VOLUME1 ISSUE 2 MAY 15,2021

THE BHARATA
FIRST
NEWSLETTER

व गु

"जननी ज मभू म वगाद प गरीयसी"

"MOTHER AND MOTHERLAND ARE
SUPERIOR EVEN TO HEAVEN"
 TABLE OF Let's
CONTENT make
1. From the Editor's Desk Bharata
2. Freedom Series great
3. Expert's Column

4. Yuva Awaaz
again
5. Bharata First Programs

6. Best of Bharata First

7. Popular Big Picture Episodes

8. Founder of Bharata First

9. The Bharata First Team

|Bharata First
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
Frank Rausan Pereira
Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Bharata First

Dear Bharatiya,
It is that time of the month again, where we bring out our newsletter. I
would like to start by dishing out some numbers.
1. ‘Bharata First’ is the fastest growing ORGANIC YouTube platform in
the country. We have consciously stayed out of the digital marketing
game, since we want to be true to what we do. We don’t believe in
inflating numbers.
2. Over the last 10 days our average views per day has been over 60
thousand.
3. We have had over 2 crore impressions.
4. Around 10 lakh views in two months.
5. And we are at around 60 thousand subscribers. Our subscribers have
grown by 200% over the last 30 days.

All this has been possible thanks to you. I really couldn’t have asked for
more... We are far ahead of what I had imagined. All this has been
possible largely thanks to an amazing group of young Bharatiyas who
have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make this all possible.

It also goes to show, if we allow our youngsters to express themselves

and give them a blank canvas and a free hand, they can do anything.
Impossible is truly nothing! Let’s not forget that we are a land where
adolescent kings have fought valiantly and defeated mighty tyrants. We
just have to believe in the youth, they are capable of great deeds. The
only thing that comes in the way of them and greatness is – ‘self-doubt’.
Through Bharata First I am trying to address that as well.
True to our vision and mission of ‘informing, educating and empowering’
and ‘making Bharata great again; we have been able to reach some of the
remotest parts of the country and take our content there.

Based on the suggestions we have received, we have curated several new

programs like FRP Explains, Desh Videsh Niti, Frank Talk and others. We
are also in the process of launching several other programs over the next
couple of weeks. These programs will only enhance the content
experience and widen our range and scope.

Some of the programs that we have planned are in the spheres of

science, constitution, economy and art & culture. I am sure that by the
end of the month, every Indian will have something precious to take
away from here.

Talking about launches we have also launched our website –

www.bharatafirst.com. Those of you who like the website experience
may click on the link and visit it. There is another reason for you to visit
the website… Many of you have been asking me to start taking classes; I
have decided to do that. Bharata First will soon be starting a ‘Knowledge
Centre’, where we will charge a nominal fee for the courses rendered.
These courses will help you in your day-to-day lives as well as
competitive exams. So stay tuned for more updates on that.

Until next time, this is Frank Rausan Pereira signing off!

Together, we will make Bharata great again!

***
 FREEDOM SERIES
Frank Rausan Pereira
Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Bharata First

एवं पर रा ा त ममं राजषयो व : |

स कालेनेह महता योगो न : पर तप ||

evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣhayo viduḥ

sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣhṭaḥ parantapa

This is Verse 2 from Chapter 4 of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita transcribed

as -
“Arjuna, the Rajarshis thus received this science of Yoga in a continuous
tradition passed on from generation to generation. But with the long
passage of time, it was lost to the world.” Seeing Arjuna completely
drowned in sorrow and unable to fight in the battlefield, Lord Sri Krishna
begins to give him the advice of appropriate action [Dharma]. The
conversation that follows arrives at a stage where Sri Krishna is
describing the Science of Consciousness to Arjuna. He tells Arjuna that
Self Knowledge is the most subtle and powerful and this is finally what
every human being needs to conduct oneself through life, be it any
situation. However, such learning that happens through a disciplic
system is lost with time!!! If this was an expression by Krishna, in the
Dwapara Yuga, we can only imagine what He would say about the state
of education today!!! So why was Krishna speaking about a decline in the
traditional way of learning?

Where do we first get an introduction about the Gurukulam system? In

the Ramayana, Rama along with his brothers go to the Ashrama of Rishi
Vashishtha where they receive their education. We see the Gurukulam
system even in the Puranas - where Lord Kartikeya is sent to Lord
Brahma to learn from Him as a Guru. All our Itihaasas and Puranas have
described the Gurukulam system. It is commonly considered that
Gurukulam is a residential system of education, where the students go to
the house of a Rishi or a Sage and learn under them. As soon as we see
the term “Gurukulam”, we begin to visualise a tree, a wise old man under
the tree and young boys sitting in front of him. In recent times we have
seen scholars like Dharmpal ji who have come out with books on
education like “The Beautiful Tree”. It gives a detailed account on the
education system in Bharata before and during the foreign invasions and
colonisations.

As long as the Gurukulam system was thriving, Bharata was 100%

educated! Being educated is very different from being literate or skilled.
The expression of education could be skill, literature, academics, culture,
ethics or traditions. It is the belief and faith nurtured in our hearts that
keeps us alive, provides us with a worldview, gives us the vision of
Vasudeva Kutumbakam and leads to contributive progress. The
Gurukulam system did just that!!! And How!!!

