The Cow of the Barricades – Raja Rao

The Cow of the Barricades – Raja Rao

The celebrated novelist, Raja Rao was an Indian writer in English, whose novels and short stories are deeply rooted in Metaphysical Philosophy. His involvement in the national freedom movement is reflected in his works. The novel “Kanthapura” (1938) and a short story “The Cow of the Barricades” (1947) are an account of the impact of Gandhian teachings on nonviolent resistance against the British rule in India. 

The short story “The Cow of the Barricades” gives us a picture of India’s struggle for independence under the inspiring leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The Master in this short story is none other than Mahatma Gandhi. The presence of the cow, Gauri, in this story and its death at the end of the story symbolizes the enduring source of energy that lies in purity, peace, goodness and unselfishness.

All people paid high respect to Gauri, the cow, who used to visit the Master on every Tuesday evening before the sunset and nibble at the hair of the Master. The Master touched and caressed her and said: How are you, Gauri? She simply bent her legs and drew her tongue and shaking her head and ambled round him and disappeared among the bushes. And till next Tuesday she was not be seen anywhere.

Gauri’s arrival to the Master's Hermitage gave a kind of awareness among the people who were very eager to know about her. Being an animal, a cow was unable to say who she was. She would often come to the Master who had prepared fodder for her including grass, rice-water and husk. Her eating style, the movement of her jaws was like as if she was uttering some words in favour of the people. People thought her to be a strange creature and the Master might have known her whereabouts. After being well received she had to leave the Hermitage without any further halt. The master thought her to be his baton-armed mother-in-law.

Everybody liked, loved and respected her to be a sacred creature. People thought her as Goddess Lakshmi, to support both the rich and the poor. All types of people come to her carrying various wishes to be graced and fulfilled by Gauri. The students for a better pass, girls for handsome husbands, widows for purity, childless for children etc. Therefore, every Tuesday there was a well-prepared procession of men and women at the Master’s hermitage. But, Gauri would pass by them all like a holy wife among men. Sometimes, Gauri would not accept food offered by others. People would give the food untouched to the fish in the river. Astonishingly, crocodiles were not seen anywhere at this time so that the fish in the river were able to fearlessly gorge on the food.

Thus, Gauri was compassionate and true to many people so they all worshipped her to be the Goddess Lakshmi. Meanwhile, there was a fierce fighting between the red men (British soldiers) and the people of India. The fighting was for Indian independence for which the red administration was in robust condition. The Master persuaded the workmen of the industrial townships and villagers to boycott the foreign goods and clothes. He even instigated the workmen to refuse the services of the red men government. As a result, a large number of workmen came forward to join the struggle for independence. They refused to work under the foreign rule. They refused to pay taxes to the Government. Everywhere it was preached that the children must wander in the streets holding either blue cards or red cards to indicate the mood of the red soldiers.  People hoarded their valuable and left the village to stay in the farmlands. Women were refused to go out of their homes to the open streets of the village. They were forbidden to continue worshipping in the temples.

The workmen built barricades at different places and they remained behind the barricades. They that the red soldiers might not cross over the barricades and workmen would easily win them. The Master often came and requested people not to go astray, not to follow violence, but the workmen were so upset that they thought if they did not adopt the tit for tat way, they would not the stonehearted red men.

A large number of soldiers were called for from different parts of the country and stationed at the strategic points of the village. The red man’s Government thought to rule over India whatever be the cost.

While the whole town was tense and full of barricades, Gauri walked along, surrounded by people among whom some started worshipping her, and begged her peace and salvation. Gauri was put on the barricades and the whole people became jubilant. The red soldiers got surprised looking at Gauri and thought to be the token of victory of Master. The chief of the red men fired a shot and Gauri died on the spot. But surprisingly nobody could see a drop of blood falling down from Gauri’s head.

The Seth Jamnalal Dwarak Chand built a statue of Gauri at the spot and people started worshipping her. Children played on her body and the Master thought Gauri was waiting in the Middle of Heavens to be born again.

