This award will not change the Chinese Government in terms of its treatment of dissidents or its attitude towards other Nations. Other Nations’ perception or attitude China does not matter to China. If at all there is going to be a change it shall be toughening of stand against the award recipient and other dissidents. China is a case beyond curing.
Story:
The Chinese government addresses such issues strictly in terms of one question: What serves the Communist Party’s monopoly grip on power?
The prize will add considerable weight to alternate visions of China’s future that originate with people outside of the government.
In the short term, the government’s response to Liu Xiaobo’s peace prize will certainly be to try to expunge all mention of it from the media and the Internet. And insofar as the news does leak out, government leaders will try to stimulate and exploit nationalist sentiment by charging that foreigners are meddling in China’s affairs and that Liu has lost face for the motherland — for whom we, the Communist Party, are the sole legitimate representative. There is no doubt that this will be the short-term response. Indeed the first signs are already visible.
In the long run, though, the government authorities must decide if the perpetual international embarrassment is worth keeping one bookish free-thinker behind bars. They will have to calculate whether their power is better served by releasing Liu and subjecting him to the garden-variety harassment and control that other dissidents routinely endure.
The big question is not the government’s reaction but the long-term reaction of China’s people. In my view, the prize will add considerable prestige and weight to alternate visions of China’s future that originate with those outside of the government.
The prize will help Chinese people to see and feel that they have choices in what they pin their Chinese identity on. “China” in the 21st-century can be something bigger than, better than, and healthier than a crusty old-fashioned authoritarian government.
Within hours of the announcement of a Nobel Peace Prize for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese government reacted as if reading from a script. As expected—and as was appropriate, given that Liu is an advocate of the free press—it erased news of the prize from Chinese Web sites, removed Liu’s name from Twitter, and jammed a CNN broadcast from Oslo. It also issued a fairly standard string of denunciations. A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry described Liu as a “convicted criminal sentenced to jail by Chinese justice authorities for violation of Chinese law.” By giving him the prize, the committee had “totally gone against the purpose of the award” and “committed blasphemy against the peace prize.”
In HinduismGod is easily accessible and one can worship Him/Her in any form or have relation ship with him in any capacity,Supreme Being,Teacher,friend ,Lover,Guide ,mother,father or in any way the human mind can conceive, depending individual’s comfort level for communion with the Supreme Being.
The Devadasi system was evolved taking into consideration this fact and women who wish to serve God by dedicating themselves to the service God, shunning all worldly desires, including marriage and the society took care of their needs.
Unfortunately this system got corrupted by people who do not know/understand the background of the system and it has become an out let for prostitution.
The Devadasis are dedicated to any God , not to Goddesses, (as mentioned in the article)
It is easy for people to misunderstand Hinduism if they do not study deeply Hinduism .This applies in equal measure to people who call themselves Hindus as well as those who do are not familiar with Hinduism.
Let me record my appreciation of the author for her objective reporting.
For details of Hinduism and Hindu customs please follow the link.
The Devadasi system is not meant for prostitution.In Hinduism God is easily accessible and one can worship Him/Her in any form or have relation ship with him in any capacity,Supreme Being,Teacher,friend ,Lover,Guide ,mother,father or in any way the human mind can conceive, depending individual’s comfort level for communion with the Supreme Being.The Devadasi system was evolved taking into consideration this fact and women who wish to serve God by dedicating themselves to the service God, shunning all worldly desires, including marriage and the society took care of their needs.Unfortunately this system got corrupted by people who do not know/understand the background of the system and it has become an out let for prostitution.The Devadasis are dedicated to any God , not to Goddesses, (as mentioned in the article)It is easy for people to misunderstand Hinduism if they do not study deeply Hinduism .This applies in equal measure to people who call themselves Hindus as well as those who do are not familiar with Hinduism.Let me record my appreciation of the author for her objective reporting.For details of Hinduism and Hindu customs please follow the link.
Also read my Blogs under Hinduism/Indian Philosophy.
Story.
On my very first day there I stumbled into a meeting of Devadasi prostitutes. I was told that they were temple prostitutes, but didn’t have any understanding of what that meant. It sounded absolutely barmy!
I began to research it and in February 2008 was invited to northern Karnatakar, which is the centre of the tradition in India. I interviewed a few of the women and wrote an article about it for Vice magazine. But visiting them stayed with me, and I wanted to find out more.
When you approach a Devadasi girl for interview the response varies hugely. There’s a huge spectrum of women. A really wealthy brothel madam in Mumbai would be quite proud to talk about what she does. But in very poor rural communities, like in Karnatakar, they’re much more difficult to talk to. These young women are ostracised and exploited and they’re ashamed of what they do. They wish they could get married, but they can’t and are in this dreadful prison.
