Not many in India have perhaps heard of Joseph Campbell. This blogger’s introduction to him came a decade after his demise one evening channel surfing in a hotel room in the United States. The local Public Broadcast Service station was running a fund raiser and they were giving away a DVD of Bill Moyer’s interview with Joseph Campbell titled “The Power of Myth“.
Those of you wondering what an obscure American philosopher has to do with the Gujjar demands, hold your horses the answer will become obvious soon.
The Upanishads and every other great work of intellect produced by Ancient India have always evoked an adolsecent curiosity and a quaint fascination. Kind of like the Taj Mahal, you loved the fact that it exists, were proud of it, but never really did much about it. Listening to Joseph Campbell speak on the Power of Myth, however rekindled an intellectual interest in the Upanishads.
Coming back to the Gujjar demands and the many Indras paradox.
?Joseph Campbell narrates this anecdote from the Upanishads on Indra. The fully story as narrated by Campbell can be found here titled “Indra’s Universes“. In summary, Indra is trying to build the most magnificent palace ever and engages Vishwakarma for the task. An exasperated Vishwakarma unable to satisfy Indra’s ever-changing demands pleads the Trinity, ?Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to bail him out. So here you have Indra being confronted by the Trinity in the guise of a small boy and a Yogi to convey the below message.
“Former Indras all.Through many lifetimes they rise from the lowest conditions to the highest illumination. And then they drop their thunderbolt on a monster, and they think, ‘What a good boy am I.’ And down they go again.”
You know, every time an Indra dies, a world disappears? these things just flash by like that. Every time an Indra dies, one hair drops out of this circle on my chest. Half the hairs are gone now. Pretty soon they will all be gone. Life is short. Why build a house?
“Indras before you. I have seen them come and go, come and go. Just think …. Brahma opens his eyes, and a world comes into being, governed by an Indra. Brahma closes his eyes, and a world goes out of being. The life of a Brahma is 432,000 years. When he dies, the lotus goes back, and another lotus is formed, and another Brahma. Then think of the galaxies beyond galaxies in infinite space, each a lotus, with a Brahma sitting on it, opening his eyes, closing his eyes.
And Indras?
There may be wise men in your court who would volunteer to count the drops of water in the oceans or the grains of sand on the beaches, but no one would count those Brahmin, let alone those Indras
Like the Upanishadic Indra, the present day Gujjar leadership is so full of itself that it has lost all perspective on the value of life of those very Gujjars it is desperately?seeking entitlements for.
Offstumped Bottomline: From sharing a platform with Criminals to driving a wedge in the Vasundhara Raje Government, there is no Dharma?in the blatant casteism of the Gujjar Leadership.? As it digs its heels in to a maximalist, “all or nothing” position on ST status for Gujjars, the leadership would do well to engage itself in a Upanishadic moment of introspection.
It would then realise how trivial these entitlements are in the grand scheme of Life and how inconsequential the “entilement seekers” become like the many Indras.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Huh?
With all due respect, mereko khaas kuch chamka nahi….
Sud – moral of the story “entitlements are like the mythical palace, never satisfying, entitlement seekers are like the many indras, countless and inconsequential footnotes in history. If you want to be a leader and want to do something of consequence, then get a perspective on this grand scheme and make a contributions that is lasting and timeless. Don’t squander away the short life span of your and others that follow you chasing a mirage that will never satisfy wants while leaving nothing more than mere footprints in the sands of time waiting for the next storm to blow over”.
Y,
I understand the moral of the story but the Upanishadic twist almost lost me there.
If you want to be a leader and want to do something of consequence, then get a perspective on this grand scheme and make a contributions that is lasting and timeless.
As a tantric analyst of the dismal science (an Economist in simple words), lemme explain how I see what you are saying through the lens of economic principles….
1. In the long run, we are all dead anyway.
2. Homo Economicus should therefore be concerned with maximizing the NPV of his own utility through his actions. Which is what Bhains-La is doing, seems to me.
3. Why he expects to get away with it? Well, refers me to an old but nevertheless true facet of human nature called the ‘Tragedy of the commons”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons
That will say it all. As long as pvt use of public resources (‘the commons’) fetches a higher marginal return, there will be clamor for pvt rights. Unless that marginal return is reduced to zero, this tamasha will continue.
Economic problems require economic solutions. The casteism thingie is a socioeconomic problem, of course. Solution system will be a little more complex, I expect.
Sud
WOW!! Thats a very powerful message.
I wrote a lengthy response explaining an economic POV on the current impasse but seems like either it got lost in transmission or got lost in moderation….
Waz happening??
BJP should work behind the scene without undermining Basudhara Raje. This is a tricky issue, but stakes are too high.
Congress has become a party of rascals who can do anything to gain politically.
A great depiction of what is happening now.
