Only modern science can solve the many problems that India's masses face.
When we discuss science, we must ask what its purpose is. The answer, to my mind, is: to make our lives better and happier. Science is that knowledge by which we understand nature and harness it for our benefit.
Some people may oppose this view, saying that the atom bomb destroys lives, and that science has created weapons of destruction. Scientific knowledge can be misused, but also used to benefit mankind. But without science we will be living precarious, wretched lives.
An objection could also be raised that it is only the applied sciences (technology) that benefit people, not the fundamental sciences. It is true that a scientist doing fundamental research does not care whether his discoveries are of any utility or not. Newton and Einstein did not bother whether their discoveries would benefit mankind. However, these benefit mankind in the long run.
Today India faces huge problems; only science can solve them. Some 80 per cent of its people live in poverty, with unemployment, sky-rocketing prices, problems of healthcare, education and housing, and so on. Forty-eight farmers commit suicide on an average each day. And 47 per cent of the children are malnourished. Our national aim must be to abolish these evils and make India prosperous for all.
To address the problems, I present Four People's Principles (following Sun Yat Sen's Three People's Principles). These should be our guiding principles: Science, Democracy, Livelihood, and Unity of the People.
Science
When India was on the scientific path, it prospered. With the aid of science we built mighty civilisations thousands of years ago when most people in Europe (except in Greece and Rome) lived in the forests. We made outstanding scientific discoveries. However, we subsequently took to the unscientific path of superstition and ritual. The way out is to go back to the scientific path shown by our ancestors — Aryabhatta and Brahmagupta, Sushruta and Charaka, Ramanujan and C.V. Raman.
Here are three examples of Indian scientific achievements in ancient times.
1. The decimal system was perhaps the most revolutionary and greatest scientific achievement in the ancient world. The Europeans called the numbers in the decimal system Arabic numerals, but surprisingly the Arabs called them Hindu numerals. Were they Arabic or Hindu? The languages Urdu, Persian and Arabic are written from right to left, but if you ask any speaker of these languages to write a number, he will write it left to right. This shows the numbers were taken from a language that was written left to right. It is accepted now that these numbers came from India, and were copied by the Arabs.
The decimal system has revolutionary significance. Ancient Rome was a great civilisation, but its people were uncomfortable with numbers above 1000. They wrote their numbers in alphabets, I standing for 1, V for 5, X for 10, L for 50, C for 100, D for 500 and M for 1000. There was no alphabet expressing a number higher than 1000. If one would have asked an ancient Roman to write the number one million, he would have gone crazy: to write one million he would have to write the letter M, which stands for millennium (or one thousand), one thousand times. On the other hand, under our system, to express one million we have just to write the number one followed by six zeroes. We could thus express astronomically high numbers by adding zeroes. In the Roman numerals there is no zero. Zero was ancient India's invention.
2. Five thousand years ago in the Indus Valley civilisation was created the system of town planning, with covered drains and the sewage system.
3. Plastic surgery was invented in India in the 6th century B.C.; Westerners discovered it about 200 years ago.
I am not going into our other great scientific achievements (for details, see ‘Sanskrit as a Language of Science' at the website, www. kgfindia.com).
However, today we are far behind the Western countries in science; that is the real cause of our poverty and other social evils. We must spread science — not physics, chemistry and biology alone: it is the entire scientific outlook. We must spread rational and logical thinking among our masses and make them give up backwardness and superstition. The mindset steeped in casteism, communalism and superstition must change. Science is not the natural sciences alone, but also the social sciences. A worldwide recession is on. This can only be solved by knowledge of economic theory, not of natural sciences or engineering.
Democracy
The second principle is Democracy. When King Ajatashatru of Magadha was planning to attack the Vajjian democracy, he sent a messenger to the Buddha for advice. Instead of speaking to this messenger, the Buddha told one of his disciples: “Have you heard, Anand, that the Vajjians foregather often and frequent the public meetings of their clan? So long, Anand, as the Vajjians so foregather and so frequent the public meetings of their clan, so long they may be expected not to decline but to prosper.
Similarly, Avadan Shatak, a Buddhist Sanskrit text of the second century A.D., mentions that a group of merchants went from North India to the Deccan and were asked by the Deccan King, who was the king who ruled over North India. The merchants replied: Deva, kechit deshah ganadheena, kechit rajaadheena, iti, which means “Your Majesty, some regions are under democratic rule, while others are under kings.” So, democracy is nothing new to India.
The method of shastrarthas was developed in ancient India, which permitted free discussion in the presence of a large assembly. This resulted in growth in philosophy, law, grammar and so on, and also in science, including medicine, mathematics and astronomy.
Some people say democracy is not good for India. I disagree. The problem in India is not that there is too much democracy but too little. We need more democracy, not less, and that means educating the masses, raising their cultural level, and involving them actively in national reconstruction.
Democracy and science go hand in hand. Scientific growth requires certain supportive values, namely, the freedom to think, criticise, and dissent, tolerance, plurality, and free flow of information. These are the values of a democratic society.
Livelihood
The third principle is livelihood for the masses. Today, 80 per cent of Indians are poor, and there is massive unemployment, lack of healthcare, housing and good education. In the recent period, the rich have become richer, and the rich-poor divide has increased. Economic growth has benefited only a handful.
