Living in Exile in their own country - KPs

Study history, study history. In history lies all the secrets of statecraft - Winston Churchill

Capture of Tibet by China offers many lessons in National security of a country. Tibetans were traditional people living their life dedicated to persuit of self realisation. They were harmless people and have been living that way since thousand of years. With each family contributing  1 member  to be a lama (monk) and surviving through farming and animal rearing. Communist china sought an opportunity of expansion and captured Tibet. Leadership of the tibetans had to flee to India and established their provisional government in India. It was immense loss to India too, Tibet used to act as filler between India and China and except for some part of arunanchal pradesh we had no border conact with China privy to capture of Tibet by chinese dragon.

While the provisional government of Tibet (Dalai Lama) think that one day they would be able to go back to their land but with the arrangements that china has done it is nay impossible. China has done immense infrastructure development in Tibet and also has promoted migration of chinese people in Tibet. Today due to immense economic and political clout of china in world and by  flexing right diplomatic muscles by China, most countries have recognised Tibet as part of China. Few years ago we (India) also agreed to one China policy. 

However hardly half century ago in period preceding WW2, China was being bullied by Japanese.  China which was geographically 20 times bigger than Japan and had more than 6 times the japanese population was under existential threat from japan. Why so ? because chinese leadership was fragmented and their leaders were busy opposing each other. However soon sense prevailed and threat of extinction forced them to unite and china was able to thwart the plans of capture by Japanese. Today China has emerged as a global power due to its unity and today China can defend itself against any adversary.

Four timeless lessons that we can learn from Tibet/China/Japan episode are

1.  You can be harmless and wish peace for all but some one can still capture you for its needs and expansion plans.  so merely good intentions and harmlessness are not enough , we should have muscles to defend ourself.

2. If injustice is happening to your neighbour and you can sleep , wait for your turn you are next. India did not properly respond to Tibets SOS and we soon had to face war with china  and some of territory that we thought as ours was captured. 

3. Unity has immense strength. A united japan thought of capturing disarranged china. But when China got united in course of time it was able to thwart the japanese.

4. Sureshot strategy to absorb a land is to win it culturally and remove people antagonistic to it. China promoted migration of native chinese people to move to Tibet . Similar method of instigating local population and capturing the land was used by Hitler before the 2nd World War and Austria was captured without firing a single shot. 

Let us understand how above four lessons are relevant in kashmir of India. We shall also see whether these lessons of history can teach anything to set things right again. Lets remember that those who dont learn from history become history.

Something similar was being done by our small neighbour to capture Kashmir. Insurgents were asked to march in kashmir and process of radicalisation was started. Kashmiri pandits who were harmless were soon attacked and killed in large numbers. Later on the entire generation of Kashmiri pandits (5 to 6 lacs) in number fled and settled all across India. During 1990s while kashmir was witnessing migration of kashmiri pandits, India was also going through a period of political turmoil and our politicians were more busy in ensuring that who gets to be the PM of India rather than saving the lives of Kashmiri Pandits. (1990s was full of political instability and we had 2 prime ministers). Also we as Indians did not show the unity to save them from their fate and remained largely a mute spectator (Generally speaking).

With Kashmiri pandits removed, one right step by our neigbour and Kashmir could have become independent for time being to be later absorbed by our neighbour. Some countries under influence of china and pakistan would have ratified the independence of Kashmir and India would have lost a strategic position of national security and crown of India.  Today rather than Kashmir we would have been fighting for Jammu and later on some other state if  Indian Army would not have moved to protect our position.

Some of our decisions in the past, including fiasco in tibet and kashmir leave much to be desired. We were suffering from the delusion that being a peace loving nation is a guarantee of our peace. After independence we even had plans of disbanding our army however war with china woke us up to the reality.  So we should have strength to defend ourself (Lesson 1)

We remained quiet for tibetans, lets not forget to speak for KPs or else we will soon face fate like them. permanent migration of KPs has set wrong precedents in country and may lead to some more conflict like these.  (Lesson 2)

United efforts by us can reverse the situation and we should promote migration of people in India (even from south) to live there and set their seperate colonies. Ex Servicemen would be more suitable to this task. Industries should be set up and we should try to win the hearts of Kashmiris and establish kashmiriyat in Kashmir the land famous for its erstwhile Sufi saints and Kashmir shaivism. Economic well being would also lead to promotion of peace among youths and preaching of Jihadi literature should not be permitted (As in 1990s mosques were asking Kashmiri pandits to convert or flee ). Lets us stand up for wellbeing of Kashmiri Pandits, because in their well being lies wellness and peace of our country.

