Atmanirbharta (Self Reliance)

Prafulla Kumar Mohanty

During the Covid 19 pandemic Primeminister  Narendra  Modi in his exhortation to the nation asked the people to be self reliant to ward off the threats from the outside world. He did not refer to the belligerent posture of China but the Indians understood the context of Modi's self reliance emphasis. While no debate or discussion is warranted by this age old idea, we may examine its feasibility in our present Global situation.

Biologically  man is not an auto fulfilling creature. Man for his sustenance is bound to depend on nature, society and process. Indians in their early civilizations were mostly  nature dependant yet they marvelled at the mysteries of life, nature and the Beyond. They never believed in attacking other countries for wealth or natural resources.  And this explains why their defence preparedness was very weak. Whoever attacked India, conquered. The attitude not to go for adventure into other territories was reflective of a self - reliant mindset searching  for plenitude in the available resources. They definitely  produced what they needed and more for export. How else does  one understand India referred to   by others from,  Europe to China and Persia as Sone Ki Chidiya -the Golden Bird? But 800 years of Muslim rule  and 150+ years of British rule almost decimated the urge to self conscious assertiveness. India lost not only her freedom but also the desire to be self reliant and prosperous. Today, after 73 years of self rule Modi's  Self - Reliance call comes as a new thrust of adrenalin: But is the Indian heart strong enough to accommodate and function with renewed vigour?

The world today is almost in an ideological stasis. The post Enlightenment thinkers who took liberal humanism, freedom, market economy and globalization almost for granted, are being opposed by nations tending towards nationalism and insulated economies. Most democracies of the world  are beset by self- isolating  patriotism. America, India have prioritised their countries and  implore the populist "First" slogan to sway minds. Modi in India has already started almost  a movement: Make in India,(and now) Be vocal about the local. While all this is quite exciting the question still arises whether in the modern world it is possible to live  in self - sufficient isolation without craving for more  enticing luxuries that stare at us from the outside world?

The first thing to remember is that the context of life and living is no more nature alone. We now live in a world of networks. The world of science and technology , the vast expanding cyber space  and luxuries of a kind the world never tasted before the twentieth century, are the new context. Man is no more a food dependant body; he is not satisfied with bread alone; he needs more for his fancy and imagination. He needs more than sustenance and as the new technotronic gadgets roll out to give him ego trips to his personalized space, he demands more to invade all space. Roti - kapada-Makan or roads, electricity and water are now removed from his demand list. He needs security , personalised entertainment unlimited freedom and no interference of any kind by the society or state. With such a demand list can any Indian be self- reliant?

Of course Modi's call is timely. Our neighbours, especially China, followed by Pakistan and even Nepal, try to checkmate India. Chinese and Pakistani divisions are at our North- east and North- west borders. Nepal too claims three of our areas. Trade has come to a standstill with Pakistan, China and Nepal. The people of India have long since been habituated to Chinese goods as they are cheap comparatively and India has no substitute. Modi's call of Self Reliance is an attack on the Indian mindset of blank ideologies. The common Indian does not understand universal freedom, market economy or globalization. His sense of his country is weak. He has no national pride. He does not think of India as a great civilization with a Ten thousand year old history of cultural and moral excellence. He is not proud of India's architecture, music, moral reason and spirituality. In short an average Indian leads a superficial life unguided by an ideological frame where India figures. Modi's call is therefore an attack on the mindset.

If this mindset  should actually respond to Modi's call, the Indian must first of all be proud of being an Indian. He must sing paeans of India's natural grace, her rivers, mountains, songs and cultural matrices. He must assess his own worth and produce, create, innovate things which the body needs and the mind appreciates. He must buy what his fellow Indians produce and praise them before the world community. But he should not make compromises on quality. If China's medical components are blocked, Indian companies should produce indigenous substitutes. Excellence should be the credo. Particularly India's defence needs are  foreign dependent. A country which boasts of the  epical Brahmastra should show to the world her innate potential and produce something more lethal than what the U.S China and Russia have stockpiled. Atmanirbharta is not a new thing in India, not an alien concept : it is  an Indian value right from the beginning of human history. The now Indian should excel in all kinds of manufacturing- existential needs, spiritual needs, material needs, fanciful needs. The Indian mind should redefine human freedom and redesign human civilization .In a world of competitive supremacist ideologies India must demonstrate its own maturity which will attract mankind. Self Reliance is or should be the ideal of human spirit. Modi's message is: Be a Self and make it  a Soul which will embrace humanity.