Monuments to celebrate freedom, peace and dignity

During my travels I often see monuments built to remember and celebrate events that have marked the history of the countries and their people. These monuments can be about freedom from colonialism, freedom from despots and oppressive regimes, finding a safe sanctuary where their families can live with dignity and hopes for peace. This post is about such monuments from different parts of the world.

The Uhuru monument (Freedom monument) from Nairobi, Kenya (Africa) shown in the picture above is a good example of what makes the freedom monuments. Usually it has freedom fighters, national flag, common men and women of the country and symbols expressing hopes for peace and prosperity. Most such monuments have some of these elements.

In this photo-essay, I have taken the significance of "freedom" in a wider sense, and thus, the events represented in this post are very different. We may not even consider all of them as "freedoms", some could even be monuments made by regimes to showcase false freedoms that are missing from their daily realities.

This post is the second part of a photo-essay that had focused on war monuments. With this brief introduction, lets start with liberty monuments from Africa.

FREEDOM MONUMENTS FROM AFRICA

The image below shows another part of the Uhuru monument in Nairobi (Kenya) where the dove symbolizes the desire of the people for peace and prosperity. The Uhuru monument celebrates the freedom of Kanya from the colonial rule.

The image below is from Robben Island in Cape Town (South Africa) where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years. It was taken in the courtyard where Mandela used to break stones, shown in the central picture in this image. Mandela is a symbol of freedom from tyrannies and injustices through peaceful protests, along the path of non-violence shown by Mahatma Gandhi.

The next image is of the President's house from Bissau (Guinea Bissau) in west Africa. The house was damaged during the military coup followed by a civil war that took place in Guinea Bissau around 1998. 10 years later the house still showed the signs of the war and was abandoned, though a fragile democracy had returned to the country. Guinea Bissau had won freedom from colonialism in the 1970s.

It seemed that some of its islands had become a convenient transit point to manage drugs towards Europe, with the complicity of some military persons. For me, this building in Bissau was a symbol of difficulties of finding peace and freedom for the people, when more powerful interests prefer to continue wars and poverty. Thus it is not a real freedom monument but a symbols about its absence.

FREEDOM MONUMENTS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST

The two monuments from the Middle East in this post are both from Palestine. The first one shows the rotor blades of a ship that had tried to force its way through the Israeli blockade of the sea around Gaza. For me it symbolizes the continuing struggle of Palestinian people for their freedom.

The second image from Palestine is of the flag monument from Ramallah in the West Bank showing a boy climbing a pole to hoist the Palestinian flag.

While the Palestinians fight for their liberty from the Israeli occupation, some parts of Palestine also seem to be going towards a more conservative version of Islam, that curtails the civic liberties, especially of the women and minority groups like gays and lesbians.

Thus the fight for freedom, peace and dignity can be seen at different levels - against others and also against our own societies.

FREEDOM MONUMENTS FROM ASIA

I have selected three images of the freedom monuments from India. The first one shows a statue of Veeranga Jhalkari Bai from Jhansi during the war with the British in 1857.

I like this image for different reasons - first of all, because it represents an ordinary soldier. Most of the recorded history is about kings and queens and India is no different. Thus, when history mentions the Indian freedom fight of 1857, it is mostly about nobles and royals like Laxmi Bai and Nana Saheb. Jhalkari Bai had dressed up as the queen during the war, allowing the real queen (Rani Laxmi Bai) to escape.

Another aspect of the 1857 freedom fight is about who wins the war and writes the history. Thus, while Indians talk of the 1857 war as their freedom struggle from the British, British historians call it "mutiny" or "rebellion".

The second image from India is of the monument depicting Mahatma Gandhi's Dandi march in 1930, when he had launched the protest against the British by challenging their law that prohibited Indians from making the salt. It was a key event in India's freedom struggle and it brought common persons into active protest against the British. This monument is in New Delhi.

The third image of freedom monuments from India is again from New Delhi - a 27 metres (60 feet) long national flag on a a 63 metres (207 feet) high pole in the central park of Connaught Place was placed in March 2014, and has quickly become one of the most photographed monuments of Delhi.

