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The Rediff Special/ Amartya Sen

An assessment of the Millennium

A little over four hundred years ago, in 1591-92, as the year 1000 in the Hejira calendar approached, Emperor Akbar was on the Moghal throne. The excitement, which was widely felt in Delhi and Agra about the completion of the millennium in that reckoning, led Akbar to issue a series of proclamations, about principles of governance.

The pronouncements included, among other classics of civil administration, his famous tenets on religious tolerance, for example: 'No man should be interfered with on account of religion, and anyone (is) to be allowed to go over to a religion he pleased.' There was no particular reason to think that this or any other principle had any special relevance at the end of a millennium -- rather than at any other time. And yet the end of the millennium in what was then the official calendar did seem like a good moment to take stock, to reflect on basic principles, and to contemplate the shape of things to come.

There is, of course, something quite arbitrary in the segmenting of time that any calendar presents. Counting could have commenced at a different starting point and the division of periods could have been of a different length. The arrival of a new millennium is, in this sense, entirely a matter of convention. Indeed, Emperor Akbar himself had made an attempt, in 1584, to replace the Hejira calendar by a new synthetic calendar, the Tarikh-Ilahi, which -- like Din-Ilahi (the synthetic religion he tried to promote -- did not survive very long. Any reckoning of a millennium must contain some inescapable plasticity.

And still, an artificially created special moment in history, once established in our minds, can be a good occasion to reflect seriously on what has happened and what might happen. The impending end of the second millennium in the modified Roman calendar that we now see as the Christian calendar, which is the most used international calendar in the contemporary world, can certainly be taken to be such a moment. The millennium excitement that is gripping the world at this time may not be based on any profound or transcendental reality, and yet the excitement itself makes it a special moment and gives us an occasion to look back and wonder.

It would, of course, be quite hopeless to try to do any real 'assessment' of the millennium, on a narrow interpretation of the audacious title of this lecture. The world is much too large for such an excercise and a millennium much too long a period. No less difficult is the problem of choosing a perspective in terms of which any attempted assessment may be performed. Instead of trying to do the impossible, we could interpret the exercise in more limited and manageable terms, as an attempted understanding of a few specific developments in the history of the world.

The World a Millennium Ago

Let us, then, begin by looking at the world a thousand years ago -- at the end of the last millennium. What exactly was happening in the world as the year 1000 AD approached? Well, the impending end of the millennium itself generated a sense of anxiety and dread. Europe was seized with panic, based on a widely shared belief that the world will come to an end as the millennium is completed and the dreaded 'Last Judgement' would occur. Millions of panic-stricken Europeans breathed a sigh of relief as the year 1001 arrived.

But amidst all this fear and consternation, normal activities of trade, culture, science, literature and the arts continued. The millennium panic also did not prevent the continuation of normal battles and conflicts while 1000 AD approached. The European wars, in particular, continued as usual. Norway came under Danish rule after losing the battle of Svolder in 1000 AD shortly before that, the Germans subdued the Slavnici, the last independent tribe of Bohemia, and also got ready to fight Poland which occurred in the very early years of the new millennium. Britain went through a difficult time -- vulnerable as it was to outside attack. Essex was subdued by the Danes in the battle of Maldon in 991; Vikings ravaged Yorkshire in 993; Norwegians and Danes besieged London in 994; Danes attacked the Isle of Wight in 998; and so on. Stability would not come until well after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

The Indian subcontinent-- to looked at our own locality -- also was not devoid of divisions and wars. As the year 1000 AD approached, the Palas ruled over Bengal and Bihar, the Pratiharas reigned over West India and the upper Ganges Valley, Cholas governed Tamil Nadu, the Chandellas controlled Bundelkhand, Kalachuris had Madhya Pradesh, Chahamanis ruled East Rajasthan, Paramaras were in charge of Malwa, and while one line of Chalukyas reigned over West and Central Deccan, another was powerful in Gujarat. King Rajaraja of the Chola dynasty conquered Sri Lanka as the millennium came to an end.

Amartya Sen, the world renowned economist, delivered this UNESCO lecture in Delhi, recently.

Amartya Sen, continued

The Rediff Specials

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