What is being done in Rajasthan is not a fight for social justice, but terrorism. It must be squashed with an iron fist. I know India is unfamiliar to the concept of pursuing unlawful elements, but maybe now is the time to learn. I don’t care what her BJP colleagues are pressuring her to do, I don’t care how Sachin Pilot and company are using this as some sort of rallying point, Vasundhara Raje has held firm to her beliefs in not giving into the goondha’s…she has earned my respect for it whether or not she wins later this year.
Like somebody explained on this blog earlier…. Amma Jayalalitha used the iron fist against agitating sarkari employees and even sacked a good lot of them. She earnt my respect then.
She crashed out in the subsequent 2004 polls taking with her the NDA’s chances of returning to Dilli.
Her rival the crafty, morally and intellectually bankrupt DMK OTOH went around promising color TVs and what not in a populist overdrive seldom seen on the desi pollscape before. Result? The thugs got to sweep both the LS and the State Assy polls.
Aah, miss my last post now. The economic concept that explains this kinda human behavior is called the ‘tragedy of the commons’. It was always easy for DMK to be generous with taxpayer’s money – public cost for pvt gain. The same repeats now in Rajasthan too.
Only that Gujjars are not the Indras (rulers) of the world. Isn’t it ridiculous to argue that money/entitlements/power are trivial in the grand scheme of life, when we are discussing political problems?
(PS: Don’t take this to mean I am supporting Gujjars’ demands.)
Talking abt greatness, reminds me of an old sher…
arz hai…
Khudhi Ko ker bulund itna ….
ke har taqdeer se phele
Khuda tujhse poochey
“Bata teri raza kya hai”
/Wah wah. Ershad…
And we should re-name this saga “Bhains-La ka Ghosla”.
Or maybe “Bhains-La ka Shangri-La”. The kinda utopia these dorks are dreaming up consists of grand chimeras onlee.
Btw, Jujung, I agree with what you just said. It was exactly what I first thought when I read Y’s original post. We’re talking the real world here….
Sud – it got into spam, de-spammed it.
Jujung – you need to get out of the “class warfare” mindset. The reference was to “gujjar leadership” not “gujjars”.
As far as the economic argumentsv go of course the suggestion is not to recommend ascetism.
Sud, jujung – both of your comments suggest to me that you have not read the “full story”. Click on the link and read the full story about how indra is dissuaded from asceticism in response to the above moral.
The bottomline is it is not about the pursuit of materials or self denial. It is about the “how” of material pursuit.
Don’t just hanker after entitlements with a deep sense of outrage. Instead focus your energies on building Institutions that will provide for generations long after you are gone while instilling a sense of industry and a culture of enterprise to spawn more such institutions that survive the test of time.
A rajasthani example that comes to mind is BITS Pilani.
Guys…. @ Murali….
I had posted on the earlier K S Bhainsla thread that this guy is nothing but a Congress Stooge…..
I had reasoned why I felt that way.
Now I am convinced by these two article in the IE today.
The Congress has been slow pedalling the issue and waiting for an appropriate time to spice things up.
The timing of this flare up needs to be investigated…
Here’s the First article:
BJP asks Cong to either shut up on matter or clarify its stand on ST status
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/315476.html
This is where the Congress is Nailed:
“The Congress has so far skirted the CM’s claim that it was up to the Centre to decide whether Gurjjars could be given ST status.”
The Second article:
Gurjjar quota hot potato is passed on to Law Ministry
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/315507.html
“In her letter to the Minister’s Office, dated January 17, 2008, accessed by The Indian Express, Raje wrote that the Union Government should immediately bring in the necessary constitutional amendment so as “to make separate provisions for reservation for Gurjjars, Gadia Lohar, Banjaras etc by treating them as a special category akin to nomadic tribes, other than the existing categories of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes for providing 4 to 6 per cent reservation in their favour”.
Further, Raje underlined the need to take “urgent steps” to amend the existing constitutional provisions to provide for “at least 10 to 20 per cent reservation in the interim in favour of the Economically Backward Classes”.
Above proves two things:
1. Rajasthan CM , Vasundhara Raje has been following up the matter with the Central govt.
2. The onus lies with the Tribal affairs ministry to decide if the Gurjjars are to be included in the ST category.
As I said the Congress is gearing up for polls in Rajasthan and they are doing what do the best: DIVIDE AND RULE.
On personal note I am against any kind of casteism in India.
Guys….Vasundhara Raje is doing her duty, this is tough as Murali and SUD mentioned about AMMA’s similar actions in TN which cost us the election in 04….
I like the BJP this way, a party of principles….The must scruplously followed.
Ahoy…Vasundhara….You are the queen of Indian hearts…..
This would be funny if it were not tragic.
After 15 years of screaming for reservations, they have finally been implemented. Now there is no further pie to snatch from the upper castes.
