final version 47 issue · country’s highest law-making body. the number of women representatives...

SACHShades of Intolerance

Cultural and religious Intolerance is a rising global concern and South Asia is no exception. It is themost serious and disturbing challenge today that is threatening the composite heritage of South Asiannations. More and more nations in the region are falling prey to this dangerous trend. India, the largestdemocracy in the world is experiencing frightening growth in cultural and religious extremism. What is ofgreat concern is the impunity with which extreme Hindu fundamentalist groups freely operate in thesociety despite the fact that Indian Constitution proclaims it as a ‘Sovereign Socialist Secular DemocraticRepublic’. Number of attacks targeting Indian religious minorities mainly Muslims and Christians, themost marginalised sections of Indian society dalits (scheduled casts) and adivasis (scheduled tribes),women and secularist intellectuals by Hindu chauvinists pose an alarming threat to the secular culturaltraditions. Even cultural choices such as dress codes and food habits are being forced entirely by theculture of the majority. Ironically even symbols like cow are being used to perpetuate injustice andviolence on religious minorities violating their right to life with disturbing impunity. Wave of attacks andlynching of members of Muslim community and attacks on low-caste Dalits over rumours or suspicionsof beef consumption and cattle slaughter and clampdowns on free speech through a campaign of "anti-national" branding have created an atmosphere of terror in the entire country. Perhaps mob lynching wasnot an isolated incident, there have been other incidents too. During the last 3 years more than 40Indian novelists, essayists, playwrights and poets returned their awards from the country’s most prestigiousliterary institution, the Sahitya Akademi in protest against what they call a “climate of intolerance” in thecountry. The move of the writers was triggered by the institution’s “silence” on the murder of Kannadawriter, scholar and rationalist Dr M M Kalburgi in Karnataka in 2015 as well against the “communal”atmosphere in the country following the Dadri lynching incident of 2015. Increasingly, the fundamentalistforces have been using various social mediums to impose certain cultural norms, and even attack thosewho do not conform to these or hold views contrary to dominant cultural and religious norms. Even moredisturbing has been the reluctance of the ruling governing party to speak and act against such motivatedviolent assaults on the rights of citizens. In some cases, the ruling government seems to have usedthese divisive forces to vilify and discredit critics, dissidents and anyone opposing injustice. This trendof political mobilization of chauvinistic forces still continues. The hate campaign of the Indian right wingforces has united eminent Indian citizens to express their anguish who launched an online protestscampaign ‘Not in my Name’ in June 2017 in major Indian cities to protest against the rising culture ofmob lynching and "reclaim the Constitution" and "resist the onslaught" on the right to life and equality.

SUNIL KUKSALSUNIL KUKSALSUNIL KUKSALSUNIL KUKSALSUNIL KUKSALE D I T O R

South Asian Composite HeritageISSUE NO. 47 JULY-SEPTEMBER, 2017

2 SACH JULY—SEPTEMBER 2017

Nepal Local Elections :Grass Root Democracy and

Peace Building

By SUNIL KUKSALSUNIL KUKSALSUNIL KUKSALSUNIL KUKSALSUNIL KUKSAL, INDIA

IT is said that strong andinclusive local governance iscrucial for peace building inthe post-conflict transitionphase of a nation. In thiscontext, the local polls inNepal, the landlocked centralHimalayan country in South

Asia were seen as a landmark moment in itstransition to democracy and important step tostrengthen grass root democracy. Afteremerging from a decade long bloody civilwar,Nepal held its local elections for the firsttime in 20 years. The elections were held inthree phases on 14 May, 28 June and 18September, 2017 in 6 metropolitan cities, 11sub-metropolitan cities,264 municipalities and481 rural municipalities.These polls were toelect representatives in the ward, village,municipal and metropolitan councils that willhave decentralised decision-making powersrelated to local revenue generation, spendingand law making.In the post-conflict transitionalperiod the polls would help Nepalin reinforcingthe peace building process in many ways.

Nepal has been enmeshed in a prolongedand difficult political transition period. Thecountry has seen a sea of changes in the twodecades since the last local elections were heldin 1997. Local-level elections could not be heldafter 1997 largely as a result of the decade-long Maoist insurgency and political instability.These local elections in 2017 were held for thefirst time since the nation became a federal

democratic republic on 28 May 2008.The pollprocess also represented a significant stepforward for the country as it implements itsnew constitution, promulgated in September2015. Elections are expected to put an endtothe political disorder and anarchy that thecountry has been witnessingfor almost over adecade.It is a significant step towardsimplementation of the new constitution thatenvisages a restructured nation-statewhich isfederal, secular republic with a plural politicalorder and inclusive social character.In additionto that the elections of local representatives forself-governing Ward, Village, Municipal andMetropolitan councils would help facilitate thedevolution of power and resources and wouldprovide a new opportunity for localparticipation in governance system.The newConstitution has provisions that empower theelected local representatives to make laws, raiserevenue and formulate policies.PEACE AGREEMENT ANDCONSTITUTION

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)launched an armed rebellion in 1996 with themain aim of overthrowing the Nepalesemonarchy and establishing a People'sRepublic.The conflict led to immense sufferingin terms of thousands of deaths and injuries.More than 16,000 people were killed, over 1,300disappeared and thousands displaced duringthe decade-long civil war between Maoists andgovernment forces.After ten years of bloodycivil war, a comprehensive peace agreement

JULY—SEPTEMBER 2017 SACH 3

(CPA) signed on 21 November 2006 betweenMaoist insurgents and the government of Nepalpromised constitutional and political reform,reconciliation, and transitional justice.It alsoincluded rewriting the country’s constitution(including whether it will remain a monarchy).It called for political, economic and socialchange in the country and adherence tohumanitarian law and human rights principles,including through the establishment of aNational Human Rights Commission, a Truthand Reconciliation Commission and a NationalPeace and Rehabilitation Commission. Theagreement called for the election of a constituentassembly to end the transition period. For toolong, Nepal’s polity has been caught up withConstitution-writing and wrangling overpower amid political instability. It was one ofthe demands of the Maoists, who had wagedthe decade-long armed struggle against thestate, for joining the peace process. The delayhas resulted in lack of attention to economicdevelopment leading to large-scale labourmigration of Nepalese, and poor responsesystems to disasters such as the massiveearthquake that struck the country in 2015.

The first Constituent Assembly (CA) waselected in 2008 but it was dissolved in 2012 asit failed to deliver the constitution despite

several postponements due to profounddifferences among political parties on mattersof federalism, government, inclusion andrepresentation.The second CA was elected in2013 and political parties pledged to deliverthe constitution in one year. Federalismremained the bone of contention but the16 point agreement to federate the countryinto federal provinces paved the way for thepromulgation of a new constitution. Local-level elections were put off to focus on thedrafting process and address divisions overhow to divide power between the northernhills and mountains on one hand, and thesouthern plains on the other.

Nepal faced a political vacuum after thelocal government representatives were lastelected in 1997. Their five-year terms expired in2002. Due to the Maoist insurgency, the thenPrime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was unableto hold the periodic local elections in 2002 anddecided not to extend the term of the localbodies. Although King Gyanendra, who tookover executive power in February 2005, tried tohold municipal polls in February, 2006, hisefforts proved unsuccessful as major partiesboycotted the poll and instead expedited theircampaign against King Gyanendra's rule. Nepalgovernment under the then Prime Minister


Pushpa Kamal Dahal announced the electiondate on February 2017 and initiated a crucialcountdown for Nepali democracy to forgeahead.

Politically Nepal succeeded in endingseven year long political deadlock by adoptinga new constitution on 20th of September,2015creating a federal state structure intendedto decentralize power from Kathmandu to sevennewly-created provinces and re-arranged localgovernment units. Promulgating theConstitution was a herculean task by the CAand the implementation brought newchallenges. The main objectives of formulatingthe new constitution via the CA was to undothe concentrations of power — political, socialand economic — to make the Nepalese societyinclusive and democratic in the widestsense.Under the new constitution of 2015, athree-tier governance system was introduced,with national, provincial and local levels ofgovernance. The charter mandated that localelections, followed by provincial and thennational elections, be held by January 2018 - thefinal step in the drawn-out peace process.ALocal Body Restructuring Commission wasestablished as required by the constitution underthe chairmanship of Balananda Paudel. Thecommission proposed 719 local structures whichwas revised to 744 by the government. The newlocal levels were formed by changing theexisting cities and village development counciland came into existence on 10 March 2017.INCLUSIVE DEMOCRACY: WOMEN’SPOLITICAL PARTICIPATION.

