courts. Virtual dictatorship was imposed on the

country and all the institutions of democratic rule

faced severe threat at the hands of Indira Gandhi.

The lawyers led by eminent persons like Chief

Justice M.C. Chagla, Chief Justice C.J. Shah,

Justice V.M. Tarkunde, Ram Jethmalani and others

waged a relentless battle against the Emergency

and the consequent suspension of the fundamental

rights. Jayaprakash Narayan had been instrumental

in the formation of the Citizens For Democracy

(CFD) earlier before the Emergency was declared.

CFD was established as a result of the mass

movement built up by JP in response to the political

and economic crisis in which the country had been

plunged through Indira Gandhi’s attempt to subvert

the freedom of the Judiciary. The CFD was

established on April 13, 1974 with Jayaprakash

Narayan as its President and V.M. Tarkunde as the

General Secretary. It was then that Jayaprakash

Narayan called for a movement against this tyranny

and subversion of democracy. Lakhs of People

joined the massive protest rallies on the call of JP

and thronged the meetings organized by him. Mass

opinion was mobilized in favour of safeguarding

the Indian democracy. When the Emergency was

imposed and the very institution of democracy was

subverted, a national seminar was held at New

Delhi on October 17, 1976 to consider how the civil

liberties of the people could be defended. Acharya

J.B. Kripalani inaugurated it and a decision to form

the PUCLDR was taken. It was originally intended

to be an organization free from political ideologies,

bringing those concerned about defending civil

liberties and human rights from different

backgrounds onto a common platform. The

PUCLDR was a loosely organized group of people

who were working with Jayaprakash Narayan.

(Justice) V.M. Tarkunde was elected as its

President and Krishna Kant as General Secretary.

Jayaprakash Narayan died on October 8, 1979,

after a prolonged kidney problem. In the year 1980

Indira Gandhi returned to power. Her Government

resumed its assaults on rights of the people. Efforts

were made once again to put some life in the

PUCLDR and to bring about co-operation among

various civil liberties groups. Learning a lesson

21


Mahi Pal Singh

from the past experience, it was decided that the

organization should be put on a more firm footing.

A conference of all those interested in the cause of

civil liberties was called. A consensus emerged

among civil liberties activists and various political

parties that such an organization should remain

non-partisan. The founding conference held in

November 1980 drafted and adopted the

constitution of the PUCL declaring the aims and

objects of the PUCL and made it a membership

based organization, aiming to have branches all

over the country. The organization was

re-christened as the People’s Union for Civil

Liberties (PUCL). What is different about this

organization from a score of human rights NGOs,

which have come up over the years, is that in order

to protect its independence, neutrality and

credibility the PUCL does not accept any funds

from the government, foreign countries and the

corporate world and manages its working solely

with the funds collected as membership and

donations from friendly donors only. Besides,

though members of political parties can join the

organization, they cannot be elected as its office

bearers at the State or national level so that the

organization remains free from political influences

too. The PUCL believes in upholding the rule of

law and does not believe in the use of violence even

for laudable objects. The founding conference of

the PUCL elected (Justice) V.M. Tarkunde as its

President and Arun Shourie as the General

Secretary. Later, Dr. Y.P. Chhibbar was appointed

as Executive Secretary. Those elected as President

and General Secretary in the following years were:

President: V.M. Tarkunde (1982 to 1984); Prof.

Rajni Kothari (1984 to 1986); (Justice) Rajindar

Sachar (1986 to 1995); K.G. Kannabiran (1995 to

2009). General Secretary: Arun Shourie (1982 to

1986); Prof. Rajni Kothari (1982 to 1984); Dr. Y.P.

Chhibbar (1984 to 2008); Prof. Dalip S. Swami

(1986 to 1990). (Justice) V.M. Tarkunde was

named Advisor in 1986 and remained in that

capacity till his death on 22 March 2004. During

the last 35 years of its existence, the PUCL has not

only gained credibility and fame as the largest civil

liberties organization of the country, it has

established itself, through filing of various Public

Interest Litigations (PILs) in the courts of law,

launching movements against draconian laws like

the MISA, Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA),

Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and

the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)

for the defense of civil liberties and democratic

rights of the people. It has also initiated and been at

the forefront of the movements for making free and

compulsory education a fundamental right,

granting of the right to information and the right to

food and for introduction of judicial, police and

prison and electoral reforms, thereby intending to

make elections free from muscle and money power.

It has raised the question of accountability of all

public servants, including the politicians, and also

the question of judicial accountability. It has fought

against all sorts of communalism and societal

violation of human rights of the Dalits. The PUCL

has had former Justices, Chief Justices, leading

lawyers, academics and intellectuals as well as

social and human rights activists as its members.

Today it has a nationwide network with State

Branches in almost all the States.

Continued..........................

22


Announcement: Friends, a General Body Meeting of Indian Radical Humanist Association will

be held in MURSHIDABAD, West Bengal on 31st December 2011 and 1st January 2012 . Please

try to come there in large numbers to contribute in galvanizing the activities of the Association and to

give your valuable suggestions in spearheading the Radical Humanist Movement. The details of the

programme will follow in the October 2011 issue. Meanwhile please contact:

Md. Nazimuddin Sk. at 91-9475227765 or at 91-9732963645

for an early query regarding your travel and stay information.—Rekha Saraswat

Teachers’ & Research Scholars’ Section:

Nilmani Phookan: A DistinctivePoet-Laureate of Assam

“Modern man is searching for a soul. It is

through poetry that one day he would find

that soul, will find a clue to world of love, new

spiritual value and a human ear in its entirety. Since

time immemorial, poetry, the living objects, has

been reverberating with its sound in the deep

recesses of mortal humans. Whenever one tries to

listen, each person can hear in the quietness of his

own mind the flowing cadence of dawn and dusk,

of truth and beauty”, says Nilmani Phookan, who

has created “a unique voice” through his poetry, a

poetry cargoes with his simple sounding

unpunctuated lines, his minute observation,

extrasensory perception, emotional restraint,

compactness of frames and designs, generation of

internal music. Regarded as a ‘saga-like presence’

in Assamese literature, he has a distinctive voice.

His poetry has a universal appeal with a fresh

diction reflecting hopes, dreams, anguish, love,

death, horrors of contemporary life and so on. In

their construction his poems seem to be simple, but

there is a complex pattern of experiences at an inner

level. It takes the reader into regions of what can be

called racial memories and the unconscious

recesses of the individual mind.

To him, “Poetry is ‘the voice of humanity’.

Whenever there is a man, there is a poetry, which

enlivens all the living and the inanimate alike. The

poem will continue to live even amongst those who

have never read the poem. This is because the poem

is the ultimate language of man- the general as well

as the concrete embodiment of the agony and

ecstasy of life”. Phookan’s poetry is polished with a

rare artistry and imbued with a deep sensitivity and

deeper understanding of life and reality. His

compositions contemplate the plight of society

with an equal embrace of Assamese landscape in its

theme and imagery. His canvas is vast, his

imagination mythopoeia, his voice bardic, his

concerns ranging from the political to the cosmic,

from the contemporary to the primeval. The

metrical compositions seems be simple, but there is

a complex pattern of experiences at an inner level.

His poetry has richness and intensity that

immediately strike a chord in the hearts of

discerning readers.

His concern for society is deep-rooted. He speaks

of fire and water, planet and star, forest and desert,

man and rock, time and space, war and peace, and

life and death. Epic and elemental are the

landscapes he evokes. Phookan is an epitome and

humanism. He believes that poem is a human

moment, a moment of inexpressible joy and

sorrow, culminating in a silent but sure

regeneration and awareness. His poem endeavours

to establish a transition from transparent imagery to

symbolism, and creates archetypal imagery and a

style in which folklore and living language of a

community provide a deep resonance. Phookan’s

poems strike a delicate balance between the

subjective and the objective. It is marked by intense

involvement with the reality of life and people. Its

diction is highly evocative.