The next freedom monument is from Tien-a-men square in Beijing, showing China's war against the nationalist forces and the role of chairman Mao Tse Tung in shaping the destiny of the country.

Reading the history of events in late 1950s and early 1960s, including the personal testimonies of persons affected by it, Mao's Cultural Revolution led to freedom of the peasants and atrocities against its thinkers, artists and philosophers.

Thus, we can discuss if that event and the monument representing it can be called a "freedom monument" but without doubt, it was a period that had a profound impact on the lives of millions of persons.

The next image is from the Parliament square in Ulaan Baator in Mongolia showing the monument to Changis Khan, considered a symbol of national pride.

Thus persons symbolising national pride and freedom in one country, can also be seen as oppressors or invaders by other countries.

The next two images are from Manila in Philippines. The first image shows Lapo Lapo, an indigenous leader who is considered the first freedom fighter for the liberation of Philippines from colonialism.

The second image from Philippines is from a park in central Manila where statues of different leaders who played an important role in the liberation struggle and building up of the nation, are displayed.

The last image from Asia is from Vietnam - the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum in Hanoi. On one hand, the fight between south Vietnam supported by USA against the communist regime in north Vietnam, was supposedly for freedom from communism. But for the Vietnamese, it was the fight for freedom of a small country against the mighty forces of a powerful nation.

For most of twentieth century, the overt and covert wars waged by USA with support from its Western allies against communists regimes, were usually waged as "wars for freedom". On the other hand, the communist regimes justified the curtailing of civic liberties to liberate the poor peasants from the oppression of their own rich classes, sometimes leading to immense disasters as in Cambodia.

Those kinds of wars have become less important in the recent histories because even communist regimes have embraced capitalism. Only future will tell if these changes will lead to real freedoms for people or they will only substitute oppressors, equally ruthless against the poor persons and their environments in their quest for profits.

FREEDOM MONUMENTS FROM NORTH AMERICA

The next 3 images are from New York in USA. The first monument is the Irish Hunger monument from the Battery park, that remembers the journey of thousands of Irish immigrants to USA to escape the great famine in Ireland between 1847 to 1852.

The second image is of the Immigrants monument that expresses the feeling of freedom among the immigrants from different parts of the world on reaching the American shores. I have preferred to show this rather than the better known "Statue of liberty" to talk about immigration and freedom.

Every years, hundreds of thousands of persons try to escape from oppressive regimes or from poverty, to more developed countries. On the other hand, the receiving countries almost always look at these immigrants as "problems" and try to block their entry. Every month, hundreds of people die trying to cross from Mexico to USA or from North Africa to Europe.

"Illegal" immigrants are considered a problem in many parts of the world, including in India, and thus it is not easy to find monuments celebrating the immigrants.

The third image from New york is of the monument to the people who had died in the September 11 attacks in 2001. Increasingly terrorism and killing of civilians is an increasing problem in different parts of the world and it is rare to find monuments remembering the victims of such attacks.

When faced with relentless oppression by a powerful regime, some times people justify terrorism, and say that terrorism is a "freedom struggle" of those without power. Personally I do not agree with this view point - I feel terrorism and killing of civilians can never be justified because blood baths never lead to justice and peace, they only lead to a different group of oppressors.

FREEDOM MONUMENTS FROM CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAS

The next 3 images are about persons who played an important role in the liberation of countries in South and central Americas but these monuments are from New York (USA).

The first monument is to Jose de San Martin who played an important role in the freedom of Argentina from the Spanish colonialism.

The next monument shows Jose Marti Perez, a national hero from Cuba, who was a poet, journalist and revolutionary philosopher.

The third image from New York is of the Simon Bolivar monument, who is considered a national hero in many countries of Latin America including Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.

The next three images are from Brazil in South America. The first image shows the peace monument in Goiania (Goias) that is an hour-glass shaped construction carrying small pieces of earth from different countries of the world.

The next image shows the Flag monument from San Paulo in Brazil, built to celebrate 4th century of foundation of San Paulo city.

To me, this monument also symbolizes the power of time to cancel part of our unpleasant memories - if we think of the Amerindian people living in Brazil before the arrival of colonialists and of the African slaves brought by them, we can also see it as a monument to remember the killing of Amerindians and slavery.

