The Indian Focus

An interesting example of contradictory interpretations is borrowed by G.P. Deshpande [1] from Indian philosophy to evaluate the ambiguous nature of the play and its production.

"There are two texts by Shankaracharya: one is called Sarirakabhasya while the other bhasya is a commentary on Gaudapadakarika. There is a basic contradiction in both....drishti-srishtivada and sristidrishtivada.... These two terms represent the schools within which the Vedantins are divided. The problem is whether what you see defines reality (drishtisrishtivada) or whether what exists defines your vision (srishtidrishtivada).

"It is a typical theatre problem.... Suppose you take that text to be a srishti. Then the director looks at it in a particular way, and the actor looks at it in a particular way. When happens next is the case of drishtisrishtivada. The vision or the way the text is looked at ultimately decides its character. And that is why you have different productions of the same play, productions apparently using the same text but so different that they appear to be based on different texts."

Deshpande, from the Indian viewpoint, is exploring what Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002) had philosophically deeply examined, the issue of pre-understanding and the fusion of horizons. Recent hermeneutics has strongly focused on trying to get at the author's intent and limit the text to just that. However, getting to the author's intent is a horizonal problem. Our understandings only fuse where our pre-understandings intersect. Yet, in a way, the text does have the ability to change one's pre-understanding as well; and so vice-versa.

Deshpande continues:

"But is it really the case of drishtisrishtivada? That, after all, it is the drishti that determines the srishti? Perhaps not quite. The srishti also made that drishti possible. There is always enough room in a given text to make it so..... The interrelationship between the text and play I am talking about can be related to the contradiction in Shankaracharya's to bhasyas, and the contradiction between the two vadas. Vendantins also could not come to terms with them. Drishti or srishti taking prominence remained an unresolved question."

To note is the fact that both the schools of interpretation look to the Vedas and Upanisads as their source of authority and, yet their interpretations are contradictory. Does this mean that the text itself is contradictory in nature? Or does it mean that one or both of the interpretations may be wrong? The aim of hermeneutics should be chiefly that: to guarantee the right interpretation of the text in its syntactical-grammatical-historical originality.

Glossary
bhasya. Commentary
Drishti. Sight
Srishti. Creation
Vada. Argument. Theory.
Gaudapadakarika. The statement of doctrine in verse form by Gaudapada, the teacher of Sankaracharya.

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[1] G.P. Deshpande (b.1939), retired Professor of Chinese Studies at JNU.
Cit. Dialectics of Defeat, Calcutta: Seagull, 2006.

Honorable Director, Respected Chief Guest, Principal, Teachers, and Dear Friends:

It gives me great honor to speak on the occasion of the 66th Independence Day Celebration of India.

As we know, our country went through various phases of foreign domination, finally falling subject to the British Crown, before we saw the Sun of Freedom rise over our nation. But we were never slaves to anyone. In our minds we were always a free spirit. Mahatma Gandhi said, "The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave, his fetters fall. Freedom and slavery are mental states."

Freedom begins within, first, then comes in action externally. The Austrian psychologist Viktor Frankl said, "Forces beyond control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation." This sense and life of freedom, subject only to the Law of God, to the Law of Justice, Equality, Liberty, and Fraternity, is the spring and fountain of Independence.

Today, we are faced with an even greater enemy that is far fiercer than all the foreign rulers of past history put together. This enemy, the monstrous beast bent on destroying us from inside, is the demon of CORRUPTION. We at School must fight it for we are the future of this nation. We are the ones who will become the officials, leaders, and politicians of the coming India. Let us resolve to keep that demon out of our cities, our villages, our families, and our lives. Let us pledge to keep our nation clean, pure, and free!

JAI HIND!

See Also:
The War of Kalinga and Modern Religious Conscience
Emperor Ashoka and His Humanitarian Approach to Religions

“Love…keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:5)

(Written for a Youth Magazine forthcoming)

The scenic valley of the Satpura range in Central India bustled with fresh streams, chirping birds, grazing cattle, and woodcutters chopping wood in the forest. A few women were gathering the yellow flowers that fell from the Mahua (Madhuca Longifolia)trees that were all over the forest. The nearby fields were all ready for harvest and one could see little boys and girls, with school bags on their back, singing and hooting and hurrying along the hedges of the fields to the little Government School in the village.

But, little Ashruti, seven years old, walked very slowly with head bowed down, a frown on her face, and swollen cheeks. She didn’t seem to be in a very happy mood. From her little shack in the distance, made of mud walls and a thatched roof, her mother watched her walk very sadly away. She was, evidently, sad about her daughter that day. She had been angry with Ashruti and had spanked her this morning for two reasons. Firstly, she didn’t get up very early though her mother had called her many times – it was her duty to collect the sticks and light up the fire in the oven and it was late this morning because she failed to wake up soon. Mother had to look after Shyam, her two year old son, that is, Ashruti’s brother. The boy had fever and didn’t sleep all night; so, mother had to really be very busy looking after him. When Ashruti wasn’t waking up despite many callings, mother had to go up to her and pull her from the bed she was sleeping on. Ashruti sure was not very happy about it because she wanted to sleep a little more. And, then, when she had lit up the fire, cooked some rice, and had now got ready for school, mother asked her to hold Shyam for some time while she went and fetched rice soup for him. Ashruti, unwillingly, went and held Shyam. The boy had been crying and now as soon as he was switched place from mother to sister, he grew furious and very irritated, crying all aloud and beating his legs to get off her lap. Ashruti tried to hold him tight, but he was furious. When she tried to hold him in, he curled his teeth around her left wrist and bit her. Ashruti cried out loud and he released. But, she had lost control. She began screaming wildly at the boy and began shaking him furiously. He was stunned and became quiet for a moment, quite frightened and confused, then began to uncontrollably cry to her surprise. Mother came running in shouting, “What has happened, what has happened?” Ashruti was speechless. Mother took Shyam from Ashruti’s hands and cried, “You naughty little girl! Can’t you see that he isn’t feeling well? Couldn’t you hold patience for a moment?” Ashruti trembled and her mother gave her a slap on her cheek. She cried. Mother did feel sad, but she now turned to the boy and began trying to calm him down. Ashruti went to a corner and slumped there sitting with her back against the wall. She was crying. She was very sad. “My mother doesn’t love me anymore,” she thought. She put her right hand around her left wrist and began to turn it smoothly around it. She felt very sad and angry at her brother because he bit her though she had done nothing to him.

