Monday, December 01, 2008
Al Qaeda and the barbarous Mumbai massacre
The brazen Mumbai attack follows an old AQ blue print, says this piece
Friday, November 28, 2008
war on India
now terrorism has morphed into what it always was, more openly, more brazenly and more shamelessly than ever. with deep anguish I write these lines...yet again our nation has failed before an enemy it is not willing to understand. as this article on south asia analysis says, how dare these sick men preach to us Indians! we are a democracy, however much imperfect we are, we still have noble ideals which we have set out to follow...and what are they? a country built on blood of innocents, who have ethnically cleansed their minorities and till today have no rights for them..a country ruled by dictator donkeys forever and who know no human rights..they preaching to us and claiming to fight for our rights? what audacity!
to quote from the article:
I ask today, as I rage at these terrorists who may not even be citizens of my country, how dare you speak for people of this country? And if it is Babri Masjid and Gujarat that you avenge, how many times should we apologise as a nation and justify your barbarity with heads hung in shame and guilt written on our faces? If we are paying the price for being a tolerant and democratic (although not perfect) nation (there are many dissenting voices tolerated in this country including the voices that speak of hatred against communities of all kinds, voices that talk of revenge and exclusion and voices that are overtly seditious against the state), I reject the guilt, shame and tolerance today for it makes me your ‘enemy’. You punish our innocent people for crimes of a few; and scream hoarse when the ‘innocent’ in your community are held up because of your barbarity. You reject our diversity (of our opinion and politics as well that has defended you and stood for you always), you do not like it when we have spoken with different voices.
I am praying that atleast this latest attack wakes our people up..our leaders up..
well it might take a long time when India can stand up to Islamist terror but I believe in our destinty and no matter how many years it takes, one day we will get there and get there as we are, and not as mirror images of those beasts.
to quote from the article:
I ask today, as I rage at these terrorists who may not even be citizens of my country, how dare you speak for people of this country? And if it is Babri Masjid and Gujarat that you avenge, how many times should we apologise as a nation and justify your barbarity with heads hung in shame and guilt written on our faces? If we are paying the price for being a tolerant and democratic (although not perfect) nation (there are many dissenting voices tolerated in this country including the voices that speak of hatred against communities of all kinds, voices that talk of revenge and exclusion and voices that are overtly seditious against the state), I reject the guilt, shame and tolerance today for it makes me your ‘enemy’. You punish our innocent people for crimes of a few; and scream hoarse when the ‘innocent’ in your community are held up because of your barbarity. You reject our diversity (of our opinion and politics as well that has defended you and stood for you always), you do not like it when we have spoken with different voices.
I am praying that atleast this latest attack wakes our people up..our leaders up..
well it might take a long time when India can stand up to Islamist terror but I believe in our destinty and no matter how many years it takes, one day we will get there and get there as we are, and not as mirror images of those beasts.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Indian tricolur on the moon
how does it feel to be among the only 4 countries on the planet that have their flags planted on the moon!
The Indian Triolour is now fluttering on the moon - a nation is over the moon today!
The Indian Triolour is now fluttering on the moon - a nation is over the moon today!
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
CNN goes Obi Wan Kenobi!
Jessica Yellin of CNN has had the fortune of doing a Princess Leia for the first time in this solar system of ours:
watch this amazing video where she beams into CNN's election centre last night all the way from Chicago's Grant Park!
the force is all powerful :)
watch this amazing video where she beams into CNN's election centre last night all the way from Chicago's Grant Park!
the force is all powerful :)
Obama victory!
as someone who hasnt really been convinced about Obama- I feel humbled at being witness to history as just moments back, he clinched the Presidency of the most powerful nation on earth. Seeing millions in Chicago's Grant Park and the genuine feeling of joy and empowerment among the African-Americans across the USA is indeed humbling.
History has been made. And I am honoured to see it all in live action - all the way from the gruelling primary battles with Hillary to this day here. I watched McCain concede defeat graciously and Obama deliver his eloquent acceptance speech, ending with his famously preachy tone of 'yes we can' live on the BBC webcast.
Well this Obama presidency may really not turn out to be all 'goody-goody' as people, often even naively, expect it. For India particularly*, the 'special relationship' with the US under GWB might be diluted. There might be pressure on Kashmir and non-proliferation. But just for the sake of sheer joy of millions in America whose faith in their democracy has been restored this is a remarkable victory.
*But then this is how the world is, what happened during the second term of W. was grace, a rare apportunity for India and obviously it was not going to last forever. Now is the time for India to realize the limits of patronization and the necessity for perseverence. No matter who rules in the US and the world, we in India must work to solve our problems and work towards fulfilment of our destinty.
** on a related note, we can take this rediff.com (which is unabashedly pro-Democrat usually) compilation of Obama's views on India taken out of context with some pinch of salt.
History has been made. And I am honoured to see it all in live action - all the way from the gruelling primary battles with Hillary to this day here. I watched McCain concede defeat graciously and Obama deliver his eloquent acceptance speech, ending with his famously preachy tone of 'yes we can' live on the BBC webcast.
Well this Obama presidency may really not turn out to be all 'goody-goody' as people, often even naively, expect it. For India particularly*, the 'special relationship' with the US under GWB might be diluted. There might be pressure on Kashmir and non-proliferation. But just for the sake of sheer joy of millions in America whose faith in their democracy has been restored this is a remarkable victory.
*But then this is how the world is, what happened during the second term of W. was grace, a rare apportunity for India and obviously it was not going to last forever. Now is the time for India to realize the limits of patronization and the necessity for perseverence. No matter who rules in the US and the world, we in India must work to solve our problems and work towards fulfilment of our destinty.
** on a related note, we can take this rediff.com (which is unabashedly pro-Democrat usually) compilation of Obama's views on India taken out of context with some pinch of salt.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
the State of the Union
Chandrayaan, Deepavali and the continuing social unrest...
There was some sweet news from India in the past few weeks, but the continuing rumble of severe social unrest is worrying and is spoiling all the joy.
The succesful launch of Chandrayaan-1 moon mission was very heart-warming. Although we still are a bit away from manned space missions and quite a distance from where other established world powers are, this was a powerful showcase of our increasingly advancing technical prowess. I hope we indeed go on to develop a space propgramme, one that will give our kids (for once, real- and not bollywood type reel-) starry eyes and dreams!
But the disturbing signs of rapidly spreading social unrest - semingly unending and increasingly audacious Islamist terrorist attacks (Mumbai, Gujarat, Delhi, Manipur, Guwahati...) with fuzzy masterminds, the resurrected parochialism and separatism in the Kashmir valley, the ugly Marathi-Uttarbharatiya spat following on the heels of Tamil-Kannadiga discord on Cauvery, rudderless and chaotic pandering to Tamil ethnocentric passions, rowdy clashes with Christians and Maoist Terror in the tribal belts - and now an irresponsible trial-by-media and the 'Hindu Terror' namecalling : really points to a leadership clueless on the state of the nation.
with the global financial crisis likely to hit investments into India badly over the coming months and such a restive society, the outlook appears very grave indeed. The Chandrayaan appears to be the one of the few silver linings on the cloud hiding the moon...
There was some sweet news from India in the past few weeks, but the continuing rumble of severe social unrest is worrying and is spoiling all the joy.
The succesful launch of Chandrayaan-1 moon mission was very heart-warming. Although we still are a bit away from manned space missions and quite a distance from where other established world powers are, this was a powerful showcase of our increasingly advancing technical prowess. I hope we indeed go on to develop a space propgramme, one that will give our kids (for once, real- and not bollywood type reel-) starry eyes and dreams!
But the disturbing signs of rapidly spreading social unrest - semingly unending and increasingly audacious Islamist terrorist attacks (Mumbai, Gujarat, Delhi, Manipur, Guwahati...) with fuzzy masterminds, the resurrected parochialism and separatism in the Kashmir valley, the ugly Marathi-Uttarbharatiya spat following on the heels of Tamil-Kannadiga discord on Cauvery, rudderless and chaotic pandering to Tamil ethnocentric passions, rowdy clashes with Christians and Maoist Terror in the tribal belts - and now an irresponsible trial-by-media and the 'Hindu Terror' namecalling : really points to a leadership clueless on the state of the nation.
with the global financial crisis likely to hit investments into India badly over the coming months and such a restive society, the outlook appears very grave indeed. The Chandrayaan appears to be the one of the few silver linings on the cloud hiding the moon...
Friday, October 17, 2008
this IS funny!
watch barak obama revealing his funny side.
and yes, its going to be releaved in the coming weeks that his middle name is 'steve' lol
and yes, its going to be releaved in the coming weeks that his middle name is 'steve' lol
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
beautiful words from Kate Knapp Johnson's poem Parker's Mountain
...I was twelve
and though I knew language
I did not know the meaning of things--
I lived within a lattice of time, unhurt,
undifferentiated, so that even in remembering now
there is only the singular quality
of that time itself; while I was there,
in its duration, I was possessed, wind-mastered
as the scrolled fields of clouds and disappointed
when the spell was broken and the real snow
came, and the cold.
(italics mine)
...I was twelve
and though I knew language
I did not know the meaning of things--
I lived within a lattice of time, unhurt,
undifferentiated, so that even in remembering now
there is only the singular quality
of that time itself; while I was there,
in its duration, I was possessed, wind-mastered
as the scrolled fields of clouds and disappointed
when the spell was broken and the real snow
came, and the cold.
