Justice Markandey Katju's Reply

Couple of days back Justice Markandey Katju was quoted as saying that "90% of Indians are idiots" and can be taken for a ride inciting communal comments. And to which Class XI students from Lucknow had raised objections and demanded a public apology from Mr. Markandey Katju else they would file a case against him the court. And the below email is a reply from Mr. Markandey Katju. And is one of the best email replies or articles that I ever read. Hats off to Mr.Katju.

And here goes his email reply :-

Here's the full text of the letter:

Dear Tanaya and Aditya,

I have received your email, and am giving my reply, but before doing so in detail I wish to make some preliminary remarks:

1. I have been misquoted in the press reports, but it is true that I have said that 90% Indians (not all) are fools. My intention in saying so was not to hurt anyone but to awaken people to the realities, that is, the widespread casteism, communalism, superstitions, and other backward traits in the mindset of a large section of our people which is blocking our progress and keeping us poor.

2. The figure 90% is not a mathematical figure, it simply means that in my opinion a large proportion of Indians (and again I repeat, not all) are fools.

3. I never named you, nor any community, caste, or sect, and I never said that you are in the category of 90%. Hence I do not see how you are defamed.

4. I made this comment not to humiliate or harm anyone but because I love the Indian people, they are my people, and I wish them to prosper and have decent lives, which is only possible if the Indian masses develop the scientific outlook and scientific temper and give up casteism, communalism, superstitions and other mental attitudes which a large part (not all) of them presently suffer from. I wish to see India in the front ranks of the advanced industrialized nations of the world, with our people having a high standard of living, instead of suffering from the present evils of massive poverty, unemployment, price rise, corruption, farmer's suicides, child malnutrition, absence of health care and good education, casteism etc. So you see I made that statement not to harm the Indian people, whom I love, but to benefit them. The truth is sometimes bitter, but sometimes bitter medicine has to be given to an ailing person.

Having said this, I may proceed to give a more elaborate explanation.

I wish to first of all clarify that I do not regard Indians as inherently stupid or foolish. It is only at present that large parts of our people are foolish. But there was a time when we were leading the whole world in science and technology, and India was perhaps the most prosperous country in the world. It is now that we are having bad times, but we had a glorious past and shall have a glorious future too, but for that we have to get rid of casteism, communalism, superstitions and other backward traits in the mentality of a large part of our people (because of which I call them fools).

India's Past

With the aid of science we had built mighty civilizations thousands of years ago when most people in Europe( except in Greece and Rome) were living in forests. We had made outstanding scientific discoveries e.g. decimal system in mathematics, plastic surgery in medicine, etc (see in this connection my article 'Sanskrit as a Language of Science on my blog justickatju.blogspot.in and on the website kgfindia.com). However, we subsequently took to the unscientific path of superstitions and empty rituals, which has led us to disaster. The way out of the present morass is to go back again to the path shown by our scientific ancestors, the path of Aryabhatta and Brahmagupta, Sushrut and Charak, Panini and Patanjali, Ramanujan and Raman.

It is not necessary to mention here all the great achievements of our ancestors, but I may just mention a few.

1. The decimal system in mathematics was the most remarkable and revolutionary invention in the past, and it was created by Indians. To understand its significance, one must know that the ancient Romans, who built a great civilization (The civilization of Caesar and Augustus), felt very uncomfortable with numbers above 1000. This was because they expressed their numbers in alphabets, I standing for 1, V for 5, X for 10, L for 50, C for 100, D for 500, and M for 1000. There was no single alphabet expressing a number above 1000. Hence to write 2000 an ancient Roman had to write MM, to write 3000 he had to write MMM, and to write 1 million he had to write M one thousand times, which would drive him crazy.  

On the other hand, our ancestors discovered the number 0, and hence to write 1 million they had simply to put 6 zeros after 1.

2. Plastic surgery was invented by Sushrut 2000 years ago, whereas Europeans invented it only about 100 or 200 years back.