The French thinker, Rousseau, wrote: “It is obviously contrary to the law of nature for a handful of people to gorge themselves on superfluities while the starving multitudes lack the necessities of life.” (Discourse on the Origins of Inequality)
Using our creativity we must find ways to raise the standard of living of the masses. Ultimately, that is what matters. Let the system we adopt be called capitalism or socialism or communism, the real test is whether the standard of living of the masses is going up or not. Surely, a system in which a quarter million farmers have committed suicide in the last 15 years and vast masses live in poverty is unacceptable.
Before the Industrial Revolution, which began in Western Europe in the 18th century, there was feudalism everywhere. In the feudal system the methods of production were primitive and very little wealth was generated, and only a handful of people could be rich. In contrast, modern industry is powerful and big, and enough wealth can be generated to meet everybody's basic needs. Nobody needs to be poor. It is the state's duty to ensure that.
Unity of the people
India has great diversity, with a number of castes, languages, religions and ethnic groups, as it is broadly a country of immigrants (see the article, ‘Kalidas Ghalib Academy for Mutual Understanding,' and the video, ‘What is India,' at www. kgfindia.com). So the only policy that will work here is secularism, giving equal respect to all communities. This was the policy of Emperor Akbar, who was really the architect of modern India. This policy was continued by Jawaharlal Nehru and his colleagues who created our secular Constitution.
In 1947, religious passions were inflamed; Pakistan had declared itself an Islamic state. There must have been tremendous pressure on Nehru and his colleagues to declare India a Hindu state. It is not easy to keep a cool head when passions are inflamed, but our leaders said India would not be a Hindu state but a secular one. It is for this reason that there is more stability in India than in the neighbouring country.
Powerful vested interests are trying to destroy the unity and make us fight one another on the basis of religion, caste, region, language, and so on. It is the duty of all patriotic people to expose these designs and maintain the unity of the people; without that we cannot progress.
(Justice Markandey Katju is Chairman of the Press Council of India. This is an edited version of the address he delivered on January 11 at an international conference organised by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, on ‘Science Communication for Scientific Temper,' in New Delhi)
Keywords: poverty, unemployment, price rise, healthcare, education, housing, science knowledge
Four people's principles by Katju sir presented some valuable points which needs to be modified in present indian context.Examples taken from ancient India hardly proves that these four principles can bring change in modern dynamic india and make it happy,prosperous ,developed country which is evry Indian's dream.it would have been better to justify these principles with the examples from present world
The article is very relevant in the present context of the abysmal
plunge in the spheres of economic equality, political integrity and
public administration. The problem is not the lack of the four
principles; but in administering and managing them. The benefit of
science is available, the ‘democracy’ is in place, there are enough resources for livelihood and Unity in diversity cannot be faulted. The
green revolution had rendered us food surplus; yet the food has not
reached the poor and the needy- grains are rotting in the go-downs.
Various welfare and yojgar programmes to mitigate unemployment are
failing; why? the average integrity and honesty of public servants
have deteriorated. The greedy corporate houses prosper exponentially
at the expense of the poor, ever widening the inequality in wealth
distribution. Democracy has taken a beating with money power winning
elections. What we need is honesty, integrity and commitment in
people. The four principles will fall in line.
Sir, you presented points with its case study and history/legacy. But
you have not given due stress on correct education pattern. Without
absolute education we are not gong to resolve our crisis in right
context. Ethical values & moral conducts has been gone off from our
behavior and these valuable tools of human value can't be gain from
anywhere except from correct education.....
In my opinion there has to be inclusion of people. The will to do better for society and not for just themselves has to be generated in order to achieve more equitable society. All the corruption, the dream of more real democracy, better distribution of resources and best livelihood can be achieved if everyone of us starts thinking and starts working keeping in mind that we have a whole nation to take forward and not just us.
Mr. Katju has given excellent approach to eradicate the problems faced by common people, but this solution is not complete in itself because even educated persons are trying to raise problems for their compatriots. So many educated persons are involved in the process of corruption which is hampering the execution of the policies made for the benefit of needy people. All the persons should be aware from the grievances of the downtrodden masses, so that they can not think to do wrong things in life which can be harmful for the life of poor people. I think that this solution can work effectively by being augmented with the solution provided by Mr. katjju ji.
Mr. Katju's presentation of the issues and process of thinking is appreciable. His projection that science and democracy will do good to the country is also laudable. But he should also have gone to the process and path for achieving results better than what we have achieved till date after independence. It is really a shame that even today after 64 years of self rule , we have 42% ( in some states even over 70% ) of children malnourished. With this the future citizens of this country will be physically and mentally challenged, then what is the hope? There have been good suggestions from many quarters ( for example book "5 years Guarantee : How to make India Richer ") , but the political class is visualising its interests only in keeping the poor as poor and illiterate. This politics of exploiting poverty and poor needs to be broken at some point and if it happens, actually it will help politicians in much better way. But this has to be perceived by the politicians. Media is the hope.
These four principles are not only to be practised by the institutions of democracy and governance but also by the people and families who are blessed with wealth and power. More and more single individuals could make many difference in their circle, society and family.
Wonderful desiderata. Request The Hindu to publish more such articles which are illuminating and invigorating. Such articles are very rare nowadays.Thank you sir for such inspirational article. Sir, please write more such articles and lead an enlightened movement to bring back past glory of India.
Today Science has largely been sacrificed and replaced with IT. IT provides well paying jobs and dollar returns, agreed. But apart from lining some private pockets and high profits for IT companies, what has it done ? Sorry to say, the white collar IT workforce has not proved capable of creating anything !