The long process of transition and socialreconstruction paved the way for landmarkachievements in post-war women’s inclusionin Nepal’s politics. It provided an opportunityfor integration of issues of concern to womeninto development plans and increasedparticipation of women in political decision-making. For the first time in Nepal’s politicalhistory, a legislative assembly had nearly 33per cent female members, representing 20different political parties, participating in thecountry’s highest law-making body. Thenumber of women representatives increasedsince the election of the Constituent Assembly

(CA) in 2008. Around 40% women were in theCA in 2008 and in 2013 The CA provided aplatform for the women to bring their ownconcerns into the constitution making process.The new Constitution contains provisions toreserve 33 per cent of government positionsfor women, and 33 per cent of parliamentaryseats under Article 84(8). A-86 (2)(a) stipulatesthat three seats in the 59-member nationalassembly are to be reserved for women,whereas eight members are to be elected fromeach of the seven provinces.The Local LevelElection Act 2017 requires political parties tonominate at least 50 per cent women for majorposts.In the first phase of local elections about50000 candidates contested to hold 13556different positions such as Mayor, DeputyMayor and Ward Chairpersons inmunicipalities. Of the total candidates, about31% were women.5,445 women were electedout of 13,400 local elected representatives inthe first phase securing 40% representation inthe local bodies in the local elections.PEACE PROCESS ANDMADHESI CONFLICT

Transition to peace in Nepal facedsetbacks immediately after the adoption of thenew constitution in 2015. The controversyerupted after a major protest by groupsrepresenting the Madhesi and Tharupopulations predominant in Nepal’s southernTarai plains bordering India. Protests againstthe new constitution culminated in anunofficial economic blockade startingNovember 25, 2015. The government, with thesupport of the Hill people, blamed the tensionas a provocation by India. The Madhesis andTharus, who together comprise 70 per cent ofthe Terai population were side-lined when theseven provinces were carved in the newconstitution. Of the 22 districts in the Terai,only eight command constitutional autonomy.The remaining fourteen districts are now aminority (in spite of a large Terai demography)after integration with the Hill provinces.

Madhesi community claims that thedocument leaves them politically marginalisedsand led to montsh-long blockade of the India-Nepal border that caused a crippling shortage


of goods across the country.The landlockedcountry imports almost all of its fuel from Indiaand relies heavily on its southern neighbour formost of its domestic and industrial needs.TheMadhesis’ violent struggle for regionalautonomy and political representation beganwhen Nepal’s civil war ended. Madhesi politicalgroups launched their first mass protests againstthe country's interim constitution in 2007.Asthe transition process began, Madhesis came tosee federalism as the only way to ensure thattheycan remain free of political and economicdomination of hill people. The Madhesis, manyof whom speak languages other than Nepaliand share cultural ties to Uttar Pradesh andBihar in northern India, have long been excludedfrom Nepali civil society, which is centered inKathmandu. In the Interim Constitution of2007, their demands for better representationand federalism were excluded, leading toprotests and riots across the southern plains,known as the Terai. Although Madhesisrepresent over 33 percent of the population,they only hold 12 percent of governmentpositions, including the police and army. As theConstitution neared ratification, the Madhesisstepped up their protests, demanding provincialboundaries based on ethnic groups, whichwould allow Madhesis to control severalprovinces and give them greater representationin the central government.In the aftermath ofthe 2015 earthquakes, the ConstitutionalAssembly fast-tracked the ratification, creatinga federalist system with seven provinces thatmerged plains districts with hills districts.However the Nepali Parliament passed aconstitutional amendment that appointed seatsin the lower house based on population overgeography and gave the Madhesi districtsgreater representation. However, Madheshidemands for two federal provinces exclusivelyin the Terai were not met and they vowed tocontinue protests.

Madhes-based political parties opposedthe government’s decision to hold the electionwithout amending the constitution since it wasdeclared in September 2015. However, in April2017 Nepal’s Madhesi parties reached anagreement with coalition government under

the conditions of a fast track endorsement ofrevised Constitution amendment bill andconduct local elections in more than onephase.The decision to split the elections intothree phases was based on the understandingthat before the last phase, the current coalitiongovernment would honour the constitutionalamendments that the Madhesis have beendemanding. A full implementation of the newconstitution, declared in September2015requires three level elections which arelocal bodies (municipalities and villagecouncils); provincial legislature and federallegislature consisting of the House ofRepresentatives and the NationalAssembly.Elections to the national parliamentmust be held by Jan. 22, 2018, and stipulatedthat the transformation of the state from aunitary to a federal structure must becompleted by January 21, 2018.

For Nepali citizens the local electionsrepresent a necessary step toward progress.Since 2002, local governments have beenadministrated by centrally-appointedbureaucrats and as a result several developmentinitiatives failed to make any realimpact.Therefore local elections became acrucial test for Nepali democracy and theConstitution, resulting in either a democraticallyelected government across the country or acontinuation of the instability that has plaguedthe nation since the advent of democracy herein the 1950’s.It is equally important to note thatno matter what happens in terms of politicalvictory in the provincial and parliamentaryelections slated for 2018, the local electionswould laid the foundation for grassrootdemocracy in Nepal and help bridge an ever-widening gap between the state and citizens bydecentralizing power and rebuilding trust inthe country’s political representation.Nepaliconstitution experts believe that "If thegovernment is able to hold local elections andstate as well as parliamentary elections beforethe year end, it would accomplish a majorconstitutional responsibility.That would end thepolitical transition, which began after the endof the Maoist conflict followed by the abolitionof monarchy."


SINCE the 1990s conflicttransformation researchersand practitioners have beenconcentrating their workon a new emergingphenomenon which they call“new wars”. According tothis approach wars are more

complex in today’s world and are frequentlyinternal to a country. Scholars have also usedthe term “protracted social conflicts” todescribe them as “hostile interactions extendingover long periods of time with sporadicoutbreaks of open warfare fluctuating infrequency and intensity.” Nepal is one suchexample where a long civil war affected thecountry for almost a decade from 1996 to2006.More than 17,000 people died since theMaoists declared a so called "people's war" inFebruary 1996. More than 1400 peopledisappeared, abducted, raped and tortured.Hundreds of thousands of people were forcedto leave their homes behind to live in miserableconditions in shelters. The people of Nepallived through far too much violence and socialsufferings in these years.

A conflict or war impacts situationsranging from personal to social aspects ofhuman experience. In conflict transformationperspective conflict affects physical well-being,self-esteem, emotional stability and damagethe physical, spiritual and psychologicalintegrity of the individual and, by extension,the integrity of the family and community.Therefore conflict transformation perspectiverepresents deliberate intervention to minimize

the destructive effects of a violent conflict andmaximize its potential for individual growthat physical, emotional, and spiritual levels.

In my long post conflict peace buildingwork in Nepal, I have observed that mostly acountry entering into the post conflict era afterthe peace accord, gives priority to sustainingliberal notion of peace by creating hugestructures and formulating policies but fail toaddress the issue of individual reconciliation.The conflict transformation approach shouldbe based on the premise that no political orstrategic goal can be pursued that ignores basichuman needs for safety, well-being andlivelihood. People on the ground, and theirlegitimate aspirations, should be an integralpart of any political or strategic considerations.Conflict-resolution activities should be pursuedat all levels of society, not just at the level ofthe state or inter-state processes whichdominated the conflict-resolution communityin the past. Therefore local peace buildingactivities should focus on the psycho-socialeffects of conflict such as traumas and otherinvisible effects of a violent conflict that wereoften ignored earlier.

In the time of violent conflict and alsoin post conflict period as well, there is ageneral erosion of space for individual andcollective sharing in the society. Due to largescale violence and power dominance, ordinarypeople suffer and face break down of theirsocial relationships and as a result theydevelop a sense of fear and deep rootedmistrust with each other. The prevailinguncertainty and fear further contributes in

Safe and Inclusive Spaces-Tool for Conflict Transformation

By SUSAN RISALSUSAN RISALSUSAN RISALSUSAN RISALSUSAN RISAL, Nagarik Aawaz, NEPAL


destabilizing social and cultural fabric of thesociety. Creating safe and inclusive spaces forindividual and community at large is veryimportant for sustainable peace building. Thefact is that it is the basic human needs foridentity, meaning and justice that bring thecommunities together in conflict and postconflict situations.

