Sanatana Dharma Gave Education To All; DMK Perpetuates Colonial Lies

 

Besides calling for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma during the infamous Chennai conference on Sept. 2, Tamil Nadu Sports Minister Udyanadhi Stalin stated that the policy of Sanatana is that we (meaning the non-Brahmin castes) should not study. Last month during the convocation function of a college in Thoothukudi district, TN Assembly Speaker Appavu noted that during the earlier periods only seven percent people could study in India.

The same Appavu while speaking in a Catholic institution in Trichy during June 2022, stated that it was the Christian missionaries who made education available to all; they also brought social justice and the Dravidian movement is an extension of their work. He had also noted that the Catholic missionaries are the main reason for the growth of Tamil Nadu; it was they who laid the foundation for the state; but for the Catholic missionaries, Tamil Nadu would have been a state like Bihar. Later when questions were raised about his speech, he explained that he only spoke the ‘history’.

Similar statements by different leaders of Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), the movement founded by the late EVR and the DMK are common in Tamil Nadu over the past several decades. After all, DMK was born out of DK in 1949. Whenever the DMK comes to power in the state such statements become more frequent. But this time there is all- out attack against the indigenous education system, particularly after the introduction of National Education Policy.   

The main reason for the DMK leaders to speak along the above lines is to emphasize that those belonging to no-Brahmin castes were denied of education during the earlier centuries by the Brahmins, who dominated the system.  Besides, they also try to perpetuate the impression that the process of giving education to all was initiated only by the British.

The impression that education was not given to all the Indians before the arrival of the British was a false narrative created by the colonial rulers and the missionaries to subjugate us. Till today the DK, DMK and the leftists have been parroting their views to obliterate our history and divide the communities. Unfortunately, majority of the educated people themselves are not aware of the facts, as the education system dominated by the Congress- leftist and the DMK eco-system in Tamil Nadu do not allow people to know the true history.   

But what is the truth? Bharat was a pioneer in education and had always been known for her superior education since the ancient periods. We all know that the first university in the world was established by our forefathers about 2700 years earlier. Nalanda university was considered Asia’s premium university, as students   from our neighboring countries including China got their education here. There were several other universities over the centuries.

The first book on medicine and surgery was written here around 2600 years ago. Chanakya wrote his Arthashashtra, the first book on politics and economics around 2300 years before. There have been outputs of the highest intellectual order over several centuries continuously in diverse fields. As for the Tamil region, the great saint Thiruvalluvar wrote Thirukkural around 2100 years ago. For several centuries continuously since the Sangam age (600 BCE -300 CE) and   before, there have been continuous literary and spiritual works of the highest order in Tamil. The authors of these works were from different backgrounds, including women.

There were women who devoted their lives completely for intellectual pursuits since the earliest periods. Intellectual giants such as Gargi and Maitreyi contributed to the Vedas. In Tamil Nadu, Avvaiyar who lived during the Sanagam age contributed more than fifty verses to Puranaanooru. The one who wrote Thriuppaavai that is sung in all the Vaishavaite temple across the world, was the eighth century Tamil woman - saint Aandal.  

How could Bharat, including Tamil Nadu and other regions, could have had great scholars making seminal contributions in diverse fields without a well-developed native education system in place during the ancient periods?

While addressing the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London in 1931, Mahatma Gandhi stated that the literacy had declined in India during the 50-100 before and said the Britishers were responsible for it, thus paving way for the “beautiful tree” of indigenous education to perish.  He was challenged to provide details, but he did not have the time to study the issue in detail. Later the noted Gandhian Dharampal took upon himself the responsibility of studying the Indian education system from the British documents and the archival materials. He published his work under the title “The Beautiful Tree – Indigenous Indian Education In The Eighteenth Century.”

The details for his work were from the British surveys, documents and British - Indian Govt. sources. They include the Surveys of Indigenous Education made by the British administrators in the then Madras Presidency during 1822-25 and   in the Bombay Presidency during 1820s, Report by a former missionary William Adam on the districts of Bengal and Bihar during 1835-38 and a later work by G.W. Leitner relating to Punjab.

The facts completely nail the false criticisms being levelled against the Bharatiya education system by the DMK and their associates. Let us take three major issues raised by them one by one and focus on Tamil Nadu, which is at the centre of discussion. Here we have to remember that even before the periods of the said surveys, the decay of the Indian education had started due to the British policies and hence the conclusions derived here relate to the periods during which India was facing difficulties. British officials themselves admit that the indigenous education system during the earlier periods was much better.  

