Rajesh Ranjan's Weblog

We have just got a new majority government at Centre and a little more than a year from now, Bihar is going to witness a general election for state legislature. The incumbent government will be put to test along with the issue of whether governance or trivial politics dominates the state known for lasting backwardness and hopelessness.

However, there is optimism that Bihar is now in a position where it can lift it further on the growth trajectory. The common Biharis and non-Biharis, too, have a sense of satisfaction, if not jubilance, for the track record of recent years. There may be groaning against the establishment for various reasons and they may be justified, too. But in the larger interest of the state, it is required that the entire political class of Bihar join hands together and work for the development. It is stereotypical to call for unity but that’s the only way. Divisiveness never begets progress and peace.

There is a need for greater participation by people in the political process. Bringing awareness among the masses about their right to vote is something that solicits our consideration. A virtual group cannot be very effective unless it translates something concrete on the ground. Else, we will remain confined to the wi-fi space of our own urban eliteness doing merely lip service to the cause we claim to champion for. The quintessential organic involvement on ground is not an exaggeration and everyone has to be a party to the movement. The idea of voluntary participation in the electoral politics to the maximum possible extent warrants attention from all quarters.

There is needed a concerted approach toward making common man (and woman) owning up the very responsibility of governing themselves. As Abraham Lincoln once said “Democracy is by people, of people and for people.” We have to recognize it and ensure that the political class follows it. Nine crores people do not exist only to vote for a political party or the other.

Election is not just a five yearly ceremonial event but an opportunity for the masses to decide their own fate. We, the people have to assert that our existence demand a life with dignity and will not settle for anything less. The need is to be aware of our rights and duties and convert our energy in bringing about the change in our mindset preoccupied by the eternal inertia of despondency “kuchh nahin ho sakta” (nothing can be done). Can we rise to the occasion and annihilate the polity based on caste/religion/muscle power, thus making certain only the governance succeeds? While maintaining the unbiased political stance at this forum, we sincerely hope for a highly political activism by all our fellow citizens and electorates in coming months. It is appreciated that readers belong to various political thinking and subscribe to diverse ideologies.

However, the requirement is same: “Vote/campaign for the party you believe in; but be political, at least.” There is no need for quitting jobs or studies for being active on the ground. We can do it from wherever we are. Problem with the middle class is that they are neither privileged nor underprivileged and that’s why; they are ‘aam aadmi’ (not necessarily member of a recently formed political outfit). This is the blessing in disguise, too!!

Let us believe that nothing is impossible and nobody is indispensable. We cannot remain mere spectators to our own lives. A march toward attaining cherished goal is a necessity for all of us. Civil and political activism, to some extent, assures this if not ensures.  Tireless effort is a precondition to achieve high aims; start is more vital.

Last but not the least, hoping for a peaceful Kashmir and North-East and rejecting the atrocities committed to women, i wish for a good monsoon to all. Once again, hope to be part of the process triggering the change for good.

[Disclaimer: Being a Magahi by tongue and a Bihari by birth, a little extra concern exists for this populous but underdeveloped part of my nation, India.]

As a rising middle class – from Brazil to India – competes with Americans, and as new nations embrace democracy and market economies, the US has to be ready to respond to this new world order, President Barack Obama said on May 28^th 2014.

I am not aware of how Brazil’s middle class is faring vis-à-vis the larger middle class of the world and hence, would not further elaborate on the same. Having said that and being part of Indian middle class (if i can claim so), it would be curious to explore further on the identity of ‘great’ Indian middle class.

It has been a long debate if there exists a dichotomy in our society: India and Bharat. Largely, the urban, rich, fluent English speaking people are classified as part of ‘India’ and the remaining ‘unfortunate’ lot are termed as living in ‘Bharat’ and it very often becomes a point of debate in media, too.

This piece will not harp much on data and figures. The principal aim of this article is to explore the nuances of the feeling of being middle class in India and hence, the focus in on the substance and not on figures.