After some time, the brother calmed down and having become tired went to sleep. Mother now looked her daughter sitting alone in the corner and came down to her. “I’m sorry, my child,” she said. “But, you shouldn’t be angry like that with your brother, you see. He is too young and he is also not feeling well.” Ashruti didn’t look up. Mother took her hands in her hands, then noticing the red dent that Shyam’s teeth had made on her wrist, she remarked, “Oh, did he bite you?” Ashruti answered nothing. Mother went and brought some ointment and rubbed it around her wrist. “See,” she said, “I only have both of you for me now; and, you are elder, you should be taking care of your brother! Forgive him, he doesn’t understand anything now.” Ashruti looked up without any expression on her face. She stood up, went near her bed, picked up her bag and wore it on her back as mother watched sadly.

“Come, have some rice!” mother said. She dropped her bag, and went and sat on the mat on the ground. Mother served her some rice. She ate, then rose, picked up her bag and, then silently walked off in the direction of the School through the fields. She did understand that mother did love her, but was sad about all that happened this morning.

At School, her friends all greeted her but she didn’t feel like greeting them back. As she sat on her bench, her bench mate, Priya looked at her wrist and exclaimed, “Hey, what’s wrong with that? Why is it so red and what is that oily thing around?” Ashruti said nothing. She began to cry. She felt very sad. But, she knew her mother did love her. “Oh, don’t cry, don’t cry,” Priya said, “Let’s just forget it. It’ll be alright anyway!” Just then the bell rang and the teacher came in as Ashruti wiped her tears, though she didn’t dare to raise her head up. The teacher began calling names of the students from out of the attendance register as each answered “Yes Ma’am!” in answer to the call of his or her name. It was the Hindi Language class and the teacher began teaching them a poem today. She read:

Bizli dhar dhar (Lightning flash flash)
Baadal gar gar (Clouds thunder thunder)
Boondey parti par par (Drops are falling, drop drop)

As she was reading that one boy started laughing, then all the children started laughing. The teacher stopped and signaled all to be silent; and then asked why they were laughing. All became silent. After a while, the boy who first laughed stood up and silently said, “Ma’am, last night my didi (elder sister) was telling to me “Mohit, par par (i.e. read, read) or else you’ll fail!” All the kids were laughing. The teacher laughed too. Then, she said, “There’s a difference, Mohit. Your sister might have said parh not par. Par means “to drop”; parh means “to read”!” They were all silent. Mohit looked here and there, all around the class, then smiled and sat down. The teacher smiled at all of them too. Ashruti also smiled.

They all had lunch at School at noon (as the kids are provided day meals at School every day). After that they had a little rest, and then had playtime for the rest of the afternoon. The kids played hide and seek, merry go round, and a lots of games. When, the last bell rung, every one grabbed their bags and rushed towards their homes. They all walked together in groups of three or four went chatting along. Ashruti and Priya also came chatting and playing with friends.

When Ashruti reached home, she had so many stories to tell her mother; so many that her mother had her eyes wide open in surprise. Mother embraced her and hugged her very much. She told her that she was her gem and the apple of her eye and she was very proud of her. She told her that one day she will become a very great person, perhaps a doctor or an engineer; or perhaps a great teacher. Ashruti was very happy. Just then, Shyam woke up from his sleep. He was feeling better now. He looked at Ashruti and called, “Didi! (Elder Sister!)” She turned to him, jumped off her mother’s lap and rushed towards him. Then, taking him in her arms, she hugged him and kissed him all over. He kissed her too. He wanted to play and sister was his best mate that evening. Of course, they had to stop because she had to do her homework and the dim lantern wouldn’t hold for very long.

Next morning, she did wake up very early.

There is an Indian saying that says that one shouldn’t ever snap off the thread of love; for once snapped off, it can never be joined, and even if joined it will leave a knot. But, true love, God’s love, doesn’t let anything snap off. There’s never a reason for a knot.

© Domenic Marbaniang, 2012

It is usually understood that modern Indian literature entered a new era in 1800 when the Fort William College was established in Calcutta and when the missionaries at Serampore brought the printing press to print Bibles in Indian vernacular languages.

G.P. Deshpande (b.1939), who served as Professor of Chinese Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, noted in his essay "Dialectics of Defeat" (First published in Economic and Political Weekly, 12 December 1987):

"The singlemost important intervention that colonialism made in the cultural life of India over the last two centuries was the establishment of Fort William College in Calcutta in 1800... The College, established by the East India Company to train its administrators in the languages of India, provided facilities for teaching Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Hindustani, Bangla, Tamil, Marathi, and Kannada.... Close to Calcutta, in Srirampur, missionaries had established the first printing press and begun publishing theological works such as the Dharma Pustak, a Bangla translation of the Bible.
"Any account of literary movements in colonial India will have to give due credit to the role played by these institutions in the new literature and theatre that grew and developed in the whole of India in the nineteenth century."
[Dialectics of Defeat, Calcutta: Seagull, 2006, pp.12-16. ISBN: 81-7046-279-7]

Similarly, Swapan Majumdar has written:

The College of Fort William emerged as both a centre of research and a publication unit, a cradle of creativity as well as scholarship. Planned originally to train probationer British civilians in the languages and cultures of the subjugated country, the college rendered services tantamount to those of a university in promoting modern Indian literatures, Bengali in particular… Under the leadership of William Carey, the College could also claim credit for drawing together Sanskrit pandits and Perso-Arabic munshis to reshape Bengali prose… The variety of the College’s publication also deserve note. From colloquies and popular stories, chronicles and legends, to definitive editions of literary texts.
[Calcutta, the Living City, Vol. I, edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, p. vii, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-563696-1. As found cited on Wikipedia article "Fort William College" today]

Life was sparked into the vernacular literature which saved Indian literature and theatre from death. "With the decline of Sanskrit as an instrument of cultural expression," writes Deshpande, "several things died out. The most notable casualty was the decline and eventual eclipse of theatre..."

