The Hindu Business Line : Whither science and secularism?

When this column had visited the subject of the Ram Sethu project last week, it ended by saying that the truth about the existence of mythological and religious figures can never be made the subject of rational debate or proved in a court of man-made law. The reasons are only too obvious. Even on the basic traits of the individual personalities (such as Rama or Siva or Ganesa) and facts of the traditional narrative, vastly different perceptions exist among the various sect s and communities. Thus, we have divergent versions of almost every puranic tale; and the ceremonies and sacred days of the Hindu calendar are observed at different times and in diverse ways in the various regions of the country.

Spread of education vital

Against all this must be set the fact that it was the intention of the makers of the new Republic to make India a scientific, secular and socialist state. The principal enthusiast for these values was Jawaharlal Nehru, whom the Mahatma himself handed the baton of leadership. To Nehru, the spread of education, and along with it the scientific temper, could lead us to a preference for logical discussion and rationalist thought, rather than trading preconceptions and prior beliefs. Of course, India has a way of dealing with any force that seems to go counter to the essentially conservative streak that runs deep down in all of us. So, we have neutralised the principles by reducing them to the level of slogans. There is little attempt at introducing any of the principles. The successive governments at the Centre, which took over after the departure of Nehru, continued with the socialistic pattern only in one dimension, namely the stranglehold of the bureaucracy and the licensing procedure over the economy. An unwieldy and often unprofitable public sector grew, intruding into almost every sphere of industry.

Nehruvian design forgotten

We have completely forgotten the comprehensive and internally consistent feature of the Nehruvian design. Decentralisation of power was his major theme: Power to Panchayats was a major element of his dreams, as was the development of the co-operative sector in industry, and the community as a focus of development. Every one of these has been ditched unceremoniously by a series of moves, although some politicians pay them lip service from time to time. In many states, Panchayat and local government institutions — as well as co-operatives — have either been superseded or made ineffective or subordinate to the larger political parties. Integrated rural development continues to languish. Only the speeches about inclusive growth and providing urban amenities to the rural areas continue to be strident. So, what remained intact of the original Congress manifesto, so to speak, till the early 1990s was only the large public sector and the licence raj. Now that too has been officially dismantled, however in patches.

The secular claims ring hollow to anyone who actually sees the way the parties run their own affairs. Secularism seems to lead only to creation of more special interest groups and more quotas and reservations. The attempt by the current coalition, led by the Congress, to run with the Left and hunt with the other more openly regional parties is a last attempt to retain a semblance of the rationalist and socialist veneer. This too is becoming rapidly worn out and dull. It is no wonder that there is absolutely no difference between one coalition and another. And the thinking citizen cannot but be weary of the talk of one more early election.

S. RAMACHANDER

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