RE-DISCOVERING BHARAT - Bharat, India and Pakistan The Constitutional Journey of a Sandwiched Civilisation by J. Sai Deepak

Sai Deepak’s second volume India, Bharat and Pakistan: The Constitutional Journey of Sandwiched Civilisation  is a detailed account of  the 1905-1924 tumultuous period, during which  ‘a partnership of convenience between European and Middle Eastern colonialities’ inflected irreparable  damage on on Indic Civilisation. This volume elaborates on how this  period  has also cast a politico-legal dye, with deep fault lines engraved in it, for the post Independence Constitution. 

The Determining period: 1905-1924

 

This period was of great socio-political upheavals in the annals of freedom struggle. To name some of them: Partition of Bengal in 1905, Establishment of Muslim League in 1906, Separate Electorates in 1909, Re-unification of Bengal in 1911, Outbreak of I WW in 1914, the Boer War,  Lucknow Pact of 1916 and the Communal Riots in Malegaon, Malabar, Gulbarga, Kohat, Jallianwala Massacre in 1919, Launch of Khilafat Movement, Minto-Morley  Reforms Report and the Enactment of Government of India Act 1919, Arrival of Gandhi and the  Turmoil in the Congress.

It is  Sai Deepak’s view  that  “…. unless the period between 1905 and 1924 is made sense of …, the assessment of the combined impact of European and Middle Eastern colonialities … on the framing of the Constitution of 1950 would be truncated and historically uninformed.”  The author desires that  the  “misplaced religiosity towards the document (that is, Constitution) is replaced with sense of proportion, perspective and purpose.”   

Colonial Clouds over Indic Civilisation

Wahhabi Movement arrived in India as early as in 1800 and continued to have a strong Indian base. The role of Syed Jamal-al-Din-al-Afghani in the global pan-Islamism and that of Shah Waliullah in Bharat are narrated in detail. In 1877 Syed Ahmed Khan believed in treating Ottoman Calipha as merely a religious head and Ottoman empire as a model Islamic modernity, but with no potential significance for Muslims of the subcontinent. 

However, despite opposition from Syed Ahmed Khan,  Syed Jamal al-Din-al-Afghani’s visit to Bharat around that time strengthened ‘pre-existing pan-Islamic notions’. So much so, by 1918 Fazlul Haque, president of Muslim League, unhesitatingly pronounced that “…. in case of conflict between Divine Laws and the mandates of our rulers, every Musalman will allow Divine Commandments to prevail over human laws, even at the risk of laying down his live.”

 

The advent of European, more particularly the British, rule not only ended this long period of Islamic political dominance but also created a new socio-political dynamic in Bharat. And the 1857 Mutiny became a turning in the British colonial control over India. Emergence of Congress triggered a political movement in the country online with the contemporary developments in Europe.

Congress – Its Colonial Roots and  “Reforms”  Blueprints

 

It is noteworthy that in 1855 Allan Octavia Hume founded the Indian National Union “in full consultations with the Viceroy”. It later became Indian National Congress. Its specific objective was to provide a platform for civic and political dialogue among the ‘educated Indians’ - interpreters between the British and the millions whom the British governed. Freedom from the British rule was never founding objective of the then Indian National Congress.

Author subscribes to the thought that Congress’s colonial roots and policies had deep negative impact on Indic Civilizational Values of Bharat. Congress’s emphasis on western education bereft of Indic Values was in stark contrast with the Islamic Reformers like Syed Ahmed Khan, identified as a British loyalist.  He had placed greater or at least equal emphasis on Islamic and Western education, and his Aligarh model led to the establishment of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama and Jamia Millia Islamia apart from Aligarh Muslim College. 

This development  lead to the  Hindus moving away from their roots  at a time when the  Islamic reformist movements sought  to move closer to the practice of early Islam. Thus, author feels that the Congress helped in further strengthening the roots of Middle Eastern coloniality in Bharat.

Gandhi and Swaraj

With the coronation of honorific ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi had acquired an unchallengeable socio-political position, and an aura which belittled even the senior stalwarts in Congress. Gandhi’s politico-socio-psychological manipulations within the Congress led to further splintering into sub-groups representing different approaches to country’s future. His deeply entrenched belief in Hindu-Muslim-unity, even in the face of stark realities in front of him and  manipulation of people’s faith  in him on the basis of his success in South Africa, played diabolic role in the happenings during 1905-1924. 

In later years his distancing from Congress and yet continuing to have a veto power in the decisions of the Congress corroded the internal democracy within the  party. His repeated Fast-unto-Death, Non-cooperation and Satyagraha caused congenital deformities in the functioning of the party.

Gandhi’s strong support for the Khilafat Movement became a watershed moment in the freedom struggle. It is interesting to note that the British and the allies tactfully managed to subvert the position of Calipha with the help of Ataturk, who maneuvered to get Abdul Mejid, a son of late Sultan Abdul Aziz ‘elected’ as Khalifa.  New Khalifa’s powers were  restricted to spiritual and not temporal. Therefore, the author feels that “Swaraj, from the perspective of the Khilafatists, was a Quran sanctioned Islamic means to a purely Islamic end…. with Swaraj being merely incidental goal as it was not the trigger for the Agitation, dismemberment of the Caliphate was the real trigger. 

By hoping to secure Swaraj with the pan-Islamism, “Gandhi had struck a Faustian bargain, the ultimate price being paid with the blood of millions of people and dismemberment of Indic civilisation’s only sacred geography – Bharat.” 

Therefore, author very strongly feels that “Gandhi helped advance Syed Jamal al-Din-al Afghani’s vision more than Syed Ahmed Khan did. Had Afghani been alive around that time of Khilafat Movement and Agitation, he would have been proud of Gandhi for furthering the former’s vision and cause, and prouder of Maulana Abdul Bari, Maulana Muhamad Ali, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Maulana Abdul Kalam, and Maulana Hasrat Mohani for getting a ‘Hindu leader’ to support the cause of pan-Islamism in such a big way.”