It is because of this very rich system of holistic spiritual education that

Bharata was called Vishwa Guru. We have always been innovators in
education. Vishnu Datta of ancient Bharata pioneered education through
stories and his work expressed as Panchatantra. Bharata has had a
tradition of educating through board games - like the ‘Shatranj’, which is
chess, was used to teach military warfare and also formations of the
patterns of human psychology. Vishnu Pali, known as the oldest board
game in the world [now played as Snakes & Ladders] was used to teach
Dharma. Education through conversations is recorded in the Gitas.

Gurukulam is not a physical structure, ritual or a religious tradition. It is

the pristine Bhartiya education system which has always been the
identity of this land! The campus, the building, the teachers, the
classrooms, the clothes, the gadgets - none of these define a Gurukulam.
What lies at the heart of the Gurukulam tradition is truly the “content”.
Change the classroom to change the nation. The change that is needed in
the classroom is to strengthen the very basic unit of education - the
transaction between a teacher and the learner. This transaction is guided
by the curriculum or the syllabus. A holistic curriculum is built upon the
foundation of human construct and development. What is it that a child
should be learning? At what age and why? We can look into our ancient
wisdom to get answers to these questions and build a curriculum to
revive the Gurukulam for every child in Bharata. Self-Knowledge
enhances learning potential and makes a person a self-learner for the
rest of his life. A self-learner is a good citizen of strong character. Let us
make BHARATA GREAT AGAIN - child by child.

In Lord Sri Krishna’s words

राज व ा राजगु ं प व मदमु मम् |
य ावगमं ध य सुसुखं कतुम यम् ||9: 2||
rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣhāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam

“This knowledge is the king of sciences and the most profound of all
secrets. It purifies those who hear it. It is directly realizable, in
accordance with dharma, easy to practice, and everlasting in effect.”
Krishna is referring to Self Knowledge, Spiritual Knowledge and that is
precisely what we specialise in! Bharata has given the world thought,
vision and a view towards life, because of our rich heritage of
Gurukulam. In the past few centuries, the world has concentrated on
educating a human being completely focusing on the brain. The
intelligence of the inner self that resides in the heart needs to be
activated.

So….. Yes... Bharata is a Vishwa Guru indeed!!! We need to realise that in

Holistic education lies complete freedom.

***
 INDIA @ 75
Ashok Sajjanhar, IFS (Retd.)
Former Ambassador

India will celebrate 75 years of its independence next year. This is a

suitable occasion to reflect on the progress we have achieved over this
period.

Critics would point at the levels of poverty, malnutrition, poor quality of

education, gender inequality, high pollution levels and much more to
suggest that India’s growth story is a mirage.

Nothing could be further from the truth. India has made huge progress
since its independence. Two significant achievements of the country are
that it has remained united notwithstanding its huge diversity, and has
also flourished as a democracy, notwithstanding the wide disparity
between the rich and the poor. Most other countries which became
independent after the second World war could not survive as
democracies. Many others disintegrated as they could not handle their
diversity in language, religion, ethnicity etc. India takes pride in its
diversity and considers it as its strength.

India has taken rapid strides of economic and social progress over the
past 7 years of Modi government. It has also significantly enhanced its
global profile and influence over this period. Swachh Bharath Mission,
making citizensresponsible for keeping their streets and neighborhoods
clean, is one of PM Modi’s signature achievements.

Several other initiatives like the Jan Dhan Yojana to promote financial
inclusion, Start Up India, Mudra Yojana, Make in India Initiative to create
more jobs, Open Defecation Free society, Ujjwala Yojana, Ayushman-
Bharat affordable healthcare scheme, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, launch of
GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, significant expansion of
infrastructure of electricity transmission lines and roads to all villages of
the country, rapid digitization of the society and many more far-reaching,
visionary programmes have been launched and implemented in this
period. These have resulted in significantly improving India’s position in
the ‘’Ease of Doing Business Index’’ of the World Bank, the World
Economic Forum's. '’Global Competitiveness Index'’ and ‘'Logistics
Performance Index’'. The outcome of these advancements has been the
considerable rise in FDI over the past few years indicating the confidence
of the global economic community in India’s future. Law to ban ‘Triple
Talaq’ for Muslim women has gone a long way to restore their dignity and
end discrimination against them.

The current Covid-19 pandemic has laid bare the fragile health-care
system of the country which has not received adequate attention since
the last 75 years. India was able to effectively deal with the first wave of
the pandemic in 2020 but the second wave has stretched its political,
economic and social resilience to the limit. It is expected that this too shall
pass soon, leaving a number of important lessons for the people and its
leadership. It is a measure of good will that India has earned over the last
75 years, particularly over the past 7 years, that help and support of
medicines and medical equipment to effectively confront the pandemic
has poured in from more than 40 countries. In 2020, India had come
forward to unstintingly supply medicines, PPEs, testing kits etc. to more
than 150 countries. Under its Vaccine Maitri initiative, notwithstanding its
own colossal requirements to vaccinate its own 1.3 billion people, India
readily provided vaccines to more than 90 countries, much of them to
low-income countries. This is in tune with the philosophy of ‘’Vasaudhaiva
Kutumbakam’’ enunciated by PM Modi during his first Address to the
United Nations in September, 2014, and his commitment that India’s
capacity to manufacture vaccines will be used to help and support the
whole humanity and mankind.

