Partha S Ghosh
The Boston Pledge
There is an emerging consensus worldwide that governance of geo-political and geo-economic system need a fundamental shift; - such a shift must reset how humanity engages with nature, how nations and individuals engage with each other, and most importantly how we engage with our inner conscience.
In that context India, particularly Bengal, must switch from the current viscous cycle of lackluster performance to virtuous cycle of enlightenment, - powered by Indian subcontinents rich philosophical ethos, which was elegantly and effectively expressed by the towering personalities from Bengal to influence not only the subcontinents’ future but also to introduce to the world fundamentally new thoughts, - from God particle to Universality of the humanity.
Unfortunately, in spite of such a rich cultural, spiritual, intellectual, economic heritage and multitude of success stories in different fields of human endeavor, today collectively Bengal presents a gloomy picture, a picture which is continuously fading, a picture which is difficult to preserve, a picture which is painful for its people within and outside to decipher. Time has come we must rise. Bengal to reclaim the spirit of Renaissance that was exhibited from the time of Atish Dipankar to Chaitanya Maha-prabhu to Swami Vivekananda, from Raja Ram Mohan Roy to Satyajit Roy, and several dozens in between, - in philosophy to philanthropy, in spiritualty to science, in entrepreneurship to entertainment, in sports to cultural/social reforms. A towering role for Bengal is on the global stage is indeed overdue.
It is my hope through coordinated and courageous, selfless, and self-confident efforts, we will be able to initiate a process which will trigger the second renaissance in Bengal and in the entire subcontinent. In the process, could Bengal as it has done in the past offer to the global community a more enlightened evolution of the global civilization which it is eagerly looking for? I do believe it is indeed very much within the realm of possibility, if only we engage with the foundational issues, - with a holistic perspective, a strategic mind-set, and human centric programs.
Of course, we cannot linearly extend the past into the future. Bengal and Bengalis worldwide will need to chart a new trajectory, a “new S-curve” of socioeconomic advancement with an enlightened purpose. We will need to think of nutrition with the highest level of seriousness along three dimensions – nutrition of the body, nutrition of the intellect, and nutrition of inner conscience.