"British intervention in the field of literature, therefore, could not have come at a more appropriate time. Fort William College began its work by standardizing the languages it was teaching--it first compiled and published dictionaries in those languages.... British rule contributed to the growth of the Indian vernaculars by turning them into useful and usable instruments of statecraft.... The dominance of Persian in most parts of northern India as a language of high culture and high administration finally came to an end. The British started schools in the native languages.... by the middle of the nineteenth century there were more Marathi medium schools in Maharashtra than ever. Fort William College also worked on rendering the Hitopades, the Panchatantra, the Vetal Panchavimsati and other popular Sanskrit works into Indian vernaculars. In so doing, the pandits in its monopoly opened new vistas before the 'natives' in the use of their languages.... India was forced into a new era...."

Deshpande goes on to note how the impact of English even altered the syntax of Indian languages. For instance, a Marathi speaker would never have earlier said, "I told him that I would meet him at 7 p.m.". The traditional way to say this would have been "I would meet him at 7 p.m., I told him."

In north India, Hindi with the Devanagiri script emerged as the language of cultural expression.

India found a new release of expression in the living and local languages of the day. It entered its modern era of literature.

It has been variously predicted that paper will go extinct within the next few decades. Enter the age of electronic money, electronic books, and of course, electronic communication. It is the age of Google, Facebook, Skype, Scribd, Wikipedia, and YouTube. Emailing has superceded the courier and ipads are replacing the school bag and the library.

One should be aware by now that anyone having an internet connection has access to the largest library in the world. It is a library larger than men have ever dreamed of. The search engines provide the most up to date indexes ever. Much information is available free of cost. Also, books can be viewed, borrowed, bought, and downloaded. They are now available in different formats, kindle, epub, pdf, djvu, and simple txt to name a few. Most of these can be viewed on smartphones even. Many are turning to ipads as the essential book reader and research tool. And, interestingly, the Government of India has announced its intention to make available tablet PCs to students at a cost as low as Rs.1750 ($35) only. The new device is called "Aakash" [See Aakash, IBN News]. The Government seems a bit unhappy with paper. It encourages uploading of documents through internet and requests customers to not print railway tickets on paper, rather carry them on mobile phones or laptops. Check this GIF from the IRCTC.CO.IN page for instance.

There are some disadvantages of the internet for sure. But, then the adage of Sir Francis Bacon applies to this age as well: "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention," with this caveat, "some must be avoided as one would avoid poison". The fruit of the tree of knowledge in itself is fatal anyway.

Related articles

• 300,000 pre-orders for India's $45 tablet (abhishekkathuria.wordpress.com)
• India Produces World's Cheapest Tablet for less than $50. 10k Made, Millions More To Come (singularityhub.com)

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAd3FrFGbco]

There doesn't need to be a commentary on the problem of corruption in India. It is widespread and infecting every nerve and cell of the governmental administrative system. It's important to ax the tree at the root in order to destroy it.

ROOTS
The problem is systemic. One who gets into it usually ends up practicing it not just because others are practicing it, but because he might have got into the system through a corrupt mechanism of bribery on one hand. On the other, it may also mean that there are people out there who are willing to keep the mechanism going for their own benefit, meting injustice to the poor, and, perhaps, avoiding it would mean a loss of job or favor.

CHALLENGES
The challenge is not to uproot the wheat with the weed. There are many still in the system who are right, while the judicial system that relies mainly on evidences would fail to find some to condemn the corrupt. There is also the danger that the just ones are falsely condemned in place of or with the corrupt. The challenge is not chiefly for retributive justice, but for corrective justice.

SOLUTIONS
Plato compared the State to the human body. Administration of proper drugs can weed out diseases and allow natural healing to take place. Truth is the best drug. Justice is the result of it. To a great extent, entertainment media and traditional cultures foster false world-views and expectations that provide real space for corruption as a quick alternative. These have to be adequately and properly countered by truth.

Minimum doses of Truth will not work. Since the disease is heavy, the doses need to be heavy and voluminous. Information has power. Hitler knew that and the Nazi government thrived on a system of heavy propaganda. The propaganda was false, therefore the results were disastrous. The modern world doesn't have time for truth. It wants anything that could bring fast wealth, prosperity, and materialist meaning in life. This is submission of spirit to brute forces. It is only when matter fails that people realize they need to halt and seek spiritual wisdom. Those who realize experience a gradual but happy convalescence. In order to bring healing to the nation, we need more ambassadors of truth who will stand for it, in their own little corners, bringing light to the darkest sections of our community.

Truth is Victorious. Truth Prevails. But, it can't without its ambassadors. Candles need to be burnt, lanterns need to be taken out in the open. Who will do it? Not those who are enslaved; only those who are free.

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PS:

Corruption and Government
Corruption is a governmental problem, basically speaking. If there weren't government, "corruption" as such wouldn't exist. But, throwing the baby with the bath water is not a solution. It has been said well, "That government is best that governs the least". There are more instances of corruption in states under dictatorship than under any other form of government. Corruption exists where governmental hold exists, but in weakness. The government is not omnipresent and omniscient, and so cracks start up and grow large, allowing injustice, disorder, and lust to corrupt the governmental rule. There is always hope as long as the ship hasn't violated the law of buoyancy; however, once the shipwreck has occurred, the only salvation remains in abandoning the ship and getting into some safe place (if it exists....). But there is always hope as long as there is life (Eccl. 9:4). The body will only survive if the members don't turn on each other to consume them; but, will work in harmony and mutual construction. Those in authority must remember that authority or power is a huge responsibility. The "rulers" are responsible to keep the head in its proper place. The failure of the head leads to self-destruction in every way possible. The wise man keeps his eyes on his head. Those who have lost the ability to see cannot oversee. The kind of leadership and the choice of the right leadership is pivotal to the health and life of the nation.

Becoming Corruption-Free
A corruption free government is itself a law. It's like the law of gravity or the law of aerodynamics. It is the way it functions. The functioning creates the experience of Justice, Liberty, and Equality. The letter of the Law is not the chief point of focus. The spirit of the Law is important; and, the spirit of the Law is Justice, Liberty, and Equality.

A corrupt government curtails Moral Justice, Moral Liberty, and Moral Equality. It is immoral in essence. It is immoral because it is essentially lawless. It may have written, verbal laws. But, it lacks the spirit of the Law of human community function. A corrupt government is also a law: a law of disease and death.

The Essence of A Healthy Nation
The essence of morality is Love. "Love your neighbor as yourself" is the sum of all law. Love is what integrates a person into a healthy living. Love is what integrates a nation into healthy living. Therefore, any law that discourages the principle of "Love your neighbor as yourself" is immoral and devoid of the spirit of Justice, Liberty, and Equality.