(italics mine)
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
haikus
A haiku on life and lifelessness in urban enclaves
Torrential downpour-
Dry, morose, barren buildings;
solitary tree.
I was peering out of the window next to my desk at work: heavy rain. I love rain, for all its lifegiving energies. But here it was falling into a rectangular enclave of dry, barren buildings. But imagine even just a solitary tree in this picture, what a change it would bring to the experience!
On the response of India's pseudointelligentsia to Islamist terror
Pontificating:
from an ivory tower;
A shivering earth.
How long before the platforms of these pontificating falseleaders far removed from reality collapse? the earth has begun to tremble and shake - better for them to get down from those towers and egnage with truth - before it does so even more violently and drop them off their seats.
Torrential downpour-
Dry, morose, barren buildings;
solitary tree.
I was peering out of the window next to my desk at work: heavy rain. I love rain, for all its lifegiving energies. But here it was falling into a rectangular enclave of dry, barren buildings. But imagine even just a solitary tree in this picture, what a change it would bring to the experience!
On the response of India's pseudointelligentsia to Islamist terror
Pontificating:
from an ivory tower;
A shivering earth.
How long before the platforms of these pontificating falseleaders far removed from reality collapse? the earth has begun to tremble and shake - better for them to get down from those towers and egnage with truth - before it does so even more violently and drop them off their seats.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
what a magazine!
This is a lovely new magazine I've come across. This is the direction I'd like India's incipient 'enlightened rightwing' to take.
Its latest issue is dedicated to the morass in Kashmir valley and nails the coffin on its head on most issues I wanted to comment upon. Mandooka, the article 'No more partitions please, we are Indians' on pg 4 is a special read for you .
Its latest issue is dedicated to the morass in Kashmir valley and nails the coffin on its head on most issues I wanted to comment upon. Mandooka, the article 'No more partitions please, we are Indians' on pg 4 is a special read for you .
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Ramananda Sengupta puts it quite bluntly and appropriately in his recent piece. why Kashmir, start to give India away.
and if what he quotes has any truth in it, about intelligence sources saying that all this is a 'trial balloon' being floated by the UPA govt - let them just start on track and see what people's reaction will be. the movement they will precipitate will leave no one, no political party standing on its feet.
and if what he quotes has any truth in it, about intelligence sources saying that all this is a 'trial balloon' being floated by the UPA govt - let them just start on track and see what people's reaction will be. the movement they will precipitate will leave no one, no political party standing on its feet.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
battle for Kashmir's soul is the battle for India's soul
I have also sometimes pessimistically thought, 'ok lets just give up this piece of land, why keep fighting these rogues'. in pretty much the same vein as Mandooka does in his recent post.
But I was discussing with a friend of mine the other day and she reminded me of something, 'what about the rest of India then? many states have muslim majority areas. some states like UP, Bihar, Assam and WB have huge Muslim poulations, equalling or more than 25% of the state total'
extend those lines, and you have a recipe for a deadly broth. the majority areas in these regions could also follow the 'kashmir path': ethnically cleanse the Hindus and others out, claim a 'unique culture watered by the great river of Islam', 'historically separate' and then want to secede.
so ultimately, there is no short-term solution to the problem of Kashmir valley. we cannot give in to bullying by separatists. we have been very shoddy in the past 60 years in handling this problem. the battle in Kashmir is not about Pakistani landgrab or jehadi separatism per se, it actaully the battle for India's very soul: the very idea of what India is.
Can a people sharing a common spiritual culture yet diverse and even disparately different in practical matters manage to live together in harmony through the philosophy of Dharma? 'yes' is the Truth enshrined as India's soul. 'No' says Muslim separatism on the subcontinent. In fact Muslim separatism and extremism hold similar views all over the world. This battle cannot be won if we do not corner the moderate section and converse with it directly with the light from the lamp of India's soul flashed on its face. We have to engage all sections of Indian society and make them accept the idea of India - not just the Hindus, as has been done always.
in the Kashmir valley, we must slowly build a relationship with the moderate and rational leadership of the civil society. we must engage in a debate with them on the issues of sovereignty, religious fanaticism and pluralism, economic growth, freedom. I am sure the idea of India has enough to cover their aspirations in all these respects. I think this is the long term way forward. In the short term, we must not allow separatists to get away with mischief such as passing off a murder of their leader as a killing by security forces or creating an artificial myth of 'economic blockade'. also the larger civil society in India must rap the political class for their absentee leadership and bankrupt vision.
But I was discussing with a friend of mine the other day and she reminded me of something, 'what about the rest of India then? many states have muslim majority areas. some states like UP, Bihar, Assam and WB have huge Muslim poulations, equalling or more than 25% of the state total'
extend those lines, and you have a recipe for a deadly broth. the majority areas in these regions could also follow the 'kashmir path': ethnically cleanse the Hindus and others out, claim a 'unique culture watered by the great river of Islam', 'historically separate' and then want to secede.
so ultimately, there is no short-term solution to the problem of Kashmir valley. we cannot give in to bullying by separatists. we have been very shoddy in the past 60 years in handling this problem. the battle in Kashmir is not about Pakistani landgrab or jehadi separatism per se, it actaully the battle for India's very soul: the very idea of what India is.
Can a people sharing a common spiritual culture yet diverse and even disparately different in practical matters manage to live together in harmony through the philosophy of Dharma? 'yes' is the Truth enshrined as India's soul. 'No' says Muslim separatism on the subcontinent. In fact Muslim separatism and extremism hold similar views all over the world. This battle cannot be won if we do not corner the moderate section and converse with it directly with the light from the lamp of India's soul flashed on its face. We have to engage all sections of Indian society and make them accept the idea of India - not just the Hindus, as has been done always.
in the Kashmir valley, we must slowly build a relationship with the moderate and rational leadership of the civil society. we must engage in a debate with them on the issues of sovereignty, religious fanaticism and pluralism, economic growth, freedom. I am sure the idea of India has enough to cover their aspirations in all these respects. I think this is the long term way forward. In the short term, we must not allow separatists to get away with mischief such as passing off a murder of their leader as a killing by security forces or creating an artificial myth of 'economic blockade'. also the larger civil society in India must rap the political class for their absentee leadership and bankrupt vision.
Friday, August 22, 2008
post-independence day reflections
the ever so sublime lyrics in the heart-rending voice of Manna Dey..
'Ai mere pyarey watan'
Aye mere pyaarey watan aye mere bichhade chaman tujh pe dil kubraan
too hee meree aarazoo, too hee meree aabaru, too hee meree jaan
tere daaman se jo aaye, un hawaaon ko salaam
choom loo mai us zubaan ko jis pe aaye teraa naam
sab se pyaaree subah teree, sab se rangee teree shaam
maa kaa dil bankey kabhee seene se lag jaataa hai too
aaur kabhee nanheesee betee ban ke yaad aataa hai too
jitnaa yaad aataa hai too, utanaa tadapaataa hai too
chhodakar teree zameen ko door aa pahuche hain hum
fir bhee hai yahee tamannaa tere zarro kee kasam
hum jahaan paidaa huye, us jagah hee nikle ye dam
'Ai mere pyarey watan'
Aye mere pyaarey watan aye mere bichhade chaman tujh pe dil kubraan
too hee meree aarazoo, too hee meree aabaru, too hee meree jaan
tere daaman se jo aaye, un hawaaon ko salaam
choom loo mai us zubaan ko jis pe aaye teraa naam
sab se pyaaree subah teree, sab se rangee teree shaam
maa kaa dil bankey kabhee seene se lag jaataa hai too
aaur kabhee nanheesee betee ban ke yaad aataa hai too
jitnaa yaad aataa hai too, utanaa tadapaataa hai too
chhodakar teree zameen ko door aa pahuche hain hum
fir bhee hai yahee tamannaa tere zarro kee kasam
hum jahaan paidaa huye, us jagah hee nikle ye dam
Thursday, July 10, 2008
the emblematic problem
cut back to the last days of Mughal rule in Delhi: the saltanat was in disarray, crumbling from invasion after invasion. The Marathas are the final nail on the coffin, invading the streets of that capital of 'Hindustan' like a scourge, pillaging and plundering like a vanara sena. This was it: the long Islamist invasion of India starting from 8th century was being rolled back. The Marathas won the war for Hindus. But what they then did is emblematic of the damaged Hindu psyche, down to this present day. They installed a Mughal prince on the throne, a token emperor and withdrew, instead of throwing the legacy out and occypying it themselves.
This is the fact that Hindus have refused to accept: in the war against foreign imperialism over India's flesh, heart and soul, India won. But Hindus somehow think, they have been defeated. This was the the strongest and meanest military machine that humanity has yet produced, the Islamist juggernaut that rolled over into India in waves after waves successively. The Arabs, the Perians, Thr Turks, the Mongols.. That same juggenaut which none of the anicent civilizations it struck could resist, Egypt, Byzantium and Persia all fell to its sword. Yet India took that shock and rolled it back. The sword of the heathen Hindus did that work. By 18th century the vast Maratha confederacy was entrenched in those areas which once constituted the Indo-Islamic empire of Hindustan.
