Nearly seven decades ago…… In a rare first in America, a few blacks joined graduation courses at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. World famous physicist Albert Einstein was present at the university on that historic occasion in May 1946. At Lincoln University, the Nobel laureate declared: “The separation of the races is not a disease of coloured people, but a disease of white people. I do not intend to be quiet about it.” The words that Einstein had said in 1946 have gradually become proverb. The anti-apartheid activists thanked the 20th Century genius for issuing such a statement while encouraging blacks to pursue higher studies.
However, the Nobel laureate had written something different in his diary in the 1920s. A special team of the California Institute of Technology has been conducting a research on Einstein’s research papers, personal letters and diary for several years. Ze’ev Rosenkranz, one of the researchers involved in the Einstein Paper Project, recently published some parts of the diary. Talking to the British media, Rosenkranz said: “I think a lot of comments strike us as pretty unpleasant…… They’re kind of in contrast to the public image of the great humanitarian icon. I think it’s quite a shock to read those and contrast them with his more public statements. They’re more off guard; he didn’t intend them for publication.”

Einstein with his wife Elsa

What’s there in the diary?
Einstein had used this diary for just five months, from October 1922 to March 1923, when he visited Sri Lanka, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Palestine and Spain. And he made many racist comments on the Chinese and Indian people in the diary. It is clear from his comments that the scientist used to believe that a person’s intelligence depends on his/her geographical location. He wrote that the Indians were “biologically inferior” because of the subcontinent’s climate that “prevented them from thinking backward or forward by more than a quarter of an hour“. “Wouldn’t we too, in this climate, become like the Indians?” asked Einstein.

A page from the diary

The genius also made some highly objectionable comments about the Chinese people. “I noticed how little difference there is between men and women; I don’t understand what kind of fatal attraction Chinese women possess which enthrals the corresponding men to such an extent that they are incapable of defending themselves against the formidable blessing of offspring,” stressed Einstein.
According to Rosenkranz, it’s not that Einstein’s comments simply reflect the era. He expressed his own beliefs. “We need to look at our own prejudices and attitudes. We need to not just be judgmental about Einstein, but to have an honest look at ourselves as well,” said Rosenkranz.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das