Defying Myths

  

This book defies three myths which have entered into our political discourse.

The first myth: That the Wahhabis supported Sepoy Mutiny in 1857. 

Quoting R. C. Majumdar author states that “Wahhabis demonstrated non-alignment of goals with mutineers which would have benefited the British. And this aloofness was consistent with their central stated belief that Bharat was Dar al-Harb as long as it was ruled by non-Muslims”.

 

Second myth: The British sowed the seeds of the idea of Pakistan with the partition of Bengal in 1905 on religious lines. 

To quote author “What is also important to note is that Afgani’s pan-Islamic ideas and vision of reclaiming ‘Mughal lands’ had laid out the template not just for the Kilafat Movement, but also for the Pakistan Movement, since, essentially, Pakistan was meant to be Dar al-Islam, to which Muslims in Bharat could emigrate by performing hijrat. Pakistan would serve as the new homeland from where jihad could be launched against Dar al-Harb, i.e., Bharat, to ‘restore’ its status to Dar al-Islam” (p.109).

Thus, author clearly establishes that it is a false impression that communal harmony existed between Hindus and Muslims prior to the employment of so-called divide-and-rule policy by the British in 1905. This myth only creates an erroneous impression of Hindu and Muslims being equal victims of British rule. 

Third myth: Jinnah was the architect of Two-Nation Theory. 

Author states that the  Two-Nation Theory is the outcome of inherent separatist tendency of Middle Eastern consciousness, starting from Syed Ahmed Sirhindi under Mughal emperor Akbar to Syed Ahmed Khan of Aligarh. Constant objective was  to secure position of global ummah as well as the position of Muslims in a Hindu majority Bharat under British rule. Therefore, the Two-Nation Theory was a reality which existed much before Jinnah arrived, and finally ended with the partition of Bharat in 1947.

Dormant Socio-Political Volcanoes

Author provides very detailed accounts of Malegoan, Malabar, Gulbarga and Kohat communal riots during 1905-1924 with authentic multiple source references. This account bares not only the discriminatory approaches by the Congress and more particularly Gandhi, but also the inbuilt socio-political fears within the communities which act as dormant volcanoes. These horrific incidents by no account the passé in our history, unfortunately they are destabilizing the post-independent Bharat as well.

Era of Re-discover of Bharat 

India is celebrating its seventy fifth year of Independence as the world’s largest successful democracy.  At a time when the credit for this momentous achievement ought to have been attributed to the maturation of its political system, it is largely ascribed to our Constitution, Judiciary and the deliberations in the Constitutional Assembly. Sai Deepak is of strong opinion that the Bharatiya mind is buried deep under three layers of coloniality – European, Middle Eastern and Nehruvian Marxist / post-colonial. In his trilogy he is trying to expose the overall historical impact of these coloniality on our Constitution, which has led to the deprival of the Indic Values. Consequently, a   country which fundamentally believes in international brotherhood, harmony and peace – Vasudeva Kutumbhakam, is forced to suffer social disharmony and political chaos. Political developments since 2014 stand testimony to the renaissance of country’s innate beliefs.

Book is certainly a product of in-depth research. Presentation with Quotations from multiple sources, detailed Notes, References, Appendices, and Index authenticate the statements.  However, 600 plus pages are indeed a reader’s challenge, though enlightening one.

Looking Back on Independence Saga Partitioned Freedom by Ram Madhav

Independence struggle has been substantially dissected, deliberated and detailed during the past seventy five years. However, the dogmatic distortions in its narration have only increased the hunger for unraveling the mystery surrounding the incidents and the individuals during that long struggle for freedom. Ram Madhav’s book Partitioned Freedom is an outcome of author’s strong conviction that “Talking about that (partition) tragedy was considered politically incorrect and anti-secular. It was only after many decades, when the relations between the countries touched their nadir, pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war, did some debate over Partition and its fallacy begin prominently.”  He is of the opinion that however fictitious the Two-Nation-Theory might have been, it has not only divided the territory but also hearts. Therefore, revisiting horrors of the Partition is needed not just as an academic exercise, nor to hate anybody, but to learn appropriate lessons and avoid another Partition. 

This book deals with many incidents and individuals causing changes in the direction of freedom struggle that lead to the  Partition. 

The Root Cause

The partition of India, which author feels ‘Nobody Wanted it, But Nobody Stood Up’, was a gruesome event and the rationality of it is being questioned even today. Whether all the efforts of freedom struggle yielded the Independence, or the circumstances forced the British to leave India that resulted in our freedom is still a matter of unending debate. It also raised many questions regarding the fundamental sociological construct of the land. Author has dealt in great details the events  leading to and post 1857 revolt, which he prefers to call as First War of Independence and strongly decries calling it a Sepoy Mutiny. These events lead  not only to the emergence of  Islamic political ambitions but also created a deep rift within the freedom struggle. A country which had undergone two major colonial dominance over a millennia was confronted with a wide communal divide within few years of fight for political independence.  The consequence was a Partitioned Freedom.

Division of Bengal – A Precursor 

The intention of the British in dividing Bengal was to suppress the freedom movement led by the Indian National Congress, centered around capital Calcutta and Bengal Province.  Even though, the plan boomeranged by further intensifying the independence effort, it yielded unexpected gift to the colonial rulers in the form of consolidation of Islamic movement and the formation of Muslim League. This, in turn, provided the British an opportunity to invent and successfully implement Divide and Rule policy.  All the events that took place thereafter were leading towards a partition of the country. 

