Shiban Khaibri
” …The past doesn’t define you , your present does.
It is okay to create a vision of the future because it affects your behaviour in the ”now”, but don’t dwell upon past mistakes .
Learn from them and focus those lessons in the ”moment”. That is where change can really happen….”
India desperately needs on recurring basis a change, a reform, an innovative step , a bold breakthrough, a stupendous courage to make a decision , a vision of transformation and possibly one more leapfrog taken to result in a departure from obsolete and dormant procedures . The intention, however, should be impeccably and virtuously for the betterment of the country only , its economy, its defence preparedness , its healthcare infrastructure, its agriculture, its human resources’ development, its education , its cultural and historical glory and what not. Equally emphasis on reforms , bringing in new laws and procedures, incentivising and rewarding performance and penalising inefficiency and dereliction must never be opposed for cheap political ends. Those who intrinsically love this great country would agree that this process should have, day in and day out, the characteristics of ascension rather than the obverse if this country with a population of 32 crore of 1950 and now of 135 crore, has really to become the world’s third largest economy after the US and China by 2025, overtaking even a developed country like Japan. This largest democracy of the world , a peaceful and traditionally super tolerant nation with an enviable democratic and electoral process, unless personalities like Hamid Ansari Ji have now unfortunately otherwise to interpret and project, has absolutely no time to waste in petty and cheap political squabbles but only to work hard to keep marching ahead. Remember, in 1950 for taking care of just 32 crore with comparative more natural resources as compared to lesser ones now, 135 crore people have to be taken care of and their living standards made comfortable on a perpetual basis.
With this brief prelude, if desired changes and ”rectification” of past mistakes take place , agreeably even if slowly in this country, that should cause absolutely no problem , if not goose bumps to anyone. While unveiling a hologram statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at India Gate in Delhi marking the 125th birth anniversary of the legendary Indian hero , Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion very aptly said, “India is now correcting mistakes made in decades (even rather particularly) after independence.” He further said, “The role of our heroes whose memories were erased post independence ….. are now being revived .. it is unfortunate that along with the culture and the rites of the country , work was done to erase the contribution of many great personalities.” Mark the words …” Along with culture and rites” …which no Prime Minister so far rued about let alone muster courage in initiating corrective measures. Every true Indian must feel proud of one’s past , this country’s unique culture , values, traditions and messages of peace, humanity, tolerance , knowledge and philosophies of spiritual contentment but never let our ancient culture be compromised at the altar of pseudo secularism and latitudinarianism. Our history, rich culture and super abundant legacy cannot be counted from the period of Mughal invaders as many intellectuals have been projecting and professing .
Muslim invaders right from Mohamad Bin Qasim to Gazni to Gori to Babar etc left no stone unturned in ruthlessly trampling over and destroying such rich legacy and raced with one another in doing it mercilessly and callously followed to a larger extent in certain basics by the British . For instance, Lord Macaulay, of course, did tremendous harm to our basic education system with the origin of “Gurukul parampara” or a system of schools where students used to get comprehensive education in all areas of knowledge including spirituality, morality, self discipline, martial arts, yogic practices and imbibing of spirit of service to the suffering and the needy. This tradition had no barriers of any kind and preserving moral laws and passing the scriptural knowledge , science and mathematics etc as also rich traditions down through the generations were chief objectives of Gurukulus. The students lived near their Guru or teacher often in the same dwelling as a sort of family, away from their own families and comforts for years together. It was traditional school in India and South Asia’s main form of education which existed since Vedic age .
