Coeistence of religion and science in india

“true religion is not a narrow dogma .it is faith in god and living in presence of god.”

           Mahatma gandhiji had said these words a many decades back when this deeply religious country was fighting for its independent and sovereign existence .he was living in such a time when science had started coming out from labs and influencing day to day life of an ordinary man and womanlike by ways of telephone or printing press.at these crossroads,he viewed religion in its wider perspective ,certainly that perspective having path of reason embedded into it,which is itself a cornerstone of science.but its quite imperative to point now that whether these ideas and perspectives exist even today or we have lost in floods of superstition and modernization?

                                                                                Religion is a concept having in its ambit, a person who profess,practice and propagate the ideas of his or her conscience.depending on that idea of conscience,person may belong to any religion like Hinduism,islam,bahai and many more.while science is all about making the hypothesis and then testing it on the altar of reasoning. An ideal religious person gains his idea of conscience only when that idea confirms to his own reasoning and from these starts the path where religion and science not only coexist but catalyse each other.

                                                                                             There happen to be certain events in india which bringfore the idea of coexistence of religion and science.last year,there was huge conglomeration of crores and crores of people at sangam of Allahabad for mahakumbh.this year,nearly about a lakh people have gone to haj.on the other hand,india became first country to reach to mars in its maiden attept.not only this,our Indian constitution embodies religious freedom as fundamental right while promotion of scientific temper as a fundamental duty.isnt it the coexistence of religion and science that india is witnessing?certainly yes but with some riders.

                 

                                                                Even though in india religion and science exist as partners in progress yet there are multiple facets of this partnership.it needs to be seen in which areas both the conceots coexist and in which areas,these concepts go against each other and what can be done to resolve the paradox of their coexistence and animosity?

                                                                                                    First and foremost area in which religion and science have shown coexistence in india is its historical development specially the age of enlightenment and renaissance which happens to be the first half of 19^th century.religion then provided the base on which scientific reason was built by many great personalities like raja rammohan roy,ashwini kumar data,iswar Chandra vidyasagar,gopal ganesh agarkar etc.an apt example would be that of practice of child marriage.while raja rammmohan roy argued that none of shstras mention about utility of child marriage ,ashiwnin kumar data took it in medical perspective when he argues that such a marriage puts burden on the body of a child which results in deterioration of her health.due to resonance of such ideas in society,british govt was forced to pass child marriage restraint act.

                                                                                              Second area where religion and science have reinforced each other is the political sphere.religion has given the ideaological binding to the people of this country while science have given the means and modes of new vistas of life which has woven the country into fabric of materialistic well being.nothing can be more prudent example of this than that many of our neighbouringf countries whose existence is on the basis of single religion have got divided because they had retainbed the fruits of scientific development on one part of their territory compared to another.

                     Thirdly it’s the democracy which has the imprint of religion and science in itself.a true religion favours democracy not because of its populist propaganda but because democracy offers the freedom of conscience which is a bed rock ofreligion.science is conjoined with democracy because the democracy offers the freedom to fairly criticize what is not as per the reasoning of average human mind upto the last man of the society.nothing can be a more forceful example of this than Indian democracy which is a multireligious country marching on its path of scientific development.

                       Fourthly it’s the social sphere where religion and science overlap each other.social sphere is all about dealing with others and with oneself.in Indian society,it will not be exaggeration to say that religion is part and parcel of life of an Indian.but this religious association many a time have scientific meaning as pointed and being discovered later on.for example ancient Indian texts mention about the importance of mother’s milk as an amrit while the recent scientic studies have pointed out the benefits of mother’s milk for her baby as its rich in all sorts of essential minerals.its importance get more exaggerated in recent Indian society in light of fact that 42% of Indian children are underweight.other social sphere examples where religion an science catalyse each other are like yoga or prayers or recently discovered wonder herb which is having immune booster properties.

                                                                                      Fifithly it’s the economic field where religion and science together have bring wwonders in the lives of many.there are lots of religious places in the country where millions of people visit ought to sense of devotion.this is a kind of religious tourism which provides livelihood opportunity to local populace..science has helped in religious tourism by providing improved means of transport and communication.result of this combination is that the number of tourist visiting the religious places have increased multifold opening up many opportunities for local population to transform into microentrepreneurs.this trend has picked so much so that recent budget also announced for increasing tourism in some religious circuits by improving connectivity further.

                                                                                           But in the world of mortals,nothing is perfect and ideal.if religion and science coexist as multifaceted partners then side by side in many areas,there existence is deemed as threat to other one.

                                                                     Firstly it’s the area of religious superstitions and wrong beliefs where scienitific explanation is seen as interference in religion by ardent supporters of such beliefs.there are lot of examples in this regards.for example that of witch hunting practice in which the young girl is being bitten up by self professed godmen in lieu of taking the witch out of girl.but as per science,all this disordered behavior of a girl is because of some mental disorder like schizophrenia and not by influence of any ghost.some people believe such ideas as interference in their inner sphere.the  killing of narendra dholbole in Maharashtra in broad day light points to  the resistance offered by such fanatics against reason.secondly it’s the area of social ills that prevail this society from many centuries.a dangerous trend seen in this respect is that these social evils use to be defended by tenets of religion on basis of their mention in a religious text.for example the practice of untouchability and conditions of those who faced it.this practice is centuries long and followed even till now because as per the opinion of  some higher castes ,it got the religious backing as mentioned in ‘chaturvarna order’ of religious texts.but science is all out opposite to it because of its very existence on pillars of liberty,equality and fraternity.when these explanations come face to face,then there is rise of bhoomihar senas or alit panther movements.

                                       Thirdly it’s the women,her condition and her life which becomes an arena of struggle for superiority in between religion and science so much so that an Indian commentator commented”body of women is the battleground of all ideologies.”the various practices regarding a woman like sati,widow neglect,child marriage and polygamy and many more are reared up as commands of a religion.recent incident from rajasthan where a girl buried into ground ,hile still she breatrhs,is a testimony to this fact.science have always opposed it and will oppose it because any person with sound mind capable of making reason cant accept such practices which more relates a person with life after this life ,not seen by anybody till now.