Ambassador of Unity turns Champion of  Partition

Author has dealt with the issue of Hindu-Muslin Unity and the turn of events during the freedom movement in great detail. Jinnah was a London-graduated barrister and an associate of Gokhale. He had joined the Congress in 1906 and had become secretary of Congress stalwart, Dadabhai Naoroji. He had opposed the partition of Bengal, describing it as “ the obnoxious virus introduced into body politic of India with evil design”.  He had opposed the provision of separate electorates under the Minto-Morley reforms in 1909, arguing that they reduced Indian politics into ‘two watertight compartments’. And in 1913, he even told the Islington Committee on administrative reforms that “ I do not see why a Hindu should not be in charge of a district where the majority happens to be Mohammedan”.

Therefore, by the time of Gandhi joining the Congress, Jinnah  was already a tall Muslim leader in the party. Both Jinnah and Gandhi had a common nativity and language- Gujarati, but belonged to two different religions. However, the rift between to two, and Gandhi’s preference to Ali Brothers, despite their changing positions, had grave consequences. Jinnah, an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity turned into a successful champion of partition. He very ingeniously used the Khilafat issue as not only a clash within Europe, but a clash between the Cross and the Crescent, to consolidate the Islamists within the country and to arm-twist the British on the one hand and the Congress on the other to yield to their demands. 

Author states that “... in its competitive bargaining for League’s support, the Congress leadership gave up on those sane and secular Muslim leaders and leaned more and more on the communal and fundamentalist elements in the community”. The consequence was the partition of the country.  

Blind Faith in Unity

Gandhi’s strong belief in the communal harmony were rooted in his success during his South Africa days. This success also crowned him with sobriquet of ‘Mahatma’ which accompanied him to India. However, while glorifying Gandhi’s South Africa success, legal as well as socio-political, the fact that both Hindu and Muslim there were a very small communities in a larger demography cannot be overlooked. Gandhi’s steadfast belief and insistence on communal harmony in a very large country that India was, with its long colonial history led to disastrous consequences and raise many theoretical questions. 

Author provides several instances where Gandhi’s blind faith in unity only further divided the two communities. When Maulana Mohammed Ali, whom Gandhi preferred over then secular Jinnah, had stated  that ‘an adulterous Mussalman is superior to Mahatma Gandhi’ enraged Hindus, Gandhi simply explained the statement away. Gandhi called the rebellious and murderous Moplas as ‘human’ but categorized the conduct of Chauri Chaura protestors as ‘inhuman’. To  prevent any outrage against Muslims in case of his death during fast he ensured that regular Quran recital were arranged during his fasts. To placate feelings of Muslims Gandhi modified Hindu bhajan ‘Raghupati Raghav Rajara’ to add ‘Ishvar-Allah tere naam’. Vande Matarm which was a clarion call for a unified Bengal in 1905 and later on became the national song, was truncated to only first two stanzas in 1937 under pressure from the Muslim League, and finally was replaced by Mohammad Iqbal’s song ‘Saare Jahan se accha- Hindustan Hamara’. Ironically,  the poet who wrote these lines preferred to live in Pakistan! 

Could Partition be Averted?

As late as in 1944, Lord Wavell, the Viceroy had stated “India is a God-made triangle; you cannot divide it.” But within three years India was partitioned between India and Pakistan. 

Therefore,  Ram Madhav ponders that Bengal’s Partition was announced in 1904 but annulled seven years later, in 1911. India’s partition was demanded in 1940 and executed seven years later, in 1947. If Congress had launched Vande Mataram movement to oppose partition of Bengal in 1905, it announced Quit India movement to oppose India’s partition in 1943. The Vande Mataram movement was a grand success. It forced the British monarch to come down to India in order to declare partition null and void. But Quit India movement, after having picked up a nationwide momentum, soon fizzled out. Gandhi himself admitted that “Quit India movement had lapsed’. 

Author ponders could the last seven years before partition be any different (from the seven years of 1904-11)? Could Jinnah  be weakened? And could Partition have  been averted? 

Lessons from the Partition

The vivisection of Pakistan and the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971 throw up larger question for India. Author feels that now “It is not just about the hypothesis whether it [India’s Partition] could have been prevented. It is about whether another partition can knock at India’s doors and how such a calamity can be prevented.’ Acknowledgement by the Indian Government, for the first time in 2021, that the horrors of partition must be revisited in order to learn lessons from it.

Author ponders “Can the legacy of partition in the form of the division of hearts between Hindus and Muslims end? Can they live together as one nation? Or Jinnah’s ghost will continue to haunt us forever?

Valuable Addition

After nearly seven decades after Independence  a great political transition is taking place in the country and there is realignment of value system. This heralds emergence of a new India which wants to see history devoid of dogmas. Ram Madahv’s book exposes several chinks in our freedom history and poses several fundamental questions. Therefore, it  is a valuable addition to such a re-evaluation of events and individuals leading to the partition of the country in our fight for freedom. The book is very informative and provokes the readers to question the prevalent narratives about partition of the country.

This book has meaningfully titled eleven chapters, authenticated by chapter-wise References, two Annexures and supported by scientifically presented Index. It is reasonably priced for its rich contents. 

The Psychology of Money - Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, And Happiness by Morgan Housel

Book under review is based on American environment. Within first year of its  publication in India [2020] it has gone into 9th edition! Morgan Housel is highly decorated financial journalist with many prestigious awards under his belt. However, he himself is an example of how every hard working smart Alec has an equal chance of becoming rich in the United States. Housel’s book is not based on academic theories of finance. But on his observations of financial markets and personal experiences. 

In the chapter  No One is Crazy  he proves that “in theory people should make investment decisions  based on their goals and characteristics of the investment options available to them at the time. But that is not what people do.” With several illustration to prove his point he states “ We all do crazy stuff with money, because we’re all relatively new to this game and what looks crazy to you might make sense to me. But no one is crazy – we all make decisions based on our own unique experiences that seem to make sense to us in a given moment.”