Allowing people to come to the commonspace, talk about their problems, traumas andsufferings and creating space to seekalternatives to their problems with creativemeans by themselves is very important indeveloping the self-esteem and buildingrelationship for the survivors who experiencedthe deep rooted impact of the violent conflict.The safe spaces can be in closed rooms or inopen places where every diverse group (likewomen, children, men, elderly people, andmarginalized group) can have an opportunityto express their opinions, feelings and sufferingsas well. Creating safe spaces can open anavenue for the people to move forward forindividual reconciliation through ventilating

their stories and through dialogue betweendivided societies. Constructive individual andcommunity communication helps in buildingbridges between the ordinary people anddeveloping a healthy nonviolent response toinjustice. Opening the space and structure forsharing the past sufferings is critical forcollective democratic change in the structureof power. It also provides important socialopportunities for communities to come togetherand challenge the legitimacy of power.

Peace building is inevitably a difficultand lengthy process to achieve in practice.Especially in the context of South Asiannations empowering individuals andcommunities is essential to address humanneeds for justice and reconciliation in theaftermath of a conflict. It becomes all the moreimportant as most of these nations suffer frommore pressing issues such as unequal powerstructures, lack of good governance,corruption and serious deficits in the rule oflaw which are generally the underlying causesof conflict.


HOW much Indian is India’s Constitution?This question is raised by a few on the basisof an allegation that the constitutionalismbased on the value of composite culture isalien to Indian traditions and civilisation.Recently, there has been a call from somequarters to frame a substantially different andnew Constitution on a purported tradition,culture or religion. This bogey is flogged tolife by some now and then.

Last year, Ram Bahadur Rai, a seniorHindi journalist who is the Chairman of theIndira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts(IGNCA) and a former Akhil BharatiyaVidyarti Parishad (ABVP) general secretaryasserted in an interview with Pragya Singh ofOutlook (June 13, 2016) that the presentConstitution is “a new testament of ourgulaami (slavery)”. He also desired that the16th Lok Sabha should be converted into aConstituent Assembly to draw up a newConstitution.

The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh(RSS) has been unhappy with thisConstitution and had wanted it to be replacedby Manusmriti (Codes of Manu). Organizerin an editorial (“The Constitution”) onNovember 30, 1949, specifically expressed itand wrote: “The worst about the newconstitution of Bharat is that there is nothingBharatiya about it.” M.S. Golwalkar, who was

Composite Culture and Its Discontents

By M.PM.PM.PM.PM.P. RAJU. RAJU. RAJU. RAJU. RAJU, INDIA

The evolution of a composite culture reached its zenith during theindependence movement, which found its expression in theConstitution. The Sangh Parivar has expressed its unhappiness withthis Constitution from time to time.

the second sarsanghchalak of the RSS (1940-1973), had expressed similar sentiments in hisBunch of Thoughts (1966), stating that ourConstitution has “absolutely nothing, whichcan be called our own” and that it containedsome lame principles drawn from the UnitedNations Charter and some features from theAmerican and British Constitutions whichhave been “just brought together in a merehotchpotch”.

Before and after the demolition of theBabri Masjid on December 6, 1992, there havebeen instances of booklets being releaseddenouncing the Constitution as “anti-Hindu”and putting forward a prototype of the kindof Constitution visualised by them. On January14, 1993, RSS leader Rajendra Singh in aninterview to Indian Express called for a newConstitution more suited to the ethos andgenius of this country since India’s was “nota composite culture”.

Human race as a whole and eachcivilisation individually have been evolving afew core values as universal values. These werederived from all their constituent cultures andsubcultures, including the little ones, througha process of mutual cross-pollination. At thesame time, with a few exceptions, evenunpopular cultures and their values werepermitted and promoted unless they werediametrically opposed to a few publicly


accepted universal values. India was noexception and our Constitution is based onthe ideal of such a composite culture evolvedgradually from very ancient times.

In Article 51A(f) of the Constitution, wehave declared a solemn fundamental duty ofevery citizen to value and preserve the richheritage of our composite culture. This wasthe result of an amendment in 1977, but itdid not add anything new, reiterating whatwas already expressed throughout variousprovisions of the Constitution. For example,with regard to the duty to develop the Hindilanguage, Article 351 requires the Union tosee that it may serve as a medium of expressionfor all the elements of “the composite cultureof India”.

A constitutionalism based on a fewuniversal objectives flowing from the

composite culture of India was at the root ofthe framing of the Constitution. This isexemplified in the words of Dr RajendraPrasad in the Constituent Assembly: “I willrequest ….(all) now to stand in theirplaces…”. He was addressing the members ofthe Constituent Assembly as its President. TheAssembly had gathered to frame theConstitution for independent India. India hadnot yet become independent; nor had itsuffered the tragic partition. The Assemblyconsisted of great persons who representedalmost all the different sections and groups inIndia. Thus, at the threshold of framing theConstitution, the founding mothers andfathers wanted to try whether they couldagree on the values and objectives of theConstitution to be framed. This was calledthe Objectives Resolution. After detailed debate


and discussion, the resolution was ready tobe passed on January 22, 1947. The memberswanted to send a message to posterity on theimportance they attached to it. Hence, theydecided to pass the resolution, all the membersstanding.

Thus, at the outset of the framing of theIndian Constitution, the centrality of ourcomposite culture was categorically stressedand declared. The declaration of thesecomposite values as the objectives resolutionwith a few changes found place in theConstitution when it was finally framed—thePreamble of the Constitution of India.SHEEL AND SUCCESS

More than 4,600 years before the passingof the Objectives Resolution, there was animportant occasion which stressed thecentrality of composite culture in the theory ofgovernance. We find the narrative in thisoccasion as an anecdote repeated throughoutthe history of this subcontinent. The time waspre-Vedic. It certainly came from the collectivememory of two distinct groups of peoples andcultures—devas and daityas, or aryas andasuras.

Sheel (virtuous character) consisting ofuniversal values of non-violence (adroha),compassion (anugraha) and charity (danam)came to be accepted by both daityas and devas(aryas and asuras) as the key to successful andgood governance. From the time of the initialrivalry between Aryans and non-Aryans, sheelwas considered to be the secret of the successof a king and his governance (Mahabharata12 (Shantiparva) 124:66).

Prahlada, the leader of the asuras, couldwin the battle over Indra, the leader of aryas,on the strength of the sheel consisting of thesevalues. Indra could win over Prahlada onlywhen Indra could obtain this sheel fromPrahlada. This is quoted in Mahabharata asbeing narrated by Dhritarashtra to his sonDuryodhana, the eldest of Kauravas. Theimportance of sheel as the key to a king’ssuccess being the composite theory of bothdevas and daityas has been highlighted fromthe earliest available narratives belonging to

the collective memory of our composite cultureof this subcontinent. Moreover, the threevalues of non-violence, compassion and charitywere considered to be the main constituentsof a constitutional governance flowing fromthe values of dignity and fraternity.

Like similar civilisations of the world,Indian civilisation had accepted someuniversal values or principles of conduct ascentral not only to different aspects of humanlife, but even to nature. This idea of “rita”,which subsequently got morphed into theconcept of dharma, included both cosmic lawand social law. This dharma is substantiallydifferent from the present popular usage ofthis term to mean religion.FOURFOLD DUTIES

When various Vedic and Brahmanictraditions were agreeing on a few values asuniversal and fundamental, the Sramanicgroups were also developing almost identicalvalues as universal. They were preaching afew values as applicable to all people eventhough they had been questioning andrejecting some of the values that were beingfollowed in Vedic tradition such as thenecessity of performing Vedic yagnyas andanimal sacrifices. Among the Sramanic groupsof the time Parshvanath (872-772 BCE) hadpreached four supreme values, which herecommended for all, Chaturyama Dharma:the fourfold duties (ahimsa, satya, asteya andaparigraha). During the Upanishadic period,Rishi Gora Angirasa gave the instructions onthe fundamental values to Krishna, son ofDevaki, to the extent stating that these valuesare the real essence of the sacrifice oryagnya(Chandogya Upanisad III/17/ 4):“atha yat tapo danam arjavam ahimsa satya-vacanam iti, ta asya daksinah” (And austerity,alms-giving, uprightness, non-violence,truthfulness, these are the gifts for the priests).Some authors suggested a close relationshipbetween the Sramanic and Upanishadicteachings of a few fundamental universalvalues.

