Opinion/V C Bhaskaran
Pepsi and turmeric symbolise a self-inflicted Indian dilemma
By a quirk of fate, turmeric has assumed great significance in the golden jubilee year of our Independence. This gold-coloured essential ingredient to all that is Indian is an everyday
reminder of our cultural heritage and culinary inheritance. But
what made turmeric hit world headlines is its curative properties
handed down by our grandmothers.
The Americans wanted to patent turmeric's healing power. That they were up to an all out conquest of the world has not been lost on anyone since they succeeded in breaking up the Soviet
Union. India has been their prime target for a long time. In fact,
to conquer India, the
precious jewel of the Orient, has been the aim of the West all along.
Turmeric is among the targets of that Western design. And their design is actively
backed by a ruling class which is utterly and criminally disloyal to the
motherland. They want American cornflakes and not the innumerable variety
of ready-to-eat Indian fastfoods which are wholesome and definitely
not injurious to health as the newfangled tongue teasers.
It is simply incredible that the inheritors of a party that banished
the American Coca-Cola from India should clamour
for all things foreign. In 1977, Janata Party industries minister George Fernandes introduced '77' to replace Coca-Cola. The
price was the same -- 30 paise per bottle. 77 was a good drink, though minus Cola's wiff and uncanny
taste. It was bottled and marketed by Modern Breads,
an Indian public sector undertaking.
The year marked
a new awakening in India, to fight corruption and instill nationalism
under JP. But 77 soon faded out of the market as did the Janata
government from the political scene. But its new avatar, the United Front,
wants Pepsi to sponsor India's golden jubilee of Independence now!
In short, Pepsi and turmeric symbolise the Indian dilemma. Let
us not forget the dilemma is self-inflicted by a powerful
selfseeking lobby of the ruling class.
The advent of Pepsi heralds the victory of this pro-American and
necessarily anti-Indian technique which has set it sights on the
destruction of our public sector. Wayward and corrupt
governments, and an equally corrupt bureaucracy,
aided and abetted this process of giving a dog a bad name and hanging
it.
How does Ram or Rahim, holding down a cushy public sector job, change overnight into a result-oriented executive once he becomes a private
sector employee? It is a matter of accountability and commitment.
These were woefully lacking in the private sector when we became
free and was unwilling to shoulder the responsibility of building
a new resurgent and strong India.
If we are a technological and
industrial power of some reckoning today, almost the entire credit
should go to the public sector. And that precisely is why it is being targeted for defame and demoralisation. After
all, let us not forget that private sector is run by public capital --
that is, money collected from shareholders, small and big.
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research has won the turmeric battle. It is only a small step
along a long way, blurred and darkened by shadows of Western imperalism.
The US bid to usurp turmeric from our grandma's hands should remind
us of the British who cut off the fingers of Dacca muslin weavers
and their compatriots who snatched kingdom glory at the invitation
of Jaichand.
The battle for turmeric. A peaceful variant of the battle of Haldighat,
is an inspiring experience for those still cherishing Gandhi's
dream of poorna swaraj in its real sense, and Vivekananda's call
for a resurgent India. The spirit has been nurtured by Bankim
Chandra Chatterjee's Vande Mataram and Mohammed Iqbal's Sare Jahen se Accha.
Turmeric crystalises that spirit.
EARLIER REPORTS:
The battle of haldi is over; the war lies ahead
How the legal war was won
Major victory for India as US refuses to patent turmeric
EXTERNAL LINK:
Indian Spices
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