In the chapter Luck & Risk, he states that in a financial world where investment is mathematically established as a science, there is a very important element of Luck which may tilt the outcome of one’s financial decision, however wise or otherwise the decision might be. In the case of   Bill Gates, Housel says that not all his success can be totally attributed to his acumen alone.  Bill Gates has had several instances which should have changed the course of his destiny, but unexpected twists and turn saved him such that today he is what he is. 

In the  chapter Tails, You Win  the philosophy is “ You can be wrong half the time and still make a fortune.” Among several examples he provides to prove his philosophy Housel best quote is that of Walt Disney. “Disney’s first studio went bankrupt. His films were monotonously expensive to produce, and financed at outrageous terms. By the mid 1930s Disney had produced more than 400 cartoons. Most of them were short, most them were beloved by viewers, and most of them lost a fortune.  ..... Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs changed everything. The $8 million it earned in the first six months of 1938 was an order of magnitude higher than anything the company earned previously. It transformed Disney Studios...”

Then he illustrates how Venture Capitalists [VC] may lose in 99 percent of his ventures, but one successful venture might be such that all previous losses might be mitigated to keep him in the business. It is this Tails Win feature that keeps the VCs in positive state of mind in the financial market.

In the chapter Confessions Housel explains his own financial philosophy which stands totally in contrast with normal American way.  He has always maintained 20% savings, even if the interest earned is less than 2% P.A. He has always believed in keeping cash for any emergency than depend on credit cards. His investments have been on long term basis rather than earnings from  short term market chances. He has always believed in protecting his post retirement life. These confessions help in creating trust in his approach to money and investment. Sounds very Indian traditional financial practices!

In Postscript A Brief History of Why the U.S. Consumer Thinks the Way They Do Housel provides highlights of how the consumer in the United States has undergone fundamental transformation since 1945. Much more than the success of policies it is occurrence of series of events which lead to the prosperity that followed. Apart from cheap finance policy, it was the introduction of Credit Card system which acquired a variety of form over a period; and the emphasis on productivity in outputs that resulted in new prosperous American. Credit to Income ratio which was reluctantly low at 20 to 100 in 1950s has grown to 130 to 100 in 2007.  He shows how an egalitarian America today is facing a steep disparity in income and wealth. Keeping up with Joan’s has fundamentally corrupted the very psychology of money among the citizens. 

This book is not only very useful to today’s American investors but also to Indian IT & BT young Indians who have scope and temperment for investments. There is a  generational change with regard to credit in India. Credit Card is normal part of purse of every earning member in the family. Now that an average Indian is influenced by “American Way of Life” this book becomes highly relevant.

A very interesting and  useful book.

Weaponizing Constitution for Political Gains - A Very Deceptive Game by R. Chandra Prakash

Lok Sabha elections 2024 have turned out to be unique in more ways than one. After a ten years of single party rule, once again people have given a mandate which has disproved many assumptions, expectations and even myths. It has established that caste and larger caste-based reservations are more important than all round economic development or national interests; that corruption is a non-issue in politics; that dynasty is still relevant in democracy; that honesty in political life is irrelevant; that secularism cannot overcome the deep-rooted religious commitments, rather it has helped in consolidating minority votes into a very powerful vote-bank. In contrast, this election results have proved that Sanatana Dharma which is supposed to be a massive majority religion of  India, is a caste-ridden  and  highly divided entity.

Finally, it has also proved that the political pundits and the entire media, which was very confidently predicting 2024 Lok Sabha results, is totally disconnected from the ground reality in the country. 

Deceptive Slogan 

If one were to attribute any one factor for the above outcomes of the recent Lok Sabha elections, then it should be the slogan ‘Constitution is in Danger’. The clarion call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking not less than 400 seats victory in 2024 elections was very mischievously and effectively converted by the ‘united’ opposition parties  into ‘Constitution is in Danger’ as their main election slogan. 

The voters seemed to have been convinced by the opposition parties that Modi’s demand for a 400 plus majority is meant to take away the provisions of Caste-Reservations, Secularism from the Constitution and declare India as a Hindu Rastra. And by constantly alleging that Modi is anti-minority these parties were also successful in consolidating Muslim votes in their favor.

Projecting themselves as a “savior of Constitution” the opposition assured to conduct a National Caste Survey and provide caste-based distribution of national income and wealth. Rahul Gandhi went ahead and stated that Congress will provide benefits on the criteria of “jiski jitni aabaadi, uski utni bhagidari”.

Interestingly, the slogan is being continued to be used by the opposition parties even after the election results, like during the oath taking ceremony in the new parliament session. Articles are being published, intellectuals are holding lectures and public discussions on strong belief that  ‘Constitution is in Danger’. 

Therefore, it will not be wrong to conclude that the election results were skewed by the overall effects of this diabolic slogan - ‘Constitution is in Danger’. 

Inherent Limitations

One has to recollect that the circumstances prevailing during the framing of Constitution were far from being favorable. The British were in a great hurry to leave the country and at any cost. The country had to be partitioned to ensure independence and Pakistan was created entirely on the religious ground. Country was a conundrum of religious hatred and massacre. Dr.B.R.Ambedkar’s book Pakistan or The Partition of India very lucidly narrates the prevailing socio-political circumstances of country’s partition.  Departure of Gandhi from the scene had cast an emotional shadow blackmailing every effort, including the constitution making..  

A dispassionate and scientific scrutiny of Constitution Assembly debates will substantiate how the existing circumstances adversely affected its making. 

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar – Burn the Constitution

It would be highly appropriate here to re-call what Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said in 1955. The context was the discussion on Fourth Amendment Bill, the date was 19th April 1955.  The dialogue goes as follows: -      

Dr. Anup Singh: Last time when you spoke, you said that you would burn the Constitution. 