The first major issue is the allegation that the education system during the earlier centuries was poor and hence education was not widespread. But what are the facts?  Thomas Munroe, who was the Governor General of the Madras Presidency from 1820 noted that in the areas under his Presidency “every village had a school.” Similarly, in the then Bengal and Bihar regions, W. Adam concluded that every village had at least one school and “there will still be 1,00,000 villages that have these schools.” He also mentioned that there were around 100 institutes of higher learning in in each district of Bengal, thus taking the total to 1800 for Bengal.   

In the same manner, officials of the Bombay Presidency who studied parts of it noted that “there is hardly a village, great or small, throughout our territories, in which there is not at least one school, and in larger villages more.” Later the observations made by G.W.Leitner showed that the spread of education was of a similar extent in Punjab. Thus the Survey Reports prepared by the British officers in different parts of the country at the district levels show that almost every village had a school, financially supported by the villagers themselves.

While writing about in the Malabar region of Kerala, Peter Della Valle wrote in 1823 that no people appreciate the importance of education more than the Hindus. Thus even after repeated invasions by the aliens and the disturbances being caused by the Europeans, the literacy levels were reported to be very high even during the early nineteenth century. Author Makkhan Lal notes: “In the contemporary world, no other country had such a high percentage of literate population”

The second issue is a serious criticism. DMK and associates have been repeatedly emphasizing that education was available only for the Brahmins, while denying the same to all others, particularly those from the backward, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities.

What are the facts? When we take the areas under the present Tamil Nadu state, the school students from the non-Brahmin castes in different districts were the most dominant, averaging between 78 percent to 90 percent. The share of Brahmin students varied between 8.6 percent to 22 percent, averaging around 13 percent for the state.

The number of students from the Sutra and other castes (apart from the then Forward Castes) in districts averaged between about 70 percent to 84 percent. The students from the Sutra families alone averaged more than 70 percent in districts such as the then Coimbatore, Trichy, South Arcot and Chengalpattu. The number of Muslim students averaged between 2.4 percent and 10 percent.  So where is the question of education being controlled by the Brahmins and denied to all other castes?

The third point noted by the vested interests is that it was the Britishers (Christians - to use the words of Appavu ) who brought education to India and there was nothing much here earlier. Again let us see the facts. Even during the early eighteenth century, school education was not available to all in Britain. Dharampal notes that “School education, especially at the people’s level was rather an ‘uncommon commodity’ in Britain.”  Even that education was limited to a few and confined to one to three hours per day. Details show that during the turn of the nineteenth century even the number of schools in England was less, about half of the schools in the Madras Presidency.

So, when school education was not available to most of the people in Britain, what expertise did they have to come here and give education to us? In fact, the reality is the opposite. Many of the Britishers themselves acknowledged that they had introduced the education system that prevailed in India for centuries in their country after learning from us.

In this connection, it is relevant to note that while the indigenous Indian education system was getting decayed, the number of schools and students enrolled were increasing in Britain. W.Adam, Leitner  and many of the district collectors in Madras Presidency have clearly mentioned that the Britishers were responsible for the death of the indigenous Indian education system.

The British systematically destroyed the indigenous education by removing all the support systems and income sources to the institutions. In 1835, the Macaulay system of education was introduced. As a result, the native education system underwent a sea-change. Education became costly and was thus denied to all. By 1891, the records show that the literacy rate was just 6.1 percent.  In a period of  six decades, the indigenous education system that flourished in Bharat over several centuries got completely collapsed.   

The Srilankan - born historian and expert on India, Ananda Coomaraswamy noted that the ‘alien and rootless’ education system introduced by the British ‘destroyed the social balance in which, traditionally, persons from all sections of the society appear to have been able to receive fairly competent schooling.’ Well-known American author Will Durant observed in 1930: “Only 7 percent of the boys and 1.5 percent of the girls receive schooling” with school goers averaging just 4 percent. He noted that by then the schools were extracting high fees, making it difficult for most to get education. 

The above details clearly reveal that the indigenous education system was widespread across India giving opportunities to all the sections of people to learn, including the so-called Sutra and other castes. Besides, the details prove that it was the British who destroyed the Bharatiya education system, even while making improvements to their school education in Britain.

