DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.22459#0366
Six
liiimn l;uj ,in vlim.o
August 17, I'JoU
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
A ROAD TO NEW INDIA
ISSUED BY
Community Projects Administration Planning Commission, Government of India
Ram Raj
“Quit India” was the ultimatum
Mahatma Gandhi issued to the British
rulers, for they stood in the way of Ram
Raj. This was not too long ago. But
what is Ram Raj ?
By Ram Raj Bapu meant the
glorious days of old when everyone had
plenty to eat and plenty to wear; when
the individual lived for the family, the
family for the village, the villager for
the district, the district for the province,
the province for the country. Ram Raj
was to him an article of faith, not a
figure of speech. Rama was the monarch
of the people. Rama administered justice
regardless of caste or creed. He adminis-
tered to the need of life equally and
equitably through the servants of the
State.
Tradition has it that in those days
doors had no bars or bolts. Men and
women moved about in peace, free from
fear, for everyone h id all he needed and
when the King was there and lived for
them, why need one be afraid of the
Government or of fellow men? Life was
an even song. It moved peacefully like
the Ganga, flowing from the mountain to
to .the ocean and from the ocean back
to the Himalayas, through the cycle of
clouds and the snow-fall.
In those days of peace and pros-
perity, joy and happiness, this land pro-
duced the Vedas, (he Upanishads, the
Gita, the Puranas, and a literature of
myriad shades and colours. Days of
glory followed, and India produced the
majestic art of Ajatita and Ellora, the
grand temples of Madura and lvonarka,
and thousand and one other shrines that
drew millions of pilgrims from all corners
of the land.
In course of time we fell from
this height and this country passed into
the hands of conquerors from abroad—
first the Pathans, then the Moghuls.
Fortunately for India the Pathans and
the Moghuls chose to make India their
homeland. The culture of India rose to
a now height - a synthesis afresh of the
old and the new. But the grandeur
was short-lived. A quick descent followed
the quick climb to the crest. Came at
that juncture the trader-conqueror from
the West. Our descent down the abyss
continued and was indeed accelerated
by the alien rulers, who were here, just as
all alien rulers, to exploit the enslaved
nation and add to their glorv at home.
When we woke up at last, we found that
stark misery faced us and we were heading
towards annihilation; we rose and cried
that wo want to have
‘idle right to live’
‘The right to work for a living4
‘The right to receive what we earn’
Millions of voices joined at the
call of the Master and, from end
to end, this vast land resounded with
the demand for freedom and life. The
foreign rulers resisted our demand, insul-
ted end incarcerated us. Many died in
liiimn l;uj ,in vlim.o
August 17, I'JoU
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
A ROAD TO NEW INDIA
ISSUED BY
Community Projects Administration Planning Commission, Government of India
Ram Raj
“Quit India” was the ultimatum
Mahatma Gandhi issued to the British
rulers, for they stood in the way of Ram
Raj. This was not too long ago. But
what is Ram Raj ?
By Ram Raj Bapu meant the
glorious days of old when everyone had
plenty to eat and plenty to wear; when
the individual lived for the family, the
family for the village, the villager for
the district, the district for the province,
the province for the country. Ram Raj
was to him an article of faith, not a
figure of speech. Rama was the monarch
of the people. Rama administered justice
regardless of caste or creed. He adminis-
tered to the need of life equally and
equitably through the servants of the
State.
Tradition has it that in those days
doors had no bars or bolts. Men and
women moved about in peace, free from
fear, for everyone h id all he needed and
when the King was there and lived for
them, why need one be afraid of the
Government or of fellow men? Life was
an even song. It moved peacefully like
the Ganga, flowing from the mountain to
to .the ocean and from the ocean back
to the Himalayas, through the cycle of
clouds and the snow-fall.
In those days of peace and pros-
perity, joy and happiness, this land pro-
duced the Vedas, (he Upanishads, the
Gita, the Puranas, and a literature of
myriad shades and colours. Days of
glory followed, and India produced the
majestic art of Ajatita and Ellora, the
grand temples of Madura and lvonarka,
and thousand and one other shrines that
drew millions of pilgrims from all corners
of the land.
In course of time we fell from
this height and this country passed into
the hands of conquerors from abroad—
first the Pathans, then the Moghuls.
Fortunately for India the Pathans and
the Moghuls chose to make India their
homeland. The culture of India rose to
a now height - a synthesis afresh of the
old and the new. But the grandeur
was short-lived. A quick descent followed
the quick climb to the crest. Came at
that juncture the trader-conqueror from
the West. Our descent down the abyss
continued and was indeed accelerated
by the alien rulers, who were here, just as
all alien rulers, to exploit the enslaved
nation and add to their glorv at home.
When we woke up at last, we found that
stark misery faced us and we were heading
towards annihilation; we rose and cried
that wo want to have
‘idle right to live’
‘The right to work for a living4
‘The right to receive what we earn’
Millions of voices joined at the
call of the Master and, from end
to end, this vast land resounded with
the demand for freedom and life. The
foreign rulers resisted our demand, insul-
ted end incarcerated us. Many died in