One Year in Cornell and ………Meeting History

                       One Year in Cornell and ………Meeting History

The summers in Ithaca are a good time to reflect on your graduate experience. For me it’s a great feeling to reflect upon the events of past one year, spent in potlucks, gossips, case memos, stressful pre-exam nights spent in Olin and Mann libraries, and crazy internship hunts.

These days, often during my long, endless evening walks amidst solitary woods and fireflies of Ithaca in the foggy nights around the trails of gorges, I ponder over my first year in Cornell. In my quest to find out my achievements and experiences, I come across several things like a little artificial or natural twist in my accent, a good G.P.A, enhancement in my social skills, new fondness of operas and jazz, my capacity of doing weed and Jack Daniel’s intake but the most fascinating experience of my first year is my lyrical and almost ethereal encounter with the history of Indian subcontinent, central Asia and Middle East and Europe.

Since my high school days the history of the subcontinent with its episodes of silk route, Mughals, Kushanas and Parthian empires had almost a magical and mystical impact on my persona. I still remember that in my under-graduation days, how I had immersed my cognitive being in the thoughts of medieval battles, Portugese horse traders and Buddhist monasteries sprawling in the cold deserts of China and grasslands of Turkistan.

Here, after almost an era, I meet those vivid images of history. I shall begin with my brushes with India’s immediate neighbor Pakistan.  When I see my friends from Pakistan serenading the bollywood hits like ‘papa kehte hai’, ‘ koi kahe kehta rahe’ , I get a glimpse of what the sub-continent was before partition or could have been in the event of different historical course. Today my country men’s knowledge about Pakistan is confined to ISI, Haqqani networks, bomb blasts of Karanchi and Quetta Hafiz Saed, Benazeer Bhutto, Veena Malik and Rahat Fateh Ali khan. But, we should know some other stuff which is actually quite cool. When I see my friend Wasiq’s intense and proud feelings about his rajput ancestors, it introduces me to my home state of 18^th and 19^th century. When I got to know that, how distinct identities like Rajput, Arain( gardeners), Gujjar and Jat played an immensely important role in defining one’s social existence(even more than Shia or Sunni until recently) in Pakistan, I witnessed and felt the vastness and limitless expanse of the power of history.

More so, when I see my Pakistani friends using words like ‘Satyanash(destruction of truth in a very metaphysical sense; the word is a common usage among Indians)’, ‘Bharam’, ‘Lakshmi’, ‘Sadhu’, ‘Maharaj’, ‘Nach na jane angan tedha’, for a moment I am transported back to ancient India when Indian philosophy and logic were evolving through the great metaphysical tradition of Shastrartha. Some of them often give the smoke and fire analogy (the one which was originally given by the Naiyaikas in their syllogism.  I am absolutely amazed at the beauty and influence of the forces of history and culture.  The way my Pakistani friends use these words is very natural, casual, and unaware as if they have been using them for centuries without any religious or ideological qualms. It looks as if a typical middle class Hindu house wife is grudging about her mundane and boring routine.

These words like ‘Bharam’, ‘Satyanass’, ‘lakshmi’  and expressions like ‘nach na jane angan tedha’ have their roots in the linguistic theories and epistemology of  great Indian metaphysical schools. The words like ‘Bharam’ have their intrinsic origins in Vedanta and Upnishads. It literally means an illusion so it was a very important concept in Indian cosmology and theories of error. According to Vedanta, the whole cosmos is a ‘Bhrama’ which humans have due to beginning less ignorance.  ‘Laksmi’ was a very important concept in Madhva Vedanta. It literally means wife of lord Vishnu(One of Hindu trinity of gods) and metaphorically means wealth. The entity of Laksmi also assumes great significance in Tantrik literature. It’s not just strange but quite amusing and relaxing to see a burqa clad girl uttering these words in a very light manner. It gives some respite to the mind which has become used to Wahabi and Salafist violence on the local culture and traditions.

These words, in course of time came to be absorbed in the normal and casual conversations of Indian masses because of the strong philosophical impact of these religio-metaphysical traditions and intellectual movements had on the psyche of an ordinary Indian. These linguistic off-shoots are very symbolic and convey deep meanings and findings which lie in the domain of evolutionary psychology.

Once my Pathan tiger Rafiullah told me about the Sikh and Hindu temples of Afghanistan, then I met the times of silk route and  Ranjit singh . when, I was told about the tribal code of honor, I felt as if I was meeting the tribes of Ambhi, Oxydrokoi who gave fierce resistance to Alexander. For a moment I could imagine how grammarian Panini had composed Ashtadhyayi Vyakarana in the snowy mountains of Kabul. I could also see the Buddhist caravans spreading Buddhism and building monasteries in Gandhara.

These religio-metaphysical influences have had a tremendous impact on the psyche of people living in the subcontinent and even on the minds of people living in places as far as Afghanistan. These influences impacted the sub-conscious, shaped and  defined the social, cultural and political attitudes of people. Even now the effects of these influences can be felt in very amusing and interesting ways for instance, the Indian family killer soap ‘Kyonki Saas bhi kabhi Bahu thi’ was immensely popular in Afghanistan.  Rafi told me that the mothers would stop cooking when that serial was telecasted. Even the ordinary recruits of Taliban enjoyed the serial in their private moments. It’s absolutely surprising that a serial depicting a typical Hindu Gujrati family culture was so popular among traditional Pashtun mothers and sisters. My cool post-modern JNU and Stephanian classmates could never ‘connect’ with these soaps. This kind of ‘connect’ has its roots at a very deep, subtle and subconscious level. This happens when a subconscious is a result of long religious, cultural and philosophical tradition of 1000s of years.  All bollywood movies of Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan(who is known as Haji Jogan in Afghanistan) are very popular in Afghanistan.

When I came here I found it much natural, comfortable and easy to make friends with Pakistanis, Afghans rather than my own country men who came from extreme south Indian states like Tamil Nadu or extreme North-eastern states like Nagaland, Manipur etc.

My next encounter with history happened when my Kazakh friend Romanbek mentioned proudly about ‘Baboor’ and his achievements. So far I thought that Babur would be useful for a young student form Bihar coming to Delhi to prepare for civil service exam. I could actually feel myself with the Mughal armies, trotting with their, begs and Mirzas. In my friend’s horsemanship I could visualize the fierce Huns who invaded India and converted to Shaivism and can still be found among the rajputs. When he asked me to play ‘Dost Dost Na Raha’, ‘Jimi Jimi’ and danced for hours with his vodka to the mesmerizing music of that song, Rajkapur and the cold war days of Indo-soviet friendship showered on my poetic self a surreal bliss.

So, Cornell, I thank you for introducing me to my roots, culture and history in the most amusing, serene and enlightening manner. Now, I feel that I am better prepared to think about and address the concerns of political conflicts, religious conflicts and terrorism in South-Asia.

American Fly and the Bottomless Pit

                                   American Fly and the Bottomless Pit

Back in 1970s my dad and his friends often talked about Ahmad Zahir and his Elvis styled songs which blended east and west in a very seductive, romantic and mellifluous way. They often talked about Daud Khan and the leftwing radicals, active in the Kabul of seventies.  Feroz khan with his macho looks and romance with Hema Mailini in the song ‘Kya khoob lagti ho’ made Afghanistan look like some kind of fairy tale land for Indians. Then in the year 1998 I was discussing about Gulbaddin Hikmatyar with my over-enthusiastic uncle serving for Indian Government, whom everyone in his office called current affairs commissioner who stopped aging after Vietnam war. Even then the things did not seem out of control. They looked pretty much manageable.

In my undergrad I was flaunting my knowledge about Karzai and his local government (all puns intended) to fish-eyed and mystic Bengali beauty of my college debating society. But off late I have known and heard a few things which have, kind of broken this chain, this chain of perceiving and discussing Afghanistan as a land of horse-riding adventurer Pashtuns, a land of Ustad Nash-e Naas( legendary Pashto singer), beauty, sulas( roasted, smoky meat)  and a zone of geopolitical thrills, which could be discussed either in order to impress your younger cousins or to pass civil service exams.

