Book shows the path to peaceful coexistence

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Mumbai , February 19, 2011

Sikkim Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh believes he has a solution to the global problems of war, terrorism and fundamentalism, in the form of the ancient Rig Vedic philosophy of pluralism, Bahudha. Singh projects Bahudha as the path to peaceful co-existence in his book Bahudha and the Post-9/11 World, which was released by Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan at Raj Bhavan on Friday evening.

The book was first launched in New York in 2008, and in India, it has been launched as part of a box set along with the second edition of Singh’s other book, India’s Culture: The State, the Arts and Beyond, which was written in 1998.

“Bahudha is not just about celebrating variety – at its root it involves inculcating an attitude of mind that entertains the idea that another person’s view may be right,” said Singh, who has been India’s cultural secretary from 1995-97.

In India’s Culture.. he asserts that in the post-Cold War world, culture has become the third factor determining the status of a country after military strength and the market. “I hope culture and Bahudha flourish together in the world,” he said.

Emphasising the need to embrace the philosophy of pluralism in all forms of life and governance, Sankaranarayanan said, “We must try to have an inclusive development scheme that serve all minority castes and communities.”

According to Saryu Doshi, former director of the National Gallery of Modern Art who was present at the book launch, Singh’s book on Bahudha answers the twenty-first century’s most crucial question of how to live.

Bahudha is the next thought process that the world will have to use as an approach to its problems if it wants peace and harmony.”