Third Way PDF

T H IR D WAY
TH IRD WAY
By
DATTOPANT TH ENG ADI
Founder
Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh
Bharatiya Kisan Sangh
Swadeshi Jagaran Manch
Compiled by
BHANU PRATAP SHUKLA
SAHITYA SINDHU PRAKASHANA, BANGALORE, INDIA

THIRD WAY. By DATTOPANT THENGADI. Compilation of speeches
and essays on various aspects of national reconstruction. Originally
published (May 1995) by Janaki Prakashan, New Delhi. This revised edition
published by SAHITYA SINDHU PRAKASHANA, Bangalore. Pages :
xvi+283. April 1998.
SAHITYA SINDHU PRAKASHANA

14/3-A, NrupatungaRoad
Bangalore - 560 001 (India)
Price : Rs. 150-00
ISBN 81-86595-03-1
Cover Design : UNKNOWN CREATIONS, Bangalore

Typeset by SRINIDHI GRAPHICS, Bangalore - 560 008
Printed at RASHTROTTHANA MUDRANALAYA, Bangalore - 560 019
At the lotus feet of Shri Guruji M.S. Golwalkar
(Second Sarsanghchalak of RSS)
who gave vision to millions
to live and die for our
Motherland
"The World State of our concept will evolve out of a
federation of autonomous and self-contained nations under a
common centre linking them all.... It is the grand world-
unifying thought of Hindus alone that can supply the abiding
basis for human brotherhood, that knowledge of the Inner
Spirit which will charge the human mind with the sublime urge
to toil for the happiness of mankind, while opening out full and
free scope for every small life-speciality on the face of the
earth to grow to its full stature. Verily this is the one real prac
tical world-mission, if ever there was one."
— Shri Guruji
PUBLISHERS' NOTE
Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana is proud to be able to bring out this

edition of Third Way. The first edition brought out in May 1995 by
Janaki Prakashan of New Delhi had drawn critical acclaim. Copies
have not been available for the last two years. In view of the topical
ity and seminal nature of the book, we desired to bring out a revised
edition, to meet the continued demand from discerning readers in the
country and abroad. We are grateful to Shri Dattopant Thengadi and
Janaki Prakashan for permitting re-publication of this work.
We are beholden to Prof. M.P. Kendurkar of Mumbai who was

kind enough to effect the editorial changes needed in the text.
Our thanks are due to Srinidhi Graphics for typesetting, to Un

known Creations for cover design, and to Rashtrotthana Mudranalaya
for elegant execution of printing.
Bahudhanya Samvatsara Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana

Chaitra Bahula Ashtami
20th April 1998
AUTHOR S PREFACE
(Second edition)
I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of gratitude to

all the readers who have welcomed Third Way enthusiastically.
There was churning of thought on the subject in a number of

seminars organised at different places in the country. We wanted to
initiate a public debate on 'Third Way', without claiming that it was
the last word of wisdom. I am happy to state that this purpose has
been served within a short time to a satisfactory extent.
But during this intervening period it came to our notice that the
book suffered from pardonable as well as unpardonable printing
mistakes and also that it was necessary to restructure the contents in
view of the current requirements. On account of my preoccupations, it
was impossible for me to undertake this much-needed revision.
Fortunately at such a juncture Prof. M.P. alias Bapu Kendurkar came
to my rescue and accomplished this Herculean task in a very
satisfactory manner. I am thankful to him as well as to M/s. Sahitya
Sindhu Prakashana, Bangalore, for bringing out the second edition of
the book, the first edition of which was published by M/s. Janaki
Prakashan, New Delhi.
I have requested Prof. Kendurkar to state in brief the idea behind

this restructuring.
I feel confident that patriotic readers will receive this edition with
the same enthusiasm.
D. B. Thengadi
COMPILER’S INTRODUCTION
(First edition)
It is a great pleasure for me to associate m yself with the
publication of this collection of articles and speeches by Shri
Dattopant Thengadi on various aspects of national reconstruction.
It is now obvious that the existing institutional framework is
inadequate to deal effectively with the current complex problems which
could not be com prehended by the learned members of the
Constituent Assembly. It is generally felt that the constitution of a
new Constituent Assembly is the need of the hour. This is not to
devalue the competence or brilliance of those stalwarts who framed
the Constitution. But, as Jefferson said, "Each generation has a right
to choose for itself the form of government it believes most
promotive to its own happiness." Evidently, by 'the form of
government' he meant the entire social order.
Shri Thengadi is of the view that it is neither advisable nor
practicable to think in terms of a blueprint. Practical thinkers like
M.N. Roy, Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya, Swatantryaveer Savarkar, Marx
or Lenin refused to present any utopia, because, according to them, it
was an exercise in futility. A blueprint may be evolved in course of
actual implementation in the light of the broad guiding principles of
the basic ideologies, and that too by a trial-and-error method. Before
reaching the stage of implementation, what can and should be offered
is a general guideline of the new socio-economic order, and such
guidelines have already been furnished by every ideology.
Since communism has failed and capitalism is on the way out, the
search for a 'Third Way' is already on in the western countries
including the United States. Peter Drucker, Samuelson and others
have foreseen the inevitability of the collapse of capitalism, though
their public expressions are sufficiently guarded. This should not give
rise, Shri Thengadi cautions, to any euphoria in the minds of those
who had condemned both these thought-systems all these years. Any
attempt to evolve a new model must be preceded by adequate home
work on the subject, he thinks.
xi
Shri Thengadi wants each one of us to give serious thought to

the problem of the future social set-up. What he seeks to bring
about is a national debate on this issue with a view to building up
some sort of national consensus. This publication is intended as an
aid to the process of such creative thinking.
The publishers will feel amply rewarded if the publication of this
work succeeds in initiating the much-needed national debate on the
shape of arrangements to be created for the future.
This is not a thesis. Since this is a compilation of articles and
speeches written or delivered on different occasions, a few repetitions
are unavoidable, and should be overlooked.
Shri Thengadi was very reluctant to grant permission for the
publication of this book. I am indeed honoured that on my repeated
insistence he gave consent to this project. It is a token of his
affection for me.
It is my duty to thank Shri Ramdas Pande for providing the
material for this book and Shri Yogendra Pahwa of Siyaram Printers
for undertaking the printing of the book and Shri Atul Rawat who
helped a lot by going through the proofs.
Varsha Pratipada Bhanu Pratap Shukla

Samvat 2052 Vikrami
1 April 1995
A NOTE ON THE SECOND EDITION
I am very happy to present this second edition of Third Way - a
collection of articles and speeches by respected Shri Dattopant
Thengadi, on some of the important aspects of national
reconstruction.
The first edition was well received and copies were exhausted
within a period of some months. In his editorial note - "Why?" of
the first edition, Shri Bhanu Pratap Shukla - an esteemed and devout
follower of Hindu thought-system, as enunciated by and reflected in
the writings of Shri Thengadiji, and who had the privilege of having
edited quite a few earlier volumes by Shri Thengadiji - has rightly
observed that the entire exercise in this book was meant to bring
about a national debate on these issues of national reconstruction
with a view to building up some sort of national consensus.
Being a committed activist throughout his life, right from the days
of post-adolescent age, - though* an ideologue of the first rank -
Shri Thengadiji is a practical idealist and as such his theorisation for
the search of truth is a search for "warranted assertibility" - a phrase
substituting for 'truth', which he quotes from Dewey in his writings
and therefore, without being dogmatic he puts forth a 'Yuganukool'
approach to national reconstruction with a conviction in the eternal
principles which have evolved into the ethos of the Hindu society,
from the days unknown even to history. Being conscious of the ever-
expanding horizons of the revelation of truth, he modestly claims to
advocate the 'third way', which as a matter of fact is the 'only way'
to save humanity from catastrophe in these days of cultural anarchy,
after the collapse of communism and fast decay of capitalism. What
he intends further by his writings is to initiate the process of
elaborating the details of Yuganukool or practical implementation of
these eternal principles, in various fields of national life through
national debate. As such it seems quite natural to expect that the
second edition of Third Way would enhance this process of creative
thinking, which is already started by seminars at many places, as
mentioned by Shri Thengadiji in his prefatory words here. That there
was a pressing demand for the second edition of Third Way so
soon, is itself an indication that the purpose of this entire exercise of
Shri Thengadiji is being served satisfactorily.
Although the major part of the first edition is retained in this
xiii
second edition, the latter is not a mere reprint of the first one. For
example, two articles in the first edition - (i) 'Anti-Communalism X-
rayed' and (ii) 'On a Hindu Ideologue' - have been dropped in this
edition as they are not in any way - not even remotely - in tune with
the overall import of this collection. The essay 'On Revolution' is
given in the Appendix and not in the body of the book.
It was surely creditable for the editors of the first edition to
group under four heads so many articles and speeches, coming close
to one another in contents - which are spread well over twenty years.
Just to add to their endeavour in pointing out the common thread of
import of the contents in these groups, more homogeneously, some
changes in the grouping of articles and speeches are effected.
'Bharatiya Vichar' of part IV in the first edition is placed at its
logical position in the second part 'The Hindu View'. 'Parties Based
on Economic Ideologies' in part III of the first edition is now
included in part III 'Thoughts on Constitutional and Legal System'.
Similarly 'The Hindu Concept of World Order' in the first part of the
first edition is shifted to part III of the second edition. 'South-South
Co-operation' of part IV of the first edition is shifted to the present
part IV - 'Swadeshi'. The entire matter is divided into five parts
instead of four parts in the first edition, with Part I 'The Hindu
Approach’ serving as a sort of prefatory part and part V 'Reach for
Param Vaibhavam' as the concluding part.
With the intention of having a more appropriate order of thought
content, the sequence of articles in part I - 'The Hindu View' - is
slightly changed bringing all economic thinking together in a
consecutive order.
Similarly placements of section III 'Whither' and section IV
'Dharma - Our Point of Reference' in the first paper 'The Hindu
Approach' are interchanged with a view to making the contents and
the import of the same more meaningful and logically more consistent.
With the same intention, some paragraphs in other articles are
also rearranged and the sequence of some words and phrases is
changed in the same.
A word or two are added occasionally to make the meaning more
explicit. An effort has been made to the maximum extent to
maintain uniformity in giving quotations, names of the authors,
XIV
thinkers, etc.; names of the books, works etc.; use of Devanagari

script in case of Sanskrit quotations, conceptual terms, sayings,
proverbial usages, etc.
On instructions from the author,
a) one quotation from Pt. Nehru about the essential objective of
development and progress - from his preface, written just two days
before his death, i.e. on 25th May 1964, to a book by Shri Shriman
Narayan is incorporated in Part III - 'Dharma - Our Point of
Reference' in the first essay (p.21);
b) a note on historical development of the British democratic system
and the British democratic ethos, dictated to me by Shri Thengadiji,
is incorporated in the article 'Our Constitution' in Part III.
I felt myself elated and honoured when Shri Thengadiji obliged me
by giving his consent to my taking up this singular responsibility of
editing one of his most esteemed works for the second edition. I am
more than grateful to him for the same. Similarly I must thank M/s.
Janaki Prakashan, the publishers of the first edition, for granting
permission to bring out this second edition with the help of M/s
Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana of Bangalore, who are known for their
meticulous handling of any publishing project. I thank Shri S. R.
Ramaswamy of Rashtrotthana Parishat for facilitating the work of this
edition by taking into account and carrying out my suggestions.
I am also grateful to Shri Ravindra M ahajan, All-India
Co-convener, Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, who gave me some valuable
suggestions regarding the nicer essentials of the editing process.
I also thank Shri Girish M. Kulkarni of M/s Kulkarni Commercial
Centre, Mumbai, for carrying out the initial typesetting in the
preliminary stage.
I feel contented, without meaning to be complacent, that I could
complete this challenging task entrusted to me, with my humble mite. It
is now for the judicious readers to assess the worth of this exercise
from the point of view of the purpose behind bringing out the second
edition of the book.
Bapu Kendurkar
Dr. M.P. Kendurkar
14, Chandravijay
Mulund (E)
Mumbai - 400 081
CONTENTS
Parti
1. The Hindu Approach..............................................................3
Part II
The Hindu View
2. Global Economic System: The Hindu View...........................29
3. QuoVadis.............................................................................. 37
4. Economics.............................................................................76
5. Technology........................................................................... 83
6. Environment.......................................................................... 89
7. Humanism: Western and Integral.........................................96
8. Bharatiya Vichar................................................................ 100
9. Then... and Now!.............................................................. 107
Partin
Thoughts on Constitutional and Legal System
10. Towards an Indigenous Legal System.............................. 119
11. With No Comments........................................................... 141
12. Our Constitution................................................................ 157
13. Old Wine in New Bottle..................................................... 173
14. The State As Instrument................................................... 176
15. Parties Based on Economic Ideologies............................. 180
16. The Hindu Concept of World Order.................................. 184
Part IV
Swadeshi
17. Swadeshi - The Practical Manifestation of Patriotism....... 193
18. Dharma-kshetre................................................................... 205
19. Modernisation Without Westernisation.............................214
20. South-South Co-operation..................................................240
PartV
21. Reach for Param Vaibhavam................................................251
XVI
Appendix I
On Revolution.......................................................................... 258
Appendix II
Background Notes on some of the terms, phrases often used

proverbially or which have some historical, cultural context. ........282
PART I
THE H IN DU APPRO ACH

CHAPTER 1
The Hindu Approach

i
PREREQUISITES OF AN APPROACH PAPER
It is not as if an approach paper can be profitably presented at any
time and under any circumstance. All decks must be cleared first. Even
as waters cannot receive clear reflection of the moon and the stars until
they are clean, calm and steady, the public mind will have no receptivity
for an approach paper until it is free of all the cobwebs - intellectual
as well as psychological. A common man has neither the time nor the
mind to study in depth the thought-content of any ideology. He is,
therefore, satisfied with and willingly carried away by the slogans,
phrases, jargons and catchwords.
Again, a number of myths and fictions have been planted
deliberately, mischievously and systematically in the popular mind
by our erstwhile foreign rulers and their deshi disciples with the
object of de-Hinduisation. And the minds carrying the legacy of these
myths and fictions will not be in a position even to grasp the plain
dictionary meaning, much less understand its implications.
Each one of them may seem to possess limited capacity for
mischief, but all of them put together have succeeded in creating the
worst state of confusion in the Hindu mind. It is necessary to attack
and demolish all such false theories before undertaking to circulate the
approach paper. This is the mission of institutions specially raised for
this purpose. Baba Saheb Apte Itihas Sankalan Samiti is taking rapid
strides in this direction. Exploding the myth of the Aryan Invasion
Theory is a must. But it is not within the legitimate jurisdiction of any
approach paper.
For purposeful dialogue or debate it is necessary that the terms
used should convey the same sense to all the participants, that every
term should have the same connotation in the minds of all the
participants. If the same term creates different mental images in
different minds operating on different wave-lengths, the dialogue or
debate would be a sheer waste of time and energy. Voltaire said, "If you*
* This paper was circulated and discussed among intellectuals in October 1992.
4 Third Way
want to talk to me define your terms". General education of the masses
about the relevant terms is, therefore, the first condition-precedent. No
doubt, it takes time. But it is worth while. The game is worth the candle.
In its absence, further steps cannot be taken.
With the exception of three countries, the world communism has
virtually collapsed. But this need not generate euphoria. Apart from
the weight of its own internal self-contradictions a number of
contributory factors have been responsible for its downfall. These have
not yet been properly evaluated. Capitalism is on die decline. But its
demise is being delayed. Knowledgeable circles have started their
search for a third alternative. It should first be found out why they are
not attaining even the smallest measure of success in their efforts.
Even before the retreat of communism was in sight, scholars from

Islamic world had started system atic efforts to evolve Islamic
Economics as an alternative system. Jeddah in Saudi Arabia,
Islamabad, Leicester, and Delhi have been some of their important
centres. That they cannot furnish a complete and comprehensive
response to meet the challenge is obvious. But some of their tenets,
particularly that of the interest-free economy, will have to be studied
thoroughly by those who desire to create new systems. Their literature
has not been taken cognisance of in our country. About these tenets
there has been no public debate so far.
For many decades in the past, Christianity has been fighting and
at the same time often making compromises with communism. In the
process Christianity had to adopt a new role of all-embracing system of
thought. Hence evolved the terms 'Christian Science1, 'Christian
Art', etc. There has been an attempt to evolve Christian economic
thinking, if not "Christian Economics". No doubt, whatever economic
thinking would be thus evolved will be ultimately a part of the "Hindu
Economics". But the efforts of the Vatican City in this direction are not
yet sufficiently known in this country.
So far there was no urge for receiving or producing the Hindu

approach paper. This urge is noticeable in different quarters after a
period of sixty-five years. It means that the time for the Hindu paper has
come. And Victor Hugo has said,
"There is nothing so terrible as the birth o f an idea whose time
has come."
The Hindu Approach 5
Apart from the known Hindu Nationalists, there are here as well
as abroad many like-minded individuals, groups and institutions
actively interested in the evolution of the Hindu approach paper. Prior
consultations with them would be helpful.
The pioneers of this project should themselves be psychologically

well equipped. Whenever the approach paper is circulated we may
expect to come across sceptics or cynics who would argue that this
scheme is impracticable on account of certain scientific and logical
reasons. To those who argued by strict scientific logic that his engine
on rails could not and should not move, Stephenson replied,
"Your difficulty is solved by its moving."
Today the self-proclaim ed, 'professional' intellectuals are

fearlessly conducting their business- of smuggling intellectual goods
from the West and selling them in our country under their own name
and brand. Because of our increasing intellectual activities on different
fronts, they should be made to realise, before we enter the final phase
of ideological warfare, that their game is over and that their
long-cultivated audacity and arrogance can no longer be a profitable
proposition. C irculation of the Approach Paper would be the
beginning of the end of the ideological warfare. It would deal a fatal
blow to prevalent myths and legends created to mislead the Hindu
mind.
First Things First
In the materialist West, it was believed that matter is basic and the
mind is only a superstructure on it. Consequently, socio-economic order
was basic. Once an appropriate order is established, corresponding
psychological changes in popular mind would follow automatically. That
this belief was not correct has been proved now beyond doubt.
And therefore, though an approach paper should deal with the

socio-economic order and its institutional framework, viz., the
Constitution, more important than all these is the psychology of the
people. Dr. Ambedkar found that the democratic set-up in Great Britain
depended for its safety more on the spirit of constitutional morality
among the British people rather than upon the Constitution itself.
Subsequently, while dealing with the problem of the protection of the
rights of the minorities Dr. Ambedkar said :
6 Third Way
"Rights are protected not by law, but by the social and moral
conscience of society. If social conscience is such that it is prepared to
recognise the rights which law chooses to enact, rights will be safe
and secure. But if the fundamental rights are opposed by the
community, no law, no parliament, no judiciary can guarantee them in
the real sense of the word."
In this context Abraham Lincoln says :
"With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can
succeed. Consequently, he who moulds public sentiment goes
deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. He
makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to be
executed."
As the experience of the United Nations has been,
"In spite of all these, it is generally realised that a real guarantee for
the preservation of human rights, civil liberties and fundamental
freedoms lies in the level of consciousness of the common man, and in
people-to-people relationship on the sound basis of international
understanding."
John Kleinig who is one of the authorities on the problem of
Human Rights observes :
"Unless there is love, care and concern for others as individuals, in
addition to the recognition of rights, there remains a moral lack in
international relationships. There is something morally inadequate in
doing something for another, because it is the other's due. Actions
motivated simply by the rights of others remain anonymous or
impersonal, whereas if motivated by love, care or concern for the
other, their focus is on the other's particularity. Only relations of the
latter kind are morally adequate. They are person-specific, whereas
rights are species-specific."
Thus the real guarantee of successful implementation of any
Constitution lies not in the institutional framework or the law of the
land, but in the level of consciousness of the common man.
Historian Will Durant says,
"After all, when one tries to change institutions without having
changed the nature of men, that unchanged nature will soon resurrect
those institutions."
The raised level of national consciousness would remind us of the
Bharatiya traditional values of life which were distinct from and
superior to the current western values. They were capable of

revolutionising the inner self of a man by convincing him that the
material and the non-material are the two faces of the same coin and
the lopsided emphasis on the material aspect would create imbalance in
the individual as well as social life. The Renaissance of Hindu
Culture and Dharma is necessary not only for expediting the process
of our national reconstruction but also for bringing peace, harmony
and happiness to the tormented mankind. The maladies of humanity
in general and India in particular could be remedied only on the
strength of Hindu Culture. Is it possible for the West to reconcile
individual liberty with social discipline ? In the materialistic West
liberty soon degenerates into licentiousness, and discipline into
regimentation. The West could never conceive of basic organic unity
in the midst of apparent diversities, for it mistook uniformity for unity.
It could never appreciate the merit of Bharatiya socio-economic order,
for it mistook our stability for stagnation and its own adventurism for
dynamism. No western thinker could conceive of the unitary form of
governm ent with maximum decentralisation of adm inistrative
authority, because it is beyond their comprehension that there can be
central state authority coexisting with the regional, industrial and civil
self-governments, which has been the special characteristic of Bharatiya
social order. The West considered national self-reliance as incompatible
with the spirit of international co-operation. In the West, nationalism
can degenerate into imperialism and internationalism into disloyalty to
one's own nation. The 'Integral Humanism' of Bharat has exposed the
inadequacies, lopsidedness, imbalance and futility of the
compartmentalised thought-systems of the West. This system of
integralism enabled us to visualise the emergence of the world state
enriched by the growth and contribution of different national cultures,
and evolution of Manava Dharma enhanced by the virtues of all the
religions including "materialism".
The B haratiya culture evolved a co-ordinated system of
materialistic as well as non-materialistic values of life which together
served as an incentive for individual development. As is well known,
the artha and kama constituted the materialistic values which were
blended finely with non-materialistic values of dharma and moksha. The
material aspect was neither ignored nor glorified. Consequently, the
incentive was also of two types - m aterialistic as well as non-
materialistic; material gains and enjoyment, and social status and
8 Third Way
recognition based on the non-materialistic values. Everyone was free to
follow either of the two with the proviso that the sphere of enjoyment
and that of social status would invariably be in inverse ratio. The
higher the social status, the narrower would be the sphere of
enjoyment; the wider the sphere of enjoyment, the lower would be the
social status. There was perfect equality in society in that the total
quota of enjoyment and social status put together would always be
the same for every individual, though the ingredients of the quota
would differ from man to man depending entirely on one's own
voluntary choice.
Bringing home to all minds the import and significance of the
special characteristics of Hindu Culture is the first step in any effort
for national reconstruction. We forgot that subjective (inner)
revolution must necessarily precede the objective revolution. So far we
have put the cart before the horse. We have started with symposia,
seminars, papers, discussions, comm ittees, formal planning,
programmes, schemes, institutions, constructive work etc. But we have
not cared to do the first thing first, that is, to build a builder. As
revered Shri Gumji put i t :
"Our real national regeneration should, therefore, start with the
moulding of 'man ’ instilling in him the strength to overcome human
frailties and stand up as a shining symbol of Hindu manhood
embodying within himself all our traditional virtues of love, self-
restraint, sacrifice, service and character. We should unfailingly keep
this vision, this real essence of our glorious nationhood before our
eyes, so that we can again rise to our original pedestal of world
preceptor."
We have, therefore, to change our order of priorities, give highest
priority to man-moulding programme, initiate and expand
conventional ’constructive works' only to the extent to which such
'moulded men' become available, refrain from indecent haste, and follow
the dictum of revered Shri Guruji - "Hasten Slowly."
Why 'Ism'lessness
The drafting of an approach paper is easiest for those who follow
some 'ism'. But Hindus do not have that advantage.
Why do we refuse to subscribe to any 'ism' ?
The common man is always after some 'ism' or the other, because it
gives him a sense of certainty, while doubt is necessarily
a mental torture.
Great thinkers have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge which is
always relative. They think that doubt is not a very agreeable state, but
then certainty is a ridiculous one. They, therefore, cannot be votaries of
any 'ism' which is, by its very nature, a closed book of thought.
Voltaire tells a story of "The Good Brahmin". He narrates: The Good
Brahmin said, " I wish I had never been bom!"
"Why so?" said I.
"Because", he replied, "I have been studying these forty years, and
I find that it has been so much time lost.... I believe that I am
composed of matter, but I have never been able to satisfy myself what
it is that produces thought. I am even ignorant whether my
understanding is a simple faculty like that of walking or digesting, or if
I think with my head in the same manner as I take hold of a thing with
my hands.... I talk a great deal, and when I have done speaking I remain
confounded and ashamed of what I have said."
"The same day," Voltaire narrates further, "I had a conversation
with an old woman, his neighbour. I asked her if she had ever been
unhappy for not understanding how her soul was made. She did not
even comprehend my question. She had not, for the briefest moment in
her life, had a thought about these subjects with which the good
Brahmin had so tormented himself. She believed from the core of her
heart in the metamorphoses of Vishnu, and provided she could get
some of the sacred water of the Ganges in which to make her ablutions,
she thought herself the happiest of women. Struck with the happiness
of this poor creature, I returned to my philosopher, whom I thus
addressed :
"Are you not ashamed to be thus miserable when, not fifty yards
from you, there is an old automaton who thinks of nothing and lives
contented?"
"You are right," he replied. "I have said to myself a thousand times
that I should be happy if I were but as ignorant as my old neighbour;
and yet it is a happiness which I do not desire."
Voltaire continues:
"This reply of the Brahmin made a greater impression on me than
anything that had passed."
Followers of all 'isms’ are as happy, self-contented (or conceited?),
and self-confident as the old woman in this story.
10 Third Way
n
Whence
W hat is the starting-point of the process of our national

reconstruction? We have already seen that the Bharatiya culture
evolved a co-ordinated system of m aterialistic as well as non-
m aterialistic values of life together bringing out the individual
development. And therefore, though promoting and instilling in the
minds of all, the import and significance of the special characteristics of
Hindu culture is the first step for national reconstruction, material
aspects - especially social and economic ones also need to be given
serious consideration.
We have in our midst illiterate tribals some of whom do pot know
that water is to be used after the nature's call. Our villagers are
generally not conscious of general cleanliness and public hygiene. No
care is taken to destroy the breeding-grounds of mosquitoes. Sense of
cleanliness and clean habits are absent even in urban areas. Even many
local self-government bodies cannot boast of efficient drainage system,
public toilets and sewage treatment and disposal. General civic sense is
lacking even in urban areas. Spitting or throwing waste in public places
is a common practice. Voluntary observance of traffic rules, guiding and
assisting a stranded traveller, helping the old and the disabled in
crossing the road, preventing a child from being crushed by a vehicle,
getting down from man-driven rickshaw while climbing a gradient;
switching off lights and fans while leaving a room or alighting from a
train; moral sense to refrain from damaging public property and
preventing others from doing so; sense of social responsibility while
using or occupying night shelters, choultries, restaurants, lodges,
hospitals, hostels, school-buildings, maternity homes, libraries, public
halls, parks, stadiums, playing-grounds or cremation or burial grounds,
public transport; rushing to the rescue of the victims of goondaism or
accident in the Nafar Kundu spirit* - all such gestures are generally
missing.
At the other end, there are some problems that are common to all
third world countries, - floods, droughts, epidemics, famines, bad
harvests, earthquakes and other natural calamities. Some problems are
common to all the countries, developed as well as developing, such as,
* See Appendix II
population explosion, global urbanisation, environmental pollution,

technological unemployment, consumerism, boredom, students'
unrest, workers' agitations, growing criminality, the impact, to a greater
or lesser degree, of 'the crisis of saturation', recession,
stagnation-inflation (stagflation), stockpiling of waste products as well
as of unconventional weapons - nuclear, chemical and biological.
We were, till recently, free from the Latin American maladies of
wars, revolutions, terrorism and instability. But during the last decade
we had a very heavy dose of terrorism, family feuds, caste wars,
linguistic and regional conflicts, communal riots, road-accidents,
dowry-deaths, and misuse of leisure and commercial recreations.
For more than a century we followed the western pattern of
industrialisation. Like in the West, in our country too, people are
flooding to the urban areas. This has given rise to social situations
unprecedented in our history, viz., disintegration of family and village
commonwealth under the pressure of urbanisation; absence of
wholesome community life in industrial areas; bad and inadequate
housing; slums; paucity of clean drinking-water, industrial accidents,
illiteracy; self-alienation of individuals who have shifted from the
rural to the urban areas; individualisation of industrial life; lack of social
and moral values on the part of villagers psychologically uprooted
from and tom off their natural social environment; inability to adjust the
strains of new life-style under the impact of western civilisation;
imbalance in sex ratio; lack of balance between the material and non
material advancement. All these new factors pose a challenge to our
national genius.
To be sure, some problems confronting our society are more
social than economic in character. For example, the problems of
deviants, vagabonds, perverts, hedonists, neurotics, psychotics, etc.
Juvenile delinquency, juvenile vagrancy and truancy are also generally
caused more by social, rather than by economic factors. We have not
yet assessed the magnitude of the problems of nervous and mental
disorders and derangements and individual disorganisation or the
disintegration of personality leading to mental disequilibrium, the
extreme form of which is suicide. The rate of growth of suicides is now
practically double the rate of growth of population. The number of
psychiatrists and mental hospitals is woefully inadequate to meet the
requirements in this respect. This psychological factor contributes
12 Third Way
substantially to the growth of crime which is fast out-stepping the
increase in population.
We have not yet formulated a National Social Policy; the data, the
statistics required are also not available. We are not in possession of all
the relevant information about the incidence of dreadful diseases like
leprosy or venereal diseases. No realistic national socio-economic
survey has been so far conducted about the number of the blind, the
deaf, the dumb, the crippled, the handicapped, the disabled. Similarly
there is no data about the delinquents, the destitutes, the criminals and
also about the beggars and the children kidnapped, maimed and used by
professional goondas for begging. We have not adopted any scientific
approach about the extent of desertions and divorces and the children
of divorced persons. No systematic thinking has been conducted
about the problems of alcoholism, drug addiction and white-collar
criminality, undertrial prisoners etc. Adequate attention has not been
paid to the categorywise problems of bonded labour, child labour, rural
landless workers, small and marginal peasants, casual workers,
apprentices, women workers, legally unprotected labour, working
housewives. Certain socio-economic classes are also neglected, e.g.,
Vanavasis, de-notified ex-criminal tribes, and other nomadic and semi-
nomadic tribes; similarily categories of women like Devadasis, women
forced into prostitution. Callous attitude is betrayed about the refugees
from outside as well as from within, the displaced, un-rehabilitated
persons. Even the common consumers are not given their due.
Consequently the common man is disheartened on account of our
failure on this social as well as socio-economic front. But the most
important and urgent problems facing the country are poverty,
unemployment and underemployment, mass illiteracy, etc.
To those who are worried about more serious problems such as,
balance of payment (BoP) position, foreign policy, Centre-State
relationship or the superpower status, all this may appear to be too
childish a narration. But this in fact is the starting-point of our
Herculean efforts to improve the material aspect of life.
But the impact of all the factors enumerated above is further
aggravated on account of decay in religious and educational
institutions, unsuitability of existing social institutions resulting in the
erosion of traditional, cultural values without simultaneous creation of
new compensating values of life, domination of superstitions - modern
as well as ancient, erosion of religous freedom, lack of national
consciousness, self-alienation of de-Hinduised elite. This in turn gives
rise to lack of Swadeshi feeling or determination for national self-
reliance and the stranglehold of foreign economic imperialism.
This degeneration in non-materialistic aspect of life has its
inevitable toll in the material aspect of life - social as well as economic
one. The most distressing fact of our public life is ever-growing
corruption.
The menace of corruption grew out of all proportion particularly
after Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru declared that it was a global phenomenon
and that on account of corruption money did not go outside the
country. In its widest connotation, corruption is supposed to include
improper exercise of power and influence attached to a public office
or to a special position one occupies in public life. As defined by
Robert C. Brooks,
"Political corruption is a wilful failure to perform a specified
duty in order to receive some personal gain; such corruption
involves an unlawful act performed fo r some tangible
or intangible quid pro quo."
And agians as Elliot and EE. Merrill have said,

"Corrupt business practice, corruption in politics and organised
crime constitute a form idable interlocking directorate o f
Community Disorganisation. All are interested in the same goal
- reward without effort."
The Com m ittee on Prevention of Corruption (Santhanam

Committee) observed that corruption increased during the Second
World War and much more after Independence. There has been
extension of governmental jurisdiction with many regulations, controls,
licences, perm its, discretionary powers, the spoils system of
democratic government, unholy alliance between politicians and
business on the one hand and politicians and criminals on the other.
Now we are heading towards large-scale criminalisation of politcs. Of
late there has been a tremendous rise in economic offences, such as, tax
evasion, sharepushing, malpractices in the share market and the
administration of companies, sub-standard performance of contracts on
construction and supply. Because of political pressures organised
crimes go unpunished. For example, racketeering, illegal prostitution in
14 Third Way
hotels, supply of liquor in prohibited areas, counterfeiting, dacoities,
robberies, housebreaking, gambling, bootlegging, kidnapping,
abduction, political and other murders.
Apart from these big and small offenders, it seems the rulers are the
biggest economic offenders. There is reason to believe that they are
prepared to mortgage or sell economic freedom of the country to
foreign interests. This has harmed our national self-respect and
compromised our national sovereignty. The logical consequence of
their Jehad against the poor millions is inevitably the end of our
economic independence.
Along with all other things mentioned till now, we are pledged to
pay immediate attention to urgent problems like Punjab, Article 370,
Pakistani intrigues, Common Civil Code, Assam, LTTE, cow protection,
m issionary menace, infiltration, Naxalism, pseudosecularism ,
secessionism, and bureaucratic authoritarianism in the administration. At
the same time, as we are all aware, to restore our national honour by
liberating Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi is the first item on our agenda.
For, even if we mean to undertake to set right these things, we
must keep in mind that the root cause of all the social, economic,
political, administrative, cultural menace is the lack of sublime national
consciousness of Hindu society at large ! And as mentioned in the
earlier part, the subjective revolution must necessarily precede the
objective one. The only starting-point of our national reconstruction
could be the regeneration and rejuvenation of Hindu Culture and
Sanatana Dharma.
This is the starting-point, the 'Whence' of any national approach
paper.
Our Major Convictions

Before we proceed further it would be proper to state in brief our
major convictions regarding this subject :-
1. We do not subscribe to the view that western paradigm is the
universal model of progress and development. We do not think that
modernisation is westernisation.
2 European thinkers and their Indian disciples have presumed that
any and every society in the world has to, or will have to, pass through
the same stages of development as were experienced by European
societies. Their experience of historial development is supposed to
be universal in nature. But this is far from true. Different societies have
flourished in the past and will have to follow in future different courses
of development in keeping with their past heritage, traditions and
peculiar conditions in the present. Therefore, it is wrong to presume
that remedies that were probably effective in curing western
maladies will be equally effective in non-western countries, though it
is doubtful whether this particular remedy, i.e., socialism has been
successful in solving the European socio-economic problems. Blind
imitation of the so-called advanced countries will be of no use.
Gurudev Tagore used to observe that God has given different
question-papers to different countries.
3. Even as we do not think that anything western should be adopted
simply because it is western, we also do not think that anything western
should be rejected simply because of its origin. Knowledge and truth
are universal in character. Truth knows no class, caste or nation. We
are, therefore, in favour of assimilating knowledge from all peoples. Of
course, we must scrutinise it in the light of our past traditions and
present requirements, and then decide how much of it is to be adopted,
how much adapted, and how much rejected. This holds good par
ticularly in case of western science and technology. We are not in
favour or wholesale transplantation of the same to our country, since
its blessings are not proved to be unmixed even for western societies.
Nevertheless, what is valid in the field of science and technology cannot
be accepted as equally valid in the field of philosophy, religion, ethics
and ideology. In these fields white nations are too young. If anyone
proposes that India should seriously consider the historical experience
of a country like China while formulating its future course of action in
these fields, such a proposal would be well-deserved, though China is
not exactly as ancient as India and the special characteristic of Chinese
national personality is imperial state while that of India is culture. But
the experience of western countries cannot be of much help in the field
of philosophy and ideology; they being new-born nations, their thinking
and approach is immature. Blind imitation of the West would only
indicate bankruptcy of our native genius or acute inferiority complex.
4. It is a psychological fact that one cannot import any foreign
ideological term without all its mental associations. In case of the term
16 Third Way
'socialism', it is felt that the associations are neither happy nor helpful
to out society. Instead of sowing seeds of social harmony and
integration, these mental associations give rise to the feelings of social
disharmony and disintegration. So far as opposition to injustice,
inequality and exploitation is concerned, it is also a part of our cultural
heritage and it can be expressed suitably through our own traditional
technical terms, incorporating this negative aspect of opposition in the
positive* traditional aspect of integration.
5. It is well known that western philosophers and social scientists
entrusted the work of production, productivity and prosperity to
capitalism and conceived of socialism only after capitalism had fulfilled
its historic role. The pioneers of socialist movements did not foresee
the advent of socialism in poor countries. Even Marx has categorically
stated that the talk of socialism is irrelevant for societies that are not
affluent. All the third world countries are in this category. Socialism in
these countries would only mean equal distribution of poverty. Let it be
noted that we do not subscribe to this view of the socialist pioneers;
we are definitely of the opinion that socio-economic conditions
obtaining in the third world countries are not similar, parallel or
analogous to those obtaining in European countries in the last or the
present century, and that these countries must or will have to find out
their own respective paths to prosperity in the light of their respective
traditions, conditions and requirements.
6. We have deep faith in the efficacy of our own culture in solving
problems of humanity in different spheres. Today it may' appear to be
preposterous to claim that the Hindu Culture can furnish remedies for
all human maladies. But with all modesty it can certainly be claimed
that this culture is quite capable of curing national maladies. We do not
rule out the possibility that in not-too-distant future all nations of the
world will turn to Sanatana Dharma and Hindu Culture for seeking
guidance to solve their problems.
7. Pandit Deendayalji has rendered signal service to humanity by
coining the term and elucidating the concept of Integral Humanism. He
was not in favour of the term 'ism' since it indicates a closed book of
thought. He also would not use the word Humanism in its current
western sense. In the West, Humanism is, more often than not,
homocentric and anti-God. Nevertheless Panditji had to strike a
compromise with the current level of understanding of westernised
intellectuals. Hence the term Integral Humanism, which stands in fact
for 'ismlessness'. This term is only a modem manifestation of Sanatoria
Dharma. Its implications in the present national context are to be
worked out. We have full faith in the capacity of our own national
genius in evolving a socio-economic order which would meet our
requirements. We do not think it necessary for this purpose to sit at
the feet of western prophets.
8. Similarly in an ancient country like India having a rich cultural
heritage, it will be shameful to borrow any western term to describe its
ultimate national goal. Our languages including Sanskrit are rich and
powerful enough to convey any meaning. That we should be required
to borrow a foreign term for this purpose would imply poverty of our
national languages.
All these convictions are rooted not only in the correct
understanding of our national heritage but also in the up-to-date
information about the experiments in other developing countries.
One such example should suffice to illustrate the point.
Every culture has its own model. The model of development
brought over from another cultural setting, or imposed by alien vested
interests, can be disastrous. Ivan Illich, the famous author of Towards
a History o f Needs, Medical Nemesis, Tools fo r Conviviality and De
schooling Society, narrates his M exican experience of 'The
Development Myth'. He looks at what development has meant to
Mexico - not from the summit where plans of development are
prepared, and where implementation is reviewed, nor from the
statistics and theoretical indices that the bureaucracy and the
technicians offer as evidence of development, but from the ground
level. He sees the effect that 'development' has had on the life of the
poor in the rural areas and slums - erosion of means of subsistence
and traditional skills, loss of self-reliance and dignity and solidarity of
communities, spoliation of nature, displacement from traditional
environments, unemployment, bulldozing traditional self-reliant
communities into the cash economy, cultural rootlessness, and
corruption in politics. He asks whether this is development. This is the
price that is being paid for a blueprint of development that has no
relation to the condition and goals of the communities that are
described as the beneficiaries of development.
m
18 Third Way
Sarcastically, he observes :
"Development is an oozy term that is currently used for a housing
project, for the logical sequence o f thought, for the awakening
o f a child's mind, or the budding of a teenager's breasts. But
'development' always connotes at least one thing: a person's
ability to escape from a vague, unspeakable, undignified
condition called 'sub-desarollo' or underdevelopment, invented
by Harry Truman on 10 January 1949.
Seldom has a term been accepted all around the world,

like this word, on the day it was coined. It became a term to spawn
irrepressible bureaucracies."
And, again,
"Development means to have started on a road that others know
better, to be on the way towards a goal that others have
reached, to race up a one-way street. Development means the
sacrifice of environments, solidarities, traditional
interpretations and customs, to ever-changing expert-advice.
Development promises enrichment; and fo r the overwhelming
majority, has always meant the progressive modernisation of
their poverty."
In conclusion Ivan Illich says,
"The time has come to recognise development itself as the
malignant myth whose pursuit threatens those among whom I live in
Mexico. The 'crisis' in Mexico enables us to dismantle development as
a goal."
III
Dharma - Our Point of Reference
For every meaningful discussion, an appropriate point of reference

is necessary. For the present one, it must be Dharma.
We need not give up the practice of accepting Dharma as a point
of reference simply because some people mistake it for religion and
consider it as the antithesis of secularism.
The concept of Dharma is characteristically a Bharatiya
phenomenon. Recently, the intellectuals are gradually realising that
Dharma is different from religion. Religion is belief in, recognition of
or an awakened sense of a higher unseen controlling power or powers,
with the emotion and morality connected therewith, rites of worship,
any system of such belief or worship. In his 'Legal and Constitutional
History of India' Justice M. Rama Jois says:
"Dharma is a Sanskrit expression of the widest import. There is
no corresponding word in any other language. It would also be
futile to attempt to give any definition of that word. It can only
■ be explained. It has wide varieties of meanings. A few of them
would enable us to understand the width of that expression. For

instance, the word 'Dharma' is used to mean justice (Nyaya),
what is right in a given circumstance, moral, religious, pious or
righteous conduct, being helpful to living beings, giving charity
or alms, natural qualities or characteristics or properties of living
beings and things, duty, law and usage or custom having
the force of law, and also a valid Raja-Shasana (royal edict).
In Mahabharata, Bhishma says, it is most difficult to define
Dharma. Dharma has been explained to be that which helps the
upliftment o f living beings. Therefore, that which ensures
welfare (of beings) is surely Dharma. The learned rishis have
declared that that which sustains is Dharma."
Rama Jois further observes that when Dharma is used in the
context of duties and powers of the king, it means constitutional law
(Raja-Dharma). Likewise when it is said that Dharma-rajya is
necessary for the peace and prosperity of the people and for
establishing an egalitarian society, the word Dharma in the context of
the word Rajya only means Law, and Dharma-rajya means Rule of
Law and not rule of religion or a theocratic state.
Gajendragadkar, former Chief Justice of India, observes:
"Unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not
claim any one prophet. It does not worship any one God. It does
not subscribe to any one philosophic concept; it does not follow
any one set o f religious rites or performances; in fact it does
not appear to satisfy the narrow traditional features o f any
religion or creed. It may be described as a way of life and
nothing more. The history of Indian thought emphatically brings
out the fa ct that the development of Hindu Religion has always
been inspired by an endless quest of the mind for Truth, based
on the consciousness that truth has many facets. Truth is one,
but wise men describe it differently."
C.K.N. Raja in his Acquitted by History remark^ that
''Dharma in ancient Indian jurisprudence cannot be considered a
20 Third Way
synonym for the Anglican word Law since the former has a wide
connotation and application. However, in the absence of an
exact equivalent for the word in English, LAW can be accepted as
coming close to Dhartna.
By the term Dharma, what is implied here is not Religion but
Law which is closer to Dharma. In determining the institutional
framework for future India the point of reference has necessarily to be
the universal principles of Dharma."
It should be borne in mind that the evolution of the institutional
framework of future India must be kept aloof from the influence of
religion. It should be conducted in the light of the universal laws of
Sanatana Dharma. As Dr. Ambedkar put it, religion is a strictly
personal affair, Dharma, a social one.
In modern times, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya has been the most
competent interpreter of Sanatana Dharma.
Panditji represented the Bharatiya thought-system, which was not
status-quo-ist. He was of the view that old order had to change. His
view was:
"But one thing is clear, that many institutions will yield place to
new ones. This will adversely affect those who have vested
interests in the old institutions. Some others who are by nature
averse to change will also suffer by efforts of reconstruction. But
diseases must be treated with medicine. Therefore, we shall have
to discard the status-quo mentality and usher in a new era.
Indeed, our efforts at reconstruction need not be clouded by
prejudice against or disregard for all that is inherited from our
past. On the other hand, there is no need to cling to past
institutions and traditions which have outlived their utility."
Integj-alism is the special characteristic of Panditii's humanism.
While he appreciated the utility of appropriate socio-economic order in
any scheme for human happiness, he laid greater stress on the
moulding and development of human consciousness, in the absence of
which no social order, however meritorious, can yield the desired
results.
Absorbing completely all the thought-currents of the West as
well as all indigenous thought-systems, Pandit Deendayalji spelt out
Integral Humanism which is the manifestation of Sanatana Dharma
in keeping with the requirements of the post-second industrial
revolution period. That has to be the point of reference in the matter
of national reconstruction. Whatever is worked out here has been only

by way of deductions flowing from this central point.
Dharrna in practice comprises the unchanging, eternal, Universal
Laws and the ever-changing socio-economic order in the light of these
Universal Laws. For example, morality in the man-woman relationship is
the Universal Law. But the institutional arrangements to preserve and
promote morality can be neither eternal nor universal. They would be
different in different times and climes. Even in our own country there
have been any number of such arrangements undergoing changes from
time to time. As reaction to certain coercive measures of Churchianity,
some great thinkers in Europe, including Marx, condemned the
institution of marriage and family. This led to a misunderstanding in
some circles that, for a genuine communist, morality is not a must. They -
advocated the ink-pot* theory. But responsible leaders like Lenin and
Trotsky publicly condemned this theory, since, according to them, one
who is not dependable in private life cannot be trustworthy in public
life also. The institutional arrangements like marriage are subject to
changes according to or corresponding to the periodical changes in the
social scene.
It is also essential to set a new goal or objective for all national
striving keeping in view the failure of the western paradigm as well as
the significant difference in the historical courses of events.
Even Pt. Nehru wrote just two days before his sad demise:
"In India, it is important for us to profit by modern technological
processes and increase our production both in agriculture and
industry. But in doing so, we must not forget that the essential
objective to be aimed at is the quality of the individual and the
concept of Dharma underlying it."
(Foreword to a book by Shriman Narayan.
Circuit House, Dehra Dun. 25th May 1964)
We must conceive our own model of progress and development in

the light of our culture, our past traditions, present requirements and
aspirations for the future. We should study in depth the western
paradigm and benefit from it wherever possible, but not accept it blindly
as our model for future.
With this understanding of the practice of Dharma we have to
consider the subject of Institutional Framework for future India.
* See Appendix II
22 Third Way
IV
Whither
Wise are those who are wedded to no ideals.
They are happy people in the world.
Next to them in wisdom are those who have a pre-determined goal
in life but are not unduly disturbed if they set their sails for
Hindusthan and reach America.
After all, they have reached somewhere.
About such persons Alexander Pope remarked:
. Bom for the Universe, narrowed his mind
And to party gave up what was meant for mankind.
The idealists are those who are willing to behave as Sisyphus,

prepared to push a huge stone up-hill and begin again when it rolls
down.
They are fools.
But they alone are competent to dwell upon this subject of
"Whither".
Others should not waste their valuable time and energy on this
exercise.
* * * *
To undertake a journey, it is necessary to chalk out the course.
In his Ideology as a Cultural System, Clifford Geertz says,
"Ideologies function as Road-Maps guiding people to desired
political end."
They also guide people to a more comprehensive goal of National
Reconstruction.
Ideologies, not Utopias!
* * * *
Utopians crave for blueprints.

Like a blue photographic print representing the final stage of
engineering or other plans, a blueprint is a detailed plan of work to be
done.
Utopians long for a blueprint of their El Dorado.*
Recently, the West is developing 'Futurology' as a new science of
'prognosis'.
It is a systematic forecasting of future, especially from present
trends in society. (The phrase 'futurology' was coined by the German
historian Ossip Flechtheim in 1949).
As compared to Utopianism, Futurology stands on a different
footing.
Futurologists are not after blueprints; they are interested in
forecasting.
Ideologies provide road-maps; the Hindu Nationalists are equipped
with such maps.
But for many decades in the past the term 'blueprint' has been
purposely glamourised by communist intellectuals, particularly those
working among college students.
It seems, therefore, that some, clarification on this point is called
for.
Blueprint
What was the attitude of Karl Marx himself towards a blueprint? He
was requested to give a complete picture of an ideal communist
society, and the various phases that would ultimately lead to the
attainment of that highest stage. What was his reaction?
As 'Three Faces of Marxism' explains
"As fo r the detailed development o f these phases and the
solutions that would have to be found for individual practical
questions, Marx and Engles declined all discussion, since they
regarded this as Utopian speculation. 'The working class (has)
...no readymade utopias to introduce 'par de'cret people,' Marx
declared, they have 'no ideals to realise but to set free the
elements of the new society with which the old collapsing bourgeois
society already is pregnant.' It is not the task of Communists to create
utopian systems fo r the organisation of the future society,
See Appendix II
24 Third Way
least of all in questions of details. To speculate on how a future
society might organize the distribution of food and dwellings
heads directly to Utopia. The people of the Communist Society
of the future will not care a rap about what we today think they
should do."
Asked about the blueprint of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh by a

college student at Madras, Pt. Deendayalji replied, "Do you want to tie
down the hands of future generations?"
Gandhiji had the same resentment of blueprint-mentality in his
mind when he told the All-India Conference of the Gandhi Seva
Sangh held at Dhaka on 20 February 1940, that it was his earnest desire
that the term 'Gandhism' should not gain currency.
Asked by Savarkar about the blueprint of his communist Russia,
Lenin just smiled and said that any blueprint starts taking shape
when the stage for implem entation is reached; till then the
revolutionaries have to conduct their activities in the light of the
broad guidelines given by Marx. On another occasion Lenin
remarked, "Karl Marx has not written a single word about economics
of socialism".
About M.N. Roy's reaction to this issue, J.B.H. Wadia, his
intimate associate, states,
"He [i.e., M.N. Roy] did not conceive of a state of society which
would become the last word in Utopia. Because Utopia in its
final analysis is perfection. Perfection implies stagnation; and
stagnation is death, biologically speaking. Hence he maintained
that even when man attains Utopia, it will defeat its purpose if it
does not become a stepping-stone to still further explorations in the
exciting adventure of life. Roy was not a man in a hurry."
^ ^ ^
The destination was visualised on the Vijayadashami day of

1925 :
It is the 'Paratn Vaibhavam', the pinnacle of glory, of the Hindu
Rashtra.
The starting-point of the journey is the commitment to certain
Articles of Faith:
One People (Jana), i.e., Hindu
One Culture (Sanskriti), i.e., Hindu
One Nation (Rashtra), i.e., Hindu
One Country (Desha), i.e., Akhanda Bharat
One Order (Vyavastha), i.e., Dhamia-Rajya
We are not to rediscover our destination.
W hat is to be worked out is the implication of Pararh
Vaibhavam.
PART II
THE HINDU VIEW

CHAPTER 2
Global Economic System : The Hindu View*

It is now generally acknowledged that no material objective
transform ation can be successful unless it is preceded and
accompanied by an appropriate subjective, psychological
transform ation. Changes in the institutional framework are
comparatively easier; but they cannot yield the desired results if
they are not preceded by corresponding changes in the social or
human mind.
Dharma envisages an ever-changing socio-economic order in the
light of its unchanging universal laws. The laws are eternal, the
order is transient.
The goal of all life is happiness - complete, solidified, eternal
and unintermittent. To be complete, happiness must reign at all
levels - physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual.
The main prerequisite for the attainment of this goal is the
socio-economic order offering full scope for the fullest development
of all faculties and aptitudes for all the individuals.
The guiding principles of the economic system deduced from
the universal laws are readily available.
Perceive oneness in the midst of all diversities
has been the eternal message of the Sanatana Dharma. It is more
pertinent today than ever before. Diversities are neither to be
steam-rolled nor pampered. Dharma envisages autonomy of each
human group to seek its social self-fulfilment through its own unique
paradigm, and psychological integration of all such groups in
a common framework of harmonious and mutually complementary
interrelationships of One World each group
enriching the common, human understanding by making its own
characteristic contribution to the collective wisdom of humanity.
The present is to be m oulded in the light of the correct
* Lecture delivered in the 'World Vision 2000' organised in Washington,