The wise man learns from someone else’s mistakes, the smart man learns from his own, and the stupid one never learns - Ancient Russian proverb

Mother India : How can i contribute to Vishwa Guru Bharat

If you are reading this that means i am addressing atleast 20 % privileged class of my country. If you have ever ventured to some villages of India or to the slums you should be  aware of life and challanges of people there. What are the goals and priorities of their life ? Will they ever be able to come out of vicious circle of poverty is a question we should ask.

We are contributing to our poor brethrens by contributing taxes to government. Administration has a gigantic task cut out in front of it to ensure that government subsidies and benefits reach the needy's and PDS leakage is reduced. The new government has begun well and i see lot of hope and positivity in the air to tackle this menace of corruption which we have nurtured from times even before independence.

Government effort in right direction has a limited potential but when it could meet with Citzens effort potential is limitless.

Some of the ways in which i can think of are

1. Saving Fuel  :  Let us compare what happens to our money when we spend money on fuel rather than  eating out at some restaurant. The burden on our pocket is the same but it is way different for our economy. When we buy fuel the money ultimately escapes our economy and in  increases our current account deficit. At the same time fuel also pollutes the environment. If we all can reduce our fuel consumption even by one litre per month (its not difficult) cumulatively it will have tremendous impact  on environment and on our economy.

      Some suggestions

       a) Using public transport instead of personal vehicle :  In addition to this being cheaper it will also save your time which would be spent in driving. Use this time to invent some more wonderful ideas that can lead our country :)

        b) Using cycling / Walking / running /Skating rather then taking our bike or car  : If your city permits it you can do it for short distances. You will realise that these short distances cumulatively add up and lead to more than hour of activity. Short walks are good for your health and also help you connect with yourself and environment. I was pleasently surprised to know through my app that i everyday walk for more than an hour.

      

      c) Driving style :  Change in driving style can help you save fuel. Drive with awareness and make your life safer. i.e shutting engine in traffic or running at economy speed can bew few suggestions. Since it taxes the environment too its worth taking the pain. Very soon saving fuel will be your habit.

       d) Using Solar cooker to cook food :  Cooking food using solar cooker will also preserve nutrients and will taste great ( food nutrients stay preserved when food is cooked at low temperatures). Taste bhi health bhi.. 

         e) Soaking pulses and rice in water before cooking :  In case you are not able to use solar cooker this simple step will reduce your LPG usage. You will also be contributing to control of global warming. Really beneficial if you have some property at coastal area :P. Years since 1990s have been warmest in recorded history . Who knows if our small efforts can save human race from escaping the fate of dinosaurs.

2. Saving electricity : Now we have many Indians who dont have access to electricity or face power cuts due to lack of electricity. While government will be upgrading its infrastructure our steps can help in lighting few houses and the good news is that we will also be reducing our electricity bills. some steps are

     a) Using  LED bulbs in place of CFL lamps and never using normal bulb

     b) Using Solar Energy for water heating :  Solar powered water heater will greatly reduce your electricity bill.

       c) Using solar panel based electricity as a component : Get a small solar panel and use its electricity as a component. 

       d) Conscious use of electricity

3. Volunteering for Community Service  : Lets remember how privileged we are. A visit to slum or to a village school will open new vistas in front of us. The concerns of people living there are totally different. Even the younger generation is bereft of the advantages of education due to corruption and super poor quality of teachers generally speaking. Our volunteering to teach them will secure future of our country. And trust me , Your help will come back to you manifolded thousand times. So contact any NGO nearby and chip in your time. Trust me you will feel great.

4 Swaccha Bharat :  Is it practical to expect that government authorities will be able to clean our neigbourhood while citizens themselves keep on throwing wastage here and there. I have been living in one of top 7 global cities of the world in terms of comfort and know that it is clean due to the fact that we throw garbage in the bin. We have to take initiatives because it is our country and it is our home. 

5 Polythenes : Please pressurise your government to ban polythene bags. In the country where i live it is priced at 20 Euro cents i.e Rs 18 per polythene, resulting in all reusing the same polythene bag when i shop. Could we follow the same model in India. Besides most of India would be cleaned if we can just get rid of polythene in our garbage.