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Science and Human Life – J. B. S. Haldane

Science and Human Life – J. B. S. Haldane

John Burdon Sanderson (J. B. S.) Haldane was a British, later Indian Scientist known for his works in the study of Physiology, Genetics and Evolutionary Biology. He established a unification of Mendel’s “Genetics” and Darwin’s “Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection”, whilst laying the groundwork for Modern Evolutionary Synthesis. In this present essay “Science and Human Life”, J. B. S. Haldane opposes superstitions and supports rational thinking.

Haldane says in his essay “Science and Human Life”, that Science affects average man in two ways and also being benefitted by its applications. He enjoys comfortable transport as he is driving in a motorcar or in an Omni bus instead of cumbersome horse-drawn vehicles and also being treated for diseases by a doctor or a surgeon instead of going to a priest or a witch. Secondly, Science affects common people’s opinion that everyone believes that earth is round and the heavens are nearly empty instead of their solid (physical) existence. 

According to Haldane, a few thousand men and a few dozen women who do research continuously to create science on which modern civilization rests which, evolves the ‘scientific point of view’ against a set of beliefs and accepted opinions that spreads gradually skepticism among humanity. This scientific point of view must come out of the laboratory and it is applied to the events of daily life for the betterment of civilization. He adds that it is foolish to think that the outlook of scientific point of view will prove useless when it is applied to the family, the nation or the human race, which has already developed agriculture, industry, war and medicine.

Haldane says that science attempts to be truthful and impartial. By comparing scientific point of view with legal point of view ⎯ he says that a judge may be impartial in giving his judgment between two individuals whereas a scientist is impartial between a human individual, a tapeworm and a solar system. Such an attitude leads the scientist to a curious mixture of pride and humanity. A scientist simply interprets the consequences of many actions instead of passing judgments.

According to Haldane’s opinion, the tendency of average man always dwells upon the emotional and ethical side of an issue rather than on facts. To prove this he mentioned the problem of American Negroes. Some Americans believe that Negroes are inferior to them so that they might have been segregated from them. On the other hand, some other Americans believe that they should enjoy equal rights like white Americans.  But, the scientist makes it clear that both groups: blacks and whites are comfortable only when they live in their respectable homelands.  If not, both of them may die of consumption whenever they step into each other’s environmental conditions.

Haldane remarks that our approach to the problem of disease in less rational way. He says that the pre-Christians believe that if someone was suffering from any disease, they decide it was a punishment from some deity or a sin either by the sick person or his family or of his whole community. But Haldane makes it clear that health and sickness are equal parts of the nature and also common for both civilized and savage. Haldane says that modern medicine has come out with miraculous drugs but it has become very hard to apply its results in practice. He said that injecting insulin could easily control the disease like diabetes but people hardly take doctors’ suggestion in taking the medicine. In case of contagious diseases like typhoid and cholera people always attempt to cure such diseases. But scientist attempts to prevent them instead of cure them.   

Finally, Haldane says that the average man and woman should not be guided by false principles. He concludes his essay saying that people must adopt scientific point of view to conquer ignorance and enemies of the science.

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Freedom - George Bernard Shaw

Freedom

According to George Bernard Shaw the absolute freedom means doing what one likes, when he likes and where he likes. There can never be absolute freedom because whether we like it or not we must sleep, eat, drink, wash and dress. We are expected to live and behave in a certain way otherwise society will reject us. We cannot live in isolation. We are slaves to necessities. Though we cannot avoid these natural jobs, we can avoid work, which goes with them. We can get food and home and clothes from others. “We can make others do most of the work for us.”

The Government enforces slavery and calls it freedom. An ordinary man’s freedom is limited to choosing between one master and another. It is government-regulated slavery. We are supposed to govern ourselves with a vote.  But it does not change our status or reduce our work. We are fooled into believing that we are free.

There are two types of slavery. One, the natural slavery of man to Nature and two the unnatural slavery of man to man. Nature forces us to eat, sleep, drink and set up a family. This natural slavery is pleasant and essential. But the slavery of man to man is hateful to the spirit. No man is good enough to be another man’s master. It leads to the class war. For a peaceful and stable society abolition of slavery is essential. Everyone must do his share of work. The master class, through its parliaments and schools and newspapers, prevents common people from realizing their slavery. When people grumble they are told that all their miseries are of their own doing because they have the vote to elect their government. They are told that the rich are taxed but not how much the poor have to work. Those who protest against such imposture is called evil people (anti-social elements). Everything is done to retain the slave order.

