Relevance of the ideology of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio in modern India

What the proud people of Young India need now more than anytime else is scientific temper, free thinking, to question, and not to accept anything blindly at face value, agnosticism, rationalism and scepticism rather than perverse religious intolerance and fundamentalism, communalism to which India is degenerating and deteriorating under the present dispensation.

In “To India - My Native Land”, Derozio writes of the "past glory" of India and how the

country that was once "worshipped as a deity" has been chained down to the lowest depths. Derozio writes about some of that heritage of the distant past and in return hopes for a "kind wish" from the country and its people.

Compared to "thy day of glory past" our country has now been "chained down at last", and is reduced to "grovelling in the lowly dust".

Derozio's later religious skepticism is sometimes attributed to David Drummond, who was known as a freethinker. Henry Louis Vivian Derozio organized debates where ideas and social norms were freely debated. In 1828, he motivated students to form a literary and debating club called the Academic Association.

Due to backlash from conservative parents who disliked his wide-ranging and open discussion of religious issues, Derozio was dismissed from his post as teacher in English literature and history at the new Hindu College in April 1831, shortly before his death.

The political activities of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio have also been seen as crucially

important to the development of a public sphere in Calcutta during British rule. The public sphere (German: Öffentlichkeit), an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion, influence political action. A “Public” is “of or concerning the people as a whole.” Such a discussion is called public debate and is defined as the expression of views on matters that are of concern to the public—often, but not always, with opposing or diverging views being expressed by participants in the discussion. Public debate takes place mostly through the mass media, but also at meetings or through social media, academic publications, and government policy documents.

For a nation with a long history of Hindu religious atheism, scepticism, agnosticism and rationalism, Bharata the land where scientific atheism originated in the world, people have the right to express their views on issues which concerns and verily affects them, whether the masses approve or like it or not! To me, what ancient India taught was we should never take anything at face value. Always ask questions! Question more. Agnosticism, atheism, rationalism...Hindu religious Philosophies like Samkhya, Charvaka or Lokayata. India was sui generis! India was the greatest nation ever on earth! The world’s 1st atheist nation! What happened to our scientific temper... The absolute and unconditional freedom of speech and expression, the open and unfettered philosophical

debates on atheism without fear or favour...Somewhere along the way, we, our ancient nation, lost our way and sunk into the abyss of oblivion and degeneration!

My homage to Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (18 April 1809 – 26 December 1831) on the occasion of his anniversary of death.

"My country! in thy day of glory past

A beauteous halo circled round thy brow...", Henry Louis Vivian Derozio in "To India - My Native Land".