India's Problem with Remembering Difficult Past

India's Amnesia with Difficult Past

India is categorized as a country with rich cultural heritage and past, but India also has memory vacuums in its past. India has a problem with remembering its difficult past: It either brushes it off, or slowly forgets it. India is generous about forgetting about the crimes of outsiders than its own people. Numerous terrorist attacks were perpetrated in India, but not even a single memorial marks the dead. Not only that terrorist events are forgotten, this is also true for major historical events such as the first war of independence of 1957. There is a memorial for the British dead in the war in India, but no such memorial for the dead soldiers of India, or its heroes of 1957. Nothing is known about the soldiers dead abroad while serving the British army, in China in the early 19th century, in Europe, and Middle East in the 20th century in the long drawn wars of the first world war. Of course nothing much is known in terms of memorials for soldiers dead in the wars with its neighbors in 1962 war with China or 1972 war with Pakistan.

India won its independence in 1947, but what about the 250,000 people, who died in the skirmishes that resulted during that year. No memorial. One or two films are made with mock characteristics rather than recreating a museum or memorial. India's invaders always inflicted innumerable losses to the life of civilians in India, almost creating a genocidal effect in India. However, all that India does is just forget about the atrocities, and move on, with the hope that such events won't repeat, which is always proven to be a mistake. They always repeat, India never remembers, and hence never adequately prepares, only to succumb to invaders easily.

India moves on with its insolent indifference into the twenty first century. Media discuss the 26/11 attacks, but no memorial for the victims. Everything is whitewashed and forgotten. India should make an effort to remember its past however sad or difficult it is so such events do not happen again.

Colonial Mind, Emigration, and Identity

Twenty-first Century brought forward a new dilemma for Indians. To be or not to be Indian, when one is living in a country away from India, the motherland. The question attracted attention from newspapers, internet portals, and Indian Twitterati. Bobby Jindal aka Piyush Jindal brought this debate to the front, which had been simmering in the back burner for sometime. There are two theories: One side argues that maintaining close connection with one's Indianness is important, the second side argues that an Indians must completely forget one's Indianness and immerse in the culture of the land wherever they may be living.

Both theories are wrought with problems. when one is away living in a different country, the person is not Indian in the full sense of the term, and only belongs to the cultural heritage of India. The middle way to foster this had already been shown by previous immigrants of colonial era now living in the Caribbean Islands, South Africa, and Fiji. The Caribbean Indians are as comfortable with Calypso music as with Bollywood dance numbers.

The second theory of disowning one's cultural heritage to assimilate completely with a culture of the land one is living at any time is also wrought with problems in addition to the point that it may be difficult and may not come easily for some. One serious issue that comes up with such attitude is if one is so uncomfortable with his own background and cannot live comfortably with his own heritage, how can he be expected to be open minded about myriad of other cultures that may exist around him. And what kind of a leader that one make such person. Twenty first century world brought migrations across the world. There are few places in this world that may be considered homogeneous culturally these days. In Bobby Jindal's case his becoming American mean a very narrow definition of  what American means, which comes with English, and converting to Christianity. In his opinion Asian immigrants are lacking in Christianity, while other Latino immigrants are lacking in English. 

His proposal for Americanness, English and Christianity, is matter of simple life for millions of Indians living in India already, almost every educated person in India speaks decent English, and India has sizable number of Christians dating as far back as early centuries of first millennium C.E. There are a number of Indian Christians living in America as well.  Same is true with Latinos in numerous countries, they speak decent English and are Christians by faith. If this is what defines Americanness in Bobby Jindal's mind, then there are legions of others that are better qualified for such honor than him. Is he ready to call everyone of those who speak good English and is Christian an American then?

Another issue with such disowning one's culture to claim assimilation into another culture is a remnant of colonialism. Neo-Indian culture of nineteenth and twentieth centuries is characterized by learning English language, dress, manners and customs, which sometimes may include conversion to Christianity. Speaking English and dressing as English gentleman is seen as cultured and civilized self. Colonial life in the continent of America is also known for altering the life of natives and landscape of the region forever. Numerous languages perished along with annihilation of tribes, plants, birds and animals. However, there is a modern quest to discover lost languages and cultures, and protect the animals and plant life of the world. It is common in twenty-first century, for humans to live in different countries, but still be able to live comfortably as one-self. The greatest advantage of twenty-first century global world is multi-culturalism, which represents unity in diversity. If Bobby Jindal had difficulty embracing multi-culturalism then he is living in the past a world of early 19th century rather than the twentieth century.

