Friday, July 31, 2009

OSTRACIZE SEX PEST

AUM
OSTRACIZE SEX PEST
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM

Sexual crimes are on the rise in our society. Perhaps criminals are emboldened because they have not been punished for their past misdeeds. In some cases the criminals buy social respect and political power to perpetrate sexual oppression. The lion hearted , if any, turn Nelson's eye to social oppression of this nature. The lamb hearted are not expected to resist the criminals who unfortunately possess both fat money bags and command political power. How will the social system protect teenage girls, young boys and pretty women from the onslaught of sex maniacs and compulsive rapists? Well, the answer lies in inculcating and developing moral courage among the rank and file of the society and devising plans for effective punishment and elimination of sex pests. Let us first identify the problem areas and look for solutions.

PERMISSIVE SOCIETY

Some sociologists are of the opinion that the present day society has become permissive and does not castigate those individuals who infringe social and sexual norms. Both the electronic and print media collect, collate and disseminate information on sex to such an extent that teenagers are motivated to have a trial run of what they have seen on the small screen or read in print. In some cases the youth is sexually aroused and with both boys and girls living and studying in close proximity, sexual experimentation and sexual escapades become a norm rather than an aberration. When space for stolen love is not available they take shelter in public parks and look for secluded and dark corners to carry on with sexual acts. it is here that they become vulnerable to attacks of and exploitation by sex pests in the society. Exploitation by criminals becomes an ongoing process and the victims do not have moral courage to call a halt lest they stand exposed in their social circles. What a vicious circle it becomes? Indeed it is a sad situation but it is there.

Where do we go from here? Let us identify criminal elements first, have them brought to book and subsequently wean away our young boys and girls from sexual pleasures that give more pain than pleasure. Easier said than done? No, pt is not a tall order. Let us go to the Buddha Jayanti Park in New Delhi. It is an ideal setting for what has been described in the previous paragraph. Surprisingly, the villain in a recent case of sexual exploitation of young love birds were none other than the Rashtrapati ke Angrakshak of an elite mounted unit called the President"s Body Guard. How long had they been committing this crime of intimidation, extortion and forced sex amounting to Rape is anybody's guess. The soldiers brought a sense of shame to the Rashtrapati Bhawan and the Indian Army. Anyway, hopefully a full stop was put to sexual offences. Nevertheless, one has to be on guard lest history repeats itself.

A two-pronged attack should be launched on the phenomenon of permissiveness in the society. Cleansing of minds, elimination of pornographic literature available to teenagers in print and on small screen and regulated outdoor life. The vulnerable sections of the society should be cautioned agains surprise attacks of human predators who roam about roads and lanes looking for easy prey. It is our DHARMA to protect our children by incresing awareness of such situations where harm comes in a big way. Keep the teenagers out of harm's way, that should be our suraksha mantra. Also we should all remember that "Prevention is better than cure". There is no point in lamenting after the honour of the individual and the family is robbed at gun point. In some cases rapists took the plea that the girls lured them into performing sexual acts and that it was consensual sex and Not Rape.

RAPE AND CONSENSUAL SEX

The Indian Penal Code is specific on what constitutes rape. Section 375 IPC defines it and the punishment is awarded under section 376. Presently we shall also draw a distinction between consensual sex and rape. When two consenting adults,one man and one woman, have sexual intercourse of their free will without fear or inducement, the act does not attract penal provisions. However,if there is a false promise of marriage just to have sex, it would be termed as rape. If the rapist paints a false scenario to the prosecutrix and has sex, it would be termed rape. In one case a doctor while examining a pretty bride for stomachache , bared her body and had sex as a part of treatment, the court termed this medical operation as rape. It is als laid down that mere penetration of penis into vagina is sufficient to constitute the offence of rape. Young and inexperienced teenagers must take care so that they are not exploited by sex pests who are ever ready to take undue advantage of their innocence.

The question of consensual sex does not arise when the girl is a minor. A girl under 18 years of age may consent to have sex with a man but the sexual act will be termed as Rape. Consent to have sex with a minor is not valid in the eye of law. Let our children know the correct position of law so that they protect themselves and their honour from the onslaught of sexual perverts and pests.

OSTRACIZE SEX PESTS

PEER PRESSURE AND SOCIAL PRESSURE ON A SEX PEST WORKS WONDERS. Man is a social being and cannot live alone. Every human being gets his or her sustenance from the social set up , be it food or water or company of fellow human beings. Many old men and women who are physically unable to move around, invite school children to their homes so that they hear human voice in their own home. In turn the lady of the house cooks goodies or buys from the market for the children so that they find visit to senior citizens worthwhile. Moral of the story is that hearing human voice is also like oxygen and sustains an individual.
Thus, if a sex pest is shunned by the society as a whole, he wont be able to survive. There has to be complete cohesion in the society so that social boycott of the sex pest is effective. Sociologists may also advise heads of communities to boycott the sex pests successfully. The results will be really amazing. This ostrcization should be a voluntary step by the society and the compulsion of law may not be brought in.

All said and done, sex pests have to be either eliminated or made ineffective. The teenagers will feel the difference and in the absence of their tormentors, rnjoy the cool breeze of the morning and hear the birds sing when the cows come home in the evening. Indeed the teenagers will be in Heaven while living in this world.

ADDRESS : UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA - 201303 INDIA Mobile : 0091-981117359

Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com or upvanom@yahoo.com

OSTRACIZE SEX PEST


AUM
OSTRACIZE SEX PEST
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM

Sexual crimes are on the rise in our society. Perhaps criminals are emboldened because they have not been punished for their past misdeeds. In some cases the criminals buy social respect and political power to perpetrate sexual oppression. The lion hearted , if any, turn Nelson's eye to social oppression of this nature. The lamb hearted are not expected to resist the criminals who unfortunately possess both fat money bags and command political power. How will the social system protect teenage girls, young boys and pretty women from the onslaught of sex maniacs and compulsive rapists? Well, the answer lies in inculcating and developing moral courage among the rank and file of the society and devising plans for effective punishment and elimination of sex pests. Let us first identify the problem areas and look for solutions.

PERMISSIVE SOCIETY

Some sociologists are of the opinion that the present day society has become permissive and does not castigate those individuals who infringe social and sexual norms. Both the electronic and print media collect, collate and disseminate information on sex to such an extent that teenagers are motivated to have a trial run of what they have seen on the small screen or read in print. In some cases the youth is sexually aroused and with both boys and girls living and studying in close proximity, sexual experimentation and sexual escapades become a norm rather than an aberration. When space for stolen love is not available they take shelter in public parks and look for secluded and dark corners to carry on with sexual acts. it is here that they become vulnerable to attacks of and exploitation by sex pests in the society. Exploitation by criminals becomes an ongoing process and the victims do not have moral courage to call a halt lest they stand exposed in their social circles. What a vicious circle it becomes? Indeed it is a sad situation but it is there.

Where do we go from here? Let us identify criminal elements first, have them brought to book and subsequently wean away our young boys and girls from sexual pleasures that give more pain than pleasure. Easier said than done? No, pt is not a tall order. Let us go to the Buddha Jayanti Park in New Delhi. It is an ideal setting for what has been described in the previous paragraph. Surprisingly, the villain in a recent case of sexual exploitation of young love birds were none other than the Rashtrapati ke Angrakshak of an elite mounted unit called the President"s Body Guard. How long had they been committing this crime of intimidation, extortion and forced sex amounting to Rape is anybody's guess. The soldiers brought a sense of shame to the Rashtrapati Bhawan and the Indian Army. Anyway, hopefully a full stop was put to sexual offences. Nevertheless, one has to be on guard lest history repeats itself.

A two-pronged attack should be launched on the phenomenon of permissiveness in the society. Cleansing of minds, elimination of pornographic literature available to teenagers in print and on small screen and regulated outdoor life. The vulnerable sections of the society should be cautioned agains surprise attacks of human predators who roam about roads and lanes looking for easy prey. It is our DHARMA to protect our children by incresing awareness of such situations where harm comes in a big way. Keep the teenagers out of harm's way, that should be our suraksha mantra. Also we should all remember that "Prevention is better than cure". There is no point in lamenting after the honour of the individual and the family is robbed at gun point. In some cases rapists took the plea that the girls lured them into performing sexual acts and that it was consensual sex and Not Rape.

RAPE AND CONSENSUAL SEX

The Indian Penal Code is specific on what constitutes rape. Section 375 IPC defines it and the punishment is awarded under section 376. Presently we shall also draw a distinction between consensual sex and rape. When two consenting adults,one man and one woman, have sexual intercourse of their free will without fear or inducement, the act does not attract penal provisions. However,if there is a false promise of marriage just to have sex, it would be termed as rape. If the rapist paints a false scenario to the prosecutrix and has sex, it would be termed rape. In one case a doctor while examining a pretty bride for stomachache , bared her body and had sex as a part of treatment, the court termed this medical operation as rape. It is als laid down that mere penetration of penis into vagina is sufficient to constitute the offence of rape. Young and inexperienced teenagers must take care so that they are not exploited by sex pests who are ever ready to take undue advantage of their innocence.

The question of consensual sex does not arise when the girl is a minor. A girl under 18 years of age may consent to have sex with a man but the sexual act will be termed as Rape. Consent to have sex with a minor is not valid in the eye of law. Let our children know the correct position of law so that they protect themselves and their honour from the onslaught of sexual perverts and pests.

OSTRACIZE SEX PESTS

PEER PRESSURE AND SOCIAL PRESSURE ON A SEX PEST WORKS WONDERS. Man is a social being and cannot live alone. Every human being gets his or her sustenance from the social set up , be it food or water or company of fellow human beings. Many old men and women who are physically unable to move around, invite school children to their homes so that they hear human voice in their own home. In turn the lady of the house cooks goodies or buys from the market for the children so that they find visit to senior citizens worthwhile. Moral of the story is that hearing human voice is also like oxygen and sustains an individual.
Thus, if a sex pest is shunned by the society as a whole, he wont be able to survive. There has to be complete cohesion in the society so that social boycott of the sex pest is effective. Sociologists may also advise heads of communities to boycott the sex pests successfully. The results will be really amazing. This ostrcization should be a voluntary step by the society and the compulsion of law may not be brought in.

All said and done, sex pests have to be either eliminated or made ineffective. The teenagers will feel the difference and in the absence of their tormentors, rnjoy the cool breeze of the morning and hear the birds sing when the cows come home in the evening. Indeed the teenagers will be in Heaven while living in this world.