Love is not just an emotional game. Love is the act that flows from a recognition of the dignity of the human individual, the human person. Love is not mere idealistic. It is personal.

A corrupt government leads the nation into:1. Distrust of governmental justice
2. Bribery, aristocracy, and marginalization
3. Terror. The government is looked at as a monster. It has weapons. It has forces. It has power. It rules by force and not by honor and love.

Citizen's role in creating corrupt government:1. Desire to escape justice and personal responsibility. (If you wish justice done to you, then you must also be willing to fully suffer for the injustice you have done to others; or else, you're partner with injustice.)
2. Love of money and wealth to the extent that the dignity of a human as human loses value.
3. Selfishness. Lack of love for one's fellow man/woman, whoever it is, is the first act of murder.
4. Cherishing inequality by allowing religion, anti-religion, communalism, cultural nationalism, sexism, racism, etc to dictate feelings of inequality. Cultism.
5. Pride. Crave for power through despotic thinking: desiring everyone to believe what you believe and think as you think. Such things are usually not possible even in families. Disagreements do occur, since diversity is the rule of community.
6. Rational blindness, and non-scientific temper, even in the name of science. Fanaticism that is not open to rational verification.
7. Tolerating injustice. Allowing violence to dampen the voice of reason and truth.
8. False hope that ultimately everything will be alright without us doing anything.

Citizen's role in creating corruption-free government:
1. Articulate absolute aversion to corruption.
2. Unite against all practices of corruption.
3. Challenge laws that promote corruption.
4. Instill in children hatred against bribery and immoral practices.
5. Be an example to children and youth of true patriotism, integrity of character, purity in love towards fellow-citizens, and moral responsibility.
6. Strip the esteem of money-mongering culture; repudiate greed and avarice; exalt the virtue of social responsibility.
7. Find out NGOs, Media workers, etc who are committed to a corruption-free government and inform them of any instance of corruption anywhere.
8. Believe in God, the True Judge of the Universe. He will give justice.

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Quotes about Corruption from the Bible (NLT)

Proverbs 28:1-28
(1) The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions.
(2) When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But with wise and knowledgeable leaders, there is stability.
(3) A poor person who oppresses the poor is like a pounding rain that destroys the crops.
(4) To reject the law is to praise the wicked; to obey the law is to fight them.
(5) Evil people don't understand justice, but those who follow the LORD understand completely.
(6) It is better to be poor and honest than rich and crooked.
(7) Young people who obey the law are wise; those who seek out worthless companions bring shame to their parents.
(8) A person who makes money by charging interest will lose it. It will end up in the hands of someone who is kind to the poor.
(9) The prayers of a person who ignores the law are despised.
(10) Those who lead the upright into sin will fall into their own trap, but the honest will inherit good things.
(11) Rich people picture themselves as wise, but their real poverty is evident to the poor.
(12) When the godly succeed, everyone is glad. When the wicked take charge, people go into hiding.
(13) People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy.
(14) Blessed are those who have a tender conscience, but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble.
(15) A wicked ruler is as dangerous to the poor as a lion or bear attacking them.
(16) Only a stupid prince will oppress his people, but a king will have a long reign if he hates dishonesty and bribes.
(17) A murderer's tormented conscience will drive him into the grave. Don't protect him!
(18) The honest will be rescued from harm, but those who are crooked will be destroyed.
(19) Hard workers have plenty of food; playing around brings poverty.
(20) The trustworthy will get a rich reward. But the person who wants to get rich quick will only get into trouble.
(21) Showing partiality is never good, yet some will do wrong for something as small as a piece of bread.
(22) A greedy person tries to get rich quick, but it only leads to poverty.
(23) In the end, people appreciate frankness more than flattery.
(24) Robbing your parents and then saying, "What's wrong with that?" is as serious as committing murder.
(25) Greed causes fighting; trusting the LORD leads to prosperity.
(26) Trusting oneself is foolish, but those who walk in wisdom are safe.
(27) Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing. But a curse will come upon those who close their eyes to poverty.
(28) When the wicked take charge, people hide. When the wicked meet disaster, the godly multiply.

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Internet Resources

CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX MAP

External Links

Corruption in India according to Transparency International
India Against Corruption.

From Secularism in India: A Historical Analysis (2010), pp. 54-64

THE earlier attitude of the British Government towards Missions was one of skepticism and vehement opposition. The British believed that if Protestant Missions were allowed in India that would only lead to tension and aggression among its Indian supporters and produce instability of governance. Therefore, in the beginning, the British followed the policy of supporting and patronizing the native religions as the earlier rulers had done. They undertook the management and patronage of a large number of temples, paid the salaries of temple officials, and sponsored the Hindu festivals and sacrifices. A pilgrim-tax was imposed to pay for all this. The British also refused permission to any missionary to settle in their territory. They also refused to employ native Christians and prevented by force any native soldier employed from becoming a Christian.^[1] Vishal points out that while the Christian Missions received no money from the Company or the Government, until 1858, at least 26,589 Hindu temples were receiving financial support from the Company in the Bombay Presidency alone.^[2] It was only through the long and toilsome struggle of reformers in England and India that this political patronage of superstitious idolatry was finally put down.^[3]

Two Englishmen who played a pivotal role towards granting permission for Missions to work in Indiawere Charles Grant and William Wilberforce. Charles Grant began his campaign for Missions in 1786-87. Grant observed that India was worse under the then British rule than it had been under the Mughal rule and tried to influence Christians in England to understand their moral responsibility for India’s welfare; this, so that they would endeavor to produce in India class of persons who would be able to govern India after the pattern of Britain after Independence.^[4] He believed that the problem of India was more a religious and a cultural one than anything else. He proposed religious conversion as the only solution for the Indian predicament.^[5]

Grant’s strive for getting official permission for missionary work in India had also in perspective the necessity of a political assurance of religious freedom to Indians so that they could evaluate their own beliefs and the beliefs of other faiths and, so, come to a rational conclusion as to which religion they should choose. Unless the Government back home, in England, guaranteed religious freedom and required the East India Company to enforce the same, there always lurked the danger of the Company’s turning against the Missions in face of political and economical threat from the Hindus.^[6] In fact, when the Vellore Mutiny broke out in 1806 and was erroneously attributed to missionary propaganda, Sir George Barlow prohibited the Serampore missionaries from leaving Serampore, from preaching openly in the bazaar, and the native converts from preaching unless they were sent forth as emissaries from Serampore.^[7]

