Issue 64 Vol III, May 31, 2008

C O M M E N T

Forging All-India Identity
Randeep Wadehra

INDIA may be on its way to be an economic superpower. But it faces a tough poser in the form of spiraling social unrest, epitomized by caste wars, sub-cultural turmoil and sectarian violence. Is this indicative of our identity crisis as a nation?

Since independence, our collective national psyche has been suffering from schizophrenia of sorts. On the one hand we unstintingly adopted a secular constitution sans state religion, and on the other, the body-politic is being wracked by partisan unrest of the worst possible kind. And, let’s not forget the sense of alienation that our compatriots in the Northeast feel vis-à-vis the rest of India, leading to insidious insurgency. Over the years, India’s secular-social fabric hasn’t just frayed at the edges, but has developed gaping holes all over it. Terrorism and group conflicts have become endemic. Forces of obscurantism are doing their worst to subvert the emergence of a liberal post-modern milieu.

The grand Gandhian vision of a genuinely tolerant polity has been reduced to a pathetic platitude mouthed by dishonest politicians, even as they do their worst to tear apart the traditional composite culture. Obviously things have gone terribly wrong somewhere, the reasons for which need to be investigated.

Is it possible to untangle the communal conundrum that’s slowly asphyxiating the once healthy organism called Indian polity? The answer is an unequivocal “yes”. An honest effort is needed at the following levels at least:

There’s an urgent need to promote multicultural exchanges and understanding in order to avoid demonization of “the other”. Multiculturalism, a vital input in promoting secularism, implies respect for other cultures while remaining loyal to one’s own. Let’s look back at history and draw certain lessons as to how our forefathers coped with an increasingly complex social structure. The inherent pantheistic nature of our civilization sustains religious open-mindedness. The spirit of co-existence and tolerance that’s characterized Hinduism since ancient times has its parallel today in the freedom of religious worship that’s guaranteed under our constitution. So much so that it’s ingrained in our minds that respect for all religions equals secularism. Admittedly, for a polity to be genuinely secular it has to be outside the pale of religion altogether. The creed of assimilation, mutual trust and harmonious co-existence practiced by our ancestors needs to be adapted to today’s context.

Common secular laws, applicable to all citizens, are essential for the formation of a secular society. There has been a lot of misuse of personal laws that does not augur well for the formation of a just polity. Caste-panchayats are another threat to the existence of a multi-cultural civil society. Exploitation in the name of religious sanctity of certain practices that belong to the distant past has been well documented. Scrap all personal laws and bring different religions, castes, sub-castes and tribal groups etc under the common secular law of the land.

All forms of reservations on the basis of caste and religion, be these in the field of employment, education or electoral constituencies, need to be abolished. Meritocracy must rule supreme. The culture of respecting true merit in all walks of life needs to be evolved in order to obliterate all forms of social friction. The current socio-political-administrative superstructure promotes sectarianism. Make the power structure more just, and its functioning more transparent and responsive, by giving merit a chance.

Our education system needs complete overhaul. Any attempt to promote obscurantism and intolerance often begins in classrooms. This should be checked ruthlessly. All religion-based educational institutions must be closed down immediately. The school should be a secular platform for disseminating value-based education. Morality needs to be redefined – taking it out of the realm of theocratic didacticism and placing it in the context of liberal-secular mindset. In order to make secularism the creed of the 21st century India, we should facilitate young students’ understanding, and practicing, of multiculturalism. Study of all forms of theology should be allowed as an optional subject at post-graduate level only when scholars would be mature enough to successfully resist all attempts at indoctrination.

Rationalism and reason are essential inputs in the evolution of a modern secular polity. Unfortunately, even when our constitution provides for promotion of scientific temper, dens of irrationality and obscurantism have been flourishing with impunity. Education was left more or less to individual states. This was a cardinal sin as it endangered the very existence of the nascent liberal-democratic ethos that needed careful centralized nurturing.

Identity is essential to an individual for various socio-psychological reasons. But it’s not a static concept; it changes as one evolves. Today the traditional caste structure has become irrelevant to the vocation one chooses. If rationalism prevails, even religious and linguistic identities will become redundant. Eventually, one might well see the emergence of an all-India identity in its most genuine form. The next logical step in our collective evolution as a nation would be global citizenship based on the ideals of secularism, peace and progress.

