Book Review: Indian Culture and India's Future by Michel Danino

The book "Indian Culture and India's Future" by Michel Danino is a self-contained masterpiece which every literate Indian should read. I have never seen such a candid, precise and all-round analysis of current Indian affairs and the state of India.

The book is arranged into three sections. First section puts forth - with proof - the India before any of the invasions. It presents the contributions and gifts of India in the fields like science and technology, philosophy, industry, arts and crafts, medicine, spirituality and also touches upon other aspects of Indian culture - tolerance, peace and accommodating nature.

The second section it presents the picture of India after being invaded by Muslims and then by European nations and missionaries. It explains how traditional Indian systems of education, manufacturing and economy were deliberately and systematically choked and killed, how India was slain and drained economically, and how for centuries it was preached that they are nothing but worthless specs of dust. It also describes how the thoughts of Indians were distorted with fabricated and half-cooked facts, sometimes pure lies and how divide-and-conquer succeeded, fruits of which are seen even today. This is compared and contrasted with the India that was.

The third section discusses what happened post independence. It is painful and saddening to read through to see the mistakes we as India did. I want to thank the author especially for writings in this section, as he does not spare a single so-called controversial topic in Modern India without analysis and comments. I am also surprised to see there were no controversies stirred up by "secular", "tolerant", "modern", "global", "elite" and "intellectual" Indians about the "intolerant", "non-secular", "provocative" facts stated in this section. Well, may be they didn't make this far in the book! This is the section which we should really understand and ponder over.

Danino lists down points which caused once great India to reach the current state. He also discusses at length what were the mistakes and possible ways to correct them. This is the book worth reading twice or even thrice, thinking over it and introspecting ourselves. Before starting to read, I strongly urge to clean your slate, keep aside everything which we have been taught, keep aside our biases, "ism"s, false pride about all things current. The most important thing is to think over what he is trying to say and to introspect.

I think this book should be made mandatory for study in every college/university in India. Our politicians should be forced to read this book and act on the principles. I really don't know if we still have (or don't have) any time left to correct our actions and cure our rotten system and our rotten society and to turn around the spiral of destruction which we are following at full speed. But may be there is that one chance, one moment still to come which might turn it around and this book the the catalyst in finding and cashing on on that moment, that chance.

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