Things which I have known off-late and realized about Afghanistan are indicative of finally catapulting a country and society back into the primitive middle ages of 10^th century. There are abundant signs of systematically depriving the nation and society of all, what we address as modern, secular and vibrant and, unveiling of the black mist of bigotry and violence over a vast expanse of land, which was once a cradle of Aryan civilization. This is the final stage of this anti-evolutionary process and, if it is not stopped now, the soul of the proud Pathan will never be able to come back to life.

The U.S intervention of ten years, on whatever pretext, it was, in some way and at some stage did claim and try to create a modern, workable, secular, tolerant and democratic governance structure in Afghanistan. Alongside the drone attacks and counter insurgency operations various initiatives were undertaken like streamlining local government in Marjah, development work done by India in the field of construction, transportation etc. But today it seems that things have come back to square one. The hatred emanating from the fumes of drone attacks, providing strong legitimacy to Taliban completely dominates the public mental landscape.

This essay explores the causes of these failures and in the end it proposes an alternate strategy to save a nation and society. The first and foremost cause of this failure lies in the insufficient and distorted  understanding and, that insufficient understanding , rather, I would say distorted perception, informing all the strategy and policy decisions.  Since the intervention was done in the wake of 9/11 attacks to crush the Taliban regime, the whole problem was perceived through the narrow, microscopic lens of religious fundamentalism and terrorism emanating from highly exclusivist and militant strain of Islam.

But, the whole issue is not just ten years old and it is not just about religion. If we go into an in depth inquiry, the history of region spanning over 2000 years and the social structures formed as a consequence of that historical process have an extremely important role in shaping, defining and understanding of the whole issue or ‘the so-called problem’(it may not be one and it could just be a matter of wrong perception, creating all the problems).

Hence, this issue has several facets pertaining to the societal and the tribal structures in the region. For a moment, one must keep the lens of religious fundamentalism aside and understand the local political dynamics in terms of different tribes and their relationships. The entire region (which for this essay’s purpose includes KPK( Khyber Pankhtunkhwa), Waziristan, Swat valley and the present Afghanistan) is full of several ethnicities and tribes. There are Pashtuns, Hazaras, Uzbeks and Tajiks. The internal societal structure of these different ethnicities is tribal in nature. This tribal character has dominated the socio-political existence in the region since ages. Even before the advent of Islam the tribal character dominated the socio-political existence. Even among pashtuns there are several clans and tribes like Waziris, Mahsoods, Sherzads, Yusufzais, Durranis etc. In that social set-up wars and feuds between these tribes were and still are a very dominant phenomenon. The tribal identity takes precedence over the religious identity. So the whole question is about the nature and the role of these inter-tribal relationships and the socio-political attitudes of these different tribes. It is actually the question of the rights and representation of these different tribes and ethnicities. To lay the foundation of a democratic and secular state these dynamics need to be understood, appreciated and accommodated in state formation. The right cognition of these tribal dynamics and the stakes involved in this setup would help one diffuse all the conflicts and come out with just and efficient power-sharing structures and mechanisms. Blind imposition of western models of democracy with complete disregard to tribal social and religious customs or rather coefficients (I use the word coefficient because these factors are all pervading in nature and act exactly as coefficients, at least for the policy makers) will always and inevitably lead to such bloody mess.

The whole situation resembles the classic example given by great philosopher Wittgenstein. He talks of a situation in which there is a fly and there is a bottomless pit. The fly wants to get out of the pit but she is stuck in the middle of it and taking circles around the pit. Just like that fly world community and the U.S have confined their vision and cognitive faculties to just one way of thinking. Like that fly who does not look up or down to get out, the U.S has fixated itself to look at the problem only from the lens of religious fundamentalism and terrorism emanating from that.

As a result, we have more drones every year physically locating the Talibs and dropping bombs with complete disregard to the more important concerns like the tribal code of honor and other customs. It is the tribal code of honor which fetches more suicide bombers (as they are told that they have to take revenge to follow the tribal code of honor) not any fervor, passion for any religious glory or heaven.  Similarly, Taliban is an ideology which is either creating a new identity or boosting the prestige and social image of religious identity by monopolizing power through widespread use of violence, deviously seeking its legitimacy in scriptures. Physically isolating them and exterminating them through advanced technology and weaponry has definitely produced some amazing results in terms of number of death counts of suspected Taliban and Al Quaida terrorists but the absence of strategy to deal with the ideological spread and rootedness of religious extremism has almost nullified the progress achieved so far. A systematic effort to have a head-on collision in the ideological battleground is an urgent requirement. This may involve initiatives like harnessing the emotions and strengths associated with other non-religious and dominant identities like Pashtun identity (as an expression of specific cultural and social existence). It could also involve harnessing and promoting the liberal and modern strains and models of Islamic societies and religious system (like the ones we have in Malaysia, Indonesia,  Sufism etc) as an alternative to the existing wahabi/salafist model. The people need to realize that before the advent of Wahabi Islam they had developed their own religious way of life based on harmony with local culture, climate and social requirements. So the Al quaida model of religion needs to be projected as a cultural imposter which should be thrown out and the original should be brought back.

b)Role of Foreign Islamic Groups: Traditionally, Pathans have been a fiercely secular society. Their affection and loyalty for their specific cultural, national and social existence has always held sway over role which religion has played in shaping their present identities. Badshah Khan’s party Khudai Khidmatgar(Red shirts)  was always against the partition of India. They wanted to join the Republic of India. Their loyalties were with the secular ethos of Congress party, not with the exclusivist two-nation theory of Muslim league based on religious bigotry. Even in medieval ages Pathans like Hakim Khan Sur have fought with Maharana Pratap ( king of Mewar, India) against the Mughal emperor Akbar. Pathans, due to their marshal nature and fighting abilities were recruited and brought in droves by Rajput kings of Rajasthan(India). They even inter-married with Rajputs. For them the first loyalty is for the salt, their home land not for the religion.

Hence, in the present scenario the strategy needs to differentiate between the foreign groups like Al Quaida, drawing fighters from all over the world, and local Pashtun people. These foreigners have spread the Wahabi  and Salafist Islam which stipulates things like closure of school for girls, ban on music and inhuman punishments like public stoning of women. This has completely killed the local culture which thrived on love, harmony, diversity and music. We need to differentiate between the locals and foreigners. Al-Quaida operatives have taken refuge and tribal code of honor stipulates that one must protect asylum seekers even at the cost of his own life. These foreign groups have utilized their stay to propagate staunch versions of Islam among the illiterate and innocent local people. The traditional Jirgas have been destroyed. The whole traditional fabric of socio-political existence which revolved around Jirgas have been shattered. The ‘counter-insurgency’ strategy has always tried to paint the entire population with the same brush. These, thoughtless military operations provide more legitimacy to the foreign groups and their Hippocratic cries of ‘Islam in danger’.

c) Battleground of  Intelligence agencies: This geo-political wound of Afghanistan has been dealt in the most immature, immoral, selfish and crude way, so far. Afghan territories have become a battleground for secret services and intelligence agencies. There has been a complete dearth of sophisticated diplomatic efforts. Even issues like civil wars in Seirra Leone, Somalia, military coup in Fiji have been dealt in better and more refined ways. Zahid Hussain in his masterpiece ‘Scorpion’s Tail’ mentions how Pak military, ISI and CIA have made a complete mess.  But again, the main players  have always been the Pak military and ISI in nurturing all the militant groups like haqqani networks, hakimullah mehsoods, Fazlullahs etc. to gain ‘strategic depth’ in Afghanistan. They have all turned into Frankenstein’s  monster now. Two neighboring nations with highly distorted religious ideology informing their foreign policy, have played dukes and drakes in the entire nation, society and economy. They used the nation like a political dump yard and laboratory for their lunatic intelligence doctrines like ‘strategic depth’ etc. These players should be treated like war criminals. The development initiatives have been threatened and hampered with by bombing embassies and killing diplomats. The military and secret service of the neighboring country have dealt in the utmost ruthless and wild manner. What is most shocking is that how could the world community, United Nations leave the fate of millions into the hands of some semi-literate and unsophisticated generals and idiosyncratic mullahs. The history and future of states is made by politicians, thinkers, teachers and diplomats, not by the people in uniform and green robes.