Phookan conferred Fellowship of Sahitya Akademi

on 24 April 2002 for his eminence as

poet. Ramakanta Rath, then President of the

Akademi, honouring him said, “Phookan was

instrumental in giving Assamese poetry a distinctly

modern form and voice together with two other

poets: Navakanta Barua and Ajit Barua. The

Fellowship is recognition of the exceptionally

valuable contribution made by Phookan to Indian

23


Ashok K.Chaudhury

literature”. Prior to Fellowship, he was awarded

Sahitya Akademi Award in 1981 for Kavita (1980),

which is considered an outstanding contribution, to

Assamese literature.

One of the most acclaimed and forefront Assamese

poets, Phookan began writing poetry in the early

‘50s. But established his reputation when together

with contemporary poets like Navakanta Barua and

Ajit Barua, he adopted the modern free verse which

was started by the veterans like Hema Barua,

Amulya Barua, and Maheswar Neog in the

mid‘40s. His dedication to the task of writing

poetry, over the years, is, perhaps, due to the most

distinguishing characteristic of his personality. The

Assamese countryside, of the rich heritage of tribal

myth and folklore, the rhythms and village life, all

of which have helped shape his sensibility as a poet.

Influenced by the French symbolist poets as well as

the imagists and formalists of the West, his style is

unreal that flows naturally and bears an untouched

sequence. He emphasizes the importance of the

expression of personal feelings through symbols,

images and suggestions. Its appeal lies in its

inherent masculine qualities.

He has used novel themes and has generated a high

pitch of social consciousness in his poetry. The

common themes of his poems are nature, love, the

death instinct, and the basic loneliness of the

human soul. Phookan says, “Since my childhood

days in some unknown village, I struck a perceptive

relationship with nature, life and reality, and slowly

it blossomed into an awakening of life, thought and

grief. Even after fifty long years in the city, it is the

village itself that is my memory, dream, grief and

happiness, and countless other things: melody,

smell, colour and glimpses of day and night. All

this has constantly stirred my mind, heart and

imagination”. His intimate knowledge of

traditional Japanese and Chinese poetry finds

expression in many of his poems.

So far he is the author of thirteen volumes of poetry,

two anthologies, including one Indian tribal love

poems, and four volumes of essays on art criticism.

Phookan is deeply aware of the painfulness of life

and often seeks peace and shelter in feminine love,

which he expressed in his first collection of

poems, Surya Heno Nami Ahe Ei Nadiedi (The Sun

they say comes down along this River, 1963). The

volume, significant in more ways than one,

expresses the loneliness and isolation of modern

man in a society that seems to have lost its

moorings. The second and third collection of

poems, Nirjanatar Sabda (Sound of Silence, 1966)

and Aru Ki Naisabda (What more Soundlessness,

1968) show a looseness of structure. But the

imagistic quality of the poems in these volumes

points to a major new direction for Assamese

poetry. The publication of Phuli Thoka

Suryamukhi Phultor Phale (Toward the Sunflower

in Bloom, 1972) is, in fact, the turning point in

Assamese poetry. The anthology suggests new

possibilities in the use of language. It generates

vibrations that were to last long and exert

considerable influence in the development of

modern Assamese poetry. The poems here are

marked not only by the bold thematic innovations

but also by skilful handling of craft.

His other well-known poetical collections

are Kaint, Golap Aru Kaint (Thorns, Roses and

Thorns, 1975), and Nirtyarata Prithvi (Relentless

Earth, 1985). Phookan received the State’s most

prestigious ‘Publication Board Literary Award’ in

1997 for Kaint, Golap Aru Kaint. His last

collection Olop Agate Ami Ki Katha Pati

Achilo was published in 2003. Some of the

recurring images in these anthologies are

sunflower, house, river, tree, mountain, snow

covered peaks, etc. The uniquely evocative

language used in these poems and recurrent

symbols of death, loneliness and the sorrow of self,

redefined Phookan’s poetic personality. Through

these poems, he made the transition from a phase of

imagism to symbolism. These poems are

deceptively simple in construction, but there is a

complex pattern of experience at an inner level.

Phookan used archetypal imagery and a style in

which folklore and the current language of a human

24


community intermingle to province.

Though youngest of the group of poets Phookan

has done more than any other poet to set these

trends in modern Assamese poetry. A few young

talents in the ‘60s joined his school, but his

personal contribution remains the greatest. He

adopts the more colloquial syntax but, on the

whole, his work is considerable demanding. The

reader has to be sensitive to the overtones of words

as well as the association of images in a specific

context. His poetry took a new turn in the ‘80s as

more of his works came close to the folk motifs and

culture and to life of the masses in subtle ways.

Some of the poems are marked by a stark simplicity

of diction and a new tone of urgency. But the

intrinsic strength of Phookan’s poetry truly lies in

concrete, visual imagery and metaphorical use of

language. His tone of total acceptance of life is

significant. One finds a clear and confident note in

his work in the face of the traumatic vision of death

and darkness. These poems in a way establish

Phookan’s affinities with the Latin American rather

than Anglo-American stream of modern poetry.

Phookan published an anthology of Indian tribal

love poems titled Aranyara Gan (Songs of the

Forest, 1993). His Golapi Jamurlanagne (Time for

the Rosy Berries), a collection of poems selected by

him, came out in 1997. Some of his poems selected

and edited by Hiren Gohain have been published in

1994 with the title Sagartalir Sankha. Selected

Poems of Nilamani Phookan (2007), sixty three

poems culled from Phookan’s eight collections,

published by Sahitya Akademi, translated by

Krishna Dulal Barua, attempts to acquaint a wider

readership with his poetry. The natural smooth flow

of the rhythms and the pathos of the original are

finely captured in the translation. The tragic,

comparative mood of the original has also been

retained. Phookan has translated a good number of

Japanese poems from the 17th century till the

present day and has brought out Japani

Kavita (Japanese Poems, 1971), and the

Japanese Haiku poems into Assamese. He has also

published an anthology of Chinese poems

titled Cheena Kavita (Chinese Poetry, 1996). These

translations bear witness to his intimate knowledge

of traditional Japanese and Chinese poetry.

Besides, Phookan has rendered selected poems of

the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca in Garca

Lorkar Kavita (1981) into Assamese. He has

brought out an anthology of modern Assamese

poems chosen by him under the title Kuri Satikar

Asamiya Kavita(1977).

He has developed a keen interest in the rich folk

heritage and native rhythms of life in the

countryside of the Brahmaputra Valley. This is

seen in hisLoka Kalpadristi (Folk Vision, 1987), a

book on Assamese folk art, which serves as an

introduction to the rich variety of arts and craft of

Assam. The book was awarded the ‘Jagadhattri

Horomohan Award’ in 1988. His deep interest in

the visual arts, especially in painting, is reflected in

his writings on some great painters. So far he has

published three books on visual arts: Rupa Barna

Bak (1988) and Silpakala Darshan (1998), both

containing essays on art and artists; and a lecture on

art appreciation titled, Silapakalar Upalabdhi Aur

Ananda (1997). He was an able editor of the now

defunct weekly Navyug, and editor of Sanjaya, a

leading Assamese literary and cultural quarterly,

between 1977 and 79; Alochani; andNo-Son; and

the editor of daily a Batori. He was also a member

of the Assamese Selection Committee constituted

for the preparation ofMasterpieces of Indian

Literature (3 Volumes), brought out by NBT, India.

Phookan was born in a middle-class family at

Dergaon near Jorhat, an important town in Upper

Assam in 1933. A small sleepy hamlet is noted for

its pristine natural beauty and gently rural charm.

