Here is an Indian, truely patriotic,finding fault with his

own culture and the age-old values it imbibed on the minds of

its people. The language,style and approach he takes suggests

that he deliberately chooses to be sarcastic. He wants to shock

his countrymen out of complacence.The deep note of patriotism

and sincere wish to rectify the condition also is unmistakable.

That gives his argument credibility and acceptability. He argues

that culture can kill and the Indian culture killed the

very zeal and initiative of the Indians for progress and modernity.

How,otherwise,can a country that produces more than 2.5 lakh

engineers and 3 million university graduates every year manages to

remain one of the poorest countries in the world, he asks.

So much so that 260 million people live below poverty-line.

He holds culture responsible for this.

Any culture that stiffles the very urge for modernity and

innovation and rational thinking fails to promote progress.

Indian culture did this for centuries, says Subodh.The greatest

drawback of this culture,he says,is that it has constantly imbibed

on the minds of its people the ridiculous values like glory in poverty,

not to expect fruits from whatever you do, not to hate your enemy even when

he is bent on killing you in war,the soul is great and the body is an object of

decay and so to be neglected,excessive justification of selflessness etc.

This has not only weakened the indian society but has also rendered it inert and self-satisfied. They burried themselves in the nostalgic memories

of the past glory of their 'great culture'. The world marched ahead and embraced

industrialisation and scientific achievements while India kept talking about

its myths and scriptures and their spiritual superiority over the 'evil'

westerners.Money,to them, was a corrupting force. Science and the rational

attitude it promotes was to be shunned with all the moral inner force. The

natural and the only possible result was that it lagged behind.

Solution ? Change the culture that failed to uphold you and create another,

more healthy,more rational,more modern.

There is a kind of pungent rhetoric which is deliberate. In an attempt to

ridicule each and everything that comes his way, Subodh , sometimes passes

unkind remarks. For example, his comment that Islam is the cruelest of

all religions, or his comment " Why did we need the 'evil' westerners to show

us the natural art of defecating in better style?"And his comment that Buddhism

and Jainism further weakened the Indians by preaching Ahimsa(non-violence).

Subodh's book should be read for a merciless mask-tearing attempt which

sometimes is necessary for a hypocritical society.