INTELLECTUAL ACTIVISM DE NOVO PERCEPTIONS --- LITERATURE, LIFE

AND LAW* 1

Professor Dr. K.L. Bhatia

Presently Professor National Law University Jodhpur

B.A. (Hons) (J&K); LL.B. (ILS Pune), LL.M., Ph. D. (Pune)

DAAD and Max-Planck Fellow and Alumni

[Former Head, Dean and founder Director The Law School, Faculty of Law, University of Jammu;
Director Amity Law School; Dean and Professor Emeritus University of Petroleum and Energy Studies;
UNDP Professor Public Law]

Power (unless it be the power of intellect or virtue) has

the greatest attraction for the lowest nature.

(Charles Dickens in Our Mutual Friend)

What is Intellectual Activism? What is the genesis of intellectual activism?

Intellectual activism is a movement that requires new perceptions, new visions, new
missions and new thought process. The concept is to create in modern scenario a true
cultural and intellectual treasure of ancient India with a blend of impressive
international linkages. Intellectual activism bridges the vacuum between past, present
and future. Intellectual activism encapsulates to emulate from the past to make the
present enliven and to lay the foundations for the future Golden Bharat. Intellectual
activists are the original writers with sparkling energy. Literature is the writings in
which expressions in the epics, poetry, history, biography, essays, etc. reflect the
mindset of the exponents. India epics like the Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana and
Mahabharata, are the pearls of Indian literature, which have had a profound impact on
the imagination of the West, and there is nothing pretentious about it.

Intellectual activism versus intellectually deaf and dumb

The genesis of intellectual activism are embedded in Aa no bhadra kratvo yantu
vishvata (Let noble thoughts come to us from every side); Eko sat vipra bahudi vedanti
(One truth, but discerned differently by the wise); Atam vat sarva bhuteshu yaa
pashayati saa pashayati (He who sees in others as he sees himself; this is a way to Priya
aatman manifestation of equity, equality, aatambodh, viz., Samanta and Samrasta); Om
asato maa sad-gamaya, tamso maa jyotir-ga-maya, mrityor-maa amruttam gamaya, Om
Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih (O Lord lead me from the unreal to the real; lead me from

1
This is a revised version of the paper presented in an academic PANCHNAD sojourn, Chandigarh on 14-15 July
2012.
the darkness to light; lead from the death to immortality. May there be peace, peace
and perfect peace). Arise, awake and wait not till the goal is reached, viz., rise to the
occasion, rise to the call, rise to the challenges posed by new globalisation culture;
awake to the polluted literature that is threat to our national values and national
heritage; let us not rest till we kindle the light to the enlightenment of the restitution or
restoration or rehabilitation of our dwindling values and heritage. In the backdrop of
this, it seems that intellectual activism is cultural activism, which means actively
promoting rational ideas throughout the culture from education to science, from the art
world to the media to public policy, and all for the purpose of bringing about a cultural
renaissance. To bringing about a cultural renaissance requires an intellectual battle;
intellectual battle requires a constant as well as consistent educational campaign.

Educational campaign requires integrating ideas with knowledge and ability. This does
not mean memorizing and reciting slogans and principles. This requires an objective
mind setting, which necessarily includes the ability to apply abstract principles to
concrete problems, to recognise the principles in specific issues, to demonstrate them,
and to advocate a consistent course of action, i.e. philosophy in action.

What is required is honesty --- intellectual honesty, which consists in knowing what one
does know constantly expanding ones knowledge and never evading or failing to
correct a contradiction. This means, The development of an active mind as a
permanent attribute.

Intellectual activism is the genesis for transformation necessary raise the awareness of
the masses about changing an unjust order. Intellectual activism is vital in combating
the ills of democracy emanating from corruption, black money, mismanagement,
maladministration, non-accountability and non-transparency. India grapples with the
tragedies of multinationals, aristocratic democracy of post-colonialism, post-
independence disillusionment about oil politics, underserved and marginalised people
and environmental predation or degradation.

Intellectual activism is not static, but dynamism and living organism alive to the living
environ; it is brain gymnasium --- one who gives critique to an issue in the right
perspective with ability and knowledge.

In his famous Essays on Gita, our chief national heritage and our hope for the future,
Aurobindo summed up:

The Gita certainly does not advocate war; what it advocates is the active and selfless defense of
Dharma. If sincerely followed, its teaching could have altered the course of human history. It can
yet alter the course of Indian history.