Dr. B.R.Ambedkar: Do you want a reply to that? I would give it to you right here. My friend says that the last time when I spoke, I said that I wanted to burn the Constitution. Well, in a hurry I did not explain the reason. Now that my friend has given me the opportunity, I think I shall give the reason. The reason is this: We built a temple for God to come in and reside, but before God could be installed, if the Devil had taken possession of it, what else could we do except destroy the temple? We did not intend that it should be occupied by the Asuras. We wanted it to be occupied by Devas. That is the reason why I said I would rather like to burn it.

 

[Source: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, The Man and the Message, A Commemorative Volume, Ed. Sudarshan Agarwal, Secretary, Rajya Sabah, Prentice-Hall Pvt Ltd., New Delhi, 1991, page 22]                                       

He had made one more remark which demonstrated his frustration regarding the way Constitution was finally formulated. His statement goes thus: 

People say to me “Oh, you are the maker of the Constitution.” 

My answer is ‘I was a hack. What I was asked to do, I did much against my will.”      

Above statements made within the  first five years of its implementation, by the very person who is acclaimed as the Father of our Constitution, should give a correct perspective of the limitations in our Constitution. He was categorical that instead of Gods it was Devils who have occupied the Constitution. However, the situation in the country has deteriorated during the past six decades and the Constitution has undergone phenomenal transformation.

The Most Amended Constitution in the World

Interestingly our Constitution is declared to be the most Amended Constitution in the World. So far, it has undergone 106 amendments, at an average of roughly twice a year.  Of these, 96 amendments were made before 2014.  That should clarify that our Constitution is not sacrosanct, and has been and can be amended to provide for the contemporary political demands of the nation. 

Point to be noted is that the Congress, which is crying hoarse of Constitution being in  danger, has the stigma of amending the Constitution most times.  Further, Rajiv Gandhi amended the Constitution just to nullify the Supreme Court judgment in Shah Banu case and to mollify the minority community.   Congress has the ignominy of amending the Constitution during the Emergency period, when all the democratic institutions were shut down and all powers were vested with the Prime Minister and her cabinet. It was during the Emergency that the words Socialism and Secularism were inserted into the Preamble of the constitution. These amendments changed the very essence and spirit of the Constitution, beyond the scope enshrined by the framers. 

Why is that during all these amendments by the Congress our Constitution was ‘not’ in danger? 

Era of Vote-Bank Politics

However, now a very strong minority vote bank has emerged in our democratic structure. The Congress, which  has lost its all-India presence,  is leading from the front in this regard. Muslim appeasement has become capital of the dynastic political parties, the  and competition among them is intense to garner the minority votes en-block. Certain political parties, claiming to be protectors of minority community interests, are adorning communal names and yet, claim to be secular.

Consequently, today  there is presence of a strong political undercurrent that the Constitution has failed to protect the heritage and culture of its majority community – the Hindus. Ranganathan Anand’s book Hindus in Hindu Rastra – Eighth-class Citizens and Victims of State-Sanctioned Apartheid provides detailed narratives of how the Hindus are being discriminated in Bharat by the successive governments.  

Today religious terrorism has destroyed the glorious cultural heritage of Kashmir. Demographic structure and cultural history of West Bengal and Kerala have been deeply compromised. Conversely, the personal laws – marriage, inheritance, adoptions etc, of the majority community are  fully regulated, their thousands of temples and temple lands are legally under the control of state governments, temple rituals and management are made ‘secular’. The donations to deities are usurped by the governments.  All these under the title of ‘secularism’.

Most of the opposition political parties have now resorted to caste-based approach to garner Hindu votes. Caste is a strong demographic glue which further weakens the unity amongst the Hindus. This is yet another very smart move to further divide the Hindu community in the performance of their democratic rights. Rajiv Malhotra and Vijaya Vishwanathan in their book Varna, Jati, Caste – A Primer on Indian Social Structure have very succinctly explained what and how Varna and Jati were mischievously misinterpreted into divisive caste for the sake of political gain. 

Newly adopted  Free-bee culture by few opposition parties to gain political power has injected a new dimension to further weaken the Hindu community. Such blatant misuse of democratic framework to win over the electorates at the cost of national resources is definitely against the true spirit of democracy. But neither the ruling governments, political parties or the judiciary is interested to stop this wanton disregard for the national interests or the spirit of democracy. 

Now some academicians are even looking forward to the North-South divide based on socio-political differences they derive from the recent Lok Sabha election results. 

Bharat’s Dilemma 

Bharat is once again confronted with a dilemma  forced upon her by the recent Lok Sabha election results. Modi has to work under the coalition-compulsions during his third term. But it was during his third term that he wanted to carry out necessary fine-tuning of the laws which have been anti-Hindu and pro-minority appeasement  causing huge damage to the cultural heritage of Sanathana Dharma. There was also an urgent need for extensive judicial reforms. All these needed a clear majority in both the houses of the Parliament, which he does not have today. 

Secularism and western world

Very interestingly, it is intriguing that it is not only Bharat which is confronting the existential threat to its religious and cultural moorings. Entire western world  is also suffering similar situations. Large scale racial confrontation and conflict between  the followers of Judaism, Christianity and the Islam. Media is replete with the activities of Hamas, Taliban, Hezbollah, ISIS, Al-Qaida, Muslim Brotherhood and Bokoharam in some part of the world or the other. American flag  is being burnt within the United States triggering wide-spread anti-Muslin political reactions. North America seems to have realized that it has gone too far in being tolerant under secular and liberal immigration policy.

The situation in Europe is still worse. Islam is considered to be the “fastest growing religion” in Europe. There is sudden fear in Holland that if their soft immigration policy continues, soon it will be converted into a Muslim country. Many other European countries such as Germany, France Italy, Greece are  openly declaring a very severe scrutiny in their immigration policies, particularly the immigration of Muslims.