Graduated from the prestigious Cotton College,

Guwahati in 1957, he persuaded M.A. in History in

1961 from Guwahati University. He joined Arya

Vidyapeeth College, Guwahati as Lecturer in

History in 1964 and worked there till his retirement

in 1992. In childhood he came under two early

influences that of his mother and his uncle

Lakshminath Phookan, a well known figure in the

field of literature and journalism. His creative

25


pursuits won him many awards and honours. The

major ones among these are: ‘Raghunath

Choudhury Award’ of Asam Sahitya Sabha (1972);

‘Asam Prakashan Parishad Award’ (1977); ‘Padma

Shri’ by the Government of India (1990);

‘Chaganlal Jain Award’ of Asam Sahitya Sabha

(1991); ‘Kamal Kumari National Award’ (1994);

‘Assam Valley Award’ (1988); ‘Bhartiya Bhasa

Parishad Award’ (2000), and ‘Joshua Foundation

Award’ (2001). Phookan was Emeritus Fellow of

the Department of Culture, Government of India

during the period 1999-2001.

His dedication to pursuing of writing poetry is the

most distinguishing characteristic of his

personality. The range and depth of his poetic

creation, especially and the surpassing brilliance of

his later poetry place him among the frontline poets

of Assam. Phookan, over the decades, has achieved

a remarkable mastery over the poetic craft,

acquiring a deep insight into human life. His poems

magnificently express of his humanism, sunflower,

river, pees, mountains, snow-covered peaks, some

of the recurring images of Nature, make a dominant

presence in most of his poems. Rather Phookan set

the trend for incorporating natural elements in

Assamese poetry.

His biggest interest is the ‘social change’ in the

country to bring all Indian languages and dialects

under one platform so that literature and poetry

becomes understandable to everybody. That will

ensure a sense of ‘belongingness’ for the masses.

His poetic expression sincerely of feelings and

contemplative responses to trials and tribulations of

life, unravel before a reader a broad vision of life.

Being an explorer, he is always excited by life’s

hidden mysteries and possibilities, pained by

sufferings of ordinary men and women, and

troubled by the inequality, exploitation and

mindless violence that so often threaten to

dismantle our social fabric and destabilize our

individual selves.

Dr. Ashok K. Choudhury, a postdoctoral scholar

& lit critic, is with Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.

26


Letter to the Editor:

Gaps in Matrimonial Search for Atheist Youth - a Concern

Dear Sir/Madam,

Greetings of the day!

I'm an atheist from Andhra Pradesh, well-settled and am looking for a like-minded life partner. As part

of my partner search, I found that there is a huge gap in this matrimonial search area for athiest youth.

There are an infinite number of websites for believers (based on caste/sub-cast/religion/region/etc/etc.)

to find a life partner but for an atheist youth there is no single website available.

As the atheist societies are not quite active in many parts of the country, there are no networking

opportunities available for us. This pushes the rationalist youth who want to marry somebody with

similar mind-set towards compromising with their ideology when it comes to the most important part of

their life, that is “marriage”! Why don't you launch some kind of a platform (online) for the

rationalist/atheist youth who want to marry like-minded people irrespective of

class/creed/religion/regional-bias? It would be great help not only for individuals but also for the

society at large, as the rational thinking starts at home and rational parents creates rational future

generations. Please think on these lines. Thank you. Warm regards,

Anil Kumar, Hyderabad

[email protected]

Land Acquiisition Bill—Ashish Saxena

In the post-independence period, India has

sought rapid economic growth through

‘planned development’. This has entailed

large-scale public investments involving land

acquisition. Unfortunately, large numbers of

people, especially marginalized sections, have

been displaced from their original habitats to make

way for these development projects. Such projects

have also permanently changed the patterns of

land-use and natural resources that previously

prevailed in these areas. Often, such acquisition of

land leads to displacement of people, depriving

them of their livelihood and shelter, restricting

access to their traditional resource base, and

uprooting them from their socio-cultural

environment. These have traumatic, psychological

and socio-cultural consequences for the affected

population, especially ‘subalterns’. This thus

results into doubly marginalization i.e. dislocation

of indigenous people from their native inhabitants

and also poor compensation in the form of

resettlement and rehabilitation. Generally, they

become passive owing to their under-dog position;

however, in many instances they show resistance

and adopt violent protests. Glaring

exemplifications of contemporary resistances are

the resistance of the Singur farmers against the

West Bengal government, protests by villagers of

Bhatta & Parsaul villages against compensation for

acquired land and liberal land policy for the

Yamuna Expressway in U.P. It is in this context

that the amendment Bill of the Land Acquisition

Act 1894 gains credence. The Land Acquisition

Act 1894, which has nation-wide coverage, was

passed by the colonial government to make it

possible for the state to acquire private land for any

‘public purpose’. Through them the colonial state

took possession of property for schemes such as

mines, plantations and other, and which latently

were an integral part of the strategy to turn the

country into a supplier of cheap raw material and

capital for the British industrial revolution. After

minor amendments in 1914 and 1938, it were

amended substantially in 1984 to “stream-line the

process of acquisition” (see Upadhyay and Raman,

1998). Owing to this, post-independence economic

development based on large projects and big

industries entailed widespread displacement. The

law gave very little scope to the affected party to

challenge the process of acquisition or even to

demand fair compensation and rehabilitation.

People’s impoverishment and marginalization

were its consequences. But instead of giving it a

pro-people orientation, the 1984 amendments made

acquisition easier. It empowered the state to acquire

land for private industry. Till then it was limited to

the public sector. Contemporarily, in several cases,

the original purpose for which the land was

acquired has been changed after acquisition. One

finds that in the name of globalization and land

development the States had marginalized farmers

by paying a pittance as compensation. Land is

given for development which must be inclusive.

The State is taking advantage of the law against the

poor. Land Acquisition Act has thus, become an

engine of oppression for the common man. Several

efforts were made in the past to amend the Act in

the favour of land-owners. Some clauses were

changed but could not bring the desired relief to the

poor farmers and subalterns’ who were displaced

due to acquisition. The NDA regime, in 2003,

brought a Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill but,

it lapsed. Another Bill brought by the UPA

government in 2007 met the same fate. A revised

version of the 2007 Bill was re-introduced in 2010,

which is still pending. These initiatives could bring

significant amendments like - redefining ‘public

purpose’ as land acquired for defense purposes,

infrastructure projects, or for any project useful to

the general public, where 70 per cent of the land has

already been purchased; strategically, the Bill

contains some necessary provisions such as “under

no circumstances should multi-cropped, irrigated

land be acquired, and most of such land lies in the

Indo-Gangetic plains covering Punjab, Haryana,

27


Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar”, however, it

does not address the challenge of large scale

diversion of agricultural land across the country for

non-agricultural purposes and the consequent

impact on the nation’s food security and

pauperization of communities. Regarding the

monetary compensation, the bill incorporates

issues like – “in case of urban areas, the award

amount would be not less than twice that of the

market value determined whereas in rural areas it

would be not less than six times the original market

value”; The draft bill thus proposes that the consent

of 80 per cent of the project-affected families will

be mandatory if the government acquires land for

use by private companies for stated public purpose.

It also states that the public purpose once stated

cannot be changed. Keeping in view the

retrospective and prospective implications of the

said bill, much awaited comprehensive ‘Draft

National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation &

Resettlement Bill, 2011’ was recently put forth by

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam

Ramesh. It is commendable that the Ministry has

now agreed to reopen the whole process and focus

on the pre-legislative consultations and not

introduce such an important legislation in hurry in

this Monsoon session, 2011 of the Parliament. This

Bill is regressive that way, since the definition of

public purpose covers almost everything from

building educational institutions to airports to

mining, where a large number of private companies

are involved. These companies are not there for the

public purpose but for making profit and it is in

their private interest. Even, rehabilitation and

resettlement of the persons and families affected by

involuntary acquisition of private land and

immovable property is of paramount importance.

Also, the ambit of the expression “person

interested” under the Act is proposed to be

expanded so as to include tribals and other

traditional forest dwellers, who have lost any

traditional rights recognized under the Scheduled

Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers

(Recognitions of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (2 of

2007). The necessity of defining the sensitive term

“public purpose” is the need of the hour, so as to

restrict ambiguity and the scope of land acquisition

under the Act. Often it is seen that the possession of

land acquired is not taken over in time, and also

there are delays in the payment of the compensation

amount. It is also necessary to make a provision for

ensuring physical possession of the land and its

compensation within a defined period.