By an Act of Parliament in 1813, missionaries were permitted to land and work in India. Thus began an era of missionary enterprise in Indiawhen missionaries from Europeand Americaentered Indiain large numbers and began preaching the Gospel in unreached areas.^[8]

Missions not only showed and proclaimed to the Indians the religion of the ruling Englishmen, who impressed them greatly,^[9] but also prepared Indians to develop ideas of individualism, democracy, human dignity, human rights, equality, justice, etc, through their ecclesiastical, social, and educational programs. Following are some of the ways in which Missions made a secular impact on the Indian scenario:

i. Evangelism that Respected Freedom of Choice: Promotion of the Ideas of Religious Freedom. The evangelistic methods of Christian missionaries in India were based on the Biblical principles of individual human choice and responsibility. Their objective was not religious conversions but human transformation. Based on the ethic of love and respect for all, they worked passionately to communicate the power and truth of Gospel. Laxminarayan Gupta writes that an attitude of tolerance was the reason why the missionaries did not attempt forced conversions as the earlier Muslims had done despite the fact that the British had been powerful in India for three centuries.^[10] The missionaries had deep respect for the human right to freedom of thought and religion. To the missionaries, conversion to religion had to be based on individual choice and decision.

ii. Morality Based on Humanism: Promotion of the Ideas of Human Dignity, Worth, and Freedom. Men like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Mahatma Gandhi were greatly impressed by the moral teachings of Jesus. Roy’s The Precepts of Jesus- the Guide to Peace and Happiness was an expression of his indebtedness to Christ for the humanist moral ideas he had learnt from Him. Though traces of humanism can be found in both Buddhism and Jainism, the value of being human in both religions is obscured by the doctrines of karma, samsara, dukkha, maya, and punarjanma. In both the religions, man is caught up in a vicious cycle of births and rebirths of which he is unable to come out. Man and animals differed only externally. In fact, a man could become a dog in his next birth. The world, according to Hinduism, was illusory and the human predicament (caste, gender, and then colonial rule) was a fate determined by karma. Such concepts in the Indian religions could not stir Indians towards either independence or rational and humanist moral acts. What it means to be man was meaningless in a world-view where even animals and trees were worshipped as deities. However, the Christian concept of morality - of truth, patience, love, kindness, compassion, equal treatment, and justice - being built on a surer foundation of the doctrine of God, creation, man, salvation history, and the Church began to gradually spread over India through means of evangelism, education, social work, and the free press. Soon, a class of Indians emerged who, though they might not admit their indebtedness to Christian humanist morality, reflected Christian ideals of the good.

There were others, however, who based on secular revolutionary ideas from France, Germany, and Russia, began to fight for Indian independence through guerrilla warfare and terrorism.^[11] Western education was also introducing the youth of India to the radical nationalist thoughts of the West and stirring up a militant form of nationalism.^[12] The Congress, instead, under the leadership of Gandhi waged a non-violent battle for the freedom ofIndia.

Thus, the moral ideals of Christian humanism contributed towards the secular battle for national independence and the formation of a secular nation.

iii. Modernization of Education: Promotion of Secular Knowledge. Education was one of the best contributions of Missions to India. In fact, Christian Missions initiated educational programs in India long before the Government even thought of doing so. European missionaries opened 17 schools in 1725.^[13] The London Missionary Society opened schools, first, in south India, and then in Bengal. These schools provided free education and the native Hindus sent their children to study for service in the Company. William Carey came to India in 1792 and spearheaded in Bengal the establishment of several schools that imparted modern education. The subjects that these schools taught were English, Mathematics, Geography, and Science. Carey translated the Bible into Bengali, and then along with his associates translated it into several of the Indian languages. The printing press that the Serampore missionaries brought to India contributed greatly towards the cause of education. The American Missionary Society was the first in the history of India to open a native girls’ school in Bombay in 1824. In 1826, the Church Missionary Society established the first female school. With the conviction that only the English language could be the best medium for communication of modern education in India, the Scottish missionary, Alexander Duff opened a school for instruction in English at Calcutta.^[14] His success in such venture later helped Lord Bentick to decide in favour of English language.

Christian missionaries also contributed greatly towards the development of the vernacular languages. For instance, Bengali in the past was considered a language ‘fit only for women and demons.’^[15] Therefore, Carey had to be invited from Serampore to Calcutta to teach Bengali. Modern Bengali literature was introduced and developed by the Serampore missionaries and by the Fort William College.^[16]

The influence of the missionaries’ works in education was widespread. By the strenuous efforts of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, a supporter of English education who opposed the opening of a SanskritCollege, the HinduCollegewas opened in 1820 in Calcuttafor education in the modern arts and sciences.^[17] The Hunter Report of 1882 brings out well the facts of missionary contributions towards the modernization and propagation of education in India.^[18]

Thus, Christian Missions, by first initiating modern education and influencing the British Government towards the same, played an important role in the modernization of education inIndia. An age of Indian Renaissance dawned on the sub-continent as a result, and several reforms and rethinking were sparked in the field of science, society, religion, education, economics, and culture.

iv. Social Work: Application of the Ideas of Human Dignity, Equality, and Worth. The social works that the Christian missionaries did in India presented a living and visible example of their view of human dignity and equality. In addition to educational Missions that gave an occasion for all to study (irrespective of caste, race, or gender, the very first time in India), medical Missions brought ‘help to the millions of the common people of India, for whom no skilled assistance in the time of trouble and death was available.’^[19] MedicalMission also introduced women missionaries into the Indian sub-continent to minister unto the suffering women ofIndia.