                                                      Fourthly it’s the mistrust that develops in a religion with regard to some othere religion.this tendency isreferred to as communalism and its extreme form is the one in which religious communities start seeing each other as enmical to their existence.india suffers from this so much so that every year nearly 100 people die because of the riots that follow such communalistic attitudes.on the other hand,science look to the solution of this enmity not in violence but in increasing production and productivity so much so that interests of religious communities get linked with each other.

            There are many other issues where religion and science take a different path like the issue of religious minority where science preaches there equality in all respects or the issue of monotheism vs polytheism.but if there are problems,there must also be solutions to these problems and these solutions should not only cure the symptoms but the disease itself.

                                                                                       First and foremost solution to all the animosity and divergence between religion and science is through the way of reasoning.this needs to be instilled right from the childhoodwhhen the mind is able to print on itself the teachings taught by elders.this ability can only be gained if child is free to contemplate his views which might or might not be in consonance in prevailing one.this is a difficult task which can be easily accomplished by the participation of parents and teachers.but this is like a chain reaction as any reasonable person will spread themessage of reasoning to everyone he or she comes in contact with.

                                                                    Second solution for making religion and science confirm with each other is by teaching young minds,the knowledge of all religions.the ultimate root of all religions is same as said by swami vivekanada”the basi truth of all religions is the love and welfare of mankind”.this will in long term binds the nation not in small groups of different religions,but in the larger group of a religion binding each individual in its faith.

                                                               Third strand of solution pertains to making it a reality that fruits of scientific progress become available to every faith and religion.in india,this willinvolvee interregional and intra regional development as well as improving the quality of life of religious minorities in this rapid paced urbanization phase.this will need motivation as well as more funding for such communities who have been left behind.india has many successful examples regarding that like elimination of polio which involved the participation of many religious leaders to call for vaccination of newborn.such things need to be used more and more because these affect a lot in very short span of time.

                                                         Fourthly its the idea of dynamic secularism that this country needs to be followed .in india unlike west,religion is not separate from state but is under protection of state irrespective of its type.the concept if got coupled together with thrust on research and development in science can work wonders for this country.though india has followed it partially till now,but complacency and satisfaction with the progress till now will only breed inefficiency and so this concept needs not only be followed but implemented as swami Vivekananda had said “one ounce of practice is worth twenty thousand tones of big talk”.

                                                             Having said that though religion and science complement each other in fields of democracy,political unity,economic well being,social practices and historical achievements yet these contradicts in other fields like of superstitions,condition of women,communalistic tendencies and many more.but there solution lies in preaching and implementing religious tolerance in life,teaching basic tenets of all religions and development and welfare of all.

                                                                          The very issue of religion and science’s coexistence in india is the very basic issue of existence of humanity on this ancient land.humanity,which is coupled with life of each and everyone till the last one standing in the row,hold importance very much than that in the past.the words of Socrates express the crux of whole issue when he said that “the unexamined life is not worth living”

          Finally,it can be said that if religion is the path to liberation then science should be taken as means to achieve that very end.the narrow dogma of religion attains its width only when it got science by its side on the way to prosperity and development of all in this great country.

Geography may remain same history need not

“I am neither Athenian nor greek ,but a citizen of the world”

             Socrates had said these powerful words at a time when all just mattered was the nationality limited by a geographical region.but his account as a citizen of world shows the acceptance of a greater truth and that is recognition of change going on in world as a whole whose history was a continuous change and whose future will be a continuum of change.but its quite imperative to know that in this world,where the mere change in air or climate may forge fetters among people to ascribe for their separate identity ,is there any chance to mould the history towards thepath of welfare and progress of even the last man standing in the end?

                                                                  Geography is all about the physical features the earth has on itself ,whether be the mountain reaching the sky or the trenches touching depth of oceans.change in geography is always there albeit time taken for change varies from a wink of an eye to thousands of centuries.on the other hand,history is the study of condition of all those who lived and wandered on mother earth before the question of history came up to the present generation.as it relates to people,who are bound to change their historical,social,political and other prerogatives with time ,so is the history.

                       The issue of dynamicicty of history alongside the reality of geography comes to the fore when the world events of last few decades are recalled.indian subcontinent can be an apt example of that where a single identity present from some 50-60 million years ago ,which was called india by Greeks ,Hindustan by Persians and bharat by its natives ,stretched from sulaiman to Chittagong ,got divided into three different historical units.history in this region had changed for worse,from culture of brotherhood to bloodshed ,from love to hatredness nd result was partition and four wars.isnt it the embodiment of fact that though geograph may remain the same,but need not the history.

                                                                                                                                       It needs to be seen as to by which factors,its possible that history changes inoverall context of geography with so much quantum that it should be called a change.it should be examined as to what can be done so that as the change happens because its all about human tendency to have change,that change is in the overall interest and welfare of all.

                         First and foremost factor that brings about historical changes with alongside the tangible effects on geography is the environment.its the dynamic relationship of air,water and soil of region which can change the course of history in both ways.indus valley civilization can be a case in point.many researchers ascribe to this theory that this bronze age civilization got vanished because of change in course of rivers specially Indus and saraswati river.its geographical fallout was the desertification that results in northwest part of Indian subcontinentand its historical effect was that the statit Indus community got replaced by horse riders Aryans who can migrate from the area,if such event recurs.the effect of environment is exerting itself on both geographical and historical facets toda more than ever as the population as well as its density is rising

                     Another important factor that puts a pressure on historical facts to get written again though without the comparable effects on geography is the politics played out in the region of consideration.whether it be the civil war of usa or the disintegration of usssror the segregation of arab world after treaty of severes in 1920 or the rise of dreadful Islamic state militia in today’s times ,it’s the historical change backed by political needs of the hour with little or no effects on geography.this political push may be by the people as they say ‘power withdrawl by people’ or by the leaders who say ‘a state won by one sitting in the office with help of a typewriter’.but the former is bound to change till the people not get what is due to them while latter is bound to change till one get what is promised to them.