Subsequently, the issues around the utilization of

the land acquired and their transfer are also areas of

concern. Here, provisions are to be made so that the

land acquired is not transferred to any other

purpose except for a public purpose. Keeping in

view the even doubt on the objectivity of

immediate government regarding the land

acquisition cases, the check mechanism can be

made to regulate the State autonomy on the issue

and it may be endorsed in consultation with the

Centre, CM’s of neighboring states and affected

population.

Need for an Inclusive model of land acquisition:

With the growth of post-colonial studies and the

indigenization of knowledge, and with reference

also to post-structuralist and post-modern social

theory, the field of development studies has

undergone a significant critique and rethinking. To

Toye (1987; 8) the interventionist approach was

challenged by the rise of neo-liberalism in the

1980’s, a theoretical shift associated with a

deepening of internationalization (globalization)

and referred to as the ‘counter revolution’ in

development economics. The globalists consider

‘too much government’ as a systemic fault. Good

governance is thus defined as less government

(Desai & R.B. Potter, 2000; 113). Thus, there is a

strong body of thought, which points to alternative

forms of development being necessary if inequality

is seriously to be confronted. Now calls were made

for ‘development from below’. Voluntary groups

or NGO’s were seen as having greater diversity,

credibility and creativity than official agencies

(like the World Bank, U.N) in producing a ‘just

development’ characterized by equity, democracy

28


and social justice as well as by economic growth

(Clark; 1991). As rightly emphasized by

Mohammed Asif (1999), any understanding on

land acquisition should start with the question, who

are the stakeholders in the process and what are

their respective interests? Contextually, the first set

of stakeholders are the land losers, the owners of

the ‘would-be’ acquired land. Their interest in the

first place is to prevent land from being acquired.

However, if they find it impossible to prevent

acquisition, they then try to get compensation

which is equivalent to the replacement value of the

land and all other assets lost. The second sets of

stakeholders are the acquiring bodies whose

interest is going to be served. The third stakeholder

is the government, interested in preventing any law

and order problem from cropping up in the wake of

the resultant disturbance in status quo. As one can

realize the interests of the three stakeholders are

mutually contradictory. In such a situation it is very

difficult to legislate to everyone’s satisfaction

owing to conflicting interests. Thus there is a need

for a democratic and societal aspect in resolving

such issues. Firstly, there is a need of holistic

evaluation of the purpose and necessity of

acquisition; secondly, the profile of the affected

population owing to acquisition; and finally the

assessment compensation in a justifiable way, in

consensus with the affected population. For such

resolution there is a need of multi-specialists

having sensitivity towards social, economic,

psychological and ecological impacts of

acquisition. No doubt, there is a need for such an

alternative paradigm of development i.e.

participatory and down-top approach which takes

into cognizance that the necessary land is available

for ‘genuine’ public purposes and in the process the

land losers are not impoverished. Apart from such

societal and democratic concerns the approach of

the decision-making body should be pro-poor,

pro-rural and pro-sustainable development i.e. the

policies should bridge the gaps and not creating

conflicts and inequalities. In sum, land is a vital

asset more so in India with its burgeoning populace

growth along-with high population density. The

judicious use of land is very necessary keeping in

mind the interests of the subalterns and

economically weaker sections, which constitute

majority of the Indian population. Therefore, the

question of land acquisition and rehabilitation

needs to be re-worked beyond elitist sections i.e.

government, political parties and bureaucracy and

should involve the intervention of civil societies,

representatives of affected population, members of

local bodies, human rights activists and others

before arriving at a judicious decision.

References:

Asif, Mohammed (1999). ‘Land Acquisition Act:

Need for an Alternative Paradigm, Economic and

Political Weekly, Vol. 34, No. 25 (Jun. 19-25,

1999), pp. 1564-1566

Clark.J, (1991). Democratizing Development; The

role of voluntary organization, West Hartford; CT:

Kumarian Press.

Desai.V & R.B.Potter (ed.) (2000). The Companion

to Development Studies, (New York; Oxford

Publisher), pp. 8.

Fernandes, Walter (1998). ‘Acquisition

(Amendment) Bill, 1998: Rights of

Project-Affected People Ignored’ Economic and

Political Weekly, Vol. 33, No. 42/43 (Oct. 17-30,

1998), pp. 2703-2706

Toye. J (1987). Dillemas of development;

reflections on the counterrevolution in

development theory and policy, (Oxford: Basil

Blackwell), pp. 8.

Upadhyay, Sanjay and Bhavani, Raman (1998).

Land Acquisition and Public Purpose, (New Delhi,

The Other Media)

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article

2316972.ece, August 2, 2011, A better Land

Acquisition Bill

Http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Land%20

Aquisition/1197003952_Land_20Acq.pdf

Dr. Ashish Saxena teaches Sociology at Central

University of Allahabad. [email protected]

29


Book Review Section:

[BOOK: The Skeptical Environmentalist:

Measuring the Real State of the World (Danish:

Verdens sande tilstand, literal translation: The

Real State of the World) by Danish

environmentalist author Bjørn Lomborg. It was

first published in Danish in 1998, and the English

edition was published as a work in environmental

economics by Cambridge University Press in

2001.]

—Reviewed by Subhankar Ray

[Mr. Subhankar Ray is a researcher in

Biochemistry and has been, for a long time,

associated with the Renaissance movement.]

Impending Destruction ofEnvironment: A Myth?

Continued from the previous issue.......

Biodiversity:

The Chapter on biodiversity starts with a highly

cited figure that purported to show that 40 thousand

species per year are going to extinction. This

calculation was presented by Norman Myers in his

book The Sinking Arc. The Author opines that this

has no scientific basis. Albert Gore also in his book

The Earth in the Balance mentioned this figure.

Several scientists mentioned even much higher

figures, even two fifty thousand per year. The

Author feels that the presentation of this figure is

motivated and if this is true then within our lifespan

25% of the existing species would extinguish.

Scientists have the tendency to exaggerate an issue.

If we say that 0.7 % species are being extinguished

in 50 years then it will not raise any stir and no

money will be provided for research. By citing

sources the Author mentions that this estimation is

more authentic and realistic. Life started on the

earth 3.5 billion years ago with the advent of first

bacterium. From then on species began to

extinguish naturally.

It is difficult to calculate how many species existed

and now exists. The number varies due to nature

itself. We could roughly say that this number was

highest when human species arrived on the Earth.

The reason is that atmosphere at that time was most

congenial for biodiversity and differentiation

amongst species was the most. Estimation from

1600 to the present day indicates the presence of

1.6 million species of which one thousand had been

eliminated. How many species were/are there on

the Earth? Several estimates suggest it might be

from 2-80 million. We much heard about the

extinction of dinosaurs, but more in the past about

200 million years ago it is thought that half of the

existing population extinct. This type of research is

often inferential and called soft science.

Before the advent of modern civilization human

activity was one of the reasons of extinction of

species. But there is no unknown big animal and

their possible extinction is known to us. The Author

rightly comments that when we think of

biodiversity we think about large animals and

plants that we notice in zoological gardens and

reserved forests such as whale, tiger, pine tree etc.

We do not think of beetle, any fungus or virus. We

have seen in our lifetime the coming of AIDS virus.

But where is the bedbug now, which was

ubiquitous sometime ago?

He concludes that modern human being has some

role in the extinction of species. But as 40%

rainforests are still there so the biodiversity might

be maintained there. The extinction of 0.7% of

species in 50 years is not a disastrous although a

problem. With more efficient modes of production

and economic development the pressure on forests

will be reduced. As we observe in Europe forests

have increased considerably. On the other hand

some environmentalists suggest such a remedy,

which is nothing but to keep human society captive

in certain pockets.