It is high time that we undid the mistakes we did in the past. Although, we cannot compensate for   loses but we can still make efforts for a better future.

In present dispensation any political settlement with Taliban leaders like Hakimullah Mehsood on independent grounds, without any international vigilance and monitoring will make the country a medieval zoo and the situation would not let any normal, modern human being to even enter that territory. Again, the same Pak military and intelligence agency will be calling shots in Afghanistan. The situation is even more dangerous because Pak military and state apparatus after 60 years of existence on the principles of religious bigotry and useless statecraft have become completely clueless. They have no source, no channel to seek legitimacy now. All the previous vents like Kashmir have been exhausted. Those terror groups which were raised by Pak military have trained their guns on the very fabric of Pak society and state. So, now leaving Afghanistan at the hands of Pak will be like handing over a semi-recovered infant to a lunatic, schizophrenic and a bipolar dad. It could lead to worse consequences. Therefore, I propose that the other neighboring countries should be actively involved in any future settlement of Afghanistan.
Some Guiding Principles: 1) The aim should be to create modern, secular, politically stable and economically vibrant Afghanistan which seeks to be the part of world community through the smooth process of cultural and economic globalization.

2) The governance structure and the model of democracy should give due cognizance to religious, tribal, cultural and social sentiments. The attempt should be to secure maximum political and economic development of different ethnicities, tribes, keeping in mind the best possible ‘universe’ of power sharing.

A high-powered steering committee of SAARC nations and Central Asian republics should be actively involved with Afghanistan’s future and the committee should oversee and monitor the political settlement and its progress. These SAARC countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Bangladesh etc have faced similar religious, cultural and political conditions. These countries have demonstrated successful and stable models of democracy and market. They can contribute a lot in the development of stable and secular Afghanistan. The role of Generals, spies and mullahs should be minimized and, promptly kept in check and regulated.

With this, I end. I am not very hopeful but, of course I can dream and even the most brutal dictatorships and most violent terror outfits cannot snatch this ability and strength from me. No one take away the power of my dreams and soul.

And, in my dreams, I see my friend Shapoor’s children watching bollywood  movies and studying Hegel from Kabul University. I see my kids talking about Ahmad Zahir once again. I see myself visiting Kabul in a car without visa and without a bullet proof vest.

What is Hinduism

                                                           What is Hinduisim?

In the academic discussions of the International Affairs Forum of Cornell University, very often the discourse gets boiled down to the comparative study of various faiths. In many of these discussions Hinduism is often studied and analyzed in comparative perspective vis-à-vis Islam and other faiths. The investigative journey always ends in futile debates with no conclusions. My idea in this essay is to end the quest for conclusion and set out on an investigative journey purely on empirical means and see what comes out.

What is Hinduism?  Is it a religion or an ideology? Is it an organized religion on the pattern of judeo-christian faiths ? Is it a cult? Is it some kind of primitive animistic religion? Is it a philosophical-metaphysical system deserving a serious academic and philosophical investigation? Is it a social system enunciating codes of social conduct? Or casually speaking (in order to avoid the above complex categorizations) is it just a way of life?

 Answering these questions is a highly complicated task, especially if the investigative journey is to find set structures, institutions and logically coherent systems. But the answer could become more meaningful if one takes a post-modern approach and is comfortable with open-ended explanations. The answer can become comprehensible if one realizes the limits of language and provides a room for further inquiry through the so-called spiritual and mental processes.

This essay proceeds to analyze all the above categorizations in terms of the classical definitions provided by various schools of metaphysics and the philosophy of religion.

1)      Is it a religion or an ideology?

The word religion originates from the Greek word ‘religare’ which means to bind. Something either in the form of set rules of conduct or a source of faith like a church or a scripture, which binds a group of people or the members of society should be addressed as religion according to this definition. But in philosophy of religion the basic element which differentiates a religion from and ideology is the presence of faith in some form of supernatural or more appropriately transcendental being. For instance in Buddhism the notion of ‘Nirwana’ is transcendental, so in spite of their proclaimed denial of the existence of god or soul, Buddhism is a religion.

Hinduism, technically speaking is a religion because all its different schools there is faith in transcendental entity. For instance in Advait Vedanta, the ‘Brahman’ is transcendental, ‘Maya’ is transcendental. In ‘Sankhya’ school the notions of ‘Purush’ and Prakriti’ are transcendental. In ‘Mimamnsa’ the offerings are made to vedic heavenly deities through ‘Yajna’ sacrifices. In some more divergent strains like ‘Jainism’ there is faith in ‘ Kevalya’(ultimate knowledge) which is transcendental. In ‘Madhva Vedanta’ there is a belief in heavens and souls. Hence it can be seen that broadly in all the schools there some notion of liberation from this worldly joys and sorrows and that state of consciousness is transcendental in all these schools. But there is one exception i.e ‘Lokayatas’ or ‘Charvakas’. This school of thought does not believe in any supernatural entities like ‘Atma’, ‘Moksha’(liberation) or any heavenly god.

Hinduisim does have some authoritative scriptures like four Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagvada Gita. In addition to these there is an array of different texts to please different deities like ‘Durga saptashati’( to worship Goddess Durga), several Puranas, Smritis. Many of them have common message and many of them have completely contradictory messages. Many of them talk about metaphysics and many of them talk about social laws, marriage laws (often giving them a religious and mythological coloring to strengthen their legitimacy) . Thus unlike Abrhamic religions, Hinduisim does not have a single text or scripture which provides all directives about worship, rituals and social laws. In fact in Indian philosophical thought the development was always dialectical. There was a notion of ‘Shastrartha’ in which a thinker or a ‘Rishi’ tour the whole country and engage in philosophical debates with different individuals of wisdom. Despite this diversity of texts, the more important ones with a huge social base are ‘Ramayana’, Mahabharata’ and ‘Bhagawata Gita’

So the answer to the question is kind of ‘Yes’ or in totality ‘Yes’ with all the exceptions and deviations from the standard definitions intact.  It has an academic and ideological aspect but it is much more than that and at some stage it transcends the barriers of an ideology. It becomes more of a social system with which people have different types of connections ranging from rational, custom driven to faith based.

Is it an organized religion on the pattern of judeo-christian faiths ?

The organized religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam have certain uniform features like a single book to guide them, an organized hierarchical church and a notion of conversion. By all these standards Hinduism is not an organized religion. Even the above mentioned so-called organized religions have lot of deviations from these standard features like Islam has the distinctions of Shia and Sunni. Even among Sunnis there are several schools like wahabis, Deobandis and Barelvis. In Christianity also there are several divisions like protestants, catholics, Syrian orthodox church, Greek orthodox church, Coptic Christians but still there is a general acceptance of Quran in Islam and Bible in Christanity. In Hinduisim there is no such uniform text from which one can derive single, coherent set of injunctions. Even the major scriptures like Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagwata Gita have different versions. For instance Ramayana has several versions like kambana Ramayana, Valmiki Ramayana, Jain Ramayana and Buddhist Ramayana. The differences prevail in the basic narrative , for example in Jain Ramayana, contrary to popular perception Sita has been showed as the sister of Rama. The text was not compiled over a period of time with the final version coming in 1200 A.D. Besides these, there are several texts for different schools of belief like Shaivites, Vaishnaivaites, Shaktas, Pashupatas etc. Some of these sects have fought against each other for centuries. Their belief systems, modes of worship and rituals have been very different. Secondly, there is no formal notion of conversion. Although ‘Arya samajis’ did launch a‘Shuddhi’ movement, which aimed at bringing people back into the fold of Hinduism from Islam and Christanity but it was not a movement with mass popularity. Lastly, there is no single church in Hinduism or single place of worship like ‘Kaba’. There are several places of key importance for a religious hindu like 12 jyotirlingams (Shiva temples) 52 shakti pithas( Durga temples). There are four main Mathas( monastic religious establishments) viz. Shringeri, Dwarka, Govardhana and Sharda math. Then there are Shri vaishnava mathas  and Dvaita mathas.

In addition to these there is another side of Hinduism which rebels against the traditional forms of worship. They include Nirgun movements which do not believe in idol worship. The movements like Radhaswami etc do not fancy any form of worshipping stones, trees, rivers.

