India has endured — but as we celebrate another Republic Day, we must remember that we cannot take this for granted. Historian Ramachandra Guha joins Amit Varma in episode 157 of The Seen and the Unseen to examine some of the currents of history that brought us here, and are still in flux.
In this a Republic Day special episode, MR Madhavan talks to Pavan Srinath about the Indian Republic and the Indian Parliament.
Are we, the elites, ready to overcome our pet peeves and narcissism of small differences? Are we ready to trust our people to make choices, commit mistakes and improve the common good out of enlightened self interest, just as they participate in the market for their own benefit and facilitate collective gain?
We might actually be in a better position today than our counterparts a hundred years ago. We might not feel that way, but compared to the task of persuading society that every human being is equal regardless of caste, religion or gender, our challenges are relatively easier.
The whole point of Indian pluralism is you can be many things and one thing: you can be a good Muslim, a good Keralite and a good Indian all at once. The Indian idea is the opposite of what Freudians call “the narcissism of minor differences”; in India, we celebrate the commonality of major differences.
Indians have embraced democracy to such an extent that they have left its excesses unchecked. Ambedkar warned that “the purpose of a Constitution is not merely to create the organs of the state but to limit their authority.”
On 26th January 1950, the Enlightenment—a historical process of intellectual development that evolved in Western Europe and the United States over centuries—was injected into the veins of Indian society in the form of a written statute. We are still dealing with the shock of that moment.
Welcome to Brainstorm, Pragati’s attempt to create a space where diverse minds can discuss big issues in a respectful way. Every month, we will gather together five thinkers (and one moderator) who will discuss one big subject in a thoughtful, unhurried manner.