Rabindranath Tagore : A Tribute to the Polymath on his Jayanthi.

Today, the 7th May, 2020, besides being Budha Poornima - the birth day of Bhagwan Gautam Buddha -  also happens to be the birth anniversary of one of the greatest sons of India - Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, the first non European and also the first nonwhite to be conferred with the coveted Nobel Prize in Literature (1913). Rabindranath Tagore was a creative genius and a polymath; a versatile poet, a par excellence short story writer, novelist, playwright, essayist, artist, rationalist, as well as a talented painter, whose pictures with their mixture of representation and abstraction began to manifest late into his career. Rabindranath Tagore (Thakur) was born on 7th May, 1861, in a very rich Brahmin family to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi in the famous Jorasanko mansion, the ancestral home of the Tagore family in Kolkata (Calcutta). He was the youngest sibling in his family. Tagore holds a unique distinction that two of his poems have been befittingly chosen as the national anthems of India and Bangladesh - “Jana Gana Mana” & “Amar Sonar Bangla” respectively, which is an extraordinary achievement that any poet can ever aspire for. Tagore used colloquial language, deviating from well established Sanskrit influenced Bengali, to reshape Bengali literature and music by introducing new prose and verse forms that could connect easily with the masses. The polymath Tagore’s contributions in the field of art, literature, playwright etc are well known all across the country and so also internationally but his extraordinary painting skills, which he acquired at the age of 67, are not much known beyond the boundaries of Bengal.

Therefore, when an opportunity came calling to commemorate Rabindranath Tagore’s sesquicentennial year of birth, the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, commissioned a monumental paintings exhibition: “The Last Harvest : Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore”, which was curated by Prof R Sivakumar, Shantiniketan with his insightful thoughts and understanding of the Poet painter - Tagore. This exhibition, of the original paintings of Tagore, was organised in nine major museums across three continents and on its return to India, it was presented in all the three National Galleries of Modern Art in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore and so also in Bhopal and Hyderabad. I was privileged to be the Director of NGMA, Mumbai when this exhibition travelled to Mumbai during the period from April to June 2013. The exhibition was a treat for the art connoisseurs of the city of Mumbai and all through the exhibition period a series of outreach programs and activities were organised to connect Tagore and his creative endeavours with the people of Mumbai, courtesy Godrej Culture Lab and various other art and culture organisations in Mumbai, which made the exhibition all the more special.

Tagore lived a creative life for eight decades until his passing away at the age of 80 plus years, on 7th August, 1941 at his ancestral home in Calcutta (now Kolkata). His mortal remains may have been confined to the holy fire in the ritualistic Hindu cremation traditions and the fire may have consumed his physical body, but then he has left behind - for the world and India - a legacy and heritage that will remain etched in golden letters in the annals of history, which no fire or any other force can obliterate. He lived an extraordinary creative life, beginning his last aspects of creations - the paintings -  in his late sixties. Tagore has left behind a rich heritage of words, music, poetry, paintings, ideas and ideals and his legacy continues to have that power to move us even today and for eternity. On learning about Tagore’s death, Nehru, who was in Jail, wrote;  “Gandhi and Tagore, two types entirely different from each other, and yet both of them typical of India, both in the long line of India’s great men … It is not so much because of any single virtue but because of the tout ensemble, that I felt that among the world’s great men today Gandhi and Tagore were supreme as human beings”.

Tagore is a national figure in India, whose stature comes very close to the Mahatma - the title given by Tagore, to the father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi ji, for generations to come, will continue to be revered and considered as an embodiment of our country’s freedom struggle and for very strongly providing that extraordinary leadership for political action. Tagore on the other hand being a creative poet, playwright, novelist, musician, theorist, educationist and painter, all rolled into one, personified the cultural ethos of India with roots in an age-old heritage of this great nation of ours. Even today, and for eons to come, one cannot think of Bengali culture without Tagore being central to it. Tagore’s name and fame and his contributions to the field of literature, art and culture spread across the world. French Nobelist, Romain Rolland (1915, Literature), was fascinated both by Gandhi and Tagore. On completion of his book on Gandhi he wrote to one of the Indian academic ‘ I have finished my book on Gandhi, in which I pay tribute to your two great river-like souls, overflowing with the divine spirit - Tagore and Gandhi’. Tagore greatly admired Gandhi but he had many disagreements with him on a variety of subjects, particularly on the role of rationality and of science, and the nature of economic and social development. Tagore always encouraged room for reasoning, and for a less traditionalist view, and more respect for science and for objectivity, generally.

The clash between Gandhi and Tagore, on their poles apart attitude towards science and rationality, is evidenced in their outlook towards a tragic natural disaster, which struck India in 1934. Bihar was struck by a devastating earthquake in January 1934 and it killed thousands of people. During this period Gandhi ji had immersed himself in the fight against the age old Indian traditions of untouchability, which was plaguing our country. Unfortunately, when the earthquake tragedy struck Bihar, Gandhi ji, in an unscientific and irrational manner, connected this natural disaster with the purported sins of practising untouchability by Indians and that the earthquake was a divine chastisement sent by God for our sins of untouchability. He said “for me there is a vital connection between the Bihar calamity and the untouchability campaign.” Rabindranath Tagore was also a great advocate of equality who too abhorred the irrational practise of untouchability and had joined hands with Gandhi in the movements against it. However, Tagore protested against Gandhi ji on his irrational interpretation of a natural calamity as a sin that was responsible for the suffering and death of so many innocent people, including children. He outrightly rejected Gandhi ji’s unscientific linkage of earthquake with human ethical failures. 

Down south there was another legendary engineer, Sir M Visvesvaraya, who was about the age of Tagore and his ideas on rationality and science and technology resembled Tagore. Sir MV had similar differences with Gandhi ji as that of Tagore on subjects like rationality, science and technology and so also on the concept and notion of economic development of the country. The irony is that there is not much that could find from archive on the personal connection between Sir MV and Tagore. However, in the year 1928 records suggest that Tagore stayed for three weeks in Bangalore, at the majestic colonial era building Balabrooie, on Palace Road. It was during his three weeks recuperating stay that Tagore wrote his famed Shesher Kobita and also some part of Yogayog. This building, which is a treasure trove of stories from Bengaluru's colonial past, was once home to its builder, Lord Mark Cubbon, Sir M. Visvesvaraiah and other illustrious stalwarts. It was also the residence of former Chief Ministers S.Nijalingappa and D. Devaraj Urs. Unfortunately over time this building has come to be known as a haunted place since the politicians (Chief Ministers) irrationally fear to stay in this building, strongly believing that it is haunted and anyone who stays in the building would quickly lose power. Sir MV who was just about a year senior to Tagore, loved reading Tagore and one of his favourite book was ‘Stray Birds’,  which was penned by Tagore. It provides a connect between nature, man and his environment as seen by a person sitting by a window where stray birds are seen singing and flying. The book also contained one-line poems, which are often just an image or the distillation of a thought, which stays with the reader in his mind and does not fly away as easily as the birds. Tagore was knighted in 1915, but gave up his knighthood after the massacre of demonstrators at the infamous Jallianwala bagh, in 1919. By then Tagore was beginning to be acclaimed globally. 

