Imagining Swaraj in the 21st century -- some Knowledge issues

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Working Group: B V Rama Prasad (Convener), G. Sivaramakrishnan, Sunil Sahasrabudhey, Rajeev Sangal

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All societies are sufficiently rich and complex, and possess the imagination and knowledge to understand and address problems as they arise. It is when expert knowledge claims for itself the right to unconditionally judge and teach others that problems become intractable and multiply. Today, people are considered ignorant, who need to be guided by those who know better. Contemporary political ideologies, whether of the right or the left, reinforce this illusion even while claiming to speak on behalf of the people.

It is in this background that a new political imagination has become a critical need. This can come about through a dialogue that solicits ideas and questions which do not find a place in the debates in the media or circulate in learned journals. Such a dialogue works by putting trust in the knowledge of people and their movements. In its mature state, the dialogue can potentially enable people to believe that they have the power to shape their own destinies, which is what we call as Swaraj.

It is not simply a matter of discussing Swaraj in abstract terms or without empirical grounding; rather, considering the current state of our society, culture, and economy, Swaraj may indeed represent the only viable alternative. Not only does data from the 18th century corroborate this view, but recent studies also lend robust support to this conclusion.

In recent years, the idea of nation-state seems to be under serious stress, national sovereignty is no longer guaranteed, and global finance capital dictates terms to even super powers. In this background, the session on Swaraj as a new political imagination will indeed be incomplete without a serious consideration of what it means in the twenty first century. This would help address skepticism regarding dialogues on Swaraj.

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