The ‘Haves’ and the ‘Have-nots’:Lalit k kaul

 

The ‘Haves’ and the ‘Have-nots’

(From the Knowledge Perspective: A Non-materialistic definition)    

                                                                                      Lalit K Kaul

The Knowledge Question:

It is about a civilised society’s inherent ability to provide an opportunity to every individual, comprising the society, to develop his/her knowledge/skills, in the way one desires to, so as to be able to contribute to its development and progress both in the short and long run. Such opportunity cannot be constrained by the factors of race, caste, creed, gender and religion.

It recognizes the importance of ‘knowledge beings’ in a society while rejecting the practice of labelling knowledge as inferior / superior and/or scientific / unscientific based on the methods employed by individuals to acquire it. It recognizes different streams (diversity) of knowledge and therefore recognizes diverse ways (methods) of acquiring the same. It rejects the theory that knowledge can be acquired only in schools, colleges and universities (formal education). It differentiates between the terms educated and knowledge and raises a question: Does certifying an individual as educated implicitly implies being knowledgeable?

 It recognizes that ‘knowledge being’ is not a universal being, but is very much delimited by the birth in a society based in a particular geographical region because becoming knowledgeable and requirements of a region and society cannot be two disjoint sets. Only that knowledge gets cognizance in a society which caters to fulfilling its requirements that may arise from time to time and therefore problems arising in different geographical regions and societies are solvable only by their indigenous knowledge base. There can be no universally valid solutions for problems that may arise across the Globe and therefore there can be no universally valid system of imparting education for creating ‘knowledge beings’. 

Therefore, knowledge that has grown and developed in a particular geographic region cannot be evaluated on the quality-markers proposed and used by people of other geographic (foreign) areas. If the knowledge and skills that have been developed are relevant / pertinent to the requirements of a certain region, then there can be no requirement or compulsion for that knowledge/skill to be certified by any “outside” entity or authority. There can be no “prescribed” or “recognised” routes for knowledge acquisition; be they through books, texts, practice, orally transmitted etc.

It recognizes all such individuals, who seek to address and solve the problems that arise in the onward march of their society, as ‘knowledge beings’ and that the knowledge development is not the sole prerogative of any particular race, creed, caste, religion or nationality.

The knowledge beings are classified as ‘Haves’ and non-knowledge beings as ‘Have-nots’.  The Indian society consists of the ‘Haves’ and the ‘Have-nots’ whose roles are further expounded in the sequel.

The Indian Society:

The Indian society comprises of two distinct types of people:

1.      Who are in service (job doers), but do not work (type 1), and

2.      Who work, but are not in service (type 2).

Both are characterized by their distinct features and are as good as being two disjoint sets.

Type 1: (Aadhunik Samaj)

Ø  Constitute around 20% of the Indian population

Ø  Belong to ‘mainstream’

Ø  Recognized as ‘educated’ people ; ‘educated’: who receive formal education

Ø   Devour incalculable costs for getting educated in schools, colleges and universities

Ø  ‘Educated’ but lack in knowledge

Ø  Generally and predominantly are job seekers

Ø  Aim in life is to settle down

Ø  Lack in urge to contribute towards growth of the Indian society through their work

Ø  Have an ever evolving value system to suit their ever increasing wants

Ø  Consumption of per capita energy is huge; drain on Indian tax payer

Ø  Generally have no compunction for dishonest intent and ways

Ø  Attach respectability of a person to his/her quantum of acquisitions and not knowledge

Type 2: Lokvidya Samaj

Ø  Constitute around 80% of the Indian population

Ø  Belong to outside of ‘mainstream’

Ø  Declared as ‘uneducated’, illiterate and ‘superstitious’ people

Ø  Do not get ‘educated’ in schools, colleges and universities

Ø  Not ‘educated’ but possess enormous relevant and useful knowledge with no costs incurred

Ø  Generally and predominantly are not job seekers

Ø  Life is a struggle against the predominant socio-economic regime built by the ‘educated’ class

Ø  Contribute towards growth of the Indian society through their work, against all odds

Ø  Value system is not subservient to their wants

Ø  Minimal per capita energy consumption; not a drain on the Indian tax-payer

Ø  Generally resist getting seduced by dishonest intent and ways

Ø  Respectability does not reach their door step

Definition of ‘Haves’ and ‘Have-nots’:

The ones who can give are classifiable as ‘Haves’ and the ones who cannot give are classifiable as ‘Have-nots’; because one who does not ‘have’ cannot give. This definition is different from the well accepted definition of ‘Haves’ and ‘Have-nots’ as being respectively the ones who have the currency power to acquire more and more of materialistic goods, and the others who lack this power to acquire.

