Sunday, November 2, 2025

Message to my dear Hindutva friends

 

Message to my dear Hindutva friends

Sujay Rao Mandavilli

November 2025

Let us begin this blog post by briefly discussing and reviewing what Hinduism is. Hinduism is an ancient religion, perhaps one of the oldest surviving religion on earth in one sense of the term, and it encompasses a diverse set of complex religious traditions all of which originated in the Indian subcontinent, with only minor extraneous outputs and influences. Hinduism is characterized by, and encompasses a wide range of religious and spiritual beliefs, practices, traditions, and philosophies that often include the worship of multiple Gods and deities (a pantheon of Gods) as manifestations of a single, ultimate reality called the Paramatma or the Brahman. Hinduism does not have a single founder, a central authority, or a single holy book, instead encompassing a rich body of literary texts such as the VedasUpanishads, and Bhagavad Gita. Core concepts like dharma (righteous living), karma, moksha, Sanatana Dharma, ahimsa, and reincarnation are central to many Hindu traditions, and these form an integral part of Hinduism. Hinduism is therefore, not just a religion, it is a way of life. The phrase "Hinduism is a way of life" suggests that it's not a singular, rigid religion but a comprehensive system of living that encompasses diverse philosophies, cultures, and spiritual practices. This perspective is supported by the Indian Supreme Court and prominent figures like Sadhguru and Swami Vivekananda, who emphasize its inclusive and all-encompassing nature. 

Therefore, Hinduism is by its very nature, highly adaptive, highly flexible, and ever evolving and ever changing. This is an attribute that we must always emphasize. This is the biggest asset of Hinduism, truth be told, and all things evaluated and considered. That is why we have had schools of thought in Hinduism such as Astika and Nastika schools, Vaishesika school, the Nyaya school, Ajnana school, Charvaka or the Lokayata school, Mimamsa school etc. We had also proposed a Vijnana or Vagnanika school in Hinduism. All religions are not equal, but Hinduism need not be incompatible with scientific enquiry and scientific thought; as a matter of fact, it can be fully compatible with them. Narrow and sectarian interpretations of Hinduism would therefore, not stand it in good stead. As a matter of fact, they would harm the cause of Hinduism, and bring it a bad name both in India and abroad. We must always bear this fact in mind. If Hinduism were to gain the respect, the dignity and the attention it deserves, we must proceed with dynamic and progressive interpretations of Hinduism. At the same time, perceptions of Hinduism in the west, and historical models that are used to study Hinduism are utterly obsolete and outdated. BR Ambedkar, though a victim of the caste system, unfairly attacked Hinduism based on outdated, western perceptions, conveniently ignoring the fact that he himself was very much a cultural Hindu. As a matter of fact, it may even be that Hinduism is the most widely and highly misunderstood major religion on the planet. Marxists must also take a fair share of blame and responsibility, given the fact that they stuck to antiquated shibboleths that were long past their expiry date. At the same time, we must also concur with the realization that Marxism in all its forms is dead, and will eventually vanish into the annals of history. These concerns no longer apply in the twenty-first century.

History of Hinduism

Hinduism has a truly hoary past. It has often been described as a way of life. It is a truly diverse religion, encompassing many different types of beliefs. It has no founder and is a geographical expression. Even though the term Hinduism is of fairly recent origin, and was probably first used in reference to the Indus river by Alberuni in the Tenth century, and the Hindu religion is in some respects the oldest on earth. Moreover, elements of what we know as Hinduism are older and may even date to the Stone Age. However, older names such Arya or noble in opposition to the Dasas were or the Mlechas and Sanathana Dharma were used before the term Hinduism came into use. Hinduism is both a hierarchical and polycentric religion. It is hierarchical because of the caste system and polycentric because there can be no centralized authority. It is also diverse along geographical and ethnic lines with institutionalized and inbuilt discrimination mechanisms and with a bewildering array of belief systems. 

However, most historical models to study Hinduism are badly outdated. Hinduism is not centered around the caste system alone as imagined by many scholars, particularly western ones, and some Dalit ones. In many periods of Hindu history, and among many communities, the caste system was either non-existent or extremely feeble. Hinduism is so complex and diverse, that there are many philosophical systems such as the Charvaka school which do not believe in the idea of God, a soul, or an afterlife. Hinduism by whatever name called, also produced profound philosophical works like the Upanishads.

The roots of Hinduism lie in the Indus Valley Civilization which encompassed most of North-Western India. The precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization arose in Baluchistan in Mehrgarh in 7000 BC but we know little about its religion. The ruins of the Indus Valley Civilization were first described by Charles Masson in 1866. There were discovered when a railway track was being built. The first Indus seal was described by Alexander Cunningham in 1873 and further excavations were carried out by Fleet in 1907. The civilization came to light after major excavations in the 1920’s by Daya Ram Daya Ram Sahni, Madho Sarup Vats, RD Banerji and others. Animals are widely represented in the Indus seals, but it is unclear whether they are religious symbols. Marshall in 1931 in the publication “Mohenjodaro and the Indus Valley civilization” suggested that one of the deities was an archaic version of the God Siva. The cult of the mother was also widely used in the Indus valley. Another famous deity was the Lord of the Beasts. Some have also claimed that the Great Bath of Mohenjodaro which was forty feet by twenty three feet wide was used for ritual bathing. In the 1990’s a Swastika symbol came to light, and this is associated with later Hinduism. Some figurines depicting the Indian greeting ‘Namaste’ have also been claimed in addition to Vedic fire altars from Kalibangan, though these manifest towards the end of the Indus Valley Civilization. 