There have been extremely hedonistic and nihilistic movements like tantric cults, Aghor panth (having their origins in religious movements of Buddha’s age like Makkhali ghosala, Purana kassapa etc. These cults practice group orgies, eat human dead bodies and human wastes etc.

These different cults and belief systems have evolved over a long period of history, with factors ranging from political, economic, social, and cultural to metaphysical contributing to their evolution and growth. Going into those aspects of the history of Hinduism is beyond the scope of this essay. All these different orders began with many differences but since they evolved in the same cultural setting so they had plethora of similarities. In course of time due to continuous interaction the differences became redundant and all these emerged as loosely connected networks with a common essence running underlying, but still elusive to capture in words.

All these diverse spiritual paths and their enlightened spiritual leaders, with their presence in society cultivated a collective spiritual psyche in an ordinary hindu’s mindset which enabled him to perceive the essential unity of all the divergent paths to know ultimate reality. This enabled them to disregard superficial differences and worship the inner essentials. This could easily be seen in the popularity of sufi saints in India. It’s very interesting to observe that an ordinary hindu would bow his head in front of any place of worship, be it Islamic, Christian or Hindu. Hindus in India often visit dargahs and churches for the cure of supernatural ailments.

As far as being cult or primitive-animistic religion is concerned Hinduism has always assimilated into its fold various tribal and animistic modes of worship. For example the ‘Murugan’ god of south Indian tribal groups was accepted as the form of ‘kartikeya’( son of Shiva). Acharya Chatur Sen in his classic ‘Somnath’ refers to various cults which practiced human sacrifices. They have been mentioned as orders of Hinduism. Historically their origins are not in Aryan groups. They became part of Hinduism with the expansion of Brahmanical religious systems across the subcontinent.

Is it a philosophical-metaphysical system deserving a serious academic and philosophical investigation?

The answer to this question is an unqualified ‘Yes’.  Right from the beginning the various schools of Hinduism have attempted to define and know reality. They developed the theory of reality and the epistemology (theory of knowledge). Jainas have their own metaphysics based on plurality of the cosmos. Buddhists have their own metaphysical theory based on the doctrine of impermanence, cycle of causation. Advaita has its theory of reality based on non-dualism of the ultimate reality viz. ‘Brahman’. Sankhya metaphysics is dualistic analyzing reality in terms of ‘Prakriti’ and ‘Purusha’.

In addition to this all these schools of Hinduism have theory of knowledge debating on the sources of  knowledge like perception, inference, postulation and transcendental perception or Yogic perception. The Nyaya epistemology is highly advanced in syllogism and logical reasoning.

Caste System: One of my friend in Cornell, studying comparative religions asked me to explain the metaphysical origins of caste system for her thesis. I was not only shocked but amused too. The caste system in Hinduism has no metaphysical origins. It is a system to regulate social existence of individual members of the society. The description given in the 10^th chapter of Rigveda that Brahmins originated from the mouth of Prjapati, kshtriyas from the hands of Prajapati, Vaishyas from the thighs and shudras from the feet to Prajapati, is only symbolic in significance. The caste system, to begin with, not at all based on birth. It was based on one’s occupation. Even in one family there could be people with different castes. The Purusha Sukta of Rigveda says, “Rig Veda 9.112.3

—I am a bard, my father is a physician, my mother's job is to grind the corn.

The later scriptures like Bhagvad gita and Manusmriti say that four varnas were created by God. But then Gita also says that one’s caste is determined by one’s personal qualities and Karma not by one’s birth. There were various saints from lower varnas like Valmiki and Vedvyasa. Even in Bhakti movement various saints came from lower orders like Kabir, Dhanna, Namdev, Ravidas etc. Even now many hindu saints and jaina saints are from lower orders like Raikas and Chamars.

The exploitative dimension of caste system has socio-cultural and political origins more than religious.

The most amusing part is that in the sub continent people converted to other faiths but caste system percolated into those faiths. For instance in Islam there is a very strong caste system. In south India higher caste Christian converts prohibited the entry of lower caste converts to their churches. The Syrian Christians who converted from upper echelons of society still look for bride in the caste from which they converted.

Many of my friends often debate about the tenets of Hinduism and Islam. I want clarify that such comparisons are meaningless and irrational. Hinduism with its assimilative strength created such joint Hindu-Muslim faith and social systems which would be unimaginable in any other part of Islamic world. For example in Rajasthan(India) there is a community called Mev in Bharatpur district. They are, by faith Muslims but their profession is reciting the Bhajans of Shiva. Their main text is Ramayana. The names which they keep are even more interesting like Ram Khan, Lakshman Khan. They do not marry with their cousins. Similarly the notorious cult of thugi included members from both the faiths but they worshipped their patron goddess Kali with equal zeal and fervor.  So any comparison of the two religions would be an exercise in vain.

There is no single muslim practice, performing which can make you a non-hindu. For example the Kalma which says “ la Ilaha illaaha, Muhammad rasullah” ( there is no god but Allah and Muhammad was the last prophet) in no way violates any Hindu belief system. There is a big difference between the notion of ‘Prophet’ and ‘Avtara’ or incarnation, The word ‘Prophet’ means messenger of God and avtara means a form or a manifestation of God. Essentially speaking there is no difference between the god and Avtara. Lord Rama was not the messenger of Vishnu but he was the incarnation of Vishnu, the birth of Vishnu in human form. The only difference which I perceive is that in Hinduism, broadly speaking there is no distinction between the god and mankind (that too if we regard the advaita as the major and dominant force of Hinduism). The ‘jeev’ or the individual soul is capable of becoming ‘Shiva’ or god through a spiritual journey. This difference is also at a relative or superficial level. All the realized souls in Hinduism like Rama Krishna Paramhansa (who even converted to Islam), kabir, Gulvani Maharaj opine that in the final or ultimate state there is no difference. They opine that the paths are different but the destination is one.

Thus it can be observed that Hinduism cannot be put into water tight compartments. In fact the study of Hinduism through categorizations will just complicate things and present a distorted picture of the reality. It is just a loosely united network of different philosophical, systems, faith systems, social systems and cultural systems. Its present form and structure is the result of long process of evolution shaped by the political, cultural, social forces of history.  However there is an abiding and unifying essence in these different schools and that is liberation or attainment of spiritually enlightened consciousness through meditation and penance.  All attempts to redefine Hinduism and present it as some kind of monolithic faith based on uniform communal identity are mere cultural and spiritual distortions. So it’s rational to adopt a post-modern approach in studying Hinduism and study or know it for its own sake without looking for ends or structures. One just needs to take a deep breath and feel the pure perception.

With a soothing smile on your face you can always say, ‘Oh Hinduism, haha,  its just a way of life’ and chill.

Letter to Hafiz Saed -2

                                                Letter to Hafiz Saed- 2

Dear Janaab Hafiz Saed Saheb,

                                                     In my previous letter, I explained your identity to you. In this letter I will address the issues of conflicts emerging from your identity. I will explain the fact that clashes between the ‘Hindu-Muslims’ and the followers of Brahmanical religious orders had nothing extraordinary. They emanated from the same forces which drive any conflict in the evolutionary history of mankind. There is nothing religious to them. In fact all such conflicts have their roots in the human psyche and or its various conflicting faculties like faith and reason.

                      The advent of Islam in India goes back to 7^th or 8^th century A.D. when the Arab traders came to the western coast of India and made settlements in the present day states of  Maharashtra, Kerala and Konkan region. The dynasties like Rashtrakutas gave those traders all the opportunities of trade and settlement in their kingdoms. This was so because Indian ruling clans were always welcoming trade and the benefits coming from that. Those traders were even allowed to build mosques in their kingdoms. The Arab writer Al Masudi 9^th century A.D. talks about such flourishing Muslim settlements in southern parts of India. Those traders practiced and proselytized their faith and there was no violence accompanied that process of cultural intermingling. After that there was one another phase of such cultural intermingling and spread of Islam which was not accompanied by violence. It was the phase of Sufism which began in 12^th century with the advent of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and continued through the millennia until 19^th century. In this phase several Brahmanical followers from various castes converted to Islam because of the influence of Sufi saints like Mahboob-e-Ilahi Nizaam-ud-din Auliya, Garib Nawaaz Gesudaraaz Banda Nawaaz , Hamiduddin Nagauri. They could influence people because of their good behavior, humanitarian values and various miracles associated with them.

