IDEOLOGY OR TECHNOLOGY?

The choice is not as baffling as Hamlets predicament: to be or not to be. If ideology means a set of ideas that form the basis of an economic or political theory, or that are held by a particular group or community, technology stands for scientific study and use of mechanical arts and applied sciences. Over a period of time, both ideology and technology have ac uired a strong gravitational force that has rendered them more as combatants than as comrades!in!arm. To the unsuspecting or uncritical, progressive ideology may appear seriously dealing "ith issues li#e poverty, social ine uality, deprivation, e$ploitation, et al and technology too may seem trying to grapple "ith human problems that hinder faster economic development, better means of communication and transport, improving uality of life and living conditions, updating the frontiers of #no"ledge, et al. If their aims are meant for human "elfare, "hy is technology being preferred over ideology in the present "orld% The uestion is e ually rigorous and relevant and calls for cool consideration and discreet discussion.

In concept and comple$ion, ideology tends to become infle$ible if ne" inputs are not allo"ed to revitalise and re&uvenate its contents and contours. Technology, though fle$ible and for"ard!loo#ing, is also sub&ect to becoming a terrible tool of death and destruction in the hands of evil. 'ince technology has managed to occupy the centre stage of the "orld, and rightly so, any conflict or competition bet"een ideology and technology is not only untimely but also untenable. There is no denying the fact that technology has ac uired the po"er and potential to turn and t"ist our senses and sensibilities. It is the practical application of technology that determines its pivotal place in our concerns and calculations. (lthough human#ind desperately needs the three paramount pillars of )andhian thought and practice*Truth, (himsa and )oodness* yet it is the fast tempo of life, coupled "ith "orldly success and a candid control over time and space, that stands out as something tangible and telling as compared to abstractions.

The uestion that needs to stir our conscience should be: +an "e afford to abandon our concern for socio!political causes and commitments to human values that lend meaning, motive and mission to our perceptions and practices% Has ideology become irrelevant and irrational in the deluge that science and technology has unleashed% ,o doubt, technology is on the march to attain more and more milestones. -ut technology devoid of political philosophy, economic egalitarianism and social &ustice for all is fraught "ith dangerous dimensions. ( "orld "here only technology matters is li#ely to become as perilous as a single trac# mind obsessed "ith fantasies bordering on phantoms.

There is near unanimity on the vie" held the "orld over that technology unites people, irrespective of their colour or creed, "hereas ideology divides them and puts them in "ater!tight compartments. The memories of .+oncentration +amps, .)as +hambers and other forms of genocide associated "ith ideologies li#e /ascism, ,a0ism, 1ar$ism and the li#e are too chilling and blood curdling to be easily erased from mental screens. 2 ually unnerving and unsettling are the events and their conse uences that "ere the direct outcome or fallout of the holocaust let loose by nuclear technology mindlessly employed during the closing years of 3orld 3ar II 456789. The division of the "orld in t"o po"er blocs, and the traumas of +old 3ar *all in the name of ideology*is too fresh an irritant that none in his:her senses "ould ever "ish their repetition.

Technology is indispensable in "hatever age "e may be living. 2 ually important is the place of socio!economic:political system that assures the benefits of progress reaching the last person under the sun. )enerally, "hen "e tal# of ideology, "e seem to discuss some philosophy that is retrograde, but "hen "e eulogise technology, "e appear to s"im "ith the current. If technology promises the best no", ideology holds the promise of the best to be in future. In fact, technology has been called a great social leveller. 3hat ideology fails to achieve and fulfil, technology does "ithout much pride and pre&udice.

3ith the spread of liberal education, and cross migration of people from one region to the other, it has become literally impossible for the die!hards to resist the vibrant influences that technology has imprinted on human psyche. /or the paradigms of ideology, that purport to promote social services li#e education, health care, potable "ater, houses, employment, etc for all, it better &oin hands "ith the ever e$panding hori0ons of technology and thus play the role of an interlocutor. Instead of being at loggerheads, both humane ideology and to"ering technology can "or# hand in glove "ith each other.