Not all well-known women reject love out of a tragic past, some do it out of disillusionment. When Ismat Chughtai, the celebrated Urdu feminist author met the well-known actress Suraiya who was a darling of the masses of her time, she wrote the following words about Suraiya’s disenchantment with love. Suraiya simply did not believe in love because she had been mouthing those ‘love’ dialogues from her very childhood.
Actress Suraiya
Ismat Chugtai wrote “I first saw Suraiya at the gulposhi (adorning with flowers) ceremony of Mumtaz Ali’s eldest daughter. She sat demurely behind a bunch of girls and must’ve been around thirteen to fourteen years old. Wearing ordinary clothes and sporting a stretched braid, there was enough worry in her rather large eyes, the appropriate se of which she hadn’t learnt as yet. Had she not appeared so petrified, I wouldn’t have noticed her much-all the more because her mother Malika appeared to be the toast of the party and when compared with her, Suraiya looked like a mouse.
Beloved of the universe
Suraiya in a movie
Shortly afterwards, Suraiya took a big leap and became a film star- one who sparkled so brightly that for a while even Nargis paled before her. She achieved heaps of fame and as someone said, she became the ‘mehooba-e-aalam’ (beloved of the universe). There was a time when her admirers could be found in every nook and corner, and no other heroine could ever attract such attention. She was still young when she was stuffed and padded and made to play the heroine opposite Saigal and Prithviraj. More than her acting skills, it was her magical voice that people found so endearing. Lata hadn’t become the phenomenon as yet, and it was Shamshad Begum’s voice that was heard the most. Suraiya and Noor Jehan were two actresses who sang their own songs, and soon they zoomed ahead of Uma Shashi and Kanan Bala in popularity. These two were also singing-stars and ruled the roost once, but over a period of time, the appeal of Kanan Bala’s voice was on the decline. Noor Jehan left for Pakistan after Partition and that effectively made Suraiya the only singing star in the country. There came a time when as many as five of her films would play in tandem at the theatres. She featured in all the posters one could see-she was omnipresent. It was almost dreadful.
Love (un)struck Around the time Suraiya was in her prime, when producers and directors met up, her name would inevitably crop up after a few rounds of drinks. Alcohol along with zikr-e-Suraiya – to hear all that, it seemed as if much like alcohol, her body, and voice were also meant to mislead people. There was tremendous sex appeal in her flexible voice- upon hearing it , instead of soaring to the heavens, one’s emotions were rather drawn towards the soil. Possessing the power to completely take over the senses, it carried daawat-e-gunaah – an invitation to the path of sin. When a bunch of men sit down to drink, their talks rips women to shreds. Yet, the manner in which Suraiya is cut to smidgens is beyond compare. She might not have heard it in person but she would’ve certainly seen its reflection in all those gaping stares. That’s why she could never surrender to love unconditionally. She could never love anyone passionately enough to renounce all she had- her home, her mother and her maternal grandmother. Made to hear as well as mouth romantic dialogues since an early age, love started to appear as something ridiculously to her. For her, whilst the asinine act is valid on the screen – provided it could help the film to succeed – it was pointless to accommodate it in actual life. And how could it be possible to not fall for Suraiya? Nearly all her directors were captivated by her. So, it’s not hard to imagine the kind of regard that she must have felt for them and also how ludicrous the entire concept of love must’ve come across to her. It was routine for her to dress up as a bride, get married and then it was time to take the make-up off. No wonder life starts appearing like a grotesque piece of farce. It gets difficult to segregate reality from fiction and it results in shaking up one’s ability to take decisions. No, Suraiya doesn’t intend to get married – she dreads the very thought of it.
Suraiya with Prithviraj Kapoor
Suitors galore
Although she didn’t name them, I could identify all her suitors, as they would often narrate their stories of heartbreak to me- I knew the silly lengths they could go to in their pursuit. “There was a gentleman who used to light candles at the shrine of Sai Baba,” she chuckled. I immediately knew whom was she talking about. “A hero would threaten to jump off the terrace.” The hero is alive and kicking and continues with his habit of leaping about, albeit in films. “Then there was this man who stationed himself outside my flat and after persisting for many days, eventually consumed poison. A fair bit of trouble later, the police took him away.