Over the years, India has been able to lift hundreds of millions of its
people from the misery of poverty. It is effectively dealing with the-
challenges that confront it like the aggression from China and the
continuing incursions by terrorists from Pakistan. Fresh challenges have
appeared with the once-in-a-century coronavirus pandemic.

It is imperative that the country acts unitedly to handle all such

adversities. It is only then that India will be able to protect its territorial
integrity and sovereignty, provide a decent quality of life to its people with
adequate food, good education, housing and healthcare, and thereby
occupy its rightful place in the comity of nations.

***
INDIA AS VISHWAGURU
Shakti Sinha, IAS (Retd.)
Director, Delhi School of Public Policy and Governance

India is not the only country that sees itself as exceptional, as one that
has a responsibility towards contributing towards global well-being and
prosperity. If a country is doing well economically and has such sense of
its manifest destiny, that can be understood. However, the Indian elite
has this notion of its inevitability when the country was under colonial
rule, and later as a poor country that was considerably dependant on
foreign aid for its growth. One should ask whether this sense of
responsibility was just a delusion that India created for itself, or does this
notion of being Vishwaguru have some objective basis that one can
explore and validate?

There is no doubt that the Indian civilization has demonstrated a

continuity of thought and practice despite many adverse political, social
and economic developments that derailed other civilizations. To give a
specific example, the Mauryan empire came into existence in the 4th
century BCE. About 700 years after this, Vishakhadatta writes a play,
Mudrarakshsha, about the establishment of the Mauryan empire.
Dhundiraja in the book ‘Jataka Bharanam’ writes a critical review about
this play in the 15th century CE, and the play was later translated in Tamil
in the early 19th century CE. These examples can be seen everywhere,
and not just in literature. It is not that we live in the past, but
haveuccessfully interrogated the past to help live life at present and build
for the future.

Building on this first point, all Indians should feel justifiably proud of the
sophisticated articulation of the role of the State, and its limitations while
dealing with citizenry. This is best explained in the Arthshastra, but not
limited to it. The first thought that comes to mind is that the Ruler is just
one component of the larger geographical socio-political entity. s TI will
not attempt to go into details, as that would require a book, except to
point out certain key elements. The ruler’s job was to uphold the law,
thereby render justice to all, and to protect the land and the people. The
second was that the ruler could not interfere in society, including in the
belief systems. Social reform was not a matter of legislative action but left
to society. The sophistication of the principals involved is surprisingly
relevant even today. The overall architecture was that of strong society,
which could withstand all kinds of political upheaval.

The third dimension why India’s ambition to contribute to the global

good, is rooted in its lived experience, is the belief that we have to stand
shoulder-to-shoulder with others for achieving common goals. We believe
the world is one family and cannot imagine serving only ourselves whilst
leaving others behind. The vaccine diplomacy is a case in point. We don’t
just say it but act accordingly. Yes, national welfare is the most important
duty of any government, but can we close our eyes to the needs of
others?

Our nation has seen many ups and downs, but its vision has remained
constant, and this is of relevance well beyond our shores.

***
BHARATA AS VISHWAGURU
Ratan Sharda (PhD)
Author, Editor, TV Panelist

Sanatana Dharma - Apaurusheya, eternal, all embracing, evolutionary but

not revelatory like Semitic religions of the west. Sanatana Dharma is a
tripod of Dharma, Karma and Brahma knitted together; It is not a religion
in this strict term but a supreme and universal way of life and
aspirations. It aspires to make the whole world, universe noble, its motto
being ‘krinvanto vishwamaryam’. This is Manava Dharma; It doesn't
hesitate to include religions, sects, whether Christian, Muslim, Jews and
the like ones. – Maharshi Aurobindo

Sanatan Dharma is the perennial way of living life on ethical basis and a
fine balance of duties and rights. Look at family, the society, the nation
and finally the world as an extension of self. This Sanatan Dharma was
labelled as ‘Hindu’ by the people from outside Bharat. Archaeologists
have been discovering murtis of Hindu gods across the world right from
Latin America to China to Iran to Japan and ofcourse huge temples in
South East Asia. It is now recorded history that Bharat at one time ruled
the waves around the world thousands of years back. Even a few
centuries back Kings of southern India were ruling major parts of South
East Asia. It showed the influence of Hindu civilisation across the world
before the other organised religions were even born.

Indian offered the best ships to the world. British had to use force of law
to shut their business of supplying ships to different countries just as it
used its power to kill many other indigenous industries like Textiles and
destroy our knowledge systems. Vasco da Gama’s diary discloses that he
was taken to India from Zanzibar port in African upon his request by a
Gujarati trader, named Chandan. This trader’s ships were three times
bigger than Vasco-da-gama. We manufactured the best quality wootz-
- steel for swords but we did not use our swords to subjugate the world.
Despite having huge economic power, Hindus were never colonialists or
imperialists.