In Mahabharata, a composite cultureevolving from plurality of lifeways is accepted


by Krishna when he explains to Arjuna thataccording to some people dharma (moralvalues) is derived from Vedas whereas othershold that dharma (moral values) can be knownonly through reasoning. Krishna states thathe does not want to contradict any of them(Mahabharata, Karnaparva:69:58).

Around 600 B.C. a healthy rivalry wasapparent among a number of sects, such asthe Charvakas, Jainas and Ajivikas, whosedoctrines ranged from pure materialism todeterminism. This intellectual liveliness wasreflected in the eclectic interests of theMauryan rulers, sinceit was claimed by theJainas thatChandragupta was asupporter and there isevidence thatBindusara favouredAjivikas. The fiveprecepts taught by theBuddha are almostidentical to theuniversal values arrived at in both theBrahmanic and Sramanic traditions.

We also have this ideal of compositeculture prescribing universal obligations,duties common to all, that is, as sadharanadharma or sarvesham without any differenceof varna or ashrama, profession or stages oflife. Thus, we have in Kautilya’sArthashastra,considered to be of 4th centuryB.C., that the duties common to all are non-violence (ahimsa), truthfulness, uprightness,freedom from malice, compassion andforbearance (Arthashastra 1:3;13).

In ancient India, Asoka, the Mauryanking, was one of the famous rulers whoestablished the importance of universal valuesin the political realm. He used the termdhamma, or dharma, for these universalvalues and ideals to be followed by everybody.

According to P.V. Kane, almost all theDharmashastra works prescribe for all varnasa brief code of morals, such as ahimsa,truthfulness, non-stealing (that is, no wrongfultaking of another ’s property), purity and

restraint of senses. Thus, we see in India, therehas been a long tradition of agreeing on afew values as universal ones whileacknowledging different values followed bydifferent groups and persons. It is safe to inferthat this tradition helped us to arrive at acomposite culture as the basis for aconstitutionalism.

The Dravidian region has given usexamples of an evolution of this compositeculture. Chitalai Chathanar ’s Tamil poemManimekalai (sixth century C.E.) is remarkablein its comprehensive treatment of the

composite culture ofthat period.Manimekalai is theeponymous story of asouth Indian templedancer and courtesan,Manimekalai. Shedecides, with hermother Madhavi, toleave her professionand become an ascetic

and pursue the virtue of charity.Chathanar’s descriptions of different

world views through Manimekalai make itexplicit that the lifeways or sects which werepopular at that period were not solely thereligious ones in the modern sense, theyincluded major materialist and non-religiousones, like Lokayatas and Bhutavadis. Thesewere in addition to the Nastik, or heterodox,ones like Nirgranthas and Buddhists on theone side and the Vaiseshikas and Samkhyason the other. Medieval Bhakti movements ofthe south and the north are the evolvedexpressions of the secular or pluralisticcharacter of the Indian society evolving acomposite culture. All these movements werepopular movements, which can rightly betermed as people’s movements.

The Nath Yogi Gorakh, or Gorakhnath,who lived in circa 11th or 12th century, givesexamples of the concept of composite culture:By birth [I am] a Hindu, in mature age a Yogiand by intellect a Muslim (Sabadi 14, inBarthwal (ed.) 1960: 6).


Kabir (1450-1520) admonishes bothHindus and Muslims and his verses invite allto embrace the true composite human values:

God has taken many names:/ Nameslike Allah, Ram, Karim,/ Kesav, Hari, andHajarat./ Gold may be shaped into rings andbangles./ Isn’t it gold all the same?/Distinctions are only words we invent/ Onedoes namaz, one does puja./ One has Siva,one Mohammed,/ One has Adam, oneBrahma./ Who is a Hindu, who a Turk? /Both must share a single world. /Koran orVedas, both read their books./ One is a panda,one a mullah. /Each of them bears a separatename,/ But every pot is made from clay (Kabirbijak, Sabda 30 (Kabir, 1982)).

Guru Nanak (1469-1539) gives the callfor adhering to composite universal humanvalues forgetting the silly differences betweenthe religions of Hindus and Muslims. Forexample, we have this famous phrase,“Nobody is Hindu, nobody Turk” (Hinduturka na koi).

Kanhavat (an epic poem on Krishna)by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, the Sufi poetwho is famed for his work Padmavat, is aneloquent example of Islamic contribution tothe composite evolution of our constitutionalculture as indelibly recorded in popularliterature.

This pluralistic evolution of a compositeculture reached its zenith during theindependence movement, which found itsexpression in the Constitution. Thus, what ourcomposite culture requires and theConstitution mandates is a regime of relativeuniversality, or “variform universals”, asLonner (1998) called it, or a pluralistuniversalism as Bhikhu Parekh advocates ora regime of human rights-sensitive pluralism.This can also be seen as an “overlappingconsensus” among differing ideologies andworld views.MOSAIC AND NOT A MELTING POT

The democratic ideal of a compositeculture can best be conceptualised as a mosaicand not as a melting pot. In the Minerva Millscase (1980) the Supreme Court said: “India

represents a mosaic of humanity consisting ofdiverse religions, linguistic and caste groups.”

In 2002, the Supreme Court through aConstitution Bench of 11 judges unequivocallyreiterated the same in beautiful words in thecase of the TMA Pai Foundation: “The onebillion population of India consists of six mainethnic groups and 52 major tribes; six majorreligions and 6,400 castes and sub-castes; 18major languages and 1,600 minor languagesand dialects. The essence of secularism in Indiacan best be depicted if a relief map of India ismade in mosaic....” In the same case, JusticeRuma Pal was categorical when she said: “TheConstitution as it stands does not proceed onthe ‘melting pot’ theory. The IndianConstitution, rather represents a ‘salad bowl’where there is homogeneity without anobliteration of identity.”CONSTITUTIONALIST HERITAGE

According to the great advocate andjurist N.A. Palkhivala, India has developedthese constitutional values through hercrowded history of 5,000 years. They areessential not only for the rebirth of the Indiannation but also for the re-education of thehuman race (India’s Priceless Heritage, 1980,pages 38-39). Constitution is not a parchmentof paper as Justice H.R. Khanna has put it:“The edifice of nations and nationalinstitutions, we should remember, take longto build. Behind them is the story of sweat,blood and tears, of untold suffering andsacrifice; yet they can be destroyed overnightby the banishment of principles or by theselfishness, petty mindedness or folly of men.If the Indian Constitution is our heritagebequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers,no less are we, the people of India, the trusteesof the values which pulsate within itsprovisions” (Making of India’s Constitution,1981, page 121).

Dr M.P. Raju is an advocate practisingin the Supreme Court of India. His latest book,“India’s Constitution: Roots, Values andWrongs”, published by Media House, isexpected to be released soon.

Courtesy—Frontline


SRI LANKA, a tiny islandcountry in South Asia wasravaged by a long runningand bloody civil war, due toethnic tensions between theBuddhist Sinhalese majorityand the Hindu Tamilminority.The civil war in the

North and East provinces broke out in July1983. The war finally ended in 2009 almostafter three decades. The war was devastatingand left numerous questions over theprospects for reconstruction and peace.Amember of Institute for Social Democracy, NewDelhi (ISD) visited the war torn regions of SriLanka to assess the post-war rehabilitation,reconstruction and reconciliation process.Thisreport summarizes the prevailing conditionsand developments observed during the fieldvisit to the affected localities, communities andextensive interaction with the grassroots levelNGOs in Central and Northern provinces ofSri Lanka.GLIMPSES OF SRI LANKA ANDCIVIL WAR :

Sri Lanka, an island nation previouslyreferred as Ceylon. The name was changedinto Sri Lanka in 1972 as it was termed bythe foreigners. It means the “Respected (Sri)Land to Shine or Glitter (Lanka)” in Sinhalalanguage.There are about 70% Singhalese,18% Tamils, 09% Muslims and otherminoritieslike Christians and tribes living in the country.

