A Vision of United India

An unbiased study of History of any nation, race, continent or subcontinent has tremendous lessons for the subsequent generations. The book, 'A Vision of United India, Problems and Solutions' by Prof Kittu Reddy of Sri Aurobindo Ashram could not have come at a more appropriate time. Today when the country is passing through a period of turmoil, there can be no better place to look than our own heritage and history.

The author needs to be complimented on bringing out this book, which provides information on all aspects of India as a whole. He has covered Indian History from the ancient period to the current days bringing out that in spite of India having been subjugated by various invaders during different periods of its history, its culture and spirituality was never subjugated. In fact, the invaders were stimulated and assimilated in this. The book covers briefly the history, culture, political set-up, socio-economic life, present-day trends, the armed forces in India and potential avenues of future growth.

Professor Reddy has been closely associated with the Indian Army since 1993 when he was invited by Late B.C. Joshi who was then Chief of Army Staff to assist the Army in preparing capsules on Motivation and Leadership. As the Adjutant General of Indian Army at that juncture, I can vouch for the tremendous impact made on the morale of the Armed Forces by these capsules. These capsules were based on the Indian heritage and spirituality. In this book, despite dealing with a variety of issues, the central stress has been on spirituality.

I am pleased to find that Prof Kittu Reddy has striven to structure the work in his own style as an experienced writer - a semi-academic work in simple, straightforward and lucid style. We may differ with some of his conclusions, yet, I am certain that the book will hold the interest of any reader and I commend it to students of history as well as to the general public.

Lt General MM Lakhera PVSM, AVSM, VSM

Lt Governor Pondicherry

28.8.04

Preface by the author

On the 15^th August 1947, India attained her independence from British rule; however, it was a fissured independence as India was partitioned into two States, India and Pakistan. On that day, Sri Aurobindo gave a message in which he spoke of the five dreams that had been the basis of his whole life. He wrote: "Indeed, on this day I can watch almost all the world-movements which I hoped to see fulfilled in my lifetime, though then they looked like impracticable dreams, arriving at fruition or on their way to achievement. In all these movements free India may well play a large part and take a leading position."

The first of these dreams was the freedom and the unity of India. However, India got freedom but not unity. Sri Aurobindo wrote in the same message: "But the old communal division into Hindus and Muslims seems now to have hardened into a permanent political division of the country. It is to be hoped that this settled fact will not be accepted as settled for ever or as anything more than a temporary expedient. For if it lasts, India may be seriously weakened, even crippled: civil strife may remain always possible, possible even a new invasion and foreign conquest. India's internal development and prosperity may be impeded, her position among the nations weakened, her destiny impaired or even frustrated. This must not be; the partition must go. Let us hope that this may come about naturally, by an increasing recognition of the necessity not only of peace and concord but of common action, by the practice of common action and the creation of means for that purpose. In this way unity may finally come about under whatever form - the exact form may have a pragmatic but not a fundamental importance. But by whatever means, in whatever way, the division must go; unity must and will be achieved, for it is necessary for the greatness of India's future."

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have been since that day working silently and in their own spiritual way to bring about this unity of India that will inevitably come about in the near future.

It is this conviction and assurance that has inspired me to write this book.

This book is an attempt to trace the political history of India from the ancient times to the modern day. I have tried to analyze the repeated attempts in the past to bring about a political unity, the partial success and the failure that has attended this attempt. I have tried to analyze the reasons for the failure and made some suggestions, which may lead to the final solution of the problem of political unity of the subcontinent of India. In this effort, I have been guided throughout by the vision of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The book therefore contains copious references from the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. However, I take full responsibility for the views expressed in the book.

The book is divided into two sections. The first section has two parts, one dealing with the history of India before Independence and the second dealing with the history after Independence.

In the first part, the political history of ancient India is traced and the success and failure to bring about political unity is analyzed. Next, the political situation after the advent of the Muslims is discussed in some detail. Later, the political situation after the British conquest of India and its policy of divide and rule has been discussed. Ultimately, India got its freedom but was partitioned and divided into two.

In the second part, there is a detailed discussion and analysis of the political situation after the partition of India till the modern times. In the second section of the book, I have tried to show that Pakistan as a nation will inevitably disintegrate. This is based on my study of Political Science in the light of Sri Aurobindo. I have tried to show that Pakistan is an artificial unit and will therefore inevitably disappear.

Next I have analyzed the obstacles in bringing about the unity of India and Pakistan.

Thirdly, I have highlighted the elements that can help in bringing out a unity between India and Pakistan and solving the Hindu-Muslim divide. Lastly, I have made some suggestions on the political system and some steps that might help solve the problem of the religious divide and finally bring out a lasting and stable political unity.

