On 11th and 12th of May 2013, a study camp on “How to Study Society Scientifically?” was organised in Thane, Maharashtra by the Thane Youth Committee of Lok Raj Sangathan. In the education system prevailing today, the study of science and society are divorced from each other. “Science” is narrowly taken to mean natural science only. The aim of this camp was to establish that society can be studied scientifically, and must be studied scientifically if we want to rebuild India to realise the dreams of our innumerable martyrs.
The camp covered a variety of fields – economics, history as well as political science – and showed how they are all interrelated. A number of forms were used. Beautifully rendered progressive songs enhanced the camp, and well-designed games helped to build an atmosphere of oneness. The first day of the camp saw 23 participants while on the second day the number increased to 28.
The members, most of them young, had worked hard to prepare presentations on a number of topics. After each of them, lively discussions sessions helped to clear doubts and deepen the understanding of the participants. The presentation on wealth distribution showed how very few people hold almost all the wealth produced in the world, while the majority is forced to live a life not befitting human beings. Participants were shocked to learn that 100 people hold enough wealth to wipe out the most abysmal poverty in the world four times over! The presentation on Employment and Unemployment showed how the rate of unemployment is continuously increasing even when the profits made by the private sector are on an increase. A beautifully edited version of the movie named Zeitgeist was then screened. It revealed the truth of the attack on 9/11 and participants were left with no doubt that the attack on the World Trade Center, New York, was an inside job of the American state. This gave way for the discussion on state terrorism. The role of Media was then studied and data was presented to sharply bring home the fact that a handful of people control the entire Media Industry of the world. The study of Food Production and Distribution cleared the misconception of “not enough production” or “more mouths to feed than what is produced”, and it became clear that there is more than enough of production but in the interest of the few so many a deliberately kept hungry. All the data and discussions inexorably brought out the fact that the system is designed to run for the benefit of the few at the expense of the vast majority. It was clear to the participants that what prevails in our country and the world at large is the rule of a handful of people. The day ended with a beautiful song.
The second day started with the summary of the first day’s journey. “How do a handful of people rule over everyone else?” In this presentation it was shown how the British ruling class managed to do so in the era of its Raj, and how the present day rulers have emulated it. In particular it was pointed out that they have further perfected the state machinery that they inherited from the British rulers and diligently learnt other tactics like “divide and Rule”, diversions, disinformation, etc. A painstakingly edited version of the movie named ‘Capitalism-A Love Story’ revealed the shocking reality of life in USA today. The presentation on democracy brought out the fact that this is democracy just for a handful of people and not for the remaining majority(i.e. almost the entire population of the country). The camp ended with a beautiful song ‘Ishaan’ from the movie ‘Chittagong’. The participants unanimously came to the conclusion that the only way to solve the problems is for people to take the political power into their hands: ‘Sabhi samasyon ka ek he ilaaj…Lok Raj!’