Tagore’s global recognition is evidenced in a book “The Golden Book of Tagore”, which was published as homage to Tagore, from India and the world, on the occasion of Tagore’s 70th birth anniversary, in 1930. This book is a testimony to the love and reverence that the intellectuals of the world bore for Tagore. The book has been sponsored by the leading intellectuals of the world such as Gandhi, Albert Einstein, and Kostes Palamas, and was brought out on the suggestion of French writer Romain Rolland. The book indicates how highly regarded Tagore was in India and around the world. The great Albert Einstein, who was one of the sponsors of the book, met Rabindranath Tagore in the same year in Berlin on July 14, 1930. This historic meeting between the two hogged the headlines ‘as the coming together of science and spirituality’. It was hailed as one of the most intellectually stimulating conversations in the annals of history. Their conversation, which mostly centred around science and the age old Indian traditions of spirituality has been chronicled in a book ; ‘Science and the Indian Tradition: When Einstein Met Tagore”  by David L. Gosling. 

Helen Keller, an American political activist and a deaf and blind author known around the world as a symbol of courage in the face of overwhelming odds, had this to say about Tagore ; “ Sitting beside Rabindranath Tagore and sharing his thoughts is like spending one's days beside the Sacred River, drinking deep of honeyed wisdom.” Tagore’s global recognition is also evidenced in the statements of several other international thinkers, writers and intellectuals. Russian author, Ms. Anna Akhmatova, who received the highest nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature, was also one of Tagore’s admirers and she translated his poems into Russian in the mid-1960s. She says “that mighty flow of poetry, which takes its strength from Hinduism as from the Ganges, and is called Rabindranath Tagore.” 

Tagore also had his influence on other thinkers of the world. His typical physical appearance – intellectual looking, handsome, bearded, dressed in non-Western clothes – to some extent may have helped him in being seen as a carrier of exotic wisdom. Yasunari Kawabata, first Japanese Nobel Laureate in Literature, 1968, treasured memories from his middle-school days of “this sage-like poet” - Tagore - and he goes on to add; ‘His white hair flowed softly down both sides of his forehead; the tufts of hair under the temples also were long like two beards, and linking up with the hair on his cheeks, continued into his beard, so that he gave an impression, to the boy I was then, of some ancient Oriental wizard’.

One of the greatest and an emotionally touching tribute to Tagore’s poetry comes from a World War I martyr, Wilfred Owen, who wrote some of the best British poetry on World War I. In November 1918 Wilfred was killed in action at an young age of 25, just one week before the Armistice. Susan Owen, the mother of Wilfred Owen, wrote a letter to Rabindranath Tagore in 1920, describing her last conversations, which she had with her son before her son left for the war, which would most unfortunately take his life. Susan wrote that her son said goodbye with those wonderful words of yours ‘When I go from hence, let this be my parting word”.  Among the remains of Wilfred, which were returned from the battle field to his mother, was a pocket notebook. She wrote to Tagore that her son’s pocket notebook contained  the writings of Tagore with his name written beneath those words”. This was a touching recognition and emotional tribute that Tagore had received from a very young World War I martyr, who himself was an outstanding poet. 

Tagore wrote most of his essays and poetry at the Shantiniketan (Abode of Peace), a small town, which grew around the school that Tagore had founded in Bengal in 1901. Tagore not only conceived an imaginative and innovative system of education at the Shantiniketan, but through his writings and his influence on students and teachers, he was able to use the school as a very strong base from which he could take a major part in India’s social, political, and cultural movements. Most of his essays covered subjects ranging from literature, politics, culture, social change, religious beliefs, philosophical analysis, international relations, and much else. Coincidentally the Cambridge University Press published Tagore’s ideas and reflections to the fore, which coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of Indian independence (1997). This publication helped in examining what kind of leadership in thought and understanding, Tagore provided to his fellow citizens in the Indian subcontinent, in the first half of 20th century. 

Tagore’s recognition, particularly as a poet and also as a dramatist, essayist, short story writer, musician, humanist, philosopher and educationist, has been very well documented both nationally and internationally. However his paintings have not had the same impact as his other creative facets, especially among the common Indians and therefore the sesquicentennial exhibition of paintings of Tagore, which was organised at NGMA  Mumbai helped in creating awareness about the creativity of Tagore in paintings, which are now preserved as national treasures.

Tagore at the age of 67, to use his own words, "fell under the enchantment of lines" when he discovered that his hand was moving automatically across the pages of his manuscripts transforming the scratches and erasures into designs. For the next 12 years of his life he harnessed his new found love for painting and produced nearly 2,000 paintings. Although he used all kinds of paints and produced coloured chalk drawings, pastels, and later dry-points and etchings, Tagore's preferred medium was liquid colour. He often used ordinary fountain-pen ink and when this was not available; he crushed flower petals and used them as pigments. He rarely used a brush, instead he worked with a cloth soaked in colour, the back of a fountain-pen, his thumb, a stick or, more often, a knife. His original paintings, which are now declared as a National Treasure, from different collectors and sources, primarily from  the collections of Shantiniketan and NGMA Delhi, were used in the Last Harvest exhibition and these paintings illustrated that Tagore's art was peculiarly his own. 

Tagore, although took to painting very late into his career, did manage to organise some international exhibitions of his paintings, the first of which was held in 1930 in Paris. The same year a few of his  paintings were also shown in London, Berlin and New York. His first exhibition in India was organised in February, 1932 when 265 of his drawings, paintings and engravings were displayed to the public in Calcutta. A year after that (1933) Tagore held another exhibition in Bombay. In 1946, four of his paintings were included in an international exhibition of modern art organised by UNESCO in Paris. The UNESCO also featured an illustrated article on his works which figured in the issue of The UNESCO Courier, "Famous Authors as Artists", in August 1957.