I am very impressed by this article , each and every thing written in this article is true and has complete revelance with our past. I think the views he presented for the growth of science in the country needs serious contemplation by our leaders and youths as the development of other nations like US, Japan and China was accelerated by their scientific development. These countries spend a huge amount of their money on scientific activities. We should understand that science in one form or the other , be it engineering or cosmology or pure sciences like physics maths always prove fruitful for mankind.
It is evident form the recent views and declaration of the PM Manmohan Singh to increase the funds to promote R&D in our coutry shows that the govt. is also realising and working to create a scientific independent INDIA in the future.
I agree with Justice Katju that India needs to embrace science in order to progress. But there are two aspects to embracing science. One is embracing scientific studies in the sense of encouraging it in our schools, supporting fundamental research done by universities, funding budding scientists etc. Breakthroughs in science may lead to breakthrough technology, with the prospect of changing our lives. But there is another aspect, a second sense, in which science is valuable. This is the value of the scientific mindset in producing a society of free-thinking, enlightened, moral and humanistic individuals. When the modern scientific revolution started 300 years ago, it led to the age of enlightenment in Europe, where a fearful, parochial, primitive society became free, confident, progressive, and modern. Casteism, tribalism, fundamentalism, superstition, fatalism borne out of ignorance will give way to a better more compassionate society, much as it has done in many parts of the West.
The solution to the poverty of India and the African nations cannot come from within these countries, it has to come from outside these countries; since the world has enough resources for every one, only that they are not distributed equally. It is misleading to cite India's heritage and say that we should solve our problems ourselves. Then who will solve the problems of the poor in African countries where they do not have a heritage as India? All the problems faced by India like poverty , malnutrition etc are global problems and have to be solved at the global level, and not at India's level.
What the Gates foundation is doing, looking at resolving the issues in Africa is a right step in that direction. More such global powerhouses should come forward to do the same thing.
"without science we will be living precarious, wretched lives."
Truer word could not have been said! Wretched and poverty stricken life, most Indian or for that matter people of sub continent, lead, is directly due to lack of scientific temper and devastating belief in superstitions. Curse of superstition is directly responsible for many of the ills like communalism, Naxalite terror, weak democracy, illiteracy and the list can go endlessly. The worst scourge of the society is the prevalence of large "experts" with huge followers palming off "scientific reasoning" things which are utter unscientific gibberish. This dismal situation can change only if the youth of the country dare to question and demand logically convincing answers and refuse to accept status quo getting scared of religious sentimentalities.
Shri Katju has produced a very good article. Only through education people could raise themselves up. All the educated people would not have scientific temper and there would always be sizable population having superstitions. However, science and technology can do wonders and we can produce or get all the things that are required for a decent and satisfactory life for all. As Mahathma Gandhi has said there would be enough for all but not enough to satisfy our greed. But there would be large scale unemployment since more and more would be produced with less and less people. Government cannot solve the problem, since if the employees under the govt. are huge, they would consume all the revenue. Only if the fortunate people share their wealth with the poor by giving part time employment or by other means, there would be more happiness and less misery. Present day education is not giving good spiritual values, since people are not interested. In that situation God only can save the people.
I might be repeating what has been said already. What is missing from this article, along with several others that are currently being penned in tune with those depressing facts and figures, is a lack of direction. A simple idea that can enable the present system to become more efficient and effective is yet to emerge. A good read; not very enlightening though.
But what about the quality of air that we breathe? Growth needs to be controlled and monitored closely. We do not want economic growth at the cost of quality of life. Look at Hong Kong which was once one of the most preferred places to stay. But now almost everyone wants out. Reason: Poor quality of air.
Be it the poor or the richest of rich, we all breathe the same air. Thus air pollution, which today does not feature in any government agenda should be made a priority item for each development project.
Winter and summer are the worst seasons which cause maximum pollution in India. The trees shed their leaves which litter the road sides. In a drive to clean them, the cleanliness workers stack them in corners, but instead of dumping them in a safe place, small bonfires are lit. This can be viewed daily in the morning on all roads in most cities in India. Everyone needs to understand that OXYGEN is used when leaves are burnt, and it is oxygen that is needed by everyone to SURVIVE!
indeed its a bitter truth that even having 63 years of our
independence india still facing n number of problemS even being
focused as well as matter of discussion by many thinker like mrs
kartju alongwith many other personality.i fully agree with the view of
four principle suggested by mrs kartju that science bring a miracle in
indian development because use of scientific approach in any of the
sector may enhance the rational level of individual as well as provide
better approach of doing the thing which ultimately leads to better
productivity in particular areas.apart from that the other options
suggested above are also relevant for the overall development of
developing country like INDIA
Can you atleast site a reason as to why my comments were moderated. Know its your paper but allowing a voice for comments and having stringent arbitrary regulations on them is a reflection of your journalistic ethics(I do regard them highly though) and standards for allowing opinions.
I think this article was timely and once again appealed to the dying need for us to retrace our path and work on our ancestry. We have had a rich past.Rich in terms of knowledge and wealth. Concentrating on this will definitely give us the necessary encouragement to work and move ahead. At this time when everyone is concerned about the country's future,this article can be seen as a harbinger of hope...
Some readers have erroneously interpreted the word 'Science'referred to by Shri.Katju.It has always meant orderly and correct progression of thought,word, or deed.Viewed thus we can perceive the anarchy prevailing in our country in any walk of life.It will do immense good to all our country to understand that freedom of expression should have judicious use and wieldable only after lot of thinking.