Now the real insidiousness of reservations comes to play. Gujjars will want ST status. Meenars will not want them to have it. There will be more inter caste clashes.
If a goal of reservations is to reduce class differences, you can see that it has failed miserably. Antagonism between different communities will only increase.
———
I am also struck by the hypocritical nature of your argument.
Why is it OK for other castes to demand better status through reservations, but it is not OK for the Gujars to do so?
Hey Murali….
This is not related to Bhainsla/Gurjjars or Rajasthan but it is connected with BJP and Chattisgarh:
Gift of onions overwhelms Raman
http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?main_variable=STATES&file_name=state7%2Etxt&counter_img=7
I MUST SAY THAT ONIONS ARE A VERY IMPORTANT POLL ISSUE !!!!!!!
Jayalalitha did not lose in 2004 entirely because of her stern action on striking employees. The big reason she lost was that she took on the powerful christian missionary groups in TN with a anti-conversion bill.
LET CONGRESS COME OUT AND SAY IF THEY SUPPORT GUJJAR DEMAND OR NOT……
i am seeing the same story played by CONGRESS along with MSM during Kandahar.
THEY WERE SILENT ON THE ISSUE AND ASK GOVERNMENT TO PERFORM ITS DUTY AND CONSIDER PASSENGER SAFETY.
AND WHEN TERRORIST WERE RELEASED BOTH CONGREE AND MEDIA STARTED BLAMING THE GOVERNMENT.
NOW WE HAVE BLOGS SO CONGRESS MUST NOT BE LET OFF EASILY AND THEY MUST TELL THE COUNTRY IF THEY SUPPORT GUJJAR DEMEND OR NOT.
CONGRESS MUST EXPLAIN
Yossarin,
1) Is this not how it is supposed to work ? Bainsala is just taking it to the streets like it is meant to be. This is how political battles look like in India.
2) Ramadoss obtained MBC status for Vanniars in exactly the same way. Why cant Bainsala have that option ?
3) The Christians and Muslims obtained a separate quota in TN this year after threatening a massive stir.
4) The UPA government has made it amply clear that these classifications today are the key to future balance of power and resource allocation. For example : The quota in private colleges and private employment will first be on the lines of SC and ST.
5) Once you obtain classification – you are forever immune from further inspection about your social indicators. It is a one time , now or never protest. Ask the OBCs in Tamilnadu who are approaching a century of benefits. Or ask the Meenas.
6) The 5-judge bench in the Thakur case has unanimously rejected “strict” scrutiny of legislative action – even in rights cases. In other words, data is not essential. So, what non-violent options are available to Bainsala ? (Candle light vigils and black badges ?)
The central question is :
If the Meenas can have it why not the Gujjars ?
But I guess that is like asking “Why does Bengal have only 6% OBC while TN has 74% ? ” The entire system needs a rational data based overhaul. If none of the pillars of our democracy have the courage to take on the task, we have no choice but to interpret acts of violence as legitimate expressions of injustice.
>> Don’t just hanker after entitlements with a deep sense of outrage. Instead focus your energies on building Institutions that will provide for generations long after you … >>
Yossarin,
The stock answer to the above is :
Sure, but can we have both ?
This is the classic example of the “free rider” problem in behaviour theory. Better institutions, primary education, even clean air, better roads, are nonrival (non exclusive). Once they are available, everyone can ride for free. There is no incentive for a group to focus on it. At least as long as there are other groups who also possess other benefits exclusive to them.
So the two categories really are :
“Better institutions” and
“Better institutions + ”
The Gujjars want the latter.
What’s happening here is two communities belonging to more or less the same class fighting it out on entitlements. Intraclass struggle? Class struggle is supposed to be lower classes vs. higher
Bainsala has been paid by congress for this agitation. BJP has done well by refering the matter to centre. Congress has no clear yes/no stand on the issue. It is using the issue(like aarushi talwar murder case)to divert attention from jaipur blasts & karnataka debacle. They will never learn lessons from past (Punjab , Assam militancy) & will burn the country for their political gains. Can’t understand why people vote for this sucking party.
@satya…
“Can’t understand why people vote for this sucking party.”
True pal….I have posted a long one proving Congress complicity on this issue.
Congress is trying to cover up the Jaipur Blast episode and is doing a very bad job as usual….
yossarin, u sure you are not turning cocky?
There was be much simpler way to convey this point and while i respect your creative freedom, getting upanishads in between just didn’t make any sense to me.
Well,
I must clear two points about TN here. Jayalaitha lost the elctions for a number of reasons including anti-incumbeny, TN is famous for voting out the ruling party. The christians, my foot dont have any political say in TN. 2/3rds of christians in TN are from kerala and dont even vote in TN. Muslims and X-tians did not threaten any stir for quota. It is Karunanidhi who did it just to spike advani after the Ram setu issue. Karunandhi will do anything to spike brahmins (for him hindus means brahmins).
