MyVoice: Views of our readers 23rd April 2023

Commemorating the Bard of Avon

The world commemorates William Shakespeare's 459th anniversary of birth (as per tradition) and 407th anniversary of death on 23rd April, 2023. The Bard of Avon is immensely popular all over the world; he is universally acknowledged as the 'supreme deity of poetry, drama and highbrow culture'. With his unsurpassed poetic invention and language, he, perhaps, holds the first place unchallenged among the all-time great writers. NO wonder he was once voted as the 'man of the millennium.'

As a poet and a playwright, Shakespeare is 'not of an age, but for all time.' Uniquely, he is reinvented by every age in its own image. His creative literary works, written in blank verse for the theatre, are read, re-read, discussed, dissected, interpreted, reinterpreted and explored for new layers of meaning. A school drop-out, his lack of formal learning did not dim his literary brilliance.

He graduated from the university of life. He did not need the 'spectacle of Books to read Nature'. For him, as spoken through one of his characters, 'the proper study of man is man'. Shakespeare's oeuvre 'holds the mirror up to nature'. His vast array of characters express the 'divers and different humours, or natures, or several passions in mankind'. Hamlet's 'procrastination,' Macbeth's 'overvaulting ambition,' King Lear's 'over-possessiveness' and Othello's 'sexual jealousy' – all tragic flaws or 'hamartia' in Greek – penetrate and capture the human psyche in all its complexity.

Watching or reading his plays brings about 'purification' or catharsis in Greek in us. Shakespeare still keeps us absorbed in what he wrote over four centuries ago. The immortal poet who answers the description, 'What a piece of work is man!' better than anyone else; his immortal works will live on 'so long as man can breathe, or eyes can see'.

G David Milton, Maruthancode, TN

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Is Shakespeare, the world famous playwright, now alive in the class rooms of colleges or has become out-dated and out-fashioned? If so, could the modern plays replace his plays and to what purpose? Are the modern students still receptive to the teaching of Shakespeare and the treasures of thought, gems of expressions and genuine portrayal of human nature embedded in his plays in all fidelity? A pertinent question, however, is whether so-called teachers and professors of English do have ''the boldness of imagination '' and '' fineness of perception 'to approach Shakespeare and create the much required empathy of the spectators with the players on the stage. It must be realised that Shakespeare lies not in voluminous critical treatises or in the endless orations in the universities but in way the actors mouth the dialogues on the stage. It is they who can resurrect him from the confinements of books and reconstruct his whole conception of '' drama ''as a medium to reach the'' commoners in the theatre'' and make an impact. As such, it is high time that the higher centres of learning like the universities resorted, with a new interpretative approach to a visual representation of the ''plot '' of Shakespeare on the stage. To an expert, the Elizabethan theatre served as a model as it involved the actors and the spectators in the evolution of the drama. Unlike our modern audience and spectators, the spectators of Elizabethan times were not detached onlookers. They, in fact 'encircled' the actors. According to Prof Bradley, "It is the realization of this old truth which has been successfully applied to the West end plays. A play like the Trial of Mary Dugan adroitly involves the spectators in acting as the jury to voice their verdict .We have lost something which the Elizabethans possessed. To them Hamlet was not just an exalted prince of Denmark but verily '' one amongst them helplessly pitted against ubiquitous moral decadence and depravity. Perhaps, the Elizabethans did not enjoy a play like ''Julius Caesar '' as one about a Roman dictator slain by his friends .He was indirectly hinting at the dangers to which the gullible populace of his own times were subjected and misled by the dominance of political demagoguery and machinations of the wily politicians during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

–S M Kompella, Kakinada

CJI views seem tinged by 'colonial consciousness

The biggest tragedy of most Indian intellectuals since colonial times has been the acceptance of all narratives about India as set forth by the west. Sita Ram Goel called it 'Macaulayism' and Balagangadhara has a more detailed thesis of 'colonial consciousness.' The latter is a colonial violence on Indian intellectuals who fail to look beyond the western understandings while studying both ourselves and the west. This happens much later after the colonials have left with almost a permanent altering of our intellectual frameworks. Rejecting the colonial consciousness is hard work which lazy intellectuals and ideology driven academia failed to do in independent India.