ADDRESS : UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA - 201303 INDIA Mobile : 0091-981117359

Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com or upvanom@yahoo.com

IS SULKING A SOLUTION

AUM
IS SULKING A SOLUTION
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM


We all sulk. I guess it is a part of human nature. Nevertheless sulking cannot be called a symptom of good health. It may be called a malady that needs remedy lest it goes from bad to worse. What is a sulk? Well, when an individual is sullen and does not wish to communicate with other human beings, it may be termed as a sulk. Inability to do an assignment or incapability to grasp a situation or identify a problem, what to say of finding a solution, may make an individual sulk. If this kind of sulking goes on for a fairly long period, the individual concerned starts enjoying his or her sulk. In these circumstances, the friends and family may have to try harder to bring the individual back to normalcy. Thus a sulk becomes a malady that defies remedy.

AYODHYA , that is the capital of kingdom of Avadh. The metropolis is agog with the news of Rajyabhishek or annointing Shri Ram as the ruler in place of his father,Raja Dasrath. joy knows no bounds among captains and commoners. however, for Kaikeyi, the prettiest and most loved queen of king Dasrath, it was a different cup of tea. She was sulking. It was a royal sulk and was writ large all over the place. Under advice of her maid and confidant,Manthara, she had moved into the Kopa Bhawan or the place designated to show sulk or anger. This brings us to the point that sulk may be sported at the normal place of work or living or at a designated place. The sulk of Kaikeyi succeeded in banishing Shri Ram for fourteen years and designating her son,Bharat, as the heir apparent. The moral of the story is that a sulk should not be permitted to reap the harvest of the planned sowing of seeds of discord. Of course, in AYODHYA, the circumstances added weight to the sulk and it achieved the aim.


A moment ago we talked of the designated place of sulk. It was so in ancient times and it is so in modern times. Quite a few corporate houses in Japan have designated spots in the office or factory premises where executives and workers may go and eliminate their sulk or anger by throwing crockery or glassware against the wall and break it into pieces. Once the pent up emotions have been given vent to, sulkers return to designated place of duty and put in hard work to keep the company afloat and eventually earn profits.


SULKERS IN HIGH POSITIONS


Sulking becomes an acute problem when the sulker is occupying a position of importance. Finding a solution to sulking is a Herculean job therein. Here is a true story from the British Army stationed in India in the pre-independence days. One fine morning the Commanding Officer of an infantry battalion was having his breakfast in the officers mess and was also reading the morning newspaper. A subaltern freshly commissioned after training at Sandhurst, the Kashi of the British officers, entered the dining hall. As was the training and the practice, the subaltern wished the commanding officer"Good Morning Sir"". The senior officer had his eyes fixed on some home news of interest and the teeth had bitten deep into a piece of ham and thus chose to ignore the youngster. The young officer persisted with "Good Morning Sir"as per the rule book. The senior officer, grumpy and sullen, retorted "Good Morning, Good Morning, what is so bloody good with this morning"and resumed his intellectual exercise. Until then the youing officer had not come across a sulky senior officer and felt so bad that he was almost in tears. The moral of the true story is that the cadets under training should be taught behavioural science and apprised of the existence of sulk in the army too.

Sometimes some highbrows think that to sulk is their prerogative. On going on a sulk, the rest of the outfit would go out of their way to desulk the boss man and yield many a point that they would not have yielded in the normal run of things. Thus at times unsavoury situation develops when the boss man on a sulk demands and receives sexual favours from a female subordinate. He may call it consensual sex but frankly speaking the sexual act amounts to rape. Let us leave it at that after quoting John Gray "Men are from Mars and women are fromVenus." Nonetheless, both sulk - may be for different reasons,though. A sulk is like an entry into a well when the sulker is shut out from the rest of the world. A sulker suffers from unredressed grievances. A grievance may be a real one or just a figment of imagination. A sulker may feel that he or she is being ignored or the world is out to oppress. By going into a sulk, a sulker feels the existence of a protective wall around him. Further, the loved ones will come forward to implore him to give up that sulk and be a normal cheerful person. Thus he will be a centre of attraction,never mind the wrong reasons, and all eyes will be focussed on him. The entire exercise gives a kind of thrill not experienced in the normal run of things.


HUMOUR CREMATES SULK

HUMOUR IS THE BEST KNOWN ANTI-DOTE TO THE POISON OF SULK. In a healthy society one invariably finds an individual or two who not only possess wit and humour but also practise them. Humour and sulk cannot coexist. It is equally true of children and adults. A sulking child should never be given what he demands otherwise to get an object of his choice child will go into a sulk. Humour also begets happiness. Oscar Wilde, the famous English writer and a professed homo-sexual who was imprisoned for this impropriety,wrote " The best way to make children good is to make them happy."Happiness roots out sulk and does not let it resurface. In any case, experts on sulk opine that a sulker restored to normalcy must not tread the beaten track again as no one would care a dime for him or her. There the history does not repeat itself.

Address : UPVAN 609, Sector 29 , NOIDA – 201303 INDIA
Mobile 0091-9811173590 Phone 0091-120-2454622
Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com upvanom@yahoo.com

PEOPLE'S PRINCESS PASSES AWAY

AUM
PEOPLE’S PRINCESS PASSES AWAY
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant, VSM

A PRINCESS IS A PRINCESS and people are people. The twain shall never meet.(kipling , please forgive). There are exceptions and these exceptions prove the rule. Ninety years ago a princess was born in the state of Cooch-Behar and grew up to be a beauty par excellence. Her mother, the Maharani was a princess from the royal family of Baroda and thus the Marathi and the Bengali cultures left a combined imprint on the new born babe. Named Ayesha , she had her education in the school of life travelling from one country to another. It was in one of the Polo seasons of Calcutta where princely India and their British overlords including the Viceroy assembled every winter to play polo that His Highness Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II of Jaipur took a fancy for Ayesha, a teenager. He asked the Maharani of Cooch-Behar for Ayesha’s hand in marriage and in one of her weaker moments the mother-maharani agreed. Ayesha too fell for him and much against the advice of family and friends, their marriage was solemnised in Europe. The Maharajah already had two queens and three children but that was no barrier to the budding love.

Ayesha came to be known to the royalty of India and the fashion world beyond borders as Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur. She called her husband Jai as he was the ruler of Jaipur. The royal couple was made for each other. They shared love of horses and never missed an opportunity to play polo in India and abroad. Gayatri Devi’s interests were not confined to pleasures of royals like a tiger hunt or shikar of big game but turned her attention to education of girls. The girls in Rajputana were rarely permitted to go out of the four walls of the house, the question of educating them in a school just did not arise. The new Maharani paid undivided attention to this problem. She opened a school for girls in Jaipur that was named after her as Maharani Gayatri Devi School for Girls. It is a successful institution and has brought good education to girls from developing areas. Gayatri Devi made it a point to promote interests of the school and did not let any obstacle come in the way of its progress.

In 1970 His Highness Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II had a massive heart attack while playing polo in Jaipur. Gayatri Devi was shattered but she did not let her widowhood come in the way of her welfare of common man programme. To let the country know of the woes of farmers and artisans she contested elections and entered the Lok Sabha as an M.P. three times. Her success at the hustings and defeat of the party in power at the Centre annoyed the powers that be. When Emergency was imposed by Indira Gandhi in 1975, Maharani Gayatri Devi was put behind the bars for many months. Her Highness was kept in the same prison barracks as hardened criminals, prostitutes and psychic killers. It was so traumatic for Gayatri Devi that she chose to quit politics rather than keep company with harlots in prison in Tihar, Delhi. Unbelievable but true.

Gayatri Devi was a pretty woman and a class by herself. She was voted as one of the most beautiful women in top ten in the world by Vogue. She lived in style and built a small house with lily ponds inside on the premises of the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur. She had her guests looked after well, irrespective of her absence or presence in the house. Her small modern bungalow was an open house to all her friends, acquaintances and even former subjects. No wonder she was so popular among the people that she won three elections to the Lok Sabha hands down.

Her own son pre-deceased her. The grand children are settled abroad. Lonely life was successfully kept at bay by her by espousing causes of man in the street. The cause of common man that she espoused alienated her from own kith and kin at times. Sometimes the administration did not relish the idea of an ex-queen pleading for the people. Nevertheless, she pressed on regardless and earned the gratitude of the have-nots. A busy schedule kept her in good health both physically and mentally and she touched 90 before calling it a day.

As a princess of the royal household she chose to represent the people and have them heard in the august House of parliament. No wonder she earned the name PEOPLE’S PRINCESS.
________________________________________________________________Address : UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA 201303, INDIA Mob. 0091-9811173590. Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com

ACTING STUPIDLY IS GOOD FUN

AUM
ACTING STUPIDLY IS GOOD FUN
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM

Acting Stupidly is no one’s prerogative. Your position in politics or society does not grant you an amnesty either. President of the United States of America, the most powerful man on earth, acted stupidly by describing an act of a Sergeant of Cambridge, Mass, police “acted stupidly”. The white Sergeant had arrested a black professor of Harvard for disorderly behaviour in front of his own house. The entire police department of Cambridge, Mass, was up in arms and their union asked the President to apologise. Indeed the professor had acted stupidly by arguing with the police officer and calling him a racist. The acting stupidly episode was in the process of snow balling and exploding into a racial confrontation between blacks and whites when sanity prevailed on all concerned. President Barrack Obama invited both Prof Gates and the white Police Sergeant to the White House and have a glass of beer with him. The two contending parties have accepted the invitation and the “acted stupidly” episode will blow over. Just a suggestion is made how to end the controversy for good. Instead of burying the hatchet or drowning it in beer tankards
, it would be a good idea to cremate the ghost of an unpleasant episode to prevent it from rising again.

A quarter of a century ago while preparing for commentary on the Golden Jubilee Parade of the Indian Military Academy I came across some interesting but little known facts and figures about well known generals when they were Gentlemen Cadets in the first course of IMA in 1932. The distinguished assembly of spectators at the Chetwode drill square had enjoyed listening to it. How does one act stupidly in youth is crystal clear here. A young gentleman cadet overstayed the weekend leave in Mussoorie much against the advice of his mentors. It is Just not done at the beginning of a career. But he over stayed regardless of the advice. He was suitably punished for infringement of rules but he earned a place in the book of records for being the first ever of the First Forty cadets of the first course to receive punishment for over staying the sanctioned period of leave. The gentleman cadet who acted stupidly was none other than the celebrity named Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. By the way, for acting stupidly time and again, Sam could not remain a cadet appointment for long and passed out in 1934 as a plain gentleman cadet. He did very well later in life and won a war against Pakistan in 1971.