Suraiya
Money minting machine The tale of Suraiya is identical to that of any film star who is forced to turn into a money minting machine while still at a tender age. Stardom was instantly handed over to her on a platter and she didn’t have to slog it out to earn the success. Consequently, she never cared for the easy fame. Had she faced rejections and disappointments before making it big, perhaps she would’ve valued it more. Acclaim and prosperity were shoved down her throat and she forever longed to spew them out. Her prestige became the staircase to success for others, climbing which they amassed wealth amassed wealth and filled up their coffers. Piggybacking on her name and skills, people turned millionaires, while she, on the other hand didn’t give two hoots for the riches. Spending money requires time, and Suraiya barely had any time to even breathe. She was burdened with so many contracts that most of her days and nights were spent shooting. She would manage a quick nap somehow and then be back to the dreary film scenes, the same voices of “Lights on! Lights off!”, the unfamiliar heroes and besotted directors.
Quitting for good “I have absolutely no regrets about quitting films. The entire process just got to me,” Suraiya’s voice had turned bitter. “I was sick of shooting all the time. For years I hankered for adequate sleep. I couldn’t even eat properly because I have a tendency to put on weight very quickly. I could only dream of getting to watch films or not shooting. It’s a terrible thing to say but I would be ecstatic when someone in the film industry passed away and the shooting was stopped. I would fervently pray that may someone die every day and the entire industry get ruined and destroyed. Tauba-tauba! I don’t know what had come over me. Now I can catch up on all the sleep that I can, I go out to shop and have a great time. Though they are few in number, I have some very dear friends. I eat all that I want to and love spending time at my bungalow in Lonavala.” “Do you still sing?” “Occasionally.” Maybe Suraiya still hasn’t been able to disconnect songs from films. She could never embrace acting as a part of her soul like Meena Kumari, whose singular interest in life is acting-for the love of which she came back from the jaws of death. Had Suraiya wanted, she could’ve come back to films too but then there is seldom a cure for fright.” -(Neend Ki Maati, published in Naqsh [Karachi]– November-December, 1973 (Excerpts from “Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai” by Yasir Abbasi)
–To be continued
This article by Shailaza Singh was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section on 20 April 2022
They were successful, beautiful and had the world at their feet. Yet they lived lonely, sad lives and died even lonelier deaths. Is it that when a woman gets fame, wealth and power, she also gets the curse of loneliness and bad relationships? Why can’t a woman have it all? Why did Nargis Dutt congratulate Meena Kumari on her death in a letter that was published in an Urdu magazine called Shama and collated in a book titled “Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai” by Yasir Abbasi?
Nargis wrote” “-Happy Birthday -Wishes for your wedding -Happy Diwali -Eid Mubarak
I have often offered as well as received these wishes on numerous occasions. But… “Congratulations on your death” I have neither heard or said this earlier. Meena, today your baaji (elder sister) congratulates you on your death and asks you to never step into this world again. This place is not meant for people like you.
Meena Kumari
I gave Madhubala her last bath; the hands that placed the shroud on her were mine. I was holding his hand when filmmaker S.U. Sunny breathed his last. I have seen many people- from the film world and otherwise-pass away before my eyes, but no instance can match the profound effect that Meena Kumari’s death had on me. I was intensely moved despite the fact that I wasn’t present with her during her last moments-neither did I give her the customary final bath, nor did I put the shroud on her body-and I couldn’t see her depart on her final journey. I was in Jammu on the day that Meen Kumari died. Somehow, I was restless since I woke up that day and bad thoughts kept crossing my mind. It seemed as if something terrible was about to happen, and indeed it did-a tragedy so huge that I will never be able to forget.