Western world which preached the lessons of Secularism, though furthered their Christian faith, are now unabashedly calling for protecting themselves from ‘Islamisation’.

 

Review of Constitution – A Must

India’s Constitution has failed to protect the Civilisational Culture of the country. It has also been  misused and abused only to further damage the country’s Sanathan Dharma, which in itself imbibes the spirit of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam  and Sarva Dharm Sambhav. True secularism is intrinsic to Hinduism. Otherwise how does one account for the significant increase in the population of the minority community since Independence? That is despite the fact that there is stark reduction in the minority population in Pakistan. Excepting the frequent communal flare-ups, the minority is living in peace and enjoying the political rights. 

Therefore, the right slogan should be that  ‘Sanathana Dharma is in Danger’, and Not the Constitution. Constitution needs to be fine-tuned to protect the country’s civilisational culture and set a standard to the world for racial harmony and peaceful co-existence. 

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"ADAPT - To Thrive, Not Just Survive" by Harit Nagpal (Book Review by R. Chandra Prakash)

Our generation has witnessed an unprecedented transformation around us during the past sixty years.  These transformations have been far beyond the predictions in Future Shock of Alvin Toffler or even his The Third Wave.And it would not be wrong if one considers them to be beyond Peter Drucker’s theory of Knowledge Society. The innovations and the corporations have seeded these transformations. The composition, coverage and operations of business have become complex and risky. Greater competition coupled with narrowing profit margins force business houses to treat the customer with due respect. 

Today’s customer is well informed due to information revolution, particularly through the social media networks. Their wants and  demands keep on shifting, sometimes abruptly.  Such consumer behavior  cause constant business disruptions. The western world, where modern business management got evolved, has thoroughly prepared itself to generate content to deal with business disruptions. Most of thiscontent is prepared by university faculty who also have practical experience in and knowledge of business operations. This is possible as there is a lot of interaction between academia and business institutions. 

Unfortunately, India lacks such environment. Very few business executives have produced content based on their field experiences. Authors like Gurucharan Das have produced some content, but they are more in the micro-economic domain. Therefore, the book Adapt, To Thrive, Not Just Survive, by Harit Nagpal is a very welcome business discourse.  Based on his four-decade long experience in Indian industries, he illustrates how and why business disruptions may occur and their possible solutions. This book has certain unique features.

Features

First, the author has adopted a unique methodology of Case Study, coupled with dramatization of a crucial business challenge in the form of interactions between the people playing different roles. This facilitates the involvement of the reader in understanding its nuances. Second, he has chosen only ten common business challenges like: Customer Segmentation; Customer Communication; Product Quality and Customer Relations, Brand Management, Market Share, Teamwork Culture, and Product Life Cycle Management. Third,location of each of these case studies has been in different countries. In Chapter 1 it is Dhaka, Bangladesh, in Chapter 2 it is Milan, in Chapter 3 it is Malaysia, in Chapter 4 it is Alaska, and then there is Ghana, Pakistan, New Zealand, England, and Thailand. Such a diverse geographical environment provides for understanding the cultural environment challenges in a business. 

Fourth, the products chosen for in each chapter varies. It is Instant Food, Printing and publishing, Television telecasting, Housing, and even manufacturing of watches! Such divergence in product facilitates understanding the market / product dynamics and business challenges. 

Fifth at the end of each of these ten chapters the author provides for ten statements that reader should honestly respond to the business that they are part of, may be as an owner, or a manager. The reader has to answer these statements only in Yes or No choices. This exercise helps in internalizing the crux of the challenge/s explained in the preceding narration. Sixth, following of above methodology provides the readers with an opportunity to analyze and understand ten different disruptive business stories and deal with hundred constructive business questions. 

The book, thus, helps in understanding the organizational structure and response, inter-departmental dynamics, market analysis, customer preferences, product packaging, role of advertising, market cultural environment and the supply-chain dynamics.  

 

Presentation

The book is very imaginatively designed and presented. The cover page jacket has a colorful picture of chameleon’s tail to represent its adaptability to the environment. This also happens to be the essence of the topic of the book namely, the adaptability of business to its environment. 

 

Further, the chapter headings are very intellectually crafted with a more meaningful sub-title. For example: Chapter 1 The Customers We Want, and Those We Don’t Want has a meaningful and attractive sub-title - Navigating targeted segments. Similarly, Chapter 2 Ears to the Ground has - Listening to the customer, Chapter 6 Touching Customers’ Hearts has - Creating a brand that connects, Chapter 7 A House for Everyone has  - Growing the industry and your share of it. The typesetting is also reader friendly. These subtle attention to the minute things makes this book highly readable.  

 

Addition of Page Index at the end of this book would have facilitated its back reference. 

 

Usefulness

The book can be a very useful Handbook for the Business Schools students. This can also be a good-tool for upgradation of decision-making skills of employees in any business organization. 

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Author

Nagpal is a Chemical Engineering graduate with an MBA Degree. The author’s professional career, spanning four decades with Lakme, Marico, Pepsi, Shoppers Stop, and Hutch/Vodafone, gives him the hand on experiences of various business challenges at different levels of managerial hierarchy.  Since 2010 he is with (Tata Sky)   Tata Play, and presently, its Managing Director/CEO. 

 

"Santana Dharma at Crossroads - Waiting for Shiva - Unearthing The Truth of Kashi’s Gyan Vapi" by Vikram Sampath (Book Review by R. Chandra Prakash)

Sanathana Dharma, true to its meaning perenniality, has survived several millennia of political and religious attacks. Today it is being practiced by nearly eighty percent of the population of the country. Islamic occupations of 1300 plus years, and more than two hundred years of Christian colonialism did severely affect the Sanathana Dharma.  The partition of the country in 1947 on religious lines gave the impression that thereafter Sanathana Dharma will have scope to heal its wounds and grow as a resilient Dharma.  