Orphanages, widows’ homes, and hospitals were started at different places of India. Leprosy mission in Indiaowes its origin to the Christian missionaries. Hostels for non-Christians were built in considerable numbers and managed by Christian Missions. The results were so impressive that demand for the extension of the hostel system throughout the country increased. Missions also reached the youth of Indian society, irrespective of caste or creed, by the Young Men’s Christian Association, which also played an important role in the development of democratic orientations among them.^[20] The concept of social work, irrespective of caste, creed, or gender, evolved out of the example that the missionaries set in India. William Carey’s campaign against Sati in 1806, though motivated by his Christian attitude, could not have been successful on the basis of only biblical arguments. His campaign, together with that of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, with support from Lord Wellesley and Lord William Bentick, was right in a context that favoured humanist ethics in independence from religion. Some reformers, who had come to believe in the rationality of humanist ethics through English education and contact with the missionaries, traced these principles to their own religion than accepting it as particular only to Christianity. Thus, Missions inIndia influenced Indians to develop a humanist approach to culture, society, and religion and, in this way, contributed towards the development of a humanist kind of secularism inIndia.

v. Freedom of Press: Promotion of Free, Proven, and Unbiased Criticism of Politics. The beginning of the modern Indian secular press can be traced to the launching of Friend of India in English, Samachar Darpan in Bengali, and Dig Darshan in Hindi at the Serampore Mission in 1818.^[21] The Indian type was first founded and used in the Serampore Mission’s printing press.^[22] Earlier on, Hicky had started The Bengal Gazette as a weekly in 1780. However, its vociferous criticism of Warren Hastings’ policies led to the arrest of Hicky and the termination of the journal in 1782.^[23]

Under the Governor-Generalship of Lord Wellesley, censorship was established over all the newspapers that were published in the country in 1799. Consequentially, the editor of the Bengal Kirkaru, Charles Maclean was deported to England for censuring by the means of print a public officer 'for acts done in his official capacity.'^[24] However, Maclean didn’t stay silent inEngland but continued his agitation against power abuse inIndia, which ultimately led to the resignation of Lord Wellesley.

Lord Hastings (1813-1823) believed in the importance of an independent press in the formation of public opinion and good governance. Therefore, he slightly modified the regulations regarding censorship in 1813. In 1818, he abolished the post of Censor and, thus, began an era of free press. Immediately, new journals sprouted out. However, there continued conflicts between the press and the Government. The Government of India deputed Sir Thomas Munro to investigate and report on this problem. In accordance with the recommendations that Munro made, the Government placed new regulations before the Supreme Court in March 1823 that provided that no press was to be established nor any paper or book printed without prior licence from the Government. Indians like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Dwarka Nath Tagore protested against those regulations. Finally, with the assistance of Lord Macaulay, Law Member of the Government of India, Sir Charles Metcalfe cancelled these regulations in 1835. As a result, the Indian press became as free as its counterpart in Englandwas.^[25]

Earlier on in 1830, William Carey had written in the Serampore journal Friend of India that the most gratifying of the many indications of the extension of freedom in the 19^th century was the establishment in India of a periodical press by whose potency the tyrannical dynasties of ages were crumbling rapidly away. He noted that it was the power of the press that had brought such a fast change in the Indian mind from superstition to rational thinking.^[26]

During the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, temporary restrictions were placed on the press but were soon withdrawn after the Mutiny. The Act of 1867 that is still in force aimed at the regulation of the printing presses and newspapers. In 1878, the Vernacular Press Act was passed that made regulations to make sure that the press does not misuse their freedom to incite feelings of disaffection towards the Government or to incite communal feelings. Also nicknamed as 'The Gagging Act,' this Act was condemned by the Indians all over the country.^[27]Subsequent conflicts between the press and the Government went on.

The concept of free press that the Indians were conceiving and for which they were contending was not originally Indian. It came from the West and was popularised by the Serampore missionaries, despite the fact that the Government was quite opposed to it. They used the press to confront the Government. Prof. Tripti Chaudhari writes:

The British officials and trading groups were completely indifferent to their misery and the rising Bengali Intelligentsia, with a few exceptions, were struggling for their own recognition in the field of education and administrative sphere in the colonial set up. In this background only the Protestant missionaries in Bengal in the late nineteenth century came forward to voice the grievances of this [i.e., the peasants] class. It is hardly an exaggeration to state that they became almost the sole spokesmen of the ryots tied to the iniquitous land system.^[28]

Thus, Missions inIndiaplayed an important role in the initiation of printing press inIndiaand the development of the concept of free press. Later laws and regulations that saw the modern freedom of press were built upon the earlier work of the missionaries. The foundation of free press inIndiathat the Missions and the British Government laid was constituted after the principles of secularism that discouraged any abuse of the press for breeding communal ill feelings. The laws and regulations made were, consequentially, in line with those principles of factuality, rationality, fraternity, and humanism, unclouded by any religious fundamentalist zeal.

It has thus been seen that the Colonial rule in Indiaplayed a very important role in the promotion of secularism in India. Renaissance humanism, building on to cultural and social secularism, and Reformation religious privacy, developing on to political secularism, entered India with the Colonial conquest. Earlier on, the Government employed a non-interference policy towards Indian religions, but was soon awakened by the Evangelicals to its task of introducing reforms for the good of Indians.^[29] All through, however, the steps taken were to be in line with humanist reason and non-interfering as far as privacy of religion was concerned. However, where religious practices conflicted with humanist principles, laws were prescribed. The unification ofIndia under one British rule helped the spread of cultural, social, and political secularism even faster. Industrialists started industries to the cities leading on to mass migrations to them from the villages. This led to the beginning of the breaking of the traditional families as secularism began to invade social life through its economic impact.

The English law was adapted to the pluralist context ofIndia, though in accordance with the principles of secularism. People of all religious backgrounds fared well during this time. The Crown’s declaration in 1858 further assured secular policy and relieved Indians of any fears. Meanwhile, inter-communal suspicions and doubts intensified. The pluralist Hindus could not understand the fundamentalist Muslims. The Muslims, on the other hand, doubted if their future was safe in case the secular British departed and the Hindus got the country’s reins. Various levels of responses came out as a result. Some Indian reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Mahatma Gandhi resorted to pluralistic religious perspectives. Others like Sir Syed Ahmad Khan contended for a rational view of life. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, on the other hand, fought for the emancipation of the oppressed dalits; the ideological influence behind the fight was the Western concept of human equality and rational existence. All these people were greatly impressed by Western culture and philosophy. In addition, the Governmental reforms also brought out in theIndiaa consciousness and realization of the possibility of change, reformation, and upliftment.