It enriches a country when multiple cultures exist in a country with uniform civil code. Problem ensues when some cultural groups ask for preferential treatment or separate family courts based on their cultural sentiments. Such preferential treatment should not be meted out to any group. Even though the cultures are different they must all respect the law of the land and abide by it, and work for the progress of the country. That's what the leaders should be asking for from their citizens, not homogeneity. Multiplicity is the feature of the twenty-first century. 

Embracing multi-culturalism and multiple selves is the way to go. Living with narrow definitions and identities is helpful to a certain extent, but learning more than three languages, knowing about world cultures and religions is also important in the 21st century. After all no one is living on self-isolating island.

On This Yoga Day, Lets Focus on True Efforts to Understand Yoga

As India, along with the world, is gearing up to celebrate Yoga, a lot of noise is heard from all sides, but real emphasis on true learning is lacking. There is happy noise from the hundreds of Yoga enthusiasts getting ready for their celebration by organizing public performances of Yoga. In fact, some are expecting to enter the Guinnes book for the largest gathering and performance of Yoga. While there are also some gruntling noises from so called secularists, Muslims announcing that they would not be taking part in the Yoga Day celebrations.

India, as the land of Yoga has a responsibility to preserve and continue the tradition of Yoga through education, research and scholarship. Serious study of Yoga is necessary to pass on the requisite knowledge to the future generations. When I was growing up in India all the Yoga asanas I learned are from my family. School education was helpless in the field of Yoga. Similarly, my higher education in Osmania University and University of Hyderabad similarly provided me no background in Yoga. School or college did not teach Yoga at any time. It was only after coming to the West that I learned how important it is for mind, body unity and focus. It was only here that I discovered the value of Yoga. Most universities, public libraries offer courses on Yoga in the West. There are numerous private schools of Yoga that teach a variety of styles of Yoga, calling it a physical exercise. The Yoga day seems to be doing exactly what the privately run Yoga programs in the gyms across the western world had been doing for a long time. Promoting Yoga as a physical exercise. Yoga is much more than just a physical exercise and understanding it should be at the core of Yoga day activities. It is important to have Yoga day celebrated with performance of Yoga. But it should also be a day where new research and scholarship sheds light on this traditional knowledge.

Yoga postures (asanas) are practiced, but it is also important to read and understand the Yogasutras of Patanjali. More publications discussing the Patanjali Yogasutras and philosophical aspects of Yoga should be made available to the common people of India.

Meditation is an essential part of Yoga which needs long and focussed practice under a learned teacher. Training centers, certifications for different levels of Yoga proficiency is also important. Currently, Yoga institutes, and training centers are independent organizations, which are run without any scrutiny or accreditation. A educational authority to certify and accredit various levels of Yoga programs is necessary. Due to the importance of Yoga for modern life, it is important to establish a Central organization to oversee the licensing and functioning of Institutes as well as the certifications for Yoga training.

Before this turns into another show of mindless numbers and postures it should be taken in the right direction where learning, research and scholarship is encouraged at all levels of Yoga practice. Unless Yoga studies is offered as a subject of study in the universities, Yoga Days like this will not be able to provide real value to the practitioners.

Manthratalk: The First Word : M.F. Husain and His Nudes of Hindu Dieties is Bull...

Manthratalk: The First Word : M.F. Husain and His Nudes of Hindu Dieties is Bull...: M.F. Husain’s Paintings represent bullying; they don’t represent secularism Some misguided people of India painstakingl...

M.F. Husain and His Nudes of Hindu Dieties is Bullying

M.F. Husain’s Paintings represent bullying; they don’t represent secularism

Some misguided people of India painstakingly portrayed paintings of Husain as representing secularism and secularist interests. However, Husain’s paintings only demonstrate the selective derision of Hinduism than anything else. The recent issue of Charlie Hebdo killing makes one wonder about Husain. Unfortunately, Charlie Hebdo was not as conniving as Husain. He drew cartoons on many religious figures and his secularism was evident in all of his work. Husain only drew mocking paintings of Hindu deities, but not others. Husain’s followers (many were Hindus) and coreligionists have praised him for his mocking paintings of Hindu deities. However, Husain’s coreligionists were not as tolerant when it comes to their own religion. They are only tolerant when it comes to other religions than their own. They never bothered to condemn Husain’s caricatures of Hindu deities but did so with Charlie Hebdo cartoons, and some even went so far as to kill Charlie Hebdo. Maybe one should be crafty like Husain to receive international fame and acclaim at the expense of other religions, but not their own. 

