A REVERSE BIASED SOCIETY

                               Chandra Mohan Bhandari                                  

                                 

                 The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

                             But I have promises to keep

                             And miles to go before I sleep.

                                                  -- Robert Frost

                                            

                                          1

Analysing a societal trend is essentially  a kind of statistical exercise. We have seen that this gives us some kind of average, far from exact if applied to an individual case. Within that constraint it has its own advantage. It is like talking of the forest and not the tree in particular. At the most basic level all humans are alike which is essentially a by product of biological evolution over a period of billions of years. The cultural transformation over a period of several thousand years has brought into focus the differences in attitudes, trends and behaviour. There are differences between persons, and those between groups. It is this difference in group behaviour which is going to be my concern in the present context, the group being one of the larger ones comprising a nation.

Going back to the early days Indian experience has been reasonably healthy. The path of cultural transformation was never expected to be a straight line. It had many undulations and aberrations. Yet while putting experience in words nothing remained unexplored at the conceptual level, be it the origin of cosmos, origin of life or mind. A societal transformation is not always guided by wisdom or logic, it has its own dynamics where power games are played at various levels. Words of wisdom that may appear in scriptures every now and then indicate enlightened individual concerns, indicating an extreme wavelength in the wide spectrum of human traits and concerns. As far as everyday practices and norms are concerned the trends are governed by several other factors. The words of wisdom come handy in moments of relaxation or when one is in a benevolent frame of mind. Most of the time they remain dormant in the background.

Among other things one most important aspect that defines Indian ethos is the element of diversity. Diverse elements at various levels are incorporated into the main body of cultural life pattern. Seemingly this appears to be an acceptance of various shades of opinion and traditions. To some extent this is not incorrect, yet its validity to all situations has a boundary line. There appears to be a strange attitude towards diversity. On the one hand there seems to be an acceptance of diversity at the level of faith, rituals and related practices, yet at times an element of rigidity and intolerance has pervaded many of societal concerns. Clans much like tribes were autonomous in several respects. The interaction between the separate entities was not always effective and evolutionary. The customs were accepted as a matter of faith and there was very little to argue about. As a consequence the scene was frozen on the time-axis. The notion of a nation state was never strong enough to bypass  or overcome the concerns of smaller units in the interest of larger one. If a group or clan or cast was practicing ‘sati’ it did not raise alarm bells for others who did not do so. Here the acceptance of diversity became a matter of convenience. Other practices such as ‘Devadasi custom’ was nobody’s concern.  It was a certain level of indifference for the person next door if he or she belonged to a different class or cast. It was due to this kind of isolation that it took nothing less than the British intervention to put a legal ban on some of these practices. But for such an intervention many of our customs would have remained in practice even to this day, some still are.

Understanding diversity

How did we understand diversity ? Was it an acceptance of others’ views as well. Or perhaps it was due to operational reasons. Since the units of cast and clan were in majority of cases large enough they could easily isolate themselves from others defining their own code of conduct. This was true to the extent that the traditional wisdom (!) became a word of law where even the ruler ( a king ) did not interfere.

Again talking of the forest and not the trees in particular it is possible to analyse some other traits which have percolated down the generations, even centuries. At the level of evolution of thought it had its impact which can be seen even to this day. Evolution has been at the basis of entire creation including humans, and evolution of thought marked the basis of the cultural transformation. Acceptance of diversity at a certain level created an insulation and isolation which was a hard nut to crack. The intelligentsia usually is supposed to work with diffuse boundaries. This did not happen on the larger scale and this created islands of thinking population. In an earlier era which dates back to 3000 years there was perhaps a relatively better state of affairs which changed its course with time, and by the second or third century A D the thinking islands seem to have made their appearance. Their island identity was manifest by the fact that whatever was said and written remained isolated not only from each other but from the actual practice on ground.  At times the written word was in complete opposition to what was being practiced. An example will suffice to illustrate this: In Ramayana the story of Rama’s acceptance of a Dalit girl’s invitation to visit her hut, and to eat joyously the fruits she offered after tasting them is often repeated by a devotee with a great sense of appreciation  but in majority cases the person would most likely be a practicener of untouchability. There are several other examples. The openness of thought, the inclusion and acceptance of an element of diversity which was so evident in hymns of RigVeda and else where too did not get reflected in our everyday living. It is a general tendency to verbally appreciate virtue, but who wants to acquire that. We are ready to worship virtue but do nothing to acquire it even to a small degree. Reasons are partly analysable. One has to pay a price for acquiring virtue and the real life on ground does not permit it. The survival game is hard to fight and it requires all that which is at distance from virtue. To a small measure this trend is present in all societies. In our case its presence is more pronounced. Moreover, the wind of change was slow to appear, and when it did it was not essentially due to an inner voice raising its head.  A foreign rule coupled with some strong measures was necessary to manage abolition of Sati and elimination of thuggery. To a small extent these still survive in twenty first century India. There are several questions we need to raise to ourselves and seek a determined answer. Having done so well in early stages why did we falter, and why were the changes so slow to come by. What is the reason for this extra thing in our psychic domain.