The people who went out to trade were so influential in the societies they
went to that they adopted these traders’ way of life. Hindu Chola kings
who ruled South East Asia adopted the countries and became one with
them. They did not convert people forcibly. People themselves adopted
the practices and religion of their kings. This was followed by a wave of
Buddhist bhikhus travelling to lands far off who converted people not with
force, but with logical strength. Hu Shih, has written that India has
culturally controlled and dominated China for more than 2,000 years
without sending a single soldier. This is the essence of being Vishwa Guru.
Historic evidence shows that people of Bharat did not believe in forcible
conversions or controlling the world with their strength. When we talk of
taking Bharat to the pinnacle of prosperity and power, we do not mean it
in the western world’s view of being a military power that wishes to
dominate the world through sheer power and exploit others’ resources.
This urge to control the world for wealth or religious supremacy have been
the cause of all the major conflicts and misery.

Second Sarsanghchaalak or Chief of RSS, Shri Guruji stated very clearly,

“Our goal is to build such a strong nation that will work for the supreme
idea of welfare of the human beings, a nation that will change the thinking
of people so they can strive for a spiritually fulfilling life along with
prosperity and establish an ideal society. When Bharat talks of its ambition
of being one of the top powers in the world, it is not in terms of military
might. Because that is not in its DNA.

As Solzhenytsin in his essay, Men have forgotten God says, “Goal of

economic policies should be to strive for spiritual growth. This quest for
spiritual growth is answered in our Hindu philosophy of leading life with
four fold action or what is called ‘Purusharth chatushtya’ – Dharma, Arth,
Kaam, Moksh. The purpose of life is the quest for Moksha or Nirvana. It
can happen if our enjoyment of life that is acquiring arth (wealth) and
fulfilling kaam (desires) is controlled by Dharma or ethical conduct.
Western economic philosophy has always thought in terms of satisfying
physical and material needs of the human beings, whether it is socialism,
communism or capitalism. In communism, individual has no value only the
party in the name of dictatorship of the proletariat is supreme. In Capitalism,
individual rights are supreme. The basic philosophy of the West is founded on
the Darwinian idea of the survival of the fittest. Thus, the essence of the
western civilisation is struggle or conflict to survive and see every living being
as competition, nature not as a nurturer, but something that is to be exploited
and conquered. Hindu or Bharatiya philosophy sees human being as part of
the nature where everyone has to live in harmony with nature. This is the
essence of Dharma. Dharma is takes an integral view of human being, all the
living beings and the nature.

Gandhi ji had noted that earth has enough for our needs but not for our
greed. Expounding this philosophy, the fifth Sarsanghchaalak of RSS,
Sudarshan ji noted that what we require is sustainable consumption, not
sustainable development. Because, if all the countries wish to reach the
wealth and consumption levels of USA, we will need 8 earths. We can only
consume that much which mother earth can offer without dying. It is the
universal philosophy that comes from Hindu view of ‘Ten tyakten bhunjitha’ –
enjoy only with sense of renunciation, and do not covet others’ wealth; or we
may say do not hoard.

Swami Vivekananda had said, “When the real history of India will be
unearthed, it will be proved that, as in matters of religion, so in fine arts, India
is the primal Guru of the whole world”…. History itself bears testimony to the
fact. All the soul-elevating ideas and the different branches of knowledge that
exist in the world are found on proper investigation to have their roots in
India”.

Despite all this wealth of scientific knowledge, Bharat cannot lead the world if
it remains mired in poverty. No one listens to a poor and weak person.
Therefore, to achieve the higher goal of being Vishwa Guru, we must resolve
to become strong and prosperous, so world can again learn from Bharat the
ultimate goal of existence on planet Earth – elevate the lives our human
beings so they can enjoy true happiness with spiritual bliss, live in tune with
nature and to see the world live as one large family.

***
 YUVA AWAAZ
‘ तीका मक’- (को वड-19 क कहानी)
या मान गया है मानव क
तु हारा
भ व य म हर भाव होगा तीका मक
मानव तीक
आदमी या औरत के जलते दफन होते शरीर
ना कोई पं डत ह ना कोई मौलवी
और ना ही कोई खाना खलाने क र म
बस आँख से छलके दो आँसू है
कसी का अपना होने भर का तीक ।
लूट खसोट मचा द है कुछ हैवानो ने
कहने को है मानव के तीक
साँस ख़रीदने पर है मजबूर उ ह से
जो लायक़ नह ह कहलाने मानव का तीक
आते ह मन म मेर.े .....
या हम नह बना सकते मं दर म जद गरजाघर गु दारे केवल
तीका मक
मानव वकास के लए खड़ी कर ऐसी इमारत
जहां मल मानव को ान, वा य और इ सा नयत क श ा
सच कहती ँ
दे खा है मने असली इं धनुष के रंग को
क पना मा से सहर उठती ँ दे ख कर काले गाढ़े भूरे रंग के इं धनुष म
ह के रंग क लक र को
नह नह
इस इं धनुष को बचाना है, "नह बनने दे ना है इसे तीका मक"
जाग मानव जाग इ सान ही बना रह, कह इ सा नयत ही
ना रह जाए तीका मक
बचा ले इस युग को वरना कह हड़ पा सं कृ त क तरह यह युग ना रह जाए तीका मक
और एक छोटा सा सच यह है क
काले इं धनुष म है कुछ महीन रंग क धा रयाँ
उन इ सान क है जो अब भी है मानवता के तीक ।

-सा व ी चौधरी

***
 VISHWAGURU
‘VISHWAGURU’- the word resonates with the idea of India leading the word
and its journey of becoming a superpower, not by trampling the other
civilizations but taking everyone along .Our civilizational ethos run through
millions of years. India has always been linked to the world and never
remained isolated.