One should not banish cartoons or drawings on any subjects including religious subjects. However one should be mindful of the choice, and question if one were to single out and draw discriminatory paintings or cartoons on a single religion. Targeting a single religion would constitute bullying rather than secularism. On that note, it can be said that Husain's paintings are a bullying tactic.

Husain’s nudes of Hindu deities

I suppose, we could assume that Husain is doing a great favor to Hindus by drawing these images trying to open them up for secularism and be open to taking any critique (even if it is silly) in stride. But why not render the same favor to other religions- may be his own religion? Why not draw Fatima or Aisha or Mohammad, if not nude at least in the loving embrace of each other? He shows quite a restraint when it comes to Islamic subjects, but goes berserk when it comes to Hindu subjects. What is wrong? For Husain Hinduism seems to be an easy target, a religion that could be mocked and made fun of with a couple of free and easy brush strokes. The paintings don’t even have to look good. He even won the highest civilian award for being so reckless with his drawings of Hindu deities. It even won him international acclaim and sympathy from anti-Hindu elements worldwide. He is even seen as a protector of Muslim sentiments and welcomed with open arms to immigrate to Khatar. Would the followers of other religions be as tolerant if he were to draw similar paintings of their revered deities? He did not even draw nudes of Hindu deities, he went even further; he drew caricatures of them. Would he similarly dare to draw caricatures of deities of other religions? Well, we know the answer, he never dared to do it; in fact, he never even contemplated doing such a thing: One of the reasons he is regarded as the champion of the interests of Islam. His nudes of Hindu deities clearly show that he harbored animosity towards Hinduism, which came out in the form of his paintings.

Caricatures of Hindu deities

What has Sita ever done to anyone? Her life was so lonely and so sad. She loved Rama, and suffered her whole life for being loyal to Rama, who cared more about his prestige and kingly duties than his wife. How can anyone be so mean to Sita as to draw her nude riding on the shoulders of Hanuman? Hindus have always revered Sita as the most loyal wife of Rama. Stories of her faithfulness to Rama is part of her story. In fact, one of the common stories anyone hears about Sita is that she refused to go home when Hanuman visited her in Lanka and requested her to do so. Sita had told Hanuman to just convey her message to Rama. Why is it that Husain cannot be sympathetic to Sita and had to draw her nude riding on the shoulders of Hanuman? Was he such a misogynist that he is not interested in understanding feminine sorrows, or was he trying to mock Sita for being loyal to her love in times of intense struggle? Where does his sympathy lay? Does he hate monogamy? Is Husain’s issue with monogamy or Rama or Sita? May be living most of his life single might not have helped him understand the pleasures of monogamous love. At least he should respect the sentiments of others who understand it and still practice monogamy. 

There can be only one reason to do these paintings, either fame or to prove his superior intellect by bullying others by proving other's beliefs as silly. It seems likely that towards the end of his life he became a megalomaniac and probably not sure what he had to do to fulfill his desire. If not, then it is only probable that he  had harbored such animosity towards his fellow countrymen who are Hindus that he had to express it in such a way as to bully them and prove his superiority. Otherwise, it is difficult to understand how or why he would resort to drawing such images, which he had never done before during his long career. The government of India should politely withdraw the civilian award Padmasri bestowed on him for his reckless drawings that hurt the sentiments of millions of Hindus worldwide. 

Himalayan Earthquakes: Why the Building Boom and Tunnels Must Stop

Himalayan Earthquake: A Disaster on the Roof of the World

The world woke up to the disastrous earthquake in the Himalayas today, April 24, 2015. This is what the scholarly and scientific community had been warning South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia in the past few decades. Constructions, especially urbanization and building of roads especially tunnels underneath the Himalayan mountain ranges have proven disastrous in this area. This is exactly what I have discussed in my recent article, "Himalayan Ranges, Glaciers, Lakes and Rivers: An International Ecological, Economic and Military Outloook," (Webb, J., and Wijeweera, A. Eds. 2015. Political Economy of Conflict in South Asia: Causes, Implications & Solutions. London: Palgrave - http://www.amazon.com/Political-Economy-Conflict-South-International-ebook/dp/B00TR5JF7I/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1429988347&sr=1-2&keywords=Wijeweera). Military and economic activity of nations in this region is exposing Himalayas to undue stress and danger pushing it into facing disastrous consequences. I cannot emphasize enough of the impending dangers of such militaristic and building activities in the Himalayan regions. China's planned five tunnel roadway connecting southern Tibet to Nepal, and the large Hydro-electric project planned in Tibet would further push this region into danger. Instead of bringing development to this region such large dams, and roadway tunnels only spell impending disaster to this region.

