The greats Natwar Singh
met
Profiles and Letters by K. Natwar Singh, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi. Pp. 260 Rs 350.

Poorest too need education
Education for the Poor by Atma Ram. B.R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi. Pp. 124. Rs 210.

Cinema as artistic narrative medium

Cinema and the Indian Freedom Struggle by Gautam Kaul. Sterling Publishers, New Delhi. Pp. 275. Rs 600.

I have known Gautam Kaul for about three decades. Probably I met him during my very first International Film Festival back in the seventies. He was a genuine cineaste, bustling from film to film, from seminar to seminar. He overcame my reluctance to speak at the fairly useless functions called film seminars. Kaul used to glory in them and in fact got a degree of seriousness into the ill-spent hours.

Later I sat with him at those ponderous occasions called film jury meetings to award prizes for the best director, actor, etc. These occasions were certainly not useless. They afforded full opportunity for political, regional and personal manipulations.

Here again, Kaul rose above these messes and brought a degree of integrity to them.

One remarkable feature I found in him was that though he was quintessentially a North Indian, he fought for regional cinema and for regional heroes. It was a kind of admirable cultural crossover. But sometimes he went too far. I remember on one occasion I had to request him to go over to the southern block and invite Jamuna, the Telugu filmstar, to come and sit next to me. This was to restore some kind of harmony because Jamuna was a fanatical regional partisan.

I say all this as a prelude to the review of the book because it is necessary to give a glimpse of the author. I was quite surprised when Kaul approached me at a Bombay film festival sometime ago to discuss the project of this book. I was surprised because I did not expect the underlying patriotic impulse to write this book from an IPS officer. This is not meant to be pejorative. But somehow one does not associate Class I civil servants of India with this kind of enthusiasm.

Second, I have lived through and participated to an extent in India’s freedom struggle. I do not have the kind of nostalgia which Kaul seemed to emanate and which is very much there in the book. But these are basic personal and ideological differences which I have to admit.

At the outset, let me say that this is the first book on a subject which has never been seriously explored before. It is extremely well researched, well narrated and illustrated by some rare photographs. I recommend the book to lovers of Indian cinema, to film scholars and film libraries.

Having said that let me proceed to a discussion of the book. The first chapters are very ambitious commencing from the birth of western civilisation going on to current history. The chapter "The British censors at work", contains a lot of valuable information. The British colonial rulers struggled hard to keep "foreign influences" out. I was amused to read that they even tried to shut out the great film "Intolerance". I may add an item of personal knowledge. I saw the marvellous anti-war film "All quiet on the western front" on September 2, 1939, in Madras and was bowled over. I wish J.P. Dutta, the maker of the recent so-called anti-war film "Border" had seen that film with a degree of understanding. On September 3, 1939, Great Britain and the allies declared World War II. "All quiet..." was banned on September 3, 1939.

The chapter, "Cinema and freedom leaders", contains interesting information not generally known hitherto. Kaul is specially good on the links between Tamil political leaders like Satyamurthy and Tamil cinema. However, I must take issue on the way he deals with Gandhi’s aversion to cinema. I remember reading K.A. Abbas’s open letter to Gandhi in Film India (October, 1939). Kaul quotes Abbas: "In a more recent statement, you (Gandhi) include cinema among evils like gambling, sutta, horse racing, etc. which you leave alone for fear of losing caste."Abbas goes on to make the predictable pro-cinema noises.

Reading Gandhi’s remarks in September, 1998, I realised how right he was. Indian cinema has always been speculative — financially. It was so yesterday, it is so today and it will be so in the 21st century.Kaul knows this better than I do. This basic economic fact colours the quality of cinema. Kaul also knows this but tends to minimise the impact of economics on the art of cinema. Today, when film producers/ directors make the so-called action films or nonsensical romantic family drama they are playing satta. Every night I watch sequences from past and present films on satellite TV. From the North to the South, from the East to the West, I am confronted with the spectacle of uplifted bosoms and larger-than-life derrieres. Was Gandhi so wrong about Indian cinema?

The link between India’s political leaders and Indian cinema has not always been to the good of either Indian cinema or Indian culture. Take, for instance, the link between Krishna Menon and Indian cinema. Or the link between the Nehru-Gandhi family and certain film personalities, which was exploited by them during Indira Gandhi’s emergency. Or, the takeover of Indian politics by cinema idols in the South. These points needed a deeper examination than Kaul has given them.