3. The English alphabets are all arranged haphazardly, there is no reason why D is followed by E, or E by F, or F by G, etc. On the other hand Panini in the first 14 sutras of his Ashtadhyayi arranged the alphabets in Sanskrit scientifically. Thus , the first sequence of 5 consonants (the  ka varga i.e. ka, kha, ga, gha, na ) are all sounds which emanate from the throat, the second sequence from the middle of the tongue, the third from the roof of the mouth, the fourth from the tip of the tongue, and the fifth from the lips. The second and fourth consonants in each sequence are aspirants in which the sound 'ha' is combined with the previous consonant e.g. ka+ha =kha.

4. 5000 years ago in the Indus Valley Civilization the system of town planning was created with straight streets, covered drains, water and sewage system, etc.

Before the coming of the British India was a prosperous country. Its share in world trade in 1700 was about 30%, which fell to 2% by the end of British rule and is still not more than 3%. 

India's Present

Today there is no doubt that India is a poor country. While there are some pockets of affluence, about 80% of our people are afflicted with poverty, unemployment and other evils, and one major cause of this is the mental backwardness of a large part of our people.

(though there are also brilliant people like the Indian scientists and engineers in Silicon Valley)  Consider the following:

1. When most of our people go to vote they cast their votes on the basis of caste or religion, not the merit of the candidate. What else is the meaning of vote banks? And this is exploited by some unscrupulous politicians who know how to manipulate and manage these vote banks. That is why many persons with criminal backgrounds get elected.

2. 'Honour' killings are common in many parts of the country. This is a barbaric practice, and shows how backward many of us still are.

3. Dowry deaths are common in India, and as a former Judge I can tell you that our courts have a large number of cases of young married women who are murdered in a barbaric manner by their in laws for not getting dowry e.g. by pouring petrol on them and setting them on fire.

4. Scheduled castes are still often treated inhumanly, and an example is the recent attack on dalits in Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu.

5. Female foeticide is common in many parts of India. Often when a male child is born the relatives are happy and distribute sweets, but when a female child is born often relatives get dejected. This is also a sign of backwardness among many of us.

6. Communalism, which was almost non-existent in 1857, is widespread in our society today. Muslims often face discrimination in getting jobs, houses on rent, etc, as the Justice Sachar Committee report has highlighted.  Muslims are often falsely implicated in bomb blasts and they have to spend years in jail though ultimately found innocent.

As I mentioned, upto 1857 communalism was almost non-existent in India. There were no doubt differences between Hindu and Muslims, but there was no enmity between them. In the Mutiny of 1857 Hindus and Muslims jointly fought against the British. After crushing the Mutiny the British decided that the only way to control India was divide and rule. 

Consequently, the policy came from London to create hatred between Hindus and Muslims. The British Collector used to secretly call the Panditji and gave him money to speak against the Muslims, and similarly he gave money to the Maulvi Saheb to speak against Hindus. All communal riots began after 1857. The communal award in the Minto-Morley 'Reforms' of 1909 introduced separate electorates for Hindus and Muslims. Year after year, decade after decade, the communal poison was injected by the British into our body politic, and even after 1947 there are elements which continue this (see online 'History in the Service of Imperialism' and my article 'What is India' on my blog justicekatju.blogspot.in)

Certain agent provocateurs take advantage of our backwardness to incite communal riots, and unfortunately many people fall prey to these evil designs and get emotionally carried away by communal propaganda and fight with each other.

5. Superstition is rampant in India. Most people believe in astrology, which is pure superstition and humbug. And it is not just the illiterates who believe in it, it is also most of the so called educated people in India. Many Ministers and Judges prefer to take oath of office at the 'auspicious' time.

A few years back it was announced that Lord Ganesh is drinking milk, and there was a rush of people to offer milk to Ganesh. Earlier, a 'miracle' chapati was circulating.

6. A large section of the media, taking advantage of the backwardness of a large section of our people, dishes out lives of filmstars, cricket, etc as if these are the real issues before the people, when the real issues are socio-economic.