Tagore said “My pictures are my versification in lines if by chance they are entitled to claim recognition, it must be primarily for some rhythmic significance of form which is ultimate, and not for any interpretation of an idea, or representation of a fact”. For him “painting was the language of the universe and that the world of sound is a tiny bubble in the silence of the infinite”. He further elucidates his love for painting by stating; “the Universe has its only language of gesture; it talks in the voice of pictures and dance”. He continues ‘every  object in this world proclaims in the dumb signal of lines and colors the fact that it is not a mere logical abstraction or a mere thing of use, but is unique in itself carries the miracle of its existence’.  In a picture the artist creates the language of undoubted reality, which every human being can see and interpret in his/her own ways, irrespective of the language, cast, creed, social structure that each one belongs to. For Tagore a piece of art has its own inner artistic significance.

Tagore, while speaking about his paintings, once said “People often ask me about the meaning of my pictures. I remain silent even as my pictures are. It is for them to express and not to explain. They have nothing ulterior behind their own appearance for the thoughts to explore and words to describe and if that appearance carries its ultimate worth then they remain, otherwise they are rejected and forgotten even though they may have some scientific truth or ethical justification”.

His concepts of education even today has great relevance and his dream for empowering the rural India continues to remain a challenge for all of us today. Tagore held that education must allow the child to develop in the context of nature. He believed that “the sweep of the earth and the expanse of the sky, the quietness of the evening and the promise of the morning, the beauty of the stars and the radiance of the sun must permeate the personality of the child”. From his own experience Tagore learnt that education divorced from social life and cultural traditions, and, more important still, bereft of contacts with nature became for the child an imposition and a burden. These very facts are effectively used by the science centres in creating interest in science among the students. 

For Tagore, art had its place along with mathematics and science. He believed, and he earnestly tried to carry out his beliefs in his school, that all aspects of the child's personality must develop harmoniously. He was one of the earliest among modern educational thinkers to emphasize activity as an essential principle of education. Education, for Tagore, was the foundation of society; that the teachers of today are the arbiters of the destiny of society of tomorrow and the day after.

Tagore worked tirelessly to empower his people in the villages. He believed that able men will stay in villages only when village life is reconstructed to provide educational facilities, health services, improved communications and adequate and wholesome water supply. Able men and women will stay in the villages only if there are opportunities for the fullest development of their personality. What a prophetic vision it has turned out to be. The current Covid pandemic played out the dying need in India for implementing the vision of Tagore for the development of villages. Had this got the attention of government post the independence, perhaps the pain and anguish that we are now witnessing on the faces of the stranded labours in most metropolitan cities during the current lockdown due to the Covid Pandemic would have been largely reduced. Hopefully the lessons that we have learnt during the Covid pandemic will make policy makers to rethink on the prophetic vision of Tagore and aim to develop our villages and help in creating job opportunities for our village brethren.

There can never be an end when one starts writing about Tagore, and therefore I am ending this tribute to Tagore by wishing that May he continue to inspire us, from the heavenly abode that is now home to him.

Jai Hind. Jaya he Jaya he Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya he.

Basava Jayanti: Birth Anniversary of Jagat Guru Basaveshwara

Basava Jayanti’, an auspicious day when Lord Basaveshwara was born, is celebrated on Vaishaka Shudda Tritiya, Rohini Nakshatra and this year it is celebrated on 14th May, 2021. This year marks the 890th birth anniversary of Lord Basaveshwara (also referred to as Basavanna), 12th century leading social reformer, thinker, poet, philosopher and a saint, who was born in 1131 AD in a small village in Ingaleshwar,  near Bagewadi (now Basavana Bagewadi) in Bijapur District in Karnataka. He is known for the establishment of a Parliament type edifice - the Anubhava Mantapa, besides being revered as a saint by the Veerashiva (Lingayat) sect, a dominant community in Karnataka, which Basavanna established to create an egalitarian society in the true spirit of humanity. Almost 900 years ago, he imagined a society of equals, which could mirror modern day democratic traditions. An idea, which is so difficult to imagine but was not just dreamt but practiced by Basavanna, in the 12th century. 

Unfortunately Basavanna is one among those leading lights of India whose life and works have been mostly confined to one region of the country - Karnataka. This is because Basavanna’s works have been brushed under the carpet, or at most his name may find a mention or two as foot mark reference, in the history that we have been taught based on the history books written by the colonial rulers themselves or by those so called Macaulay’s children, who were ‘Indian in colour but English in thoughts’. This could also be because most early British historians, and so also the ones who followed them, depended mostly on those minuscule English literature and such other written sources to suit their points of view to write history. Fortunately from near obscurity -  from the national point of view - Lord Basavanna, suddenly came to the lime light when the Honourable Prime Minister started speaking about him and so also Nirmala Seetharaman, the union Finance Minister, quoted him in her maiden budget speech, in 2019 and invoked two of the most simple but immensely profound preachings of Basavanna ; ‘Kayaka and Dasoha sacraments’, which are profoundly related to economics.

Kayaka, meaning work is equated with Kailash -  Heaven. Basavanna dreamt of building an ideal society where all individuals must have equal opportunities for religious pursuit or spiritual development, irrespective of their vocation in life. He had to change the prevailing social attitude of estimating the worth of a man by his profession. He proclaimed that there was nothing high or low in occupations, it was honesty and sincerity that decided the merits of the means of livelihood, which he described as ‘Kayaka'. This new concept of work (Kayaka), introduced by Basavanna, with no differentiation, had started a new movement and people of all walks of society, not only got themselves involved in their respective works but they also started loving their work, which helped in the overall development of society.  Basavanna addressed the workers as Kayakajeevi’s, and appealed them to lead their day-today lives with their hard earned income. He also appealed that they should not preserve the money or property for tomorrow. He urged them to donate or utilise the surplus money for the benefit of human society, particularly helping the poor. He called this concept of returning back to the society – “Dasoha”. Dasoha is now a very famous concept in most of the Lingayat / Veerashaiva Maths that are spread across Karnataka, where food and education are served free to the needy section of society, irrespective of their caste, creed, or religious identities. 