This refusal, this fear in ones' own ability, strength, is emblematic of the Hindu psyche. Why if the Lord Himself is the sarathi of this ratha of Hinduism, will any Kaurava army however powerful can ever defeat it - this faith is totally lacking. Thats why you talk to a Sangh activist and he will sound as if Hinduism is on its detah bed, is teetering on its legs and is about to collapse tomorrow. negativism is our bane. infidelity- in the sense of faithlessness-is our emblematic problem
This is the fact that Hindus have refused to accept: in the war against foreign imperialism over India's flesh, heart and soul, India won. But Hindus somehow think, they have been defeated. This was the the strongest and meanest military machine that humanity has yet produced, the Islamist juggernaut that rolled over into India in waves after waves successively. The Arabs, the Perians, Thr Turks, the Mongols.. That same juggenaut which none of the anicent civilizations it struck could resist, Egypt, Byzantium and Persia all fell to its sword. Yet India took that shock and rolled it back. The sword of the heathen Hindus did that work. By 18th century the vast Maratha confederacy was entrenched in those areas which once constituted the Indo-Islamic empire of Hindustan.
This refusal, this fear in ones' own ability, strength, is emblematic of the Hindu psyche. Why if the Lord Himself is the sarathi of this ratha of Hinduism, will any Kaurava army however powerful can ever defeat it - this faith is totally lacking. Thats why you talk to a Sangh activist and he will sound as if Hinduism is on its detah bed, is teetering on its legs and is about to collapse tomorrow. negativism is our bane. infidelity- in the sense of faithlessness-is our emblematic problem
Monday, June 30, 2008
What We Call as Ourselves
from a recent email by Sri Aurobindo Society forwarded to me:
What We Call as Ourselves
...what we are now
or rather what we perceive as ourselves and so call
is only an ignorant partial and superficial
formulation of our nature.
It is not our whole self,
it is not even our real self;
it is a little representative personality
put forward by the true and persistent being in us
for the experience of this brief life;
we not only have been in the past
and can be in the future
but we are much more than that in the
present secret totality of our being and nature.
Especially, there is a secret soul in us
that is our true person; there is a secret self
that is our true impersonal being and spirit.
To unveil that soul and that self
is one of the most important movements of Yoga.
-Sri Aurobindo
What We Call as Ourselves
...what we are now
or rather what we perceive as ourselves and so call
is only an ignorant partial and superficial
formulation of our nature.
It is not our whole self,
it is not even our real self;
it is a little representative personality
put forward by the true and persistent being in us
for the experience of this brief life;
we not only have been in the past
and can be in the future
but we are much more than that in the
present secret totality of our being and nature.
Especially, there is a secret soul in us
that is our true person; there is a secret self
that is our true impersonal being and spirit.
To unveil that soul and that self
is one of the most important movements of Yoga.
-Sri Aurobindo
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Thyagayya's balakanakamaya
the beautiful lyris to this kriti [source: musicindiaonline.com]:
raagam: aThaaNaa
29 dheera shankaraabharaNam janya
Aa: S R2 M1 P N3 S
Av: S N3 D2 P M1 P G3 R2 S
taaLam: aadi
Composer: Tyaagaraaja
Language: Telugu
Pallavi
Ela nI dayarAdu parAku jEseda vEla samayamu gAdu
Anupallavi
bAla kanakamaya cEla sujata paripAla shrI ramA lOla vikrta shara
jAla shubhada karuNAlavAla ghana nIla navya vana mAlikAbharaNa
(Ela)
CaraNam 1
rArA dEvAdi dEva rArA mahAnubhAva rArA rAjIva nEtra raghuvara putra
sAratara sudhA pUra hrdaya parivAra jaladhi gambhIra tanuja samhAra
madana sukumAra budhajana vihAra sakala shruti sAra nAdupai
(Ela)
CaraNam 2
rAjAdhirAja muni pUjita pAda ravi rAja lOcana sharaNya ati lAvaNya
rAja vandita padAbja jAka dinarAja kOTi sama tEja tanuja gajarAja
nicaya mrga rAja jalaja mukha
(Ela)
CaraNam 3
yAga rakSaNa parama bhAgavatArcita yOgIndra suhrd bhAvita Adyanta rasita
nAga shayana vara nAga varada pannAga uma dhara sadhAga mOcana sadA
gatija drupadAgamAnta cara rAga rahita shrI tyAgarAjanuta
(Ela)
raagam: aThaaNaa
29 dheera shankaraabharaNam janya
Aa: S R2 M1 P N3 S
Av: S N3 D2 P M1 P G3 R2 S
taaLam: aadi
Composer: Tyaagaraaja
Language: Telugu
Pallavi
Ela nI dayarAdu parAku jEseda vEla samayamu gAdu
Anupallavi
bAla kanakamaya cEla sujata paripAla shrI ramA lOla vikrta shara
jAla shubhada karuNAlavAla ghana nIla navya vana mAlikAbharaNa
(Ela)
CaraNam 1
rArA dEvAdi dEva rArA mahAnubhAva rArA rAjIva nEtra raghuvara putra
sAratara sudhA pUra hrdaya parivAra jaladhi gambhIra tanuja samhAra
madana sukumAra budhajana vihAra sakala shruti sAra nAdupai
(Ela)
CaraNam 2
rAjAdhirAja muni pUjita pAda ravi rAja lOcana sharaNya ati lAvaNya
rAja vandita padAbja jAka dinarAja kOTi sama tEja tanuja gajarAja
nicaya mrga rAja jalaja mukha
(Ela)
CaraNam 3
yAga rakSaNa parama bhAgavatArcita yOgIndra suhrd bhAvita Adyanta rasita
nAga shayana vara nAga varada pannAga uma dhara sadhAga mOcana sadA
gatija drupadAgamAnta cara rAga rahita shrI tyAgarAjanuta
(Ela)
Friday, April 18, 2008
...and the reaction from China
And here's news on 'thank you' from the Mai-baap. Funny last line of the article:
It also quoted spokesman for the Olympic torch relay Qu Yingpu as saying that the relay went off well and "we convey our sincere thanks to the Indian government, Delhi government, the Indian Olympic Association and the Indian people".
"The Indian torch bearers... transferred the Olympic spirit of peace, friendship and progress. We believe today will be a day unforgettable for them, and also for us," he said.
Man, how pleased are they with their servile neighbours! How releieved are the Indian leaders, that they wont have to face the Dragon's anger..
and this caught my eye:
The state-run media hailed smooth run of the relay, with the China Daily saying the Indian capital welcomed the Olympic torch with 'traditional pomp' and 'pageantry'. It carried on its front page a photo of actor Amir Khan running with the torch.
LOL!! 15,000 troops on streets may be traditional and may even constitute what pagenatries are about in Communist states- not in India for God's sakes!!
More feed for laughter:
...Global Times, a publication of People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party of China, published the story saying "Tibetan separatist forces were frustrated" and the Western media was disappointed at the smooth passing off of the relay....
enjoy your laughs Indians, the Mogambo Khush hua.
It also quoted spokesman for the Olympic torch relay Qu Yingpu as saying that the relay went off well and "we convey our sincere thanks to the Indian government, Delhi government, the Indian Olympic Association and the Indian people".
"The Indian torch bearers... transferred the Olympic spirit of peace, friendship and progress. We believe today will be a day unforgettable for them, and also for us," he said.
Man, how pleased are they with their servile neighbours! How releieved are the Indian leaders, that they wont have to face the Dragon's anger..
and this caught my eye:
The state-run media hailed smooth run of the relay, with the China Daily saying the Indian capital welcomed the Olympic torch with 'traditional pomp' and 'pageantry'. It carried on its front page a photo of actor Amir Khan running with the torch.
LOL!! 15,000 troops on streets may be traditional and may even constitute what pagenatries are about in Communist states- not in India for God's sakes!!
More feed for laughter:
...Global Times, a publication of People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party of China, published the story saying "Tibetan separatist forces were frustrated" and the Western media was disappointed at the smooth passing off of the relay....
enjoy your laughs Indians, the Mogambo Khush hua.
day of national shame!
I will remember April 17th to be one of the most shameful days in modern India's national history.
This ridiculous and spineless congress government bent over backwards to deny Tibetans their right to protest. What a travesty to have 15000 troops guard New Delhi - are Tibetans terrorists?
They sent the poor lady who took refuse in India- Taslima Nasrin, against all historical norms of Indian civilization - just to please the Chinese nationalists in Bengal.
They have divided the society badly in the name of caste. They are about to do something bad on LTTE to please the DMK.
But this is the worst of all their crimes. What do they think- the Chinese Communists will be appeased? Blood given will only lead to larger appettite for the ghosts, not apppease them. These jokers have no sense of shame. What a pity, India has to suffer for their actions, like in the past..
Francois writesa timely piece here. Excerpts:
Today India is encircled by hostile neighbours, from Pakistan to Bangladesh, from Chinese-occupied Tibet, to a Maoist Nepal.
Never has India faced a darker hour whatever gurus say. Never has she faced so many enemies at the same time -- and truly China is one of the most dangerous ones. Yet India always bends backwards to please the Chinese.
Why is that so? Because the Indian intelligentsia, the secular politicians, the journalists, top bureaucrats, are the descendants of these Brown Sahibs, created by Macaulay more than 250 years ago...