The only thing that has changed since the Devadasi practise was made illegal in 1988 is that the ceremonies have been driven underground. It’s still very common in some parts of India. A Westerner wouldn’t know to look at the girls that they are Devadasi, but Indians know on sight who they are and what they do. Really it comes down to caste.
Caste is a massively complicated issue still in India. My understanding of it is that originally when the Devadasi tradition first came about, the women dedicated were from high caste families, even royalty. They held a very special place in the Indian culture: were incredible dancers, poets, artisans. They had specific religious roles to play within the temple performing various sacred religious rites. They were almost like nuns and it had nothing to do with sex. It was more like being a priestess.
There can be no better example of shooting one’s own foot than India’s clumsy handling of the Kashmir issue. It is a saga of naivety, blinkered vision and inept leadership.
Hari Singh was the reigning monarch of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947. He was vacillating when tribal marauders invaded Kashmir in October 1947, duly backed by the Pakistan army. Unable to counter them, Hari Singh appealed to India for assistance and agreed to accede to India. Indian forces blunted the invasion and re-conquered vast areas.
First, India erred by not insisting on unequivocal accession of the state to the Dominion of India and granted special status to it through Article 37p0 of the Constitution. Secondly, when on the verge of evicting all invaders and recapturing the complete state, India halted operations on 1 January 1949 and appealed to the Security Council. It is the only case in known history wherein a country, when on the threshold of complete victory, has voluntarily forsaken it in the misplaced hope of winning admiration of the world community. Thirdly and most shockingly, the Indian leadership made a highly unconstitutional offer of plebiscite in the UN.
Forty percent area of the state continues to be under Pakistan’s control, providing it a strategic land route to China through the Karakoram ranges. As a fall out of the unresolved dispute, India and Pakistan have fought numerous wars and skirmishes with no solution in sight. Worse, the local politicians are holding India to ransom by playing the Pak card. Kashmir issue is a self-created cancerous furuncle that defies all medications and continues to bleed the country.
The basic mistake was not rushing the Indian Army after his SOS.Sardar Patel was swift to move but was stalled by Nehru for inexplicable reason dithered.had the army been moved swiftly,Pakistan would have had no chance of entering Kashmir.
The inexplicable reason was Farouk Abdullah.Old timers know what it is.
Please read ‘Freedom at Midnight‘ by Larry Collins and La Pierre.You shall get a ringside view.
Also read article by professor oaks, serialized in ‘Mother India’ of Baburao Patel.
No 2: Ignoring Chinese Threats and Neglecting the Military
Memories of the year 1962 will always trouble the Indian psyche. A nation of India’s size had lulled itself into believing that its protestations and platitudes of peaceful co-existence would be reciprocated by the world. It was often stated that a peace-loving nation like India did not need military at all. The armed forces were neglected. The political leadership took pride in denigrating the military leadership and meddled in internal affairs of the services to promote sycophancy. Foreign policy was in shambles. The intelligence apparatus was rusty.
Even though signs of China’s aggressive intentions were clearly discernible for years in advance, the Indian leadership decided to keep its eyes shut in the fond hope that the problem would resolve itself. When China struck, the country was caught totally unprepared. Troops were rushed to snowbound areas with summer clothing and outdated rifles. Despite numerous sagas of gallantry, the country suffered terrible embarrassment. India was on its knees. With the national morale and pride in tatters, India was forced to appeal to all nations for military aid. Inept and incompetent leadership had forced a proud nation to find solace in Lata Mangeshkar’s Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo.
Nehru was a dreamer with no knowledge of Real Politik.
He was hoodwinked by Chou En Lai with his Panch Sheel and Hindi Chini bhai Bhai.
To top it all he had V.K.K .Menon as his confidante , who is a known die-hard communist.
Betrayal by China cost Nehru his life a little later..
No 3: The Tashkent Agreement and Return of Haji Pir Pass
Following the cease-fire after the Indo-Pak War of 1965, a Russian-sponsored agreement was signed between India and Pakistan in Tashkent on 10 January 1966. Under the agreement, India agreed to return the strategic Haji Pir pass to Pakistan which it had captured in August 1965 against heavy odds and at a huge human cost. The pass connects Poonch and Uri sectors in Jammu and Kashmir and reduces the distance between the two sectors to 15 km whereas the alternate route entails travel of over 200 km. India got nothing in return except an undertaking by Pakistan to abjure war, an undertaking which meant little as Pakistan never had any intention of honouring it.