The sections of the book, which deal with historical matters like the early patriotic films are more of academic than general interest. This reviewer was thrilled by the recall of the Tamil freedom song "Aaduvome palli paaduome" and mention of D.K. Pattammal and Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. But that is because I happen to come from the South. This is not a criticism of the book but a statement of fact.

The book becomes more interesting when the author goes on to post-Independence cinema. There are odd statements like the following: "It was ironic that India continued to accept for decades on end, films made in England and the US which flayed not just the war waged by the Germans and the Japanese but also tarnished their image as a race." What’s that supposed to mean? Was World War II waged by (the) German and Japanese elites? In fact it was a mass people’s war on all sides except probably the American’s. It is this absence of fine-tuning historical developments that flaws the book. It becomes journalistically abrasive and loses academic detachment.

There is too much space devoted to forgettable and forgotten films like "Prisoner of Golconda". Despite the fact that the fate of this film contains some legal precedents, these pages are a bore.An undistinguished director like Manoj Kumar is given space just because he made some "patriotic films". Making films on Bhagat Singh or Prime Minister Shastri’s slogan "Jai jawan jai kisan" does not by itself confer artistic distinction. The problem with this book is that Kaul thinks it does.

More interesting is Kaul’s brief discussion of "Buniyaad" and of Govind Nihalani’s "Tamas". These are important films but Kaul does not do full justice to them. In fact, the TV serial "Buniyaad" and Nihalani’s "Tamas" work in opposite ideological directions. "Buniyaad"’s ideology is somewhat opposed to Kaul’s. It takes an ironic view of the freedom fight and shows how the roots of India’s present corrupt state lie in the forties. "Tamas", on the other hand, is a rather partisan account of partition.

J.P. Dutta’s "Border" came rather late for this book. Kaul would have applauded that chauvinistic film with glee.

A cineaste like Kaul would have seen the latest American film on war, Speilberg’s "Saving Private Ryan". In the next edition of the book I would like a comparison of the attitudes behind the films. Kaul’s provocativeness is in a sense a virtue. You can have a fruitful debate with some books. This is one such book.

— Iqbal Masud

This is no way to treat the elderly

The Aged In India by K.G. Gurumurthy. Reliance Publishing House, New Delhi. Pp. xi+ 197. Rs 225.

Every man desires to live long; but no man would be old." — Swift.

"ONCE upon a time..." when today’s granny begins to narrate a parable she often hears her grandchildren retort, "Oh, this is and old hat! Batman is better." The emphasis is on "old" — as though old is undesirable, something to be shunned, a taboo. No longer old is gold. New ideas, new technology, new lifestyle... the novelty has bewitched modern society. Those who are in their autumn years are getting increasingly ignored and marginalised, both at home and outside.

This is precisely the reason why literature dealing with senior citizens is scarce in India where we supposedly take price in pitru puja. Over the past 50 years India’s economic condition has undergone a sea change affecting its demographic profile. The literacy rate has jumped from 18.3 per cent in 1951 to 62.2 per cent in 1991. Life expectancy has risen from 32.1 years in 1951 to 60.8 years in 1992. Add to this the technological revolution currently sweeping the land and you confront a scenario that is at once dazzling and dismal. This old order is giving way to a new world. The joint family system is almost extinct. Traditional community structures are crumbling. The age-old value-system is disappearing. Liberalisation has given a fillip to consumerism. All these factors have tilted the scales against the vulnerable sections of society, especially the elderly.

Professor Gurumurthy’s learned treatise on gerontology could not have come at a more opportune time. Though he has chosen the samples from rural Karnataka, the findings are relevant to the rest of India, and most of the developing world too. The Central Ministry of Welfare has funded the research. The study selects 600 aged persons (gender ratio is 50:50) from rural Karnataka and divides them into four categories: (a) aged with financial means and someone to care; (b) aged with financial means but no one to care; (c) aged with someone to care but no financial means; and (d) aged with neither financial means nor someone to care. Due weightage has been given to religious minorities. However, it is not clear whether similar treatment has been given to linguistic minorities like the Marathi, Telugu, and Tamil-speaking people who form a significant proportion of rural Karnataka.