                      Now I will discuss the times when the spread of Islam was accompanied with violence. Before this let me make it clear that whenever any religion begins, after the initial phase when it witnesses the active involvement of its founder or prophet, it tends to be played at the hands of those who seek political power. This happens because the popularity of that religious ideology and its appeal make it a very convenient and easy way to seek and legitimize power. On the other hand the new converts to that religion or its passionate clergy elements find the political support a very easy way to expand their faith in order to strengthen their position. Same thing happened in case of Islam. In the Arab world, when Islam after the demise of Prophet, came to be backed by political power of caliphates and later sultans of Mawra-un-Nahar (Transoxiana) then it became political Islam or rather an expansionist Islam. This was evident in the form of conquering Sassanids of Iran and the capture of Turkistan. This was also evident in the form of demolition of Buddhist monasteries in Afghanistan and Trans oxiana region. The march of the sultans beyond Hindukush, and before that the Arab invasion of Sind in 712A.D was accompanied by large scale demolition of local temples and conversions. Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi’s looting of Somnath was also the manifestation of political Islam. Although superficially all these invasions were done in the name of Islam but the real intentions of the ruling class were personal ambitions seeking power. The temples like Somnath and Buddhist monasteries had loads of wealth in those times so they became their first targets. The ideology of Islam and the faith became just the rallying point or something to inspire poor soldiers to sacrifice their lives. This kind of political conflict or political aggression in course of time (due to natural logic of history and some vested politico-economic interests) got projected as an inter-religious conflict or inter-communal conflict. This phenomenon is not something specific to be associated with the arrival of Islam in India. This had happened before also in the history of sub-continent. Initially in Buddha’s time several Brahmins adopted Buddhism but later when the religious order started getting state support form Magadhan rulers and Mauryan king Ashoka then the Sangha (Buddhist religious order) also assumed political ambitions and violent conflicts erupted between brahmanical followers and Buddhists. There was a phase of bitter acrimony and tensions which can be seen in Buddhist scriptures, Buddhist version of Ramayana. It can also be seen in the depiction of Buddhist deities in which their deities are shown as defeating Brahmanical Gods. It continued until the reign of Harshvardhana (647 A.D.). The Buddhists were supported by the king and in the Buddhist council which he organized there was severe clash between Brahmins and Buddhist monks.

               Similarly examples of such clashes in the name of religion (basically for political and economic power) are evident in the clash between Kshtriyas and Brahmins in the vedic period, between Jains and brahmanical faiths (this clash is continuing even now), between shudras and Brahmin/Kshtriyas, between shaivaites and vaishnaivites ( Shashank, the shaivite king of Gaud,Bengal cut the Bodhi tree of Buddhism in the reign of Harsh).

               So, Hafiz sahib what I want to convey is that the history of conflict between different ideologies and faiths is perfectly natural. Where ever there is diversity, to begin with conflicts do occur. But it’s a process and next stage in the process is of harmony, shared traditions, peaceful co-existence. So, please stop dwelling on the ideas of Islam in danger, divine intervention on white horses to wipe out all other faiths etc. In the next part of this letter I will discuss the next stage of the process which I just mentioned.

               The difference between the fundamentals of Buddhism and Brahmanical religions and Jainism was much more pronounced than the difference between the fundamentals of Islam and Brahmanical religious order. Buddhists believed in the idea of ‘no soul’, ‘no god’. Similarly Jainas also believed that God could not be above the Tirthankaras (self realized humans like Mahavira). With Islam at least few things are in common like the idea of prophethood, monotheism, the notion of devotion or bhakti. These different religious systems started with these fundamental differences and politico-religious conflicts but in course of time they came to terms with each other. The differences at scriptural level remained and surfaced at various instances but the compulsion of co-existence and common culture mitigated these differences to varying degrees and what followed was the shared traditions, common customs. The interaction and co-existence with Jainism led the imbibing of the idea of non-violence (ahimsa), cow worship etc in Brahmanical religion. Even today Jainas and Hindus worship common gods like Ganesh (the elephant god) and lakshmi (goddess of wealth) and Shiva (the lord of destruction). This happened because the converts to Jainism were traders who even before Jainism were worshipping the goddess of wealth, Ganesh and Shiva. So the culture triumphed and led to peace between these orders. The interaction with Buddhism led to the growth of the philosophy of Advait Vedanta (non dual monotheism) and the practice of meditation. The Bodhisatvas of Buddhism were commonly worshipped by the followers of both orders. It also led to the growth of Nathpanthi sect (esoteric order which practiced a set of physical and breathing exercises to realize god). The intermingling of Buddhism and brahmanical order was much more pronounced than the intermingling of Jainism and brahmanical order.  When Buddhism went to China ,Japan and Central Asia the same process followed and it developed regional variants like pagan-buddhism etc. In fact there were several other religio-philosophical orders with different fundamentals, like Charvaka (atheism and materialism), sankhya( dualism) , Mimansa etc., who in spite of the differences and initial clashes developed common practices of worship and survival. The culture played a very important role in that process. Human life is not just about faith and worship, it is also about economy, trade and livelihood etc which can’t be sacrificed for supernatural entities. The mere compulsion of living together happily and prosperously prepares the ground for peaceful co-existence. The culture and material interests brought peace, made bridges and in turn they also got reshaped to cater to the needs of peaceful co-existence.

                 The same stage was witnessed in the relations between Islam and Brahmanical orders in India after the initial conflict. The drivers of this stage were the people like Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti, Nizam-ud-Din Auliya sahib, requirements of staying together and sustaining economy on the same land etc. The first product of this process was Amir Khusro who serenaded  ‘Chap tilak sab chode mose naina milaike’ in the ears of our ancestors and we still feel the spiritual depth of these lines. The best product of this stage was Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar who laid the foundations of Ganga-jamuni Tahzeeb or joint hindu-muslim culture of doab region. The other products were Rahim gave his life to the music of lord Krishna’s flute, Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khanan who wrote poetry in the praise of Krishna. And yes how can I forget Kabir, Sai Baba or Shirdi, Manik prabhu of Gulbargha. All these people emphasized upon the harmony and peace between two communities. This peaceful interaction was also seen in other domains of life like politics in the form of joint Mughal-rajput state and the marital relations between the two groups. In fact you would be shocked to learn that in my place (Udaipur, Rajasthan) until recently rajputs and pathans used to intermarry among each other. In my state in almost every village you will find about 10 to 100 Muslim families. This level of spread of Islam speaks volumes about the peaceful interaction between these two faith systems. In economy also this partnership was seen in its full vigor. Even in crime this partnership made its presence. You might have heard about the cult of thugs in 19^th century India. This was a cult who believed that its divine duty was to unleash destruction in the cosmos. This cult included Muslims, Brahmins, rajputs and people from other communities. In this cult the Muslim members did Namaz five times a day, read Kalma but they also worshipped Goddess Kali (the deity of destruction), wearing a Dhoti ( a dress which brahmin priests wear during yajna rituals)  and with vermillion on their forehead. Can you imagine a Muslim worshipping goddess Kali ? You will go beserk if you even hear something like this. But this happened and it happened because the goddess was the patron goddess of their cult.  Another examples of this process are the Muslim participation in Ganapati processions in Mumbai, Durga( goddess) processions in Bengal, holi, diwali. Brahmanical people’s participation in Id, Muharram etc. Today millions of non-muslims visit Khawaja Sharif in Ajmer, auliya sahib in Delhi. In fact for any sort of divine illnesses non-Muslims visit various mazars and dargaahs. The practice of Peeri and muridi is exactly the same as the practice of sadguru and shishya( teacher and disciple)  of Brahmanical orders.