In an interview on the Akashvani in 1973 on his promotion to the rank of Field Marshal, he talked about his gallantry medal, Military Cross. As a young officer he acted stupidly by charging at the Japanese defences in utter disregard of teaching of tactics at the Academy. He confessed that courage is a bye-product of acting stupidly in battle. In that battle of Sittang bridge the enemy was taken aback but fought bravely. So did jawans of Sam. In the hand to hand fight Sam succeeded in capturing the objective by dislodging the Japanese. In the heat of the battle Sam received NINE carbine bullets in his stomach. The divisional commander honoured Sam by pinning his own Military Cross on Sam’s chest because no one thought he would survive his courageous stupidity. He did. A Military Cross is awarded to a living soldier only and not given posthumously.

In 1971 war with Pakistan on the western front the Charlie company of the Grenadiers sat cheek by jowl with the Charlie company of a regiment of the Pakistan army whole night. It was pitch dark and under orders complete silence was observed. Radio silence was also enforced. Both the Indians and Pakistanis knew by whisper that the Charlie company was lying in wait at the Forming Up Place to launch an attack at the crack of dawn. At the first light, wisdom dawned on both C companies and hell broke loose. A perfect example of close-quarter battle it was, well generated by acts of stupidity of guides the previous night. The Indian Charlie company led by Major Hoshiar Singh carried the day and won laurels. Old Hoshiar was honoured with a Param Vir Chakra, the highest gallantry award. So, acting stupidly brings honours and awards too in its wake.

Acting stupidly is not the prerogative of the political persons or military men alone. There are people of that tribe in other walks of life too. Let us take a look at the Media, especially the electronic one. An experienced senior commentator took pride in not attending rehearsals of any event, national or local. He just went by the script issued by the organisers as backgrounders. At the presentation of the president’s banner, an event of tattoo was dropped but the script remained unaltered. The tattoo event comprised a mass P.T. with torches in hands of performers. The ace commentator went ahead with his commentary on the non-existent item much to the chagrin of organisers and media managers. Here acting stupidly did not bring laurels but only brickbats.

Look before you leap – that is the advice given to the PT enthusiasts in the army who do acrobatics on the high horse. It is a kind of Trojan horse of wood. Many an aspiring fellow met his Waterloo there because in sheer misplaced enthusiasm of doing a perfect jump and equally perfect landing, the assessment of time and space goes haywire. Over enthusiasm with an eye on achieving a good grade may be termed as a stupidity. It is a kind of thinking stupidly that is followed by acting stupidly. Of course, a Gentleman Cadet is discouraged by his seniors not to think but to act. The moment a junior cadet comes up with an excuse for not completing a task and says “I thought....”he is sharply cut mid-sentence by an age-old admonishment “stop thoughting”. Queen may not be pleased with a bad deal to her English language but cadets actually stop thinking thereafter – the question of stupidity or otherwise just does not arise. Be that as it may, the baton is thus passed on from generation to generation and there has been no occasion where a Chief had to invite those compatriots in uniform for beer whom he chastised for acting stupidly.

Address. UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303 INDIA. Mobile . 0091-9811173590. Email : sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

SOLAR ECLIPSE OF A LIFETIME

AUM

SOLAR ECLIPSE OF A LIFETIME
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM

AMAZING, FANTASTIC, BREATHTAKING, UNBELIEVABLE – these are some of the many expressions of men, women and children of many ethnic and religious backgrounds who saw the total solar eclipse this morning. On 22 July 2009, the day dawned with a promise to let us see one of the biggest celestial spectacles of our galaxy that won’t be repeated in the next 123 years. Understandably there was a lot of excitement in the air. The Media, both electronic and print, had kept the people informed and had also apprised them of do’s and don’ts minus the superstitious beliefs. Some channels that were out to grab TRPs as grab you can, did dish out superstitious stories. The intelligentsia did not appreciate it, though. All said and done, by the time the total solar eclipse was over in India, people have had their fill of this event of the century, not to be repeated in our lifetime. Everybody enjoyed every moment of it.

MANY EYES IN THE SKY

Generally speaking, we reserve the epithet “Eye in the sky” for the satellites that can read your car’s number plate while you are driving in the Connaught Place in New Delhi. This morning these eyes were in the sky to catch the best glimpses of the solar eclipse in more than a dozen places in India, not mentioning China, Japan and beyond in the Pacific Ocean where the solar eclipse was TOTAL. What walks away with the cake is the successful project of Cox and King to launch a special flight of star watchers who were keen to see the biggest of the celestial body in our part of the galaxy . It was not everyone’s cup of tea. One had to loosen the purse string and shell out Rs80,000/- per seat. Those who were really keen to see the solar eclipse from a height of 41,000 feet above sea level boarded the ECLIPSE FLIGHT and had real good time of a life time. What was the difference between the ground level watch and the high level watch in the sky, one may ask. Tremendous and indeed a breath taking experience, so said those who experienced it. The high price that the individuals had paid gave the expected returns. So, no complaints. The large number of cameras inside the aeroplane and the ecstasy writ large on viewers faces inside the aircraft made one believe that they were having as good a celestial experience as a pious soul has on attaining the Moksha. Of course, the Captain of the flight had the best view from the cockpit and it more than compensated for the pain of leaving the cosy bed at an unearthly hour to pilot the plane at an angle and at an appropriate height so that the special flight passengers have the best view of the last total eclipse of a century plus. The cameras worked well despite the air turbulence that could be termed as minimal. The TV channels transmitted live pictures and commentaries that the viewers back home enjoyed in the cool climes of their air-conditioned bedrooms. The superstitious pregnant housewives did not have to stir out of the house for fear of a miscarriage. The enlightened TV channels, however, kept on underscoring the educational point that a total or even a partial solar or lunar eclipse and a miscarriage have nothing in common. And yet expectant mothers and educated fathers-to be did not want to take a chance.

The Naked Eye gave the best view, better than what a camera lens could, that was everyone’s opinion. Precautions had to be observed lest an eye was damaged for good. Superstitious beliefs pursued men and women all over the world, especially in Asia where the total solar eclipse was visible this time. In China the common man believes that the Sun is eaten away by the Dragon and that causes the eclipse. In India the dragon is substituted by Rahu and Ketu who cause this turmoil at fixed intervals. Imagine, Bharat gave learned scholars like Arya Bhatta to the world and he could calculate the movement of celestial bodies accurately and common man in Arya Bhatta’s motherland believes in Rahu and ketu causing the eclipse. It was at a place called “TARAGNA” in modern Bihar where Arya Bhatta calculated movement of stars and, therefore, a large number of scientists had gathered there to study all about eclipse and turbulence on Sun’s surface, if any. They were disappointed as the cloud cover hanging heavy over the place spoiled the show.

PLACES OF PILGRIMAGE

Haridwar, Prayagraj, Varanasi – these ancient towns along the river Ganges attracted maximum number of pilgrims who flocked there to take a dip in mother Ganga and wash away all sins. Unfortunately, there was a stampede at the Dashaswamedh Ghat in Varanasi where some lives were lost. The eye witness accounts blamed poor administration and poor crowd management. In an ancient country where large crowds of devotees has been congregating on the banks of sacred rivers since time immemorial, crowd management should be a part of the standard operating procedure. Perhaps, it is lack of attention to details on the part of senior crowd managers and top echelon administrators that cause loss of life. It is preventable. The non-Ganges- bank place that attracted almost a million and a half devotees is Kurukshetra in Haryana. Everyone was keen to take a dip in the Brahma Sarovar to help the Sun god defeat the demon, Rahu. The devotees came out with flying colours as the Sun was shining bright in a little over three minutes. The birds that had gone to sleep again during the total eclipse returned to life and chirped again as the period of eclipse was over.

The Indian Air Force flew its own Jaguar fighter planes from Gwalior to Arunachal Pradesh to record on camera the solar eclipse as visible there. IAF has been doing these studies for quite some time and the results help them in gaining authentic knowledge about the celestial bodies, our firmament and the unknown stars of the galaxy. Commendable, indeed. Our Air Force has kept the Arya Bhatta tradition of gaining scientific knowledge alive. True Knowledge is worth acquiring for national use. Never mind, if it turns out to be against the age-old beliefs that are not scientific. The total solar eclipse in Asia has once again aroused the instinct for quest of knowledge in young and old alike in Bharat and elsewhere. A good step forward for the benefit of Mankind!

Address: UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA-201303. INDIA. Mob. 0091-9811173590. Phone : 0091-120-2454622. Email. Sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com or upvanom@yahoo.com

Monday, July 20, 2009

SOLDIERING ON IN KARGIL

AUM
SOLDIERING ON IN KARGIL
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM

Driving out the Pakistan Army soldiers of the Northern Light Infantry from the Indian territory in Kargil in the last year of the last century, the Indian Army’s officers and men won the fourth and the last of the four India-Pakistan Wars fought between the years 1947 and 1999.Every time it was Pakistan that committed an aggression and every time it was she who got beaten and turned tail. After wars, invariably negotiations for peace followed where Pakistan promised to behave as a good boy but never kept the word. The Pakistan Generals who always over-estimated their prowess and fighting skill and under-estimated that of the Indian Army, would return to war games before ink on joint peace declarations had dried up. A silly scenario of a multi-pronged attack on India on land, sea and air was as delightful hobby horse as drinking single malt Scotch whiskey on the house. As is well known a drunken general may be enchanting while spinning yarns but is always a bad strategist for a real war. Generals of the Pakistan Army have proved that statement as gospel truth time and again.

