Restoring a Route to Ancient Riches

Shared with Friends

The Indian–EU FTA under formalisation is a reclamation of the past. Much of the fabulous riches of our ancients were anchored in their trade with Rome, then the nerve centre and gateway to Europe. That seamless exchange between the two civilisations weakened as the Roman world declined and older trade structures gave way to new, intermediated networks.

The Western world thereafter grew restless in its search for a more direct route to India. Before reaching it through what they named the Cape of Good Hope, they discovered the Americas. When they finally arrived on Indian shores, however, it was no longer the same India, and with the passage of time, they realised that they could colonise India rather than carry out trade under the rules of fair exchange.

Now, we are a new India. We must work for a nationhood grounded in strength, innovation, and justice. How is this to be done? By refraining from adharma and performing one’s dharma. This is not a matter of lamentations or exultations, but of mindful analysis, respectful conversations, fair play, innovation, and working with a sense of service. Nationhood is not a spectacle; it is a shared responsibility. Each must act, each must contribute.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Democratisation of Visibility

One of the positive aspects of social media is that it enables ordinary people to use public platforms for self-celebration, even if this frequently involves mimicking so-called celebrities. This is desirable to the extent that such posturing can reinforce a sense of self-worth and bolster self-esteem among common people by granting them visibility otherwise denied to them. A related point is that what we notice, share, and communicate ordinarily or in these spaces is rarely neutral; it is largely designed, and human attention itself is structured to register certain stimuli while disregarding others. The opportunity for the public to appropriate and engage with such designs is a particularly valuable aspect of this development.

Before the advent of social media, common people had minimal means to publicly showcase their moments of celebration. At best, they maintained photo albums, which were shown, often somewhat forcibly, to visiting guests, who, in turn, usually feigned interest. This arrangement functioned as a tacit social agreement. Social media has expanded this possibility. Ordinary individuals now possess small but visible spaces on public platforms of their choosing, accessible to audiences who opt in rather than being compelled. In this sense, social media represents a form of democratisation of public space.

This development is largely welcome. At the same time, it remains important to recognise that decency requires a conscious distinction between private and public life, and a respectful adherence to that boundary. Secondly, in the same vein, public expression should not be merely showy; without embedded substance or wider relevance, it risks becoming assertive and intrusive, disregarding shared human sensibilities.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Society and Political Theory

What hinders agencies from serving society better is the lack of suitable theories, in general and, in particular, political theories. They need political theories not only to plan a project, but to realise the very need for any project and to visualise it. A political theory is the problematisation of collective existence, which is otherwise lived as a fait accompli, and an attempt to find a way to overcome it. Theories provide a map of social realities and an organisation of action plans.

One may feel that one is working through common sense or raw intelligence, but in reality, one is only working with theories already diffused as common sense. If a nation ignores serious research that yields grounded, practical theories, or does not nurture spaces for people to philosophise in a similar vein, it will not solve its problems; rather, it will further complicate them by adopting foreign-baked theories. This is not an argument against the universality of theory as such, but against its uncritical transplantation without mediation through local histories, institutions, and social experience.

A large chunk of so-recognised political theorists is still busy figuring out what political theory is. At a second level, they learn some high-sounding names and jargon and keep regurgitating them in front of people. Initiates are awestruck by the sheer incomprehensibility of what they hear. Thirdly, what is discussed and understood often resembles filmy drama: a social or status-group conspiracy followed by its surgical solution. Fourthly, some highly regarded theories are merely descriptive, and they describe reality in a manner that kills the possibility of solutions. They turn the persistence of problems into a mission, much like typical missionaries. Fifthly, and finally, within the limits of my own understanding, they often exhaust their careers in comprehending theories of Western origin, endlessly elaborating upon them, and pursuing adaptations that are never fully realisable.

To conclude, societies need genuine theories.

Niraj Kumar Jha

The Paradox of Perfect Answers

In an age where intelligence is becoming mechanised and gaining sophistication with every passing moment, questions acquire greater significance than answers. If one knows how to question, a machine can often respond better than an ordinary human being, as it scans vast ranges of sources and possesses the capacity to process them according to need. Answers are readily available; it depends on one’s will and knack for discerning and netting them. This is one side of the story.

The other side reveals a deepening crisis. Answers, despite being the best possible, often carry little traction. What largely remains unseen is that answers derive significance only when they emerge from personal, lived experience and effort, and when the act of answering involves standing by them. This emerging condition makes it all the more critical that people remain answerable. The ready availability of the best possible answers may, if not accompanied by renewed moral sensibilities and appropriate structural arrangements, curtail answerability and imperil humanity in ways never witnessed before.

The problem itself is not new; it is its severity that is unprecedented. One can always access the best possible answers, yet no one remains answerable for them. Understanding that is devoid of shared concern and conviction carries little value.

Niraj Kumar Jha

The Education of the World and the World of Education

The distinguishing mark between a good state and a bad one is the quality of its education. But what is education? Its foundation is neither the catchphrase of the three Rs nor literacy alone, but the telling of good stories. Education is, in fact, the inculcation of commitment to goodness; this is followed by the cultivation of both the capacity and the inclination to act well—that is, the acquisition of the skills needed to live well oneself and to help others live better. Pedagogy is therefore among the most serious enterprises of humanity—one that can be compromised only at grave peril.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Finding Hope Amid Despair

The world may well become a better place once the dust raised by contemporary geopolitical storms settles. The United States may, perhaps unintentionally, help many countries retain their talented people and develop more diversified international relations on fairer terms. What the GATT could not achieve after decades of negotiations, the present unsettled conditions seem to be bringing about. Free trade agreements are being forged among nations whose economies run on mutually accepted policies.

History suggests that human conditions have, on the whole, continued to improve. Yet the critical role of human agency in this process cannot be denied. Progress is not automatic. Societies must work consciously toward betterment, minimising suffering and shortening periods of turbulence. However, human imaginings of the good and the real conditions required to realise it often diverge. The global leadership that emerged from the victorious side after the Second World War shaped the post-war international order. Had that leadership been better at imagining a more inclusive and sustainable conception of the good from the ruins of the war, it is unlikely that the world would have reached the present impasse.

A similar limitation marked the institutional imagination of the post war period. The GATT rested on the assumption that principles resembling national governance, such as uniform rules, reciprocity, and procedural equality, could be effectively applied at the international level. With the benefit of hindsight, one can infer that this did not allow it to live up to its promise. The international system operates among sovereign yet deeply asymmetrical nations, where formal equality does not produce substantive parity. The United Nations reflected the same contradiction by advancing a universal normative framework while confronting persistent power asymmetries. These tensions were visible early on, but were largely ignored in the GATT negotiations toward the WTO.

This is the time to realign reality with imagination.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Whither the Idea of the University?

While the USA leads the world in redefining the word “bizarre,” two Chinese universities now occupy the top two positions, pushing Harvard to third place in a ranking by a European institution. The fact is that, despite the USA remaining at the top of the world, it is sliding downwards. Time will tell whether this decline is irreversible. It is also not clear whether the present administration is causing this decline or merely demonstrating it.

Questions arise as to why America appears to be faltering despite housing some of the best educational institutions in the world. At the same time, China continues to grow with the rapid upgrading of its universities. Do universities merely perform in accordance with the prevailing political ecosystem? It would be far-fetched to suggest that universities lack their own autonomous mind and institutional agency. If this is indeed the case, as present indications suggest, it is a travesty of the very idea of the university.

Niraj Kumar Jha