 

But it is during the post-independence period that Sanathana Dharma has suffered challenges to its very existence. Bharat’s rich religious heritage and cultural ethos were mortgaged to fake and fictitious ‘secularism’. The Constitutional amendment to overturn the very sane Supreme Court judgment in the Shah Banu marital case in 1985,  the passing of The Place of Worship Act in 1991, and many other similar steps taken by the Congress party giving the Muslims prominence as a religious minority and using it as a vote bank added new tensions to the inter-religious relations in the country

 

Ram Mandir – A Political Turning point

The consequences of the re-emergence of Muslim political importance in the independent India became quite visible during the Babri Masjid / Ram Mandir dispute. Long drawn political and the legal battles became the turning point. This was evident from the Jan Sangh’s / Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) campaign on Ram Mandir as a counter to the Muslim appeasements by the Congress and few other parties.

Victory of BJP in 2014 with its own majority in the Lok Sabha, and its return in 2019 with bigger majority than 2014,was largely the outcome of this religious divide. The Supreme Court judgement of Nov 2019 in favor of the Ram Mandir, the successful construction and consecration of grand Ram Mandir in January 2024, seems to have ensured the BJP to have a hat trick return in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

With the inauguration of Ram Temple at Ayodhya, not only a long felt need of Hindus has been fulfilled, but also the hurt feelings of the millions of Hindu believers have also been assuaged. This is factually proved by crores of people who have taken a darshan of Ram Lalla with in a very short time, with daily number of visitors being somewhere above two lakhs! However, this fulfillment has triggered the desire to retrieve at least two more holy temple places – Gyan Vapi in Kashi and Lord Sri Krishna in Mathura.

 

Gyan Vapi Temple/Mosque

 

Vikram Sampath’s book Waiting for Shiva, Unearthing the Truth of Kashi’s Gyan Vapi is a very timely work in the above context. Despite the visual proof, a part of magnificent old temple attached to the mosque and the very name of Gyan Vapi symbolizing Hindu Sanskrit roots, there has been stiff opposition from the Muslims and their organisations contending that the Gyan Vapi mosque is not built by partly breaking down the ancient Shiva temple. This has further increased the Hindu-Muslim divide.

 

The History and Sanctity of Kashi

 

The author has established in great details that the city of Kashi, Varanasi with its multiple names, has a long religious sanctity not only to Hindus, but also to the Buddhists and Jains before them. And its Gyan Vapi Shiva Temple of the past was its central religious magnet for the Hindus all over the country from time immemorial. The belief of Hindus that dying in Kashi or at least to be cremated there, is the only way of getting Moksha, the Nirvana. In that it is a Historical City, and the City of Light.

 

Even while the Gyan Vapi Shiva temple is the epicenter of   Kashi, author in great details proves that the city has had multitude of Lingas all over the city. The author provides clarifications for mythological meanings relevance of these Lingas in Hinduism.

 

The Conflict

 

Vikram Sampath elaborately narrates the historicity of the conflict between the Hindus and the Muslims in the context of Gyan Vapi. The Chapter The Spark in the Tinderbox contains the origin and progress of the conflict ever since the Britishers took control of India. There have been records of multiple Hindu-Muslim riots leading to legal tangles in the British courts. Several reports by committees of British officers provide testimony to hard feelings on both the religious groups.

 

The ownership of the lands on which the Gyan Vapi mosque and the partly demolished Shiva temple are located were also the subject of long drawn legal battles. So also the earning of rents from parts of these lands. These legal battles continued after the Independence of the country. The politicization of these conflict was the automatic outcome of post 1990 scenario. In the post The Place of Worship Act of 1991 and the demolition of the Babri mosque, Mulayam Singh govt added fuel to fire by banning puja at Gyan Vapi ruins, even though it was being carried on for a very long time.

 

Shringar Gauri And the ASI Survey

Since 2020 the Sringar Gauri case filed by five women and the never tiring advocate Hari Shankar Jain have added a new dimension to the Gyan Vapi temple/mosque case. The details provided in this book are a record of concurrent history of this issue. The dramatic turns and twists of legal battles from the local courts to the High Court and the Supreme Court and the entry of Archeological Survey of India [ASI] are detailed by the author.

To quote the author on the latest legal development, “This cleared the decks for a proper, scientific, and archeological survey of the entire premises of the Gyan Vapi complex. On the same day, on 4 August,2023, a team of around forty-five ASI officials initiated the survey. After initially bycotting the ASI survey order, the masjid officials and caretakers decided to cooperate with the survey as there few options left, especially with the top court of the land upholding the demand for ASI survey”.  Since the book got published quickly thereafter, the author tries to provide a very brief update till the January 2024.

 

The Wait Continues

One cannot discount the fact that the sight of mosques projecting magnificently over the partly demolished ancient Hindu temples, both in Kashi and Mathura, even after 75 years of independence is not only painful reminders of our historical tragedies, but also very demeaning in the changed social equations due to too much political biased patronage of one religious group over the other. When the ‘other’ happens to be the majority of the country which has borne the brunt of religious partition and post independence discriminations. 

 

Sanathana Dharma today stands at a crossroad. Should it, as an independent country, continue to ignore its past humiliations portrayed by several of its religious monuments at the altar of fake secularism? Or should it recover and reconstruct, at least a few important monuments, as a testimony to its historical religious eminence? Well time alone will provide the right answer.

Bharat No longer International Punching Bag - Why Bharat Matters.? - by S. Jaishankar "(Book Review by R. Chandra Prakash)

In 2019 Indian air force planes bombed Balakot, in Pakistan. This was a retaliatory action in response to Pulwama terrorist attack by Pakistan sponsored terrorist groups. When Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by Pakistan, Bharat got him back unscathed within couple of days.  Whereas, more ghastly Mumbai terrorist attack in 2009 by Pakistan sponsored group had only resulted in India’s paper protests. Till 2014 Pakistan’s “Atomic Power threat” had dictated India’s responses to its every grave terrorist attacks.

