‘THE TRIPLE STREAM’

K. RAMAKOTISWARA RAU

The First Step

The agreement reached by America, Russia, and Britain in regard to the partial banning of nuclear tests marks the first step in the march towards sanity in international relations. It may lead eventually to the banning of all tests, including those carried out under-ground, and the reduction of armaments to the minimum needed for strictly defensive purposes. After years of futile and prolonged negotiations, during which neutral nations like India sought to present the point of view of the non-atomic powers, the danger of the eclipse of all civilisation and progress on this planet has been reduced. France under General De Gaulle to stand aloof; she will continue to carry out these tests. China denounces the agreement as evidence of a plot hatched by Russia, in collusion with the leading capitalist powers, to effect a monopoly of atomic weapons. But the agreement has been welcomed by most nations interested in the welfare of and they are preparing to add their signatures to the document as sponsored by the original participants.

When a nuclear war actually breaks out, whole cities and regions including millions of unoffending men, women and children are liable to be wiped out. What is worse, the few survivors as in Hiroshima towards the end of the second world-war, are deformed and subject to wasting disease. All that men hold dear—homesteads, shrines, treasures of art–disappear in a moment. It is this fear of extinction on a vast scale, which has so far prevented the declaration of a war in which nuclear weapons play a leading role. But even short of war, the tests by the rival powers pollute the atmosphere and spread disease and destruction, though by imperceptible degrees. These offences against humanity, and particularly against future generations, are enough to convict the leading powers as dangerous criminals. But there is no effective weapon in the hands of a suffering humanity except a fervent appeal to the better instincts of the offenders. These are swayed by mutual fear and suspicion, and are averse to taking unilateral action abandoning all nuclear tests. It is now a matter for rejoicing that the efforts of the Gandhi Peace Mission, led by a great humanitarian like Rajaji, have begun to bear fruit.

Between the two power blocs, there are many unresolved conflicts, not all of them ideological. The plea for peaceful co-existence and for a united endeavour to promote the welfare of all nations, whether developed, underdeveloped or undeveloped, in the political and economic spheres must now gather strength. The still, small voice of the less powerful nations will become more potent as a presage to the new era of human fellowship and co-operation.

Whether, in future, all war will be banned as uncivilized, and whether the martial instincts of the human race will find an outlet in purposive activity promoting the good of communities instead of their mutual destruction, will depend on the ethical progress achieved by humanity in the coming centuries through the practice of the supreme virtues of love, kindliness and sympathy. And in this context, a recovery of faith in human values as expressed through art, literature and philosophy is of prime importance. There is need to achieve a balance between the apparently rival claims of science and technology on the one hand and of the humanities on the other.

The use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes will indeed be a blessing to all nations. Once the talents of the scientist are diverted to the promotion of the arts of peace, instead of to the forging of weapons of destruction, the growth of science and of the scientific outlook will be an unmixed good. The warrior and the statesman will realise that, in the roles they are called upon to play as the benefactors of their particular nations, their vision must extend to the ideal gobd of all mankind. As a necessary preliminary to the creation of a climate of peace, the present agreement is of considerable value. It is a great good in itself; even more, it is a pointer to the future. It is like a gleam of light piercing the darkness which envelopes us.

After the second world-war, the leaders of many nations dreamed of a future in which all conflicts between one country and another would be subjected to the process of mediation, consultation, and renewal of peaceful conditions, under the auspices of an international organisation. The United Nations emerged as the instrument of the New Age, fashioned as the forum for the ventilation of divergent views, and as the final arbiter of disputes, backed by the strength, moral and military, of all the nations who agreed to sign the Charter. This organization has yet to fulfil the dreams of its founders. It has a way to travel. But the coming together of America, Russia and Britain, even though for the limited objective of banning nuclear tests, will impart strength to the U. N. O. in its pursuit of world harmony and the enthronement of peace where war threatens.

The sharing of Rivers

The controversies of recent years between important States like Mysore, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have impeded the progress of schemes, the implementation of which was of vital importance to the whole country. If agricultural production was to be increased and the growth of industries fostered, irrigation electric projects on a vast scale were needed. The waters of rivers like the Godavari and the Krishna had to be harnessed for the purpose. But when the 1951 agreement on the sharing of the waters of these rivers was challenged and the Gulhati Commission was appointed, to suggest a modification of the allotment to the different States, a situation arose which was likely to lead to the indefinite postponement of all claims, present or future. The Commission sought to estimate the quantity of water available for sharing, but this was a complicated process and no final estimate could be made. Meanwhile, the States were claimant and urged that projects already undertaken or awaiting final sanction should be proceeded with. This argument appealed to the Central Government, and, on their behalf, the former Minister Irrigation, Hafiz Ibrahim, gave what was virtually an interim award.