                                                                     2

Serial versus Parallel

Thought processes work on two different lines. For simplicity we may prefer to call them serial thinking and parallel thinking. Parallel thinking is like one hundred persons thinking about a problem almost independently or in small groups. They may come up with similar or dissimilar solutions to the problem and may compare their notes. After some deliberations one or more of the proposed solutions will be accepted. That is the general practice and has been followed ever since the dawn of civilisation. The rules, regulations and trends in matters pertaining to clans and casts were decided like this. However, there was little room for improvement in several cases. The trends that were set two or three thousand years ago continued even to this day. In many matters the decisions of the cast based panchayats is of the same calibre. Diversity should have bred tolerance, yet it did exactly otherwise. The element of tolerance witnessed in Indian context had settled with two important features: acceptance of diversity between clans and casts, acceptance of diversity in some religious matters and practices. There was non-tolerance for the dalits in all matters. Even for others there was non-tolerance of diverse views in several social matters such as marriage relations. Recent upsurge in honour killings has been an outcome of this feature. The fact that at a certain stage in history some such customs were in practices is understandable. The notions of democracy, equality, fundamental rights are relatively new and have not been part of instinctual drive. However, the thing under discussion is (a) why the corrective measures are not coming from within, and (b) why we are so slow to accept and implement the changes. 

Relay Race

Serial thinking is much like a relay race. I run upto a certain distance, and then hand over my token to the next person who in turn follows the similar course. The step continues for quite sometime. The net outcome is that although each of the runners runs a relatively small distance, the net distance covered could be substantial. At the level of thought a similar relay is needed to carry the ideas forward. Summing up, the entire process of evolution of ideas requires both parallel as well as serial thinking. The very first step starts with parallel thinking which is followed by serial thinking. As the process continues both may be needed in different proportions. It is much like many small rivulets forming a river. As the river continues on its onward march some more streams join the flow and the water mass forms a mighty river. We appear to be doing well with thinking in parallel but there is some serious deficiency as regards the serial process. Let us look at it more closely.

Chain reactions

Any creative endeavour is based on some kind of a chain reaction. A good example is the process of burning of coal. A single piece of coal or two do not burn well. To get a good fire a number of coal pieces are required and these have to be arranged in a formation where they are arranged at some kind of optimal distance. They should not be too far apart as this would amount a loss of heat resulting in disruption of   the process. They should be arranged close enough to keep each other warm, but not too close ( dense stacking) to suffocate for lack of air flow. With this kind of arrangement coal burns well forming a chain reaction. There are other examples such as that of nuclear chain reaction as witnessed in atomic energy release in nuclear fission which is uncontrolled in an atomic bomb but controlled in a nuclear reactor. An atom of uranium breaks in the presence of a neutron into two smaller units and releases more neutrons along with energy. These neutrons react with other atoms repeating the process and it continues. One neutron produces two and these two produce four. The chain reaction is sustained. In mere sixty steps the number will be very large causing an enormous release of nuclear energy.

A social chain reaction works somewhat on the same pattern. The difference is that here the individual unit – the human being – is a thinking entity. However, looking at the forest and not trees in particular the analogy with burning of coal or nuclear chain reaction will be reasonably satisfactory even for the social chains. Two of the best examples of social chain reactions are:

(1) the evolution of languages, and

 (2) the evolution of scientific thought.

Man as an animal started much like other species communicating almost like others in the very early stages. At some stage of biological evolution with larger brain, larger number of neurons and plasticity of neuronal connections led to a co-evolution of biological brain and its working. The outcome was that the biological evolution started reinforcing the improved neuronal activity which in turn helped the growth and plasticity of connections to connect still better, leading to a co-evolution. The evolution of languages has been one of the best examples  of a coordination in these processes and perhaps the biggest achievement of the two  - nature, and its creation –the humans. Whatever be the mechanism of evolutionary process the enormous power of the brain was linked to its capacity to work in terms of patterns. Pattern forming capacity of mind gives it enormous power which even a good computer cannot match. A computer computes things one after the other, or even some times in parallel, and only at the end of the computation it reaches a conclusion. In mathematical calculation human mind does much the same yet in many other cases it is otherwise. It appears as if it looks at the whole set of features and takes a decision. After a gap of twenty years I meet an old classmate, and with some initial hesitation I recognise the good old pal.  I forget a particular poem and find it hard to recollect, but if someone gives me the first word I recollect the whole. This is the working of a pattern-oriented mind. 