More than 70% of Indians are engaged in agriculture. We hear every now and then that India is predominantly a rural economy even after more than six decades of independence from the British rule. However, the credit must go to this agrarian economy to have given birth to a powerful hub for IT (Information Technology) & related services providing solutions to the world through BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) and KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing).

The bustling city upmarket areas have patrons belonging to this middle class who have been benefitted from the surge in secondary and tertiary sectors of the Indian economy. This class has been the major beneficiary of the opening of the economy post-1991 and being pursue unhindered by successive governments.

To summarize, it would not be out of place to say that the middle class is identified as the population which uses more of internet, e-commerce, credit and other cards for money transaction, usage of fancy gadgets, have air and air-conditioned travel services with leisure breaks from the routine job.

We have debates on the cut-off per capita income to identify BPL (Below Poverty Line) families as well as taxing the ‘super-rich’ class. Between the two, the middle class of India, that is, Bharat is growing by each day. Without being insensitive to the other classes (low or upper), a lot more is required to be done to have a ‘prosperous’ middle class.

Anyways, i leave it to the experts to comment on so-called ‘low’ or ‘upper’ classes.

A nation of more than a billion heads, hundreds of languages, vast geographical expanse, thousands of castes and most important of all, numerous religions – a portrait emerges of how diversified a nation could be when we talk of India. Everything which overtly or covertly affects and influences the behaviour of the nation and its constituents has to have a direct bearing on our thoughts and actions. A tradition of thousands of years despite witnessing several ups and downs, humiliations and jubilations could make India emergent as a mature nation in the world today and everyone is keenly looking forward to the day when India would be the world-leader. But this sweet dream is equally difficult to achieve and requires a complete transformation of many of the existing patterns of Indian psyche. Marching forward in the twenty-first century without discontinuing with the good things of the past (or tracing an entirely new path) is an arduous task for everybody concerned.

Secularism is one such concept which could make us bring about this change from rigidity to the universal values which of course, would be acceptable to all. The term “secularism” appears to have been first used in English about 1846 by Holyoake to mean “a form of opinion concerned only with the issues which can be tested by the experience of this life”. In this way, secularism is equivalent to “atheism” which is non-believing in other-worldliness. There are several other definitions for secularism prevalent in the world today and all have certain values and prejudices to support them. It is defined as “a doctrine that rejects religion and religious considerations”. Secularism may also be deemed as an extension of deism. It is also defined as “a concept which pays equal respect to all religions without sponsoring or discouraging any”. Here comes the controversy surrounding the understanding of secularism and its ramifications for the Indian society.

Secularism could at best be understood to suit the present day world particularly India adopting a somewhat independent approach. This is one concept which when imbibed in its unbiased form could provide a vital tool to the humanity full of diversities to overcome its contradictions. Hence, the meaning of secularism needs to be broadened. Secularism can be defined as “a philosophy circumscribing everything which makes life beautiful for one and all, living or non-living without any bias whatsoever”. Possibly, everybody would identify with this definition as nobody (barring few exceptions) denigrates peace, mutual trust, harmony and the prosperity. The controversy will die on its own if there is no competition to prove one better than the others.

As two persons, even twins or clones cannot think exactly in the same way, expecting a billion mouths to chant in resonance is silly. Therefore, the concept of secularism of the monadic version cannot be accepted by all and some discordance over its acceptance shall be there. And this is a fact that no theory can be imposed on anybody howsoever weak and unimaginative and certainly not forcefully.

Following are four hypotheses (there may be more) to derive certain implications on the concept of secularism in contemporary India taking the historical settings of the ideas underlying into the consideration.

Had there been no contact with any foreign socio-political views and thoughts, India would have been continuing with the ancient traditions of Sanatan Dharma which despite several anomalies is secular intuitively in its universalistic approach.

Had there been no contact with any European (British, French, Portuguese, Dutch etc.) socio-political views and thoughts (i.e.; only upto ‘Muslim’ conquest), the secular ethos might have been the inherited moral values of Sufi and Bhakti movement saints’ teachings which to some extent were a wonderful example of tolerant secularism.