TEN YEARS ON

Much water has flown down the Indus river and tributaries since our victory in Kargil a decade ago. It was on 26 July 09 that the Indian soil was declared clear of the invaders and intruders from across the border and Kargil Vijay Divas was celebrated. The military situation in the area on our side has undergone a thorough change for the better.”There will NOT be a Second Kargil by Pakistan Army” is the proud declaration of our Army strategists. We are proud of them. Let us see what changes have taken place that prompts our compatriots to make a bold declaration nullifying future sinister designs-in-making in the war rooms of Pakistan Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
The day-to-day activity of the common citizen mirrors the state of wellness of a society. Are they going about the daily chores in a normal manner or there is discernible tension because of the enemy activity across the border. Ten years ago, every house in Kargil town had a bunker where civilians could take shelter when the enemy shelling started. Every outer wall of every house had shell marks as a result of enemy bombardment. Kargil was a ghost town after a few days of commencement of war. Men, women and children had left their home and hearth for safer shelters elsewhere. Ten years on, Kargil looks different. There is hustle and bustle of a tourist town. Now, every house has a guest room where tourists are welcome for bed and breakfast on a nominal payment. The old dilapidated hotels have been renovated and feel happy in displaying a notice of one hundred per cent occupation. The economy of Kargil is booming under the patronage of the 8 Mountain Division. General officer Commanding of the Army formation said that they pump Rs two crores every month in the local economy in the form of wages for labour, hire charges for ponies and buying knick-knacks and what have you. In a nutshell, Peace Prevails all over, thanks to the Indian Army. A full- fledged golf course of 18 holes in the green Mushkoh valley is on the cards. Now white golf balls will fly at tee off” in the area where ten years ago big guns of our artillery had boomed and shells whistled past to destroy Pakistan Army’s bunkers “.

“NEVER TRUST PAKISTAN”, that is the first lesson the Indian Army has learnt. Alas our top politicians and bureaucrats still believe in the worn out adage : keep talking to both friend and foe until a result is achieved. There is no light at the end of the tunnel and yet some diplomats love to loiter around in that tunnel aimlessly. The combat treachery of Pakistan is etched in the heart of every Jawan. How can one forget the mutilated bodies of Captain Kalia and his jawans that Pakistan had returned. It was a deliberate devilish act of Pakistan that can never be condoned. In any case they did not have the courtesy to apologise for the heinous offence of mutilating bodies of soldiers of another country. In naked contrast to this the Indian Army showed respect to the enemy war dead and buried their bodies with military honours and Islamic rites because Pakistan had refused to accept them for burial in Pakistan. Of course, the enemy made an exception in the case of their officers who belonged to influential families of Pakistan who pressurised their govt to get bodies back for burial in family burial grounds. Double Speak; Double Standards: thy name is Pakistan.

MODERNISATION ALL OVER

A complete make- over of arms and equipment, clothing and boots, tactics and strategy had been the crying need of our Armed Forces since independence. How unfortunate, little attention was paid to these aspects of defence by the powers that be. This deficiency came to light in the First Kashmir war, Goa operations, the Chinese debacle in NEFA(now Arunachal Pradesh), wars against Pakistan in 1965, 1971 and in 1999. In the 1971 war, the situation was a wee bit better because the then Army Chief made it plain that going to war with major deficiencies in weapon and equipment would mean courting defeat and disaster. Our Finance Ministry mandarins loosened their purse for the first time and the Soviet Union had made up our deficiencies. In Kargil too, Jawans had sad tales to tell. However, thereafter the Army was given wide financial powers and red tapism was done away with in case of essential purchases for war. Now the Jawans are well clad, well fed and well connected with their loved ones on phone. However, the big guns need replacement. The good old Bofors that won war in kargil along with Man behind the gun, is now 22 years old. The infantryman’s rifle needs be replaced by a modern assault and rapid firing rifle to instil confidence in infanteers’ heart. A bunker-buster weapon system is the crying need of the hour.

Unless the most modern weapon system with accurate and effective fire power is made available to the Army, our war machine cannot be expected to win laurels. A weak weapon system continues to be the Achilles’ heel of the Indian Army. Strategically speaking, more coordination is needed between the Government of India and the Armed Forces. India is a nuclear power. Fine. However, the Service Chiefs are not a part of the war mechanism that controls the nuclear button. The Armed Forces are not aware of the future targets of our nuclear weapon system and also our defence mechanism to safeguard the nation from a nuclear attack. In a case of emergency, it would take time to coordinate the present mechanism of a nuclear war. It would be in the fitness of things to streamline the mechanism for use of nuclear deterrent for both attack and defence.

As far as Kargil is concerned the Army is happy with the man power situation. Ten years ago, only 2,000 uniformed personnel were guarding the Line of Control (LOC), now as many as 20,000 officers and soldiers are keeping a watch on the enemy movement across the Line. No doubt the expenditure on their upkeep and maintenance of weapon and equipment has gone up many times. It is estimated to be Rs 8 to 10 crores per day in that area. No one should feel bad about it because the defence of the country is our supreme concern. The motto of the Indian Army is: NATION ABOVE ALL.

Let us all Rejoice and make merry as we celebrate the tenth anniversary of our
KARGIL VIJAY DIVAS.

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Saturday, July 18, 2009

wE wON oUR kARGIL

AUM
WE WON OUR KARGIL A DECADE AGO
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM

The Indian Army officers and Jawans, along with their Indian Air Force comrades-in-arms, won a war in Kargil against Pakistan a decade ago. It was 26 July 1999 when the last of the Pakistan Army intruders beat a retreat leaving their fallen compatriots in uniform on the Indian soil unhonoured,unwept, unsung and unburied. Indians rejoiced their victory from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari and Kamrup to Kutch and named it Kargil Vijay Divas. A decade has gone by, much water has flown down the Ganges but nefarious designs of the treacherous neighbour go on unabated. Never mind what the defeated do, as always we are magnanimous in our victory.

The Indian Army pays homage to our martyrs and celebrates the glorious victory of a hard-fought war. Those who fell for the cause of the country shall always be honoured in the Hall of Fame because they gave their today for our tomorrow. It is for patriotic martyrs that the poet sung these lines:
How else can a man die better
Than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his fathers
And the temples of his gods.

PARAM VIR CHAKRA VIJETA

Let us, at the outset, recall the gallantry of those officers and jawans who displayed gallantry of the highest order in the face of the enemy and beyond the call of duty. Of the fighting four who were honoured by the Nation with Param Vir Chakra, our highest gallantry award, the two officers had made the supreme sacrifice and the two Jawans are still on the rolls of their regiments. It would be appropriate to chronicle their brave deeds and how they beat the Pakistani soldiers hollow and made them realise in the heart of their hearts that their surreptitious intrusion into India that was masterminded by none other than General Pervez Musharraf, the then Pakistan Army Chief , was against the tenets of their own religion. What an unsoldierly behaviour the Pakistani planners displayed when they left their dead comrades-in-arms to be buried by Indian soldiers on the Indian soil. How humane our Army is had become the talk of the town all over. We now return to our heroes of Kargil war, recalling just the four highest gallantry medal winners for now.
Capt Vikram Batra, PVC
“Personally leading an assault, Captain Vikram Batra engaged the enemy in a fierce hand to hand fight and killed five enemy soldiers at point blank range.During the assault he rallied his men, pressed home the attack and finally succeeded what seemed to be a militarily impossible task.
For his unparalleled feats of conspicuous personal gallantry, exemplaryleadership and selfless devotion to duty, Captain Vikram Batra was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra.”
Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey,PVC
This young officer led his platoon of Gorkha soldiers on the high hills of Khalubar and assaulted sangar after sangar dislodging the enemy soldiers from the high ground. Unmindful of his injuries sustained from the enemy fire, lt Manoj led his men from the front. At the fourth enemy sangar, he was grievously injured by the enemy machine gun fire but still threw a hand grenade killing many Pakistani soldiers. Thus his platoon could gain a foothold at Khalubar enabling his fellow soldiers advance further and recapture the Indian territory. Lt Pandey made the supreme sacrifice in the cause of the country and was posthumously awarded Param Vir Chakra.

Rifleman Sanjoy Kumar, PVC
He was the leading scout of a column detailed to recapture our territory from Pakistan Army. When the Indian soldiers came under enemy fire, Sanjoy , unmindful of his personal safety, charged at the well fortified enemy position in the Mushkoh valley.”In the ensuing hand to hand combat, he killed three Pakistani soldiers and was himself grievously injured. Unmindful of his wounds, he charged at another enemy sangar and the enemy fled leaving behind a machine gun.His bravery motivated his fellow soldiers who captured the entire area.
For his most conspicuous gallantry against heavy odds leading to the capture of an important objective, Rifleman Sanjoy Kumar was awarded Param Vir Chakra.

Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav, PVC
He was a part of the leading element of the Ghatak platoon tasked to capture the Tiger Hill Top.The approach to the 16,500ft top was rocky and snowy. Yogendra volunteered to climb up, fix a rope there to enable others to climb up. The enemy was surprised but reacted violently opening fire from every weapon they had. Three Grenadiers, including the team leader, were killed and advance stalled. Grenadier Yadav , unmindful of his personal safety, crawled to the enemy sangar, lobbed grenades while firing from his rifle and killed four Pakistani soldiers silencing their automatic fire.Notwithstanding injuries received in his arm and leg, grenadier yadav attacked another enemy sangar with success. Inspired by Yadav, the Ghatak platoon fought fiercely dislodging the enemy from the most important Tiger Hill Top.
For most conspicuous courage well beyond the call of duty, Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav was awarded Param Vir Chakra.

SONS OF THE BRAVE

There were many more officers and men of the Indian Army who fought bravely to recover the lost Indian territory. Some sons of the brave did not return home. They made the supreme sacrifice. Those who returned told the saga of valour and their narration was heard with rapt attention by the new generation. How many went to war, how many were killed in action and how many survived is a matter of military history. What is of primary importance is that the entire Indian nation was ONE in India’s fight against a treacherous enemy. It is of importance that the Indian Army, supported by our Air Force, fought and won against Pakistan – our second victory against the enemy, including the one in the 1971 war. Since our independence in 1947, Pakistan has thrust four wars on us. The Indian Army was victorious in all four, notwithstanding the evil designs, imported arms and tacit, sometimes open, support of the United States that scheming Pakistan had had.

Where did Pakistan go wrong in Kargil? In their overconfidence and relying on their forward planning, they had the initial advantage of the element of Surprise in War and occupied a vast chunk of Indian territory – 160 km long and ten km in width or depth –but they did not take into account bravery of young officers of the Indian Army and Air Force as well as the unity of people of India. The whole of India stood by our Jawans and provided them both moral and material support. General Musharraf had miscalculated the resolve of the Vajpayee government in not only defending the motherland but also launching a counter offensive to free entire Kargil of Pakistani elements. In 1965 general Ayub of Pakistan had made a similar miscalculation in assessing the firm resolve and determination of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri of India. Pakistan was stunned when Shastri Ji ordered the Indian Army to cross the international border and attack Pakistan’s Punjab. Likewise General Yahya Khan failed to read the mind of Smt Indira Gandhi who succeeded in dismembering Pakistan and giving birth to Bangla Desh. The Kargil misadventure of our hostile neighbour was a link in the chain of anti-India design aimed at destabilising our country. The moral of the story for India is: Never trust Pakistan and their leadership, both civil and military.