Patterns are thus an integral part of mind’s working, and make its job much easier.

Without this capacity of mind learning would have been much more difficult and painful. Yet it has its negative aspect too. Pattern are captivating, in a sense habit forming. Mind is likely to become a captive of these patterns, if education at the early stages is not handled carefully, or if the educator himself is a captive of the patterns. There is a saying, ‘catch them young’. If you wish to train someone for a particular purpose then the patterns are to be created at an early stage. That is how fundamentalists and zealots are created.

We have been talking of the chain reactions and relay processes. Thinking whether parallel or serial requires frequent use of these patterns and we have seen how patterns can be powerful tools in learning yet at times captivating. Some of these aspects have been taken up in Chapter 10. A relay race requires a certain degree of coordination between various units. At the level of thought it requires a coordination between various concepts, ideas and notions. In addition to this mind’s capacity to break away from set patterns is also important, otherwise ideas and concepts will always move around a set pattern. It is here that a difference in attitude would make a difference, and it will go a long way in defining the thought trajectory of the relay. 

 Inherent Incapability for Relay

A group may be lacking inherent capacity for the initiation and maintenance for a relay. The requirements of coordination, along with use of pattern, and the capacity to break away from it are all necessary and may not be equally present in all groups. I have a strong reason to believe that we in India, although good at learning, have sharp minds and are diligent, do not have the inherent tendency to form relay processes. We may excel individually, but by ourselves we donot possess the necessary ingredients to form chain reactions. It is different altogether to join an already existing chain created and maintained elsewhere and do well. This statement is based on the analysis of a large number of cases both past and present. Some of the factors for this are outlined:

I.          Prolonged dark Age: The history of a nation is not a linear affair, there are ups and downs- there is era of growth and era of sluggishness. However, in India a vast land mass and substantial population remained almost inert for over fifteen long centuries, from around 8 th AD to the nineteenth (figure 3.1 ).

II.      Several philosophical schools were present around five century BC to Around 4 th AD. None of these could form a temporal chain. We see only a frozen account of all these even to this day.

III.      The statements are fairly true for philosophy and science in general, but only partly so for other areas. In music there did exist a significant chain reaction. There has been a growth process based on chain reaction.

IV.     Present day India is understandably making headlines for its science and scientific manpower. For a country of India’s size with second highest population in the world this should not be taken as an exceptionally great  achievement. However, from quality point of view much is desirable and still below the mark. 

V.      Pyramidal structures could be used as  a symbol to indicate that ‘quantity produces quality’. Larger is the number of scientists larger should be the researches of path-breaking standard. A pyramid with a large base can sustain greater height.  We have a fairly wide base as regards science and technology related institutions and manpower. The calibre of our students too is not second to any in the world. Then why it is so that almost negligible researches of the highest calibre are ever heard of. With a large base and good meritorious student population we do not achieve the quality expected of us. This could symbolically be represented by truncated pyramid--  a pyramid whose top is missing.

VI.    A deeper analysis could easily relate the truncated pyramids to the incapacity of chain reaction forming attitude. Only a relay race can take you far. Individual excellence is fine but lack of coordination in letter and spirit if missing could undo what a gifted group of individuals might otherwise would be able to achieve.

The Problem

With the problem of non-existent chain reactions in science, philosophy and other areas except probably one or two areas is a serious matter. Yet nobody seems to be worried about it. Every week we hear of new institutions coming up, new laboratories created and new methods adopted to upgrade the work. However, the end result is the same. No highest quality work is achieved by this kind of proliferation. A vision is needed to understand the mechanism of relay process and chain reaction. A vision is also required to understand the dynamics of human mind as regards serious thinking and manipulative tendencies. A strong will power is absolutely necessary to check the negative tendencies and promote the positive ones

Who will bell the cat

The biggest problem in solving the problem at hand is this: who will bell the cat. There is no well defined unit which can represent the cat. There is a whole chain of cats controlling certain chains. The entire network of policy planners-beurocrats-fund providing bodies-academicians-and others, has formed a strong almost unbreakable chain where things are manipulated from the highest to the lowest level. Not looking at trees and looking only at the forest what we witness is that entire process from planning, funding, monitoring and assessing is controlled by master-manipulators handling these chains. Chain reactions of the creative nature are impossible in a scenario where several spurious undesirable chain reactions are already eating away the resources and spirited creativity. This is true not only of science. Almost all areas are controlled and governed by such chains. This is not to say that there is complete absence of honest, dedicated and well meaning individuals, what is implied that they are not able to form a chain reaction whereas the chains maintained by manipulators are going strong.

