China's assertion that Arunachal Pradesh is a part of that country has hit the headlines again. But this claim is not new at all.
Kiren Rijiju, a former MP from the state, says that well before the debacle of 1962, Mao Zedong had termed Tibet as the palm of a hand and Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan as five fingers which were Chinese Territories and needed to be liberated. Another Himalayan Blunder is in the making, he says, as India is doing little more than verbally rejecting China's claims while the latter is furiously developing Tibet etc.
China, for example, has built a railway line in Tibet despite permafrost conditions, while India has not added a single kilometer to the railway line built in Arunachal by the British.
The full article, available only
here, is an eye-opener.
Although Samuel Huttinton's theory of the Clash of Civilisations included all civilisations, his reasoning was straightforward mainly when he spoke about it in the historical context of Islam and Chrisitianity seeking to convert and believing that theirs was the only correct religion.
Huttington also foresaw a shift of power from the West to two 'challenger civilisations', Chinese and Islamic. At that time India's rapid economic growth and rise was not visible.
According to Chinese philospher Hu Shi, India has conquered and dominated China for 20 centuries. But now China is on course to becoming the greatest power on earth. India's rise makes it uncomfortable. There will, however, never be a clash of civilisation between them.
A Competiton of Civilisations, a tussle between ying and yang, is what is likely to ensue between these great nations which can co-exist in harmony.
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Read full post:
China and India: Competition of Civilisations
Buddhist villagers of Banglung village in Assam's Karbi Anglong district are faced with a peculiar problem.
Hundreds of storks nesting on a sacred peepal tree are
threatening the tree's survival. Several branches of the tree have already dried up because of infection caused by the birds' presence and their weight.
The villagers had thought of chasing the birds away but did not do so because it is against their religion. So, they have asked the forest department to take steps to protect both the tree and the storks.
Some lesson in living harmoniously with nature, even each other, for all of us.
Perhaps the Chinese, who are busy destroying Tibet's culture and changing its demographics by pushing in Han settlers, would also do well to re-learn the teachings of Buddha from the people they are oppressing.
