What is the difference between honeybee and worst architect? The difference is honeybee works intuitively while the architect envisages a plan first in mind and then it is transferred to the paper and further to the worksite. Likewise our mind where the conflict of ideas takes place going beyond the necessary consensus is necessary for learning new knowledge bypassing dogmatic prejudices. The playground of mind is truly the citadel of creative and confident scholar. It is rare experience that the ideological assertiveness and commitment towards science behind academic position can coexist together. Prof. Utsa and Prof. Prabhat have given that rare experience to Indian scholarly community and largely to Indian society.
The intellectual rigor and argumentative character of a person helps to theorize particular developing problem or situation and thus emerges great mind which comments, discusses and guides a particular discourse for construction of great scholarship, institutions and movements in their lifetime. This is the unique achievement and gift of both of them to the social sciences in India. This is particularly significant when both of them are just stepping down from the formal chair of Professorship after 40 years of mentoring to the generations of students of economics in JNU.
Two such striving forces behind such great, monumental passion of “Living Commitment” completed their formal engagements in the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Truly “Made For Each Other”, Prof. Utsa and Prabhat Patnaik were epitomizing force behind agrarian and anti-imperialist issues in post-modern India, though there are lot of issues about modernity yet to be addressed in a serious way.
The galaxy of Professors, friends and students were assembled at Godavari Dhaba in JNU to celebrate the ethos represented by an energetic and synergetic couple of extraordinary commitment towards the issues of common man, the love for them which is impossible to flow without the essential warmth of a good human nature they possess. All of the senior Professors and students lauded, appreciated, revered, praised, laid tribute, and saluted the astounding degree of achievements these two Professors have accomplished in their life. With both returning from Oxford and Cambridge in 1973 in the heyday of the founding times of JNU, they remained the torchbearers of academic dissent and symbol of intellectual integrity beyond the issues of Economics to cut across the social, international and political developments in last quarter of century.
Prabhat and Utsa shaped many generations of legendary Economists, many of them are still serving JNU, in many policy making and in policy shaping institutions across the world and off course the people forming intelligentsia in political and social organizations who are greatly influenced by thinking of Prabhat and Utsa in realizing the massive disparity between “Shining and Suffering India”. To witness the formal transition phase called ‘retirement’ of these renowned public intellectuals was a definitive moment to reflect towards the fact that how a person singlehandedly with his/her deep confidence about their knowledge can fight carrying a sense of great optimism and uncompromising attitude against the ignorant yet powerful brains in the policy and political domain.
Three hour long ceremony was dominated by round of unending applauses, mention of various anecdotes and instances enticing waterfall of laughter and expression of location of the time-scapes in the memory when both helped, supported and inspired student community in JNU and at large. This ceremony was in a way, was a testimony for a greater introspective process towards the challenge emerged in the recent times in the form of increasing intolerant attitude towards the independent character of the minds, scholarship and institutions who are trained, groomed and cultivated in a culture which learns, masters and innovates an art to question.
In one paper Utsa says: “The correct theorizing of the questions of food security and poverty has become particularly important at the present time, which is one of rapid changes in the economic environment in which small producers including farmers and workers are living.” (Theorizing Poverty and Food Security in the Era of Economic Reforms, En publication: Globalization and the Washington Consensus: its influence on democracy and development in the south. Gladys Lechini (editor). Buenos Aires : CLACSO, 2008) Exactly on the same lines, today Prof. Utsa appealed to the students to learn the “Language of the Discourse.” She insisted upon the need to engage our minds to argue and fight about how the issues are framed, defined and debated. So, that context of ‘a rigorous engagement in rational arguments’ is of paramount importance. She linked this ‘power of discourse to influence definition of issues’ to the larger question of higher education and quality of research in India with the reference to the upcoming initiative of Govt. of India to establish world class universities in India with the help of foreign institutions, universities claiming world class status and excellence in their achievements.
Prabhat, one of the DOYENs of critic of neoliberal economic policies world over; in his small speech praised the ability of the vibrant student community to inform, educate and guide the momentum in the scholarly interaction, particular movement and issues of institutional development. Eventually he appealed to the students to maintain that character of intellectual rigor, independence and hard work to arrive at the competence of the person who can really steer the wheel of the movements necessary to raise many new emerging questions which need to be studied and debated; in the Dhabas of JNU and in the core domain of our democracy i.e. politics and policy making.
The dignitaries who extensively shared their experiences, memories about PRABHAT and UTSA were SITARAM YECHURY, PROF G K CHADDHA, Former VC JNU, PROF. JAYATI GHOSH (CESP), PROF. C.P. CHANDRASHEKHAR (CESP), PROF. ZOYA HASAN (CPS), PROF ANURADHA CHENOY (SIS), PROF ANWAR PASHA (SL), PROF. S S JODHKA(SSS), PROF. KAMAL MITRA CHENOY(SIS) and others.
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