Missions played an important role in both the ideological and political development of secularism inIndia. Their ideological impact in the field of religion came in through their emphasis on rationality of religion and condemnation of superstition. Education played an important role in bringing out this ideological change. Idolatry, caste system, and inhumane practices that were endorsed by religion came under severe rational criticism. The printing press that the Serampore missionaries popularised became a great tool in the hands of the reformers who used it to circulate journals and pamphlets to awaken their countrymen to a modern and rational way of thinking that was free from religious domination. Missionaries played an important role in the Indian Renaissance and the secularization of culture and society. Mahajan says about the Christian missionaries:

… They spread not only Christianity but also education in the country. They opened schools and colleges and set up printing presses in the country. They opened hospitals and started other works of public charity. As a result of their activities, there spread a lot of skepticism among the Indians….^[30]

"not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing" (1 Cor.2:6).

When Paul was writing his epistle to the Corinthians (around AD  57), Nero, "the emperor who fiddled while (later) Rome burned", held the reins of the Great Roman Empire. He was forced to commit suicide on June 7, AD 68. A few days before his arrival at Corinth (sometime between 50-52), Paul had been at Athens, the ancient capital of philosophy, and had talks with the Stoics and the Epicureans. They had taken him to Mar's Hill from where he preached his famous sermon on "The God of the Altar to the Unknown God". Only a few responded positively, while the rest ruled him away, because they thought it was silly and unscientific to have mentioned the resurrection of the Christ. Well had Paul begun, when he writes this epistle, that "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" (1Cor.1:18), and that "since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe" (v.21).

Paul chose not to imitate the method of the world, whose cup of wisdom and scepter of power would soon fall and crash with the tides of time, and then finally extinguish before the majesty and might of the eternal Word of God. He writes: "my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (2:4). But, that doesn't mean that the message didn't contain wisdom, for can wisdom lie anywhere than in the message of God: "we speak wisdom among those who are mature," he writes "yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing" (v6).

The glaze and the glory of this world is short-lived. Blessed is he who has apprehended the wisdom and the might of God and the age to come!

In around 260 BC, King Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire invaded the Republic of Kalinga, now in modern day Orissa, engaging in a bloody battle that within a short period of time caused such massive destruction that it appalled the chronicles of time. It was the first and the only battle that Ashoka is said to have fought, following which he encountered a profound change of heart and gave up violence. The conquest did make Ashoka an absolute monarch over a great part of the Indian sub-continent; the change of heart, however, stripped him of any desire for further military conquests. The massive loss of life and suffering caused by this war weighed heavily on the mind of the King and plunged him into deep remorse. On the 13th of his 14 Major Rock Edicts, he inscribes:

On conquering Kalinga the Beloved of the Gods felt remorse, for, when an independent country is conquered, the slaughter, death and deportation of the people is extremely grievous to the Beloved of the Gods and weighs heavily on his mind... Even those who are fortunate to have escaped, and whose love is undiminished, suffer from the misfortunes of their friends, acquaintances, colleagues and relatives...

This inscription of dhamma has been engraved so that any sons or great-grandsons that I may have should not think of gaining new conquests, and in whatever victories they may gain should be satisfied with patience and light punishment. They should only consider conquest by dhamma to be a true conquest, and delight in dhamma should be their whole delight, for this is of value in both this world and the next. [as quoted by John Keay, India: A History, 92-93]

"Herein lies the greatness of Ashoka," writes R.K. Mookerji, "... at least no victorious monarch in the history of the world is known to have ever given expression to anything like it" [Ibid]. The conversion was total and it unleashed a rare time in the history of India known as the Golden Age of Indian history.

Though seemingly deriving several principles of statecraft from Kautilya's Arthasastra, Akbar resorted to the ideology of dhamma as derived from Buddhism to make the foundation of his rule. Ashoka's remorse had a ready remedy in the already existing Buddhist dhamma, with which he did have contacts from his previous stay at Avanti and his marriage to Devi (Vidisha-mahadevi), a Buddhist. The remorse was decisive, but even more important was the availability of the religion of non-violence in the form of Buddhism, and Buddhist chroniclers waste no efforts trying to depict the pre-Buddhist Ashoka as a monstrously demonic ruler, whose evil mind had to go through Kalinga to experience the decisive change. It is recorded that some 100,000 people were slain and 150,000 deported during the Kalinga War. The subjugated Kalingans were treated in accordance to the principles of Arthasastra: "having acquired new territory the conqueror shall substitute his virtues for the enemy's vices and where the enemy was good, he shall be twice as good. He shall follow policies that are pleasing and beneficial by acting according to his dharma and by granting favours and exemptions, giving gifts and bestowing honours." [Keay, 92]

The presence of a non-violent religious conscience was strongly felt throughout the Golden reign of Ashoka. It's absence was horrifically sensed in the modern fascist regimes rooted in the dehumanizing roots of Darwinism. Darwinism accomplished the reduction of man to a mere biological being. Spirituality was stripped of any significance. Two powerful ideologies, viz. Fascism and Marxism, that plunged the world into horrific crimes against humanity ensued from its principles. These philosophies stood strongly opposed against virtues of the religious conscience. In his book The Antichrist, Nietzsche blatantly expressed the logical political ethics of Darwinian ideology, ideas that went into shaping the fascist regimes of the 1930s. Not surprisingly, influenced by the Darwinian principles of natural selection, struggle for existence, and survival of the fittest, his doctrine of will to power stood ferociously opposed to the virtues of love and compassion. He wrote:

What is good?--Whatever augments the feeling of power, the will to power, power itself, in man.
What is evil?--Whatever springs from weakness.
What is happiness?--The feeling that power increases--that resistance is overcome.
Not contentment, but more power; not peace at any price, but war; not virtue, but efficiency (virtue in the Renaissance sense, virtue, virtue free of moral acid).
The weak and the botched shall perish: first principle of our charity. And one should help them to it.
What is more harmful than any vice?--Practical sympathy for the botched and the weak...

I call an animal, a species, an individual corrupt, when it loses its instincts, when it chooses, when it prefers, what is injurious to it. A history of the "higher feelings," the "ideals of humanity"--and it is possible that I'll have to write it--would almost explain why man is so degenerate. Life itself appears to me as an instinct for growth, for survival, for the accumulation of forces, for power: whenever the will to power fails there is disaster. My contention is that all the highest values of humanity have been emptied of this will--that the values of decadence, of nihilism, now prevail under the holiest names...

Pity stands in opposition to all the tonic passions that augment the energy of the feeling of aliveness: it is a depressant. A man loses power when he pities. Through pity that drain upon strength which suffering works is multiplied a thousandfold....