So the criticisms being levelled against Sanatana Dharma is completely unfounded. Clearly this is another colonial-missionary narrative kept alive by the DMK to tarnish the image of our Dharma and Tamil culture. At least now, the DMK and associates should try to learn the true history of Bharat and Tamil Nadu and refrain from levelling baseless charges against Hindu Dharma. Otherwise, they will be thrown into the dustbin of history much sooner than their expiry periods.

(Prof. P.Kanagasabapathi is Vice President, TN BJP)

(Organiser, Sept 17,2023)

Charak Shapath Row : DMK’s Pathological Hinduphobia

 

On April 30th, the first year medical students of the state-run Madurai Medical College took the Maharishi Charaka oath suggested by the National Medical Council, during their inaugural function. The Finance Minister of TN Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, who was present at the function, objected to it and asked why the students were taking Charaka oath, instead of the Hippocratic oath.  

Immediately it became a hot issue in the state with the DMK, the pseudo-secular parties and the fringe groups accusing the central Government of ‘imposing Sankrit’ and criticizing Maharishi Charaka taking a few lines from his text out of context. The very next day, on May 1, the state Govt. removed the Dean of the Madurai Medical College and kept him on the compulsory waiting list without giving any post. It also ordered a departmental enquiry against him. Further the TN Govt. directed all the medical colleges in the state to use only the Hippocratic oath hereafter.

The Charaka oath taken by the Madurai students was not in Sanskrit; it was the English translation. Besides, it was the decision of the students.  But the DMK is not bothered. It is enough for them that it was taken from a book written in Sanskrit around 1900 years back. The state Health Minister later reasoned that now the central Govt. would justify that the oath is only in English, but later they would use it for imposing Sanskrit. Hence TN should be careful and not allow this oath now.

In fact, only now the DMK Govt. has come to know that students from three other medical colleges in the state had already taken Charaka oath earlier. So the health minister has announced that the Govt. has initiated action against those colleges also.

TN Govt. is so ignorant that the Charaka oath was suggested by the National Medical Council during Feb 2022. Later the Union Health Minister had clarified in the Parliament that the Charaka oath is not compulsory and it is only optional. Hence it was left to the concerned states to take the decision.

In fact, Charaka oath has been in practice in the medical institutions even before National Medical Council suggested it recently.  A former Director of the AIIMS, Delhi, one of the premier medical institutions in the country, has said it was in use in AIIMS even before 2013. It is  reported that around 150 medical colleges in the country are already using the Charaka oath.

The state health minister has noted that the Hippocratic oath is being used across the world. Unfortunately, he does not know the original version of the oath underwent many changes in different countries over the years. In fact, most of the scholars do not attribute the oath to Hippocrates himself.

Hence he may not be aware that many countries have already developed their own oaths and now there is no universally accepted oath. The US, the British and several other countries have their own oaths. As early as 1949, the World Medical Association had adopted an international code of medical ethics.

Besides, experts note that Charaka oath is more suitable for the students entering the medical colleges, as it was written for a similar context   during the earlier centuries. Moreover, Maharishi Charaka is revered  as the father of medicine and Charaka Samhita is one of the foundational texts of ancient Indian medical system.

But for DMK, anything connected with our past, even if it is related to TN, is anathema. That is why they refuse to talk much about the Cholas, Cheras, Pandavas or Pallavas. Raja Raja, is one of the greatest rulers of India. But they don’t take pride about it. It was because they were pious, religious, established temples and nurtured Tamil culture.

Tamil is the most ancient language in the world. Tamil culture and Hinduism are deeply inter-twined. Tamil language grew over the centuries due to the contributions of the  Hindu seers, sages and their verses and texts. This is the reason why Tamil Nadu has enormous literature related to Bhakthi. In fact, the Bhakthi movement has its origins in Tamil Nadu dating back to the seventh- eighteenth centuries, before spreading to other parts of our country.

But over the last forty years the Dravidian parties have systematically removed the bhakthi literature from the school texts. The DMK has been indirectly encouraging the Christian groups to paint the well-known Thirukkural as the one connected to their ideology.  Even in the central Govt. funded Central Institute of Classical Tamil, the texts related to the Bhakathi period are forbidden for studies and research, thanks to the former Chief Minister Karunanidhi during whose period it was established.