Macaulay ,very cunningly but craftily , attacked the very foundation of education system in India and termed as well as preached the mother of languages – the ancient great Sanskrit language – as ”useless” before English language. On the one hand, he was wonder struck in knowing elementariness’ about Holy Vedas and other scriptures in Sanskrit , on the other as a hard core missionary with evangelical ambitions, he wanted to demolish it and replace with what he wanted so that the British could subjugate Indians injecting on a sustained basis, an inferiority complex . In this connection, it would be great interest to make a mention of Macaulay ‘s address to the British Parliament on Feb2, 1835….. ,”I have travelled through length and breadth of India and have not seen one person even who is a beggar or who is a thief – such wealth is in this country , such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think that we would ever conquer this country unless we break the very backbone of this nation which is her spiritual and cultural heritage and , therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system and her culture ………… we must ensure that they leave their self esteem and their native culture and they will become what we want them , a truly dominated nation.”
True, we cannot reverse now all that Macaulay and others after him did till this country was partitioned in 1947 on communal agenda of Muslim League and supported by Mr. Gandhi, Mr. Nehru and other leaders of the Congress Party and watch it implemented fully on the other side as against this side. However, we cannot adopt now what China, Japan , Russia, France , Germany etc did to learn all new in science, technology and other fields in their own languages and ways to become powers but at least, why should our glorious culture, traditions, rites etc not be revived, is the moot question. Perhaps, it is the only country in the world where those rulers who came as invaders from foreign lands that were extremely poor , struck at the very roots and soul of this country for centuries together , still continue to be eulogised , celebrated , admired and glorified. Can it be believed that in this country , there are 704 towns and villages named after invader Mughals in which the share of Akbar is the largest, say over 251. We have as many as 63 Aurangabads named after the most ruthless, zealot and tyrant Aurangzeb but Maharana Pratap the great warrior who preferred all difficulties and troubles to subjugation of Akbar, has no place even remotely given by those rulers, politicians and authorities whose duty it was to erase the stigma of slavery , subjugation and oppression . Can we dream of any road, town or a tiny park named after Hitler in Israel, why then network of roads even in the capital of the country is continuing to be in the name of the invaders. Our rulers have been honouring our oppressors all these decades and any move now to reverse it, even sparsely rather in rarest of rare cases, is opposed tooth and nail and given the tag of ”under an agenda”, “intolerance”, “attack on idea of India”, ” implementing RSS ideology” , ”breaking India” and what not. That Mr. Nehru , the first Prime Minister of this country vehemently opposed renovation with some government funds of Shree Somnath Temple in Gujarat which invader looter of Gazani ransacked and looted several times and finally demolished it being a living scar of humiliation and subjugation, not only is embodiment of a particular mindset but an avowed implementation of one sided and flawed secularism . He even had opposed the decision of the then President Rajendra Prasad, who had written to Nehru on Marh 10, 1951 about his inaugurating the Somnath temple which was rebuilt with the funds of devotees but Nehru vehemently opposed it, shockingly terming it as ”revivalist in character ”.
See the other side, that of our education system, how many courses or contents of syllabus , the curriculum and the like is about our ancient culture, heroism, universities and what they were teaching and how and who destroyed them. How much is taught in details about great emperors like Samudra Gupta (The Indian Napolean), Chandra Gupta Marya, Vikarmaditya and all about the 300 hundred year golden era of Gupta Dynasty. Where is the treatise of Arth Sashtra and research about the philosophy of the great thinkers like Katulya or Chanakya? Why is the Alexander the great of India – Maharaja Lalitaditya Mukdaped of Kashmir- the great conqueror , great builder and lover of art , philosophy and literature -not taught in educational institutions? Why is the world famous Martand sun temple of Kashmir not made known widely about its superb architecture and design and more importantly, how such a fine piece of workmanship was mercilessly destroyed. The small list is illustrative not exhaustive.
The present day Government must be appreciated and encouraged in trying to give some amount of due to forgotten Indian heroes and iconic figures like Netaji , those 65 thousand soldiers of Aazad Hind Fauj who gave their precious lives fighting the British and not keep parroting that we got independence from the British “Bena Khadag Bina Dhaal” and by the ”efforts” of a few select leaders. It is , therefore, nice that past mistakes are tried to be rectified now but it must be ensured that in this continuous process, no goofs took place innocently or deliberately , least under a gawkish or unsavoury criticism from any quarter.
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