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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:
Mr. Narottam Vyas (Advocate), Chamber Number
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
Two Historical Judgements
—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
1
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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 RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
[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.
Two Historical Judgements
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,
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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?
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
For more information, contact Barry Kosmin
at: [email protected], or Ryan Cragun
Also contact:
MicheleJacklin,
860-297-4285,
—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
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
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THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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
(Details of the Meeting will follow in the next issue of October 2011 RH)
THE RADICAL HUMANIST SEPTEMBER 2011
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Between Renaissance and Revolution-Selected Essays: Vol. I- H.C.350.00
In Freedom’s Quest: A Study of the Life and Works of M.N. Roy:
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Against the Current - H.C.350.00
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Nationalism - H.C.150.00
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From the Communist Manifesto - P.B.100.00
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Humanism, Revivalism and the Indian Heritage - P.B. 140.00
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Gandhi, Gandhism and Our Times (Edited) - H.C.200.00
The Mask and The Face (Jointly Edited with Marian Maddern) - H.C.200.00
Sane Voices for a Disoriented Generation (Edited) - P.B. 140.00
From the Broken Nest to Visvabharati - P.B.120.00
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From the Absurdity to Creative Rationalism - P.B. 90.00
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