But what is it that makes us ‘Vishwaguru’? Striving for Dharma, truth, peace ,
equality , humanity, kindness, co-existence and the list goes on- this has been
the legacy of our nation. India has practiced them right from the beginning of
our civilization whereas other nations violated them for their benefit and the
advocacy started later. The idea of “VASUDAIVA KUTUMBAKAM” runs through
our blood. It is this legacy that emboldens us to the title of “Vishwaguru”.

The notion that India is merely an “ideological guru” needs to be re-analyzed.

It has probably crept in due to the sudden break to our civilizational journey
by the various invasions in the medieval era and the 200 years of foreign rule.
If we analyze history from the Indus valley civilization or even prior to that,
innumerable historical sources mention of the scientific advancement, the
trade with India, the universities in India, the architectural advancement and
the list goes on.

This richness of India caught the eye of the world and culminated in the
various invasions by West Asia. Even then the idea of co-existence was our
belief, the result is the composite nature of our present society and the
proudness with which we claim them as our heritage. But the final nail in the
coffin was the European rule in India. This foreign rule crippled everything that
India was known for – innovation, enterprise, economy, culture, indigenous
techniques and knowledge; reduced Indians to servitude; brought in
communal divisions - we suffer the effects till today. Even after independence,
we have been unable to rectify them.

It is with this background that we find ourselves in the middle of a pandemic-

a blessing in disguise, where we can reverse the wrong policies that we
adopted since our independence. We always talked of superpowers and cold
war, but never adopted the right policies through which India could become a
superpower again.
The education system and long term policies of a government have an impact
on the future generation – but India faltered on both these fronts. We have an
incoherent education system, which is taking us nowhere. But now we have an
opportunity- with a huge demographic advantage, we need to overhaul our
approach towards our youth and instill innovation, enterprise and a crystal
clear vision of New India. The youth of today is the future of India. But we are
still engaged in short sighted policy measures. The NEP 2020 is a welcome
change in this regard which needs to be brought into action urgently.

The reason I emphasize so much on developing the human capital is the fact
that this will define our trade and global relations in the near future. The
reason for the success of big powers is that they invested heavily in the R&D of
technologies and skillsets which were to define the future and had a long term
plan for it. India’s record in this field is very poor and it is high time it lays down
a long term plan. India has done this before - in the IT revolution of 90s. Today,
India is a major software service provider to the world. This effort needs to be
replicated in every other sector. Coherence among the Centre and States,
uniformity in policies related to Youth and the development of human capital
holds the key for India becoming a global leader with its dynamic young
populace.

During this pandemic, the basis of India’s leadership and its impact on the
world is for everyone to see. Even before the vaccines for corona were found,
India leveraged its position as pharmaceutical capital of the World by sharing
the important medicines with the nations in need. India’s commitment of USD
15 million to the global vaccine alliance in august 2020 stands testimony to
India’s reliable role as a global leader. Even now, India along with South Africa
is fighting in WTO for a patent waiver on corona vaccines.

Once the vaccines for corona were approved, “Vaccine Maitri” initiative
launched by India was a great humanitarian step. Even though India has the
2nd largest population in the world to be vaccinated, it did not hesitate in
donating the vaccines to the needy countries. This “selfless service” to the
mankind is the impact it has on the world.

This initiative can also be seen through geopolitical lens. Today, many countries
fear the predatory and aggressive stance and the debt trap laid by a rising
superpower. India stepping in as an alternative to this was an important
strategic move. As they say ‘what you do, comes back to you’, India’s generosity
is being recognized by nations all around the world. The aid and donations
during our reeling second wave shows the reciprocity with which the world
works.

it is through reciprocity and helping the countries in need that we increase our
trade and global interconnections and for this we need a strong New India.It is
only when we maximize our resources in home that we can extend a helping
hand to others. And for maximizing resources, we need to develop our human
capital and it all depends on how well we harness our demographic dividend.
The World has seen many nations and civilizations as global leaders. But what
differentiates India from others is that we do not believe in aggression,
predatory tactics, laying debt traps, my way or highway attitude. India believes
in co-existence, peace, togetherness and the strength of multilateral
institutions and this is the basis of India’s leadership of the world- a reliable
leader and a friendly partner that everyone can trust!!!!

-Chidanand Koppad

***
THE ERA
The era has gone…
From the day it came,
It consumed all of our freedom.
Behind the walls,
Under our roof,
We were all scared.
We were no more “the free birds”,
We were indeed the “caged ones”.
Criticised everywhere but no one was here.
No grounds to cremate,
No oxygen to breath.
But my india stood up,
And now I am here to sum up.
State stood with us,
There was a decrease in the loss.
Vaccine nationalism was asked to be shunned,
But humanity had just begun.
We did get help from other nations,
To help the survival of our population.
The Era has gone…
The seeds of humanity were sown,
And the plants have grown.
My India is a new India.
The ‘vishwaguru’ of the whole world.
She taught everyone to be humane,
She’s not going down again.
The Era has gone…
2030 is the year,
Come on India, let's cheer.