When such is the treatment to even the ancient Tamil periods, how will they accept the greatness of India, particularly the “north India”? Hence they completely abhor Sanskrit, Hindi and anything related to the Hindu culture. They don’t know the basic fact Tamil and Sanskrit have deep connections, as the most ancient languages. They don’t even realize that even today almost all the Tamil families, including those from the Dravidian households, prefer the choicest Sanskrit names for their children.

For DMK, the history begins with the Justice Party founded in 1917, the earlier avatar of the Dravidar Kazhakam, which is the fountainhead of DMK. Dravidar Kazhakam founder EVR asked Tamilians to speak in English at home, as Tamil is a barbaric language. He also wanted Tamil Nadu to be ruled by the British from London, even if independence was given to India.

In less than a year after Stalin came to power in 2021, the Govt. has already demolished around 250 Hindu temples. During the last 45 years of rule by the Dravidian parties, temples have already lost around 50,000 acres of their lands. But the temple properties illegally occupied by the Christians have not been touched, even after the court orders.

The missionary and the jihadi activities have rapidly increased during the last few months. Conversion groups are openly targeting schools. When a Hindu girl Lavanya committed suicide in a missionary school after she was forced to convert, the DMK sided with the missionaries.

During April 2022, the DMK Govt. forcibly took over the Ayodhya Mandapam in Chennai amidst protests by the devotees. It was constructed during the 1960s and managed by Sri Ram Samaj and used for satsangs and religious gatherings. After the protests by the devotees intensified, the Chennai High Court stayed the proceedings of the state Govt.

Immediately after banning the Charaka oath from medical colleges in the state, the DMK Govt. has now banned the five centuries’ – old practice of the devotees carrying the Chief Pontiff of Dharmapuram Adheenam in a traditional procession.   Dharmapuram Adheenam ( Mutt) is a highly respected Saiva Mutt in the state.

Recently the Chief Pontiff of the ancient Madurai Mutt, has openly voiced that he was under threat from the ruling party when he took steps to collect the huge amounts of dues from the tenants occupying the Mutt properties. He noted further that he would like to meet the Prime Minister, as there is threat to his life.

Thus the actions against the Hindu faith continue in Tamil Nadu with vigor, with the DMK in power.  The Chief Minister does not even greet the citizens during the Hindu festivals, but participates eagerly in the functions of the Abrahamic religions with enthusiasm. So the Charaka oath issue is not an isolated one, it is part of the continuous agenda of   the DMK.  It is time for the Hindus in TN to join hands and raise as one voice, as the DMK is bent upon assaulting the Hindu civilization.  

(Organiser, May 11, 2022)

Striving for Indigenous Excellence

The world has been fighting the coronavirus for the last four months, with three lakh lives being lost already and the economies facing serious crisis. This period is considered as the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Hence IMF predicts that the global economic growth in 2020 would fall down to -3 percent. 

The United States is witnessing the highest number of deaths. The ‘richer’ countries of Europe have already lost thousands of lives.  The economic impact on many of these countries are severe, with the Government dependency being the only resort. The invisible virus has severely shaken their confidence.  

But Bharat presents a completely different scenario, appreciated by all across the World in its fight against COVID -19.  The death rates are very low compared to other countries, because the steps taken are bold and timely. Hence the World Health Organisation and other global bodies are showering encomiums.   

Initially when the virus set in, we were not prepared like all other countries, as it was unexpected. We did not have the Personal Protective Equipment and had to depend on imports. But within a short time, our people started making it. As a result, we now make three lakh units daily and have emerged as the second largest manufacturer in the World.

This is the Swadeshi approach leading to self-reliance. Field studies in different parts of our country over more than two decades indicate that it is this approach that has taken us thus far during the last seven decades, in spite of many difficulties. 

At the time of Independence, we were a poor and underdeveloped nation. But after seventy years now, we are among the top two fastest growing economies. London Business School had estimated that there were 85 million entrepreneurs in our country, perhaps the highest number in the World. Our performance in different fields over the years has been noteworthy. 

This is in spite of the confusions and contradictions at the policy making levels. After independence, the Nehru Government opted for the socialistic approach without wider discussions, in spite of Gandhi ji suggesting for it earlier. As a result, more than three precious decades were wasted with the neta-babu raj curtailing the initiatives of our society. Hence we were not able to solve even our basic problems. 

During the early 1990s, the ruling establishment opted for the other Western approach namely globalization, again without discussions and necessary preparations. Our critical sectors such as agriculture and the SMEs were severely hit. ‘Consumer culture’ came to dominate the minds of the affluent sections. But in spite of the wrong prescriptions at the macro level, Bharath has been moving ahead steadily but silently over the decades.