U. S. A., on August 6 and 8, 1993
30 Third Way
perspective of the past and the future.
For this purpose, it is imperative, first, to unlearn the wrong and
the anti-future lessons of the past.
Incompatible with the spirit of Dharma are the customary
assertions of universality for any one particular regional paradigm, or
the hegem onistic conception of unity parading itself as
'globalisation.' Pluralism in techno-cultural system s and
'relativisation' of technology, science and culture are the indisputable
facts of life. Except Dharmti, there can be no other "absolute
reference" for human affairs.
For total, integrated, balanced understanding of the past, it is
inevitable to abandon the current version of Euro-centric history,
which is devoid of a sense of proportion, and initiate a new phase
of historical investigation that takes for its canvas the entire globe.
This demands a new framework, new terms of reference, a new scale
of values, which would facilitate the globalisation of the focus of
historians, instead of its present Europeanisation.
Appreciation of this fact about the past is indispensable for the
evolution of a correct strategy for the glorious future of mankind,
based upon global distributive justice, and completely free from
poverty, want, fear, disease, dehumanisation and self-alienation.
But the global economic order is part and parcel of the total
global order. It would be, therefore, unrealistic to think of the former
without visualising first the nature of the latter.
For this purpose, it is imperative to know the salient features of
the present state of the total global order. Unless 'what outght to be'
is rationally related to 'what is', the whole thought process would
become only utopian - an exercise in futility.
Obviously, the world of 1993 is drastically different from 1893.
During any period, the relationships of classes, races, genders,
professions, nations and other human groups alter continually by
shifts in population, ecology, ideology and culture. The dawn of the
century witnessed the nations and subsequently nation-states, as the
basic and the more important units or ingredients of mankind.
Independence and sovereignty are the natural attributes of the
nation-states. International agencies created first by the League of
Nations and, subsequently, by the United Nations had marginal
Global Economic System : The Hindu View 31
impact on the status of nation-states, though it was unfortunate that
the confused United Nations could not make any distinction between
the 'Nation' concept and the 'State' concept. The impact of voluntary
transnational bodies dealing with environment, human rights, civil
liberties, tourism, arms control, labour relations, etc., has been
comparatively more. But some other forces have been giving a shock
treatment to the well-entrenched nation-states.
These are :
° International fundamentalism;
0 transnational terrorism;
° international monetary bodies, trade regulators and financial
corporations capable of transferring operations, funds, pollution
and people across the national borders;
° international 'underground empires' of narcotics or drugs which
have come to acquire, in some cases, more wealth, larger armies,
more capable intelligence agencies, and more influential
diplomatic services in many countries.
These forces are challenging the very concept of 'national
sovereignty'.
Another challenging development is the vertical organisation for
the European Community which raises two pertinent questions:
1. Whether the same psychology will not come to dominate other
regions, such as, North America, the Slav land, the Arab world, the
new Confucian community, the Shinto sphere, etc.; and
2. Whether such vertical regional organisations may not reduce the
involved nation-states to the status of provinces by imposing supra
national controls over currency, central banking, educational
standards, environment, agriculture and national budget.
Whatever may be the future composition of different human
groups comprising mankind, and the probable shift of power from
the nation-states to other more comprehensive entities, the current
criterion for evaluation of their relative power and status has been
their comparative economic prosperity and military might. Even in
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Paul Kennedy leans heavily
on this criterion while explaining the phenomenon of American
32 Third Way
decline. But in recent years the nature of power itself is being
transformed. The accelerated advance of science and technology;
lasers, computers, super-computers, memory chips, viruses with
which to attack computers or people, robotics, extra-intelligent
electronic networks and media for moving knowledge and its
precursors - data and information; rising interest in cognitive theory,
learning theory, "fuzzy logic", and neuro-biology; continual
innovations in science, business, industry, and in such
knowledge-intensive technologies as micro-electronics, advanced
m aterials, optics, artificial intelligence, satellites,
telecom m unications; advanced sim ulation and software;
biotechnology, superconductivity, and semi-conductor technology;
precision-targeting, brief-case weapons, human bombs, ballistic
missiles; nuclear, chemical, and bacteriological weapons; information
technology, art, imagery; - all these flow from the Knowledge Power
which has come to occupy the centre stage, so that even economics
and w ar-science are becoming progressively more and more
dependent on this new power.
And, most important of all, a revolution in the 'info-sphere,' i.e.,
the entire knowledge-system, is already underway.
Against the background of this global scene, it would be realistic
to envisage ' Global Economic System for a Peaceful World' which is
to operate within the framework of an ideal Global Order - an
integrated view - and not a compartmentalised or a fractional one.
It is not enough to depict some romantic El Dorado as the
blueprint of the new order. The problems confronting us on the
practical plane are : Is it feasible to replace the present economy of
contrived scarcities, profit motive, and rising prices by an economy
of an abundance of production, humanitarian motivation, and
declining prices? Will westerners be able to understand that, in
reality, it is the total basket of goods and services and not its market
price, that constitutes the national wealth?
Is it practicable to replace :
1. M onopoly capitalism through various devices, by free
competition without manipulated markets;
2. Economic theories centred around wage-employment, by those
centred around self-employment;
3. Ever-widening disparities, by a movement towards equitability
and equality;
4. The rape of Nature by milking of Nature;
5. Constant conflict between an individual, the society and Nature,
by complete harmony between them?
It would be sheer gullibility to presume that ethical sermons on
trafsftr g;Rsrr: trrtj, non-possession, restrained consumption and
upliftment of the 'last' man would succeed in wiping out the current
craze for happiness for oneself, acquisitiveness, consumerism, and
exploitation.
Modern man is in a hurry; he has no time to ponder over the
basic tenets of Integral Humanism which is the modern manifestation
of Sanatoria Dharma.
This is but natural. Social mind is never receptive to the concept
of any new or alternative social order, unless it comes to realise that
potentialities of the present system are more than fully exhausted,
and that its continuance would inevitably become not only counter
productive but also disastrous.
Can this realisation dawn on the modern (and particularly the
western) mind at any point of time?
Common man everywhere prefers to be status-quo-ist and self-
complacent. Probably, under similar situation Milton's God said:
"If not goodness, let calamity
Toss him unto my Bosom."
The post-1945 International Economic Order has been iniquitous
to the detriment of the developing third world countries. In 1973 the
latter came together and demanded negotiations leading to a new
and more just Global Economic Order. In October-November 1981,
the major northern developed countries denied at their Cancun
(M exico) Conference the need for structural change in the
international economic arrangements. And now the Uruguay round
of trade negotiations has aggravated the discontent of the Economic
South against the Economic North.
If pursued, the Uruguay strategy would culminate in complete
exploitation and near-extinction of the southern countries, or,
alternatively, their revolt against the process, resulting in the
North-South confrontation.
3
34 Third Way
What is the genesis of this development?
The internal self-contradictions of capitalism are becoming ripe,
particularly so, after oil prices went up sharply in 1979. The already
deteriorating western system found it extremely difficult to sustain
this so-called 'second oil price shock'. In spite of the collapse of
communism, the economy of the developed countries continued to
go downhill. Consequently, they evolved an elaborate strategy to
crush the South for somehow maintaining their own economic
structures intact. The Dunkel Text is a clear acknowledgement of the
fact that capitalism cannot survive for long on its own strength.
There is a growing realisation of this fact among western
intellectuals. Nevertheless, even in the face of their retreat on the
economic front, they are still clinging to their customary euphoria
and arrogance because they know that the most important and
decisive trump-card in global affairs is in their hands.
It is the Knowledge Power.
And their supremacy in this respect is unchallengeable, at least
for the present. For, talents cannot make up immediately for the
deficiency in material and monetary resources. Hence their jurstifiable
euphoria.
The Knowledge is Power.
But power is invariably a double-edged weapon.
In possession of cultured Arjuna, the mightiest unconventional
weapon of Pashupatastra posed no problem for mankind; but with
the less powerful Brahmastra, Ashwatthama conducted a genocide.
After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there has been a growing
scepticism among humanitarian scientists about the desirability of
unrestrained and unguided advance of science and technology. The
stand taken by some of the advanced countries at the Rio
conference justified the earlier apprehension that they do not want to
co-operate with the efforts for ecological balance, but would only
dump their pollution in the courtyard of the developing countries. But
this strategy cannot put off for long the global environmental
catastrophe which would not spare the northern countries
themselves. This is One World, and adversity anywhere would, in
the long run, destroy prosperity everywhere. Even for the developed
countries, these cultured scientists feel, the unrestrained
advancement of science and technology would prove to be baneful.
For example, if the science of genetics is in a position to produce
any human being of given specifications by 2040 A.D., as once
claimed by it, what guarantee is there that it shall produce only
Bhagwan Buddha, Lord Jesus or Mahatma Gandhi, and not Attila,
Chengiz Khan or Stalin? A scientist enam oured of personal
distinction or a Nobel Prize and unconcerned for human welfare may
raise a Frankenstein*, an artificer of doom, detrimental to the human
race as well as to all life on the globe. Excellence in science is no
guarantee for humanitarian concern for world welfare.
There is, therefore, a strong suggestion that the 'technical know
how' - which tells us how to achieve the given purposes - should be
placed under the control of the 'technical know-what' which can tell
us what purposes are worth being achieved; that there should be
set up a Technical Ombudsman comprising cultured men known for
humanitarianism to control, guide and direct the work of scientists
and technologists.
This voice is feeble today, but history records that every sane
voice was feeble in the initial stage and that it gathered strength
and momentum in course of time because of the inherent soundness
of its approach, and the materialisation of factors foreseen by a few
but, unpredictable for the rest. Not merely by general moral
awakening, but because of the irresistible pressure of various
relevant factors - ecological, demographic, cultural, developmental,
strategic, etc., the demand for Technological Ombudsman also is sure
to become irresistible.
Considering the acceleration of the various destructive, volcanic
processes at the international level, and aggravation of all the
consequent maladies, it is obvious that, sooner rather than later,
constitution of such a Technological Ombudsman will become a
reality in the not-too-distant future. That will b.e an epoch-making
turning-point in the modern world history. It would indicate the end
of the dark age of self-defeating materialistic arrogance and the
inauguration of an era of new Global Order eagerly awaited by
humanitarians in the West as well as in the East. Even the demonic
forces of the day will be compelled to fall in line with this new trend
in world history - not because of their 'change of heart', but on
account of the ripening of their own internal self-contradictions.
See Appendix II
36 Third Way
There is, therefore, no justification for pessimism. Revered Shri Guruji
used to quote the following one-stanza poem of Tennyson - The
Play - talking with the shortsighted prophets of doom:
Act first, this earth a stage so gloomed with woe
That you all but sicken at the shifting scenes,
And yet be patient, our Playwright may show
In some Fifth Act what this wild drama means.
Today we are on the threshold of this Fifth Act. 'The Global
Vision - 2000' is the first scene of this last Act. This marks the
commencement of the new millennia, - the Hindu, that is, the Human
Millennia; for the Hindu and the Human are synonymous. On this
auspicious occasion, let each one of us take a solemn vow, in the
immortal words of one of the greatest humanitarians the world has
ever produced, "to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and
a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations", "with malice
towards none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God
gives us to see the right."
It is not without profound spiritual significance that this land of
Lincoln is playing host to the centenary celebrations of the historic
Address of Swami Vivekananda, the Cultural Ambassador of the
land of the earliest Rishis of mankind.
CHAPTER 3
Quo Vadis*
'Hindu Economics' of Dr. M.G. Bokare will be considered as a
landmark in the history of economic thinking of our country. It may
also give an unpleasant surprise to the 'left' as well as the 'kept'
intellectuals to find a former Marxist asserting that the first book on
Economics was written in India and that it was in India that
'Economics' was defined for the first time in the world history of
Economics literature. When apprised of this fact by Dr. Bokare,
J.K. Galbraith appreciated his suggestion that western economists
ought to be informed about the literature on economics in ancient
India. In course of time, Dr. Bokare may find that it is easier to
convey any truth to western intellectuals than to the intellectuals in
this country who are still under the influence of some 'modern'
superstitions and are still feeling happy at the loss of their
intellectual autonomy. As economists they are not the legitimate
successors of Dadabhai Naoroji who first originated the 'drain
theory', or Justice M.G. Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Ramesh
Chandra Dutt who criticised British economic policies in the spheres
of public finance, taxation, banking, industrialisation and revenue
system. They are not even acquainted with Arthachintaks, i.e.,
Professors of Economics in ancient India.
When the Hindu nationalists entered the economic field in 1955 it
was immediately certified that they were ignorant of economics. That
was a self-evident fact. They must be ignorant because they were
'Hindu'. It could not be otherwise. All their words and deeds were
ridiculed with utter contempt. That they were new entrants in the
field was obvious. But who had granted the monopoly of all
intelligence in the land to their critics is not yet known. Arrogance,
rather than intelligence, was the main asset of these traders in
imported intelligence.
In trod uction to 'Hindu Economics' b y Dr. M .G . B o k a re, p u b lish e d b y

Janaki Prakashan, N e w D elh i.
Q u o V adis - se e A p p en d ix II.
38 Third Way
PART-I
When Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh declared that it recognised the
traditional Vishvakarma Day as the National Labour Day, the leftists
were taken aback. "Who is this fellow Vishvakarma? Why has he
been excavated from the hoary past at this particular juncture?" they
asked. They were further flabbergasted to know about the
Vishvakarma sector in Bharatiya economy. They had never come
across this particular term in the western literature. The western
economics did not recognise this sector of self-employment which
was neither a 'private sector' nor a 'public sector', but the 'people's
sector'. The w esterners had no elegant theory to explain
self-employment, though they measured self-employment in the
estimates of national income. The wage-employment is the only
economic variable in the western analytical econom ics. The
Vishvakarma sector had, therefore, no justification for existence, no
raison d'etre; sooner rather than later, it would merge itself into the
camp of the 'have-nots', they asserted. Think of their embarrassment
when they learnt subsequently that the Household Industries Act
was passed by the erstwhile communist Soviet Union, and that
Communist China and Hungary also had made legal provisions for
the self-employment sector!
When BMS claim ed that Bharat had a very long and
distinguished history of economic thought, the leftists dismissed it
as fantastic nonsense. In keeping with the Bharatiya tradition,
Kautilya pays his homage to Shukra, Brihaspati and others at the
very beginning of his Arthashastra. He also states that his treatise is
a compendium of almost all the Arthashastras composed by ancient
teachers. He mentions his predecessors as many as hundred and
fourteen times, though very often with a view to expressing his
differences with them on various issues. This indicates that long
before Kautilya, this branch of knowledge was properly developed
and that its literature was "arranged in scientific systems and treated
in special manuals of instruction." All this as well as every other
enunciation of Bharatiya socio-economic order by BMS was treated
by these disciples of the West with contemptuous ridicule. To cite a
single example, was not the description of a Hindu Guild a piece of
fantasy? It was claimed that the nature or character of the internal
relations between different members of the guild were not 'industrial'
in a technical sense inasmuch as the absence of employer-employee
relationship was the characteristic • feature of the Hindu
guilds. As Kautilya has recorded, the total earnings of the guild
Quo Vadis 39
belonged to all its members and used to be distributed either
according to the terms previously settled upon or, in the absence of
any such agreement, equally among them all. The guilds had
autonomous character. Members of the guild were themselves to
settle all internal disputes according to their own constitution. No
power or person outside the guild was competent to do this job.
There could be no interference by the state in the internal
administration of the guilds except when there arose a dispute
between the president and the members. (Brihaspati X 8, XVII 9; 18,
19, 20)
"Utopian", the leftists remarked.
Naturally, the BMS concept of labourisation of industry was far
beyond their tutored comprehension.
Hindu economics took cognisance of and systematised self-
employment as well as wage-employment. In the sphere of wage-
employment, the employer-employee relationship was properly
regulated. "This was impossible outside the industrialised West, and
particularly before the advent of the industrial revolution," they
challenged. In response, the regulatory provisions in Shukraniti on
various issues were published. The types of wages; definitions of
piece-rate, time-rate, time-cum-piece rate wages; periods of payment;
type of 'Swami' (employer); grades of Bhrityas (employees),
gradation of wages; fair wages; payment of wages; register of
wages; categorywise wages; resolution of industrial disputes; leave
rules; annual leave with pay; sickness benefit; provident fund in
principle; pension and family allowance; priority of relatives in
service; general bonus and efficiency bonus; and the psychological
handling of the Bhrityas (employees) - all these are provided for by
Shukra. For example, regarding the issue of 'bonus' Shurkra enjoins:
Every year an employee should be granted one-eighth of his
earnings as 'bonus': if he does his work efficiently, he should be
granted one-eighth of the piece-rate earnings, i.e., his remuneration
for that work as efficiency bonus.
Reaction? "A brilliant piece of fabrication: In the light of the
modem experience, the BMS activists must have written down these
provisions in Marathi or Hindi, got them versified in Sanskrit by
Dr. Vernekar, and published them in the name of poor Shukracharya
who, in all probability, never existed at all. A commendable exercise
in anachronism."
40 Third Way
The reaction was natural: Shukra's regulations were meant for
wage-earners under an economy of full employment. The western
econom ic theories concerning them selves solely with wage-
employment to the exclusion of self-employment could not conceive
of the condition of full employment. The industrial relations
regulations formulated against the background of western theories
could not, therefore, be qualitatively at par with those of Shukra and
other Hindu lawgivers.
These self-styled intellectuals had some positive and first-hand
information about the other-worldly attitude of our sages. The latter
were not expected to take any interest in mundane or earthly affairs
like market-yards, weights, measurements, sub-standard goods, buyer-
seller relationship, or unfair trade practices. They were, therefore, not
in a mood to believe that chapter 2 of the 4th Adhikarana of
Kautilya's Arthashastra had laid down legal provisions for the
protection of consumers from the unfair practices of traders. Even in
a general way, they did not study seriously the criticism of Kautilya
by Spengler or that of Manu by Wendy. They-had considered
Smritis as outdated religious texts dealing with rites, rituals and
ritualism . They did not know that the character of Smritis is
predominantly sociological. The main authors of Smritis are eighteen
in number, though the total number of Smritis, according to
Dr. P.V. Kane, is about 100. Then there are commentators like
Medhatithi, Vijnaneshwara, or Jeemootavahana. All of them have
taken pains to protect consumers' interest, though in varying
degrees. Legal provisions for the protection of consumers from unfair
trade practices in Chapter 9 of Manusmriti, Chapter 2 of
Yajnavalkya-smriti and Chapter 9 of Narada-smriti gave a rude
shock to their preconceived notions. For example, they were not
aware of the fact that while the slogan of the western classical
economics is "Buyers! beware", that of the Vedic economics was
"Sellers! beware." After the publication of the 'History of Dharma
Shastra' by Dr. P.V. Kane, the entire material on this subject became
available, though, naturally, it was scattered throughout the volumes.
Annexure XVIII of 'Consumer: A Sovereign Without Sovereignty',
written for the benefit of the Akhil Bharat Grahak Panchayat,
brought all those provisions together. The intellectuals who were
seeking guidance from the legal provisions in foreign countries on
this subject were stunned at the number of Hindu lawgivers who had
prescribed practical rules and regulations in this regard. But being
acquainted only with the civilization of rising prices, they could not
Quo Vadis 41
even comprehend the price policy of a civilization with declining
prices. In fact, the theory of prices did not exist in the ancient West
because of the absence of wage and interest as economic categories.
In his 'Economics in Perspective', J.K. Galbraith observes, "Without
wages and interest in the ancient world there could not be a theory
of prices in any modern sense. Prices derive in one way or another
from production-costs, and production-costs were not a visible
function in slave-owning households." Let it be noted that their
'ancient world' extended only from Athens to New York while that of
the Hindus from sea to sea: over all the land one nation, mjs
44-tilill tTgr rrg;. In ancient Bharat this issue was distinctly defined in
various Smritis and Arthashastra which also dealt with the problems
of wages and interest. The Greek and Christian philosophers
considered only the ethical aspect of economic issues. They did not
inquire: which factors determine price? Their concern was whether
the prices were ju st and fair or immoral and sinful.
St. Thomas Aquinas and Martin Luther discussed interest also from
the ethical point of view. (The Smritis even laid down the price-
policy in the sphere of international trade.) In fact, Dr. Kane's
monumental work was sufficient to suggest that our lawgivers had
taken cognisance of all the various aspects of socio-economic-
political life and that they could not be simply dismissed as 'other
worldly'. But on account of their megalomania, these intellectuals
learnt nothing and unlearnt nothing. They continued to cling to
their now-out-dated 'modern' superstitions.
It must however be admitted that the severest blow their
intellectual arrogance received was in the field of philosophy. It was
administered by Com. Bani Deshpande of 'The Universe o f Vedanta'
fame and Com. S.A. Dange who wrote a foreword to that thesis.
Com. Deshpande had conclusively established that the theory of the
relativity of Space and Time and the materiality of Time was not
only known to the ancient Vedic philosophers but they had proved
it as scientifically as Einstein proved in modem physics, and that in
the realm of philosophy, the Vedic outlook was not only scientific, to
the extent of understanding of the historic achievements of modern
scientific theories, but it was based on a highly perfected and
scientific theory of dialectical materialism now known in the name of
Karl Marx in the last century. Com. Dange declared in unequivocal
terms that the famous Nasadiya Sookta of the Rigveda heralds not
only the beginning of philosophy but of dialectical materialsm also,
in the most ancient record of world history.
42 Third Way
Nevertheless, happy in their blissful ignorance of everything
Bharatiya, the 'left' intellectuals did not give to this thesis the
attention it deserved; it was not followed by any public debate on
the issues raised; there was no churning of thought. They followed
the progressive convention imported from the West and condemned
both these eminent thinkers as 'revisionists' or kafirs. And the matter
ended there. No wonder, even a plea by their mentor, Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru, for a marriage between science and spiritualism
could have no impact on these minds vitiated by hippopotamian self-
conceit. They were convinced that science and spirituality are
antagonistic to each other and that science is a western product.
They could not reconcile themselves with the established facts that
Bhaskaracharya discovered the theory of gravity centuries before
Newton; that Aryabhata in the 5th century A.D. came up with the
idea of the earth's moving round the sun long before Galileo and
Copernicus; that Brahmagupta in the 7th centurey A.D. made
important discoveries in algebra and astronomy; that the world learnt
vaccination and plastic surgery from India; and that Indian
technologies in metallurgy and chemistry were far superior to those
of the West even up to the 19th century.
When Smt. Indira Gandhi informed the International Conference
on Environment held at Stockholm in 1972 that Atharva Veda had
referred to the precautionary measures against environmental
pollution, their righteous indignation knew no bounds. This class of
self-alienated intellectuals is incorrigible. 'Hindu Economics’ is not
meant for persons with closed minds. Like Bhavabhooti, the author
of this thesis declares; (that is, this exercise is not
meant for them).
Quo Vadis 43
PART-n
Why 'Hindu' Economics?
What is in a name?
Every technical term is like a 'Mantra'. A wrong term would
generate wrong impressions, wrong mental associations and wrong
understanding.
Had Dr. Schumacher visited India first to study extensively its
rural scene, he would have given a different name to his Economics,
though essentially there is no basic difference between the 'Buddhist'
Economics and the 'Hindu' Economics. As, for example,
Dr. J.K. Mehta's theory of wantlessness is inspired as much by
Ishavasya as by Dhammapada. For the sake of convenience of
understanding, the author of this book has made a distinction
between 'Hindu' economics and 'Indian' economics. To avoid any
misunderstanding about the nature and the scope of the subject of
this thesis, such a distinction was necessary. Nevertheless, the
difference between Hindu economics and what is described as Indian
economics is analogous to that between Science and Applied
Science.
The Hindu nationalists working in different fields of economic
life tried to spell out the implications of Hindu thought system in
their respective fields. But, naturally their efforts were sectional in
nature, - confined to their own specific spheres of activity. There
has not been so far any comprehensive or all-out effort to cover the
entire canvas of economic activity and thinking and to discover the
basics, the fundamentals, of Hindu economics. This is the first ever
attempt in that direction. Unlike some other previous books on this
subject, this is not a simple translation of Sanskrit texts. Till now,
nobody had explained the Hindu way of eliminating taxes. Till now
ancient India has been chronicled up to the Moghul period. Dr.
Bokare cognises ancient India before Christian era. He also
checkmates the misrepresentation of Vedic literature to substantiate
Marxian theories as has been attempted by Joseph Spengler in his
'Indian Economic Thought' (1971). Thus from every point of view
this is a pioneering work. And, in this exercise, Dr. Bokare has used
the methodologies developed in western countries. His arguments
are based upon the corpus of modern econom ics. In the
Robinsonian classification, Hindu economic system is the result of
positive statement of theory. This is an exhilarating conclusion. Being
44 Third Way
a scholar with genuine scientific temper, Dr. Bokare does not claim
that his is the last word of wisdom on this subject. Having
assimilated the spirit of Hindu cultural tradition, he does not declare
that he is the father of a new theory or founder of a new school of
thought. Though a pioneer in this particular branch of knowledge, he
is content to say:
MtMtl UIHH - tM<Wl
As stated earlier, the Hindu sages did not consider ‘3t*F as a

separate Purushartha. It was treated as an integral part of a single,
four-fold Purushartha, that is, Purushartha Chatushtaya'. The West
with its compartmentalised thinking considered economics as a
separate discipline having distinct identity of its own. Human being,
according to the materialistic West, is essentially an economic being.
Such a presumption is contrary to the integral thinking of the Hindus.
In course of time, however, the westerners were compelled to give
up gradually this habit of fragmented thinking, under the pressure of
practical experience. One trend of thought in the West now believes
that total welfare is generally divided into two parts: (I) economic
welfare, and (II) non-economic welfare. Prof. Pigou describes
economic welfare as "that part of social welfare that can be brought
directly or indirectly into relation with the measuring-rod of money".
Non-economic welfare is that part of total welfare which is not
amenable to money-measurement.
The importance of non-economic social factors cannot be
minimised. For example, L.T. Hobhouse has the following remark
about "social factor":
"Take away the whole social factor and we have got Robinson
Crusoe, with his salvage from the wreck and his acquired
knowledge, but the naked savage living on roots, berries and
vermin."
While considering human welfare, the non-economic materialistic
factors cannot be ignored. For example, the geographical position of
the country, its climate, rivers, mountains, natural harbours, peace
and security, or natural resources of the country, such as, land,
water, forests, mineral resources, agricultural potentialities, general
developments in other countries, etc.
Thus non-economic materialistic factors not amenable to money-
measurement have also a role to play in this respect.
Quo Vadis 45
But that is not all. In his 'Open Secret o f Economic Growth'
(1957) David Macord Wright observed:
"The fundamental factors making fo r economic growth are
non-economic and non-materialistic in character. It is the spirit
itself that builds the body."
In this context, a remark by Engels in his letter published in Der
Sozialistiche Akademiker on October 15, 1895 is interesting:
"According to the materialist view of history what is in the last
instance decisive in history is the production and reproduction
of actual life. More than this, neither Marx nor I have ever
asserted. But when anyone distorts this, so as to read that the
economic factor is the sole element, he converts the statement
into a meaningless, abstract, absurd phrase. The economic
condition is the basis, but the various elements of the super
structure - the political forms o f the class-contests and their
results; the constitution - the legal forms; and also all the
reflexes of these actual contests in the brains of the participants,
the political, legal, philosophical theories, their religious views—
all these exert influence on the developments of the historic
struggles, and in many instances determine their forms."
In his 'Roads to Freedom' Bernard Shaw wrote:
"If socialism ever comes it is only likely to prove beneficent if
non-economic goods are valued and consciously pursued."
Gradually the westerners came to realise that a good constitution
does not always guarantee good citizens. There is now in the West
a growing awareness of the important role of socio-cultural and
religious institutions as a factor in economic growth. After 1979, this
realisation dawned upon China also. Her leaders then resolved to
inaugurate an era of 'spiritual civilization' maintaining their drive for
material progress but without materialistic philosophy. They came to
experience that when people do not cherish and uphold spiritual
values, they become incapable of possessing national character,
integrity, self-discipline and dutifulness.
In his 'Principles o f Economic Planning', W. Arthur Lewis
remarks:
"If the people on their side are nationalistic, conscious of their
backwardness, and anxious to progress, they willingly bear
great hardships and tolerate many mistakes, and they throw
themselves with enthusiasm into the job of regenerating their
country. Popular enthusiasm is both - lubricating oil of planning
46 Third Way
and the petrol of economic development, a force that almost
makes all things possible."
As revered Shri Guruji put it, "Our national regeneration should,
therefore, start with the moulding of 'man'."
Such an integrated approach is the speciality of Hindu thinking.
Hindus had always felt that education, ecology, economics and
ethics, among other things, must be taken into consideration in an
integrated manner.
Of course, each of these disciplines is entrusted with its own
specific responsibility. But while conducting suitable activities to
carry out its specific responsibility, each discipline is expected to
take a comprehensive, integrated view of the entire life comprising
various other disciplines also. Compartmentalisation of thought
would be detrimental to all. The western craze for infinite growth on
the finite planet is one of the natural consequences of such
fragmented thinking. Hindu Economics is the interpretation of
Pt. Deendayalji's Integral Humanism in the economic field.
So far as economics is concerned, its specific objective has been
defined thus by Shri Aurobindo:
"The aim of its economics would be not to create a huge engine
o f production, whether of the competitive or the co-operative
kind, but to give to men, - not only to some but to all men, each
in his highest possible measure, - the joy of work according to
their own nature and free leisure to grow inwardly, as well as a
simple, rich and beautiful life for all."
O bviously, the western model of developm ent causing

unprecedented environmental damage - affecting adversely social
relations and leisure time; elim inating family meals, family
conversations and neighbourly relations; promoting consumerism
through expansion of advertising industry, substitution of shopping
malls for traditional city centres, and rapid spread of commercial
television - cannot be compatible with the objective specified by Shri
Aurobindo.
In his essay 'Men Have Forgotten God,' Solzhenitsyn has stated
in unequivocal terms that the goal of economics should be "the
quest for spiritual growth," rather than the pursuit of material
growth.
Quo Vadis 47
PART-III
Earlier, we have given the analogy of Science and Applied
Science. Is the science of 'Hindu Economics' capable of being
transformed into its Applied Science?
'Impossible!' our westernised intellectuals would exclaim. For,
according to them, whatever is not in conformity with the western
theories and methodologies is impractical in the modern world.
In this context they would do well to ponder over the following
well-considered remark of scholar Inayatullah. In his 'Toward a
Non-Western Model of Development' Inayatullah says:
"The West presumed that a ll history is inexorably moving
toward the same destiny, same goals, and the same value
systems as western man has...... Marshalling evidence from the
perio d of ascendancy of western society and conveniently
ignoring the vast span of technological development before this
period which the traditional societies had developed and
transmitted to the western society, it ignores the fa c t that
technological and material development before this period was not
always the product o f a combination o f universalism,
functional specificity, achievement-orientation, and effective
neutrality."
("Communication and Change in the Developing Countries")
Never at home, these intellectuals will find that they have to
learn a lot on this theme from Claude Alvares and Dharampal.
A great deal of matter relevant to this topic can be found
between the covers of 'The M odernity o f Tradition' by the
Rudolphs, who set out to show how in India traditional structures
and norms have been adapted or transformed to serve the needs of
a society facing a new range of tasks.
J.C. Heesterman, a Dutch Indologist, writes:
"India has been remarkably successful in setting up the
institutional framework for dealing with the traditional conflict
in its modern reincarnation."
W hat has been our traditional style of socio-econom ic
transformation?
Shri Aurobindo explains:
"Change in the society was brought about not artificially from
above but automatically from within and principally by the
48 Third Way
freedom allow ed to fam ilies or particular communites to
develop or alter automatically their own rules of life 'achara'.
"The Indian thinkers on society, economics and politics,
Dharma Shastra and Artha Shastra, made their business not to
construct ideals and systems of society and government in the
abstract intelligence, but to understand and regulate by the
practical reason the institutions and ways of communal living
already developed by the communal mind and life and to
develop, fix and harmonise without destroying the original
elements, and whatever new element or idea was needed was
added or introduced as a superstructure or a modifying but not a
revolutionary and destructive principle."
The ever-changing socio-economic order in the light of the
unchanging, the eternal Universal Laws of Sanatana Dharma, this
has been our modus operandi. The point of reference, the guiding
principle, is unchanging; all Yuganukool changes, constituting Yuga-
Dharma, are to be introduced in the light of Sanatana Dharma.
Every 'Yuga-Dharma' is the restatement of 'Sanatana Dharma'
keeping in view the requirements of particular times and climes.
There is no equivalent in non-Hindu languages to the term
Dharma. That concept is alien to western minds. As enunciated
earlier, ever-changing socio-economic order in the light of the
unchanging Universal Laws, - that has been the Hindu style of
responding to fresh challenges. Hence the various Smritis. For us,
Dharma is the Eternal and Universal Guide.
The benefit of this Eternal Guide was not available to the
westerners. Not that the guide was absent, but they were not aware
of its presence, even as God is always prepared to talk to people, but
people are not prepared to listen to God. In Bharat, transformations
have taken place, generally on sure footing, on rare occasions by trial
and error method, but always and invariably in the light of the
unchanging Universal Laws. Therefore there was no need for
theories to precede construction. It was every time a question of the
Yuganukool re-interpretation of the Sanatana Dharma.
'Theory' is a supposition or system of ideas explaining
something, especially, one based on general principles, independent
of the facts, phenomena etc. to be explained, speculative (especially
a fanciful view), the sphere of abstract knowledge or speculative
thought; exposition of the principles of a science, etc., collection of
propositions to illustrate principles of a subject.
Quo Vadis 49
In his 'Science and Values’ Bertrand Russell quotes Dewey who
points out that scientific theories change from time to time, and that
what recommends a theory is that it 'works': When new phenomena
are discovered, for which it no longer 'works', it is discarded. A
theory - so Dewey concludes - is a tool like another; it enables us to
manipulate raw-material. Like any other tool, it is judged good or bad
by its efficiency in this manipulation, and like any other tool, it is
good at one time and bad at another. While it is good it may be
called 'true' but this word must not be allowed its usual
connotations. Dewey prefers the phrase 'warranted assertibility' to
the word 'truth'.
During periods of challenges and crises, we used to fall back
upon Dharma; in its absence, some crutches, labels or slogans
became necessary for the European minds. Hence the propriety of
theories, isms and ideologies there. The same style was imported in
our country by the westernised intellectuals who knew something
about the West and nothing about their own past.
On metaphysical, religious, spiritual, and other similar matters,
having scope for speculation, we had various theories. But on the
problem of practical socio-economic order or transformation, there
was no theorisation. Only appropriate timely action or construction;
it was followed by its description or narration called ’Smriti'.
Before the advent of the British Raj, we had no social or
economic theories, ideologies or 'isms' of the western pattern.
Ideology is a science of ideas; visionary speculation; manner of
thinking characteristic of a class or individual, ideas as the basis of
some economic or political theory or system.
Bharat had no need for such crutches in the past. During the
British regime this pattern became fashionable; so much so that as a
compromise with the level of understanding of common man, Pt.
Deendayalji had to present his 'Ekatma Manav Darshan' under the
title of 'Integral Humanism'. In fact, his Darshan is quite as
'ismless' as any other Hindu Darshan. Even ideas must be marketed;
that is indicative of western influence.
Being oblivious of their own traditional pattern of thinking, our
westernised intellectuals were enamoured of 'isms.' And since they
found no 'ism' in the entire Hindu literature of the pre-British period,
they concluded that their forefathers were intellectually backward,
unenlightened.
50 Third Way
These are two distinct approaches. Construction first, its
description, later on; the description first, an attempt to implement it,
later on. Because the West did not have the advantage of referring
to the Eternal Guide in all practical socio-econom ic affairs,
theorisation became inevitable. But the limitations of this approach
are not properly appreciated.
It has been said that "Ideologies are like Road-Maps". This
presumes prior existence of roads. If roads are not in existence, road
maps would become irrelevant. If "ideology" means "ideas as the
basis of some economic or political theory or system" which is to be
brought into existence, the analogy of "Road-Map" cannot hold
good. The analogy would be more appropriate if used in the context
of Dharma.
Every theory is based upon certain assum ptions. The
assumptions are like scaffolds. Scaffolding is a temporary structure
of poles or tubes and planks providing workmen with platforms to
stand or sit while building or repairing a house. For all construction,
whether it is a dwelling-house or social order, scaffolds are necessary.
But they presume the existence of a structure or its foundations. In
the absence of such structure, scaffolds are inconceivable.
Overzealous theoreticians at times go to the extreme. They hang their
scaffolds in the air. Assumptions are propagated, corresponding
construction is missing.
The difference in the two approaches is the biggest hurdle in
the way of evolution of 'Hindu Economics'. The minds of even those
who want to liberate themselves and others from the influence of
westernism, continue to operate within the frame-work of Anglo-
Saxon concepts, patterns, styles and values, because of their life
long conditioning and association with them. To conceive or
appreciate anything essentially Hindu, it is necessary to go beyond
the present mental and intellectual framework, to de-westernise one's
approach and thinking. Unless the strength of one's wings crosses
the limits, real or imaginary, set by other sea-gulls for their wings,
one cannot aspire to be a Jonathan.
But, unfortunately, even genuinely patriotic intellectuals do not
appreciate the imporatance of de-westernisation.
They are so enamoured of western theorists that if they get
disillusioned by one theory they will, instead of using their own
intellect, rush in search of some other western theory which they can
Quo Vadis 51
catch hold of. They may accept that Marx as well as Adam Smith,
J.S. Mill, Ricardo and Malthus have become outdated. They may be
sceptical about the relevance of Alfred Marshall, Wicksell, Gunnar
Myrdal and Keynes to the present-day conditions. But they will
stubbornly refuse to conduct independent thinking in the light of
their own national requirements. Instead, they will feel homely with
the five stages of Economic Growth enunciated by Prof. Rostow and
get busy in discussing whether we have reached his third, 'take-off
stage' so as to pass over to his fourth 'drive to maturity', leading to
the stage of 'high mass consumption.'
What then is the secret of the adaptability of the Hindus to
ever-new situations?
This has been aptly elaborated by Shri Quruji in the following
words : 5
"Once the life-stream of unity begins to flow freely in all the
veins of our body-politic, the various limbs of our national life
will automatically begin to function actively and harmoniously
fo r the welfare of the Nation as a whole. Such a living and
growing society will preserve out of its multitude of old systems
and patterns whatever is essential and conducive to its
progressive march, throw off those as have outlived their utility,
and evolve new systems in their place. No one need shed tears at
the passing away of the old order, nor shirk to welcome the new
order of things. That is the nature of all living and growing
organisms. As a tree grows, old leaves and dry twigs fall off,
making way for fresh growth. The main thing to bear in mind is
to see that the spirit o f oneness permeates all parts o f our
social set-up.
"Every system or pattern will live or change or even entirely
disappear according as it nourishes that spirit or not. Hence, it
is useless in the present social context to discuss the future of all
such systems. The supreme call of this age is to revive the spirit of
inherent unity and the awareness o f its life-purpose in our
society. All other things will take care of themselves."
This is the Hindu way to Renaissance. Thus there need not be
any doubt about the practicability of 'Hindu Economics.'
Of course, such a gigantic divine mission would require for its
accomplishment the appropriate type of leadership.
Long ago, Shri Subramaniyam Iyer, one of the pioneers of
Hindu social reform movement, remarked:
52 Third Way
"Statesmen, poets, men o f science, inventors o f mechanical
contrivances, all these no doubt contribute to progress, but
cannot impart the initial moving force, which comes from those
great men who by the power of their lofty character and sublime
deeds and burning enthusiasm impart idealism to masses of
men, sweep away abuse and falsehood, sort out superstitions,
open new paths and establish fresh ideals for the elevation and
advancement of the human race."
PART-IV
Even in the remotest past our sages are found to be taking care
of all the various aspects of social life. This could be discerned
even by a distinguished leftist thinker who undertook a journey
from primitive communism to slavery in ancient India.
Their thinking was dynamic, keeping pace with the
ever-changing situations and challenges.
The literature on this subject is scattered in various Dharma
Shastras and the accounts of foreign tourists.
It shows how they worked out details of every aspect from time
to time keeping in view the contemporary social conditions.
See, for example, the details of the role of the state in economic
life of society during a particular period.
From the account of Hieu-en-Tsang it is evident that the state
and the Vaishya community had, during his times, established
charity homes and well-equipped dispensaries for the benefit of
paupers, widows, childless persons, and other helpless citizens.
According to Kautilya even widows, defective girls, female ascetics,
old mothers of prostitutes, king's old maids, and the dismissed maids
of temples could not be suffered to remain unemployed. He has laid
down that they should be given the work of spinning wook, bark
thread and cotton (Kautilya 2/23/41/2). Women unable to leave their
homes, helpless due to their husband's absence, physically
handicapped girls, and women in need of earning their livelihood,
should be provided with jobs at their homes by the Superintendent
of the Textile Industry (Kautilya 2/23/41/12). The sons of dead
employees, the old, the minor, the infirm, the afflicted, the paupers,
and women due for maternity deserved financial assistance from the
Quo Vadis 53
state (Kautilya 5/3/91/29/31). Mahabharata (Sabhaparva, 124) directs
the king to look after the destitutes and the disabled ones.
In his 'Labour Problems in Ancient and M edieval India,'
Shital Prasad Mishra explains how the government did not recover
taxes from workmen because they worked for the government. The
government, states Hieu-en-Tsang, was liberal and did not take
forced labour from the people; the work was got done with restricted
payment of wages. The government servants received land in lieu of
remuneration and the workers received wages.
According to Megasthenes, the state used to give priority to the
security of workers and artisans. They were exempted from taxes,
could receive state-aid during the periods of distress, and enjoyed
many other facilities at the expense of the government. An employer
hurting any limb of an artisan was sentenced to death. A1 Baruni
also refers to the systematic arrangements for the safety of the
employees and their protection from accidents.
It was customary to offer extra work, in the service of the state,
in lieu of the payment of taxation. Vasistha directs artisans to perform
governm ent work without wages for one day in a month
(Vasistha Smriti Ch.19, P 1-490).
Gautama prescribed the same rule for artisans, labourers, sailors
and charioteers (Gautama Smriti 10-397). Megasthenes also refers to
such honorary service to the state, but states that the builders of
ships and armourers were given wages and food by the state.
During the Mauryan period, the factories under the civil boards
used high quality materials, and employees therein were paid fair
wages by the municipal board. During the same period, the practice
of digging mines and working of factories at the government
expense came into being. Under Vijayanagar empire 500 artists are
recorded to have been working upon gold and silver thread in the
government factories.
Nevertheless, the role of the state in case of such industries had
been that of a patron.
There was no centralisation which stifles individual freedom and
stultifies the natural growth of human personality. Guidelines on
public finance and taxation given in shastras are useful even today.
This is only one instance to illustrate the point.
In fact, our sages had taken into consideration all the dimensions
54 Third Way
of economics, which, according to them, covered a very large
canvas. Arthashastra is defined by Kautilya as the branch of
knowledge which deals with the acquisition and preservation of
dominion. It is held to comprise the art of government in the widest
sense of the term. The list of contents of Kautilya's Arthashastra
will surprise modern teachers of economics. The Arthashastra was
preceded by fairly voluminous literature on the subject which is now
lost to us. Kautilya's masterly treatise itself has been recovered from
the oblivion of centuries by the fortunate discovery of a complete
manuscript of the work and its publication by R. Shama Shastri in '
1908. Exploration into such literature is our patriotic duty. Even the
available ancient literature on the subject, if brought together, would
make a voluminous document. It is creditable for Dr. Bokare that he
could dive deep into this ocean of relevant information. Of course,
for want of space and to maintain a sense of proportion in the
arrangement of the thesis, the author had to be selective, confining
himself only to such significant references as are more pertinent to
modem mental matrix.
Not happy with the ivory tower of Westernism, the author is in
close and direct touch with Bharatiya realities. He is of the earth,
earthy.
It is noteworthy that a public debate is already initiated on one
of the basic points incorporated in this thesis. At the instance of
Dr. Bokare the nationalist organisations operating in the economic
field have raised a demand that the cost of production of every
product - be it industrial or agricultural - must be declared.
The Government should
1. publish cost audit reports of the companies;
2. obtain the copies of the reports of Bureau of Industrial
Costs and Prices; and
3. ask the joint stock companies, the co-operatives, and the
public sector undertakings to publish the data of cost of
production in their annual reports and balance sheets.
At the present state, it may appear fantastic to demand that all
the countries should declare the costs of production of the
commodities they export to other countries. But it is indisputable
that despite the differences between Ricardian theory of foreign trade
and Hecksher-Ohlin's theory of foreign trade, in elucidations, both
are governed by cost of production. The traditional basis of Hindu
Quo Vadis 55
price-policy has been the cost of production, the degree of utility
(i.e., the use-value) and the degree of availability. In this context, the
author has also referred to the observations of Dr. Ambedkar, Pigou,
Patinkin and Lemer.
This should suffice to indicate how the author’s mind is attuned
to the spirit of our culture and alive to the requirements of the
current critical situation.
PART-V
Fortunately, Dr. Bokare is free from the influence of western
concepts. He does not feel that m odernisation is necessarily
westernisation. He does not subscribe to the view that western
paradigm is the universal model of progress and development. For an
ancient country like Bharat having a rich cultural heritage, it will be
shameful to borrow any western term to describe its ultimate goal.
Every culture has its own model of development. The current
western concept of 'development', though fashionable, is disastrous.
Ivan Illich, the famous author of "Towards A History o f Needs",
"Medical Nemesis", "Tools fo r Conviviality" and "De-schooling
Society", narrates his Mexican experience of 'The Development
Myth'. He sees the effect that 'development' has had on the life of
the poor in the rural areas and slums; erosion of means of
subsistence and traditional skills, loss of self-reliance; dignity and
solidarity of communities; spoliation of nature; displacement from
traditional environments; unemployment, bulldozing traditional self-
reliant communities into the cash economy; cultural rootlessness, and
the corruption of politics. He asks whether this is development or
the price that is being paid for a blueprint of development that has
no relation to the conditions and goals of the communities that are
described as beneficiaries of development.
Sarcastically, he observes,
"Development is an oozy term that is currently used fo r a
housing project, fo r the logical sequence of thought, fo r the
awakening of child's mind, or the budding o f a teenager's
breasts. But 'development' always connotes at least one thing: a
person's ability to escape from a vague, unspeakable,
undignified condition called 'Sub-desarollo' or under
development - invented by Harry Truman on 10th. January 1949."
56 Third Way
And, again,
"Development means to have started on a road that others know
better, to be on the way towards a goal that others have
reached, race up a one-way street. Development means the
sacrifice o f environments, solidarities, traditional
interpretations and customs to ever-changing expert advice.
Development promises enrichment, and fo r the overwhelming
majority, has always meant the progressive modernisation of
their poverty."
In conclusion, Ivan Illich says:
"The time has come to recognise development itse lf as the
malignant myth whose pursuit threatens those among whom I
live in Mexico. The 'crisis' in Mexico enables us to dismantle
'development' as a goal."
The western thinking is in direct contrast with the Hindu
concept of progress and development.
For example, in his speeches at Thane Meet in 1972, Shri Guruji
explained the basic Hindu view on economic problems. Deductions,
that naturally flow from his enunciation, are as follows:
1. The basic needs of life must be available to every citizen.
2. Material wealth is to be acquired, with the object of serving
society which is but a manifestation of God, in the best possible
ethical manner, and out of all that wealth, only the minimum
should be used for our own purposes. Allow yourself only that
much which is necessary to keep you in a condition to do service.
To claim or to make a personal use of more than that is verily the
act of theft against the society.
3. Thus we are only the trustees of the society. It is only when we
become true trustees that we can serve the society best.
4. Consequently, there must be some ceiling on the individual
accumulation, and no person has a right to exploit someone else's
labour for personal profit.
5. Vulgar, ostentatious and wasteful expenditure is a sin when millions
are starving. There must be reasonable restrictions on all
consumption. 'Consumerism' is not compatible with the spirit of
the Hindu culture.
6. 'Maximum production and equitable distribution’ should be our
motto; national self-reliance our immediate goal.
Quo Vadis 57
7. The problem of unemployment and under-employment must be
tackled on a war footing.
8. While industrialisation is a must, it need not be the blind imitation
of the West. Nature is to be milked and not killed.Ecological
factors, balance of nature and the requirem ents of the
future generations should never be lost sight of. There should be
an integrated thinking on education, ecology, economics and
ethics.
9. Greater stress should be laid on the labour-intensive rather than
the capital-intensive industries.
10. Our technologists should be required to introduce for the benefit
of the artisans reasonably adaptable changes in the traditional
techniques of production, without incurring the risk of increase in
unemployment of workers, wastage of the available managerial and
technical skills, and complete decapitalisation of the existing means
of production, and to evolve our own indigenous technology with
emphasis on decentralisation of the processes of production with
the help of power, making home, instead of factory, the centre of
production.
11. It is necessary to reconcile efficiency-with employment expansion.
12. Labour is also one form of capital in every industry. The labour of
every worker should be evaluated in terms of share, and workers
raised to the status of shareholders contributing labour as their
share.
13. Consumers' interest is the nearest economic equivalent of national
interest. Society is the third, and more important party to all
industrial relations. The current western concept of 'collective
bargaining' is not consistent with this view. It should be replaced by
some other terms, such as, ’National Commitment1, i.e., the
commitment of both, the employers and the employees, to the
Nation.
14. The surplus value of labour belongs to the Nation.
15. There need not be any rigidity about the pattern of industrial
ownership. There are various patterns, such as, private enterprise,
state ownership, co-operatives, municipal ownership, self-
employment, joint ownership (state and private), democratisation
etc. For each industry the pattern of ownership should be
determined in the light of its peculiar characteristics and the total
requirements of the national economy.
58 Third Way
16. We are free to evolve any variety of socio-economic order,
provided it is in keeping with the basic tenets of Dharrna.
17. But changes in the superstructure of society will be of no use if the
mind of every individual citizen is not moulded properly. Indeed, the
system works ill or well according to the men who work it.
18. Our view of the relation between individual and society has always
been, not one of conflict, but of harmony and co-operation, born
out of consciousness of a single reality running through all the
individuals. The individual is a living limb of the corporate social
personality.
19. The Samskaras of identification with the entire nation constitute the
real infra-structure of any socio-economic order.
Of all the Hindu Samskaras, the most important one is that of
Yajna (Sacrifice). The significance of this concept of Yajna has been
explained thus by Swami Rama Tirtha:
"Putting our hands together fo r the good is sacrifice to Indra;
putting our heads together fo r universal good is sacrifice to
Brihaspati; putting our hearts together is sacrifice to the
Devata o f hearts of Chandra. In short, sacrifice to the gods
means offering my hands to All the Hands or the whole nation;
offering my eyes to All the Eyes or entire community; offering my
mind to All the Minds; merging my interests in the interests of the
country; feeling all as if they were my own Self; in other words,
realising in practice ’tnr 3rffr’ 'That Thou Art'."
Appropriate development in human mind necessarily precedes

the corresponding development in the material world, even as
subjective revolution in human mind invariably precedes any objective
revolution in the outer world.
Quo Vadis 59
PART-VI
The West realised the advisability of inter-disciplinary approach
for the first time during the second world war. Subsequently there is
growing, though grudging, appreciation for this approach in the
western mind. But this wisdom has not yet been extended to the
sphere of economics. R etaliation by the Nature against its
indiscriminate exploitation compelled the westerners to recognise the
inter-relatedness between ecology and economics. But that the
so-called advanced countries are not prepared to learn from their
past mistakes has been amply demonstrated in the Rio Conference on
Environment in which the United States callously and shamelessly
asked the developing countries to pay for the sins of the developed
countries, even taking the risk of self-extinction.
Because of their compartm entalised thinking, the modern
western scholars have failed to perceive the inter-relationship
between ethics and economics. To teach ethics and moral values of
life is not the realm of economic theory, according to Lord Lionel
Robbins. While, according to Vyasa, acceptance of material success
as the supreme index of merit and status indicates the advent of the
dark age (Kaliyuga), classical economics covers only profit-making
capitalists and wage-earning labourers. For both these groups
maximum material gain is the supreme goal of all activities. For
classical economics, other sections of population do not exist.
Most of the European economists of the last century had an
inkling that economics without religion would demoralise the
society. They realised that economic man could be studied as regards
his rational behaviour in economic affairs of life. But it should be
understood that without the warmth of religion, he was likely to go on
the wrong path. Smith and Marshall made special references to
religion in economic life of the human beings. Economic man
has, however, eluded Smith and Marshall in this century.
The process of expelling ethics and morality from the sphere of
economics was initiated in a big way by J. Bentham's utilitarianism.
Utility is the attribute of a commodity that gives satisfaction. Utility
is use-value, while price is exchange-value. Price (exchange-value) is
paid for the utility (use-value). Subsequently, the thought was steadily
changed into the measurement in the opposite direction. Any activity
that has a price in the m arket has a utility. Prof. Davenport
propounded this view. Prostitution is the subject for study in
economics because it has a price in the market and therefore has utility.
60 Third Way
Is it difficult to apprehend the evil consequences of value-free
economics of utilitarianism? Unaccompanied and unrestrained by
ethics and morality, the utility concept is bound to encourage anti
social tendencies, boost up crime-rate, aggravate the problems of law
and order, and accelerate in general the process of social
disintegration.
Is ethics merely a social, moral or religious concern? Or has it
some bearing on economic issues?
For example, take the process of assessing national income.
Presently, national income is studied by the census of
expenditure as one of the three methods. It is the study of
expenditure on family's consumption and savings. The study does
not exclude the families of the thieves, smugglers or swindlers. Those
who earn money by theft and consume the same in the family
expenditure are included in the aggregate of national income. How
that income is earned is nobody's concern. More the crimes in
society, greater would be the number of those employed in the
departments of police, judiciary and jails. Their salaries are also
included in the national income. In other words, we can state that
the more the crimes in society, the bigger the national income in the
country.
Even otherwise, the process is faulty.
Prof. Pigou has humorously given the following example. Maid
servants are paid wages, and their wages are included in the national
income. If men m arry their m aid-servants, the wages would
disappear and the national income would decrease to that extent. In
our country, mothers and sisters (and wives) cook food and we
consume the same. Food has utility, it satisfies our wants. The
labour power of mothers, sisters, etc., has created this utility without
receiving wages. There is use-value (utility) but not exchange-value
(price). This utility will not be taken into consideration while
computing the national income. But if we go to the restaurant and
pay for the same food, it is included in the national income
generated in the restaurant as an industry in economic sector. This
is one of the glaring examples of fragmented thinking which isolates
economics from all other disciplines. (Even ecological problems arise
on account of this divorce of economics from ethics).
Quo Vadis 61
In his 'On Ethics and Economics' (1987), Amartya Sen has
stated his conclusions on this subject. Religions teach value-based
life and its economics. This is described as ethics. The epistemology
of ethics is in religion. Value-based economics as against value-free
economics makes all the difference in the measurement of national
income. Assessment of national income in value-free economy in
which family expenditures of criminals and other anti-social elements
are taken into consideration for computing national income may be
many times more than the national income of the
value-based economy. In a way in the absence of integral approach
encouragement to crimes and other anti-social tendencies is now on
the agenda. This is resulting in ever-increasing burden on the
exchequer to maintain and strengthen the official machinery for
dealing with the anti-social elements. Thus value-free economics is
self-defeating economics.
Value-based economics is invariably an integral part of value-based
social life which, in its turn, is the outcome of appropriate samskaras
of corporate life supported by suitable system of education. There is
necessary correlation between inputs and outputs. If the nation at the
pinnacle of its glory be the desired output, the inevitable inputs would
be samskaras and education conducive to the attainment of this
supreme goal. Even sociologists of the materialistic West may
gradually realise this basic fact in the near future. Their science of
criminology, originating with Dr. Lombroso, has travelled a long way
through the retributive, the punitive, the deterrent and reformative
stages to victimology and multi-factor theory; but the formula
of David Abrahamson is supposed to be the
most thought-provokijng. It is C = S+T
R
C stands for crime; S for social environment; T for personal

traits; and R for resistance which is the outcome of religious and moral
upbringing. They are not conversant with the Hindu term and concept
of samskaras. N evertheless, they are moving steadily in this
direction.
This integrated approach is a must for durable and desirable

