LJA:
Quest for Civilization?
(Discriminating
between True & False of Life)
Lalit
K Kaul
The
Truth of life may be death or easing in to another unknown form of
life; the end point boundary condition for dynamics of life may or
may not be free (unknown Truth), but in reaching that end point
whether the life has been true or false is of utmost importance.
Whatever
is found in Nature is bio degradable so that whatever is born out of
it finally merges in to it in consonance with decay of matter and its
assimilation by the very creator. The whole system is so well
designed that it does not perpetuate a problem creation-solution
finding circle. It is complete in itself sustaining innumerable
species of fauna and flora, in addition to providing resources for
human ‘civilizations’ since times unknown. The circle of emerging
from and merging in to same Whole is flawless.
On
the contrary, the contemporary human civilization revels in problem
creation-solution finding circle; creates monsters that cannot be
easily dispensed with; challenges decay of matter; is perpetually
engaged in creating oligarchies that incessantly seek to arrogate all
the resources/power on to itself to posit a single dimensional system
on the entire humanity- be it in the sphere of politics, economics,
education, art, science, and culture etc. etc. The modern societies
have become like pre programmed robots that obey and implement game
plan of various oligarchies. There is no reason to question the
authenticity of their scientific claims and their inquisitiveness to
uncover ‘Truth’, but what is unquestionably objectionable is that
the whole premise of modern civilization is based on total
exploitation of human societies that are essentially heterogeneous in
character, but are being ruthlessly homogenized. This exploitation is
so visible to naked eyes that this fact and truth is beyond debate.
While the ‘Truth’ may or may not be uncovered one day, the
dynamics of life in the mean time is being robbed of its truth with
its existence being dictated to be ‘False’.
The
God and the Electron:
The
Nature and the entire universe is the expression of some unknown
emotion regulated by its own laws defined by some unknown
intelligence. If it is just a ‘coincidence’ yet it is the most
fascinating and enchanting combination of that emotion and
intelligence that is still as unfathomable as it was at its
inception.
In its scheme of things, ‘Time’ is ever continuous entity; not
discrete and therefore any event dependent on it cannot be
manipulated; therefore occurrence of various events in the universe
cannot be manipulated by itself.
The Nature and the universe is a heterogeneous entity; even if the
occurrences within it are of random nature, yet they seem to have
some kind of correlation between them making it ever sustainable and
regenerative. In
spite of the quantum of ‘violence’ imbibed within it, all species
within it have their own defense mechanisms. Life exists in
innumerable forms with each one having the freedom to sustain their
lives even as death is inevitable. Life is ‘True’.
This is the civilization as ordained by whatever created this most
intricate, intelligent and awe inspiring system. For whatever may be
the cause/reason/intelligence for its creation; I take this liberty
to name it as ‘God’. L
J A aspire post modern civilization to be like this?
Man
is only a miniscule part of this system supposedly with highest level
of intellectual capacity (comprehension) from among the innumerable
species found in the universe. The architect of contemporary ‘modern
civilization’/ robotic civilization; annihilator of pre modern
civilizations; annihilator of Time and matter, and a great
homogenizer having succeeded in creating a system that is the
anti-thesis of ‘God’s’ civilization. The
atomization of matter (birth of Electron) followed by discretization
of Time and Space accrued to Man limitless manipulative capability
that enabled him to disfigure any natural form and create his own
desired form.
Colonization is its premise and weapons of mass destruction the means
to sustain it. Its creations have been essentially inefficient
systems, predatory in character whose emergence have created all
kinds of disorders and imbalances in ‘God’s’ civilization and
yet are being flaunted as ‘science’ and ‘technological’
marvels. The robots in the system are intoxicated with the unlimited
availability of electronic gadgets for ‘comforts of life’, even
while the life itself is on the verge of becoming inanimate. The
‘haves’ continue to have it in plenty bordering hedonism while
the ‘have-nots’ are continued to be deprived in plenty.
The
‘haves’ unquestionably believe in the existence of Electron as if
they had seen it with their own eyes; the ‘have-nots’ believe as
much in God as if they had seen HIM/HER/IT with their own eyes. One
is deeply entrenched in ‘robotic civilization’ the other aspires
to be in the lap of ‘God’s’ civilization.
The
Limitation and the Victim:
The
limitation of the premise of technology driven civilization is that
it cannot accommodate entire Indian population in its scheme of
things to afford them a kind of living that is availed by a very
miniscule percentage of the whole populace, the victim is
Lokavidhyadhar Samaj. Therefore the yardstick like BPL and the
schemes like minimum wages/ employment are institutionalized not so
much out their concern for the left-outs as for buying
peace/stability to ensure uninhibited growth of the economies of the
extant civilization. Since ‘growth & development’ has become
synonym with building concrete jungles, ever spiraling real estate
prices, and rise in BSE index; therefore augmentation of
infrastructures to ensure transfer of Natural resources (wealth) to
sustain it has acquired top most priority. It also ensures faster
transit for labour from Lokavidhyadhar Samaj to within its fold.