...They are no match for the Chinese, who are proud of themselves and their nation and will use any means, open and covert, legal and foul, to foster their dream of a Greater China. The Olympics are just such a tool for them.
This ridiculous and spineless congress government bent over backwards to deny Tibetans their right to protest. What a travesty to have 15000 troops guard New Delhi - are Tibetans terrorists?
They sent the poor lady who took refuse in India- Taslima Nasrin, against all historical norms of Indian civilization - just to please the Chinese nationalists in Bengal.
They have divided the society badly in the name of caste. They are about to do something bad on LTTE to please the DMK.
But this is the worst of all their crimes. What do they think- the Chinese Communists will be appeased? Blood given will only lead to larger appettite for the ghosts, not apppease them. These jokers have no sense of shame. What a pity, India has to suffer for their actions, like in the past..
Francois writesa timely piece here. Excerpts:
Today India is encircled by hostile neighbours, from Pakistan to Bangladesh, from Chinese-occupied Tibet, to a Maoist Nepal.
Never has India faced a darker hour whatever gurus say. Never has she faced so many enemies at the same time -- and truly China is one of the most dangerous ones. Yet India always bends backwards to please the Chinese.
Why is that so? Because the Indian intelligentsia, the secular politicians, the journalists, top bureaucrats, are the descendants of these Brown Sahibs, created by Macaulay more than 250 years ago...
...They are no match for the Chinese, who are proud of themselves and their nation and will use any means, open and covert, legal and foul, to foster their dream of a Greater China. The Olympics are just such a tool for them.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Happy Indian New Year!
Greetings on Vishu, PuduvaruDapirappu, Ugadi, Gudi Padva,Baisakhi, Noboborsho..happy Indian new year!
before I continue with my ruminations on India: some very interesting developments in Tamil Nadu: excerpts-
'Thousand members who belong to Dalit Christian community will officially get reconverted into Hinduism on Monday in Tirunelveli town in a colourful function being organized by Hindu Monks Tamil Nadu Council.
This event gains significance in the backdrop March 9 police shootout in which two people were killed when clashes broke out between the members of upper caste Catholics and Dalit Catholics...'
before I continue with my ruminations on India: some very interesting developments in Tamil Nadu: excerpts-
'Thousand members who belong to Dalit Christian community will officially get reconverted into Hinduism on Monday in Tirunelveli town in a colourful function being organized by Hindu Monks Tamil Nadu Council.
This event gains significance in the backdrop March 9 police shootout in which two people were killed when clashes broke out between the members of upper caste Catholics and Dalit Catholics...'
Friday, April 11, 2008
On India-1
For long I have wished towrite on the nature, mission and destiny of India. Not in any ambitious way, but by way of contributing to the thought on India's destiny. Every great nation on earth has a mission, a destiny it has chosen. Although India also famously 'made a tryst with her destiny', She can hardly claim to have had a coherent, well-thought out course of action and will in the past 60 years. The reasons are there for reading, and I am sympathetic to Her reasons so I wont be critical. The biggest questions that dog India are those about Her identity. What is India? Is it an artificial entity like so many other modern nation-states born out of the legacy of colonialism? Or is She an ancient entity, a soul-creation representing some deep aspiartion of a vast part of humanity? Is She at best an incoherently assmebled series of noises- of languages, tribes, castes, religions (and that dirty word, 'races')? Or She the very hamrony and music of the Soul?
well I dont even claim to address such momentous questions. These are thoughts on recent issues, that touch upon some of them. So here goes:
on China-Tibet vs India-Kashmir
I'd say they are related- but not in the way our cowardly intellectuals (the editor of 'The Hindu' for ex) make it out to be.India (and Hinduism for that matter), is held together by an idea. India has never been a nation in the model of european nations.
India is held together by the idea that humans can find a common spiritual ground behind diverse expressions of mankind's deeper aspirations. this aspiration of man to find something deeper within himself, a greater beauty and order of things than that revealed by mere mind- is universal. but India asserts that everyone can find this goodness, beauty and joy hidden in the depths of their being- and this core of the indicidual is also the core of the universal.
So the whole quest of India sinces ages has been this: to seek this dimension out, by whatever means as feasible for the evolving human conditions. The Vedas, the Upanishads, the gospel of the Buddhists and the Jains, that of the devotees of different great ideals (Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta), the Tantra, Yoga, and in the modern times, that of the Islamic Sufis, Christian mystics and Sikh ones and even that of the leftists (isnt the Truth of onself the Truth of all!)- all these are but different manifestations of that same basic quest. the Indian spirit never tires of discovering ever new paths to this Truth, as suited to the changing times- and as Sri Aurobindo has shown, of formulating greater and greater goals.
the belief in this deeper dimension or Truth, the belief that it can be and should be reached by every one, the pursuit of it as a dedicated quest (whether under Gurus or teachers or individually), and the organization of all life around that quest and the conclusions reached thereof- in short, these points describe all regions that ever came under the umbrella of 'India' throughout history. even those Hindus who accepted Islam out of choice and not force, they too accepted only the Sufi path, that of quest of the divine and not the orthodox and dry Shariaism...(to be contd)
well I dont even claim to address such momentous questions. These are thoughts on recent issues, that touch upon some of them. So here goes:
on China-Tibet vs India-Kashmir
I'd say they are related- but not in the way our cowardly intellectuals (the editor of 'The Hindu' for ex) make it out to be.India (and Hinduism for that matter), is held together by an idea. India has never been a nation in the model of european nations.
India is held together by the idea that humans can find a common spiritual ground behind diverse expressions of mankind's deeper aspirations. this aspiration of man to find something deeper within himself, a greater beauty and order of things than that revealed by mere mind- is universal. but India asserts that everyone can find this goodness, beauty and joy hidden in the depths of their being- and this core of the indicidual is also the core of the universal.
So the whole quest of India sinces ages has been this: to seek this dimension out, by whatever means as feasible for the evolving human conditions. The Vedas, the Upanishads, the gospel of the Buddhists and the Jains, that of the devotees of different great ideals (Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta), the Tantra, Yoga, and in the modern times, that of the Islamic Sufis, Christian mystics and Sikh ones and even that of the leftists (isnt the Truth of onself the Truth of all!)- all these are but different manifestations of that same basic quest. the Indian spirit never tires of discovering ever new paths to this Truth, as suited to the changing times- and as Sri Aurobindo has shown, of formulating greater and greater goals.
the belief in this deeper dimension or Truth, the belief that it can be and should be reached by every one, the pursuit of it as a dedicated quest (whether under Gurus or teachers or individually), and the organization of all life around that quest and the conclusions reached thereof- in short, these points describe all regions that ever came under the umbrella of 'India' throughout history. even those Hindus who accepted Islam out of choice and not force, they too accepted only the Sufi path, that of quest of the divine and not the orthodox and dry Shariaism...(to be contd)
Thursday, April 10, 2008
a nice website
I found this lovely website today. It has tips on so many things and written in a simple way. The author doesnt make any references to religion or spirituality anywhere but the gist of all things he says ins the gist of religions and spirituality also! Actually the author has visited India and perhaps India did influence him- it is unbelievable how India does her silent work, in those memorable words of Swamiji, 'like the silent dew that yet brings to blossm the fairest of flowers'
An example is this piece.
Excerpt:
We humans are funny creatures. We seem to be part animal on one side, and part angel on the other. When I go to the zoo and I observe the creatures there, I'm often struck by how similar their behaviours and motivations are to our own. They act on lust, hunger, power, love and anger, just as we do. Yet, there is part of us they will never know. Somewhere inside us is the ability to create great works of art, discover new worlds, and understand the universe in ways they could never contemplate.
It is this conflict between our two halves that dominates much of our lives. On one side, we have our base animal instincts pulling at us urgently. On the other, our higher faculties of reason try to motivate us to do the right thing and think long term. It's these higher faculties that take time and effort to develop. You should put work into allowing them to dominate and control your inner-beast.
Another example is this article. A brilliant one I would say! Excerpt:
"I'm right, you're wrong and you have nothing new to teach me" was the prevailing attitude during all the ages of intellectual stagnation throughout history. The story of the Renaissance is largely one of humanity realizing that maybe it wasn't as smart as it thought.
The shortcomings of the arrogant philosophy appear pretty obvious to me. And I see evidence of this in people I meet who are of genuinely high-intelligence. Usually they're quite modest and very open to new ideas.People I meet who are conceited about their intelligence are often smart in one particular area, but stumble once they leave their specialization. They think because they know a lot about computers or some other area, their ideas in almost any other field are also valid. Thus arrogant specialists can often seem hopelessly naive outside their field - even if their views are expressed in a loud voice.
An example is this piece.
Excerpt:
We humans are funny creatures. We seem to be part animal on one side, and part angel on the other. When I go to the zoo and I observe the creatures there, I'm often struck by how similar their behaviours and motivations are to our own. They act on lust, hunger, power, love and anger, just as we do. Yet, there is part of us they will never know. Somewhere inside us is the ability to create great works of art, discover new worlds, and understand the universe in ways they could never contemplate.
It is this conflict between our two halves that dominates much of our lives. On one side, we have our base animal instincts pulling at us urgently. On the other, our higher faculties of reason try to motivate us to do the right thing and think long term. It's these higher faculties that take time and effort to develop. You should put work into allowing them to dominate and control your inner-beast.