progress and development; the compartmentalised thinking giving
rise to value-free economics is self-defeating.
62 Third Way
PART-VD
The Hindus are accused of anachronism and obscurantism. But
what is the present plight of the proud standard-bearers of
materialism and modernism?
Communism has failed; but it does not mean that the philosophy
of m aterialism has now been thrown com pletely out of the
international economic scene. While communism was striving hard to
overcome its internal self-contradictions, capitalism is constantly
busy in seeking ever-new remedies for its ever-new maladies, - in
procuring from time to time fresh economic theories to meet the
challenges of fresh economic crises.
The history of capitalist thinking is replete with innumerable
efforts of conceptualisation and theorisation from time to time to
infuse dynamics in its thinking. Typical example is the growth
models suggested by Harrod and Domar, Pasinetti, Joan Robinson,
Fei Ranis, Swan, Solow, Arthur Lewis and Feldman and theories of
development propounded by Hirschman, Rosenstein-Rodan, Nurkse,
Leibenstein and Gunnar M yrdal. The debate on "balanced
growth" versus "unbalanced growth", theories of "big push" and
"critical minimum effort" amply demonstrate this. The "back-wash"
effect and "spread effect" of Gunnar Myrdal represent another
facet of the dynamics of growth where the former results in
impoverishment of a region as a consequence of growth in the
neighbouring region. The "spread effect" m anifests through
"forward" and "backward" linkages which together determine the
"growth propulsion" capability of a region which can be assessed
within the Leontief model of input-output table.
The twentieth-century capitalism relied heavily on Robbins for
strengthening its theoretical and ideological foundation. His definition
of economics in terms of "unlimited wants" and "relative scarcity" of
resources necessitating "choice", enabled the introduction of Hicksian
indifference curve, N eum ann-M orgenstein utility curves,
Samuelson's Revealed Preference theorem and extensive use of
mathematical and econometric tools and methods for the analysis of
rational choice and consumer behaviour. His assertion that the duty of
the economist is only to explore and explain and not to advocate or
condemn led to the emergence of "positive economics". Hence the
"normative" content of economics was stripped off, leaving it as an
"amoral" science. The considered opinion of Thomas that the duty of
Quo Vadis 63
the economist is not only to explore and explain but also to advocate
and condemn was not acceptable to the capitalist hardcore thinkers.
The big crisis in capitalism in the thirties brought Keynesian
Macro-Economics to the fore, which satisfied the badly needed
theoretical framework for "interventionist" policies for sustaining the
capitalist structure. The post-Keynesian growth models of Harrod and
Domar were transformed into plan models which came to be adopted
by third world countries, in spite of its inherent capitalist
structural bias.
The periodical crisis in capitalism also provoked thinking about
justification of capitalist models from welfare point of view. For
instance, the Marshallian "consumers surplus" became a password
in public utility pricing; and the welfare economics of Pigou and the
Beveridge Plan of "full-employment" and "cradle to grave" social
insurance were efforts to infuse social content in capitalist policies.
Another area of capitalist concern was money supply and its
impact on prices. A variety of theories of demand for money and
inflation were suggested of which 'capital theories' of Milton
Friedman, James Tobin, Baumol, and Bronfenbrenner were more
widely quoted. The debate on "rules" versus "authorities" and the
"monetarist" versus "structuralist" controversy are quite familiar
which represent alternative perceptions, causations and prescriptions.
Same is true with respect to theories of "trade cycles" or
"business cycles" which are inherently capitalist m aladies.
Mitchell, R.C.O. Matthews, Hicks and others propounded different
theories based on different conceptual frame-works.
In spite of the best brains at its disposal, capitalism is fighting a
losing battle. Its intellectuals have already realised this. What
appears to be a bid for international economic empire is, in fact, a
pitiable and desperate effort for mere survival of the capitalist
system, though, carried to its logical end, it is bound to destroy
third world countries immediately and the entire mankind ultimately.
But the internal self-contradictions of the system will not,
however, allow it to go that far. It is already doomed. Even
according to the most optimistic pro-capitalistic estimates, the
system cannot survive for more than two decades.
'Crisis in Economic Theory’ edited by Daniel Bell reveals
intractable weaknesses in the bourgeois economics, and J. C. Hicks
and Paul A. Samuelson have expressed their helplessness in studying
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the predictivity characteristics of western economics. Stefan o Zamagni
says:
"Since no scientific law, in the natural scientific sense, has been
established in economics on which economists can base
predictions, what are used... to explain or to predict are
tendencies or patterns expressed in empirical or historical
generalisations of less than universal validity, restricted by local
and temporal limits."
We are not sure whether political science, if there were such a
science, could provide guidance for economists.
"Ideas in economics deserve confidence only after they have been
chewed over for a long time and been exposed to whatever tests
may be available,"
- says Herbert Stein, the author of 'The Fiscal Revolution in
America'. In the preface to his recent book, 'Washington Bed-time
Stories', he summed up two main lessons of 50 years as a
Washington economist:
1. "Economists do not know very much.
2. Other people, including the politicians who make economic
policy, know even less about economics than economists do."
What a sad commentary on the present plight of the economics
of capitalism!
After the collapse of communism and with the decline of
capitalism within sight, it was but natural that many well-meant
patriots in Bharat should come forward with a suggestion that our
country should now fulfil its historic obligation of presenting the
world the only way out, in keeping with the spirit of our culture and
Dharma. The suggestion is quite appropriate because the only
alternative can be furnished by Sanatana Dharma alone. But to keep
the record straight, it must be added here that the attempts to fill up
the apprehended ideological vacuum have been going on elsewhere
for quite some time.
Communism has failed.
Nil nicibonum de marte [Of the dead, nothing but good.]
But its fall could be foreseen by a section of Marxists even before
the commencement of its actual decline. Nevertheless, it was not for
them the failure of Leftism as a whole. They pinned their hopes on the
newly-emerged 'New Left' represented by Herbert Marcuse, Sartre,
Quo Vadis 65
Frantx Fanon, Che Guevara, R.D. Laing, etc. The new thought-system
added some new dimensions to Marxism and tried to up-date it. But it
could not hold its ground for long. Particularly, it had not much
immediate relevance to the countries of third world, except in so far as
it gave them additional revolutionary status by redefining the Marxian
class-structure. According to Fanon, peoples of the third world are,
under the new situation, "The Damned of the Earth". Gradually, the
theory lost its relevance for other countries also.
Then there has been the Yugoslav experiment which was quite
novel. It tried to steer clear of both the types of monopoly, i.e., private
as well as governmental. The Associated Labour Act of the country
proved to be a powerful instrument for this purpose. The ideologue
for Yugoslav economy, Edward Kardeiz, had ably enunciated the
general theory of this experiment. But this novel experiment failed on
account of extraneous factors. Marshal Tito failed to psychologically
integrate various ethnic groups within his country, so that 'Yugoslav
Nationalism' was never bom. It used to be said jocularly that Tito was
the only 'Yugoslav Nationalist' under the sun. After his death the
process of disintegration of his country started.
It naturally threw his experiment in the dustbin of history. All
because of extraneous factors. His model, it is noteworthy, had many
points of resemblance with the Hindu socio-economic order.
The spectacular advance of communism after the Second World
War naturally upset the Vatican that resolved to meet the challenge of
communism on the battlefield of the latter's choice.
In 1951, the Pope, Pius XII declared:
"No one can accuse the Church o f having disregarded the
workers and the social question or of not having given them and
it their due consideration."
"Few questions have occupied the Church so much as these two
from the day when, sixty years ago, our great predecessor Leo
XIII, with his encyclical 'Rerum Novarum', put into the hands of
the workers the Magna Carta of their rights. In this encyclical,
issued in 1891, Leo XIII proclaimed the relative rights and the
mutual duties o f capital and labour. Forty years later came the
pronouncement from his successor, Pope Pius XI, 'Quadrogesimo
Anno' in course of which, along with other things, he declared, 'the
first and immediate apostles of the workers shall be working men
m
themselves'."
66 Third Way
In 1920, the International Federation of Christian Trade Unions
(the IFCTU, now 'WCL') was formed. In 1952, the 'Young Christian
Workers' Movement' was started in Belgium by Joseph Cardign.
On May 1, 1955, the Pope christianised May Day by
establishing for that day the feast of St. Joseph, the worker.
Leo X III in 1889 proposed St. Joseph as a model for
proletarians. Benedict XV advised the workers to follow St. Joseph
as their special Guide. And Pius XII explained the role of the
workman of Nazareth as patron in the struggles against atheistic
communism in the following words:
"To hasten the advent of the 'peace of Christ in the Kingdom of
Christ' so ardently desired by all, we place the vast campaign of
the Church against world communism under the standard of St.
Joseph, her mighty protector."
Thus Pius XII managed to mobilise his Christian forces on the
same field which was being monopolised (ideologically) so far by
the leftists in general and the communists in particular.
It was, however, realised before long that this sectional activity,
though commendable in itself, would not serve fully the purpose in
hand. Emboldened by its experience in evolving 'Christian Science'
and 'Christian Art', the Vatican undertook the task of evolving
'Christian Economics' also. 'The 30,000 words Vatican Encyclical’*
mentioned on May 2, 1991, the futility of both the systems -
capitalism as well as communism.
D eterm ined and system atic effort is already going on to
formulate 'Christian Economics'. But it is not certain whether this
would be able to offer the much-needed 'third alternative' because
Christian economists also are brought up so far in a particular
discipline. Their minds have been conditioned in a particular way for
so many decades in the past. They will not be able to make much
headway unless they prepare themselves to unlearn everything
pertaining to capitalism and consumerism. Again, they will have to
remember that Max Weber eulogised capitalism as the consummation
of Christian religion and Tawney in his 'Religion and Rise o f
Capitalism' has similarly disclosed how Christianity and rise of
capitalism can be sophistically rationalised, while according to
Kenneth Boulding, the demand-structure in religious economic life
would be different from that in the capitalist economic life would be
different from that in the capitalist economic life.
See Appendix II
Quo Vadis 67
It is now generally known that in certain quarters it was felt that
the Encyclical, mentioned above, has not distanced itself sufficiently
from the prevalent capitalist thinking.
At an inter-disciplinary seminar held at Bombay on July 5, 1992,
some of the participants speaking on this "Centesimus Annus", the
Encyclical issued by Pope John Paul, expressed the view that it was
bending backwards towards capitalism, harsh on communism mainly
for its athesim, "goody-goody" but lacking in persuasive statements
on issues like population control, and diplomatic and conservative
on issues like GATT and the North-South Dialogue. This Encyclical
issued to mark the centenary of the above-mentioned "Rerum
Novarum" Encyclical or the "workers' charter" did not go much
further. The Encyclical lacked bite, though it threw more light on
Christian understanding of issues. "Why did the Pope not say he
preferred a modified form of socialism with less state-intervention,
instead of asking for a modified form of capitalism?" they questioned.
Fr. Aguiar, editor of the 'Examiner', felt that the Pope has not
come to terms with the massive dehumanisation in the world and that
the Encyclical had no models to present as alternatives to
communism.
Anyway, the efforts to evolve "Christian Economics" are already
afoot.
W hatever may be the degree of success these Christian
economists achieve ultimately, their intellectual efforts can be
complementary to Hindu Economics, if they are imbued with the
spirit of true Christianity as reflected in: "I have come to fulfil, and
not to destroy."
It is not generally realised that in the context of this exercise of
evolving a socio-economic order, the followers of Islam have a
distinct advantage over those of Christianity. Mohamed, the. Prophet,
was not only the founder of a religion; he was a lawgiver also.
Christianity originated with Lord Jesus, though, wisely enough, he
did not found any Church. But that apart, he was not a lawgiver, his
famous Commandments notwithstanding. For example, the Bible has
a reference to anarchy of taxes and corruption of tax-collectors, but
it does not indicate the way to taxless society. This fact has placed
his followers in a disadvantageous position, so far as this particular
task is concerned.
68 Third Way
The Islamic scholars have been busy for decades in evolving
Islamic Economics, the special characteristic of which is the creation
of an interest-free economy. To pass any judgem ent on this
particular aspect, it is necessary to investigate into the actual
functioning of financial institutions in different Islamic countries and
also to study in depth the entire literature on Islamic Economics
which is in the process of evolution such as -
1. 'Banking without Interest' by Dr. Nejatullah Siddique.
2. 'Some Administrative Aspects of the Collection and Distribution
o f Zakat and the Distributive Effects o f the Introduction of
Zakat into Modern Economics' by Mr. Raquibuz Zaman.
3. 'Monetary and Fiscal Economics o f Islam' edited by Mohammed
Ariff: (Selected papers presented to the Seminar on the
International Monetary and Fiscal Economics', held at Mecca
on October 7-12, 1978).
4. Journals of King Abudul Aziz University Islamic Economics,
Jeddah.
5. 'Money and Banking in Islam and Fiscal Policy and Resource
Allocation in Islam', by Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed, Dr. Munawar Iqbal
and Dr. M. Fahim Khan (Papers and proceedings of the Seminar
on Islamic Economics held at Islamabad in January 1981).
Incidentally, it can be stated here without exaggeration that the
Islamic research scholars working at Islamabad, Jeddah and Leicester
will stand to gain if they critically study the approach of this thesis
on the subject of interest-free economy. (It may be noted that some
Christian economists like Demant and a German economist, Silvio
Gessel, also plead for interest-free loans.)
The intellectual pursuits of these Islamic economists are
praiseworthy inasmuch as they are striving to bridge the gap
between the static fundamentalism and the dynamic character of the
present-day economic scene. However, their task is complicated by
the fact that while they are called upon to evolve a
'Weltanschauung'* for the global 'Ummah', i.e., the world community
of Muslims, they are also required to evolve a 'strategy for survival'
for the Muslims who reside in predominantly non-Muslim countries.
"The Muslim Manifesto - a strategy fo r survival," issued by the
Muslim Institute of Great Britain on the occasion of the All-Britain
See Appendix II
Quo Vadis 69
Muslim Conference held at London on 14 July 1990, was the first
organised effort to carry out the latter task. Another hurdle these
economists will have to cross is the attitude of the Muslim rulers
who are prepared to finance this project but unwilling to follow its
findings in practice. They are enamoured of the western economic
order. For example, there is no place for stock exchange in Islamic
economics, because it is an institution for monopoly in economy.
But no Muslim ruler will dispense with stock exchange and other
monopolies. Theirs is a case of schizophrenia in this respect.
However, all seekers of truth would appreciate the idealism and
the perseverance of about two hundred Islamic economists, scholars
and thinkers who are conducting their research "to find Islamic
solutions for modern economic crisis and conflicts for which
contemporary economic ideologies have failed to provide satisfactory
answers."
Anyway, one thing is certain. Those who are determined to
discover or evolve non-western pattern of economics in keeping with
the spirit of their own culture, should possess, apart from academic
intelligence, the moral courage to declare fearlessly that -
(1 ) "The different stages of economic evolution infer communist society and
slavery, capitalism and then the fin al communism that is fin al
communist society. When it is dialectical materialism described as a
common phenomenon in the history of the mankind, really it has no
existence whatsoever outside the European history. These stages
were never passed through by any people outside Europe." (M o h m e d
K u tu b .) A n d -
(2) "The western paradigm is not the universal model of progress and
development." (C lau d e A lv a r es).
70 Third Way
PART-VIQ
Though this is the first ever comprehensive effort to spell out
the Hindu Economics in all its aspects, the nationalist organisations
operating in the economic field were striving, in the light of the
Sanatoria Dharma, to evolve formulations to meet the challenges of
modern times. No doubt, their efforts were sectional, confined to
their respective spheres of activity. But this exercise has been going
on for the last forty years.
See, for example, the following sample formulations.
Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh has been active in the economic field
since 1955. While it is neither possible nor necessary for the purpose
of this book to give a gist of the entire Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh
literature, we are presenting here two of its formulations as samples
of its organisational thinking.
I
The surplus value of labour is managed and deployed by:
Employers Under Capitalistic order.
(Accountable to
themselves)
State Under Communistic order
(Accountable to
the party)
Workers Under Bharatiya order
(Accountable to the
Nation)
n
The industrial structure in future would continue to be complex,
with various patterns of ownership existing side by side. But greater
stress will have to be laid on setting up industries which will be :
Financed by Commoners
Owned by Workers
Supervised by Institutions (Financial)
Decentralised by Technologists
Quo Vadis 71
Served by Experts
Co-ordinated by Planners
Disciplined by Parliament
Assisted by State
Utilised by Consumers
Governed by Dharma
But this treatise stands on a different footing. The Hindu
Thought, waiting to get projected in modern context, suffered from
one disadvantage. It was a paradoxical situation. Those well-versed
in Hindu Scriptures were not acquainted adequately with the western
thought. And those proficient in the latter were sufficiently ignorant
of the former.
The fact of the matter is that on account of their contempt for
everything Hindu, many of these 'intellectuals' have not cared to
study the Sanskrit language, - much less its arsha (archaic) form.
Whatever knowledge they gathered about Sanskrit texts was through
their English translations - mostly by European scholars who had
not understood accurately the letter and the spirit of the language
which was foreign to them. The 'arsha' languages of the Vedic
literature was Greek and Hebrew to them. Even texts in classical
Sanskrit received shabby, casual treatment at their hands. They
described the 'Ramayana', the 'Mahabharata', the 'Manusmriti' and
the 'Arthashastra' as 'mythological books'.
The wiser among them, therefore, considered it as a colossal
waste of time and energy to study the 'Ramayana' with its seven
books known as 'Kandas' divided further into several 'sargas'
i.e., cantos; the 'Mahabharata' with its eighteen books known as
'Parvas'; the 'Manusmriti' with its twelve chapters; and the
'Arthashastra' with its fifteen 'Adhikaranas' and 150 'Prakaranas'.
That the authors of various other Smritis and the predecessors of
Kautilya were not taken cognisance of by them was not at all
surprising. Because of such prejudice, they could not even suspect
that the origins of modern economics could be found in the most
ancient book of mankind, that is, the 'Rig Veda'.
In this context the following observation of K.T. Shah is
noteworthy. In his 'Ancient Foundations of Economics in India', he
remarked:
72 Third Way
"Economics is a social science, concerning man in his everyday
life and pursuits, which would be im possible without
association, organisation and concerted action to
pre-determined ends. And it is the peculiar richness of India's
ancient civilization that her seers and sages had recognised
these basic facts, almost in the dawn of our recorded history, even
if not in the twilight of one epic age or the last horizons of our
Vedic beginnings."
"Modern attem pts at a rediscovery o f our past and its
reconstruction are not actuated merely in a vain sense of self-
complacency, or fruitless pride of glorious ancestry. They are
rather accepted ideals, and working institutions of a socio
economic character can be traced to their foundations thousands of
years ago. And if today we perceive any weakening o f the
superstructure, if today we perceive any complexity through which
it is difficult to pursue a ll the ramifications o f growth or
development, if today we fail to find a solution to the problems that
face us for the moment by research into our ancient foundations, it
is because, in the intervening centuries, so much of superfluous,
uncongenial or undigested alien material has been overlaid on
those foundations, that it becomes impossible even to understand
the meaning or purpose, and to perceive the roots which could
furnish some satisfactory explanation o f the nature o f these
problems, and the way they were dealt with in those remote days
of India's native empires."
Dr. Bokare had been a confirmed Marxist for decades. In his
enthusiasm for party propaganda, he often converted his class-room
into the recruiting ground for Communist Party. As a learned
professor of economics, he was simultaneously an authority on
classical economics and neo-classical economics. He was quite at
home with all its exponents, from Adam Smith, Ricardo and Malthus
to Samuelson.
Our sages have remarked that absence of dogmatism is the fruit
of genuine intellectualism. ‘5 %: wm; 3rmrg':i’ Intellectual honesty of
Dr. Bokare inspired him to study in depth the entire literature of
Islam and Christianity from this point of view, the Gandhian
economics, and finally, the Hindu Shastras also. He has been
considered as an authority on Gandhism and his book 'Economic
Theory o f Sarvodaya' has been recognised as a standard wok on
that subject. He was thrilled to find that Vedic economics stands for
( 1 ) abundance of production as a result of the principle of genuine
competition, resulting in its turn in the trend of declining prices, and
Quo Vadis 73
(2) the direction of economic development capable of eliminating
many economic categories of modern economics. His resolve to
undertake the unfoldment of Hindu economics as his life mission has
been the culmination, the mature fruit, of his life-long penances as a
scientific thinker. It can, therefore, be stated safely that Dr. Bokare
has taken sixty-seven long years to write this thesis, 'Hindu
Economics.' And, then, this is his first step in his long march in this
direction. He is convinced that Hindu economics consummates all
that is noble in Quran, Bible and Gandhian economics. In 1984, he
had predicted the collapse of communism; in 1992, he declares that
Hindu Economics is the Economics of the Future.
The speciality of this book is that it fulfils the most urgent need
of the hour. Earlier, different modern scholars of repute conversant
with different aspects of Hindu economics have furnished the
readers with the voluminous information on the subject in academic
style. As academicians their merit is indisputable. They are great in
their own right. Their contributions are valuable. Prominent among
them are K.T. Shah's 'Ancient Foundations o f Economics in India';
K.V. Ramaswami Iyengar's 'Aspects of Ancient Economic Thought';
Ramakrishna Mission's 'Cultural Heritage o f India', Vol. II (pp.
451-464, and pp. 655-677); K.G. Gokhale's 'Indian Thought Through
Ages' pp. 49-75); K.M. Munshi and R.R. Diwakar's 'Hindu
Civilization'; Altekar’s 'State and Government in Ancient India';
Jayaswal’s 'Hindu P o lity’; Ghoshal's 'Hindu Revenue System';
Mookharji's 'Local Government in Ancient India'; the works of
A.N. Bose, S.K. Maity and S.K. Maitra. But all of these illustrious
authors wrote during a period when there prevailed a sort of
ideological stability in the western mind, adherents of each western
ideology following their respective articles of faith with full
conviction and dedication, with blind faith in the inevitability of the
ultimate triumph of their own 'scientific' ideology. The process of
disillusionment started after the October 1987 crash in the capitalist
camp and publication of 'Perestroika' in the communist world. The
psychological status-quo was upset. That "There lies more faith in
honest doubt" was gradually realised even by fanatics in both the
camps. All of them perceived the consequent ideological vacuum
leading them to frustration. 'Hindu Economics' of Dr. Bokare is
appearing on the scene at this critical juncture. And it boldly
pledges to fill the vacuum and indicate the 'Third' way which may
ultimately be recognised as the 'Only' way. This work is the
74 Third Way
harbinger of what Dr. P.R. Brahmananda appropriately termed as
'Dharmanomics
Recapitulation of whatever has been unfolded in the following
pages may appear to be superfluous, - even redundant. But, for the
convenience of understanding, the salient features of the picture that
emerges out of his unfoldment may, however, be sketched out in the
following manner.
The WESTERN and the HINDU; - these are the two entirely
different paradigms with their entirely different value-systems,
institutional arrangements and parameters.
WESTERN HINDU
Compartmentalised thinking : Integrated thinking
Man - a mere material being : Man-a physical-mental-intel
lectual-spiritual being
Subservience to Artha-Kama ,; Drive towards Purushartha
Chatushtaya
Society, a club of self- : Society, a body with all
centred individuals individuals therein as its limbs
Happiness for oneself : Happiness for all
Acquisitiveness : 'Aparigraha' (non-possession)
Profit motive : Service motive
Consumerism : Restrain consumption
Exploitation : Antyodaya'
Rights-oriented conscious : Duty-oriented consciousness
ness of others' duties of others' rights
Contrived scarcities : Abundance of production
Economy of rising prices : Economy of declining prices
Monopoly capitalism through : Free competition without
various devices** manipulated markets
* * F o r e x a m p le , patents, brands, co p yrigh ts, trade n am es, lic e n c e s, quotas,

p r o te ctiv e tariff, cartels, p o o ls, trusts, h o ld in g c o m p a n ies or intercorporate
b oards o f d irectors, intercorp orate in v estm en ts, etc.
Quo Vadis 75
Economic theories centred : Economic theories centred
round wage-employment round self-employment
An ever-increasing army of : The ever-growing sector of
the proletariat Vishwakarma (Self-employment)
Ever-widening disparities : Movement towards equitability
and equality
The rape of Nature : The milking of Mother Nature
Constant conflict between : Complete harmony between
the individual, the society the individual, the society
and Nature and Nature
The two are entirely different paradigms. Every society is free
to choose its own model on 'take all, or leave all' basis.
"Quo vadis?"
The twenty-first century is rightly questioning the disillusioned
and perplexed mankind.
This pioneering work seems to offer the right answer to this
right question.
Not with the arrogant doctrinaire dogmatism.
But with the humility that invariably accompanies every honest
quest for truth, every earnest exploration.
While presenting this thesis to the readers, the author is humbly
saying:
fergmn ^ htsj sraVi i’
"Unless and until the experts are satisfied, I will not consider this
endeavour of mine commendable."
- Kalidasa
CHAPTER 4
Economics*
This paper is not intended for extensive and detailed criticism of
current official policies. It is primarily concerned with the general
perspective. The general direction of economy, as has become
evident from various indicators, is, however, distressing. It would not
be inappropriate to state a few facts here indicative of the impending
catastrophe. These are only illustrative, and not exhaustive. As a
matter of fact, politicians and newspapers have already enlightened
the general public about many aspects of this subject.
The facts that invite our attention are our dwindling foreign
exchange reserves; the craze on the part of the Government to
export gold by way of pledging it to secure expeditiously a much-
needed loan to tide over the Balance of Payments (BoP) crisis; the
steep devaluation of rupee; the budget indicating shameless
surrender to foreign capital; and the new industrial policy.
The statement on Industrial Policy and the Budget 1991-92
presented to Parliament on July 24 are documents drafted at the
instance of the International Monetary Fund.
During the last decade, the domestic debt increased six-fold from
Rs. 48,451 crores in 1980-81 to Rs. 2,79,528 crores in 1990-91. The
ratio of internal debt to GDP increased from 35.6 per cent in 1980-81
to 54.4 per cent in 1990-91. The external debt of India at the end of
1989 was $ 62.509 billion which at the current rate of exchange would
be a bit more than Rs. 1,56,272 crores. Including the borrowings of
1990, this figure comes to about Rs. 1,70,000 crores, though the
official estimates mention the total external debt as Rs. 1,20,000
crores.
The total assets of the Central Government comprising capital
investments and loans advanced have increased from Rs. 59,670
crores at the end of 1980-81 to an estimated Rs.2,36,619 crores at the
end of 1990-91. In the same period the liabilities of the Government
have increased from about Rs. 65,000 crores to Rs. 4,50,000 crores.
T h is paper w a s circu lated and d isc u sse d am on g in tellectu als in O ctob er 1992.
Economics 77
The trade balance which is negative adds up to Rs. 77,939
crores. In terms of U.S. dollars this will come to $ 64.22 billion. After
devaluation, it means about Rs. 1,60,000 crores.
The squander-mania, the corruption, the irresponsible race for
personal gains gathered momentum after the exit of Shri Lai Bahadur
Shastri.
The present gestures of Dr. Manmohan Singh are due to the
cumulative effect of the wrong policies pursued since then. As he
remarked in his budget speech, the room for manoeuvre, to live on
borrowed money or time, does not exist any more.
To state only a few facts as specimens:
The new industrial policy has already allowed 51 per cent foreign
equity with automatic approval in 34 high-priority industries. But the
Government will not be averse to 51 per cent equity without
automatic approval in other delicensed areas except the 8 industries
reserved for public sector, 18 industries requiring compulsory
licensing and over 800 items reserved for small scale sector.
A company with foreign equity upto 51 per cent would now be
treated at par with any other Indian company. The Government
could allow 24 per cent equity participation in the small scale sector
by both domestic and foreign managed companies in India. It would
also now be possible for big units to produce items reserved for
SSIs, though their equity participation in the latter will be restricted
to 24 per cent. The idea has been to provide access to the capital
market and also to encourage modernisation of SSIs. Through this
device, the big ones will be able to usurp some of the concessions
meant for the small ones.
The character of the public sector is sought to be changed by
selling a part of the equity to financial institutions and the general
public, a gesture which can be taken advantage of by the monopoly
capitalists only. Companies are effectively controlled by monopolists
though they hold only a small part of the share capital; in the large
industrial houses, private capital is often less than 10 per cent,
public funds constituting 90 per cent of the capital.
Unrestricted technology imports, in a regime of unfavourable
balance of payments, and foreign indebtedness without any incentive
78 Third Way
for use of indigenous technology would only intensify the imports
of items that could be indigenously made available.
After removing the restrictions on asset limits, regulation of the
monopoly houses by the MRTP Commission (the Monopolies and
Restrictive Trade Practices Commission) will be even more difficult.
The proposed privatisation of public sector will lead to replacement
of social perspective by private profit motive.
While it is a fact that unless industry prospers, labour cannot
benefit and that perpetuation of inefficiency in industry would not
be beneficial, it is also true that in Bharat, efficiency cannot be the
sole criterion and that it must be balanced by the need to expand
employment avenues. Retraining of the workers is the necessary
requirement of a new technology. But it is misleading to state that
through such retraining the displaced workers can be re-deployed in
the same industry. Their number is usually small. The number of
those who cannot be retrained is much larger because of the
sophistication of new technology. They will be thrown out of
employment. Fresh employment avenues will have to be opened for
them. The cost of technological change and modernisation should
not fall on workers.
Still more distressing is the apathy of the people to their own
self-interest as well as the national self-respect.
The Hindu Nationalists were the first to caution the people
against the danger of the foreign economic imperialism. The
statement issued by Shri Guruji after the Tashkent Agreement
stressing the need for national self-reliance and forewarning the
people against arm-twisting by foreign powers was ridiculed by the
'radicals’ as fantastic nonsense. The various organisations managed
by the Swayamsevaks have been exhorting all patriots to forge a
united front to fight the mighty demon, viz., foreign economic
imperialism. For more than a decade they have been categorically
declaring that 'debt-trap' is 'death-trap', that we are already under
economic slavery and that further major policy decisions on
economic front would be taken, not by New Delhi but by the
capitals of the foreign countries.
It was amusing to note that our politicians were criticising every
official measure as if it was an isolated event. No measure, be it
Economics 79
devaluation or budget or anything else, is an event in itself; it is an
integral part of the process that is continuing since 1966.
And now we have reached a stage where the line of
demarcation between the so-called 'liberalisation' and "national self
liquidation" has become extremely thin and almost vanished.
Our intellectuals are familiar with the fashion of 'model' making,
For example, Growth Models of Prof. P.C. Mahalanobis, Harrod and
Domar and Keynes and H.W. Singer; Balanced Growth Strategy of
Prof. Nurkse and W.A. Lewis and Unbalanced Growth Strategy
propounded by Hirschman; theory of Big Push propounded by M.I.T.
Study Group and Rosenstein-Rodan; theory of Critical Minimum
Effort propounded by Prof. Harvey and Leibenstein; theory of Back
Wash Effect and Spread Effect tendencies explained by Prof. Gunnar
Myrdal, etc.
From Adam Smith to Samuelson the economic thinking of the
West has covered a long way. True, in the communist world there
had been no great thinkers after Lenin and Mao; but in the rest of
the West, thinking in the economic field has been pragmatic,
dynamic and forward-going, without being too much worried about
the direction of such advance. For example, in modem times, Lionel
Robbins defined 'Economics' in terms of unlimited wants and relative
scarcity of resources, necessitating choice. Robbins paved the way
for "Positive Economics" which is concerned with "what is" rather
than "what ought to be" (Normative). He said the duty of an
economist was to explore and explain, and not to advocate or
condemn. He was only for explaining the situation as it was without
any positive prescriptions.
P.J. Thomas, on the other hand, argued that the duty of the
economist was not only to explore and explain but also to advocate
and condemn.
According to Oscar Lange, Economics is the science of
administration of scarce resources.
According to Marshall, 'consumers' surplus' is the difference
between what a consumer is willing to pay for goods/services and
the price he actually pays - a very useful concept in taxation
(especially commodity taxation) and pricing of public utilities.
80 Third Way
In the analysis of public welfare, welfare economics developed
by Pigou and later writers and the public welfare policy initiated by
Lord Beveridge (i.e. womb to tomb social insurance) may be more
pertinent.
But for analysis of the 'saving-investment-income' generation
process, Keynesian model is more appropriate.
The Harrod-Domar model can certainly be a good starting-point
for understanding the plan models.
But in our context, Fei Ranis model or Lewis model with
unlimited supplies of labour may have to be understood in its
totality.
Apart from his "Back Wash" effect, Gunnar Myrdal has given
some other concepts deserving serious consideration.
The development of certain industries or areas leads to growth
of other industries or further development of its surrounding areas,
spreading the favourable effect of growth to surrounding areas
through linkages. This is termed as the 'spread effect'.
His other concepts are,
-'Forward linkage' - the development of an industry results in the
production of outputs which are used as intermediate products or
inputs by other industries. This is called 'growth propulsion'.
-'Backward linkage' - the development of those industries which
provide inputs to the industry concerned.
-Industries with higher forward and backward linkages have
greater "growth propulsion" capability, such as, steel industry.
Hence in planning industrialisation, importance should be
attached, according to Gunnar Myrdal, to selecting those industries
which have the greatest "growth propulsion" - in terms of highest
forward and backward linkages.
Application of Keynesian model for planning was attempted by
Harrod and Domar. They estimated the growth rate as a function of
Investment ratio and Capital output ratio.
Then, the pioneer of Monetarist School, Milton Friedman with
Economics 81
James Tobin and Bronfenbrenner; P.A. Samuelson, the spokesman of
modem capitalism, with Michael Solow and K. Arrow; Joan Robinson
with her theories of market; W. Leontief with his input-output
analysis; Ragnor of micro-economics; Nicholas Kaldor of Expenditure
Tax theory; Mitchell and R.C.O. Mathews with trade cycle theories;
Debreau of General Equilibrium analysis; Richard A. Musgrave on
public finance; Daniel Thorner of agricultural economics; Atkinson
and Michael Lipton on Poverty and Development; J.R. Hicks and
Kenneth Arrow of indifference curve analysis and theory of
consumer behaviour; O. Tinbergen, H.B. Chenery, R.F. Kahn with
economic development theories, - all these experts have made rich
contributions to Economics.
These theories must be studied in depth to understand the
economic structure and mechanism of the West. It will be helpful in
evolving our own m ethodology, learning from the m istakes
committed by them and the failures of their experiments. As Bernard
Shaw remarked, "Wise men learn from other people's experience, fools
from their own."
But this should not be for imitation. Even Lord Keynes wrote in
his introduction to 'General Theory': "For the author of this book, it
was a long struggle of escape from classical theory." Keynes also
expressed in his preface to 'Cambridge Economics Handbook Series'
that economics does not furnish a body of settled conclusions. It
provides the practitioner a logical tool for rational thinking.
As stated elsewhere, Gurudev Tagore has said that God has
given different question papers to different countries. And so
copying cannot help.
And, most important of all, the system developed through the
intellectual labour of all these distinguished and respectable masters,
is itself showing signs of its failure in the United States.
Many in our country may not be knowing that the U.S. has
become dependent on investors in Tokyo to finance 120 billion
U.S. dollar fiscal deficit.
The Wall Street Journal, on the occasion of its centenary, asked
"Will America's children be better off in 2005 than their parents are
now?" and answered, "Not long ago, just to ask that question
would have been heresy. Faith in the promise of the future is as
6
82 Third Way
fundamental to the American character as the bill of rights is to its
»democracy. But now that faith is being tested."
J. Hicks, a Nobel laureate, thinks that predictability is absent in
our current economic thinking. Samuelson shares this view; he
describes American economists as 'kept economists'. In 'Crisis in
Economic Theory,' edited by Daniel Bell, the helplessness of the
current economic thinking is described. 'The World's Vatican
Encyclical' mentioned on 2 May 1991 the futility of both the
systems, capitalism and communism, and urged fresh thinking. The
World Trade Union Conference held at Moscow in November 1990
highlighted the failure of market economy as well as communism and
made a plea for finding a third alternative.
But it is difficult for western scholars to immediately make any
headway in this matter, because for many a decade their minds have
been conditioned in a particular way. They may fall back upon
Christianity. But, as Kenneth Boulding of United States has rightly
remarked, demands in religious economic life will be different from
those in the capitalist economic life. Consumerism is the special
feature of the latter.
CHAPTER 5
Technology*
Recently, the government has admitted that the brain-drain
caused by migration of graduates from the various Indian Institutes
of Technology (IITs) to U.S. etc. was in the range of 40 to 60 per
cent, depending on the discipline. The IITs seem to be creating
products largely for the United States market. We are importing
technology often developed by our own IIT graduates living abroad.
It is time for us to change this situation so that our engineers get
the opportunity to develop, adapt and assimilate modern technology
within the country.
For the first time, this has been admitted officially. Modern
technology of the post-second-industrial-revolution society has
placed 'knowledge classes', i.e. scientists and technologists, in the
pivotal position. Till now, in industrial society, engineers and semi
skilled workers were in the pivotal position. In the latter society, we
have 'economic haves’ and 'economic have-nots'; in the former,
'educational haves' and 'educational have-nots'.
Education or the 'knowledge industry' would be the largest
single industry in technologically advanced countries. Technicians
include draughtsmen and designers for computers, T.V.s, cars, ship
building, aircraft industry, etc., and repairmen.
The chief characteristic of the new society will be that its
dominant figures will not be, as in the past, the entrepreneur, the
businessman, and the industrial executive; the "new men" are the
scientists, the mathematicians, the economists and sociologists, the
practitioners of the new "intellectual technology" through computer.
In the United States of America, 'manual' or blue-collar workers
make up only l/3rd of the labour force; in the European industrial
countries, they make up for 1/2 of the labour force. If computerisation
proceeds unrestrained, by 2000 A.D. the blue-collar labour force could
decrease by half a million a year; instead of increasing by one and a
half million, this would bring it down to about 10% by 2000 A.D.
* T h is paper w a s circu lated and d isc u sse d a m o n g in te lle ctu a ls in O ctob er 1992.
84 Third Way
In Britain, 2.5 workmen are employed to produce the same quantity as
one man in the U.S. If by some miracle, the present efficiency of the
U.S. is achieved in Britain, the fraction of number of production
workers could at once drop to 20%.
The new technology would exhaust the natural deposits of
metals, coal, oil and natural gas. Because of the exhaustion of raw-
material, there are natural limits to the efficiency of technology,
though uranium in the rocks and in the sea would solve the problem
for quite some time.
It is not as if the demerits of the new technology are not at all
appreciated in the advanced countries. In 1971, the SST (a supersonic
airliner) was not allowed to fly in the United States by the Congress.
This was historically the first instance of a legislature calling a stop
to 'technological progress'.
The most formidable critic of 'Technology Autonomy' is Lewis
Mumford, especially his two volumes (1) The Myth o f the Machine,
Techniques and Human Developmnt and (2) The Pentagon of Power.
Alvin Toffler in his book 'Future Shock' pleads for social
control of technology. He says that social indicators must also be
given when we are planning; there should be social control of
technology, that an office of a technological ombudsman should be
created which would be an institution to investigate into the
behaviour, conduct and misconduct of public officials. He further says
that our politicians, administrators, technologists and scientists are
having a short-term horizon. Whatever is useful immediately will
be adopted by them; they will not pause to consider the long-range
effects, over long distances of time and space. But humanity will have
to suffer.
Toffler insists that our scientists and technologists should also be
made to becom e human beings, not merely scientists and
technologists.
He believes that the present planning by scientists and
technologists is defective for three reasons : first because it is
econocentric, the whole basis being economics; secondly it is
short-ranged; and thirdly it is undemocratic in the sense that people
are not consulted as to what type of future they want for themselves.
Technology 85
Then he pleads for earlier anticipation of direct and indirect effects of
technology over distances of time and space.
Every invention will have its impact on social structure. If you
completely control genetics you are controlling every living being in
society. Then what will be the value system in society? If there are
test-tube babies, if the husband and wife have little to do in the
production of the progeny, what will happen to the family? What will
be their mutual relationship? All these problems will have to be
answered. Another scientist notes that not only the type of
advancement and the quality of advancement but even the pace of
advancement and the rate of advance are also relevant, and unless
mankind is ready to adjust itself to a particular rate of advancement,
probably that rate of advancement may overcome mankind. How to
face this new challenge? One eminent thinker says,
"Change is life itself, but change rampant, change unguided,
change unrestrained, accelerated change, overwhelming not
man's physical defences but his decisional processes - such a
change is the enemy of life."
There is nothing inherent in the evolutionary process to
guarantee man's own survival. The reaction to such great and rapid
advancement by another United States scientist by name Ralph Lap
is also worth recalling:
"No one, not even the most brilliant scientist alive today, really
knows where science is taking us. We are aboard a train which
is gathering speed and racing down the track, on which there are
an unknown number o f switches, leading to an unknown
destination. No single scientist is in the engine cab. There may
be demons at the switches. Most of society is in the cupboards
looking backwards."
Another human behaviourist, B. F. Skinner, says in his book
Beyond Freedom and Dignity:
"We need a new technology now, technology of human behaviour.
Presently we have none."
And then Dr. Lero Augustein, chairman of the department of
Biophysics at Michigan State University, says in his book Let Us Play
God:
"Science marches on, fast and furious. But all too often ability to
handle our new-found powers does not keep pace. Increasingly
86 Third Way
the advance being made in many areas o f science and
technology pose ethical and moral dilemmas which cannot be
solved by facts alone."
The westerners also realise that left to itself, a computer can no
more solve a problem than a fountain pen can write a poem, or a
cricket ball can claim a wicket. A computer is a tool, not a
handyman. A computer is not even stupid, it is brainless. A computer
cannot discover a new law of Nature, it can only apply it. A computer
is only as good or as bad as the programmer who instructs it.
The share-crash in the world-market on 19th October 1987 was
mainly due to computer operations.
As prices fell, the computer sold off shares, which brought
down the prices further, which brought more computerised sales,
which brought down the prices still further. Prices were falling because
shares were being sold, and computers were selling shares because
prices were falling.
The case of developing countries is still different.
It is generally experienced that in a developing country high-
tech industries create their own economic zones. Foreign technologies
which depend upon imported inputs and services from the same level
of technological zone, do not promote the growth of local
subsidiary industries in the surrounding undeveloped economic
zone that is functioning at a lower economic level with low purchasing
power (inadequate to purchase the products of the high-tech
industries). The high-tech economic zones thus developed
get linked with higher technological zones in foreign countries and
isolated from the low-technology economic zones in their own
country; such islands of high-technology zones surrounded by the
vast ocean of low-technology economy create crises because of the
linkage of the former with advanced foreign economies and their
isolation from the other levels of national economy. Experience
indicates that such technological linkages culm inate in the
inauguration of foreign economic imperialism.
On the other hand for developed countries, technological
obsolescence is a permanent phenomenon; and where else is the
dumping ground for their obsolescent technologies and production
processes, if not in the economies of underdeveloped or developing
Technology 87
countries? Consequently, the technological linkage is generally
between the higher developed zone of the developing country and an
obsolescent economic zone of a developed country.
Only the gullible will believe that any innovation or technology can
be equally useful under all conditions, irrespective of the stages of
development, the levels of available infrastructure, and the nature of
existing economic and social structures and their requirements. Sudden
application of a new technology, useful in one set of socio-economic
conditions, to a different economy in which those conditions are
absent may considerably upset the socio-economic life and relations
prevalent under the latter. No technology can be usefully introduced in
a new area without simultaneous introduction therein of its other
attendant factors.
The leading industrial countries use a certain, though small,
percentage of their Gross National Product to suppress pollution. The
developing countries may not be in a position to do it efficiently.
An UNCTAD study laid down the following acceptable major
policy objectives for developing countries in the use of modern
technology :
1. The creation of a social, economic and institutional framework that
would ensure the widest possible access to technology and the sharing
of its benefits so as to meet basic needs;
2. The creation of an indigenous capacity for generating technological
know-how and for applying both foreign and domestic technology that
makes appropriate use of material, human and environmental resources;
3. Control over the importance of technology through the exercise of
bargaining power, and acquisition of the ability to obtain the best terms
and conditions and to link import with the development of local
technology;
4. The development of mechanisms for mobilising mass participation
in the choice and application of technology.
For rural sector of our country, it is advisable to develop
indigenous technology with the help of locally available inputs and
skills. Bharat must have its own technological, research and
development base. There is a strong case for unification of research
work that is being conducted by research cells under the Planning
Third Way
Commission and the various ministries, so as to eliminate duplication
of work and promote efficiency.
While it is true that the requirements of defence and other heavy
industries can be met only by steel factories producing special steel,
the requirements of the rural industries can be fulfilled by rural iron
workshops; for simple appliances like plough-shares, cart wheels, etc.,
require the generally available type of iron.
It is necessary to conduct research in modern as well as
traditional, indigenous technology with a view to -
1) Evolving a National Technological Policy to determine what
portions of western technology are to be adopted, what others to be
adapted, what others to be rejected, and the areas in which evolution
of Bharatiya technology is imperative;
2) Scrutinising the traditional technology to ascertain what portions
of it are adaptable to modem conditions;
3) Developing our own indigenous technology in consonance with
our socio-cultural pattern taking this precaution that it should lead to
decentralisation of the process of production; exploring the
possibilities of converting home, instead of factory, as a production
unit with the help of power and atomic energy.
4) Introducing for the benefit of our village artisans and craftsmen,
appropriate modification in the traditional techniques of production,
without enhancing the risk of (a) increase in unemployment, (b)
wastage of available managerial and technical skills, and (c) complete
decapitalisation (partial decapitalisation is understandable) of their
existing means of production.
CHAPTER 6
Environment*
Shrimati Indira Gandhi gave a pleasant surprise to the world
environmentalist meet at Stockholm (1972) when she told them that
her country had been ecology-conscious right from the early Vedic
period.
That has not been the case with the West.
Probably, the concern for conservation of Nature was expressed
for the first time in English literature by W. H. Hudson in his
'Green Mansions', published in 1904. But it was only a novel, a
tropical romance, not a scholarly thesis.
After a long experience in high-tech industrialisation, some
western thinkers have now come to conclude that western
technology is eco-destructive and socially disintegrative. It is Nature-
destructive and society-disintegrative because it has only one goal -
industrialisation. The modern Cartesian reductionist philosophy has
pitted man against Nature as if man himself is not part of nature.
It permits ruthless destruction of Nature in the service of the
ever-growing appetites of man. The result is serious depletion of
natural resources, grave disturbance of the eco-system and a level of
pollution that is increasingly endangering all life-forms.
The modern industrial system consumes tremendous amounts of
non-renewable raw-materials and energy sources. Progressively
greater utilisation of renewable energy sources and renewable
materials is not feasible under the modern system and this results in
the pollution of air and water. The system discourages evolution of
the region-specific technologies which can utilise locally available
resources to satisfy local needs using technical and managerial skills
of local people.
The pollution per inhabitant in the upper fifth of the world is
about fifty times more than in the other four-fifths, and full industrial
development of underdeveloped countries might raise the world
* T h is paper w a s circu la ted and d isc u s se d am o n g in te lle ctu a ls in O cto b er 1992.

90 Third Way
pollution rate to a level at which it might wipe off the major part of
the world's population.
The oxygen requirem ent of the technosphere of industrial
society is at least fifteen times that of a normal bio-sphere.
Similarly, if the developing countries come to the level of
developed countries, some of the key metals and minerals would be
exhausted well within the next hundred years.
Recently, the V ienna-based International Atomic Energy
Agency's 'Annual Overview and Outlook of Nuclear Safety' for the
year 1988 has observed that despite more than 5,000 reactors and
years of nuclear power experience and fairly satisfactory public safety
record, widespread public concern that nuclear power is too risky
still persists. Among the major public concerns regarding an
apprehended nuclear disaster, the review listed irregularities in radio
active waste m anagem ent and transport, aircraft-crashes, an
earthquake in the vicinity of nuclear plants, concern about nuclear
accident risks and pollution at military nuclear facilities.
Afforestation is helpful in retaining moisture in air, in purifying
air and in fixing soil. It maintains balanced bio-environment and
provides forest products to Vanavasis and wood and other
necessities of life to adjacent villages. Presently, there is talk about
raising forest cover to 33% of the land. But even this move is being
opposed.
In modern Bharat, the awakening on this issue is recent. Chipko
movement, Silent Valley movement, etc., are healthy signs of public
awareness; but unfortunately, it is about to take the form of a war
between environmentalists and developmentalists. Consequently,
there can be no unanimity even on the problem of afforestation; and
forest degradation upto eight per cent of our land has made life
miserable for millions of Vanavasis.
In a vast and populous country like Bharat, the only effective
way of ensuring desired results in this respect is to conduct
extensive public education on this issue. Even legal measures will
not be of much use. For example, what will be the fate of the
proposal for amending the Companies Act to compel companies to
include annual environm ent audits in their balance sheets? If
implemented, the proposal will require companies to record their own
violations of environmental laws and the corrective measures taken.
Environment 91
The State Pollution Control Boards will then order further inquiries or
action. Delinquent companies would be easily able to embellish their
environment audits as they do their balance sheets. The mandatory
creation of posts of Chief Environment Officers presiding over
environment cells in industrial units may not succeed. Industrialists
know how to deal with such officers. It is good that appeals against
the judgments of the proposed environment tribunals will lie only to
the Supreme Court; but the impact of the tribunals will depend on
how stringently they conduct their work.
At present environmental clearance by the State authorities is a
mere formality. All that the entrepreneur has to do is to promise that
he will install the necessary pollution control equipment. Whether he
actually uses the equipment or even installs it, is rarely verified. This
makes a mockery of any industrial policy identifying a list of
industries which require environmental clearance before their letter of
intent could be converted into an industrial licence.
It was good to enjoin that any industry, whether in the private,
public or small scale sector, producing primary metallurgical products,
refineries, fermentation industry and electro-plating industry would first
have to satisfy the State Director of Industry that the project has been
approved from the environmental angle by the competent State
authority (which is the State Pollution Control Board) before a licence
could be granted. All projects having capital outlay of over Rs.20
crores which have to come up before the Public Investment Board,
should have to get environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of
Environm ent as well. The governm ent also issued a set of
environmental guidelines for siting of industries. It specified the areas
that should be avoided altogether such as ecologically sensitive areas
including game reserves and national parks. A minimum distance of 25
km. is to be maintained between such a site and a polluting plant
even if it has efficient environmental control equipment. It was also
stressed that in determining the location of such highly polluting
plants, consideration must be given to other kinds of fall-out on the
environment from siting such a plant in the area, and not just the
polluting potential of the plant itself. For instance, in the case
of N um aligarh (Assam), it was obvious that the vehicular
traffic on the National Highway, which goes past the
Kaziranga sanctuary, would increase so dramatically that regardless
92 Third Way
of the distance of Numaligarh from the sanctuary, vehicular pollutants
alone would have a damaging effect on plant life in the national park.
This is all good, so far as it goes.
The real difficulty arises at the implementaion stage.
Firstly, the m otivation of the governm ent - whether the
government is willing to envisage the delay and the additional costs
that inevitably accrue when projects have to go through the process of
such detailed environmental appraisal, or whether, in the interests of
encouraging growth, it will ease up on these provisions. For example,
the recommendations of the Site Appraisal Committee are often
rejected. The Committee's recommendations have been overruled in the
cases of the location of the dam in Tehri, which the Committee had
rejected, the 500 MW thermal power plant in Dahanu, and the 300,000
MT gas cracker plant at Thana.
Secondly, several provisions of law have loopholes which can be
exploited by the interested parties. There could be competition
between the states to facilitate industrial growth and the provision that
a flexible location policy would be adopted in respect of such cities
(with population greater than one million) which require 'industrial
regeneration' would come in handy. Who will determine which city
requires industrial regeneration? The Maharashtra Government, which
has already declared that it is willing to relax location norms to
encourage industrial growth, might decide that Bombay needs
'industrial regeneration'. Again, what happens in the case of units
where the expansion exceeds the original installed capacity by as much
as 300 per cent? There are many other loopholes of this type.
Thirdly, industrialists are masters in the art of converting 'illegal
evasion' into 'legal avoidance'. And it seems that the government
may opt to issue environmental guidelines and leave it to the
entrepreneurs to abide by them rather than create environmental
hurdles which they m ust overcome before they can begin
manufacturing. If this happens it would spell disaster, since our
industrialists are least worried about environmental laws - their only
object being profit.
Fourthly, the existing provisions are not adequate. A number of
situations which require legal provisions for this purpose did not get
legislative attention.
Environment 93
Of particular importance is the case of our rural areas. Rural
areas are discrim inated against in the m atters of ecological
precautions.
It is generally acknowledged that industrialisation has polluted all
natural resources - land, water and air - and raped the Nature instead
of milking it. Though the United States passed its first legislation
taking cognisance of this problem in 1899, this initial awareness was
soon swept off by the rising tide of materialistic consumerism.
Natural resources are limited; human desires are unlimited. Apart from
the pollution of land, water and air, there has been ever-increasing
pollution of environment because of various irritants, e.g., sound and
radiation etc.
Being followers of the West our planners readily recognised the
extent of environmental pollution in big cities like Kanpur, Bombay,
Calcutta, Delhi, or Madras, and paid some attention, though
inadequate, to its cause and the preventive as well as the remedial
measures - including legislation - for this purpose. Incidents like
Bhopal or Chernobyl focused once again the attention of the general
public on this usually uncared-for subject. But even this renewed
interest is confined to urban areas and the industrial sector. The
impact of pollution on rural as well as forest or river or hill areas
has not -yet been appreciated properly.
The indiscriminate deforestation has resulted in land erosion,
erratic monsoon and depletion of underground water sources. The
daily household needs of the rural poor are met through biomass or
biomass-related products. Apart from food, fuel (firewood, cowdung,
crop-wastes), fodder, fertiliser (organic manure, forest litter), building
materials (poles, bamboos, leaves and grass) and other basic materials
are all bio-mass products. Over 50 per cent of the fuel consumption
in India is for cooking, and over 90 per cent of our cooking fuel is
bio-mass, that is firewood, cowdung and crop-wastes. (Delhi alone
uses firewood worth about Rs.15 million). The ecological imbalance
affects adversely the traditional handicrafts, housing, transport and
life-styles of rural areas. India has 2.45 per cent of the world's
landmass, but it has to support 15 per cent of the world cattle, 52
per cent of its buffaloes, and 15 per cent of its goats and humans.
The search of industrialists for cheap biomass-based raw
materials and for cheap methods of waste-disposal, coupled with the
politicians' readiness to callously encourage every kind of pollution
94 Third Way
for petty financial gains, has made a mockery of relevant laws which
are themselves too inadequate. The original vegetation is being
destroyed, and commercially profitable new nature is being created
(the pine forests in place of the oak forests; the teak forests in place of
the sal forests; eucalyptus plantations in place of natural rain-forests;
or oil palm in place of the tropical forests). Social costs of the
destruction or transformation of ecological space are too heavy. How
will the distruction of the grazing-lands affect the nearly 200 tribes
engaged in pastoral nomadism? Their number runs to millions.
Our rivers (and also seas), which have now become the dump-yards
for industrial wastes, have, apart from increasing water pollution,
deprived thousands of fishermen of their means of livelihood. Our
planners and rulers are guilty of deliberately neglecting ecological
considerations to favour the financiers.
Under the pressure of environmentalists, some programmes of
social forestry are taken up. In the first place, these programmes are
too inadequate considering the pressing need for afforestation.
Secondly, they are more in the nature of window-dressing, a
fashionable activity. The participants in the programmes are not
earnest about their implementation.
Our social forestry schemes have failed to fulfil their objectives.
These were expected to supply firewood, fodder, small timber ahd
minor forest produce to rural populations and meet their basic biomass
needs. A recent study by programme evaluation organisation of the
Planning Commission revealed that farm forestry, whch is, an important
component of these schemes, has tended to benefit bigger farmers.
Nearly half the total beneficiaries happened to be located in just two
States. Each received between 500 and a thousand seedlings, which
alone indicates the substantial size of their holdings. Earlier it was
reported that in Haryana and Gujarat, six out of every ten beneficiaries
owned more than two hectares of land. Only in West Bengal farm
forestry benefited the poor. The rich beneficiaries tend to go in for fast
growing trees like eucalyptus which primarily meet the demands for
raw-material from the rayon and similar other industries. Again, the
social forestry schemes do not necessarily choose the right kind of
species. For instance, they harp on fuelwood and ignore
fodder, though successive droughts in Gujarat, Rajasthan, etc.,
have shown that the shortage of fodder is acute and is getting worse
every day since large tracts are turning into wastelands.
Environment 95
It is wrong to presume that being a developing country India can
afford to postpone to a distant future the long-awaited introduction of
comprehensive environmental planning, and that a periodical
patchwork of tentative measures based upon adhocism would enable
us to deal with this problem effectively. Even the recent UNEP
document sharply criticises the slipshod manner of dealing with the
subject.
At the same time, we have to get back to our philosophy and to
view the earth, the air, the water, the flora and the fauna as sacred. We
have to develop a technology that will be nature-protective and not
nature-destructive. The whole world is going to need such a
philosophy and matching technology in the twenty-first century.
CHAPTER 7
Humanism:
Western and Integral
Today we are suffering from a number of maladies in every field
of national life. But a close scrutiny of each one of them would
reveal that the root-cause lies in our deviation from our 'Swabhava'
and 'Swadharma' which is the 'Ekatma Manava Darshan' (Integral
Humanism). Today we are victims of regionalism, linguism, casteism,
communalism, sectarianism, and other disruptive tendencies. But we
are aware that our Swadharma had once raised us to the level
higher than that of the homocentric West. Homocentricism of the
West finds its typical expression in the following words of a
character in Gorky's play, 'The Lower Depths':
"All things are part of man, all things are for man." The Vedas
recognised that "All is one." But our self-oblivion consequent to the
impact of western civilisation has degenerated every one of us into
the worst type of individualism . The sooner we return to our
original 'Swabhava' the better for all of us.
The practical implications of homocentricism are not yet being
adequately understood in our country. It is because of the ignorance
about many relevant facts. For example, how many have taken
cognisance of the fact that rabbits, guinea-pigs, dogs, frogs, mice
and monkeys, etc., are brutally and painfully kept alive or killed for
cosmetic testing, apart from pharmaceutical research? How many
have noted the cruelty to animals at spectacles, sports, films and
fiestas? The sad plight of hogs, sables, camels and sheep? Once in
every ten minutes, a great whale is dying in indescribable agony
somewhere in the world. Whales are gentle, sensitive and non-
aggressive, unlike sharks.
The dolphins, known for their intelligence, are exploited to
become performing artists. The same is the fate of bears, monkeys,
dogs, snakes, mongooses, cocks and parrots. The gentle and
graceful antelopes are trapped for their beautiful skin and antlers.
The elephants are killed for a needless desire - ivory. The budgerigars
(love-birds) are given life imprisonment for the crime of being
pretty. Puppies, when unwanted, are m ercilessly destroyed.
Humanism : Western and Integral 97
There is unnecessary torture and killing of animals in the name of
beauty, glamour, vanity fashion and art.
Do our fashionalbe ladies know that shampoos, lipsticks, tooth
pastes and soaps could contain animal fats, which could be either
beaf or mutton tallow; that perfumes, especially of high quality, can
contain sexgland secretions from various animals; that stearates,
stearic acid, oleic acid, glycerine, glycerol, gelatine oestrogen, musk,
ambergris - each one of these is derived from animals, and that
animal fats and tallow-derivatives can be substituted by non-edible
vegetable oils in many coetics plants, and that the pursuit of beauty
need not lead to animal-based products?
A common man is not aware of the cruelty to the bovine
species, the musk deers, honey-bees, fish, civet cats, loris, silk
moths, tortoises, squirrels, oysters, leopards, ostriches, lizards, lynxes,
fox-cuts, turtles, pregnant mares, kangaroos, and beavers.
This is the homocentricism of the West. A few organisations like
the S.P.C.A. (Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) or the
BWC (Beauty Without Cruelty) have succeeded in getting some
pieces of legislation enacted in different countries, but they have not
yet made much impact on the materialistic mind of the West. They
are making commendable efforts "to create and enlighten public
awareness of the totally unnecessary torture and killing of innocent
animals, in the name of beauty, glamour and art; to put an end to all
brutality to animals, to develop through research, products which are
effective alternatives to cruelty-derived ones; to make available and
encourage the use of products which do not contain any animal
ingredients and which are not tested on animals; and to arrest and
prevent anti-animal activity either current or planned, and to take
prompt remedial action." They are trying to appeal to the conscience
of the West that all animals are born with an equal claim to life and
to the same rights of existence as man enjoys, and that it is the duty
of man to use his knowledge for the welfare of all animals. In the
words of Shakespeare -
"O, it is excellent
to have a giant's strength,
But it is tyrannous
to use it like a giant."
(Measure for Measure, Act 11, Scene 2)
Third Way
Anyway, different varieties of 'humanism' in the West are not so
far above this homocentricism. Humanism of the kind of Shibi Raja is
qualitatively different from that of the West.
In India 'Beauty Without Cruelty' has succeeded so far in getting
the Government to prevent the skinning of karakul lambs within 48
hours of their birth for their soft, curly fur and to ban (1)
the export of monkeys for painful experiments; (2) the import of the
unweaned calf less than 2 weeks old slaughtered for rennet, and (3)
the export of frog-legs chopped barbarically leaving the other half
quivering with life. It has also acted as an eye-opener to thousands
of people who voluntarily shun items of fur, snake-skin wallets,
crocodile-skin hand bags, leather jackets, ivory, silks, animal-based
perfumes and other such objects of vanity. The much-publicised
achievement of the BWC was the removal of one Prime Minister's fur
cap. The Wildlife Protection Act was passed in 1972. A project was
launched in 1975 to restrengthen the population of gharials. The
captive hatching of gharials in Tieverpara in Orissa was the first
report of its kind in the world.
Notwithstanding these successes, the fact remains that the
common man in our country is not fully aware of the implications of
western homocentricism. It is essential to understand the basic
differences betw een the w estern humanism and the Integral
Humanism of Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya.
M odern western humanism could claim that it was more
progressive than the East while Christian Humanism was based in
fact on the Churchianity of St. Paul, and not on the original precepts
of Jesus Christ. It was in reality 'Church-centred Humanism', though
they termed it as 'God-centred Humanism'. In their over-enthusiasm to
oppose theocracy and the tyranny of the Church, the western
humanists denied the very existence of God. As Etienne Borne
observed, "Atheism marks itself out as a form of humanism."
According to Feuerbach, western humanism presumed that "in order
for man to becom e all, God must be reduced to nothing."
Protagoras's motto was "Man is the measure of all things." This
exclusive and lopsided emphasis on 'Man' made them anti-God on
the one hand and homocentric on the other. The following remark of
Daumer about the psychology of European revolutionaries of the
mid-19th century is significant:
Humanism : Western and Integral 99
"The frightful tortures that unfortunate beasts suffer at the
tyrannous and cruel hand o f man are fo r these barbarians
'rubblish' nobody should bother about!"
In h is 'True Humanism', M a r it a in s a y s ,
"Any form of anthropocentric humanism is in its analysis an

inhuman humanism."
CHAPTER 8
Bharatiya Vichar*
I consider it a great privilege to be present here on this occasion,
because inauguration of Bharatiya Vichar Kendra is a very important
affair according to me. I feel that it is a modest beginning of a gigantic
affair. But howsoever gigantic an endeavour it may be, the beginning
must necessarily be modest, for it is said that "even a thousand-mile
long march must begin with the first step." So, though this is a modest
affair today, it is sure to grow and therefore, I think that to be able to
be present here on this occasion is a. great privilege and honour. And
for this, I am extremely thankful to Shri Parameswaranji, who is the
main spirit behind the whole affair.
Now, we are here for the formal inauguration of Bharatiya Vichar
Kendra. This 'Vichar' is a very important word that indicates the type
of activity that is to be undertaken by the centre. Nowadays, under
democratic set-up, 'Vichar' is relegated to the background and all that
remains in political life is 'Prachar', i.e., propaganda: not seeking the
truth nor giving education, but only propaganda. Therefore, people
are accustomed more to 'Prachar' and less to 'Vichar'. Vichar is only
seeking the truth. Truth does not depend for its validity on
propaganda. If it receives mass support, well and good. But, even if it
is opposed by a vast majority, Truth stands on its own legs. Its
validity does not depend upon majority support. The seeker of truth is
objective, dispassionate, scientific in approach, devoid of prejudices,
biases, inhibitions and so on. All that he seeks is truth and nothing
but the truth. And to arrive at the truth is the reward for all his efforts;
it does not wait even for recognition. Once Rabindranath Tagore
visited the Pondicherry Ashram. He had discussions with Yogi
Aurobindo. At the end, Rabindranath asked, "Why don't you come out
to give your message to the world?" Yogi Aurobindo replied: "Truth
need not go elsewhere." That shows the type of confidence of a truth-
seeker.
Today, it cannot be said that there are no centres of the type of
Bharatiya Vichar Kendra. There are many centres, but, their approach
is not objective. That is the whole difficulty. Their approach is
* Inaugural address at Bharatiya Vichar Kendra on 7th October 1982.

