There was a time when I used to believe like Diogenes the Cynic that I was a citizen of the world, and I used to strut about feeling that one blade of grass is much like another.

Now I feel that each blade has its unique spot on the earth from where it draws its life and strength. So is a man rooted to a land from where he derives his life and his faith. Discovering one’s past helps to nourish those roots, instilling a quiet self-confidence as one travels through life. Losing that memory risks losing a sense of the self.

Too many Indians still believe that the market makes “the rich richer and the poor poorer” and leads to corruption and crony capitalism. This is false, of course. Despite the market having generated broad-spread prosperity over two decades — lifting 250 million poor above the poverty line — people still distrust the market and the nation continues to reform by stealth. The blame lies partly with our reformers who have not ‘sold’ the competitive market as Margaret Thatcher did in Britain.

Civic virtue seldom comes naturally to human beings. It needs constant, relentless reminding and nowhere more than in India, which is still struggling to create citizens out of its people. The word ‘civic’ comes from ancient Greece and is related to ‘city’ and ‘civility’. A ‘citizen’ lived in a city and a ‘civilized’ person was expected to show concern for his fellow citizens. In this kindly act ‘civilization’ was born.

हमारे सामने मजेदार दृश्य है। एक तरफ ‘मॉडर्न’ प्रधानमंत्री हैं, जो केवल विकास की बात करते हैं जबकि दूसरी ओर उनके सहयोगी वोट हासिल करने के लिए मतदाताओं में ‘अन-मॉडर्न’ धार्मिक आशंकाओं को हवा देते हैं। आधुनिकता के गुणों में धर्म और  राज्य का पृथक अस्तित्व भी एक गुण है, जहां धर्म आधुनिक व्यक्ति के निजी जीवन तक सीमित होता है। नरेंद्र मोदी के आधुनिक विकासवादी एजेंडे को पटरी से कोई चीज उतार सकती है तो वह है आरएसएस जैसे हिंदू राष्ट्रवादी संगठनों की ‘अन-मॉडर्न’ मानसिकता, जो अब भी सार्वजनिक जीवन में हिंदुत्व एजेंडा भरने में लगा है। उत्तरप्रद