The Hindu Business Line : India’s unique coinages

At one time, the then President of the Soviet Union enriched the world’s lexicon by phrases such as glasnost (openness, transparency) and perestroika (reforms).

The Japanese too put a new sheen on management concepts with kanban (just-in-time), bakayoke (defect-free), nihon kabushiki kaisha (harmonious fusion of government and business), hohitsu (decision-making in synerg istic relationship with political parties, bureaucracy and the military), michi (the way, like dharma, by which one does justice to one’s avocation, not merely by systems and procedures, but by knowing oneself through wisdom and introspection) and kyosei (spirit of cooperation) having its roots in shuchu kiyaku stipulating that the goals of trade and business are not just for one’s own benefit but for the good of all mankind, which is almost a translation of India’s Sanskrit motto, lokaa samastha sukhino bhavanthu!

Strangely, to my best recollection, China which has had such an impact on the world with the long strides it has been making and comes up for mention as an economic giant in most forums has gifted little to the world’s repertoire other than Mao’s “let hundred flowers bloom, let hundred thoughts contend”, the three Chinese monkeys and the Chinese water torture!

In this background, India can take credit for a number of unique coinages which date back to the freedom struggle and are now widely known and commonly accepted.

Of these, Mahatma Gandhi clearly holds the patent for ahimsa, satyagraha, non-violent non-cooperation, civil disobedience and hunger strike.

Hartal (total shutdown of all activities in the public domain) is also India’s brainchild. Aaraam haraam hai! (Idleness is sinful) of Jawaharlal Nehru long held the field as the nation’s taraka mantra. Only India dishes out for the asking the alphabet soup of SCs (scheduled castes), STs (scheduled tribes), BCs (mackward classes), MBCs (most backward classes) and OBCs (other backward classes).

There has been a richer crop of India’s very own concoctions in the last few decades beginning with Indira Gandhi’s Garibi hatao (banish poverty) and V. P. Singh’s mandalisation.

Of course, mamool (payment of bribes as per rates prescribed by public functionaries) has been part of India’s culture for as long as one can remember; some point out with pride that even Chanakya’s Arthashastra makes a reference to it!

Glossary

The following glossary will testify to the inventiveness of the Indian mind:

President’s Rule: Something encountered in no other democratic country. This describes the presumed tendency on the part of the electorate to throw out of power the ruling party or coalition to give a chance to a new dispensation.

However, where the electorate is impressed by the sincerity and effectiveness of the incumbent government in delivering the goods, this trait does not come into play.

Coalition dharma: Every partner in a coalition or supporting a government from the outside is expected to conform to a code of conduct based on a minimum common programme. The words in bold italics are also peculiar to the Indian context.

Creamy layer: A delightfully felicitous coinage denoting the better off sections of SCs, STs, BCs, MBCs and OBCs.

Criminalisation of politics: With one-third or more of members of legislatures having criminal antecedents, the connotation is obvious. Only, it has progressed to criminalisation of cabinets now.

Vote bank: This is another delectable outgrowth of India’s electoral politics, pointing to the ability of particular political parties to draw on the blind support of particular castes, communities, groups or segments of the voters.

Pseudo-secularism signifies the propensity to condemn the assertion of its religious identity by the majority and extol the minority for doing the same.

Trans-border terrorism: A special variety of terrorism experienced only by India and, therefore, deserving of special treatment in the literature on the subject.

B. S. RAGHAVAN