Comprehension

आंतरराष्ट्रीय राजकारणाचे शास्त्र बाल्यावस्थेत आहे. भूतकाळात, म्हणजे 1914 च्या सुमारास आंतरराष्ट्रीय संबंध त्यामध्ये व्यावसायिक दृष्टया गुंतलेल्या लोकांचा मामला होता. लोकशाही देशांमध्ये परंपरेने परराष्ट्र धोरण हे पक्षीय राजकारणाच्या व्याप्तीच्या पलीकडले मानले गेले; आणि परराष्ट्र खात्यांच्या गुढ व्यवहारांवर बारिक नियंत्रण ठेवण्यास आपण सक्षम आहोत असे प्रातिनिधिक संस्थांना वाटत नव्हते. ब्रिटीश नाविक दलाने आपल्या संभाव्य शत्रुंच्या संदर्भात असलेले वर्चस्व जे त्या काळात आवश्यक मानले जावयाचे काही काळासाठी जरी गमावले, किंवा परंपरेने ब्रिटीशांचे हित संबंध असलेल्या वा तसे मानले गेलेल्या प्रदेशात युद्ध सुरू झाले तर ब्रिटीश जनमत सहज प्रक्षोभित होत असे. सक्तीची लष्कर भरती आणि वर्षानुवर्षे परकीय आक्रमणाची भीती यामुळे युरोपच्या खंडीय भागात लोकांमध्ये एक सर्वसाधारण, सततची आणि सहज अशी आंतरराष्ट्रीय प्रश्नांसंबंधीची जाणीव होती. परंतु या जाणीवेची अभिव्यक्ती मुख्यतः कामगार चळवळीच्या माध्यमातून होत असे ज्यायोगे कामगार चळवळीने वेळोवेळी पोथीनिष्ठ असे युद्धविरोधी ठराव पारित केले. अध्यक्षांनी सिनेटच्या (वरिष्ठ सभागृह) सल्ल्याने आणि मान्यतेने करार पूर्ण करावेत अशी अद्वितीय तरतूद अमेरिकेच्या राज्यघटनेमध्ये होती. परंतु या अपवादात्मक तरतूदीला व्यापक महत्त्व प्राप्त करून देण्याच्या दृष्टीने अमेरिकेचे परराष्ट्र संबंध अत्यंत तोकडे होते. राजनयाच्या रंगतदार पैलूंना मात्र बातमीचे मूल्य होते. परंतु विद्यापीठात काय किंवा बुद्धीवाद्यांच्या व्यापक वर्तुळांमध्ये काय, वर्तमान आंतरराष्ट्रीय घडामोडींचा सुसंबद्ध अभ्यास केला जात नव्हता. युद्ध हे अजूनही मुख्यतः सैनिकांचे काम मानले जात होते; आणि त्या ओघानेच आंतरराष्ट्रीय राजकारण हे राजनैतिक अधिकाऱ्यांचे काम मानले गेले. आंतरराष्ट्रीय घडामोडींचे संचालन व्यावसायिकांच्या हातून काढून घ्यावे किंवा ते काय करीत आहेत त्याकडे गंभीरपणे आणि पद्धतशीरपणे लक्ष द्यावे अशी सर्वसाधारण इच्छाही नव्हती. Question number 26 to 30: The beginnings of a science The science of international politics is in its infancy. Down to 1914, the conduct of international relations was the concern of persons professionally engaged in it. In democratic countries, foreign policy was traditionally regarded as outside the scope of party politics; and the representative organs did not feel themselves competent to exercise any close control over the mysterious operations of foreign offices. In Great Britain, public opinion was readily aroused if war occurred in any region traditionally regarded as a sphere of British interest, or if the British navy momentarily ceased to possess that margin of superiority over potential rivals which was then deemed essential. In continental Europe, conscription and the chronic fear of foreign invasion had created a more general and continuous popular awareness of international problems. But this awareness found expression mainly in the labour movement, which from time to time passed somewhat academic resolutions against war. The Constitution of the United States of America contained the unique provision that treaties were concluded by the President "by and with the advice and consent of the Senate". But the foreign relations of the United States seemed too parochial to lend any wider significance to this exception. The more picturesque aspects of diplomacy had a certain news value. But nowhere, whether in universities or in wider intellectual circles, was there organized study of current international affairs. War was still regarded mainly as the business of soldiers; and the corollary of this was that international politics, was the business of diplomats. There was no general desire to take the conduct of international affairs out of the hands of the professionals or even to pay serious and systematic attention to what they were doing.

Following the microlith groupings along the hill, one conclusion is unavoidable. These tools represent the pre-metal and pre-pottery stage when the valley bottom was not cleared of jungle. With herds of animals, considerable food-gathering, sporadic cultivation to eke out and some hunting, they may be called Mesolithic cultures. Such a population had to shift constantly from place to place. Permanent settlement could not come before the advent of cheap metal like iron. It is difficult to imagine the use of iron anywhere in the Deccan, earlier to the Mauryan conquest. The deposits of copper in this region are uncommon. Even the Arthashastra does not speak of iron in this area. The natural route of the savages before the swampy or forested valleys were opened for cultivation, must have been along the hillocks. The groups that moved along these tracks could not have been numerous. There was no question of their possessing land, for land-ownership is not a primitive concept. Fixed plots were meaningless till the plough had conquered the soil. For this, the fertile bottom lands had to be cleared of forest, which was not possible in our monsoon country without iron tools in plenty. Land to the savage is territory, not property. In my opinion the still revered Maharashtrian custom of 'gamva-sai' dates back to the presettlement days. This used to be the propitiation (at such date as the Bhagat might set) of all local deities, spirits and goblins. The characteristic feature was that villages used to get deserted as every human being had to leave the village for seven or nine days. After living in the fields or under trees for the period, and performing the required worship and blood sacrifices, the inhabitants would return with the hope of better crops, eradication of diseases and general well-being. The ceremonial return must be being conceived as resettlement. The fixed cult-spots for pre-agricultural people would necessarily be where their regular paths crossed, places where they met for barter, where the communities performed ceremonies or where they celebrated their periodic fertility cults together. Thus, the crossways were logically the sites for the mother-goddess cults.