About Rajasthan, I cant help noticing this about the Congress and its impotent allies.
Nandigram took place and cover that up immediately they diverted our attention to the taslima flare up (lead by a congress WB MP)
Jaipur Blasts took place and immediately they have this Gujjar Riots (I am sure lead by some congress MP albeit hidden)
>> The christians, my foot dont have any political say in TN. 2/3rds of christians in TN are from kerala and dont even vote in TN
Are the christians in the districts of tirunelveli, tuticorin, and kanyakumari all from kerala? some places could even be christian majority. if you travel between tirunelveli and tuticorin by road, try to observe a little.
>> Muslims and X-tians did not threaten any stir for quota. It is Karunanidhi who did it just to spike advani after the Ram setu issue
reservations to minorities was a poll promise dmk made in 2004 elections. ram setu cases started definitely after 2004.
TMMK (muslim front) started a agitation in TN, they even marched to parliament in delhi for reservation.
But i dont believe that an anti-conversion law against 5% christians in TN affected her performance in 2006 elections.
quoting stories with morals from centuries old puranas is all fine.
But Bainsala sees anbumani ramadoss in headline news today. Ramadoss senior got most-backward status for his community in the eighties thru violence. twenty years later, anbumani is a union minister, unassailable even after several adverse court verdicts and vaccination deaths. Bainsala sure has some sons or grandsons. I bet he is thinking ‘ten, twenty years from now, Junior is a union minister. all this trouble is not in vain’.
political class will not clear this mess. atleast not for the next twenty-thirty years – i assume that to be the life of the current OBC political masters. Unless there is some ’sudden removal’ as suggested by karan thapar.
You may have seen Javadekar (BJP) statements during recent OBC quota case.
Yes,
and here is the ploy that BJP is playing, it is sticking strong to its stand which is good. Now it is upto the sensible voters to see through this congress drama (i am sure many in rajasthan have seen through that now) and vote again for BJP.
>> it is sticking strong to its stand which is good. Now it is upto the sensible voters to see through this congress drama
i doubt if bjp can get off this mess that easy. it is the bjp in rajasthan that made Jats into the backward classes list. in a way, you could argue the gujjars are provoked to agitate because of that.
since we seem to like stories with morals, I am tempted to post this story with a good moral – my all time favorite. if you see any relevance to the topic, fault is not mine.
over to the story -
Once upon a time, there was a non-conforming sparrow who decided not to fly south for the winter. However, soon the weather turned so cold that he reluctantly started to fly south.
In a short time ice began to form on his wings and he fell to earth in a barnyard. Almost frozen, a cow passed by and crapped on the little sparrow. The sparrow thought it was the end. But, the manure warmed him and defrosted his wings. Warm and happy, able to breathe, he started to sing. Just then, a large cat came by and hearing the chirping, investigated the sounds. The cat cleared away the manure, found the chirping bird and ate him.
Morals to the Story
1. Everyone who shits on you is not necessarily your enemy.
2. Everyone who gets you out of the shit is not necessarily your friend.
3. And, if you’re warm and happy in a pile of shit, keep your mouth shut!!!
@Murali/anonymous….
Don’t you worry guys….GOD IS GREAT !!!! He is watching and all this very nonsense will be fixed in due course.
Already, I have read some where ( I think in Pioneer), that the Gurjjars want only Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Rajnath Singh to come and mediate on the issue.
See, the Gurjjars themselves dont trust the Congress.
But, to K.S.Bhainsla, it is un becoming of an officer of the Indian Army, you have tranished the Army culture. Strictest possible action must be taken by the officer class of the Army against him….
VASUNDHARA….THE QUEEN OF INDIAN HEARTS !!!!!
Jiggs
You’re right, “Sabko apne apne karmon ka fal ya dhand tho milega”. By the way we should find out if this bainsala retired decently or was courtmarshalled for being a congress stooge in the army and letting by some infiltrators!!!!!
Murali….
I tried googling him, but only current and last years trouble records….Nothing much on his service records…..
@Murali….
What views on AP, where bye elections are taking place?????
No chance there man, YSR is a total goonda. He has a good name with farmers and has a huge network of rogues all through the state. It is really tough to unseat him or the congress from andhra. In fact many circles say that Chandrababu naidu has given up. He plays caste politics very well and has the kamma lobby also to support him. In fact i am surprised that not many people talk about him outside AP. If the by elections springs up a surprise i will double surprised. I even have relatives in Rajamundhry (close to coastal andhra) who will vote for him!!!!!!!
by the way jiggs read this Swapan Da rules!!
http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=swapan%2Fswapan200%2Etxt&writer=swapan
Murali,
I agree abt Andhra. YSR is essentially unstoppable there now. The only way to move fwd would be for the TDP to merge into the BJP and then take a staright contest between the big 2.