Where does this colonial consciousness work? The Aryan story; converting Indian 'traditions' into 'religions' and then accepting secularism as the best solution for harmony; superimposing 'caste,' a western idea, into the varna and jatis of India, a different phenomenon altogether; solidifying politically and legally a rigid hierarchical 'caste-system' at divergence from the socio-cultural practices; our disdainful view of traditional medicine despite its great contributions; the blanking out of Indian philosophy from all learning in schools by calling it 'religion'; the need of English language to prosper and also as a national language; the idea of one dharmashastra (Manu) as prescriptive and authoritative for all eternity to come; making the western clash between 'science and religion' our own; understanding our practices and rituals from a scientific perspective and making them superstitious and irrational; accepting the political ideologies of the left-right-center; the disbelief in a golden period of India which attracted plunderers from across the world; the story that we were never a nation and the British united us; ad infinitum.

Broadly, biological sex is 'hardware' determined by the chromosomes and the genitals; gender is 'software' (arising in the brain) which may think of the self as anybody in a spectrum ranging from 'pure' male to 'pure' female.

The confusion between the hardware and software issues leads to bizarre activism of all kinds today with many interfering seriously in the work of medical professionals. Presently, the 'woke activism' of the west which has the 'autonomous individual' as the focus point of all its narratives has infected the Indian intellectuals.

The recent ideas of the Chief Justice Of India on same-sex marriages do not make sense from an Indian cultural perspective but is an explicit example of colonial consciousness looking forever west. Marriage or vivaaha has a special place in Hindu thought and Indian culture. Reducing it to western ideas by colonised intellectuals in positions of power can potentially cause an immense destruction of Indian social fabric.

While Indian culture may accept gender identities of any form freely without persecution and may even allow same-sex people to live together, the idea of marriage and vivaaha simply is a gross violence on Indian culture, Hindu customs, and its philosophy. It betrays a poor understanding of what Indian culture is all about and exemplifies the forcible universal application of western ideas on all cultures.

– Dr Pingali Gopal, Hanamkonda

No clarity on why to take up caste census again

Of late caste census has become one more active debatable topic. Some feel there is no need and others think it is necessary. The caste census, even if morally flawed, can help in targeting quota benefits. The Mandal Commission Report of 1980 still remains the basis of identifying the backwardness and determine the extent of reservation to the OBCs, the need for a comprehensive census that provides data to support, or evaluate existing quotas, or to assess demand for them remains pertinent.

On the other hand, the people who are against this caste census pose some questions. If one questions the purpose of caste census, they may ask whether it is for the reservation of jobs or for reservation in Assemblies and Parliament. In the latter case, they are well represented there. As an idea, it still holds power because of the employment crisis in India, but what it means needs to be clarified. Without clarification, we would not have a sense of how far the appeal of this idea will go when it comes to the electorate.

But overall there are lot of changes when a caste census is undertaken again after a long gap. So far many reservationists, genuine or not, are obtaining fruits of reservation. Now an overhaul of the existing reservations will find out facts. Non-reservation candidates will somehow prefer this caste census as they need the profits of reservation to go to the genuine categories.

–TSN Rao, Hyderabad

Country needs a vibrant civil servant eco system

Bureaucrats help the government machinery in the implementation of policy decisions taken in different domains. They are also involved in drafting and making key policy decisions. Their role in nation building is thus a pivotal one. Members of the Indian Civil Service serve in many departments in different capacities throughout their career span. They are exposed to multiple challenges while working in both their allotted states & in the central ministries. They may have to deal with unscrupulous and whimsical politicians. This is not to say there aren't civil servants who turn corrupt and connive with politicians and be their 'yes man' to avoid penal punishments of "dreaded transfers," gain out-of-turn promotions and secure plum postings post retirement.

The morale of a sincere, dedicated, upright, efficient hardworking and unbending civil servant takes a severe blow when they are forced to face such wily politicians who are bent on needlessly harassing them. Civil Services Day is an annual occasion to take a look at the prevailing scenario in the country and, if necessary, revamp and motivate the administrative ecosystem or apparatus and impart the required "new lease of life, zeal and push especially to those civil servants who are demoralised. Our PM takes enormous pride in addressing them with his valuable thoughts, ideas, suggestions and more importantly gives them the direction, shows them the way forward which will help them in achieving their goals and, in turn, help in the nation's overall growth and development. Every civil servant should put to practice and follow the directions shown by the PM. This will help build a resurgent India with a committed, clean, efficient and dedicated team of civil servants at its command.