Shri Narendra Modi, our Honourable PM, was aware of the profound contributions of Basaveshwara including the two concepts of ‘Kayaka and Dasoha’ about which he had spoken in public. Therefore, it was not surprising that Nirmala Seetharaman, invoked the name of Basavanna in her maiden budget speech in the parliament and cited two important concepts of  ‘Kayaka and Dasoha’ policies that were enunciated by Basavanna to the field of economics. Four years before the name of Basavanna was taken by the Hon. FM in her maiden union budget in 2019, in the year 2015, the Honourable Prime Minister had unveiled a statue of Basaveshwara, on his birth anniversary on the banks of River Thames, in London. Subsequently PM Modi had also joined another celebrations of the birth anniversary of Basavanna in Delhi, and during his speech, PM Modi had invoked two other important concepts of Basavanna, ‘static and dynamic’, which were uniquely defined by Basavanna. Incidentally this speech of PM has now gone viral in the social media. The essence of what PM wished to state can be appreciated by understanding what Basavanna says. ‘The standing will perish and the moving will stay on’. By saying so, Basaveshwara introduces two novel concepts and extraordinary thoughts “ Sthavara ’’and “Jangama’’, the meaning of which is “Static’’ and ‘’Dynamic’’- respectively. He compares the physical structure of the temple, which is perishable as static while giving a completely new definition to the human body and soul  and referring human body to be Dynamic and a living God in itself, where each parts of the living body are compared to the static parts of the physical structure of a temple. Such was the profoundness of Bsavanna’s thoughts, which he wrote as vachanas, which are far too ahead of his times.

It appears that Nirmala Seetharaman, the Finance Minister, was in attendance when  PM spoke so highly on the thoughts of Basavanna and perhaps this may have prompted her to invoke the name of Basavanna in her maiden union budget speech not once but multiple times, while connecting some of the schemes of the government with the ideals and thoughts of Basavanna. In her speech, Sitharaman referred to Basaveshwara, saying, "Implementing Kayakave Kailasa, the government enables about 10 million youth to take up industry relevant skill training through the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)." She further invoked ‘Dasoha’ preachings of Basavanna and said, "'Give It Up' and joined hands with PM in appealing to the well to do section of society for giving up LPG subsidy,  for the wellness of the society." Both Kayaka and Dasoha  philosophy, owe their genesis and allegiance to Basaveshwara and his preachings. 

Lord Basavanna, though born in to a high caste society to the Brahmin parents, worked towards uplifting the underprivileged classes and women, and believed that all human beings are equal, irrespective of class, caste, creed, and gender, the concepts of which, in the 12th century, were considered to be sacrilegious. He strived to abolish caste system through some kind of a freedom of speech and reason, which is embodied in the ‘Anubhava Mantapa’, a remarkable democratic edifice,  which he established, while serving as Minister of Finance (Bhandari) under king Bijjala of Kalachurya Dynasty, at Kalyan ( now Basava Kalyan), in Bidar District, Karnataka. Basavanna is the first Indian thinker, much before the famed Magna Carta charter,  who developed an institution ‘ Anubhava Mantapa’ where the system of deliberation and discussion could be held, which mirrors its thoughts to the modern day parliaments. In that sense, one could address Basavanna as the architect of modern consultative and participating democracy. His ‘Anubhava Mantapa’ was the perfect example of a legislative body, which had members from all walks of life. Basavanna referred to each of these members as ‘Sharana’s and Sharani’s, the noble citizens, who were free to air their views during deliberations and discussions at the Anubhava Mantapa. All the Sharana’s and Sharani’s used to participate actively in the proceedings of Anubhava Mantapa. Basaveshwara was one among the leaders of this spiritual body, which was headed by a low caste, Sharana, Allamaprabhu. The Anubhava-Mantapa established by Basavanna attracted hundreds of saints and spiritual aspirants from all over the country who included among others its chief, Allama Prabhu, Siddarama, Madivala Machayya, Ambigara Chowdaiah and others from different parts of Karnataka; Urilingadeva from Maharashtra; Bahurupi Chowdaiah, Sakalesa Madarasa from Andhra; Adaiah, Soddala Bacarasa from Saurashtra (Gujarat), Moligeya Marayya and his wife Mahadevamma from Kashmir. They deliberated on several socio economic issues and the leaders, Allamaprabhu & Basavanna, listened to the opinions of all sharana’s, irrespective of their social standing, which exemplifies the path followed in modern day democracies all across the world and in this sense Basavanna can be referred to as a visionary for democratic traditions of not just India but the world. 

Basavanna firmly believed and advocated that by birth everyone is equal and that all the societal divisions of people based on their birth are misgivings established by the society, which need to be stopped. Basaveshwara’s concept of equality is embodied in one of his Vachanaas where he advocates that no one is inferior to him and that no one is superior to the Sharana or Shivabhakta.He summarises his thoughts in his vachana, which says ‘Enagintha kiriyarilla Shivabhaktarigintha hiriyarilla, (ಏನಗಿಂತ ಕಿರಿಯರಿಲ್ಲ, ಶಿವ ಭಕ್ತರಿಗಿಂತ್ ಹಿರಿಯರಿಲ್ಲ), meaning ‘nobody is inferior to me and nobody is superior to the disciple of God’. This shows his profound thinking and concern for equality. His basic intention was to establish a society of equals through his vachana’s. Basavanna faced a lot of challenge and opposition from the priestly class while trying to advocate his thoughts. But then he was steadfast in his beliefs and went about implementing and spreading them in society. He firmly believed in the over all welfare of human society with no discrimination and this belief is central to all of 1000 odd Vachanas (poetry), which he has written and so also the vachana movement, which was led by Basaveshwara. He proclaimed welfare for all by saying “Sakala jeevatmarige lesu”(welfare of all).

Basavanna was also among the first to advocate for equal rights for women, by emphasising that they are in no way inferior to men. One of his Vachanaas very profoundly presents his thinking in the simplest of language that is understandable to even the most common man. He says, ಇವನಾರವ, ಇವನಾರವ, ಇವನಾರವನೆಂದೆನಿಸದಿರಯ್ಯಾ.ಇವ ನಮ್ಮವ, ಇವ ನಮ್ಮವ, ಇವನಮ್ಮವನೆಂದೆನಿಸಯ್ಯಾ.ಕೂಡಲಸಂಗಮದೇವಾ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯ ಮಗನೆಂದೆನಿಸಯ್ಯಾ. Meaning; Never ask who is this who is this, always believe that he is our person he is our person, Kudala Sangmadeva, take him to be a son of your home, which clearly embodies his intent for the establishment of society of equals. His conviction in an egalitarian society is also seen in the way he addressed his fellow Sharanas. Irrespective of their social background or upbringing Basavanna addressed all the sharana’s as ‘Aiyya, Appa, Akka, Avva, Kakkayya, Haralayya, Madayya, Muktayakka, Sankavve - reverential epithets, which he gave to every member of the society, including women. 

