[Reader-list] Dispenser of India's destiny - Kashmir, Orissa, Bihar, Karnataka

[Aditya Raj Kaul]

Rabindranath also said in his essay "Nationalism"; "Our food is creative, it
builds our body; but not so wine, which stimulates. Our social ideals create
the human world, but when our mind is diverted from them to greed of power
then in the state of intoxication we live in a world of abnormality where
our strength is not health and our liberty is not freedom. Therefore,
political freedom does not give us freedom when our mind is not free. An
automobile does not create freedom of movement, because it is a mere
machine. When I  myself am free I can use the automobile for the purpose of
my freedom" ..... "We must never forget in the present day that those people
who have got their political freedom are not necessarily free; they are
merely powerful. The passions which are unbridled in them are creating huge
organisations of slavery in the disguise of freedom."...........

And, he further goes on to say... " But the doom which is waiting to
overtake them is as certain as death - for man's truth is moral truth and
his emancipation is in the spiritual life."

This holds true in present day India. Many of my friends on this Sarai forum
would understand my worry.

Thanks
Aditya Raj Kaul

On 9/21/08, Gargi Sen <sen.gargi at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear all,
> Over the last rather surreal months I have sometimes felt a strange
> connection to the song by Tagore that is used by the Indian state as its
> national anthem. Tagore who translated the poem into English himself
> defined
> the Œadhinayak¹ of Œjana, gana, mana¹ as the Œdispenser of India's destiny¹
> and claims that Œthou art the ruler of the minds of all people.¹
> It is alleged that the song was written to felicitate George the fifth as
> he
> is coroneted the monarch of the benevolent British empire - that
> incidentally also included this very nation - and the Œdispenser of India¹s
> destiny¹ was the king. The poet disagreed and said he meant God.
>
> Tagore had a deeply spiritual side and composed various litanies to god so
> it is possible that he meant god as the dispenser of India¹s destiny.
> Tagore had returned the knighthood conferred to him by his government in
> protest. It was perhaps an act of deep insult, though not quite treason,
> against the state.
> Tagore also criticised the international league of nations and differed
> with
> the Mahatma on many scores, especially caste.
>
> But I have begun to wonder recently whether he was also clairvoyant? Or at
> least a clever clown? Had he heard the voices from Batla house? Jamia
> Nagar?
> Srinagar? Did he know already that this nation/ nation-state would soon be
> re-defined region by region using another set of parameters? Had he sensed
> the media circus that Yousuf talks about? Did he know of the fantastic
> plans, to build bunds on the Kosi, to link rivers? The conspiracies of
> silence, of hate, of using armed military on unarmed citizens, or arming
> criminals and unleashing them on tribals? Did he already know?
> Who did he mean when he sang a paean to the the dispenser of destiny?
>
> Be that as it may, today it is certainly jaya he, jaya he, jaya he, jaya
> jaya jaya, jaya he.
>
> Gargi Sen
>
>
>
> _________________________________________
> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> Critiques & Collaborations
> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with
> subscribe in the subject header.
> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> List archive: &lt;https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>