To spend time with Jit is to come back away feeling enlightened, however you don’t fairly know why. It is a uncommon expertise for anyone to step out only for a chat and return with an mental nugget. He was such a charmer outdoors the classroom with pals, however he might be a fiendish taskmaster as a instructor. I’ve seen either side of the person.

What is exceptional about his aphorisms is that they’re all profoundly mental however had been delivered with informal ease. It will instantly be evident that each one of them are beautiful for his or her theoretical insights. This is very like a lightning that blinds one and the lesson reverberates steadily because the phrases start to sink in.

Aphorism 1: On the sociology of faith, here’s a Jit gem: “There is nothing two Hindus can do which one Hindu cannot.” This instantly alerts us to the truth that, not like Abrahamic religions, Hinduism doesn’t really want a congregation as “moksha” is gained by means of inside correction. This is true for different Indic religions, however not Sikhism, which centralises the “sangat”.

Aphorism 2: For those that prize English schooling in India, ponder over this Jit aphorism. “The fundament of English education in England is to be taught in your mother tongue.” This will sadden snobs for they actually didn’t get an English schooling within the English medium colleges they went to in India. Not solely does such an commentary shake previous prejudices nevertheless it impacts coverage too.

Aphorism 3: It is frequent for educationists to envy these within the company sector for being higher paid. Another Jit gem ought to assist appropriate this notion. For Jit: “The remunerations for a pastoral job, such as that of a teacher, soldier or priest will never equal their contribution to society.” How are you able to reward a soldier for giving his life, a priest for saving your soul or a instructor for opening your thoughts?

Aphorism 4: Jit Uberoi had written extensively on science and modernity and his views on this topic are sometimes not straightforward to know. There is assist coming with one other of his aphorisms. It goes this manner: “Pure science collaborates but applied science competes.” In a nutshell, it tells us that data develops throughout nations however is vulnerable to enclosures by capital and revenue.

Aphorism 5: Thorstein Veblen’s idea of “conspicuous consumption” of the leisure class is broadly identified. On this be aware too, Jit had a complementary commentary on “conspicuous pomp” and that deserves recognition as effectively. This is finest introduced out in his aphorism: “A pretender is known by the escorts he keeps.” Now we all know why dictators romp about the best way they do.

Aphorism 6: Jit wrote extensively about western aesthetics, Europe’s unfair occupation of modernity, and schism in Christianity, however he was additionally an Indian sociologist. His quest was to make the acquisition of information a dedication and never a pastime made up of tales and narratives. This is why he stated as soon as: “When a subject gets easy, its students get sloppy.”

After I learn his Other Mind of Europe, I hesitated some time earlier than I instructed him that it was not a simple learn. Jit, to my shock, was delighted and stated: “If it was not easy for me to write the book, it should also not be easy for you to read it.” I by no means all the time absolutely understood what Jit stated and wrote at first blush, however he all the time lit up my mind in areas I didn’t know existed.

I first met Professor Uberoi once I was a callow scholar in 1969 and he was my tutor for 3 phrases out of 4. This was relatively uncommon, for tutors modified each time period and I then took my pressured tutelage underneath him as a punishment. I needed to relearn how you can assemble easy sentences for he deducted one mark every time I wrote “however” in my assignments.

From these early days until now, so far as I’m involved, “however” will without end be suspect or no matter, each time. However, will probably be laborious to neglect Professor J P S Uberoi within the years left to me.

The author is a sociologist