All this is meant to deceive the common people, the master class is also deluded. All are deceived by falsified history. Gentlemen are taught snobbery in their schools. A gentleman is taught that he is superior to others who should work for him. He believes that the system, which has put him in such a comfortable position is the best one and whatever it says is right. So the slavery to man is perpetuated methodically.

Aristotle held that the law and order and government would be impossible unless the persons (the people) have to obey beautifully dressed and decorated, speaking with special accent, travelling in special carriages, and not doing anything that can be done ordering some common man to do it. This means that they must be made very rich to produce an impression of god like superiority. So the master class is an artificial creation for convenience. In short, you must make men ignorant idolaters to make them obedient workers. The common people themselves do not vote for the members of their own class. When women were enfranchised they defeated the women who stood for workers and elected a titled lady of great wealth. This servility is the product of the manipulated education system.

Absolute freedom is impossible since we have to obey nature and work to earn a living. Even during our free time nature interferes. A man is at the mercy of his employer and the landlord. Yet a lot of freedom or leisure is not good either for man or for society in general. An idle man’s mind is devil’s workshop. If we have a lot of wealth we may loose both health and happiness. Some restriction is necessary for the health of society and some work is necessary for the health of human beings.

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From Bhajias to Reliance: Dhirubhai Ambani (Summary)

From Bhajias to Reliance: Dhirubhai Ambani (1932 – 2002) 

Dhirubhai Ambani built India’s largest private sector company worth of sixty billion dollars by 2007 and created the cult of equity subscription in the Indian capital market, harnessing the trust and savings of small investors. The Reliance Group, which he founded, is the Indian company to win international acclaim. In just 25 years, he transformed his company into global corporate group, a wealth creator whose turnover now reportedly weighs in at nearly three percent of India’s GDP. His exemplary life reminds us a classic story “ From rags-to-riches”.

Dhirubhai Ambani was born on December 28, 1932 at Chorwad, Gujarat to a school teacher. The young Dhirubhai reportedly began his entrepreneurial career by selling bhajias to pilgrims at the holy place of Mount Girnar in Gujarat on weekends and holidays. After completing his high school education at the age of sixteen, Ambani left his village and family and went to Aden, Yemen, in search of a living. He worked there as a gas station attendant and then a dispatch clerk for A. Besse & Co. Eventually he was promoted to maintain and manage the company’s oil filling station port in Aden. After nearly ten years stay in Yemen Ambani returned to India in 1958 with fifty thousand rupees with the ambition to start business of his own. 

Initially, Ambani founded a company with two assistants to help him that imported and exported spices. Over the time, the company expanded to import and export rayon and nylon, which earned him profits. This venture initiated him to start textile business. He set up his own textile-manufacturing unit in Naroda, Ahmedabad. Later he founded Reliance Industries.

Dhirubhai Ambani successfully built Reliance India Limited (RIL) from scratch. He is credited with shaping India’s equity culture, attracting millions of investors into the share- market until then it was dominated by Financial Institutions. He single-handedly revolutionized capital markets. Started from scratch, he generated billions of rupees in wealth for those who put trust in his companies. Under the tenure of Dhirubhai Ambani, Reliance Industries became the first private sector company to hold its annual meetings inside a stadium. He had the ability to convince people to become shareholders and in 1986, as many as 3,50,000 shareholders, who attended the annual General Body Meeting. Over the passage of time, his business diversified from textiles to a core specialization in petrochemicals with additional interests in telecommunications, information technology, energy, power, retail business, infrastructure services, capital markets and logistics.

Reliance became the first Indian company to raise money in global markets, its high credited rating in international markets limited only by India sovereign rating. Reliance also became the first Indian company to feature in the prestigious Forbes 500 list. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) honoured Dhirubhai Ambani as the ‘Indian entrepreneur of the 20^th century’. A public opinion poll conducted by The Times of India in 2000 voted him ‘the greatest creator of wealth in India in the 20^th Century’. He said of his entrepreneurship, “Think big, think fast, think ahead. Ideas are no one’s monopoly.” He died on July 6^th, 2002 at Mumbai.

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