Two maps and 74 tables illustrate this study in social gerontology. Since concepts like old-age homes, old-age pension and other benefits, and legislation for the benefit of the old, etc. are being freely bandied about in the corridors of power as well as in the Press, it is time somebody undertook a serious study of the problems facing our elderly. With the passage of time the population of the aged will only increase. Before things get out of hand, timely corrective measures are called for. To facilitate these a reliable database is essential. To a significant extent Gurumurthy fulfils this need.

According to him, "...their dependence on the young brings a number of maladjustments and conflicts in day-to-day life." Elsewhere he points out that problems of the aged are as much social and psychological as they are financial.

In the chapter, "Services for the aged", the author avers, "Pension is a sort of financial assistance given to the needy and the aged by the government." Obviously he is referring to old age pension. Unfortunately this is at variance with the hypothesis propounded earlier in the book that our society owes a debt to the elderly for contribution(s) made during their productive years. Economists define pension as deferred wages — that is, it is that part of a worker’s salary that is withheld by an employer to be paid in regular instalments after he retires. By the same logic, old age pension is a senior citizen’s right and cannot be construed as government largesse.

It needs to be reminded that society owes a debt to its aged people. They had during their youth and adult life contributed to its progress. To belittle their role is to be ungrateful, and also to overlook the fact that "the bell tolls for thee" too. The author states that an individual’s life spans four stages: "brahmcharya" (youth), "grihastha" (adult) "vanaprastha" (middle-aged) and "sanyasa" (aged/elderly).

A man plays different roles at different stages. As a bachelor he acquires skills and knowledge; as a married person he discharges his obligations towards his family, elders, kin and society at large; in the third stage he gradually begins to delegate responsibilities and powers to his heirs; and finally he turns a sanyasi where he has no active role to play in the family’s business. He becomes more of a guide. His role becomes purely advisory. This was the stage when the patriarch traditionally used to exercise great moral authority over the family. His wish used to be a command. But in today’s changed environment this is no more true.

Gurumurthy cites industrialisation, "marriages with non-kin" and the Land Ceiling Act as some of the reasons for the downfall of the patriarch’s status. About the matriarch the less said, the better. Economically she has been depending upon her male relations — be they the father, brothers, husband or sons — for her sustenance. Small wonder then, the study finds elderly women, more so the widows, leading a "pathetic life" in rural Karnataka. As their faculties start weakening, the aged begin to lose control not only over family affairs but also on their own choices. Financial dependency prevents them from fulfilling even some of their basic desires.

Access to such facilities as health care and social welfare is meagre if not totally absent. The author makes some scathing observations on medical facilities in the rural areas, "..the general picture on the health care to the poor is bleak. The working of medical dispensaries, especially in villages, is very bad."

He goes on to add, "...these subsidised or free hospitals do not give medicines though they are supplied to them. This is because they do not have adequate budget and even if they have, they do not buy the medicine at all owing to corrupt practices or the doctors and staff steal the medicines from hospitals and sell them outside to make money and such other reasons... Apart from buying the prescribed medicine from the market, patients are supposed to tip the doctors and paramedical staff to get the treatment or prescription."

In India there are no separate health services for the aged. At home, the aged — barring pensioners — are denied nutritious food. They rarely go out for a walk or do physical exercise. In short, for the old, India has a long way to go before it becomes a welfare state.

The artistically designed cover is thought provoking. However, without detracting from the book’s merit as a rich source material for research scholars and policy makers alike, it would be in order to point out that proof-reading and syntax need greater attention. Though mistakes are not glaring, they do tend to obstruct the flow of the narrative.

It is a truism that India resides in the villages, though the urban population is certainly not negligible. Apart from the salaried class, small businessmen, craftsmen, domestic servants and old-job men also form a major chunk of the urban population. Unlike in our villages, there are no filial props to provide emotional and material security to the elderly in our cities and towns. Therefore, their problems too should have been analysed by including samples from among them.

Last, one hopes that in the next edition the author would incorporate more up-to-date data. He has relied on figures from the 1981 census when, on the back cover of the book, he indicates that the 1991 census figures had already been published. Such updating will certainly enhance the book’s appeal.

— Randeep Wadhera

The patriot who stalked a killer

Udham Singh by Sikander Singh. B. Chattar Singh Jiwan Singh, Amritsar. Pp. 391. Rs 350.