Did a creative chain reaction exist in modern India in the context of science. Yes, during the first few decades of the 20 th century it did exist in Kolkata. Whether it was science, education in general or literature – there did exist an element of creativity and chain reaction which could sustain some degree of relay. Earlier we talked of correlation in forming a relay process. An example will suffice. In the early decades of last century the then vice chancellor  of Calcutta  University appointed two fresh graduates – Meghnad Saha and Satyendra Nath Bose to the faculty of Physics department in the Presidency College. The two youngsters had graduated with applied mathematics and not physics. Was it merely a chance that two persons appointed in a subject other than their subject at post graduation level did so well that they could be counted among most brilliant of Indian scientists.  This era of creativity that existed in Kolkata was spatially and temporally of short duration. The chain could be sustained over a limited space-time.

Reverse biased Society

In conclusion: as a nation we are not psychologically inclined and educationally trained to form spatio-temporal long chain reactions. As a child we see the hypocritical and diabolical attitudes all around, be it the family or school or the neighbourhood. We have been theoretically taught what is essential for constructing chain reactions and structuring tall pyramids with height proportional to the base. However, the system is being manipulated by smart manipulators who have formed strong chains to serve their own ends. The reasons are not difficult to see. Basically we are a reverse biased society. Let me explain. In electronic circuits the terms forward and reverse biased are very useful. A semiconductor junction ( a junction of n-type and p-type semiconductors) if connected to a battery such that positive of the battery is connected to the p-type end the junction,  flow of current takes place. If battery positive is connected to n-side then the current will be negligible, this is called reverse bias.

We are basically a reverse biased society.  There are simple to understand age old rules for forward biasing: ‘Reward for the good work, and punishment for undesirable and unhealthy practices’. There is hardly any reward for selfless  good work except self satisfaction. And undesirable unhealthy acts are hardly punished. Corrupt practices have pervaded every aspect of national life. We really take a very soft and sympathetic line towards it. That is one example. Let me take another example.

In the 1971 war with Pakistan INS Khukri was torpedoed by the enemy, and it began to sink. The captain ordered everyone to leave the ship with the available boats, and decided to go down with the ship. Some of his colleagues did not obey his command and decided to go down with him. I ask one simple question. How many of us know and remember this event and the person. The great act of bravery could have been a matter of national pride, yet even the people of his own home town do not know him. That is the way we remember our true heroes. Petty politicians and corrupt burocrats are virtually known and acknowledged by all. That is reverse biasing. A person is not guided by people’s appreciation while doing such a great act, but it does hurt deeply. This is reverse biasing of the highest order where we all become responsible. We tolerate corruption of highest order, and ignore heroism of the highest rank.

 How do we define ourselves: We are essentially a reverse-biased society of parallel walkers occupying truncated pyramids.

Discovering, Inventing and Evolving

There can be three possible stages of our action plan in the context of expected role as citizens, or as part of intelligentsia in the entire scheme of things. The very first stage conc4rns the discovery. Recallin Nehru’s valuable contribution and that of some others it should be possible to view ourselves objectively and analytically.  It’s not always that we need and objective analytical approach looking at the entirety of our cultural journey, but it becomes necessary when we are  likely to decide our next step. At the Turning Points in the history of cultural transformation it is time to see the path we have left behind Our future trajectory will most likely be a continuation of our past although not necessarily a linear one. The present is but a junction point between the defined past and the yet undefined future.

Having done that the next important point is to invent having discovered ‘what has been’ or ‘what is’, the next important question is: ‘what should be’ or ‘what could have been’. The elements of discovery may give a clue, but only a clue and nothing more. Beyond this we shall have to invent – create a path for ourselves if need be. That invented trajectory may or may not be a smooth trajectory  joining the past at the junction of the present.

The first step of our discovery should include discovering objectively both our strong points, out not so strong points, and our weak points. Along with that it has to be realised if we had made some blunders.” We or our ancestors were incapable of committing blunders”- that kind of attitude would not help. Let us face the mirror, irrespective of the state we are in.

Our role is only up to this and no further. Beyond this the process of growth and evolution should take its own course. It should be understood that the process of cultural evolution is not same as that of biological one, but there are certain points of similarity. In biological evolution there are two important steps: genetic mutation and natural selection.  Some what similar is the case here. Mutation refers to jump-like changes where an entire molecular unit referred to as gene gets transferred. Cultural transformation does envisage a process in which not a word or a sentence, but an entire concept, an entire pattern of thought gets transferred. Dawkins prefers to call it – the  meme- which for obvious reason is similar to the word gene.

In conclusion discovery, invention and evolution- meme based evolution will define the future trajectory  of our cultural journey- Having played our roles in the first two, we may leave the process of evolution to take its course, and hope for the best.

References:

J.L. Nehru, Discovery of India, Oxford University Press, 1946.

R. Dawkins, The selfish Gene, Oxford University Press, 1976.