CELEBRATE VICTORY OVER PAKISTAN

Rejoicings and celebrations after a well deserved victory in war is a must. It is a morale raising factor for the combatants, both serving and retired. The victory parades all over cantonments and non-cantonment towns make the new generation aware of the valour and wisdom of our armed forces. When the nation is threatened by an enemy, it can trust its armed forces who will deliver the goods. The young boys and girls make a resolution to follow the high ideals of the forefathers and the generation gone by and prepare themselves mentally to make the supreme sacrifice, if need be.
Perhaps there is a school of thought that believes that past should be buried and a base be made for economic cooperation. The votaries of this school for scandal are bureaucrats who had once advised the Government of India not to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of our victory on Pakistan in 1971. It is good that the political leadership turned a deaf ear to the advice of the chicken-hearted gentlemen. I am afraid they are misreading the mind of the wily enemy who is preparing to wage a thousand year war against India. Let us not lower our guard and get caught napping. Celebration of victory denotes a nation pulsating with life, inaction in victory may pave the path to defeat. Who wants to face defeat? Not the patriots in India.

It would be a good idea to win the minds and hearts of young Indians and motivate them to join the Armed Forces. DVDs, films, CDs and what have you, of the Kargil War may be screened for the young boys and girls so that they are motivated to emulate those who defended our motherland with all their might a decade ago. Let us sign off with the patriotic fervour and raise the slogan:
VANDE MATARAM ; VANDE MAATRAM.
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Friday, July 17, 2009

SHAME AT SHARM-EL-SHEIKH

AUM
SHAME AT SHARM-EL- SHEIKH
By Brigadier (Retd) Chitranjan Sawant,VSM

The Indian team of negotiators, under no less a person than Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh, has offered on a silver platter to Pakistan what she wanted. Some commentators and columnists feel that the Indians have been tricked into giving away something now so that they get back in greater measure what they desire in future. A wishful thinking indeed. It has not happened in the past, is not happening in the present and shall not happen in future. Indians have lost heavily at the negotiating table. One wonders if the prime Minister is prepared to take the blame. Time alone will tell.

HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF

Way back in the 12th century Prithvi Raj Chauhan, King of Hindustan had defeated in battle Muhammad of Ghor more than once. However, the victor did not incapacitate the vanquished to pre-empt a similar misadventure in future. It was a fatal mistake for both the king and the country. The history of India abounds with similar situations where brilliant generals made stupid mistakes in the hope of achieving permanent peace to avoid bloodshed in war. Peace was elusive but ignominy was at hand. Let us skip a few centuries and come to the post-independence India.

Jammu & Kashmir has been the bone of contention between India and Pakistan since 1947. His Highness Maharaja Sir Hari Singh, the ruler of Jammu& Kashmir wished to be an independent sovereign monarch of his big State. Jinnah of Pakistan , however, had a different design of power play. Notwithstanding a Stand-Still Agreement between the Maharaja and Pakistan, the latter encouraged armed tribals, under Pakistan Army officers to invade the Maharaja’s territory. He, willy-nilly acceded to India. The Indian Army was flown to Srinagar and they succeeded in driving the invaders back to the border region. As the Indian Army was poised for the final push to reclaim the rest of the State, Jawaharlal Nehru, under pressure of UNO where India was a complainant against Pakistan aggression, and the advice of Lord Mountbatten, then Governor General under the dispensation of Nehru, accepted cease fire. The people of India were astonished and our Army felt cheated as it was near a total victory. What the Indian Army had won on the battle field through “sweat, blood and tears “was lost at the negotiating table by the inept political masters.

We come to the India-Pakistan War of 1965. General Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan had a misconception that India , under the Prime Ministership of Shri Lal Bahadur shastri, was a weak country and will never develop the will power to counter-attack Pakistan. As a matter of fact most of the autocratic rulers of Pakistan thought that the Indian soldier was a poor fighter and under heat of fire power turned tail. On the contrary it was the Pakistan Army’s soldiers who jumped out of their tanks set on fire by Indian missiles and turned tail. A Muslim does not want to be burned for religious reasons. It cost them heavily in tank battles like the one in Khem karan and Asal Uttar in Punjab.

Right from April 1965 through September 1965 skirmishes between the two countries went on as a ding-dong battle. It came as an unpleasant surprise to Pakistan when Prime Minister Shastri ordered the Indian Army to cross the international border in the Punjab and attack Pakistan. The tables were turned. The Pakistan Army advancing in Jammu and Kashmir had to grind to a halt. Shastri achieved what Nehru would not have even attempted. We won the difficult pass, Haji Pir. When the cease fire came into effect, the Indian Army was victorious. The Soviet Union organised a peace conference at Tashkent and impressed on the warring countries to return to status quo ante. With the result, India had to withdraw from the difficult areas that she had captured. Shastri Ji could not stand this pressure and breathed his last at Tashkent. India lost at the negotiating table what she had won on the battle field.

A Himalayan blunder at Simla. The Babus, that is the bureaucrats of the Ministry of External Affairs tendered a piece of wrong advice to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi that India should give some concession to defeated Pakistan so that Z.A.Bhutto, civilian President of Pakistan shows to his people what he has gained from a victorious India. Our bureaucrats said that it would be better for India to deal with a civilian head of Pakistan than with Army generals. The babus’ tendered a piece of wrong advice forgetting that it was Bhutto who had declared many times that he would fight a thousand year war against Indian dogs. The Mandarins of the South Block forgot the age-old adage – Serpents are just serpents, whether Nagnath or Sanpnath. Both bite and the bitten man survives NOT. Bhutto persuaded the Indian leadership to have faith in him, trust him and he would deliver the goods. India granted him all the concessions. India returned 93,000 prisoners of war and the entire conquered territory to Pakistan without taking any written commitment on the Kashmir issue from Pakistan. It was a grave mistake on the part of Indian negotiators. Bhutto was once again as belligerent as before on return to Pakistan. I have great admiration for Indira Gandhi as she dismembered Pakistan. I feel sorry for her and for India that what our brave soldiers won on the battlefield, our political leaders and shifty bureaucrats lost to the enemy at the negotiating table. How Sad?

It may be mentioned in the passing that Pakistan had attacked India four times since independence. Pakistan lost all four wars. The Generals of Pakistan Army have been building their war scenario on the presumption that when Pakistan attacks, the Kashmiri Muslims would rise in revolt and fight shoulder to shoulder with their co-religionists against infidel India and the war would be over before you can say Jack Robinson. Nothing of that sort ever happened and their edifice fell like a house of cards.

SHARM-el-SHEIKH WAS NO EXCEPTION

The government of Egypt , being an active member of NAM since Nasser days, decided to host the current Summit in its country at Sharm-el-Sheikh which is a tourist resort and was under the occupation of the Israelis after the 1967 war. When the Egyptians brokered peace and accepted Israel as a superior power in the region, Israel returned Sharm-el-Sheikh to its original owner, Egypt. The summit of the Non-Aligned Meet was appropriately held there. On the sidelines of the NAM, met India and Pakistan. It was a fine climate, lovely environment and everything was custom made for settling a long standing dispute. Who knew that the joint declaration at the end will spell a disaster.

The Indian delegation should not have allowed a delinking of Terror from talks. Terror and how it was being exported from the soil of Pakistan to India had all along been the main plank of government and people of India. How could the common man in India forget the killing and maiming of his kith and kin – the loved ones – by the Islamic terrorists who came to Mumbai from Pakistan and are citizens of Pakistan. The bomb blasts in trains, the killings in the mine fields at various places and what have you had the hand of Pakistan nationals and planning by personnel trained by government agencies in Pakistan. Now , suddenly, the joint statement made by Prime Minister Gilani of Pakistan and prime Minister Man Mohan Singh of India says that Talks and Terror are delinked. If terror is delinked, what are the two governments going to talk about? Just the weather? Please do not waste time and tax payers money on a talk about weather. Excuse yourselves on grounds of health and save both time and money.

Balochistan has been a thorn in the flesh of Pakistan for a long time. Remember General Tikka Khan, the butcher of Bangladesh? Well, he had also earned the dubious title of Butcher of Balochistan. The Baloch are an independent minded people and do not like to be driven around by the Punjabis of Pakistan. They have, therefore, been fighting for independence for quite some time. Pakistan suspects that India has been aiding and abetting the Baloch uprising from time to time. It may not be true. However, the point in question is that Balochistan has been mentioned for the first time in a joint declaration of India and Pakistan. This means that India tacitly accepts her presence at the trouble spot. This gives a leverage to Pakistan to point out India’s involvement in fomenting trouble in a province of Pakistan and thus establish her reciprocal’and legitimate presence in Kashmir. Our Netas and Babus should not have allowed the mention of Balochistan being made. One wonders if they signed the joint declaration under a drunken stupor! Even God does not help those who do not help themselves.

All said and done, an independent columnist-cum-critic will have no hesitation in saying that Sharm-el-Sheikh has brought shame to the Government and people of India.

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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

SAME SEX RELATIONSHIP - A VIEW

AUM
SAME SEX RELATIONSHIP RECEIVES JUDICIAL BLESSING : A REVIEW
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM

The same sex relationship between two consenting adults in the privacy of bedroom in the state of Delhi is now protected by the High Court from prosecution by police. A bench comprising the Chief Justice and a brother judge has declared that section 377 Indian Penal Code violates Articles 21, 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India as it infringes the rule of Equality before law. As per a judgement of the Supreme Court of India delivered a few years ago, an order of a High Court on a piece of legislation that is promulgated throughout the country, will be applicable to the rest of India too. Should there be a judgement of another High Court at variance with the High Court concerned, the case will be referred to the Supreme Court whose order will be final and binding on all parts of India where the original legislation is applicable. It will be pertinent to mention that in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Ranbir Penal Code(promulgated by His Highness Maharaja Ranbir Singh) is applicable and not the IPC.