What and whom to give? To give to the society one’s services through one’s work the knowledge for which one acquired with the help-financial or otherwise- of the society. Therefore, for giving to the society it is not how education was received, but how and what kind of knowledge was acquired by an individual for graduating in to being a useful member of the society.

Why to give to society? It is out of a sense of belongingness and awareness of a rightly educated and knowledgeable individual that, he/she owe his/her very existence- and the capabilities acquired- to the society in which they were born, brought up and made knowledgeable through a collective initiative and process; that they are the precursors for the generation next for an ever evolving society and, therefore, it is their bounden duty (Dharma) to embrace this responsibility. 

Therefore, being ‘educated’ and being knowledgeable are different from each other in that ‘educated’ one need not necessarily be knowledgeable and the knowledgeable one need not necessarily be the ‘educated’ one; because certification for being ‘educated’ is not certification for being knowledgeable for, recognition as ‘knowledge person’ is obtained only through successful and useful application of his/her education in the real world and if one passes that test in a given knowledge domain then it does not matter how education in that domain was received. Therefore knowledge acquired by an individual cannot be subjected to the test of certification by some well entrenched process put in place by some agency, because only education process can be certified by a paper certificate whereas knowledge gets certified or decertified in the real time world. It is this definition of relationship between the education received and the knowledge gained that fundamentally separates the Type 1 from Type 2 and is the basis for categorizing Type 1 as ‘Have-nots’ and Type 2 as ‘Haves’.

The ‘Have-nots’: Type 1   

The process of imparting and receiving education has degenerated to such abysmal depths that both the Guru and the Sishya have become dishonest in their purpose. The commitment to teach and learn has evaporated in to thin air and certification has remained the sole purpose. The detestable outcome of this attitude has been that in this land of ours have sprung up such universities wherefrom one can manage a certificate without studying a discipline much less writing an exam for it.

Those who teach see no relevance, to the Indian society of 125 crore people, of what they teach and those who learn, if at all they do, know not how to apply it for the overall growth of the Indian society; while a fortune is spent on getting each child educated in schools, colleges and universities. Never mind the miniscule section of the Indian society that these much hallowed institutions serve. Question to be pondered over is: What would possibly be the destiny of a society in which a teacher- Guru- has become dishonest!

Another question that need be addressed is: Why after acquiring education at incalculable costs, the ‘educated’ ones depend on jobs for their life to move on?

The decision to adopt the process of certification for declaring a person as educated and to, thenceforth, impart British model based education was taken by the leaders of Indian society when Sir Syed founded Aligarh Muslim University and Pandit Madan Mohan Malvia founded Banaras Hindu University during the British rule. Few other engineering colleges too had been started during that rule. Post independence was coined a phrase ‘Modern Temples of Learning’.

The ‘Modern Temples of Learning’ may not have been founded with the purpose that after 70 years of independence every material and object of day to day use would not bear the stamp of Indian genius, but that the generation next and thereafter would endeavour to make India technologically self reliant and self sufficient. If a benefit of doubt can be allowed then the students and teachers in ‘Modern Temples of Learning’ have not kept their covenant with the Indian people. In support of this, the facts are presented in the sequel.

Be it the ink with which one writes; the stapler with which one staples few papers together; the blade of a fan; the inverter for UPS or PV/Wind mill based power plants; the conventional electric power generating elements like, synchronous generator, turbine, boiler, etcetera; the automobiles; the bicycles; the medical diagnostic aids; the military / air force/ naval equipments and machinery; and all that you have in the name of science and technology, nothing that one sees and/or uses in this country is of Indian origin- a product invented by the Indian scientists and engineers. None of the much hallowed professors/scientists working in the so called most prestigious institutions (never mind their rankings in the world) seem to have understood electromagnetic theory, the laws of thermodynamics, material science and metallurgy. This class of Indian scientists and engineers having got educated at incalculable costs has failed to put India on the world map of science and technology. Forget about inventing technologies, this class has even failed to engineer products based on the available off the shelf technologies.