IT all began on Baisakhi Day, 1919. A crowd of about 20,000 people had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh to listen to the fiery speeches of their leaders. Presently General Dyer arrived with a posse of soldiers and, in order to teach the crowd a lesson, opened fire without warning. In the massacre that ensued, 400 people were killed and over 1200 wounded. The casualties might have been higher if the General had managed to approach the Bagh in armoured vehicles.

A young man, who was that day serving water to the people, saw the way his countrymen were slaughtered. That very moment he decided to take on the mighty British Empire. "Udham Singh" is the story of that young man. Udham Singh alias Ude Singh alias Frank Brazil alias Ram Mohammed Singh Azad who kept the fire for revenge smouldering in his heart for 21 years before finally tracking down the persons responsible for the Jallinawala massacre.

Sikander Singh, the author, has spent years trying to access documents which, under the Official Secrets Act 1939 and the Public Records Act 1958, were out of public domain for a hundred years. After going through these rare documents and other records, the author has reconstructed the story of Shaheed Udham Singh. The biography traces the life of an orphan who was destined to become a martyr. It is the story of a young man who challenged the British Empire, his undying patriotism, his association with Indian revolutionaries and the Ghadar Party, his adventures across the continents, and his crusade against the Empire.

The author begins by giving us a 79-page-long account of the freedom struggle followed by the early life of Udham Singh. At a fairly young age Udham Singh got enlisted in the army, but soon found himself attracted to revolutionary activity. But it was after the Jallianwala Bagh incident that he crossed the Rubicon. He came in contact with revolutionaries like Lala Lajpat Rai and Mota Singh. Fate took him to various parts of India, and then to Mombasa, East Africa. In due course Udham Singh was seen in almost every continent except, perhaps, Australia. In the USA, he came under the direct influence of the Ghadar Party. In course of time he married an American woman. The author narrates the life of Udham Singh step by step and finally takes us to the Caxton Hall, London, where Udham Singh fulfilled the only aim of his life by shooting Michael O’Dwyer.

While awaiting his sentence, Udham Singh tried to escape but he was, according to the author, given away by a traitor: "Due to the traitorousness (sic) of an Indian traitor, Udham Singh’s plan to escape from prison was foiled." Why doesn’t the author name the traitor?

The author does not tell us what happened to Udham Singh’s American wife. She would have been a valuable source had she or her survivors been contacted. In the Appendices, the author has reproduced some love letters written by Udham Singh to one Miss Kumari. The author could have thrown some light on her. After all Udham Singh was also a human being.

Being the Head of the department of history in a government college, Sikander Singh is equipped to handle a subject that has been so far more or less neglected by serious scholars. But like the work of most academicians, his booklacks the depth and warmth that is so important in a biography. The author has to be congratulated for his painstaking research, but he seems to drown himself in the flood of historical records. It is the business of the author to sift through the mass of records and documents and use only those that are relevant. Not many can resist the temptation of using everything that one has researched, and in the end the work becomes just a record — lists, events and personalities.

For instance, the author writes: "He (Udham Singh) used to walk during the day and put up in Imperial Hotel near New Market during the night. He paid Rs 1½ daily. On the third day he left Calcutta by Calcutta Mail as a second class passenger. He paid 48 rupees as a second class fare . . . . . The railway authorities charged Rs 2½ from him as an extra railway fare, saying that he was not travelling via the route of which he held the ticket."

At one place the author even names the captain of the ship and gives details of other passengers on board the ship, by which Udham Singh was travelling. We are also, time and again, given tables of unimportant facts: "His wages whilst employed as stated were 1/7 an hour and 3/6 per day subsistence allowance. His total earnings were as follows...... ."

A description of the rooms of the Caxton Hall, where Udham Singh shot O’Dwyer, is provided: "Great Hall (50 ft. X 42 ft.) Spacious Hall on ground floor with Balcony. Available for Banquets, Dinner-Dances, Concerts, Company or Public Meetings, conferences, Examinations, etc. All modern facilities are provided." Every room in the Caxton Hall is thus described in detail, but why?

To make matters worse, the book is full of typographic errors. The cover itself has mistakes. In the Preface the author writes " . . . the unlawful annexation of Punjab by Lord Dalhousie on 29th March, 1949 (sic)". Then again Tagore wrote "Gora", not "Gore", and it is MI5, not M. 1.5. It appears the author has not bothered to go through the proofs before sending the manuscript to the printing press. And because of this, a serious scholar might hesitate to quote the author. A few typographic errors can be overlooked, but when a work is full of them, the reader loses faith in the author and begins to harbour serious doubts about the authenticity of other historical material as well. The documents reproduced at the end of the book are interesting, though the author should have also provided us with an Index.