Global Warming:

Climate change and global warming are now highly

discussed and important issues in the present

30


environmental thinking. Many environmental

organizations and persons are very much worried

about this. It is assumed that due to rapid and

continuous industrialization and accessory

activities the Earth will be warmer and the

ecosystem will be destroyed.

The Author has dealt the possible reasons and

consequences of global warming based upon the

report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (IPCC), a specialized team of UN. This

Chapter is presented in a more complicated way

than the other chapters of the Book possibly

because the issue is complicated.

It is assumed that global warming is a result of the

so called Green House Effect. What is this Green

House Effect? Many gases such as water vapour,

carbon dioxide, methane, nitric oxide, CFC and

ozone could retain or reflect heat. In normal

situation this is good because without these gases

the temperature of the surface of the Earth would be

33o C lesser and the present biological world would

not be there. But the problem is that due to

anthropogenic activity the amount of these gases

specially of carbon dioxide have increased heavily,

30% more than pre-industrialized era. It is assumed

that for this the surface temperature of the Earth has

increased considerably and will increase further.

The first question is however how much global

warming has actually happened? We should not

forget that due to natural reasons Earth’s

temperature changes cyclically. We now belong to

Holocene Age, which started 10,000 years ago. It is

assumed that at the beginning of this Age due to

melting of ice sea level rose 120 meters and

temperature increased 5-80C. There are many

opinions regarding global warming and one of

these is that anthropogenic activity contributes very

little.

The brightness of Sun has increased 0.4% in the last

300-400 years and as a result the temperature of the

Earth has also raised 0.40C. Also 1400-1900 is

called little ice age. In this time there was severe

cold in Europe; ice had increased considerably in

Greenland, Iceland and in Scandinavian countries.

Even in China agriculture faced difficulty due to

severe cold. On the other hand the early part of the

second Millennium is called the ‘The Medieval

Warm Period’. So it is not true that only in the last

century the weather changed significantly.

Only in the last 150 years we are systematically

measuring the temperature of the Earth’s surface

and it is true that in comparison to 1850 in 2000 the

temperature is 0.80C more. This increase was

mostly in between 1919-1940 and from 1970 till

date. However from the different models of

changes of Earth’s temperature IPCC has chosen

Mann’s model and claims that in the past one

thousand years 20th century was the warmest

century and 1990s and 1998 are the warmest

decade and year respectively. By analyzing huge

data through computer IPCC has developed certain

scenario. Anthropogenic and other effects are

considered. The Author feels that these analyses are

often not flawless. He discusses the possible flaws

at length. Our experience about the weather

forecasts corroborates his view.

How agriculture, health, rise in sea-level, climate

change etc will be influenced by global warming is

discussed at length. He draws attention to the fact

that there are also some benefits in warming such as

it will help agriculture in cold region as also death

will be reduced that used to be in severe cold. Extra

carbon dioxide in air is beneficial for the

production of wheat and rice. Rain might be more,

which will benefit the draught-prone areas.

Moreover it has been observed that man-made

sulfur particles help to reduce warming.

The Author questions whether a real solution of

global warming is needed or this problem is used as

a political weapon. The warning by IPCC in its

different reports is gradually getting tougher. It

advises on individual life style and also on social

trends.

In consonance with the main theme of the book he

reminds us that we would not be able tackle all the

problems simultaneously, we have to set priorities.

31


It is no use to slightly reduce global warming by

incurring a huge expenditure. It is true that the

Third World countries will suffer most from global

warming, but if we could improve health,

education, water resources etc there then it will be

easier to tackle the problem.

Besides the Author emphasizes research to

improve solar power, nuclear fission,

geoengineering, which could send carbon dioxide

to the earth than to take measures to directly reduce

the carbon dioxide. In summary he feels that global

warming is a limited problem and we could tackle

it. The Reviewer feels that global warming will not

bring any disaster immediately. We could wait for

another 20-25 years. If we observe that the situation

is moving towards what IPCC has suggested, their

vision is validated then only we shall follow their

advice.

Genetic Engineering in Food Production:

In to-day’s environmental movement genetic

engineering is a hot topic. The Author discusses at

length the use of genetic techniques in food

production because it is the most controversial

issue. Between 1996 and 2000 the land, which is

cultivated by using genetically engineered

techniques has increased 26 times. Worldwide

2.9% of arable lands are cultivated by this

technique, mostly in USA, Canada, Argentina and

China. He feels that it has immense potential

although has huge problem. This technique might

improve production as well as quality and also

might reduce the use of fertilizer and pesticides.

But due to some movements by environmental and

voluntary organizations it has gained bad images in

the minds of people of Europe and USA.

The Author mentions some instances of the use of

this technology, which raised huge controversy. In

many instances the possible deleterious effects are

much exaggerated. Those organizations

themselves who tried to use the technique had

closed the project for fear of danger.

The Author reminds us improvement in breeding

by conventional means also sometimes create

many problems. The main issue is what we get, not

the technique or method. In the process of

advancement of human civilization there arose

many problems, which we ourselves have solved.

There is some amount of risk in every new

technique, but should we sit idle? In essence he

welcomes genetic engineering as such and

specially in food production but emphasizes its

regulation.

Predicament or Progress:

In this last Chapter the Author conveys us that if we

could solve the present most important problem of

hunger and poverty then it will be easy to encounter

the environmental problem. We have to understand

that environmental problem is one of the many

problems. We should set our priority by analyzing

the facts, not by the fear that the Earth will be

destroyed shortly. We have to challenge the

‘environmental Pundits’. We do not know what

will be the fate of our many decisions and

endeavour, whether related to environment or

unrelated. But we have no scope to return to the

past. We often think it is better to be safe than sorry.

But we have to pay a price even to remain safe and

there is risk in every work. If we want to remain

safe in certain aspects then we will be handicapped

to use resources for certain developments.

Individual and/or society will decide how much

risk could be taken for a particular work.

The Author refers to a mega study conducted by

Harvard University in which a relative assessment

was made for different life-saving endeavours. As

an example to arrange seat-belt in school bus for

every passenger will cost 530 million. But with this

expenditure we could save only one of them in a

year. On the other hand to educate Negro women

not to smoke during pregnancy will cost a little but

will fetch more benefit. In general life-saving

health services cost very little as compared to

efforts to control environment.

This Chapter quotes many sentences from Albert

Gore’s book Earth in the Balance. “Former

vice-president Al Gore’s Earth in the Balance is an

32


excellent example of the mood. The opening of its

conclusion states plainly: ‘Modern industrial civilization

as presently organized, is colliding violently with our

planet’s ecological system. We have constructed ‘a false

world of plastic flowers and Astroturf, air-conditioning

and fluorescent lights, windows that don’t open and

background music that never stops…sleepy hearts

jump-started with caffeine, alcohol, drugs and illusions’.

We have forgotten our direct experience with real life.

Our civilization has achieved not only the destruction of

the world but of ourselves. This is indeed a dysfunctional

civilization’ ” .

Gore feels that the present industrial civilization is

violently colliding with ecosystem and dooms day

is imminent. He opines that the present movement

to protect the environment is a continuation of the

movement of the recent past against Nazism and

totalitarian communism. However the Author feels

that Gore’s branding of “dysfunctional

civilization” is nothing but unjust glorification of

the past and to turn away from the unprecedented

progress the society has made. A brief description

of the progress, which has been made, is also

provided here again. Because of this progress Gore

and similar others are able to meet their physical

needs and are free from many limitations. And for

this only they are privileged enough to comment

like this. Gore is amongst the group of pessimists,

who by giving analogy from Frankenstein to

Jurassic Park wants to convince us that this

ingenuity in technology is the reason for impending

disaster.

Why we are so worried? The answer in one

sentence is “no food, one problem; many foods,

many problems”. The Author emphasizes that vast

number of people of the developing countries are at

present able to meet many of the basic needs of life

is surely not plastic flowers, micro oven-processed

foods, alcohol and drugs as said by Gore, but an

opportunity for a better life. We ought not to be

ashamed for this. Global warming would not come

as a punishment to us. The trend of this

development will continue. The problem that might

crop up could be dealt with adequately as we had

done in the past.