It must be noted that in early 12th century the Indian society practised a system of Chaturvarna. The fourfold sections of society was divided into Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras. This varna system may have served the Indian society well in the beginning, when its spirit was properly understood. But in course of time, unfortunately this varna system led to a fragmentation of society, defeating the original form, which perhaps envisaged a doctrine of social solidarity in its original form. But then this system had moulded itself into a decadent caste system, the division of which was based on birth of an individual and not by their deeds. It was also the period when women were restricted to the four walls of the house and there was absolutely no social status for women in any part of the world and to whichever society they belonged to. Even while living in such sociocultural conditions in the early 12th century, Basavanna appealed to women to be a part of his Bhakti movement and to participate in the proceedings of the Anubhava Mantapa. Basavanna, who was a Minister under Bijjala, ensured that women too were given an equal opportunity, which men got in society. His success can be seen from the fact that there were 35 women members - Sahrani’s - in the Anubhava Mantapa. Some of the famed women ‘Sharini’ members of the Anubhava Mantapa included Akkamahadevi, Gangambike, Nilambike, Muktayakka, Kadire Remmevve, Kottanad Somavva, Sule Sankavve. The involvement of women and that too in quite large numbers can be contextualised with the number of women members seen in most legislative assemblies and the Loksabha in modern times in India. This reveals how far ahead of his times Basavanna was, when it comes to gender equality, which does not exist in our elected members even today almost 900 years after Basavanna.

In order to attract people of all sections of society and towards  fulfilling the concept of oneness among people and introducing equality among all sections of society, Basavanna started  a new concept of ‘Ishta Linga’ and urged his followers to sport this ‘Ishta Linga’ and emphasised that all those who wear it are equals and that they can eat together and marriage among them was considered to be valid in the society. (The followers of this Ishta Linga traditions are now referred to as Lingayats, who are mostly found in Karnataka and small parts of Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh). Like most religious leaders and other philosophers who are far ahead of their times, Basavanna too faced problems from the traditionalists, who believed that he was destroying well established societal norms that existed for several centuries. His revolutionary thoughts and ideas created a sensation among the orthodox. They organised themselves to oppose him. They framed many allegations, concocted tales about Basaveshwara and tried to lower him in king Bijjala's eyes. Basaveshwara was accused of misappropriation of the State funds. But then Basaveshwara was impeccably honest and integrity to him was central to his existence. He placed the entire accounts of the State before the King, who was infuriated by the false allegations made against Basavanna by his detractors and warned them of serious consequences for making false and baseless allegations.

Basavanna’s all encompassing knowledge and his magnetic personality could overcome several such obstacles created by his detractors and he continued his mission for an egalitarian society with even greater zeal. His idealistic thoughts for establishing a class less society reached its final goal, which culminated in the unimaginable marriage between the daughter of Madhuvarasa - one of the Sharana’s associated with Anubhava Mantapa - who had formerly been a Brahmin, and the son of Haralayya - another Sharana, associated with the same movement - who had formerly been an untouchable. This marriage, according to the orthodox and traditionalists and detractors of Basavanna, was sacrilegious and an assault on Hindu Dharma. His detractors conspired to raise a battle against him. They complained against Basavanna and his followers to the king, who was expected to be the custodian of Varna-Dharma. It resulted in Basavanna being asked to leave Kalyana. After the exit of Basavanna from the scene the innocent Haralayya and Madhuvarsa were mercilessly persecuted. They were chained to the legs of an elephant, which dragged them to their death. This was also the beginning of the end of the Anubhava Mantap. The Sharanas were infuriated with this atrocity against two of their men. This also gave an opportunity for the opponents of the king to conspire against him. Bijjala was murdered, probably by his political opponents. But the blame for murder was thrown upon the Saranas, who then decided to en mass leave Kalyan and spread to different parts of Karnataka and also to Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Thus ending an extraordinary democratic traditions of Anubhava Mantap, which was established by Basavanna. 

Basavanna on his exile from Kalyan went back to his favourite place, Kudala Sangama, the place where he had met his spiritual Guru, at an young age of 8 years. It was at this place that he studied extensively, the Vedas, the Upanishads the Agamas, the Puranas and the Kavyas and so also the texts of various religious faiths and philosophies. It was here that seeds of his revolutionary thought and mind were sown. He had engaged with his guru to seek means for translating his ideas and ideals into deeds at this place. He had also learnt with keen interest the devotional songs of Shivaa saints at this place. Therefore when the conspiracy to defame him succeeded and he was asked by the King Bijjala to leave Kalyana, he returned back to Kudala Sangama. On returning back to Kudala Sanagama, which is at the confluence of the two rivers Krishna and Malaprabha, Basavanna believed that  his mission in this world was over, and that he could return to Lord Sangameswara from whom he had received the mandate to be the instrument of the Divine Will. He attained Linganga Samarasya with Lord Sangama, at Kudala Sangama in the year 1167, when he was only 36 years old. 

Today the place where Basavanna achieved his samadhi in Kudala Sangama has become a reverential place, which continues to draw his disciples from all across the country. The celebration of Basava Jayanti is focused on spreading the message that Lord Basavanna preached - for an egalitarian society. The day is celebrated by reciting the Basava Vachanas and offering their prayers to the Lord. I earnestly hope that this Basava Jayanti helps us to go back to the wise and much-needed teachings of Lord Basavanna on spiritual democracy, peace and brotherhood, which is so essential in the world and times that we live in.

I end this tribute to Basavanna with one last Vachana in the original language that he wrote, without any translation

ಕಳಬೇಡ, ಕೊಲಬೇಡ, ಹುಸಿಯ ನುಡಿಯಲು ಬೇಡ,

ಮುನಿಯಬೇಡ, ಅನ್ಯರಿಗೆ ಅಸಹ್ಯಬಡಬೇಡ,

ತನ್ನ ಬಣ್ಣಿಸಬೇಡ, ಇದಿರ ಹಳಿಯಲು ಬೇಡ.

ಇದೇ ಅಂತರಂಗಶುದ್ಧಿ, ಇದೇ ಬಹಿರಂಗಶುದ್ಧಿ

ಇದೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಕೂಡಲಸಂಗಮದೇವರನೊಲಿಸುವ ಪರಿ.

Battle of Gallipoli - An Entente Most Remarkable : Remembering the contribution of Indian troops in this Battle

Battle of Gallipoli - An Entente Most Remarkable : Remembering the contribution of Indian troops in this Battle

April 25, 2020, marks the 105th anniversary of the historic landing of the allied troops the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand) on the Gallipoli Peninsula, for one of the most treacherous military campaign in the worst of battle conditions in the trenches of death, during WW1. This battle is now legendary and several heroic stories, books, documentaries and films have been told about this battle, which lasted eight months and claimed at least 125,000 lives. Most unfortunately for nearly 100 years since this battle, not much was known about the participation of Indian soldiers in this battle, let alone chronicling their contributions to the battle. Fortunately the vital contributions of Indian soldiers in this battle caught the attention of a well known Australian historian and researcher Prof Peter Stanley, who through his intensive research has changed all that and documented, with extraordinary details, the contributions of Indian soldiers in the Battle of Gallipoli in his book “Die in Battle, Do not Despair, The Indians on Gallipoli 1915”.

