I sometimes liken myself to an American character Johnny Appleseed, who planted apple seeds wherever he went, whose fruits others would eat and enjoy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Appleseed
What are the seeds I have sown ? It is, inter alia, these ideas :
(1) India is broadly a country of immigrants, like North America, which explains its tremendous diversity, with so many religions, castes, languages, ethnic groups, etc.
http://justicekatju.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-is-india.html
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/India-largely-a-country-of-immigrants/article15127444.ece
https://www.asian-voice.com/Opinion/Columnists/India-too-a-Country-of-Immigrants
So the only way to keep the country together and take it on the path of progress is the policy of suleh-e-kul ( giving equal respect to all religions and communities ) propounded by the great Mughal Emperor Akbar, who is the real Father of the Indian Nation.
https://countercurrents.org/2025/02/suleh-e-kul-is-the-only-correct-policy-for-india
http://justicekatju.blogspot.com/2015/06/emperor-akbar-real-father-of-indian_10.html
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-emperor-akbar-is-the-father-of-the-indian-nation
(2) India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are really one nation, and will inevitably reunite, like West and East Germany, or North and South Vietnam, under a secular government. The Partition of India in 1947 on the basis of the bogus two nation theory was a British swindle, whose purpose was to keep Hindus and Muslims fighting each other, so that India remains weak and backward, and does not emerge as a modern industrial giant, like China, and thus become a big rival and danger to Western industries, which may find themselves unable to face the competition from Indian industries which have much cheaper labour, and thus much lower cost of production, and collapse, throwing millions out of employment.
https://www.punjabtodaynews.com/one-people-one-history-one-future
https://www.hastakshepnews.com/2025/03/the-truth-about-indias-partition.html
Pakistan is a fake, artificial country, which will one day inevitably reunite with India. What is Pakistan ? It is Punjab, Sind, Balochistan and KP. These were all part of India since Moghul times. In foreign countries Indians and Pakistanis socially intermix as if Partition had never taken taken place.
(3) Our national aim must be to transform India ( which includes Pakistan and Bangladesh ) into a modern industrial giant, for unless we do that we will remain condemned to massive poverty, massive unemployment, appalling level of child malnutrition, skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, almost total lack of proper healthcare and good education for the masses, and the other great socio-economic evils which have plagued us for centuries
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-the-task-before-indian-patriots
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-a-call-to-indian-patriots
Some people claim that India is on the path of prosperity, that it has the fastest growing economy in the world, and that its GDP is growing. But here is the truth
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-lies-damned-lies-and-statistics-in-india
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-the-truth-behind-indias-explosive-gdp-growth
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-there-are-two-indias-in-india
(4) This transformation will not be easy, and it cannot be achieved under parliamentary democracy, for parliamentary democracy in India largely runs on the basis of caste and religion. Casteism and communalism are feudal forces which must be destroyed if India is to progress, but parliamentary democracy further entrenches them ( as it largely runs on their basis ). So we have to devise an alternative system.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-i-dont-have-faith-parliamentary-democracy-markandey-katju
https://www.hastakshepnews.com/2024/10/the-future-of-parliamentary-democracy.html
For making this transformation we have to launch a mighty, protracted, united people’s struggle ( jan sangharsh ), rising above caste, communal, and racial lines, lasting probably for 10-20 years, in which tremendous sacrifices will have to be made, culminating in a historical people’s revolution ( jan kranti ).
This people’s struggle and people’s revolution must be led by patriotic, selfless, modern minded leaders, determined to set up a political and social order under which there is rapid industrialization, and the standard of living of the people steadily rises and they get decent lives.
This transformation will be opposed tooth and nail by the developed countries, for the reasons given below. They will oppose it by making Indians fight each other on the basis of religion, caste, language or race. For this, the developed countries will use their local agents ( such as Indian politicians ) who polarise society and incite caste and religious hatred, to get votes.
https://justicekatju.com/a-tale-of-two-worlds-2d2ce461753b
https://youtu.be/pkG6CWscJbE?si=BqaIt01ezcBIwGq6
(5) As stated above, for transforming India from a backward to a highly developed, highly industrialized country a revolution will be required.
However, historical experience shows that before an actual revolution there is always an ideological or intellectual revolution, in which the weapons used are not guns, bombs or swords, but ideas. For instance, before the French Revolution of 1789 there was a decades long ideological revolution led by great writers like Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, and the French Encyclopedists, who attacked feudalism and religious bigotry. Without this ideological revolution, the actual revolution has little chance of success.
https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2024/05/13/opinion-features-of-indias-ideological-revolution.html
https://justicekatju.com/features-of-indias-ideological-revolution-826fecbdb651
India is presently going through the period of ideological revolution, not actual revolution. During this period, the enlightened sections in our society can make a great contribution, by attacking casteism, communalism and superstitions, and changing the feudal mindsets of the vast majority of our people
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-the-grand-indian-theorem
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-changing-peoples-mindsets
The above, and many more, are the seeds ( of ideas ) I have sown. I am too old to water and nurture these seeds, so younger people will have to do that.
Since I will not be around to eat the fruits, what is it that motivates me, and what is my reward ?
Age is now catching up with me. My body is decaying, which is only natural, and not surprising.
But thankfully my spirit is still young, and my memory still intact. The next few years of my life will be spent in more service to the nation.
I know I will not be alive when my country emerges as a modern, highly industrialized, and prosperous nation, but my reward will be the thought that I will have contributed to that end by my ideas. Without ideas, people are blind, or groping in the dark.
I remember reading in Dickens’ novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities ‘ the conversation between Defarge, the wine seller, who is also a member of a secret revolutionary society working for destruction of the feudal aristocracy, and his wife Madame Defarge.
The scene occurs at an early part of the novel. Defarge is despondent and dispirited because he feels that the great event for which he has been working, the revolution, may not come in his lifetime. To which Madame Defarge replies :
” What of that ? It will come. “
Defarge says ” But when will it come ? How much time does lightning take to strike the ground ? “
” How much time does it take to build that lightning ? ” replies Madame Defarge. ” An earthquake strikes suddenly, causing massive death and destruction. But how much time does it take to build that earthquake ?.
You may not see the end. But you have contributed to it. Let that be your consolation, and be satisfied by it. “
https://justicekatju.com/the-reward-for-serving-india-c4e30a584821