Bharat is an ancient nation with an economic history of 5000 years and more. Even when we take the last two millennia, studies by Angus Maddisson show how we were the topmost economy with one third of global output during 0 CE. Moreover, we remained at the top for several centuries continuously, proving thereby that we have had the most sustainable economic system anywhere in the World. 

Subsequently the Europeans systematically destroyed much of our systems, though we largely withstood the attacks of the invaders earlier for several centuries. But the aliens could not the kill the spirit in us. As soon as we got the political freedom, people started venturing into different activities without bothering about the state. 

Ground level studies show that the entrepreneurial initiatives started immediately during the following periods and in a few places even during the British times. Many of the traditional vocations continued and expanded wherever possible. Lack of water and regular income from agriculture forced sections of people to enter into new fields.  Hence the enterprises increased over the decades, due to the initiatives at the local levels.  

The economic development of Bharat during the past seventy years is amazing. It is largely led by the local societies with the local systems that they create with their native genius. Decades ago, when people in southern Tamil Nadu wanted to enter business, they did not have funds.  So they created a system of mobilizing funds called Mahamai by taking a pledge in front of their ‘kula devatha.’  Now they are one of the most successful business communities dominating the businesses of firecrackers and match boxes at the national level and establishing one of the most successful banks, namely Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank. 

Our people have enormous capacity to generate funds at the local levels. For much of the MSMEs, around half of the funds or more are generated locally, with the rest being supported by banks and institutions. Many of the clusters have thousands of crores worth businesses. They mobilise all their funds within the country, even while some of them export and capture the global markets.     

The entrepreneurial abilities of our ordinary sections are exemplary. Rajkot is the well-known engineering centre at the global level. They make different kinds of engineering items, including the mother machines. It was the initiative of few locals with diesel engines during the 1960s that enabled the town to emerge as a global engineering centre. Thiruchengode in Tamil Nadu, known for its rig industry, was almost controlling the business throughout the country till recently. In the recent years, they have moved to foreign countries.   

Our societies are by nature creative and have the tendency to make whatever they require using the limited resources available locally. That is how Juggad became popular and is now part of the international management dictionary. There are thousands of innovations and improvisations going on at the local levels. We have extraordinary skill sets and multiple talents. 

The Western approaches have completely failed. After the 2008 crisis, they themselves openly admit it. All the international bodies such as the United Nations and G - 20 have all accepted that there are no more ‘universal models.’ Bharath, with her superior economic history and functioning systems, has her own functioning models. 

But for a very long time our policy making circles refused to look at the Bharathiya systems and learn from them. Fortunately during the last few years, the top leadership of our country has been advocating policies based on our fundamentals. The Cabinet Resolution dated Jan 1, 2015 for constituting NITI Aayog notes: “We need to find our own strategy for growth. … It will be a Bharatiya approach to development.”  But this one idea should percolate down to different levels without delay. 

The main reason for our development over the years has been our native systems. Even in 2020, IMF predicts that Bharat will have the highest   rate of growth with 1.9 per cent ahead of China, while the advanced economies are expected to have a negative growth of -6.1 per cent. Different studies establish that the family system, saving practices, social capital, entrepreneurial capabilities, larger non-corporate sector and the self-dependent tendency in the society are our strengths, with culture remaining as the foundation of our economy.  

The Western academics acknowledge ‘a distinct Indian model’, in our corporate sector after studying the contemporary modern practices. A US team led by Peter Cappelli took up a study of the top corporates and concluded that the Indian leadership approaches are different from that of the West due to the unique nature of our economy and society. (‘Leadership Lessons from India’, Harvard Business Review, March 2010) 

It is time for us to take up initiatives to evolve a comprehensive and suitable Indian model, based on the principles of Swadeshi to lead us to self-reliance. Such a model should be based on the higher ideals of our civilization leading to the welfare of all with Antodaya as enunciated by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, as the core.  

In the meantime, we have to understand, appreciate and recognize our contemporary functioning systems which have been evolved by our societies based on their ingenuity and instincts. Many of them have proved to be performing models, with increasing number of them being recognized at the global level. It is true that there is need to improve many others so that they would be able to perform better. 

But over all these years the establishments have failed to take them into account, except during the recent few years. The academic system and the intellectuals have neglected this vital aspect that is critical to our nation. The universities have failed to study and research the working systems from the native perspectives for understanding and improving their performance. 

