Book `Lok, Beyond Folk’ by Nandkumar released
It was neither a one-way affair nor a two way lane. Yes, the mode and form of Bharatiya communication has always been multifaceted.
Jammu, August 8, 2022: The Bharatiya tradition of Samvada is to be reinvented and revitalised. Our very concept of Samvada is not mere communication but positive and constructive communication. Healthy discussion and creative dialogue have played a great role in the progress of this great nation. The distinctiveness of our knowledge tradition is marked by its unique nature of imparting wisdom.
It was neither a one-way affair nor a two way lane. Yes, the mode and form of Bharatiya communication has always been multifaceted. The whole society takes part in it; not only that, nature too is taken into consideration. Hence, our style of Samvaada is comprehensive, and to understand it properly, we’ve to see and feel it in its totality, writes J Nandkumar in the opening chapter of his book `Lok, Beyond Folk’.
The book was unveiled at an impressive function here on Monday at the Press Club of Jammu where many intellectuals drawn from universities participated. These lines above have been extracted from Nandkumar’s write-up `Lokmanthan: Vision and Mission’. In all, there are 16 chapters in the book edited by Mr Nandkumar and three have been contributed by him. The titles of two other chapters by him are `Developing Vision Through Vaad and Samvaad’ and `Decolonising Bharatiya Minds’.
The program was organised jointly by Panchnad Shodh Sansthan, Chandigarh, and J&K Chapter of Jammu Kashmir Study Centre, both leading Think Tanks who have worked on diverse research areas. Mr B K Kuthiala, Chairman of the Panchnad Shodh Sansthan, opened the seminar by giving details about Mr Nandkumar, the body of work he has done and the research activities of the sansthan. In his remarks, he emphasised that there should be continuous communication and exchange of ideas in society through “samvaad parampara’’.
In his keynote address, Nandkumar emphasised that his endeavour is to try to understand the culture of the nation beyond the established notions. The word `Folk’ is used to create a binary among people dividing them into `We’ and `Others’. There is no concept of `Others’ in the Bharatiya Value System, he stressed.
The already established narratives are colonial in nature and lead to complete psychic destruction in our society. He pointed out that there was need for conscious decolonisation, not only in case of polity, but also in language, culture, customs, education and several other vital fields. Our approach should be inclusive and Indian-centric. In the write-up on this subject in the book, he writes: “In post-Independent Bharat, the so-called eminent historians and Left academicians took upon themselves the task of carrying forward the colonial project of deculturisation. They continue to use the same techniques and tools as their colonial masters did in the past to `divide and rule’ the nation and to impose notions of racial superiority.’’
In his presidential remarks, Chief Justice (retired) of Sikkim Permod Kohli said that our (Bharatiya) ethos so ancient and wise that if we are able to internalise them, Bharat can easily become `Vishwa Guru’ in the times to come. Our culture is such that it talks of `Dharma’ (Righteous Conduct) among masses and lays emphasis on that. Various universities should come forward and encourage the scholars to do doctoral research on eminent personalities like Swami Vivekanand.
The programme was conducted by Ajay Sharma, Academic Coordinator of JKSC and Vote of Thanks was presented by Virender Koundal, Vice President of JKSC. Mr Koundal teaches in the Economics Department of Jammu University.
Dr Gautam Mengi, Daya Sagar, Professor K L Bhatia, O P Gupta, Rajan Sharma, Harsh Vardhan, Sahil Sharma, Bachababu of the Central University of Jammu, some academicians of Cluster University of Jammu, besides Faculty members of Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Jammu, were among those present in the audience. Mr K B Jandial, former IAS, G L Raina, former MLC and Dr Shreya Bakshi of Central University of Himachal Pradesh also participated in the interactive session later.