The Author has rightly written the developing

countries ought to make administrative reforms,

they have to secure democracy and rule of law; they

have to compete in the world market and to utilize

those opportunities in which they have advantage.

On the other hand the developed countries have to

abolish subsidy altogether. Very few of such

countries are maintaining the promise they had

made to donate 0.7 % of their GNP for the

development of developing countries.

In Second Section of the book the Author shows

that in all measurable indices development has

occurred, ecosystem is not going to be destroyed,

but getting improved, speially at certain economic

level. His presentation of facts and arguments are

mostly convincing. Still one might be scared in

what direction we are moving considering the

present racial clash, terrorism, increased

production of highly destructive weapons, clash of

civilization etc? However these are topics for

different discussions.

Concluded...........................

33


Dear Friends,

I am pleased to inform you that Prof. Ghanshyam Shah, National fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced

Study, Rashtrapati Nivas, Shimla, has agreed to deliver the annual M.N. Roy Memorial Lecture on 29th

Sept. 2011 at Indian Law Institute, (accross Supreme Court of India), New Delhi at 5 pm.

The topic of the Lecture will be: “Democratic Transformation: An Impasse?”

N.D. Pancholi,

Secretary, IRI,

The Real Mahatma Gandhi:Questioning The Moral HeroismOf India’s Most Revered Figure

[BOOK – Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his

Struggle with India by Joseph Lelyveld]

Joseph Lelyveld subtly tips his hand in his

title. The word Mahatma (often employed

in ordinary journalistic usage without any definite

article, as if it were Mohandas Gandhi’s first name)

is actually the Sanskrit word for “Great Soul.” It is a

religio-spiritual honorific, to be assumed or

awarded only by acclaim, and it achieved most of

its currency in the West by association with

Madame Blavatsky’s somewhat risible

“Theosophy” movement, forerunner of many

American and European tendencies to be found in

writers, as discrepant as Annie Besant and T.S.

Eliot, who nurture themselves on the supposedly

holy character of the subcontinent. The repetition,

unlikely to be accidental in the case of a writer as

scrupulous as Lelyveld, seems to amount to an

endorsement. In a different way, the subtitle

reinforces the same idea. Not Gandhi’s struggle for

India, but with it: as if this vast and antique land

was somehow too refractory and ungrateful

(recalcitrant is a word to which Lelyveld recurs) to

be fully deserving of Gandhi’s sacrificial

endeavors on its behalf.

But with perhaps equivalent subtlety—because he

generally refrains from imposing any one

interpretation upon the reader—Lelyveld furnishes

us with the very material out of which one might

constitute a refutation of this common opinion. The

belief that India fell short of, and continues to

disappoint, the ideals of one of its founding fathers

is an extremely persistent one. The standard view

of Gandhi is that he cut his ethical teeth by

opposing racial discrimination in South Africa,

failed to dent the intransigent system there but had

greater success with nonviolent civil disobedience

in British India, broke his heart and ruined his

health by opposing the Hindu caste system, strove

to reconcile Hindus and Muslims, failed to prevent

a sanguinary partition, and was murdered just after

attaining a partial and mutilated independence that

nonetheless endures: a monument not to his own

shortcomings but to those of others.

Lelyveld examines all these pious beliefs and finds,

or permits us to conclude, that they belong in the

realm of the not-quite-true. Thus, Gandhi and his

followers were not much exercised by the treatment

of black Africans in South Africa, alluding to them

in print as “kaffirs” and even organizing medical

orderlies and other noncombatant contributors for a

punitive war against the Zulus. Then, Gandhi did

fight quite tenaciously against the horrors of

“untouchability” but for much of his life was less

decided about the need to challenge the caste

system tout court. He was not above making

sectarian deals with (and against) India’s Muslims.

And he considered India’s chief enemy to be

modernity, arguing until well into the 1940s that

the new nation should abhor industry and

technology and relocate its core identity and

practice in the ancient rhythms of village life and

the spinning wheel. “India’s salvation,” he wrote in

1909, “consists in unlearning what she has learnt

during the past fifty years. The railways,

telegraphs, hospitals, lawyers, doctors, and such

like have all to go.” The rather sinister concept of

“unlearning,” explicitly tied to the more ethereal

notion of “salvation,” has more in common with

Wahhabism than with the figures of Mandela,

34


Christopher Hitchens

King, or the other moral heroes with whom

Gandhi’s name is linked.

A related argument has to do with the moral texture

and relevance of Gandhi’s concept of ahimsa, or

nonviolence, with its counterpart of satyagraha,

best translated as “civil disobedience.” It is most

usually conceded that, without the declining and

increasingly desperate British as his antagonist,

Gandhi and his tactics would have fared no better

than they had in the face of the remorseless

pioneers of apartheid. This concession usually

preserves intact the belief that Gandhi’s methods

were pure in heart. But it may be observed that the

threat to starve himself to death involved him in the

deliberate and believable threat of violence, he

himself once referring to this tactic as “the worst

form of coercion.” It could certainly be argued that

launching a full-blown “Quit India” campaign

against the British in 1942 amounted to letting

Hirohito do his fighting for him.

And it is not disputable that Gandhi himself

regarded his own versions of ahimsa and

satyagraha as universally applicable. By 1939, he

was announcing that, if adopted by “a single Jew

standing up and refusing to bow to Hitler’s

decrees,” such methods might suffice to “melt

Hitler’s heart.” This may read like mere

foolishness, but a personal letter to the Führer in the

same year began with the words My friend and went

on, ingratiatingly, to ask: “Will you listen to the

appeal of one who has deliberately shunned the

method of war not without considerable success?”

Apart from its conceit, this would appear to be

suggesting that Hitler, too, might hope to get more

of what he wanted by adopting a more herbivorous

approach. Gandhi also instructed a Chinese visitor

to “shame some Japanese” by passivity in the face

of invasion, and found time to lecture a member of

the South African National Congress about the

vices of Western apparel. “You must not … feel

ashamed of carrying an assagai, or of going around

with only a tiny clout round your loins.” (One tries

to picture Nelson Mandela taking this homespun

counsel, which draws upon the most clichéd

impression of African dress and tradition.) Gandhi

was forever nominating himself as a mediator: in

1937 in Palestine, for example, where he concluded

that Jews could demand a state of their own only if

all Arab opinion were to become reconciled to it;

and later unsolicitely advising the peoples of

Czechoslovakia to try what Lelyveld calls

“satyagraha to combat storm troopers.” The nullity

of this needs no emphasis: what is more

striking—in one venerated so widely for modest

self-effacement—is its arrogance. Recording these

successive efforts at quasi-diplomacy and

“peacemaking,” Lelyveld lapses into

near-euphemism. At one point he calls Gandhi’s

initiatives “a mixed bag, full of trenchant moral

insights, desperate appeals, and self-deluding

simplicities.” The letter to Hitler, he summarizes as

“a desperate, naive mix of humility and ego” and as

one of a series of “futile, well-intentioned

missives.” We can certainly detect the influence of

Saul Bellow’s “Good Intentions Paving

Company,” but the trenchant moral insights and the

humility are distinctly less conspicuous.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2

011/07/the- real-mahatma-Gandhi/8550/

35


Seminar on Relevance of Tagore’s Thoughts in the present context: A seminar was held by

the IRI on 21st August, 2011 between 2.30 - 5.30 PM on the relevance of Tagore’s ideas. The seminar

was organized on the occasion of the “150th birth anniversary of Tagore, celebrations.” Prof. Debjani

Sengupta of Indraprastha College, Delhi University spoke on ‘Tagore’s ideas of Nationalism

and Secularism against the backdrop of the Swadeshi Andolan in Bengal. Prof. Abdus Samad Gayen,

Department of Political Science, Presidency University, Kolkata (West Bengal) spoke on the Social

Aspects of Tagore’s Ideas. Details will follow in October 2011 RH —N.D. Pancholi, Secretary, IRI

[Ms. Dipavali Sen has been a student of Delhi

School of Economics and Gokhale Institute of

Politics and Economics (Pune). She has taught at

Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, and

various colleges of Delhi University. She is, at

present, teaching at Sri Guru Gobind Singh

College of Commerce, Delhi University. She is a

prolific writer and has written creative pieces and

articles for children as well as adults, both in

English and Bengali. [email protected]]

The Inner Bourgeois

[BOOK: An Attempt To Assassinate My Inner

Bourgeois, by Yann Kerninon, translated from

the French by Asha Puri, published by Full Circle

Publishing, Delhi, 2011, paperback, b/w

illustrations, pp 216+8, price Rs 295]

Pink and pretty, with a smiling full-length

photograph of the author on the inside

back cover this book has an attractive look.