               The caste system in Muslims, Christians and Sikhs is the remnant of these peaceful interaction between the two communities despite the fact that fundamemtals of the above mentioned orders reject caste system. The Kayamkhani Muslims who converted from chauhan rajputs still retain a horde of their old practices in terms of their dressing, eating habits and other aspects of culture. They cover their heads but they do not wear burqa or hijab. They wear kurti and kanchli( traditional Rajput female outfit). The system of purdah in rajputs of India is practice which was derived from Mughals. Another excellent product of this interaction was Urdu which was a mixture of Hindi, Punjabi, Avadhi, Turkish, Persian and Arabic. Even today the language of police department in Rajasthan( one of the state of India) is Urdu. My father speaks better Urdu than any Punjabi Pakistani.

              The washerman Faiz Muhammad of my village is another product of this common culture. He has been staying in my village for generations. He knows more about my grandfather than I know. He is a devout Muslim but he doesn’t know anything about you, wahabism, Al quaida and Arabic pride of Islam. The constable Altaf who managed my sister’s wedding as a most trusted man of my father is also the product of this common cultural heritage. Altaf  used to wear a dhoti with a vermillion and assist Brahmin priests. After his job, he used to go to his room for his Namaz. Those two pathan girls who did mehandi in my sister’s wedding and were with her much more than a real sister could ever be, still bring tears into my eyes. Makbool Chahca is still the most reverend figure for our family. He is a pious Muslim but he also unfortunately knows nothing about you.

            The strongest evidence of this peaceful culture-driven interaction presented itself to me when I came to Cornell university. Here my first and the most natural friends were not Brahmins from south Indian state of Tamilnadu or from Assam or Nagaland( northeastern states) but Raza, Wasiq, Hira, Hajra  from Pakistan, Rafi from Afghanistan and Olinda from Bangladesh. This is a very strong evidence of the phenomenon that culture makes the national and religious boundaries irrelevant.

           You must realize that with you activities you are basically doing a severe harm to devout Muslims like Altaf, those two pathan girls and Makbool  chacha. More than this you are doing a great disservice to humanity. You are doing something which is most hated by Allah, the almighty. You are trying to hinder the process of Allah, the process of history, the process of evolution of ideas and philosophy. You are going for a head strong collision with dialectics of ideas. But mind it, that this process is natural and logical. It can be tempered with, disturbed and delayed but cannot be ended. The colonial rulers and the selfish politicians on both sides tried to stop this process (again to seek political authority by firing religious passions) and that resulted in Pakistan and Bangladesh. But today again after 60 years of freedom we have created a happy and prosperous culture where 80% Brahmanical followers live with 14% muslims, 2.3% Christians and 1.3% sikhs live together peacefully. Now if you try to stop this process Allah might do the same to you what he did to Osama-bib-Laden because if true muslims like Altaf, Makbool chacha etc are hurt Allah the almighty will not forgive hypocrites like you.

             So please do not stop us from loving Pakistan. Do not stop my friends from coming to India and me from coming to taste the delicacies and see the beauties of Lahore.

Alhamdullilaah

Jai Hind,

Abhinav Pandya

Letter to Hafiz Saed

                       Letter to Hafiz Saed

Dear Janaab Hafiz Saed Saheb,

                                                 I hope you are fine. I know you travel a lot, sometimes to Karachi, sometimes to Kashmir to make people realize that the task of ultimate importance is to get 70 virgins (even if they come at the cost of your identity, the blood of your own brothers and the peace of the subcontinent). This kind of intense travelling and spreading the message of jihad requires lot of effort and energy so to begin with I wish good health for you as you are our elder. You have a strong influence over you followers so I feel that if you know the truth and if you have good intentions (which I believe you have because you are a Hafiz and Quraan must have had some influence on you) you can be a great messenger of peace. This is one another reason why your good health is so important for me and all my peace loving brothers from India and Pakistan.

             First and foremost, I wish to inform you or rather enlighten you that you are a Hindu. In fact not just you, everyone who resides in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is a Hindu. Maulana Fazlur Rahmaan, Imaraan Khan and millions of Pakistanis are Hindus. Please don't get me wrong. I do not want to hurt your religious sentiments. I just want enlighten you about your true identity.

            Janaab, the word ‘Hindu’ has never ever been mentioned in any of the religious scriptures like Bhagwat Gita, Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Its origin is very interesting. The word was first used by Iranian Achaemenids in 6^th century B.C. for the people who lived in the land of river Indus. The river was known as Sindhu in those days. In Iran they used to pronounce ‘S’ as ‘H’ so Sindhu became Hindu. After that the word ‘Hindu’ was used by the great Iranian scholar Abu Raihaan Muhammad Ibn Al Baruni in his ‘Kitaab-ul-Hind’ in 11^th century. So the word has no religious connotation. It is a term which denotes a particular region. It has a geographical significance or some kind of cultural significance.

            Now, I feel that you will say something about the foreign origins of Muslims. It’s not just you who, I assume will think like this. The other day I met this beautiful girl from Pakistan in Cornell university who gave the same reply when I called her ‘Hindu’. Well, sir, there are 250 million Muslims in India and about 180 million Muslims in Pakistan. If, all of them have foreign origins then this defies the logic of peaceful spread of Islam in India through the channel of Sufi saints. In fact if you refer to the history of south Indian sultanates in Mughal era you will come across a clash between Ashrafs and Ailafs. Ashrafs were the local or Hindustani Muslims and Ailafs were the foreigners. In the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq also there was a clash between the Muslim nobles of foreign origin viz. ‘sadah amirs’ and the Hindustani Muslims. The number of foreigners was always marginal as compared to Hindustani Muslims.

           There is one more angle to look at this idea of foreign origin. This subcontinent has always been the land of migrants. The Achaemenids who first used the word ‘Hindu’ were the descendents of one of those several Aryan tribes who moved towards Iran and then towards India. They were the descendents of ‘Parsas’ and the other tribes like Yadus, Turvas, Panchals came to India. Similarly, the Rajputs who fought against Ghaznavi and Ghurids also had foreign origins. They were the descendents of Huns and Shakas and other central asian tribes who invaded India. So, by this logic everyone is a foreigner in India except the Dravidians and tribal communities of India. Now it is completely impossible to trace the origins of Indians except for those few who migrated 100 or 200 years back like the Pathans who came with Muhammad Khan Bangash. In fact, in their case also the marriages with local Muslims have not left the foreign origins intact. In Kerela also the Arab merchants married with local females and now there is no such thing as pure Arabic in them now. There could be one more possibility. The major section of Muslim population can claim to be the true Hindus in sense that the conversions took place among the lower caste people of India and they were those groups who were probably the earliest migrants to India in 12^th century B.C. or they could also be the original inhabitants of India.

                  I believe, I have conveyed my message to you. My idea is that please do not forget your identity. You are basically a Hindu who follows a religion which originated in the Arab world in exactly the same way that Japanese and Chinese follow a religion which originated in India. So please respect the diversity and cultural harmony of the subcontinent and come out of you hatred for the people of India. In my next letter, I will tell you more about the reasons for the communal riots and the conflict between ‘Hindu-muslims’ and ‘Hindu-brahmanical’ followers. I will also discuss the issue of ‘minority’ in India.

With regards,

Abhinav Pandya

M.P.A, 2014

Cornell University   

  

A Tribute to Tripathi Ji

                               A Tribute to Tripathi Ji

             Long time back,in class 5th my Hindi teacher Mr. Chandika Prasad Vallabh Narayan Tripathi asked me to write an essay on,' Railway station Ka Drashya'.I bunked the lecture.Next year, in class 6th he again asked me to write that essay.I wrote some rubbish which fetch me a good lashing. After 2 years he died of stroke,on a rusted bench of 1930 at a local railway station.We did not bother much.

        

              But, today after about 17 years I feel like paying a tribute to him.I am writing that essay,with interest and the information based on experience and insight(if at all it remains after doing linguistic philosophy).On 8th June, 2012  I visited Mathura with a friend and junior from St.Stephen's, Siddharth.Both of us are generally happy with Economist,good marwari food and revolutions and sincerely depressed with stench, Delhi heat and middle-path type balanced opinions.So with lot of unease we boarded the train.The first noteworthy thing was stench, yes without any euphemisms the stench of shit, mal or vishtha.It began with Nizamuddin and travaled as a silent but most phenomenal and noxious passenger till Mathura.By the time we reached Mathura we no more wanted to discuss political theories but wanted only an air conditioned room.