Another example is this article. A brilliant one I would say! Excerpt:
"I'm right, you're wrong and you have nothing new to teach me" was the prevailing attitude during all the ages of intellectual stagnation throughout history. The story of the Renaissance is largely one of humanity realizing that maybe it wasn't as smart as it thought.
The shortcomings of the arrogant philosophy appear pretty obvious to me. And I see evidence of this in people I meet who are of genuinely high-intelligence. Usually they're quite modest and very open to new ideas.People I meet who are conceited about their intelligence are often smart in one particular area, but stumble once they leave their specialization. They think because they know a lot about computers or some other area, their ideas in almost any other field are also valid. Thus arrogant specialists can often seem hopelessly naive outside their field - even if their views are expressed in a loud voice.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
A wonderful poem by Sri Aurobindo (from Collected Poems (Centenary Library, Vol. 5, p.143)), as recorded here, a marvellous exposition of the Yoga:
Surrender
O Thou of whom I am the instrument,
O secret Spirit and Nature housed in me,
Let all my mortal being now be blend
In Thy still glory of divinity.
I have given my mind to be dug Thy channel mind,
I have offered up my will to be Thy will:
Let nothing of myself be left behind
In our union mystic and unutterable.
My heart shall throb with the world-beats of Thy love,
My body become Thy engine for earth-use;
In my nerves and veins Thy rapture's streams shall move;
My thoughts shall be hounds of Light for Thy power to loose.
Keep only my soul to adore eternally
And meet Thee in each form and soul of Thee.
Surrender
O Thou of whom I am the instrument,
O secret Spirit and Nature housed in me,
Let all my mortal being now be blend
In Thy still glory of divinity.
I have given my mind to be dug Thy channel mind,
I have offered up my will to be Thy will:
Let nothing of myself be left behind
In our union mystic and unutterable.
My heart shall throb with the world-beats of Thy love,
My body become Thy engine for earth-use;
In my nerves and veins Thy rapture's streams shall move;
My thoughts shall be hounds of Light for Thy power to loose.
Keep only my soul to adore eternally
And meet Thee in each form and soul of Thee.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
surprising solution!
'Christian boy, Muslim girl and a Hindu wedding'
Looking radiant in a gold-coloured bridal attire with the Hindu symbols of marriage — vermilion mark on her forehead and a thali (mangalsutra) — bride J Serina Banu, 23, completed the seven rounds around the ritual fire at a small Ganesh temple with husband M Justin, uttering the vows in Sanskrit prompted by a Hindu Brahmin priest.
"We were scared of triggering communal riots back home due to our inter-religious union. Now that we are married through another religion, the danger may have abated. Though we do not wish to change our names or faiths, we will live as practising Hindus for the rest of our lives," Banu said.
Looking radiant in a gold-coloured bridal attire with the Hindu symbols of marriage — vermilion mark on her forehead and a thali (mangalsutra) — bride J Serina Banu, 23, completed the seven rounds around the ritual fire at a small Ganesh temple with husband M Justin, uttering the vows in Sanskrit prompted by a Hindu Brahmin priest.
"We were scared of triggering communal riots back home due to our inter-religious union. Now that we are married through another religion, the danger may have abated. Though we do not wish to change our names or faiths, we will live as practising Hindus for the rest of our lives," Banu said.
Tibet, China and the soul of India
the debate about the issue of Tibet and Chinese tactics there has raised some disturbing questions which show how less some Indians understand India and our national positions and goals.
B Raman addresses some of them in his open letter to Amir Khan
Excerpt:
...You and others, who have written on this subject, are correct in their references to Kashmir, our northeast, the grievances and anger of Khalistanis and Muslims etc. We too have been having problems with our religious and ethnic minorities just as the Chinese have problems with their minorities. No country in the world is free of such problems.
The question to be asked is not whether we have the same problems as China, but what has been our approach to these problems. Do we deal with these problems in the same way as the Chinese do or do we follow a different approach?
The religious and ethnic minorities in India, who have taken to arms against the government, have accused the government and its policy-makers of rigging elections, political, economic and social discrimination, lack of adequate political powers to manage their own affairs etc. They have accused the security forces of being prejudiced against the minorities, of excessive use of force against the minorities, of police torture etc. Has any group in India accused our government and policy-makers of indulging in cultural genocide of the minorities as the Dalai Lama and the leaders of the Uighur Muslim community in China have accused the Chinese government?
In India, since we became independent in 1947, no government -- whether of the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party or any other party -- has ever even thought of settling members of the majority community in areas where the minorities are in a majority. Pakistan has systematically settled Punjabi ex-servicemen in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and in the Northern Areas (Gilgit and Baltistan) in order to reduce the ethnic Kashmiris to a minority in their traditional homeland. It has systematically settled Wahabised Sunnis in the Northern Areas in order to reduce the Shias to a minority. China has systematically settled Hans from mainland China and the Hui Muslims from central China in Tibet in order to reduce ethnic Tibetans to a minority and dilute the majority status of Buddhism. It has similarly settled Hans in Xinjiang in order to reduce the Uighurs to a minority and dilute the impact of Islam. In our country, our laws will not permit such abuses.
In Jammu and Kashmir, no non-Kashmiri has ever been chief minister. Same is the case in Nagaland and Mizoram. Can you cite an instance since the occupation of Tibet by the Chinese in 1951 when an ethnic Tibetan has headed the local party and government set-up?
We have been fairly regularly holding elections in the northeast and Kashmir except during periods when serious insurgency situations did not permit the holding of elections. In Kashmir, there were allegations of rigging of the elections. Because of this, in recent elections, we allowed foreign diplomats and journalists to visit Kashmir before and during the elections to satisfy for themselves that the polls were free and fair.
Has China ever held a single democratic election in Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia since the Communists captured power in 1949?
We have many insurgent and terrorist organisations purporting to speak for the religious and ethnic minorities, which have taken to arms against the government. Have you ever seen our political leaders and policy-makers indulge in a campaign of demonisation and personal vilification similar to the Chinese campaign against the Dalai Lama? Beijing calls him 'a liar, a conspirator, a cheat, a terrorist' and so on. Even the Chinese Red Guards, who ran amok in China during the days of Mao, never used such expressions against political dissidents...
... A highly-respected religious leader of the world has been insulted and demonised like no other religious leader of the world has ever been demonised...
...The way we handle our problems in the minority areas is totally different from the way the Chinese handle them. We handle them like civilised, democratic people. The Chinese handle them like Hitler and Stalin used to do. It is, therefore, totally unfair and incorrect to project as you have sought to do and as many leftist-minded intellectuals in India have sought to do, as if China is more sinned against than sinning and that its negative human rights record is no different from that of many other countries, including India.
B Raman addresses some of them in his open letter to Amir Khan
Excerpt:
...You and others, who have written on this subject, are correct in their references to Kashmir, our northeast, the grievances and anger of Khalistanis and Muslims etc. We too have been having problems with our religious and ethnic minorities just as the Chinese have problems with their minorities. No country in the world is free of such problems.
The question to be asked is not whether we have the same problems as China, but what has been our approach to these problems. Do we deal with these problems in the same way as the Chinese do or do we follow a different approach?
The religious and ethnic minorities in India, who have taken to arms against the government, have accused the government and its policy-makers of rigging elections, political, economic and social discrimination, lack of adequate political powers to manage their own affairs etc. They have accused the security forces of being prejudiced against the minorities, of excessive use of force against the minorities, of police torture etc. Has any group in India accused our government and policy-makers of indulging in cultural genocide of the minorities as the Dalai Lama and the leaders of the Uighur Muslim community in China have accused the Chinese government?
In India, since we became independent in 1947, no government -- whether of the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party or any other party -- has ever even thought of settling members of the majority community in areas where the minorities are in a majority. Pakistan has systematically settled Punjabi ex-servicemen in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and in the Northern Areas (Gilgit and Baltistan) in order to reduce the ethnic Kashmiris to a minority in their traditional homeland. It has systematically settled Wahabised Sunnis in the Northern Areas in order to reduce the Shias to a minority. China has systematically settled Hans from mainland China and the Hui Muslims from central China in Tibet in order to reduce ethnic Tibetans to a minority and dilute the majority status of Buddhism. It has similarly settled Hans in Xinjiang in order to reduce the Uighurs to a minority and dilute the impact of Islam. In our country, our laws will not permit such abuses.
In Jammu and Kashmir, no non-Kashmiri has ever been chief minister. Same is the case in Nagaland and Mizoram. Can you cite an instance since the occupation of Tibet by the Chinese in 1951 when an ethnic Tibetan has headed the local party and government set-up?
We have been fairly regularly holding elections in the northeast and Kashmir except during periods when serious insurgency situations did not permit the holding of elections. In Kashmir, there were allegations of rigging of the elections. Because of this, in recent elections, we allowed foreign diplomats and journalists to visit Kashmir before and during the elections to satisfy for themselves that the polls were free and fair.
Has China ever held a single democratic election in Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia since the Communists captured power in 1949?
We have many insurgent and terrorist organisations purporting to speak for the religious and ethnic minorities, which have taken to arms against the government. Have you ever seen our political leaders and policy-makers indulge in a campaign of demonisation and personal vilification similar to the Chinese campaign against the Dalai Lama? Beijing calls him 'a liar, a conspirator, a cheat, a terrorist' and so on. Even the Chinese Red Guards, who ran amok in China during the days of Mao, never used such expressions against political dissidents...