The majority follow Buddhism and otherminorities follow Hinduism, Islamism,Christianity and other religions. There aretwo major key elements such as language andreligion making an unbridgeable divide amongdifferent communities in the country.

The civil war(armed conflict) started in1983 by LTTE (Liberation Tigers of TamilEelam) for creating an independent Tamil statecalled ‘Tamil Eelam’ and it was ended in 2009with horrible experiences.The conflict cost thelives of an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 citizensand hundreds of thousands of civilians weredisplaced. There were multiple attacks carriedout onminorities such as Tamils and Muslimsin Sri Lanka over the issues of language,religion and political power. The innocentpeople were used as human shields by boththe conflicting groups and brutally killed andbutchered in a ruthless way. Sri Lanka’s mainingredients of conflict/war/tension can belisted as below:

Political Instability and Military PowerReligious ExtremismLanguage and CultureLand Grabbing and MisusingRacismDenial of Education to Tamils andUnemploymentPsycho-Social-Economical EffectsThere were multiple factors contributed

to the war to break three major communitiesSinghalese, Tamils and Tamil Muslims into

Sri Lanka Post-War Reconciliationand Peace Building through

NGOs/Communities

By MUGILAN PERUMALMUGILAN PERUMALMUGILAN PERUMALMUGILAN PERUMALMUGILAN PERUMAL, ISD, INDIA


many pieces, especially in theNorthernProvince of Sri Lanka.VOICES AND EXPERIENCES OFTHE WAR VICTIMS :

The victims’ ordeal will never fade away,but the forgiveness, moral reparations andreconciliation process are the only solution tobring back peace and harmony.In Sri Lanka,the war went on for virtually three decadesand left the victims only with dreadfulmemories and bitter experiences. One of thevictims from war-torn province shared hermiserable experience,

“I am having heart problem and thedoctor advised me to take proper care ofmyself. During the war, I had to run with myfamily right from Kilinochi to Mulli Vakkaduvillage and sometimes I had to starve withoutfood and water. I had to eventually lose someof my family members especially my twobrothers. One of my brothers fled to aEuropean country and another chose to hidein the country itself to save his life. Throughoutmy journey, I saw many people being killedat the hands of the armed forces andhelicopter bombing. Somehow, I managed toget both of my brothers’ contacts after thewar, but still the security forces keepthreatening me to reveal the details of mybrothers”. – Sudha (Name Changed)

In Kilinochi village, a group of womenliterally cried while sharing their warexperiences. They were made to live in thecloistered houses for many days during thewar. The security forces were in and outhunting Sri Lankan Tamils and Muslims torape, kill and dispose the bodies. They alsoconfronted with the horrible situation ofleaving the child with the dead mother. Theystill regret of not being able to protect thechild. However, they want to obliterate thosegloomy days by living together as brothersand sisters.

In Jaffna survivors narrated theappalling war conditions including Indiangovernment’s role. War made its severeimpacts on the socio-economic scenario. It wasinconceivable to buy a bicycle, one liter of

petrol was being sold at Rs. 3500/- ($ 23), noelectricity throughout Tamil inhabited regionsto cripple them down. The intervention ofIndian Peace Keeping Forcesworking inconnivance with the Sri Lankan armed forcesadversely affected the Sri Lankan Tamils.

According to one survivor,“I have beenstruggling to survive since 16 years and now,I am 42 years old. I was displaced in 1990sand lost all my belongings including my house.I had seen cluster bombing on civilians fromthe aircrafts. My education was discontinuedas a result of this bloody war which left medispirited. We are law abiding citizens of SriLanka, I am not expecting equality betweenSinghalese and Tamils, but the rights ofhuman beings should be enshrined in theconstitution and protected in a pragmaticway”. – Vetriselvan (Name Changed)

In Kalvelan village, the coastal area ofNorthern Sri Lanka, most of the inhabitantswere displaced and came back only afterspending several years in the refugee camps inSri Lanka as well as in India. Majority of themlost their traditional occupation ‘fishing’. Thearmed forces grabbed those areas and havebeen involved in drug dealing businesses. As aconsequence, people from the same region gotinvolved in drug business. Drug abuse resultedin serious social problems such as sexual abuse,violence, loss of livelihood and domesticviolence. The communities took some initiativesto check violence and continued to drawgovernment’s attention to improve theirlivelihood. They aredesperately looking forreparations from the new government, butcould not get any justice so far.COMMUNITIES/NGOS’ STRATEGIES TOBUILD PEACE :

Puttalam Region (Central Province):The Puttalam district became the region

which provided conducive conditions andenvironment to take refuge for all three majorcommunities such as Singhalese, Tamil Hindusand Tamil Muslims. During the war, more than80,000 internally displacedpeople came to theregion and all of them were given thecommon lands by the village local body


government. The NGO/Organization hasbeen working to build peace and harmony byusing different strategies.

Sun Women Federation : Formed in2010 under the Ministry of Women Affairs,the federation has more Singhalese women asmembers. Women members from threecommunities started interacting with eachother through this officially recognizedorganization. They could manage manylanguage related issues. Most significantly,theinvolvement of youth through awarenessprogrammes helped subsequently in increasingthe membership. Their efforts succeeded inforging unity and solidarity among themselvesas a result considerable number of Singhalesewomen protested against the armed forcesatrocities in Jaffna, particularly when awoman named Vidya was raped andmurdered. The Sun women federation isspreading social and political awareness andplanning to contest in the local body electionsto press for socio economic reforms.

Healing of Memory : Healing ofmemory technique is used to relieve and helpthe war victims to gain normalcy which isdone through storytelling and experiencesharing.

LLRC (Lesson Learnt andReconciliation Commission) : The LLRCstarted in 2010 and consisted of judges,academia, administrative officers, and unitednation authorities. It prepared the report onthe plight of displaced people and submittedcases for reparations and its recommendations.Although the report had been submitted tothe then president Mahindra Rajapaksa in2011, but their demands were not completelyfulfilled. The women federation and other civilsociety groups are constantly advocating forjustice for the victims.JAFFNA REGION(NORTHERN PROVINCE) :

The primary workof the NGOs in Jaffnahas been to promote and strengthen goodgovernance, women empowerment, valuebased education and addressing main issuesthrough awareness.

Amara Widow Women’s Association :The widows association is having membersfrom 54 villages of Jaffna region. They holdmeetings and discuss about various issuesincluding income generation activities.Fortunately, they are receiving a sum ofRs.250/- ($ 1.63) per month from thegovernment, but it is hardly sufficient for theirliving. They still hope that they would getsatisfactory results through their advocacy infuture.

Transitional Justice : The Truth-SeekingProgramme makes different communities tocome together and understand each other’ssituations. The fact of the matter is that theconflict also can probably and possibly takeplace due to each other’s misunderstandingsand misrepresentations. Therefore, it isimportant to bring affected and non-affectedpeople together in order to share the actualcircumstances.

Heart-Heart Approaches : Theseapproaches are carried out through thecultural components like drama, songs, dance,celebrating various festivals, etc. to heal thepsychological pain of war victims. It alsoincludes conflict transformation workshopswith frameworks like visual sharing,participatory approaches and other conflictresolution training programmes in the fieldand at NGO level.

PRA Workshop : The ParticipatoryRural Appraisal (PRA) tool is applied on theground level to figure out problems of thecommunities and address them with theavailable resources.

Participatory Approaches : Thecommunities are encouraged to participate indifferent sessions dealing with teaching,training, conflict management, socialdevelopment and gender awareness.

People have started working in publicsector enterprises like banks and financialinstitutions. The other livelihood activities suchas tailoring, making Palmyra sweets and itsproducts, handicrafts are made available forthe survivors in order to relieve their mindsfrom inconsolable memories.


REHABILITATION ANDRECONCILIATION PROCESS :

The new government (came into powerin 2015) has paid only lip-service to theinterests of minorities such as Tamils andMuslims who were severely affected by thewar. It is only the communities which hadmade some efforts to rehabilitate and reconcilewith the help of the NGOs and other groups.

The communities collected some paltryfunds from people to organize pamphletdistribution campaign to spread the politicalmessages against Mahindra Rajapaksa’sregime. They were able to reach out to threedistricts with three lakh pamphlets demandingpolitical reforms.