Employment of labour is also a political requirement otherwise the
entire ‘development’ works can be easily automated to win
accolades for ‘better economic sense’ since the profits would be
maximized.
The
entry points for labour from Lokavidhyadhar Samaj are slums and
therefore they are allowed to come up and exist thereafter post
regularization. Slums are seen as a gateway to better life (this
perception being shared on both sides of the divide) for the
generation next of the Lokavidhyadhar Samaj, the concomitant growth
in crime rates notwithstanding. Ironically, higher crime rates also
propel higher ‘growth’ rates because to tackle crime ‘law and
order’ machinery is that much more strengthened what with more
import of sophisticated arms and ammunitions to be nearly (if not
completely) balanced out with more engineered exports- be it raw
materials, finished goods, textiles, agricultural produce, etc.- by
facilitating rupee devaluation.
The
Divide:
The
divide is civilization based; centralized over de-centralized concept
of what all encompasses human endeavour; machine over man; automation
over employment of millions of human brains and hands; concentrated
intelligence over distributed mass intelligence; power to subjugate
over power to self rule.
Is
the as now vanquished civilization trying to re-emerge by re-grouping
itself through Lokavidya Jan Andolan (L J A) or is it about
extracting more favours from its adversary?
It may be necessary to address to this question as that alone will
decide what shape L J A takes in times to come. If the endeavour is
to visualize (envision) post-modern civilization then LJA is bound to
question many (or all) assertions (foundations) of modern
civilization.
In
my opinion the most important and profusely relevant subject for
debate – if we are to question modern dispensation- is whether
State’s interests should have precedence over those of
individual/community/societies or should it be other way round? What
kind of education, life, and property one envisages when
terminologies like ‘Right to Education’, ‘Right to Life’, and
‘Right to Property’ etc. are glorified? ‘Right
to Equality’, we are told is enshrined in our Constitution; in the
context of such glaring disparities in our societies, of what
relevance is the very Constitution on which is founded the Indian
State, is a moot point to deliberate upon.
More
importantly, population size cannot be made a scapegoat for gross
inequalities that we witness in our land. That we are a densely
populated nation, is a comparative statement; even as we are
populated in whatever numbers we are, it is the duty of the state to
either institutionalize such mechanisms that are capable of gainfully
employing people or create opportunities wherein people employ
themselves gainfully. Our
Constitution has not put any limit on the population size that it is
not applicable to populace outside that limit.
Moreover those who talk of population size conveniently forget that
they too have contributed to its numbers!
Right
to Profession:
L J A
can perhaps articulate its demand for ‘Right to Profession’; that
is, one should be free to choose one’s profession. The professions
like doing agriculture, weaving, spinning, cloth making and others
like carpentry, etc. have been and continue to be family based,
therefore they should be encouraged to continue in the family
profession by providing for continuous up-gradation of associated
infrastructures so that over a period of time their professions
become viable enabling them to compete in the market; encouragement
should be on the similar basis as has been going on for setting up of
industries.
‘Right
to Land’ without ‘Right to viable Agriculture’ does not make
much of the sense because the land hawks are ever ready to grab the
land what with lack of resources having made the land unproductive.
If paucity of irrigation facilities has made a piece of land
unproductive then these need to be provided by the State as the input
in a similar fashion as it does for the industrialists. If the land
by virtue of its ingredients cannot be made viable for agriculture
such need to be excluded from “Right to Land’ slogan.
If
one moves through areas like Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurgoan, and
Faridabad, one comes across multiple monstrous sized multi storey
housing apartments/ complexes that can easily house hundreds of
moderate size villages. These housing monsters cannot survive without
uninterrupted water supply. Therefore underground water sources in
addition to river waters are provided for their consumption. This
must be easily adding to a requirement of lacs & lacs of gallons
of water per day consumed in the state-of-the-art bathrooms and
kitchens. While the water was made available for ‘economic growth’,
same was declared to be insufficient/ unavailable for agricultural
purposes. If the owner of tillable land does not have resources to do
agriculture he becomes a pawn in the hands of exploiters and loses
his source of employment only to become a labourer. Thus an
opportunity to choose his profession is denied to him and thereby all
his energies, intellect, and decision making capabilities are
brutally suppressed only to live a false life regulated by some
unknown face.
How,
where, and under what circumstances can populace of Lokavidhyadhar
Samaj invest (empower) their talents; this question needs to be
addressed to. It is sheer hunger that creates migrant labourers, it
will continue until alternatives emerge; in the mean time, though,
Lokavidhyadhar Samaj need to work towards an alternative set up in
which their talents can find full expression. Search
for an alternative set up can gain momentum only if the Samaj remains
convinced that within modern dispensation it has no salvation, else
it remains a false hope.
Call
for planned infrastructure build up for farmers and karigar Samaj, by
allocating meaningful funds in every Five Year Plan can perhaps be
one of the important issues for L J A; combined with the resolve to
reconstruct rural markets for their produce may turn out to be very
powerful expression of their united opposition to the extant
exploitative machinery.
Lalit Kaul