As I said above, when I called most people(not all)  fools I did not wish to harm them, rather it was just the contrary. I want India to become a prosperous country, but this is possible only when the mindset of a large number of people changes, and their minds are rid of casteism, communalism, superstitions, and other backward ideas and they become scientific and modern.

By being modern I do not mean wearing a nice suit or a beautiful sari or skirt. By being modern I mean developing a modern mind, which means a rational mind, a scientific mind, and a questioning mind. As already stated above, at one time we led the whole world in science and technology, but today we are undoubtedly far behind the West and even China. How did this happen? Why were we left behind, why did we not have an Industrial Revolution like Europe? This is known as 'Needham's Question' or 'Needham's Grand Question', named after Prof. Joseph Needham of Cambridge University (1900-1995). It is high time Indians try to answer this question, instead of trying to evade the reality of the backwardness of most of us.

The worst thing in life is poverty, and 80% of our people are poor, which is largely because of the mental backwardness of most (not all) of us. To abolish poverty we need to spread the scientific outlook to every nook and corner of our country. It is only then that India will shine. And until that happens the vast majority of our people will continue to be taken for a ride.


Justice Markandey Katju
10.12.2012

Kitney DVD Dekhoo!?

Last couple of weeks, I have been living solo, the life of a nomad in the smallest city of the United Kingdom which is about two hours from the capital London. Having experienced this insipid - I think is the right word, reminds me of a short conversation that I had with my classmate from Engineering days.

My friend who was in the same firm as me was returning home after completing his project as an onsite resource in the beautiful and adventurous Pacific island country in the southern hemisphere i.e., New Zealand. He had a great trip and built a long lasting relationship with the project team and client counterparts but still preferred to come back home. I wondered why he didn't try to stay longer and look for further opportunities. He narrated a conversation that he had with a fellow Indian who was returning back home for good from New Zealand after leaving his permanent job. That totally put me in a confused state of mind, why would someone leave a good job in a developed nation and come back? And the reply from that guy was "Akhir Kitney DVD dekhoo?" (How many DVDs can I watch?).

As you might have got the gist of the story by now, it does not matter how wonderful the place you are in, but if you are alone and cannot share the sorrows and happy moments that you experience with your own people like your family and friends. It is not worth the experience!

Found on facebook

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain! - Anonymous.

If you don't build your DREAMS, someone will hire you to BUILD theirs. - Anonymous.

Practice as if you are the worst. Play as if you are the best. - Anonymous.

If you don't try, you will never succeed! - From Tipping Point

We travel initially to lose ourselves; and we travel, next, to find ourselves.  - Anonymous.

In Life, it's not where you go, it's who you travel with. - Anonymous.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain.

One of the hardest decisions you will ever face in life is choosing whether to walk away or try harder.  - Anonymous.

Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. -- Arsenal

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them -- Walt Disney

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny ---- Lao Tzu

If you want to have something in your life you've never had,
you'll have to do something that you've never done ---- JD Houston

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.
 I've lost almost 300 games.
 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.
 I've failed over and over and over again in my life.
 And that is why I succeed." ---- Michael Jordan

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it,
not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason
and your own common sense." - Gautam Buddha


"When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream". -- The Alchemist

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning." – Mark Twain

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will always long to return" - Da Vinci

“ You are not very good if you are not better than your best friends imagine you to be. ”

— Johann Lavater

What do you want to do?

I believe for the first time in my life I am at a situation where I feel I don't have any goals to look forward to. 

In my sixth standard, when for the first time I got to be the topper of the class I loved the feeling and wanted to never let the feeling go and work towards it. And that continued till I got to my seventh standard where I met more intelligent gang of students and had to compete with them. Their company had shown me the way to think about my education after school. And started preparing for it. As it is still a dream for every high school student in India to crack the IIT-JEE, I was one of them. However I couldn't make it to the IIT-JEE but was satisfied to get myself into the top Engineering schools in the state. This proved one of the favorite proverbs that we were taught at school "If you aim at a star, you may reach the top of the tree".