While curating an exhibition ‘Cricket Connects : India - Australia Cricket Relations’, as a part of the  ‘Confluence : Festival of India in Australia’, which was presented at the historic Sydney Cricket Grounds, in October 2016, I had an opportunity to connect this historicity of relation between the two countries in one of the sections in the exhibition. It was  heartening to note that of all the ten sections of the exhibition this part of the exhibition evoked an extraordinary emotional feeling and connect for most Australian visitors to the exhibition. 

The Indian troops, who fought  shoulder to shoulder with their other compatriots of the ANZAC, which consisted of soldiers from Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, France, India, and Newfoundland, comprised of Gurkha and Sikh battalions and innumerable mule drivers who literally transported British forces and their allies. The ANZACs landed on the Gallipoli peninsula on the 25th April 1915 and fought in the trenches and on the frontline and in the process thousands perished and several thousand more were either wounded or scarred for life. The Australians, New Zealanders and Indian soldiers united fight during this epic battle is something that would not have been countenanced in a “White Australia” during this period. 

The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign, the Battle of Gallipoli or the Battle of Çanakkale (Turkish: Çanakkale Savaşı), was a British campaign of World War I fought with the aim of capturing the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). This battle may have been a defeat for the ANZAC, if one looks prismatically with the objectives with which this battle was fought - to push out the Ottoman Empire and to create a new front for the allied forces. However a look at the historical war records and casualty data from World War, reveals  and clearly demonstrates  the Gallipolis campaign value to the Allied cause. The New Zealand government’s historical record documents that the Allies (which included Australians, British, Canadians from Newfoundland, French, Irish, Indians and New Zealanders) sustained 1,41,547 casualties (dead, wounded and missing) at Gallipoli – among those numbers were 44,150 dead. The Ottoman Empire forces sustained a far higher casualties - 2,51,309 including an astonishing 86,692 dead. The casualties on the enemy side almost doubled the ANZACs numbers including the dead and what is more revealing is that the Ottoman forces were strategically at a more vantage position than the ANZAC forces. Looking at the ratio – dividing the impact on the Ottoman side by the input of Allied force casualties – one can notice that the Allied soldiers were relentless in their heroic gallantry and displayed incredible valour, courage and endurance in the most hostile environment in which this battle was fought. 

The  valour with which the Allied forces fought this dreaded Gallipoli battle has led to the ANZAC legend that continues to live on to be celebrated and revered both in Australia and New Zealand, every year. 

The ANZAC legend is celebrated as the Anzac Day on April 25, marking the landing of Anzac at Gallipoli in 1915.  Every year, there are ceremonial marches and parades in most Australian and New Zealand cities to mark the sacrifice of those who lost their lives in the line of duty. The Sikh community, who fought alongside the Australians, has proudly joined in this tradition of paying homage to their forefathers  and since 2005, there has been a Sikh contingent in the Anzac Day march in Perth, Australia, comprised of direct descendants of those who fell in Gallipoli and other campaigns.

The Gallipoli battle records have revealed the respect that the Australian soldiers had for the Indian soldiers, which is evidenced in one of the statement; “The [Indians] batteries did so well and gallantly that the Australians have metaphorically taken them to their hearts. All are the greatest pals imaginable, and the political effect of this cordial friendship should be good for both India and Australia.”  Most unfortunately, we Indians have forgotten to respect our battle warriors who perished in this epic battle. Through this post, on behalf of my countrymen ( women included) I wish to pay our respect and reverence to those British Indian soldiers who perished not only in this battle but also in both the WWI and WWII.

The best tribute for the battle heroes, the brave ANZAC, who were martyred during the WWI at Gallipoli, can be witnessed in the words of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), an army officer who was part of this battle and who founded an independent Republic of Turkey out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. He served as Turkey's first president from 1923 until his death in 1938. 

 “Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives; you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well”  Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

May the revered souls of valiant soldiers, who fought for our country, continue to rest in eternal peace in the heavenly abode which is home to them. 

Jai Hind.

Can the current pandemic and 3 Cs (Covid, Corona and China) rekindle a resurgent India?

Can the current pandemic and 3 Cs (Covid, Corona and China) rekindle a resurgent India?

Can the current pandemic and 3 Cs (Covid, Corona and China) rekindle a resurgent India?

The resilience and exemplary unity - amidst unending diversity - with which India is facing Covid 19, notwithstanding difficulties of unprecedented proportions that a large section of our society – reverse migrating labours included - is facing while abiding by the SOPs of Covid until now and in the extended national lockdown, has helped India in combating the rampaging pandemic with fair amount of success. We can call it a success particularly because when we compare our Covid numbers with most other developed nations, our stand gets vindicated as of now. Our achievement is more profound when one looks at the Himalayan difficulties that is a reality in India, be it our population, it’s density, slums, and what not and so also a relatively limited health infrastructure that presently exists in India. This achievement is all the more appreciable when one looks at the vast diversity of India, in terms of its religious, linguistic, caste, creed, social status, political ideologies and bickering difference, that exists in the Indian society, which gets played out when one looks at the debates that are seen 24x7 in news channels and so also in social media.

But then despite all these diversities and differences what is it that is keeping India so steadfastly united, in such an hour of crisis. The whole of India has more or less stood as one -Team India - to take on the Covid challenges.  Our constitution apart, which of course is central to our unity in diversity, there are three Cs - which I had used as metaphor for team India, while curating the three Cricket exhibitions - CRICKET, CINEMA and CURRY (Chilly), which has a common connect with all of India irrespective of our cast, creed, religion, language, political affiliations, ideologies, gender and what have you. All of us who have travelled most parts of our country will have noticed that people across India are very closely and passionately associated and connected with these three Cs and so are you and I. And when the discussion centres around these three Cs one thing is certain every Indian can be taken on board on these subjects.