I agree with 4 principles said by the author. I think we need some thing more than this. Because no problem can be solved if the people of the country not change. I mean the changes in their thoughts. The policy makers should think y the richer getting more rich & poor getting more poor. here all are safeguarding themselves, their job or position and more selfish in their life. Our country lost the original value of politics. The politicians making the peoples beggars by their policies, this is the major reason for poor people become more poorer. ex now the TN govt hiked the price of milk& indiscriminately the bus fare . They offering Mixy and Grinder & cattles to people. Where they have money for giving all these things free. why don't rs.1500. But govt exploit more amount from them in the bus fare hike. For ex If 3 members in a family traveling 200 days in a year for job/studies by pay 5 extra. 1 yr additional exp 3x5x2x200= 6000. see how much they pay more than their free mixy. 4500
To suppose the only important part of India's extraordinary classical heritage is its scientific accomplishments is a great -- and, in my opinion, dangerous -- mistake. There is as much or more to be learned from Kalidasa and Kampan as here is from such luminaries as Aryabhatta. Modern India has for the most part trashed its great humanistic heritage. Look at the respect someone who studies Sanskrit or Telugu literature receives compared to the status accorded by Indian society to an engineer, who does nothing more profound than write computer code. I respect engineers and their accomplishments, but surely someone who spends his or her life studying the great classics of India has as much to contribute and should accorded equal status. If your readers would read some of the classics in their own language or in Sanskrit, I can assure them it would change their life for the better, as it has mine. The wisdom and insight provided by these works is beyond description.
No doubt that science has the solution to many problem which India is
facing today. However, this is also a stark reality that the benefit of
S&T is majorly enjoyed by the middle and higher class people. The poor
and the marginalized are again left behind. For this reason I would not
directly point my finger to the corrupt politicians. The common people
have big share in this depravity.Today the need is to stress more on
morals and values so that the benefit may be enjoyed by all...
The writer has given some serious solutions for improvement of conditions the people of the nation but i feel again the problem lies in the fact we have never been able to effectively implement what has been very very effectively thought. And for this time as well, his ideas might not bear any fruit if there is not any concrete plan to put them into practice.
It is a very good article with deep significance.It should be read by every person but despite these four people's principle the main issue is education.The education system should be reformed.Our education system is based on the number game,it should be based on knowledge.An individual only wants to secure good marks not knowledge.To get number he crams the subject without understanding the subject.With the help of good education we will come out of the shell of developing country & become a part of developed country.
A very thought provoking article by Mr. Katju. Thanks for recalling the greatness of the first Prime Minister of India in making India secular. Lots of comments have been written. Most of them come from confusing science and scientific thinking. The term science is commonly associated with physical and biological sciences and the like while scientific thinking is a more general principle that uses our rational faculties to understand. This applies in all walks of life whether it be in understanding why gravity works or the origins of altruism in human beings. I believe what Mr. Katju is advocating is to promote this thinking in our decision making process whether pertains to our decision who we vote for, or, it pertains to choosing the school where we want our children to be educated. "Pothi padhi padhi jag mua, bhaya na pandit koi" - you may read all the tomes, but you will not be a pundit. Practice it.
There is a lot of merit to the article and I am delighted to read something like this. I feel that the biggest problems us Indians have is the very deep ingrained sense of not taking any risks and not letting individuals pursue what they think is right. Everything has to go by the book for us and our parents/teachers keep teaching us that no risks are worth especially when it comes to career and personal life. We are told not to doubt/challenge any set social structures, people, beliefs and so on. We need to give up this habit and let people boldly question authority and let them think for themselves. Let them learn from their mistakes and take risks as the greatest risk ever is not to take one at all.
Many valid points have been made but Justice Katju is no doubt an atheist. Science cannot explain why we exist and therefore the concept of "bettering" lives can only be construed within the limited framework of the human mind. If we don't know what is the "good", how do we know what is "better"? This conundrum ought not to be simply dismissed as "superstition". Nevertheless, within the narrow material context, many of Justice Katju's statements are completely valid. A determined and persistent long-term focus on education is a prerequisite to achieving the rest of the goals.
Without industrial revolution in 18th and 19th century Europe world would not have been such a comfortable place to live in.The revolution ushered in an era of continuous inventions and innovations.Momentum so gathered from these initiatives has inspired human society to strive harder and harder to achieve more.Sky is no longer the limit.It appears to be too small a target as areas beyond the sky is under human umbrella that can be folded and opened if needed.Century old unimaginables are commonplace today.This would not have been possible without advancement of science. But this is only one side of the story.The other side is as dark and as sad as it ever was.When one compares these achievements with this darkness one is astonished to find that inspite of so much resources at the disposal of human society it never ever tried to address this.I am talking about the hungry people .There are one 1 billion of them world over and are likely to increase by 11% every year.
Very much satisfied with the view . The need of the hour is to think in
a scientific way to solve the impending problem , the country is facing
. Keeping the glorious past in mind , the time is set to move in the
right direction .
Why just limit the sccope to Science, Democracy, Livelihood to all and Unity?! Let us take ALL the help from every possible source and all that gives us 'strength' to make our beloved INDIA get back her glory of the ancient ages. For that to happen, we should begin with forgetting our little self.
Just brilliant! hats off to 'The Hindu'. We need more constructive journalism!!
Time has come for a National Govt.,as suggested by Gandhiji.He suggested a commitee of profesional of outstanding achievement in their field to run the Govt.