... A highly-respected religious leader of the world has been insulted and demonised like no other religious leader of the world has ever been demonised...
...The way we handle our problems in the minority areas is totally different from the way the Chinese handle them. We handle them like civilised, democratic people. The Chinese handle them like Hitler and Stalin used to do. It is, therefore, totally unfair and incorrect to project as you have sought to do and as many leftist-minded intellectuals in India have sought to do, as if China is more sinned against than sinning and that its negative human rights record is no different from that of many other countries, including India.
Friday, March 28, 2008
how long?
Excerpt from this article on rediff:
Apparently unhappy over New Delhi's handling of the Tibet issue, China on Friday chose not to invite any Indian diplomat in the tour of foreign envoys to riot-scarred Lhasa, amid intensified global pressure to stop the crackdown on Tibetans and open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama
its not much of a big slight, but slight it certianly is. more such and even the Communist-supported UPA coalition will have to stand up agaisnt Chinese bullying of India.
Apparently unhappy over New Delhi's handling of the Tibet issue, China on Friday chose not to invite any Indian diplomat in the tour of foreign envoys to riot-scarred Lhasa, amid intensified global pressure to stop the crackdown on Tibetans and open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama
its not much of a big slight, but slight it certianly is. more such and even the Communist-supported UPA coalition will have to stand up agaisnt Chinese bullying of India.
Friday, March 21, 2008
why India must stand up for Tibet
Prof Sumit Ganguly writes and I fully endorse:
New Delhi's reluctance to challenge China over Tibet goes back to Beijing's brutal repression of the Khampa revolt 50 years ago, when the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal head of the Tibetans, fled to India. Although China sharply reproved India for providing refuge to the Dalai Lama, India stood its ground. Shortly thereafter, following a breakdown of negotiations over a disputed border, China attacked and defeated India in October 1962. Even though India's army has since been modernized and prepared for mountain warfare, the memory of this rout still haunts Indian military planners and policymakers. That's why, when the Chinese army periodically crosses the border, India responds with anodyne criticism. And why India has been willing to publicly and abjectly reassure China that the Tibetan exiles will not be allowed to engage in any meaningful political activity.
Appeasement might not be a bad policy if it actually succeeded in keeping Beijing satisfied, but it doesn't. There is not a shred of evidence that it has ever moderated Chinese behavior. Whenever Tibetan exiles have engaged in minor protests, Beijing has sternly rebuked India for allowing them to engage in political activities. Faced with Beijing's continued expressions of discontent, New Delhi has rarely missed an opportunity to genuflect before the Middle Kingdom. The Tibetan crackdown is only the latest example.
This humiliating deference undermines India's national interests as a rising Asian power and corrodes its credentials as a liberal democracy. If China can so easily cow Indian policymakers, then India's claims to great power status in Asia, let alone beyond, appear utterly hollow. It shows that Indian policymakers have been, to use a term from the cold war era, Finlandized—constrained by a foreign power. Some policy options cannot even be considered for fear of offending China. India, for example, has had little to say about China's penetration of much of Burma and its ongoing quest for military bases in that country. India has also exercised great caution in pursuing any significant commercial ties with Taiwan for fear of incurring the wrath of the mainland. What does it say about India as a democracy if the authorities harass law-abiding Tibetans who are only engaging in peaceful protests? Such actions are fundamentally contrary to the principles of a liberal democracy that enshrines the right of public political dissent.
New Delhi's reluctance to challenge China over Tibet goes back to Beijing's brutal repression of the Khampa revolt 50 years ago, when the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal head of the Tibetans, fled to India. Although China sharply reproved India for providing refuge to the Dalai Lama, India stood its ground. Shortly thereafter, following a breakdown of negotiations over a disputed border, China attacked and defeated India in October 1962. Even though India's army has since been modernized and prepared for mountain warfare, the memory of this rout still haunts Indian military planners and policymakers. That's why, when the Chinese army periodically crosses the border, India responds with anodyne criticism. And why India has been willing to publicly and abjectly reassure China that the Tibetan exiles will not be allowed to engage in any meaningful political activity.
Appeasement might not be a bad policy if it actually succeeded in keeping Beijing satisfied, but it doesn't. There is not a shred of evidence that it has ever moderated Chinese behavior. Whenever Tibetan exiles have engaged in minor protests, Beijing has sternly rebuked India for allowing them to engage in political activities. Faced with Beijing's continued expressions of discontent, New Delhi has rarely missed an opportunity to genuflect before the Middle Kingdom. The Tibetan crackdown is only the latest example.
This humiliating deference undermines India's national interests as a rising Asian power and corrodes its credentials as a liberal democracy. If China can so easily cow Indian policymakers, then India's claims to great power status in Asia, let alone beyond, appear utterly hollow. It shows that Indian policymakers have been, to use a term from the cold war era, Finlandized—constrained by a foreign power. Some policy options cannot even be considered for fear of offending China. India, for example, has had little to say about China's penetration of much of Burma and its ongoing quest for military bases in that country. India has also exercised great caution in pursuing any significant commercial ties with Taiwan for fear of incurring the wrath of the mainland. What does it say about India as a democracy if the authorities harass law-abiding Tibetans who are only engaging in peaceful protests? Such actions are fundamentally contrary to the principles of a liberal democracy that enshrines the right of public political dissent.
allow Tibet into the Indian Union!
Excerpted from this article by Lhasang Tsering, Former President of Tibetan Youth Congress:
Be that as it may. I have often wondered why India doesn't stake its claim on Tibet. Between China - which seeks to exterminate the Tibetan people and to wipe out Tibetan religion and culture; and India - which gave Tibet the Buddha Dharma and has helped to save Tibetan religion and culture - there is no doubt; India has the greater claim. It is like the story of young Prince Siddhartha who saves the swan his cousin Prince Devadatta has shot. The claim of the latter rests on the grounds of having shot the swan. On the other hand, Prince Siddhartha - the future Buddha - stakes his claim on the grounds of having saved the life of the wounded swan. The King rightly awards the swan to Prince Siddhartha. In today's world of realpolitik and spineless world leaders, we could hardly hope for such a decisive verdict. Nevertheless; even if only as a diplomatic exercise, why doesn't India file a case in the International Court of Justice and also raise the issue in the United Nations to stake its claims over Tibet ?
In the first place India gave Buddhism to Tibet - the life-force of Tibetan life and culture. Today India has rendered crucial assistance and helped to save Tibetan religion and culture. If Tibet must belong to either of its giant neighbours, then surely, it should be to India - which has helped to save Tibet; and not China - which seeks to destroy Tibet.
Even on the part of the Tibetan people, if we decide that Tibetan independence is not achievable (this is the present position of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile to which I am totally opposed) and that the only option for us is to settle for some form of autonomy - however genuine or false - why then do we not decide to be a part of India ? Under any given situation or conceivable scenario; Tibet will fare far better under India than under China.
Be that as it may. I have often wondered why India doesn't stake its claim on Tibet. Between China - which seeks to exterminate the Tibetan people and to wipe out Tibetan religion and culture; and India - which gave Tibet the Buddha Dharma and has helped to save Tibetan religion and culture - there is no doubt; India has the greater claim. It is like the story of young Prince Siddhartha who saves the swan his cousin Prince Devadatta has shot. The claim of the latter rests on the grounds of having shot the swan. On the other hand, Prince Siddhartha - the future Buddha - stakes his claim on the grounds of having saved the life of the wounded swan. The King rightly awards the swan to Prince Siddhartha. In today's world of realpolitik and spineless world leaders, we could hardly hope for such a decisive verdict. Nevertheless; even if only as a diplomatic exercise, why doesn't India file a case in the International Court of Justice and also raise the issue in the United Nations to stake its claims over Tibet ?
In the first place India gave Buddhism to Tibet - the life-force of Tibetan life and culture. Today India has rendered crucial assistance and helped to save Tibetan religion and culture. If Tibet must belong to either of its giant neighbours, then surely, it should be to India - which has helped to save Tibet; and not China - which seeks to destroy Tibet.
Even on the part of the Tibetan people, if we decide that Tibetan independence is not achievable (this is the present position of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile to which I am totally opposed) and that the only option for us is to settle for some form of autonomy - however genuine or false - why then do we not decide to be a part of India ? Under any given situation or conceivable scenario; Tibet will fare far better under India than under China.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Sri Aurobindo on the native Indian commune!
(A disciple:) [In India] the forests are being depleted of animals.
Sri Aurobindo: The forests have to be preserved and also the wildlife. China destroyed all her forests and the result is that there is flood every year.
In Socialism you have the State which intervenes at every step with its officials who rob money.... It is the State bureaucracy that dictates the policy irrespective of the good of the commune. In Communism they hold the land as the common property of the whole unit, and each one is entitled to labour and to have his share from the produce.
In India we had a kind of communism in the villages. The whole village was like a big family and the lowest had his right as a member of the family. The washerman, the carpenter, the blacksmith, the barber, all got what they needed. That is the only communism that is practicable. Each such commune can be independent and many such units can be scattered all over the country and they can combine or coordinate their activities for a common purpose.
excerpted again from India's rebirth, part V. bold by me
Sri Aurobindo: The forests have to be preserved and also the wildlife. China destroyed all her forests and the result is that there is flood every year.