- Akriti Katiyar

***
VISHWAGURU
What it takes to be a guru was described by Swami Vivekananda, the man
who first gave India this aspiration. In his 1901 essay My Master he wrote: “If
you wish to be a true reformer, three things are necessary. The first is to feel.
Do you really feel for your brothers? … Are you full of that idea of sympathy?
… You must think next if you have found any remedy. The old ideas may be
all superstition, but in and around these masses of superstition are nuggets
of gold and truth. Have you discovered means by which to keep that gold
alone, without any of the dross? If you have done that … one more thing is
necessary. What is your motive? Are you sure that you are not actuated by
greed of gold, by thirst for fame or power? … Then you are a real reformer,
you are a teacher, a Master, a blessing to mankind.”

Making Bharat a Vishwa Guru – a reformer and teacher to the entire world –
is a grand endeavour. Innovation has always been key defining feature of
human progress. India has its own illustrious history of innovations spanning
at least 20 centuries right from the invention of 'zero' and the decimal
system. The country that showed the whole world its academic brilliance
through Sushrutha, Kanad, and Aryabhatta deserves to gain the same
pedestal of being “Vishwa Guru” again.

Today if India wishes to be viewed as an exceptional country, it must offer

new solutions to modern-day problems. The problems of diversity, religious
extremism, inequality and authoritarianism are desperately seeking new
answers. This is not to say India doesn’t have unique strengths. In fact it has
the rare combination of a universal philosophy, inherently tolerant religion,
good size country, young population, democracy, and diversity that no other
nation can match.

Tagore had predicted that “India is destined to be the teacher of the world.”
He did not travel the globe to declare that India would be the Vishwa Guru.
Instead, he established institutions that had all the ingredients of a gurukula
and every feature of a modern-day international knowledge hub. India needs
to relearn, and create knowledge hubs of its own.

India lacks practical approach. The QS world university rankings published by

Quacquarelli Symonds released their Top 1000 list of institutes from all over
the world recently for 2021. Only three Indian Universities made it in Top 200
list. And not a single university of India was in top 100 universities of the
world. All three institutes are IIT’s where IIT Bombay is ranked at 172nd -
position, IISc Bangalore is at 185th position while IIT Delhi is at the 193rd
position. The situation, if not insurgent but is alarming. Establishment of
Ministry of Skill Development And Entrepreneurship was a positive step that
the government did take and which had profound results too. Pradhan Mantri
Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), SANKALP (Skills Acquisition and Knowledge
Awareness for Livelihood Promotion), UDAAN, and Polytechnic. Schemes have
brought out skills amongst the marginalized sections of the country.
However, a lot has to be done and government and private educational
machinery has to go hand in hand to bring the change.

In knowledge exchange, one can benefit only when both sides are respectful
to each other, none is obsessed with being the giver, but are ready to accept
knowledge and wisdom from the other side as well. Are we ready to learn
from others? Or are we too happy with our dream of becoming a Vishwa Guru
again?

Mahatma Gandhi had indicated that he would keep the windows and doors of
his house open for fresh air — of ideas and knowledge — but refused to be
blown off his feet by any. It is one thing to be proud of one’s history, culture,
tradition of knowledge, growth, scriptures and literature but it is also
necessary to examine whether all of this alone is sufficient for the times
ahead?

The first caution is to forget the psyche of being the giver, being the Vishwa
Guru. This concept — when devoid of the connected responsibility to set our
own house in order. The Gita and Yoga could earn respect all around the
globe but in India, one cannot include even a couple of shlokas — fully and
totally secular — in the school textbooks.

We must regain that intellectual leadership, we must again emerge as a

global hub of learning and innovation "Innovation has always been key
defining feature of human progress. India has its own illustrious history of
innovations spanning at least 20 centuries right from the invention of 'zero'
and the decimal system. There should be concerted efforts to inculcate the
culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among our students to make
them out-of-the-box thinkers, creative problem solvers, entrepreneurs and
job creators than job seekers," People across the globe are suffering under
autocratic governments. India can show a way forward. It has one of the
world’s most entrenched democracies, but our people’s participation is
limited to voting. India can build a strong model of participatory democracy
by decentralizing its institutions. India can also find a balance of capitalism
and socialism that the world could follow. It can do so by limiting the role of
government while keeping the best practices of a welfare state. “Commerce
without morality” and “wealth without work” among the seven social sins that
Gandhiji published in 1925. Incidentally, it also included “knowledge without
character.” India needs to relearn, and create knowledge hubs of its own.

- Ankita Soni

***
 Is India on its way to become a
Global power?
Since time immemorial, there has been a race to become a Global power. Be it
Alexander’s vision of conquering the entire world or USA v/s USSR’s cold war ,
this race has been manifested in ways more than one. The general
conceptualization of this term, Global power, yields hegemonistic tendencies
of any particular nation over the rest of the world. However, its present
connotation differs distinctly from the 18th and 19th century’s Colonial Power.
It in present aspect includes the policy of Inclusion and multilateralism. It tilts
more towards being ‘Leader’ than being ‘Superior’. And keeping in mind this
definition , India certainly is on its way to become a Global Power , may not
immediately but definitely.