Had India been a French colony instead of being a British one, the scenario would have been different. The French concept of “laïcité” signifying the strict separation of Church and State has the closest approximation in English as “secularism”. However, that does not fully convey the importance of laïcité in France. It may be said that the slogan of the French revolution of 1789, if complete, would read “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and Laïcité!” Perhaps, the leaders of Indian reform movements would have been influenced by the values operating in the French society of their time and India might have inherited those values. Its implication in contemporary India could have been somewhat as witnessed in France recently. As recommended by the December 2003 report of the Stasi Commission (set up by Bernard Stasi to investigate the application of laïcité in France) a law (without considering its merit) came into force in February 2004 forbidding school students to wear any conspicuous religious or political signs or symbols, such as the Islamic headscarf, the Jewish skullcap, large Christian crosses or turban by Sikhs etc.

Had India been a communist state, the secularism would have been synonymous with the Marxism.

Now, coming to the hindrances in the realization of the dream of a rejuvenated India from obscurantist to modern outlook, there is an urgent need to overhaul many of our outdated and useless patterns of societal living. In India of ours, we have everything that can divide us and create pandemonium, which no repair can heal. We have religion-an issue already caused partition and is still a major reason of conflict; horrendous examples being 1984-Delhi riots and 2002-Gujarat riots. We have language-still prevalent is the disrespect to other Indian languages by a person of different tongue. We have caste-still oppressive measures and honour killings occur in some parts frequently. We have region-certain organs of Indian body are aspiring sovereignty. Adding to the grievances, we have further categorization in almost everything such as sub-religious denominations, sub-castes, local dialects, regional ambitions due to the disparities and what not. The need is, therefore, to imbibe in us the identity of Indianness.

Instead of becoming a cementing force secularism has become a matter of controversy and conflict. Secularism must not remain merely a political gimmick instead it should be pursued religiously in all fields. Secularism can survive only when sectarianism withers away. Marketing of faith must be stopped. At the same time appeasement in any way of anybody could only be detrimental to the secular values. Favouritism of any form (majoritarianism as well as minorityism of any identity) is the biggest enemy of secularism. Such acts must be avoided which may sound of partisanship. Secularism must not be left on the mercy of those who do not understand its basic tenets instead indulge in hollow rhetoric for narrow gains. Besides, secularism cannot be allowed to be used merely for religion-bashing.

Our whole approach to the idea of secularism, right from the beginning has been dwindling. Secularism was adopted (without defining explicitly) in the constitution without any public debate over it and without any all-acceptable viewpoint. No clear roadmap was designed regarding how to proceed further. Just putting secularism in the constitution or enacting laws cannot make India secular. In the ideal situation people would become secular instinctively. The approach should be in that direction instead of mudslinging on one another in the name of secularism. Removing all the biases from and entrenching secularism in every Indian’s thinking and in their routine life is a complex ongoing process.

Fundamentalism of any kind is abhorrent and hence secularism must not be left to the mercy of the self-proclaimed secular fundamentalists. The labeling of certain ideas or people as non-secular is the biggest impediment in the process of secularization of the society and this could be fatal to the very idea of secularism. The indoctrination of Indians of the secularism will never happen merely by preaching. The need is of the genuine practice of non-discrimination on any basis whatsoever. The environment should be created in which people behave secularly even in subconscious state of mind.

Religion or for that matter any personal liking should be left to one’s conscience. The government or the state must, in effect, be as neutral as possible with respect to divergent and incompatible religious or social beliefs, neither hindering nor advancing any of them. But it is also the duty of the state to ensure the peaceful co-existence of all without any favour or fear. So, even to bring about social reforms the government has to move with prudence and restraint. It must be understood that statutes may further but can never bring about social reforms.