The third image is from Salvador in Bahia state of Brazil and presents the monument remembering Zumbi dos Palmares, a slave brought from Africa who led the rebellion against the colonialists.

The last image from the Americas is from Quito in Ecuador, presenting the national monument, expressing the subjugation of natives under the colonial rule.

FREEDOM MONUMENTS FROM EUROPE

Different European countries were responsible for the colonialism in Asia, Africa and the Americas. However, many of them also had histories of their own struggles for freedom.

The first image in this section is from Vienna in Austria and shows the Roman general Marc Antony riding a chariot pulled by lions. A commander of Julius Caesar, Antony became the ruler of eastern provinces of Roman empire and had an affair with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Thus, this monument is not about freedom but about empire building and shows that the struggles for freedom have a very long history.

The next 3 images are about the changes in Eastern Europe over the past 2 decades. The first image is of a ruined house from Rijke in Croatia, that can be considered as a symbol of the different wars that characterized the breaking up of Yugoslavia.

The next image is from Prague in Czech republic and shows the monument of the victims of the communist regime.

The third image regarding Eastern Europe has a piece of the Berlin wall displayed in Cape Town in South Africa.

The next image is from Dublin in Ireland and shows the statue of Jim Larkin, a Trade Union leader.

During the twentieth century, trade unions played an important role in promoting freedoms by improving the lives of factory workers. The recent years have seen a dismantling of trade unions in different parts of the world under the impact of globalization and corporate capitalism.

At the same time, in some countries, the trade unions are no longer representing informal or irregular workers, but are seen as safeguarding the interests of those who already have good jobs.

The last image of this post is from Como in Italy and shows a statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was instrumental in unification of Italy in the nineteenth century.

 CONCLUSIONS

The monuments to freedom, peace and dignity come in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes the ideas they represent are more complex and can even be seen as monuments to injustices, massacres and oppression.

A key event missing from the images in this photo-essay is that of a holocaust memorial.

On the other hand, our cities can present us living monuments of how our freedoms are often under attack. For example, these monuments do not talk about women - the violence against women, their genital mutilation, the abortion of female embryos, forcing women to wear burkas and cover their bodies in the name of religion or traditions. These monuments also do not talk about indigenous people fighting for their rights, being displaced from their homes without proper compensation or rehabilitation.

Queer Pride Delhi - 5 Years later

The last time I had participated in the Delhi Queer Pride parade, was in 2009. After 5 years, this time I was again there for the 2014 Pride event. This photo-essay is about my sensations at the Pride parade, about what seems to have changed and what has not!

THE INCREDIBLE ENERGY AND JOY

Compared to 2009, this time the crowds were bigger, and more self-confident, joyful. However, I was hoping to see even bigger crowds - considering that Delhi has 16 million people, the crowd was still too small!

The Pride parade was lot of fun, full of dancing, music and colours. Though I was busy clicking pictures, even I could not stop my feet from tapping at the chanting rhythm of "Azaadi, azaadi, le ke rahenge azaadi" (Freedom, freedom, we shall get our freedom) of the group in the picture below.

In 2009, it was only the second Pride parade in Delhi, many persons were subdued and some of the comments on the evening TV shows were tragically hilarious and ignorant. This time, I did not watch the TV to check if they were talking about the event and in which terms!

To see the young guys shouting "I am gay, that's ok" was also illuminating in understanding the meaning of participating the Pride for so many persons - to be able to say aloud in a public space what we think of as a shameful part of us, is extremely liberating and an important step in the building of the self-acceptance process.

I think that along with changing public perceptions about queer persons, Pride parade is important in reaching out to persons feeling isolated and telling them that they are not alone.

POSTERS AND BANNERS IN THE PRIDE

Posters can be a powerful way of self-expression, expressing feelings without raising voices. Pride parade had many wonderful posters. Here are some examples:

However, there were not many banners in the pride parade. I think that banners express solidarity of the institutions and show how deeply a movement is embedded in the society. I hope that one day there will be associations of parents of queer children, queer parents of children, queer lawyers, queer police and military persons, etc. in India who will join the parade.