In Socialism you have the State which intervenes at every step with its officials who rob money.... It is the State bureaucracy that dictates the policy irrespective of the good of the commune. In Communism they hold the land as the common property of the whole unit, and each one is entitled to labour and to have his share from the produce.
In India we had a kind of communism in the villages. The whole village was like a big family and the lowest had his right as a member of the family. The washerman, the carpenter, the blacksmith, the barber, all got what they needed. That is the only communism that is practicable. Each such commune can be independent and many such units can be scattered all over the country and they can combine or coordinate their activities for a common purpose.
excerpted again from India's rebirth, part V. bold by me
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sri Aurobindo on Communism
(A disciple:) Communism began with a high ideal and it is certainly better than Fascism or Nazism.
Sri Aurobindo: In which way better? Formerly people were unconscious slaves, now under Communism they are conscious slaves.... They are bound to the State, the dictator and the party. They can't even choose the dictator. And whoever differs from them is mercilessly suppressed.... The whole thing whatever its name is a fraud. It is impossible to change humanity by political machinery; it can't be done.
from India's rebirth, part-V
Sri Aurobindo: In which way better? Formerly people were unconscious slaves, now under Communism they are conscious slaves.... They are bound to the State, the dictator and the party. They can't even choose the dictator. And whoever differs from them is mercilessly suppressed.... The whole thing whatever its name is a fraud. It is impossible to change humanity by political machinery; it can't be done.
from India's rebirth, part-V
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Excessive guilt and oversized ego related?
Are excessive guilt and the asssociated emotions really something noble to have, a self-corrective mechanism or really a big problem by themelves? A healthy dose of guilt can surely be a great aid in being a channel for the 'small still voice within' to filter out and exercise a guiding effect in our lives. Nobody is perfect- as long as it is accepted that what is right has to be adopted, mistakes however big, are only devaitaions from the path. The greater the deviation, the greater must the urgency be, in retracing the steps. As simple as that.
But when guilt becomes a morbid obsession alsomot to the point of being self-destructive, driving individuals and societies to perpetually wallow in sorrow, is it good for anyone at all? A wrong done in the past cannot be undone even by a thousand rights - what to speak of a thousand depressing elegies from a guilt-obessessed psyche. The only thing that can be done now, is to resolve firmly, that it will not be repeated and take all steps in that direction. But an obsession with guilt never allows this- clinging on to cannot benefit and will not affect the present or the futur in any way. Rather, it will result in terminal illness and a desire for self-destruction.
This is so obviously clear to commonsense reason. But why do individuals and societies indulge in guilt-binge to the breaking point? Rather than put corrective mechanisms in place so that atleast the future is secure, why do so many people chosse instead, to chase shadows from the past? One example is the attitude of 'western educated' and 'liberal' (so-called) High-caste Hindus, towards their fellow orthodox and towards their tradition. Their guilt-obsession turns into an astonishing rage at their own past and exaggerates and reads into it what sometimes is even unlikely! Or continue peddling opinions framed by colonial propagandists about ill-treatment of the 'lower' castes without any independent investigation of their own. Take an article such as this recent piece from BBC. A telling excerpt:
And Phool Kumari belongs to that group of nearly 240m Indians who have been traditionally kept out of the Hindu caste system.
Mostly considered unworthy of touch by the higher castes, some even consider their shadow to be polluting.
Now caste oppression today, or for some centuries is undeniable in various places in India. But was it so universal and widespread that it was a 'tradition' of the Hindu caste system? Since when did the 'polluting shadow' idea become tradition? The tone of the sentence seems to imply that actually this is even the present-day position - is this true?
A more objective and careful analysis of the history of past sevaral centuries will show the unbelievable flexibility and variety in the 'Hindu caste system'. So also will the phenomenon of unsettled tribes continually settling down and adding new jatis to the caste structure- first arriving at an uneasy contract as the 'outsider' and slowly working the way up the social hierarchy through gradual mutual understanding. The fact that anthropologists and geneticists find it difficult to draw the line between the so-called 'lower' end of the caste structure and unsettled tribes- showing up a seamless contuinity in the level of settlement and acclimatization with the caste system of the settled castes and leading to gradual 'sanskritization' is proof enough of this. Fact is, Muslim and British incursions heavily disrupted this gradual diffusion and assimilation of settled and unsettled castes and tribes- leading to mutual suspicions and thus to the modern anathema to the 'outsider', recently settled tribes jostling for a place under the already colourful banner of the ancient caste order.
All this just shows how breathtakingly complex the phenomenon of caste is, in India. But writers such as those of the piece I quoted above show utter insenstivity to this compexity and typically indulge in mudslinging at the 'Hindu caste system'. But I have observed a pattern. Often, these liberal sounding pieces are penned by none other than western educated, self-alienated elites of the upper castes. Most extreme communists and extreme left-wingers in India who have nothing but rage for the Hindu society, are indeed drawn from the Hindu upper castes. It is their obsessive guilt that shows up as rage. As I said earlier, guilt is good. Upper-caste guilt at present social conditions can bring good, if it can lead to practical, constructive, wholesome steps to correct the problems. But a rambling, pointless agenda guided by rage against their own tradition can bring nothing but ultimate self-destruction. It is no surprise then, that such Hindus most often are 'all talk and no action'. Themselves alienated from even the many positives that their tradition can offer such as yoga and spirituality, ceaselessly attemtping de-nationalize themselves, demoralized, they often have no say in setting the course of the greater Hindu society, which too, just ignores them.
Thinking of this, I conclude, such excessive guilt is just the obverse of an oversized ego. 'Oh how could we have been so bad' is the driving thought. 'Because we are yet human and not divine' should be a straightforward answer from a less egoistic psyche, 'accepting our mistakes, acknowledging our humanity, we draw closer to the ideals of humanism and set the course aright' would be the logical conclusion. Not the idea of 'perpetual refusal to accept or to reconcile' and the logical desecnt into terminal cycle.
But when guilt becomes a morbid obsession alsomot to the point of being self-destructive, driving individuals and societies to perpetually wallow in sorrow, is it good for anyone at all? A wrong done in the past cannot be undone even by a thousand rights - what to speak of a thousand depressing elegies from a guilt-obessessed psyche. The only thing that can be done now, is to resolve firmly, that it will not be repeated and take all steps in that direction. But an obsession with guilt never allows this- clinging on to cannot benefit and will not affect the present or the futur in any way. Rather, it will result in terminal illness and a desire for self-destruction.
This is so obviously clear to commonsense reason. But why do individuals and societies indulge in guilt-binge to the breaking point? Rather than put corrective mechanisms in place so that atleast the future is secure, why do so many people chosse instead, to chase shadows from the past? One example is the attitude of 'western educated' and 'liberal' (so-called) High-caste Hindus, towards their fellow orthodox and towards their tradition. Their guilt-obsession turns into an astonishing rage at their own past and exaggerates and reads into it what sometimes is even unlikely! Or continue peddling opinions framed by colonial propagandists about ill-treatment of the 'lower' castes without any independent investigation of their own. Take an article such as this recent piece from BBC. A telling excerpt:
And Phool Kumari belongs to that group of nearly 240m Indians who have been traditionally kept out of the Hindu caste system.
Mostly considered unworthy of touch by the higher castes, some even consider their shadow to be polluting.
Now caste oppression today, or for some centuries is undeniable in various places in India. But was it so universal and widespread that it was a 'tradition' of the Hindu caste system? Since when did the 'polluting shadow' idea become tradition? The tone of the sentence seems to imply that actually this is even the present-day position - is this true?
A more objective and careful analysis of the history of past sevaral centuries will show the unbelievable flexibility and variety in the 'Hindu caste system'. So also will the phenomenon of unsettled tribes continually settling down and adding new jatis to the caste structure- first arriving at an uneasy contract as the 'outsider' and slowly working the way up the social hierarchy through gradual mutual understanding. The fact that anthropologists and geneticists find it difficult to draw the line between the so-called 'lower' end of the caste structure and unsettled tribes- showing up a seamless contuinity in the level of settlement and acclimatization with the caste system of the settled castes and leading to gradual 'sanskritization' is proof enough of this. Fact is, Muslim and British incursions heavily disrupted this gradual diffusion and assimilation of settled and unsettled castes and tribes- leading to mutual suspicions and thus to the modern anathema to the 'outsider', recently settled tribes jostling for a place under the already colourful banner of the ancient caste order.
All this just shows how breathtakingly complex the phenomenon of caste is, in India. But writers such as those of the piece I quoted above show utter insenstivity to this compexity and typically indulge in mudslinging at the 'Hindu caste system'. But I have observed a pattern. Often, these liberal sounding pieces are penned by none other than western educated, self-alienated elites of the upper castes. Most extreme communists and extreme left-wingers in India who have nothing but rage for the Hindu society, are indeed drawn from the Hindu upper castes. It is their obsessive guilt that shows up as rage. As I said earlier, guilt is good. Upper-caste guilt at present social conditions can bring good, if it can lead to practical, constructive, wholesome steps to correct the problems. But a rambling, pointless agenda guided by rage against their own tradition can bring nothing but ultimate self-destruction. It is no surprise then, that such Hindus most often are 'all talk and no action'. Themselves alienated from even the many positives that their tradition can offer such as yoga and spirituality, ceaselessly attemtping de-nationalize themselves, demoralized, they often have no say in setting the course of the greater Hindu society, which too, just ignores them.