After arriving in Bombay, I went to the graveyard where she was buried. I cried more at her grave than I did at the death of my mother. I could gain composure only when my ears could almost hear Meena ask me to stop crying. One day I received a call from my husband who was away in Madras shooting for Main Chup Rahungi . Since it was going to be a long schedule, he asked me to come over with the kids. I reached Madras with Sanjay, who was two and a half years old then, and Namrata who was barely two months old. We stayed at Hotel Oceanic and Meena’s room was close to ours. Accompanying Meena was her sister Madhu and Baqar Ali. We met for the second time here. She greeted me as soon as she saw me and said, “I have great regard for you and I hope you won’t mind if I call you ‘baaji’. An instant friendship developed between us. Once, Dutt sahib wanted to go out for Chinese food and an invitation was extended to Meena too but she said that she was tired after the day’s work and had already eaten early. She also offered to take care of the kids while we were away. When we returned at 11 o’ clock, the kids’ nanny informed us that both the children were still with her. Entering her room quietly, I saw both of them asleep on either side of Meena, who has gently placed a hand each on Sanjay and Namrata. The nanny told us that Meena had duly tended to all the duties-from taking Sanjay to the toilet to changing Namrata’s nappies and from preparing their feeding bottles to singing them loris, she did it all on her own. I could see the glow and contentment on her face. I felt that it was indeed a misfortune that though she was a woman and also a wife, she wasn’t a mother yet, and how complete her life would be once she’d become a mother. I couldn’t meet her the next day. We didn’t meet for several days after that but one night I saw her walking in the garden of the hotel. She was panting and when I asked her the reason, she said, “Baaji, I eat tobacco and sometimes that results in palpitations.” “Meena, this is not due to tobacco,” I told her. “You look very tired. Why don’t you rest for a while?” “Baaji, resting is not in my destiny. I will rest just one time.” Her eyes turned to the ground as she said that. I asked her, “Meena, don’t you want to be a mother? Don’t you feel like having kids?” She replied, “There is no woman who doesn’t want to be a mother.” Her eyes welled up- the tears perhaps conveyed the story of her life. That night there was some noise in Meena’s room- sounds suggestive of violence. Next day we came to know that she wasn’t feeling well and would not report for work. I caught hold of Kamal saheb’s secretary Baqar and spoke to him in direct terms, “Why do you want to kill Meena? She has worked enough for your sake. I know how an actress feels and how mentally exhausting things can get. For how long is she going to feed you?” Baqar saheb replied, “Baby, why don’t you understand? When the right time comes, we will rest her.”
Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari
After that I saw Meena hiding herself to cry. Just a look at her eyes and one could sense that the tears would roll out any moment, but she never let that happen. I said to her, “I can understand your pain. You have to be brave and crying like this is of no use. You’re like a younger sister to me and henceforth I’ll call you ‘Manju’.” We couldn’t meet for a long time once were back in Bombay, though one kept hearing stories about her. One day, I heard that she had walked out of Kamal saheb’s home and had started living in Mehmood’s house. Meena had a showdown with Baqar on the sets of Pinjre ke Panchhi and matters got so turbulent that she did not step into Kamal Saheb’s house again. I never broached this subject with her.
Kamal Amrohi with Meena Kumari
Soon enough, the excessive consumption of alcohol had weakened her liver and she was down with jaundice. When I visited her at Saint Elizabeth Nursing Home, I was careful that I didn’t mention anything that could embarrass her or hurt her. Referring to the yellow tinge on her skin, I said, “This shade of yellow is so pretty. Manju, you are free but of what use is such freedom when you are bent upon killing yourself?” She replied, “Baaji, my patience has a limit. How dare Kamal saheb’s secretary raise his hand on me? When I got the incident communicated to Kamal saheb, I thought he’d come running and immediately fire Baqar, but he said, ‘Come home and I will decide things here.’ What was there for him to decide? Now it’s me who has decided to not go back to him.”