The situation in coastal Andhrais alarming. A church in every village has risen apparently. Where’s the money coming for for such a huge enterprise, hard to say. Social demographics and dynamics are changing village by village, taluka by taluka. It has to be a straight fight between the dharmic and adharmic forces for the good guys to have any semblence of a chance in Andhra.
@Guys…
TIMES NOW NEWS ALERT….
1.The Channel has procurred a copy of the letter written MMS to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to look into the demands of the Gurjjars.
2. Subsequently a copy of the reply to Vasundhara by MMS to her initial request for the quota is also with the channel.
What does this mean?
This means that Vasundhara Raje has been speaking the truth all this while and it is the centre which is creating un neccesary problems…..SACHIN PILOT …STOP FLYING AND LISTEN TO THIS…..
@Murali….
SUD is right, by merely giving up does not help. I have written before that CBN must come clear announce his ideology.
Sickularism does not sell amongst the educated classes any longer dude…..
Be the CM candidate but on a BJP ticket, that makes a lot of sense…..
@Murali…
I know Swapanda rules….I read the PIONEER daily ….trust me never miss the Pioneer…It is an oasis for us NATIONALITS….
SUD…bro…U listening?????
Folks, a request.
When quoting artciles from the Pioneer, paste not merely the link but the entire article simply because the Pioneer does NOT archive.
The link wont work the next day when the page updates. Hence, post the entire article. If it is too long, at least the relevant portions under quotes.
The Pioneer does NOT mind and won’t make any copyright infringement fuss. Bharat-Rakshak routinely pastes entire Pioneer articles to save them for later retrieval if necessary.
Sud,
In andhra this covert conversion has been going on for long, especially along the coast. This is the reason, the coastal andhra belt is total fisherman belt. These people were not even allowed to enter temples until the late 80’s. They are poor and vulnerable. Now YSR himself a christian is making things worse. Well VHP is trying its best to stop this crap and The tirupati management is also trying, lets see how far they succeed. But again in my opinions most solutions have to be political. If NDA wins at the center, they shd just ban conversions all over the country, period.
By the way
Sud, Be optimistic, here is my logic and analysis on this issue. Their population has dropped steadily by approx 0.1 % every 10 years. People give the crap that it is becos of family planning, most converts are tribals and they always have more kids. I would the decrease in their relative population is because of reconversions, which our MSM will never show.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/VHP_converts_19_Christians/rssarticleshow/2942734.cms
See that link, if VHP can manage to reconvert people in the commie state of bengal when UPA is at center, i am sure that they are doing stuff quietly all around. See in karnataka i bet, actions have already begun in costal areas around mangalore to reconvert people. Be optimistic and look for these reconversions. But one major difference between karnataka and andhra x-tians. Those in karanataka are from goa origin (so may be more diff to reconvert), in andhra they are recent converts and mostly tribals (easier to reconvert)
In fact
I would say we should contribute in whatever way possible, lets go step by step, to balance of this conversion elsewhere lets undo it in karnataka. Karanataka has like 1.91% x-tians. Close to 50 million is their population. So that is like 1 million x-tians. BJP should 1st as usual in all of their states pass the anti-conversion law and silently convert at least 1/2 of these x-tians (5 lakhs) using RSS and VHP who are very active there. If they want any funds, i will donate whole heartedly.
I agree with all that CBN has just gone off the deep end after losing Andhra Pradesh. For one thing, he has spent the last 4 years harping on about how the BJP lost him his minority votes. So, instead of meeting the people of AP (outside of Hyderabad) and finding out why they kicked him out, he has disassociated himself from the BJP, and spent all his time courting minority votes. Worst of all is that he is inching closer to the Commies.
If he continues on his suicidal mission, I’m afraid Congress will find the going easy in AP, because the TRS is withering away, the BJP still can’t really stand on its own there, and the Commies are insignificant. Its up CBN to make amends with AP voters in the next year, and get off his high horse.
>> how the BJP lost him his minority votes. So, instead of meeting the people of AP (outside of Hyderabad) and finding out why they kicked him out, he has disassociated himself from the BJP
I would give the man a little more room than that. If the minority population in andhra is about 20%, and if all that 20% went to congress, he would be absolutely right in doing what he is doing. Aligning with BJP restricts his access to 80% of voters instead of 100%. That is like what a general category candidate faces after reservation.
Reason
the minority vote in andhra is just 9.1 + 1.55 approx 11%. If i were CBN i would woo the remaining 89% with strong BJP alliance. How can you be sure that he can woo 100% if he goes after the minority vote. I am sure there many hindus in andhra who wont vote for him if he tries to woo all sections of the scociety.