           Another forceful push to dyynami of history bound  by static geography comes from social views and their implications.when these views start echoing or reflecting ,they start building the framework of a major change.civil disobedience movements of india or the mau mau rebellion of Kenya or the guerillas fighting of latin Americas or the birth of state as well as nation of Israel is all embodiment of it.when the society gets warm upto the atrocities or the aspirations of some among it,then it makes the stage for an overhaul of all that in favour of peace as said by mahatma gandhiji aptly-“in all through history ,the ways of love and truth have always won.therer has benn tyrants and murderers and for a time,they may seem invincible but in the end they always fall.think of it always”

                                                                                                                                         Then comes the economy whih has its repercussions felt not only on the lives of people but the geography also though how much small it is.its a continuous inherent factor in the life of all those facets of humanity from the age of hunter-gatherers to the industrial and subsequently service revolutions of the present.nothing can be more apt description of this factor than colonialism witnessed in world in past centuries.on the one hand where colonialism changed the history by making the people westernized instead of modernized ,on the other side ,it brought about substantive changes in geography by commercializing the use of forests or by pushing up the growth of shabby overstretched cities .though its always sure that its double edged sword,but walking on it was always the prerogative of man.

                                                                                                                                      Fifth factor which had brought about substantial historical changes within the bound of geography is the direction in which foreign affairs were dealt with time to time.a good example of it can be taken from the state of Liberia in Africa.this state itself is born out of the policy of slavery followed in late medieval centuries.not only this,the population in this part of the world is wholly composed of the descends of former slaves of north America.birth of hongkong under the ‘one nation,two systems’ policy of china is another substantial factor in the effect of foreign affairs on the historical changes of a region.

                                                                                                                                                   Another thrust to historical change comes from geographical factors itself.its the geography only due to which the plains have always been the cradles of civilizations while the mountains and other inhabitable areasgeet only thin slice of human habitat.it can be gauged from simple fact that 66% of world population resides in between two tropical lines.

                                        The change has neither been good or bad only.it becomes bad at a time when a single drop of blood get shed not in the process of occurrence of change but in the outcome.historical changes in the confinement of geography were good when they improved the condition of women or the so called invincible like blaks of America or untouchables of india.they were good when there aim was to make society think on reason or to make nation look to democracy and equality to solve the plethora of problems facing it.but they were bad when they were aspired for creating space for their own on the basis needs of others.

                                             But as the golden rule says that if there is problem,there must be a solution.so if the change happens in history with the geography may or may not accounting for it,there needs to be inherent qualities and principles so that change is for the best interests of one and all.

                                                                                                                                 First such principle should be the ‘culture of animism’ which means that all humans are partners in peace and progress.this culture has its roots in contentment which was aptly summarized by an ancient greek philosopher in following words “contentment is natural wealth while richness is artificial poverty”.

                                                                                                                           But the question remains as to how to ingrain in the minds of the coming generation the ssignificance of this culture?certainly its possible only through the agency of education which minimizes prejudices and stereotyping and such an education should start from home itself with the mother as the parent epitome in this endeavour.this ssingle thing will going to have catalytic effect in the moulding of change in positive direction.

                                                                                                                                  Second solution for managing all the way rapidly happening historical change ,is the presence of an international body,free of bias and capable of taking action at time of need.there were two organizations witnessed by world in this sphere.first was the league of nations whose unfrucatbility was also a reason for second world war.second is united nations which ahd done a commendable work right from its setting but its lack of change along with realities make it unuseful today more than ever.it has started not representing the reality of modern world and if this trend continues,then it will also start to decay like its predecessor.

                                                                                   Third solution in the context of historical change amid the presence of a static geographycomes from preparing the communities for unthoughtful changes that may come up in coming times.these include man disasters whether be biological or environmental and other rising challenges like terrorism ,nuclear proliferation etc.this needs the sense of being human compared  to the sense belongingness to a particular region.only then it can work and help one and all in facing some drastic challenges.this is possible by letting people to learn the practical aspects of life and civil society can play an important role in this regard.

                                                                                                   Having said this,its quite clear that geography though remains same or not,but history need not and cant be same and that’s due to the interplay of environmental,political,social,economical and geographical factors.the change a history get in its reflection is in both ways but its through the use of culture of brotherhood,a peaceful international body and by preparing towards unwanted change,a human being can mould the path of history to intended purpose of welfare of all.

                                             Though geographical factors were remaining same or not and the history was always in the flux of change,yet it’s the mankind that has to bear the brunt or heap the accolades for all these changes.it teaches us the significance of very fact that human kind is like a thread joining all the pearls of this great interplay of factors affecting it.this was even recognized from age long as an ancient saying is “history is the best teacher”.

                                                               Its always hopeful that though the history change and coming times will write a new history of the present,though the geography change or not,with the new physical features cropping up and old demolished ,yet the mankind in the garb of world citizenry will make its way for an even better and wishful future whose index will be the smile on the face of a girl coming out of a school located in the most underdeveloped region,with a smile on her face and mind sharper than yesterday.

                                                                                                                                                          

Rise of asia and decline of america

“international institutions must ascribe to the ground realities of today”

              These are the words said by Indian prime minister at recently held meeting of world leaders from brazil Russia china india and south Africa in fontaleza town of brazil.ground realities as voiced out in the meeting of countries from asia Eurasia and latin America ,are though changing in every respect but still needs to be seen that whether there is strategic shift in terms of rise of third world,most of which resides in asia and fall of first world ,whose main symbol is usa?

                                                                                                                                 Asian continent is the largest continent of world with having in its ambit some major powers like china india and japan.these nations are becoming powerhouse of the world of today.while on the American side,its predominantly the united states along with Canada as major ally,which is leading the guard as a single superpower evers since the fall of ussr.rise of asia will itself means the growing might of major powers of asia in world affairs whether be it the military,economic or cultural field while fall of Americas will mean the declining prestige of usa who got its position graciously after the second world war which brought the emergence of new world order.