We have seen the result of Democracy in India and No Democracy in China.Also we have seen the result of Democracy in Pakistan compared to dectatorship.There are end number of countries Democracy has destroyed the country.Look at Iraq.What it was and what it is today. Democracy in poor and highly populated country has no place due to corruption.Unless such country attain certain level of ecomnomy and education.These two also cannot be achieved swiftly by democracy because of unending differences of vested interests(Example,privatization of public schools)
Democracy in countries like America is OK because of right persons are selected critically.Here in India, our elected members are not even graduate!What sense they have to make decisions. India has suffered for more than half a century and still suffering, because democratic parliament is not constructive,because members have no knowledge of the subject except their vested interest and not national interest.
WHAT a terrible article; very confusing and misleading, indeed. Science, Democracy, Livelihood and Unity of people, - all mixed-up with ancient India and her science and culture. I wasted my time reading it. If it all were so well and good, why India is so poor even today? Hope I would not face contempt of court if I say that the judge needs re-education.
Prime purpose of science is for the survival and evolution of human race.The povery in Indian could be eliminated only by good governance and elimination of corruption.India is among the five biggest economies in the world and still over 80 percent of our people are poor.This suggests that Science and other factors have contributed immensely to achieve such a large economy but have failed to eliminate poverty.
A wealthy society can be created through proper administration and juctice with Science,economics and other factors playing their parts.
Article is very nice. But I am not agree with the third principle. Unity of People? Are we United? When we proudly say that, in India there are different number of peoples living happily with different religion and castes. Is it so? Then why these "Black Events" are diluting the image of India behind which Religion is the only cause to happen? Still there are number of parties ruling India which are based on only religion. Someone may say that they are co-ordinating their religion. But I dont think so, and parties which are "co-ordinating" their religion are simply creating insecureness in minds of that religion's people...
The four principals as has been said by the writer -science, democracy, livelihood and unity of people are right not only the context for India but all the world also.India is clearly a paradigm benefited by these principals and has rich in the examples showing India to be first to use the principals.problems faced by it is little if India once again starts its fundamentals leaving the superstitions born as the consequences of the wastes of some weakness which persist in all types of societies,but some get able to eliminate with the passage of time.
Again an article which tells us 'what' to do but doesn't tell us 'how' to do it.
Reading the article felt like reading through a cheap palmistry book suggesting hallucinatory methods to achieve rationale outputs. Writer seems to be completely overwhelmed by his own prophecy, if he has one. The style suggests, the writer himself believes that anyone, anywhere, is not going to implement these so called 'principles', but writes only for the sake of writing 'something' worth 'nothing'. I'm surprised that Hindu published this!
If we practice the advice we progress, no doubt. We have large population and as a Japanese expert once told us we have more than matching resources. Only The politicians are letting us down by robbing us of our resources. The above article for some reason does not talk of corruption on mega scale. Every scam is financed by the populace including the poorest of the poor... We progressed this far not because of politicos but inspite of them..
"A worldwide recession is on. This can only be solved by knowledge of economic theory, not of natural sciences or engineering." But, is it not the economic/financial jiggery-pokery that got the world into the current economic mess? Is it not trading in the technologically advanced products, highly engineered infrastructure and production plants for all industry sectors which are attempting to re-start the world economy? Few can argue with the wisdom in spreading 'rational and logical thinking' in the natural and social sciences, more 'democracy', raising 'the standard of living of the masses' and, remaining united despite differences in 'religion, caste, region, language'; fewer still would fail to see the material progress India has made in the past 2-3 decades. But can the same be said of quality of life (absence of - exploitation, stress, happiness, social values etc)? Can a society with the above desirable attributes, but without high social and ethical values, be worth living in?
He has mentioned four people's principles in his article and he has indicated the sole goal is raising the standard of living.But he has not mentioned anything about raising the people themselves.The usual attempt by all the legislatures the main pillars of our democracy is to increase the standard of living.They devise the law and the plans to achieve this.The executive should implement those plans.
The media watches and points out the flaw in both pillars.The judiciary the fourth pillar controls,directs and suggest remedies in the failures of those pillars.the writer of this article has gained enough knowledge through his working as that pillar. But none of these pillars have worked for raising the people themselves since we see persons who are leading high standard of living have not worked for the welfare of others, less fortunate. Literature alone have solutions.But they are neglected.
I'd say India needs:
1)clean and responsive politics
2)education that promotes,among other things,civic sense and hygienic living
3)effective and independent judiciary
4)value system that helps us to have meaningful goals in life
I think,Science,whether we developed or other developed makes no differences.It is the thing how we use them.We didn't have Hybird varieties crops but we used them for green revolution.Lot of vaccines we don't have patent for them.yet we are using them.Removing casteism and communalism is mammoth task.Becuase deeply imbibed in us.Not only among the masses but even in the highly educated people also this stigma is present.Democratically, we are better but at the same time more democracy has to provided with caution.I think over democracy will leads to unfruitful results like pulling each other leg.Education,will improve the living standars of the people.The policies adopted like RTE is still on the paper.
We need to focus more the implementation side rather than merly on focussing theory.we have good policies but we don't have prper implementation for any thing to progress either it is of science,Education or proverty.
@Raamganesh- thanks for emphasising that science is not technology! Is it any surprise that we Indians are cybercoolies but not cybergurus - we can use techniques very well but are not taught the skills to analyse why we need a particular technology nor can we re-think to make new technologies. And please dont anybody mention jugaad as science - that is pure survival at the edges..