The invented saving grace is supposed to be ‘IT’ professionals and all stark failures are sought to be brushed under that red carpet called IT Industry. Such an aura has been built around that industry that it is difficult to say anything less pleasing openly in the society, but most of the employees working in the industry are aware and conscious of the fact that they are off loaded B grade work and the real intelligent work goes on in the branches of the foreign companies located in their own country.

Nevertheless many awards have been instituted and recipients found to receive those every year without break while Indian National Science Congress rejoices at celebrating a hundred years of its existence.

People who claim to have designed and launched PSLVs, missiles of different ranges and vehicles that land on Moon and Mars fail to explain why they could not design a much simpler car engine, a wind turbine blade, a multi-purpose tank for land warfare or even a much more simpler product called electric vehicle for commercial usage. The growth of space science and associated technologies have had indelible impact on the lifestyles of their people as also on the warfare equipment, whereas in our case our space expedition has had no such impact; obviously nothing path breaking had been achieved. In any case those who crossed seven galaxies with Voyager I & II (launched in mid & early seventies when powerful processors were not available and the integrated circuit technology was in its infant stage; the Voyagers are still functional and are expected to serve for another 3 to 4 years!) would not mind putting their Moon & Mars mission on Google and/or transferring such technologies to the ‘third’ world for them to take a small step in to the world of technologically advanced nations.  

The so called entrepreneurs in this part of the world have been of trader’s mentality; that is either buy technology from outside or have collaborative arrangement and then keep manufacturing, for example automotives, without caring to spend some revenue on bettering their product. The case in hand is: Before LML Vespa hit the Indian market in 1985/86 no Indian manufacturer of cars and two wheelers or heavy duty vehicles ever thought about providing a left and right indicator along with a reversing indicator in their vehicles! Had Suzuki not continued to be a majority share partner with Maruti, rest assured that the Maruti would have continued to roll out the same 1985 model in the year 2017.

The net contribution by this ‘educated’ class is negative because their education is on Indian tax payer’s money (plus incalculable social costs) and they excel and take pride in meeting with the requirements of the Indian society by importing technologies at prohibitive prices for manufacturing day to day use products and by directly importing machinery for warfare and medical diagnostic aids again using tax payer’s money and at the same time maximizing their gains and/or letting foreign multinationals to open their manufacturing units in our country whereby they take away large profits to their own country, but provide some employment to this ‘educated’ class.

This section of Indian society is  an Infinite Sink that only devours not only tax payer’s money, but also puts in place a highly exploitative mechanism that causes the other ‘uneducated’ people to become labourers by alienating them from their professions and dwellings.

They also maximize materialism (bordering hedonism) in a very sophisticatedly planned way and then link it with the growth of economy while maximizing pain on the ‘uneducated’ people.

They are ‘Have-nots’ because they have proved themselves to be incapable of giving anything to the Indian society.   

The ‘Haves’: Type 2 

They belong to the section of the Indian society that comprises the farmers, weavers, tribal societies, small time trading communities, artisans, and their associated markets wherein they exchange goods of day to day use.  

They are not a burden on Indian tax payer. They are knowledge people who do not hold any certificates for having acquired the knowledge that they have. The way they acquire knowledge does not require capital intensive infrastructure. They do not hanker after jobs because their kind of knowledge makes them a kind of an independent entrepreneur who can produce and distribute goods for daily use within their society; therefore, it is not their requirement that foreign multinationals be lured into investing in our country for creation of jobs. The knowledge they acquire is in keeping with the needs of the society and therefore has the potential to meet with its requirements. From the employable youth available in our country, the % employment generated by their entrepreneurship is predominantly higher than created through investments by foreign multinationals and the Indian big business houses. Their contribution to GDP is much higher than that due to the ‘educated’ sections of the Indian society.