             After doing the darshan we were back at the station at 5:30.Now the description is nothing but the picture of the station in language.There were 5 to 6 counters for buying tickets and all had big queues of at least sixty to seventy people each.But only 2 windows had a railway person selling tickets.He was working with a computer which was either directly purchased from Blaise Pascal or was found in Mohan-jo-Daro by Rakhal Dass Bannerjee.Anyways it's buttons were coming off and key board was strewn with bits of heavily oiled pooris and curd. It's sides looked as if a big treasure of lignite was waiting to be drilled.It took full 5 minutes in printing one ticket.In that duration the ticket man(he was a local jat or gujjar) asked many metaphysical questions to the people standing in queue.He gave many pieces of rustic wisdom like one should not travel much and stay in one's village only.Then he gave a complete lecture on the miraculous powers of Col. Kirori Singh Baisla and assured me that he will definitely get the reservation for gujjar bhais.

             After buying the tickets I was taking a stroll.I met three bulls who were 5 to 6 feet in height.They were roaming in the station campus with full authority, arrogance and wild grunts.The confidence and terrorising instincts exuded by them left no doubt in my mind that they were surely the re-incarnates of former D.R.M s of that railway zone.One of them was proudly sitting in the A.C waiting lounge with a good number of railway cops and clerks standing in service.

       

            Then I saw a couple of sadhus seeking moksha with their lewd gestures, bare feet, dirty hair, stinking clothes, unidentified skin diseases and the hidden histories.Some of them were Vamacharis with their female partners, practising sexual tantrik cults.Only neurotic foreigners could find thrill and mysticism in them but I could only see melancholy, suppressed wild sexual desires erupting in kinkiest and weirdest of the ways and a total death.

            I also met some mangy and diseased dogs distributing rabies and other infections with full generosity.With them,were sleeping some disabled man with their artificial limbs parked alongside,on the floor smeared with cowdung, dried urine and crushed rotten tomatoes.There was one rather interesting sight.She was a coolie carrying 2 bags of 50 kgs each,owned by two Delhi university dudes.The last and the most interesting sight was the tribute paid by a beggar child to the government of India.

          It was the office of the station master,some Meena Ji.It was locked for days.I saw a beggar child pissing on the doors of his office.It was a transcendental release addressed to big railway babus and other bada Sarcars sitting in Rail Bhawan, North Block and South Block.

          After all this, I just feel that there is not much substance in our double-digit growth rates, BRICS diplomacy and notions like shining India.The real problem is mental.We are a schizophrenic nation and now the disease has become irreversible.

         But, still I do not wish to end with out a solution and that is immediate privatisation of railways and firing off the corrupt and inefficient railway bureaucracy.

         Lastly, I believe that I have done my duties to make Mr Tripathi's soul happy.

          

           

Letter to Prime Minister - 2

Honourable Prime Minister Sir,                                                                       Date:28/05/2012

                                                 In my previous letter, I mentioned the critical state of bureaucracy.In this letter I am going to discuss at length the innovative measures which we need to adopt to infuse vitality in bureaucratic system .The reforms need to be all-encompassing.They must change everything right from recruitment procedure,interviews,service conditions,promotions,performance appraisal.I am going to discuss the important and urgent ones.This exercise needs an intense research.One letter is not enough.

                                   

                    1)The civil service recruits for any particular year must be a diverse group.Candidates can also be taken from other systems of education.In the present system almost all the recruits come from UPSC examination system.The government needs to bring in lateral entry system.There are many Indian students who after doing their undergraduate studies go to places like Harvard, Cornell, Fletcher school etc to do their Graduate courses(Masters).They do their graduate courses in public policy(M.P.A and M.P.P,(Masters in public affairs and public policy).They can be brought in civil services.There is no need to make  them write civil service exams as they are already specialised in public affairs.I have seen their profiles and course structures.Their courses include latest things like conflict resolition,international development,international trade policy,food,public health, nutrition and agricultral studies,middle east studies, NGO management etc.These students have a good work experience with civil society,global NGOs like Oxfam, international organisations like U.N, IFC, African Union, ASEAN.They are equipped with latest trends in technology, public policy and have the potential to work with a progressive mindset which does not get influenced with factors like caste,communal attitudes etc in decision-making.They have a good exposure to different cultures and countries which gives them a broad and liberal mindset.Apart from this they are highly motivated and passionate for their work.They have the potential to become leaders in their fields.They have a democratic and modern style of functioning which makes them more suitable to work with a productive and healthy co-operation with private sector and civil society.These students are very sensetive towards issues like human rights,gender equality so they will effectively implement new government legislations like those on domestic violence,human rights issues,female feoticide etc.They will be more comfortable with globalising trends and their style of functioning will be very smooth for private sector.

               

                 They can be made to write simple Statement of Purpose in which they can be asked to mention the reasons for joining civil services or diplomatic services or revenue services etc and then candidates can be shortlisted who, be subjected to a rigourous interview.The finally selected candidates can be given an orientation course and sent to their field postings.In revenue services most of the people are those who do not get IAS,IPS or IFS.It is not out of choice.Sometimes the scene becomes quite funny.A person passing UPSC exam with Hindi literature and sociology is made a tax official or a candidate scoring 400(out of 600) in Pali literature and performing poor in other papers get IFS just because of his rank.I have personally known seniors from my college who had a strong bent of mind for foreign services.Many of them had international exposure and some of them were Rhodes finalists but they got I.P.S just because they had one or two marks less than than the required.They are hardly intrested but they join because the perks ,power and monetary charms are terrific.One can not resist them.We can do one simple thing.UPSC can invite applications from people who have some background in finance,taxation(like CAs),management,law etc for the following services:

a)Indian Revenue Services(IT)

b)Indian Revenue services (customs and central exice and service tax)

c)Indian Audit and Accounts Services

d)Indian Trade Service

e)Indian Corporate Law Service

     Then the officers can be selected on the basis of SOP and interview.

               Similarly, in railways government can hire best management graduates from Stanford,Yale,Wharton etc.This can also be done on the basis of SOP and interview.

                The recent measure of introducing a seperate exam for entry into IPS ,for state police officers,CPOs,Military officers is a welcome step.

               One more thing which government can do is that those Indian students who get admissions in MPA and foreign policy courses in Harvard,Cornell,Georgetown etc can be made to sign a bond to join IAS,IFS in lieu of government sponsoring their studies.It will be a great attraction and they will be back to india with their talent.Most of them get placement in think tanks like Brookings Institution or with international organisations like world bank,U.N,IFC or with multinational organisations.So we need to bring in something to lure them.This will also solve the problem of brain drain.Most of these students work abroad because they have no work here.Some of them do work with NGOs but they are like internships or volunteerships for work experience.The are an ambitious lot so things like opportunites of learning,financial rewards chances of progress are also an important criteria for them.Some of my friends who wanted to work in public services dropped the idea when they found that after doing public policy they will have to go through a rigorous and tedious  2 years-long examination process.So they preferred lucrative jobs abroad which were easily gettable.Recently Fareed Zakaria wrote that a small nation like New zealand has 11000 diplomats and India has little more than 600 diplomats.This is India's age in IR.If we wish to play a leader's role, a game changer's role then we need to improve the quality of our diplomats and raise their numbers too.Similarly in IAS also there is a shortage of 1700 officers so I believe that this is the right time and we just need to think beyond customs,conventions and history.

              

         

               In Rajasthan, I saw a Tribal Research Institute is headed by an IAS.It is almost a defunct body, where no research takes place.We can get some good academician to head the body.It can have it's fellows,invite scholars from foreign universities and come out as a great think tank in our policy making but for that the bureaucrats need to say good bye to it.NRHM Rajasthan is headed by an IAS,who is just a graduate,with hardly 10 yrs of experience with no background in public health.NRHM has become just one of the laid back government departments stuffed by lazy and unscruplous clerks, and a boss who is hardly intrested.Should'nt we get someone who is an expert in public health,sociology,management and public policy and has a good record of working with global non-profit organizations or with U.N relief works or with local civil society..He could either be a local official with  good experience in public health or some public health professional from some place like LSHTM or John Hopkins university(which has an outstanding public health department).In tourism also we can hire professionals as secretary tourism or directors.We can get people from management ,advertisement world.Infact a policy making body including leading hoteliers,professionals from the field of culture and tourism and government officers can be created.