In all probability, the Hindu religion arose as a result of a complex process of multi-stage acculturation between major and minor religious groups residing in the region. According to the old theory, the Aryans entered India in 1500 BC, but this is disputed. We had explained in our previous papers why this may have been unlikely. There may have been peaceful migrations, and migration may have happened earlier than previously assumed. Thus the transformation of the Indus valley to Post-Harappan India may have been a complex process. Aryan culture appears to have peaked around 1500 BC, its formation having been aided by inputs from Ancient Iran from 1700 BC. Hinduism was thus a melange and a fusion of various streams of beliefs, which included Aryan, Harappan beliefs in addition to other minor beliefs of North India. Thus, Proto-Siva may have been absorbed into the Hindu pantheon as the God of destruction, Yama, another perhaps less known deity of the north as the God of death: much of this however, remains a conjecture. The Rig Veda, the oldest and the most archaic among the Vedas was compiled in 1500 BC. It was largely passed down orally. The other Vedas were Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda. Early Upanishads were the Brihadaryanaka Upanishad, Chandogya Upanishad, Kaushitaki Upanishad. The Satapata Brahmana was compiled in 800 BC. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata were believed to have been compiled between 200 BC and 200 AD, though sections may have been much older. 

Therefore, Hinduism is truly diverse unlike Christianity and Islam, which are more monolithic in nature, and are mostly derived from a single tradition. Hinduism is therefore a way of life, and represents the cultures and traditions of the diverse peoples of India. According to Hinduism, God is present in everything at all times. Therefore, Hinduism talks about Vasudeva Kutumbam, which means the whole world is one family. This is the tradition of Hinduism that we must embrace. Unfortunately, historical models to study Hinduism are badly outdated, and Hinduism studies have greatly suffered as a result. Hinduism studies in some Western circles, have been wrongly and fallaciously associated with the caste system, and this is wrong. Ambedkar may also have criticized Hinduism bitterly due to his own unfortunate personal experiences, but his criticism may also have been based on outdated historical models. While many course corrections are indeed required, and models for the study of ancient Indian history must be brought uptodate, some fanatical interpretations of Hinduism that are based on a hatred of other cultures and traditions have emerged in the recent past.

This will only bring Hinduism and Indian cultural and religious traditions a bad name, and must be nipped in the bud. This is because people are now better educated that ever before (The world has also become highly globalized, and barriers are being rapidly broken down). People can therefore easily see through them. It therefore stands to reason that enlightened and progressive interpretations of Hinduism must prevail. Interpretations of Hinduism must also be in line with a scientific temper, as Hinduism can easily be made relatively compatible with modern science, at least in relation to other religions. We propose that this can be called the Vijnana school in Hinduism, The Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had fought valiantly against the evils and the evils of the caste system in the early twentieth century. They must also therefore fight for scientific and liberal interpretations of Hinduism, a move that will only stand them in good stead, and help the cause of Hinduism and India as well. 

The following are a strict no no

Some kind of an extremely innocuous form of Hindutva may be tolerable, but extremely virulent versions must be chastized. Hindutva groups must not. Hindutva has sometimes only been described as Hinduness, and according to Julius J. Lipner, the term gained political ascendency towards the end of the Colonial era. The movement gained further traction in the 1990’s, when the BJP shot into fame and prominence. An innocuous definition of Hindutva may be fine, but the following may not be, including the politicization of the term Hindu:

1.       Misrepresent history to suit a narrow version of Hinduism, namely Brahminsm, or promote other altered forms of history.

2.       Must not interfere with the inculcation of a scientific temper, and the inculcation of scientific values. Also refer to our works on twenty-first century intellectualism. Most Indians unfortunately do not possess a scientific temper even to this day.

3.       Must not promote hatred against other religious groups; however, all religions are open to criticism. There must be a spirit of religious harmony at all times, though the importance of religion will in must wane in societies in future.

4.       Must not discriminate between people of different faiths.

5.       Must not seek to override or overturn the constitution, and values of fair justice.

6.       Religious values must not be allowed to override universal human values.

7.       Must not otherwise, and in any other way or fashion, interfere with internal or international peace and harmony. Indian and Hindu culture, values and traditions may be allowed to flourish and thrive if they do not trample upon other people’s rights. 

