By Justice Markandey Katju–
(Justice Markandey Katju is a former Judge, Supreme Court of India, and former Chairman, Press Council of India. The views expressed are his own)
How could just 100,000 British people conquer and rule over 350,000 Indians?
This happened for two reasons:
(1) Indians were technically backward
(2) We were divided.
At present, we have no dearth of technical talent. In fact, Indian IT engineers are largely manning Silicon Valley in California, and American Universities have numerous Indian professors of science, engineering, mathematics, medicine, etc. India is the most advanced of the world’s underdeveloped countries.
Therefore, it is the second reason which has become all important today. It is our disunity which is preventing us from becoming a modern industrial giant like China. We are badly divided on the basis of religion, caste, ethnicity, etc. Unless we are united, we will never be able to rapidly industrialize and abolish poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, and the other evils that plague us today.
Some people think that because of our tremendous diversity we can never unite. I do not agree. Diversity can be a source of weakness, but it can also be a source of strength. It is a source of weakness if we hate each other or fight with each other, as is happening in India today.
It can, however, also be a source of strength. For instance, the United States is the most powerful and advanced nation in the world, and one factor that contributed to this was its diversity.
People from different countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America, etc came to USA bringing with them their own technical knowledge and culture, and when these were pooled together it contributed to rapid progress. So we need not worry too much about our diversity. There can be unity despite diversity.
Unfortunately, we adopted the parliamentary system of democracy, which runs (as everyone knows) largely on the basis of caste and communal vote banks. Casteism and communalism are feudal forces which must be destroyed if India is to progress, but parliamentary democracy further entrenches them (as it runs largely on that basis).
Our politicians, who have no genuine love for the country but are only interested in power and pelf, incite caste, communal and ethnic hatred for getting votes, which divides us.
So we have to devise an alternative system that unites us, and under which we rapidly industrialize and emerge as a modern industrial giant, of which we have all the potential.
How that alternative system can be created, how much time will that take, who will be the modern-minded leaders who will lead the people’s struggle in creating and running it, no one can presently predict.
One cannot be rigid about historical forms. The people will have to use their creativity in this connection. But it is only by creating such an alternative system, in which people are solidly united, can we ensure that never again will a handful of foreigners rule over us, directly or indirectly.
