Kautilya’s hidden influence on post-Independence India?

Dr S Kalyanaraman, an indefatigable Hindutva online campaigner, appears to have now stepped into a new role: that of a modern Kautilya seeking to advise the IMF (International Monetary Fund) about what should be borne in mind when dealing with India.

Specifically, Dr Kalyan - in an online message (dtd 20 Feb 2006) distributed to various e-mail groups - advises IMF’s youngest ever Chief Economist Mr Raghuram Rajan as follows: “I suggest that you should read Kautilya's Arthas'astra and study how social capital is sustained in Bharatam and Indian Ocean societies.” (emphasis mine)

The unsought advice was in response to Raghuram’s conversation with Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief of ‘The Indian Express’ (21 Feb 2006), published under the heading “Licence raj creates privileged industrialists, workers while the real work is done by unorganised labour” (click here).

In fact, Mr Raghuram Rajan is doing just fine by himself and will continue to do so without the help of the Arthashastra of Mauryan-era Kautilya (aka Chanakya).

It is indeed with remarkable insight that Raghuram gets to the heart of the matter when he speaks as follows:

QUOTE
......It was long due that we emphasised primary and secondary education, as you know India has over-emphasised tertiary in the past. But that does not mean that we under-emphasise tertiary now because our over-emphasis on tertiary has created an industry which relies on the skill-based tertiary education that we had.

...... We need to invest more in education. It is high priority for a number of reasons, including the fact we can get more political awareness from people when they are educated. We need to increase the quality of our human capital.
UNQUOTE

Raghuram will NOT derive support for his above views from the Arthashastra. But he certainly would from Thirukkural.

In his conception of a government, Kautilya had provided for various departments, which correspond to the government Ministries of today. There are two ministries that the Manu-tainted Kautilya had pointedly left out: Education and Health.

Hence, it is surprising that someone could seriously suggest that Kautilya's Arthas'astra should be read to understand "how social capital is sustained in Bharatam and Indian Ocean societies".

What "social capital" can a country hope to build based on an ancient Hindu S'astra that does NOT provide for public Education and Health in its conception of society and government?

We may have to search for the answer to that question in the current condition of India. It is a country that is marching into the 21st century (i) with a literacy rate worse than that of sub-Sahara Africa, AND (ii) as one of the world's most malnourished nations with every other child growing up malnourished (which means that half of the generation now growing up in India will suffer from varying degrees of physical and mental retardation / disabilities). (Note 1)

This is the result of the gross neglect that both EDUCATION and HEALTH CARE had suffered from since the time of India's Independence in 1947.

Is this prolonged neglect to be construed as the hidden influence of Kautilya's Arthas'astra on India's post-Independence political leadership - politicians and bureaucrats - who were supposed to be building up a vibrant democracy through socialism?

IF so, one would have to wonder if it were a case of Brahmanism - lurking behind the shadows along the corridors of power - cunningly subverting the "tryst with destiny" that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had so loudly promised the people of India at the stroke of the first midnight of Independence (15 August 1947).

To hold up Arthas’astra as being relevant to modern India can only be seen to betray dark intentions of continuing the political subversion into the future as well, to the enormous detriment of hundreds of millions of Indians.


“Social capital” versus “Human capital”

This may be a right point to pause for another look at the matter, but from a different angle.

Is there a deeper meaning / intent embedded in Kalyan’s talk of sustaining “social capital” as opposed to Raghuram’s call for increase in “human capital”?

Is the former about preserving (sustaining) the social status quo (i.e. a varnashramic social order dominated by Brahmanism), at least its essential core control structures, whilst the latter is undoubtedly about empowering the individual to break out of the repressive status quo? The latter will certainly lead to the eventual collapse of whatever remains of the age-old casteist social order. And that would be, understandably, a worrisome prospect for Hindutva, which is no more than the modern political face of Brahmanism.

Homo hierarchicus: an endangered species

Hindutva activists should know that Kautilya's Arthas'astra, like the odious Manusmrti, rightly belongs to the rubbish heap of history. It is a S'astra without much artha (meaning) - relevance - for the modern age.

This is an age when scientific formulae matter more than Vedic mantras; fire in the internal combustion engine delivers more power than the flames chanted up in the Vedic yajna (fire sacrificial) pits. This is an age when India is faced with the enormous challenge of quickly transforming its vast breed of homo hierarchicus - the legacy of centuries upon centuries of Varnashramam - for placement in a world that is rapidly flattening out. It is sad to note that India could do no more than merely react to - play catch up with - the emerging new world order with practically no ability to proactively shape the same. This only goes to show how far Varnashramam has hollowed out an ancient civilization.

Raghuram is deservingly acclaimed for his book about "saving capitalism from capitalists". It appears that Indians / Hindus have to make haste to "save India / Hinduism from Hindutva".


Note 1:
see blog: "India's economy & social justice: responding to Ngiam Tong Dow" (24 July 2005)

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