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Ideology &
Social Science
Indians, observes Prof Andre Beteille, "tend to write passionately if not stridently; but whether it is academic prose or judicial prose, the passion is often only a thin cover for the weakness of the argument". Ramachandra Guha, who has written the foreword for the book under review, proves the professor’s point. He calls Andre Beteille "The Wisest Man (Still) in India". First, he compares him with Amartya Sen, the Nobel laureate. The justification is: both are "of the same age, from the same province { Bengal} , and citizens of the same country". Then Guha finds similarities between Andre and Rajaji. "In many respects, Andre Beteille is the C. Rajagopalachari of our times". The modest sociologist, obviously embarrassed, clarifies that "his praise of me is extravagant". Andre Beteille needs no introduction or certificate for scholarship, having established his intellectual credentials with books like Society and Politics in India and Caste, Class and Power. What is particularly laudable about Professor Beteille is he has not confined himself to the classroom. He participates in debate on public issues and is heard and read with respect. His is a sane voice in a society torn by conflicts over caste, religion and ideology. Andre Beteille is neither partisan nor ideology driven, advocating secularism and autonomy in intellectual life. Regular Andre readers, however, may find these articles all too familiar. A scholar may even find them to be of a layman’s level. The professor has chosen not to update his observations with the benefit of hindsight. Here is what he thought of the BJP in 1998: "It is and is destined to remain a great regional party". He is far from being fair and objective when he writes: "If I were to sum up the BJP’s political culture in a single phrase, it is "Hindu bano, Hindi bolo". A book containing articles originally written for newspapers has its limitations. A newspaper article is usually on a topical subject, has to be of certain length and within the grasp of a lay reader. A newspaper has a short life and topical articles get dated. Besides, the writer has to wind up the argument within the given length and he tends to compromise on data and research. Editors usually discourage details that they find boring. When articles written over a period of time are read together, they tend to overlap. Ideas and arguments get repeated. Andre Beteille’s book has not escaped such flaws. They who have edited his articles over the years get a severe bashing from the professor. He presents himself as a victim of "editorial vandalism", which, he says, is the "expression of an urge to improve and embellish the author’s language without understanding, or even seriously attempting to understand, what the author wishes to say`85 Correcting and improving another person’s English is to establish not only one’s intellectual, but also one’s social superiority over him".
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