Return of the vital Haji Pir pass was a mistake of monumental proportions for which India is suffering to date. In addition to denying a direct link between Poonch and Uri sectors, the pass is being effectively used by Pakistan to sponsor infiltration of terrorists into India. Inability to resist Russian pressure was a manifestation of the spineless Indian foreign policy and shortsighted leadership.
Tashkent agreement was rammed into the throat by Kosygin of USSR.
Shastri buckled under pressure and died in Tashkent.
With the fall of Dhaka on 16 December 1971, India had scored a decisive victory over Pakistan. Over 96,000 Pak soldiers were taken Prisoners of War (PoWs). Later, an agreement was signed between the two countries on 2 July 1972 at Shimla. Both countries agreed to exchange all PoWs, respect the line of control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir and refrain from the use of threat or force. Additionally, Bhutto gave a solemn verbal undertaking to accept LOC as the de facto border.
India released all Pak PoWs in good faith. Pakistan, on the other hand, released only 617 Indian PoWs while holding back 54 PoWs who are still languishing in Pakistani jails. The Indian Government has admitted this fact a number of times but has failed to secure their release. India failed to use the leverage of 96,000 Pak PoWs to discipline Pakistan. A rare opportunity was thus wasted. Forget establishing permanent peace in the sub-continent, India failed to ensure release of all Indian PoWs – a criminal omission by all accounts.
The naivety of the Indian delegation can be seen from the fact that it allowed Pakistan to bluff its way through at Shimla. The Indian leadership was fooled into believing Pakistan’s sincerity. Unquestionably, Pakistan never intended to abide by its promises, both written and verbal. Fruits of a hard-fought victory in the battlefield were frittered away on the negotiating table by the bungling leadership.
Despite all her leadership qualities and bold decision-making skills,Indira Gandhi also suffered in the vanity of being called magnanimous in Victory.
There is no other reason for USSR, in this case, was backing India.
No. 5: The Nuclear Muddle
Subsequent to the Chinese Nuclear Test at Lop Nor in 1964, India showed rare courage in carrying out its first nuclear test on 18 May 1974 at Pokharan. Outside the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, India was the only nation to prove its nuclear capability. The whole country was ecstatic and every Indian felt proud of its scientific prowess. But Indians had not contended with their Government’s penchant for converting opportunity into adversity and squandering hard-earned gains.
Instead of asserting India’s newly acquired status of a nuclear power and demanding recognition, India turned apologetic and tried to convince the world that it had no nuclear ambitions. Strangely, it termed the Pokharan test as a ‘peaceful nuclear explosion’ – a term unheard of till then. The Defence Minister went to the extent of claiming that the Indian nuclear experiment was ‘only for mining, oil and gas prospecting, for finding underground sources of water, for diverting rivers, for scientific and technological knowledge.’ It was a self-deprecating stance. Displaying acute inferiority complex, India did not want to be counted as a member of the exclusive nuclear club.
Criticism and sanctions were expected and must have been factored in before opting for the nuclear test. Whereas a few more assertive follow-on tests would have forced the world to accept India as a member of the nuclear club, India went into an overdrive to placate the world through a self-imposed moratorium on further testing. It lost out on all the advantages provided to it by its scientists. It suffered sanctions and yet failed to gain recognition as a nuclear power. The country missed golden opportunities due to the timidity and spinelessness of its leaders.
Sometimes in international power,one has to appear to be meek and defensive to reach the ultimate goal.
This has been done in this case.
This also has shown the world that India can lead upfront in technology especially in Computing and Military
No 6: The Kandahar hijacking
The hijacking of an Indian Airlines aircraft to Kandahar by Pakistani terrorists in December 1999 will continue to rile India’s self-respect for long. According to the Hindustan Times, India lost face and got reduced to begging for co-operation from the very regimes that were actively undermining its internal security. The hijacking revealed how ill-prepared India was to face up to the challenges of international terrorism.
The eight-day long ordeal ended only after India’s National Security Adviser brazenly announced that an agreement had been reached for the release of all the hostages in exchange for three Kashmiri militants including Maulana Masood Azhar. Sadly, the Prime Minister claimed credit for forcing the hijackers to climb down on their demands. The worst was yet to follow. India’s Foreign Minister decided to accompany the released militants to Kandahar, as if seeing off honoured guests.
The government’s poor crisis-management skills and extreme complacency in security matters allowed the hijackers to take off from Amritsar airport after 39 minutes halt for refueling, thereby letting the problem get out of control. India’s much-vaunted decision-making apparatus collapsed and was completely paralysed by the audacity of a bunch of motivated fanatics. It was a comprehensive failure of monumental proportions. India’s slack and amateurish functioning made the country earn the tag of a soft nation which it will find very difficult to shed.