Hence a massive initiative – involving different sections of the society - is required to create an awareness and mobilise support for Swadeshi and Self- Reliance. This is very important for our national reconstruction and hence it is our immediate duty to act upon it. The Sangh leadership has given a call for this at the appropriate time. The Prime Minister has himself articulated this idea, emphasizing its necessity. Now this is the time for all of us to work on this, as Bharth is embarking on her onward journey to the next stage. 

( Organiser, May 24, 2020)

 

Welcoming Lakshmi: The Bharatiya Way

The Bharathiya approach to economics has always remained unique since the ancient periods. Based on her long experience and spiritual orientation towards life, the Indian approach towards economics and business has been different from that of the other countries. Though making money was necessary for business, ethical principles and value systems guided all the activities.  Rabindranatha Tagore noted: “Our Laxmi is not the Goddess of the cash balance in the bank, she is the symbol of that ideal plentitude which is never dissociated from goodness and beauty”

Evidences show that India remained the most prosperous region since the earliest periods. Recent studies by Angus Maddison reveals that India was the most powerful economy during the last two millennia, till the British started destroying our native systems. The sages and saints of our country have been emphasizing higher values and the scriptures and texts exhorted people to follow them in their day to day activities, including business.

The noted sage from South India Thiruvalluvar allotted one full chapter entitled ‘means of wealth’ in his book Thirukkural to advise people as to how the higher ideals should guide them while creating wealth. He cautioned people to avoid earning wealth through wrongful methods and underlined that wealth should be earned through ethical means.  Arthashashtra prescribed rules for fair practices in business. Business organisations and associations evolved their own codes of conduct. In the earlier days there was type of business organisation called sreni, similar to the modern-day corporations. They had sreni dharma to guide and regulate their activities.  

The foreign merchants preferred to do business with the Indians for their good character and helpful nature. In the context of western India   it was noted: “The character and conduct of traders in western India generally receive high acclaim from foreign travelers. Al Idrisi tells us that a large number of Muslim merchants visited Nahrwara ( Anahilavada) because the people of the town were ‘ noteworthy for their excellence of their justice, for keeping up their contracts, and for the beauty of their character’, and adds that the people of the region practiced truth and abhorred falsehood. Marco Polo bestows yet more generous praise on the merchants of Lata, …….. He says, ‘you must know that these Abraiaman are the best merchants in the world, and the most truthful, for they would not lie for anything on earth,’……. These observations of the foreign travelers may reflect the general ethos of the mercantile community in western India.”

The businessmen were advised to follow ethical principles not only in earning money, but also in using them. There was a moral compulsion to distribute wealth for good purposes and share it with the less privileged. It is unfortunate that the social and administrative systems that were in place were seriously disturbed by the Britishers during their period of domination.

But in spite of the severe disturbances to our native economic and models, the basic value systems still dominate the economic and business transactions, especially at the non-corporate levels. Studies conducted in different parts of the country reveal that higher features such as goodwill, faith, helping tendency, norms and fair practices remain the basis of business transactions across the country.

In the modern context, business is competitive and hence it is the duty of businessmen to eliminate competition. But the Indian reality is different. In all the business and industrial centres, entrepreneurs take pride in nurturing and developing more and more new entrepreneurs. Successful entrepreneurs encourage their relatives, friends and even employees to become entrepreneurs. In many cases, the employees request their employers to keep their weekly/monthly salaries with them so that after a few years when they promote their units, they would get a lump sum amount. Besides the ex-employees commence their businesses through the first transaction with their erstwhile owners and both of them are proud of it.

This is the situation from Surat in Gujarat to Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. As a result, entrepreneurship has been growing in India over the years through networks of relationships and the higher idea of helping acquaintances to emerge as businessmen in their lives. This attitude cuts across the narrow caste and other boundaries that define the popular public discourse of the post-independent India. Sankagiri in Tamil Nadu is the largest lorry transport centre in India. A scheduled caste person was working with a majority community lorry owner as a loyal driver. After a few years, the owner bought him a lorry as reward and made him an employer. Besides, there are many persons from diverse backgrounds engaged in businesses as owners without any difficulties. In places like the top knit wear export centre Tirupur, the businessmen come from many states of our country. 