Bharatiya Vichar 101
hypothetical, particularly that of the representatives of international
communalism and international sectarianism; these representatives are
also conducting certain centres. But, the conclusions that they have to
arrive at are already in their pockets. And whatever facts that they
come across are to be adjusted so as to suit their conclusions that are
already arrived at. This is not a scientific approach. Facts are not to be
suited to conclusions, but, conlusions should flow automatically by
way of natural deductions from the facts. Bharatiya Vichar Kendra will
have these special characteristics, that without accepting any
hypothetical approach, it will have search, research, of truth, and on
the basis of facts found, conclusions will be drawn. There are no
prejudices, biases, inhibitions, and therefore conclusions already
arrived at. We are thinking only of truth-seeking.
I am reminded of 'a fine sentence from Mahatma Gandhi. We
know that Gandhiji considered truth and non-violence as two highest
principles of life. And once he said: "People say God is Truth; I say
Truth is God." That was his conviction. Now, this truth is to be found,
searched, at different levels. There are various problems that require
investigation. They say that diagnosis is half the cure; even proper
formulation of a problem paves way to some extent towards its
solution. So, truth-seeking at different levels for various problems has
become necessary. Problems are at all levels, from personal
disorganisation to national problems, to international peace and war, to
the problem of true nature of the cosmos; there are various problems
at different levels, and whichever problem we are able to solve, will
help in a general way in the solution of problems at other levels. In
keeping with this spirit of joint investigation, we think that whatever
individual efforts are being made, to arrive at truth, regarding different
problems, should be pooled together. It should be collective, leading
to collective wisdom. This joint effort will be more helpful. That is why
the idea of the Kendra has been conceived.
Now, Vichar Kendra is all right, but, one may naturally ask what is
the propriety of adding the word 'Bharatiya'. Because the truth has no
caste, no nationality; knowledge is always universal. In that case, why
the adjective 'Bharatiya'? Naturally, this question can arise in any mind.
First of all, the nature of 'Bharatiyatva' is to be understood properly. By
culture, by national temperament, by tradition, Bharatiyas are
qualitatively different from nationalists of some of the western
countries. The quality and character of our nationalism is certainly
different. In some of the western countries it is presumed
102 Third Way
that there is incom patibility between nationalism and
internationalism. And therefore, those who are staunch nationalists
are against internationalism, while staunch internationalists oppose
even their own nations. Such things have happened in the past. For
us, the very Darshana is different. We believe in the growth of human
consciousness. When a child is bom, it identifies itself with itself. With
the growth of consciousness, it identifies with the family,
progressively with community, with the whole society and nation and
so on. But, our culture expects that this consciousness should have
further growth so as to identify oneself with the whole mankind:
i And, we are expected to grow even further to identify with the
entire animate and inanimate existence, and ultimately with the entire
universe: i So, from identification with oneself to
identification with the whole cosmos, there should be a line of
development of human consciousness. All these stages are inclusive,
not exclusive. And for us, there is no incompatibility between
nationalism and internationalism. These are only various stages of
development of human consciousness. And, therefore, the true
B haratiya is as much national as international. This special
characteristic of our national culture must be taken into account if we
are not to misunderstand the word 'Bharatiya' in this particular context.
Now, Vedas say that knowledge is universal. Even science and
technology, though some superpowers may try to keep them as their
special secrets, are easily universalised. But, when we say Bharatiya, it
means that we are seeking truth at different levels. Various problems
are confronting us. We want to have investigations into them.
As sons of Bharat Mata, we want to adopt a proper attitude in
this effort of truth-seeking. After the British conquest, right from 1834,
there has been a systematic effort to create diffidence and inferiority
complex in Indian minds, giving an impression that everything
Bharatiya is inferior, everything western is superior. And our
scholars, because of the glory and glamour of the British and other
white races, have gone a long way in creating diffidence and
inferiority complex among our people. I don't say that we should
have a superiority complex - that is another extreme, which is to be
avoided. But, because of this inferiority complex, the common man in
our country is unable to see the truth as it is. For example, the common
man today is frustrated, disappointed with the present situation, and
because he feels that we are not a worthy people, he feels that the
present situation is an outcome of our inherent weakness. He is not
aware that as a matter of fact, we possess everything that is necessary,
essential, to make any nation great: all the potentialities - huge
manpower that can be converted into assets, all resources, all talents.
People say that the West is advanced in science and technology. But,
we know that we have the third largest scientific community of the
world, though we have not been able to utilise the talents of the
scientific community, due to brain drain. Talents are there, resources
are there, manpower is there. With all these, we are lagging behind the
rest. Germany and Japan which were destroyed during World War II,
have advanced and they are competing with the earlier superpowers
now. Israel, which was formed only recently and which is so small in
area and also in manpower, is drawing world admiration.
Because of the inferiority complex created in the minds of our
people, the average citizen is of the view that we do not deserve to be
a great nation; that is why we are lagging behind. And he doesn't
understand that we have every potentiality necessary to make our
nation great. And what is lacking after 1947 is not the potentiality, nor
the talents, nor the resources, but will-power, the will of the leaders to
make the nation great. And that is why our talent notwithstanding, we
are becoming a backward nation. We were dazzled by the material
advances of the West, particularly after industrial revolution, hardly
realising that the very beginning of the industrial revolution was more
accidental rather than pre-planned, and also without realising that these
were engaged in a life-and-death struggle against aggressors; and in
war conditions, no nation can make any progress; it is possible only
in normal peace condition.
We know that in ancient times, we were in communication with the
outside world, and people claim that many sciences and arts have
migrated from our country to Europe, via Persia, Arabia, and made
further progress. So, communication with the outside world, particularly
with Europe, was nothing new for us. But the period of their advance
and the period of our life-and-death struggle coincide in such a manner
that we could not have any time, mind, or energy left to know what
was happening outside. And, that was the reason why we could not
take due cognisance of their material advance.
Now, all these facts are ignored by our intelligentsia. And we
believe what Macaulay wanted us to believe that we are inferior in
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quality, compared to the West; as nations others are superior. While
we the Bharatiyas do not want to carry any superiority complex, we
are certainly opposed to carrying this inferiority complex, and
therefore, to seeing the whole atmosphere vitiated by such a wrong
inhibition. So, it has become necessary that some thought centre
(vichar kendra) should be started. It should be free from such
prejudices, neither superiority complex, nor inferiority complex, with
normal mind seeking the truth.
Now, in keeping with our culture, tradition, temperament, genius,
we stand for cultural intercourse, action and reaction of different
cultures upon one another. We were having it in our own country in
the past, and we will continue to have such action and reaction of
different cultures upon one another even in future. In the light of
eternal universal laws as seen by our seers, to effect change in socio
economic order has been the system of our Dharma; in the light of
unchanging universal laws, ever-changing socio-economic order. So,
changes must be there. There is a point of reference of universal
laws as seen by the seers. So, we are not averse to change, but
what should be the nature of change? We have to scrutinise what
we have inherited from the past. Some of these might have been
outmoded, outdated today, not useful today; they will have to be
left out. Some of it may be of eternal character, universal in character,
and therefore, will have to be retained. Similarly, from other cultures,
we will have to find out what is best and what is not so very good.
Whatever is the best in other cultures, we need not be reluctant to
accept. But there should be assimilation in our own culture, not blind
imitation. Imitation is different from assimilation. In assimilation, we
scrutinize the best portions of different cultures, and adopt them and
adapt them in such a fashion that they become an organic part and
parcel of our own culture, that is assimilation. Imitation is just
transplantation. So, we have always considered that it is our moral
obligation, it is India's moral obligation to offer her best to the
outside world. And it is her right to accept the best from the outside
world and assimilate it in her own culture. We thus believe in
cultural intercourse. But, we are opposed to blind rejections simply
because it is non-Indian, or blind acceptance, blind imitations, simply
because it is western. We want to scrutinise our own inheritance, our
own heritage, our own past as well as the stage of different cultures,
and the best in both are to be assimilated so as to become part and
parcel of our traditional culture. And therefore, in view of the fact
that international communalism, international sectarianism have their
representatives in this country, who are having hypothetical
approach so as to twist the truth and to make it adjustable with their
hypothesis; and since the average citizen of this country is suffering
from diffidence, inferiority complex, in his mind by means of
systematically organised British educational system, it has become
essential that there should be some thought centre which will follow
this Bharatiya approach. Particularly, today the problem we are facing
is, as I have said, that on every level, we have to investigate.
Otherwise, we will not know the truth at every level. Therefore, I
mention that from the problem of personal disorganisation, the
extreme form of which is suicide, up to the problem of cosmos, on
every level we have to conduct joint investigation.
There are different problems at regional levels. I am ju st
reminded that Kerala has some systems, social systems, peculiar to
itself: our Marumakathaya or matriarchal system, that was there for
so long. Now what was the impact of this Marumakathaya and
matriarchal system on the socio-economic conditions today? In what
way has this system which is peculiar to Kerala contributed to the
present socio-economic conditions? It is the problem about which a
joint investigation is necessary. So, on national and international
level, there are various problems. Now, we know that some problems
are essentially international in character: for example, ecological
problems and problems arising out of nuclear weapons. Some
problems are peculiar to different nations, e.g., Negro problem of
United States, untouchability in our own country. So, while some
problems are international in character, others are national, still
others provincial in character. About all these, we have to have
investigations. But the most important of them all, so far as the
present stage of our Bharat is concerned, is, what model of progress
is to be accepted by us as a nation. There is a tendency to accept
western pattern as a universal model of progress. Even today the
glamour of westernisation is so much that the average citizen is
inclined to believe that westernisation is modernisation. For example,
in our own economic field, we have blindly followed the western
pattern. What should be the size of industry, technology of the
industry, location of the industry, pattern of ownership of industry?
In everything, we have blindly imitated the West without taking into
consideration our own heritage, our own tradition, our own
temperament, our own prevailing peculiar circumstances.
106 Third Way
Taking into consideration all these, we have to study all the
paradigms and accept the best from all the cultures and assimilate
them in our own. Every culture should have its own model of
progress and accordingly, our own culture should have its own
model of development. And, though China was in many ways
indebted to Russia and to Karl Marx, Mao Tse-tung had said in
China that westernisation was not modernisation. He had the guts;
he had the courage to say that. We should also have courage to say
that westernisation is not modernisation and while we stand for
modernisation, we do not stand for blind imitation of the West. So
what paradigm should be the model for our progress and
development? That is an essential problem so far as our national
m arch onwards is concerned. To consider all these things
comprehensively, objectively, dispassionately, it was necessary that
our own intellectuals should come together, should think together,
should pool together their individual wisdom, and to have joint
investigation into the truth at every level and arrive at conclusions
in the light of the truth, in the light of the facts found, not
hypothetically, but conclusions flowing naturally, logically, from the
facts we have found.
Accepting this procedure, our intellectuals should have some
joint investigations, and I think that it is with this end in view that
Bharatiya Vichar Kendra was formed. I am sure that in Kerala, in
spite of various efforts by outsiders and their representatives, their
agents, to mislead the people, there are intellectuals who command
respect in their respective fields, respective disciplines, and who are
inclined to adopt this line, and to contribute to the jo int
investigative effort, for the Bharatiya Vichar Kendra in its proper
form.
On this occasion, I ju st request all such intellectuals who
understand the line adopted by the objectives set forth by Bharatiya
Vichar Kendra, to adopt Bharatiya Vichar Kendra as their own
personal endeavour and contribute their intellectual mite to the joint
effort. This is my honest, humble request to the intellectuals who
have gathered here and I hope, with the sincere co-operation of all of
you, this modest beginning today will thrive into a gigantic
endeavour within a short time. With this hope in mind, and with
your permission, I formally declare that Bharatiya Vichar Kendra is
inaugurated.
CHAPTER 9
Then - and Now!

(1893 : 1993)
When the Seer Vivekananda refused to accept the western
paradigm as the universal model of progress and development, the
'progressive' Macaulayites were taken aback by this 'obscurantism' of
an otherwise rational warrior-saint of Bharat, because, for them
modernisation was westernisation. The leftists in the West considered
his approach as status-quoist. When he talked of the glory of Bharat's
ancient past, the radicals dubbed him as a revivalist.
All this in spite of the fact that Nivedita, who had been a staunch
follower of Prince Kropotkin, the most revolutionary ideologue of the
contemporary West, became a life-long disciple of Swamiji, after
bringing about a prolonged meeting between the European anarchist
and the Bharatiya spiritualist.
They could not understand and appreciate Swamiji for two
reasons. Firstly, it was the heyday of western materialism whose
internal self-contradictions could not be perceived by its votaries. And
secondly, they had very hazy notions about the terms 'revivalism',
'reform', 'revolution' and 'renaissance.'
In the materialist West, it was believed that matter was basic and
that the mind was only a superstructure on it. Consequently, socio
economic order was basic. Once an appropriate order was established,
corresponding psychological changes in the popular mind would
follow automatically. Hindu sages thought that matter and mind, both
were important; but since Nature had bestowed decision-making ability
only on mind, it was more basic. Moulding of individual and social
minds was more im portant than enacting statutes or raising
institutions. Experience has proved that the Hindu view was correct
and realistic.
See, for example, what Dr. Ambedkar had to say about human
rights:
"Rights are protected not by law, but by the social and moral
conscience o f society. If social conscience is such that it is
108 Third Way
prepared to recognise the rights which law chooses to enact,
rights will be safe and secure. But if the fundamental rights are
opposed by the community, no law, no parliament, no judiciary can
guarantee them in the real sense of the word."
In this context Abraham Lincoln observed:
"With public sentiment, nothing can fail, without it nothing can
succeed. Consequently, he who moulds public sentiment goes
deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. He
makes statutes and decisions possible or im possible to be
executed."
The experience of the United Nations has been:
"In spite o f all these, it is generally realised that a real
guarantee for the preservation of human rights, civil liberties and
fundamental freedoms lies in the level of consciousness of a common
man, and in people-to-people relationship on the sound basis of
international understanding."
Historian Will Durant says:
changed the nature o f men, that unchanged nature will soon
resurrect those institutions. "
Thus, the real guarantee lies not in the institutional framework, or
constitution of the country, or the law of the land, but in the level of
the consciousness of a common man. Hence the Hindu stress upon
"samskaras."
Objective revolution in the social order cannot succeed unless it
is preceded by a corresponding subjective revolution in the social
mind. What is the nature of such subjective revolution? Justice
M.G. Ranade explains:
"The change which we should all seek is thus a change from
constraint to freedom, from credulity to faith, from statute to contract,
from authority to reason, from unorganised to organised life, from
bigotry to toleration, from blind fatalism to sense of human dignity.
This is what I understand by social revolution both for individuals
and for societies in this country."
Since the western materialists ignored the significance of the role
of mind, they could not understand how legitimate pride for the past
generates appropriate aspirations for the future and how in the very
attempt to glorify the past are sown the seeds of the glory of the
Then - and Now! 109
future. In his 'Studies in a Dying Culture' Christopher Caldwell
remarks:
"The return to the classics dominated the bourgeois
Renaissance. Rome influenced Napoleon and the Revolution. The
return to the natural uncorrupted man was the ideal of
eighteenth-century revolutionists. Yet it is the new man whose
tension men feel in their minds and hearts at such times.... He may
think it is the past he is born to save or re-establish on earth and
only when it is done is it seen that the future has come into being.
The reformer returning to primitive Christianity brings bourgeois
Protestantism into being."
Being materialists, the westerners could not comprehend that the

material and the non-material are the two facets of the same coin
and the exclusive emphasis on the material aspect would create
imbalance in the individual as well as social life. Is it possible for the
West to reconcile individual liberty with social discipline? In the
materialistic West liberty soon degenerates into licentiousness, and
discipline into regimentation. The West could never conceive of
basic organic unity in the midst of apparent diversities, for it mistook
uniformity for unity. It could not appreciate the merit of Hindu social
order, for it m istook our stability for stagnation and its own
advernturism for dynamism. It could not comprehend state without
stateism. The West considered national self-reliance as incompatible
with the spirit of international cooperation. In the West, nationalism
degenerated into imperialism and internationalism into disloyalty to
one's own nation. Could their leaders spell out, as Revered Shri
Guruji did, the nature of the international order? Shri Guruji declared:
"The World State of our concept will evolve out of a federation of
autonomous and self-contained nations under a common centre
linking them all - it is the grand world-unifying thought o f
Hindus alone that can supply the abiding basis fo r human
brotherhood, that knowledge of the inner Spirit which will charge
the human mind with sublime urge to toil fo r the happiness of
mankind, while opening out full and free scope for every small
life-speciality on the face of the earth to grow to its full stature.
Verily this is the one real practical world-mission, if ever there
was one."
The Hindu Seers visualised the emergence of the World State

enriched by the growth and contribution of different national cultures
110 Third Way
as well as the flowering of the 'Manava Dharma', enriched by the
perfection of all the religions including materialism.
The western thinking was based upon 'either-or-ism'; the Hindu
on 'as-well-as-ism'. The thinking there was compartmentalised; here
integrated. For them, man was a mere material being; for us he was
a physical-mental-intellectual-spiritual being. They were subservient
to Artha-Kama; we had a drive towards Purushartha Chatushtaya.
For them, society was a club of self-centred individuals; for us it
was a body with all individuals therein as its limbs. There, the goal
was happiness for oneself; here it was happiness for all. It was a
case of acquisitiveness vs 'aparigraha' or non-possession; profit-
motive vs service motive; consumerism vs restrained consumption;
exploitation vs 'antyodaya' (unto the last); rights-oriented
consciousness of others' duties vs duty-oriented consciousness of
others' rights; the rape of Nature vs the milking of Nature; and
constant conflict between an individual, the society and the Nature,
vs the complete harmony between an individual, the society and the
Nature.
To reject the western paradigm as a model of development in

1893, when the entire globe was under the empire or the hegemony
of the West, was a gesture of unique courage of conviction on the
part of Swami Vivekananda. Even the westernised elite of his own
country considered his statements as preposterous. Being an able
exponent of Dharma which ensures simultaneously the achievement
of material prosperity and spiritual elevation, Swamiji could perceive
the internal self-contradictions of crude materialism and envisage the
disastrous consequences of laying exclusive stress on the material
aspect.
What has the year 1993 to say about his claims and assertions
in 1893?
Obviously, the focal point of all activities of the westerners has

been 'development'. But their vision being blurred and thinking
lopsided, their concept of 'developm ent' suffered from great
imbalance. The developing countries of the South or the Third World
were tempted or persuaded to blindly follow the model of the
developed countries, though, as Gurudev Tagore observed, God has
Then - and Now! Ill
given different question papers to different countries and,
consequently, copying the answer paper of any other country would
be of no use. But has the western paradigm been helpful to the real
development of the developing countries?
Every culture has its own suitable model. The model of
development brought over from another cultural setting, or imposed
by alien vested interests, can be disastrous. Ivan Illich, the famous
author of 'Towards a History o f Needs', 'Medical Nemesis', 'Tools
fo r Conviviality' and 'De-schooling Society', narrates his Mexican
experience of the 'Development Myth'. He looks at 'development' from
the ground level. He sees the effect the 'development' has had on
the life of the poor in the rural areas and slums - erosion of means
of subsistence and traditional skills; loss of self-reliance, dignity, and
solidarity of communities; spoliation of Nature; displacement from
traditional environments; unemployment, bulldozing traditional self-
reliant communities into the cash economy; cultural rootlessness; and
the corruption of politics. He asks whether this is development or
the price that is being paid for a blue-print of development that has
no relation to the conditions and goals of the communities that are
described as the beneficiaries of development.
Against this background Ivan Illich says;
"Development means to have started an a road that others know
better, to be on the way towards a goal that others have reached,
to race up a one-way street. Development means the
sacrifice o f environments, solidarities, traditional
interpretations and customs, to ever-changing expert-advice.
Development promises enrichment; and fo r the overwhelming
majority, has always meant the progressive modernisation of their
poverty."
In conclusion Illich remarks:

"The time has come to recognise 'development' itself as the
malignant myth whose pursuit threatens those among whom / live
in Mexico. The ’crisis' in Mexico enables us to dismantle
'development' as a goal. "
It is worth noting that the case Illich refers to is of a

representative type for all developing countries.
112 Third Way
What is the fate of the so-called 'developed' countries that
represent typical western paradigm?
In absence of any social indicators, social control of science and
technology - a technological ombudsman, or a long-range vision of
the future, these countries are moving fast towards a destination
unknown to themselves. No doubt, science brings about changes.
But have they anticipated the direct and indirect effects of such
changes over distances of time and space? Their politicians,
administrators, technologists and scientists are having a short-time
horizon. Whatever is useful immediately will be adopted by them;
they will not pause to consider the long-range effects, over long
distances of time and space.
One eminent thinker says:
"Change is life itself; but change rampant, change unguided,
change unrestrained, accelerated change, overwhelming not
man's physical defences but his decisional processes - such
change is the enemy of life."
Scientist Ralph Lap observes:
"No one, not even the most brilliant scientist alive today, really
knows where science is taking us. We are aboard a train which is
gathering speed and racing down the track on which there are an
unknown number of switches leading to unknown destination.
No single scientist is in the engine cab. There may be demons at
the switch. Most o f society is in the cupboards looking
backwards."
Dr. Lero Augustein, Chairman of the Department of Biophysics
at Michigan State University, remarks:
"Science marches on, fast and furious. But all too often our
ability to handle our new-found pow ers does not keep
pace. Increasingly the advance being made in many areas of
science and technology pose ethical and moral dilemmas which
cannot be solved by facts alone.'.'
(Let Us Play God)
In his twenty-five-year effort to study the astonishing changes
propelling us into the 21st century, Alvin Toffler has produced a
trilogy,- 'Future Shock' looking at the process of change - how change
affects people and organisations; - 'The Third Wave' focusing on the
directions of change - where today's changes are taking us; and
Then - and Now! 113
'Powershift' dealing with the control of changes still to come - who
will shape them and how. His well-considered conclusion is:
"We live at a moment when the entire structure of power that
held the world together is now disintegrating. A radically
different structure o f pow er is taking form. And this is
happening at every level of human society. Power is not just
shifting at the pinnacle o f corporate life...... This crack-up o f
old-style authority and pow er in business and daily life is
accelerating at the very moment when global power structures are
disintegrating as well...
"Out of this massive restructuring of power relationships like the
shifting and grinding of tectonic* plates in advance of an earth
quake, will come one o f the rarest events in human history: a
revolution in the very nature of power.
"A powershift does not merely transfer power. It transforms it."
After referring to the fall of Soviet power, Toffler says:
"Slower and less dramatically, the world's other superpower
also went into relative decline. So much has been written about
America's loss of global power that it bears no repetition here."
Regarding Japan?
"Even those dreadnoughts of Japanese fiscal power, the Bank of
Japan and the Ministry of Finance, whose controls guided Japan
through the high-growth period, the oil-shock, the stock-market
crash, and the Yen rise, now find themselves impotent against the
turbulent market forces destabilising the economy."
And Western Europe?
"Still more striking shifts o f pow er are changing tht face of
Western Europe... The nations o f Western Europe thus are
caught between Bonn or Berlin on the one side and Brussels (the
European Community base) on the other. Here, too, power is
shifting rapidly away from its established centres."
As if to sum up his studied findings, he concludes:
"Yet only rarely does an entire globe-girdling system of power fly
apart in this fashion. It is an even rarer moment in history
when all the rules of the power-game change at once, and the
very nature of power is revolutionised."
* See Appendix II
8
114 Third Way
Obviously, the western model has miserably failed to ensure
continued stability and security for the developed countries. Their
'development' itself has become a bane, a Frankenstein for them.
Communism has failed.

The days of capitalism are numbered; it will not last even up to
2010 A.D. The search is already going on for 'The Third Way.'
But it may be remembered that some great thinkers in the West,
such as Emerson, Paul Martin Dubost, or Arnold Toynbee, had
already anticipated this crisis in the western civilisation and started
their search for the new guide to world affairs. There was unanimity
of views among them about the country competent to play the role
of World Teacher. For example, Arnold Toynbee says:
"Today we are still living in this transitional chapter o f the
world's history, but it is already becoming clear that a chapter
which had a western beginning will have to have an Indian
ending if it is not to end in the self-destruction o f the human
race. In the present age, the world has been united on the
material plane by western technology. But this western skill has not
only 'annihilated distance'; it has armed the peoples of the world
with weapons of devastating power at a time when they have
been brought to point-blank range of each other without yet having
learnt to know and love each other. At this supremely dangerous
moment in human history, the only way of salvation for mankind is
an Indian way.
"If India were ever to fail to live up to this Indian ideal which is
the finest, and therefore, the most exacting legacy in your Indian
heritage, it would be a poor look-out for mankind as a whole. So
a great spiritual responsibility rests on India."
They are confident that Bharat will do the needful because they
know that "in India there is an attitude towards life, and an approach
to the handling of human affairs that answers to the needs of the
present situation, and this not only inside India but in the world as
a whole."
Thus they have defined the role and responsibility of Bharat in
the 21st-century world affairs. The circle that had its beginning in
1893 is about to become complete now. But the Seer who had
initiated this process on that historic day is no longer in our midst
Then - and Now! 115
to guide us in this respect. Who will take his place and lead us in
the world-mission?
A few days before the maha-nirvana of Revered Shri Guruji, a

senior Pracharak from Delhi had come to see him to inquire about
his health. At the time of departure Shri Guruji asked him, "Have
you read that when Shri Aurobindo was in jail in 1905, Swami
Vivekananda used to visit him every night and teach him Yogal
Aurobindo himself has written this."
The Pracharak replied, "No, Guruji, I have not read this."
After a long pause, Shri Guruji said, "Yes! It is always like that.
When God sends somebody in this world for a specific mission, and
the same is not accomplished during his lifetime, he is not allowed
to attain 'Moksha'. Without assuming physical form, remaining in the
'a-shareeree' (bodiless) condition, he has to assist, supervise and
guide his unaccomplished mission. He is not competent for 'Moksha'
before the fulfilment of his original responsibility."
While passing this remark, the Pracharak was wondering, whom
was Shri Guruji hinting at? Swami Vivekananda, or himself, or both?
PART III
THOUGHTS ON
CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL SYSTEM
CHAPTER 10
Towards an Indigenous
Legal System*
i
I am aware that every activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta
Parishad is a patriotic and responsible member of the society
comporting himself, at all times, in a manner befitting his status as an
officer of the court, a privileged member of the community, and a
gentleman, bearing in mind that what may be lawful and moral for a
person who is not a member of the bar, or for a member of the bar in
his non-professional capacity, may still be improper for an advocate;
an advocate fearlessly upholding the interest of his client and canons
of conduct and etiquette adopted as general guidelines, and thus
fulfilling his duties to the court, the client, the opponent, fellow
lawyers, the Bar Council, the persons under training and the indigent
and oppressed in need of free legal aid, and engaging himself - if at all
necessary - in part-time employment provided that the nature of the
employment does not conflict with his professional work and is not
inconsistent with the dignity of the profession. Every delegate
attending this meet is a votary of value-based life.
It is a rare privilege, nowadays, to meet such lawyers in such a
large number in one congregation. I am therefore extremely thankful to
the conveners of this conference for providing me this golden
opportunity. I heartily welcome all the delegates whose presence here
has revived my hopes about the future of the legal profession, as well
as the future of the country through the invaluable contribution of
this dignified profession.
We are meeting here at a time when all those concerned with the
future of the country are becoming increasingly sceptical about the
efficacy of the present legal system, doubting seriously whether today
the 'Right is Might' or the 'Might is Right'. It is true that, as T. K.
Oommen explains,
"The social milieu in the Indian context is constituted by (a) the
persistent values o f the old social order, (b) the aspired values
o f the evolving new society, (c) the incongruity or mismatch
* Inaugural address to Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad at New Delhi on 7
September 1992.
120 Third Way
between these two, and (d) law as a system-stabilising and/or
change-promoting instrument in society", and that "the important
elements of legal milieu are (a) the process of law-making, (b) the
style of law-implementation, (c) the mechanism of dispute
processing, (d) the response of those involved in disputes (the
attitude and behaviour of litigants) to the legal institutions, and (e)
the personnel in interaction in dispute-processing - judges, lawyers,
court officials, police and para-professionals (e.g., lawyers' clerks).”
Comprehensively viewed, legal professionals comprise a variety of
occupational categories - jurists (academic lawyers and scholars),
judges and magistrates, practitioners of law and legal advisers, legal
technicians (e.g., petition writers) etc. But ours is a congregation of
practising lawyers who can, more than any other category, influence
the nature and the character of the legal system. Unfortunately, the
prestige of the legal profession is declining today. And along with it is
declining the prestige of the legal system. Hence the scepticism, if not
cynicism, of a common man. Consequently, it can be stated without
exaggeration that the timing of this gathering of the legal luminaries
has enhanced its importance, significance and utility.
Of course, a common man is not expected to be conversant with
all the intricacies, niceties and subtleties of law and the constitution,
but his common sense often enables him to perceive instinctively some
of the facets of reality that often escape the notice of learned experts.
He fails to understand, for example, why a number of Conventions of
the International Labour Organisation (ILO) are not yet ratified and
implem ented; why in keeping with the letter and the spirit of
Article 44 there has been no effort to evolve a uniform civil code; why
Article 370 introduced initially as a temporary measure is being
recognised as a perm anent feature and an integral part of the
Constitution; why Articles 29 and 30 are not being interpreted in a
manner so as not to encourage separatist tendencies and 'minorityism';
why steps are not taken in pursuance of Article 48, for preserving and
improving the breeds and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves
and other milch and draught cattle; why the number of courts is not
being increased on the slippery plea of lack of funds - when the
unprecedented arrears of cases are an obvious fact, and justice has not
yet become cheap and expeditious - a fact resulting inevitably in the
denial of justice to an unprecedented extent, since justice delayed is
justice denied; why power of judicial review, which was intended to be
a curb on arbitrariness of the executive, is being allowed to be
Towards an Indigenous Legal System 121'
misused; why universally accepted criterion for the appointment of
judges is being ignored in a number of cases; or objective assessment
of the need for the review of law and the judicial reforms is not yet
being undertaken. Obviously, this enumeration is only illustrative, and
not exhaustive: firstly because the lawyers are quite aware of the
misapprehensions in the mind of a common citizen, and, secondly, I
may be crossing the limits of propriety if, in this attempt, I prejudge
the issues you are going to discuss and decide in course of this
conference.
The fact of the matter is that those who were in charge of the
destinies of Bharat after the transfer of power were blind followers of
their colonial masters and their systems, forgetting the fact that our
course of historical development has been entirely different from that
of Great Britain, and the Westminster model cannot be suitable for a
country with pluralistic society and a very high percentage of illiteracy
and poverty. They were ignorant of the Bharatiya ethos and the
systems evolved under it. The 14th report of the Indian Law
Commission was wrong in asserting that
"Had the ancient system (of law) been allowed to develop
normally, it would have assumed a form not different from the
one that we follow today."
This observation had been made on the strength of ignorance
and was not the outcome of first-hand knowledge of Bharatiya order.
It was fashionable, though incorrect, in those days to state that
Modern Indian Law "is unmistakably Indian in its origin and
outlook." Such a statement served the political purpose of the rulers,
but it was not in keeping with the actual facts. Our leaders did not care
to study in depth the Bharatiya systems. But, what was worse, they
did not even assimilate the real spirit of the Britishers and their
systems. Thus they managed to miss the best of both the systems.
The scene immediately after the transfer of power proves the
intellectual slavery of our leaders.
Lord Mountbatten was the first Governor-General of Free India.
The Indian Army continued to be under the Supreme Command of
the British Commander-in-Chief, General Boucher, for two years
after August 15, 1947. Our Defence Services Education continued to
be in their hands. The first Government of Free India retained the
previous administrative habits and procedures, from parliamentary
procedure to those of the secret files on the lower staff, introduced
and evolved by the colonial administration to preserve law and
order. In April 1948 Jawaharlal Nehru told the Constituent Assembly:
122 Third Way
"One has to be careful about the steps one takes so as not to injure
the existing structure too much - / am not brave and gallant enough
to go about destroying any more."
Cautious but not dynamic, in spite of revolutionary slogans! One
is compelled to agree with the following observation of Nagi Reddy:
"Whatever the outward changes in political control, nothing
essential has changed either in our social set-up or in our
economic organisation."
The same holds good regarding our legal system also. Alladi
Krishnaswami Aiyar said:
"We are not starting a constitution anew after a revolution. The
existing administrative structure which has worked so long
cannot be altogether ignored in the new framework.”
So also the colonial legal system of trial. The colonial laws are
carried over and their procedures retained.
To cite a single example, see the system of trial. Our traditional
system is investigative. It can fully serve the purpose of justice. The
British system is accusatory. Lord Denning says:
"In the system of trial which we have evolved in this country, the
judge sits to hear and determine the issues raised by the parties,
not to conduct an investigation or examination on behalf of
society at large, as happens, we believe, in some foreign countries."
After explaining the current British system, Lord Denning says:
"So firmly is all this established in our law that the judge is not
allowed in a civil dispute to call a witness who he thinks might
throw some light on the facts. He must rest content with the
witnesses called by the parties...so also it is for the advocates,
each in his turn, to examine the witnesses, and not for the judge
to take it on. himself lest by so doing he appear to favour one
side or the other. The judge's part in all this is to hearken to
the evidence, only himself addressing questions to witnesses when it
is necessary to clear up any point that has been overlooked or
left obscure; to see that the advocates behave themselves seemly
and keep to the rules laid down by law; to exclude irrelevancies
and discourage repetition; to make sure by wise intervention
that he follows the points that the advocates are making and
can assess their worth; and at the end to make up his mind
Towards an Indigenous Legal System 123
where the truth lies. If he goes beyond this, he drops the mantle
of judge and assumes the robe of an advocate - and the change
does not become him well."
Every court has to depnd on witnesses. It is vital to the
administration of justice that they should give their evidence freely
and without fear. Under the present situation, where there is a nexus
between politicians and criminals - when politics itself is being
criminalised, is it practicable to get reliable witnesses who would speak
out freely and fearlessly in the face of money power and muscle
power?
Denning finds the British legal system inadequate in yet another
respect. According to him,
"There has been no lowering of standards. But there is this
difference today. Public men are more vulnerable than they
were; and it behoves them, even more than ever, to give no
cause for scandal. For if they do, they have to reckon with a
growing hazard which has been disclosed in the evidence I have
heard. Scandalous information about well-known people has
become a marketable commodity. True or false, actual or
invented, it can be sold. The greater the scandal, the higher the
price it commands. If supported by photographs or letters, real
or imaginary, all the better. Often enough, the sellers profess to have
themselves as participants in the discreditable conduct
which they seek to exploit. Intermediaries move in ready to assist the
sale and ensure the highest prices. The story improves with the
telling. It is offered to the newspapers. There are only a
few of them who deal in this commodity. They vie with one another to
buy it. Each is afraid the other will get it first. So they buy it on
chance that it will turn out profitable. Sometimes it is
no use to them. It is palpably false. At other times it is credible. But
even so, they dare not publish the whole of the information. The law
of libel and the rules of contempt of court exert an effective restraint.
They publish what they can, but there remains a substantial part
which is not fit for publication. This unpublished part goes round by
word of mouth. It does not stop in Fleet Street. It goes to
Westminster. It crosses the channel, even the Atlantic and back
again, swelling all the time. Yet without the original purchase, it
might never have got started on its way... When such deplorable
consequences are seen...., the one thing that is clear is that something
should be done to stop the trafficking in scandal for reward."
Thirty years ago Denning had touched yet another aspect in his
Freedom under the Law. He remarked:
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"Our procedure for securing our personal freedom is efficient,
but our procedure for preventing the abuse of power is not. Just
as the pick and shovel is no longer suitable for the mining of coal,
so also the procedure of mandamus, certiorari, and action on the
case, are not suitable for the winning of freedom in the new age. We
have in our time to deal with changes which are of equal
constitutional significance as those which took place 3000 years ago.
Let us prove ourselves equal to the challenges."
But, again, about keeping the balance between freedom and
security, he observes:
"It (i.e., freedom) must be matched, of course, with social security,
by which I mean, the peace and good order of the community in
which we live. The freedom of the just man is worth little to him
if he can be preyed upon by the murderer or the thief. Every society
must have means to protect itself from marauders. It must have
powers to arrest, to search and to imprison those who break its
laws. So long as those powers are properly exercised, they are the
safeguards of freedom. But powers may be abused, and if those
powers are abused, there is no tyranny like them."
This was the state of affairs in Britain three decades back. In
India, this state of affairs prevails today. But mark the difference
between the attitude of the Britishers and that of our leaders. There
is marked difference between the British law on this point thirty
years ago and the law as it stands today. Accepting the challenge,
previous decisions have been departed from; many long-accepted
propositions have been overthrown; "ouster" clauses have
themselves been ousted; and literal interpretation has gone by the
board. All in support of the rule of law. All done so as to curb the
abuse of power by the executive authorities. In our country, we have
failed to achieve this. We are still inheriting the negative points of
the colonial legal systems.
In The Discipline o f Law Denning's theme is that
"The principles of law laid down by the judges in the 19th
century - however suited to social conditions of that time - are not
suited to the social necessities and social opinion of the 20th
century. They should be moulded and shaped to meet the needs
and opinion of today."
He explains how the British law has tried to keep pace with the
times in respect of, among other things, divorce, the disputed
property rights and the custody of children; the deserted wife's
equity and wife's share in the matrimonial home; a seizure of
assets so as to conserve them for the creditor in case he should
afterwards get judgment; the construction of documents according to
the "schematic" method of interpretation instead of the traditional,
strict constructionism; the position of law regarding locus standi,
enabling an ordinary citizen to enforce the law for the benefit of all,
against public authorities in respect of their statutory duties; the
means of restraining the abuse or misuse of their powers by
'voluntary organisations' against one of their own members as well as
against third persons, that is, the public at large; the effort to
narrow down the gap between strict rules of law and the social
necessities of the 20th century; the law involving negligence as an
independent and vigorous wrong - extending thereby the liability of
professional men and of public authorities; and the flexibility
regarding the doctrine of precedent.
All this indicates the vigour and the cautious dynamism of the
British legal system. Our leaders have been blind followers but on
the whole bad disciples of their intellectual masters. Apart from the
brilliant exceptions of a few idealistic judges, generally, they are
status-quoists - moving forward grudgingly only when pushed by the
violent public pressure or inspired by the purely opportunistic
considerations. They have not yet recovered from the psychological
impact of colonialism.
This congregation furnishes us with a silver lining to an
otherwise dark cloud. Probably for the first time lawyers with
patriotic fervour, sense of social responsibility, intellectual vitality,
and cautious dynamism are coming together to discuss the urgent
problems confronting their profession and the nation. It encourages
us to hope that our pleaders would succeed where our leaders have
failed.
n
Unto The Last
Right from the beginning it was evident that the Constitution was
inadequate and unable to protect the interests of the weaker sections.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is rightly described as the chief architect of
the Constitution. But the Constitution does not reflect his views
completely and accurately, because he had to accommodate the
views of various sections in the Cofistituent Assembly. He was often
obliged to evolve compromise formulae. He was of the view that:
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"Political power in this country has too long been the monopoly
of a few, and the many are not only beasts of burden but also
beasts of prey.... the downtrodden classes must not be allowed to
evolve into a class struggle or a class war.The recognition of
the class structure of society and the income structure of society
as sacrosanct, was utterly undemocratic and unrealistic. It set in
motion influences which were harmful to rational human
relationships. There were no common interests. The isolation
and exclusiveness following upon the class structure creates in
the privileged classes an anti-social spirit of a gang."
Has the Constitution succeeded in eliminating the danger?
In his concluding speech in the Constituent Assembly
Dr. Ambedkar said:
"On the 26th January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of
contradictions. In politics we will have equality, and in social and
economic life we will have inequality. In politics, we will be
recognizing the principle of 'one man and one vote, and one vote,
one value.' In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of
our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle
of one man, one value. How long shall we continue to live this life
of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in
our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long,
we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril. We
must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment, or
else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of
political democracy which this Assembly has so laboriously
built up."
Dr. Ambedkar was convinced that:
"it is equally essential to prescribe the shape and the form of
economic structure of society, if democracy is to live up to its
principle of one man, one value."
Subsequently, he even declared that he would publicly burn a
copy of the Constitution drafted by himself if, as he apprehended, it
failed to protect the rights of the downtrodden.
In his Competing Equalities Marc Gallanter observed:
"Indian system of preferential treatment for historically
disadvantaged sections of the population is unprecedented in
scope and extent. India embraced equality as a cardinal value
against background of elaborate, valued and clearly perceived
inequalities. Her constitutional policies to offset these
proceeded from an awareness of the entrenched and emulative
nature of group inequalities. The result has been an array of
programmes that / call, collectively, a policy of compensatory