Kilinochi Village : There are twowomen’s organizations namely Uvasakthi andMahasakthi formed under Social ServiceDefense with the help of an NGO. Initially,there were 15 to 20 war affected women butlater their number increased to 2000. Theirmain activities are capacity building, incomegeneration activities, vocational training toengage themselves in the process ofrehabilitation.

In Kalvelan village, people organizedthemselves and established a small primaryschool after they learnt about the IndianGandhian peace theory. They understood thatthe education is the only way out to transformtheir community.

In Jaffna region, the affected victimswere given only 2460 acres land out of 6400acres of land occupied by the army personnel.The communities took up the issue byinvolving Tamil politicians and policy makersand negotiated with the government to releasetheir lands. On Jan 2017, the governmentallotted 500 acres of land to the survivors.COMPOSITE HERITAGE COMPONENTSTOWARDS PEACE AND HARMONY :

History : Puttalam village situated incentral part of Sri Lanka, has people fromSinghalese, Tamil and Muslim communitiesliving a peaceful coexistence. ‘Kuyani’ is aterm refers to Singhalese woman who marriedto an Indian Tamil. They live together and

people also accepted the new form of inter-ethnic marriage. Art and Language:Janakaraliya (‘people of the theater ’ inSinghalese language) Cultural Foundation wasformally established by Parakrama Niriella in2004 with the vision of promoting peacethrough theater and street performances. Theyalso make documentaries and short films basedon social culture themes and organize mobiletheatres and dramas in both ‘Tamil’ and‘Sinhala’ languages. They are encouragingTamil artists to perform in the Singhaleselanguage in order to understand the diversityas well as to be united and vice versa. TheUNESCO recognized it as a ‘theatre for socialchange.’ They continue to use the two majorlanguages to promote peace among SriLankan civilians and unite the differentcommunities through theatrical and streetperformances.

Life Skills Development and CulturalEvents:children are encouraged to take upactivities to acquire skills and knowledgethrough play way learning methods.Programmes and cultural events like festivals,traditional sports, and songs are conductedfor the children along with their parents tobuild interpersonal relationships effectively.

There is a famous idiom, “Every cloudhas a silver lining” and there is no doubt thatthe Sri Lankan war devastated lives of peoplein all respects, but the post-war situationsmade people to unite to save them fromimpending catastrophe. They formedorganized and unorganized federations/groups by themselves in order to addresssocial, political and economic issues and tryto solve them with all their capacities. Still,they keep hoping that the government wouldbring justice to them.

The people, especially women have thesense of pacifism. Some of the survivorsfervently expressed that they would never letanother war to occur and they would continueto build fruitful relationships with everyoneirrespective of their differences. Their positiveattitude would certainly lead to positive actionsin the present as well as in the future.


KASHMIRIYAT is anintegral part of culturalvalue system and socialconsciousness of theKashmiri people. It is theamalgamation of worldviews, identities, beliefsystems, language

transcending the boundaries of religion.Every Kashmiri holds the essence ofKashmiriyat. Kashmiriyat as a social culturalvalue setup has always helped in unitingcommunities of Kashmir to live together andfight against all odds. Be it music, food orfestival, everything carries the quintessence ofKashmiriyat. Historically, the concept hasexisted with many versions. Some believethat Kashmiriyat as social cultural valuesystem grew under the rule of MuslimGovernor Zain-ul-Abidin and the Mughalemperor Akbar both of whom gave equalprotection and patronage to Kashmir ’sdifferent religious communities. According toa popular belief, the term Kashmiriyat hascome to signify century’s old indigenoussecular tradition of Kashmir developed muchbefore Mughal Empire. People look uponKashmiriyat in its diverse versionsencompassing political, social and culturalfabric. For an ordinary Kashmiri, the termKashmiriyat signifies cultural values passedfrom one generation to the other. People alsobelieve that Kashmiriyat as part of Kashmiriheritage has evolved with the advent ofIslam in Kashmir and propagated through avibrant Sufi movement.

Religious Harmony as an inherentcharacteristic of Kashmiriyat was believed to

have been epitomised by the teachings ofSheikh Noor ud-Din - Nund Reshi (patronsaint of Kashmir) for his Hindu devotees andMuslim followers. Kashmiriyat as asignificant component of Composite Heritagepersonifies human bonding and sense ofresponsibility among Kashmiris inspiringthem to build a just society and promotepeace and harmony between people livingin conflict ridden Kashmir. The recentkillings of Amarnath Pilgrims is one suchexample. The incident took place on 10thJuly, 2017 in Anantnag area of Kashmirwhere 8 Amarnath pilgrims (yatris)returning from Amarnath shrine were killedand left several pilgrims (yatris) injured. Afterthis incident it was heartening to see thathow all Kashmiris rose to the occasion andunequivocally denounced the killing ofinnocent Amarnath pilgrims (yatris) byuniting against the odious act of terror andspeaking vociferously against it. In the pastfew years Kashmir has seen a new tendencyamong youth for their liking or support formilitants of Kashmir due to continuousdenial of Justice to them from thegovernance system. But when the killings ofAmarnath pilgrims took place, it was wellvisible that Kashmiri youth raised theirvoices and made it clear that these killingsare a matter of disgrace irrespective of theirtacit attachment with new age militants.

People of Kashmir have been livingunder the shadow of a severe violent conflictsituation for more than two decades nowwhich has affected the entire Kashmirisociety physically and psychologically. Theconflict created a schism among ordinary

Kashmiriyat as Composite Heritage

By SANIA MUSHTSANIA MUSHTSANIA MUSHTSANIA MUSHTSANIA MUSHTAQ DEENAQ DEENAQ DEENAQ DEENAQ DEEN, ISD, INDIA


Kashmiris who see the conflict as a divisionof power or power play between centre andthe state. But despite this schism inperspective, it is highly significant to notethat youth and people of Kashmirunequivocally condemned the killingincident. It was the strength and essence ofKashmiriyat (cultural values) as compositeheritage which brought people together tostand unitedly against the heinous crime.Not only the civil society and youthcondemned the act but also took initiative todonate blood to the injured without takingin consideration the religious confines. Eventhe bus driver present at the time of attackwas a Kashmiri Muslim who saved lives ofover 50 yatris without caring for hisownsafety. This gesture of bus driver wasoverwhelming and of worth appreciation.Perhaps he did it inspired by humanity andKashmiriyat. This incident shows thatKashmiriyat as a cultural value and sourceof inspiration for Kashmiris cannot beeradicated from the land of Kashmir and

Kashmiriyat as a crucial component ofcomposite heritage tool can contribute inpeaceful transition in the state of Kashmir.Amaranth pilgrimage has always beenimportant part of Kashmir’s cultural andreligious traditions where Hindu pilgrims arewelcomed by local Muslim population. It isa living manifestation of Kashmir’s culturaldiversity and harmonious coexistence. It canbe said that it is the spirit of Kashmiriyatthat contributes in preserving andstrengthening this journey of faith.

Besides Amarnath pilgrimage there areother incidences which show thatKashmiriyat as a tool of composite heritagehas a unifying power. Firstly it is vital tonote that Kashmiriyat is not only followedby Kashmiri Muslims but in fact Kashmiriyatis even adhered by Sikhs, Kashmiri panditsand other communities of Kashmir.Kashmiriyat is about respecting andprotecting all religions of Kashmir. It is thepower of Kashmiriyat that inspires allcommunities of Kashmir to come together


and stand up against any unforeseenincident, disaster or injustice in the society.If we take into account the Kashmir unrestsin 2008,2010 and 2016 it was remarkable tosee that Sikh community of Kashmir hasalways extended their support to KashmiriMuslims during every unrest.

Despite several intercommunitydifferences in Kashmir, Kashmiriyat ascomposite heritage has always encouragedpeople to live together in peace. Suchintercommunity differences can be foundbetween rural and urban people in Kashmir.Rural communities are always discriminatedby people living in urban areas and evenurban people are not much liked by ruralpeople. Urban people always look at ruralpeople as villagers and mock at them byreferring as “gruss” (which is a negativeremark and means illiterate, not well dressedand ill- mannered). In vice - versa ruralpeople also call urban people as “keak”which means that urban people haveunnecessary attitude with high ego. In manyinstances the urban rural differences turnedinto scuffles at workplaces, schools anduniversities.