Next point is almost 1/3 of andhra muslims reside in hyderabad voting zone and that always goes to AIMM, so they never vote for congress.
CBN should try to get some good strategy in his head and get the state into a BJP-TDP mood. But here is the biggest problem, the BJP state unit leader Venkiah Naidu is an useless piece of crap, that guy single handedly never let the BJP grow in Andhra.
To be more specific
Andhra Pradesh
Total Population: 76.21 million
Hindus: 67.84 million (89.01%)
Muslims: 6.98 million (9.17%)
X-tians: 1.18 million (1.55%)
This clearly shows that minority population can be neglected by a party which can effectively woo the majority. In karnataka in infact muslims + x-tians are a little (2%) more than andhra and still BJP won without an alliance.
Man elections in south are much more complex than normal, caste dominates a lot, it is very tough to fight elections under a hindu umbrella. The bottom line in Andhra is that CBN is a Naidu and YSR is a reddy. The reddy’s have more money and have huge support from kammas. Next treat this like the karnataka election. CBN is more like SM krishna, a suave urban guy. YSR is more like Yeddi, farmer support and huge rural guy.
I can pretty much confidently say that TDP or BJP cannot unseat YSR whatever they do. The only way YSR is going to get unseated in if there is a phenomena like what NTR had before. If Chiru launches a party and has good support especially from the nellore and chittor area then there is a chance. But these things dont seem likely before next year. So I guess YSR will stay. One chance was the local media highlighting the rampant corruption (mind you YSR runs probably the most corrupt govt in entire andhra history), but this guy proved smarter and gave land (in a very posh area) in hyderabad to 12 media agencies for free. This way he bought the media too.
deadlock.
The man who saw tomorrow
Ashok malik on the life and ideas of Veer Savarkar (must read, IMHO).
What Hamilton lost in life, Hamiltonism won in history. By the 20th century, Hamilton’s ideas had triumphed. His initial postulates continue to define American strategic thinking, foreign policy and economic philosophy. Every White House resident in the past 20 years has paid homage to Ronald Reagan; Reagan himself often evoked Hamilton.
It is tempting to see Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who would have been 125 this morning, as an Indian Alexander Hamilton. By the time he died in 1966, he had shrunk to a limited presence. Surrounded only by a few devoted adherents and members of the Hindu Mahasabha, his writings read mainly by his fellow Maharastrians, his heroic role in the freedom movement had been effaced by official historians.
Savarkar was the intellectual equal of Jawaharlal Nehru. Revisit the writings of the stalwarts of the pre-1947 period and you will encounter few besides these two with a grasp and informed assessment of contemporary world affairs. Yet, in the hard, harsh world of politics and political ideas, Savarkar, by the 1960s, had lost to Nehru’s cult and charisma.
There were many reasons why the Left-liberal intelligentsia, most of whom are, in some form or the other, pensioners of the Nehruvian state structure, despised Savarkar. For a start, he was flesh-and-blood refutation of the charge that Hindu nationalism lacked an intellectual tradition. Second, he represented a cogent and coherent position that believed the political choices India and the Congress had made in 1947 (or 1950 or 1952, after the first election) were not necessarily correct.
These were inconvenient truths for Nehruvian fellow travellers, Savarkar the inconvenient man. There was astonishing virulence towards Savarkar. Some, like the perverse and bigoted Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, even mocked the 10 years that Savarkar spent in Cellular Jail, Port Blair, in horrific conditions, alone in a tiny cell.
The antipathy to Savarkar has to be seen in a larger context. Post-independence, the Congress establishment sought to rewrite history in its own image. It determinedly underplayed the role of the early Indian elites — the Poona Brahmins, Bombay’s Parsi constitutionalists, Calcutta’s Bengali and Brahmo activists — who had dominated public life prior to the Mahatma’s mass politics.
As the Congress set out to establish that there was no history and no freedom struggle before Gandhi, and no politics and no consciousness of modern India before Nehru, these pioneer groups became expendable. The Marxist historians who actually wrote the textbooks had their own theories. For instance, not just was Savarkar demonised, even the venerable Bal Gangadhar Tilak was painted in sectarian colours.
Even so, history has a strange way of getting back. Savarkar’s idea of the political Hindu, of a polity and of political parties that would be sensitive to the Hindu cultural mainstay of Indian nationhood, that would, while eschewing ritualism and dogma, incorporate robust nationalism into policy-making, is more relevant than it has ever been. Nehruvianism is in retreat and, even though Savarkar has been dead 42 years, Savarkarism has never been more alive.
Read it all folks. Absorb it and spread the knowledge around. The neo-nationalist movement has so many unsung heros, idols, icons who are the moral and intellectual equals (if not betters) of the ‘official’ heroes forcibly celebrated in modern Indian historical narrative. Its a legacy that traces back to the chhtrapati Shivaji, of Ranjit Singh if not even further.