discrimination. If one reflects on the propensity of nations to
neglect the claims of those at the bottom, l think it fair to say
that'this policy of compensatory discrimination has been pursued
with remarkable persistence and generosity, if not always with
vigour and effectiveness, for the past thirty years."
Dr. Sivaramayya remarks:
"The balance between the meritorious and proportional concept of
equality postulated in Article 16 brings in its wake certain
problems, quite apart from the inherent incongruence between
them... The right of equality of opportunity based on the
meritorious concept exists in favour of the individual whereas
protective discrimination exists in favour of collectivities. The
former right is enforced by the courts, the latter is based on the
policies of legislatures and their implementation by executives.
Conflicts arise out of the varying degrees of emphasis placed on
the rights by the judicial and executive organs of the state."
And, again,
"The difficulties are further compounded, because the basic law
where the provisions of equality in the part on fundamental rights
are at variance with those in the Directive Principles of State
Policy, is itself riddled with contradictions. The contradictions are at
least partly the result of the scarcity of resources which prevents
the state from matching the abolition of disabilities, with the
erection of abilities without which the Directive Principles merely
mock at the very poor. There is no way in which the jobless can
secure their right to work or the destitute obtain justice in the
absence of provision for free legal aid."
It must, therefore, be borne in mind that in this as well as in every
other respect the utility of law has limitations. Ande Eeteil, the editor
of Equality and Inequality: Theory and Practice, opines that
"The law cannot make up for deficiency of public education...
Whether Indians can make effective the ideals of equality or not,
will depend on the firmness with which they are able to apply
themselves to the building of institutions."
In his review of this compilation, Shamlal observes:
"They (i.e., the authors-contributors) are careful, however, to
guard against seductive simplifications. The very purpose of
their exercise is to show that things are far more tangled up,
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and therefore, far more impervious to simple remedies, than the
rhetoric of those who cast themselves in the role of saviour of poor
will admit. The facts of the situation here, once we have a hard look
at them, turn out to be far more discerning than stock liberal
Gandhian or Marxist remedies make allowance for."
How far can courts help in the matter?
Gallanter answers that
"Courts can avert the worst dangers by maintaining a precarious
balance between competing commitments to formal equality and
compensatory justice, but they may be less capable of
addressing to problems of costs and ineffectiveness that plague
such policies."
Dr. Ambedkar remarks on this question:
"The idea of making a gift o f fundamental rights to every
individual is no doubt very laudable. The question is, how to
make them effective? The prevalent view is that once rights are
enacted in a law then they are safeguarded. This again is an
unwarranted assumption. As experience proves, rights are
protected not by law but by the social and moral conscience of
society. I f social conscience is such that it is prepared to
recognise the rights which law chooses to enact, rights will be
safe and secure. But if the fundamental rights are opposed by
the community, no law, no parliament, no judiciary can guarantee
them in the real sense of the word."
Dr. Ambedkar had found that the democratic set-up in Great
Britain depended for its safety more on the spirit of constitutional
morality among the British people, rather than upon the constitution
itself. He agreed with Abraham Lincoln who said:
"He who moulds public sentiments goes deeper than he who
enacts a statute or pronounces decisions. He makes statutes and
decisions possible or impossible to be executed."
On another occasion Dr. Ambedkar said:
"Laws are made by man for man. Law has not created man but man
has created law for his own happiness.
Kuber, one of his intimates, conveys that,
"In his (i.e., Dr. Ambedkar's) conception of law it is implied that law
should be enforced not only by punishment but also by education, by
an appeal to the mind of man and the spirit of society."
Thus the real guarantee lies in the "social and moral conscience of
society." Probably, that is why the sage Narada said, “ 7 ^
n^uauunoiidgK: ud<lri” (When people bid good-bye to Dharma, disputes
arise).
Dr. Ambedkar said:
"However good a constitution may be, it is sure to turn out to be
bad because those who are called on to work it, happen to be a
bad lot. However bad a constitution may be, it may turn out to be
good, if those who are called on to work it happen to be a good
lot."
Here is a specific task to be urgently undertaken by the Akhil
Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad. For, from this particular point of view,
the country is fast going downhill. The most glaring and typical
examples of this are the behaviour of Shanmukham Chetty and Lai
Bahadur Shastri on the one hand, and that of Dr. Manmohan Singh
and Jaffer Sharief on the other, when confronted with similar
situation. We have come a long way from the position taken by Pt.
Nehru on 17 August 1948, and 26 Novem ber 1956, on the
resignations of his distinguished, and personally innocent colleagues.
As S.N. Mishra observes, nothing illustrates the change that has
taken place more than the growing tendency among ministers to
disown responsibility, in face of precedents and traditions to the
contrary, even where grave irregularities have occurred in the
departments under their charge. Such is the sea-change in the
political culture that responsibility, the keyword of parliamentary
democracy, is as good as banished from the political lexicon of the
ruling class. The new creed appears to be that majority equals moral
authority.
Time-honoured, healthy precedents, traditions, conventions and
standards have become irrelevant. Things can move only when there
is pressure of violent agitations.
Under the circumstance, no legal protection or social justice can
be available to those who cannot organise themselves into violent
pressure groups. It is precisely such sections of 'the wretched of the
earth' who need such protection and justice most like the Shah
Banos, victim s of dowry-murders and other atrocities, the
unfortunate women forced to become prostitutes, devadasis, women
workers, working housewives, the divorcees, the eunuchs, the
orphans, the innocent children working under callous employers;
9
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children kidnapped, maimed and used by professional goondas for
begging, and the children of divorced persons; the Vanavasis
deprived of their traditional rights in forest areas, victims of the
conspiracy of contractors, conservators and politicians, and
displaced on a large scale in the name of developmental projects like
dams; the denotified communities or the ex-criminal tribes and all the
nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes; the bonded labour; the dalits and
the backward classes; those affected-by natural calamities such as
floods, fire, droughts, earthquakes, epidemics, etc., or by extraneous
factors such as terrorism, riots, wars, accidents, violence, sabotage,
etc; families of military personnel or members of police and other
forces killed while discharging their duties; rural artisans and
handicraftsmen; millions of illiterate unemployed and underemployed;
the educated unemployed, workers retrenched on account of high
technology, victims of occupational hazards and occupational
diseases, of the violation of environmental law and safety measures,
as well as the law relating to cruelty towards animals; the homeless
and the slum-dwellers; the unsuspecting, illiterate consumers; the
destitutes; the disabled; the handicapped; the crippled; the mentally
retarded, the juvenile delinquents and the lunatics; the blind, the
deaf, and the dumb; the beggars and the victims of dreadful
diseases; refugees as distinct from infiltrators; prisoners who become
victims of the lust or the sadism of jail authorities.
All these unfortunate people are unable to organise themselves
into effective pressure groups. As representatives of the moral and
social conscience of the society, the activists of the Akhil Bharatiya
Adhivakta Parishad are expected to do the needful to provide
appropriate relief to them.
m
Minorityism
While the idealistic humanitarians are sincerely concerned about
the m iserable plight of all the sections of the downtrodden,
irrespective of their voting strength, the worldly-wise politicians have
suddenly become the messiahs of minorities that constitute solid
vote-banks. This has given rise to the cancer of 'Minorityism.'
Justice Hidayatullah remarked:
Towards an Indigenous Legal System 131 '
"The word 'Minority' has not been defined in this Article or
elsewhere in the Constitution.... the framers of the Constitution were
aware that a comprehensive definition of 'Minorities' was difficult to
frame."
Dr. Ambedkar pointed out that since the word "minority" was
capable of a narrow interpretation and the intention was to provide
protection in the matter of culture, language, and script in a wider
sense, the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly had
dropped the word ’minority1, and used instead the phrase "any section
of the citizens."
Just after India attained independence, the Constituent Assembly
on 27 August 1947, took up for consideration the Report of the
Advisory Committee on Minorities.
B. Pocker, a member, moved the following amendment which was
negatived:
"That on a consideration of the report of the Advisory Committee on
Minorities, Fundamental Rights, etc., this meeting of the Constituent
Assembly resolves that all elections to the Central or Provincial
Legislatures should, as far as Muslims are concerned, be held on the
basis of separate electorates."
Next day, that is, on August 28, Sardar Patel, Chairman of the
Advisory Committee,, said:
"Therefore, I would not have to say anything on this motion. I think
it is better that we know our minds so that we understand where we
stand. If the process that was adopted, and which resulted in the
partition of the country, is to be repeated, then I say: Those who
want that kind of thing have a place in Pakistan, not here."
Minority rights became a subject of heated public debate when,
subsequently, they were blatantly misused by the minority
communities.
In case of minority education institutions, Justice Beg and Justice
Dwivedi observed,
"It is an illusion for a minority to claim absolute immunity “
Justice Das said:
"Nor do we see any reason to limit Article 29 (2) to the citizens
belonging to a minority group other than the sections or the
minorities referred to in Article 29 (1) or Article 30 (1), for the
citizens who do not belong to any minority group may ' quite
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conceivably need this protection just as much as citizens of such
other minority groups. To limit this right only to citizens belonging to
minority groups will be to provide a double protection for such
citizens and to hold that the citizens of the majority group have no
special educational institution for the maintenance of which they
make contributions by way of taxes, is not justifiable. We see no
cogent reason for such discrimination."
In another case Justice Beg observed:
"Article 30(1) which was meant to serve as shield of minority
educational institutions against the invasion of certain rights
protected by it and declared fundamental so that they are not
discriminated against, cannot be converted by them into a weapon to
exact unjustifiable, preferential or discriminatory treatment for
minority institutions so as to obtain the benefits but to reject the
obligations of statutory rights."
As early as in 1930 itself, Dr. Ambedkar had said:
"To say that this country is divided by castes and creeds, and that it
cannot be one united self-governing community unless adequate
safeguards for protection o f minorities are made a part of
Constitution, is a position to which there can be no objection. But
minorities must bear in mind that although we are today divided by
sects and atomized by castes, our ideal is a United India. No
demand from minority should, wittingly or unwittingly, sacrifice this
ideal."
On 4 November 1948, Dr. Ambedkar said in the Constituent
Assembly:
"In this country both - the minorities and the majorities - have
followed a wrong path. It is wrong for the majority to deny the
existence of minorities, it is equally wrong for the minorities to
perpetuate themselves. A solution must be found which will serve a
double purpose. It must recognise the existence of the minorities to
start with. It must also be such that it will enable majorities and
minorities to merge some day into one."
How can this ideal stage be reached? It will be a surprise to many
in our country to know that the alternative strategies to achieve this
goal were discussed in the League of Nations immediately after the
end of the First World War. The views expressed on that occasion are
as valid and relevant today as they were at that time.
After the war, the map of Europe was redrawn creating a problem
of minority rights. The League of Nations put forth a formula of
'minority treaties'. Sir Austin Chamberlain explained in his speech at
the League of Nations on 9 December 1925, how the declared object of
the 'minority treaties' was "to secure for the minorities that measure of
protection and justice, which would gradually prepare them to be
merged in the national community to which they belonged." Was this
a case of robust optimism or mere gullibility? This risk, which the
League ran in certain states, was vividly expressed by Paul Fauchille
in his speech at the League Council on the same date, i.e., 9 December
1925. Fauchille said:
"This is a solution which perhaps is not without certain dangers;
for, if equality of treatment of all the inhabitants of a country is an
element of political and social peace, the recognition of rights
belonging to minorities as separate entities, by increasing their own
strength, may provoke them to separate themselves from the state of
which they form a part, and in view of the right of peoples to dispose
of themselves, the recognition of the rights of these minorities runs a
risk of leading to the disruption of states."
These were the two approaches. The disastrous fate of
unfortunate Czechoslovakia proves beyond the faintest shadow of
doubt, how hollow were Sir Austin Chamberlain's hopes and how
justified the apprehensions of Paul Fauchille. Because of political
expediency, our politicians have preferred to adopt an ostrich-like
attitude, learning nothing and unlearning nothing. Appropriate
pressure of the awakened and enlightened public opinion is to be
brought to bear on these power-hungry leaders who are the
Chamberlains of modern Bharat. What can be the most efficacious
instrument to accomplish this task of 'Jana Jagaran' if not the Akhil
Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad?
IV
Human Rights
The problem of 'Human Rights' attracted much public attention
after revered Shri Balasaheb Deoras suggested that a Human Rights
Commission should be constituted instead of the Minority Rights
Commission. Justice Beg of the Minorities Commission had expressed
the same view.
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The problem of human rights has been agitating the minds of the
people for various other reasons also.
Many uncomm itted thinkers have expressed the view that
presently the 'Human Rights' concept is often referred to only in cases
of state terror and repression, police atrocities, insensitive judiciary,
ineffective habeas corpus petitions, the unlimited power given to para-
state agencies, the misuse of the Terrorists And Disruptive Activities
Act (TADA) often to neutralise the fundamental rights, and illegal
solitary confinement. They demand that a 'Human Rights Commission'
be instituted to enquire into human rights violation cases by the state.
They have made suggestions regarding jails, tortured prisoners,
encounter deaths, etc. They also feel that the concept of Human
Rights needs ideally to be extended to cover all political, social,
economic and cultural injustice towards mankind. They further feel that
its definition should include a human being's right to food, job, shelter,
health, etc., and social/political rights like freedom of speech and
expression, etc.
They have also criticised the indiscriminate use of the Official
Secrets Act. The views expressed are sometimes extreme. Often the
plea for human rights is mischievously used to cover up illegal and
anti-national activities. Nevertheless, it would be advisable in the
national interest to remember the following remark by John Stuart Mill:
"A State which dwarfs its men in order that they may be more docile
instruments in its hands even for beneficial purposes will find that
with small men no great thing can really be accomplished."
In Bharat, the Muslims are most vocal in asserting their rights. But
most of the Islamic countries, except those in South-East Asia, have
acute internal human rights problems. Gender is not at all covered by
the provisions of human rights. The governments of these countries
do not tolerate interference of any international agency in this matter
which, they claim, is strictly their domestic affair.
Even in non-Islamic countries, the Muslims are not prepared to
concede these rights to their women-folk.
'The Universal Declaration of Human Rights' is a statement of
principles approved as a common standard of achievement for all
peoples and all nations. It is not a treaty but a directive to all civilized
governments to abide by the divine laws of the Creator and urges
upon all mankind to promote worldwide respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
Fortunately for us, some of our friends from abroad have not only
thorough knowledge of the Human Rights Movement, but also actual
experience of the practical working of the Human Rights Commission.
As Bharatiyas we feel that the whole thing is good so far as it
goes. But in spite of the various devices and the entire institutional
framework of the United Nations, a real guarantee for the preservation
of human rights, civil liberties and fundamental freedoms, lies in the
level of consciousness of the common man and in people-to-people
relationship on the sound basis of international understanding. The
United Nations has the same experience.
John Kleinig who is one of the authorities on the problem of
Human Rights observes:
"Unless there is love, care and concern for others as individuals, in
addition to the recognition of rights, there remains a moral lack in
international relationships. There is something morally inadequate in
doing something for another because it is the other's due. Actions
motivated simply by the rights of others remain anonymous or
impersonal, whereas if motivated by love, care or concern for the
other, their focus is on the other's particularity. Only relations of the
latter kind are morally adequate. They are person-specific, whereas
rights are species-specific."
Historian Will Durant says,
changed the nature of men, that unchanged nature will soon
resurrect those institutions."
Unfortunately, in our country the human rights movement is being
dominated by the leftists and in some cases by anti-national elements.
This situation must change. The nationalists must come forward as
champions of human rights. More than anyone else, the activists of
the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad are suitably equipped to
undertake this task as a life-mission.
V
The Constitution
For the legal fraternity, the Constitution is the most important
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document. The Constitution is a
"frame of political society organised through and by law, that is to
say, one in which law has established permanent institutions with
recognised functions and definite rights."
The United Kingdom gives a role to its constitution which has no
parallel elsewhere, though there is still no written document called the
British Constitution. Constitutions have a lesser place in Canada,
Norway and Sweden, but here, too, they stand to the fore. The
Constitutions of France and Germany are not without their importance,
but they have never achieved the place which they hold in such
countries as the United Kingdom, the United States, and the
Scandinavian countries. In Germany, relative lack of experience in
democratic form of government may be the reason. In France, there is
something in the national character which limits the influence of the
constitution below that found in the U.K. and the U.S.A. In Latin
American countries, constitutions are less binding as a fundamental
law. There has never been an adequate understanding of the basic
character and purpose of a constitution, though Uruguay has
progressed com paratively better towards constitutionalism .
Constitutions in most, if not all, of the Latin American states occupy a
place quite different from that it enjoys in the United Kingdom. To an
Englishman the constitution is the very foundation of government as it
serves as the fundamental law of the country. But this is not the case
in many other countries.
Thus the assumption that constitution is recognised as the most
sacred or basic public document in all the countries of the world is not
based on facts.
It is also wrong to presume that the western parliamentary
democracy is the only possible form of good government.
Representative form of government is inadequate and defective,
though every country has been modifying it in its own way from time
to time to meet the requirements of the national scene. Criticism has,
however, been levelled against democracy by many thinkers. Churchill
thought that
"Democracy is the best among the worst forms of government."
Prof. Puntambekar used to say,
"In democracy, amateur is at the top, premature at the bottom,
immature in the middle, and the mature out."
It is universally recognised that there is a gulf between direct
democracy and representative government. To bridge the gulf, a
number of devices, e.g., Referendum, Plebiscite, Initiative and Recall
are introduced. (Recently, there is a tendency to replace plebiscite by
referendum). Referendum is used in connection with constitution
amendment in Australia, Denmark, Ireland, France, Italy, Switzerland,
New Zealand, and in some of the States of the U.S.A.
But, in practice, all these devices have failed to achieve their
objective.
The institution of state has come under fire from a number of
renowned thinkers who feel that state is not an organism; it is a
machinery, and it works like a machine, without taste, delicacy or
intuition. It tries to manufacture. But what humanity is here to do is to
grow and create.
According to Shri Aurobindo, in the modern state
"There is no guarantee that this ruling class or ruling body
represents the best mind of the nation or its noblest aims or its
highest instincts."
Regarding the politician, he further says,
"Great issues often come to him for decision, but he does not deal
with them greatly."
The institution of a political party is fast losing its credibility.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn says:
"A society in which political parties are active, never rises in the
moral scale. In the world today, while we doubtfully advance towards
dimly glimpsed goal, can we not, we wonder, rise above the two-
party or multi-party system? Are there no extra-party or strictly
'non-party' paths of national development?"
We are all aware of the concept of partiless democracy and
M.N. Roy's 'People Committees'. Our leaders have not been discreet in
adopting the models set by constitutions of different countries. We
were influenced mainly by the Westminster model.
Worst of all, we totally forgot that we have our very own approach
to the problem of constitution. See the following typical reaction of P.
Koteswara Rao, a constitutional expert:
"Our Constitution is neither Indian, nor Gandhian. It is not the
people’s constitution. It is unduly perplexed, confusing and
inconsistent to reflect the nation's ethos and the people's genius in its
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provisions. It has become outmoded. The raw-material for making
the constitution is not drawn from the native soil. The inspiration is
not taken from the ancient wisdom. The needs and aspirations of the
common man are couched only in rhetorical platitudes and empty
propositions without creating any machinery for realisation. There
was no people's participation in framing the constitution. The
western concepts of political, economic and social ideologies are
imported, without relevance to the conditions. It lacks a proper sense
of priorities. It needs revision in many parts, deletions of many
portions and incorporation of many new provisions. Hence it is high
time to take stock of things realistically and boldly repeal the
constitution, lock, stock and barrel, by replacing it by the native
socialistic, genuinely democratic constitution."
Probably, even without further elaboration we can safely conclude
that taking into consideration our national ethos as well as the modem
trends of the outside world, a new constitution needs to be drafted
without further delay.
VI
The Institutional Framework
All patriots are giving a serious thought to the problem of the
institutional framework for future Bharat.
For any discussion, an appropriate point of reference is necessary.
For the present one, it must be Dharma.
Till recently, explanation or elaboration of the concept of Dharma
used to be necessary. Now the position is changed after the
publication of 'Legal and Constitutional History of India' by Justice
M. Rama Jois.
Absorbing completely all the thought-currents of the West as well
as the development of all indigenous thought-systems, Pt. Deendayal
Upadhyaya spelt out 'Integral Humanism' which is the manifestation of
Sanatana Dharma in keeping with requirements of the post-second-
industrial-revolution period. That has to be the point of reference in
the matter of national reconstruction.
Dharma in practice comprises the unchanging, eternal universal
laws and the ever-changing socio-economic order in the light of these
universal laws.
For example, morality is a universal law; the institutional
arrangements like marriage are subject to changes according to, or
corresponding to, the periodical changes in the social scene.
With Sanatoria Dharma as their point of reference, Revered Shri
Guruji and Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya had put forth a number of
suggestions. Take, for example, Panditji's concept of Janapada. He
proposed an integrated form of government which would be unicentral
but vested with minimum powers. There would be widest possible
decentralisation of power to the lowest units through the Janapadas.
His Janapada comprised areas with common local characteristics. The
far-sightedness of Panditji was appreciated recently even by sceptical
intellectuals when, after a number of agitations, they came to realise
that Telangana, Vidarbha, Uttarakhand, Bundelkhand, Vananchal,
Gorkhaland, Nagaland and Mizoram fulfil the criterion of Panditji's
concept of Janapada.
Shri Guruji was firmly of the view that elections to the lowest
primary units must be unanimous; unless there is unanimity there
should be no elections. For us who are born and brought up in
Westminster atmosphere this would appear to be fantastic. But it is
worth remembering that Mohammed, the Prophet, also recommended
this pattern of election on some occasions. Asked what should be the
qualification for such unanimous election, the prophet said that one
who has no desire to become "Amir" should be elected as "Amir".
Another important suggestion made by Shri Guruji was about
Functional Representation. With the introduction of changes in the
techniques of production, communication, etc., most of the 3,000-odd
traditional trades became obsolete or uneconomical, and new trades
came into being. This resulted in the breakdown of the traditional
caste-system, though casteism is growing stronger for political
reasons. Shri Guruji envisaged emergence of still more highly skilled
jobs as a result of the uninterrupted advancem ent of modern
technology, causing ever-increasing inter-occupational mobility. The
process of consolidation and organization of occupational or trade
groups must be pursued and the latter given due representation on
elective bodies. The role of trade unions, chambers of commerce,
institutions of engineers, Indian Medical Association, commodity-wise
consumers' associations, etc., would be helpful for this purpose
according to him. But the vast majority of our people, such as
peasants, the managerial and technical cadres, self-employed artisans,
agricultural and forest labourers, etc., are still unorganised. Their
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occupation-wise organisation must be expedited, for successful
introduction of the principle of 'functional representation', he thought.
Regarding the soundness or otherwise of such suggestions,
lawyers are the best judges. They should also work out new models
with the same point of reference.
VII
The Goal
The facts stated so far lead us inevitably to the conclusion that
fresh thinking is necessary on all legal and constitutional aspects. The
law, the legal system, the Constitution, the institutional framework, and
above all, the psychology of all those involved in this process - all
must be thoroughly changed. It is to be an onward march in the light
of the Universal Laws. All this is an important, indispensable, and
integral part of the process of national reconstruction. Destiny has
called upon Bharat to give a new lead to the world groping in the dark
after the miserable failure of the western thought-systems. Mankind is
clamouring for what is described as the 'third way'. It is the moral and
divine responsibility of Bharat to show the 'third way' which would in
fact be the 'only' way. This necessitates tremendous home-work and
equipment. One of the first and indispensable steps in this direction is
to convene a new and competent Constituent Assembly. Who would
be qualified to become members of the new Constituent Assembly?
Power-hungry politicians? Our first Constituent Assembly was
dominated to a great extent by members of this tribe. And we have
been experiencing the consequences. Who is morally as well as
intellectually equipped to play this role? More than any other, section
of the population, it is the lawyers dedicated to the cause of the
national reconstruction. They can play a key-role in preparing the new
Weltanschauung. Thus the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad is not
merely a body of lawyers set up to protect and promote their
professional interests; it is competent and determined to become the
nucleus of the Constituent Assembly of the resurgent Bharat.
CHAPTER 11
With No Comments
i
The Goal
The facts stated so far lead us inevitably to the conclusion that
fresh thinking is necessary on all legal and constitutional aspects. The
law, the legal system, the Constitution, the institutional framework, and
above all, the psychology of all those involved in this process must be
thoroughly changed. It is to be an onward march in the light of the
Universal Laws. All this is an important, indispensable, and integral
part of the process of national reconstruction. Destiny has called upon
Bharat to give a new lead to the world groping in the dark after the
miserable failure of the western thought-systems. Mankind is
clamouring for what is described as the 'third way'. It is the moral and
divine responsibility of Bharat to show the 'third way' which would in
fact be the 'only' way. This necessitates tremendous home-work and
equipment. One of the first and indispensable steps in this direction is
to convene a new and competent Constituent Assembly. Who would
be qualified to become members of the new Constituent Assembly?
Power-hungry politicians? Our first Constituent Assembly was
dominated to a great extent by members of this tribe. And we have
been experiencing the consequences. Who is morally as well as
intellectually equipped to play this role? More than any other section
of the population, it is the lawyers dedicated to the cause of national
reconstruction. They can play a key-role in preparing the new
Weltanschauung. Thus the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad is not
merely a body of lawyers set up to protect and promote their
professional interests; it is competent and determined to become the
nucleus of the Constituent Assembly of the resurgent Bharat.
These remarks raised two questions in the minds of some lawyers
who were sceptical about their own competence to play the key-role
assigned to them in THE GOAL.
This paper was read at the meeting of Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad on
4 June 1994 at Bhopal. It is a continuation of the thought-process started with
the address to the Parishad on 7 September 1992. The first para of this article
is the concluding para of that address.
142 Third Way
i) The nature of our Constituent Assembly which has created a
government that comes to us instead of a government that comes
from us;
ii) Evaluation of the institution of political party as an
instrument for framing suitable Constitution and evolving appropriate
institutional framework.
Regarding both these points, I am stating here a few relevant
facts and views, without any comments.
Constituent Assembly
The common man does not understand the difference between
Constituent Assembly and regular Parliament.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar explained;
"The Constituent Assembly in making a Constitution has no
partisan motive. Beyond securing a good workable constitution, it
has no axe to grind. In considering the articles of the Constitution,
it has not an eye on getting through a particular measure. In the
future parliament, if it met as a Constituent Assembly, its members
will be acting as partisans seeking to carry amendments to the
Constitution to facilitate the passing of party measures which they
have failed to get through parliament by reason of some articles of
the Constitution which have acted as an obstacle in their way.
Parliament will have an axe to grind while the Constituent
Assembly has none. That is the difference between the Constituent
Assembly and the future parliament."
Some move akin to that of setting up a Constituent Assembly
was contemplated by Mahatmaji in 1922, and by Mrs. Annie Besant
in 1923. The Swarajist Party had voiced in May 1934 the advisability
of convening a Constituent Assembly. The Congress expressed
similar feelings at its Faizpur Session (1936). On September 14, 1939,
Congress passed a resolution to this effect. Once again, on
November 19, 1939, Gandhiji issued a statement to the same effect.
M.N. Roy and his group made a similar demand before the transfer
of power.
Pt. Nehru, however, observed,
"Some of the Congress leaders, while accepting the idea of the
Constituent Assembly, have tried to tone it down and made it not
very unlike a large All Parties Conference’ after the old model."
With No Comments 143
The Cabinet M ission envisaged the establishm ent of a
Constituent Assembly to frame a Constitution for the country which
would be chosen by adult franchise. Realising that such a step
would lead to unacceptable delay, the Cabinet Mission decided to
utilise the recently elected Provincial Legislative Assemblies as the
electing bodies. Each province was allotted seats proportional to its
population, roughly in the ratio of one to a million. The seats so
ascertained were divided between the main communities in each
province in proportion to their population and formed the basis for
election of the representatives allotted to each community by the
members of that community in the Legislative Assembly of each
province. The main communities recognised were General, Muslim
and Sikh. General community included all persons who were not
Muslims and Sikhs.
The total membership of the Constituent Assembly was 389 of
whom 93 were representatives from the Indian States and 296 from
British India. Members numbering 205 were elected on the Congress
vote. Of them, 30 were outsiders and they included men of great
eminence like Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Dr. Alladi Krishnaswami Aiyar,
Pandit Hriday Nath Kunzru, Sir N. Gopalaswamy Iyengar, etc. The
draft prepared by Sir B.N. Rau, constitutional adviser, provided the
basic framework for the deliberations. The Drafting Committee
consisted of seven persons, two of them belonging to the Congress
Party, namely K.M. M unshi and T.T. K rishnam achari, four
independents - Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Alladi Krishnaswami Aiyar,
N. Madhava Rau, and D.P. Khaitan, and one belonging to the Muslim
League - Muhammad Saadullah. Dr. Ambedkar was elected Chairman
of the Drafting Committee and he piloted the Constitution through
the Assembly with great skill and ability.
Although the Muslim League joined the interim government it
refused to participate in the Constituent Assembly.
After the partition of India, the membership of the Constituent
Assembly underwent a change. By virtue of Section 8 of the Indian
Independence Act 1947, the Constituent Assemblies of each of the
Dominions - India and Pakistan - were entrusted not only with the
responsibility of constitution-making, but also functioned as federal
legislatures. The total m em bership of the Indian Constituent
Assembly came to 318, of whom 89 represented the Indian States.
The responsibility of the Drafting Committee was to scrutinise the
draft of the text prepared by Sir B.N. Rau giving effect to the
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decision already taken in the Assembly and submit to the Assembly
for consideration the text and the draft Constitution as revised by
the Committee.
The Objectives Resolution, moved on 13 December 1946 by
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru when the Assembly met in undivided India,
was the basis, with certain modifications, for the Preamble of the
Constitution. In 1977 the words 'Secular and Socialist' were added to
the Preamble.
The first session of the Constituent Assembly was held in New
Delhi on December 9, 1946. On August 29, 1947, the seven-member
drafting committee was set up. The. Draft Constitution was published
in January 1948. The Constitution was adopted on November 26,
1949. The Constitution comprised 395 Articles and eight Schedules.
The deliberations continued for nearly three years. The
expenditure incurred was to the tune of Rs. 63,96,729.
In all, there-were IT sessions of the Assembly. It sat for 2
years, 11 months and 18 days. The Constitution came into force on
January 26, 1950.
The first Amendment to the Constitution was made in June
1951.
Even while the Constituent Assembly was continuing its work,
Loknayak Jaya Prakash Narayan had challenged the representative
character of the Assembly. He stated:
"...taking advantage of the people's indifference, the rulers of the
country have got a draft constitution prepared; that is a most
unsatisfactory document. It would be a tragedy for India if this
document became the foundation of our national life. This draft
constitution would neither guarantee the freedom of the people nor
make social change possible. The constitution in its present form
would be a bulwark of conservatism and a powerful hindrance to
full democracy.
The draft constitution must be radically changed if India is to
march towards full freedom and democracy. There is little chance,
however, that the Constituent Assembly, as it is constituted today,
will make any drastic change in the draft constitution. Only a new
Constituent Assembly, freshly and directly elected by the whole
people including the people of the states, can do so. Only then
perhaps would the people begin to take genuine interest in
constitution-making.
The present draft constitution seeks to speak in the name of the
Indian people. 'We the people of India having solemnly resolved'
etc., are the opening words of the draft constitution. But who
can honestly claim that the present Constituent Assembly has
any right to speak in the name of the Indian people? It was surely
not elected by the people. It represented only 12% of the people.
The Constituent Assembly, as is well known, is made up of the
representatives of the provinces and the states. The representatives
of the provinces were elected not directly by the adult population
but indirectly by the provincial assemblies, which in turn were
elected under the Act of 1935 by no more that 15 per cent of the
people. This means that 85 per cent of the people in the provinces
have no representation whatever in the Constituent Assembly.
The unrepresentative character of the provincial representatives
in the Constituent Assembly is further exposed when it is
recalled that the members of the provincial assemblies had no
mandate whatever to send their representatives to any such body.
The unrepresentative character of the representatives from
the states becomes still more apparent. Out of a total of 89
members from the States, 28 are nominees of the rulers and 41
elected. Clearly, the nominees of the rulers have no right to speak
in the name of the people.
Of the 41 elected, it can be imagined how unrepresentative they
must be in the absence of true representative institutions in the
states. None of the 41 was directly elected by the people
concerned; and most of them were merely nominees of the
Congress bosses who dominated the All-India States People's
Conference.
The present Constituent Assembly thus is an utterly
unrepresentative body; and in the name of all that is just and fair,
it must go. A new assembly elected on adult franchise by the entire
people - of the provinces as well as the states - must be
called to pass the final draft of India's constitution."
Ours was the lengthiest constitution in the world. It remained so
till the constitution of Yugoslavia spread its length to gain the place.
In the initial stage of the proceedings Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha
spoke a word of caution:
"The Constitution may nevertheless perish in an hour by the folly
or corruption or negligence of its only keepers - the people.
Republics are created - these are words which I commend to you
10
146 Third Way
for your consideration - by the virtue of public spirit and
intelligence of the citizens. They fall when the wise are banished
from the public councils. They dare to be honest and the profligate
are rewarded because they flatter the people in order to
betray them.”
Dr. Ambedkar had remarked,
"If the Constitution which was given by the people unto
themselves in November 1949, did not work satisfactorily, we
would have to say at a future time, not that the Constitution has
failed, but that the man is vile."
About the label of the Constitution, Dr. Rajendra Prasad,
President of the Constituent Assembly, did not attach very much
importance to the question. In his speech on 26 November 1949, in
the Constituent Assembly, Dr. Rajendra Prasad said:
"Personally, l do not attach any importance to the label which
may be attached to it - whether you call it a federal Constitution
or Unitary Constitution or by any other name. It makes no
difference so long as the Constitution serves our purpose. We are
not bound to have a Constitution which completely and fully falls
in line with known categories of constitutions in the world.
We have to take certain facts of history in our own country and
the constitution has, not to an inconsiderable extent, been
influenced by such realities as facts of history."
The word "federation" does not occur in the Constitution. The
expression used is "Union".
Explaining its significance, Dr. Ambedkar said:
"The Drafting Committee wanted to make it clear that though
India was to be a federation, the federation was not the result of
an agreement by the States to join in a federation, and that the
federation not being the result of an agreement no State has the
right to secede from it. The federation is a Union because it is
indestructible. The Drafting Committee thought that it was better to
make it clear at the outset rather than to leave it to speculation or
to dispute.”
Just before the adoption of the Constitution, Dr. Rajendra Prasad
had said :
"Our Constitution has provisions in it which appear to some to be
objectionable from one point or another. We must admit that the
defects are inherent in the situation in the country and the
people at large."
Dr. Rajendra Prasad would have liked to have some
qualifications laid down for the members of the legislative assembly.
He remarked:
"It is anomalous that we should insist upon high qualifications
for those who administer or help in administering the law, but
none for those who make it, except that they are elected. A law
giver requires intellectual equipment, even more than that, the
capacity to take a balanced view of things, to act independently
and above all to be true to those fundamental things of life, to
have character. It is not possible to devise any yard-stick for
measuring the moral qualities of man. And so long as that is not
possible, our constitution will remain defective."
He was also unhappy that the Constitution was not drafted in
an Indian language.
In both the cases, the difficulties were
"...political and proved insurmountable. But that does not make the
regret any the less poignant."
In his reply to the debate in the third reading of the draft
constitution on 25 November 1949, Dr. Ambedkar cautioned:
"On the 26th January, 1950, we are going to enter into a life of
contradictions. In politics, we will have equality, and in social
and economic life we will have inequality. In politics, we will be
recognising the principle of "one man and one vote", and "one
vote, one value". In our social and economic life, we shall, by
reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the
principle of "one man, one value". How long shall we
continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we
continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we
continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our
political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at
the earliest possible moment, or else those who suffer from
inequality will blow up the structure of poliitical democracy which
this Assembly has so laboriously built up."
And again,
"Political power in this country has too long been the monopoly of
a few and the many are not only beasts of burden but also beasts
of prey... the downtrodden classes must not be allowed to evolve
into a class struggle or a class war.... the recognition of the class
structure of society and the income structure of society as
sacrosanct, were utterly undemocratic and unrealistic. It set in
motion influences which were harmful to rational human
148 Third Way
relationships. There were no common interests. The isolation and
exclusiveness following upon the class structure create in the
privileged classes anti-social spirit of a gang."
Speaking in the Constituent Assembly on 17 November 1949, Dr.
Ambedkar said:
"Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it
social democracy. What does social democracy mean? It means
a way of life which recognises liberty, equality and fraternity as
principles of life. These principles of liberty, equality and
fraternity are not to be treated as separate items in a trinity.
They form a union of trinity in the sense that to divorce one from
the other is to defeat the very purpose of democracy. Liberty
cannot be divorced from equality, equality cannot be divorced from
liberty. Nor can liberty and equality be divorced from fraternity.
Without equality, liberty would produce the supremacy of the few
over the many. Equality without liberty would kill individual
initiative. Without fraternity, liberty and equality could not become
a natural course of things."
According to Prof. Srinivasan, in the entire debate on this issue
in the Constituent Assembly, one can clearly see the despair and
anguish of most of the members, that the basic frame of the
Constitution hardly reflected the Spirit and genius of Indian
civilizational experience. As one member remarked:
"The other day Shrimati Vijayalakshmi while addressing the
United Nations General Assembly in Paris observed with pride
that we in India have borrowed from France their slogan of liberty,
equality and fraternity; we have taken this from England and that
from America; but she did not say what we have borrowed from
our own political and historic past, from our long and chequered
history of which we are so proud...."
But the main problem was that most of the framers of our
Constitution were either ignorant of or had no faith in the Indian
social and political framework. In fact one of the chief architects of
our Constitution even declared that -
"What is the village but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance,
narrow-mindedness and communalism? I am glad that the Draft
Constitution has discarded the village and adopted the individual
as its Unit.”
No wonder that such minds should have forgotten to incorporate
. in the Constitution the Gandhian concept of Gram Swaraj.
When it was brought to the attention of Mahatma Gandhi in
December 1947 that there was no mention about village panchayats
and decentralisation in the draft constitution, he declared that it was
certainly an om ission calling for im m ediate attention if our
independence was to reflect the people's voice. The greater the
power of the panchayats, the better it would be for the people.
Ultimately a new clause was inserted in the draft constitution
stating that the State shall take steps to organise village panchayats.
This provision finally found its place among the "Directive Principles
of State Policy" contained in the Constitution - which is a collection
of platitudes to which hardly any attention has been paid.
It is an indisputable fact that the Constitution did not reflect the
Bharatiya mind - the traditions, the temperament, the culture of
Bharat. It was not the product of the soil but just a transplantation.
In this context, the extensive comments of P. Koteswara Rao, a
constitutional expert, deserve serious consideration:
"Our constitution is neither Indian nor Gandhian. It is not the
people's constitution. It is unduly perplexed, confusing and
inconsistent to reflect the nation's ethos and the people's genius in
its provisions. It has become outmoded. The raw-material for
making the constitution is not drawn from the native soil. The
inspiration is not taken from the ancient wisdom. The needs and
aspirations of the common man are couched only in rhetorical
platitudes and empty propositions without creating any machinery
for realisation. There was no people's participation in framing the
constitution. The western concepts of political, economic and social
ideologies are imported, without relevance to the conditions. It
lacks a proper sense of priorities. It needs revision in many parts,
deletion o f many portions and incorporation of many new
provisions. Hence it is high time to take stock of things realistically
and boldly repeal the constitution, lock, stock and barrel, by
replacing it by the native socialistic, genuinely democratic
constitution."
It is interesting to note that Dr. Ambedkar himself was not
satisfied with the final outcome of his Herculean labour. He
subsequently complained that the draft was not entirely to his liking,
but he was required to democratically accommodate various views
which were inconsistent with or even contrary to his own. He went
even to the length of saying that he would not hesitate to burn a
copy of the constitution in public, if its provisions were found
inadequate to protect the interests of the downtrodden.
150 Third Way
During Emergency a new chapter containing fundamental duties
was inserted. They are pedantic sayings oft repeated and of little
use because they cannot be enforced by a court of law.
The Nagpur Unit of the Deendayal Research Institute organised
a seminar on Indian Political System in April 1988. The points that
emerged there were as follows :-
(1) The British had introduced, in pre-Independence India, a perverted
version of parliamentary system under their overlordship. The kind
of parliamentary system that we have in India after Independence is
not compatible with Indian ethos.
(2) India's political system and its Constitution should be in keeping
with its deep-rooted traditions. Its ideal should be Dharma-Rajya.
This Dharma is not to be confused with religion. It denotes the
supreme code of human conduct that sustains society and the
supremacy of moral authority over state power. It takes an
integrated view of human needs, not merely economic or political. It
recognises the interdependence of man and man, and man and his
environment. It seeks to serve the genuine needs of the individual,
the community, the nation and the humanity as a whole. Therefore,
all religions are likely to feel affinity for it as close to their socio-
ethical tenets. The preamble to the Constitution should clearly
mention that the Dharma-Rajya encompasses the ethical-juridical
principles common to all religions.
(3) If the ideas were defined as above, it could equate the service of man
with the service of God and set in the process of spiritualising
politics. It could establish the supremacy of ethics over politics.
(4) Western culture is marked by extreme materialism and individualism.
The parliamentary system in the West is, therefore, geared to the
material interests of the individual or the party. When such a system
is introduced on our soil, people tend to select their local
representatives on the basis of their casteist or religio-communal
considerations. As against this, India should opt for a form of
government in which heads at all levies, from national to local, are
designated as guardians; which means, the national guardian
(Rashtra-Palak), provincial guardian (Prant-Palak), village
guardian (Gram-Palak) should all be directly elected on the basis of
universal adult franchise. They would select their advisers or
ministers. This would enable good people to operate at all levels and
transform the society. This may be called the presidential system of
Indian variety.
(5) At territorial levels, there should be uni-cameral deliberative
bodies* based on professional representation. This will ensure
representation of all genuine interest groups. By plugging the
chances of casteism, it will usher in a profession-based social order.
Only at the national level, there should be two Houses - one based
on professional representation, the other on territorial
representation.
(6) A code of conduct for political authorities should be provided in the
directive principles enshrined in the Constitution itself. Moreover,
there should be provision of small cells of knowledgeable,
experienced, selfless and respected persons, such as Acharya-Kul
or Group of Elders, at every level of territorial organisation, with
statutory powers to conduct investigations wherever there is a
breach of directive principles.
(7) Political and economic decentralisation has to be the backbone of
the political system. Indian genius seeks unity in diversity. Hence
decentralisation would be no cause for worry about national
integrity. (States should be smaller in size and should be called
pradesh or provinces. They as well as the local bodies should be
autonomous with adequate political and financial powers.)
(8) Freedom of thought and expression, tolerance, decision by
consensus (instead of by merely majority votes), changes by non
violent methods, decentralisation, autonomy in political and
economic spheres (as distinct from party whips regarding
expressions of opinion in legislatures and the state-bureaucracy-
dominated economy) are the core of Indian democracy. The need is
to build up suitable institutions around this core.
(9) Mutual adjustment and co-operation is the basic law of existence.
Class co-operation is the rule, class conflict is the exception.
(10) The system of people's courts at local levels is essential. Directive
principles for judicial functionaries should be provided for in the
Constitution.
(11) Financial dependence of the lower units must go.
(12) The institution of family - which, under the impact of West-oriented
modernism, is tending to break up - must be nurtured. The emphasis
has to be on individual-in-society, not individual versus society.
See Appendix II
152 Third Way
(13) The dominance of English has prevented the flowering of people's
culture. It should be replaced by the language which is understood
by most of the people. Only Hindi can be the link language. Widest
possible scope for translation into different languages must be
created.
(14) The system of political parties taking adversary positions is contrary
to Indian genius. The Indian tradition has been to seek the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Political parties, on the other
hand, tend to take a lopsided view of truth. Their interest militates
against seeking the whole truth. Their partisanship works in their
individual or group interest, against national interest. We must,
therefore, have a partiless democracy.
(15) The current political philosophies of democracy, communism and
socialism are on the way out in the modern world. We have to
eschew the class-rule of the moneyed class or the class-rule of the
proletariat. Our objective has to be all-sided welfare of all people.
Political Party : An Institution
Political Party as an institution has become a very important
factor in the British public life.
In the words of Ramsay Muir,
"It is the leadership of a party that gives to the Prime Minister
his enormous power; it is common membership of a party that gives
unity of character and aims to a cabinet; it is the existence
of an organised supporting party in the House of Commons that
enables the cabinet to carry on its work; and (when the party has a
majority) endows it with a complete dictatorship over the whole
range of government; and this dictatorship is only limited or
qualified by the fear of those who wield it lest any grave
blunder may weaken the party in the country, and bring downfall at
the next election."
Our intellectuals are so much attuned to the Anglo-Saxon
institutions that they are unable to see the rest of the world.
Here are some other views, presented without comments.
M. N. Roy had studied constitutions of most of the countries.
Being aware of the shortcoming of both communism and formal
parliamentarism, he based his programme of revolution on the
principles of freedom, reason and social harmony, - laying great
stress upon education of the citizens as the precondition for such a
reorganisation of society. The co-operative economy of his new social
order, with consumers' and producers’ co-operatives, was to be based
on production for use and not for profit and distribution with reference
to human needs. Under co-operative economy, the means of
production were to belong to the workers them selves. This
arrangement he considered as superior to both capitalism and state-
ownership. The political organisation was to exclude delegation of
power, which, in practice, deprives the people of effective power; it
was to be based on the direct participation of the entire adult
population through People's Committees which were to be the basic
units of grassroots democracy. The Indian State, according to his Draft
Constitution of Free India, was to be organised on the basis of a
countrywide network of People's Committees having wide powers such
as initiating legislation, expressing opinion on pending bills, recall of
representatives and referendum on important national issues. The
principles enunciated in his 22 theses and the manifesto led him to the
conclusion that party politics was inconsistent with the ideal of
democracy and that it was liable to degenerate into power politics.
These ideas led to the dissolution of his Radical Democratic Party in
December 1948 and the launching of the movement called the Radical
Humanist Movement. His able and trusted colleague V. M. Tarkunde
had decided to publish his memoirs under the title - In Search o f
Freedom' - a project he is yet to finish.
An eminent Gandhian, Loknayak Jaya Prakash Narayan states:
"The party system with the corroding and corrupting struggle for
power inherent in it, disturbed me more and more. I saw how
parties backed by finance, organisation and the means of
propaganda could impose themselves on the people; how people's
rule became in effect party rule; how party rule in turn became the
rule of caucus or coterie; how democracy was reduced to mere
casting of votes; how even this right of votes was restricted
severely by the system o f powerful parties setting up
their candidates from whom alone, for all practical purposes, the
voters had to make their choice; how even this limited choice
was made unreal by the fact that the issues posed before the
electorate were by and large incomprehensible to it.
"The party system as I saw it was emasculating the people. It did not
function so as to develop their strength and initiative nor to help
them establish their self-rule and to manage their affairs
themselves. All that the parties were concerned with was to
capture power for themselves so as to rule over the people, no
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doubt, with their consent. The party system, so it appeared to
me, was seeking to reduce the people to the position of sheep
whose only function of sovereignty would be to choose periodically
the shepherds who would look after their welfare. This to me did
not spell freedom, the swaraj, for which I had fought and for which
the people of this country fought.
"As a way out of the faults and failures of the party system, I
toyed for some time with the idea of a co-operative, rather than a
competitive, system of parties. I realised, however, that in the
first place, there was no climate for sftch a political experiment, and
in the second place, the experiment could not succeed within the given
framework of struggle for power and the system of parliamentary
democracy, except for limited purposes and limited periods. I still
believe, however, that given the psychological climate for it, such a
political experiment might yet be made. But for that the frame of
reference will have to be changed from parliamentary democracy to
something different. Be that as it may, my disenchantment with the
party system kept on urging me to seek a better substitute for it.
Gandhiji's non-partisan constructive approach towards people's self-
rule seemed to offer one hopeful line of exploration."
Alexander Solzhenitsyn says:
"A society in which political parties are active, never rises in the
moral scale. In the world today, while we doubtfully advance towards
a dimly glimpsed goal, can we not, we wonder, rise above the two-
party or multi-party system? Are there no extra-party or strictly
'non-party' paths of national development?
"The multi-party parliamentary system has already existed for
centuries in some Western European countries. But it is dangerous;
perhaps mortal defects have become more and more obvious in
recent decades, when superpowers are rocked by party struggles
with no ethical basis. The western democracies today are in a state
of political crisis and spiritual confusion."
Dr. Pitrim A. Sorokin writes:
"At present, political parties are predominantly militant machines
animated by the lust for power and booty. As intermediaries
between the voters and the state governments, they have usurped
the role of agencies for ascertaining the opinions and wishes of
the electorate. They have monopolised elections, depriving the
citizens of the possibility of freely choosing whom they wish,
since there is no possibility of voting for candidates not
nominated by the parties. To a considerable extent they have
converted the citizenry into a mere instrument for serving the
selfish interest of the bosses or party caucus. Through various
tricks and other dubious practices they have corrupted the basic
principle of elective democracy, degrading the functions of
statesmanship to the sordid quest of politicians for spoils, or
booty. In these and many other ways they have robbed the citizens
of much of their freedom and have become one of the chieffoci for
generating forces of strife and enmity. In countries with a single
dictatorial party, the insidious effects of the system are all too
evident. To a lesser degree the same evil effects are apparent also
in countries with a two-party or multi-party system. The foregoing
and many other disastrous effects of contemporary political parties
on democracy and the political, social, economic and moral life of
the citizens have been amply demonstrated not only by ideological
anarchists, syndicalists*, and other radical theorisers but also by
the most impartial conservative investigators, such as, M.
Ostrogorsky, J. Bryce, G. Mosca, R. Michels, and C. E. Merriam.
" It is evident that such political parties cannot serve the purposes
of a peaceful and creative society. They need to be radically
transformed along the lines recommended by the foregoing
investigators. First, the changes suggested for the state
organisation, particularly the decentralisation of the election of
representatives from territorial districts and their supplementation
by representatives of industry, agriculture, science, religion etc.,
would render the monopoly of elections by political parties
impossible. The corporate bodies elect their representatives
themselves, without undue influence being exerted by political
parties. This decentralization would drastically limit the
monopolistic power o f political parties, would reduce their
autocracy and would restore to the citizens a portion of their
electoral freedom.
"The government of the states must consist of a combination of
the elected representatives of the citizens of the electoral districts
and of those of agriculture, industrial management and labour,
religion, science, the fine arts, and the professions. A sufficient
proportion of representatives of labour management, agriculture,
science, religion, and the professionals, elected by their respective
groups, independently of the territorial district, would weaken the
vested interest of a given territorial district and immeasurably
heighten the competence, impartiality, morality, and prestige of the
Government."
See Appendix II
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Dr. Bokare sums up the situation in the following words:
"The partiless democracy is being conceptualised. Its reasoning
has been given__ Democracy, as it is now, has revealed
weaknesses. The party-based democracy, due to its weaknesses, is
likely to be converted into dictatorship. Alternatively, it may
promote disharmony and anarchy. The weaknesses of party-based
democracy will be removed by partiless democracy. Can we make
such deductions?"
No Comments!
CHAPTER 12
Our Constitution*
Before we proceed to analyse our Constitution, it would be
advisable to note such features of other Constitutions as can have
some bearing on our present effort.
On the subject of Constitutions, there has been no balanced
growth of literature. Constitutional pundits have recognised this fact.
Till now political scientists had a tendency to concentrate on the
governments of the major countries, the governments of smaller
nations being ignored entirely. Primary importance was given to
European governments. In fact, with the rise of nationalism in
Africa and Asia and the consequent emergence of new states,
developments of far-reaching importance are taking place on every
continent. Europe may have been the political pioneer, but non-
European countries are now pushing into the world scene and
establishing new frontiers of political experimentation. Even when the
European influence has been predom inant in the setting up of
governments in America, Asia and Africa, local conditions in these
areas have forced modifications regarding the forms of government,
which are worth examining.
It is extrem ely difficult to compress into one manageable
document the experience of a sufficiently representative number of
governments.
For example, the political experience of the Scandinavian countries
and the Latin American countries provide some unique features which
have received scant attention in our country.
In writing about comparative governments there has been a
disposition to set up an initial pattern and then attempt to fit into it,
rather arbitrarily, all governments.
The political experience of Britain has more to offer to students of
comparative governments than that of any other country, since it was
there that the western democratic institutions had their beginning and
various developm ents occurred which have widely influenced
governments elsewhere.
* This paper formed the basis for discussion in a select group of thinkers in late 1992.
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British Parliament is the mother of parliaments whose progeny
is to be found in every country governed in the past by Great
Britain.
"Constitution is a frame of political society organised through
and by law, that is to say, one in which law has established
permanent institutions with recognised functions and definite rights."
There can be three kinds of law: (1) that bundle of social habits
which we call 'customs' untouched by any formal legal procedure;
(2) a formal category of laws, not written out in statute form, but being
fully enforced as law in properly constituted law courts; that is, the
case law known in England as the Common Law; and (3) written laws
called statutes, properly passed through a legislature. Constitution
may be written (documentary) or unwritten (non-documentary) or
partly written and partly unwritten. There is still no document called
the British Constitution.
Internal sovereignty is the supremacy of a person or body of
persons in the state over the individuals or associations of individuals
within the area of its jurisdiction, and external sovereignty is the
absolute independence of one state as a whole with reference to all
other states. In Great Britain, the legal sovereign is the Queen in
Parliament, the political sovereign is the electorate. The legal sovereign
in a federation is the Constitution itself.
States in a federal system are subsidiary sovereign bodies. The
essence of a unitary state is that the sovereignty is undivided. A
unitary state implies (1) the supremacy of the central parliament; and
(2) the absence of subsidiary sovereign bodies. A unitary state is one
in which we find "the habitual exercise of supreme legislative authority
by one central power", while a federal state is "a political contrivance
intended to reconcile national unity and power with the maintenance of
state rights.
Constitutions of West Germany, Soviet Union, United States,
Australia, Switzerland*, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela
are of the federal type. The governments of the United Kingdom,
France, Norway, Sweden, Japan and most of the Latin American states
fall in the unitary category.
It is an interesting fact that the Swiss constitution speaks of the 'Nation', a word
unknown to the United States Constitution.
Our Constitution 159
In Canada, defined and specific powers are given to the
provinces and the residue of the powers are left with the federal
government. In the case of Australia, residuary powers vest in the
states. The Commonwealth has only enumerated powers. In the case of
Australia, the governors of states are appointed by the Crown without
any reference to the federal government, and the latter has no power
to interfere with the laws passed by the state legislatures. In Canada,
the constitutions of the provinces are laid down in the Constitution
Act 1981 and Constitution Acts 1867 to 1981 and any change therein
requires amendment of the Constitution. In the case of Australia, every
state has its own constitution and can amend the same. Still, there is a
growing tendency for federal powers to increase at the expense of the
states, particularly after the second world war. Ross Anderson
observes in his Essays:
"The history of the fifty years of Australian Federation has been
a history of the gradual growth of the power of the
Commonwealth relative to the power of the states, until the giant
of today is scarcely recognisable asjhe child of 1901."
Regarding the Australian federal constitution of 1900, one view
was that Australia was ruled not by a majority of electors but by a
majority of judges in the High Court,
"invalidating legislation not on its merits but on the ground that
it was 'ultra vires' the written constitution. Every national
emergency found Australia's hands tied by constitutional manacles
resulting in inaction and serious delay and bringing into ridicule
the parliamentary system. No sovereign unity could be procured
with 7 sovereign parliaments, each of practically equal status,
embracing 13 Houses, with more than 600 members and 70
ministers, with separate overseas representatives and separate
services."
A clear contrast between the constitutions of Canada and
Australia, as furnished by C. F. Strong in his Modern Political
Constitutions, is instructive.
(1) The Australian Constitution defines the powers of the federal
authority and leaves the reserve of powers to the states, while the
Canadian Constitution states the powers of the provinces and leaves
the rest to the federal authority; (2) Australia leaves the state
governors to be appointed without federal interference, whereas
Canada leaves the appointment of Lieutenant-Governors of the
provinces to the government of the Dominion; (3) in Australia the
Commonwealth government has no right to interfere with state
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legislation, while in Canada the dominion government has a veto on
provincial statutes; (4) Australia has a supreme court to interpret the
constitution, whereas the supreme court in Canada enjoys such
power to a much lesser degree; (5) the Australian senate is elected
in equal numbers from the state, while members of the Canadian
senate are nominated for life by the Dominion Government. In
general, then, the Commonwealth of Australia is far more federal than
the Dominion of Canada. Canada approaches much nearer to the
type of state called unitary than does Australia. The federation of
Australia resembles that of the United States, far more closely, than
does that of Canada.
South Africa is a unitary state, having in some respects the
appearance of a federal form of political organisation. In practice the
federal features are only a semblance.
France is a textbook example of a Unitary constitution.
The Constitution of the United States is regarded as a touchstone
of federal constitution in the world. It clearly demonstrates the three
essential characteristics of federalism, i.e., the supremacy of the
constitution, the distribution of powers, and the authority of the
federal judiciary. A convention at Philadelphia in 1787 drew up the
present constitution, which became effective (in 13 states) in 1789. The
constitution makes a double division: First, it separates the three
organs of government, i.e., legislature, executive and judiciary, and
makes them independent of each other. Secondly, it divides the powers
between the federal and the state authorities in such a manner as to
secure to the federating units all the powers not absolutely necessary
to the federal authority for the common advantage.
Lincoln fought for the vindication of the principle of union. In
recent times, there is a progressive strengthening of the federal
power.
The United Kingdom gives a role to its Constitution which has no
parallel elsewhere. Constitutions have a lesser place in Canada,
Norway and Sweden, but here, too, they stand to the fore. In France
and Germany constitutions are not without their importance, but they
have never achieved the place which they hold in such countries as
the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Scandinavian
countries. In Germany, relative lack of experience in democratic form
of government may be a reason. In France, there is something in the
national character which limits the role of a constitution. Japan's
national character limits the influence of the constitution below that
found in the United Kingdom and the United States. In Latin American
countries, the constitutions are less binding as fundamental law; there
has never been an adequate understanding of the basic character and
purpose of a constitution, though Uruguay has progressed better
towards constitutionalism.
It is not uncommon for textbooks in comparative governments to
omit any consideration of the twenty Latin American governments. No
one government in this group seems to be typical of the whole group.
All are considered as Latin American in character, though the Latin
strain seems more noticeable in those countries fronting on the
Atlantic, with Brazil basing its language on Portuguese and the other
countries deriving their non-Indian languages from Spanish.
It is fair to conclude that constitutions in most, if not all, of the
Latin American states occupy a place quite different from that noted in
the case of the United Kingdom. To an Englishman, the constitution is
the very foundation of government as it serves as the fundamental
law of the country. In the United States also the constitution is higher
law. In the Latin countries of Europe, constitutions may play a
significant role, but they cannot restrain the government to the same
degree. In many of the Latin American countries they command much
less respect. In the more backward Latin American countries, where
there is little by way of public opinion, a constitution has been an
artificial sort of thing which has been imposed from above as a gesture
and has little meaning to the people. It is not uncommon in Latin
American countries for a strong leader to brush aside the constitution
at critical moments.
The law of the constitution in Great Britain contains four
principal factors. First, there are certain historic documents,
sometimes referred to as landmarks. Some of these are, - the Magna
Carta, the Petition of Rights and the Bill of Rights. Second, there are
parliamentary statutes extending or restricting powers of the Crown,
guaranteeing civil rights, regulating suffrage, creating local
governments, providing for setting up courts, and administrative
machinery. Examples of these are the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679,
the Act of Settlement of 1701 (modified by the Abdication Act of
1936), the Reform Acts of 1832, 1867, and 1884, the Municipal
Corporation Act of 1835, the Judicature Acts of 1873-76, the
11
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Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, the Statute of Westminster of
1931, the Ministers of the Crown Act of 1937. Third, there are
judicial decisions fixing the meaning and limits of statutes and
charters. Fourth, there are numerous principles and rules of common
law. These principles and rules grew up on the basis of usage
(sometimes backed by judicial decisions) and have never been
enacted by Parliament. They include some of the most fundamental
features of the governmetnal and legal system and are fully accepted
and endorsed as law. The prerogative of the Crown, for example,
rests entirely on common law. The first three are to be found in
written form. The rules of the common law, public as well as private,
however, have never been systematically reduced to writing, but they
are to a large extent to be found in reports, legal opinions, and
judicial decisions. Those portions of the constitution which are
termed as ’conventions' are not law in the strict sense and are not
enforceable by the courts. They consist of traditions, customs and
practices which regulate a large proportion of the actual day-to-day
activities of even the most important of the public authorities. But
they do not appear in statute books or in any statement of the law,
written or unwritten, because, though elements of the constitution,
they are not law.
According to some pundits, even the supreme authority of the
electorate is merely a convention, for the courts recognise only the
sovereignty of parliament. Though the people are the political
sovereign, parliament is the legal sovereign. United Kingdom is the
classic land of conventions. No one can understand the country's
government without paying as much attention to customs and usage
as to positive rules of law.
Among important modern states, there are only two in which no
special procedure for constitutional amendment is known. These
states are Great Britain and New Zealand. Their constitutions are
flexible in the real sense.
Of the white self-governing Dominions under the British Crown,
New Zealand alone has a flexible constitution, though the 1956
Electoral Act provides that certain sections of the constitution may
not be repealed except by a 75 per cent majority of the House of
Representatives or following a referendum.
The Mauritanian Government has adopted a new law authorising
political pluralism after twenty years of single-party rule and
incorporating a provision to hold a referendum on the drafting of a
new constitution. The law, however, forbids political parties to have
relations with foreign countries and to obtain foreign aid. It also
bans formation of Islamic parties.
To bridge the gulf between direct democracy and representative
government, a number of devices, e.g., Referendum, Plebiscite,
Initiative and Recall are introduced. (Recently, there is a tendency to
replace plebiscite by referendum.) Referendum is used in connection
with Constitution Amendment in Australia, Denmark, Ireland, France,
Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand, and in some of the states of the
United States.
Initiative sometimes accompanies Referendum. In Switzerland,
we find both Referendum and Initiative. In the United States,
Initiative is not as common as Referendum. Recall has recently been
incorporated in certain states of the United States. As in the case of
Referendum and Initiative, Recall is, generally speaking, confined to
western states of the U.S. It is not prevalent elsewhere, though the
Swiss arrangement is nearer to this device.
This comparative study helps us gather the stray details of some
of the provisions incorporated in our constitution from the specimens
of constitutions of other countries.
Following the example of Ireland and Spain, our Constitution
enumerated certain principles which are basic for the governance of
the country. They are called the Directive Principles of State Policy
and are included in Part IV. They are not enforceable by the courts.
Like the constitutions of the West German Federal Republic and
the Fourth Republic of France, the Indian Constitution sets down in
detail not only the political but the economic and social rights of the
people.
The constitution of Irish Republic has a chapter on Fundamental
Rights and another on Directive Principles of State Policy.
Of course, though a number of its provisions may be traced to
the constitutions of the U.S., France, Ireland, Italy, Germany and
Spain, the m ost im portant source of m aterial for the Indian
Constitution was the Government of India Act 1935, and our
Constitution relies heavily on the British system, as was made clear
earlier.
But as was also made clear earlier, our leadership failed to
assimilate the British spirit. And therefore, their efforts lacked the
vitality, vigour and the cautious dynamism of the British system,
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either in the making of the constitution or in its actual
implementation.
Many a time the intellectuals and the elite in our country naively
pose a question - Why has Westminster model failed in our country?
They do not take into account the difference between the historical
backgrounds of these two countries.
The term 'Parliament' itself was coined in the 13th century, but as
an institution, it had its beginning in the King's council formed by
Henry I in the 11th century. It comprised then the representatives of
the dominant baron class and church dignitaries.
In 1215, King John signed the Magna Carta and some more
elements were added to the King's council.
Generally, it can be said that as new socio-economic classes
emerged in the process of evolution, they could demand and secure
representation in the King's council.
Having secured a place in the King's council thus, the struggling
classes became self-com placent and the struggle for further
democracy was slackened, if not given up. Almost for four centuries
this continued. Parliament was not supreme. The monarch was
supreme and superior to the Parliament, which had only an advisory
capacity.
The supremacy of the Parliament over the monarch was firmly
and finally established only after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
It is claimed that from the point of view of democracy, England
took a long leap with the passage of 1832 Act, which extended the
sphere of Adult Franchise. Under the above Act, all those who
owned or rented the house above a particular value were granted the
right to vote. But it is remarkable to note that even after this long
leap, the percentage of those with the right to franchise was only 10
per cent of the total population.
Subsequently, various Acts were passed giving representation to
periodically newly arising dominant classes. Thus, there were Acts of
1867, 1888, 1918, and 1928-29.
It was finally after the Act of 1928-29, that the right to vote was
granted to all citizens.
In the 1928 Act the traditional property basis for franchise was
rejected and the principle of Adult Franchise was accepted. Thus it
can be gathered that because of various Reform Acts from 1832 to
1928-29, the Parliamentary System of Great Britain has evolved to the
present form.
Women got the right to vote in municipal elections by
amendment to the Municipal Corporation Act of 1869. The 1918 Act
conferred the right to vote in parliamentary elections to a female
British subject attaining 30 years of age with certain qualifications.
The 1928 Act repealed all provisions of law of 1918 that made
women less than equal to men. (As in Britain, female suffrage was
granted in 1920 in the United States after a long agitation on the
part of women.)
Thus, the journey of democracy started in England in 1215 and
full Adult Franchise, including the right to franchise of women,
materialised only in 1929. This was the achievement of the long-
drawn struggle of various sections of people for seven centuries. The
struggle naturally moulded their minds in a particular manner suited
to the present Parliamentary Democratic System. It was a practical,
political education.
In India, the beginning of the journey of British type of
parliamentary system was in 1920, consequent to the Montagu-
Chelmsford reforms. Under the new system, two-tier democracy was
established. At the time, the total population of the country was 24
crores. Under the two-tier system, those who obtained the right to
vote for Council of States numbered about 17,000 and the number of
those who secured the right to vote for the National Assembly was
about 9,90,000 which included the previous figure of 17,000. This
was the state of affairs in 1920.
After the introduction of the Constitution, Adult Franchise was
introduced and all citizens numbering millions were granted the right
to vote. Under the scheme all women were granted the right to vote
right from the beginning of the implementation of the Constitution.
From the above background of two different courses of
development of democratic system, one may be able to realise and
appreciate the success of the system in England and the failure of
the same in our country.
In England, democracy gradually developed through centuries,
moulding the democratic ethos of the society by political education
through political struggle; whereas in India, it was transplanted
without the necessary corresponding democratic environment. And
there lies the difference between success and failure of the system.
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The foregoing details also make it clear that for a country with
pluralistic society and a very high percentage of illiteracy and
poverty the Westminster model cannot be suitable as our course of
historical development has been entirely different from that of Great
Britain.
Ironically, in one respect, we can claim to be nearer to the
British system. That is regarding the equipment of the ministers.
Low says in Government o f England:
"A youth must pass an examination in arithmetic before he can
hold a second-class clerkship in the Treasury, but a Chancellor
of the Exchequer may be a middle-aged man of the world, who
has forgotten what little he ever learnt about figures at Eton or
Oxford, and is innocently anxious to know the meaning of 'those
little dots' when first confronted with Treasury accounts worked out
in decimals. A young officer will be refused his promotion to
captain's rank if he cannot show some acquaintance with tactics
and military history; but the Minister for War may be a man of
peace ... who regards all soldiering with dislike, and sedulously
abstains from getting to know anything about it."
There is a general impression in our country that in advanced
western countries there was clean administration right from the
inception of the democratic system. It has not been so in many
important cases. In the United States, there prevailed the 'spoils
system'. When a new party came in office, it removed all the
employees that were employed by its predecessor including even the
ministerial staff, and filled their vacancies by those who helped the
new party to come to power. The United States, as a matter of fact,
had no permanent administration worth mentioning for a number of
years. Subsequently, they themselves realised that this was not
helpful to democracy. They abolished the 'spoils system'. In England,
in order that administration should remain pure, impartial, away from
the hubbub of politics, they have made a distinction between what
is called 'political offices' and 'civil offices'. The Civil Service is
permanent. It serves all the parties duly elected to power from time
to time, and carries out the administration without interference from
the minister.
It is generally presumed that in the affluent western countries
secularism is a dominating principle. But this assumption is not
supported by facts. In the fifth chapter of his book 'Freedom o f
Conscience in the U.S.S.R.', the learned author A. Barminkov says:
"Bourgeois have declared the principles of freedom of soul, the
separation of the Church from the State, and the Church from
education; but this has not been put into practice. Having captured
power, they (Bourgeois) supported church in their fight against
atheism to save religion from atheism. Several capitalistic
countries, even today, separate church from state and use it as a
shield. As atheism grows and different religions grow more
intolerant, the church is being used to secure compromises
favourable to the exploiter class. In many capitalistic countries, the
church is a real and on occasions a legal organ of the state. The
states help the church financially and use the church in the interest
of the dominant classes. "
In most of the capitalistic countries, the constitution permits a
particular religion and forbids the others; this is done to favour the
chosen religion. As examples, consider the following: In Denmark,
Norway and Sweden, Evangelical Lutheran Church is the State
Religion, while in Greece, the State supports Eastern Orthodox
Church. In Britain, the Church of England is the official church. In
Spain, Roman Catholic Church is the established religion. Whenever
a particular religion is made the State Religion, other religions and
sects become secondary. With minor changes, this is what obtains
in the present world. In seventeen countries of Middle-East, South-
East Asia and Africa, Islam has been legally assigned a special
status. In fourteen countries of Europe and Latin America, there is
express provision to favour the Roman Catholic Church. In twenty-
two countries, only a member of a recognized church is eligible to
become head of state. In A rgentina, Liberia and Iran such
qualification is necessary for state service. Then what is the
significance of the 'freedom of the soul'? With political motivation
and support of the ruling class in Britain, Protestants attack Irish
Catholics. In the same way Protestants were tortured in Catholic
Spain. They could not get employment in any state department and
were not permitted to teach in schools. In state service, they were
not promoted to higher posts.
Even though in America there has been a formal declaration of the
freedom of the soul and of the separation of the church from the state,
functions in most state institutions are celebrated in accordance with
religious traditions. A session of American Congress opens with a
recitation of Christian prayer. Not only state officials but even the
President has to take a religious oath while taking up their
168 Third Way
official positions. In the constitutions of forty-two states there is a
prayer addressed to God. The Preamble of the constitution of Irish
Republic states:
"In the name of the Most Holy Trinity we the people of Ireland
humbly acknowledging....our obligations to our Lord Jesus Christ..."
In many countries, the courts do not admit evidence given by
atheists. They are not recruited to government services. According to
the constitution of Delaware State, it is compulsory for all citizens to
attend public prayers. In capitalistic countries, the freedom of the soul
is restricted to only the method of worship, but in many countries
even this freedom is not available.
The constitution of Norway makes it compulsory that all citizens
must educate their children according to the spirit of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church. In West Germany, the church runs several schools
and other educational institutions. According to Greek Law, the
education in primary and secondary schools must conform to Greek
nationalism and the ideals of the Greek-Christian culture. In Israel,
there is a state committee for religious education and Jehovaism has
been given the status of state religion.
Prof. B. R. Sharma, President of the Indian Political Association, in
1953, in his presidential address had said:
"India has chosen to be a camp-follower of the West and is taking
pride in its secularism and the paraphernalia of parliamentary
democracy. It is a matter of great sorrow that the new constitution
does not breathe the principles of truth....."*
Democracy
In his Hind Swaraj Gandhiji observed:
"If the money and the time wasted by parliament were entrusted
to a few good men, the English nation would be occupying today a
much higher platform. Parliament is simply a costly toy of the
nation.
"The condition of England at present is pitiable. I pray to God that
India may never be in that plight. That which you consider to
be the Mother of Parliaments is like a sterile woman and a
prostitute. Both these are harsh terms, but exactly fit in this
* Quoted in W. H. Morris-Jones's P a r lia m e n t in I n d ia '

case... Without outside pressure, it can do nothing. It is like a
prostitute because it is under the control of ministers who change
from time to time."
Democracy has been defined by different thinkers in different
terms, though Lincoln's definition has become the most popular
(government of the people, for the people, by the people).
Democracy is a way of life. It involves rational empiricism,
emphasis on the individual, the instrumental nature of the state,
voluntarism, the Law behind the law, nobility of means, discussion and
consent, absence of perpetual rule, and basic equality in all
human relations.
Dr. Babasaheb Am bedkar had taken great pains to study
democracy. He was an authority on Constitutional Law. But he was not
a blind follower of the West. The trend of his mind can be judged
from his assertion that he had taken the principles of Liberty, Equality
and Fraternity, not from the French Revolution, but from his Guru,
Buddha.
He defined democracy as
"a form and a method of government whereby revolutionary
changes in the economic and social life of the people are brought
about without bloodshed."
According to him a democratic way of life could never be
conceived without an ideal society.
An ideal society should be mobile, should be full of channels for
conveying a change taking place in one part to other parts. In an
ideal society, there should be many interests consciously
communicated and shared. In other words, there must be social
endosmosis.
Political democracy rests on four premises:
(1) The individual is an end in himself; (2) the individual has
certain inalienable rights which must be guaranteed to him by the
constitution; (3) the individual shall not be required to relinquish any
of his constitutional rights as condition-precedent to the receipt of a
privilege; (4) the state shall not delegate powers to private persons to
govern others.
Democracy is not only a form of government, but is also a form of
social organisation. The formal framework of democracy is of little
value and would be a misfit if there is no social democracy.
170 Third Way
Social democracy involves two things: an attitude of mind, a
feeling of respect and equality towards fellow human beings, and a
social organisation free from rigid social barriers.
A democratic society must assure a life of leisure and culture to
each one of its citizens.
Law has not created man, but man has created law for his own
happiness. The law must be the same for all. Law should be enforced
not only by punishment but also by education - by appeal to the
mind of man and the spirit of society.
People are under an impression that the term 'democracy' has a
fixed, firm and definite connotation. It is not so. It undergoes changes
according to times and climes. In Europe, democracy appeared first in
the Greek City-States. The Athenian democracy consisted of people
half of whom were slaves. Only the remaining half were free. The slaves
had no place in the government at all.
In England, the democracy prevalent before the English Revolution
of 1688 was not the same as the British democracy which came after
the Revolution of 1688. British democracy as it existed between 1688
and 1832 when the First Reform Bill was passed, is not the same as the
democracy that developed after the passing of the Act of 1832.
Democracy keeps on changing its form as well as content.
The purpose of democracy also undergoes changes. What was
the purpose of the ancient English democracy? It was to curb the
King, to prevent him from exercising his "prerogative rights" - a
reaction to Tudor despots. Today the purpose of democracy is not so
much to put a curb on an autocratic king as to bring about the welfare
of the people.
Thus we can see that there is no universally accepted definition of
the term 'democracy'. Democracy has been defined by various people,
writers of political science, philosophers, sociologists, etc., in various
ways.
There are no dogmas laid down by any of the authors who have
written about the subject of democracy which can give us any idea in
concrete form, as to what are the conditions-precedent according to
their judgement to make democracy a success. One has to go deep
into history to find out how democracy has waxed and waned in the
different parts of the world where democratic governments functioned.
Representative Government
It is doubtful whether direct democracy is possible in a vast
country like India. Direct democracy could function only in city-states
such as Sparta and Athens in ancient Greece and Lichchhawi
Janapada in India. Direct democracy demands direct participation of
every individual citizen in the decision-making process of the state. In
Greece all the citizens would gather at the market-place, discuss the
problem of the state and vote by show of hands, deciding the
question. This is not feasible in any country which cannot be
contained in a market-place. Therefore, we are having the next best
alternative, namely the representative form of government.
Under the representative form of government, people have a
feeling that they are governing themselves. It is true only to a limited
extent, because though they are governed by representatives elected
by them, there is no guarantee that those elected representatives will
invariably follow the directives or the wishes of their constituents or
majority of constituents on every occasion. During elections certain
issues are raised, but these are not the only issues that come up for
discussion or decision before Parliament or an Assembly during the
next five years. Various other issues crop up later on for which they
have no mandate from the electorate.
For making the participation of individual citizens in decision
m aking practicable, it would be necessary for the elected
representatives to approach their constituents on every occasion,
whenever there is a new bill or resolution, on which vote is to be cast,
assess the m ajority view and vote in Parliament or Assembly
accordingly.
But that never happens. On the contrary, after being elected they
are to act on the directives of their respective political parties and there
is no guarantee that the directives will reflect the wishes of the
majority of the people in their respective constituencies. Very often
the directive is even contrary to the wishes of the majority, as was
evidenced by the failure of the 'Gohatya Nirodh' campaign to get the
slaughter of the bovine species banned. Thus there is often a
divergence between the wishes of the majority of the people in any
given constituency and the directive of the high command of the
party.
There is a qualitative difference between direct democracy and
representative form of government. This had been realised by
172 Third Way
western democracies and certain devices are used to narrow down the
gulf between direct democracy and representative form of government.
Devices such as right to initiate, right to recall, plebiscite, referendum,
and the like are mooted. Some others also can be thought of.
But nevertheless, this gap cannot be eliminated. Therefore, some
great thinkers have said that under the representative form of
government the main obstacle in the way of direct participation of
individual citizens in decision-making process is the institution of
political party. The political party acts as a barrier between the people
and their elected representatives. The political party whose directives
do not contain what the people desire is an obstacle to direct
democracy. While elected representatives do not necessarily represent
the wishes of the majority of the constituency, they are capable of
great mischief if the general electorate is less educated and not so
aware of its responsibilities. The strength of a democracy lies primarily
not in the democratic institutions but in the democratic consciousness
of the people. If public consciousness is lacking, votes can be
manipulated by clever politicians. Having come to power, the parties
can further manoeuvre for expansion of their base and perpetuation of
their own power. An illiterate and passive electorate unwittingly helps
the parties in their filthy game.
It is significant to note that Robespierre who was the first leader of
France after the Revolution said a few days before the French
Revolution that under the representative form of government if all the
elected representatives so choose, they can come together and
conspire against the people who elected them.
This is exactly what happened in India, during Emergency. The
other example is that of Hitler who also came to power through the
ballot box.
CHAPTER 13
Old Wine in New Bottle*