                                    The issue of rise of asia and fall of Americas come on table because of many recent events like india’s  launching of mars orbiter mission and testing of nirbhay cruise missile,all this entailing the technologies till now held by only western nations headed by usa or the economic control by way of trade as done by china earning huge foreign reserves or the failure faced by usa in middle east symbolized by the rise of dreadful isis.not only this,the latest human development report points out that for the first time ,combined national income of third world crossed that of first world.is all this pointing to a major change in the way the world affairs will be conducted now on ? certainly yes

                                                                                                                                           But for that it needs to be seen that in which areas there is increasing leverage of asian powers and in which fields ,they are still lagging behind.it should also be seen that what can be done to make the world a prosperous valley of humanity with the rise of neglected and upliftment of downtrodden as a goal in end and rather than mere as a support for achieving the end as of now.

                                                                                             First and foremost of all is the emergence of political unity and stability in asian nations.nothing can be an apt example of this than india.its post independence history is marked with integration of 562 scattered princely states with Indian union due to great efforts of sardar vallabhbhai patel,who is also called as iron man or Bismarck of india.not only this,india became a place where the people who were always seen to be constituting separate nations in the eyes of westerners,were moulded as a single state.while on the other hand,in united states it’s the emergence of political complacency in the system which in today’s time is marked by lameduck presidency at the end time of maximum possible two presidential terms in their governance system.the history tells us that stability is a chariot wheel in the progressive path of a country like seen by a rapid industrial progress in united kingdom in 18 th century.if it holds true in the future ,then certainly communist china and democratic india will lead the world in coming times compared to  politically complacent usa.

                            Another field is the economic one where the story of asian rise and American or europpean fall is being written.whether be it the business process outrsourcing industry or the knowledge process outsourcing or the supply of cheap but highly educated workforce ,it’s the india that leads the world.when it comes to consumer goods market,it’s the china who by virtue of its large industrial intstallations and cheap labour ,is playing dominant role in world market and when it comes to field of higher or cutting edge technology,it’s the japan which shows the way to the world.this had become possible due to huge advantage of demographic dividend as nearly 40-45%population in asia is in working age group.

                                    While on the other hand,usa is suffering from the setbacks of loose monetary policy followed by it till now.result of it was that the superpower first suffered from bursting of home bubble and later by economic depression marked by crash of lehmann brothers bank.over and above it,the contagion effect of euro crisis and increasing costs of war in middle east,made the usa one of the largest debtorsin world market.irony is that its largest creditor is china,who boasts of its huge foreign reserves ,and is an asian nationalistic power.

                                                                  Another arena in which there is significant shift in favour of asia is the international negotiations and agreements.third world led by india forced the inclusion of principle principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in Kyoto summit of 1997.copenhagen summit of 2009 marked the rise of BASIC nations which include brazil south Africa india and china.recent standoff over the issue of inclusion of hydrofluorocarbons as ozone depleting substances or green house gas is also a noteworthy step articulating the rising weight of asian nations.not only this,a major international body that is imf,have started for major changes in its governance structure with more voting rights to developing world.

                                  On the other hand,united states jealousness of protecting their private companies is now seen as the one obstructing most of  the issue of  today to be solved.for example recently due to efforst due to efforts of world intellectual property organization ,marakesh treaty signed by which there will be production of even copyright material in the formats which are accessible to visually handicapped people like Braille script.this treaty till now,not ratified by usa though most of the world’s major publishing houses are in usa..there are othr areas where problem are cropping up like usa refusal to have legally binding emission cuts or its overt attacks on intellectual property right affairs of other countries like india.all these issues make the image of America look like as an irresponsible power.

                                                                                         Fourthly it’s the market demand which is putting a fuel towards the rise of asia.multinational and transnational companies are heading towards Indian or Chinese markets from that of usa,not becaue of the presence of large population in these countriesbut because of the presence of huge middle class who is both educated as well as have grown in the age of consumerism .demographic advantage of these countries have acted as a catalyst,aiding the setting up of factories in these countries by various mnc.there are ample examples of such companies like apple,nokia or Microsoft .

                                         Other areas where there is asian rise along with declining prestige of America are internet demand and use ,geographical advantage of asia as at crossroads of major shipping lanes ,soft power capabilities because of rich cultural heritage etc.

                                                                                                   But though there are a lot of areas where  asia ismarking its resurgence,there are also a lot more other areas where still America is in clear lead and is having strategic advantage over any other country of world.

                                                                                             First such area is technology and particularly ,cutting edge one.whether be it the continental ballistic missiles or tomahawk missiles or first super computer or reaching upto moon and mars ,it’s the clear  cut lead of usa which can be appreciated.’science’ magazine observed that though the patents coming from usa haave ddecreased vis a vis to other countries but still it’s the largest one in number.india and other asian powers have always demanded for sharing of technology from usa but still its hesitation on part of America to share it without subsequent benfits in return.

                              Second area where the usa clearly leads the world even now is the military capabilities.defence expenditure of usa is the largest in world and even more than that of combination of 16 major powers around the world.an important advantage with usa is that of its dynamic relationship with the current needs.for example recently it had set up a command named cybercom to fight in cyber warfare.asian nations not only lag behind in this field sorely  but are themselves,a major dependent on defence partnership with usa like japan is a country that depends on usa for protection at times of any war or aggression.

                                                     Third is the area of brain drain which makes usa a powerhouse of intelligence from not only its own soil but from different parts of world.irony is that most of this brain drain comes from the major powers of asia that is india and chin.usa not attracts the unskilled and semiskilled labour class from third world but the professional well educated people from these areas.silicon valley in usa ,which is power center of its major computer industries ,is a symbol of this brain drain.

                  Fourth issue which negates the rise of asia and fall of Americas is the presence of disputes between asian nations.whether be it the indo china border dispute lading upto 1962 war between both or japan china islands dispute or Chinese interfence in affairs of south east asian nations or the misunderstandings in the minds of south asian nations about the big brotherly attitude of india,it’s the asia as a whole in the world context which is coughing up a large price on such disputes.while usa ‘s geographical avantage of to be away from regions of conflict makes it a peaceful country..nno war or battle with any foreign power was fought on usa soil after its independence.