Since the three Cs (Cricket, Cinema and Curry) inexplicably arouse nation’s consciousness, can we harness the power of Indians connected tryst with 3 Cs - the way Ekta Kapoor has been harvesting TV serial successes (scientifically unfounded) by starting her most serials  with the alphabet 'K' - and harvest an opportunity that another set of three Cs (Corona, China and Covid 19) may have brought for us, post the current pandemic? Before you accuse me of being unscientific, let me explain, what I mean. The current global pandemic situation is inextricably linked with another sets of 3Cs - China, Corona and Covid 19. The whole world is affected by these three Cs and it is these 3 Cs which have compelled whole of India to stand united, as team India, in combating the pandemic by supporting our leaders, health workers, Covid warriors, police and administration and so also the state and national leadership. The Covid combat support that team India is giving to the Covid warriors, can best be compared with the support that we all extend to our cricket players and cine stars, who are some times revered in India. So, may be this unity spirit can be harvested post the Covid pandemic for planning and conceiving a new India.

The coronavirus pandemic, which started from China, by the time it’s done, would perhaps have set the stage for altering the global power dynamics and a new norm is likely to set in primarily because of the way in which each of the countries are fighting the onslaught of Covid-19 on their own; and also because of the failure of global institutions to influence China’s actions and, thus, contain the economic fallout, which is quite staggering and is estimated to run into 2 trillion $.  The global Covid 19 pandemic and its impact, particularly in US and European countries, will not only cast its shadow on the global financial markets, but is certain to derail economic activity and China, which is central to the current mess, is likely to face some backlash actions, if not immediately but definitely in long term and in the years to come. Therefore this may be  be a God sent opportunity for India, which I am certain India will definitely use. Most analysts have revised, downward, their global growth projections in this backdrop. A number of companies, they say, are now increasingly looking to diversify their manufacturing base out of China and India has a best chance to attract these companies and to create a new world order in the field of manufacturing and also supply chain, away from China to India.

Until the end of 2019, it was business as usual for most parts of the world but it may not have been so for China, which perhaps was completely hiding the Covid cases from the international community. The Chinese authorities informed WHO, in end of December of a possible new contagion purportedly emanating from Wuhan wet market. Rest is now history and there are many questions that continue to be unanswered by the Chinese, which perhaps could have helped in slowing down this global pandemic. This un expected shock by the Chinese has given our leaders and planners an opportunity to rethink everything from evaluating public health preparedness to global supply chains of goods and services and converting this threat into an opportunity of wooing foreign investors to shift base from highly secretive and closely controlled China to India.

These days we come across several messages in social media and also in the news that global leaders, particularly President Trump, are questioning the inevitable role and responsibility of China in this global pandemic and are having a relook on the socio economic and geopolitical power equations with China. The Chinese government, although claims to have informed the world community well in advance and that it is hiding no truth, most countries are not convinced as more and more inside information is trickling out of China and its complicity in the pandemic cannot be brushed under the carpet.

The world is slowly recognising the lack of transparency in China and so also its accountability. The world order is likely to change due to Covid-19 and what is clear is that the Chinese government’s totalitarianism and lack of transparency will no longer be allowed to hurt the world. The world leaders will be united in their understanding that today it may be Covid-19, tomorrow it could be something completely new and that could be their financial system, no one knows what it could be that may create global problems, like the current Covid crisis. What is clear is that the global leaders and industry captains will realise that it is time to shift from dictatorial and closely guarded and opaque China to other countries, who are open, transparent and are ruled by democracy. Currently 80% of global supply chains comes from China, primarily because of considerations of profits. The world has now observed Chinese authority's deliberate attempt to hide a preventable crisis and consequent repercussions across the world markets. And that is the fundamental problem with closed regimes with regulated public discourse. It helps in creation of a convoluted informational flow which will inevitably crash and burn. This will therefore open out new vistas for India, which must be harvested. Based on the Global Competitiveness Index, India is the most competitive country in South Asia and we have a competitive advantage in the services including in areas that include Information Technology Services, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, and Medical tourism sectors and to top it all we are a democratic country and with proficiency in English. 

The market reforms introduced in India have tried to create  a solid platform for Make in India and the Invest India initiatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are also getting eye balls. I am hopeful that the lessons learnt during the Covid crisis will help our planners to fix our economy, and put in place well thought out and transparent policy for economic reforms, which would attract the foreign investment and tempt international community and captains of industry to shift their base from China to India. COVID-19 could be very helpful for political posturing of economic reforms to attract foreign investors to India. We must therefore never let the Covid crisis and the lessons learnt go to waste.

India has a massive advantage of an young population and add to that our strength in IT and our prowess in producing hundreds of thousands people who also have proficiency in speaking the queens language to attract global investors. We must not forget that some 35 years ago, the Indian and Chinese economy were on par when it came to exports of certain types of goods and services. The Chinese economy experienced massive growth, in part, due to substantial market friendly reforms. If a communist country, which doesn’t speak English or share little values with western world, can serve the world economy, so definitely can India. But then for this to happen and for us to move on from Covid crisis and attract foreign investors, all of us must unite the way we do when it comes to loving our three Cs - Cricket, Cinema and Curry.

Once the pandemic is brought under control, India must actively engage in planning for the above issues and start rebuilding a national consciousness for an united resurgent India, which will be highly attractive to the global community. Until then let us pledge to do our duty and to stay home and stay safe. 

Jai Hind.

22nd April 2020: Golden Jubilee of World Earth Day.

22nd April 2020: Golden Jubilee of World Earth Day. 

22nd April 2020: Golden Jubilee of World Earth Day. 

Today 22nd April, is the 50th anniversary of the World Earth Day, the genesis of which goes back to 1969 when an US Senator, Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin, started expressing his deep concerns over, what he described as, deteriorating environmental conditions, which he noticed across the United States. His concerns caught the attention of people in January 1969, when he and many others witnessed the environmental impact of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. The impact of this oil spill on the aquatic life and so also the rising air pollution that was happening in US, started appearing in the media. This accentuated a public movement, which was aimed at educating people about the ill effects of pollution, both on human and environmental health. This awareness helped Senator Nelson to announce an idea for a “teach-in on college campuses to the national media” program for which he persuaded Pete McCloskey, a Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair. Both of them recruited a young activist Denis Hayes, to organize the campus teach-ins and the day chosen for this program was April 22, a week day and also relatively free time for the students, so as to attract a large student participation. This was one year before the first official celebration of the Earth Day on this very day 22nd April 1970.