If all these ideas are being compromised with, we need to think twice, and think again. It is time to marshall all our resources to ruminate and ponder how post-Hindutva schools of thought can be articulated and concretized. After all, the interests of society must always reign supreme, and must override all other considerations at all times. India and Hindu society must also win the respect of people from all over the world as India positions itself as a scientific superpower and a research and development hegemon. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Saturday, November 1, 2025

We have abolished the caste system, but not class consciousness

 

We have abolished the caste system, but not class consciousness

Sujay Rao Mandavilli

November 2024

Why do they shun your touch, my friend, and call you unclean, whom cleanliness follows at every step, making the earth and air sweet for our dwelling, and luring us back from a return to the wild – Rabindranath Tagore

What is caste?

 

Caste in sum, refers to a rigid, hereditary social hierarchy where a person's social status, occupation, and rights are determined only by birth, and not by achievement or accomplishment. The system has been historically identified with the nation of India, given that other societies mostly have either class divisions or racial divides. Of course, the term, general idea and concept of race itself obsolete, though racism pervades and persists in some form or the other, in many parts of the world. A caste system divides a society into fixed hierarchical groups known as caste with further subcastes in some cases, with general mobility between groups being extremely limited at best or impossible at worst. Caste pervades every virtually aspect of life such as marriage, professional, cultural and social interactions, and is often maintained through the medium and mechanism tradition, law, and religious beliefs. In India Brahmins were the priests or intellectuals; Kshatriyas were warriors, Vaishyas were merchants and traders, while Shudras were laborers and low-end service providers. The varna system also mostly included a fifth group outside the four varnas, and this group of individuals was referred to as "untouchables" and were almost always treated unfairly and unjustly with visual pollution practiced in some cases. The caste system has more or less vanished from big cities and towns, but pervades in many rural regions in diluted form. The caste system is generally attributed to the Rig Veda which may have been compiled around 1500 BC. From our perspective, the caste system would have intensified gradually, with varying level of intensity based on region or period. It consolidated itself and regimented itself gradually, and the process continued well into the medieval period, and the colonial era as well. While the Indian constitution has abolished the caste system, it has not yet evaporated completely from the public consciousness in many parts of India. Ambedkar, Gandhi, Veer Savarkar and Rabindranath Tagore opposed the caste system in various capacities and to various degrees calling it a blot and a scourge on India, and on the Hindu religion.

 

What is class?

Class is of course different from caste. A class is a sometimes rigid, though generally less formal system of social stratification based on an individual’s economic position, income, wealth, education, and occupation. Quite unlike the rigid and hereditary nature of the caste system when applied to Indian contexts,, class systems may be much more fluid, with room and accommodation for the possibility of social mobility. Key characteristics of class include a primarily economic basis, achieved status and mobility with restrictions, some level of dynamics and fluidity, etc. Common class categories include the upper class, the upper middle class, lower middle class and the lower class or the working class. Karl Marx famously wrote about class and class divisions including the toiling masses the elitist bourgeoisie and the proletariat in his works, because the caste system did not exist in Germany. Other sociologists such as Max Weber and Pierre Bourdieu discussed the concept of class divisions as well. In Ancient Rome, we had the Plebians versus the Patricians, with the former being high ranking, and the latter being low-ranking. Plebians typically had political power, wealth and land, while the Patricians were obliged to serve in the military and in the army, and had less status sand privileges in Roman society. So much so for caste and class; the caste system has generally retreated from everyday life in most situations, though class divisions still persist, and are significantly more than in other societies. We must treat all humans with dignity and with respect. “Love all, serve all”, and “All are one, be alike to everyone” should be our primary mottos. We must also not arbitrarily impose class restrictions, and provide all people an equal chance to succeed in life. Equality of opportunity must be our primary motto. Together ,we can and must make it happen. As Frederick Douglass once said, ““Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”

 

 

 

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Friday, October 31, 2025

Why we must create intellectual revolutions in India, and if necessary, elsewhere: A follow up and a rejoinder

 

Why we must create intellectual revolutions in India, and if necessary, elsewhere: A follow up and a rejoinder

Sujay Rao Mandavilli

October, 2025  

According to the French philosopher and sociologist Jacques Ellul, modern propaganda is a pervasive sociological phenomenon inseparable from a contemporary technological society, and one that is designed not just to change minds but also to provoke action and create myths through mass-produced messages. This is similar to our concept of massculturation. Ellul concluded more precisely in his own words, “The aim of modern propaganda is no longer to modify ideas, but also to provoke, inspire and instigate action.” He could not be more true, to put it in colloquial terms. Over the years, many intellectuals have sought to challenge pressing problems and change the world. Jyothibha Phule sought to eradicate caste, and promote women’s causes. This can also be said of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, notwithstanding his controversial support for the Hindutva movement.  Savarkar fought against the perils and the evils of the caste system and the caste system; Gandhi more half-heartedly so, even though he vowed to eradicate untouchability. Ambedkar famously championed for the cause of Dalits throughout his life, though he left out scheduled tribes; Rabindranath Tagore also spoke against the caste system, and had a series of debates on the matter with Gandhi. Much earlier, the Bengal renaissance was induced by reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, and others.  