                                                                                                           Fifth is the rise of inequalities which will act as a braker in the rise of asia on account of its multireligious ,multiethnic identity.recent un economic and social council report articulate these inequalities when it points out that only nearly 50000 people of asia as a whole own 40% of total asian capital.rest 60% is shared by left billions of people.it should be kept in mind the warning of Socrates that-“poverty is the mother of revolution and crime”.but if this economic inequality continues then it will breed social tensions and conflicts.whether be it the rakhine disputes of Myanmar or budhist muslim clashes in srilanka or xinjiang disturbance in china,these all points to this single fact that inequality is dangerous for asia.

                                                                                            Yet there is hope that one day asia will rise wlong with rise of whole of America and not just usa .but for that there needed to be some solutions so as to solve out the existing problems and device a way to tackle the coming ones.

                                                                                    First suggestion is to move towards the setting up of such international bodies that are reflective of needs and aspirations of people at large and not some influencive world powers.first step in that direction can be taken by reforms is united nations security council by giving permanent member status to india .second step is to make the concept of ‘one country one vote’ applicable to all institutions on the lines of recently set brics bank.this will help the world in not to ignore the voice of minority whether that minority be in economic sphere or in political weight.it should be kept in mind that barometer of progress of world is development of its minorities.

                                                                                                              Second suggestion is the cooperation among asian nations which is now needed more than ever.the view of asian leaders come out very clearly in this respect when Chinese president in 2003 visit to india made a famous statement-“b of business matters much more than b of border”.cooperation between nations if happen to be at real politik level ,then the results will be tremendously positive.for example combination of Chinese hardware computer industry with Indian software computer technology can make asia a global power in this area.such avenues in cooperation need to be explored as early as possible.

                                                                                                                                            Third suggestion is the people to people contact among nations and this should also include the movement of labour from one country to other.in other words,globalization should be in every respect and not only fo benefit of some countries.in other words of diplomacy,it’s the track 2 diplomacy which is now needed more than ever to look at the rise of all rather any continent.

                                                                         Having said that,though there are certain areas where asia is putting itself strongly like political unity and stability,economic development is by way of a large middle class market or huge demographic dividend,cooperation in international affairs like many agreements and negotiations yet in many fields like military power or technology or social cohesiveness or the centre of attraction of intelligence ,it’s the usa which is leading the guard.there can be push towards former by setting up of strong international bodies with equality at its core and by forging cooperation among asian nations along with anhaancing people to people contact in world affairs.

                                                                                          Rise of asia and fall of America is though a reality ,but its importance will be truly recognized only when it will have in its ambit the wellbeing of all including the neglected ones till now.making available an opportunity to improve upon is the only thing that matters in the progress of this world as a whole.this single concept was beautifully articulated by former president of india shri apj kalaam when he said that-

 “look at the sky.the hole universe is friendly to us and aspire to give the best to those who dream and work.”

      The world though now needs the rise of asia but not the fall of America .its hopefulthat a time will come when there will be iimplementation of ground realities in the conduct of world affairs nd that ground reality if implemented,will lead to a progressive and peaceful world whose index will be a little girl coming out of a school of an underdeveloped hinterland with a smile on her face and mind sharper than yesterday.

indian internal security challenege

“victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat for it is momentary”

These are the golden lines of mahatma Gandhi through which he tried to guide the path of human civilization towards a noble aim of peace and non violence .but in his own countryhydra of violence has raised its ugly head time and again.internal security challenge is one head of this hydra whose tentacles are well spread in life and hue of this country.it becomes imperative to look at the gradual evolution of this challenge along with the very basic question that whether Indian nation state had been effective in dealing with it?

                          Internal security itself implies the security and well being of people in all the facets of their activity whether it be economical,social or political.anything and everything that threatens the fabric of society will be termed as a challenge and any challenge has like a disease an incubation period during which it spreads and strengthens itself.response of state should also not only be a cure but a prevention alongwith so as not only to treat the disease but eliminate it.

                                                                                                                                  The issue of internal security is coming on forefront because of recent video release of al qaeda to create upsurge of religious militancy in india,publication of Islamic state fatwas in Indian languages to lure Indian youth,burdhman blasts and success achieved by Indian forces in naxalite areas leading to mass level surrender of naxalites.constant threat of aiding of separatistrs by external state and non state actors is also a reason to bring the discussion on internal security in limelight.

                                                                                                        Therefore it needs to be seen that what are the various internal security challenges as well as their evolution and nature and whether the response of Indian state through all its strategies worked or not to tackle these challenges?it should also be looked at what can be done to not only effectively resist such issues but also to prepare for their resurgence?broadly internal security challenges can be divided as purely internal or externally aided internal.

             First and foremost challenge to internal security is of naxalism.its origin Is from the 1967 incident of naxalbari village of darhjeeling district of west Bengal where a tribal youth was not allowed to plough his land inspite of court orders which then resulted in clashes and police firing.this challenge evolved as one from urban phenomenon to one centred on support of rural populace predominantly tribals.nature of naxalism can be gauged from the fact that its spread is from tirupati to pashupatinath ,covering 9 states of which 81 districts are on high alert.its stronghold is an area rich in minerals,tribals and forests with its ideology embedded in emotive issue of jal jangal and jameen.a disturbing trend is that in 2004 mcc and pwg wings fused together and its activities ranged from killing of security personnel to extortions from contractors.

                                                  Government response to this challenge is based on two pronged strategy of security and development.on development side implementation of panchayat extension to scheduled areas act and forest rights act along with various schemes like integrated area programmes and surrender cum rehabilitation schemes working wonders.on security side govt had stationed paramilitary forces in this area and strengthened police presence through modernization.govt has also opened on its dialogue front by open invitation to naxal leaders with promise of’not to leave their cadres or shed their ideology or leave arms but come to talks’.recently passed land acquisition act show the sincerity of govt to solve their grievances.

