Grappling with Indianness is an exciting journey of study and self-examination. It is like peeling an onion or several onions layer by layer. It might still remain a mystery at the end of it. The process turns your assumptions upside down. Things that appeared self-evident suddenly look shaky. The cathartic exercise requires an open mind, a sense of adventure and some gumption. After all, every conclusion or generalisation can easily be given a counter example. The cover story is a step towards initiating a discussion on this topic.
Grappling with Indianness is an exciting journey of study and self-examination. It is like peeling an onion or several onions layer by layer. It might still remain a mystery at the end of it. The process turns your assumptions upside down. Things that appeared self-evident suddenly look shaky. The cathartic exercise requires an open mind, a sense of adventure and some gumption. After all, every conclusion or generalisation can easily be given a counter example. The cover story is a step towards initiating a discussion on this topic.
The letters to the editor provide a glimpse of a serious discussion on a matter raised by Prof K Raghavendra Rao in the previous issue. We welcome reactions to issues raised in Ghadar Jari Hai by various authors. Needless to say it should be civilised no matter how strongly the contributors disagree with each other.
Mahmood Farooqui is a familiar name to our readers. We published his interview in 2007 about goings on in Delhi during the Ghadar of 1857. His book “Besieged Voices from Delhi 1857” which was published recently has been read and reviewed widely. We carry a review by Prakash Rao and also republish another by Dr Rudrangshu Mukherjee.
Dharampal Agrawal and Pankaj Goyal have brilliantly summed up the state of health care in ancient and medieval India. Today we are beginning to come to terms with the enormous challenge of providing quality and affordable health care to a billion Indians. What is the State’s responsibility in this, or will it be done through Public–Private-Partnership with an eye on profitability or by Health Insurance companies with a few sops given away by the state to the poorest of the poor? This has been the direction of discourse so far in India. The article published here is an eye opener in many respects.
S Udayan has taken on a popular perception about Indians or South Indians in particular being “good in Math” and has probed some environmental factors that might have led to the same, which might very well provide new reactions in our next issue!
The back cover carries a short poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a famed Urdu poet loved all over Urdu-Hindi speaking parts of the subcontinent. A poet who inspired many a revolutionary and fighter for democratic rights.