If the reform has any strength of rationale, justice and morality backing it, it must succeed and take root as an acceptable code of conduct. Legitimacy must triumph even if faced by the fundamentalists’ opposition. As far as the government is concerned, its part as a reformist should only be directive aimed at strict compliance in a certain future. A secular government neither can prohibit any unharmful practice nor can it enforce any against the will of the citizen. The concept of secular state does not merely imply that the state will be impartial to all; it implies that the state will have nothing to do with the private affairs of its citizens as long as they do not infringe on other’s liberty. Therefore, the responsibility lies with the state to make accessible to all its citizens an equally appropriate law besides the sectarian laws and practices relevant to the members of respective sects. In this context it may be noted that as Sati tradition is detestable so is the Polygyny with or without religious sanctions because both are antithetical to the equalitarian values. Our aim must be to establish a society with rational values keen to accept and even sponsor change and innovation.

While furthering the cause of secularism it should not sound fundamentalistic because when one is asking for broadness he cannot afford to be myopic himself. The insistence on secular practice should not be pursued mindlessly rather the effort needs to be in the direction of incorporating everybody including people and ideas hostile to the secularism itself with resilience.

As religion or any such idea of innate origin has a basis of deep entrenched emotional/psychological appeal, to neutralize its harmful effects (although not harmful in its sublime approach) like communalism, regionalism, casteism etc, the approach must be based on such an equivalent and deep-rooted footing instead of superficial and sheer materialistic approach. The inclusiveness of the secularism needs to be propagated with perseverance without any preconception whatsoever. Emphasis should be on cultivating syncretic changes in the traditional viewpoint through scientific innovations to infuse the consciousness of a universal culture in Indian society without undermining the virtues of the conventional beliefs and thoughts.

The narrowness rampant in the society is to some extent also because of the polity as practiced in Indian democracy. In politics, the party and ideology comes first over people and nation. The need is to keep personal likes and dislikes aloof and work for the larger national interests.  National interests definitely do not imply bombardistic parochial approach. One ideology, Indianism, should be kept in mind and work accordingly. And to re-emphasize, secularism may be an important medium for its realization.

This is the utmost duty of the new generation to take the responsibility in this venture. This generation has not witnessed the trauma of partition, caste oppression of the past, language barriers of the ancient and the medieval times etc. It has inherited certain values, righteousness of the forefathers and at the same time is well aware of the modern virtues, latest technological and social advancements. In other words, this generation is a wonderful blend of east and west, old and new. This is an essential ingredient to make India a modern society in true sense without fail.

It is the need of the hour that every Indian should come forward and move ahead collectively to realize the vision of making India mighty and prosperous with liberal and modern outlook which is undoubtedly a Herculean task for a billion people to achieve without any perilous repercussion. But, this is what every Indian must strive to accomplish.

Note: Indebted to people or agencies who shaped the formulation above in any way.

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) with head quarter in Kathmandu (Nepal) is an association of eight countries in the South Asia region. The mandate is to work as group in the region for wide range of issues from agriculture, education, technology to security and so on concerning all the member nations i.e, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

The idea was conceived in 1980 and the first summit was held in 1985 in Dhaka (Bangladesh). Since then, the SAARC has been continuing its journey toward realizing its objective of working as an institutional mechanism of regional and political cooperation with emphasis on economic issues concerning the populace of this region.

A new era is set to begin with Mr Narendra Modi inviting all SAARC leaders to his searing-in ceremony as the Prime Minister of world’s largest democracy. India, being the largest nation among all members both geographically and population wise, does have a larger responsibility in taking the region forward together on the development path. All member nations have also shown the growing warmth in the relation by attending the event which really made it a grand spectacle for audiences: local as well as foreign.

There is a lot more to be achieved in terms of bringing prosperity in the region which must be the single point focus of all the members. The contentious issues can be put on the backburner for a better time in future and the present must be utilized in ensuring the resources of member nations be used in achieving mutual prosperity. A sound neighbourhood would make sure external conflicts do not take away the mutual respect and urge for happiness in the area which is otherwise rich in resources: natural and human. It can become a hallmark for Modi era for the SAARC and the people inhabiting the region. A self-reliant region with common approach to world realpolitik would usher into a golden time for South Asia.