                                         Another internal security challenge come from tendency of separatism in various parts of the country.india has been uniquely endowed with so much resources that its various regions have a very little interdependence on each other.result is forging of special identity among the regions themselves.this results in further flaring up of separatist tendencies.

                                                                                                                             First and foremost prevalence of this separatist tendency can be seen in the crown of india,that is Kashmir.separatistissm evolved from a wide plethora of factors ranging from malpractices in elections specially of 1987 to overt and covert support by men and materials from other side of border.nature of this separatism has been to wage a proxy war on india as well as to ignite up the feelings of ordinary people of Kashmir.decade of 1990s mmarked by plight of kashmiri pundits and after that crackdown of security forces on the valley was an unforgettable decade in history of Kashmir.

                                                                            Govt response to this challenge have been to put firmly that Kashmir is integral part of india whose safety and security is responsibility of whole country.result is that for Indian neighbor its problem of Kashmir while for india its problem in Kashmir.govt have given maximum possible autonomy to j nd k under article 370 ,has started many skill development and job provision schemes ,and election commission has played a vital role by conducting peaceful elections in valley.indian security response in Kashmir is through the agency of army as well as paramilitary forces .but implementation of afspa has become a sign of oppression.though hope gets renewed by increasing selections of kashmiris in civil services and by increasing tourism in region yet much needs to be done.

                                                                         Second separatist tendency was seen in the food bowl of india.that is Punjab.rise of the demand of Punjabi nation from that of Punjabi suba was the main turning point in punjab’s history.its evolution is from largely a nonviolent protest marked by anandpur sahib resolution to decade of 1980s mmarked by bloodshed and violence.operation blue start and black thunder have become a sin of this struggle.in recent days,this is posing itself in issuance of security threats to major political leaders and violent attacks on some of the actors involved in past governmental response.

                                          Govt response to this challenge had been first to increase the boots on the groundfollowed by discussions with moderate leaders like inking of rajiv longowal acoord of 1985.peaceful conduct of elections to state assembly in 1992 and commemoration of 300 years of khalsa panth in 1999 marked the mainstreaming of alienated sections in this part of county.but care should be taken because rising drug menace and educated unemployment in Punjab can again rejuvenate this separatism.

                                               Third separatism challenge comes from seven sister state or state of north east.demand of separatist groups  in these states ranged from creation of a separate state to that of a separate nation.its evolution is rooted in various factors like geographical cutoff from rest of india,racial difference bcz of mongoloid features,existence as a separate kingdom at times of britishers,poor governance by govt like at times of bamboo overpopulation crisis of Mizoram in 1960s and active support from hostile neighbours.nature of challenge is quite distinct because most of insurgent groups not only fight against security forces but with each other also.separatists also force the local people to pay tax to them and that is a serious issue as it strengthen alienation.

                                                                                                                               Govt response to this challenge has been in two strands.first is to give regional autonomy like by way of 5^th and 6^th schedule and carving out separate states for example Nagaland in 1963 ,Mizoram and Tripura in 1972,arunachal Pradesh and meghalya in 1987.second response of govt is to put security forces in north east.assam rifle is the oldest counter insurgency force .govt has been very effective in dealing with separatism in north east .its success can be gauged from the state of mizoram whose democratically elected chief minister was once leader of insurgents and state is second only to kerala in literacy and women empowerment.

                                                                                               Another internal security challeng to Indian nation state come not from separatism but from a problem that is biggest challenge in today’s world.this problem is of terrorism.as per a recent survey,india has been 4^th  in ranking to suffer from ill effects of terrorism.2001 terrorist attacks on parliament and 26/11 mumbai terror attacks show the severity of this problem.terrorism in india has evolved from sending fighters across the borderto setting up of sleeper cells in country itsel.nature of terrorism has always been to hit the densely populated areas and cause as many as possible lives to be lost.a very dangerous trend of terrorism is fidayeen or suiCide attacks in which terrorists are sent with sureshot sense of impending death.

                                                                                                                                           Govt response to terrorism has been to strengthen intelligence sharing,operational effectiveness and forging international collaboration.9/11 of usa has changed the viewpoint of antiterrorism from law and order to an issue of national security.indian got has set natgrid,nsg and macaong with other agencies like ntro to tackle issue of terrorism.not only this,india is also looking to issue of cyber terrorism and had set up national critical infrastructure protection centre and computer emergency response team which works 24^7.indian support to Afghanistan rejuvenation is also a step in the direction of terror free world.

                                                                                                      Another issue of india’s national security arises from the conglomeration of communal violence and social media.every year nearly 100 persons die of communal riots while  on the other hand social media is a medium of fast spread of information with a major caveat that information can be false or true.social media thus become a space through which hatredness spreads like a wildfire at times of riot.muzaffrnagar riots of 2013 points to this challenge which was also discussed in subsequent national interation council meeting chaired by prime minister.various terrorist organizations like al qaeda or Islamic state is creating inroads into Indian disgruntled youth through the agency of social media.

                                                         Govt response to this serious issue has been to put an intelligence apparatus to look out for any vnting grievance.govt has the power to effectively monitor online communication under Indian telegraph act 1885.secular characteristics of Indian states are a very strong bulwark against such tendencies and moreover Indian democracy is strongly working as effective grievance redressal mechanism as it makes the authority replaceable ,if it fails to perform its duty.

                                                     Though it can be pointed out that there are lot of internal security challenged to this country yet it should be appreciated that most of the challenges have been worked out but in any democracy ,if there are problems then the solutions must come out not only as a respite but as a response and so is true for the challenge of internal security.

                                                                         First such solution to problem of internal security comes from the institution of ationable intelligence.this can only be possible if there is strong centre state coordination.national counter terrorism agency is one such example where not only centre and states can come too board but where actionable intelligence can also be possible.its formation can be tweaked so as to include state security appratuson its board so that states can actively collaborate in its functioning.

                       Second solution to thee problem of internal security come from police reforms.there is  no replacement to boot  on ground.following supreme court directives in prakash singh case in this  regard can go a long way  like by setting up state security commission,transparent appointment process of chiefs of central police agencies and state  police,minimum 2 yr ternure to field officers etc..need is  to implement them in spirit and not only in letter alone.