They acquire knowledge about the profession they want to adopt not in class rooms, not by the process of simulations, but by becoming an apprentice to an experienced person(s) in a particular area of work in the society; that is they learn through a process that combines both physical labour and mental faculties while being rooted in the real world that enables them to understand social dynamics too. They acquire knowledge from their elders in the family and in the society; from fellow workmen and women and with that knowledge they not only serve their society, but also transfer their knowledge base to the generation next. They do not hanker after jobs, but create them as youngsters join them as apprentice and then subsequently move on to establish their own enterprise. This practice of moving on to have their own enterprise is ubiquitous among the small time traders, shopkeepers, vegetable and household utensil vendors, car and scooter mechanics, radio and television mechanics, electronic gadget repair shops, the masons, the ironsmith, the carpenters, the potters, etcetera. None of them hold any degree or diploma in either electronic engineering or automobile engineering or civil engineering or business administration; whereas those who graduate as engineers and flaunt their certificates with pride do not possess the aforesaid capabilities that these ‘uneducated’ people possess. Such capabilities as acquired by these ‘uneducated’ people while going through many hardships from a very young age is indicative of their urge to create a space for themselves in ever changing world dictated by technological advancements and this urge emanates from their survival instinct. Theirs is not an easy life because they do not have the luxury of assured salary per month; they toil hard, work every day to make both ends meet. They do not get any allowances from the government to combat the devil of inflation. Their earnings per month are not only much less than that of a peon in a government office, but are also not assured even though they are the productive people and contribute to the GDP.

The system put in place by the ‘educated’ class and their apologists is such that it does not provide for any mechanism that encourages this cross section of the Indian society’s instinct for enterprise because their knowledge base is derecognized as they do not possess certified degrees.

This cross section of the Indian society has been and continues to be a victim of politics of displacement, caste, religion and gender. The never ending displacement of tribals from their forests, the farmers and villagers from their fields and homes and hearths and putting a price tag on their life and their descendents; all in the name of development have disrupted their socio-economic system and yet their survival instinct has enabled them to discover new ways for their subsistence.

In spite of being labeled as uneducated, illiterate and their faith and beliefs labeled as nothing more than superstition; this cross section of the Indian society has remained productive without being a burden either on the tax payer or the natural resources. They continue to give to the society because that is the only way they know and hence they are the ‘Haves’.       

Route leading to Emancipation of the ‘Haves’: The Lokvidya Samaj

The Lokvidya Samaj remains exploited due to the following reasons:

1.      Development strategies based on displacement

2.      The politics based on perpetuation of the concept of backward classes

3.      The politics based on compartmentalization of Indian society based on the affiliation of its members to a certain caste, religion and gender

4.      The politics of reservations in education and jobs

The basic reason for this divisive and discriminative and therefore exploitative political arrangement is that their knowledge base and skills, in independent India, have been derecognized and they have been declared as ignorant and superstitious mass of people. The identity of individuals in this society is by virtue of their caste and religion and not by their capabilities to contribute towards meeting with the requirements of their societies by virtue of their knowledge base in a particular domain of human activity. This is a grand ploy for disempowerment of nearly 80% of the Indian populace which has been in vogue since colonial times, but zealously entrenched since the year 1947. A human being disrobed of his/her knowledge base loses not only respectability, but also the right to livelihood because the very basis for his/her means to livelihood is looked upon contemptuously as primitive and unscientific. The propagation of deceitful philosophy that this ‘primitive’ being needs to be brought in to the ‘mainstream’ (Mukhy Dhara) serves as a stimulant for mushroom growth of self styled benefactors / leaders in each cast, religion and gender. Party politics encourages such emergence because some among them could belong to a particular party and, therefore, would facilitate consolidation of votes in their favour that may at some point of time enable one political party or the other to capture power at the Center and/or the states of the Union of India. Thus, the caste, religion and gender based politics gets deep rooted by the day as one caste is played against the other and people of one religion against the other not forgetting to play sister against the brother in a family (outcome of the reservation policy). No wonder then that at one time or other one is a witness to communal riots, inter caste based violence and the gender violence; all systematically planned to serve some political end at a chosen moment of time.

The lure of reservations for admissions in educational institutions and in jobs has motivated the unreserved sections of the society to demand such reservations and the most ridiculous political development has been that religions like Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism and Christianity in India too have declared ‘Dalits’ in their religious communities! 

If there has to be any hope for emancipation of Lokvidya Samaj from caste, region and religion based politics and if they are to be freed from the clutches of well entrenched exploitative machinery of the ‘Raj’ times and are to redeem their honour then the Indian society shall have to be reorganized on the basis of the knowledge/ skills that its people possess meaning that an individual would be recognized by his/her knowledge based role in the society and not by his/her caste, gender and religion ; and for this to happen every kind of knowledge that helps in meeting with the needs of a society has to be recognized no matter how it was acquired.