BRICS, however, provides a larger canvass for India to manoeuvre in the geopolitical arrangement along with NATO, ASEAN, OPEC, EU etc. BRICS is an acronym for five member countries:  Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It started the journey from the first summit held in 2009 in Russia. Argentina is slated to be the sixth member in July 2014 summit to be held in Brazil. The association is mainly an economic aggregation and it also has to aim for a greater political and military role in the world affairs.

It is pertinent to note that Hon’ble PM of India Mr Narendra Modi’s first visit outside of SAARC countries is to the July 2014 summit of BRICS nations in Brazil. There are tremendous opportunities available for trade and economic engagement among the member nations. It is all the more relevant considering the present slowdown in the global economy. Cooperation may also touch upon areas such as agriculture, education, security (intelligence) et al.

In my personal opinion, this association of five major emerging economies must be strengthened further by expanding with the inclusion of more countries like Argentina, Mexico, Nigeria, Turkey and Indonesia. Another important step could be to make Japan, Germany and Canada as special invitees. This would give the much needed thrust to the voice of BRICS.

As a beginner in the area of International relations, i have immense hope and expectation from both SAARC and BRICS. With the resounding mandate entrusted to Modi and the profound goodwill he enjoys of the people of India, we can be quite hopeful to utilize such forums to the benefit of people of each of the member nations, in general and Indians, in particular.

With the increasing irrelevance of Non-Aligned movement (NAM), another chapter on the actual achievements for SAARC and BRICS shall be written in due course.

The United States of America represent the height of the capitalistic values expressed in almost all their ventures be it military, transnational companies, foreign policies. Decisions are made based solely on the profit motive and this process is insulated from the political party in power. The foreign and economic policies of the USA remain unchanged historically with slight modulations and are largely determined by the dominant American interests.

US policies in Vietnam, Iraq etc, War on Terrorism, ‘teaching’ Democracy to the world so on and so forth are repeat reminders of hegemonic pursuance of the US. The economic policies under the guise of ‘good governance’ have to be critically analyzed in the wider framework of the multi(inter)nationalism.

The handling of ‘visa’ issue for our present Indian PM (earlier Gujarat CM) Mr Narendra Modi can be understood aptly in the context of wider framework shaping the economic and foreign policy of the US. First, they imposed ban and now inviting our Hon’ble PM. Without escalating the issue further, our interest is to find out ways and ensure a win-win situation for both of our countries.

Anyways, looking forward to the September meeting between the PM of India and the President of the USA.

While refusing to compartmentalize myself in any strict ‘ideological’ bogey, i would like to state that my viewing of India as a nation is as anarchic as anything yet as systematic as it could be. I would use the space i have negotiated in the first sentence to discuss the idea of a nation.

Does it matter whether we recognize the place we live as nation, state, country, district, village, neighborhood etc? Perhaps, does; may be, does not? It really becomes uncomfortable for me to categorize things black and white. There has to be a grey area where we can negotiate the diverging and contradictory views through the process of dialogue.

In this background; let us analyze India as a ‘nation’. In old days when there was not much transportation and the village-living was predominant, there was hardly any migration except related to marriage. Most of the time, people died at the place of their birth. There existed a nation which was a local village.

With increasing mode of communications and occupation-related migrations, the frontier is getting wider by each passing day. Hence, the imagination is also getting inflated. With the birth of a nation-state and a defined politico-geographical boundary, it now becomes critical to provide derivatives for the nation to exist.

The history of 5000 years, cultural diversity, inclusion of every part in history books and such acts are nothing but attempt to hold the imagined communities together and make them believe that the nation is very much visible and of course, intact. The effort is to create a common sense that we are a nation and it has to be worshiped and all ‘national symbols’ are ritualized, perhaps for the same reason.

It is important to note that this is done to provide ‘citizens’ a good and holistic life. The caveat, though, remains, nation after merging with the state must not become leviathan and definitely not imposing totalization. It then repels any thinking person and definitely, i am not an exception.