Their Lordships were of the opinion that the method of achieving sexual satisfaction in the privacy of the bedroom is a private matter between two consenting adults who may be of same sex and the government has no business to interfere. Thus the said section of the statute book is rendered ineffective partially by the order of the Delhi High Court delivered on 2 July 2009. The Union Law Minister is reported to have said that an appropriate legislation giving relief to the homosexuals may be brought before the Parliament subsequent to consensus arrived at by the political parties, religious and cultural groups and others who have been a party to the legal debate going on for almost a decade. By the way, no political party of national standing wants to say anything on the subject because the homosexuals are all adults and form a sort of vote bank. Some influential groups are making an endeavour to shape public opinion in favour of repealing, what they call, an archaic law.

The influential religious and cultural groups have voiced strong opposition to the said judgement of the Delhi High Court and have indicated that they would prefer an appeal to the Supreme Court of India. The common man in rural India who is equally affected by the new judicial order is blissfully ignorant of what is going on in the national capital. That has been the way of life all along, I guess. Surprisingly the Media, both print and electronics, has hailed the said judgement as a historic one and has gone gaga over it. These days it is considered fashionable to go with the queer people, their outlandish dress and imported thought process and ignore the traditional values of life. It appears that a few in the intelligentsia have monopolised the thought process of the governing machinery. Another explanation offered is: most of the media men and women are products of public schools that are wholly or partly residential. One is given to understand that the idea and practice of Man having Sex with Man – MSM – or woman having sex with woman – WSW- is not frowned upon in some of the prestigious public schools. Thus those who live in glass houses do not throw stones at others. Just turn Nelson’s eye to an infringement of law when the bureaucrats and intellectuals had themselves gone through the mill.

ALL ABOUT SECTION 377 IPC

This section of the Indian Penal Code is listed under the heading, Unnatural Offences. So, whatever is described hereafter is a part of the unnatural behaviour of men and women that the code covers. The section says:
Whoever has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.
It was Lord Macaulay, the man notorious for making Indians Brown Sahibs through English education, who had drafted the Indian Penal Code and had inserted the relevant section in keeping with the morality prevalent in the then England. If this plea of legal luminaries is accepted, it will mean that before 1871 when the IPC became law governing crime and punishment, Indians did not consider Homosexuality a criminal offence. This line of thought is preposterous. It should not be allowed to go unchallenged. By and large, Marathas, Rajputs, Jats, Mughals and Pathans ruled parts of India before they accepted the overlordship of the British operated East India Company. Crime was not overlooked by the then Indian rulers. One wonders why they would have condoned homosexuality when it was forbidden in both the major religions professed then, that is,Hindu Dharma and Islam. Christianity came to India thereafter and it too frowned upon this major infringement of moral code of conduct. Therefore, to say that the British rulers had criminalised the offence of homosexuality and it should quit India since it is no more a criminal offence in the UK will be a travesty of truth. In India today most of the influential religious groups have spoken against homosexuality and called it a sin, let alone a crime.

A LOOK AT HIGH COURT JUDGEMENT

The Hon’ble Chief Justice and his brother judge in their 105-page judgement have taken pains to quote and analyse numerous judgements on Equality before Law delivered by eminent judges in USA, UK and Europe. Their Lordships have overlooked the dissimilarities in the mental make -up and cultural beliefs of the Western and Indian societies. MSM and WSW may be prevalent on a large scale in those countries and the meaning of Liberty to have sex the way you like will be different from what is current in India. It is not only the factor of Law but also the all important factor of Social recognition vis-a-vis social stigma. When the entire social order, not only so-called intellectuals in coffee houses, looks down upon MSM and WSW, how can the judiciary approve of or rescind an Act of Legislature on the strength of some judgements defining Jurisprudence and Equality before Law that were delivered across seven seas taking account morality of a foreign social order. One wonders if it was love’s labour lost.

Their lordships have rightly quoted Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, our First Prime Minister, on the subject of human spirit. “Magic of words cannot convey magic of human spirit and a nation’s passion”. Very well said and aptly quoted. Likewise a nation soaked in Dharma cannot be asked to overlook a section of society having sex against the order of nature, never mind if it is in the privacy of a bedroom. Lord Macaulay drafted the entire Indian Penal Code in the 19th century and one cannot single out only section 377 and call it archaic. Section 302IPC that deals with the offence of murder is equally old in terms of time but it is still current. A crime is a crime, notwithstanding it being committed within the four walls of the bedroom. An offence of murder committed in the dungeon of a castle will be called MURDER, irrespective of the privacy of the place. It will attract the attention of the investigative organs of the government. Homosexuality , as of now, is a crime even if it is protected by four walls of the bedroom.

Is a High Court competent to sit in judgement over the legality of a section of the code enacted almost a century and a half ago? It would have been appropriate if the bench had referred it to the Government of India to refer the matter to the Legislature for a comprehensive review of the Indian Penal Code in the light of experience gained over a period of time. As of now, the present judgement of the Delhi High Court amounts to tinkering here and there. A piecemeal reform is not in the interest of a healthy social order. The leaders of the society should not miss the wood while counting trees.

Finally, a word about Their Lordships fixing age of adults for the purposes of section 377IPC at 18. I concede that one is entitled to vote at 18. At the same time, law requires a male to be 21 and female to be 18 to tie the knot and become husband and wife. Sex is an important part of marriage for procreation and the male partner must attain the age of 21 to have sex in wedlock and procreate. In this judgement, the Delhi High Court has allowed two male adults who have attained the age of 18 to have sex in the bedroom against the order of nature. The age of adulthood for MSM or WSW should have been fixed at 21 in the larger interest of persons concerned and the society at large.

The citizens who have good of the Indian society at heart will now look forward to the judgement of the Supreme Court in this all important matter of criminality or otherwise of consensual acts of adults who are 18 years of age and above. May Parmatma grant us Medhavi Buddhi or sagacious wisdom to view the matter in correct perspective.

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A PRAYERFOR PERCEPTION

AUM
A PRAYER FOR PERCEPTION
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
Pashyema Sharadah Shatam – the Vedic prayer for Perception for one hundred years flashed across my mind when an eye surgeon suspected Glaucoma developing in my right eye. O God! Save me from darkness and lead me unto light, I silently prayed. Haven’t I been praying for an unclouded perception and a clear vision all my life? Indeed I have lived a life for scores and 15 years and lived well. Also, I have been entertaining hope of an additional score and five years to help me achieve the goal of becoming a centenarian. And now a verdict of suspected blindness was looming large. My dreams came crashing down; a sinking feeling set in, more than that of men, women and children on the Titanic. I found shelter in the lap of history.

Milton came to my mind. I recalled every line of his poem ``On His Blindness.’’ Like Milton I thought I thought perhaps there was no way out but to resign to the will of God. I shuddered. Will inertia grip me now? Wouldn’t I hear birds sing unknown sweet songs on my morning walks because I won’t be able to go on a morning walk. I shall not be able to emulate Hazlitt in singing and dancing while walking in the midst of suburban flora. ``Depression’’ a word banished from my life style long ago now made a surreptitious backdoor entry. Not for long, though.

John Milton came to my rescue rather quickly. On going blind in both eyes, he found the bright world turning into a dark abyss. Thereafter, he could not perceive a role for himself in the divine scheme. Nevertheless, he did not let the monster named ``depression’’ have the better of him and sought solace in his new philosophy of life that gave birth to comforting words ``they also serve who stand and wait.’’

Cheer up old boy! so said my soul, overriding the body. In the Vedic Sandhya pronounced twice a day we pray for Perception. I comforted myself by my own thought that if I am shut out of the outer perception the inner one is still mine. The ``Inward Eye’’ has the capacity to perceive much more than the outer eye. I just prayed for Perception. Someone whispered into my ears that prayers are answered.

Not long ago, I had visited the Lake District in the United Kingdom to be close to my favourite poet William Wordsworth. Now it was his turn to encourage me with his perception of the Inward Eye. Wordsworth too had bouts of ``vacant or pensive moods,’’ and then it was his inward eye that brought the cheering and dancing daffodils to him. Indeed, the Dancing Daffodils lifted his spirits. Wordsworth danced with the dancing daffodils when he saw ``ten thousand daffodils at a glance.’’ Indeed, his inward perception was powerful to bring about a change for the better. It is the inward perception that exhorts all of us to believe in the thought ``tomorrow will be another day.’’ Of course, one may add tomorrow maybe a brighter day.

Bharat is a country rich with folklore of Rishis and men of letters who were visually challenged. Some were born blind and some became blind early in life for one reason or the other. Nevertheless the inward perception of a spiritual life remained with them as bright and clear as it could ever be. Rishi Virjanand guru of Swami Dayanand Saraswati (founder of the Arya Samaj) was foremost among blind men with rich spiritual perception. He was a seer capable of interpreting Ved Mantras for the common man. Born in Punjab, he found Mathura as his karmbhoomi where he rose to find an honourable place in the galaxy of grammarians who interpreted Ashtadhyayee of Panini. The maturing of his inner perception to the dizzy heights was through Tapasya. Magnificent indeed!

Surdas, doyen among Hindi poets of the Bhakti cult was blind by birth. He developed his inner perception through Sandhya, Sanyam and Sadhna. His was a selfless devotion to the Almighty whom he received in the form of Bal Krishna. It is said that Surdas realised and felt the presence of the Parmatma around him through Upasna – sitting close to God through meditation. Surdas prayed for perception of the highest order and indeed the Lord answered his prayers. His poems on Bal Krishna are sung by men and women as an invocation and also for showing the path to attain Moksha through Bhakti. Inward perception works wonders when the outward perception is conspicuous by its absence.