Dharmendra and Meena Kumari
Then, a new person entered Meena’s life- Dharmendra. She was so happy- it was almost as if she had got hold of the entire wealth of the world. This was the most beautiful phase of her life and made her feel thoroughly blessed. However, the good times are short-lived as a misunderstanding resulted in the two of them drifting apart. Dharmendra walked out of her life and left her heart-broken. Shen couldn’t cope up with the loss and hit the bottle. She would say, “Baaji, solitude is my destiny. I do not pity myself and neither should you.” Slowly, Meena started to inch towards death. I couldn’t bear to see her like this and advised her to forget the past and begin her life afresh. I got a call from Meena on 3rd February -the day of the premiere of Pakeezah. “Baaji, the film that you got me to work on is being premiered today. You have to come.” When I reached there, she stood up and embraced me. I had to leave after the interval because my husband was down with fever that day. I promised Meena that I would tell her my opinion on the film once I saw it in its entirety. I don’t know if that will ever happen- I haven’t been able to gather courage to watch that film since. I can’t even bear to listen to the songs of Pakeezah on the radio now, how can I pull my self together to view the film? How Meena resumed work on Pakeezah is a story in itself. Kamal saheb wished to have Dutt saheb in the film and wanted to sign some other actress for Meena’s role. Dutt saheb mentioned to me if Pakeezah was made without her, the film would lose its allure. I met Meena and told her, “Manju, if this film remains incomplete then it will be a great calamity. Tired of waiting for you to come back, Kamal saheb has now started looking for another actress. If you agree, I can talk to him and facilitate your return.” She just said, “I’ll do as you say.” I couldn’t go to her during the next few days. Then, I left for Delhi and to Pathankot and Jammu from there. Before leaving, I passed on a message informing her about my travel and that I’d meet her after I come back on 1st April. She asked her sister Madhu to tell me that she wouldn’t be around when I return. Madhu did not convey that to me. Had she done so, I would’ve never left Meena. Not too long before we last met, there was a preview of her film Gomti ke Kinare at the mini-theatre in our house. The story of the film was the story of Meena’s life as well. Though she bore pain and hurt herself for others, no one could realize her worth. Left with no one who could lover her back or who she could call her own, she lost the will to live. A woman doesn’t need a friend-she yearns for a family. There was a void in her life that never got filled. No one really cared for her-all were like indifferent strangers. She wandered around looking for a drop of love but her thirst for it remained unquenched. She writhed in torment, lived a lonely life and eventually died a lonely death.”
Nargis and Meena Kumari
-(Meena -Maut Mubarak Ho!,published in Shama- June 1972) (Excerpts from “Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai” by Yasir Abbasi)
To be continued…
This article by Shailaza Singh was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section on 19 April 2022
‘What China will do next’ has been a matter of intrigue and much speculation in the arena of world politics. For a country that is obsessed about becoming the greatest and most respected power in the world, nothing seems too much, not even occupying the lands of other countries and claiming them as theirs says Maroof Raza in his newly released book Contested lands.
In the book it is stated that China’s modus operandi is also well known as it has a notoriously long history of walking into other’s lands and claiming the territory by changing the ground position and then citing ancient historical claims. China’s approach to maps is also different from everyone else’s because they are all about Beijing’s intentions. Why is China such an expansionist?
China wants to be the world’s most preeminent by 2050 and the only country that will challenge their rise to that position is the United States of America. Now US is doing everything to prevent that. However, for 25-30 years between 1970 to 2010, US steadily made convenient for China to become rich and powerful thinking that if China becomes rich and powerful, it will join the other rich and powerful western countries. I always say that US has more thinktanks that the British Army has tanks but they still get every solution wrong because that they start from the logic that their aim is to show China is rich and wealthy. They believed that once that will happen China will become a part of the western democracy. The point is that they don’t do enough homework. Instead of going this way, they should actually study the Chinese mentality and set up and then decide on an aim. US does this mistake every time. In Iraq, they went in on an assumption that they will change the regime and create a democracy. In the process, they destroyed a perfectly functioning country their other arguments not withstanding whether it was about oil or something else. now. Look at the level of human rights abuse in those areas now!
China and the world
How is that China is so dominating when it comes to warfare while Pakistan operates through stealth and terrorism?
Till 47-48, Pakistan was basically the stooge of the British, who wanted it to occupy the valley and the northern area and run it as a semi-autonomous area in which the British could also have a stake. My earlier book on Kashmir has details on it. Pakistan was a two-part operation run by three British officers. When the first attack in 47 came to notice of Nehru, he was so angry that he threw a paper weight on Sardar Baldev Singh. The thing with Nehru was that he liked having stupid people around him so that they could not threaten him with a coup.