Among the institutions, National Students Union of India (NSUI) was there with placards focusing on the human rights dimension of the GLBTI struggles.

I also hope that dalit organisations, women's organisations, disabled peoples' organisations, etc. will also formally join Pride, because the fight for rights of GLBTI persons is part of the human rights struggle.

You can also check some more posters from the Pride parade on my photoblog.

DRESSING UP AND SHOWING OFF

Many of my GLBTI friends tell me that focusing on fancy dresses, costumes and heavy make-up, is a way to stereotypes them because most of them are regular persons.

However, dressed up and colourful persons make for better photo-ops! Here is a selection of some of them.

I think that the award for the best dressed person of the Pride 2014 should go to the guy in the picture below. He was gracious enough to pose for me, so I owe him thanks.

HAVING FUN

For a lot of persons at the Pride parade, it was time to have fun. Selfies were being clicked every where. Below are some of these fun moments.

SCHOOL CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS

It was a pleasant surprize to see the students of Tagore International school with their banner in the Pride. There were some other very young persons in the parade as well. I hope that in future more schools can join Pride parades.

SOME PERSONAL CONSIDERATIONS

GLB labels have also been important in raising up important issues about sexual orientations and their links to human rights. At one level, labels are comforting because they provide a security to our confusing emotions but they can also be limiting, trying to fit us in a category while the reality of our emotions and desires can be much more dynamic. In that sense, I prefer the term "queer" compared to GLB, and I am glad that the Pride organisers have decided to call it Queer pride.

I believe that some of the worst homophobes and persons who react violently to queers are those who are insecure about their own sexuality. One of the posters in the parade touched on this through a question, "How does my homosexual marriage threatens your straight marriage?" If we are secure in who we are, it is easier to accept everyone else!

It was a good decision by the organisers to hold it in November rather than in June, as was done in 2009 - at that time, it was just too hot even for simply walking!

CONCLUSIONS

The pride parade was a lot of fun. Some TV crews were there (though less than what I remember from 2009). However, the number of photographers in the parade was very high - in some places, the colurfully dressed or flamboyant Pride participants were completely surrounded by photographers! The last picture of this photo-essay is a homage to the Pride parade photographers!

Finally, you can also see some more pictures from the Delhi Queer Parade 2014 in a photo-album on my Facebook page.

***

Remembering soliders: War memorials from around the world

This post is about war memorials - monuments to remember the soldiers who had died in the wars.

My feelings about the wars are ambivalent - memorials to the dead soldiers bring a node to my throat and I love visiting war cemeteries. However, I am also against the wars. Gandhi ji and his ideas about non-violence have been my inspiration. I remember being part of the protest march in London against the Bush-Blair decision to attack Iraq.

Yet I believe that some times, especially when dictators, fascists and fundamentalists of different colours and ideologies kill their people, wars can be necessary.

Let me start this photo-essay with the picture of a dying soldier from a war monument in Verano cemetery in Rome (Italy). It is my favourite image about the war memorials - it shows the moment of the death of a soldier, as his heart stops beating, his eyes turn unfocused and his body starts to fall down.

Another reason for my ambivalence about wars and soldiers is the way they treat civilian deaths. The deaths of soldiers are considered more important and they are mourned, while the civilians killed "by mistake" or as "necessary collateral damage" are usually forgotten, or sometimes even depicted as terrorists or their accomplices. The way we give values to lives of different people is very unequal.

I also feel that usually wars and violence do not solve any problems - rather, while they solve somethings, they invariably create new problems. I also suspect that most recent wars, though presented as humanitarian efforts to "liberate people" or to "stop despots and mass murderers", were for gaining and controlling power and resources.

This photo-essay is about the war monuments built to remember the soldiers killed in wars. I am also working on a second part of this photo-essay about the other victims of wars and people who fight for their rights. As you can imagine, putting together that second photo-essay is much more difficult because we hardly ever build monuments to remember ordinary persons, except for the victims of some big events like holocaust or the people killed in the 9-11 terrorist attack.