And as it is common with 90% of the engineering students who realize that it was not their cup of coffee, I was one among them. I always wanted to work on computers but considering the college option and the social advise opted for electronics. And after college took computer classes. And my ambition at college downgraded from being the topper of the class at school to score more than 70%. And I was happy with it, or you may say have come to the realization of your abilities. At about third year when for the first time my aggregate dipped below 70%, I worked for next two years to get to 70% by the completion of my final year and with some luck I barely managed to get 70.25% and passed with a distinction. Thank God!

Now the immediate requirement, well this was not a goal more of a need was to get a job. And when I realized that I had wasted the opportunities of campus recruitment by not studying for them and the competition in the outside world was far  more worse than the college, I had prepared for the entrance examination of a multinational consulting firm. And again with a bit of luck and hard work I managed to get in.  As always, it proved that if I work hard with dedication - I would be able to achieve the goals I aimed for. 

And thus started the journey, the first year at job to prove it to yourself that you can do your job and the second year to prove it to yourself that you deserve the opportunity provided to you. The third year to ensure you don't let down the hopes and confidence of your peers and managers. The fourth year to prove yourself in the new world and the fifth year to prove yourself that you are not a one-time wonders, then the sixth year work for financial stability. The seventh year work for the next step and prove yourself that you can work at next level and the eight year to prove some doubters wrong, and once you think that you got it, what next? And when I had the feeling for couple of months, I am now into a phase to try for the next level. But what next?

In the last eight years of my experience I can honestly share the feeling that the phase of work where I looked for financial stability was the least enjoyable. Though it may be when I was earning for the first time in the early days or once I was able to feel comfortable in the new world. I must say, if there is no emotional attachment to the work you do you will never enjoy it. Though I am true believer in the saying that money makes many things and you need to earn a lot of money. I realized and without any doubt I can say "never work for money alone." 

You need to have some kind of emotional attachment to the work you do like you want to prove something to yourself - if not to the world, you want to prove your doubters wrong, you want to work because you want to keep up the confidence that your managers have in you, you do not want to let their confidence down, you are solving a complex problem, you are steering a tough phase of a project. And money is just an offshoot of that effort or want that you have. Trust me you will love every bit of it, even if you don't have time to sleep, eat or take a break. You will never feel tired. And this is coming from someone who has gone through this situation in the last six months. There were times when I came home just to have 4 hours of sleep a day for 4 months in a stretch and I didn't feel a bit tired. I just went through this phase because I wanted to prove something to myself, yes I can do it. If you have followed this paragraph, it is more of a WANT to work, where you have an Adrenaline rush that makes your work enjoyable. That for me is more important than the LOVE towards the work you do. It is WANT to work!

"Regardless of who you are or what you have been, you can be what you want to be. " -- W. Clement Stone.

And now at this juncture of my life, I feel I am missing that aim or immediate goal, and that makes me feel very hollow. One should always have an aim or want to do something to keep oneself motivated to work towards. Else it will be a journey without a destination.

When I shared the feeling with a friend and colleague he asked "What do you want to do in next 10 years from now? Don't tell what you want to be called like Director, Partner etc. But tell me what you want to do like execute the high and medium complexity projects. And never plan for long term. Plan your aims and goals for short term and work towards them. And align your short term goals according to your long term goals". When I read through this post and relate to his questions, it makes more sense and every bit of it is true. And now I think it is time for me to identify my goals and work towards them with short term planning and achievable goals that keep me motivated towards reaching my ultimate ambition. And need to be careful that I plan and work towards what I want to do rather than what I want to be called.

LBJ Wins First NBA Title with Miami!!

Congratulations to LeBron James on winning his first NBA Championship with Miami!

Some of the interesting quotes worth remembering after the NBA Finals ended in Miami with the Heat winning the series 4-1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"The best thing that happened to me was losing the Finals, and me playing the way I played," he revealed, "because basically, I got back to the basics. I knew I was going to have to change as a basketball player and as a person to get what I wanted. It just happened one year later." -- 


LeBron James with reference to his loss to Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals of 2011 season.