Second time when Pakistan attacked us in 65, they were told by a think tank in America that if you do the same operation that you did in 47-48 with a few modifications, you can easily win take over Kashmir. They did that but they didn’t expect India to respond with the air force and the entire army and they were caught on the backfoot. In 71, they didn’t expect India to take over Bangladesh because they thought that they will repeat their actions of 65 and defeat India. They thought it would be a stalemate with them attacking on the western front as well. They had no idea that India was having a plan to move Russian troops to east Pakistan. Although Dhaka was not the objective, but eventually it became because of the success of the troops got on the ground.
So, Pakistan has been foolish most of the times. They don’t have any strategic thinking. China has been working on a plan on Aksai Chin from the very beginning as they want to control the waters there. And from the waters they also want to control the mineral resources because Aksai Chin is connected to Sinkiang which was the place Russians were using earlier to get whatever Uranium they needed for their first nuclear plant. China wanted to replicate the Russian model because Mao believed that having a nuclear weapon was the only certificate needed to be a great power.
“However experts warn that India too must be prepared for consequences as China would instigate Pakistan to ramp up its terror game and show itself more aggressively in the unsettled boundaries around Kashmir and Ladakh and in the Indian Ocean region…….For India, stalling China’s northwards movement to the Karakoram Pass is essential to prevent a China Pakistan military encirclement of India’s Leh plateau and Siachen glacier.”
What if Pakistan and China attack India together?
This is what people have been expecting and talking about. Central point to understand is that if Pakistan attacks India, China may not want to attack India. China does not engage in a conflict when it doesn’t see a very tangible set of goals it can achieve by creating that conflict. China knows that they can cause problems with cyber attacks or even bio terrorism (COVID is a case point here), then why will they attack physically because tactically the Chinese fear Indian troops. Strategically China has an edge over India. So, China will only attack when it is fully prepared in all dimensions to have a resounding victory over India like they had in 1962, which doesn’t seem a possibility in the near future. But if China attacks India, assuming that it feels that all other issues like Taiwan or Japan do not require that much involvement, then Pakistan may use that opportunity to also attack India.
In the recent movie Uri, they showed that India could look at and map terror camps using satellites. Is our satellite capacity that great?
China has a better satellite capacity than India, it is only second to US. I was told that the movie really doesn’t talk about the reality and it was more or less Bollywood hyped up masala to give the impression that our people operate like the Americans. There were all those helicopters shown. Jargons like mission aborted or copy that were used. Firstly, the term copy that is not used in Indian army. They say roger instead. On the whole, the movie did not accurately depict how our military operates.
Recently, Pentagon has been telling India that there is Chinese build-up near the Indian border. Why do you think that is happening? Why is America so worried about India?
US keeps creating this fear in India of China so that India becomes more and more integrated with America and becomes a part of an alliance. They did that in the 50s and the 60s. If you look at how then the Americans were pushing India into a conflict with China through the IB Chief Bhola Nath Mullick. Its an old strategy which is designed to create fear and ensure that India goes to America. Once India does that, America will tell them that beyond a point it will only provide assistance to India if it joins America as a full-fledged alliance partner and not engage with countries like Russia. Their primary aim is to get India off Russia and China. India has gone off China but it can’t seem to get India out of Russia. So that’s why they keep creating these fear syndromes where in because of the fear of a Chinese attack, India may join the Americans. And when India does join America as a full-fledged partner, America will tell India that if they abandon Russia as a defence partner, only then will they completely support India against China. The truth is that these alliances are all about selling weapons. There is nothing good in them.
So, hypothetically speaking, if India does become an alliance partner, will America help in protecting India in the event of a full-blown attack by China?
As far as protecting India. the case point is Taiwan which has been an alliance partner of America for so many years. However, it is only now that America has said that they will protect Taiwan in case of a Chinese attack. This is also the case with Japan, a country which has been America’s sidekick ever since Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened. As per me, Japanese are a strange people that they sided with the country which literally burnt their people alive. The only reason why Japan sided with America was because after the attacks it was completely destroyed. America rebuilt Japan like it rebuilt Germany. When America rebuilt Japan, they even wrote the constitution of Japan. They built in clauses like Japan would be associated with democracy and left no room for the Japanese to question the wisdom or stupidity of democracy.