Money is the most difficult commodity to part with. But in India, sharing money for someone promoting and doing business is very common. Studies reveal that the entrepreneurs in the business and industrial centres mobilise a major share of funds through their relatives, friends and acquaintances only.  A study among the Rajkot entrepreneurs showed that many of them mobilised their initial capital through their village connections. Thus villages contribute funds to their boys to become entrepreneurs without much personal expectations. 

World Development Report 2001, published by World Bank notes that the community practice of helping their people in times of need has helped exporters in Tirupur to compete and emerge successfully in the international markets, as they get funds at cheaper costs and not at the market rates as in the case of other countries. London Business School had estimated earlier that India has more than 85 million entrepreneurs, perhaps the largest number in the world. One of the major reasons for this is the higher idea of helping others that prevail in our society.

The value systems find demonstrations at different levels in economic and business activities. There is a company called Habasit Iakoka in Coimbatore, engaged in textile belts manufacturing. It has a unique system of encouraging family values. Apart from its annual family day, it encourages its employees who live with their parents and parents in- laws with higher monthly salaries. For those who live with their parents, a higher salary compared to others are given. For those lady employees who live with their parent-in-laws, a still higher salary is given. 

Business units operated by communities respond and rectify their mistakes when the public point out to them in the larger interests of the society, without bothering about their revenues. There is a cinema theatre in Paalamedu near Madurai in Tamil Nadu, owned by a community. At one point of time, there was a movie in which there were obscene scenes. When the viewers pointed it out, the community immediately removed the movie from the screens and appointed a committee to pre-view movies and approve only decent ones thereafter.

The higher value of helping the ordinary and the underprivileged sections remains the major objective of the corporate sector. In the western world the medical facilities are very costly that it is not possible for many to get treatment easily. But in India there are many hospitals conducting their operations with a service motive even while running their hospitals successfully. Arvind Hospitals is one of the best eye hospitals in the country applauded by the top foreign universities such as Harvard University for its efficiency.  It uses the most modern equipment available in the world and provides services at a very cheap cost compared to the international standards. A cataract surgery in the hospital costs only $ 50 compared to $3000-$ 3500 in the United States. Besides, it provides free services to 60 per cent its patients free of cost and only 40 per cent pay.

There is Narayana Hridyalaya Hospitals promoted by Dr.Devi Shetty from Bengaluru. His hospitals were  estimated to perform about 12 percent of the heart surgeries in India and the largest number of surgeries for children in the world. The average cost of an open-heart surgery was $2000 compared to $20000 to 100000 charged by hospitals in the US. As a result, patients from more than seventy countries are treated for complex heart diseases. It has developed innovative schemes to help the ordinary people. Its micro-health insurance programme called Yeshawini, implemented in association with the Karnataka Government, provides health cover to farmers for a monthly premium of just Rs.10. Its tele-cardiology programmes using ISRO satellite facilities provides advice to thousands of patients free of cost.

Hence even the modern Indian corporate sector has its roots in the traditional Indian values. The corporate system in India is increasingly being recognized and appreciated by the west and the rest of the world in the recent years for its ‘Indian-ness’. A team of professors from the United States under Peter Cappelli of the Wharton Business School interviewed the senior executives of about hundred largest India based companies to find out how they drove their organizations towards  higher performance. While presenting the reason for the superiority of the Indian approach, they note: “The Indian leadership approach arose from the unique circumstances of the Indian economy and society.”

Studies at different levels across the country show that a higher set of values prevail in the Indian economic and business systems even today. In fact, the emergence of Indian economy as a global power during the recent years has been fuelled and facilitated by the value systems prevalent in the society. 

(Organiser, New Delhi, Vol.70, No.20-21, Nov.11&18, 2018)

Hindu Economics driving the Indian Economy

It was the German sociologist Max Weber (1856-1920) who first argued that capitalism would prosper only in those countries where the Christian protestant values dominate. His thoughts continued to influence the thought process of many of the scholars for a long time, though he had failed to take into account the historical developments even within the West.

 Later in 1955, when the noted economist E F Schumacher travelled to Burma as consultant he coined the term “ Buddhist economics”, based on the distinct features of Buddhism. Arguing for a Buddhist economic system he wrote: “No one seems to think that a Buddhist way of life would call for a Buddhist economics, just as the modern materialist way of life has brought forth modern economics”

When we study the economic system of India since the ancient periods, we realize that there are unique features that dominate the Indian economy. These features are the products of the Hindu way of life, belief systems, approaches and thought processes developed and nurtured over several centuries. What is important is that they continue to support and nurture the Indian lives and their economic functioning even today.