The Author has also spoken about the need to induce intellectual revolutions in India and if necessary, in other developing countries. This must be viewed as a reformist movement in one sense of the term. This assertion has been shaped largely if not greatly by his own personal experiences. The author has been exposed to multiple ideologies, fallacies and logical absurdities over the years, that were also associated with educated folk, though not exclusively with them. Another interesting twist and turn came in 2015 when he used to dine in Manu hotel daily in the Kadugodi area of Bangalore near Whitefield.

He met one Saddam Hussain Bharbuiya which was his real name. He was a devout Muslim boy from Silchar in Assam. He became good friends with Saddam, and helped him in small ways. Though a very good boy at heart and a simpleton, he later was radicalized by a group of Muslims and became half-insane and half-evil. These observations along with further interactions on whattsapp and facebook (He posted anti-India messages, pro Ghazwa e Hind messages, pro ISIS messages,  pro Taliban and pro Al Queda messages constantly on social media, once even suggesting that India be made a Muslim nation, suggesting that Hinduism be destroyed) goaded the Author and egged him on to further action. Saddam was so radicalized, he even paid scant attention to other activities, and barely even worked. On the other hand, other more enlightened Muslim friends he knew, including Saddam’s own distant relatives, were not that radicalized. Wierdly and oddly enough, Saddam did not even know how old Islam was, the technical history of Islam, or the difference between Shia Islam and Sunni Islam despite having completed his twelfth standard. He did not even have a full and complete knowledge about his sub-ideological affiliations. Of course, he had no interest in bettering the Muslim community, educationally, culturally, or otherwise, and most people of his type won’t regardless of religion. This, the Author realized, was once of the hallmarks of religious fanaticism.

This also coincided with the inglorious days of ISIS terrorism which shocked the Author deeply. The Author also encountered a Ph.D holder who falsely and naively believed in Pushpak Vimanas, and another graduate who vociferously argued that Anthropology itself was a false science because it claimed that man originated from apes and chimpanzees. The Author’s north Indian cook from Uttar Pradesh between 2017 and 2021 particularly during the Covid pandemic, a young Brahmin man by the name Damodar Kumar Dubey exposed him to orthodox pre-scientific and pseudo-scientific views, as also did other discussions with his more educated past colleagues on social media. He also gauged the Hindutva spirit and the Hindutva mood, and to some extent the Dravidian nationalist and the ebbing and waning colonial narrative through passive observations on social media. The latter was clearly driven by Eurocentric interests and insensitivity towards, or ignorance of other cultures. The Author understood clearly the ulterior motives behind the Hindutva recast of the Aryan problem and their promotion of out of India theories of spread of Indo European languages, even though the right itself may have been reactionary. Most of them were also maniacally fixated on religion, unlike people in the west. This was quite like western elitist academicians who wanted to protect their own vested interests. As Arun Shourie once put it in relation to dogmatic Marxist historians, “If you want to undo the damage, undo the control.”

He also understood their pre-scientific beliefs of Vedas emanating from Brahma’s mouth, literality of the age of the universe as described in Sanskrit literature, the ten Avatars of Vishnu, and the Gangetic plains being the centre of the universe, the Saraswathi divine origin theory, among other myths prevalent even among the Indian highly educated. People were also and partially rightly so, skeptical about dinosaurs and other concepts, but they may have had a point here; mainstream scholarship is too western-centric, and is not concerned about intellectual revolutions in India, or elsewhere. Science communication was extremely poor. Very few educated people in India had a clue about the age of the earth, or the age of the universe. Of course, rationalists some and some leftists had brought these to light, but never got to the root of the problem as they obviously should have. Thus, these beliefs were similar to the pre-renaissance and pre-enlightenment beliefs held by people in the west. The causes for these beliefs were of course different.  Likewise, no one, virtually no one, in India was interested in objectivity in history, both among the left and in the right. There was only ideology-driven glorification and ideology-driven criticism and vendetta. He had realized that intellectual and academic Marxism had to go in parallel along with right-wing constructs and other ideologies to the extent they were an obstacle to objectivity.  While changes are indeed required, changes must also be brought about only through logic and reasoning, not counter-ideology deceit or arm-twisting. Ideologies invariably and inevitably lead to deceit or arm-twisting, and ideologies can indeed be isolated and quantified.