Looking at the Constitution and the legal set-up, including the
Parliament and the bureaucracy, we find very little Indian in it. It all
looks like a copy of the Westminster model with embellishments from
other countries. In this paper an attempt is made to gauge the thought-
process of those responsible for building the system after
Independence.
Lt.-General Sir Francis Tuker, the G.O.C., Eastern Command in India
at the time of transfer of power, recorded in his book Memory Serves:
"Ultimately, we found that this garrison commitment was more
than the industrial needs of our impoverished country could stand.
That was another strong reason for our leaving India and leaving it
quickly."
Sir Stafford Cripps, Secretary of State for India, told the British
Parliament that to hold India,
"An expanded personnel in the Secretary of State's Services and a
reinforcement of British troops would have been required."
Gunnar Myrdal says in his famous book Asian Drama:
"The British have good reason to be grateful for Gandhi's policy
of non-violence... After independence the close relations with the
former....countries were preserved and in some respects intensified....
It should be remembered that economic and social conditions of
South Asian countries today are not very different from those
existing before disintegration of the colonial power system."
A Naxalite scholar Nagi Reddi remarked:
"Whatever the outward changes in political control, nothing
essential has changed either in our social set-up or in our
economic organisation."
In the Summer of 1945, an official Industrial Mission, headed by
the captains of Indian Industry, G. D. Birla and J.R.D. Tata, visited the
United Kingdom and the United States of America to probe the
atmosphere for co-operation. The Industrial Mission -
* This paper formed the basis for discussion in a select group of thinkers in late 1992.
174 Third Way
"opened a new chapter of Indo-British cooperation, for the
Mission found a definite change in the attitude of British industries
towards Indian industrial development and large British industrialists
had not merely reconciled themselves to the inevitability of
industrialisation of India, but in many cases seemed to be in
accord with India's political aspiration."
(Eastern Economist,
2 9 June 1945)
Lord Mountbatten was the first Governor-General of Free India

and Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime M inister under the
Government of India Act 1935.
The Indian Army continued to be under the Supreme Command
of the British Commander-in-Chief, General Boucher for two years
after 15 August 1947. Our Defence Services Education continued to
be in their hands.
The first Government of Free India retained the previous
administrative system, along with its salary differentials between the
higher and the lower levels. Even the administrative habits and
procedure - from parliamentary procedures to that of the secret files
on the lower staff, introduced and evolved by the colonial
administration to preserve law and order, continue to rule even today.
Though Jawaharlal Nehru had once said,
"Of one thing I am quite sure, that no new order can be built in
India so long as the spirit of the I.C.S. pervades our
administration and our public services. Therefore, it seems to me
quite essential that the I.C.S. and similar Services must disappear
completely before we can start real work on a new order. It is
inconceivable that they will get the absurdly high salaries and
allowances that are paid to them today."
(Autobiography)
Nothing was basically altered; all the props of the old
government, old socio-economic order, administrative machinery,
bureaucratic system, police, judiciary, army and education continued
as before.
Declaring his reluctance to introduce any fundamental change,
the same Jawaharlal Nehru told the Constituent Assembly in April
1948:
"One has to be careful of the steps one takes so as not to injure
the existing structure too much... I am not brave and gallant
enough to go about destroying any more."
Old Wine in New Bottle 175
It was decided to remain within the British Commonwealth. On 17
February 1948 Nehru declared,
"There will not be any sudden change in the economic structure.
As far as possible, there will be no nationalisation of the existing
industries."
The Government's Resolution on Economic Policy, published on
6 April 1948, said that, except for munitions, railways, electricity, and
atomic energy,
"The rest of the field will normally be open to private enterprise."
The Explanatory M emorandum published along with the
Resolution on Economic Policy stated,
"The Resolution contemplates full freedom for foreign capital and
enterprise in Indian industry while at the same time assuring that
it should be regulated in the national interest."
It is worth remembering that in 1933 Nehru had said that -
"If any indigenous Government took the place of the foreign
Government and kept all the vested interests intact, this would not
even be the shadow of freedom."
Alladi Krishnaswami Aiyar said,
"We are not starting a Constitution anew after a revolution. The
existing administrative structure which has been worked so long
cannot be altogether ignored in the new framework."
H. Venkatasubbaiah has expressed the view that certain Directive
Principles of State Policy were added to the Constitution,
"on the plea that they give expression to the leftist conviction of the
people and because it was thought to be desirable to add these
revolutionary desiderata to something which otherwise so much
resembled the instrument of the defunct British Raj."
In fact there was no desire on the part of leaders to make any
noteworthy departure from the then current system. The first
Government of Free India retained the previous administrative system,
the administrative habits and procedures.
It was but natural that leaders with such mentality could not put
forth any draft proposal in consonance with the aspirations of a free
people.
CHAPTER 14
The State As Instrument

The state has grown into a megalith demanding total obedience
from the people and attempting to control every aspect of the life of
the citizens. In this context it is instructive to have a look at the role
of the state as elaborated by two eminent thinkers.
Pitrim Sorokin observes:
"But even the good states of the past, and especially those of the
present, are among the most egoistic, cynical and Machiavellian of
all institutions. Being the power machine par excellence, the state is
designed first of all for defensive and offensive warfare with all the
groups whose interests conflict with its own. Being a sovereign
power machine, it cannot fail to experience the lust for power. For
the same reason its policies cannot avoid the naked power politics of
the raison d'etat, unrestrained by any of the ethical norms obligatory
for private conduct. As coercive apparatus (having at its disposal the
army and navy, the police force, gallows and firing squads, prisons
and concentration camps) in relation to all who violate its official
laws which are often unjust and ethically untenable (like the laws
establishing slavery and serfdom or decreeing mass extermination of
its opponents) the state inevitably becomes callous, cruel,
tyrannical, and cynical, and now and then corrupt. Ordering
thousands or even millions to kill or be killed, imprisoning or
executing all kinds of violators (including saintly martyrs and
altruistic opponents of its unjust laws), eulogized and perhaps
glorified in its sovereignty and power, the state has been the most
militant and power-drunk of all social institutions incessantly
generating internal and international conflicts in their bloodiest and
most inhuman forms. The sovereign states, especially the
big empires and their governments, have probably slain more
people, in their international and civil wars, than any other
social institution. As long as cynical, Machiavellian, power-drunk
sovereign states remain, even a single world state
of the same cynical type, no durable peace is possible. Hence
the institution of the state must be drastically remodelled. A
genuine ennoblement of the state will be possible only when the
citizens and the officials become wiser, more competent, more
altruistic. Only then will the state be the true servant of
humanity instead of its master. When this basic reform is
The State As Instrument 177
achieved all the other necessary improvements will be relatively
easy. Their cynical policy of the naked Machiavellian raison
d'etat must be terminated. The government of the states must
consist of a combination of the elected representatives of the
citizens of the electoral districts and of those of agriculture,
industrial management and labour, religion, science, the
fine arts and the professions. A sufficient proportion of
representatives of labour, management, agriculture, science,
religion, and the professions, elected by their respective groups
independently of the territorial district, would weaken the vested
interests of a given territorial district and immeasurably
heighten the competence, impartiality, morality, and prestige of
the government. It should not pass any important law or
measure without a preliminary determination of the opinion of
the citizens in the form of either the old-fashioned referendum or
adequately organised polls. The legislative body would not be
entitled to enact any legislation contrary to the majority vote of
the citizens, no matter how large may be the majority vote of
the legislature in favour of the measure. Thus direct democracy,
or the town-hall system of government, would be restored in lieu
of indirect representation, with its many shortcomings. As a
general principle the state government should discharge only
those functions which cannot be administered well by non-state
organisations (or are not so administered). In this sense its field
should be residual, taking care of the needs not satisfied by any
other agencies or satisfied by them more poorly than they could be
fulfilled by the state."
Shri Aurobindo has said in The Inadequacy o f the State
Idea:
"What, after all, is this state idea, this idea of the organised
community to which the individual has to be immolated?
Theoretically, it is the subordination of the individual to the
good of all that is demanded; practically, it is his subordination
to a collective egoism, political, military, economic, which seeks to
satisfy certain collective aims and ambitions shaped and
imposed on the great mass of the individuals by a smaller or
larger number of ruling persons who are supposed in some way
to represent the community.
"In either case there is no guarantee that this ruling class or

ruling body represents the best mind of the nation or its noblest
aims or its highest instincts.
12
178 Third Way
"Nothing of the kind can be asserted of the modern politician in
any part of the world; he does not represent the soul of a people
or its aspirations. What he does usually represent is above all
the average pettiness, selfishness, egoism, self-deception that is
about him and these he represents well enough as well as with a
great deal of mental incompetence and moral conventionality,
timidity, and pretence. Great issues often come to him for decision,
but he does not deal with them greatly.
"Yet it is by such minds that the good of all has to be decided, to
such hands that it has to be entrusted, to such an agency calling
itself the state that the individual is being more and more called
upon to give up governance of his activities. As a matter of fact, it
is in no way the largest good of all that is thus secured, but a
great deal of organised blundering and evil with a certain
amount of good which makes for real progress, because nature
moves forward always in the midst of all stumblings and secures
her aims in the end more often in spite of man's imperfect
mentality than by its means.
"The organised state is neither the best mind of the nation nor is
it even the sum of the communal energies. It leaves out of its
organised action and suppresses or unduly depresses the
working force and thinking mind of important minorities, often of
those which represent that which is best in the present and which
is developing for the future. It is a collective egoism much inferior
to the best of which the community is capable.
"But the state is an entity, which with the greatest amount of
power, is the least hampered by internal scruples or external
checks. It has no soul or only a rudimentary one. It is a military,
political and economic force; but it is only in slight and
undeveloped degree, if at all, an intellectual and ethical being. And
unfortunately the chief use it makes of its undeveloped intellect is
to blunt by fictions, catchwords and recently by state philosophies,
its ill-developed ethical conscience.
"The second claim of the state idea that this supremacy and
universal activity of the organised state machine is the best means
of human progress, is also an exaggeration and a fiction.
Man lives by the community; he needs it to develop himself
individually as well as collectively. But is it true that a state-
governed action is the most capable of developing the individual
perfectly as well as of serving the common ends of the
community? It is not true. What is true is that it is capable of
providing the co-operative action of the. individuals in the
community with all necessary conveniences and of removing
The State As Instrument 179
from it disabilities and obstacles which would otherwise
interfere with its working. Here the real utility of the state
ceases. The non-recognition of the possibilities of human
co-operation was the weakness of English individualism; the
turning of a utility for co-operative action into an excuse for
rigid control by the state is the weakness of the Teutonic idea of
collectivism.
"For the state is not an organism; it is a machinery, and it works

like a machine, without tact, taste, delicacy or intuition. It tries
to manufacture, but what humanity is here to do is to grow and
create.
"The state tends always to uniformity, because uniformity is easy

to it and natural variation is impossible to its essentially
mechanical nature; but uniformity is death not life."
CHAPTER 15
Parties Based on Economic Ideologies

In Great Britain, parties are ideological. If we go deep into the
matter, we will find that by 'ideological', they mean economic
ideological parties. The same thing can be said about other West
European countries like Germany, France and Italy. In those
countries, the societies are not pluralistc. The main differences lie in
the economic field. And therefore the terminology of right, left and
centrist has come into vogue. In other spheres there may be
differences among the people. But they are not so basic and sharp.
Those differences can be resolved outside the jurisdiction of the
political party and political power. There are other institutions or
arrangements for the resolution of such differences.
Pluralism
But ours is a pluralistic society. U.S.A. is pluralistic; and we find
that in U.S.A. the main parties are not economic ideological parties.
They cannot be categorised as left, right or centrist. They are just
election machineries. And on the eve of an election they just give
out their proposed programmes for the next tenure on the basis of
which people are called upon to vote.
Now, it is true that as a nation U.S.A. is only a child considering
its age in years. We are an ancient nation. Being a new nation,
U.S.A. has no historical past and no inherent unity as is the case
with our country. In our country, there is a string of unity in the
midst of diversity. In U.S.A. there is diversity without any string of
unity. Because of that diversity, various differences arise in different
fields of life. And they do not expect their political parties to resolve
all those differences for which different institutional arrangements are
made.
And in the case of West European countries where societies are
not pluralistic, there are no expectations from a political party to
resolve problems outside the economic sphere. Consequently, the
Westminster model of the political party can fulfil the requirements of
their nations.
But in our country the differences are sharp and basic. Hence,
Parties Based on Economic Ideologies 181
the Westminster model cannot effectively deal with the problems that
arise and that are expected to be resolved by a political party. So our
expectations are much higher than the sphere of usual activity of a
political party as understood in Great Britain from where we
borrowed the institution.
Earlier our leaders felt shy in overtly recognising and tackling
problems arising out of pluralism. But circumstances in course of
time have forced them to face them.
For example, there can be a debate on the quantum of expansion
of the public sector. There may be a group of hundred persons who
think that public sector should be expanded. But it is not necessary
that these hundred persons will be of the same view when it comes
to the question of Belgaum being transferred to Maharashtra. Again
there is no guarantee that the group will have identical views on
Ram Janmabhoomi. So, on different problems there are different
groupings.
Some years ago, Om Prakash Tyagi had introduced a bill to
prevent conversions by force or fraud. Just the reverse type of bill
was introduced after the formation of BJP by Ram Jethmalani. Some
people might not have approved of one, or the other. And naturally
at that time discussion had also arisen whether the bills introduced
should not be withdrawn, or should not Mr. Tyagi or Mr. Jethmalani
be forced to withdraw the bills if they are not in keeping with the
policy of the party. Now, the discipline of the party is a must, and
the policies of the party must be followed. But, at the same time, if
Mr. Jethmalani has a particular view on conversion, should he not
have the right to hold that view? Under democracy should he not
be allowed the freedom to express it? He is a political leader, a
member of a political party. Where is the forum for him in the
present arrangement to express his views on that matter effectively,
apart from the political party to which he belongs? And if that party
is of a different view, should he be silenced on a matter regarding
which he has very strong views?
Needed : Different Forums
So different forums are required for different matters. Our society
is pluralistic. Hence, a different institutional framework is required to
fulfil the aspirations of the people to voice various opinions. All
those things cannot be done under the umbrella of the political
party. And for that purpose, it is necessary that in keeping with
182 Third Way
the spirit of our traditions, we should evolve a different type of
institutional framework. What should be the guiding principles in
evolving it?
Thana Speeches
To my knowledge, fortunately, that requirement has already been
fulfilled by Shri Guruji in his speeches at Thana. His Thana speeches
are a perennial source of light. In course of those speeches, he
has expounded the guiding principles of socio-economic, politico-
religious and other reconstructions based on the spirit and basic
principles of Hindutva. Frankly, when we were listening to him in
Thana, I was a bit nervous. We had full faith in his leadership, his
guidance, in the soundness of his views. There was no question
about it. But at the same time, personally I was a bit nervous
whether all his ideas, his interpretation of Hindu socio-economic and
other structures can be practicable in the post-second-industrial-
revolution era.
Yugoslav Experiment
I am very happy to say that five years after those speeches were
delivered, when I visited Yugoslavia, I was pleasantly surprised. The
constitution they had adopted, the system they had evolved, is
nearer to the concept given by Shri Guruji at Thana. I do not say
they are identical, but they have resemblance. When I studied the
Yugoslav pattern I could regain confidence that the ideology, the
system of the arrangements, suggested by him, can be practicable
even in this modern world. So, without losing contact with the past
we can be modern, without following the western pattern.
It is possible that the Yugoslav experiment may succeed or fail,
because the success or failure of such experiment depends on a
number of factors. But that they could venture on such an
experiment is itself something commendable. And its nearness to the
concept given by Shri Guruji should encourage our people to
conduct further research on this aspect of national reconstruction.
It may be noted that in 1977, the disintegration of Yugoslavia
was already on the cards. The Yugoslavs jocularly remarked, "In our
country Marshal Tito is the only Yugoslav national", and that once
this paperweight is removed, different papers will fly in different
directions. But this is an extraneous factor, not relevant for the
evaluation of the experiment.
Parties Based on Economic Ideologies 183
Unanimous Elections
Shri Guruji was firmly of the view that elections to the lowest
primary units must be unanimous; unless there is unanimity there
should be no elections. For us who are born and brought up in the
Westminster atmosphere this would appear to be fantastic. But it is
worth remembering that Muhammad, the Prophet, also recommended
this pattern of election on some occasions. Asked what should be
the qualification for such unanimous election, he said that such a
person should be elected as Amir as has no desire to become Amir.
CHAPTER 16
The Hindu Concept of World Order

The goal of life, according to our sages, has been human
happiness and world welfare based upon the elevation and
emancipation of individual souls: amrol firmr ^ i Hinduness
stands for development of human consciousness from individual to
Universal.
Bipin Chandra Pal, one of the exponents of Hindu Nationalism,
observed: ,
"The peculiar value and distinction of our concept of Swadhinata
(Self-dependence) and Swatantrya (Self-subjection) lies in the
grandeur of the connotation of the word 'swa' or 'Self. This swa
is both the individual self and the Universal Self; and the two are
really one. And man's range of real freedom or self-dependence as
we would call it expands in proportion as he is able to realise his
unity with Universal Self.
"The ideal end of civilisation is perfection of man, not merely in his
physical and material, but equally also, in his moral and spiritual
aspects. It is more, it is the perfection of a man as a social unit,
as a limb and organ of the social whole.
"The great mission of this ancient land and its composite people
among the modern nations of Europe, Asia and America, is to
replace existing international competition by international co
operation, to substitute the arbitrament of peaceful consultations
and reasonable compromise through an impartial international
Supreme Court, for the arbitrament of murderous arms, in the
settlement of all international disputes and differences; and thus to
help forward the realisation of the poet's dream of the millennium
when the nations of the world shall be as One People, living at
peace with one another, working together for the furtherance of the
common good and the revelation of God in man. The Indian
nation-builder must constantly keep this before him."
Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya, who could conceive of the Central
State authority without Statism, envisaged the evolution of the
World State enriched by the growth and contribution of different
The Hindu Concept of World Order 185
national cultures as well as flowering of the Manava Dharma
enriched by the perfection of all the religions including 'materialism'.
Revered Shri Guruji believed that the world unity and human
welfare can be made real only to the extent mankind realises the
absolute Vedantic Truth that "All is One". What he implied was not
elimination of all distinctive features of nations and rolling them all
into one uniform pattern. He visualised various groups of people
coming together in a spirit of familism realising the innate oneness of
mankind while preserving their individual nationalities. The different
human groups are marching forward, all towards the same goal, each
in its own way and in keeping with its own characteristic genius.
The destruction of the special characteristics, whether of an
individual or of a group, will not only destroy the natural beauty of
harmony but its joy of self-expression. To seek harmony among the
various and diverse characteristics has been our special contribution
to the world thought. Shri Guruji said:
"The World State of our concept will evolve out of a federation
of autonomous and self-contained nations under a common
centre linking them all... it is the grand world-unifying thought
of Hindus alone that can supply the abiding basis for human
brotherhood, that knowledge of the Inner Spirit will charge the
human mind with the sublime urge to toil for the happiness of
mankind, while opening out full and free scope for every small
life-speciality on the face of the earth to grow to its full stature.
Verily this is the one real practical world-mission, if ever there
was one."
Our Vedic Rishis had made experiments of 13 different forms of
government. was deemed to be the best one out of
, WgKMIH, > fTONWWI,
and
There were various forms of government experimented in India in
ancient times. Regarding 'republican' form, Buddha said that so long
as the republican institutions were maintained in their purity and
vigour, a small state of this kind would remain invincible even by
the arms of the powerful and ambitious Magadh monarchy. Indian
monarchy prior to the Mohammedan invasion was not, in spite of a
certain sanctity and great authority conceded to the throne and the
personality of king as the divine power and the guardian of
Dharma, in any way a personal despotism or an absolute autocracy;
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it had no resemblance to the ancient Persian monarchy or the
monarchies of western and central Asia or the Roman imperial
government or later European autocracies; it was of an altogether
different type from the system of the Pathan or the Moghal
emperors. The monarch was in fact a limited or constitutional
monarch, although the machinery by which the constitution was
maintained and the limitation effected differed from the kind familiar
to European history; and even the continuance of his rule was far
more dependent than that of medieval European kings on the
continued will and assent of the people. A greater sovereign than a
king was Dharma - the religious, ethical, social, political, juridical,
and customary law organically governing the life of the people. No
secular authority had any right of autocratic interference with
Dharma. A king was only the guardian, executor and servant of the
Dharma, charged to see to its observance and to prevent offences,
serious irregularities and breaches. He himself was bound to obey it
and observe the rigorous rule it laid regarding his personal life and
action and on the province, power and duties of his regal authority
and office. This subjection of the sovereign power to the Dharma
was an actual practice, and not a mere academic theory. There could,
therefore, be ordinarily little or no room in the ancient Indian System
for autocratic freaks or monarchical violence and oppression, much
less for the savage cruelty and tyranny so common an occurrence in
the history of some other countries. It was laid down that obedience
to a king ceased to be binding if the king ceased to be a faithful
executor of the Dharma. Manu even lays it down that an unjust and
oppressive king should be killed by his own subjects like a mad
dog. Absolutism or the unconditional divine right of kings was no
part of the intention of the Indian political system.
And, again, let it be noted that the monarchical institution was
only one, but not an indispensable element of the Indian socio
political system. Even during the Vedic period, our ancestors believed
that there could be as many forms of government as could be
conceived by human genius in view of the changing circumstances
and that out of the thirteen forms tried during the Vedic times, under
which the state and the society rem ained co-term inous,
srgtmzr •wki-jUH was the best under normal conditions. The ancient polity
of India grew up as the spontaneous play of the powers and
principles of its life. All its growth, all its formations, customs,
institutions were then a natural organic development - the motive and
constructive power coming mostly from the sub-conscious principles
of the life within it - expressing, but without deliberate intention, the
collective psychology, temperament, vital and physical needs, and
persisting or altering partly under the pressure of an internal impulse,
partly under that of the environment acting on the community's mind
and temper. Even in the later age of growing social self-consciousness
these vital institutions or their first mental renderings were not rejected,
but only further shaped, developed, systematised so as to be always,
not a construction of politicians, legislators and social and political
thinkers, but a strongly stable vital order natural to the mind, instincts
and life intuitions of the Indian people.
Our ancestors did not feel the need of a rigid uniformity; the
common spirit and life impulse were enough to impose on this
plasticity a law of general oneness. And, even when there grew up
the great kingdoms and empires, still the characteristic institutions of
the smaller kingdoms, republics, peoples, were as much as possible
incorporated rather than destroyed or thrown aside in the new cast of
the socio-political structure. Whatever could not survive in the
natural evolution of the people or was no longer needed, fell away
by itse lf and passed into desuetude; whatever could last by
adapting to new circumstance and environment was allowed to
survive; whatever was in intimate consonance with the psychical and
the vital law of being and temperament of the Indian people became
universalised and took its place in the enduring figure of the society
and polity.
Nothing was imposed from above, everything was evolved
naturally from below. Consequently, we do not find in India the
element of intellectually idealistic political progress or revolutionary
experiment which has been so marked a feature of ancient and
modern Europe. Indian polity never arrived at that unwholesome
substitution of the mechanical for the natural order of life of the
people which has been the disease of European civilization now
culm inating in the m onstrous artificial organisation of the
bureaucratic and industrial state.
The right order of human life as of the universe was preserved
according to the ancient Indian idea by each individual-being
following faithfully his Swadharma, the true law and norm of his
nature and the nature of his kind and by the group-being, the organic
collective life, doing likewise. The family, clan, caste, class, social,
religious, industrial or other community, nation, people were
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all organic group-beings that evolved their own Dharma; and to
follow it was the condition of their preservation, healthy continuity,
and sound action. There was also the Dharma of the status and in
relationship with others, as there was too the Dharma imposed by
the place, environment, age, Yuga-Dharma, the universal religious or
ethical Dharma and all these acting on the natural Dharma; the
action according to the Swabhava creating the body of the Law.
The self-determining individual and self-determining community living
according to the right and free law of his and its being was the
ideal. It was not the business of the state authority to interfere with
or encroach upon the free functioning of the caste, religious
community, guild, village, township or the organic custom of the
region or province or to abrogate their rights, for these were inherent
because they were necessary to the sound exercise of the social
Dharma.
Thus in effect the Indian polity was the system of a complex of
community freedom and self-determination, each group unit of the
community having its own natural existence and administering its
own proper life and business, set off from the rest by a natural
demarcation of its field and limits, but connected with the whole by
well-understood relations, each a co-partner with the other in the
powers and duties of the communal existence, executing its own laws
and rules, administering within its own proper limits, joining with the
others in the discussion and the regulation of matters of a mutual or
common interest and represented in some way and to the degree of
its importance in the general assemblies of the kingdom or the
empire. The state, sovereign or supreme political authority was an
instrument of co-ordination and of a general control and efficiency
and exercised a supreme but not an absolute authority, for in all its
rights and powers it was limited by the law and by the will of the
people and in all its internal functions only a co-partner with the
other members of the socio-political body.
This was the theory and principle and the actual constitution of
the Indian polity, a complex of community freedom and self-
determination, with a supreme co-ordinating authority, a sovereign
person and body, armed with efficient powers, position and prestige,
but limited to its proper rights and functions, at once controlling and
controlled by the rest, admitting them as its active co-partners in all
branches, and all alike, the sovereign, the people and all the
constituent communities, bound to the maintenance and restrained by
the yoke of the Dharma.
When Shri Guruji and Pt. Deendayalji talked of the 'State without
statism', they had before them this traditional concept of an ideal
Hindu social order. It has been elucidated so aptly by Rishi
Aurobindo. Even well-meaning western scholars would take some
time to understand this - the historical course of their material,
mental, intellectual and spiritual development being entirely different.
The concept of 'State without statism' was to be extended to
international plane also. With this mental background, our Rishis
conceived of the 'One World State' u*isw4diai trgr m* (Aitareya
Brahmana 8/15) - from sea to sea over all the land one state.
This is the Hindu concept of world order, the cultural spirit of
Hinduness by all the peoples. In its absence, the world cannot go
beyond the experiments of the League of Nations or the U.N.
PART IV
SWADESHI
CHAPTER 17
Swadeshi:
The Practical Manifestation
of Patriotism
In 1993, 'Swadeshi' has become a queer term.
A common man on the street is fairly fam iliar with its
connotation.
But for uncommon men this is an unknown commodity. For
sophisticated, air-conditioned elite of the metropolitan cities the
concept is strange - an oddity in the midst of modernism.
For "kept" economists of the regime, this is a red rag.
And for the ruling politicians, a bull in their China shop.
So the abuses like 'obscurantism', 'anachronism', etc., are being
used to condemn the idea irreconcilable with the luxurious fashions.
What is most important is not the future of the country, but the
immediate comforts of the westernised urban elite.
These uncommon citizens are not in contact with the earth, they
are in their own ivory towers, cut off from the national realities and
alienated from their co-countrymen.
Fortunately, the number of such persons is extremely limited
- not even one per cent of the total population of this poor country.
It is wrong to presume that 'Swadeshi' concerns itself only with
the goods or services. That is more an incidental aspect. Essentially,
it concerns the spirit detemined to achieve national self-reliance,
preservation of national sovereignty and independence, and
international co-operation on equal footing. Swadeshi spirit inspired
the Britishers to restrain their Head of the State from purchasing a
luxurious German Mercedez Benz car, for her personal use. When
asked by an Indian correspondent as to why he was using a pant
torn (and stitched) because of the weak texture of the Vietnamese
cloth, Ho Chi-Minh smilingly replied, "My country can afford only
this much." When the U.S. forced Japan to give market access to its
Californian oranges, Japanese customers did not purchase a single
13
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Californian orange and thus rendered the American arm-twisting a
ridiculous affair.
When the Governments of China and Korea prevented the entry
of M ichael Jackson in their countries on the ground that his
performance amounted to 'cultural invasion', they only demonstrated
their Swadeshi spirit. Incidentally, this gesture also indicated that
'Swadeshi' was not merely an economic affair confined to material
goods but a broad-based ideology embracing all departments of
national life. Needless to multiply such incidents. The point is that
all these patriots from different countries drew their inspiration from
the 'Swadeshi' spirit.
'Swadeshi' is the outward, practical manifestation of patriotism.
Patriotism is not considered as isolationism - particularly in our
tradition which stands for integral humanism according to which, on
the level of human consciousness, internationalism is the further
flowering of the spirit of nationalism. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy
that presenting patriotism as isolationism is the usual prr :tice of
imperialist powers. For example, when after the end of the Second
World War it became obvious that under the pressure of the
international situation the imperialists would be forced to grant
independence to their colonies, they started 'operation salvage' to
preserve as much of their vested interests in the colonies as
possible, under the changed circum stances. In Bharat, some
Executive C ouncillors of the Viceroy became their tools.
M isrepresenting the move for full-fledged independence as
isolationism, Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar propagated that in the new
era of internationalism "our motto should be, not independence but
interdependence." Dr. Manmohan Singh's plea for liberalisation and
globalisation is the modem version of Ramaswami's 'interdependence'.
Patriots are not against internationalism. Their plea for national
self-reliance is not incompatible with international co-operation,
provided that the latter is on equal footing - with due regard to the
national self-respect of every country. Their difference of opinion
with the advocates of 'globalisation' is on a different and more basic
point.
Proponents of Swadeshi are not prepared to endorse the view
that the western paradigm is the universal model of progress and
development worthy of being followed by all the peoples of the
world. While they recognise the fact of cultural intercourse, they
Swadeshi: The Practical Manifestation of Patriotism 195
insist that every people have each their own distinct culture, and the
model of progress and development for each country should be
consistent with its own cultural ethos. W esternisation is not
modernisation. Modernisation should be in keeping with the spirit of
national culture. They oppose the move for steam-rolling all the
various cultures and national identities in the world in favour of the
West.
Introduction of modern technology and economic system is the
inauguration of an entirely new civilisation, inconsistent with the
nature of all non-western cultures. This is the basic point of
difference.
Nevertheless, Americanised Indians are condemning Swadeshi
Jagaran Manch on the plea that Swadeshi is the antithesis of the
'sacred' and universally-accepted principle of 'Free Trade' which is
being recognised and followed by all the countries.
It has become imperative, therefore, to examine thoroughly the
'Free Trade' principle, and its position in the field of the current
international trade.
Liberalisation - Free Trade?
Though preached earlier by Adam Smith himself, the principle
of Free Trade acquired unchallenged legitimacy after the publication
of Ricardo's Principles o f Political Economy in 1817.
The intellectual foundations of "Comparative Advantage Theory"
became unshakable. Essentially, the principle declared that
unhindered play of market forces was the best way of obtaining an
optimum trading pattern. Based on the Ricardian model of
comparative advantage and the Hecksher-Ohlin theorem, the theory
claimed that free trade enables each country to specialise in its
production and to make optimal use of its scarce resources. From the
early 19th century until the late 1970s, international trade theory was
dominated by the concept of "Comparative Advantage" which
implies that countries trade to take advantage of their differences.
Economies were assumed to be characterised by constant returns to
scale and perfect competition. Difference lay in tastes, technology
or factor-endowment. Within the framework of the theory, there
m ight have been differences in em phasis. For example, the
Ricardian model emphasises technological differences as the cause
of trade, while the Hecksher-Ohlin-Samuelson model emphasises
differences in factor-endowments. But still until 1970s the validity
of the "comparative advantage" theory was accepted. In countries
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like the US, the UK and the Netherlands, it was accepted as a doctrine
in forming State Trade Policies (though countries such as France, Italy
and the Federal Republic of Germany did not accept the free trade
theory as an official trade policy doctrine).
The GATT became the embodiment of the free trade theory. It has
been rightly said that GATT has, as its building-blocks, the philosophy
of free trade.
Nevertheless, since the late 1950s, doubts began to arise about
the full validity of the free trade theory. Can comparative advantage
theory explain fully the modern developments in the international
trade? Since 1970, the scepticism about the free trade theory has
progressively intensified.
The theory of com parative advantage was based upon the
assumption of perfectly competitive markets and constant returns. But,
as Krugman points out, it was, however, realised that international
markets are not perfectly competitive and that they are imperfectly
competitive. Increasing returns held the key to the operation of these
markets, the advantages of which can be appropriated only by the
dominant firms in the market. The advantages, once appropriated,
become the basis for further gains in the market.
Experts like Winfried Ruigrok felt that by free trade theory
international capital flows, such as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),
could not be accounted for. The production process as such was not
analysed at all. Technological development was assumed to be
transparent and available to all. Neither the economics of scale nor the
rapid increase of FDI could be explained by free trade theory. The
efficient allocation of scarce resources has never been the sole
consideration in this matter.
Ruigrok poses a question. Why do governments sometimes
choose not to comply with the free trade norms? The answer to this
question reveals, according to him, a fundamental flaw in the
postulates of the free trade doctrine. Contrary to its fundamental
premise, the efficient allocation of scarce resources has never been,
and will never be, the sole consideration in the choice of state policies.
State policies are based on a mixture of political, social, economic and
military considerations. National security and preservation of the
internal order have been, and will remain, more important concerns
than maximising efficiency.
Again, a case for strategic intervention to provide advantages for
the domestic firms by adopting policies that would discriminate against
the foreign firms, appeared to be gaining greater support. Brander
suggested subsidies to strengthen the position of a domestic firm
engaged in competition for the world market with a foreign rival.
Spencer also put forth a similar suggestion for subsidies. There was a
growing feeling that import restrictions and export subsidies may, in
certain circumstances, be in the national interest. The case of Japan
granting 700 per cent subsidy to its rice farmers and imposing 700 per
cent duty on import of foreign rice illustrates this point.
Sometimes governments act not necessarily in the national interest
but under the pressure of domestic pressure groups.
During the latter half of the 1980s, the adherents of free trade
acknowledged that their basic argument was challenged seriously.
Government intervention could lead to profit-shifting from one country
to another. Under such circumstances, countries following the
traditional rules of free trade would inevitably transfer wealth to their
trading partners. The term "Competitive Advantage" became
prefereable to "Comparative Advantage". In 1980s, Japan's successful
export drive to the EC and US has proved how "com petitive
advantage" could be created.
During the 1970s and 1980s experts increasingly believed free
trade model to be sacrosanct. But Paul Krugman says, "Free Trade is
an idea that has irretrievably lost its innocence." During this period
the traditional models of international trade have been supplemented
and sometimes even supplanted, by a new breed of models that
emphasises economies of scale, increasing returns and imperfect
competition. (The dynamic scale economies are associated with
investment knowledge and R & D).
Today, the general trend is to believe that comparative advantage
is an incomplete model of trade, and also to believe simultaneously
that free trade is nevertheless the right policy. Krugman informs us
that this is the position taken by most of the new trade theorists
themselves. So free trade is not 'passe' - but it is not what it once was.
The case for free trade is currently more in doubt than at any time
since the 1817 publication of Ricardo's Principles o f Political
Economy.
In the Uruguay Round of negotiations, unqualified support for
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the free trade framework has been espoused, and simultaneously,
increase in protectionism and threat of intervention in the markets of
partner countries to seek enlarged access to exports, have been
adopted by United States in formulating its trade strategy!
In spite of all the propaganda in favour of 'free trade' concept,
Ruigrok informs us that the pattern of global trade looks as follows:
- approximately 25% takes place inside global companies (intra
company trade),
- approximately 25% is bilateral trade (by preferential agreements),
- approximately 25% is barter trade,
- approximately 25% can be considered 'free trade' governed by
GATT rules.
The author has quoted this from FAST ('Forecasting and
Assessment in Science and Technology').
While advocating the principle of free trade, the US has been
following the policy of protectionism regarding textiles right from
1956 when the President was given the authority under the Agriculture
Act to negotiate agreements for limiting "imports into the United
States, of Textiles or Textile products". In the 1980s the US
administration employed non-tariff barriers to insulate the US
automobile industry from the competitive threat that, as in the case of
textile industry, was posed by Japanese imports. As James Dunn points
out, post-war international trade in automobiles has always been a
mixture of liberalising and protecting elements.
Japan is, in many cases, a one-way trader, not importing any of
the product categories it exploits. The same is the case with the
Japanese foreign investment imbalance. As on 31 March 1990,
Japanese direct investment abroad amounted to seventeen times the
value of FDI in Japan. Japanese competitiveness and huge trade and
investment imbalances have contributed, according to experts, to the
EC and US conflicts with Japan in industrial products. 'Toyotism' of
Japanese industry has given it a great advantage over 'Fordism' of the
US and EC industries. To cite a single example, in the 1960s and 1970s,
the EC's ship-building industry could not stand a threat from Japanese
ship-building companies' aggressive marketing strategies.
With the present growth of Japan's foreign direct investments in
the EC and the US, the industries of the latter are demanding more
trade barriers and greater protection (though recently Japanese
economy also is showing signs of decay).
It is interesting to note that criticism of free trade doctrine has
been gaining ground as the EC and the US have been meeting with
increasingly fierce competition in a number of industries. Many of the
earlier champions of the doctrine are today its critics.
The opportunism is not a new phenomenon. When German
goods were dominating British markets, Britain was the worst critic of
free trade principle. After industrial revolution, the equation changed
and Britain became the best champion of free trade doctrine.
The current American concept of "fairness in trade" reminds
Biswajit Dhar of Gladstone's remark made more than a century ago
under a similar situation: "It (fairness in trade) bears suspicious
likeness to our old friend protection."
The decline in the economic strength of the United States
started in the 1960s. The process of the end of its hegemony
commenced around 1973. By the 1980s the United States had come
to be established as the economic power going rapidly down-hill.
Several authors like Linder and others have predicted the end of the
US hegemony in the international economy during the early period of
the next century. With every new set-back, the US has been
deviating progressively from the principle of free trade, and by this
time it has completely abandoned that once-sacred doctrine. These
recent developments and deviations in the US trade strategy have
been aptly elaborated by Biswajit Dhar in his The Decline o f Free
Trade and US Trade Policy Today.
At the level of policy, the demise of 'non-interventionist' mode
can be seen clearly in the case of US where trade administration has
adopted an "activist" trade policy, particularly during the last two
decades. While the increased dose of protectionism formed the core
of the nature of state intervention in the earlier years, seeking
increased market-access to US products by compelling its parner
countries to change their policies and become "more open" has been
the present line of its policy. Protectionism has now become the
sole thrust of the policy-initiative in recent years. Trade legislation in
US since 1974 indicates this trend. The Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act of 1988, particularly through its two new
provisions, namely, Super 301 and Special 301, unfolds fully
the intentions of the policy-makers.
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The protectionist measures adopted by the US have abrogated
the basic principles of non-intervention in trade, underlying the
post-war trading system governed by the GATT rules. Specific and
systematic trade barriers have been raised by the US, in violation of
the GATT rules. This has grossly undermined the multi-lateral
trading system. In response to the competitive threats from Japan
and other newly-exporting countries, the US curbed imports by
using increasing doses of protectionism achieved through imposition
of the non-tariff barriers, and increased exports by forcing open
foreign markets using the powers of trade retaliation that were
assumed by the US President through the Trade Acts of 1974 and
1988. The first phase gave protection to domestic producers against
imports. Quota restrictions on exports to the US were imposed. The
US trade adm inistration frequently imposed Voluntary Export
Restraints (VERs) and Orderly Marketing Arrangements (OMAs) on
several countries.
The more prom inent industries that were provided import
protection were steel, automobiles, textiles, machine tools and
semiconductors. Section 301 of the 1974 Act was directed at the
policies of foreign governments which did not provide free access to
US products in their markets. In 1985, the insurance industry in
Korea was targeted for this purpose; the action under Section 301 of
the 1974 Act was initiated. Between 1985 and 1988, when the
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act was passed, Section 301
was introduced to deal with cases relating to insufficient protection
of intellectual property rights of US origin.
Under Super 301, action could be initiated against the entire
gamut of trade and trade-related policies that the infringing partners
were following in retaliation against a sector or an industry-specific
infringement. In other words, Super 301 provided for cross-retaliation
between sectors.
Secondly, Super 301 introduced a time-frame for identifiable
specific cases of trade distortions, and initiating cases against
countries which, according to the US, were obstructing US exports.
The cases under Super 301 were to be initiated in 1989 and 1990;
and the retaliatory action against the identified "infringing" countries
was to be carried out within 180 days of establishing that trade
distortions were liable for retaliation.
Swadeshi: The Practical Manifestation of Patriotism__________ 201
Special 301 covers infringement of intellectual property rights of
US origin causing distortions in US exports. Special 301 was to
ensure that US exports could be increased by compelling countries
to provide a stronger monopoly to US commercial interests in their
markets through an appropriate system of intellectual property
protection that the US trade administration deemed fit.
Unlike provisions under Section 337, the Special 301 provision
did not put the onus on the complainant to "prove" the injury. The
US International Trade Commission was simply required to institute
inquiry into the complaint and grant protection, all within 90 days of
the registering of the complaint.
In May 1989, the USTR identified three countries - India, Japan
and Brazil - and put them on the list of priority countries for action
under Super 301; and six trade-distorting practices - the 'priority
practices' - of these countries were identified; India was found to
restrict US exports from entering into markets through following two
priority practices.
(a) Foreign inventors in the country were required to export a
part of the produce, and to use locally produced inputs, thereby
causing trade distortions; and
(b) US service industries were prevented from competing in the
Indian market. India's market was completely closed to foreign
insurance companies.
A new list of 'priority practices' under Super 301 was issued in
April 1990. The list had two cases and both involved India. The two
priority practices of India listed in 1989 were again included in the
1990 list. Japan and Brazil were excluded. Trade barriers to insurance
and investment in India were particularly irritating to the U.S.
In 1989 and 1990, four countries - India, China, Thailand and
Brazil - were put on the priority watch list. In April 1991, USTR
decided to initiate proceedings under the Special 301 clause. India,
China and Thailand were named as priority countries for action
under Special 301.
The US is insisting upon free trade and the so-called
'liberalisation'. The US experts have excelled Goebbels in the
propaganda techniques. "Repeat a lie hundred times, and it becomes
the truth", Goebbels said. Hitler went a step further. He said that if a
lie is to be circulated, you should not give a simple lie, but give a
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big bluff - so big that people will not be able, because of the
magnitude of the given lie, to suspect that such a big news may be
a lie. Because of the American propaganda the doctrine of economic
liberalisation became popular in the last two decades. De-regulation
and privatisation have acquired respectability and authenticity. The
IMF and the World Bank have been striving to sell 'liberalisation'
doctrine to the Third World countries by imposing on the debtor
countries the policy of economic liberalisation as a condition of
further credit! The GATT and the US are preaching the free trade
principle as a sacred gospel truth. But the US is itself violating this
"sacred" principle. The US is also violating the standards evolved
by the International Organisation for Standardisation. The US public
procurem ent policies are not in conform ity with the GATT.
Government procurement code, 'Buy - American' restrictions, cover a
vast area. There were thirty-one significant cases of special
protection which covered four broad sectors - manufacturing, mining,
agriculture and fisheries. Some other services also are being given
protection. It is subsidising heavily its farm sector, while demanding
that other countries should withdraw all subsidies to that sector. It
is follow ing double-standards in case of the pharm aceutical
sector also.
These are clearly unprincipled bullying tactics. The culprits in
this crime are the rulers and the big capitalists of the US - not its
common masses who are them selves kept in the dark about
developments on the economic front. These bullying tactics are
being employed not only against the southern, developing countries,
but also against European community and North American peoples.
The recent militant reaction of French farmers and the strong support
given to their gesture by farmers of the European countries; the
agitation of the working people of the US against the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); the effective protest
registered by Canadian voters against the ruling party that became a
signatory to the notorious NAFTA; the dem onstration (on 2
October) by 12 purely American organisations of environmentalists
and humanitarians against the modus operandi of Cargill - all these
indicate that the unholy alliance between the rulers and the big
capitalists of US is operating not only against the third world
countries, but also against other developed white countries, and
even against the less privileged masses of US itself.
And these culprits are the champions of free trade, liberalisation
and globalisation - a case of Satan quoting the Bible.
To sum up:
In its present form
'Liberalisation' of the GATT and the US is a downright fraud.
'Liberalisation' of Dr. Manmohan Singh is sheer gullibility.
'Liberalisation' of our air-conditioned radicals is ignorance or
hypocrisy.
'Liberalisation' is a grave challenge to patriots of all non-
American countries.
Hence the propriety and urgency of 'Swadeshi' for all non-
American peoples of the world.
Genuine liberalisation and hegemonic globalisation can never go
together. The Hindu concept of globalisation represents genuine
globalisation.
The Hindu version of globalisation is fairly well known to all
Hindus who are not self-alienated: For them the elaboration of Hindu
concept may be a superfluous repetition of whatever they know
already. For the benefit of the de-H induised Hindus a brief
restatement of the same may, however, be helpful here.
Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, who could conceive of the Central
State Authority without stateism, envisaged evolution of the world
state enriched by the growth and contribution of different national
cultures, as well as the flowering of the Manava Dharma, enriched
by the perfection of all the religions including ’materialism'.
Revered Shri Guruji believed that the world unity and human
welfare could be made real only to the extent mankind realised the
ultimate, absolute Vedantic truth that "all is one". What he implied
was not elimination of all distinctive features of nations and rolling
them all into one uniform pattern. He visualised various groups of
peoples coming together in a spirit of familism realising the innate
oneness of mankind while preserving their individual identities and
special characteristics. The different human groups are marching
forward, all towards the same goal, each in its own way and in
keeping with its own characteristic genius. The destruction of the
special characteristics, whether of an individual or of a group, will
destroy not only the natural beauty of harmony but also its joy of
self-expression. To seek harmony among the various and diverse
204 Third Way
characteristics has been our special contribution to world thought.
Shri Guruji says:
"The World State of our concept will evolve out of a federation of
autonomous and self-contained nations under a common centre
linking them all... It is the grand world-unifying thought of Hindus
alone that can supply the abiding basis for human brotherhood.
That knowledge of the inner spirit will charge the human mind with
the sublime urge to toil for the happiness of mankind, while
opening out full and free scope for every small life-speaciality on
the face of the earth to its full stature. Verily, this is the one real
practical world-mission, if ever there was one."
This Hindu concept has been elucidated elaborately by Rishi
Aurobindo who envisaged the still further stage of 'mass
spiritualism'. With this mental background, our Rishis conceived of
the 'One World State' :
"From sea to sea, over all land, one State."

This is genuine globalisation. In its absence, the world cannot go
beyond the abortive experiments of the League of Nations or the
UNO.
Without the growth of such Hindu, i.e., human consciousness, it
is impossible in the international economic field to ensure genuine
'free trade', maximum utilisation of the scarce resources; development
without environment problems and permanent damage to Nature;
adjustment of the presently unlimited human desires with the limited
resources of the planet; management of population explosion;
diversion of all the huge amounts allocated currently by different
countries for their defence budgets to their developmental activities;
encouragem ent to every country to m aximise its specialised
production; free exchange of scientific and technological information;
constitution of International Technological Ombudsman; curbing the
activities of international criminal gangs disturbing seriously the
economic structures of even the civilized countries and world peace,
harmony and prosperity.
CHAPTER 18
Dharma-kshetre*
God, we enter our last fight
Thou knowest our cause is right
Make us march in Thy Light
On to Victory!
(Anonymous)
Swadeshi is gaining momentum everywhere. In the United States,
the spirit of Swadeshi is reflected in its popular slogan of 'Be
American: Buy American' and its official policy of protectionism.
Other western countries also are trying to follow the same path
as far as possible.
The patriots of developing countries are progressively realising
the danger of foreign economic imperialism and turning to Swadeshi
to frustrate the evil designs of imperialist conspirators. Only the self-
centred gullibles and the self-seeking stooges of foreign capital in
these countries are refusing to see the obvious.
For Bharat, the term Swadeshi has special significance. Here it is
not a mere economic movement but is a means of bringing about
economic reconstruction of the country. It is not a mere political
slogan, but is the essence of declaration of political independence.
As a matter of fact, it is a spiritual movement which comprises not
only the objectives of economic developm ent and political
independence but also all other aspects of national consciousness.
This has been explained by Rishi Aurobindo in Vande Mataram
dated 11 June 1908.
The author of this work is well known in academic circles. He
writes regularly on current economic issues in the Organiser and
other periodicals, he is the Director of the Bharatiya Agro-Economic
Research Centre of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. He is also a National Co
convener of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch. As a Swayamsevak of
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh he has worked in different capacities to
further the cause of that organisation. He never writes a word without
*Foreword to the book ‘S w a d e s h i V i e w o f G l o b a l i s a t i o n ' by Daya

Krishna, published in 1994 by Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, New Delhi.
206 Third Way
first ascertaining its veracity. His book 'India's Planned Poverty' had
created a stir in official circles; but his findings were found to be
irrefutable. In the present work he is explaining the rationale of our
second War of Independence which is a part and parcel of the Third
World War that is being fought with economic - instead of military -
weapons. In this thesis also, many of his assertions may appear to be
shocking to some of our intellectuals who are habited to being misled
by the propaganda unleashed by foreign interests, but they will also
realise that the authenticity of his thesis is unassailable. To cite a few
examples
* GATT never maintained that the agreement will remove poverty.
The proclaimed objective of the GATT agreement is to increase
trade, which is dominated by the multinational companies.
* During the 47-year period ending 1992, the share of poor countries
in world income had fallen from 12 to 5 per cent, while the share of
the rich countries had risen from 66 to 79 per cent.
* Any economic order based upon exploitation cannot last
for long. The consequences of the exploitation of the poor countries
over a long period of time have manifested themselves in the rich
countries in the form of:
i) increase in unemployment; and
ii) precipitous fall in the rate of growth of exports.
* Unemployment in the rich countries has assumed endemic
proportions. And the reason is technology.
* Technology is known to cause a growing concentration of wealth,
which increases the chasm between the rich and the poor, leading
to social unrest, turmoil and crime.
Daya Krishna has correctly diagnosed the strategy adopted by the
developed countries in the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations: for
example, the reason for bringing the four new areas, i.e., Agriculture,
TRIPS, TRIMS and Services, under GATT on the eve of the Uruguay
Round. Daya Krisna says that for the poor countries of the world, the
year 1985 marked the beginning of the period during which their annual
debt service charges began to exceed the new inflow of loans, while
for the rich countries the same year marked the beginning of a period
of bleak and uncertain prospects for their exports because the loans
sanctioned to the poor countries were being adjusted against their debt
service obligation. This created an urgency to ensure a substantial
Dharma-kshetre 207
additional flow of income from the poor to the rich countries.
The whole work, read without bias, can be an eye-opener for our
misguided patriots who suffer from an abiding faith in the credibility
and sincerity of the G-7 countries and the MNCs.
Daya Krishna is open-m inded. He acknowledges without
reservation his indebtedness to scores of authors on this subject, from
Chakravarthi Raghavan to Usha Menon. What he is concerned with is
the search for the truth and nothing but the truth.
Swadeshi is expected to manifest itself in all fields of national life.
Those who ridicule our Swadeshi Science Movement are probably not
aware that while Sir C.V. Raman pleaded for "Science, science and
much more science," he also stood for the development of an Indian
tradition and for a commitment to free the Indian science from its state
of semi-dependence on western science. The hollowness of western
science has been very well brought out by Sir Eceles, the famous
Australian neurologist and Nobel laureate who says:
"This is an age more beset by superstition than any other age and
the worst superstition is that materialistic science can explain all
things! The materialists have had their long innings of arrogance.
Their beliefs are worn out. They land nowhere. Materialism gives you
a hopeless empty life, one without values."
Claude Alvares, Dharampal, Srinivasan and others have thrown
light on the special characteristics of Bharatiya technology and
effectively countered the western propaganda that Bharat was
backward in the matter of technology. Their findings go to prove the
technological backwardness of the western countries in the not-so-
distant past. Various groups are today engaged in developing
indigenous technology.
Regarding the Science of Management, S.K. Chakraborty has
elaborated the Swadeshi approach towards quality of work and
working life and highlighted that the bulk of the task of improving the
quality of working life has to be performed within the inner subjectivity
of each worker. Some major clues for key questions like what is work
and how to work have been provided by him on the basis of Swadeshi
tradition.
W ithout work being understood as sacrifice, with all its
implications, there can be no Lakasangraha organisationally,
nationally or internationally. He writes:
208 Third Way
"There can be no more superordinate reference point for work
commitment than sacrifice for work maintenance through the family,
the organisation, the nation and so on."
He has conclusively proved that the Bharatiya approach to the
science of management is superior to that of the West, superior to the
approach of human relations school of the thirties, the socio-technical
school of the fifties, the job-enrichment/enlargement school of the
sixties, and kindred offshoots of these schools.
Linguistic imperialism has also received a set-back. An attempt to
denigrate Sanskrit as a dead language has been completely foiled. It is
now regarded as more suitable than any other language for the
purpose of computer. Even Pakistan is taking pride in tracing its
heritage to Panini. Recently, the Supreme Court of India has
recognised the importance of Sanskrit.
Because of its internal self-contradictions communism has failed
and those of capitalism are now manifest. The most important one is
that the resources available on our planet are lim ited while the
consumers know no bounds. Capitalism is bound to collapse before
2010 A.D. Western scholars like Peter Drucker, Samuelson, etc., are
realising this. The search for the Third Way has already begun. The
emergence of Hindu Economics at this juncture is significant, though,
as its author declares, there can be no last word of wisdom in
scientific matters. The author of that thesis on Swadeshi economics,
Dr. M.G. Bokare, is the National Convener of Swadeshi Jagaran
Manch.
In brief, in almost every sphere of our national life, emergence of
the Swadeshi spirit can be discerned.
Many events in the international field have indirectly helped the
process of Jana Jagaran in our country. The initiative taken by
M ahathir Mohamad of M alaysia in the formation of the South
Commission (of which Dr. Manmohan Singh was the Secretary-
General), and the scholarly report of that Commission explaining the
advisability of South-South co-operation are important milestones. A
feeble but sane voice raised by some nationalists of Philippines
declaring that only that part of the national debt incurred by Marcos
would be binding on their country which was spent for developmental
work, and that the money spent entirely for the comfort and luxury of
Marcos and his stooges should be recovered from those beneficiaries
and not from the people; the stern attitude adopted by Korea in
Dharma-kshetre 209
nuclear negotiations; the changed reaction of Japan and China to
American pressure tactics; failure of the US in its attempt to curb
fundamentalism in some Islamic countries; agitation by the French
farmers against an agreement signed by their government without
taking them into confidence, and the sympathetic gesture by farmers
of other European Community countries on the same issue; reaction in
all the three North American countries against the North American
Free Trade Agreement; armed revolt by Mexican peasants; agitations
by US workers, and the rout of the signatory ruling party in Canadian
elections; demonstrations by twelve American organisations of
environmentalists and humanitarians against the modus operandi of
Cargill; remarks in the Human Rights Watch Committee of the US
criticising the official policy of their government regarding Indo-Pak
relations; public criticism of the US government on the same issue by
a congressman of the ruling Democratic Party; all these events
indicate unmistakably the shape of things to come, though the common
citizen may not immediately realise their significance.
Developing countries have now realised that the MNCs have their
own strategies in the highly competitive global market-place and that
the ruthless world of competition cannot but make them impervious to
the consequences of their strategies for the economies they operate
in. More often than not, these consequences could be unpalatable and
unacceptable, not only in terms of employment but also in their impact
on the ordering of domestic industry and services. We have to guard
against complacent policy stances which advocate growth at any cost,
regardless of the consequences of the strategies of the global MNCs.
Mature economies have resources to ride over the storm but for the
developing economies any minor disturbance has the potential of
escalating into a crisis.
Efficiency, productivity and employment are objectives to be
simultaneously pursued. The gamut of current reform measures cannot
ensure that. These have to be combined with a strong set of state
interventionist measures. The countries which were swept off by the
euphoria of reform are rethinking their strategies. The shift in focus
appears vital for the survival of those polities. Globalisation and
privatisation, in combination, is a lethal medicine.
The southern countries are aware that the World Trade Organisation
will be subservient to the G-7 countries and the multinationals.
The O rganisation is to become the super-governm ent of the
world, empowered to encroach upon the sovereignty of different nations
14
210 Third Way
and the legitimate jurisdiction of U.N. bodies like ILO.
As a matter of fact, the measure that could have substantially
helped the process of genuine globalisation was the reconstitution of
the United Nations with additional representatives of religious groups,
ethnic groups, transnational trade unions, environmental movements,
human rights associations, welfare organisations, and other
appropriate agencies from civil societies. Instead, what is being offered
is the launching of the World Trade Organisation which is going to be
a tool of American economic imperialism. (It is worth remembering that
the United States was not a member of the League of Nations, the
predecessor of the United Nations. The implications of this peculiar
position are worth studying.)
Every human group, now known as nation, has a right to
independence and sovereignty. We recognise and respect the identity
of every living being, whether big or small. The same is applicable to
human groups. The essence of sovereignty lies in the full right to take
all decisions concerning national life. Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherji and
Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya expressed the view that preservation and
promotion of national self-interest within the framework of world-
welfare and human happiness should be the objective of the foreign
policy of every nation. What is national interest? According to
Charles O. Lerehe and Abdul A. Said, national interest is
"the general long-term and continuing purpose which the state, the
nation and the government, all see themselves, as serving."
Vermon Van Duke says,
"National interest is that which states seek to protect or achieve in
relation to each other."
Joseph Frankel is of the view that national interest is the key
concept in foreign policy. Political independence without sovereignty
is meaningless. In the absence of sovereignty it is impossible to
preserve national interest. Every nation must have freedom and full
authority to take decisions regarding all its affairs.
Genuine globalisation is a part of the Hindu heritage. In ancient
times we have always considered ourselves as part and parcel of the
entire humanity. We never cared to carve out for ourselves a separate
identity. We identified ourselves with the entire mankind, mpfrr
Dharma-kshetre 211
'The whole earth is our family' has been our motto. That is why the
term Hindu has no antiquity, it is not to be found in ancient literature.
But now the roles are reversed. Globalisation is being preached to
us by those who are known to history for their im perialistic
exploitation and even genocides. Indeed Satan is quoting scriptures!
Hegemonism is parading itself as globalisation.
Recently, many nation-states are confronted with a new problem:
Terrorists, fundamentalists, criminals, war-lords, and narco-killers might
be somehow quarantined but there are organised conspiracies to shift
power from nation-states to the global gladiators, the most powerful
global gladiator being the group of multinationals now trying to
throttle sovereignty of all third world countries through the medium of
GATT (or World Trade Organisation). This they are striving to achieve
by keeping patriots of all these countries in the dark about the
international economic developments affecting the fortunes of their
respective countries. Patriots of every developing country are being
assured of unprecedented economic prosperity if they are mentally
prepared to forego their national sovereignty for this post-dated
cheque. Through this allurement, the foreign capital expects that
people of these countries can be persuaded to forget the value of
their national sovereignty. But here the multinationals are fortunately
mistaken. They have not taken into account the inherent strength of
the concept of sovereignty. In his Recent Theory o f Sovereignty, H. F.
Choen declares that even if the word sovereignty disappears,
the substance of sovereignty will remain.
This is the crux of the problem. The main purpose of the
Swadeshi movement is to preserve the national sovereignty. We are
quite capable of bringing about economic reconstruction of our
country on the basis of the spirit of national self-reliance and the
South-South co-operation on equal footing.
The inauguration of the Swadeshi movement indicates that we are
on the threshold of Swadeshi renaissance. As Rishi Aurobindo points
out, renaissance in Bharat would be qualitatively very much different
from that in Europe. It will be beneficial not only to this country but to
the whole mankind and the universe. Because of our values of life, the
very concept of humanism will undergo a revolutionary change.
Western humanism is homocentric, based on the principle proclaimed
by Protagoras: "Man is the measure of all things."
212 Third Way
Daumer says,
"The frightful tortures that unfortunate beasts suffer at the tyran
nous and cruel hand of man are for these barbarians 'rubbish'
that nobody should bother about."
In his True Humanism Maritain observes,
"Any form of anthropocentric humanism is in its final analysis an
inhuman humanism."
Loknayak Jaya Prakash Narayan said,
"Materialism as philosophical outlook could not provide any basis
for ethical conduct, any incentive for goodness."
Dr. Schumacher remarks,
"If all the new problems were solved by technological fixes, the state
of futility, disorder and corruption would remain."
Mankind is already experiencing the truth of this statement.
Leadership of every western thought-system is failing. Consequently,
the social orders based on such thought-systems are collapsing.
Drucker rightly rem arked that trees die from the top, so do
organisations. Mankind is in need of a new type of leadership. It can
arise only on the strength of the new values of life, a new Darshana.
Our Darshana proclaims : "All is one", That is why we
could conceive of Integral Humanism which is the modern
manifestation of Sanatana Dharma. Only those who have assimilated
the spirit of Integral Humanism can provide the much needed new
leadership to mankind.
Thus the Swadeshi movement, which appears presently to be
concerned with material goods and national sovereignty only, is to
culminate in the emergence of a new variety of world-leadership.
But even a thousand-mile march must begin with the first step. The
campaign of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch in the first fortnight of
December 1994 is such first step. Its rationale is being explained by
Daya Krishna in this work.
The blueprint of the World Trade Organisation indicates that the
world is moving fast towards 'A rmageddon* - the scene of a final,
decisive battle between the forces of good and evil. To ensure ultimate
triumph of Dharma over Adharma, let us pray to God, in the words of
the poet Josiah Gilbert Holland :
* See Appendix II
Dharma-kshetre 213
"God give us men.
The time demands
Strong minds, great hearts,
True faith and willing hands;
Men whom the lust o f office
Does not kill;
Men whom the spoils o f office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honour;
Men who will not lie.
CHAPTER 19
Modernisation Without Westernisation*

We in this country have instinctively realised that the cultural
wealth of which we are natural heirs belongs to the whole humanity,
that it is India's obligation to offer to others the benefits of her
unique culture and to accept from others their best. We always
welcomed healthy trends in other cultures. We have been constantly
engaged in a rich give-and-take with other peoples. We have been
always interpreting one civilization to the other and trying to find
out what is common between them. In their subconscious minds
Hindus have always felt that human misery anywhere constitutes a
threat to human happiness everywhere.
Indians : Temperamentally Internationalists
We have never been isolationists. From time immemorial we have
been maintaining intimate contacts with different peoples and trying
to build bridges of understanding and friendship with them. Even in
the recent past Bharat has sent abroad its saints, scholars, soldiers,
scientists, technocrats, artists, artisans, professionals, traders,
industrialists, and labourers who have been working conscientiously
with the same end in view, as our unofficial cultural ambassadors.
Temperamentally, we are internationalists. For us, there is no
incompatibility between nationalism and internationalism. In the
onward march of human consciousness, nationalism is a bridge
between tribalism and humanism which, in its turn, is a long step
ahead in the direction of universalism.
Not Foreign Nationalism
But this universalism - to be 'of the earth, earthy',
internationalism - must be distinguished clearly from foreign
nationalism - from intellectual subservience to foreign countries and
cultures, from national self-oblivion and mental slavery.
Presumption of Intellectuals
We are all aware how our intellectuals are enamoured of
westernism. For them, everything western is standard, everything
* Address to Bharat Vikas Parishad on 13th August 1983.

