I hope you and your near and dear ones are well during the most challenging
health emergency that this generation has seen.
A nation is the widest form of society that we identify with and manage.
Individuals form families; and families make a community, a city and a nation
state. Geographically, politically and psychologically we have reached thus far
in the evolution of mankind. A nation is the sum total of all the differences
that we have been able to bring together in a cohesive, interwoven unit. A
nation is meant to bridge differences, like a thread that holds together
different flowers in a garland. Differences assume less importance and get
subsumed in the larger reality of a nation. Backgrounds, ethnicities,
religions, languages, histories and all other nuances must find their
culmination in a nation. This in my view makes ‘India, that is Bharat’,
as per the first Article of our Constitution.
India is the last ancient, continuously surviving civilization, and it
finds its common denominator within an incomparable variety. For example, there
are many scripts and languages which are influenced by or rotted in Sanskrit; a
common set of civilizational values still becomes the binding force – a SamanVayaKaari
Shakti.
We are also faced with threats. As citizens we should be able to see
trouble when politics and media focus on our differences and portray
them as divisions. Unlike the Indian approach, the Cartesian approach
sees the universe made up of smaller fragments that are simply put together but
do not have a common continuum. For example, in ‘modern’ India ‘identity’ is
made to stand out. Identity grants benefits – social and religious identities
get concessions, jobs, educational reservation, and so on. So people keep
lesser identity in the forefront above all else. This sorry state of affairs in
our country also results in throwing merit into the dustbin and accentuating separation
to an unimaginable extent.
Another threat is colonisation of the Indian mind that is perpetuated. In
the words of Shri Amitabh Bachchan, we are still ‘respectful and tolerant to
colonial indoctrination’. He was speaking about branding of words at the
IAA World Congress and gave the example of Thiruvananthapuram which till
recently was known as Trivandrum. He said, Trivandrum meant nothing. Whereas Thiruvananthapuram
means Thiru Anantha Puram – Shelter of the Infinite. Today, many
‘educated’ Indians twist phonetics of Indian words by messing the longs as
shorts and the shorts as longs in imitation. Yog is Yogaa, Raamaayan is
Raamayanaa, Himaalay is Himalaayaa. During a session I attended, this turned
out to be quite embarrassing and funny when a person introduced the next
speaker as Kamini, when her name was Kaamini. Many Dishonest words give
dishonest results, Bachchanji said. He gave the example of Rabindranath Thakur
who is known as Tagore although his family name is Thakur and their house was in
Thakur Baadi. Such usage changes the ‘meaning, perception, concept,
consideration, viewpoint’ of words. We need to pay attention to this and
reclaim the true import of words and their beautiful meanings.
Lastly, as Indians we have to ask – how do we see ourselves and what
makes us feel proud of who we are? A generation ago it was three Es –
English, Education and Employment. But that is changing. The biggest success
stories today are not necessarily rooted in the three Es. In the last three
decades, we have seen a surge in enterprise, education, and confidence despite
government interference and even obstruction. Yet, we are still aspiring to be AtmaNirbhar.
AtmaNirbhar comes from the word Bhar, which means full or
complete – the confidence that comes from the feeling of being full or complete
in one’s true identity. How can we feel full and complete and interact with a
globalised world with a feeling of incompleteness or lack or neediness? How can
we be rooted in our civilizational ethos and apply it to the current context?
These are some questions as we approach our 74th Independence Day!
Raman
Jokhakar
Editor