Our past was glorious, we gave the world a lot of things in the past and were once the envy of everyone who knew about us. After the great scientists in the BC era, only a handful of contributions in the last 2000 years. Instead of harping on the glories of the past if the national efforts can be chanalised into making the place better than what it was yesterday, we can a long way.
Democracy and free flow of ideas are the vehilces on which to drive towards better future. Better and transparent Governence and Governence for the entire country and not for a section of the people should be established. Yes secularism and democracy go hand in hand. The principles of secularism should be practiced by all sections of the society not just the by the majoroty. Last but not the least, political probity should be established and the leaders of the Government both elected and appointed should set the high-standards of morality in public life.Sadly our political leadership has failed us.
Justice Katju's suggestions are correct. However, he is not giving a clear-cut action plans which is the need of the hour. If he expects the youngsters to respond to his suggestions, he should also make it clear as to how they can participate in the nation building. I request Justice Katju to come out with concrete plans required in each of the four areas. While doing so, we should not try to build new institutions but need to work within our parliamentary democracy system. Perhaps, Justice Katju and Prof. P.V. Indiresan should sit together and devise the action plans. Prof. Indiresan is an expert in offering such solutions to such problems of nation-building.
Our political parties and leaders should turn right-thinking and really dedicate their lives for public welfare . i dont know whether this will happen as good people are unable to come to power in our existing system dominated by corrupt and foul elements. Still we should pray and with hope do our might.
Science can do nothing if attitude of people deeply rooted in traditional custom. We must first change the attitude of Indian people.We are too much religious, our psyche based on fatalism.We are not believed that creatively and hardworking we can change our life.We want psychological revolution in India. Real clashes in India are struggle between old values and new values.When we throw away our old values and adopt new values which are useful for our progress than only science will work in our favor.
The role of science in bringing human development (socio-economic) cannot be underestimated. We have to promote the path-breaking researches in all the dimensions. Allocation of more funds in order to promote the research would not bring the much sought outcomes until liberal, innovative and out of box thinking is promoted through various govt programmes like INSPIRE.
With due respect to Justice Katju, I find these insights rather naive. When the problems become more and more complex, so should be the approach to resolve them.It simply does not matter whatever amazing stuff Indians did five thousand years ago. More so, whether or not such amazing discoveries five thousand years ago are representative of the civilization as a whole, or just a small section of the population designated to pursue knowledge by the caste distinction, is a matter of debate. Everything that we see in India today, is a replication of systems or values which were implemented somewhere else, notwithstanding the fact, that the very socio-cultural fabric of this country is different. As a result, we keep on re-inventing the wheel with minimal success. Rather addressing the issues from a fundamental perspective, the insights of Justice Katju are misleading and the dilute the extent of the problems. Believe me, it's not so simple.
This is the best article of HIndu ,I could understand thoroughly .i got
a great feeling of patriotism and I m proud of India..
For me it is not worth writing a comment on this article. The author of this article will do some good if he realizes that "the masses" he is talking about are also human beings with equal dignity and honor just as he is. The only difference is that they have not been given opportunities or they have not been able to snatch opportunities for themselves due to the oppressive and ruthlessly exploitative systems that Indian society historically have been evolved into for various reasons...The solutions (of course, it is a long term one for there cannot be a quick-fix solution to these problems) will be a revolutionary education (accessible by all) that teaches children to think critically and independently with a vision of 'dignity, equality and freedom for all humans to live in harmony with nature'.
It is important that readers untangle in their minds the meaning of the words science and technology. Much confusion arises by conflating these two words, by using them interchangeably, as if they mean the same thing. Science is the quest for knowledge. Science tells you nothing about how to use the knowledge, it makes no recommendations on whether to use the knowledge of subatomic physics to develop nuclear power plants or atomic bombs.
Technology is the application of the scientific knowledge about the world, to meet our human needs and ends. Much of technology has been developed by humans to benefit mankind. But some have used it to destroy their enemies. Saying "Science has also caused much misery", as many commenters have, is therefore, meaningless. It is tantamount to saying "Medicine causes much misery" because the knowledge of human anatomy causes some doctors to exploit patients.
Science sans philosophy will be destructive. Future of the Mother Earth and its inhabitants can be saved only Science guided by philosphy.
this article is really good , hope many more articles like this would be published in the future ,all of us must have scientific outlook for betterment of society
@Rakesh Manchanda: Sports and games are hardly methods to fix democratic issues linked with policy making and implementation. In fact, in a corrupt sport like cricket(BCCI, IPL and fixers paradise) it is hardly a good suggestion. What does " and if broken by inside force, life begins." mean? Our democratic institution is not fragile like an egg. A mass movement led by Anna Hazare recently took place to drive home that there is a unified consensus amongst the people for a tougher fight against corruption. We all know what happened in the Sansad. It was a tamasha house and irresponsible people were yelling at the top of their voices that any intervention or collective consensus of civil society will sound the death knell for democracy. I say, trash these rabble rousers and our elected representatives.
Justice Katju has made some solutions to the problems plaguing this country. Nothing will be achieved in this country as long as vote bank politics influenced by populist schemes of our political masters exist. Education is the basic thing that could change the systems working in our country.
