Amb. Ronen Sen visited our state – and I had the honor of being one of his hosts and therefore spent time with him as we drove to various meetings. I have not had time to write a full article – but here are some brief glimpses.. At the luncheon – I asked him about the origin of “Scientific Temper” reference in the Indian Constitution. He responded that while the Indian constitution was influenced by the US constitution (except of course for the right to bear arms), the constituent assembly that debated the constitution – with leadership from Nehru, Sardar Patel and others, decided that the pursuit of Science was something that was lost during the DARK AGES of the Mughal rule and had to be restored. The Vedic Culture had and has a strong tradition of science and he recited the ” Hymn of Creation” from the RigVeda as an example.
Another interesting comment was during the meeting with Governor. Governor made a comment about the enormous growth of the Indian economy to which the Amb. Sen responded – yes we add about 6m new phone subscribers a month. There was a silence as the magnitude of 6m sunk in – for this state barely has 2.7m in population.
In the luncheon with the Speaker of the House, a comment was made about India emerging from poverty and becoming a developed nation. Amb. Sen corrected it as “we are re-gaining our lost riches, we are re-gaining our position as a developed nation – we were after all a third of the world’s GDP few hundred years ago”.
Filed under: Diwali, Foreign Affairs, India, Vedic | Tagged: Ambassador, Hymn of Creation, India, Rig Veda, Ronen Sen