****This philosophy of reorganising Indian society on the basis of knowledge and skills that all people possess is based on the conviction that,

1.      The knowledge and skills acquired and possessed by the people, on which they base their lives and livelihoods and which helps them fulfil the requirements of their life, has no direct link or dependence on economic class, religious orientation, caste or gender. Every individual seeks to acquire knowledge and skills of his/her choice in order to become productive and contribute to societal development. This provides him/her a unique individual identity. There exists no inherent contradiction or conflict between the different streams of knowledge/skills and, in fact, this diversity of knowledge and skills engenders and helps sustain a spirit of mutual cooperation in the effort towards building a civilized humane society. Knowledge grows in response to the requirements of societal development. Every individual, who seeks to address and solve the problems that arise in the onward march of society, acquires such knowledge and skills that will enable him/her to do so; and this process is not determined or constrained by class, religion, caste or gender.

2.      The hallmark of a civilised society lies in its inherent ability to provide an opportunity to every individual, comprising the society, to develop knowledge/skills of his/her choosing so as to be able to contribute to its development and progress both in the short and long run. Such opportunity cannot be constrained by factors of caste, gender or religion. If opportunities for self-development, in order to contribute to societal requirements and well-being, are not made available to the individuals, then they would, in effect, be socially excluded both from society and from livelihood activities.

3.      An individual is born into a family, caste, religion and with a gender - these are mere “accidents” of birth, whereas the acquisition of knowledge and skills is based, in the main, on personal choice and is not constrained by caste, gender or religion. The atrocities committed, and being committed , by self-proclaimed custodians of caste and religion or  the crimes perpetrated on women on the basis of an assumed gender inequality, by male supremacists; can be put to a halt only in a society that  is organised on the basis of knowledge alone.

4.      The development of knowledge ensures the continuous enlightenment of society from the lowest to highest levels. It is on the strength of knowledge alone that the humane development of society is possible, because it is not constrained by caste, religion or gender.

5.      The mental faculties of an individual are independent of affiliations to the caste, religion and/or the gender and only they shall define the ‘level of incompetence’ of every individual and therefore the scale of contribution towards growth and development of the society.

6.      Even under the present dispensation wherein an individual is classified by caste, religion and gender; he/she is declared useless (Nakara / Nakabil) by the society if he/she is devoid of any knowledge/ skills and therefore unable to earn his/her livelihood. Thus it is the capability of a person to contribute towards his/her and society’s well being that accords him/her a place of respectability in the society. 

Thus it is indisputable that in a society one is known by the profession one adopts and underlying that profession is a knowledge base. In the Aadhunik Samaj too, the individuals are known and respected for the professions they adopt and not for the religion or caste they may belong to. Even while buying and selling, one looks for a best seller and buyer respectively and does not waste time searching for a particular caste and religious identity to finalize the deal. Any transaction in temporal world transcends the caste and religious considerations because everyone wants the best deal. One cannot get the best deal if one is not knowledgeable in that work domain.

Knowledge based organization of society is about empowering the people to play a purposeful role in ensuring their and society’s well being according to their own perceptions of social dynamics, state of economy and other factors that govern societal dynamics; it implicitly recognizes every member of the society as ‘knowledge being’ (Gyani) and equally respectable and indispensible member of the society in context of his/her role (based on his specific knowledge) in resolving specific types of problems that may arise from time to  time. It empowers the people in that it declares that the knowledge acquired by them in their own way and of their own choosing is not inferior to the knowledge acquired by the ways different from theirs so long as it caters to the needs of their society. It does away with the tag of ‘backwardness’ thrust upon them by the existing political regime. Empowerment is all about infusing confidence among them that they have the wherewithal to manage and lead their societies on to the path of growth, development and prosperity and for this to happen their knowledge base has to be recognized as legitimate, relevant and beyond reproach.  

Therefore knowledge based societies have the potential to eliminate caste, religion and gender based disputes because a knowledge being is useful to all; as also become a forceful impediment in the ever growing party politics based on caste, gender and religious discriminations. A self sufficient and evolving society comprising knowledge beings has the potential to question the very foundations of modern political regime, its world-view, its definition of science and its development methods because it would have made a transition from ‘led ones’ to the ‘leaders’ of a new world.