I agree with Justice Katju. We need to focus on the real results being harnessed instead of only on the procedural and institutional intricacies. Whether a policy has achieved its purpose or not has to be evaluated and it has to be seen why hundred per cent result was not achieved. True that we are disappointed with our leaders. How many of us take it upon ourselves to make a change? How many of us vote for the right person, not taking into account his caste and other irrelevant aspects? We need to introspect.
@Minaj Khan - Remember Green and White Revolution. That was ahem! Science doing its wonders.I must disagree with you that teaching somebody moral science will not feed somebody's stomach at the end of the day. Neither can belief in God be an answer. Hardworking competent individuals will earn and sustain if given the opportunity. Mr. Katju is trying to give us an idea on what our modern fundamentals need to be if we are to improve. @Arvind R. - Though Mr katju I believe has not tried to divide Indian people into "know-all" and 'ignorant masses', I must inform you that a proper scientific education will instill thinking in the right direction. Superstition and many ills of the society will dissapear when people ask the "right" questions. Merely dividing literate and illiterate into two classes does not become undemocratic.In fact, if you want to improve a democratic institution you must find that illiterate man and educate him.
Really it is thought provoking lecture. I fully excited to feel our anchestors had done so much for science development. And i fully agree with the statement that we have not implemented democracy fully. we have to educate the people to participate in the democratic process which is lacking. we are thinking that we can't do any thing. But Anna Hazare has shown that even now also we can do miracles if will is there. Really i enjoyed to read this article. After a long gap i have seen a positive analysis of our strengths. Dr. Abdul Kalam has already ignited the spirit. Now the required is to take into masses. And Sanskrit is to be made our National Language which brings a great unity among us and certainly it reconnects our anchestors' knowledge with the current.
I disagaree with the driving force & direction of this excellent article.I think the contents carry all four people`s principle to help increase the standard of living of 99%.A fifth principle that has the hidden ability to fix rules and laws via sports and games is missing.A simple game of cricket has the ability to deliver results which religion,science & democracy have failed.If egg is broken by outside force, life ends and if broken by inside force, life begins.Politics and daily running of governance under ministry shall always remain boring if rules to control corruption are not fixed. From stadium to Sansad(Parliament) people need to collectively apply simple systems for a corruption free governance as we see in Cricket.For details read my article via google:Hidden lessons from cricket for a corruption-free society.
@Arvind - What on earth do you mean by 'democratic science'? There
is no such thing. Science is the quest for understanding the world, the universe, the objective and subjective reality around all of us. The way science conducts this quest is through a process called methodological naturalism. It takes as a given that all observable phenomena in this universe have natural explanations, which can be understood through scientific investigation, namely the process of positing different hypotheses, and then designing experiments to test the validity of the hypotheses - to see if they agree with reality. Hypotheses that come through successfully become theories and then eventually, facts. This is how science gets done. It does not matter what people's opinion on the matters of science is. Gravity cannot be understood by consensus. The theory of evolution is not sanctioned based on a vote.
A very good article with a deep insight. As a person I fully support your views about raising standard of living of masses and overall progress on a intellectual level. We need to develop intellect rather than just increasing the literacy.Kudos to your ideas and efforts.
Excellent article with some good insights, which might ring bells for some and some not.
Welcoming this speech for its stressing the right priorities, giving relevant
background, I wish that Justice Mr. Katju had spoken more emphatically on human
rights and on curbing the mounting political abuses like brazen corruption.
Really well researched , interesting article. throwing light on past glory of India and how we have forgotten all this and left with problems like poverty, superstitions ,casteism etc. we should make true efforts for science,democracy,livilihood and unity of India.
Stimulating article by Justice Markanedeya Katju. Yes, we need more democracy and not less. It is shortsighted on the part of some to ascribe to our democracy for some of the ills we suffer from, viz. good governance, tough administration and timely construction of projects. The ills are elsewhere and not in democracy. What we practice is an ‘engineered democracy’ that suits the rich and powerful. As for livelihood, if the planners and administrators put in a machinery to impart technical or skills education to our downtrodden, especially in the rural areas; this will at once improve their earning capacity. As for unity, what we preach we must practice, especially the ruling classes. There are distant areas like the North east which have not been physically integrated with mainland India by effective and quick transport, rail road and air. These projects should be attempted.
Largely superficial though, the author delivers some passion. There is a disbelief in most of us that we too can perform and live improved lives, thus plotting self-goals more often. We also look for thought leadership from outside. We speak English and work in English to connect to a more prosperous world. An example of this is in the legal system where justice is dispensed without complete participation. Therefore we are not sure if we can protect ourselves at all. We have our fundamentals wrong. While democracy sounds like a good option it will coexist with all other mechanisms in reality, even subdued where the society is classy and stratified.
I request and wish that each and every Politician must read "The Hindu Editorial" daily.Amazing article yet again.Thanks a lot to "The Hindu" and Justice Markandey Katju(Real Hero).
First, It may be true that science can solve the problems India (or the world) faces, but unfortunately it does not solve all, as the author rightly points out, “In the recent period, the rich have become richer, and the rich-poor divide has increased”. This is because science and the knowledge that it imparts help only a few. Second, it may true that science makes “our lives better and happier”, but I do not completely agree with the view that “without science we will be living precarious, wretched lives”, because, after all, ‘better and happier’ depend on how one looks at them, and also how one perceives what is science and what is not. Third, the problems, for me, are found in our mindset which is always after power – power of different kinds in our daily lives as well as through established structures. The author rightly points out that “The mindset steeped in casteism, communalism and superstition must (emphasis added) change”, but my question is how science actually helps in changing this mindset?
