Page 74 - EducationWorld March 2023

Books

design, planning and price in terms of jobs lost
implementation. Today and taxes foregone won’t POLITICS, ETHICS AND THE
Mundra is listed among be paid by Rahul Gandhi SELF: RE-READING GANDHI’S
the Top 5 ports worldwide. or Left academics. They HIND SWARAJ
As Bhaskar highlights make sure their jobs are Rajeev Bhargava
with numerous examples, secure in inflation-proof ROUTLEDGE
Adani’s major skills are employment. The citi- Rs.1,595 Pages 370
quick decision-making and zenry was forced to endure
project completion within export-import delays,
budgeted time frames power outages, pot-holed
which inspire investor roads and suffer thousand minds of Indians and of
confidence. According to unnatural shocks. Citizens other erstwhile colonised The views of
the London-based Econo- had become accustomed societies. several pundits and
mist, currently Adani to them after 50 years Due to this reason, distinguished scholars
Group companies “run of bankrupt socialism. various scholars have are included in this
some of India’s biggest Rahul Gandhi and his continuously discussed the compendium which
ports, stores a third of its chorus wish to perpetuate ideas of Hind Swaraj and revisits Mahatma
grain, operates a fifth of socialism. The plain truth emphatically underscored Gandhi's Hind Swaraj
its power transmission is that Gautam Adani is a its continuous relevance.
lines and makes a fifth of national hero. For proof, The book under review
its cement”. Moreover, read this unauthorised is based on the proceed- alternative model.
the group has 100,000 biography. ings of a conference For Gandhi, civilisation
well-paid employees on its DILIP THAKORE organised by the Centre for is a mode of conduct that
payrolls. The Adani com- the Study of Developing points to man his path of
panies generate massive Societies (Delhi) in 2009 duty, but modern civilisa-
direct and indirect taxes Hind Swaraj to commemorate the cen- tion lacks this basic key
for the Centre and states. tenary of Hind Swaraj. feature.
Against this back- revisited Essentially, different Several chapters of
drop, the hate campaign chapters in the volume this volume have tried to
mounted against Adani IND SWARAJ IS attempt to explore the evaluate the meaning of
whose business activities one of those key enthralling, subtle, and modernity and the reasons
drive national growth, Htexts published in deeply interesting dialogue behind Gandhi being its
based on investigations the 20th century, which on set up by Gandhi between principal opponent.
of Hindenburg — a self- the one hand, was de- reader and editor on the The Rudolphs under-
confessed short-seller firm nounced by many critics, strength and limitations of line how Gandhi found
abroad — by the Congress and at the same time, at- modern western civilisa- that modern civilisation
party and Rahul Gan- tracted numerous scholars tion — its power, seduc- puts too much emphasis
dhi is reprehensible and and activists, who have tion, and deep immorality. on world mastery, which
anti-national. Even Prime been exploring an alterna- It is pertinent to ask makes it deeply negative
Minister Modi refuses to tive model of modernism. what was the fundamental and harmful.
speak up for Adani. In this book, Gandhi purpose Gandhi had be- However, Akeel Bil-
With a majority share- critically evaluates modern hind writing Hind Swaraj. grami argues that rather
holding in all his smoothly civilisation and technolo- Though there is no perfect than being a reactionary
functional companies gies related to it and ques- answer to this question, opponent of modernity,
generating profit, Adani tions modern conceptions several pundits have tried Gandhi presented a pro-
is unlikely to go broke. He of religion, nationalism, to analyse various facets gressive critique, and he
will remain in the Top 50 and prevalent violence to and present answers. focused on folk religiosity
global rich lists. counter the unjust and ex- All the essays in this as a way of overcoming
The real loser in this ploitative system. Indeed, volume share the under- alienation created by mod-
contretemps is the public. this is a serious attempt standing that Gandhi is at ern civilisation.
Following cancellation of to counter the dominance once throwing a profound Indeed, Gandhi repeat-
the FPO, the expansion of western epistemology and fundamental challenge edly draws attention to
plans of several Adani of knowledge through an to complex and deep- the insatiable thirst for
Group companies have alternative model, which rooted aspects of moder- resources and consump-
been put on hold. The aims to decolonise the nity, while also offering an tion created by modern-

76 EDUCATIONWORLD MARCH 2023