                                                                                Third suggestion to tackle the internal security problem comes from sustainable development whose effect can be felt in each nook and corner of country.this is possible through the principles of subsidiarity,decentralization,devolution,delegation along with debureaucratisation at lower levels.strenghthening of gram sabhas and ward sabhas should be the first step towards aforesaid principles.this will not only minimize grievances but will also decrease support to insurgents and separatists .mahatma gandhiji had perfectly summarized this from of development when he said”I shall work  for an india in which the poorest shall feel that its their country in whose making they have an effective voice.”

                                                    Fourth suggestion to tackle the problem of interal security comes by way of strong but effective response of security forces along with proper care of human rights.in long run ,work of security forces is not gauged from the insurgents it killed but from the disgruntled youth who have left weapons .though Indian army and paramilitary forces have always remained professional in their approach but certain laws governing their action like afspa need to be amended because its becoming a symbol of oppression.aong with it,there is an imperative need to spread the message of communal harmony aggressively among the people and restrenthen the bonds of unity and brotherhood.

                                                      Having said that ,it can be pointed out that though there are many internal security challengslike naxalism,terrorism,separatism in Punjab or Kashmir or north east  yet Indian response is quite effective in dealing with by way of strengthening security presence,renewing the thrust on development in affected areas and opening doors to dialogue to one who are willing to come to table.there can be certain improvements like in security architecture by way of police reforms or instituting actionable intelligence,thrust on sustainable development as well as political participation of one and all.

                              Internal security challenges in india has volved from a benign looking problem to a malignant tumour and this alone is a serious challenge in itself.though democracy with one person one vote and one vote one value has worked wondersin tackling all these issues yet there needs much more to be done so that our country can be a place of peace for all our citizens an irony is  that,it rescue is also in democracy as they say-

“solution of every problem in democracy is more democracy itself.”

                                        Its hopeful that Indian nation state will one day attain the dream of mahatma Gandhi whose base will be non violence and whose aim will be peace.the index of such an objective will be smile on the face of a little girl coming out from a school located in a hitherto untouched area,with her mind sharper than yesterday.

non violence and our society

                       On the blessful day of 15 august 1947 when the whole of india was celebrating the arrival of long wished independence ,mk Gandhi who was referred to as father of nation by subhas Chandra bose and respected as leader of masses was absent from those historic celebrations.he was there in the streets of noakhali of Bengal dampening the flares of communal violence.but its now quite imperative to see whether the message of non violence given to world by this great leader through his deeds has really worked wonders or has it been just ignored for the sake of greed and power?

                                                                                                                   Non violence should  not be taken as absence of violence only.its the faith in oneself that he or she can bear up the violence impounded by oppressors and even after the worst oppression will raise no hand on the oppressor.whole article of non violence lies on the very basis that ‘hate the sin love the sinner’.mk Gandhi had given this message during the Indian struggle of independence when the all known methods whether be of petitions or of individual heroic actions had failed to dislodge the colonialists.

                                                                                                                     The messae he had given,have become today more important than ever.just a cursory look at world affairs can put things in true perspective.whether be it Iraq or Syria or Ukraine or hongkong ,violence is not only practical but its combined with state policy and religious teachings.result is a disastrous outcome and its wrongness gets testified when world community gets divided while taking actions on such beastly acts of oppression.

                                           It needs to be seen that how non violence as voiced by mk Gandhi can be helpful in various facets of human life and what are the problems coming in the way of pursuance of this noble idea along with what can be done for making this article of faith a reality for not only who have faith in it but those who really  need it?

                                                         Concept of non violence gets its synergy in political sphere when that particular political entity absorbs the  notions of responsible democracy,good governance and freedom of expression.its because such a political system in itself becomes the grievance redressal machinery and governance taking into account the needs of even the last one in the row results is creation of atmosphere of confidence among the minds of minorities.contemporary world shows it in two opposite strands for example Iraq’’s political system have not been careful of the aspirations and needs of sunnni tribesmen resulting in islamic state exploiting those emotions and on the other hand recently held successful Tunisian elections where a secular party had won over the islamist ennahada party along with the acceptance of people’s verdict accepted with celebrations on both sides points to the fact that a new dawn of democracy sets in.hongkong umbrella movement,silent man protests of turkey and arab spring movements are further examples of this synergy.

                                                                                                      This synergy results in pushing towards the path of equality when it starts to express itself in social sphere.when a race,religion,creed or a group starts to show or portrait itself as supreme over other group ,then violence is bound to arise provided leaders like mk Gandhi are not there to guide the path of disgruntled masses.nothing can be more apt representation of such guidance than the abolition of untouchability via article 17 in Indian constitution.similar is the experience of usa where a person from lon oppressed black race have become president and supreme commander of its armed forces.but there are still countless cases of inequality where the goal of non vilencee can be pursued with utmost zeal.inequality of today’s  times is coming in the form of digital divide with clear demarcation in form of internat haves and have nots.the condition of women is another such sphere of inequality whose social factors has been voiced in recently started ‘he for she ‘campaign of united nations.

                                                                       Political democracy and social equality as two cornerstones of the way of non violence further leads to achievement of objective of economic equality and most importantly employment to the working age population.as the Indian phiolosphy mentions that artha or economic well being is required for moksha or liberation,so is the bitter truth that if the econimc equality is not achieved then social equality and political democracy becomes a distant dream with violence becomes a way out for those who lag behind.world of today,in economic terms,is like some islands of prosperity amidst the ocean of poverty.for example the case of asia where nearly 50000 people owns about 30% income of continent or the case of usa where 10% of people holds 50% of wealth of the country.growth with focus on service sector along with education without any focus on skilling have resulted in jobless and joyless growth.