Starting from its leadership in Non-Aligned Movement ,India has always

maintained its diplomatic relationships owing to its own interest, so as to
avoid being dictated by the whims and fancies of hitherto ‘Global Power’ ,
which depicts that India has the potential of emerging as an independent and
strong nation with minimum bias and tilt towards any country.

Our democracy has also paved our way to the higher echelons of global
leadership. We believe in the democratic values of empowering the people
and sharing of power apart from the ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
Be it contribution in U.N. Peacekeeping, Operation Maitri (2015), our Afghan
Policy of Afghan led and Afghan owned peace process or the ongoing Vaccine
diplomacy, we have always put forth the interests of humanity at large rather
than giving in to the selfish nationalist interests as visibly seen in case of USA
(withdrawing from Paris Climate Deal, WHO, UNESCO, CAATSA, etc) or China
(Cheque book diplomacy, South China Sea issues,etc).

India is the 5th largest economy, which in itself testifies its ability to eventually
become a Global Power. However, one can’t remain oblivious to the fact that
India’s GDP is less than 1/5th of USA’s GDP and 1/3rd of China’s GDP , which,
either are the Global power, or, are contending to become one. Either way,
India’s run upto the title is going to be very competitive. However our strategic
location and rising potential is even realized by the Western world in their
push towards the ‘Indo-Pacific’ realm wherein India will play a pivotal role in
the coming future and alone will have the potential to contain China.
One significant aspect which is often neglected is the fact that India is the
youngest nation.Our demography unlike Europe’s favours to reap its
dividends. The push for Skill development, Innovations, Start ups, etc along
with the increasing surplus in Service sector exports adds on to India’s ability
to channelize its youth and carve a space for itself in this globalized world.

India, though with megre 7% share in Net CO2 emissions , is seen to be in the
forefront of fighting the war against Climate Change and Global Warming.
Even the U.N. has applauded India for its highly ambitious INDC targets.
India’s leadership in the International Solar Alliance and the vision of ‘One
Sun One World One Grid’ allays all question marks in its potential of
becoming a Global Power.

However, one thing must be admitted that not everything is hunky-dory . We

have our own share of misses but what matters more in the globalized world
is to what extent can we promote the policies of ‘Sabka Sath aur Sabka Vikas’
on a global level. We have stood up to all the Social, Political, Economic,
Diplomatic, Scientific and other dimensions of this multilaterally inclusive
title of Global Power, but we need to accelerate and accentuate our role as a
global player.

Looking at the present dynamics and geo-political scenario where infact the
entire world is going through a black swan event in form of COVID-19, the
definition of this coveted yet unsanctioned position of Global power is bound
to change. Now it has been realized that it’s not the economically rich nation
that would save the world, but the nation with the humanistic and inclusive
ethos , like India.

-Vinita Pahe

***
VISHWAGURU
16,500 years ago the first unified civilization was born leaving its footprints
across the world from icy regions of serbia to islands of java and borneo. The
genealogical and chronological evidence ( for eg: jwalapuram before toba
eruption) present the bharatvarsha as the cradle of not just humanity but the
very values of human life where one could only grow with nature and tangled
with societal values, where one knew duties before rights - thus ending the
very reason of present day human conflicts. Megasthenes’s Indica and
kautilya’s arthashastra depict the civilizational state ranging from hindukush
to kumari hills (which has now submerged), from shardapeeth to vijaynagar
empire, from martand to konark having the same beliefs, the same faith
which guided the rest of the world. The glory of angkor wat and carvings of
shiva and vishnu on the riverbed of kbal spean to jiroft and egyptian
civilization trading not just goods but culture and learnings shows the phase
of responsible globalisation which india once carried out with the world.
After a brief phase of western colonization, the globe was divided into north
and south, small and big nations, developing and underdeveloped but it is
during this destructive pandemic that india came to the fore when it’s
vaccine maitri focused on smaller nations like dominica, bhutan, where
humanitarian aids knew no nationality. It is at this juncture that India stands
as a shield to fight against the pandemic. The global footprint of India
depends on how it upholds its civilizational superpowers it once had, the
nation which birthed buddha now is on its way to reclaim its position of
“vishwaguru” to reclaim peace it once propagated and it once assured. The
world awaits and so does humanity. “Om dyauh śāntir antariksham śāntih
prithvi śāntih āpah śāntih osadhayah śāntih” -- Yajur Veda 36.17

- Medhavi Yadav

***
‘Vishwaguru’ in the Knowledge
of International Relations
To visualise India as a vishwaguru, we cannot afford to let the field of
International Relations(IR) to remain untouched. Moreover international
relations is not only in terms of economy, military, diplomacy, nuclear
weapons, etc but also in terms of knowledge production. International
relations has become a field of rich academic discussion which started from
idealism in the 1920s with Woodrow Wilson’s 14 point speech. This was
followed by realism propounded by E.H Carr in his “twenty Years Crisis” in
1939 which further developed by not other than western scholars like
Morgenthau, Kenneth Waltz, Joseph Grieco, Mearshiemer etc. Other
mainstream theories (other than critical theories) of IR (let it be Neo-
liberalism or Functionalism) too originated in the west. This academic
development of IR which took place in the form of Great Debates has
remained largely the western affair i.e theories and their critiques too came
largely from western scholars (except some critical theories such as neo-
marxism which remained reflectivists and of no independent foundations)
and Indian theorisation in IR remained absent ,and if not, at least negligible
or obscured. This is what has resulted in the hegemony of the west in the
intellectual realm of IR as well as in the geopolitical structures and processes
(be it IMF, World Bank, WTO).