Pushing Himalayas into danger is not only a problem for Tibet or Nepal, but the whole of Asian region.  Any large earthquakes may spell absolute danger since it may cause avalanches, and make the rivers to change course. Any collapsing hill ranges, and flooding rivers will not only cause dangers to the immediate foothills in the Himalayas, but would bring environmental consequences for the deltas of Ganga-Yamuna, Indus and Sutlej rives in India and Pakistan; Brahmaputra and Padma rivers in India and Bangladesh; and other large rives in China and Southeast Asia. 

Large nations like India and China must proceed with caution and build an alliance to protect the Himalayas and avert danger through reducing construction and military activity in the Himalayas. 

Historical Significance of Amaravathi: Name of Andhra's New Capital

Amaravathi is the Best Name For Andhra Capital

The state government of Andhra Pradesh has recently announced the name of its new capital to be Amaravathi, a name that evokes historical significance, religious legends, linguistic and artistic achievements. Andhra Pradesh state has kept the old name, while ten districts separated from it are called Telangana formed the new state. However, there are some new opportunities in front of Andhra Pradesh to name its new upcoming capital, ports, and airports. This is an opportunity for Andhra Pradesh to reflect on its rich heritage and draw appropriate names from its great historical past to inspire and infuse future generations of Andhra Pradesh with pride, and self respect.

Naming of new state capitals with historical significance or changing the names of existing state capitals to reflect their respective historical significance is not an uncommon occurrence in India. For example Gujarat separated from Maharashtra, and their new capital is appropriately named Gandhinagar. The names of capital cities of Maharashtra, Bengal, and Tamilnadu are changed accordingly in the recent past to reflect their past cultural heritage.

Name is an important aspect of a culture, and Andhra Pradesh has an important and long historical heritage behind its existence, which must be reflected by the name of its new capital appropriately. Historically, the Krishna-Guntur region of Andhra Pradesh has been a focal center of Philosophy, literature, and religion. This place is memorialized by a number of eminent personalities of Andhra Pradesh who have made this region their residence. Several Andhra dynasties are well known not only in Andhra Pradesh, but across India. Satavahana, Ikshvaku, Kakatiya, and Vijayanagara dynasties come to mind right away. Numerous literary stalwarts also graced the land of Andhra Pradesh. Nagarjuna's Madhyamikavada is known not only in India, but across the world. It is a noted fact that Srikrishna Deva Raya composed his Amuktamalyada after a vision from Andhravishnu (also known as Srikakulandhravishnu), when he visited the temple in Srikakulam of Krishna district. Acarya Nagarjuna spent part of his life in Nagajunakonda monastery in Guntur district. 

Satavahanas empire is the first significant historical state of Krishna-Godavari river basin. Satavahanas are also known for supporting Buddhist and Hindu religions equally. Krishna-Guntur region also has several firsts to its credit. The first temple of India was discovered in the Nagarjunakonda excavations in the Krishna river basin. The excavations also revealed inscription dedicated to Ashtabhujaswami, the first inscription dedicated to Vishnu, in his eight-armed form. One of the major Satavahana trading cities is Amaravathi. Several trade routes of India are connected mainly through waterways connecting cities across India. Amaravathi  is a central city with two roads  each passing from north to south on its right and left sides respectively. Selecting the name Amaravathi as the name of the new capital of Andhra Pradesh is a fitting reminder of this historical heritage.  Linguistically, Amara is a Sanskrit word, which means 'eternal', or 'endless'. It is also the name of the capital city hosting the residence of King of Gods, Indra, eternally reverberating with fine arts entertaining gods, and goddesses endlessly.

Any capital built between Guntur and Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh will be well served by drawing on the names associated with Satavahana cultural heritage which flourished in the Krishna river basin indicating its connection with historical as well as divine legends.  Amaravathi is hence a fitting name reminding of Andhra Pradesh of great historical, religious and artistic background.