WAR MONUMENT FROM INDIA

I grew up looking up to two of my uncles, brothers of my mother, who were soldiers in the Indian army. Seeing them in the military uniforms and hearing their stories about the wars, shaped my initial ideas about nationalism, patriotism and protective role of the men in the society. Even today, though women can also become soldiers, the common public image of the soldiers remains anchored to masculinity.

The most important Indian war monument is called the "Amar Jawan Jyoti" (Immortal light of the soldier). It is located at India Gate in New Delhi. India Gate was built in 1921 to remember the soldiers from Indian regiments who had died as a part of the British army in the first world war. Its walls carried the names of the officers of Indian regiments.

In 1971, after the India-Pakistan war that led to the creation of Bangladesh, it became "Amar Jawan Jyoti" with the construction of a black slab with an upside down gun and ever-lit flame underneath the arch of Indian Gate.

The next image is also about Indian soldiers. It is from the second world war and is from Forli in Italy. It shows a Sikh soldier holding an injured Italian soldier. This monument is built next to one of the biggest cemeteries of Indian soldiers in Italy.

If you are interested in reading more about the Indian soldiers and their cemeteries in Italy during the second world war, you can read my post on this theme written in 2011 in my Hindi blog.

Though many more Indian soldiers have died in different wars over the past decades, I am not aware of any other war monuments In India.

WAR MONUMENT IN USA

The image from New York, is the marine soldiers' monument from the second world war, built at the tip of Manhattan as you look towards the statue of Liberty.

Another important war monument in USA that I had visited was in Washington DC, near the Lincoln statue - Vietnam Veterans memorial. How ever, I do not have any images from visit.

I have also heard about the Arlington national cemetery and the US Marine War memorial, but I did not get an opportunity to visit them.

MEMORIALS FOR THE GERMAN AND AUSTRIAN SOLDIERS

A large number of German and Austrian soldiers had also died during the first and the second world wars. However, I do not remember seeing any war memorial about those soldiers. This may be partly due to the defeat of Germans (and Austrians) in the both the world wars.

In Germany, to remember the Nazi past is also problematic so perhaps those soldiers remain unacknowledged in the national monuments. How ever, I must confess that I haven't been to many places in Germany and Austria, so perhaps some war memorials may be there about which I am unaware.

Soldiers fighting for the "wrong" side and those who are defeated, hardly ever get any monuments. History decides who will be remembered and in which way. Just to remember that even Germans and Austrians had died in the two world wars, the next image has the ruins of an Austrian soldiers' outpost in the mountains in north Italy. Though this is not a formal monument, but I wanted to acknowledge them in this post.

The next war memorial is from Vienna in Austria but it is not about Austrian soldiers - rather, it is for commemorating Soviet soldiers and was built by the occupying Russian army in 1945.

This monument is to remember the death of 17 thousand Soviet soldiers who had died in the siege of Vienna. It is called the "Heroes' Monument of the Red Army".

WAR MONUMENT FROM FRANCE

I did travel to different parts of France and I remember seeing some war memorials, but those journeys were much before I had discovered my passion for photography. Thus I do not have many images of the French war memorials.

The next image shows a small memorial of the second world war from the tiny town of Divonne les Bains in the south of France. The monument carries the list of the persons from the city who had died in the war.

WAR MEMORIALS FROM LONDON, UK

London also has different monuments to remember the persons dying in the first and the second world wars.

Another of my personal favourites is the British monument in London for the animals who died during the world wars.

WAR MONUMENTS IN BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

Brussels is surprisingly full of war related monuments, from the first and second world wars. The next four images show some of those monuments that I noticed during a brief visit to the city.

WAR MONUMENTS FROM ITALY

My interest in the war monuments started in Italy and thus, this is the section with largest number of images in this post.

Our house in the north-eastern Alpine city of Schio (Vicenza), is very close to what was once the border between Austria and Italy. During the first world war, fierce fighting had claimed lives of young men from almost all towns and villages of this part of Italy. Around Schio, I am always struck by the war memorials in the villages and the small towns, invariably having a list of local lads who had died in the first or second world wars.

The next 5 images of war memorials are from places near Schio, remembering soldiers from the first world war. The places are Sant'Antonio, Arsiero, Forte Maso, Asiago and Bassano del Grappa.