Modernisation Without Westernisation 215
Hindu sub-standard. For them, Shakespeare is not a Kalidasa of Great
Britain, nor Napoleon a Samudragupta of Europe, but Sardar Patel is
the Bismarck of India. Gita must be a great book, because Emerson
said so. The Shakta and Tantra cults may not be so contemptible,
because Sir John Woodroffe is championing their cause. How can
Narendra and Ravindra receive due recognition from us until their merit
is first recognised by some western authorities? White Man's lordship
over others must be construed as a conclusive proof of his cultural
superiority. Who is singing the glory of the golden period of Hindu
history under the Guptas, or under the Shailendra empire in South-East
Asia which stood as a powerful bulwark against Chinese expansion for
seven centuries? These are all idle gossip - cock and bull stories. It
was the Europeans and not the Hindus who reached American shores
first. All talk about the advance of Hindu sciences- in the past must be
nonsensical; how can sciences flourish on the eastern side of the
Ural? History was standing still till the inauguration of European
Renaissance. Sanskrit is a dead language, Latin the source of all
knowledge. The western theories regarding Aryan race, the original
inhabitants of India, and chronological order of Indian history, may be
purely hypothetical; but none can challenge their veracity, since they
are proclaimed by western scholars. How can you even compare
Kautilya with Machiavelli and Hindu lawgivers with the constitutional
pundits of the West? It is fantastic to claim that the insight furnished
by Patanjali is superior to the combined wisdom of Freud, Jung and
Adler. It is inconceivable that as a social philosopher Samartha
Ramdas was far ahead of his European contemporaries, such as,
Hobbes, Locke, Descartes, Leibnitz and Spinoza. For all maladies,
remedies can be provided only by the West. For solution of our socio
economic or political problems, our intellectuals rush to seek help from
western theories. They have nothing to learn from their own intellect.
No theory can be correct unless it is certified to be so by some
western authority. If they get disillusioned by one western theory they
will, instead of using their own intellect, rush in search of some other
western theory which they can catch hold of. They may accept that
Marx as well as Adam Smith, J. S. Mill, Ricardo and Malthus have
become outdated. They may be sceptical about the relevance of Alfred
Marshall, Wickell, Gunnar Myrdal and Keynes to the present-day
conditions. But they will stubbornly refuse to conduct independent
thinking in the light of their own national requirements. Instead, they
will feel homely with the five stages of economic growth enunciated
by Prof. Rostow and get busy in discussing whether we have reached
his third 'take-off stage’ so as to pass over his fourth 'drive to tech
nological maturity' leading to the stage of 'high mass consumption.'
216_____________________________________________ Third Way
This tendency is the natural consequence of their presumption
that westernisation is modernisation.
The Propriety
The time is now ripe to question the validity of this presumption.
Hence the propriety of this seminar on 'Modernisation Without
Westernisation'.
"The Letter Killeth..."
But before we proceed to the subject of our discussion, it is
essential to define clearly the meaning of the terms 'modernisation' and
'westernisation'.
"If you want to talk with me,” said Voltaire, "define your terms."
For any meaningful dialogue, this is essential, particularly when the
topic under discussion is technical and the people are in the habit of
using words in a rather loose sense. For correct thinking it is
necessary to free oneself from the tyranny of popular words which are
often used in a loose manner. The havoc played by wrong translation
of the term 'religion' into Indian languages as 'Dharma' is a glaring
example of this fact. 'Communism' is translated as 'Samyavada', though
there is no 'commune' in 'Samyavada' and no 'samya' in 'communism'.
The translations of the terms 'Astik' and 'Nastik' as 'theist' and
'atheist' are also in the same category; these Sanskrit terms denote
believer or non-believer in the Shrutis. They are not connected with
belief or non-belief in God. The erroneous translation of the words
'maya' and 'mithya' as 'illusion' is yet another familiar example of this
type. In course of time we are bound to realise that the translation of
'Hindutva' as Hinduism is not correct, the correct English equivalent of
which is 'Hinduness'. Recently, two entirely different connotations
were given in a public debate on Punjab for the Urdu word 'Qaum'.
The word 'secular' as being used in India today is yet another
instance. 'Secular' means "something concerned with the affairs of this
world, worldly, not sacred, not monastic, not ecclesiastical, temporal,
profane, lay." The Encyclopaedia o f Social Sciences states:
"Secularism in the philosophical sphere may be interpreted as revolt
against theological and eventually against metaphysical absolutes and
universals. In the political sphere, it came to mean that a temporal ruler was
entitled to exercise power in his own right."
In other words it conveys a principle enunciated by Jesus: "Render
unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things
that are God's." Thus, what Pandit Nehru wanted to convey through
the use of the term ’secular' was something different from what is
generally understood by that term all over the world. The nearest
equivalent of the Nehruvian concept of 'secular state' would probably
be 'non-denominational state', though I am mentioning this word for
want of any other more exact term. "The letter killeth," remarked Jesus,
and any public debate on a technical subject is bound to result in
confusion worst confounded, if the main terms used therein are not
precisely defined.
'Modernisation'
Can we define 'Modernisation'?
'Modern' means 'of the present and recent times' or 'characteristic
of present or recent time'.
Conventionally, the term 'Modernism' denotes modern views or
methods; tendency in matters of religious beliefs to subordinate
tradition to harmony with modem thought, modem term or expression.
In other words it denotes modern usage, expression or trait; modern
spirit or character; a tendency to adjust Christian dogma to the results
of science and criticism. To modernise is to adapt to the present time,
conditions, needs, language, or spelling; to adopt modern ways.
Obviously, this connotation is the natural consequence of the
peculiar historical background of Europe. It becomes irrelevant in the
case of a country which had no Church, no organised priesthood, no
religious persecution, and no conflict between religions and sciences.
To non-European countries, therefore, 'Modernisation' should
simply mean equipment to solve the problems and meet the challenges
of modem times, with a view to ensuring all-round progress in future.
'Westernisation' Defined
And now, what is 'Westernisation'?
Broadly, it means making oriental people or country to adopt ideas,
ideals, institutions, systems, structures, living standards and values of
life, of the West.
Western or Eastern
But it is not so easy to identify what exactly is 'Western'. So far
218 Third Way
as the ever-expanding frontiers of human knowledge are concerned, it
is noteworthy that truth has no party, no class, no caste, no
community, no nation. It is invariably universal, though the first
person to come across or realise such truth may be belonging to some
nation or class or religion.
That does not make it western or eastern. For example, can anyone
specify whether the following items are western or eastern?
1) The well-known theorem of Pythagoras who was described by
king Clement of Alexandria as "the pupil of a Brahmin."
2) The atomic theory of the West which was anticipated thousands
of years ago by trcrmjanr? of Kanada.
3) Dialecticism of Hegel and Marx which was first envisaged and
systematized by Kapila Muni.
4) The fact that it is the Earth which moves round the Sun and not
the Sun around the Earth - which was proved more than a
thousand years ago by Aryabhata before it was proved in the
West by Copernicus.
5) 'Our of non-existence emerged existence' (3rmit mj;3Miud), the first
ever Sutra of Materialism of Democratus - written centuries earlier
by Brihaspati.
6) The scientific definition of 'Matter' given for the first time to
modern science by Heisenberg and to Hindus by Patanjali.
7) The scientific concepts of Time and Space such as, the relativity
of Time and Space, the unity of the Universe, a Space-Time
Continuum etc. established in ancient times by Vedic thinkers and
proved in this century by Einstein.
8) The process of scientific philosophical thinking initiated by
Parameshthi Prajapati of Nasadiya Sukta and developed by
Einstein.
As H. G. Chernyshevsky observed,
"the principles explained and proved by the present-day sciences
were already found and taken to be true by the Greek
philosophers, and much earlier, by the Indian thinkers."
All Knowledge is Universal
To sum up:
All knowledge is universal; it is neither western nor eastern.
The same holds good about all sciences and technology. True, the
advance of the West in this direction commenced after the European
Renaissance, and during this entire intervening period we could not
register normal rate of progress for the simple reason that we were
throughout engaged in the life-and-death struggle on a national plane;
but it is an indisputable fact that Hindu Sciences and Hindu Arts had
migrated to Greece, via Arabia and Persia, before the European
Renaissance, which was preceded by the Dark Age of Europe. Newton
once remarked:
"If / have been able to see further than others, it was because I
stood on the shoulders of giants."
What is true of an individual, can be equally true of a nation.
Today we aspire to stand on the shoulders of the western giants; but
the West could raise these giants because, during Renaissance, the
entire intelligentsia of Europe stood on the shoulders of Hindu giants.
It is, therefore, unrealistic to describe any knowledge as western or
eastern; it is all universal.
Illusory Differentiation
Nor would it be realistic to describe the difference between the
East and the West as that between belief and disbelief or theism and
atheism, though it is true that the West is predominantly materialistic.
For example, the theists in Bharat have no quarrel with the atheists of
the West, because the God the latter condemn is different from the
God the former worship. Theirs is a personal God, ours impersonal,
without any name or form, formless, and therefore, capable of
assuming or not assuming any form, in keeping with the taste, the
aptitude, the requirement, the mental background and the level of
understanding of each and every individual, nameless and therefore,
capable of adopting or not adopting any name. No need, therefore, to
be disturbed over their attack on the God-concept.
On the contrary, after the declaration by materialist philosophy
that consciousness is the highest development of matter, and
particularly with the advance of modern science, the line of
demarcation between the material and the non-material is now almost
vanishing. The New Soviet Psychic Discoveries by Henry Gris and
William Dick also indicates the same fact. The conceptual journey from
the purely physical nature through biological evolution
encompassing instinct, intuition and impulse, to development of
brain, intelligence, reason and rationalism , to extra-sensory
220 Third Way
perception, may or may not be factual, but it is certainly a fact that
with the interconvertibility of matter and energy, matter has lost its
basic character and is now exposed to the ideological onslaught of the
Brahman, the ever-expanding. Against this background, one wonders
whether a fight between Theism and Atheism is not in reality now
over empty terms that have lost their original significance.
Thus this differentiation, which is sought to be highlighted by
some religious authorities, does not stand the scrutiny of reason.
Essentially Human
Instincts, impulses, urges, intelligence, sentiments, emotions, even
intuitions - all these are essentially 'human'; they cannot be branded as
western or eastern.
What then precisely is western?
Cultural Difference
Though human mind everywhere is essentially the same, it
would be unrealistic to deny the fact that different societies have
passed through different situations and different historical courses of
events, and these latter have left a deep impact on the collective
mind of every society. Geography and history are the main factors
responsible for such differentiation.
For example, regarding India, Vincent Smith says,
"India, circled as she is by seas and mountains, is indisputably a
geographical unit and as such rightly designated by one name.
The type of civilization too has many features which differentiate
it from all other regions of the world; while they are common to
the whole country in a degree sufficient to justify its treatment
as a unit in the history of the social, religious and intellectual
development of mankind."
Among other things, geo-political factors contribute substantially
to such differentiations.
All such distinctive factors give rise to different cultures.
'Culture' Defined
The word 'culture' denotes a trend of impressions on the mind
of a society which is peculiar to its own, and which, again, is the
cumulative effect of its passion, emotion, thought, speech and action
throughout its history. This trend of impressions cannot be the same

in case of societies, say in Arabian deserts and Gangetic plains; in
Germany which is a camp in the open field and Italy or isolated
Great Britain; in young America or ancient India. They say that
culture is what we are and civilization, what we have.
Special Characteristics
The modern West also has certain special characteristics of its
own. For example, being predominantly materialistic, it has evolved a
value system with consumerism as its pivot and permissiveness its
natural corollary.
Sam skars A Superfluity
Except for a few modern scientists, the West, being still under
the influence of Newtonian science, clings to the myth that mind is
only a super-structure on matter and hence believes that socio
economic structure is basic, deserving our exclusive attention. The
religion, culture, ethics, literature, arts, etc. - all these constitute a
mere super-structure which will automatically undergo appropriate
corresponding changes, once the socio-economic order is altered
suitably. Mind need not be specially attended to, 'samskars' are a
superfluity. The exclusive concern of all the modem western thought-
systems is the appropriate socio-economic transformation; they have
no time to indulge in the subject of psychological transformation
which will, they are convinced, take care of itself after the
inauguration of the new social order.
Homocentricism
Homocentricism is yet another special characteristic of the West.
Humanism is no doubt preferable to self-centred individualism.
Protagoras declared, "Man is the measure of all things." Marx
observed, "Man is the root of mankind." Roy advocated
reconstruction of the world as a commonwealth and fraternity of free
men, by the collective endeavour of spiritually emancipated moral
men. All this is laudable. But it treats our own human species as the
centre of entire existence, which is doing injustice to all other, non
human species and components of existence. Homocentricism is
expressed in the realistic manner when a character in Maxim Gorky's
play The Lower Depth declares: "All things are part of man; all
things are for man". "Man - that is the truth." Exploitation of man by
man cannot be tolerated; but exploitation of non-human beings
222 Third Way
by human beings can even be encouraged. Recently, we formulated
a universal charter of human rights; but non-human beings are
entitled to no rights.
Western Humanism - Not Adequately Humane
Because of its characteristic values of life, even humanism of

the West could not be adequately humane. Firstly, it has been
anti-God and homocentric. And, secondly, it could not generate an
environment conducive to the growth of human harmony. Before the
Second World War nobody could have imagined that a document like
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights would at any time be even
drafted. The various covenants and resolutions of U.N.Organisation
and other international bodies on human rights constitute the basis of
International Law which is moral rather than strictly legal in character.
But notwithstanding the institutional framework of U.N. for the
specific purpose, it is being generally realised that the real guarantee
for the preservation of human rights, civil liberties and fundamental
freedoms lies in the level of consciousness of common man and in the
people-to-people relationship on a sound basis of international
understanding. Mere talking about rights in the western fashion is not
enough to achieve the desired goal. John Kleinig has rightly remarked:
"Unless there is love, care and concern for others as
individuals, in addition to the recognition of rights, there remains
a moral lack in international relationships. There is something
morally inadequate in doing something for another because it is
the other's due. Actions motivated simply by the right of others
remain anonymous or impersonal, whereas if motivated by
the love, care or concern for the other, their focus is on the other's
particularity. Only relations of the latter kind are morally adequate.
They are person-specific, whereas rights are species-specific."
Exclusive emphasis on 'rights' is one of the peculiar characteristics
of the western value-system.
The Fragmentary Approach
A gain, the thinking of the West has always been

compartmentalised and its approach fragmentary. It was only during the
Second World War that the western scientists began to appreciate the
utility of inter-disciplinary approach. They failed to understand inter
relatedness and inter-dependence of all phenomena. In this
globally interconnected world, physical, biological, psychological,
social, political, economic, cultural or environmental phenomena are all
inter-dependent. Problems confronting mankind are many and varied;
but these are all different facets of a single crisis. As one learned
author points out, whether we talk about cancer, crime, pollution,
nuclear power, inflation or energy shortage, the dynamics underlying
these problems are the same. The westerners have not yet realised this
basic fact. For example, they treat economics as an independent,
autonomous subject, isolated from the rest of the totality. They
cannot integrate with their quantitative economic analysis the
qualitative factors leading to the understanding of the ecological,
social and psychological dimensions of economic activity and the
findings of the recent psychological research on people's behaviour as
income-earners, consumers and investors. Indiscriminate addiction to
growth has rendered all western schools of economics unrealistic and
irrelevant. These economists must have received a jo lt when
Schumacher illustrated the value-dependence of economics by
comparing two economic systems embodying entirely different values
and goals. One is the western materialist system, in which the
standard of living is measured by the amount of annual consumption
along with an optimal pattern of production. The other is a system of
Buddhist economics, based on the notions of "right livelihood" and
the "Middle Path", in which the object is to achieve a maximum of
human well-being within the optimal pattern of consumption. While
the West could conceive the indices of different material factors, will it
be able to think of indices of human happiness and other social or
psychological factors?
Illustrative Only, Not Exhaustive
The points mentioned above are only illustrative, and not

exhaustive. But they are enough to prove that the West also has its
own distinct characteristics.
The Impracticable
Does westernisation mean following the West blindly in all such

distinctive matters? Is it practicable for us to blindly follow the West
even if we mean to do so with all earnestness?
Gurudev Tagore once remarked:
224 Third Way
"It is idle mendicancy to discard our own and beg for the foreign."
Condemning India's imitation of the West he says, it is like
dressing our skeleton with another man's skin, giving rise to eternal
feuds between the skin and the bones at every moment. This would be
impracticable as well as intolerable.
Status-quoist?
The moment one expresses such views one is condemned by the
interested parties as a status-quoist. It is not realised that there can be
progress without aping the West. These are two different processes,
though sometimes slightly overlapping. For example, King Fahd of
Saudi Arabia, the keeper of Islam's holiest shrines in Mecca
and Medina, said on 7 June 1983 that Islamic rules must be amended
in keeping with the times. Now what he was suggesting to that open
session of International Islamic Theologians' Conference in Mecca was
radicalism; but he was not placing before them the examples of King
Amanulla of Afghanistan, Shah of Iran, or Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha
of Turkey. In India also most of our social reformers were staunch
patriots, not at all inclined to get westernised. Ary a Samaj, Brahmo
Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Satya Shodhak Samaj, Harijan Sevak Sangh,
Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh, Dravida Kazhagam, National Church
Movement, Scheduled Castes Federation, or Muslims' Satya Shodhak
Samaj, can be cited as notable examples of radicalism without
westemism.
Is it Ostrich-like Isolationism?
Considering the fact that, as Gunnar Myrdal points out in his
'Asian Drama', after independence the close relations with former ruler
countries were preserved and in some aspects intensified. The refusal
to imitate can invite objection and misunderstanding. It can be
misconstrued as ostrich-like isolationism or irrational prejudice against
the West.
But, in fact, such misunderstanding is baseless. We are not
inimical to westerners. We remember with a deep sense of gratitude
the illustrious names of Annie Besant, Sister Nivedita, Romain Rolland,
Sri Ma of Aurobindo Ashram, Mira Behn, Fenner Brockway, Arundale,
Arnold Toynbee, Louis Fischer, Albert Schweitzer, Schopenhauer,
Garbe, Winternitz, and many others whose love for India and its
culture has been a source of inspiration to us during
the period of our trials and tribulations. Some eminent leaders
of the oppressed, such as, Jomo Kenyatta, Caesar Schavez, Martin
Luther King, Danilo Dolci, the recently publicised Gandhi of Sicily and
Benigno 'Ninoy', Aquino of Philippines, have endeared themselves
to Indian public mind because of their adherence to Gandhian ideals
and methodology. This is an entirely different matter. It is in no way
relevant to the diseased mentality which leads to blind aping of the
West.
But does the term 'westernisation' imply such imitation? Or has it
some different connotation? Sometimes connotations are evolved
because of the particular contexts or situations.
The Connotation
International developments after the Second World War and the
problems of relationship between the developed and the developing
countries have given a specific colour and connotation to the term
'westernisation'. It is no longer just an academic term; it has immediate
practical implications.
W esternisation
When the term 'westernism' is used, what is meant is western
culture and western paradigm. Westernisation, therefore, denotes
acceptance of western paradigm as the universal model of progress.
And when we talk of modernisation with or without westernisation,
we are also in fact raising a question whether western paradigm
should be accepted as a universal model of progress and
development.
In the language of Homo Faber, should we restrict the models of
modernity and the processes and sequences of modernisation to the
experience of the western nations? Should we subdue vast and varied
societies to the totalitarianism of a single historical pattern? History
might pattern itself on the past, but is there any reason that it should
pattern itself on the western past? Even for the purposes of a more
wholesome science, would it not be best to set no limits to the social
and sociological imaginations?
Even as the diagnosis is half the cure, proper framing of the
question helps substantially the finding out of the reply.
The Relevance
Some people may consider this whole discussion as irrelevant in
this land of the Hindus whose ancestors welcomed good thoughts
from all the directions, and declared: 'From sea to sea, over all the
land, one nation.' Hinduness which separates off those who share it
15
226 Third Way
from the rest of the mankind, has certain special and unique
characteristics. India has always stood for internationalism. In the
modern world, it is becoming increasingly difficult to perceive the
correct nature of internationalism , since different varieties of
transnational sectarianism and communalism appear frequently on
the w orld-stage under the garb of internationalism . In fact,
universalism is the distinct characteristic of Hindu Culture. At this
stage, one is naturally reminded of Rabindranath Tagore's The
Emigrant, in which he says:
My home is everywhere,
I am in search of it,
My country is in all countries,
I will struggle to attain it.
Incidentally, the younger generation may not be aware that long
before the conception of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
Rabindranath Tagore and Romain Rolland had published, as early as
in 1921, a joint statement which proved to be a precusor of this
U.N. Document.
As Dr. Radhakrishnan put it,
"The aim of India has been to realise the one amongst the many,
not by effacing the differences, but by retaining the differences
and uniting them all. To perceive the one amongst the many, to
forge unity in variety, has been its fundamental purpose."
Being accustomed to visualising unity in the midst of diversity,
Hindus are adept in adapting new ideas and structures from any
quarter, and assimilating them in their body-politic. They had realised
that continual self-renew al was the price of glorious
survival. In the light of the unchanging Universal Laws, they had,
till before eleven centuries, an ever-changing social order. Through
different smritis composed by moral leaders, old order changed from
time to tim e, yielding place to the new, through a process of
synthesis. Their catholicity ensured peaceful co-existence of different
systems. Even Valentine Chirol said that Hinduism always remained
singularly fluid and that
'Tt lends itself to the most divergent schools of thought,
sometimes verging on pure theism, but more often resolving
themselves into universal pantheism. "
This characteristic inspired Max Mueller to say,
"If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully
developed its choicest gifts, most fully pondered on the greater
problems of life and has found solutions of some of them, which
deserve the attention of even those who have studied Plato and
Kant, / should point to India. If I were to ask myself from what
literature we, in Europe, may draw the corrective which is most
wanted in order to make our life more perfect, more universal,
in fact, truly human, again I should point to India."
Why should the Hindus, whose country, according to Marx, has
been the source of European languages and European religions, and
whose thought-leaders can talk of 'Hindu Spirit in Islamic Body' or of
a synthesis between Indian Spirit and Western Matter, be afraid of
adopting anything good from the West? As our modern Seer said:
"East and West could be reconciled in the pursuit of the highest
and largest ideal. Spirit embraces. Matter and Matter finds its own
true reality and the hidden reality in all things in the Spirit."
Neither Simple, Nor Innocent
Let us understand clearly that the process of westernisation is
not that simple or innocent. In the past, we have always enriched
and strengthened our cultural identity and national personality, by
adapting and assimilating whatever good was found in foreign
cultures, structures and systems. But every time, it was a process of
assimilation. The concept of westernisation implies loss of cultural
identity and national personality. It implies our own absorption in,
and assimilation by, foreign culture. Even if there is something good
which the West can sell us, should we purchase it by paying, as
price, our own individuality?
"Of what profit would it be, if you gain the kingdom of the earth,
and, in the process, lose your soul?"
— asked Lord Jesus. This question is equally pertinent even in
the present context.
Assimilation, Yes. Loss of Identity, No.
But assimilation negates the process of westernisation. Our
discussion centres round the problem of westernisation.
The Genesis
History has witnessed the rise and fall of many empires. The
civilization of every empire was accepted as standard by its satellites
228 Third Way
during its heydey. After its fall, the glamour of its civilization faded
in course of a few decades. The distinguishing feature of the
withdrawal of white imperialism are (i) its sustained grip over its
erstwhile colonies in intellectual and ideological matters (this is the
natural outcome of its brainwashing propaganda during the imperial
days) and (ii) its determined effort to continue and tighten its
stranglehold on the economies of these countries, which has given
rise to a sort of tug-of-war between the northern white countries and
the southern non-white countries which support the non-aligned
movement.
M acaulay's Success
In India, the Macaulay campaign succeeded in selling to Hindu
intellectuals the idea of white man's burden* and in creating an
inferiority complex in their minds, and in convincing them that the
European civilization is the only standard, ideal civilization. Every
society or people in the world, we were told, has necessarily and
inevitably to pass through the same stages of evolution which are
characteristic of European history. Every Indian situation must be
gauged by European standards. For, we were told, western paradigm
is the universal model of progress and development.
Growing Scepticism
Whether the western paradigm can help westerners in achieving
their cherished goals, is itself doubtful. There is a growing
scepticism even in the West about the efficacy of its paradigm. The
dazzling achievements of science and technology, they are now
realising, are not exactly an unmixed blessing. The rape of nature,
with no consideration for either ecological factors or the fate of the
future generations, has already become a calamity. The technological
development, unaccompanied by commensurate cultural elevation, is
likely to lead mankind to its total annihilation.
The Maladies
They have no doubt taken due cognisance of all the maladies
afflicting their societies: for example the chronic and degenerative
diseases of civilization, such as, heart-disease, blood-pressure,
cancer, etc., severe depression, schizophrenia and other psychiatric
disorders; rise in violent crimes, suicides, accidents, alcoholism, and
drug addiction; rapid depletion of energy and natural resources, such
as, coal, petroleum, natural gas, metals, forests, fish-reserves, oxygen,
See Appendix II.
ozone, etc; a severe degradation of the natural environment affecting
not only humans but also plants, animals, ecological systems and
global climate, resulting in a nebulous veil of air pollution encircling
the entire planet; high rate of inflation, massive unemployment and
mal-distribution of wealth; stockpiling of nuclear weapons costing the
world over one billion dollars a day.
Technological Ombudsman
There are suggestions from some western scientists that a

'Technological Ombudsman' manned by persons of high cultural
level, be set up to restrain, guide and direct further development of
technology in the West.
Wrong Values
Ignoring the fact that everything in the West is only in an

experimental stage, and not yet tested by time, we rushed to
appreciate and applaud their values of life based upon materialism,
consumerism (if not exactly hedonism), homo-centricism, and
unalloyed individualism. Now it is being realised that these are
precisely the values that are responsible for disintegration and
disorganisation of individual family and social life in the United
States which is full of large crowds of solitary, self-alienated
individuals.
Their systems are showing signs of decay and decline.
Euphoria of Capitalism
The Wealth o f Nations represented euphoria of the new era of

capitalism. But John Maynard Keynes, one of the most important
saviours of capitalism, is inclined to observe:
"The decadent international but individualistic capitalism in the
hands of which we found ourselves after the (First World) War is not a
success. It is not intelligent, it is not just, it is not virtuous
and it does not deliver the goods. In short, we dislike it and we
are beginning to despise it."
Western Parliamentary Democracy
The failure of the western parliamentary democracy is obvious.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn has remarked that
230 Third Way
"the western democracies today are in a state of political crisis
and spiritual confusion."
His sad commentary on the party system is expressed in his
pertinent question:
"Are there no extra-party or strictly 'non-party' paths of
national development?"
In our country, Mahatma Gandhi, Revered Shri Guruji, Acharya
Vinoba, Loknayak Jaya Prakash Narayan and other great thinkers
have already expressed their scepticism about this western system.
M. N. Roy, who was an authority on all western institutions, came to
conclude that party politics was inconsistent with the ideal of
democracy and that it was liable to degenerate into power politics.
Within the limits of formal parliamentarism, based on atomised
electorates, individual citizens are not enabled to stand out in
sovereign dignity. This can be done only when the pyramidal
structure of the state is raised on a foundation of organised local
democracy, and the state coincides with the entire society, he said.
Dispassionate thinkers from the West are also arriving at the same
conclusion.
Success o f Socialism ?
It is difficult to point out where and in which manner socialism
has succeeded in the West. As C.E.M. Joad observed, socialism is a
hat that has lost its shape because everyone wears it. Even in the
cradle of western parliamentary democracy and trade unionism,
socialism has already lost its glamour and grip on the public mind.
This is evident from the recent victory of Mrs. Thatcher. Again,
according to scientific socialists, socialism is irrelevant in the case of
third world countries since economic abundance is an essential
prerequisite for socialism. In The German Ideology Marx wrote that
the high development of productive forces is absolutely necessary
as a practical premise (for socialism). And in a country with the
highest economic abundance, i.e., the United States, the total number
of socialists does not exceed 10,000 today.
Failure of Communism
Communism, which presented itself as the better alternative, has
also failed miserably.
This statement is being made not because many predictions of
M arx have not come true. The correctness or otherw ise of
Modernisation Without Westernisation- 231
predictions cannot be the sole criterion to determine the validity of
any doctrine. We are in agreement with Antonio Gramsci, Gyorgi-
Lukacs and Mao Zedong when they say that failure to predict the
future does not affect the validity of Marxism. This validity we seek
to judge by its own merit.
Condemnation of Yugoslavia in 1948, exhibition of Russian
military might in East Germany (1953), Hungary (1956), Czechoslovakia
(1968) and Afghanistan (1979); new understanding of the world
situation by Pollit, Gollan, Togliatti, Longo, Berlinguer, Carillo and the
other leaders of Eurocommunism; the end of a dream of unicentral
communist world; deviation from the basic tenets of Marxism by
ruling communist parties; desertions by idealists like Koestler, Djilas,
Roy, Debray and others; workers' revolts in Poland and other East
European countries, public expression of disillusionment by the
leaders of the Italian and the Spanish communist parties, and the
reactionary rise of indecisive New Left - these are unmistakable
indications of the decay of communism, though the house that has
taken a century and a half to come up, will take some more time to
fall under its own weight.*
A Search
A few, but saner elements in the West are already in search of a
new path, a new value-system, a new culture, a new paradigm.
The goal or objective that has failed the West cannot be helpful
to the East.
The Myth Exploded
The myth of universality of European experience is also
exploded. Mohmed Kutub, the historian, has rightly remarked,
"The different stages of economic evolution infer communist
society and slavery, capitalism, and then the final communism,
that is, final communist society. When it is dialectical materialism,
described as a common phenomenon in the history of mankind,
really it has no existence whatsoever, outside the European
history. These stages were never passed through by any people
outside Europe."
This statement by the author was made in 1983.

232 Third Way
Self-Reliance is Inevitable
This remark is much more relevant and significant in case of the
ancient Hindu Nation. There is room to suspect that propagation of
the myth of universality is inspired by a subtle, diplomatic move to
perpetuate economic and ideological imperialism even after the loss
of political em pires. The third world countries are realising
progressively the futility of the North-South dialogue, and the
inevitability of the goal of self-reliance. This goal makes it imperative
to change the model of development also.
Exercise in Futility
Unfortunately for the third world countries, history is not going
to repeat itself in precisely the same manner.
A few com m endable coincidences that culm inated in the
inauguration of Industrial Revolution; newly grown geopolitical
importance of sea-routes during the pre-aeroplane era; domestic pre
occupation of powers governing countries with abundant raw-material
and market-potentialities; circumstances favourable for empire
building by naval powers, practicability of sustaining domestic
economy on the strength of exploitation of colonies; all these
circumstances are not going to be repeated for the benefit of the
third world countries. The prosperity of the white nations was built
upon the foundations which will not be available now to the non
white countries. Hence the futility of imitating western example, and
accepting the western paradigm as a model.
Needed : A New Goal
It is, therefore, essential to set a new goal or objective for all
national striving in southern countries, keeping in view the failure of
the western paradigm as well as the significant difference in the
historical courses of events.
All of us are quite conversant with the Hindu goal of life, and
the ways and means to achieve the same. It need not be reiterated.
Distinctive Characteristics
For the purpose of this discussion, it is immaterial whether
someone accepts the cultural superiority of Hindus or not. But all
have unanim ously recognised that Hindu culture has its own
distinctive characteristics. We know how a visit to India is
considered as a pilgrimage by enlightened humanists from all parts
of the globe, whether he is a grandson of Henry Ford or a daughter
of Stalin. I will be drifting to the province of philosophy if I try to
state the Hindu goal, the Hindu view and an ideal Hindu scheme of
life. But that is hardly necessary here.
Wanted : Our Own Model
I, therefore, straightaway proceed to assert that we must
conceive of our model of progress and development, in the light of
our own culture, our past traditions, present requirements, and
aspirations for the future. We should study in depth the western
paradigm, and benefit from it wherever possible, but not accept it as
our model for future. To some of you this approach may appear to
be academic (if not other-worldly) and emotional (if not sentimental).
To those accustomed to safe-sailing, this may appear to be a leap in
the dark - an indiscrete move towards unchartered sea or untrodden
path. But it is nothing of the sort. Apart from our own cultural
heritage and rich historical experience, we have before us examples
and experiments of some non-white countries, such as, say Japan or
Mao's China. Japan, we learn, has kept its cultural traditions intact,
while exposing itself selectively to western technology; and Mao,
who is credited with sinification of Marxism itself, had the guts to
proclaim that ’modernisation is not westernisation'.
Direct the Technologies
The southern countries will find themselves more capable than
what the northern ones would have them believe, if only they relieve
themselves of their inferiority complex, and commit themselves to
mutual co-operation. The experience of tiny Biafra should inspire
them. Whatever be the level of their human and material resources,
they can certainly choose their own industrial strategy, and draw
their own industrial map. They can follow, reconciling efficiency with
employment, the motto of production by masses, and so far as
possible, the interm ediate or appropriate technology of E. F.
Schumacher. Being new entrants, they can, right from the beginning,
adopt an integrated approach to ecology, economics and ethics.
Their native technologists, whatever be their number, can be
required,-
(i) to study thoroughly and assimilate industrial technology from
all over the world; and
234_____________________________________________ Third Way
(ii) to locate and introduce such parts of foreign technology as
are suited to local conditions;
(iii) to introduce, for the benefit of artisans, reasonably adaptable
changes in the traditional techniques of production, without incurring
the risk of increase in unemployment of workers, wastage of
available managerial and technical skill, and complete decapitalisation
of the existing means of production; and
(iv) to evolve indigenous technology with em phasis on
decentralisation of the processes of production, with the help of
power, with home, instead of factory, as the centre of production.
Adopt New Values
They will have, further, to give up the western values of life, and
(i) evolve a coordinated system of wage differentials and status-
differentials which would ensure reconciliation of equality with
incentive, in view of the fact that if values of life are purely economic
or m aterialistic, equitable distribution of wealth would remain
incompatible with incentive for highest individual development; and
(ii) generate, consequently, the psychological and cultural
environment in which there would invariably be an inverse ratio
between social status and personal wealth.
New Science Movement
«
In India, it is heartening to note that the foreign-inspired
attempts to delink modern science from culture are being opposed by
some of the eminent scientists. Recently, Dr. Raja Ramanna, chairman-
designate, Atomic Energy Commission, exposed the hollowness of the
argum ent that to speak o f a synthesis between science and
spiritualism is nothing but obscurantism and revivalism. In a paper
read in a seminar organised by Bharatiya Vichar Kendra in co
operation with other institutions at Trivandrum on 24th June 1983
Prof. K. I. Vasu of the Indian Institute of Science of Bangalore made
an important announcement. He spelt out the philosophy of the
Swadeshi Science Movement launched by him. In his concluding
paragraph he says:
"In this venture, there is an urgent need to reorient the national
priorities in scientific research, development and education. This
calls for a national science and technology policy and national
science and technology plan. The essential element of such a
policy and plan would be truly Swadeshi in spirit and fully
Swadeshi in execution. Only such a Swadeshi Science Movement
can make our nationhood fulfilled, our ruralism protected, our
culture preserved and the whole world served."
This is an auspicious beginning of a gigantic task, though,
presently, it is on a modest scale.
Swadeshi Technological Movement
Similarly Claude Alvares and Dharampal have been striving hard
to initiate the Swadeshi Technological Movement though they have
not named it thus so far. Claude Alvares believes that every culture
has its own paradigm and model of progress and that development
of technology should be suited to the character of such paradigm
and model.
India has the third largest scientific community of the world. If
properly motivated, our scientists and technologies can certainly
accomplish this task.
Lack of National Will
By God's grace, we possess all the factors that go to make any
country great - the human, the material and the intellectual resources.
We are second to none in all these matters.
What is lacking is the requisite national will, leading to national
unity. Not the lack of potentialities, mind you, but the lack of will
and unity.
Shri Guruji on New Order
Stressing this point Revered Shri Guruji said:
"Once the life-stream of Unity begins to flow freely in all the
veins of our body-politic, the various limbs of our national life will
automatically begin to function actively and harmoniously
for the welfare of the Nation as a whole. Such a living and
growing society will preserve out of its multitude of old systems
and patterns, whatever is essential and conducive to its
progressive march, throw off those as have outlived their utility
and evolve new systems in their place. No one need shed tears at
the passing of the old order, nor shirk to welcome the new
order of things. That is the nature of all living and growing
organisms. As a tree grows, old leaves and dry twigs fall off
236 Third Way
making way for fresh growth. The main thing to bear in mind is
to see that the spirit of oneness permeates all parts of our social
set-up. Every system or pattern will live or change or even
entirely disappear according as it nourishes that spirit or not.
Hence it is useless in the present social context to discuss about
the future of all such systems. The supreme call for the time is to
revive the spirit of inherent unity and the awareness of its
life-purpose in our society. All other things will take care of
themselves."
Hinduism - Ever the Same, Yet Different
In The Sacred Thread J. L. Brockington conveys the same view
when he observes,
"Tradition (for Hindus) is not always just what it seems, but has
constantly been undergoing reinterpretation to accommodate new
understanding and changed circumstances. Innovation is not
the enemy of tradition but that by which it maintains its relevance.
Hinduism does not reject the old in favour of the new, but blends
the two, expressing new dilemmas in traditional language and
accommodating fresh insights to established viewpoints. The ability
to adapt itself to changing circumstances has been a mark of
Hinduism throughout its history, and the unifying factor bringing
together its many diverse threads lies in their common history
with this unique weaving together of tradition and innovation.
Hinduism is ever the same, yet different."
Unprecedented Crisis
The awakening of the national will is essential not only for
accomplishing the task of national reconstruction but even for
fulfilment of the global mission of the Hindu nation as envisaged by
Shri Guruji. After his demise, the world situation has been fast
deteriorating. There is a growing awareness among western
intellectuals that towards the close of the twentieth century, we find
ourselves in a state of profound, world-wide, complex, multi
dimensional crisis whose facets touch every aspect of our lives - our
health and livelihood, the quality of our environment and our
social relationships, our economy, technology and politics. It is a
crisis of intellectual, moral and spiritual dimensions; a crisis of a
scale and urgency unprecedented in recorded human history. For the
first time we have to face the very real threat of extinction of the
human race and of all life on this planet.
As Dorothy Sayers, one of the finest commentators on Dante as
well as modern society, has said:
"That the Inferno is a picture of human society in a state of sin
and corruption, everybody will readily agree. And since we are
today fairly well convinced that society is in a bad way and not
necessarily evolving in the direction of perfectibility, we find it easy
enough to recognise the various stages by which the deep
of corruption is reached. Futility, lack of living faith, the drift
into loose morality, greedy consumption, financial irresponsibility,
and uncontrolled bad temper; a self-opinionated and obstinate
individualism, violence, sterility, and lack of reverence for life and
property including one's own; the exploitation of sex, the debasing
of language by advertisement and propaganda, the commercialising
of religion, the pandering to superstition and the conditioning of
people's minds by mass-hysteria and 'spell-binding' of all kinds,
venality and string-pulling in public affairs, hypocrisy, dishonesty in
material things, intellectual dishonesty, the fomenting of discord
(class against class, nation against nation) for what one can get
out of it, the falsification and destruction of all the means of
communication; the exploitation of the lowest and stupidest mass-
emotions; treachery even to the fundamentals of kinship,
country, the chosen friend, and the sworn allegiance; these are the
all-too-recognisable stages that lead to the cold death of society
and the extinguishing of all civilised relations."
Capra, one of the eminent modern thinkers, believes that the
westerners so far favoured rational knowledge over intuitive wisdom,
science over religion, competition over co-operation, destruction of
natural resources over conservation, and that these factors, among
others, have led to a profound cultural imbalance which lies at the
very root of our current crisis, an imbalance in our thoughts and
feelings, our values and attitudes, and our social and political
structures. The current crisis, according to him, is a transition from
sensate culture. As individuals, as a society, as a civilization, and as
a planetary ecosystem, we are reaching the turning-point.
Western Paradigm Inadequate
Can the western paradigm help the perplexed humanity at this
turning-point?
The learned author says,
"What we need, then, is a new paradigm, a new vision of reality;
a fundamental change in our thoughts, perceptions and values."
238 Third Way
Does it not mean that for resolution of this unprecedented crisis
in human history, the western paradigm is too inadequate an
instrument?
This should serve as a warning and a lesson for all those who
fondly hope and believe that m odernisation is nothing but
westernisation.
The Views of Scholars
The views expressed by scholars of Hindu culture deserve

special attention in this context.
Toynbee
There is a view that India is facing today all types of problems

that are confronting humanity, but of all the countries India alone has
the ability to overcome these difficulties because of her inherent
aptitude to visualise unity in the midst of diversity. Consequently,
India alone can show a new and the right path to the distressed
world. That is the conviction of Arnold Toynbee.
Woodroffe
Sir John Woodroffe is confident that cultural ideas of the

Hindus will pass over into the West, the spirit of their ancient
culture will persist, whatever happens in future to the race which
evolved them. No doubt, there are some people in India who, in this
period of transition and scepticism due to foreign influences, believe
in none of such things and who are as materialist though often less
usefully so, than any westerner. But where can India gain strength to
save herself, except from her own cultural inheritance? The universal
assertion and adoption by all peoples of the noble and essential
principles of her spiritual civilization would lead to world-peace.
Shri Aurobindo
Shri Aurobindo who had clearly visualised the nature of the

impending world crisis declared confidently:
".....she (India) can, if she will, give a new and decisive turn to
the problems over which all mankind is labouring and
stumbling, for the clue to their solutions is there in her ancient
knowledge."
Shri Guruji
Shri Guruji observed,
"It is the grand world-unifying thought of Hindus alone that can
supply the abiding basis for human brotherhood, that knowledge
of the inner spirit which will charge the human mind with the
sublime urge to toil for the happiness of mankind, while opening
out full and free scope for every small life-speciality on the face of
the earth to grow to its full stature."
Means and Ends
To modernise or not to modernise is not the main or the more
relevant question before the mankind today. Modernisation is only
the means and not an end in itself. What is the end, the ultimate
goal? According to Dharma, it is the com plete, solidified,
unintermittent, eternal happiness of all. To the extent to which
modernisation is helpful for this purpose it is welcome. But if this
supreme goal is to be achieved through the instrumentality of
modernisation, we must cease to identify it with westernisation.
CHAPTER 20
South-South Co-operation*
The leadership in the Third World remained in disarray while the
negotiations were on at Geneva. No efforts were made by the leaders
of the Third World to understand the immediate or long-term
repercussions of the GATT Agreement, either individually or at a
collective level. On the contrary, they preferred to give an impression
to their people that they were part of the agreement process. The
fallacy of this was exposed in the first quarter of December 1993
when closure of Uruguay Round was announced. Only the European
Union and the US were in the play-field.
Though some eminent individuals and some NGOs (non
government organisations) did warn their governments about the
adverse im plications and im pact at some points, and some
governments did agree with the points made by them, unfortunately
the leaders did not raise them at the negotiations in an effective
manner. No group of Third World heads of state - neither Non-
Aligned Movement (NAM) nor G-15 nor G-77 - considered it worth
while to hold even a single m eeting to discuss the adverse
implications of the GATT Agreement. In the various statements,
individual and regional countries from the South had stressed that
with few exceptions the various regional and sub-regional schemes
had fallen short of expectations and that their objectives remained
unfulfilled. In the UNCTAD (United Nations Conference On Trade
And Development) meeting Syed Jamaluddin of Bangladesh blamed
the not-so-encouraging picture of South-South trade on "lack of
commitment among developing countries." Effective implementation
of Economic Co-operation among Developing Countries (ECDC)
required support from the donor countries but donor countries and
international agencies are not sensitive to the needs of South-South
Co-operation.
Economics o f South-South Co-operation
The rapid growth of some countries from the South, the
continued recession in major developed countries and the realisation
* This article was published in the weekly 'O r g a n is e r ' dated 6th March 1994.
South-South Co-operation 241
and complementarities gave momentum to the idea of South-South
co-operation in early seventies. The Centre-Periphery theory of Raul
Prebisch gave the theoretical support to the idea of South-South Co
operation. Prebisch was an Argentina-born economist. At the core of
his analysis lies the differentiation of the economic structure of the
centre and periphery: at the centre the developed and at the
periphery the developing countries. Through this theoretical
prescription he gave new insights for understanding the needs of
developing countries. He was an ardent supporter and, in fact, a
promoter of co-operation among developing countries.
The concept of South-South Co-operation found its forceful
expression in the 1985 Report of United Nations Industrial
Development Organisation (UNIDO). It reads:
"The factual analysis brings out the global nature of recent
crisis in industrial growth. The slow-down has hit both the
North and the South; the growth momentum has been broken by
North-South interaction. To some extent, the developed market
economies chose the policy of recession and retrenchment in order
to bring inflation down. This has led to a reversal o f the
positive feedback in the trade and output growth of the world
industrial economy in the period 1963-1979. North-South
interdependence has worked in a negative position since 1980 and
the impact is being felt in the ripples of the debt crisis in the South
as well as in the North."
The report further says:
"If however, there is neither the prospect of expansion in the
North nor of international financial reform, can the South take
the path of greater self-reliance? South-South Co-operation has
its origins in the Arusla Declaration and has been furthered in
Lagos Plan of Action and the Caracas Programmes of Action. By
expanding trade and co-operation with each other, the South can
continue its efforts at industrialisation. A careful and detailed
analysis of potential for intra-South trade reveals that there are
a number of opportunities for increasing trade between South
regions. Such opportunities are there particularly in the field of
capital-goods industries as well as in basic products in light
industries."
UNCTAD Standing Committee on ECDC in its 1992 Report
says:
16
242 Third Way
"South-South trade in general, trade within regions except in
West Asia has been increasing in the latter half of 1980s. The
share of intranational trade in total South-South trade rose from
48% in 1980 to 57% in 1986 and to 71% in 1991. This showed a
steady regionalisation of South-South trade during this period."
The UNCTAD Secretariat had pointed out that after some
serious setbacks in the 1980s South-South trade had shown some
signs of recovery but still continued to be "the weakest link in world
trade" accounting in 1991 only for 7.2% of the world trade. Much
homework had been already done on this subject by various bodies.
For example: documents of the UNCTAD which has been one of the
major multilateral organisations engaged in fostering ECDC are
already published.
Institutional Support
One of the premier institutions in the world for promotion of

South-South Co-operation is the South Centre at Geneva. The South
Commission was formally established in 1987, at the initiative of
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia who announced that
Julius K. Nyerere, former President of Tanzania, had consented to
become the Chairman of the Commission. The Centre has organised
several conferences and seminars on the very theme of South-South
Co-operation in different parts of the world. On 27th July 1987, J.K.
N yerere announced in D ar-es-Salaam the com position of a
commission and appointed Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Secretary-
General. The Report of the Commission was published at Dar-es-
Salaam in May 1990.
A few passages from the Report would suffice to indicate the
direction of the Commission's thinking under the guidance of
Dr. Manmohan Singh.
"For its own "sake and for the sake of humanity, the South has to
be resolute in resisting the present moves by the dominant
countries of the North to redesign the system to their own
advantage. Containing the great majority of humankind, the
South must play its rightful role in the process of fashioning a
more equitable and stable system to serve the aspirations of all
people.
With this as the objective, the developing countries must:
* acquire the maximum countervailing power through
increased exploitation of the South's collective resources;
* press for setting in motion a multilateral, democratic process,
with the participation of all major interests, to arrive at a
global consensus on the new international system, its basic
goals, how it should be managed, and the institutions it
requires;
* speak with a united voice in making clear proposals, so as to
play a leading role in this process. The proposals should aim
at capturing the imagination of the world's people and
especially of the young; they should rise above parochialism
to articulate a vision of the world as one human family.
"In mobilising all its latent power, the South has first to ensure
that its economies are self-fuelling to the maximum extent
possible and that their growth is not simply a by-product of growth
in the North. The South needs to expand its presence in
Northern markets, for which purpose it needs improved access
to markets and the roll-back of protectionism, which is now
often directed specifically at products of considerable interest to
the South in terms of export. But the emerging development
patterns of the North clearly suggest that the Northern
locomotive economies will not pull the train of Southern
economies at a pace that will satisfy its passengers - the people of
the South. The locomotive power has to be generated to the
maximum extent possible within the economies o f the South
themselves. The acute poverty of the South, particularly the low
productivity of Southern agriculture, is a pointer to the
unexplored potential that exists within the South itself to fuel its
growth processes. Sustained rural development, focused
sharply on raising the productivity and incomes of small
landholders, can be a powerful instrument for the promotion of
both growth and equity.
The South as a whole has sufficient markets, technology, and
financial resources to make South-South co-operatron an
effective means for widening the development options for its
economies. Intensified South-South co-operation has to become
an important part of southern strategies fo r autonomous,
self-reliant development. The South must build its capacity to
sustain a fast pace of growth even if the Northern engine is in
low gear."
244 Third Way
South-South co-operation is, however, a strategic necessity not
only for development within the South but also for securing equitable
management of global inter-dependence. South-South co-operation
alone can give the developing countries a collective weight and
countervailing power that cannot be ignored by the North. Securing
an effective say in the management of the global economy will
require this collective strength, backed by unity among the countries
of the South, steadfastness in the pursuit of goals, and flexibility in
the use of tactics.
The further publication of the South Commission, 'Facing the
Challenge' furnishes us with the responses of 28 eminent individuals
from different parts of the South to the Commission's Report which
took into account the inter-related nature of the problem, linking
together matters of national development, South-South co-operation -
covering three-and-a-half billion people, three quarters of all
humanity. These countries were the victims of an acute development
crisis; sharp squeeze of per-capita income and living standards;
destabilising and potentially explosive social and economic tensions;
contractionary policies followed by the developed countries and the
sudden drying up of capital-flows; the adjustment policies imposed
by international financial institutions that intensified deflationary
pressures; the rapid expansion of transnational enterprises as the
main producers of goods and services for world trade; growing
instability, unpredictability and fluctuation in the international
economy, notably in interest and exchange rates, and growing
uncertainty in capital markets; excessive growth of indebtedness; the
drain of resources on debt transaction - primacy to the payment of
debt service over even protection of the living standards of the poor;
the drain of capital due to the worsening of the terms of trade;
preference to industries over agriculture; faulty implementation of
land reforms; shift away from material/energy/labour-intensive
products and processes and towards knowledge-intensive products
and processes; and, similarly, a shift away from agriculture and
industry and tow ards services; an international arrangem ent
governing the flows of trade, money, finance and technology;
hegemonistic policies of the developed countries; the policy package
of IMF imposing structural adjustment; difficulties caused by external
factors, and the invariable sight of small islands of affluence
surrounded by vast oceans of poverty.
In the 'Challenges to the South-South Co-operation', a
publication of South Centre, Geneva, twenty-four authors from
various parts of the world critically examined the theoretical
underpinnings and practical aspects of economic and technical co
operation among developing countries, with particular attention to
joint investments and their financing. The book concludes with some
thirty recommendations adopted at the international workshop on this
topic held in Bled, Yugoslavia, in November 1981.
The Research and Information System (RIS) for the non-aligned
and other developing countries, New Delhi, is a forum for providing
anyalytical support to the developing countries on various
international economic issues of concern to the process of their
developm ent. Its aims and objectives include, among others,
promotion of the concept of self-reliance among non-aligned and
other developing countries and forging and maintaining a system of
effective links amongst the various research capabilities for the
maximum common benefit. The proceedings of the seminar on New
Perspectives in North-South and South-South Economic Relations
organised by the RIS on 26th September 1985 were published in a
volume titled 'South-South Economic Co-operation'. In its
introduction, the Director Dr. V.R. Panchamukhi, who is an authority
on international trade theory, observes,
"South-South co-operation is no more a novel concept.
Considerable progress had already been made in various
directions in the area of South-South co-operation particularly
after the inception of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group
of 77 culminating in the Caracas programme of action adopted in
May 1981."
RIS has also brought out some papers on this theme. They are:
South-South Economic Co-operation: Some Issues in the Fields of
Trade and Finance, by UNCTAD Secretariat; Industrial Cooperation
among Developing Countries and the Role of UNIDO, by
S. Nanjundar; An Evolution of a Preferential Trading Arrangement in
the ESCAP Region, by I.N. Mukherjee; The Asian Clearing Union:
Towards Regional M onetary C o-operation, by B.K. M adan;
South-South Financial Co-operation: Approaches to the Current
Crisis.
'The Jam aica Papers' edited by the renowned econom ist
Dragoslav Avramovic and published first in Great Britain in 1983,
246 Third Way
comprises eight papers submitted at the expert group meeting of the
Group of 77 in Jamaica in March 1982. One of the most interesting
recommendations to come out of the Jamaica meeting was that a
technical study on the feasibility of a bank for developing countries
should be undertaken. In his foreword Dr. Salah-al-Shaikhly said,
"The developing countries should try to utilise their own
resources and come up with new institutions and modalities for
development and other financing. The most dangerous thing they
could do now would be to wait for the industrial countries to
solve their own problems and hopefully those of the developing
world. If the North is in no mood at present to take the
initiative, there is no reason why the South should not do so."
A nother im portant work on South-South co-operation,
'North-South and South-South' by Frances Stewart, explains:
"The rules of the game and their interpretation, which govern
North-South economic relations, have been developed almost
exclusively by Northern decision-makers, from a Northern
perspective."
A Com m onwealth Group of Experts established in 1989,
reflecting a widely felt concern that the circumstances facing
developing countries have changed significantly in the 1980s, studies
in depth the main elements of changes in the 1980s which affected
the growth of the developing countries. These changes come "at a
time when large parts of the developing world are burdened by the
legacy of 1980s, when external indebtedness emerged as a major
barrier to economic growth and spreading poverty punctured the
hopes of earlier decades." The Group's Report was published by the
Commonwealth Secretariat in August 1991.
In 'South-South Co-operation in South, South-East and East
Asia: A Perspective', published in June 1992, Dr. V.R. Panchamukhi
emphasises that there are three aspects that need to be analysed in
the context of promoting the co-operation:
1. Identifying the potential areas of complementarities;
2. identifying the constraints that hinder the full realisation of
these potentials; and
3. working out the policy recommendations and other support
measures that would remove the constraints and facilitate the
realisation of the potentials of co-operation.
'Challenges of South-South Co-operation Parts I and II,' edited
by Hans Singer, Neelamber Halli and.Rameshwar Tandon, brings
together the research relating to the following elements of South-
South co-operation:
(a) North-South and South-South
(b) Optimal Trade Policies for Co-operation
(c) UNIDO, ECDC, SAARC
(d) The emerging complementarities in South-South Trade
(e) Economic Regionalism in Sub-Saharan Africa
(1) Export-led growth and the Lima Target.
More than fifty eminent scholars have contributed to these
volumes.
The Weakness
The need to strengthen South-South co-operation is today more
urgent than ever before. Economic co-operation of European
Community demonstrates the importance of a self-commission - at
least to the leaders guiding the co-operation effort - a strategy firmly
grounded in the political and economic structures of the countries
concerned. The efforts of co-operation in the South have operated
so far without the benefit of any clear-cut strategy.
The Report of the South Commission says,
"One of chief shortcomings of South-South Co-operation has
been weak organisation and lack of institutionalised technical
support, both at the international level and within most
countries." [The efforts at co-operation in the South have
functioned without any viable and effective strategy to guide them-]
"pursued in a haphazard, catch-as-catch-can manner."
The strategy should have clearly identified broad fields of co
operation, and listed the steps to be taken in implementing both the
short and medium-term programmes.
Such a strategy was not evolved. Consequently, while moves to
promote South-South co-operation have involved much effort and
produced many initiatives and schemes, the practical results have
been rather limited.
248 Third Way
The Will - The Way
Obviously, the main factor in this respect is the people's will.
Just as participants in the New Delhi consultations lauded the
comprehensive programme of action agreed to at Caracas in May
1981, for co-operation in the areas of food, energy, trade, finance,
raw-materials, industry, technology and technical co-operation among
developing countries as a significant landmark, they also felt that for
such co-operation, in particular, more frequent and wide-ranging
contacts among the leaders of business, commerce, industry, as well
as scientists, intellectuals, writers and journalists in the developing
countries are necessary. The co-operation could not materialise
because of the lack of the political will, as explained by Brajendra
Nath Banerjee in his 'Caracas to New Delhi'.
It is never too late to mend. Though much water has flown
under the bridge, the rousing of people’s will among the Third
World countries is a mission worth being undertaken by the patriots
of these countries.
PARTY
REACH FOR PARAM VAIBHAVAM

CHAPTER 21
Reach for Param Vaibhavam*

Can the votaries of the Hindu Rashtra who take pride in their
glorious past have a long-range vision of the glorious future? Are
they not revivalists? In his 'Studies of a Dying Culture' Christopher
Caudwell remarks:
"The return to the classics dominated the bourgeois Renaissance.
Rome influenced Napoleon and the Revolution. The return to the
natural uncorrupted man was the ideal of eighteenth-century
revolutionists. Yet, it is the new man whose tension men feel in their
minds and hearts at such times... He may think it is the past he is
bom to save or re-establish on earth, and only when it is done is it
seen that the future has come into being. The reformer returning to
primitive Christianity brings bourgeois Protestantism into being."
Justice M. G. Ranade says:
"In a living organism, as society is, no revival is possible."
The Hindu nationalists are pledged to carry the Hindu Rashtra to
the pinnacle of glory through the process of renaissance.
'Renaissance' has been defined thus by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan:
"Hinduism has its periods of growth and decline and we are
today in the midst of Hindu renaissance. The word 'renaissance' is
not used in the sense of a mere revival of antiquity; the eternal
principles are reborn to be applied to a new life in new ways. There
is growth of a new spirit like the one which shattered the medieval
order of the seventeenth century."
The Hindu nationalists have been always aware that history
without futurology would be fruitless, while futurology without history
would be rootless. Our heritage enables us to be cautious without
being conservative, and dynamic without being adventurist.
But one basic point deserves to be stressed in this context. The
concept of Param Vaibhavam (Pinnacle of Greatness) of the Hindu
Rashtra must be properly comprehended. The highest national
objective for all materialistic westerners of all countries is the
* Published in the weekly 'Blitz' (Mumbai) dated 29th January 1994.

