Govind Gujar: entomologist's journey to understand the Society we live in

Many years ago, I found out the 101-ft high statue of Hanuman, monkey God revered in my home town. I asked a colleague as to why they found it necessary to build one and why did not they build a school, college or a hospital. His answer was- people like to be blessed by God and hence, they are willing to donate. However, it is difficult to get donation for social cause. People think that it is the job of Government to provide for infrastructure, educational and other facilities.   A statue of Hanuman draws a crowd of 50-100 every day and being on a roadside and railside, people see it daily even from a distance and have their blessings. Yesterday, a neighbour of mine visited us with a pamphlet of Indraprastha Vishwa Hindu Parishad which is organizing a “Great Religious ( read as Hindu ) Gathering” at Ram leela Ground on the 9 th Dec., 2018. And this gathering is meant to prevail up on the Government to remove all hurdles in the construction of Ram Mandir (temple) at Ayodhya. Of

I am across the first case of suicide in the year 1973 when I was a M.Sc. student. One of my seniors doing Ph.D. had committed suicide. He was in-service candidate who had come to Delhi for his higher studies. Coping with professional needs with that of family seemed to be too much. I am told that he committed suicide for personal reasons. Prior to that, one of the scientists of our Institute had committed suicide due to professional problem. The concerned scientist did not do well in his experimentation and feared wrath of his supervisor. Probably this may not be only problem. Some commit suicide for purely economic reasons, as they are unable to find job despite good education. And if they are in job, they do not have either job satisfaction or work environment is not good enough to progress. As I goggle through internet, I understand that suicide is one of the important causes of death of young and mid-career persons in many developed countries. Of course, in such countries, the