But even then historically it has beenseen that in case of any tragic situation,event, incident or disaster, it is the qualityand spirit of Kashmiriyat that helped informing linkages between rural and urbanpeople to address the emerging situation.This is evident from the two majordisasters that hit Kashmir badly which are2005 earthquake and 2014 floods. In 2005earthquake around 100 people lost theirhouses in hilly rural areas, at that timepeople living in urban areas provided reliefand assistance to the victims. People fromurban areas provided relief materials to theearthquake victims in rural areas. Theyalso provided them financial support andyouth of urban areas aided the victims torebuild their houses leaving behind theirdifferences.

During 2014 floods the whole Srinagarvalley (city/urban areas) was submerged

under water for more than three months.During this disaster people from variousrural villages reached with 100 of trucksloaded with food items, beddings and otherrelief items to help flood victims and evenyoung people came forward to rescue thestranded people by putting their own livesin jeopardy. Such incidents set an exampleof Kashmiriyat. Moreover it was alsomarked that Kashmiriyat as a tool ofcomposite heritage succeeded in formingstrong emotional bond among Sikhs andMuslims during 2014 floods when bothcommunities opened up their religious placesto give shelter to the flood victims.

Apart from regional differences, castedifferences also contribute in creating riftsamong people of Kashmir. In particularSyed caste among Muslims considerthemselves as elite caste and look up atother castes as inferior to them. Members ofSyed caste marry only in their own casteand never go for inter-caste marriage. It isalso believed that Syed caste tried to alwaysattain some power as they think they areborn to rule and their caste has beenendowed with some spiritual powers.Other caste members often scoff at Syedcaste by referring them as “malle” whichmeans that some people from Syed caste sitat shrines and earn money by givingspiritual healings to people. Whereas peoplethink it is unethical to use shrines as sourceof income that is the reason Syed castepeople are criticised by other castes. But itis not the case, it is just that other casteshave developed strong antipathy againstSyed caste because they think Syed casteconsider themselves elite and powerful. Sothe caste differences among Kashmiris haveat the times shown uglier side but duringunrests it was observed that irrespective ofcaste affiliations people together supportedKashmir struggle. Even Syed caste andother castes together provided aid to thetransport community during 2016 unrestwhen community suffered major losses intheir work. Perhaps it is the Kashmiri


cultural and social values embedded inKashmiriyat that helped people to forgestrong bonds to help each other.

One more striking example ofKashmiriyat is evident from the incidentwhen 200 year old historical Peer DastgeerSahib shrine in summer capital of Kashmirwas gutted in a blaze in the year 2012.Scores of locals gathered at the shrineweeping, wailing and trying to set off theblaze. Reverence for the 11th century saintin Kashmir cuts the religious barriers whileMuslims call the saint “ghaus-e-azam” andthe Hindus adore the saint as “kahnoow”.During this incident it was noticed thatlarge number of people from Shiacommunity were present to set off the blazeeven if they do not have faith in thatshrine. It was out of courtesy ofKashmiriyat which united Shia Sunnicommunity together. This incident arousedlove and compassion in the hearts of boththe communities

During the month of Ramadan, theSikh community of Kashmir organized Iftarstalls to help Muslims break their fast. Evenon the occasion of Shab-e- Qadir (religiousnight when Muslims pray for whole night inthe month of Ramadan) Sikh communityserved juices and snacks to the Muslims.Witnessing this emotional bond, it can besaid that love doesnot care about existingreligious boundaries and it is the essence ofKashmiriyat which is even adhered by Sikhcommunity of Kashmir. The cultural values(Kashmiriyat) make every Kashmiri to realizethat they should respect and love everyreligion, so it is Kashmiriyat which againand again demonstrated that it is animportant part of composite heritage ofKashmir.

Historically, Kashmiriyat, a singlethread of belongingness held both KashmiriPandits and Kashmiri Muslims together forages. If we look at the history of thisrelationship before late 80’s there was anastonishing relationship between twocommunities. Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri

Muslims were in continuous contact witheach other by visiting each other’s places, bycelebrating festivals together and children ofboth communities used to play together. Butthis beautiful scenario totally went off fromthe sight after late 80’s due to the emergenceof the conflict situation. All Kashmiri Panditsmigrated from their motherland and only afew Kashmiri Pandit families left in Kashmir.We could make out that the late 80’s conflictcreated the rift between the twocommunities which deeply disturbed boththe communities. After that bothcommunities had no hope that there will beany sympathy and affection left towardseach other. But there were some instanceswhich assured that still there is emotionalbond and respect between the twocommunities. And it is Kashmiriyat whichhas always held that string of hope andemotional attachment between the twocommunities.

During Kheer Bhawani Mela, Muslimshelped Kashmiri Pandits in making all thearrangements to mark the occassion.Kashmiri Muslim youth were giving theirbest services to the devotees at KheerBhawani Mela. Kashmiri Pandits alwaysappreciated this kind of attitude and it waswell evident that love between twocommunities can never be lost. Also whenKashmiri Pandits were moving out ofKashmir, Kashmir Muslims were veryemotional. So it is the Kashmiriyat which hassafeguarded and preserved the internal bondbetween the two communities. All theincidents shared in this write-up make itclear that Kashmiriyat as a timelesscomposite heritage has always united peopleof Kashmir. Despite the existence of severalother cultural components such as music,dance, festivals and historical places inKashmir, Kashmiriyat occupies a uniquestatus as important aspect of compositeheritage that can play major role in bringingpeace and harmony by forging strongemotional bonds among various Kashmiricommunities.


THE characteristics of poetryflow necessarily from thenature of language and theactive function of poetry inrelation to society, man andreality.

When we speak of“man” we mean the

genotype or individual, the instinctive manas he is born, who if “left to himself”might grow up into something like a dumbbrute, but instead of this he grows up in acertain kind of society as a certain kind ofman – Athenian, Aztec or Londoner. Wemust not think of the genotype ascompletely plastic and amorphous. It hascertain definite instincts and potentialitieswhich are the source of its energy and itsrestlessness. Nor are all genotypes alike.Men differ among themselves because ofinborn characteristics. Society is not,however, opposed to this inbornindividuality; on the contra, thedifferentiation which comes with increaseof civilisation is the means of realisingmen’s particularities. Man cannot choosebetween being an artist or a scientist in asociety which has neither art nor science;nor between biology and psychology wherescience is still no more than vagueastrological superstition.

This genotype is never found “in theraw.” Always it is found as a man ofdefinite concrete civilisation with definiteopinions, material surroundings, andeducation – a man with a consciousnessconditioned by the relations he has entered

CHAPTER : VIII

The World and the “I”

By CHRISTOPHER CAUDWELLCHRISTOPHER CAUDWELLCHRISTOPHER CAUDWELLCHRISTOPHER CAUDWELLCHRISTOPHER CAUDWELL

into with other men and which he didnot choose but was born into.

Men were originally drawn into theserelations by their struggle with Natureor outer reality. There are certain lawsof the individual – physiological andpsychological. But in the extent to whichman as one part of reality has separatedhimself from the other part (Nature) notin order to cut himself from it, but tostruggle with it and thereby interpenetratewith it more closely in economicproduction – to that extent man hasgenerated yet another field of laws, thoseof sociology. None of these sets of lawscontradicts each other; they enrich eachother.

But it is obvious that the field ofsociology holds a special place because itis the field of the interpenetration of manand Nature, and the source of thegeneration ideologically of the other laws.

The struggle of man and Nature is amaterial movement which in the field ofthought takes the form of the subject-object relation, the oldest problem ofphilosophy. It becomes insoluble problemonly because the division of society intoclasses, by separating the class whichgenerates ideology from society’s activestruggle with Nature, reflects this cleavageinto ideology as a separation of subjectfrom object whereby they become mutuallyexclusive opposites.