India is an ancient civilization. Gandhian economist Kumarappa notes that the Indian civilization has survived so long because it is based on the values of permanence. Business historian Agarwala notes that there were prominent commercial cities more than 4500 years ago, with India engaging in exports with many countries. It is known that the first book on economics, namely Arthashastra, was written here 2300 years back.

Now we have the documented account of the economic performance of different countries in the world for the last two thousand years. The monumental work by Angus Maddission clearly shows that India was the most prosperous nation in the world with a share of 32.9 per cent in global GDP, during 0 CE.  

The position of India as the premier economy continued uninterrupted for several centuries during the past two millennia. Figures show that India remained as the most sustainable economic power in the world. It was due to the wrong policies of the British that the Indian economy had to fall, beginning from the eighteenth century. This shows that Indian economy, by nature, is fundamentally strong with her original systems based on the Hindu orientations.

India was a poor and underdeveloped economy at the time of Independence. Now seven decades later, we are the most potential economy in the world with very high growth rates. Almost all the multilateral organizations, research bodies and rating agencies unanimously agree that India is fast emerging as the most powerful nation. A few years back, London Business School estimated that India had 85 millions entrepreneurs functioning at different levels. Now the situation is such that no major economic discourse at the global level can take place without the presence of India.

How did we come to this position? How is that a country that was very poor is considered as the most potential nation in a period of just seven decades? A study of the economic history during the past decades shows that no other country in the world has made such a U turn in a period of seventy years. How was it possible?

When we analyse the policies of the past decades, we come to know that there were confusions and contradictions in policy making during most of the period. Well before Independence, Mahatma Gandhi wanted to have a larger debate on  the economic policies to be adopted after independence. But Nehru scuttled it repeatedly. Post 1947, the Nehruvian establishment went in for an alien ideology and adopted the socialistic approach, without much discussions. It was only when the socialism failed in the then USSR by the late 1980s, our ruling classes realized their foolishness. But by then we had already wasted four important decades, very crucial for the development of a country of India’s backgrounds.

After communism failed at the global level, the Indian policy makers wanted to go for an alternative. By the time the country did not even have the foreign reserves to pay for our imports and we were made to pledge our gold outside. Then again for the second time without wider discussions, the policy makers opted for another western ideology in the form of a globalization from the early 1990s. As a result, the critical sectors, especially agriculture and the small and medium enterprises had to face serious difficulties.

But in spite of such a situation prevailing at the policy making levels, the Indian economy has been growing, though not up to its full capacity. Even during the initial decades of Nehruvian growth, our growth rates were either comparable or better than that of the western countries. Later the growth rates picked up over the years, leaving the other advanced countries way behind. It makes one to wonder as to what could be the reason?

Field studies conducted in different parts of the country for the last twenty years and more reveal that the economic progress of India during the past seven decades has been largely due to our inherent strengths. Most of them are unique and play the critical role in the shaping and functioning of our economic systems. Family base, High savings, Self-employment base, Higher levels of entrepreneurship, the dominance of the non-corporate sector, community orientation  with higher social capital, society-driven and not state-dependent approaches and the presence of higher value systems are the important among them.

It is the above features that support and sustain the economy to move forward continuously, in spite of the many hurdles that the nation has been facing over the years. It is because of them that the nation was able to overcome the negative effects of the alien approaches. Even during the 2008 global economic crisis, India was able to escape it only due to the native economic systems.

How is it that India has such a list of unique characteristics? Studies reveal it is the great Hindu culture and traditions of this ancient land that are responsible for these features. It may be relevant in this connection to quote John Kenneth Galbraith, a former Ambassador of the US to India in the 1960s who himself was an economist, when he visited our country again during 2001. He said: “ I was urging an obvious point that the progress of India did not depend on the government, as important as it might be, but was enormously dependent on the initiative, individual and group of the Indian people. …. We’ve seen many years of Indian progress, and that is attributable to the energy and genius of the Indian people and the Indian culture.”

Deendayal Upadhyay explained as to how the Bharatiya culture looks upon life as an integrated whole, with economics playing a crucial role. During the recent years, even the western economists accept the dominant role of culture in the economic functioning of different countries. Based on the studies available before us, we can confidently say that it is the Hindu economics that is driving the Indian economic systems since the ancient times.

( Organiser, New Delhi, Mar 4, 2018)