God is kind. After I have had a bird’s eye view of what life would be minus the light in the eye, I suddenly found that my prayers were answered too. It is through meditation and pranayam that the bug bear of blindness is receding. Of course the Prayer for Perception – both inward and outward goes on in the right earnest. PASHYEMA SHARADAH SHATAM.
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009


AUM

JOYS OF TURNING SEVENTY FIVE IN LIFE

By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM

We are all up and about at the crack of dawn.There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the house. Some souls had left the bed in the Brahma muhurt ,approximately about 4 A.M. to recite the Ved mantras. Afterall it was an important day. I, head of the family, would turn seventy five in life. In the Vedic way of life,it is considered an important landmark because the third phase of life comes to an end and the fourth phase of life culminating in one becoming a centenarian commences. In the varnashram dharma this phase of life is also called the sanyas ashram. Notwithstanding my strong inclination towards taking sanyas and donning the ochre clothes, my wife and children, who are parents of their own children,succeeded in convincing me that my area of activity could still revolve around the basic unit of the human habitat,that is a family. I quite know that my detractors would quote the oft-quoted saying – “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” HAVAN in the house is quite a family affair as everyone recites the mantras and makes an offering to the lighted fire to sanitize the environment. Neighbours too love to make an offering, aahuti to the yajna,a positive step in cleansing the environment and prevent the global warming at the local level. Children look forward to performing the poorna aahuti or the final offering of purified butter and fragrant mixture of vegetation in a dried form, as it is followed by distribution of yajna shesh, prasaad in common parlance. Sweetened rice that had been offered to agni as swishtkrit ,that is a mantra praying for forgiveness of the Almighty for defaults known or unknown. Well, today the sweetened rice is supplemented with quality sweets too. The Shanti Path, a prayer for peace, rings the curtain down and comes as a relief to the new generation who have to run many an errand to earn their daily bread. My wife, Sudha, and I have an intellectual chat on the significance of attaining the age of seventy five years with all the ten Indriyas or the faculties of body and mind that help in spiritual attainment remaining functional. I attribute this achievement to the Grace of God and good wishes of near and dear ones, the loved ones.Indeed quite a sense of achievement both of us have that the small family that we raised are quite well settled in life. Above all, they are happily married and are raising their respective families precisely the way they were raised, sans the tinge of the Prussian discipline. Times have changed and so has the new philosophy of life pertaining to rearing of new generation. Of course, I now treat my grand children differently from what it used to be for my own children. Life is like that.GAINS MUNDANE Turning seventy five brings more cash to the kitty. The Adjutant General’s branch of Army headquarters has paid a princely sum of Rs 50,000 out of the benevolent fund to which we all had contributed as serving officers. The plan is to go in for some philanthropic activity in a small way like sponsoring a festive meal or two for the brahmacharis of an arsh gurukul and a kanya Gurukul. Introducing a running shield for an inter-gurukul Public Speaking competition is also on the anvil. A small part of the longevity prize money given by the Army could go towards defraying cost of printing and publishing a collection of my articles in English. The suggested title of the book may be INSPIRATION. How do you like that? A little bird just whispered into my ears “don’t close the kitty old boy, some more money is on the way. Well, it is a twenty percent increase in my monthly pension. Vow! I exclaimed. Generally only teenagers and youngsters display that kind of emotion. Chill Chill, so said the grey matter in my mind. Another friend gave the news that there is an incentive to live longer – a forty percent increase on turning eighty. How about turning a Centenarian, chirped one fellow. Then the old age pension earned in service would be doubled. This called for another vow but I cautioned myself “control yourself” Once bitten twice shy, period.ARMY MARCHES ON STOMACH The clock struck 2 o’clock. Time for lunch, clamoured the younger lot. All of us climbed into the two big cars of ours parked right there. Where do we go, asked the friend in the driving seat. Anywhere, man, anywhere, just move on before the suggestion for fasting on a festive occasion materialises. How about eating khichri, that age-old mix of rice and lentil with a pinch of salt and basic spices thrown in. Move,man, move – apparently patience was wearing thin. What sin a hungry man cannot commit? That line in Sanskrit was quoted. Bubhukshitah kim na karoti papam – the line was said again and again to hurry up to the restaurant that serves both for herbivorous and carnivorous –the veg and the non-veg .Gaurav and Aditi, our son and daughter-in- law chose to foot the bill and said that it was their privilege to do so. Sudha,my wife winked and that was a nod to themj to go ahead. She,our daughter,Richa and son-in-law, Sudhanshu Ji joined the veg club of my wife and said that this was the surest way to be healthy and happy.A man is what he eats. It is the age-old computer terminology GIGO – garbage in garbage out – that is applicable to human beings and the diet that they take. Quite a convincing and logical argument,I figured and joined the veggies. In any case I was born in an Arya Samajist family and thus both the heredity and environment influenced my diet from the word go. I shall confess that the three decades plus spent by me in the Indian Army and myshort sojourn in USA to learn Chinese mandarin did change my life style and eating habit but I returned to my moorings sooner than later. Rejoining the Veggies was like home coming for me that I ever enjoyed. Indeed another incentive was swami Ramdev,the yoga rishi,blowing the trumpet of Vegetarianism with commendable results in the form of an ever growing following. Well, all said and done, the community eating was delightful and called for an Encore.SPIRITUALISM ALL OVERThe youth brigade wished to top up the gastronomic pleasure spending a couple of hours in a good cinema hall enjoying the latest release of Bollywood. They got the nod. The grey-hair brigade chose to retire to the cosy comfort of their bedroom for a forty wink – siesta being the birth right of senior citizens. In any case ,being ex-servicemen thay could recall how enjoyable the post-lunch siesta used to be. For doing P.T. at dawn and being up and about for the rest of the forenoon took its toll that could be repaired only by taking a “forty winks” in the cool confines of the bedroom. In any case majority of people in Asia, latin America and Africa exercise this birth right unchallenged. My siesta, not forgetting my wife’s, that afternoon was indeed life giving.We felt rejuvenated to our fingertips. It is evening now. Peace prevails all around. In the small garden at the back of our house, birds are chirping. They have returned to their nest for the night and their young ones have been fed to the fill. The planting of trees was initiated by our middle child, Shikha and she tended to it until she left for her bridal-matrimonial home in Germany. We all contributed to its growth by planting a sapling here, a sapling there. The house guests, both Indians and foreigners did so as a matter of honour. Some saplings have grown into full fledged trees giving both shade and fruits to us and the friendly neighbours. The kitchen garden in the vicinity of the trees is a focal point of both praise and blame depending on the perception of a neighbour or a passer-by. Anyway, the greenery and the fruits are a delight to us that beggars description. Turning seventy five today I feel more attached to the garden, now an undispensable appurtenance of the main house.Sitting under the large and a small mango tree I am enjoying this evening than ever before. This closeness to the Nature has brought in an element of spiritualism today. It is the twilight –Godhuli in Hindi. Time for the cows to come home. We possess no cow now. How I wish I had one. Never mind, there is always a next life after the soul leaves the present body. I may own one then and do gau-seva , receiving unadulterated cow milk as a reward. My wife and I choose to recite the mantras of the Vedic Sandhya together. A spiritual awakening indeed. Pranayam forms an integral part of the Vedic Sandhya written and prescribed by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, founder of the Arya Samaj. Herein it is emphasised that Prarthana or prayer coupled with Purusharth or Action deliver the goods. Moreover , the devotee develops a sense of self confidence that helps keep depression at bay.This is the sum total of my rewarding experirnce of a life of seventy five years on planet Earth – for us Mother Earth. I hope and pray that the Vedic way of life holds me in good stead until I realise the meaning of my prayer in Sandhy mantras “ JEEVEM SHARADH SHATAM...ADEENAH SYAM SHARADAH SHATAM “May I live a meaningful life for one hundred years and may I ever be self reliant.
Address : UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA-201303 INDIA Mob. 0091-9811173590

ARYASAMAJMARTYRS

GALAXY OF ARYA SAMAJ MARTYRS
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant, VSM

The Arya Samaj has indeed liberated the masses from the clutches of many a class of vested interests. The protectors of common man had become predators. Be it the clergy or the captain, they were all out to look after their own welfare and thus prospered at the cost of ordinary men and women who were just helpless. Women, who formed fifty percent or so of the numerical strength of the social order were denied their fundamental rights of thought, expression, education and self dignity. The right to know the Vedas and benefit from them was denied not only to the backward and depressed classes of men but to the entire female population, irrespective of the religious or the social class they belonged to. Ime was ripe for a social and religious renaissance awaiting the right leadership that would be bold, courageous and ever ready to make the supreme sacrifice to uphold the Dharma.

MORAL COURAGE

One who wishes to go to the rescue of the exploited and the downtrodden men and women needs moral courage to fight against the religious, social and financial vested interests who are well dug in. Right from Day One of the Reformation movement launched by a 14 year old teenager called Mool Shankar to the time of his transformation as a Sanyasi renamed Dayanand Saraswatito the time he breathed his last, his indomitable spirit kept on fighting against tyranny – religious, social and political. He minced no words in chastising the high and mighty for their wrong-doings,Adharma and did so publicly. Dayanand Saraswati had the moral courage to launch a frontal attack on the king and the clergy alike so that the common man could breathe easy. He paid for this with his life but was eulogized by men and women of all walks of life except the vested interests who looted the country to line up their own pockets. Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati became the first Martyr of the Arya Samaj but he was not alone.

Pundit Lekh Ram , who had met and interviewed Swami Dayanand Saraswati just once in life, followed suit.He is the dedicated vedic missionary who travelled far and wide to collect and collate original evidence about the life and times of the founder of the Arya Samaj to write a biography also converted people to the fold of the Vedic Dharma.He was committed to fulfil the aspirations of Arya Samajists that the good word of the Vedas should be carried to every home and hearth. With a missionary zeal he travelled far and wide. As the story goes , while travelling on an express train to reach the destination to save some families from converting to Islam and adopt the Vedic Dharm instead, he was told that the train did not halt at the railway station that served his destination. Undeterred, he jumped off the running train at the station concerned and proceeded to fulfil his mission. Unbelievable but true. Further he had an ongoing war of words with the Mirza of Ahmedias at Kadiyan and he always carried the day. Stung by spiritual and literary defeats at the hands of Pundit lekh Ram, the Mirza plotted his cold blooded murder. It was indeed a sad day for the Arya Samaj when a stalwart who boldly challenged those who were advocating Islamic hocus pocus, was assassinated by an ex=Muslim who had converted to Vedic Dharma.

Swami Shraddhanand Saraswati sounded the trumpet of SHUDDHI to reconvert those Hindu families who had been forcibly converted to Islam by the Mughals and he was a success in his noble and novel mission.Of course, this movement to bring home brethren who had gone astray was over and above the revolution that he brought about in education by founding the Gurukul Kangri at Haridwar. Both the acts were products of moral courage coupled with courage of conviction. For his foray into the realm of Macaulay’s English education, he was commended by Ramsay Mcdonald for taking a concrete step to counter Macaulay. However, the Swami cannot be dubbed as anti-Muslim or anti-British. He is the only Arya Sanyasi so far to have been invited by the Muslims to the Jama Masjid of Delhi to make a speech to unite the nation against the foreign rule. However, some misguided Muslims hatched a conspiracy to eliminate him because he was a Vedic missionary and tolerated no nonsense in carrying the torch of Vedas forward. He found a place in the galaxy of martyrs of the Arya Samaj and we are proud of him.