It is also— as the outer back cover says —a

fascinating read on a fascinating subject.

The original title of the book is D’Assassinat Du

Bourgeois Qui Est En Moi, published in 2009.The

translation is published by Full Circle in

association with the French Embassy in India.

Yann Kerninon teaches at Essec and Centrale Paris,

and is an author, artist and film-director as well.

Asha Puri has certainly not assassinated his work.

Her translation fully conveys the zest of the

original.

“This book is a tribute to the Dadaists, who, at the

dawn of a ruinous century, had the temerity to

celebrate life”.

With this, the book launches into the Prologue

which puts across the question: Who is the

‘bourgeois’?

The actual book is in two parts. Part One consists of

Theoretical Elements, whereas Part Two consists

of certain Jumping Exercises.

The so-called Theoretical Elements part says that

the author’s father had an untimely death due to

cancer and this cancer was caused by the bourgeois

spirit within him. It kept his natural self all bottled

up and did not let him live, that is, be himself. What

is more, the cancer caused by bourgeois spirit was

not particular to himself but common to most

people in the present social structure. “My father’s

lymphoma did not go away when he died. It lurks

hidden, latent and ready to reappear at any moment

in me, the others, each one of us….” (p 33) It is

symptomatic of the Bourgeois. But how is a

Bourgeois defined? In this book, the ‘bourgeois’

has an eight-point definition.

To be Bourgeois is to lack courage, to be afraid of

appearing ridiculous, to judge by appearances, to

pay lip-service, to revere lofty principles, to be

inconsistent, to act in good faith, and finally, to be

false. It stands to reason then that the Anti-

Bourgeois must be “the complete antithesis of all

the above” and have a “radically Non-Bourgeois

attitude.” (p 59-60)

However, “Be they socialist, communist,

Spartakist, Trotskyite, Marxist-Leninist, Maoist,

alter globalist, situationist, punk, surrealist or

anything else, the anti-bourgeois always are and

always have been dreadfully wide-off the mark.”(p

60)

The Anti-Bourgeois seem to be as bad as the

Bourgeois. They are as limited or restricted in their

ideas and behaviour patterns. What Yann Kerninon

suggests is to stop being either Bourgeois or Anti

Bourgeois, and be ourselves. “Dismissing the

36


Dipavali Sen

bourgeois and the anti-bougeois is a must for

anyone who is really seeking to go beyond the

bourgeois within himself.” (p 70)

We must try to be Non Bourgeois. We must go out

and breathe fresh air, find free space. Only then can

we “prevent bourgeois cancer.” (pp 73-74)

Part Two suggests positive ways of being Non

Bourgeois. “Dada believes in nothing, not out of

lack of conviction and cowardice, but out of

conviction and courage…face life without any

chattering or theory….No more dead speeches, no

more dead morality, no more dead principles

passed off as life!” (p 93) People may be critical of

Dadaism. But they cannot deny that it had the

courage of saying a colossal “no” to bourgeois

society as a whole when it had to be said. (p 106)

What Yann Kerninon exhorts people to do is to

emulate Dadaists in daring to be different and to

open up to all that life has to offer. He uses the term

‘microbial’ to describe this process of killing the

bourgeois within. (pp 203-4) He makes it clear that

there is no political agenda in this, but acting so as

to liberate ourselves and end bourgeoism is to

“seize power without ever saying it” and “change

the world radically.” (p 204)

“This will be the real revolution, my friends, the

real silencing of the inner bourgeois! But shush!

Real revolutions are silent…” (p 205)

The ultimate ‘jumping exercise’ he suggests is for

us to shed the fear of being laughed at, and do

something non bourgeois which we afraid of doing

because it would make us look ridiculous, and then

follow it up by doing something which we were

afraid of doing because it would make us look

bourgeois. (p 206)

In the Epilogue, Yann Kerninon writes that the time

has come for “a new class” to form, that of the Non

Bourgeois. It is “silent, informal microbial and

smiling”, and free of “the bourgeois cancer” that

Kerninon’s father had developed. (pp 210-11) The

Non Bourgeois is “a new man” trying to build

“heaven on earth” silently and clumsily, looking

amazing and absurd, running and then taking off.

(214)

The Bibliography mentions a handful of books on

the Dada movement. But it links them together

instead of simply listing them. There is a short

Index, and an additional (blank and lined) page for

the reader’s own observations and queries.

Altogether, it is a remarkable book in content and

presentation. The original French did need an

English translation to reach a global readership, and

that is the need Asha Puri has fulfilled.

For, Liberalization and Globalization are aspects of

the development of Non Bourgeoism. The true Non

Bourgeois is a truly liberated personality who is in

tune with himself as well as the whole world. Here

this translation of Kerninon will be of great utility.

It will help transcend barriers both of language and

bourgeoism.

Take a ‘jumping exercise’ – read this book.

37


Letter to the Editor: Mr. Karanth has passed away.

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen at the Editorial and Subscription Office of the Radical Humanist,

One of your life members Mr. Karanth has passed away. I am his grandson, and when I visited my

grandfather's old place in Mumbai, I found the last issue of the Radical Humanist. The residents who

now live in the apartment handed me this issue, along with my accumulated mail. (I live abroad, and do

not get my mail regularly.) —Thank you.

Dileep Karanth ([email protected])

Note: The Radical Humanists, deeply condole Mr. Karanth’s passing away and convey their heartfelt sympathies

to Mr. Dileep Karanth and all his family members.We sincerely hope that Mr. Dileep Karanth will keep in touch

with us and our movement at least through the RH website: theradicalhumanist.com

Humanist News Section:

I

First Academic Journal Dedicated to Secular

Studies to be Launched International

Publication will be titled “Secularism and

Nonreligion”

HARTFORD, CT, July 25, 2011 – The world’s first

journal dedicated to the exploration of secularism

and nonreligion will begin publication in January

2012. The new journal is a partnership of the

Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and

Culture (ISSSC) at Trinity College in Hartford,

Conn., and the Non-religion and Secularity

Research Network (NSRN), an international and

interdisciplinary network of researchers founded in

2008.

The journal will be co-edited by Ryan T. Cragun,

Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University

of Tampa, and Barry A. Kosmin, Research

Professor of Public Policy & Law and director of

the ISSSC at Trinity College. Lois Lee of NSRN

and the University of Cambridge, England will be

Associate Editor.

The scope of the international academic journal, to

be called Secularism and Nonreligion, will be

interdisciplinary. Its aim is to advance research

regarding all of the various aspects of “the secular”

across societies and cultures.

Articles, written in English, will be accepted from

experts in the social science disciplines of

psychology, sociology, political science, women’s

studies, economics, geography, demography,

anthropology, public health, public policy, law and

religious studies. However, contributions also will

be considered from researchers in the fields of

history, neuroscience, computer science, biology,

philosophy and medicine.

Articles published in the new journal will focus on

the secular at one of three levels: the micro or

individual level, the meso or institutional level, or

the macro or national and international level.