A few points that have been stressed in the book need to be highlighted. Great importance has been given to the psychological and deeper cultural unity. No sound and lasting political unity can be built without this strong psychological foundation.

Another point is that this psychological oneness has to be manifested in the political system as well as in the religious field. Therefore suggestions have been made to bring about a national government and to move towards spirituality in order to harmonize all the religions in India.

Thirdly, I have given great importance to the Armed Forces in India as a living example of the integration and harmony of the Indian nation. In this I have been fully supported by the observations of the Mother as well my own experience in my contact with the Army. To illustrate the support of the Mother, I am quoting a note sent by the Mother to the then Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi in 1967. She wrote: "So I had to send someone immediately to tell her, 'for heaven's sake, support the army. It's India's only hope. The army is good, but it's not supported.'

Having had some contact with the Indian Army, I can confidently say that it is a good example of national integration and the deeper and true secularism for which this nation stands. The nation will definitely benefit if it incorporates some of the values and the discipline of the Armed Forces.

I shall conclude with an anecdote, which will explain my confidence in the Armed Forces. In 1999 the Institute of National Integration in Pune sent some of its religious teachers for a workshop to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Pondicherry. In the playground of the Ashram, there is a map of India depicting the whole of the Indian subcontinent. The Mother herself drew an outline of this map, which she called the Spiritual Map of India. A Muslim led the delegation of the religious teachers. On seeing the map, he expressed great delight and remarked that when the unity between Pakistan and India takes place, India will become very strong and play its true role in the affairs of the world. As of now, this division is being fully exploited by China and the United States.

It is my firm belief that the unity of India will inevitably take place sooner rather than later despite the deep divisions that seem to be troubling the Indian political scene. For this unity is necessary for the fulfillment of the destiny of India.

INTRODUCTION

Although India had attained a cultural and spiritual unity from the most ancient times, it could never convert this into a political unity for a sufficiently long time. Many attempts were made to bring about this political unity such as the Mauryan Empire, the Gupta Empire and so on. None of them could bring about a lasting and durable political unity.

The author has made a detailed analysis for the failure of these attempts.

In the next period, after the Muslim invasion, the problem was the religious conflict between Hinduism and Islam. This again prevented a sound political unity. This was followed by the British conquest. The British played the card of divide and rule with consummate skill and the consequence was the partition of the subcontinent. The disastrous effects of the Partition to all the nations of the subcontinent are clearly visible today.

The author has analyzed the whole gamut of these problems in detail. At the same time he has made suggestions to resolve these problems and bring about a deeper understanding in the subcontinent leading ultimately to a political unity.

Some of the points that have been stressed in the book need to be highlighted. Firstly, great importance has been given to the psychological and deeper cultural unity. No sound and lasting political unity can be built without this strong psychological foundation.

Another point is that this psychological oneness has to be manifested in the political system as well as in the religious field. Therefore suggestions have been made to bring about a national government and to move towards spirituality in order to harmonize all the religions in India.

Thirdly, great importance has been given to the Armed Forces in India as a living example of the unity, integration and harmony of the Indian nation. The author supports this by a note written by the Mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram which had to be sent to the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi.

She wrote: "So I had to send someone immediately to tell her, 'for heaven's sake, support the army. It's India's only hope. The army is good, but it's not supported.'

The author has also suggested that institutes of national integration particularly in the field or religion be set up in the country. These could be on the lines of INI - Institute of National Integration set up by the Army in Pune.

It must also be noted that on the very day that India got her independence - on 15 August 1947- Sri Aurobindo gave a message to the nation. Here is a part of that message.

"But the old communal division into Hindus and Muslims seems now to have hardened into a permanent political division of the country. It is to be hoped that this settled fact will not be accepted as settled for ever or as anything more than a temporary expedient. For if it lasts, India may be seriously weakened, even crippled: civil strife may remain always possible, possible even a new invasion and foreign conquest. India's internal development and prosperity may be impeded, her position among the nations weakened, her destiny impaired or even frustrated. This must not be; the partition must go. Let us hope that this may come about naturally, by an increasing recognition of the necessity not only of peace and concord but of common action, by the practice of common action and the creation of means for that purpose. In this way unity may finally come about under whatever form - the exact form may have a pragmatic but not a fundamental importance. But by whatever means, in whatever way, the division must go; unity must and will be achieved, for it is necessary for the greatness of India's future."

It is hoped that this book will get a wide circulation among the thinking people of India and particularly in the Armed Forces. For the Armed Forces have a great responsibility on their shoulders not only in defending the nation from external attacks, but also in bringing about the integration of the nation leading ultimately to a stable political unity.