The Bhagavad-Gita is the profoundest product of India, perhaps the most beautiful
work of the literature of the world, says Keyserling. Emerson says, The Bhagwad Gita
is the excellent gymnastic for the mind as showing treatment, imagination, volatility,
etc. Hegel, in his lectures on the Philosophy of History, says, It strikes everyone in the
beginning to form an acquaintance with the treasures of Indian literature, that a land so
rich in intellectual products and those of the profoundest order of thought. ... Persia is
the land of light, Greece the land of grace, India the land of dream, Rome the land of
empire. ... It is true of all cultures that the greatest gift of life is the dream of a higher
life.

Similarly, Ramayana is the Divine poem, Ocean of milk, writes Jules Michelet.
Upanishads, the great German philosopher cried out: It has been the solace of my life -
-- it will be the solace of my death. Schopenhauer, who was in the habit, before going to
bed, of performing his devotions from the pages of Upanishads, encapsulated that
Christianity had Indian blood in its veins. ... Christianity taught only what the whole of
Asia knew already long before and even better. To him, Upanishads are as the new
Gnosis or a revelation that stirs the spirit of the very depths of the soul.

Voltaire, a French thinker in Letters sur lorigine des sciences et sur celle des peoples de
lAsie, 1777, considered India famous for its laws and sciences and observed:
Everything without exception is of Indian origin. Whether directly or indirectly, all
nations are originally nothing but Indian colonies.

Herder, a renowned scholar, in an intellectual exposition, admired India, for its

simplicity, and denounced the Europeans for their greed and corruption, for economic
exploitation of India. He, therefore, unhesitatingly emphasised, Behold the East ---
cradle of the human race, of human emotion, of all religion.

Cultural renaissance vis-a-vis Fibre of Hindu Secularism

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a philosopher, author, educationist and thinker, in The

Hindu View of Life and Eastern Religion and Western Thought, remarks: Hinduism is
not just a faith. It is the union of reason and intuition that cannot be defined but is only
to be experienced. ... From the time of Rig Veda till today, Indian genius adopted a
policy of live and let live towards them, viz., different religions. ... Hinduism is a way of
life than a form of thought. This a proprio vigore reveals that Hinduism is not a dogma
nor a watertight compartment nor a regimentation nor ritualism of rigidity, but a
belief, credence and faith of true emblem as well as aplomb of secularism. The
secularism of Hinduism is expounded by Peggy Holroyde, a great thinker in the globe,
The sparkling energy of India lies in Hinduism. Without the framework of Hindu
belief India would fall apart. Without Hinduism India is not herself. J. Donald,
another great thinker unequivocally says about the secular fibre of Hinduism,
Hinduism is the most spiritually grounded civilisation in the world. Thus, Hinduism
is the reiteration of thoughts and wisdom spanning time about India and her culture. It
is a tribute to her cultural renaissance; it is tribute to thinkers who strived to bring the
cultural renaissance from Vedic times till today. Cultural renaissance is the backbone of
secular perceptions. Say it with pride we are Hindus, is what Swami Vivekananda
taught his fellowmen. He explained his immense faith in Hinduism because of deep
secular insights: To my mind, our religion is truer than any other religion, because it
never conquered. Because it never shed blood, because its mouth always shed on all,
words of blessings, of peace, words of love and sympathy. ... In India religious life forms
the centre, the keynote of the whole music of life. This compassion is the revelation of
the hidden treasure of Hindu-secularism. Sri Aurobindo, an original philosopher and
thinker of modern India, in his book, Indias Rebirth, while writing about commercial
civilisation of the West, writes: Hinduism, devoid of monstrous and asuric (demonic)
commercial civility, ... gave itself no name, because it set itself no sectarian limits; it
claimed no universal adhesion, asserted no sole infallible dogma, set up no single
narrow path or gate of salvation, it had some right to speak of itself by the only name it
knew, the eternal religion, Santana Dharma ... immutable. This is in an ocean within a
tear exposition a true perception of Hindu-secularism.

Inquisitive prerequisites of intellectual activism

Intellectual activism is a renaissance from cave to moon; from cradle to crawl to walk of
new perceptions, new concepts, new vision, creative interpretation, new direction, new
contribution to the Vaicharic Nishtha and aastha, re-visit to the issues to re-examine
issues, and let us kindle the lamp wherever we are. It is a renaissance of past, present
and future: Past is hoty and naughty, present is majority waiting for the future
maturity. J. Krishnamoorthy in Kingdom of Happiness conveys that let us not worry
about the past which is like a dead wood; let us not spoil our pleasant present by
unnecessarily worrying about the unpleasant future which we have not seen; let us excel
in our potentialities, which are hidden in every human being. Thus, intellectual activism
makes us to assimilate as to how to Excel.

