Mass poverty
The real is the rational
By Justice Katju
Republic Day, 26th January, is approaching when it will be celebrated in India as the day on which the Indian Constitution was promulgated. But I never celebrate it, so let me explain why,
There is a well known statement of the eminent German philosopher Hegel ( 27.8. 1770-14.11.1831 ) ” The real is the rational and the rational is the real “. What does it mean ?
To explain its meaning, one can consider a historical example.
Before the French Revolution of1789 France had a feudal system of governance, a king, an aristocracy, etc. By 1789, because of the coming of industries and capitalism in France, this feudal system of governance no longer corresponded to the reality, ie the advances in the economy, and had thus become irrational, and therefore unreal. It had therefore inevitably to be overthrown and replaced by an alternative system which corresponded to the new economic realities
Hegel’s dictum squarely applies to the India of today. The Indian Constitution, and the system of governance in India, have become so irrational in India today that they can be called unreal.
Everything has collapsed in India today, and our Constitution has become a scarecrow and unreal, as explained in the links below :
We have a ‘democracy” which has become feudalized as it largely runs on the basis of caste and communal vote banks, skilfully manipulated by our crafty and unscrupulous politicians who polarize society and incite caste and communal hatred and violence, seeking power and pelf for themselves, and totally indifferent to the sufferings of our masses.
We have freedom of speech and religion and liberty ‘guaranteed’ by our Constitution, but which exist only on paper, and have become a joke and a cruel mockery on our people, as they are violated with impunity by our rulers.
We have a judiciary which was supposed to be independent and neutral, but which in fact often caters to the interests of the ruling political party ( vide behavior of former CJIs Deepak Mishra, Ranjan Gogoi, and DY Chandrachud )
We have a bureaucracy and police which shamelessly toe the line and do the bidding of their political masters.
We have a handful of big businessmen who have amassed fortunes while poverty, unemployment, hunger, malnutrition etc have increased exponentially, prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed, and proper healthcare and good education have become almost non existent for our masses
It is thus obvious that every thing has become irrational, and therefore unreal, in India. The prevailing political system is therefore bound to be overthrown, like the feudal system in France prior to 1789.
But what will replace it ? It will be a political and social order in which the economy is rapidly progressing, in which there is rapid industrialization, and in which the standard of living of the people is steadily rising and people are getting decent lives.
That alone can be said to be rational, and therefore real, as Hegel would regard it
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