               When United States can appoint its professors as policy advisors like Vali Nasr, Francis Fukuyama,Madliene Albright etc then why can't we do it.Recently USA appointed Brett Mcgurk as envoy to Iraq just because he is on friendly  terms with Noori-Al-Maliki .He is an attorney and is not from the diplomatic service.Why can't we do the same thing?We can appoint Mr Ved Pratap Vedic as envoy to Afghanistan.We can send Brahma chellaneys,Narayan Murthys and other eminent and able luminaries as our ambassadors and consul-generals.When private institutions like ORF and Reliance Foundations can get best professionals from Harvard and Cambridge then our government also can and must do it.Just a good leader who can think beyond set procedures and protocols is needed.

               A very important benifit of this exercise will be that it will put an end to cadre based loyalties which is a major cause of present infighting among the bureaucracy.It will also deal a major blow to mindset which prevails now in the babuworld i.e the mindset based on strict heirarchy.We can get CEOs of Indian MNCs and development sector executives on deputation in government and send government officers on deputation in private sector and non-profit organisations.It will help in cross-fertilisation of ideas.If these dynamic professionals from lateral entry are brought in civil services then the candidates who come through UPSC exam will get a chance to interact and share ideas,wisdom and experiences with people with diverse skills and diverse backgrounds.It will make bureaucracy vibrant and dynamic.

          

             2) The 2nd domain of change should  be the examination system.The CSAT is a great respite but still a lot needs to be done in General Studies paper.The idea should not be to make the paper tough and inconvinient for candidates but the paper should make sure that whoever comes has a good understanding of Indian history,geography,culture,ethnic groups,environment,international relations etc.Regarding the mains exam I will not comment because UPSC is already changing the pattern.But still I personally feel that the duration of the whole examination process is bit too long(about 2 years)The process is such that the candidate can not even seek other employment in this duration.And at the end of it if the candidate passes two stages i.e prelims and mains and does not succeed in the interview he has to repeat the whole process again.If after giving 2 or 3 interviews the candidate fails to make it in the list of successful ones than at 26 or 28 years of age he has nothing in his hand.So, a)The duration of the whole process should be reduced.

               b)If a person appears for the interview then atleast he should be exempted from the prelims in his remaining attempts.He should be exempted from prelims and mains exam for his state civil services and allowed to appear directly for interview in his state civil services.

               c)If an aspirant who appears for the interview even once then he should be awarded a Masters degree in Government,administration and public policy so that he can fetch a good employment elsewhere in private sector,media or non profit sector on the basis of this degree.He will have some satisfaction.

                d)There is no point in continuing languages as optional.It creates a lot of disparities and even otherwise it does not make much sense to carve diplomats,admistrators and police officials from language experts.

                 e) Infact the idea of separate optionals in this age of multi-disciplinary courses is redundant.There must be a set of commen papers like public administration,economics,portions of law,history,geography and culture,political theory,philosophy,science and technology and situational analysis etc.In mains papers the intention should be to know the conceptual understanding and practical applications of knowledge.If this is the idea while setting question papers then candidates with coaching notes and rote learning will never be able to qualify.

                  f)The interview should carry a higher weightage in final selections.It should be much more detailed and rigourous process lasting for month(subjecting candidates to different kinds of tests and exercises and keeping them under observation.The idea is to find out the real intention for joining the civil services and test the candidate’s abilities like his reaction and behaviour in crisis situations,his skills in public relations,his ability to work in a team and his temperament etc)Finally the interview board should recommend candidates for different services in accordance with their calibre.

                 g)UPSC should include members from the private sector and civil society also apart from academicians and civil servants

                 h)The maximum age limit for writing this exam should be made equal for all categories i.e SC,ST,OBC and General.The upper limit for writing the exam should not be more than 30.

                Another factor which produces worst kind uncertainities and disasters is the scaling system.I have come across people scoring 70% in paper 1 and 20% in paper too after performing brilliantly.If we have a common paper system this ill can can be cured.

            Something more radical:

                                               Sir,few years back you  sujjested that civil service exam should be conducted after class 12th.I fully agree with you on this.Then they should be made to go through 5 yr training.I am going to add one more thing to this.With this post 12th class exam, the exam should also be allowed to be taken after graduation,Just like we have NDA and CDS for army.Those who write after graduation should be made to undergo 2 year training(one year foundation course and one year specialised concentration coursework)The training modules should be designed keeping in mind international developments and domestic requirements.The training must have some compulsory internships with N.G.Os working at grassroot level,private sector,media groups,international organizations and think tanks.The services should be alloted after the foundation course(1st year)on the basis of candidate's performance in 1st year,his intrests and recommendation made by the interview board at the time of the interview.(Interview board should be asked to recommend candidates for different services).At the end of the training the recruits should be made to write an exam.It should be made compulsory to get certain basic level in those exams.

               Age limit for writing the civil services exam should not be more than 30 for all the categories and number of attempts should be not more than 4 for all categories so that students don't waste their life in shacks of mukarjee nagar(Delhi) writing 15 attempts till 40 years, fattening the purses of coaching czars.

     

              3) The 3rd domain of change should be service conditions and organisational structure.The idea of life long security of tenure should be put to an end immediately.There must be 7 yearly review of performance of the bureaucrats and status quoism should be punished by throwing the no-workers and other black sheep out.The creativity,dedication,honesty and innovation should be rewarded by promotions,fellowships and awards.Merit should replace the system of time bound promotions.

               Something more radical:

                                                  In states, I have seen that IAS/IPS officers after spending 2 years of probation get posted as collectors and S.P or DCPs These days i come across 23- 25 years old district heads who behave like teenagers from bollywood movies.They work as bosses of officers from state services(police and administrative) who are 50 plus in age and have vast experience,wisdom and ability. They are totally dependent on subordinates.In such a state how can we expect them to provide good leadership.Leadership requires both knowledge with some amount of expertise and experience.These new recruits have none.These new recruits come out as failures in field postings.Recent communal killings in Gopalgarh(Rajasthan) are an example of this.The SP who mismanaged the situation has a record of failure in every district,even facing departmental inquiries for corrouption within 5 yrs of service.These young officers when posted as bosses of experienced state service officials feel that they are devinely chosen autocrats and power is what they are meant to enjoy and they have nothing to learn.They carry this arrogance and ignorance up the ladder when they are appointed as secretaries.The nation will benifit if these young officers work in the field as subordinates of state service officials as they will gain from their experience.The must be made to work in mofussil areas for atleast 7 years and then only appointed as collectors and SPs

             Something revolutionary:

                                                In fact, we should just put an end to this ridiculous system of recruitment at two levels i.e in state civil services and Indian civil services.In the long run this system needs to be out as it breeds hierarchy,inefficiency and frustration.UPSC can be transformed into Federal Civil Service Commission(FCSC) and we can name the services as Federal civil service,Federal Police service etc.In administration all officers should be recruited as SDMs and in police services they should be appointed as Deputy Suprintendent of police.(It includes their probation as Tehsildars,BDOs and Sub inspectors and Inspectors in Police)Below these posts all recruitments should be done by state public service commissions.In the promotions the merit should be given it's due importance so that if one gets recruited as S.I can rise to S.P.We should do away with the system of time bound promotions .In secretary level appointments in administrative services,revenue and diplomatic services the lateral entry system should be adopted with a generous heart.                        

                                 Our nation can afford coalition tremors,lack of consensus over lokpal,black money, but the poor people of this country can not afford a bad ground level governance.If we get people who are bright ,honest and passionate in civil services then atleast we assure good governance to people.While putting a final fullstop to my ranting two names come to my mind :.Mr V.P Menon who began his career as stenographer and went on to become home secretary of India and Mr K.R Narayanan, who,recommended by Harold Laski was appointed in Indian Foreign Service.Can we see this happening in India in near future? I hope we will have more Menons and Narayanans in future.                  

                 

                     With a request to take a big leap forward, I end this letter.
   

   

 Yours sincerely

Abhinav Pandya

MPA,Cornell University

St.Stephens’ college

Please respond to me at skandhagupta55@gmail.com