At the other end of the spectrum, he met two highly westernized Indians, one in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and one in Bhutan in 1988 and 2000 respectively. Both were born in the 1940’s, and were chain smokers and alcoholics, with scant interest or regard for their families, and proudly flaunting their modernity to boot. He also met another individual in IIT campus in Chennai in 1985 who was “proud” of his atheism equating it with modernity. These encounters eventually made him realize the limitations of western culture as well. His beliefs were further cemented through innumerable social media encounters, through what he called informal ethnography as a part of netnography. All these encounters developed in him the ability to think and introspect widely and deeply, qualities that would eventually stand him in very good stead.  It also made him realize that most people, including the most highly educated ones, were obsolete in many ways, and that twenty-first century intellectualism was necessary. He understood the concept of vested interests and emic and etic perspectives by understanding the views of people associated with the automotive industry in India before liberalization, and the insurance industry in India before liberalization, and noting their biases and prejudices. Therefore, people are inherently biased and prejudiced; neutral narratives are required.  For further details and clarity, read our paper “Weaponizing the “intellectual revolutions in developing countries” narrative: Using ethnography driven data for purpose of driving sociocultural change”.  Also read our previous relevant publications if necessary.  [1]

Nature of intellectual revolutions

A scientific revolution in simple terms is said to take place when people no longer accept information at face value just because it emanated from a position of authority, or even from tradition (blind belief in tradition or implicit belief in authority) but critically evaluate everything for themselves. It is also associated with a state where logic and reasoning take precedence over everything else.. and reasoning faculties and scientific method are fully developed, along with a liberal dose of critical thinking skills all backed up by knowledge, competence, and the necessary and the relevant expertise. All sections of society are usually able to take advantage of this new scenario, and the quality of education is also generally universally and uniformally high. This inevitably and invariably leads to an enhanced level or state of scientific activity in due course. The following are the general attributes and characteristics of intellectual revolutions, regardless of where they may have occurred or where they might occur.  These have already been ratified by experiences in Europe where renaissances and enlightenments are already said to have taken place.

 

1.       High quality education and inclusive education for all sections of society in a manner that will suit intellectual upliftment and fulfillment. There is also minimum and minimal scope for dogmas, myths, and all forms of aberrations to enter the education system. The science of pedagogy is itself in dire need for a foundational overhaul, as we have written multiple time previously. AI may also be used in education eventually, at least as far as practically possible. We have been writing about the need for pedagogical reform for over several years now, and it is bound to happen over time.

2.       Human resources are fairly well optimized and potential for human development is greatly realized. The quality and diversity of human resources also need to be taken into account and consideration here.

3.       No social and cultural barriers to development are present, and even if these are present, can be easily overcome.

4.       Presence of a scientific temper, which is formally taught and demonstrated through the educated system in a structured and not a random or an ad hoc fashion. 

5.       Ability to distinguish science from pseudoscience which is formally taught and demonstrated through the educated system  in a structured and not a random or an ad hoc fashion. 

6.       High level of critical thinking skills which is formally taught and demonstrated through the educated system  in a structured and not a random or an ad hoc fashion. 

7.       High level of reasoning skills among public which is formally taught and demonstrated through the educated system  in a structured and not a random or an ad hoc fashion. 

8.       Knowledge of scientific method which is formally taught and demonstrated through the educated system in a structured and not a random or an ad hoc fashion. 

9.       High quantum of scientific output which is achieved through due diligence and conscious effort.

10.   People or at least a reasonably large cross-section of them, are familiar with the latest research and advances in science and technology.

11.   No dogma among people for the most part, and this is overcome through the use of apposite training techniques. 

12.   No ideologies among people for the most part, and people think fairly, freely and fearlessly.

13.   People no longer accept information at face value just because it emanates from a position of authority, but critically evaluate everything for themselves as far as possible, from scratch.

14.   Presence of creative and intellectual classes in society, who guide the rest of society in due turn.

15.   High degree of presence of scientific institutions, and those whose primary duty and mission is to promote science. 

16.   Minimal variations between different groups of people in academic and intellectual performance, and equality of opportunity is largely present. 

17.   Separation of religion and state is enforced and strictly maintained.

18.   Minimum role played by religious orthodoxy in national affairs.

19.   Freedom in matters pertaining to religion and personal beliefs, and people have a great say to choose their faith or possible adherence to non-faith as well.

20.   No discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity or gender in any walks of life. 

 

Solutions to such vexed issues are as follows

We now propose the following solutions in this regard, i.e. to work around, or significantly surmount current challenges, though more can be added by other researchers in due course: As such, this could be construed to constitute a crude, initial, first list, and one that can be expanded upon through further research. 

Say no to ideology

The word “Ideology” owes its existence to the French word “idéologie” which was coined at the time of the French Revolution, when it was introduced by a philosopher, A.-L.-C. Destutt de Tracy, as a short name for what he called his “science of ideas”. Crudely, explained, it may be referred to a collection of beliefs that are usually not fully tested or lack universal applicability. David W. Minar describes six different ways in which the word "ideology" has been used in different periods in time, these being: 1. As a collection of ideas with rigid content, usually normative, prescriptive and non-changing; 2. As the form or internal logical structure that ideas have within a set and may not be compatible with external principles; 3. By the role in which ideas play in human-social interaction; 4. By the role that ideas play in the structure of an organization without currency outside the organization; 5. As meaning, whose purpose is persuasion; and As the locus of social interaction. According to Willard A. Mullins an ideology is composed of four basic characteristics: 1. It must have power over cognition and must seek to control or influence individuals 2. It must be capable of guiding and altering one's evaluations and patterns of thinking 3. It must provide guidance towards action or goad people towards committing actions; and 4. It must be comprised of logically coherent beliefs that hold within an entity. Terry Eagleton provides some further definitions of ideology as follows:

1. A body of ideas characteristic of a particular social group or class; 2. Ideas which help to legitimate a dominant political power; 3. False ideas which help to legitimate a dominant political power; 4. Systematically distorted communication; 5. That which offers a position for a subject; 6. Forms of thought motivated by social interests; 7. Identity thinking; 8. Socially necessary illusion; 9. The conjuncture of discourse and power; 10. The medium in which conscious social actors make sense of their world; 11. Action-oriented sets of beliefs; 12. The confusion of linguistic and phenomenal reality; 13. Semiotic closure; 14. The indispensable medium in which individuals live out their relations to a social structure; 15. The process whereby social life is converted to a natural reality.

In 2024, we launched the "Open, transparent, high-quality and ideology-free science movement" (MOTHIS) to discuss how ideology could be done away with in science. Our findings were published in the paper “Developing methods, tools and techniques to identify and isolate ideologies: Why this is an essential pre-requisite of twenty-first century science and non-science”, published towards the end of that year. In this paper, we had also discussed the term scientific ideology. The term scientific ideology refers to an idea where a non-precise or a non-logical ideology shapes scientific thought, and moulds and directs scientific activity, leading to an altered quantum or quality of scientific output. the concept of scientific ideology was first developed by Georges Canguilhem, a French philosopher historian, and then extended by several others . Scientific ideology may include making loose and careless statements, typically what has not yet been proven, and what cannot be proven by scientific research, resorting to conspiracy theories, arguing that the history of science contains large and gross errors of commission and judgment, and non-scientific theories – as done by Hindutva proponents. Scientific ideology can create epistemological obstacles or hurdles and can stymie further progress, create new pseudoscientific disciplines, produce error ridden science, etc. Of course, there could be many more unanticipated and unsavoury after effects of scientific ideologies such as introducing non-scientific agendas and debates into the mix. Other types of ideologies also include epistemological ideologies and ethical ideologies. Epistemological ideologies overlap with scientific method while ethical ideologies deal with moral and ethical values. James J. Gibson and George Lakoff have written briefly about such ideologies.

Ideologies we proposed, could be identified by absence of vitality and dynamism, absence of practicalism, pragmatism and dynamism, presence of vested interests, promotion of self-interest, promoting the interests of a small, restricted or a closed group, dogma and rigidity of thought – intransigence of thought, excessively normative and prescriptive, association with personality and charisma, unnatural and unnecessary cult following, brainwashing and mental persuasion, making tall, unsubstantiated and grandiose claims, goading people towards an action or a goal, dealing only with a limited set of issues, works by cutting off flow of information, against human nature, excessive weightage to opinion, lack of epistemic coherentism, conflict with human rights, conflict with universal human values, conflict with scientific method, conflict with truth, not based on balance and harmony, conflicts with international peace and harmony, associated only with a culture or a group of people, promotion of a political agenda, promotion of a linguistic agenda, promotion of a religious agenda, identification of ideologies based on their downstream implications, absence of constructive criticism, use of personal attacks, use of dubious claims, conspiracy theories, appeals to authority, use of other forms of pseudoscience, use of behavioural analysis, use of discourse analysis, etc. Readers are requested to read the aforesaid paper in its entirely.

Say no to dogma

Dogma, in its broadest and most commonly or most widely used sense, is any belief that is held definitively and incontrovertibly to be true, and without the possibility of alteration, modification, change in status quo, or reform. Dogma is associated with a doctrine known as dogmatism. Dogmas are inherent in most principles or tenets of a religion, which forms a system of beliefs that is not fully tested, or lacks complete epistemic coherence or validity. Examples of religions include religions such as Judaism, Hinduism, Christian Catholicism, Buddhism, Protestantism, Jainism or Islam. Dogma also usually resides to some degree in political systems such as fascism, liberalism, anarchism, socialism, progressivism, Marxism, dictatorship, and conservatism as proponents of such belief systems may not be willing to change with the times, or as new evidence presents itself in the normal course of events. Dogmatists also shun an open discussion of their beliefs, and may not be willing to discuss them rationally. Some dogma – whether religious induced or otherwise – is present in many societies- they retard progress and dynamism.