In the field of thought as a wholethis struggle of man and Nature in societyis reflected as reality or “truth.” This truth


or reality is not something dropped downfrom on high, it is a living, growing,developing complex. Because it is truthabout the Universe, it is a truth aboutmatter. When we say the universe ismaterial we mean that all phenomenahave underground connections, in the formof causes or determining relations, whichhave an ultimate homogeneity called“matter.” This is the first assumption ofscience, because to include anything in thefield of science is to assert it hasconnections of this kind. To deny suchconnectedness of any phenomena is todeny their knowability and therefore thepossibility of their inclusion in the field ofscience. The history of science is thediscovery of these connections, and theirdemonstration as objective. They cannot bediscovered by contemplation alone, but atevery stage experiment – the practicaldemonstration of connections – is necessary.

Thus truth is an organised product ofman’s struggle with Nature. As thatstruggle accumulates capital (technique andknowledge) and grows in complexity, sothe truth which is the reflection of realityblossoms in man’s head. Only a partialaspect of that truth, at any time, can be inany one man’s head. Distorted, partial andlimited, in one head, this perception ofreality yet acquires the power of truth, ofscience, in the heads of all living men,because it is organised by the conditions ofsociety which themselves spring from thenecessities of economic production. Thus atany time truth is the special complexformed by the partial reflections of realityin all living men’s heads – not as a merelumping together, but as these views areorganised in a given society, by its level ofexperimental technique, scientific literature,means of communication and discussion,and laboratory facilities.

In each man “truth” takes the formof perception – what he seizes of realitywith his senses – and memory – what isactive at any moment of former perception,

affecting his present perception. Becausethese human consciousnesses acquiretremendous power when their contentsemerge organised by association, andbecome truth, they reflect back again withincreasing penetration on the individual,whose memory and perception thusbecome more and more modified by beingin society. An individual’s consciousness is,in this sense, a social product.

Truth is individual man’s experienceof the connections of phenomena, becomeorganised by homologation with millions ofother such experiences. It can be organisedbecause these perceptual worlds are allphenomena exhibited by the one materialuniverse of which all individuals are apart, and not phenomena of so manyprivate subjective Universes. Without thiscommon factor, there would be nocongruence of private worlds and thereforeno objective truth. Science, which isobjective truth, therefore is concerned withdemonstrating the material connections or“causality” of phenomena.

There is no absolute truth, but thereis a limit to which the truth of society atany moment continually aims. This limit ofabsolute truth is the Universe itself. Whenman shall have completely interpenetratedwith Nature.... Yet even this theoreticallimit supposes both a Universe that standsstill and a truth which is outside theUniverse. Truth, however, is a part of theUniverse. Yet truth is generated by man’sstruggle with the rest of reality, and hence,with each stage of the struggle, newreality is generated and the world mademore complex. As a result reality itself isenriched, and the goal-post of “absolutetruth” removed a stage further by thatvery increase in the complexity of reality.Society can no more reach absolute truththan a man can be tall enough to lookdown on himself – yet just as man’sheight by continually increasing extends hisrange of view, so society’s developmentendlessly extends its truth.


Language is the most flexibleinstrument man has evolved in hisassociated struggle with Nature. Alone,man cannot plough Nature deeply; hencealone he cannot know her deeply. But asassociated man, master of economicproduction, he widens his active influenceon her, and therefore enlarges the truthwhich is the product of that action.Language is the essential tool of humanassociation. It is for this reason that onecan hardly think of truth except as astatement in language, so much is truththe product of association.

How does truth emerge in language?The word is a gesture, a cry. Take, forexample, a herd of beasts that give acertain cry in situations of danger. Whenone cries, the others, as a result of acurrent of primitive passive sympathy, areterrified too, and all flee together.

The cry therefore has a subjectiveside, a “feeling-tone,” all feel terrified atthe cry.

But the cry also indicates some thingterrifying, a foe or danger. The crytherefore has an objective side, a referenceto something perceivable in reality.

Evidently for purely animal existencea few brief cries suffice. Some animals aredumb. But for the animal engaged ineconomic production in association – theanimal called man – the cry becomes theword. Its “value” is now no longerinstinctive – resulting from the relation ofgenotype to habitual environment – itbecomes “arbitrary” – resulting from therelation of modified genotype to artificialenvironment in economic production. Inbecoming the word as a result ofassociation for economic production, thecry still retains its two sides, its instinctivefeeling-tone and its acquired perceptualvalue, but both are made more preciseand complex.

The feelings of the herd have ageneral similarity, because of the similarityof their instinctive make-up. Their

perceptions also have a similarity, becauseof the likeness in their way of living. Theselike feelings are not known to theindividual animals as like, any more thaneach knows the other’s perceptual worldsare like. The individual animal feels andsees alone. We, the onlookers, deduce thelikeness in the emotional and perceptualworlds of the animals from the similarityof their behaviour; but the animals cannotbe conscious in this way of a like world.

Man knows that there is a likeness inthe worlds of men; this likeness isexpressed for example in science, the worldof perceptual reality. In the same way heknows there is a likeness in feelings. Thislikeness is expressed in art, the world ofaffective reality.

Man only came to know this likenessin his perceptual worlds when he enteredinto association with other men. Why didhe so enter? In order to change hisperceptual world. This contradiction issimply the basic contradiction of science –that man learns about reality in changingit. That is precisely what an experimentdoes; and the experiment is crucial forscience. This characteristic contradictionreaches its final expression in Heisenberg’sPrinciple of Indeterminacy, which declaresthat all knowledge of reality involves achange in reality. All laws of science arelaws stating what actions produce whatchanges in reality. Science is the sum ofthe changes in perceptual worlds producedby men in their history, preserved,organised, made handy, compendious andpenetrating.

In the same way, man learns of thelikeness of the egos of other men byattempting to change them. This change isessential for living in association as men.Man’s instinct is to do always such andsuch. Unless therefore these instincts canbe modified to make him do somethingdifferent, man will respond instinctivelyinstead of in a conditioned way, andsociety will be impossible. Men live in a

PRINTING : Design & Dimensions, L-5 A, Sheikh Sarai, Phase-II, New Delhi-110017

Your support and contribution will help ISD spread its message of Peace.For queries regarding donation and support write to us at [email protected]

Your stories are valuable to us. Share them so that others can also read.Mail us at [email protected]

INSTITUTE for SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, New Delhi, IndiaE-MAIL : [email protected] / WEBSITE www.sach.org.in / www.isd.net.in

common feeling-world only in so far asthey are able to produce changes in eachother’s feelings by action. This change infeeling is crucial for art. The sum of suchchanges, organised and made independentof men, is what art is, not in abstraction,but emerging in concrete living.

Both science and art exist nascentlyin the animal. The wooing of the female,the frightening of enemies, mean that theactive animal must change feeling in theother. The courtship dance and thethreatening preliminaries to a fight are artin embryo. But both are done instinctively.They lack freedom and are thereforeunconscious. They do not belong to asocially conditioned world. Only thosefeelings which are changed by means notgiven explicitly in the nature of man or ofthe natural environment are the subject ofart. In so far as art exposes the realnecessity of the instincts by exposing allthe various possible changes following fromthe various possible means of influencingthem, art becomes conscious of thenecessity of the world of feeling, andtherefore free. Art is the expression ofman’s freedom in the world of feeling, justas science is the expression of man’sfreedom in the world of sensoryperception, because both are conscious ofthe necessities of their worlds and canchange them – art the world of feeling orinner reality, science the world ofphenomena or outer reality.

The common flight of a herd from a

terrifying object indicated by the cry ofone, is science in embryo, but onlybecomes science when it is theconsciousness of a change in the perceptualworld produced, not by fleeing fromdanger instinctively, but by altering iteconomically – by, for example, makingweapons or a snare and killing thedangerous animal, or retreating in anorganised way, covering the rear.

Science and art, although expressionsof the social commonness in perceptualand feeling worlds, do not reduce men toreplicas of each other. On the contrary,because they deal with possible changes,and are expanded and enriched inproportion as new changes are discovered,they are the means whereby individualdifferences are realised. Differences whichat the animal level reveal themselves as ahare-lip or an extra plumpness, nowappear as subtle differences of emotionallife or Weltanschauung, colouring andenriching the whole complex of reality.Language is the special medium wherebythese changes are made social coin. Wordsare the money of the ideological market ofmankind. Even as a few exchangetransactions express all the bewilderingcomplexity of modern social being, so afew sounds express all the rich universe ofemotion and truth which is modern man’sideological world.

to be continued...Courtesy—Illusion and Reality

final version 47 issue · country’s highest law-making body. the number of women representatives...

Documents