Thinking of this, I conclude, such excessive guilt is just the obverse of an oversized ego. 'Oh how could we have been so bad' is the driving thought. 'Because we are yet human and not divine' should be a straightforward answer from a less egoistic psyche, 'accepting our mistakes, acknowledging our humanity, we draw closer to the ideals of humanism and set the course aright' would be the logical conclusion. Not the idea of 'perpetual refusal to accept or to reconcile' and the logical desecnt into terminal cycle.
Friday, February 22, 2008
on the Incarnation
Oh through this frail human frame,
By the medium of this fallible form,
working with this flawed instrument,
how difficult it is, to grasp that
infinite intelligence, Love supreme
Love unbounded, Itself manifests!
Or, is the incorrigible ignobleness
of human nature, its base reading-
forcefully convincing to this extent?
By the medium of this fallible form,
working with this flawed instrument,
how difficult it is, to grasp that
infinite intelligence, Love supreme
Love unbounded, Itself manifests!
Or, is the incorrigible ignobleness
of human nature, its base reading-
forcefully convincing to this extent?
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
twenty-fifty format!
this is hilarious:
BCCI moots new 'Twenty-Fifty' format for cricket
excerpt:
In a moment of rare innovation, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has proposed a radical new format of the game that they claim will boost cricket's popularity to unprecedented levels.
Under the rules of the new format, christened 'Twenty-Fifty', or T50 cricket, The Indian team would get to bat fifty overs, and the opposition will get to bat 20 overs. Field restrictions would also follow the same method, with 15 overs of power play when the Indians bat, and six overs when the opposition bats.
BCCI moots new 'Twenty-Fifty' format for cricket
excerpt:
In a moment of rare innovation, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has proposed a radical new format of the game that they claim will boost cricket's popularity to unprecedented levels.
Under the rules of the new format, christened 'Twenty-Fifty', or T50 cricket, The Indian team would get to bat fifty overs, and the opposition will get to bat 20 overs. Field restrictions would also follow the same method, with 15 overs of power play when the Indians bat, and six overs when the opposition bats.
Monday, February 11, 2008
the meaning of memorable dates
February 10 has been memorable to me- a day from those days of childhood when everthing seemed so happy and beautiful. Februrary in general brings to me memories of all the happy events that happened in this month- and somehow connect my psyche with that of the young teen of 90's. After witnessing many years of turmoil, the early 90's were days of stability for my family. Although the country wasnt particularly peaceful in those days- all things were on the boil: Mandal commission agiation, the Ayodhya movement, Punjab, Kashmir, financial crisis, naxalites close home...but there was some kind of a new light of hope, which later fully manifested in late 90's but was already manifested in the early years too- and I had somehow connected to it. The Deepavali and Sankranti festivals of this period are some of the most vividly remembered happy memories of my childhood. My poonal, 'griha pravesam' of our new house - those are the 2 events on 10 Feb that happened in the early 90's. Both somewhat linked perhaps- a new birth, a new home. And now February is also special to me since thats the month Sri Ramakrishna was born some 160 years ago (coming to that, actually this year its exactly 160 years).
But people change, the same events that brought happy memories once can also bring bitter ones too. Thats what I discovered over the weekend. Being away from home, I perhaps did not witness the pain and sadness with which that home of ours had to be sold off. My parents went through all that personally, it has come to become all that loss means to them. And so when I remined them of the special occasion that 10 Feb presented, I was surprised they have all but forgotten the day! This is gain, this is loss, a memory can bring both. What a contrast time makes!
But if somehow we can learn to overcome the pain which it later led to, and just remember all the happy things that a day once gave, that perhaps becomes like a soothing balm. Existence is infinite, our being is vast, we have covered our eyes and therefore the future seems invisible - this is what sages say. I mention here a profound idea I got from a memorable episode in the first season of Star Trek: Deep Space 9. Here Commander Sisko lands up in in a wormwhole and the custody of a special class of Aliens who exist at all points in time, but just one point in space. In understanding Sisko's use of words like 'past', 'death' etc the Aliens point out to Sisko that remarkably actually even he infact exists at all times! In that light, if we let ourselves to be constrained by sadness and deny our existence at one point of time, we get sorrow...
But people change, the same events that brought happy memories once can also bring bitter ones too. Thats what I discovered over the weekend. Being away from home, I perhaps did not witness the pain and sadness with which that home of ours had to be sold off. My parents went through all that personally, it has come to become all that loss means to them. And so when I remined them of the special occasion that 10 Feb presented, I was surprised they have all but forgotten the day! This is gain, this is loss, a memory can bring both. What a contrast time makes!
But if somehow we can learn to overcome the pain which it later led to, and just remember all the happy things that a day once gave, that perhaps becomes like a soothing balm. Existence is infinite, our being is vast, we have covered our eyes and therefore the future seems invisible - this is what sages say. I mention here a profound idea I got from a memorable episode in the first season of Star Trek: Deep Space 9. Here Commander Sisko lands up in in a wormwhole and the custody of a special class of Aliens who exist at all points in time, but just one point in space. In understanding Sisko's use of words like 'past', 'death' etc the Aliens point out to Sisko that remarkably actually even he infact exists at all times! In that light, if we let ourselves to be constrained by sadness and deny our existence at one point of time, we get sorrow...
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Bharat ratna for whom?
Does Vajpayee deserve a Bharat ratna? maybe- he presided over the rising confidence of India and Indians. But was it all his doing alone? No doubt his government did provide a great lot of impetus- his bold initiatives like the N-test brought India right into the centre of the international community. But was he any different from say Narasimha Rao? Had Rao had his way, he would taken India past the N-post. He had a sounder anti-terrorism policy: his policies weaned the Sikh community away from external supporters of separatism, his actions immediately after the Mumbai blasts were exemplary. His economic policies laid the seed for the boom later in the decade. So in many ways, what Vajpayee precipated was infact the brew that Rao had stoked, but which was stalled by a few years of inept 'third front' governments. The Vajpayee government did a very poor job at managing its Pakistan policy, as well as its Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal policy- literally allowing the US and China to peddle their influence on our periphery! I would rate Rao many notches higher than Vajpayee, though Rao had none of the charisma of the latter.
Does Jyoti Basu deserve a Bharat ratna? I ask back 'are you joking?' What does Basu have to his credit apart from preserving over the ruination of such a prosperous and industralized state as WB? And filling WB with Bangladeshi infiltrators?
Does old Karuna deserve a Bharat ratna? again a good 'maybe'. Karuna deserves credit for steadying the ebullient and volatile ship Tamil nationalism, controlling it from drowning in separatist frenzy and directing it towards the path of reconciliation and development. He does have his many drawbacks and idisyncracies though. Although he has joined the mainstream of national politics, he has not faciliated a diaologue between the Tamils and the 'North'. Nor has he expanded the pan-Dravidian vision to faciliate a spirit of friendship between the Southern states. He has not managed to rationalize the promise of the Dravidian movement and realize a unified society - the legacy of the Dravidian movement today is the inexorable proloferation of so many caste-based outfits. Progress for Dalits is still distant. He hasnt shown a consistent Sri Lanka policy either- although that might still not be entirely of his doing, what can any one do with a mercurial personality like Prabaharan.
The only person currently being discussed, on whose behalf I will answer rather than pose the question: Kanshiram does deserve a Bharat ratna. Afterall in how many instances in the world do marginalized communities achieve social justice without 'slitting a single throat' ( see this rediff article)? His pupil and mentee Mayavati has shown the way forward for caste reconciliation in India. This man towers over all modern Hindu social reformers who in their bitterness dont think about long-term consequences of the politics of revenge.
Does Jyoti Basu deserve a Bharat ratna? I ask back 'are you joking?' What does Basu have to his credit apart from preserving over the ruination of such a prosperous and industralized state as WB? And filling WB with Bangladeshi infiltrators?
Does old Karuna deserve a Bharat ratna? again a good 'maybe'. Karuna deserves credit for steadying the ebullient and volatile ship Tamil nationalism, controlling it from drowning in separatist frenzy and directing it towards the path of reconciliation and development. He does have his many drawbacks and idisyncracies though. Although he has joined the mainstream of national politics, he has not faciliated a diaologue between the Tamils and the 'North'. Nor has he expanded the pan-Dravidian vision to faciliate a spirit of friendship between the Southern states. He has not managed to rationalize the promise of the Dravidian movement and realize a unified society - the legacy of the Dravidian movement today is the inexorable proloferation of so many caste-based outfits. Progress for Dalits is still distant. He hasnt shown a consistent Sri Lanka policy either- although that might still not be entirely of his doing, what can any one do with a mercurial personality like Prabaharan.
The only person currently being discussed, on whose behalf I will answer rather than pose the question: Kanshiram does deserve a Bharat ratna. Afterall in how many instances in the world do marginalized communities achieve social justice without 'slitting a single throat' ( see this rediff article)? His pupil and mentee Mayavati has shown the way forward for caste reconciliation in India. This man towers over all modern Hindu social reformers who in their bitterness dont think about long-term consequences of the politics of revenge.
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