The "Ossary" at Sant'Antonio is located at Pian delle Fuggazze, the old Austrian-Italian border on Pasubio mountain, and contains bones and remains of hundreds of soldiers who died here.

Arsiero is a tiny town at the entry to Tonnezza and some valleys hidden behind the mountains. Beyond Tonnezza, the road leads to Altopiano Fiorentino, that was another of the border post that saw fighting in the first world war.

Forte Maso has an old war building hidden among the trees in the mountains on the way to Pasubio mountain. A telescope, old pictures of the war, a restaurant and the beginning of a mountain trail to go up the mountain, mark this place. The image below shows one of the old war pictures from Forte Maso.

The beautiful mountain city of Asiago has a huge arch in white stone, at the top of a hill. The base of the hill contains hundreds of tombs containing the bones or remains of the soldiers.

I am especially fond of the "war memorials" from Bassano del Grappa that have pictures of young soldiers fixed on the trees.

The next 3 images are from Bologna, showing the monuments about different wars. The first monument is about first world war and is from Certosa cemetery.

The next image is about a war in 1848 when Bologna was able to defeat Austrian army that occupied the city as allies of the Vatican Government. It is known as the 8 August monument.

The 3rd image is of the memorial for the soldiers who died in the second world war and is from Certosa cemetery in Bologna. The sculptures are by Stella Korczynska and Genni Mucchi.

The next image is from Redipuglia in Fruili region of Italy, not far from the border with Slovenia and Austria, where thousands of soldiers from the first world war are buried.

The next image is a monument to Francesco Baracca, an ace pilot in the first world war. This monument is in the city of Lugo, where he was born.

Finally the last image from Italy is from the Marine Soldiers' monument in Verano cemetery of Rome.

CONCLUSIONS

Apart from India and USA, all the images of war memorials to the dead soldiers in this post are from Europe. In different other countries of South America, Africa and Asia, I do not remember seeing any war memorials.

To conclude this photo-essay, the final image is once again of the monument to the Soviet soldiers from Vienna.

So what do you feel about war monuments? I feel that war monuments are useful mainly for building patriotic feelings so that young men and women feel encouraged to give their lives for military services.

During the wars and in the years immediately after the wars, there is a lot of patriotic build-up and rhetoric around soldiers. However, once wars are over, countries often forget them quickly. In many countries, ex-soldiers with physical and psychological disabilities are ignored and marginalized.

Some years ago, I remember watching a Bollywood film called "Dhoop" that had shown the callous behaviour of Indian bureaucracy towards the family of a dead soldier. I wonder if that kind of situation is unique to countries like India?

***

Learning Sanskrit or German?

The columnists seem almost unanimous - making Indian children learn Sanskrit is a fundamentalist-obscurantist, Hinduttva conspiracy, while learning German is something forward looking-progressive and modern.

I feel that learning and knowing different languages is culturally enriching, a wonderful way for us to know the world. Thus in my opinion, learning German is fine. However, I also believe that India has neglected teaching Sanskrit to school children, depriving them of a wonderful tool in knowing their own cultural roots.

THE DEBATE

Lord Meghnad Desai, a member of House of Lords in UK, wrote about it in Indian Express:

Sanskrit is today a dead language which is spoken rather badly by a few. How often have we all heard Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam murdered by bad pronunciation. Sanskrit is and was, throughout history, an elite language which only Brahmins were privileged to learn... in India, the forward-looking, development-oriented people want to learn German. But the obscurantists want the country to go back to its ancient roots and learn Sanskrit.

Outlook clarifies that the order of Education Minister Ms Smriti Irani is not just about Sanskrit but it asks Kendriya Vidyalayas (Central schools) to replace German, taught as third language, "with Sanskrit or any other modern Indian language". In a letter, Ashok Aggarwal, writing on behalf of All India Parents' Association has written that the decision of education minister is "unfair, illegal, unconstitutional and unjust".

I don't know if legally Ms. Irani has taken a wrong decision and if it is unconstitutional - I hope not. However, I wonder if media and columnists, by making it a "German versus Sanskrit" debate, are perhaps deliberately creating some confusion? Would it not be more appropriate to pose it as the "foreign language versus an Indian language" debate?