Submissions should explore all aspects of what it

means to be secular at any of the above-cited levels,

what the lives of nonreligious individuals are like,

and the interaction between secularity, nonreligion

and other aspects of the world. Articles will explore

the ideology and philosophy of the secular,

secularism, nonreligion and atheism.

Although Secularism and Nonreligion will adhere

to a traditional blind, peer-review referee process, it

will be an open-access journal, meaning all articles

will be freely available and able to be downloaded

on the journal’s Web site:

www.secularismandnonreligion.org

The editors are now accepting submissions of

academic articles and book reviews, with the first

volume of the journal to be published in 2012.

Additional information about how to submit papers

and publication procedures can be found on the

Web site.

Members of the journal’s international editorial

board include Kada Akacem at the University of

Algiers in Algeria; Andrew Singleton at Monash

University in Australia; Nathalie Caron at the

Universite de Paris-Est Creteil in France; Stacey

Gutkowski at the King’s College, London in the

UK; Stephen Bullivant at St. Mary’s University

College, Twickenham in the UK; David Voas at the

University of Manchester in the UK; Will Gervais

at the University of British Columbia in Canada;

and Guy Ben-Porat at Ben-Gurion University of the

Negev in Israel.

The editorial board members from the United

States are John Alcorn at Trinity College; Daniel

Blackburn at Trinity College; Deborah Cragun at

the University of South Florida; Joseph Hugh

Hammer at Iowa State University; Karen Hwang

Center for Atheist Research; Ariela Keysar at

Trinity College; Juhem Navarro-Rivera at the

University of Connecticut; Terry Parssinen at the

University of Tampa; Frank Pasquale at the

Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and

Culture; Darren Sherkat at Southern Illinois

University; Donald Westbrook at Claremont

Graduate University; David Wulff at Wheaton

College; and Phil Zuckerman at Pitzer College.

38


For more information, contact Barry Kosmin

at: [email protected], or Ryan Cragun

at: [email protected]

Also contact:

MicheleJacklin,

860-297-4285,

[email protected]

—News sent by Innaiah Narisetti

II

Convention of Unorganized workers held.

Gujarat Govt. receives labour cess of Rs.250

crores out of which only few crores are spent for

welfare of the workers.

Social Security Board has not been constituted.

A Convention of ‘Gujarat Unorganized Workers’’

was held here at Gujarat Vidyapeeth on 30th

July.

This convention was addressed by the labour

leaders from Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu,

besides from Gujarat. Organizers of this

Convention, Gautam Thaker of PUCL and Vipul

Pandya, General Secretary of Construction

Workers’ Union informed that Gujarat Govt.

receives labour cess amount from the factory

owners and industries to be used for the welfare of

the labourers and workers. This amount of Rs. 250

crores is received during a year. Out of this, Gujarat

Govt. has been spending only few crores. They

stated that as per recommendations of the Supreme

Court announced in January 2010, every State has

to constitute Social Security Board for welfare of

the workers. Gujarat Govt. has not constituted such

a Board. In this convention, Gitaben Ramkrishnan

of Tamil Nadu, as a co-convenor of National

Steering Committee for unorganized workers,

Miraiben Chatterjee of SEWA, Jayantilal Panchal

of Hind Majdoor Panchayat, Advocate Girish Patel

etc. had made representations.

2 Shri Girish Patel informed that in Gujarat,

Minimum Wages are not being paid to the

unorganized workers. Maternity Mortality Rate in

Gujarat including the women workers is higher in

comparison to that of Maharashtra, Andhra, Kerala

and Tamil Nadu.

Labour Department Officer of Gujarat, Shri Vivek

Bhatt, Asst. Commissioner of Rural Labour

Department who attended this convention gave

detailed information about Gujarat Government’s

schemes formulated for the unorganized workers.

He stated that although Social Security Board has

not been constituted in Gujarat, preparations are on

for constituting this Board. Preparations are also on

for issuing smart cards to the unorganized workers.

It was informed in this convention that the number

of unorganized workers in India is of the order of 42

crores. In Gujarat, there are 2 crores 7 lacs. These

unorganized workers are engaged in construction,

diamond cutting and polishing, chemicals, power

looms, ship breaking industry, agriculture etc.

sectors. Especially labourers working in Kutch

region are unorganized. These unorganized

workers are not given the rights such as Minimum

Wages, Health Safety, and Identity Cards etc.

There is not enough strength of officers,

employees, factory inspectors required for

implementation of labour laws in Gujarat.

Therefore, these unorganized workers do not get

their benefits and rights. During discussions in the

convention it was proposed that:

A memorandum will be given to Govt. of

Gujarat on following points.

1.After reaching an agreement on the minimum

social security cover, this cover or scope may be

extended to include all the workers of the

unorganized sectors. In this, health insurance,

pension, life and accident insurance, maternity

benefits provided under the law may be included.

The coverage or reach of the present social scheme

for workers of the unorganized sectors may be

studied and appropriate changes therein may be

suggested. Common features among the various

similar schemes may also be studied.

2. Registration of workers may be immediately

taken up on hand and all workers be issued portable


39

smart cards like those issued under the Rural

Swashthya Bima Yojana.

3. Social Security Board may be constituted in

Gujarat.

4. Discussions should be held about employment

status and prospects of new forms of bonded

labour, forced labour systems and migrant

labourers presently prevailing in Gujarat.

5. Discussions and deliberations should be held

with unions on the aspects of provisions and

implementation of “The Unorganized Workers’

Social Security Law, 2008” Gujarat.

6. Review about the steps taken for the welfare of

unorganized sector workers in the State should be

taken up.

7. Appointments of required No. of officers,

employees and Factory Inspectors should be made

to ensure implementation of labour laws in Gujarat.

—News sent by Gautam Thaker, (General

Secretary), PUCL, Gujarat

40


Letter to the Editor: 23rd August, 2011

Subject: Appreciation of the Work :

Dear Dr. Rekhaben,

This has reference to my telephonic talk I had with you this morning where in I heartily appreciated

your handling the editorial work of The Radical Humanist. You have changed the body and soul of this

esteem magazine which I read regularly since last 25 years so, more I think of it, more I get in involved

in the verities of subject you publish.

By the way, as I mentioned on phone, since last few years after world became flat from round,

Globalization is a way of life now and under these changed circumstances, the word ‘Radical’ should be

changed to ‘Rational’ making “The Rational Humanist” as it sounds so positive and with time. Today

everything is measured in rationality and so on. Then why not our name? Founder M.N. Roy and

present Royists are the final thinkers on the subject.

This is just a humanist’s gesture to suggest something with global era. Kindly do the needful. Kindly let

me know what I can do for R.H., either at central or state level? With personal regards,

Visubhai Patel,

Chairman, Simalin Chemical Industries Pvt. Ltd., 409, Premier Chambers, RC Dutt Road, Baroda - 390

005. Gujarat, India. Mob.:+91-0265-2344226, Phone:+91-0265-2398097 [email protected]

Indian Renaissance Institute (IRI) Elections held on 21st August 2011

- Newly Elected Board Of Trustees -

Office Bearers:1. Mr. B.D. Sharma - President 2. Mr N.D. Pancholi- Secretary 3. Mr. Narottam Vyas -

Treasurer

Elected Trustees: 1. Mr. Narottam Vyas 2. Mr. Ajit Bhattacharya 3. Mr. Manoj Data 4. Mr. Niranjan

Haldar 5. Mr. N. Innaiah 6. Mr. Ancha Bappa Arao 7. Mr. Bhaskar Sur

Co-Opted Trustees: 1. Mr. Suresh Chand Jain 2. Mr. Vikramjeet Sikand

Life Trustees: 1. Mr. B.D. Sharma 2. Mr N.D. Pancholi 3.Mr. Shubhankar Ray 4. Mr. Jayanti Patel 5.

Dr. Rm Pal 6. Mr Gautam Thakar 7. Mr. Vinod Jain 8. Dr. Rekha Saraswat

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