                                                                                            The situation becomes quite hopeful and optimistic when non violence starts expressing itself in the foreign affairs.nation states of today have become much more mature in reconition of the fact that war don’t determine who is right but who is left.recent Scotland referendum as well as indo china resolution to solev border disputes through negotiations are a clear epitome of this principle but situation is not as rosy as it seems.theatre of violence has changed from outright wars between countries to the state sponsored terrorism as well as cyber warfare and espionage.the situation becomes more critical by the fact that though it was nationalism which resulted in world wars ,its regionalism which is fuelling today’s low intensity peace time conflicts deafeating the very purpose of peaceful coexistence which is a foundation for non violence.

                                                                                                                                        Mk gandhiji had not seen this coexistence and non violence as only outrer realities but also as an experience of innerseelf.this means the application of concept of non violence on the  psychological aspects of mankind.famou historian bipan Chandra had beautifully explained its meaning when he said that the greatness of gandhiji didn’t lie in the fact that he himself was hero of independce struggle but he had the ability to elevate the men and women around him to the stage of heroship.this means absorbing the idea of non violence and making it the part and parcel of life so much so that it got expressed in the form of strongness of one’s character and thoughts.nelson Mandela fondly known as madibo was one such person who had shown that gandhiann principle of non violence is as much a reality today as it was when voiced out by mk Gandhi himself.

                                                                       Though there are lots of facets of human life where mk gandhi’s article of faith that is non violence have potential to bring about a major change,yet there are many problems and obstacles coming in the way of achievement of aims and objectives of non violence.

                                                                                              Greed of power whether it be political or economical is one such obstacle which hinders the idea of non violence to gain roots in the minds of people at large.our history have been full of such incidents.whether it be the rise of fascism or Nazism in Europe or polpot revolution in combodia or the rise of military dictatorship in Pakistan ,Myanmar,Egypt ,its always the want of political and economic power that had propelled regimes to organize genocides of the opposing groups.some multinational companies in connivance with states have also been accused of waging violence to gain strong economic foothold and many African nations r victim of this neo colonialism.

                    Solution of this problem lies in democracy,effective institution building as well as presence of checks and balances in the political system of governance.along with it,the careful use of responsibility to protect principle by international community along with strong institution at international level can be an effective stop to this cycle of violence started because of aspirations of some individuals or groups.succeful Indian democracy experiment can serve as a lighthouse for world in this respect.

                                                                      Lack of an effective leadership is also a big obstacle towards the path of non violence.it means that leadership is either corrupt or inefficient or ineffective.global south is suffering from this problem more than ever.these are historical colonies who have not gained in providing a good quality of life to their citizens after independence.its not astonishing that most of global poor are living in the continents of south America ,Africa and asia.as there are three types of capital and those are social capital,economic capital and cultural capital.global south is rich in all these capitalsand that was a source of attraction for colonialists but an ineffective leadership have resulted in non effective use of these capitals.for example the continent of Africa have 50% of diamond reserves of world and 75% of platinum yet it’s the poorest continent of world.

                                                                                                                            Single most effective solution to problem of leadership comes from the agency of educationwhich should be focused not only on simple literacy but on universal primary education.it will result in peope questioning the very existence of their conditions.minimisation of greed along with education will itself results in contentment of people at large and so non violence will be the golden aim of such communities because that will make the way open for them to the path of improving their quality of life.

                                                                                                Another obstacle towards the aim of mk gandhi’s idea of non violence comes from he ineffective use of sciene and technology for masses.result is that though humankind had made strides in science and technology yet the costly technology is out of reach of common masses which resulted in vicious cycle of exploitation for example the case for industrial revolution in Europe marked with significant technology improvements like cotton gin,steam engines etc.yet the cities get populated with slums on one hand and palaces on the other.such blatant inequalities are bound to emerge as violent protests and so it happened.russian revolution was one such protest.science and technology relates with non violence via simpl concept of increase productivity and its upto effective leadership that how to divide the increased pie of the growth cake?

                                                                                             Its answer lies in the focus towards exploration of frugal technology which means use of science and technology for day to day activities in cost effective manner.for example the case of kisan call centres and sms schemes in india.economy of scale has resulted in increase mobile penetration and govt tapped up this opportunity by setting up kisan call centres from where farmers can get knowledge of weather conditions ,prices in the market etc.these ideas bring welfare of the common people and so violence as a mean for achieving ends get negated.

                                                                    Another obstacle in the path of mk gandhi’s notable idea of non violence comes from the ignorance of emerging challenges to mankind.climate change is one such challenge.gandhiji had forewarned about this condition when he said –“earth has enough for everybody’s need but not for greed.”but in pursuance of development ,we have ignored this commandent.conditions have worsened to such an extent that water wars like standoff bw Egypt and sudan over nile river or food conflicts like in Somalia are happening now and then.artcic has been melting from a long time and its ummer ice will be completely gone by 2040 and tresult is flooding in low lands and so there will be grievances which are bound to emerge as violent protests.

                                                                                             Its solution lies in the concept of sustainable development which was accepted by world community but never pursued by all.such type of development is not a theoretical concept but a treatise of practices followed all around the globe.like Israel have set up a future commission which looks at the effect of their today’s policies on future communities or the water management practice by pune municipality who have made it compulsory that new buildings in the area has to structure pipes in such a way that used water from activities of washing utensils or bathing diverted to washrooms and so saving upto 40% of water consumption.in effect such  kind of development makes the ground fertile for the achievement of non violence in practice because people will be getting their basic necessities even in coming times.

                                              Having said that ,it can be observed that principle of non violence has wide applications in political sphere by way of democracy,in social and economic sphere by way of equality,in international sphere by means of peace and in psychological sphere by means of contentment.values of sustainable development ,good governance,effective leadership ,equitable growth will catalyse the path towards non violence.

                            Gandhian concept of non violence is not without its practical application because gandhian belief itself lies in implementation of ideas and not only formulation of age old vision and so mk Gandhi had himself given the method of its implementation and have shown the phases of struggles one has to endure in its implementation-“first they ignore you.then they laugh at you.then they fight you and then you win.”

                          Its hopeful that non violence as the last article of faith and hope for the creed of humanity will bring the welfare of all whose index will be a little girl coming out o a school in the hitherto undeveloped area with a smile on her face and mind sharper than yesterday.