So, even when Japan had an aerial standoff with the Chinese about the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, the Americans said that we will only help Japan if it gets hit by the Chinese first. You think Chinese will give a trial punch to the Japanese? If the Chinese will hit them, they will hit them to destroy them in one go. What will Americans respond to then? There may be second strikes but the first attacker will get the advantage. In case the same thing will happen to India, a more reliable partner would be Russia. In the war of 1971, Russia not only supported India in the UN but also moved 40 divisions on to the Chinese border. Their policy was simple for China. If China attacks India, Russia will attack China, which will definitely distract China and ease the pressure off India.
Concluded
This interview of Maroof Raza by Shailaza Singh was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section on 6 January 2022
For most Indians, while Pakistan has been about love and hate, China has been an enigma of sorts. They gorge on the Indianised versions of the Chinese foods; love buying cheap Chinese trinkets and gadgets and even watch dubbed versions of Chinese movies. However, China is much more than what meets the eye as is evident by Maroof Raza’s latest book, ‘Contested Lands’.
When it is about India’s neighbours like China and Pakistan, I always remember a joke I had heard a long time ago. Once, all the countries decided to visit God in his heaven to ask for favours for their respective lands. The Russians complained that their winters are so cold that they can hardly breathe while the Africans cry about the hot desert and scorching summers. Similarly, some countries complain about the excessive rains while others bemoan the kind of citizens they have. Suddenly one of them looks at India and says, “God, you have really been partial to India haven’t you? You have given it a varied climate, plenty of sun and rains, fertile lands and intelligent people!’ Hearing this, every body starts fighting with God. God smiles and says, “Quiet my children! It is true that I have given India everything. But then I have also given them very nice neighbours too.
Contested Lands By Maroof Raza
So what is our equation with China? A majority of Indians survive on cheap Chinese goods (some don’t even know that they buy goods made in China). While the match between India and Pakistan elicits the nationalist sentiment, there is very little that creates that kind of passion in the mind of an Indian where China is concerned. Yes, there was some furore over TickTock and banning Chinese apps and more during the recent Doklam standoff, not much has been done for the issue.
Most of us are unable to even fathom the world politics around the relationship between India and China. Why does USA keep telling India that China is building up bases near the Indian border or why do we have skirmishes with China every now and then? These and many other questions made me read the recently released book ‘Contested Lands’ by Maroof Raza, a former Army officer and a well-known media commentator on global military and security issues. The book was an eye opener and so was the candid tet-e-tat with the author.
Nehru with Chinese Premier Zhou En Lai
An old-time friend or foe
In your book you have stated that Nehru considered China an ‘old time friend’ and wanted to build friendly relations with India’s aggressive neighbour. Infact in the Panchsheel Treaty which was signed between India and China in 1954, India accepted Tibet as a part of China and gave up its extraterritorial rights over Tibet and legitimised the Chinese claims over Tibet when the entire non-communist world was condemning China’s occupation of Tibet. India also surrendered its three extraterritorial Indian Army outposts, stationed since 1904, under the treaty of Lhasa, when it agreed to withdraw its troops from Yatung, Gartok and Gyantse in Tibet. Moreover, India also offered China the India-run post and telegraph facilities in Tibet. The question is why wasn’t Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru not interested in liberating Tibet or siding with them?
From what I understand, firstly Panditji had a belief that being friendly to a new emerging country like China is a better way to establish new equations with China. He was happily oblivious of China’s historical animosity towards India. Please remember in the initial years when China came into being, Lord Mountbatten was the head of Indian state. So, China saw India as the extension of the British Raj and Britain was also talking in terms of India being centre of the commonwealth and the dominion status that they wanted to extend to India like they had Australia and Canada.
The second was Nehru in his idealism believed that if you are nice to a new country which is still finding its feet, it was a better way to go about building better future relationships and ensuring your security with your large neighbour. At that point in time, he had no idea about Mao’s ambition to take over Tibet. He felt that Tibet was a buffer enough. China and Nehru both were engaging with the Soviet Union. So, he thought that both India and China were in the same boat. It is typical of people who are western educated to become anti-west.
