08-26-2008, 05:27 AM
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India should retain faith in its culture: Mark Tully
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Special Correspondent
http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/26/stories/...660500.htm
âWe are allowing ourselves to be led by marketâ
â Photo: V. Ganesan
FOR MODERATION: (From left) P.M. Belliappa, president, ABS (left), with Mark Tully, author, and P.S. Govindachari, president, Rotary Club of Madras, at a talk on âThe Uncertainty of Certainty: Indiaâs search for balance in an unbalanced worldâ on Monday.
CHENNAI: It is very important that India retain its faith in its own culture and Indianness, in the face of a storm of materialism, consumerism and excessive faith in the market economy, author Mark Tully has said.
The country should be aware of threats from such forces and look within its own culture to find solutions and achieve balance. Indian culture is like a reed, he said. Unlike a tree, it bends with the wind and stands upright again.
It also sees a sense of uncertainty in certainty. The way of âuncertaintyâ is to want to learn from others, but not lose the heart or the basis of oneâs own culture.
The middle road
âOver the years,â Sir Mark said, âWe have swung from an excessive form of socialism to an extreme form of market capitalism,â instead of seeking the middle road. The market had become the instrument that decides how all resources should be distributed. âWe have come to a situation where we are allowing ourselves to be led by the market.â
He was speaking on âThe Uncertainty of Certainty: Indiaâs search for balance in an unbalanced worldâ at a meeting organised, by the Association of British Scholars (ABS), Chennai, and the Rotary Club of Madras, as part of the Madras Day celebrations.
Reliance on market
With the excessive reliance on market, reliance on consumerism has crept in. Consumerism, when held in restraint, is valuable, but if taken too far, promotes greed and obsession and creates unhappiness. It also leads to the elevation of management over and above the aims of society, company and government, he said. The concept of efficiency has been taken too far.
Imbalance
Valuing one aspect above everything else creates conflicts. For instance, Indiaâs current economic growth is causing conflicts between the rich and the poor, leading to an imbalance.
Defining balance on individualistic terms as going through life looking at one self, seeing what part one is taking too seriously and avoiding doing so, Sir Mark said India, a country âhe profoundly respected and admiredâ had its own solutions in the quest for balance.
âThe question is of accepting other cultures and not being swept off our feet. India is a country with a long history of doing this.â
Lessons he learnt from India are those that will help to sustain Indian culture: suspicion of certainty along with a healthy realisation of the limits of rationality; the perpetual search for balance; and the old-fashioned virtue of humility.
âRevive nationalismâ
N. Ravi, Editor, The Hindu, in his concluding remarks, said Sir Mark had become Indian enough to interpret India to Indians.
Making the point about the rise of extremism in identity politics, he said there was a need to revive the old virtue of nationalism to bind people together. He said balance should not be taken to mean satisfaction or complacency, as it would be detrimental to achieving progress in any field.
P.M. Belliappa, president, ABS, and P.S.Govindachari, president, Rotary Club of Madras, spoke.
India should retain faith in its culture: Mark Tully
</b>
Special Correspondent
http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/26/stories/...660500.htm
âWe are allowing ourselves to be led by marketâ
â Photo: V. Ganesan
FOR MODERATION: (From left) P.M. Belliappa, president, ABS (left), with Mark Tully, author, and P.S. Govindachari, president, Rotary Club of Madras, at a talk on âThe Uncertainty of Certainty: Indiaâs search for balance in an unbalanced worldâ on Monday.
CHENNAI: It is very important that India retain its faith in its own culture and Indianness, in the face of a storm of materialism, consumerism and excessive faith in the market economy, author Mark Tully has said.
The country should be aware of threats from such forces and look within its own culture to find solutions and achieve balance. Indian culture is like a reed, he said. Unlike a tree, it bends with the wind and stands upright again.
It also sees a sense of uncertainty in certainty. The way of âuncertaintyâ is to want to learn from others, but not lose the heart or the basis of oneâs own culture.
The middle road
âOver the years,â Sir Mark said, âWe have swung from an excessive form of socialism to an extreme form of market capitalism,â instead of seeking the middle road. The market had become the instrument that decides how all resources should be distributed. âWe have come to a situation where we are allowing ourselves to be led by the market.â
He was speaking on âThe Uncertainty of Certainty: Indiaâs search for balance in an unbalanced worldâ at a meeting organised, by the Association of British Scholars (ABS), Chennai, and the Rotary Club of Madras, as part of the Madras Day celebrations.
Reliance on market
With the excessive reliance on market, reliance on consumerism has crept in. Consumerism, when held in restraint, is valuable, but if taken too far, promotes greed and obsession and creates unhappiness. It also leads to the elevation of management over and above the aims of society, company and government, he said. The concept of efficiency has been taken too far.
Imbalance
Valuing one aspect above everything else creates conflicts. For instance, Indiaâs current economic growth is causing conflicts between the rich and the poor, leading to an imbalance.
Defining balance on individualistic terms as going through life looking at one self, seeing what part one is taking too seriously and avoiding doing so, Sir Mark said India, a country âhe profoundly respected and admiredâ had its own solutions in the quest for balance.
âThe question is of accepting other cultures and not being swept off our feet. India is a country with a long history of doing this.â
Lessons he learnt from India are those that will help to sustain Indian culture: suspicion of certainty along with a healthy realisation of the limits of rationality; the perpetual search for balance; and the old-fashioned virtue of humility.
âRevive nationalismâ
N. Ravi, Editor, The Hindu, in his concluding remarks, said Sir Mark had become Indian enough to interpret India to Indians.
Making the point about the rise of extremism in identity politics, he said there was a need to revive the old virtue of nationalism to bind people together. He said balance should not be taken to mean satisfaction or complacency, as it would be detrimental to achieving progress in any field.
P.M. Belliappa, president, ABS, and P.S.Govindachari, president, Rotary Club of Madras, spoke.