India At The Cross-Roads

Is India condemned to a mediocre destiny in perpetually? Is there no way out of the morass? A modest attempt has been made in this book to explore the prospects of an orderly democratic society emerging from the present political chaos; of a steadler and better future despite heavy odds; of a future, unlike the past or the present, that ensures rapid development of the country and the progress of its people. Paradoxically it is a rich country with poor people. The various chapters deal with the broad spectrum of the national scene in all its vital aspects like the spirit and the content of the Constitution, the malaise of political instability, the flaws, deleterious influences at work, corruption and its fangs, he nexus between crime and politics, the failure of the press in its role as a watchdog, the crying need of the hour, the options, parameters of quality in democracy, a sustainable form of government, and a concrete proposal to resolve the impending political impasse. The book makes in impassioned plea for a ‘Political holiday’ for two years and urges the formation of a national coalition of politicians from all parties with a good blend of professionals and statesmen at the centre, functioning on the basis of predetermined national consensus on major contentious issues…. It shows in concrete terms how it can be done and meaningful results obtained through a model formulation of a graduated scale of the “value index of voter perception”. (VIVP). It is a system of assigning weightage to the opinions of different segments of society on the basis of well defined criteria of their capabilities, accomplishments and reach to gauge and evaluate different perceptions, and to arrive at factual consensus on burning issues of national importance.

Goswami Gajanan Puri was born in a family with a spiritual background and an order of sankaracharyas in a village in Balaghat district of M.P. he had the fortune of meeting Mahatma Gandhi in his teens, and took part in Quit-India Movement at Nagpur and later in the constructive programme of Seva Dal work as a student in Banaras Hindu University. In 1950 he joined the Public Works Department and retired as Engineer-in-Chief (Chief Technical Examiner, Vigilance), after having worked on top technical posts of Director, Ground Water, Managing Director, Lift Irrigation Corporation, and Chief Engineer (Elec. & Mech.) in 1982. A Life Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, he was Chairman of the M.P. State (80-82) and Member of the National Council (80-84). He was also member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (U.K.) and National Water Well Association, U.S.A. He was also on the executive committee of the Indian Science Congress and a member of the Indian Institute of Public Administration. He has a flare for scientific research and had invented the Auto Lift impulse Pump in 1954 and the discovery of lava tunnels in Jhabua District and a peculiar irruptive activity at Bhopal stand in his name. He worked as technical consultant in USA in 1968, was the technical member of the negotiating team for the first World Bank loan for M.P. He has been Consultant of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, IDBI, etc. with several stints aboard. He founded the Resource Development Institute at Bhopal in 1974 and has devoted himself to it fully and in an honorary capacity. He has guided many innovative researches on Solar, Biogas, Wind, cheap housing technologies, and technology transfer and other projects including the publication of Hindi Quarterly Journal. Taking (Technology for the community) since 1985 and Science and Society Interactions. A known journalist, V.T. Joshi is a science graduate from the Banaras Hindu University. He had been with The Times of India for over 35 years at Bhopal, Lucknow and Hyderabad and is the Bhopal Bureau Chief of The Hindu for the last three years. He is acting President of the Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Journalism Trust at Bhopal. He was The Times of India Special Correspondent during the tumultuous years in pakistan and has also authored the book Pakistah: Zia to Benazir, (1994). V.T. Joshi has known politics of India inside out and has written on many development issues.