Shortly after writing this book, Nietzsche suffered nervous breakdown and ended in an asylum where he soon died. But, his megalomaniac philosophy became the fuel of Fascism and Nazism. Both Mussolini and Hitler were influenced by Nietzsche’s vision of the Superman, the Overman (in Thus Spake Zarathustra), which they further interpreted along their socio-historical experiences. The fascist ideas did spread to as far as Japan and the century saw one of the most brutal and violent histories of all time plunging the world into a global Kalinga of World War II. The difference: "Supermen" didn't have the means of remorse this time. They either committed suicide or were executed by those that defeated them and saved the world from self-destruction. There are instances of crimes against humanity that send a shiver along our spine. The concentration camps of Hitler and the Nanking massacre to mention two. Though opposed to fascism, Communism also viewed man with the anti-spiritual spectacles of naturalism that dehumanized the individual, but with a Hegelian tint to its philosophy of history. Pity was substituted with brutality, where the enemy was not just destroyed, but his humanhood was stripped off. Man, in the age of technology, with advanced weapons, was back to barbarianism. The religious conscience was annihilated.

Among those who did speak of a religious conscience but perpetrated crimes against humanity, their violence was sanctioned by their religious authority, sectarian view of humanity (that dehumanized other people groups), quest for political supremacy, racism, and/or a history of hatred, revenge, and anger.

In the Indian soil, sadly, as Romila Thapar noted, "the ideology of dhamma died with the death of the emperor [in 231 BC]" [Keay, 99]. After Ashoka, there was none like Ashoka. The modern period was a period of petty kingdoms warring against each other, of numerous social evils like child marriage, sati, casteism, temple prostitution, female infanticide, etc. The East India Company that came into India did put an end to the petty kingdom wars by assuming control over most of the land, however, it didn't interfere with the local customs. It was missionaries like William Carey and reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy who first began to take a stand against the social crimes sanctioned by religion and community. Consequently, the British administration imposed a ban over several of these.

From this time forth till the Independence of the nation, three major influences could be felt throughout the land: British Evangelicalism, Italian and German Fascism, and Russian Communism. While people like Gandhi and Tagore were influenced by British Evangelicalism, Golwalkar and Hedgewar (RSS) were influenced by Fascism, and Bhagat Singh was influenced by Communism (though these influences had a unique blend with the Indian socio-historical experience). The non-violent and peaceful protest methods that Gandhi upheld had an immense impact on the conscience of the nation. Certainly, as Bertrand Russell noted (and his statement hangs emblazoned in Mahatma Gandhi's home in Ahmedabad), "It is doubtful that the method of Mahatma Gandhi would have succeeded except that he was appealing to the conscience of a Christianized people." One wonders if Gandhi's methods would have had any success in Hitler's Germany or in the Ottoman Empire. In addition, we do understand the importance of a military to defend the nation.

However, it is the quality of the religious spirit that fosters a sense of humaneness even at times of war. It teaches one the principle of treating ones neighbour as one would have treated oneself. "Love your neighbour as yourself," said Jesus and, in addition, "whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them" - the Golden Rule of ethics. The Divine Spirit of Grace works within the human heart against the animal instincts of unrestrained passion for power and pleasure. One can either succumb to the base forces and enter a world of meaningless void and striving with the wind, or submit to Divine Grace and become a beloved of God, Devampriya (a title of Ashoka). Leaders can either destroy or build the nation. History tells us who built and who destroyed. Let us dare to follow the truth!

Sources:
John Keay, India: A History, Harper Perennial, 2004
Kalinga War
Kalinga War
Ashoka
Superman
Social Darwinism
John Allen Tucker, Tokugawa Intellectual History and Prewar Ideology.
Fascism in Japan
Causes of World War II
Crimes against Humanity
The Nanking Massacre
Communism and Crimes against Humanity
Fascism in India
To everyone an answer: Essays in honor of Norman L. Geisler

© Domenic Marbaniang, Saturday, 26 November 2010

1. Population. It's estimated that the population will hit 1.4 billion by 2021. That's hot multiplication. This gives rise to several problems in governance. The main one is economic. There needs to be proper production and distribution of resources to meet the basic needs. With more people in the land, there are more individuals with rights that correlate duties by the government. Educational and employment opportunities must also be provided. Then, there are health concerns that the government must address.

2. Pollution, Scenic, and Culture Problems. This is a grave problem for sure. Somehow, once the giant is aroused and set to go about, it's difficult to stop him. But, hopefully, the introduction of CNG et al. may bring some relief. Smoke, dust, drainage, plastic bags, and a myriad such issues await solutions, yet. We still have dirty railway platforms, bus stations, government offices, damaged roads, and ponds that the government cares less about. These are far from any aesthetic adoration. We shouldn't try to compare, but it's still very easy to spit wherever one wants in India. The same Indian, when he goes out of the country, will have begun to learn that this is not right, and he wouldn't feel to do the same in that kind of a surrounding. The government must learn to create a culture that favors cleanliness.

3. Moral Development & Corruption Issues. The government has failed to be a moral example to the people. Certainly, we learn of moral lessons in the schools; but, go to any usual government office or police station (or try a train travel), corruption is almost ubiquitous. The khadi is now despised as polluted by the police and the politician. Also, liquor is licensed, ruining families. However, thanks for several rights movements and noble men in the government as well who have brought significant reforms to a great extent. Now, ragging is banned; so, are several other social evils that had invaded the cultural fabric. Something more significant is to be done to put an end to human rights violations in red light areas, foot paths, railway platforms, and work places. Also, the censorship board seems to have changed its opinion in the past one decade. One wonders what change it's going to have in the next decade. Does it seem to accept that there are no moral absolutes and that the West in more moral than the East, as far as the Screen is concerned, and that we are still behind in Screen culture???


Other issues stand as well. But, following the Lao Tzu method, it's the leadership that is to blame for most of the issues. History teaches us that one leader can lead the whole nation to hell (e.g. King Manasseh, Adolf Hitler). History also teaches us that one leader can lead the whole nation into a brave world. The leaders must learn to lead and not just manage the status quo. It's not economic strength that determines the strength of the nation, it is conscience and the commitment to truth and love. Each individual of the nation is a leader in his/her own sphere. Please step to be an example, play your role right, and start the transformation of the nation. But, remember, leaders never quit - they lead us to the destiny, they carry the banner to the pinnacle.