Pedagogy

The science of pedagogy, is taken  to be a sum total of techniques and methods encompassing learning and teaching, and refers also to the theory and practice of both teaching and learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. We believe that large chunks of the science of pedagogy are utterly and badly outdated and obsolete, and have written exhaustively of pedagogy to boot, including functionalism in pedagogy, theories of pedagogical content, automation of teaching through artiifical intelligence, etc. Proper pedagogical techniques can also help modulate the role of religion in society, and can help foster and inculcate a scientific temper. We also believe scientific method must mature, evolve, and must be taught to students at all levels. Students must be taught to distinguish between science and pseudo science , and fallacies in science. There must be less emphasis on rote learning, and interdisciplinarity must be promoted. Concepts and applications must also be emphasized, along with critical thinking skills. Students must be also taught to challenge everything, and not accept anything at face value. For automation of teaching through AI to be successful, however, we need infrastructure, including reliable power supply, and the human touch can never be ignored. [2] [3]

Higher quality science

We also need higher quality science immediately and now. That is why we had launched a movement called MOTHIS- Movement for transparent, high quality, and ideology free science. High quality science can only come from objectivity in mindset. It can also only come about from an ideology-free approach to science, and cross-cultural research design as far as possible. It can also come about only from intellectual multipolarity, and ethnographic data collected from all parts of the world. Interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, and multidisciplinarity is also necessary. Scholars, researchers, intellectuals and thinkers must keep in mind the welfare or well-being of science, society and the education system at all times. That is why we had launched a movement called Scholars and intellectuals for mankind several years ago (SCHIMA). Researchers must also as far as practically possible engage in practical matters, and must not dabble in esoteric pursuits. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Jayant Narlikar  was an Indian astrophysicist who performed research on alternative cosmology. He was also an author who wrote textbooks on cosmology, popular science books, and science fiction novels and short stories. He challenged then big bang theory, but counter theories must not be proposed just for the sake of proposing them. Sometimes, this is the basic anchor point of careerism which is still rampant today. A case in point is the Kurgan hypothesis, and the Anatolian hypotheses, though we would clearly throw our weight behind the former. There must be institutional coherentism at all times, and researchers and scholars must be acutely and keenly aware of the impact of science on society, and the education system at all times. This will cause them to behave responsibly and carry the weight of social responsibility more carefully on their shoulders. 

We must also leverage the power of the social sciences. This has not been attempted to a great degree thus far, given the fact that most sub disciplines of the social sciences are stuck in an archaic western mold.  We must also understand the theory of cultural lag for example, and understand that humans will always be humans. We must snuff out all forms of cognitive dissonance, a concept that we had probed in exhaustive detail in our previously published papers.  We must also develop robust techniques to test paranormal claims such as astrology, telepathy, ESP or extrasensory perception, clairvoyance, etc. The importance of this in promoting a scientific temper must not be discounted because there are many different kinds of people on earth from widely varying cultural backgrounds, and with different mind and cultural orientations.

Better science communication

Science communication is a fairly comprehensive concept that includes the practice of informing, raising awareness of science, scientific issues, and science-related topics, and also getting involved with participants and audiences that must also include, people from the general public, i.e. outside the science community. Important though this may be, the entire process must be meshed and interfaced with other concepts in social science such as emic perspectives, the ethnography of enculturation, cross-cultural frame of reference, etc. Also read our papers “Unleashing the potential of the ‘Sociology of Science’: Capitalizing on the power of science to usher in social, cultural and intellectual revolutions across the world, and lay the foundations of twenty-first century pedagogy” and “Introducing Anthropological Pedagogy as a Core Component of Twenty-first Century Anthropology: The Role of Anthropological Pedagogy in the fulfilment of Anthropological and Sociological objectives”, where more case studies are presented. Therefore, as a part of this general exercise, counselling and public education: Seminars, symposiums, webinars, etc must be orchestrated and executed.

Historiography

Marxist approach for suppression is flawed; Marxists regardless of whatever sphere or real they deal in, appears to be badly fossilized in a time warp. Marxist historiography is also additionally, and rather unfortunately so teleological and deterministic in that is posits an origin in history at the start of the revolution of the proletariat. There is however, a diversity in interpretation of ideas and concepts even within the legitimate realm of Marxist discourse, and no two Marxist historians, intellectuals and scholars are exactly alike. However Marxist historiography is tragically marred by the fact that it pays scant attention and regard to cultural and some other non-material causes. This is not only inherently dangerous, but also highly self-defeating. However, KM Shrimali appears to have paid a great deal of importance to religion in his magnum opus, “The religious enterprise: Study in early Indian religions”. This is the way to go; humans are living and sentient beings, and live and breathe culture. It is only a objective and an interdisciplinary method that can slowly move people away from organized religion, not suppression, obfuscation of information, or distortion of facts.  Anything else would be anthemia, and inimical and antithetical to the pursuit of dispassionate objectivity, and would even throw up unfortunate counter-reactions such as the ultimate triumph of right-wing forces. As we have always said, one kind of bias legitimizes every other kind of bias. All these things are of extreme and paramount importance if an intellectual revolution is to occur, and people are to be gradually moved away from traditional forms of organized religion. We have authored five papers on historiography already, and these include the following. Some of these approaches may hold us in very good stead:

·       Historiography by Objectives: A new approach for the study of history within the framework of the proposed Twenty-First Century School of Historiography

·       Enunciating the Core principles of Twenty- first Century Historiography: Some additional extrapolations and inferences from

·       Introducing Anthropological Historiography as an integral component of Twenty-first Century Historiography: The role played by Anthropological Historiography in the attainment of long-term Anthropological goals and objectives

