Editorial Volume 2, No. 2

Editorials.gifSustainable development has become a cliché. It seems to mean different things to different people. However, long before the anarchy of short term profiteering laid bare our landscape, Indian civilization had developed a balance, a harmony called rta. It involved a proper balance between individual, collective and societal interests; it involved the balancing of short term productivity with the recharging of depleted resources in a natural way for long term interests; it bound the individual, the village and the state together in a web of rights and duties.

Editorials.gifSustainable development has become a cliché. It seems to mean different things to different people. However, long before the anarchy of short term profiteering laid bare our landscape, Indian civilization had developed a balance, a harmony called rta. It involved a proper balance between individual, collective and societal interests; it involved the balancing of short term productivity with the recharging of depleted resources in a natural way for long term interests; it bound the individual, the village and the state together in a web of rights and duties.

Along with many other things, this harmony was destroyed by a rapacious British colonialism with its focus on plunder. However, it is galling that 60 years after independence the Indian state and political classes continue colonial practices and laws. One of the vestiges of the ancient Indian system is village commons, which are being bartered away to industry, real estate developers, SEZs and so on, to the detriment of millions of villagers. The cover story graphically depicts the traumatic changes.

Prof D P Agrawal, a well known scientist and archeologist, has exposed us to the engineering legacy of Harappan civlisation in his article. Particularly interesting is the fact that the Harappan sites spread over a million square kilometer area show complete standardization of brick sizes and weights, indicating a high level of organisation. The author also points out that unlike their contemporaries in West Asia, Harappans were not megalomaniacs in their architecture or aesthetics. The archeological finds imply a simple and functional approach with a high level of town planning and standards of hygiene. One only wishes that one had concrete information regarding the philosophy, literature, culture and statecraft of the Harappans.
Dr Pradip, a highly accomplished material scientist, has written about the metallurgical achievements of ancient India. Most of us have been told that India learnt modern science and technology from the West. Pradip’s well documented survey opens our eyes to a different picture of pre-British India.

In Peepul ke Neeche this time Shivanand has interviewed Lal Singh, General Secretary of the Communist Ghadar Party of India. They have discussed a wide gamut of issues regarding communist views on Eurocentrism, India’s heritage of thought material, the Bhakti Lehar, the movement for secularisation in India and so on.

S Gautham has drawn the parallel between the Ghadar of 1857 and the struggle against globalisation today. S S Azad has given us an inspiring story of the Kuka movement from the anti-colonial struggle in Punjab. Prakash Rao has reviewed Noorul Hoda’s book on the Alipore Bomb case, in which many a Bengal revolutionary, including Shri Aurobindo, were involved.

We also have a short story, valuable feedback to the earlier issues and a bird’s-eye-view of events round the country that resonate with Ghadar Jari Hai.

Many of our readers and well-wishers from non-Hindi speaking areas have requested us to provide English subtitles to the title of the magazine and sections like Peepul Ke Neeche. We respect their views and have made relevant additions of subtitles.   

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