New Delhi- Former Supreme Court Justice Markandey Katju identified casteism (Jativad) and communalism (Sampradayikta) as the foundational "feudal ideas" that must be dismantled for India to progress. Moving beyond his critique of pseudoscientific claims, Katju framed the fight against these deep-seated social evils not merely as a social reform agenda, but as the essential "patriotic duty" of every citizen. He argued that a sustained "ideological revolution" targeting these divisive forces is the necessary precondition for any real, material revolution that improves the lives of the people.

In a recent episode of the program "Kintu Parantu with Sheeba," former Supreme Court Justice Markandey Katju launched a scathing critique against what he termed the promotion of "nonsensical" and unscientific claims about ancient India by political leaders. He positioned this critique within a larger call for an "ideological revolution" in India, which he believes is a necessary precursor to any real, material progress in the country.

Katju began by directly targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others for making claims about advanced ancient Indian technology, such as genetic engineering, stem cell therapy, and head transplants, based on mythological narratives. He cited examples like the story of Lord Ganesha as proof of ancient transplant surgery and the birth of the Kauravas via stem cell therapy.

His primary rebuttal was grounded in logic and the established history of science:

1. He argued that if aeroplanes (Vimanas) existed in ancient times, they would have required engines. The logical extension of this, he posited, is that warfare would then have been conducted with tanks and advanced machinery, not with horses and chariots as described in the same epics. He called this a fatal inconsistency in the argument.

2.  Katju clarified that texts like the Ramayana and Mahabharata are epic poems. He emphasized that poets exercise "poetic license" (the right to exaggerate for artistic effect) and that taking these descriptions literally is a mistake. He firmly stated that the world universally acknowledges the Wright Brothers' 1903 flight as the invention of the airplane, and claims to the contrary make India a "laughing stock."

The Historical Precedent: The French Revolution

To frame his solution, Katju drew a historical parallel with the French Revolution of 1789. He explained that the actual revolution, which destroyed the feudal system, was preceded by "several decades of ideological revolution." This period was not fought with guns or bombs but with powerful ideas from great writers and thinkers like Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot.

These Enlightenment figures launched a "fierce attack" on the foundational ideas of feudalism and the aristocracy. Katju argued that it was this sustained ideological assault that created the conditions for the political revolution that followed.

Katju asserted that India is currently passing through a similar phase of "ideological revolution." He defined the duty of every patriotic person as launching a "fierce attack" on what he labeled as modern-day "feudal ideas." These include: Casteism (Jaativad), Communalism (Sampradayikta) and Superstition (Andhvishwas).

He insisted that without this ideological struggle, a "real revolution" in terms of material progress and improved living standards cannot occur.

When the host, Sheeba, presented the counter-argument, that a large section of Hindu society sees the current movement as a reclamation of a glorious past and cultural pride, Katju dismissed it with a two-pronged response:

1. The Practical Test of Governance: He proposed a single, definitive test for any political system or activity: "Is the standard of living of the people rising or not?" He questioned whether building the Ram Temple would solve unemployment, curb inflation, or improve people's lives, dismissing such projects as "diversionary tactics" and "nonsense" that distract from real issues.

2. Ignorance of "Real" Hindu Intellectualism: Katju made a crucial distinction. He argued that those promoting these pseudoscientific claims are actually "ignorant" and "uneducated" about the true intellectual achievements of ancient Hindu civilization.

He referenced his own article, "The Great Hindu Intellectualism," to elaborate. He stated that genuine Hindu greatness lay in profound contributions to mathematics, science, astronomy, medicine, philosophy, and law. He cited how Arab and Muslim scholars themselves acknowledged Hindu superiority in these fields.

To illustrate this real glory, he explained the revolutionary Hindu discovery of the decimal system and the concept of zero. He contrasted this with the cumbersome Roman numeral system, which had no way to efficiently express numbers above 1,000. The invention of zero allowed for the concise expression of astronomical numbers (lakh, crore, etc.), a foundational breakthrough for all modern science and progress, universally acknowledged and even adopted in languages written from right to left, like Arabic.