Nehru was running the policy for foreign relations. Gandhi ji was known for non-violence and Nehru wanted to be known for non-alignment. So, he thought his way was the right way. When you are so obsessed with your vision you don’t tend to look right or left. He went for a visit to China and came away from there with all sorts of false promises by the Chinese. Nehru was in a way like what our prime minister Narendra Modi is today. He was so powerful that no one could stand up to him including Sardar Patel. So, he must have told the latter, to handle the integration of the states and let him handle the foreign affairs. Mao Zedong (President of PRC (People’s Republic of China)) wanted to cut Nehru down to the size because his profile was becoming larger than life in the international arena. Today, Modi is also being seen by the Chinese in a similar light. Who knows what will happen in the future but I am just saying that there seemingly are similarities.
Tibet Stands Alone
You have also mentioned that “Eventually , El Salvador, not India moved the motion on Tibet, as most countries at the UN General Assembly looked to the US for direction on the Tibet issue. Washington, however asked the US delegation to take India’s directions on how to proceed against China, but India wasn’t keen to lead in this matter………. The Tibetan government found itself alone and friendless. It did not enjoy the status of a nation state as no country including India, had recognized it as such. Even Britain, which had a long history of engagement with China and Tibet and had tried to define the boundaries of Tibet and China at the Simla Conference, suggested that sufficient autonomy could be obtained with Chinese suzerainty not sovereignty.” Why was it that no country was ready to recognize Tibet as a free state?
In the 1950s no one saw China as a threat. When they did begin to see China as a threat, it was perhaps too late. Sardar Patel was dead by then. As far as US was concerned, at that time Britain was very powerful internationally and they didn’t see themselves as having done any wrongs even with the opium wars. The British were really setting the agenda at the UN even for the Americans British concocted this term called suzerainty which the Chinese dismissed but they kept hankering on it. So, suzerainty became a line that everyone in the west adopted. Also remember, when China began to occupy Tibet, the US was more occupied with the Korean war. British was concerned about the Suez crises. So, China was slowly occupying Tibet while everyone was busy elsewhere.
Skirmishes unfold
The book talks about the ‘Longju incident of 25 August 1959, which marked the first armed encounter between Indian and Chinese forces. It says that Longju was an Indian border post, directly located along the McMahon Line, when it was attacked by Chinese border troops forcing Indian troops to withdraw. Yet, Indian troops from Assam Rifles continued to patrol the location until the Sino-Indian war in 1962. Today it is controlled by China, but claimed by India.
“The IAF had carried out several air reconnaissance missions in that area from 1960 onwards….Even two years later, the detailed aur photography of that region- from Gilgit via the Karakpram range and westwards had been conducted not once but several times by Wing Commander ‘Jaggi’ Jag Mohan Nath, MVC. Since 1960, Jaggi Nath had filmed and reported the presence of Chinese soldiers in Aksai Chin”
Wartime
It is evident that China was slowly and steadily increasing its step into India. But what was the cause of this build up which resulted in the war of 1962?
From what I can understand, China was getting quite insecure as India was becoming too close to finding their nuclear facility which was quite evident from the reconnaissance flight by Wing Commander Jaggi Nath. And if India would have known, US would have also known because people in Nehru’s office were passing on all the classified information to the Americans. Had Americans come to know about it, they would have gone with hammer and tongs to knock off that facility like Israel did with Iraq. Where Israel was in 82, America was in 52. Mao wanted to make China the world’s most respected country and he used to often say that power comes from the barrel of a gun.
Despite all these reconnaissance missions, why was it that India was caught unawares by the Chinese?
This was because Mao had planned the 62 operations in a way that he would hit India when the world was preoccupied. So, he had planned it in that one-month time where everyone was involved in the Cuban crises because this was a situation which could have resulted in a nuclear war between Russia and America. Mao attacked in 62, because after the debacle of the cultural revolution, which killed 45 million people, he wanted to give China something to be proud of and hence he attacked India. Also, he was encouraged by Russia to attack India as that time Russia was on China’s side. Nikita Khrushchev gave the go ahead to Mao and told him that now was the time to attack India. Mao was not a good leader except for his India policy. He killed 45 million people in his great experiment of the cultural revolution. I am not saying it, the historians have recorded it. He had no value for human life or anything except to make a point.