DEFENDING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Mahashay Rajpal of Lahore was a champion defender of the right of expression. He was a writer and a publisher. Above all he was an ardent Arya Samajist who had learnt his primer in courage and freedom of expression from no less a person than Pundit Lekh Ram himself. Brought up in the Arya Samaj tradition where Vedic missionaries were tempered with the principle “Counter Attack is the best form of Defence”, Mahashay Rajpal could not sit idle when Fascist-Islamists made and published derogatory remarks against Yogeshwar Shri Krishna and Swami Dayanand Saraswati. Rajpal Ji had the moral courage to publish a book of facts about the Prophet of Islam entitled “Rangila Rasool” The book comprised nothing but bare facts borne by history. The then government prosecuted Rajpal Ji. He bore the brunt but did not divulge name of the writer. He had the courage to own up its publication as it was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Although the lower court convicted him but the Punjab High Court,Lahore acquitted him with honour. His conviction in defending the right of expression and exercising the freedom of publication were vindicated. However,history repeated itself when bigots made attempt after attempt to kill the bold publisher,Rajpal Ji and eventually succeeded. Shaheed Rajpal Ji joined his co-religionists in the roll of honour and continues to be a beacon of inspiring light for succeeding generations.
MARTYRS IN UNIFORM

The Dayanand Anglo- Vedic School founded in 1886 to carry on the mission of Swami Dayanand Saraswati is a living lineage of courage and sacrifice for the cause of the country. In the twentieth century, 1999 to be precise, Pakistan attacked kargil in Jammu and Kashmir.It was done surreptitiously. An Army patrol detailed to find facts was ambushed but fought bravely. None survived. It was a saga pf chivalry and the patrol was led by Capt Saurabh Kalia,an ex-student of a DAV School in Himachal Pradesh. The spirit of patriotism was instilled in him by the DAV school and his father said so. Another story of epic gallantary was that of Lieutenant Manoj Pande, a scion of an Arya Samajist family of Lucknow. He led his jawans gallantly, dislodged Pakistan soldiers from the post in Khalubar and remained alive until the national Tricolour did not replace the Pakistan flag at the post. The Government of India honoured his chivalry with the award of the highest gallantary award for showing exemplary courage in the face of the enemy, PARAM VIR CHAKRA. His last rites were performed as per the Sanskar Vidhi written by Swami Dayanand Saraswati.

The continual addition of stars to the galaxy of Arya Samaj martyrs goes to prove that the spirit of Liberty and moral courage to defend the Vedic Dharma and vanquish Adharma is alive and shining.
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LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP OF INDIA AND CHINA

LOVE HATE RELATIONSHIP OF INDIA AND CHINA
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM



India loves China; China loves India = True or False? Indeed that is a quiz for the secondary education level boys and girls. The school children were a wee bit confused when confronted with this question like our national leaders of the Nehruvian School of Thought were. Both the children and adults of post-independence India had been brought up on the mental feed enriched by protein doses of slogans like Hindi-Cheeni Bhai-Bhai. The slogan did not reflect a factual position. It was just romantic fiction a la carte Sir Walter Scott of the Elizabethan era. Jawaharlal Nehru loved this fiction and nurtured it with his heart and soul. His counterpart in China, Chou-En-Lai had no such misgivings. A hard boiled Communist brought up on a diet of rock like realities of life where death stalked him at every bend of the mule track in the mountainous terrain in the Long March from the South to the North-West China, Chou was a Chinese gentleman to his finger tips – always non-committal. Jawaharlal Nehru was a gentleman born with a silver spoon in his mouth, educated in the United Kingdom to be a lawyer but plunged into the freedom movement to drive the British rulers out of the sacred soil of India through non-violent non-cooperation. Nehru and under his leadership, India loved Chou and China. Did Chou and China love Nehru and India? The international scenario and the border dispute on India-China border had a different tale to tell. Indeed it was a perfect picture portraying love-hate relationship. Picture perception is an art and intelligent artists were hard to come by.

By nature and temperament Chou and Nehru were Poles apart but they professed friendship of the first degree based on the cultural ties of the two countries that went beyond Buddha. So said Nehru on many ceremonial occasions when Chou just smiled. An enigmatic smile and equally enigmatic words that were difficult to interpret then. The pressmen noticed at times an undercurrent of one-upmanship between the two prime ministers of neighbouring giants at international gatherings like the Non-Aligned Meet at Bandung. It was, however, momentary. Both of them professed friendship and claimed that their friendship was based on a history of good relationship embedded in culture and common man’s concepts that had roots in soil enriched by both countries for many millennia. The whole concept and the words explaining that concept looked and sounded like a Chinese puzzle. The deep roots of brotherly love that they claimed was, however, only skin deep. Were there any royal visits in the past or were there any diplomatic weddings among the ruling dynasties of the two countries? The pages of history are mute on marriages and exchange of royal gifts. The only exception is visits of Buddhist monks from India to China to propagate the Bauddh Dharma in China. Buddhism got royal support too and became a major religion with a vast following in China and the Far East. There were visits of Chinese scholars professing Buddhism to India for higher studies and taking a look at the original scriptures. Fa Hsien and Huen Tsang or Shuan Jang were two prominent personalities among them who left behind travel literature for historians of later ages. That was it. The Communist regime of China did not feel very comfortable in promoting Buddhist Thought or any other religion since they are atheists. There is no Dharma for a Communist individual or a Communist State. Self survival at any cost is the golden Mantra that they chant and act upon.

CHINA MARCHED INTO TIBET

The People’s Republic of China came into being on 1st October 1949 when the then Chiang Kai Shek government went into exile and fled to Formosa (now Taiwan) to escape a trial for treason. With a total lack of opposition from the comity of nations and complete support of the Chinese people, Chairman Mao Tse-Tung consolidated power and launched an expansionist policy around the frontiers of JUNG GWO or the middle country as the Chinese call their motherland. Their eyes fell on Tibet, called Syi Dzong in the Chinese language. The People’s Liberation Army met with little military resistance and almost had a walk over. Since then Tibet has been an Autonomous Region of China. Frankly speaking, autonomy is for namesake – just on paper, otherwise the Chinese govt in Beijing rules the roost in Lhasa. Thereafter there have been many uprisings of the Tibetan people against the Chinese rule but all were of no avail. Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India did not raise a little finger to oppose the Chinese takeover of Tibet. The people of India, by and large, developed a hatred for the Chinese use of force against peaceful people of Tibet and that was all. Nehru’s govt was still enamoured of the Chou govt of China. But the Chinese were planning further expansion of the Dragon Empire at the cost of India. Nehru’s Intelligence people remained ignorant of evil designs of China because they were still under the spell of HINDI-CHEENI BHAI BHAI fantasy bordering black magic. Swallowing Tibet only sharpened the appetite of the Chinese Dragon and our corridors of power in New Delhi only hummed tunes of Chinese music that was dear to Nehru’s ears. The Disaster was indeed lurking round the corner for the people of India that the political leaders or bureaucrats could not foretell. The Chinese lullaby had lulled them to sleep that was almost like a drunken stupor.


CHINA ATTACKED INDIA TOO

Nehru and his ministers were rudely shaken out of slumber and a dream extravaganza when the People’s Liberation Army attacked India in both Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh (then called NEFA)in October 1962. It was too late and the Indian soldiers paid with their lives and limbs because the Indian Army was ill clothed, ill armed and ill prepared to face a professional force that had fought a civil war and knew what a war was. The hatred of India for China was at its zenith during and after the war. The country was helpless and so was its incompetent leadership under a China lover named Nehru. Nehru could not believe that his bosom friends, Chou and China had stabbed him and his motherland in the back. But seeing is believing and this belief came rather late in the day. Unfortunately Nehru suffered a stroke from which he could not recover and breathed his last in May 1964. That was the end of the HINDI-CHEENI BHAI BHAI era. As the Indian hatred against China grew in intensity day by day, China leaned towards Pakistan, an arch-enemy of India’s. Thereafter there was no love for China in India, only hate and hate. As the hate scenario changed a wee bit with the passage of time, India and China evolved a system of working relationship. However, Pakistan continued to be the blue-eyed boy of Beijing. Never mind killing of Uighur Muslims in Urumqi, Xinjiang by the Han Chinese security forces during frequent ethnic riots.

Our compatriots, specially the Hindu pilgrims suffered in more ways than one. The Hindu pilgrims who had been going on pilgrimage to Mount Kailas and pious lake Mansarovar since time immemorial, were stopped by the Chinese at the Tibet borders. The pilgrimage remained suspended for almost two decades. It could be resumed only when there was a diplomatic thaw. I have had the privilege of going on a visit to Mount Kailas and Lake Mansarovar in 1993 and found that the Chinese suzerainty was in evidence all over Tibet. Thanks to the myopic policy of our specialists in foreign affairs, we Indians were losers vis-a-vis the Chinese government. It is hoped that our so called specialists have learnt a lesson after tasting defeat on both the military front and the diplomatic front.

There have been many exchanges of delegations between India and China. At best it can be termed a sort of working relationship where there is no war and no peace. The common man still hates China. An average Chinese citizen does not like an Indian either. The Chinese love Pakistanis and vice-versa. There are historical reasons for it. When India and the USSR were good friends, China and Pakistan extended hands of friendship to each other. This has stood the test of time, notwithstanding China suppressing her Muslim minorities on her western borders. Anyway, there is no love lost between India and China despite all kinds of high level exchange of visits to each other’s country.

Will China attack India sometimes in the next decade when the going gets tough economically for her? Well, it is a hypothetical question and need not be analysed. Suffice it to say that the People’s Republic of China has reached the take off stage for becoming a world power economically and militarily. Her competition will be with the United States of America at the global level. Under these circumstances China will not like to be bogged down in a regional fracas with India as it will be counter-productive. In the interest of progress,
LET PEACE PREVAIL – that is the new musical strain of both China and India.

Address : UPVAN 609, Sector 29, NOIDA – 201303 INDIA.
Mobile : 0091-9811173590. . Sawantg.chitranjan@gmail.com
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