Swami Vivekananda : Man who saw future

Swami ji's contribution to world and India

11/7 is a day which is most remembered for the attack on World Trade centre , however this date in 1893 is the one which changed the destiny of India and perhaps of the world. It was in 11 Sep 1893 when Swami Vivekananda presented ideas of India to the world. Swami ji's message and response made him an instant celebrity. He was invited to lecture around america and his attendees included famous scientists like Nikole Tesla and industralists like Rockefeller. In a private meeting with Rockefeller, Swami Vivekananda mentioned about importance of helping the poor the idea which then met with fierce resistance, however later on Rockefeller had a heart change and Rockeller foundation became one of the biggest charitable organisation of America for times to come.

In India, Swami ji's works led to the uncovering of Ideas that would soon become the core of India.  Most of the freedom fighters including Gandhi ji , Subhash chandra bose and others were inspired by his patriotic works and vision for India. BR Ambedkar the man hailed as father of our constitution was a great admirer of his works. Back in 1900s Swami ji had regarded untouchability as a superstition and among one of the many things which have prevented India from surging ahead. Later on when India's constitution was written,  "Prohibition of untouchability" was one of the first things adopted in it. His meeting with Jamshed ji tata and his vision for India to have research institute which would make India self sufficient in technological research led to creation of IISC Bangalore.

Interesting Phenomenon

Save for the response that Swami ji speech drew in America , he would have been largely unknown in India and his ideas buried like many other great works that lie unnoticed today. In order for India to accept his wisdom, acknowledgement from west was needed.  

It is really interesting to ponder why Swami ji who had wandered all across India as a mendicant had to travel to America before his wisdom would be appreciated in India ?

Causes

Perhaps seeds for the same were planted during of era of colonialism and imperialism by Britishers. In order to enslave some culture . History of India was systematically changed and new concepts like Aryan invasion which were figments of imagination were introduced. Even till today we can see an effect of this in our psyche.There is a fascination for products which are made in America or UK rather than those who are made and produced in our country.   Most among us consider conversing in English rather than our mother tongue a matter of prestige. If that was not enough, we even go to extent of imitating british or american accent. Foreign langauage with foreign accent seem to be holding the key for success. 

Some months ago i was having a discussion with my friend who was against HRD ministry's decision of teaching sanskrit instead of German.  His primary point was that Indians should learn German as it would help them in  getting employment abroad.  His comment made me realise that for many of us getting employment abroad seems to be purpose of our existence. Is it a surprise that India has not created any of the products like Google, Facebook or twitter however most of these companies have majority of workforce as Indians.  We seem to be good at following orders rather than taking initiatives. 

Such is the disconnect that some Indians have towards their own culture, that  few days ago when Union Minister Dr Harshvardhan stated a historical fact that Phythagoras theorem and Algebra originated in India he was mocked. 

Indias clarion call to the world

Among all above humdrum there is a role reversal that is seen. Visit the cities of Vrindavan, Rishikesh and you will notice the attention that Yoga and meditation have generated in the world. During my stay of over 4 years in Europe i have been a witness to the attention that Sri Sri Ravinshankar , Mata Amritanandmayi,  Baba ramdev or ISKCON have generated here. Today Yoga is taught in major cities of the world and even in Frankfurt (the city i live) there are over 9 different organisations that teach yoga and meditation.

Vedic mathematics techniques can greatly enhance learning abilities of children.

Ayurveda has potential to complement Allopathic medicine system and a promote a healthy life style across the world. Ayurvedic medicines enhance the immunity of body and are not limited to disease elimination. 

There are so ways in which India can contribute to the world.

How can India rise again 

Before we can be a global force again we need to be aware of the immense potential we have today.  

In Government organisations, Red Tapism should be replaced with innovativenessa and entrepreneurship. A red tapist will create obstacles in the way of work while and an entrepreneur will find ways to make things work.

The dull environment of a government office can be replaced with much colour if our officials have a  purpose of making Vishwa Guru Bharat rather than ONLY getting paycheck.

Our entrepreneurs should have the belief that we are destined for greatness and India is going to be a global force soon.

Lets us commit our next 50 years to worship mother India through our service to humanity

Bharat Maata ki Jai!