Written in 1923, Savarkar’s slim tract, Hindutva, remains a remarkably contemporary articulation of organic nationalism. Indeed, it anticipates some of the ideas expanded upon by Samuel Huntington in Who Are We? (2004).
Leftist historians often divide Savarkar’s life into two — the supposedly “acceptable” first part, till the mid-1920s; and, his espousal of Hindutva after that. Actually, this division is bogus.
Jai Bharat
Savarkar was often impatient with the RSS and it is piquant to compare him with MS Golwalkar, ‘Guruji’ as he is called and the man who made the Sangh the all-India institution that it is today. Savarkar was a thinker, Golwalkar a do-er; Savarkar was the rare Hindu mind who understood statecraft and the importance of state power, Golwalkar sought to change society by working bottom-up from grassroots communities. For Golwalkar (as for Gandhi), the Hindu was ascetic-exemplar; for Savarkar, he was warrior-ideal.
The two streams were not antithetical but clearly complementary. When they finally merged, consciously or otherwise, in the late-1980s, it changed Indian politics and moved the polity irrevocably to the Right. At its best, the BJP is a confluence of Savarkar and Golwalkar.
Savarkar had known it all along. Just before his death, in an emotional piece called “This, My Legacy”, he had written: “If we are to live with honour and dignity as a Hindu nation — and we have the right to do so — that nation must emerge under the Hindu flag. This, my dream, shall come true — if not in this generation at least in the next. If it remains an empty dream, I shall prove a fool. If it comes true, I shall prove a prophet. This, my legacy, I bequeath to you.”
Savarkar is gone. Let us cherish his legacy, salute the prophet.
Wow.
Words fail me. It would be ungracious to not acknowledge the contributions to modern India of people such as Savrakar. The INC has deliberately sought to bury the legacy of the giants of the Dharmic renessaince. But we, its spiritual heirs, cannot and should not forget.
Jai Bharath.
Sud,
The Marati people should be first to realise this, but they remain the most dubious state in indian politics to have voted for congress all their life except between 94 and 99. What a tragedy and parody that the state which gave birth to the great Shivaji, Savarkar, Tilak and so many more has bought the ideas of this Italian mafia.
Modi himself has been trying to spread this message in maharshtra with a lot of speeches. Jiggs maybe you can throw some light on this.
By the way Sud,
I am sure that Savarkar’s vision will come true and there will be a hindu nation, the only thing is ( and i am pretty sure), that it will not encompass all of present India. It will probably be 70-75% of the current landmass, this is the price we would have paid for our foolishness. This 70-75% will probably be 55% of the original akhand bharat.
But take this : That country which will arise in the future will shine as brightly as the SUN and the SUN will never set on that empire for every citizen in that state would have woken up and the true jagruti would have been complete fulfilling Vinayak Savarkar’s vision.
If you want to post articles in full try this site:
http://www.indiannotion.com
It is meant for posting articles mostly.
That way comment section here can be clutter free.
Maharashtra had something not very dissimilar to TN, a big anti-Brahmin movement. That pushed Savarkar’s Hindutva in the background. When non-Brahmins embraced it in leadership position, Thackeray and BJPs Munde etc., Hindutva was back. But, to be fair, Maharashtra was never a hopeless case as TN. I mean Karunanidhi, Ramadoss et al will secede from India tomorrow if they could. They are Tamil nationalists first and foremost. Marathi leaders never had this anti-India streak.
Being from the South and having been brought in Chennai, I would agree with Socal to a good extent. The psychology is also widely reflected among tamilians who have never stayed out of TN. But the feeling is a bit over exaggerated. Tamil Nationalists are more ati-hindi than anti-india. As for LTTE and stuff, it is these politicians who support them, i have never met a single guy there who will vouch for LTTE except my stupid cousin for all the wrong reasons. Having stayed in TN for 17 years in my life, i still cant understand TN politics man, it is way too complex and trust me anti-brahminism is also very high. The reserved category people get the same marks to enter college as the GEN guys, but they still want reservation, the psyche is too ingrained there. But things are changing albeit slowly, for example in chennai with the influx of all these IT companies and many north indians there, hindi is no more a taboo there. But still rural areas have that stigma, though i am not sure if we can call that anti-india.Regarding hinduism there, some of the most exquisite temples are there, but sadly not many reformers and major icons. Even hinduism is as such practiced very differently there.
One also has to understand the economics here, TN unlike most of india has a substantial urban conglomeration and has a higher living standard (comparable to Maharashtra and Gujarat), this makes a lot of people there think that they would better off if they secede from mainland.
Isn’t Jayalalitha bram? How did she make CM twice then in anti-bram TN?