Another thing that irks the reader is the frequent references made to religion and caste of the individuals appearing in the book. It is a pity that even fifty years after Independence, we still refer to a person as a Kamboj, Khatri, Brahmin, Punjabi, or Bengali.

The man who preferred to call himself Ram Mohammed Azad Singh would have certainly not approved of such parochialism.

— Kuldip Dhiman

The greats Natwar Singh met

Profiles and Letters by K. Natwar Singh, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi. Pp. 260 Rs 350.

Rajagopalachari, E. M. Forster, Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Lord Mountbatten, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, R. K. Narayan, Han Suyin, Indira Gandhi, Zia-ul-Haq, Nargis Dutt. It is an impressive line-up of 10 great men and women of our times.

Some people are great; some have a great deal of interaction with them. Often life stops at that. In Natwar Singh, we have a person who has corresponded with many contemporary greats, and in his book "Profiles and Letters", he has penned sketches of the above-mentioned 10 men and women. He has also reproduced excerpts from their letters to him, which add to the charm of the book.

Natwar Singh was born in a family which brought him in touch with the cream of society; he was educated at St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and at Christi College, Cambridge. He joined the Indian Foreign Service at a time when it was rather prestigious to do so.

It was as an IFS officer posted in New York in 1962 that he came in touch with the Congress stalwart and former Chief Minister of Madras, Rajagopalachari, who was leading a delegation to press for a total ban on nuclear tests. It was Rajaji’s first visit outside India, and he stayed with the author. That they struck a warm friendship is evident from the letters they exchanged, and from them emerges some fine vignettes of the life of a shrewd, unbending, Indian patriot.

Of the various people that Natwar Singh has written about in this book, his relationship with E. M Forster stands out. Natwar Singh met the legend who wrote "A Passage to India," at Cambridge and developed a long-lasting friendship. It is obvious that the British author had a great impact on the young student.

As Natwar Singh puts it: "Getting to know Forster was the most intoxicating experience of my stay at Cambridge. He enlarged my horizons, enriched my understanding of English literature, taught me the value of personal relationships and generally raised the level of my consciousness."

From Forster to Nirad Chaudhuri. Distinguished authors, both distinctive personalities, who though not quite fond of each other, shared a friendship with Natwar Singh. The human side of the well-known "Unknown Indian" comes out well in the sketch. Nirad Chaudhuri is not quite the most comfortable person to be with.

In direct contrast, R K Narayan is. The man who made the fictional town of Malgudi familiar to the peoples of the English-speaking world comes across as a disarmingly "ordinary/practical" (as opposed to pompous/air-headed) individual, who revelled in meeting Prime Minister Nehru. In this chapter, Natwar Singh manages to bring out a rather spirited picture of Narayan, complete with a flight from New York to get away from the tentacles of the American legal system.

A starving Natwar Singh, alone in a hotel where the staff spoke only Chinese, wrote a note to a stunning lady wearing a colourful dress—Han Suyin. Thus began a friendship that has survived the turbulent, at times hostile, phases of Sino-Indian relationship. A 39-year-long friendship that lasted even as India went though Operation Bluestar and China saw the Tienanmen massacre.

Han Suyin’s passion comes through quite well in her various letters to Natwar Singh, as does her zest for life, a through understanding of the Sino-Indian ethos, as differentiated from an Euro-centric one. A warm, passionate person comes alive in her letters that the author has reproduced: Describing herself, she says "As for Han Suyin, you know she has no sense of hierarchy, caste, class of boot licking. She goes straight for the really fine people of this world, like Natwar, and is rude like hell to C-in-Cs, Generals, Maharajas, Presidents, lions, VIPs and in general sacred cows."

In his essay on Indira Gandhi, the author brings out the person behind the forbidding persona. The non-political side of a person who was a voracious reader, a person of taste and gravitas. He has many anecdotes from his long association with her, some of which he shares with the reader. Especially touching are some of the copies of personal notes which she wrote on family occasions.