This environmental awakening movement soon caught the attention of students across US and so also the imagination of key people, which helped in creating national consciousness on the ill effects of air and water pollution on our health and also on the environment. The participants in this campaign took to the streets, thronged the college campuses, parks and this movement spread from city to city. All the participants in this environment activism had just one message to communicate - save our planet Earth from pollution and awaken the people against their environmental ignorance so that they could demand from their leaders and administration better conservation measures for our planet Earth - the only habitable planet in the solar system. This people driven movement, in just one year culminated with the first massive Earth Day event, which was organised on April 22, 1970 all across the US in which an estimated 20 million people—nearly 10% of the US population—are said to have participated in this pioneering environmental movement. This massive people’s movement helped in spreading the message of protecting natural biodiversity and put forth their concern over environmental deterioration. This movement also led to the launch of several landmark environmental programmes and laws in the United States including Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. It also helped in creating the all important environmental watch dog - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US.

The people’s movement in US and the success of the Earth Day celebrations caught the imagination of the people from across the world. In the year 1990, a group of environmental leaders approached Denis Hayes to once again organize another major campaign for planet Earth. This time, the celebration of the Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and leapfrogging environmental issues from the local and state stage onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the famous 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The Earth Summit is now attended by most global leaders and serves the purpose for collectively addressing environmental concerns.

The massive success of the Earth Day in 1990 and the subsequent formation of the UN Earth Summit inspired activists to start several such environmental movements across the globe. Most countries eventually adopted laws to safeguard the environment. Over the next two decades, Earth Day Network increased its spread to hundreds of millions of people, who were all involved in this environmental campaign and movement. This created opportunities for civic engagement and volunteerism. The Earth Day now engages more than 1 billion people every year and has become a major stepping stone for the protection of our planet Earth. Incidentally the significance of the day - 22nd April - is borne out by the fact that this very day was chosen by the United Nations for the signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change, in 2016.

The year 2020 marks the the fiftieth anniversary of the World Earth Day. On this historic occasion it is important to remind ourselves of the essentiality for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the evidential need of which is being played out by the Covid 19 pandemic, which has plagued the world and the resulting fatalities have things to do with respiration problems and chest infections that are also the cause of pollution.  Hopefully this new norm and a realisation of how badly we have abused our planet Earth, dawn's upon global leaders and that this realisation helps in accentuating actions for addressing Climate change issues, which incidentally is the theme for this year's World Earth Day.  

Ever since the COVID pandemic started revealing its dangerous virulence leading up to the loss of large number of human lives, particularly in the European countries and also in US, most countries, including India, has taken the route for a national lockdown to contain the Covid contagion. The first period of the lockdown in India was from 26th March until 15th April (for a period of 21 days), which has now been further extended up to 3rd May. This has definitely inconvenienced many including large number of daily wage workers and migrant labourers and innumerable others. But then the hard decision to lockdown the country has helped us in substantially delaying the community spread of this pandemic, as of now. There also has been a spin off benefit of this lockdown not just for India but for the world and that is to do with reduction in pollution levels. 

Ever since the lockout began in India, huge amount of information is being created, generated, consumed and circulated across all the social media platforms, most of this information pertains to the Covid 19 and how amidst all its ill effects the lockdown has also paved the way for improved pollution level indicators in most cities. Some of the visuals, which have gone viral on the social media include different parts of the city space being occupied by animals and birds who are now moving very freely in the city landscapes. There were several messages indicating the lower level of pollution, the Ganges river is reported to be at its cleanest best in places like Kashi and Rishikesh. There were several viral messages of sighting of the Himalayan range from as far as Jalandhar. Harbhajan Singh, Indian spin bowler of repute, who has a huge fan following, tweeted about the sightings of Himalayas and posted a picture of the majestic Himalayas as seen from Jalandhar. All these messages unambiguously point to the fact that the national lock down, which has definitely caused severe hardship to our countrymen, particularly those at the bottom of the ladder,  has brought out some spin off benefits for our Mother Earth. The pollution levels have come down drastically. We are able to breathe a much cleaner air, see better images of the nature and flow of unpolluted rivers. The lockdown has also facilitated free movements of birds and animals, whose habitats we have occupied, which are breathing a sigh of relief from human intervention, may be temporarily. The lockdown has shown us the mirror as to what damage we have been consistently and unabashedly causing to our Mother Earth, which is silently bleeding from within. Hopefully the hard lessons learnt from the national and international lockdowns and its corollary spin off benefits from environmental and climatic condition improvements to our planet Earth, will help us and so also the policy makers and heads of states to reload our thoughts for a more collaborative living with our Mother Earth.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, since most parts of the world remain under lockdown, the Earth Day is being celebrated on the digital platform to keep up the momentum. The theme for this year is Climate Action. There is now a realisation that the impact of the coronavirus is both immediate and dreadful. However, there is also another realisation that there is another, deep emergency—the planet’s unfolding environmental crisis. Climate disruption is approaching a point of no return. We must therefore act decisively to protect our planet from both the coronavirus and the existential threat of climate disruption. The theme set for this year’s Earth Day 2020 – the fiftieth year - is Climate Action. In honour of this milestone, Earth Day Network is launching an ambitious set of goals to shape the future of 21st century environmentalism. It is particularly important for India, which is environmentally sensitive and is covered on three sides by the sea and on the north by the Himalayan glaciers. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has warned of severe impacts if the global warming level crosses 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. They have warned that this will lead to the melting of glaciers, droughts and increase in the floods and so also the extinction of some of the species. The global warming will lead to the heat waves becoming intense, leading to the change in weather patterns, which unfortunately we have started witnessing. Fortunately, the call for climate action has grown louder than ever and this historic fiftieth year of World Earth Day will hopefully help in bringing together experts and influencers from diverse fields to engage in a dialogue and spread the message of climate action among people. 

From simple lifestyle changes to driving local or national climate policy, every one of us has the potential to contribute to mitigating climate change. As the world has come to a screeching halt, this Earth Day reminds us that the time is ripe to rethink about the future of planet Earth. I hope that through our experience of the Covid pandemic, we will learn that it is far better to preempt a global problem when we see it on the horizon than start planning for combating it when it engulfs us. This is a lesson that we must apply to the challenge of climate change, which also threatens hundreds of millions of people, as does the Covid 19. The Covid 19 has also taught us lessons that global challenges require globally coordinated responses. I am certain that Covid 19 has helped the global community to come together and this coming togetherness of the world leaders will definitely augur well for combating the equally deadly climate change, which like the Corona virus appears to be invisible yet reveals tell tale signs of its impact for us to take note of and preempt its adverse effects. 

On this historic fiftieth year of the World Earth Day it is time to remind ourselves of what damage we have done to our Mother Earth and to relook at that historic initiative which was started in 1970 that has now become a global movement and take this movement a notch higher for benefitting our Mother Earth.

Long live India and long live planet Earth.