Bartaman Bharat
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''Bartaman Bharat'' (translated to English as ''Modern India'' or ''Present Day India'') is a
Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second m ...
essay written by Indian Hindu monk
Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...
. The essay was first published in the March 1899 issue of '' Udbodhan'', the only Bengali language magazine of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. The essay was published as a book in 1905, and later it was compiled into the fourth volume of ''The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda''. In this essay, Vivekananda briefly discussed and analyzed the entire Indian history and predicted a period of mass-awakening when the society will be ruled by the ''
Shudra Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class ser ...
s''. The essay showed deep concern for India's distressed and poor people. He urged Indians to treat each other as brothers irrespective of their
caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
.


Background

After returning from the West in 1897, Vivekananda visited many Indian states. In January 1899, he started the Bengali magazine ''Udbodhan'', a publication of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. He wrote Bengali essays ''Bhabbar Kotha'', ''Bartaman Bharat'', ''Parvrajak'' and ''Prachya o Paschatya'' for ''Udbodhan''. The Bengali essay ''Bartaman Bharat'' was first published in the ''Udbodhan'' in March 1899.


Synopsis

In this essay Vivekananda briefly recounted and analyzed the entire history of India, from the time when Vedic priests used to be rulers of the society to the occupation of the country by the British. But, his main focus was on his contemporary India. Wikisource:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 4/Translation: Prose/Modern India He tried to describe how the society was first ruled by Vedic priests (''
Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
''), who were followed by the mighty rulers, who had powers in their hands for thousands of years and were finally succeeded by ''
Vaishya Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four Varna (Hinduism), varnas of the Hinduism, Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy. The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly ...
'' power. Then the author predicted that following this cyclical rule, the ''Vaishyas too will lose their glory one day and the lowermost class of the Indian society ''
Shudra Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class ser ...
s'' will rise to power and the whole society will be ruled by them. He urged Indians to treat and honour each other as brothers despite their caste or financial condition. He suggested not to forget that
Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...
, Savitri,
Damayanti ''Damayanti'' (Sanskrit: दमयंती) is a character in a love story found in the Vana Parva book of the Mahabharata. She was the daughter of Bhima (not the Pandava one) and a princess of the Vidarbha Kingdom, who married King Nala of ...
are the ideals of Indian womanhood. He asked to consider the soil of India as one's heaven and the good of India as one's own good. He also suggested not to foolishly imitate the West. He wrote—
O India, this is your terrible danger. The spell of imitating the West is getting such a strong hold upon you that what is good or what is bad is no longer decided by reason, judgment, discrimination, or reference to the Shastras. Whatever ideas, whatever manners the white men praise or like are good; whatever things they dislike or censure are bad. Alas! what can be a more tangible proof of foolishness than this?
The conclusion of his essay has now become a "standard college or high school text".


Publication

The essay was first published in the March 1899 issue of ''Udbodhan''. In 1905 the essay was re-printed and published as a book from the same publication. The preface of the book was written by Swami Saradananda.


Significance

According to Swami Murlidharananda, in this essay, Vivekananda expressed his desire to see the regeneration of India. Srivastava, the writer of ''Teacher in Emerging Indian Society'' wrote in this essay Vivekananda felt that a purpose of our education should be providing service to the humanity too.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Swami Vivekananda Works by Swami Vivekananda 1905 non-fiction books 1899 essays