The three language education formula (mother tongue + English + an Indian language) was created to promote unity of India. I feel that today there are many persons in India, especially those who speak English, who think that in the globalized world using school time to learn another Indian language is a wastage of time while learning French, German, or any other "foreign" language is much more important for the future job prospects of their children.

I wonder if all this debate, presented in terms of Hinduttva-versus-Progressive ideas about education, is really about our belief about the inferiority of India's vernacular language speaking majority world?

NEGLECT OF SANSKRIT IN INDIA

I had studied Sanskrit for three years in the middle school. I do not recall those studies with particular pleasure, but that did not mean that Sanskrit was an especially boring subject - rather, I think that in general, teaching in our school was unimaginative and boring, not just in Sanskrit, but also in other subjects like physics and history. Unless we are fortunate to get a gifted teacher, most of Indian education system continues to be like that.

Few decades later, when I was living in Italy and was forced to learn Italian, which included learning the Latin linguistic structures, I was suddenly reminded of Sanskrit - the way of remembering changes in verbs according to the tense, gender and persons in Latin, is very similar to Sanskrit.

Later, my work helped me to learn French and Portuguese. I also studied German on my own for some time, though I was never any good at it. Knowing different European languages, often I am struck by the similarities in the roots of different words in different languages, wondering about their common origins and about how languages intermix and gain from each other.

Learning different languages helped to awaken my interest in different humanistic areas - arts, history, archeology and anthropology. It gave me many opportunities to learn about these areas in the European (and western) context. It also made me understand that while I knew so much about origins of Greek and Roman cultures, I hardly knew anything about India's past - for example, I was unaware of the works of persons like Kalidasa or Shudraka.

For many centuries, learning Sanskrit was barred to majority of Indians - it was reserved for Brahmins. However, in Independent India, what stopped us from democratising Sanskrit knowledge and making sure that all Indians could learn it? Or because it was also the language of exclusion and discrimination in the past, should we ignore it and forget it?

I do not have any ideological love for any language or any desire to prove that ancient Indian civilization was better than any other civilization. But I think that Sanskrit is a part of the Indian heritage and if we ignore it, we ignore our own past. How can we love and cherish who we are, if we decide to ignore and forget where we come from?

NOT JUST SANSKRIT

In the end I don't think that the discussion is about closing our doors to languages like German. Learning German can give us an entry into reading and understanding works of great writers like Goethe, Kant and Hesse. However, I don't think that those who talk of teaching German are worried about not knowing the great German writers. I think that our worries about learning German are more practical - how it can help us to find jobs and make carriers.

I think that as a market-driven society, we are willing to ignore education about literature, art, culture and history, and focus on practical skills that can get us jobs. I also think that it is a short-sighted view.

Today, learning new languages especially European languages, is easier than it has ever been in the history. Internet, free online courses, watching TV channels from other countries, making friends from other countries and chatting with them - if you really wish, you can learn new languages and keep that knowledge alive through internet. Perhaps one day, it will become equally easier to learn Indian languages and Sanskrit through internet.

I believe that learning our own languages and cherishing our own history, literature, art and culture is an important first step for becoming aware and responsible citizens. Only when we know about our own roots, can we explore and appreciate the roots and rich diversities of others.

It is not just about Sanskrit - I wish, our education system could teach our children about the rich works in our "vernacular" languages - from Marathi, to Tamil to Urdu.

Sanskrit may be a "dead" language, not spoken by people, but the language is very much alive for understanding our past. Words from Sanskrit have permeated all the different Indian languages.

I think that this debate is also about a "future-job centric" view of education versus the building of a "cultural foundation" role of education. I believe in a holistic education and not a job-centric education - make our science and maths learning more interactive and practical, but do not give up on subjects like arts, literature, culture and history.

If I were to ask you about the works of Shakespeare or Homer or Dante, probably you would be able to give me some answers. However I suspect that if I ask you about the works of Kalidasa or Banabhatta or Jayadeva, few of you will be able to remember the titles of their works. That is the real tragedy.

***