·       Presenting the art and the science of Qualified Historiography: Anchoring history- writing in the event of uncertainty and unreliability of narratives

·       Propositioning Investigative Historiography as a niche subfield within Twenty-first Century Historiography: Making a case for Investigative historiography in Twenty-first Century Social Sciences

 

Cultural remediation strategies

In general and in common, every day parlance, a bottleneck refers to the neck or mouth of a bottle. In other words, it refers to a constriction. At times, it may also refer to a narrow section of road or a junction that impedes smooth or fast flow of traffic. Therefore, in the context of a process, either a manufacturing process, or a non-manufacturing one, a bottleneck is a situation that prevents or stops a process or activity from progressing to its logical conclusion or next higher level. Alternatively put, and alternatively explained, a stage in a process receives more material than it can handle. Therefore, in such cases, the throughput of the system is typically very slow. Bottlenecks are caused due to several factors including insufficient capacity, inefficient processes, resource shortages, communication breakdowns: There are also sometimes issues with communication between teams, the prevalence or persistence of outdated systems using obsolete technologies, approval delays, etc. Bottlenecks can also be classified into either short-term or long-term, and long-term bottlenecks typically take much longer to resolve. To identify bottlenecks, the process is first thoroughly mapped, and the causes for low performance identified. This can be performed through the use of root cause analysis, fishbone diagram, Ishikawa diagrams and cause and effect analysis. The appropriate software may also be used for the purpose. Another technique that is now becoming popular all over the world is the “Theory of Constraints” (often abbreviated as TOC). This is a management methodology that helps identify, address, and remediate or mitigate the most crucial, critical or otherwise important constraints that prevent a process from achieving its optimum performance. This technique was developed by the Israel Management guru Eliyahu S. Goldratt in the 1980’s, and is carried out in a continuous chain or loop till the process is optimized. From the point of view of this paper, cultural bottlenecks are the most important. Cultural bottlenecks impede cultural development, and prevent a culture from moving to the next higher level. Cultural bottlenecks can be remediated through the tools and techniques proposed in this paper, and indeed, this is what this paper is all about.

We must also naturally and inevitably talk about cultural remediation here. This is because cultural remediation is the next logical step in the process after cultural bottlenecks are identified. The major and the most vital stumbling block to the process and to the technique of “Cultural Remediation” emanates from the absence of a suitable yardstick for cultural benchmarking, and indeed even a satisfactory definition of the term ‘ideal culture’. An inspiration may however come from the English word and the term “Utopia” which was coined by Sir Thomas More in his 1516 book “Utopia” and describes an imaginary, an unreal or a made-up community or society of individuals that possesses highly desirable, perfect or nearly perfect attributes and qualities and meets the needs and aspirations of all its citizens in every conceivable way. Such societies of course do not exist in the real-world, and are purely imaginary; nonetheless and nevertheless, cultural remediation is indeed possible, and if implemented, will take societies and cultures to their next logical level, and to a higher level of performance. The term utopia is contrasted with dystopia; the latter represents a culture in its pits; in a rudimentary and a barbaric state. Also read our paper, “ Identifying tools and techniques for picking out cultural bottlenecks: Another crucial component of the symbiotic approach to socio-cultural change” published by us in IJISRT, in October 2024 for further details and clarity. [8]

 

 

 



[1]Weaponizing the “intellectual revolutions in developing countries” narrative: Using ethnography driven data for purpose of driving sociocultural change”, Sujay Rao Mandavilli, IJISRT

[2] Pedersen, S., & Liu, M. (2003). Teachers' beliefs about issues in the implementation of a student-centered learning environment. Educational Technology Research and Development, 51(2), 57–76

[3] Rogers, C. R. (1983). Freedom to Learn for the '80s. New York: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, A Bell & Howell Company

[4] Nola, Robert; Irzik, Gürol (2005). Philosophy, science, education and culture. Science & technology education library. Vol. 28. Springer. pp. 207–230

[5] Enunciating the Core principles of Twenty-first Century Historiography: Some additional extrapolations and inferences from our studies and observations on Historiography Sujay Rao Mandavilli ELK Asia Pacific Journal of Social Science (ISSN: 2394-9392) in Volume 2, Issue 4 July to September 2016

[6] Redefining Intellectualism for a post-globalized world: Why present-day intellectualism is obsolete and why a comprehensive reassessment of intellectualism is required, Sujay Rao Mandavilli, IJISRT, August 2023

[7] Introducing Anthropological Pedagogy as a Core Component of Twenty-first Century Anthropology: The Role of Anthropological Pedagogy in the fulfilment of Anthropological and Sociological objectives, Sujay Rao Mandavilli, International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology(IJISRT) Volume 3, Issue 7, 2018 (Summary published in Indian Education and Research Journal Volume 4 No 7, 2018)

 

[8] Identifying tools and techniques for picking out cultural bottlenecks: Another crucial component of the symbiotic approach to socio-cultural change IJISRT, October 2024 Sujay Rao Mandavilli

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