Sometimes letters give more than a peep into the mind of the writer. In August, 1981, Indira Gandhi wrote: "I feel isolated, not because of policies, the correctness of which will be seen in time, as it has been before. But while the earth spins on the beauty and with method, the world of men is a hollow one, when words have no meaning and sentiments, no feeling, the young have lost wonder, elan and even hope. What can a leader-eyed civilisation do? Can a flame of idealism or a vision of a better man be protected from all this cynicism, hypocrisy and hatred? "

Nargis Dutt’s embarrassing encounter in London, Zia-ul-Haq’s way of turning foes into friends, Vijayalakshmi Pandit’s vibrant voice and commanding presence, Lord Mountbatten’s involvement with India and his concern about his and Edwina’s portraits, the book is a good collection of vignettes of people who shaped contemporary history.

It is not fair to expect the author to give weighty, analytical bio-sketches of the people he knew. These are personal pieces, in which people, as Natwar Singh knew them, come through—this is their strength, and their frailty.

— Roopinder Singh

Poorest too need education

Education for the Poor by Atma Ram. B.R. Publishing Corporation, Delhi. Pp. 124. Rs 210.

SINCE Independence the policy and practice of education has been influenced by four general concerns. First, education is a basic human right through which personal development, both spiritual and material, can be realised. Second, it has a cultural role to refine the sensitivities and perceptions that contribute to national cohesion.

Third, education has been viewed as an instrument to energise the various levels of economy. Fourth, it is an important component of social policy to achieve an egalitarian society.

However, despite the government maintaining a degree of commitment to expand educational provisions at every level, the privileged few have run away with the cream.

Atma Ram’s book "Education for the poor" is a laudable endeavour to examine this sorry state of affairs and to break fresh grounds. It needs guts to get out of the rut, and the author displays much courage and combines it with mental incisiveness and a freshness of approach in stressing the value of education for the poor and the downtrodden.

Atma Ram has credentials to deal with the issue. Having been closely associated with teaching, he has served with distinction as the Education Advisor to the Himachal Government and earlier as Director of Education. He has won several awards. A renowned academician, critic and educational administrator, he has authored over two dozen books and about 300 papers.

The book concentrates on this vital aspect of education through a study of specific themes. It critically examines administrative and implementation strategies, pinpoints what ails the system and its operation and offers a pragmatic approach to strengthening education for the masses.

The book comprises 10 chapters which include strengthening primary education, education for all, channelising youth power, vocational education, education management for the poor and inculcating values and work culture, etc.

The author says that for the upliftment of the village folk and other deprived sections of society, many present thrusts in education have to be refined and recast. Elementary education must receive maximum attention and additional inputs like adequate funds, inner cleansing, infrastructure, trained teachers, inspectors, continuous internal evaluation, refinement of human resources, involvement of parents and the local community and expert handling. An all-out endeavour should be made to put the deprived sections of society on a firm social and economic footing, integrating them in the mainstream. Atma Ram asserts that examinations constitute an important part of the system, but the present pattern calls for a thorough overhauling.

The poor have the worst of everything without the good of any. They are often denied experienced teachers, modern infrastructure, flexibility of syllabi and courses, and inputs through the NCC, NSS, vocational education and contribution of voluntary organisations and so on. In fact, well-meaning schemes do not reach the nether regions, the author asserts.

The author feels that in view of the rapid development in various fields, obsolescence has become a matter of deep concern. He suggests that methods should be devised to help the seekers of knowledge and those who want access to the latest development or improve their qualification.

In the chapter, "Education management for the poor", the author avers that there should be a distinct shift of management of education towards the poor. Though several schemes have been devised, exclusive stress on the poor continues to be the need of the hour.

An interesting and innovative concept advanced by Atma Ram is that the work of teachers is to be assessed by the quality of their product — students. The teachers are known by their students. According to mythology and culture, for pupils efficient teachers were more important than their parents.

In the chapter, "Imbibing values and work culture", the author suggests that value education should be introduced at all levels, particularly at the elementary stage. It is there that lasting impressions are formed. He also points out that the most essential thing is the inculcation of "work culture" and laying due stress on values like integrity, honesty and industry.

The book is to be commended not only for its contents but for its lucidity, eloquence and direct communication. Educationists and education planners would find their own thoughts and feelings reflected here, while those who advocate education for the poor will find it an invaluable guide.

— S. P. Dhawan