The Prime Minister, during his recent visit to Hyderabad, laid the corner-stones of two important projects, Srisailam on the Krishna and Pochampad on the Godavari. The latter was sanctioned in a truncated form, but the hope has been expressed that some time later it might shape itself into a full-fledged giant project–the only one of such magnitude on the Godavari.

In theory, the rivers of India belong to the entire nation, and every State is entitled to profit from their waters. Indeed a day may come when the rivers all over India are in connected, and their waters made to serve the interests of regions far beyond the States of their origin or flow. But even before that day dawns, it may be possible to divert the waters of the Godavari into the Krishna, as suggested by the Gullhati Commission. Whether such diversion is feasible in the near future is a problem which, along with other problems arising out of the Central Government’s present award, has to be tackled by the new Irrigation Minister, Dr. K. L. Rao, who is noted for his wide knowledge and experience as a front-rank engineer. One important consideration emphasised by the Prime Minister is the ability of the different States to make the best use of their store of the waters in the immediate future. It is not fair to hold up present-day schemes capable of achieving quick results, with a view to accommodating possible future projects which may not materialise for several decades. It is also believed that after detailed investigations carried on for some years, it may be found possible to sanction several of the projects which the States have in view. The effort always must utilise the waters or Indian rivers to the maximum extent without allowing them to run waste to the sea. At present only a fraction of the available water is being used. With the passage of time and the starting of new projects under the guidance of a well-equipped and impartial Central Board, all parts of the country will share in the progressive use of our river waters. It is unreasoning suspicion which causes endless wrangler; and every State presents a list of projects which may not ultimately serve the needs of the nation. It is not merely more projects, and yet more of them, that we need, but the skilful planning of all river projects, keeping in view their contribution to the agricultural and industrial progress of the nation, There must also be some kind of finality to decisions reached, frequent deviations due to political pressures. The state of uncertainty which prevailed till recently is fraught with danger to all schemes of expansion.

The Vision of Krishnaswami Aiyar

The late V. Krishnaswami Aiyar, whose birth-centenary was celebrated on the 15th of June, was eminent as a lawyer and statesman, scholar and philanthropist. There was something unique about him. It was his vision which illumined his entire life and gave it a meaning and a purpose. He came at a crisis in our nation’s history, when old values were being questioned, and the foundations of Indian life undermined. As he grew up, he sensed the new life that men like Sri Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, Naoroji and Ranade, poured forth in abundance. He saw a new India in the making, and himself contributed to that making. That new India was, doubtless, to be free politically, but political freedom was but an outward, tangible expression of that inner freedom of the mind and the spirit, which could not be won until we grasped the significance of the long ages of Indian culture and achievement, in art and literature, in social organisation and religious quest. A whole generation, or even two, had been cut off from this fount of life; and so, in the process of raising the edifice of a new India, the revival and re-interpretation of ancient Indian culture in varied domains, was an essential need. If Krishnaswami Aiyar was a friend of Vivekananda and Baba Bharati, if he looked upon Malaviya and Gokhale on his own brothers, if he welcomed Subrahmania Bharati, the poet, and Sambanda Mudaliar, the playwright, if he edited the Arya Charitam and encouraged the recitation of the Gita, it was entirely because he perceived, in the effulgence of his intuition, that all this was an offering at the feet of the Mother, who after a temporary eclipse was becoming ever more real to a whole people. His fundamental faith was that the custodians of this great Culture–the Vedic scholars, the masters of the Sastras and Kavyas must be sought out and provision made for the continuity of the stream of national culture. Thus he founded The Mylapore Sanskrit college. Thus too he founded the sister institutions, the Ayurvedic college and the Venkataramana Dispensary, for the preservation and growth of the science of healing which the Rishis left us as a precious legacy. And then, having the gifts of a statesman, he was resolved, for the honour of India, to prove that Indians could shape high policy and administer Departments of State.

The ‘stream of master-minds’ which flitted before Krishnaswami Aiyar’s vision when he delivered his famous Convocation Address at the Senate House in Madras over fifty years ago, has been enriched by seers like Gandhi and Tagore, Aurobindo and Radhakrishnan. None of these had become world-famous when Krishnaswami Aiyar uttered those prophetic words. Young Radhakrishnan was just then receiving the M. A. degree and drinking in Krishnaswami Aiyar’s great message of hope.

Krishnaswami Aiyar was aware of Gandhi’s work in South Africa, and at a meeting where H. S. L. Polak gave a vivid account of that work, he presided and expressed his conviction that Gandhi would one day be hailed as a benefactor of humanity. Such was his foresight.

The Centenary Committee is raising a fund of one 1 lakh of rupees for the benefit of the Mylapore Sanskrit College. That will perpetuate Krishnaswami Aiyar’s zealous efforts for the advancement of Indian culture.

July 31.

Back