Dr. Katju. J , a jurist of repute and the current chairman of the press council of India has through this address proved that he is also a scientist, apart from being a legal luminary, and his views require deep Consideration by those in corridors of power and by all sections of society. The distinguished jurist has enlarged on the concepts contained in Sun Yat Sen's San Mine Doctrine. The Chinese thinker dealt on nationalism, democracy and livelihood of people then and the stress now is on science. India has made rapid strides in the recent past. But at the same time, according to recent surveys, more than forty percent of the population in India are facing heart burning problems and the present prime minister himself considers this as a National Shame. Let us march forward through the pathway shown by the great Jurist to help those in the lowest strata of society in india.
Tennessee, America.
i think we giving more importance to some unwanted believes ..and we placing science only after these believes ,for eg;before launching rocket we looking muhoortham and breaking coconut....that means we giving more importance to these believes more than science.
I was keen to read the article with a misconception that what might be his(Mr.Markandeya Katju)views about civil society-Four People.God.It was an eye opener.Thanks to THE HINDU for this edited version
The speech of Sri Markandey Katju has really given food for thought in a lucid manner. His principles- science, democracy,equality and unity are what we need. The negligence of scientific thinking and social sciences has to go. Democracy is rooted in Indian ethos and the the standard of life has to be risen to decent level unto the last. Unity has to be promoted on the basis of equal respect to all religions . The spiritual legacy of India which can come from various religions can be grasped in its fullness so that we don't succumb to the extravagant and 'devil take the hindmost' lifestyle of other nations as the model to follow.
So India's contribution to science is ZERO! Right?
A very educative article. Every political leader should read this. A thinker of such in-depth understanding of India ought to become the President of India next.
Science & technology have two faces. When science & technology form part of meeting the greed of few it is hazardous. It is what is happening now in every field unlike the examples cited by the author which are the other side of science & technology. We are following green revolution technology. This is creating more problems and to solve them creating more employments. But on the contrary the traditional system is free from ill effects and yet provide more jobs as well keep the environment clean. Though the author has chosen correct topic but he looked in to it rather one sided.
I broadly agree with the author. However, rather than dwelling on India's rich heritage, which is well known, the author can be more explicit about how he can use science to improve living standards of people in India. Secondly can he be more accurate about India's socio economic
statistics. A sweeping statement such as 80% of India is poor is not accurate and does not befit a centre page article in The Hindu.
One of our highly respected Judges is Markendy Katju. He advocates the caste system should be removed. How many of us will agree with that?. How many of scientists, research professors will agree with his proposal that the research should focus on poverty eradication. How much our great scientist CNR.Rao has contributed to poverty eradication?. I salute Katju Sir for your bold and open speach.
A very timely wakeup call given by Justice Katju highlighting the social ills resulting from the highly polarized socio-economic state in India. On this same day the PM has regrettably revealed a shocking figure of malnourishment prevailing among 42% of the children under 5 years of age. Additionally, the cruel reality of nearly a quarter of a million of farmers have committed suicide in the last fifteen years is a pointer to the faulty agricultural policies; ironically, many of these states where such tragic incidences have occurred are in the top tier of the economically advanced states. Though Justice Katju’s figure of 80% people living in dire stressful situation may sound slightly better than the 99% of the disadvantaged people in the US as claimed by the ‘Occupy Wall street’ protesters; the chronic social problem seems to have a firm grip the world over. Could the solution be ‘altruism’, a trait even followed by tens of thousands of bacteria inhabiting the human gut?
These days Mr. Markandey Katju is in lime light for many reasons, be it with constructive criticism or controversial opinions. It’s a new era where media has got bigger role to play and he is opening those doors to millions of Indians who are deprived to taste the real value of democracy. The state of India is no better than a Banana Republic now which is totally into few plutocratic people and institutions which have vested interests in a few and exploit every possible loop hole in the constitution and justice to find their interests being met. As quoted by Mr. Katju "The problem in India is not that there is too much democracy but too little" is always a scary thought to imagine as with such a thing of too little democracy in India now we are going through such a huge pain and agony don't see any relief if we are given more democracy when the very people doesn't know what to do if they are given more money or freedom or democracy. Definitely Science would help a lot in this endeavor.
Science is that knowledge by which we understand nature, STOP, can be very enlightening. But the rest of the sentence 'and harness it for our benefit' leads to 'committed science' - a potent tool in the hands of the wielder, which leads to the other ailments of modern society. Democracy comes in various garbs, and the current Indian one may not be said to exemplify the principle. Democratic science would enrich both - democracy and science; and lead to the preservation of livelihoods and the creation of new ones. That should lead to the unity of people, flowing from the 'happiness' generated. The article starts on the wrong foot and disappoints throughout. It subtly divides the Indian people into a 'know-all' class and the 'ignorant masses' with all the noble ideas/ideals invested in the former - a thoroughly undemocratic idea. Most unexpected tone from such a person of eminence and position of power.
I cannot believe Hindu published this.
I am a big fan of Mr. Katju... But I beg to differ on this topic. If Science was the solution for 'many' problems that India faces, than I believe the developed countries would not face problems that they face today (no I am not just referring to economic problems but other wise)... For me the best solution is to teach modesty and pricipled life coupled with a better understanding of the nature which is the source for our lives. If I believe in God (which I do) I think HE made this world with enough to sustain everything living around us and for us. We did not learn this lesson well to face issues we are facing today.
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