Lessons of Ahimsa and Anekanta for Contemporary Life

Author(s): Tara Sethia
Publisher: California State Polytechnic University Pomona

Page 90

Multi-dimensional Significance of Anekānta in Present-day Social Life
KAMLA JAIN College of Jesus and Mary
The problems our society is facing are far too many, notwithstanding scientific and technological advancement and an excellent communication system. The world is getting smaller and smaller. Today, we think of the world as a 'global village not only in the sense of an advanced communication system, but also in the sense of inter-racial co-existence. We have vast networks of rapid surface communication and information systems but we have a very disappointing communication system at the social and emotional level. One often wonders whether our society will be able to solve these problems even if there is more growth and development in economic and technological spheres. Our society has became a curious mixture of advanced technology and backward psychology(mind-set). We are witnessing blind barbaric religious fundamentalism, a mad display of anti-secular forces, which reflect the disturbed mental state of the people. There appears to be no limit to the extent of fanaticism. In the name of religion the creed of intolerance is pursued and nurtured. A fundamentalist outfit of Lashkare-Jabbar in Kashmir promulgates its coercive diktat for the dress code of Kashmiri Muslim women. Young women were attacked with acid bulbs for appearing in public without covering their faces. In Pakistan a teen-ager expressed his anguish and frustration by hoisting an Indian flag. The police in Islamabad arrested him and implicated him on the charge of treason, which could amount to
For Private & Pgzonal Use Only