[Savants' Sallies http://savantsallies.blogspot.com]

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Say no to genetically engineered crops
Umendra Dutt

1. Insect Resistance
Most genetically engineered (GE) crops are either engineered to produce their own pesticide in the form of Bacillus thurengiensis (Bt) or are engineered to be resistant to herbicides, which include "Roundup-Ready" crops. Bt is used by organic farmers as a least-toxic alternative to control bugs. Organic farmers use Bt sparingly and only as a last resort, but thousands of acres of GE crops contain Bt. It's only a matter of time before insects become resistant to Bt, some scientists say as little as 3-5 years. Then organic farmers will be left without this important tool. "Roundup-Ready" crops allow farmers to spray their fields with the herbicide RoundupTM (glyphosate) without harming the herbicide resistant crop. This practice has led to increased use of glyphosate and insect resistance to the herbicide.

2. Superweeds
Herbicide resistant crops have been shown to cross-pollinate with weeds in the same family, creating super-weeds that are also resistant to herbicides. This will lead to ineffective increased herbicide use because farmers will spray the superweeds repeatedly, unaware that the weeds are herbicide-resistant. Also, weeds that have cross-pollinated with GE crops bred to resist insect may become invasive, spreading beyond their natural habitat and out-competing native plants.

3. Pollen Drift
Pollen from GE crops has the potential to drift. If organic farmers' crops become polluted with genetically engineered pollen, they may be subject to loss of their organic certification and financial losses. Because of GE pollen drifting form a neighboring farm, non-organic farmers have been accused of using GE crops without paying for them. A Canadian canola farmer was sued by Monsanto for patent infringement after the company allegedly found their GE crops on his property. The farmer says he has never planted Monsanto's seeds.

4. Harm to Wildlife
In a study published in Nature, Cornell University scientists found that Monarch butterfly caterpillars are harmed by consuming Bt corn pollen dusted on milkweed. European scientists have found that beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and green lacewings, are similarly harmed. A 1997 study published in New Scientist found that honeybees may be harmed from feeding on GE canola flowers.

5. Harm to Soil
New York University microbiologists recently found that Bt corn leaks Bt into the soil from its roots. The Bt can remain in the soil for 200+ days and can harm non-target organisms, said the study, which was published in Nature.

6. Harm to Human Health
The biotech industry and government assures us that GE foods are safe, but scientific studies suggest this is not the case. A study published in Journal of Medicinal Food shows that herbicide resistant soy varieties contain lower levels of beneficial plant estrogens, when compared to non GE soybeans. A 1996 study, published in the International Journal of Heath Services, reported that milk from cows injected with recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), a synthetically produced hormone that makes cows produce more milk, contains increased levels of a growth factor that has been linked to breast and gastrointestinal cancers in humans.

7. Hidden Allergens
Scientists have found that soybeans genetically engineered to contain proteins from a Brazil nut can cause allergic reactions in people sensitive to nuts, as reported in a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Based on these findings, the company decided not to sell the GE soybean, but next time the public may not be so lucky. Since GE foods are not labeled, the public has no way of knowing if food that they buy contains genes from species that they are allergic to.

8. Religious and Moral Considerations
Fish genes have been incorporated into tomatoes to prevent freezing at low temperatures and chicken DNA has been added to potatoes to increase disease resistance. Many people who choose to not eat meat for religious or moral reasons will begin to wonder if their vegetables are 100% meat-free and do not know when they consume these GE vegetables.

9. Antibiotic Resistance
In process of genetically engineering a product, antibiotic marker genes are used to help with the transfer of DNA from one life form to another. Scientists worry that this process could lead to increased antibiotic resistance, which is already a serious problem.

10. GE Is Unfair to Farmers
Biotechnology companies force farmers to sign contracts when purchasing their genetically engineered seeds and crops. These grower's contracts prevent farmers from being able to store seeds from year to year, which the biotech companies claim would be a patent infringement. Additionally, "terminator technology," which is not currently being commercialized but is owned by a major seed company and USDA, will produce plants with sterile seeds, making the practice of seed saving impossible.

[Umendra Dutt, Executive Director, KHETI VIRASAT MISSION

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