No other reason but to please the minority vote bank.
Remember the composition of the Ministry and power structure.
No 7: Illegal Immigration and Passage of IMDT Act
It is a standard practice all over the world that the burden of proving one’s status as a bona-fide citizen of a country falls on the accused. It is so for India as well under Foreigners Act, 1946. Political expediency forced the Government to make an exception for Assam. In one of the most short-sighted and anti-national moves, India passed the Illegal Migrants – Determination by Tribunals (IMDT) Act of 1984 for Assam. It shifted the onus of proving the illegal status of a suspected immigrant on to the accuser, which was a tall and virtually impossible order. Detection and deportation of illegal immigrants became impossible.
Whenever demands were raised for repealing the Act, the Congress, the Left Front and the United Minorities Front resisted strongly. Illegal immigrants had become the most loyal vote bank of the Congress. Worse, every protest against the Act was dubbed as ‘anti-minority’ , thereby imparting communal colour to an issue of national security. The government’s ‘pardon’ of all Bangladeshis who had come in before 1985 was another unconstitutional act that aggravated the problem.
The Act was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on July 13, 2005, more than 20 years after its enactment. The Apex Court was of the view that the influx of Bangladeshi nationals into Assam posed a threat to the integrity and security of northeastern region. Unfortunately, immense damage had already been done to the demography of Assam and the local people of Assam had been reduced to minority status in certain districts. Illegal immigrants have come to have a stranglehold over electioneering to the extent that no party can hope to come to power without their support. Nearly 30 Islamic groups are thriving in the area to further their Islamist and Pan-Bangladesh agenda. It is incomprehensible that a nation’s leadership can stoop so low and endanger even national security for garnering votes.
Whatever party comes to power they need votes.Illegal immigrants ,especially of minority community is raw meat politicians to manipulate.
*The article was emailed to me.The comments in italics are mine.
ICC says there is enough evidence to suspend them;Pakistan High Commisioner says it is India conspiracy;Salman Butt & Co says to Sctland Yard that they know Majeed and accepts taking money;their lawyer says the trio knew Majeed , he is their agent ,the money is for sponsorship;Shahid Afridi issues public apology on behalf of the trio.
??!!
Read my blog on ‘Pakistan – (Salman) Butted
Story:
Pakistan’s one-day captain, Shahid Afridi, has issued a remarkable public apology on behalf of the three players at the centre of cricket’s betting scandal.
“I think it is very bad news,” he said. “On behalf of these players – I know they are not in this series – but on behalf of these boys I want to say sorry to all cricket lovers and all the cricketing nations.”
Afridi was at pains to distance himself from those implicated in the betting scandal – the Test captain, Salman Butt, and the fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif – as he arrived at nets ahead of Pakistan’s Twenty20 game against England in Cardiff tomorrow.
He made no attempt to proclaim that they were innocent until proven guilty and he also stressed that he had no anger about the investigation into the players. “No,” was his emphatic response.
The Pakistan players at the centre of the corruption row want a “timely and satisfactory outcome” to the affair.
Police questioned Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif on Friday over claims deliberate no-balls were bowled in the fourth Test with England.
“At no time were they placed under arrest, they were free to leave at any time,” said lawyer Elizabeth Robertson.
“They answered questions put to them and were released without charge or conditions,” she added.
The trio were quizzed separately by detectives in Kilburn in north London on Friday in the aftermath of allegations published in the News of the World newspaper last Sunday.
‘The Dawn ‘ of pakistan in a blog takes a totally opposite view of the incident reflecting the mood of the Sports lovers there.
Which do you think the geniuses at the PCB opted for?
It comes as no surprise that Haroon Lorgat announced the suspensions of Amir, Asif and Butt, pending the completion of the investigation. They cajoled and urged all they could, but the PCB was adamant: these were mere allegations, they said. And people are innocent until proven guilty.
Which is true, technically speaking. But when the charges are this serious, and the initial evidence is so compelling, it behoves responsible adults to comprehend the stakes involved. The removal of Amir, Asif and Butt from the touring party would not have been an admission of guilt; it would’ve been the simple and sensible thing to do under the circumstances. It would’ve served the purpose of sending a signal to the rest of the cricketing world than we mean business, and we’re going to handle things properly. And it’s not as if the three players would have been in tip-top mental, emotional and psychological shape to play cricket anyway. But as it is wont to do, the PCB shunned its responsibility, and made the ICC do its work for it.
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