A letter from Seminar

BY all accounts, the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir is once again in flames. And this time around, the protests are no longer confined to the contested terrain of the valley of Kashmir. Over six decades after the country achieved independence and the state acceded to the newly constituted Indian Union (we are fully aware of the contested nature of this narrative), it is clear that those who govern the political destiny of India have been unable to peacefully and democratically ‘win over’ a substantial number of the state’s citizens, far less demonstrate to them that they are equal participants in the making of our evolving democracy.

Part of the problem, and only a part though a significant one, has been our collective failure to evolve a measure of communication and dialogue for contending views to hammer out a consensus on how the region ought to be governed. If at all, at least such is the wisdom in hindsight, every ‘concession’ made to accommodate what are often called ‘separatist’ sentiments is seen as ‘appeasement’ by others. No ‘out of the box’ solutions seem in sight. No wonder, in much of the rest of the country, the dominant feeling is of exasperation, that the continuing conflict is only holding the rest back.

For a region long held out to be a touchstone of the ‘idea of India’ – peaceful, diverse, democratic, inclusive – this is not good news. Over not just Kashmir, but many other issues – from reservations to economic policy, the mode of engaging with the rest of the world to reforming our electoral-political system – debates in our country remain fractious and divided. It is almost as if there is an amnesia marking public discourse. Worse is the tendency of different protoganists to not be appreciative and accommodative of the views of their ‘others’, but only reiterate their strongly held ex-ante positions.

As we had written earlier, ‘For those of us associated with the venture called Seminar,’ now entering its fiftieth year of publication, ‘it is precisely this tendency marking our culture of public discourse which needs to be challenged. The journal, along with other similar ventures, has upheld the virtues of informed debate as a foundational principle – the belief being that dialogue among differing positions and viewpoints on an issue contributes to an expansion of knowledge and, if conducted with honesty and decorum, should enhance the quality of tolerance in society, aid informed decision-making, and hopefully help construct a consensus. To state it more sharply, we expect informed debate to help narrow differences, not exacerbate them.’

Fifty years is more than a lifetime in the history of a journal, more so one deliberately structured as a cottage industry product. There is considerable satisfaction that through all these years (with the exception of a few months during the Emergency in protest against pre-censorship), Seminar has reached its readers on the first of every month. In an era cluttered by the demise of small journals, this can only be a reflection of the goodwill of our readers and contributors, as also our advertisers and distributors, whose faith in the ‘idea of Seminar’ has remained undimmed. The commonly voiced apprehension about the shrinking space for serious, issue-based journals possibly needs reconsideration. It needs to be underscored that both the subscription base and circulation of Seminar has steadily, if slowly, grown over the years. More hopeful is the expansion in readership achieved by placing the journal on the web for free access.

A decade back (481, ‘The Idea of Seminar’), we had brought together a range of contributions that talked about the history of the journal, as also its foundational principles. On this special occasion, over two issues (September and October, 2008) we revisit issues debated in the founding year of the journal in an effort to explore whether the concerns and agendas identified as important then still remain with us, and how our understanding about these issues has changed, if at all. Looking back, and forward, it is striking how much our past continues to dominate us – both the problems and the discourse.

Like all ancient civilizations caught in the throes of massive transformations, there is often a fear of change, a desire to continue with ‘tried and tested’ ways. Growing insecurities can and often do drive us into more rigidly holding onto our favoured positions, debilitating thereby our still weak protocols of civilized and meaningful exchange. It is this tendency that Seminar, and other similar ventures, remain committed to challenging. Towards this end we continue to look forward to the kind of cooperation that we have so far received, helping us in our continuing adventure. To everyone, all we can say is a big thank you. Also that we look forward to reaching you next month.