Dear Editor,
Congratulations on the latest issue of Ghadar Jari Hai. This issue contains articles of a very high quality reflecting the dedication and hard work put in by the contributors and the editorial staff.
Dear Editor,
Congratulations on the latest issue of Ghadar Jari Hai. This issue contains articles of a very high quality reflecting the dedication and hard work put in by the contributors and the editorial staff.
Pages 30 and 32 of this issue (Vol 2 No 1) carry the Minute dated 2nd February 1835 of Lord Macaulay. We want to add something to this.
As you may know, Azadi Express, an enterprise of the Government of India, is a travelling exhibition, set up in twelve coaches of a train to mark the 150th Anniversary of the First War of Independance. This is a subject of direct relevance to Ghadar Jari Hai. This exhibition train was in Chennai recently and we visited it.
The train carried the following quote from Lord Macaulay’s address to the British Parliament in 1835: "I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such culture that I do not think we would ever conquer this country unless we break the very backbone of this nation which is her spiritual and cultural heritage and therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for, if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self esteem, their native self culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation."
We are bringing this to the notice of all your readers to show the diabolical nature of the colonial rulers. It also shows how prosperous and cultured India was at that time.
While two centuries of colonial rule denuded India of her wealth, her culture and her values, it is agonising to see that the present policy of liberalistion, privatisation and globalisation in all its manifestations, advocated and even imposed by the economic colonisers of the capitalist world, is once again denuding our country of its culture and its values besides its wealth created by the labour of the Indian people out of the immense resources of our great country. That the government is a willing partner of this nefarious exercise makes it obligatory for the existing scheme of things to be thrown overboard and replaced by a system in which people of the country are the full and final arbiters of their own destinies.
Padma Sankaran
T. S. Sankaran
Chennai
Dear Editor,
We have received both the first issue and second issue of the ‘Ghadar Jari Hai’ and in the meantime I have already distributed copies of your valuable magazine among our friends, students and colleagues in the University of Dhaka and other universities of Bangladesh.
I am very happy to inform you that we have already translated some articles into Bangla (Bengali) from both the issues of ‘Ghadar Jari Hai’ magazine and it has been decided to publish these translated articles in "Neemna Barga" (Subaltern), a little magazine in Bangla that would be published in Dhaka, Bangladesh. We hope to get your next issues very regularly in Dhaka.
We also hope that you would publish articles on the incidents and events that occurred during 1857 in the then eastern part of Bengal, now Bangladesh.
Thank you once again for a timely publication that explores the true history and struugle of common people in 1857 against the British rulers and also the dangerous effect of eurocentrism. It is much more important to convey this to our young
generation.
With warm regards.
Zahid Hasan Mahmood
Associate Professor
Department of Applied Physics and Electronics
University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Dear Editor,
My feedback on Ghadar Jari Hai, January-March issue of 2008:
- In the English version of GJH, please provide an English subtitle for the magazine as well as sub headings such as Peepul Ke Neeche, etc.
- Please start a website for Ghadar Jari Hai.
- Article titled "Land Acquisition from Colonial Times to the present" is a very interesting and informative article. It has provided a historical perspective and it brings out that today’s rulers have the same objectives and measures as the colonial rulers in denying the rights of its citizens particularly peasants. It has clarified what the "public good" means in this act and how this has been defined to defend land grabbing and resources grabbing by capitalists and rich people. The article has also brought out the essence of the conflict as that of ensuring livelihood of the people whose lands are acquired by the state. On the issue of reorganising the resources, a people-based governance would and should proceed not only to ensure livelihood of all the impacted people, but should also guarantee further enrichment of it. Whereas, the existing set up in India from colonial times has looked at it merely as a compensation issue. By tracing how these acquired lands are used in a few cases the article has shown the real interests and beneficiaries behind such acquisitions. This article has added valuable content and brought out the real issues underlying the ongoing conflicts involving Land acquisitions. Today all over India the struggle against acquisition of peasants’ land is becoming an important one.
- "The Colonial Legacy in Land Ownership and relations" is another very informative article in GJH. It has covered a vast time span and various modes of governance and traces the land ownership across all of them. It has given a bird’s-eye-view of this subject. However, a simple reader like myself, will require more detailed explanations such as what kind of private property and land relationships existed in India before and during 18th century before Britishers arrived in India. Has that remained the same across the regions of this country or was it different? Although the article has described this at a broad level, what is the detailed meaning and working of 3 types of land relationships introduced by Britishers? Why did they introduce 3 different systems in India? I look forward to further expansion of this subject in the coming issues of GJH.
- Highly stirring and thought provoking was the "Cultural foundations of Mathematics" – Book Review. I have also seen a review of the same book in "Hindu" news paper. But the one written by GJH has been very detailed and informative. Actual reading of the book and more understanding of Mathematics itself is a must to understand and comment on this subject. Perhaps this calls for a conference of Mathematicians and Scientists to debate and discuss this subject to understand the state of development and contributions of Indian people in Mathematics (and science) before Britishers arrived in India. If India were that advanced how could less developed Britishers conquer India and rule it for two hundred years?
Thus, this book and the discussions raise many more questions for study and analysis. I request GJH to carry this forward, perhaps by organising a conference as mentioned above.
Overall, I would like to state that GJH is proving to be one of the very serious journals in the sphere of history, science and people. I wish all the success for the GJH and its editorial team.
Baskar
Chennai
Dear Editor,
I greatly enjoyed your last issue for its depth, quality and relevance. The cover story dealt with the chicanery of Indian state which shamelessly imposes colonial laws of land acquisition to ruthlessly take over land belonging to the poor to serve the monoply interests and to add insult to injury calls it "in public interest"! The piece on land relations and British rule reiterated the often forgotton fact that the concept of private property in land was alien to India and was transplanted by the British at the cost of millions of peasants, whose trauma still continues. Extracts from Dr. Raju’s book on Cultural Foundations of Mathematics were similarly fascinating and require much study and reflection. I once again congratulate your team. Keep it up!
S. K. Ojha
Patna