252 Third Way
attainment of superpower status. But is this goal dignified enough for
the mature Sanatoria Rashtra that is India?
Political power, howsoever glamorous it may appear to be while it
lasts, cannot but be transitory.
Omar Khayyam has described this fact graphically in the following
words:
See in this battered caravanserai
Whose portals are alternate night and day
How Sultan after Sultan with his pomp
Abode his hour or two, and went his way.
Bernard Shaw wrote the Prologue to his Caesar and
Cleopatra in the form of a monologue in 1992. It was intended to give
the power-drunk English audiences a glimpse of ancient history that
might remind them prophetically, that the power of empires does not
last for ever. It is childish to be enamoured of the superpower status,
believing that once acquired, it can last for ever and ever and ever.
It is interesting to note how short-lived the empires and the
superpowers have been. But for the exception of the Byzantine empire
which lasted for 1,141 years (312 AD to 1453 AD), the durability of all
other empires is astonishingly poor; and the period of the Byzantine
empire is also brief, considered against the background of the entire
historical past.
Empires
1) Egyptian - Imperial Age : (1880 BC to 1150 BC)
- 730 years.
2) Babylonian Empire under Hammurabi : (1792 BC to
1750 BC) - 42 years.
3) The New Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar:
(612 BC to 539 BC) - 73 years.
4) The Persian Empire : (550 BC to 486 BC) - 64 years.
5) The Inca Empire : (1438 AD to 1525 AD) - 87 years.
6) The Han Empire : (206 BC to 221 AD) - 427 years.
7) The Greek Empire : (336 BC to 323 BC) - 13 years.
Reach for Param Vaibhavam 253
8) The Roman Empire : (270 BC to 476 AD) - 746 years.
9) The Arab Empire : (634 AD to 755 AD) - 121 years.
10) The Byzantine Empire : (312 AD to 1453 AD) - 1,141 years.
11) The Holy Roman Empire : (800 AD to 843 AD) - 43 years.
12) The Napoleonic Empire : (1799 AD to 1815 AD) - 16 years.
13) The British Empire : (1802 AD to 1947 AD) - 145 years.
14) The German Empire : (1939 AD to 1945 AD) - 6 years.
15) The Russian Empire : (1945 AD to 1989 AD) - 44 years.
Even the current American hegemony will not last beyond 2010
AD - a period of at the most 65 years.
Is it advisable to equate Param Vaibhavam which is the goal of
the Hindu nationalists, with the transitory superpower status? And,
again, the question is: superpower status for whom? For, some of the
main recognised concepts of the past have lost their relevance and
authenticity in recent years.
For example: National sovereignty which has been a sacred
principle so far is being progressively eroded by international
fundamentalism, transnational terroism; international financial
corporations, international under-ground empires of narcotics or drugs;
voluntary transnational bodies dealing with environment, human
rights, civil liberties, tourism, arms control, labour relations, etc. and the
vertical organisation of the present and the prospective regional
blocks like the European Community.
The West-oriented United Nations Declaration on Human Rights is
becoming irrelevant to the requirements of the southern countries
whose peoples are victims of human rights violations by their own
states. Through their development models, their technological choices,
their weapons and perversions, the states are allowed to perpetrate the
violence of poverty, of ecological destruction and technological
terrorism. The right of livelihood, health, education and housing is
completely ignored. The West-dominated United Nations has mistaken
states for nations; it has failed to recognise separate identity of
various aboriginal communities, nomadic tribes and ethnic groups
scattered over more than one adjacent country.
i
254 Third Way
Obviously, the western paradigm cannot be the universal model of
progress and development.
What, then, should be the shape of Param Vaibhavam?
The Shanti Mantra of Vedic Seers and the Pasaya-Dana of Sant
Jnaneswar are some of the manifestoes of Hindu Rashtra. In Bunch of
Thoughts by Shri Guruji Golwalkar on the philosophy of the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), one can listen to the voice of a seer
enunciating the 'World Mission of the Hindu Rashtra'.
Revered Shri Guruji, the second Sarsanghchalak of the
RSS, believed that the world unity and human welfare can be made real
only to the extent that mankind realises the ultimate, absolute Vedantic
Truth that 'All is One'. What he envisaged was not elimination of all
distinctive features of nations and rolling them all into one uniform
pattern. He visualised various groups of peoples coming together in a
spirit of familism, realising the innate oneness of mankind while
preserving their individual identities and special characteristics. The
different human groups are marching forward, all towards the same
goal, each in its own way and in keeping with its own characteristic
genius. The destruction of the special characteristics, whether of an
individual or of a group, will destroy not only the natural beauty of
harmony, but also its joy of self-expression. To seek harmony among
the various and diverse characteristics has been our special
contribution to the world-thought.
Shri Guruji felt that the World State of our concept,
"will evolve out of a federation of autonomous and
self-contained nations under a common centre linking them... It
is the grand world-unifying thought of Hindus alone that can
supply the abiding basis for human brotherhood, that knowledge of
the Inner Spirit which will charge the human mind with the sublime
, urge to toil for the happiness of mankind, while opening out full and
free scope for every small life-speciality. Verily this is the one real
practical world-mission, if ever there was one."
This Hindu concept has been elucidated elaborately by Shri
Aurobindo, who envisaged the further stage of 'mass spiritualism'.
Some elevated souls from the West also are inclined to endorse
such a Hindu vision of the future. For example, the French savant Paul
Martini Dubost proclaims:
Reach for Param Vaibhavam 255
"After two thousand years, India is on the agenda. India belongs to
everybody. The melody of the Indian soul is something which never
ceases to move us."
Arnold Toynbee says,
it is already becoming clear that a chapter which has a Western
beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not
to end in the self-destruction of the human race... At this
supremely dangerous moment in human history, the only way of
salvation for mankind is an Indian way.
If India were ever to fail to live up to this Indian ideal which is the
finest, and therefore, the most exacting, legacy in your
Indian heritage, it would be a poor look-out for mankind as a whole.
So a great spiritual responsibility rests on India."
This is India's destination - Param Vaibhavam. Not the
invariably transitory superpower status, but the pre-ordained Jagad-
Guru-pada.
Bharat is eminently suited to play this role - Bharat with Sanatana
Dharma as its absolute referent and 'All is One' as its ultimate
realisation; its tradition of ever-changing socio-economic order in the
light of the unchanging, eternal universal laws of Dharma.
The western and the Hindu are the two entirely different
paradigms with their entirely different value systems, institutional
arrangements and parameters.
The materialistic West has failed to achieve the professed goals
of the French Revolution. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedker, who had
assimilated the spirit of Dharma, observed,
"Positively, my social philosophy may be said to be enshrined in
three words; Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Let no one,
however, say that I have borrowed my philosophy from the
French Revolution. I have not. My philosophy has roots in
religion and not in political science. I have derived them from
the teachings of my master, the Buddha.
In Buddha's philosophy, liberty and equality had a place; but he
added that unlimited liberty destroyed equality, and absolute
equality left no room for liberty. He gave the highest place to
fraternity as the only real safeguard against the denial of liberty
or equality. Fraternity was another name for brotherhood of
humanity, which was again, another name for Dharma. Only
256___________■
__________________________________Third Way
brotherhood cart protect freedom and equality. This brotherhood
is also called social oneness. It is humanity, it is Dharma."
Against this background, it should be easier to comprehend why
Gandhiji said:
"Hinduism is a relentless pursuit after Truth, and if today it has
become moribund, inactive and unresponsive to growth, it is
because we are fatigued, and as soon as the fatigue is over,
Hinduism will burst forth upon the world with a brilliance
perhaps unknown before."
That will be the beginning of our march towards India's inevitable,
pre-ordained destiny.
APPENDICES
17
Appendix I
On Revolution*
The first-ever revolution of the world was organised in Vedic
India - when, under the leadership of the politically disinterested
sages, the people rose against, deposed and killed the tyrant Vena.
This was centuries before Romulus slew Remus, or Cain, Abel.
Vamadeva, as quoted by Bhishma, advocates bloody revolution
against autocracy, and Shukra enjoins the duty to rebel against bad
government. Bhagavad-Gita can be more aptly termed as the
'Saffron Book' of all authentic revolutionaries, though, as Geoffrey
Fairbairn points out in his Revolutionary Guerrilla Warfare,
"One of the casualties of modern warfare is a loss of that deeper
understanding of the human condition which was stated, perhaps
two millennia ago, in the Bhagavad-Gita : a man has the right
to act, but not to expect the fruits of his actions."
Violence is a common denom inator for both wars and
revolutions, and the above observation highlights the qualitative
difference between Karmayogi Arjuna and the politically interested
revolutionaries of this century.
Every household in India is familiar with the names and deeds of
the revolutionary leaders of immediate past, such as, Shivaji and
others.
In recent times, the Naxalites popularised the Maoist dictum:
"Political power grows out o f the barrel o f a gun."
Not many are aware that seventy years before the
commencement of the Naxalite movement Lokmanya Tilak wrote,
"Our readers will understand why the Afridis say that the British
Empire in India is the reward given by Allah sitting in the barrel
of a gun."
A paper submitted at a meeting of the National Executive of Bharatiya

Mazdoor Sangh on 23rd October 1976.
On Revolution 259
The illustrious names of revolutionaries from 1857 to 1947 are too
well known to be recounted.
Thus, political violence is a phenomenon not unknown to Indian
history.
But it is noteworthy that the successor of king Vena became
himself a tyrant in course of time.
Marxism and Revolutions
Many in this country mistakenly identify-revolutions with
Marxism. They forget the fact that long before the birth of Marxism
the West witnessed Cromwellian revolution of 1649, the American
revolution of 1778 and the French revolution of 1789. Again, though
Marxism preaches violence, and nothing but violence, it is significant
that Engels wrote in 1847 in his treatise, Principles of Communism:
"Communists know only too well that revolutions are not only
useless but even harmful. They know all too well that revolutions
are not made intentionally and arbitrarily, but that everywhere
and always they have been the necessary consequence of
conditions which were wholly independent of the will and
direction of individual parties and entire classes. But they also
see that the development of the proletariat in nearly all civilized
countries has been violently suppressed and that in this way the
opponents of communism have been working towards a revolution
with all their strength."
Marxism is indisputably wedded to violence. But recently some
national communist parties have put forward the non-Leninist idea
that they may conquer political power without violence, and though
their bona-fides may not be above suspicion, simple justice requires,
as Prof. Sydney Hook observes,
"the recognition that even they find the ideologists of violence
in some countries somewhat of an embarrassment."
In colonial countries, the Marxist revolutionary leaders appealed
to their compatriots in the name of patriotism, though they were
cautious enough to state simultaneously that genuine patriotism is
part and parcel of internationalism. For example, Ho Chi-Minh stated
in 1951,
"Our people are ardent patriots. This is our invaluable tradition.
260 Third Way
1 okay, as in t'ne past, every time the f atherland is invaded,
their patriotism boils over in a wave of great violence that
sweeps all dangers and difficulties and drowns all the traitors
and aggressors."
A recent trend in the Communist world to 'nationalize' Marxism
by making it compatible with the national culture and traditions must
also be taken into account. A determined effort by Mao to 'sinify'
Marxism is already well known in our country. Nationalised Marxism
becomes very much different from the textbook Marxism. It invariably
contains an element of nationalism.
This is just to suggest that straitjacket thinking in this respect
will not be realistic.
Excluded Categories
Rut. s o m e , r.3Jte.pg\rj es„ o f . '7 rvlfts\4\sv, dav *m\J drcs-er v c ~seri ro u s
i
consideration here: firstly, the instinctive or the pre-planned reaction

of the people to the violence by opportunist hoodlums patronised
by the government - because, in fact, they are government agents
and, in that sense, a part of the establishm ent; secondly, the
unplanned violent reaction to the violence organised by a
government against itself in a 'Reichstag Fire' style. For example, on
March 6, 1971, the Ceylonese government alerted the army and the
police, and staged a provocation by organising a petrol bomb attach
on the US embassy. The government attributed this action to the
opposition despite its denial of responsibility and invoked special
powers under Public Security Act. The governm ent declared
emergency, imposed curfew throughout the Island, arrested all known
militants and leaders of the people and shot down a number of them.
The on-the-spot reaction to this type of officially inspired,
provocative violence is obviously outside the purview of this paper.
Such official violence can also be directed against minorities,
such as, against the Jews in Hitler's Germany or the Hindus in
Pakistan.
The Ku-Klux-Klan-type activities, incuding lynching, can also
evoke violent resistance. But it is also outside our purview because
it does not, or at least did not so far, bring about any change of
regime.
The Forms
In his Coup d'Etat, Edward Luttwak, improving upon the
On Revolution 261
Technique of the Coup d'Etat by Curzio Malaparte, says that a coup
consists of the infiltration of a small but critical segment of the state
apparatus, which is then used to displace the government from its
control of the remainder. 'Civil war' is actual warfare between
elements of the national armed forces leading to the displacement of
a government; 'pronunciamento',* a takeover by a particular army
leader who carries it out in the name of the entire officer corps;
'putsch', an attempt by a formal body within the armed forces under
its appointed leadership; and 'liberation', in modern times, the
overthrow of governm ent by foreign m ilitary or diplom atic
intervention, aiming first to set up a rival state structure. Basing his
conclusions on the experience of 88 coups and attempted coups in
36 countries between 1945 and 1967, Luttwak lays down certain
prerequisites for the success of a coup. It is evident from the facts
furnished by him that in a vast and multicentral country like India,
the technique of coup cannot succeed. In civil war, pronunciamento,
putsch, or liberation, the civilian population is allotted only a
passive role; the people can neither initiate nor influence these
operations. Consequently, it is the army, and not the people, that
dominate the new regime. If the army leaders choose to become
authoritarian - and there is no reason why they should not do so -
the people are again equally helpless. They just shift from the frying
pan into the fire. What people can bring about, depending mainly
upon their own will-power, is resistance, rebellion, revolt and
revolution. True, even in this process, it becomes necessary to
neutralise or win over the army. But the lead lies with the pople, and
the role of the army becomes auxiliary or supplementary.
Minimum Prerequisite
The minimum prerequisite for the launching of a violent
revolutionary war has been prescribed by Che Guevara in the
following words:
" It must always be kept in mind that there is a necessary minimum
without which the establishment and consolidation of the first
centre [of rebellion] is not practicable. People must see clearly
the futility of maintaining a fight for social goals within the
framework of civil debate. When the forces of oppression come
to maintain themselves in power against established law, peace
is considered already broken.
* See Appendix II
262 Third Way
In these conditions, popular discontent manifests itself in more
active forms. An attitude of resistance crystallizes in an outbreak
offighting, provoked initially by the conduct of the authorities.
Where a government has come into power through some form of
popular vote, fraudulent or not, and maintains at least an
appearance of constitutional legality, the guerrilla outbreak cannot be
promoted, since the possibilities of peaceful struggle have not been
exhausted."
It is noteworthy that industrial backwardness of and discrimination
against Scotland and Wales, internal conflicts in Canada and Belgium
along linguistic regional lines, or infusions of migrant foreign labour in
West Germany, Switzerland, France and Britain, have not given rise to
any revolutionary efforts; and in USA, though there are black
revolutionaries resolved to overthrow the social system, the vast
majority of Negroes, Red Indians, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans are not
yet a party to any such move. The National Association for the
Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) continues to believe in
constitutional pressures, and the disciples of Martin Luther King are
still clinging to the possibility of achieving their goal through non
violent mass action and the Christian appeal. Notwithstanding the
revolution potentialities of the young and the black in USA, the surge
of West German student demonstrations in 1967, tumultuous events of
May-June 1968 in France, and the Catholic revolt in Northern Ireland,
it can safely be asserted that the cult of violence is not gaining any
appreciable ground in western democratic countries. It is presently of
only peripheral significance.
A new trend in some national communist parties, like those in Italy
and France, is already mentioned. It is, however, a fact that the
situation in undemocratic countries is different.
Personal Equipment
It is noteworthy that the personal equipment of an underground
activist of a non-violent revolution is very much the same as that
prescribed by Carlos Marighella for a guerrilla fighter, though the
material equipment prescribed by him for the latter is certainly
irrelevant in case of the former.
For example, Marighella says that a guerrilla fighter must have
courage, a spirit of initiative, imagination and creativity. He must be a
On Revolution 263
good tactician (and a good shot) and must make up for his inferiority
in weapons, ammunition and equipment by his skill and cunning. He
must be mobile, flexible, able to adapt to circumstances, and able to
keep a cool head. He must be a good walker, resistant to fatigue,
hunger, rain and heat. He must be able to hide and keep watch, know
the arts of disguise, never be intimidated by danger, act as easily by
night as by day - but never precipitately, possess unlimited patience,
keep calm and clear-headed in even the worst predicaments, never
leave a trace behind, and never be discouraged. He must not appear
different from anyone else. He must never speak of his activity to
anyone. He must have a great capacity for observation. He must be
well-informed, specially as to the enemy's movements, good at asking
questions, and thoroughly familiar with the terrain he is working in.
Addresses, names, telephone numbers and route plans must never be
written down. Plans should be secret, each knowing details pertaining
to his own assignment. Notes on the margin of newspapers, papers left
somewhere, visiting cards, letters, tickets - all these should be
destroyed. He must memorise meeting-places. A guerrilla who is
arrested must say nothing that could damage the organisation, causing
the arrest of other comrades, or the discovery of any of the places
where they keep arms and ammunition.
For revolutionary leaders the supreme quality required is mental,

rather than mere physical toughness. They must possess a strong
will-power. Both Che Guevara and Charu Muzumdar suffered from
chronic maladies.
The following seven deadly sins deserve to be avoided as much

by a non-violent guerrilla as by a violent guerrilla : inexperience;
under-estimate or over-estimate of strength; boastfulness and over
valuing one's own role; disproportion between action and logistic
infrastructure; precipitateness - out of impatience; temerity; and
improvisation.
In 1950 Ho Chi-Minh instructed his revolutionary followers to 1.

heighten discipline; 2. strictly carry out orders from higher levels;
3. love the soldiers; 4. respect the people; 5. take good care of public
property and war booty; 6. sincerely make criticism and
self-criticism.
264 Third Way
He further drew their attention to the follow ing points :
1. conducting propaganda; 2. not indulging in subjectivism and under
estimating the enemy; 3. winning time in order to make preparations;
and 4. keeping absolute secrecy.
Such instructions are equally useful, with some variation, for
organising non-violent revolution also.
Terrain : The Base
The favourable nature of terrain is important for the success of

violent revolutionary guerrilla activities. For example, as Robert
Taber states about the base of the Cuban revolutionaries under
Castro,
"Sierra runs more than one hundred miles east and west and is
fifteen to twenty-five miles deep. Simple arithmetic shows how
impossible was the task set for the army given a trackless
terrain of precipitous and thickly-wooded mountains."
Airforce or artillery cannot do much against a revolutionary force
in such a terrain. In India, Shivaji could not have successfully
employed his guerrilla tactics in the vast Gangetic plains which
disappointed Tantia Tope who adopted guerrilla tactics after the fall of
Bareilly and Lucknow, and showed skill in mobile warfare in Central
India (which comprises such terrains). Could Tantia's following General
Order be implemented in the Northern plains ?
"Do not attempt to meet the regular columns of the infidels
because they are superior to you in discipline, bandobast, and have
big guns, but watch their movements, guard all the ghats on rivers,
intercept their communications, stop their supplies, cut their daks
and posts, keep constantly hanging about their camps, give
them no rest."
A region that is more rural than urban, mountainous rather than
flat, thickly forested rather than with extensive railway lines and
roads, and an economy that is preponderantly agricultural rather than
industrial, is eminently suited for guerrilla activity.
The lim itations of m ilitary power in difficult terrain were
highlighted by Senator George McGovern when he said,
"There, in the jungles of Asia, our mighty nuclear arsenal, our 50
billion arms budget, our costly new special forces have proved
On Revolution 265
powerless to cope with a band of rugged guerrillas fighting with
home-made weapons...."
So far as India is concerned, though it is for the experts to
precisely locate, on the strength of an analysis of the geographical
and demographic structures, areas favourable for initial guerrilla
operations, it can safely be stated that our vast plains are not suited
to such operations, that the suitable areas are not fairly contiguous,
and that the political, administrative centre of the country is situated
in the midst of plains. The terrain counts, in war as well as in
revolutions. Had the adjacent areas of Delhi been mountainous, the
invader of 1761 would have been vanquished even before he could
reach the battlefield of Panipat.
No doubt, Carlos Marighella had perfected the technique of
urban guerrilla warfare. Murder and kidnapping of foreign officials; the
burning down of television and radio stations; the bombings of
newspaper offices and government and military buildings; train
robberies; bank robberies; release of political prisoners through th e'
seizure of hostages; expropriation of arms and goods belonging to the
government, large capitalists and landlords; tactical street-fighting to
gain the participation of the urban masses; mutinies inside or attacks
on prisons; industrial strikes; all these have their own importance. But
these can be effective only under certain conditions. In most Latin
American countries 50 per cent or more of the total population lives
in three or four major cities, while in Uruguay or Chile almost one-third
of the population lives in one city. Urban terrorism cannot yield results
where the population is distributed in a different fashion - as is the
case in India.
Outside Help
The non-violent revolutionaries do not consider it ethical to

receive any material aid from any foreign power though they certainly
realise the value of international propaganda. On the other hand, most
of the successful revolutionary wars after the Second World War were
fought with the help of some foreign power or the other. The Algerian
revolutionaries received considerable aid from Egypt and had their
privileged sanctuary in Tunisia. General Giap has him self
acknowledged the significant change that was brought about by Red
China's occupation of the areas bordering on Vietnam in December
1949. By the end of 1950, the entire Sino-Vietnamese border
266 Third Way
was cleared of French-held forts, and the Chinese territory on
the other side of the border became an active sanctuary for training
regular Vietnamese divisions and fulfilling logistical and other military
requirements of the Vietnamese guerrillas.
The strategy of Mao to convert an area on the Sino-Soviet border
into his base of operation is quite well known. The Greek revolutionary
army depended for its supplies upon Yugoslavia and Albania. Mao
tribesmen in North Thailand were trained in North Vietnam. Who is
not already aware of the role of Cuba in some revolutions in Africa and
Latin America, and the Chinese assistance to Nagas of India, Shans
and Kachins of Burma, revolutionaries in Laos, M alaysia and
Cambodia, Palestinian guerrillas, the PFL of the Arab Gulf, and guerrilla
fighters in some African countries?
It can be concluded that no guerrilla campaign in recent years has
ultimately prevailed without large-scale infusion of outside aid and
arms, though such an aid does not come forth to assist the
guerrillas of any country whose success is not likely to have any
impact on international order, as was the case of guerrillas of tiny
Chad fighting against the French rule. On the contrary, Tupamaros of
Uruguay acquired importance out of all proportion to the size (less
than 19 million hectares) and population (3 million) of their country
because it is sandwiched between the two giants of the continent -
Argentina and Brazil - and both Castro of Cuba and Allende of Chile
saw Uruguay as a centre for promoting successful revolutions
throughout South America.
Even today, the 5,000 Rhodesian black guerrillas have made their
base in Mozambique and are receiving supplies from and through
Zambia.
Dr. Agostinho Neto, Angolan President, publicly expressed his
most profound gratitude to at least 9 communist and 5 non-communist
countries.
Arms and Popular Support
The arm-chair revolutionaries are under an impression that the first
and foremost requirement of a violent revolution is an adequate supply
of sophisticated arms. They will be surprised to learn from the
Associated Press that:
"Often a Vietcong unit is organised initially with no weapons.
On Revolution 267
The political organiser tells his men and women, they must fight with
handmade arms - spears, daggers, swords and crude shotguns. To
get better weapons the unit must capture them from the enemy."
Though arms are certainly important, the outcome of a revolution
is ultimately decided by the people, not by sophisticated weapons.
Che Guevara observes,
"The guerrilla fighter needs full help from the people of the area.
This is an indispensable condition. This is clearly seen by
considering the case of bandit gangs that operate in a region.
They have all the characteristics of a guerrilla army :
homogeneity, respect for the leader, valour, knowledge of the ground,
and often a very good understanding of the tactics to be employed.
The only thing missing is support of the people. And, inevitably,
these gangs are captured and exterminated by the public force."
Neither supplies nor civil organisation, nor intelligence nor
propaganda, nor sabotage nor medical care, nor even concealment is
possible without popular support.
What distinguishes revolutionaries from bandits is their idealism,
their zeal for the 'cause', their moral and ideological superiority to the
forces of the Establishment. On account of these factors, people
consider them as more trustworthy.
It is impossible to stamp out guerrillas in tuts! areas where they
have support of the rural population, which ensures, among other
things, co-operation regarding intelligence also.
The primary effort of the guerrilla is to militate the population,
without whose consent no government can stand for a single day.
Conscious efforts are made to disturb links and lines of
communication between the administration and the people, and to
bring about psychological estrangement between the two.
A guerrilla fighter is an armed civilian whose principal weapon is

not his rifle, nor his machete, but his relationship to the community,
the nation.
A guerrilla is more political than military in character. Moral
superiority, idealism and self-sacrifice of revolutionaries;
268 Third Way
counter-terrorism or repressive measures by the government;
propaganda value of guerrilla action on national and international
plane; dislocation of orderly administration and transport; need to
ensure continual crippling pressure of armed guard at every place,
every time; the intolerable strain on the exchequer and consequently
on the taxpayers; - all these factors have a cumulative effect of
antagonising the entire population against the Establishment, and the
consequent popular support to revolution is the ultimately decisive
factor. That is why the revolutionaries could succeed in Ireland,
Cuba, Zanzibar, Cyprus and Israel (anti-British) with a comparatively
modest figure of casualties on their side.
The following facts, expressed in the words of the authorities on
the subject of revolution, are quite revealing.
The main reason for the failure of the three-year Greek revolution
(1946-49) was the alienation of the guerrilla forces from the general
population and their terrorism against civilians, though there were
other contributory factors also, such as, their dependence upon
foreign bases and supplies, and their premature decision in 1948 to
hold ground and to expose large formations to a numerically,
technologically, logistically, and organisationally superior army of the
Establishment.
Magsaysay could foil the designs of the Huk revolutionaries in
Philippines because the latter failed to establish anything like a
popular front during a period when urban support, the participation of
students, industrial workers and the poorer white-collar class, was
clearly required. They failed to seize and hold the popular imagination
and so to create the broad mass unrest needed to topple the
government or to build a revolutionary army capable of confronting
and defeating the government army.
In Malaya, the Malayan Races Liberation Army had very few
Malayans in it, being composed almost exclusively of Chinese, and
more particularly, of the large squatter population of recent Chinese
immigrants, with no deep roots in the country. That is why the
insurgents could be isolated from the people, more particularly after
the implementation of a massive resettlement programme for the benefit
of half a million Chinese squatters. Isolated from the people, the
revolutionaries were starved into submission or lured into disastrous
ambushes.
On Revolution 269
The April 1971 insurrection of Ceylon was a failure because, in the
words of Rohan Wijeweera,
"The conditions were not ripe for organising an armed
revolutionary uprising to seize state power.... It had not reached
a stage where the masses saw no other solution but revolution."
Raul Sandie of Uruguay failed in his plan of 14 April 1972 because
he did not take due cognizance of the people's verdict against
revolution in the presidential election of 28 November 1971.
In 1948, the Communist Party of Soviet Union abruptly changed
its international policy at the inspiration of Zhanov and
consequently the CPI announced that India was ripe for a
revolutionary seizure of power; but in the absence of mass support
its strategy ended in fiasco, notwithstanding its limited success in
Telengana.
Regarding the Naxalite movement the following remarks of a
correspondent of 'Economic and Political Weekly' (22 July 1972)
are worth being quoted:
"Misinterpreting the symptoms of discontent in the wake of
spiralling food crisis, all agog over reading Lin Piao's thesis
about how the country surrounds and encircles the city, they
concluded that the revolution was for the taking. No need to
organise the masses before the event, they will join the
revolution once the sparks start flying; no need to be excessively
mulish about imparting political education to fresh recruits,
even the so-called anti-social elements, waggon-breakers and
professional murderers included, would be pressed into service; let
violence be afoot, for fire turns everything pure and once the
revolution is abroad in India, in the afterglow nobody will be sorry
if the person who slashed the throat of the class enemy was a
genuine ideologue or a ruffian from the market-place.
Revolution by the short-cut was Charu Muzumdar's obsession. The
pragmatist goondas with whom he had struck an alliance soon
deserted him; the police, they soon discovered, had a better
percentage to offer. Amble down the streets and by-lanes of
Calcutta, it will be a revelation of sort; the same young men who,
two seasons ago, steeped in the teachings of Muzumdar, were
scribbling invocations to Mao Tse-tung are now engaged, on a
full-time basis, in deification of Indira Gandhi... so much is
lost for the traditional leftist movement in the country. Who
270 Third Way
knows what historical process has been served by this fearsome
catharsis?"
All these examples illustrate the axiom that without mass
participation and popular support, there can be no revolution.
On the contrary, the Irish revolutionaries of the Eastern Rebellion
who were unpopular in 1916 began to win popularity after the fifteen
leaders of the Rebellion were shot dead by the British who also
prepared a repulsive conscription act to draft Irishmen of military age
as recruits for First World War. Martyrdom of Terence Macswiney who
died in Brixton jail after a hunger-strike lasting seventy-four days,
finally united the entire people against the foreign rulers, while the
whirlwind tour of US by De Valera mobilised world opinion in favour
of the Irish cause. The counter-terrorism of the government defeated
its own purpose. With the hostility of the entire population, the
B ritishers found it unprofitable and too costly to hold on in
Ireland.
Explaining the factors responsible for the guerrillas' success in
Cyprus, General Grivas, the leader of the non-communist patriotic
guerrillas, writes,
"/ laughed aloud when l read that General A or Brigadier B had
come to Cyprus to put into operation the methods that had won
him fame elsewhere. They could not understand that the Cyprus
struggle was unique in motive, psychological circumstances and
involved not a handful of insurrectionists but the whole people."
The long march of Mao which lasted a year and covered about
eight thousand miles could not have been undertaken at all, had the
popular sympathies not been with the revolutionary forces. Resistance
movements operating against collaborators with the Nazi occupation
forces in Europe had all-out support of their respective peoples.
Lacking weapons and manpower and the capacity for sabotage or
guerrilla warfare, the revolutionaries in Palestine and Morocco resorted
mainly to individual terrorism against their British and French masters
respectively. Their purpose was to demonstrate to the foreign rulers
the immense cost in money and manpower of continuing to rule in the
face of popular resistance, and to arouse the people until one and all
were united in opposition to the foreigner.
On Revolution 271
The tenacity of Algerian guerrillas, who fully utilised the
inaccessible Auras region and the massive support of the people,
enabled them to defy French forces and create a huge drain of French
manpower and the French treasury. Full-scale guerrilla warfare was
launched by them more for its psychological effect than for practical
military reasons.
In all these cases, a situation was developed under which the
authorities could have maintained themselves only by making war on
the entire population. No foreign power can continue for long under
such a condition; the continuance becomes still less practicable in case
of native dictatorships.
A careful study of a recent survey of over 80 organisations
engaged in some kind of violence of guerrilla nature, urban or rural, in
nearly 50 countries, will prove conclusively that while arms and
popular support are both essential for the success of a violent
revolution, the latter is more decisive than the former.
It is true that it is comparatively easier to win popular support for
a struggle against foreign rulers; but it is not that simple when the
government to be opposed is swadeshi, though the matters are less
difficult when such a government is a known satellite of some foreign
power.
Revolutionary Education
Internal propaganda is sufficient to ensure popular support. But
the cadres cannot be raised only on the strength of propaganda. This
necessitates revolutionary mass education. Every revolution is
expected to accomplish two different tasks - destruction of the present
regime and construction of a new order. The first one may in some
cases be carried out even without revolutionary mass education; but
without proper education it is impossible to consolidate the gains of
the first phase of revolution and accomplish the second task.
Education is to be distinguished from mere propaganda.
Propaganda aims at winning over the popular sympathies in varying
degrees - the least to be expected from it being benevolent
neutrality. Education enables the people to become equal partners in
revolutionary activities. Propaganda is a one-way traffic, proceeding
from the top to the bottom. Education is a dialogical process in
course of which the leaders come in direct and constant contact
272 Third Way
with the people, learn from them (i.e., the people) what they consider
to be their problems, conduct joint thinking, accepting the people as
co-partners, and reconvey them in clear terms what they receive from
them confusedly. Revolutionary education starts from the needs of
the masses - the needs that are uppermost in their conscious minds
and also those of which they are not yet fully aware. To make them
conscious of their own inner urges is a very patient process; but
there is no substitute for it. The subjects of joint investigation must
be the actual needs perceived by the people. They are to be helped
in discovering their own mental processes, and this cannot be done
unless these leaders understand perfectly the mind of the masses,
allow the latter to understand their own (i.e., the leaders') mind, and
strive jointly to understand the reality surrounding them. When as a
result of this patient process the people begin to place trust in
themselves and in the revolutionary leaders, as the former perceive
the dedication and authenticity of the latter, the higher idealism of
the latter is unconsciously absorbed by the former.
This is a very slow and patient process. The leaders addicted to
get quick popular methods of parliamentary democratic system may
find it extremely difficult to adopt themselves to this process. Again,
the size of the population and general level of literacy and political
consciousness are the factors that must be taken into account.
Revolutionary Leadership
The revolutionary leaders do not treat people as things to be

used. They love the people and are willing to sacrifice themselves for
them. Che Guevara says:
"Let me say, with the risk of appearing ridiculous, that the true
revolutionary is guided by strong feelings of love. It is
impossible to think of an authentic revolutionary without this
quality."
Because of this instinctive love, revolutionary leaders do not
manipulate. They educate and organise.
As Frier puts it,
"Leaders who do not act dialogically but insist on imposing their
decision do not organise the people, they manipulate them.
They do not liberate, nor are they liberated; they oppress.
Such leaders have no faith, no trust in people. They consider
On Revolution 273
the latter as intrinsically deficient, incapable of dialogue, and
consequently utilise the same procedures as are used by the
oppressors. They try to win the people over, forgetting the fact that
the revolution is made neither by the leaders for the people, nor by
the people for the leaders, but by both acting together in
unshakable solidarity. This solidarity is bom only when the leaders
witness to it by their humble, loving and courageous encounter with
the people."
Frier further observes,
"Denial of communion in the revolutionary process, avoidance of

dialogue with the people under the pretext of organising them, of
strengthening power, is really a fear of freedom. It is fear of or
lack of faith in the people. But if the people cannot be trusted,
there is no reason for their liberation; in this case the revolution
is not carried out for the people, but by the people, for the
leaders: a complete self-negation. Dialogue with the people is
radically necessary to every authentic revolution. This is what
makes it a revolution, an authentic revolution as distinguished
from a military coup... Conversely, revolutionary leaders who do
not act dialogically in their relation with the people either have
retained characteristics of the dominator and are not truly
revolutionary, or they are totally misguided in their conception of
their role, and as prisoners o f their own sectarianism, are
equally non-revolutionary. They may even reach power. But the
validity of any revolution resulting from anti-dialogical action is
thoroughly doubtful."
And, unfortunately, this has been invariably the case with the
leaders of all violent revolutions. That is why every such successful
revolution was followed by the authoritarian regime o f the
'revolutionary' leaders who no longer continued to be
'revolutionary'. The leaders of non-violent revolutions have to lean
heavily upon this dialogical process; in fact it constitutes their main
source of strength. All the various programmes adopted by them have
as their main motive such a dialogue. The best illustration of such a
programme is the Dandi March by Gandhiji for Salt Satyagraha.
Coming in close and constant personal contact with the people, a non
violent revolutionary learns directly about the people and their
problems, and, in course of time, becomes identified with them.
18
274 Third Way
Faith in Ultimate Victory
Faith in utlimate, inevitable victory is essential for the success of
both types of revolution. Che Guevara says, whoever does not feel
this undoubted truth, i.e., that the victory of the enemy against the
people is impossible, cannot be a guerrilla fighter.
Neither can he be a successful non-violent fighter without this
conviction.
Time Element
Time element is important in all revolutionary wars. What brings

about ultimately the downfall of a regime is full ripening of its
inherent self-contradictions. A satyagraha or a guerrilla warfare
accelerates the process of ripening; but the full process takes longer
time.
Intra-party rivalries and dissensions, a progressively increasing
strain on the exchequer and the tax-payers, spiralling of prices, a
progressive reduction in grow th-rate, an alarm ing growth in
unemployment, a disastrous position of the balance of payments,
discontent in the forces of law and order, administrative breakdown,
mounting indifference, disquiet and disaffection of the masses,
neutralisation and subversion of armed forces, loss of the regime's
creditworthiness in international sphere, - all these factors take their
own time to mature.
The economic and political self-contradictions can be contained
for a longer time by a regim e supported by the comm itted
ideological cadres, but the government's not having at its disposal
the services of such cadres cannot manage these self-contradictions
that long, depending only on the bureaucratic machinery. But, in any
case, the time element is essential. As one leader of a successful
revolution puts it:
"Time is required, not alone for political mobilisation, but to
allow inherent weakness of the enemy to develop under the
stress of war."
About another revolutionary leader it has been observed,
"...his patience was infinite; he could wait and watch until others
got impatient, acted and failed."
On Revolution 275
International Propaganda
Both types of revolution have in them an international
component. But in the case of a non-violent revolution it is confined
to propaganda only.
During our fight for freedom, the Indian National Congress had
made consistent efforts in this direction. It had set up a special
subcommittee for this purpose. Even in the second struggle for
freedom, i.e., against the Emergency, this aspect had been properly
taken care of.
Nanasaheb Peshwa of 1857 fame was also fully aware of the
importance of international contacts; his letters to Napoleon III of
France and his plan of sending Ajimulla Khan as his emissary to
Great Britain and other countries amply prove how he had not lost
sight of this aspect.
The Establishment is generally nervous about the contacts of the
foreign embassies and foreign journalists with the revolutionists.
What the government is afraid of is publicity of the revolutionary
activities within the country and abroad.
Every government has to maintain some appearance of stability,
in order to assure other members of the alliance that 'contracts will
continue to be honoured; treaties will be upheld; loans will be repaid
with interest; investments will continue to produce profits.' One of
the strategies of both types of struggle is to destroy the stable
image of the government to deny it credits, to dry up its sources of
revenue, and to create dissensions within the frightened owning
classes and the bureaucracy.
If the constitution of the imperialist country is democratic it
becomes feasible for the native guerrillas to win over a sizable
section of its population and bring its pressure to bear upon the
imperialist power.
For propaganda abroad, both types of activists try to influence
and press into service the media of mass communication in different
countries. But their means are often different. The seizure of the
Cambodian Embassy in Prague on behalf of the NIF of the deposed
Prince Norodom; the capture of the Indonesian Embassy in The
Hague in September 1970 by Ambonese refugees; the exploding of
276 Third Way
bombs outside the Portuguese Embassy and the Rhodesian
Information Office in Washington; the Palestinian guerrilla attack of
Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics which cost seventeen lives;
bomb explosion in Singapore on the eve of the National Day
Celebrations of 1970; various recent hijackings of aircrafts: all these
and other similar moves were calculated to focus the attention of the
world on the issues concerned.
A recent example of successful international propaganda is
furnished by the SWAPO (South-W est African People's
Organisation) of Namibia which is receiving moral support from the
UN and the World Court.
The non-violent revolutionaries use for this purpose the method
of self-torture and self-immolation.
Self-immolation of Buddhists in South-East Asia has certainly
been more effective. Martyrdom of a Lumumba, a Kennedy, or a
M artin Luther King can earn more international sympathy,
compassion being a sentiment stronger and deeper than terror. Even
international critics of Allende were not sympathetic to his assassins.
Promise and Performance
There has always been a wide gap between the promise and the
performance of every violent revolution. For example, which
revolution has fulfilled its assurances to its peasantry? Which
revolution has made workers the owners of their own plants?
Vergniand observed that 'the revolution devours its own
children'. The indictment contained in a letter to the leadership of the
Soviet bureaucracy from the Soviet intellectuals, academician Andre
Sakharov, historian Roy Medvedev, and physicist Volentin Tourchine,
was a revealing commentary on the nature of the post-revolutionary
totalitarianism.
As Ronald Segal wrote,
"Aside from the crude imperial aspect of Soviet rule, there is, in
the proclaimed socialist homeland itself, more than enough to
provoke a revolutionary idealism. Over half a century since the
revolution o f 1917, liberty, equality, fraternity, the cardinal
values of socialism, are a mockery and rebuke. Attempts to
express them are tried and punished as crimes against the
State. Economic discrepancies are everywhere evident."
On Revolution 277
'The New Class' deals with the outcome of all communist
revolutions. The proposition of the 'The New Class' proceeds
according to its author, Milovan Djilas, as follows:
"The society that has arisen as the result of Communist
revolutions, is torn by the same sort of contradictions as are
other societies. The result is that the Communist society has not
only failed to develop towards human brotherhood and equality,
but that out of its party bureaucracy, there arises a privileged
social stratum, which, in accord with Marxist thinking, I named
The New Class."
Djilas further observes in his ' The Unperfect Society',
"Communism, once a popular movement that had in the name of
science inspired the toiling and oppressed people of the world
with the hope of creating the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, that
launched, and continues to launch, millions to their deaths in
pursuit of this unextinguishable primeval dream, has become
transformed into national political bureaucracies and states
squabbling among themselves for prestige and influence, for the
sources of wealth and for markets - for all those things over
which politicians and governments have always quarrelled, and
always will. The Communists were compelled by their own ideas and
by the realities in their society first to wrest power - that delight
above all delights - from their opponents, and then to scramble
for its among themselves. This has been the fate of all revolutionary
movements in history."
The experience of non-communist revolutionary dictatorships is
not very much different. The 'Night of the Long Knives' in course of
which Captain Rohm and his officers were brutally murdered by their
own comrades-in-arms is not a peculiarly German phenomenon; it is
typical of all dictatorships determined to silence the dissenting voice
even with the ruling party. Liquidation of dissenters outside that orbit
of the party is nothing to be wondered at. The Russian forces
suppressing the strikes of Siberian workers or the upsurge of the
people of Hungary, East Germany, and Czechoslovakia were as
'revolutionary' as the 'revolutionary' army of Napoleon pitted against
the Spanish guerrillas or the Nazi troops liquidating opponents at
home and freedom fighters abroad.
278 Third Way
The Psycho-Analysis
Since the 14th of July 1789 (the date on which the term 'revolution'
was first used in its modern sense by Liancourt in Paris) to this day
this has been the inevitable fate of every violent revolution. It is not as
if this is a result of personal whims, caprices, or idiosyncrasies of
revolutionary leaders. This constitutes an integral part of the
methodology of violent revolutions.
Hannah Arendt observes in 'On Revolution',
"To the extent that the greatest event in every revolution is the
act of foundation, the spirit of revolution contains two elements
which to us seem irreconcilable and even contradictory. The act of
founding the new body-politic, of devising the new form of
government, involves the grave concern with the stability and
durability of the new structure; at} the other hand, what those
who are engaged in this grave business are bound to have is the
exhilarating awareness of the human capacity of beginning, the
high spirit which has always attended the birth of something
new on earth. Perhaps, the very fact that these two elements, the
concern with stability and the spirit of the new, have become
opposites in political thought and terminology - the one being
identified as conservatism and the other claimed as the
monopoly of progressive liberalism - must be recognised to be
among the symptoms of our loss."
And, again,
"The failure of post-revolutionary thought to remember the
revolutionary spirit and to understand it conceptually was
preceded by the failure o f the revolution to provide it with a
lasting institution.
The revolution, unless it ended in the disaster of terror, had
come to an end with the establishment of a republic......But in
this republic.... there was no space reserved, no room left, for the
exercise of precisely those qualities which had been
instrumental in building it.... If foundation was the aim and the
end of revolution, then the revolutionary spirit was not merely
the spirit of beginning something new but of starting something
permanent and enduring, lasting institutions embodying this
spirit and encouraging it to new achievements... Nothing
threatens the very achievement of revolution more dangerously
On Revolution 279
and more acutely than the spirit which has brought them
about.....Should freedom in its most exalted sense as freedom to
act be the price to be paid for foundation?"
Condorcet had remarked,
"The word 'revolutionary' can be applied only to revolutions
whose aim is freedom.
Only where change occurs in the sense of a new beginning, where
violence is used to constitute an altogether different form of
government to bring about the formation of a new body-politic,
where the liberation from oppression aims at least at the
constitution of freedom, can we speak of 'revolution'.”
Judged by this criterion, violent revolutions in the past appear to
be less than 'revolutionary'.
The Alternative
The methodology of non-violent revolutionaries is entirely
different. The main weapon in their arsenal is soul-force, not terror.
They believe in purity of means. They reject the dictum: 'ends justify
the means.' They have firm faith in the inevitability of their ultimate
triumph, because they visualise it as a triumph of the Truth, the
Cause. They believe that those who refuse to be defeated can never
be defeated, that there is nothing like failure in the struggle for
Truth; there is only incomplete success. They are convinced that no
individual can be governed for long without his willing consent.
What they seek is progressive purification of 'self through penances,
and not physical annnihilation of the enemy through violence.
A non-violent revolution is necessarily preceded and
accompanied by revolutionary mass education. 'Passive resistance' as
defined by Aurobindo, 'Chatuh-Sutri' of Lokmanya Tilak,
'Satyagraha' of Mahatmaji, envisaged intimate inter-relationship
between struggle and mass education. Mass education through
struggle, struggle through mass education.
Against this background, all the moves - big or small, even
simple, innocent gestures of non-violent activists - acquire new
significance. Deputation, badge-w earing, protest resolutions,
petitions, silent processions, slogan shouting, token hunger-strikes,
hartals, display of posters, distribution of literature and new bulletins,
big funerals of martyrs, observance of martyrdom anniversaries,
280 Third Way
demonstrations, propaganda of the atrocities by the authorities,
educative group-meetings, boycott of legislatures and government
functions, general strike or 'bandh', fast unto death, satyagrahas,
no-tax campaign, all-out non-cooperation and civil disobedience,
establishment of 'Janata Sarkar', peaceful agitations for the
redressal of local or sectional grievances: all these are as much a
part of struggle as of revolutionary education.
When Thoreau explained in his 'Civil Disobedience' why he
preferred to go to jail rather than pay a tax to a government which
condoned human slavery, he could hardly have imagined what
impact his theory was going to make on the political scene of this
land of Prahlad. Is it a mere coincidence that his thesis for individual
action was developed into the technique of mass movement in this
distant land? Our spiritual tradition was conducive to the growth of
such a system of thought and action. That is why Aurobindo could
say,
"to break an unjust coercive law is not only justifiable but, under
given circumstances, a duty."
Tilak proclaimed that he wanted to take the country 'outside the
Penal Code'. And Gandhiji initiated and perfected the technique of
'satyagraha', which is not just the passive resistance of the weak
but the active non-violent defiance-of the strong. In an article in
'The Illustrated Weekly o f India,' 15 August 1976, Acharya Kripalani
explains how the technique of satyagraha was followed by Prahlad,
Mirabai, Socrates, Jesus Christ, Muslim martyrs, social reformers,
scientists and others; how satyagraha can be practised in the family,
the village, the province or the state, and how it cannot be
conceived of as an anti-social activity.
"It recognises the social utility and necessity of the state and the
laws and yet allows the individual to enjoy his liberty as a human
being. The Satyagrahi even in chains is a free man. He can call
his soul his own. He is not afraid of his opponents. Enemies he
has none. His opponents are afraid of him, and not he of them.
He can even stand alone, while the violent resister must have
others to join or follow him."
Milovan Djilas, while not endorsing completely the tenets of
Gandhism, comes independently to this conclusion:
"It would appear from contemporary experience that
revolutionary organisations of the classic type - thoroughly
On Revolution
conspiratorial, militarily disciplined, and ideologically united
- are not essential. Revolution is not essential for victory over the
communist oligarchs and bureaucrats; civil wars are even less
necessary. However, recourse should be had to all other forms of
struggle - demonstrations, strikes, protest marches, protest
resolutions, and the like, and most important of all, open and
courageous criticism and moral firmness. All historical experience
to this date confirms this.
Through violence it may be possible to shoot down every agent
and leader of the Establishment; but violence cannot guarantee
establishment of a rule which will be considered by all citizens as
their own. People cannot be the masters of the post-revolutionary
regime, unless they are also the real masters of the
process of revolution. If they are equipped mentally only
for destruction, they will prove to be very poor instruments of
subsequent construction. The methodology of non-violent revolution
necessarily includes mass education in both the aspects
of revolution - development of the soul-force of the masses, and
their involvement in and leadership of the various phases of
revolution. Then only is it an authentic revolution of the people,
for the people, by the people. For such revolutionary leaders,
organisation means organising themselves with the people. Their
method is dialogical: communion, not communique; they do
not own the people; they are co-authors of revolution along with
the people. Consequently, the ultimate victory belongs not to the
leaders alone, but to the leaders and the people - or to the people,
including the leaders. This eliminates all possibility of dictatorship
following the revolution."
This may appear to be a long way. It certainly is. But, as
M. N. Roy remarked about the patient process of mass education:
"It may be a long way; but if it be the only way, then it is also the
shortest one."
Appendix II
Background Notes on some of the terms, phrases often used

proverbially, or which have some historical, cultural context.
Nafar Kundu Spirit - Spirit of 'Service before self - like that of
an ordinary worker by name Nafar Kundu
in Calcutta, who risked his life and died
to save a small child engulfed in the
manhole of a sewage line.
El Dorado - Spanish term ■
- A legendary city of South America
sought by early Spanish explorers - the
term often proverbially used to connote a
dreamy goal.
Ink-pot theory - The theory advocating a loose, premissive
relation between man and woman (the
image of ink-pot expressing the same) out
of the misconstrued notion that morality is
not a must for a genuine communist.
Frankenstein - A character in Mary Shelley's novel
(1818), who creates an animate creature
only to his own torment and disaster;
hence proverbially, by confusion used to
denote any creation that brings disaster to
its author.
Quo Vadis - Latin phrase meaning 'W hither goest
thou?'
Encyclical - A Papal letter on specific subject addressed
to hierarchy in the Christian Order -
Rerum Novarum, Quadrogesimo Anno,
Contesimus Annus etc. - titles of such
circulars.
Weltanschauung - A German term for a comprehensive world
view or philosophy of life of a race or a
people with an interpretation of world
history or civilization, particularly the
conception of the universe and man's
relation to it.
Background Notes 283
Uni-cameral bodies - Latin. Cameralis-Department of State. Uni
cameral - a council that manages state
business having or consisting of a single
legislative chamber.
Syndicalists - Trade unionists aiming at the ownership
and management of industries, possession
of means of production and distribution
and ultimately at the control of society.
Syndicalism originated first in France.
Armageddon - The scene of the final decisive battle
between the good and the evil prophesied
in the Bible to occur at the end of the
world.
Pronunciamento - A proclam ation especially when
announcing a coup d'etat.
'White Man's Burden' - A concocted theory of providential
obligation of White Man to uplift the
colonial subjects, propagated by colonial
British masters to create inferiority in the
subjects. The theory, afterw ards, was
expressed in the phrase 'white man's
burden' in Rudyard Kipling's poem in 1899.
Tectonic - A geological term - referring to the forces
or conditions within the earth that cause
movements of the crust such as
earthquake. Tectonic plates - layers
caused by such forces - figuratively used
here to denote the shift in power-structure.

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T H IR D WAY

SAHITYA SINDHU PRAKASHANA, BANGALORE, INDIA

SAHITYA SINDHU PRAKASHANA

Price : Rs. 150-00

Cover Design : UNKNOWN CREATIONS, Bangalore

Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana is proud to be able to bring out this

We are beholden to Prof. M.P. Kendurkar of Mumbai who was

Our thanks are due to Srinidhi Graphics for typesetting, to Un­

Bahudhanya Samvatsara Sahitya Sindhu Prakashana

I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of gratitude to

There was churning of thought on the subject in a number of

I have requested Prof. Kendurkar to state in brief the idea behind

Shri Thengadi wants each one of us to give serious thought to

Varsha Pratipada Bhanu Pratap Shukla

thinkers, etc.; names of the books, works etc.; use of Devanagari

Background Notes on some of the terms, phrases often used

THE H IN DU APPRO ACH

The Hindu Approach

Even before the retreat of communism was in sight, scholars from

So far there was no urge for receiving or producing the Hindu

The pioneers of this project should themselves be psychologically

"Your difficulty is solved by its moving."

Today the self-proclaim ed, 'professional' intellectuals are

First Things First

And therefore, though an approach paper should deal with the

superior to the current western values. They were capable of

W hat is the starting-point of the process of our national

population explosion, global urbanisation, environmental pollution,

And agians as Elliot and EE. Merrill have said,

The Com m ittee on Prevention of Corruption (Santhanam

Our Major Convictions

Seldom has a term been accepted all around the world,

For every meaningful discussion, an appropriate point of reference

would enable us to understand the width of that expression. For

of national reconstruction. Whatever is worked out here has been only

We must conceive our own model of progress and development in

And to party gave up what was meant for mankind.

The idealists are those who are willing to behave as Sisyphus,

Utopians crave for blueprints.

Asked about the blueprint of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh by a

The destination was visualised on the Vijayadashami day of

THE HINDU VIEW

Global Economic System : The Hindu View*

* Lecture delivered in the 'World Vision 2000' organised in Washington,

In trod uction to 'Hindu Economics' b y Dr. M .G . B o k a re, p u b lish e d b y

As stated earlier, the Hindu sages did not consider ‘3t*F as a

O bviously, the western model of developm ent causing

Appropriate development in human mind necessarily precedes

C stands for crime; S for social environment; T for personal

This integrated approach is a must for durable and desirable

* * F o r e x a m p le , patents, brands, co p yrigh ts, trade n am es, lic e n c e s, quotas,

* T h is paper w a s circu la ted and d isc u s se d am o n g in te lle ctu a ls in O cto b er 1992.

"Any form of anthropocentric humanism is in its analysis an

* Inaugural address at Bharatiya Vichar Kendra on 7th October 1982.

Then - and Now!

Our thanks are due to Srinidhi Graphics for typesetting, to Un