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From: cpk@telesis.UUCP (pulikesi)
Newsgroups: net.nlang.india
Subject: Jitendra's comments - An addition
Message-ID: <169@telesis.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 11-Apr-85 16:27:44 EST
Article-I.D.: telesis.169
Posted: Thu Apr 11 16:27:44 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 18-Apr-85 02:28:06 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: Telesis, Chelmsford MA
Lines: 67


> 
> I just got a chance to read the message on net.nlang.india by 
... Sri Rajiv relayed to us courtesy Arun Swamy.
>...........
>
> Unfortunately, it seems that many people have to wait till they see
> `Jewel in the Crown' till they get aware of the pleasures of British
> Rule in India....
>........ 
> There are severe problems, which all
> thinking people should endeavour should try and do something about,
> at least in their limited contexts. Next time you hear some
> comment, `Oh what else do you expect from a Bihari'   don't just sit
> there. Next time at your family table you hear some statement like
> `All Muslims are dirty'- fight back- your parents may consider you impolite
> but at least you claim some intellectual integrity. This list could go
> on and on..
>...... 
> I'll end by suggesting some basic reading ....
> RC Dutt's book on British Rule in India
> gives a detailed account of the `benevolence' of our British Rulers- it
> is a brilliant account of the plunder and destruction of the Indian Economy.
> About contemporary India , Dilip Hiro's `Inside India Today' is a bit dated
> but still quite good. MJ Akbar has written a good book- India, The Siege
> within'. As far as magazines go, the Economic and Political
> Weekly carries very in-depth analyses. If you want fiction, perhaps you
> could go back and read authors like Premchand, Tagore etc .
> 
> Jitendra Malik

 I cannot but concur with the essential features of Jitendra's comments.
(I purposely edited off his over zealous language so that we can focus
on the issues raised by him.)

For many middle class, urban Indians their value system is for the first
time challenged when they land in alien soil like the U.S. As a response
there are generally three classes.

 1) Blindly defend whatever is "presumed" to be Indian..a la Ram Rajya

 2) Imitate superficially the west (brown sahebism)

 3) Soberly assess the weakness and strengths of our society so that a 
    proper stand and contribution can be made in regard to its progress

Course 3 is certainly the most painful since it involves somewhat a
radical rupture with fond assumptions. However it is the most fruitful
and the only way forward for progress. As a start I can think of the
following questions.

- Democracy in India: what is meaning of this in a country where more
than 70% live below the poverty line wnd where the peasants and workers,
the majority of the population face bruatality daily?

- Isn't the promotion of bestial communal violence a part of the
strategy and tactics of the major political parties in India? 

Also common cliches like "the lack of formal educaton is the cause of
the country's problem" "population is the problem" should be examined
more thorougholy. A study should be made of the history of India to find
out which are the real progressive forces in Indian history. Their
legacy is a rich one and includes many movements like the Bhakti
movement (the central thrust of which was against casteism), the
revolutionary martyrs like Mangal Pande, Bhagat Singh etc.

Only a fresh look can be a percursor to proper action!