Also, I doubt TN’s secessionist tendencies run that high any more. The economic linkages with the rest of india are simply too strong for anyone to have great incentive to secede from the country, IMO.
My point was that CBN has yet to acknowledge publicly that he (or any of his gov’t) did anything to bring about his downfall in AP. He continues to claim that the only thing that brought his downfall in AP was that the BJP ate away his minority votes, which even mathematically is ridiculous, first of all because the Congress/AIMIM hold most of the minority vote in AP as it is, and second of all the BJP was never part of his government. YSR’s solution to AP’s woes (give away everything and anything) is depressing, but CBN has not countered it with anything. Like I said, he has gone off the deep end and the TDP has weakened more and more since he has been out of power, busy buttering up Imam’s instead of speaking to people about employment, agriculture, etc…it makes him come across as arrogant and elitist.
A split of votes between the TDP and BJP is going to mean limited anti-incumbency effect on the Congress gov’t in AP.
Sud,
Yup i agree, the tendencies are not high, nobody even has time to think of such ideas any more man.
Yes Jaya is a Brahmin, but she won becos she represents a party of Adi Dravida makkal, most backward tribes. its a totally unholy game there man. goondagiri hardcore.
Janpar,
Exactly u put that right. But one things, BJP wont split TDP votes, last time BJP contested in only 9 seats and won 0. I am not sure how many they will contest this time.
Anyone wonder why BSP contests *every* seat of *every* state going to the polls? Rome wasn’t built in a day. Similarly, party organizations aren’t built overnight.
Mayawati’s idea is right. Bhajpa too should go it alone and field candidates – capable honest folks, longtime karyakartas – in every seat in AP, UP, WB and Kerala. Winnability will come later. First establish a presence by being a serious contender in the fray. See who is voting for you and who is voting for the rivals. Get started. BJP has no excuse to not think national now.
Start with AP and Maharashtra. Contest *every* seat. In weak areas, give tickets to longtime activists and loyalists. Get started at least!
There are many different strains of topics in a single thread. This is the only right wing blog we know so I guess that is why.
The article on Savarkar was moving. This para caught my attention -
>> The two streams were not antithetical but clearly complementary. When they finally merged, consciously or otherwise, in the late-1980s, it changed Indian politics and moved the polity irrevocably to the Right. At its best, the BJP is a confluence of Savarkar and Golwalkar. >>
It will be worth our while to reflect on what happened in the late 80’s to make this possible, and who made it possible. There is one name – Lal Krishna Advani. He was the only leader of the Hindu right for that crucial period. Vajpayee had already got into the moderate nehruvian mode.
Advani had been called ‘bellicose, fascist’ etc repeatedly in the media. They repeatedly manufactured polls to show his popularity rating at 2%. They mocked him when he was made the deputy PM.
The man may never make it to Prime Minister. I doubt if it matters to him.
50, or even 20 years from now, if Bharat is still around and they study its history, there will be no doubt as to the most important event in its history between 1947 and 2000. And there will be no doubt as to the most influential person in its history in that period.
@Murali….
“The Marati people should be first to realise this, but they remain the most dubious state in indian politics to have voted for congress all their life except between 94 and 99. What a tragedy and parody that the state which gave birth to the great Shivaji, Savarkar, Tilak and so many more has bought the ideas of this Italian mafia.”
Living in Maharashtra all my life, I acceot that this is a shame.
As you rightly pointed out this state if the union of India has given us Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Veer Savarkar, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Peshwas of Pune and not to forget Hari Shivaram Rajguru and still Maharashtrian’s get perverted by the this vermin like Thackerays, Pawars and the current lot.
I doubt if I can answer why they do this? However, there is an excellent chapter in Suketu Mehta’s MAXIMUM CITY on the rise of the SS.
What attract’s Maharashtrians to these current lot of politicians fails me.
On a personal note to understand this problem you will have to focus on Individual Maharashtrian communities and then understand their physche…..The educated Maharashtrian thoroughly detest’s these idiots, but it is the Maharashtrian under class ( educated remind you) which loves such fervelent Marathi Manoos culture.
For instance the Thackeray clan says that their struggle is to PROTECT Marathi language and identity. Two weeks ago there was an article in TOI on education wherein it said that 1.24 crore pupils were enrolled into Marathi medium schools as compared to some 20 lac in Gujrati medium.
The where is the question that Marathi culture is being diminshed.
Like the Commies, these Marathi politcians are taking Maharashtrian for a ride, as they time cures all ailments and am sure this will be cured by time.
“but it is the Maharashtrian under class ( educated remind you) which loves such fervelent Marathi Manoos culture.”
ooops…..read this as
“bit it is the Maharashtrian under class ( LITERATE remind you) which loves such fervelant Marathi Manoos culture.”
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