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Lessons of Indian History - Do you believe that history contains a lesson useful to the modern Indian state, and if so, what is that lesson?
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Dr. Khilnani's Response:
The greatest lesson contained by the Indian past for the modern Indian
state is this: that the state should not intervene in matters of
personal belief which concern its citizens. Whether it was the Emperor
Ashoka, or the Mughal Empire, or the British, none of these political
powers tried to legislate changes in the religion and beliefs of their
subjects: they all respected the religious liberty of their subjects.
This was a lesson that Nehru understood very well; hence, his concern to
keep matters of religion outside the purview of the state. But the BJP
believes quite the opposite: that the state should concern itself with
the private beliefs of its citizens, and that the state can meddle with
these beliefs. In fact, the BJP is showing its ignorance of the Indian
past and is revealing that it is more enamored of the Western model
of nationalism. This is deeply ironic, given that the BJP claims a
more-indigenous-than-thou attitude!
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Dr. Kak's Response:
I think the lesson is that appeal to broad universal principles
rather than custom is the best way to weld a nation together.
Unfortunately, the Indian polity has gotten bogged down under the burden of the
colonial administrative system that the British left behind. To make
matters worse, the Indian state added further layers inspired by
socialist ideas. For example, lacking a clear affirmation of free
speech, each time a religious group finds something objectionable in a
book, there is an agitation that the book be banned. Administrators in
India spend a lot of their time dealing with such problems.
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Dr. Kak's Rebuttal:
It is funny that the phrase "legislation" has been applied both for the Mughal state and the British. I am not aware of a legislature (excepting for a toothless one during the waning years of British rule), which decided public policy during those times. Also, Khilnani is wrong to say that the British did not interfere with the practice of religion. For example, the outlawing of voluntary sati [practice of widow immolating herself on husband's funeral pyre - ed.] or the devadasi system [female Hindu temple dancers - ed.] was interference with social and religious custom.
I think the current problems are systemic ones, a legacy of the socialist and Soviet-style ideas of the Congress party. The government takeover of temple complexes and selective support for religious schools are policies that go back to the Congress years. The BJP must also be criticized for not changing the system or at least creating understanding of the real issues.
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Dr. Khilnani's Rebuttal:
In many ways, the administrative system inherited from the
colonial period has served India well, and has helped to keep the
country together -- which is not to say that it could not be improved by
reforms. The Constitution does affirm a clear right to free speech. The
problem is that given India's diverse religious sensibilities, groups of
all religions are often quick to take offense. I would agree that broad
universal principles are desirable, but these have to be arrived at by
open, public debate, not by state imposition.
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