Hegemony of the west in the field of IR can be explained by the POWER-

KNOWLEDGE relationship given by 20th century postmodernist scholar
MICHEL FOUCAULT. West has produced a knowledge system which sustains
those power equations which benefits them and enable them to maintain
their superiority all over the world. Therefore other than military, economic,
diplomacy, knowledge plays a defining role in determining one’s position in
international system. For example it doesn't matter how much one criticise
USA of medelling in middle east ; it doesn’t matter how much USA has lost in
such an effort. But what matters is that USA was able to provide intellectual
justification for its acts done during this time through the notion of so called
“Global War on Terror” and dictated whole world on its terms. This is not just
because of its military might but its power to define the meanings of events
of IR. Till now we can simply assume that largely the world isfollowing the
way of dealing with countries largely designed by westerners. Similar effort
of Asian knowledge production is visible when China seems to impose its
terminologies on rest of the world. Most familiar example was when india
accepted the so called LINE OF ACTUAL CONTROL in 1990s ( a term which was
imposed by chinese and we are still under its psychological dominance). This
reflects the awareness in Chinese for the importance of knowledge in
establishing superiority over others.

Therefore India too cannot remain isolated in the arena of knowledge

production of IR in times when its economic and military might is gaining
strength and when it is gaining confidence in dealing with affairs of great
international importance such as free trade regional agreements , regional
security scenarios appearing from developments in Afghanistan, challenging
the revisionist power in Asia or dealing with controversial issues of Israel and
Palestine.Just like other major powers of the world forged a separate identities
for themselves and played politics of knowledge to serve their national
interests, India ,at present juncture, too should strive to revive its national
identity, knowledge base and rich heritage of IR.

Therefore we must look beyond the western and towards the Indian ways of
thinking to look into indigenous knowledge systems in those areas in which
India once had a rich content of ideas, history, culture and practices i.e areas in
which India doesn’t need to look outside rather inside by the virtue of having
far mature experience. There is a need to search for possibilities of theorisation
in INDIAN IR. This is necessary for power projection, developing consensus
among nations regarding India's growing strength, preserving our cultural
heritage and rich past and to forge a distinct cosmopolitan national identity.

One such promising scholar in indian IR is KAUTILYA a.k.a CHANAKYA a.k.a

VISHNUGUPTA of 4th century B.C.E . His treatise ARTHASHASTRA presents a
mature understanding of geo-politics, statecraft, war, peace, diplomacy,etc He
taught the world of his times how to protect national identity, preserve its
heritage, prosper the people,etc. His ideas of Mandala doctrine fits well in the
present South Asian geopolitical context. His emphasis on 4 UPAYAS ( 4 fold
policy) and SHADGUNYA NITI (6-fold policy) presents us with a rich content of
diplomacy to deal with allies and enemies. His ideas on KOOT YUDHA (covert
warfare) is of utmost importance in the present scenario of cyber warfare and
other disruptive technologies. His thinking seems to be far beyond his times
and we may not be able to discuss a plethora of ideas in this limited space.

It is not that he was the only one aware about such a mature thinking, rather
Arthashastra presents us a compilation of other works as well which shows that
India of the ancient times was far more mature in the academic field of IR and
far ahead of its other contemporary civilisations.
Therefore what is needed is that India's epistemic communities should dwell
deep into India's rich past to re-invent scholars like kautilya so as to
conceptualise Indian school of IR. We must develop our own vocabulary,
strategies, conventions in dealing with other countries. We must provide
definitions to global happenings because the true power of India lies in its
power to define in this post modern world. A systematic project is needed to
prepare not only the force of diplomats but of international relations scholars
so as to provide India an indigenous theoretical foundation on which it could
play its game.It is not only realism or idealism that should guide the Indic way
of thinking and dealing in IR but as Kautilya prepares his arguments in an
eclectic manner, we too must draw inspirations from diverse indigenous
sources of the past.

Such kind of attempt is made by some scholars such a Navnita Chadha

Behera, Siddhartha Mallavarapu, etc. However such attempt has been
fragmentary , sporadic and episodic. What is needed is to launch full fledged
courses on IR in major universities (as of now we have this only in JNU) and to
make IR as major discipline in schools and high schools to make it a affair not
only for mandarins but for common people.The need of the hour is to change
the thinking of the youth to make IR a matter of public importance so that
future Indic scholars can be cultivated. Government funding can play a role of
an important pillar in design the Indic architecture of IR. Apart from this,
India's private sector should be nudged in this arena by modifying corporate
social responsibility(CSR) norms so that they too contribute to the intellectual
awakening of modern day BHARATA.

India's national interest is the top priority for any BHARTIYA that is why what is
needed is not Indian Kenneth Waltz but a post-modern kautilya. With time our
aim should be to integrate Indian IR with Global IR and to make the former as
one of the mainstream theories in IR in the long run to serve BHARATA’s
national interest.

-Anirudh Jain

***
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