LIBERATING INDIAN MIND- 38

Looking back we find Agricultural Revolution as it was so fondly called by Childe was not a revolution but a prolonged transformation involving violence no doubt. As we mentioned at the outset, it is still continuing with aggravating food problem and growing population pressure. It is too complex to be understood superficially.

Secondly, although Urban Revolution was impossible without advanced trade and commerce, a sequel to surplus food on the one hand and creation of a deprived section in want of food and ready to do the odd job to get a share in the surplus. Looking from this angle agriculture forms the root of all subsequent developments, but the irony is that the pioneers of agriculture or their heirs were not the authors of urbanization. It was the entry of those deprived of their land, and were forced to join ranks with the former that made all the technical developments possible that demanded intense work and attention. The pioneers kept their control over all sorts of wealth and developed the organs of control- army or armed section, law, a psychological mechanism to reward and punish during the lifetime and even afterwards. This is much better explained by super structure complex in Marxist jargon. What is paradoxical is that an aspiring section of those whose class or compatriots had to bear the brunt enthusiastically offered their services to man these institutions of control. Why? We have to find an answer.
A point needs special attention is that despite its cardinal importance agricultural operations confine the mental exercises in such a cruel way that a peasant is cut off from the wider world. The care of his crop no doubt allowed him some relief during off season, but his domestic animals did not. Like isolation prisoners he is closely bound to his land and isolated from the world. It similarly limits his knowledge and imagination. That is one reason why those confined to villages are thought to be coarse, impolite, less informed, and a bit unruly. This is what vulgar, rustic, ganwar (गंवार) ujadda (उजड्ड) only slightly better than wild, jangali (जंगली) in direct contrast to residents of a city, civilized, urbane, nagara (नागर) means.
If the peasants or say their progeny bracketed as the the three socially privileged Varnas, did not make any contribution to arts, except marshal art, dance, drama, technology we can understand their limitations. But theoretical sciences spared them from physical labour and so did literature. Their they not only excelled, but devised a mechanism in which they made it impossible for the Asuras and their progeny to enter this forbidden zone. We know that well and can therefore pass on without elaborating.

The problem that they faced at the outset was their failure to judge the proper season of a grain, and the proper time for sowing. This failure led to such frustrating experiences that some of the new comers returned to gathering again. It has been recorded as displeasure of the seasons and was interpreted as their pressure for a share in agricultural production. However this led to counting the days of the year, and detailed scheme to ward off errors. Counting of lunar months followed in other ancient civilizations was easier. They had no problems deciding the right time for sowing. Flooding Euphrates, Tigris and the Nile determined the time for them. So was the case with counting the number of years. Simple knowledge of numbers served their purpose well. The case of India was altogether different. Even Summer crops for which field was kept in readiness waiting for the monsoons could be spoiled by pre-monsoon shower followed by dry spell. Winter crop followed many patterns according to the soil and withdrawal of water in floodplain. They had to mark the time by attaching some importance to the days and months. We avoid detailing the parvas (पर्व) or knots of time held sacred on various pretenses. Most of them are observed by women and therefore we feel tempted to confirm the belief that initiative in agricultural activities was taken by women.

Astronomy had to take its roots in India and all the humbug created by those who tried to convince us that Indians borrowed the science from Mesopotamian was part of a cheap academic politics. This gave impetus to mathematics, geometry etc.

The Brahmans later established their authority through language control and knowledge control and therefore did much to alienate the language of theoretical knowledge from the common men and keep the rest of the society at a bay so simultaneously they tried to make the language more difficult and did enviable work on philosophy and grammar. The rest of the arts and sciences demanding practical work remained property of the Asuras accommodated as Shudras, who they patronized and encouraged.