Examples of intellectual activism in the globe

French revolution
American war of independence
China revolution
South Africa against apartheid
Indian war of independence
Indian Constitution though a patchwork with the blend of the west still Indian in
origin is the outcome of intellectual activism
History should not be disseminated that tells about our past slavery, but it
should be disseminated to assimilate and emulate the nationalism fervor,
national glory embedded in unity and integrity
Information technology engraved in aa no bhadra kratvo yantoo vishvata
Globalisation and free economic market need new dimensions in Indian scenario
Re-visit or re-examination of our national values and national heritage and ethos
For instance a tribute to Hinduism:
1. Swami Vivekananda lead the message of Hinduism with renewed vigor and
was well received. None non-Hindus criticised him as non-secular or otherwise.
His relevance in the present scenario is the same when he presented Hindu Ethos
in the Splendid Bliss with his intellectual wisdom as a tribute to Hinduism.
 2. J. Krishnamoorthys The Kingdom of Happiness and search are the
nenwed messages of treasures of Hindu Humanism. His contributions are worth
and examples of intellectual activism.
3. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
4. Anandmath: Vande Matram a genesis of intellectual activism and renaissance
of national activism.
5. A revisit to Kamal, the only miracle son of Kabir, to comprehend Kabir in the
right perspective:

Bure Vansh Kabir Ka Upje Poot Kamal

Aadha To Kabira Hua, Aadha Hua Kamal

It is how we form the perceptions with intellectual honesty. For example, from the Vedic
age downwards the cultural conception of education of the Indians has been that it is a
source of illumination giving us a correct lead in the various spheres of life. Knowledge
is the third eye of man, which give him insights into all affairs and teaches him how to
act. The total configuration of ideals, practices and conduct is called Dharma (an
immutable concept of triumvirate religion, Virtue and Duty). These ideas identify their
country with their culture. The country was their culture and the culture was their
country, the true country of the Spirit: the invisible temple of culture. Thus, this
cultural ethos is not geographical or ethnic, but a cultural pattern. Country and
patriotism expand inasmuch as ideals and way of life. Indian theory of knowledge is the
scheme of life and values, which is directed to an angle of vision, perception, mission, a
sense of perspective and proportion in which the material and the moral, the physical
and spiritual, the perishable and permanent interests and values and ethos of life are
nurtured to flourish.

The individuals supreme duty is to achieve his expansion into the Absolute, his self-
fulfilment, his self-realisation, for he is a potential aatman, a spark of Divine. Education
must aid in this self-fulfilment and self-realisation, and not in the acquisition of mere
objective knowledge. The different courses of the type of this education were
disseminated for the assimilation and emulation of the learners at the following seats of
learning, the advanced learning universities/institutions:

1. Takshasila/Taxila University
2. Mithila
3. Nalanda
4. Vallabi
5. Vikramsila
6. Jagaddala
7. Odantapuri
8. Nadia
9. Madura Sangham
 10. Benares
11. Kanchpuram
12. Navadvip

These Universities produced the intellect of par-excellence in the sphere of art, social
sciences, science, astronomy, astrology, human values, mathematics, patriotism,
national ethos, history, and language.

Whither our New Education Policy? Whether Knowledge Commission Report, Private
Universities, UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) regulation, 2010 strive to
enhance academic standards to protect interests of students as well as academia?
Unfortunately, these are more education-industry friendly and least cultural-intellectual
friendly. There is imperative need for thought provoking insights and motivational
messages. Education-industry friendly atmosphere seems to be less serious productive
and more configuration of confusion making the intellectual academia the victim of
situational abuse. It needs to be addressed with DEAL, viz.,

D: Discover, decide, disclose, devise, develop, discuss, design, dare, dream

E: evolve, engage, educate, empathize, enlighten, encourage, enable

A: Act, aspire, accommodate, advance, aid, achieve, amaze

L: Look, listen, learn, laugh, live, lead into the light, love

Intellectual activism vis-a-vis Judicial Creativity

Judicial creativity is the magna carta of judicial activism born out of judicial-intellectual
activism. Intellectual activism is a movement like Judicial Activism bringing in new
Judicial-legislation Cultural issues. Public cause standing or social cause standing is
the genesis of social action litigation or public cause/interest litigation. The genesis has
roots in action popularis, pro bono public. Judicial activism is the evolution of:

Judicial creativity
Judicial innovation
Judicial behaviour
Judicial craftsmanship
Judicial legislation
Judicial dynamism
New interpretation to the terms, expression, words thus evolving experiential
jurisprudence
New legal language and legal writing
Integrating Law, Language, Human Values and Professional ethics
Legal ethos

Intellectual activism and education: without knowledge and education man is like a naked
person
Sa Vidya ya Vimuktaye: That which liberates us is education. How far the new
education policy tends to help the youth of Bharat to liberate from mental slavery? We
leave it unto the thinkers to ponder over it.