Little space for dissent must be allowed so that any corrective and preventive measure can be taken suitably and before a disaster strikes.

What came first: Society, Nation or State? We may agree largely that society is perhaps the most primitive form of a large human formation beyond kinship. Various theories operate in this domain but invariably all reinforce the idea of society as the most basic form of human grouping as an entity. When society comes into being, it is required to have some regulation to sustain that structure.

The concept of forging emotional bonding among the group is an attempt to bind the collection into a tangible unit based on an intangible we-feeling. Sometimes this is referred to as ‘culture’, rightly or wrongly.

Many times the scheme of a nation is an imagined one and sometimes constructed or manipulated also; based on race, religion, language etc. To ‘protect’ this nation, state is born. The state is a political manifestation of nation which brings law in place of mores and regulation as a replacement for restraint. The design of ‘nation-state’ seems to be a juxtaposition of these two converging processes and both of them reinforce each other to maintain each other.

India, in strict European terminology, was born as a nation-state in 1947 after a prolonged battle with British imperialism. It was the inertia of the freedom movement that was visible till 60’s and the romanticization of participating in the making of a nation was the dream in every eye. This got distorted by the events of war with China, Pakistan; dwindling economic growth, inefficiency of steel-frame of bureaucracy, droughts and food-crisis etc.

The discontent among the people got deeper and deeper which resulted into movements such as Naxalism, Women’ movements, Dalit & OBC movements, Linguistic movements and Total revolution [Sampoorna Kranti (1974)] to assert the respective positions. 1974 Emergency, Operation Blue Star & anti-Sikh riots, Mandal & anti-Reservation protests, the appeasement act following the Shabano judgement, RJB-BM movement, Godhra-Gujarat riots are some of the pondering events in the post-independence India.

The liberalization, Privatization and globalization (LPG), which was started in late 80’s and got reinforcement in 90’s has changed the Indian middle class in a great way which is pro-globalization and anti-communal. LPG though on one hand has been successful in raising the per capita income; it has failed in containing the widespread unemployment and poverty because of the unequal and unethical distribution of the resources.

A lot more required to be accomplished for India, the nation: renewed hope under the able leadership of PM Modi.

On June 8, 2014, Hon’ble PM Mr Narendra Modi stressed to focus on skill, scale and speed. He said this on the occasion of launching the book ‘Getting India Back on track—an action agenda for reform’ at a function held in the national capital, New Delhi.

We need to understand why this appeal is important and relevant in the context of the times we live. To me, the main reason for India’s backwardness lies in the ‘laidback attitude’ we proudly exhibit in various occasions in our daily life. It is omnipresent in almost all spheres of our interaction with self and others in personal capacity of otherwise. This attitude is definitely secular and is found among almost all citizens irrespective of caste, creed, religion, language, profession and so forth with little variation.

The requirement is for Indians to realize the degradation this attitude of negligence brings and hampers the holistic development: first of the human resources and subsequently, the nation as well.

No decision is beyond the risk of failure but indecisiveness is definitely lethal for the process entrusted with the progress of mankind. Common people instead of taking steps to improve things, wait for someone else to steer the movement. We all want someone else to perform and our sake. The need is to realize the importance of ‘self’ in making things happen.

A mammoth ‘mass awareness’ is required to overcome this slack approach we Indians possess. Either by ignorance or by insistence, first we do not bother about rules and regulations, and when we find ourselves in trouble; the easiest outcome is to curse everyone else for the plight. The government or the authorities concerned become the first victim. This carelessness can and has sometimes cost dearly. Let’s understand and inculcate proactive approach among common citizens to focus on skill, scale and scale with a special focus on young Indians

Nothing is impossible and nobody is indispensable! Civilizations continue in one or the other form. Development is also a subjective opinion shaped by the available resources and requirement of time and place.

Let us shun the all pervasive ‘laidback attitude’ and work together towards realizing a happy and prosperous India for one and all.