Similarly, in 2020 the China’s Galwan misadventure was repulsed by our defense forces, even though it cost the lives of our 20 brave Jawans. Whereas, till then India’s responses to every incursion, ever since 1962 Indo-China border conflicts, has been only paper statements.

Under the threat of Covid pandemic in 2020, the biggest ever evacuation exercise in modern history, India brought back nearly 250,000 of its nationals from across the world.  In 2022 Bharat very safely  and very quickly  had evacuated 23,000 (18,000  of whom were students)  of its trapped citizens from war-torn Ukraine. In May 2023 it successfully evacuated 534 of its citizens from war-torn Sudan. 

In 2023 the conduct of very successful one year long G20 Summit in 92 places all over the country  and on the suggestion of Bharat inclusion of African Union countries (with its own 55 membership) into the G20 fold are considered as a great international contribution. Indian Diaspora the world over is emerging as a very influential nationality and stands as a symbol of international brotherhood.

As recently as in Feb 2024 Bharat managed to get nine of its veteran defense personnel facing death sentences, for alleged espionage, released from a very powerful Islamic nation, Qatar. Inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the massive and beautiful BAPS Hindu Temple  in UAE on 14th Feb 2024 is considered as the most successful diplomatic endeavor. It in fact stands testimony to the growing prominence of Bharat in the international arena.

And to cap it all now the Indian Navy is protecting and rescuing ships passing through the Suez Canal in the Red sea from  attacks by the Yemini Houti rebels. 

Bharat – The New India

It is in the above context that the book  Why Bharat Matters, by none other than present foreign minister S. Jaishankar, gets its extra-ordinary importance.

S. Jaishankar has credible credentials.. Apart from his experienced command over the diplomacy, he is very articulate, and reliably diplomatic, both in his speeches and writing. In Why Bharat Matters the author explains the metamorphic shift in the operation of our foreign policy, retaining  its long tested fundamental principles.

S. Jaishankar desires to discharge two responsibilities through this book. First, “to share the thinking of a rising power with a world that has become increasingly aware of that happening. Second, is to communicate the necessity of accurately understanding global developments to our own people. Only then our nation will fully appreciate the opportunities and challenges that lie before it.”  Without any hesitation it can be said that the reader will feel fully informed about both these objectives after reading his book. 

Cultural Foundations

Author is not only richly experienced in international relations, but his unique quality is his deep understanding and belief in Bharat’s cultural ethos. The author is of the belief that “A major rising power, however, needs more than just an accurate landscape analysis and ability to act on it. It must, first of all, be confident of its own values and beliefs and base its policies on those convictions. These will draw from the totality of its culture, heritage and traditions. That is why India can only rise when it is truly Bharat.” Hence, in this book S. Jaishankar draws inspirations from some of the episodes of our two major epics - the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, while narrating approaches in our foreign relations. 

Author details how Hanuman in Ramayana is perceived as an exemplary embodiment of service who performs his duties undaunted by any obstacles. And Sri.Krishna  who  in Mahabharata is regarded more as a strategist and counselor, a source of wisdom in difficult moments. S. Jaishankar  draws inspiration and parallels from such heroes of  these cultural stories in explaining the current approach to Bharat’s international relations.

Elegant Swan and Modi’s Impact 

Author confesses that the diplomacy of a major country is very arduous. “What public sees is an elegant swan; underneath, there is furious paddling.” He credits PM Modi’s work style, which is his ability to constantly integrate the big picture and the smallest of details. He feels that the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of Modi’s foreign policy is there for all to see. However, the more complex proposition of ‘why’ is hidden in Modi’s deeper commitment to national rejuvenation and the resurgence of a civilization. 

Foreign Policy under Modi 

The book provides an elaborate framework explaining the transformations in Bharat’s foreign policy approaches since 2014. Having provided with the world view from the Bharat’s points of view author explains how our foreign policy is the outcome of our internal political and economic performances. Further, how our foreign policy is influenced by the state of the world as well and its proper understanding in the context of our own strengths and weaknesses. 

In the past decade the world has undergone fundamental changes. Cold War has given way to bi-polar and multi-polar relationships. And therefore ‘New Delhi has shed much of the ideological baggage of the past.’ Bharat has been successful in dealing with quick changes such as Brexit and post Brexit relationships with Britain and at the same time the remaining countries of European Union. Similarly Bharat managed to swiftly and safely maneuver  the political as well as the economic consequences of Russia-Ukraine war. And very recently the Israel-Palestine war. In both these cases our stakes in all the warring countries were very deep. Yet, Bharat managed to remain unaffected and more importantly maintained good foreign relations with all of them. 

Interestingly, today wherever there is international strife, all the countries of the world are looking forward to Bharat to intervene and find mutually acceptable solutions. This is because as per  the author “In the last quarter of a century, India has grown to emerge as the fifth largest economy, a nuclear weapon power, a technology centre, a reservoir of global talent and an active shaper of international debates. Its interests and influence have grown well beyond the Subcontinent.” 

Swimming Upstream

However, Jaishankar is conscious of the fact that the present world order is built by certain key players to serve their purpose, “ a power like India will have to swim upstream for a long time to come.” Yet, henceforth  India will no longer be a punching bag in the politics of others. Author is fully convinced that ”With each passing day it is becoming clearer that India matters because it is Bharat.”

This is S. Jaishankar’s second book, and his first book was titled India Way.-Strategies for an Uncertain World. Both the books, coming from a highly experienced career diplomat and a successful foreign minister, will be very important source of learning for the students of International Affairs.  And of course to those who evince interest in this area.