–N R Raghuram, Hyderabad

Criminalisation of politics must stop

As expected, the dreaded UP gangster Atiq Ahmed in the form of ghost has all the way reached Karnataka a hot political battle is on between the ruling BJP on the one hand and Congress and JD(S) on the other. Even before the BJP star campaigners led by PM Modi and Chief Ministers of other BJP-ruled states could enter campaign arena, the tone has been set by BJP MP and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje who picked up tweet by BJP's IT Cell head Amit Malviya claiming that Congress Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi had connection with the slain gangster. Congress countered that the slain gangster voted against UPA going against the whip issued by the SP during a vote of confidence on the nuclear deal during the UPA rule. I am sure when another BJP star campaigner and UP Chief Minister arrives for campaign, he will also pick up the thread. Atiq killing would become a hot topic to tarnish Congress who are main opposition for BJP in Karnataka. The UP Chief Minister has gone a step ahead with a claim that "Mafia ko mitti mein milandangay." The problem is, on and off killing of gangsters would not end criminals and their activities. In fact, the gangsters unlike politicians aren't even religious or communal minded but seem to have changed over a period of time. Unless criminalisation of politics is not stopped, many more Atiq, Dubeys would continue to flourish.

–N Nagarajan, Hyderabad

TSPSC leak: Make babus accountable

A heinous offence can never be written off just only with the reform measures in TSPSC and slapping criminal cases on lower category personnel fraudsters. Now, 10 new posts have been created in TSPSC to prevent paper leaks and create transparency. This is only to dissuade the public from outrage. Good fences never make good neighbours. It is mandatory to make the top officials and relevant ministers responsible, not just lower category personnel. The unemployed in Telangana had many hopes on jobs and left no stone unturned to get through the test. The paper leak made a bolt out of blue and shattered their hopes. Nearly 4,500 unemployed youth sacrificed their lives for the cause of Telangana. In lieu of providing jobs, officials and ministers are playing with the lives of unemployed, covering their blunders by creating 10 posts, for a foolproof method of administration for the conduct of exams. We will never see the fate of country change for the better until top officials and relevant ministers are made responsible.

- -Gannarapu Sadanandam, Warangal

Pak is irremediable, teach a lesson to it

Apropos, "5 soldiers killed as terrorists ambush army vehicle," (THI, Apr 21). The deadly terror attack on April 20 in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch, targeting Army personnel, has dealt a blow to any prospect of a thaw in India-Pakistan ties, which are already in deep freeze. Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's imprint is visible in what appears to be a planned ambush. But it has cast a shadow on the visit of Pakistan's foreign minister for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Goa next month. The dastardly attack came just hours after Islamabad's announcement that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would be leading a delegation to India.

The killing of five soldiers in the Rajouri sector is a devastating loss. The change in tactics by terror groups denotes a mounting challenge for the security establishment. The first task is to hunt down the perpetrators. Fresh guidelines on troop movement, combing operations and deployment of counter-terror measures are imminent. Despite an intense search, the terrorists managed to flee.

Add to this, cross-border support to terrorism and terror infrastructure continues to be an all-pervasive threat. After the killing of civilians at a Rajouri village in January, the Poonch attack is a reminder that the scourge of terror needs robust surveillance and counter-measures, round the clock. As Srinagar gets ready to host a working group meeting of G20 tourism delegates in the last week of May, it will be a big challenge to thwart any attempt to derail the event.

–-N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

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Pakistan proved once again that it is an unreliable and dangerous neighbour to be always scheming against India through proxy terror activities in the Kashmir Valley and other parts of the country. The recent attack on an army vehicle in which five brave hearts of Rashtriya Rifles deployed for anti-terror operation were martyred due to an attack on the vehicle, taking advantage of rain and inclement weather speaks of its cunningness and single-minded focus against India. Pak mindset is always to destabilise and weaken India through several means despite its own people are undergoing enormous suffering for want of food and other daily needs which are skyrocketing in the country. This is at a time when India is extending the hand of friendship to Pakistan in every possible way. India must persistently adopt the policy of destroying terror and jihadi camps located in Pakistan on a regular basis, wherever they may be in Pakistan as India did during a surgical strike on Balakot terror training camp that was doubling as a madrasa. India must make it a policy that for every terror attack in the country there would be a matching retaliatory attack on Pak's terror establishments as Israel does when there is an attack by the Hamas militants on innocent Israelis.

–K V Raghuram, Wayanad