Some people feel that Nehru was too busy in his own affairs and liaisons with women to worry about India and China or other such issues.
That’s utter nonsense! He may have had affairs, so what? Find me a global leader who didn’t have affairs. Mao’s own doctor at that time gave a statement and said that Mao lived a vulgar life and every other day he had a new Chinese woman. That didn’t distract him from his agenda. Kennedy also had his own share of affairs. Most leaders have been like that. That is not the reason why Nehru didn’t see the writing on the wall.
To be continued…
This article was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section on Jan 5, 2022
For Rajasthan, polo has always represented speed, thrill and romance. Earlier, this was a privy of men and a few women. Today, it is the women who have donned their riding gear to experience the real horse power!
Once upon a time, in the land of Rajasthan, there existed a game called polo. The game was mostly played by men. The spectators were mostly women who wore chiffon sarees and pearls and cheered the men.
I was always under the impression that polo is a sport of the royalty. When I saw Karishma Kapoor’s Zubeida, I started thinking of polo as not just a game but also a setting for many budding romances between the inner royal circles. Despite the fact that there were polo players like Maharani Gayatri Devi, polo for me had always been a man’s sport. However, I did not realize that I was in for a huge revelation when I met Nikita Pandit, a seasoned polo player.
Originally from Mumbai, Nikita, 25, is a practicing lawyer who stays in London, UK and visits India every year. She is a new entrant into the polo circuit of Jaipur and has recently purchased a horse of her own. When I asked her what attracted her to Polo, she said, ‘I love horses. I have been begging my parents to buy me a horse ever since I was four years old.’ Her mother Dr. Sharmila Edekar says that Nikita was a natural with horses ever since she was a little girl. ‘Nikita and her older brother Nikhil went for their first offsite riding camp in Mumbai when they were 5 years old. They loved it so much that it became a yearly affair till we moved to London.’ So, what does she feel about her daughter going to Jaipur to play polo? ‘We believe that girls can do everything that boys can. We have brought up Nikita as a confident girl who is quite open with us and discusses everything.’ Isn’t she scared that Nikita might sustain injuries while playing? Dr. Sharmila says, ‘Injuries are common in all sports, not just in polo. All you need to do as parents is to teach your children to be safe and think on their feet. They should be street smart and should know how to deal with people. When I was a young girl, my mother sent me on a trip to Europe with a girl friend of mine. Her logic was simple. She said I may or may not get married in the future but at least I should see the world on my own.’
Nikita says, ‘Though I am a lawyer and my brother is doctor, we have been into sports all our lives. I am also a member of the lawyer’s polo association in London but polo in Jaipur is a class apart. There is a lot going on in this city and I love it when I am here.
Her brother Nikhil, 26 feels that it is only in India that women have taken so long to take up polo as a sport. ‘For me, girls playing Polo is not really a big deal. I had first started playing this sport when I was in the University of London. There I was the only boy in my team for over two and half years. In UK, girls learn horse riding and polo from a very young age. It is only here that women playing polo is such a big phenomenon. I have always played in mixed teams. In Mumbai too, there aren’t many girls who play polo. I hope these changes soon and we get a girls polo team too .’
I thought Nikita was the odd one out. After all, it is far easier for a girl from London or Mumbai to pick up polo than for someone who resides in Jaipur. However, Sanjula Mann proved me wrong again. Sanjula is just 18 years old but she knows she wants to play polo for the rest of her life. ‘I have been into polo since the last two years. I saw a polo game once and I realized I wanted to play polo for the rest of my life.’
So what does her mother Ritu Mann have to say about it? ‘I believe children should be allowed to do whatever they want in their lives. I am an educationist and I have home schooled Sanjula. I have taught her to be independent and take her own decisions.’ So, doesn’t she feel this is a dangerous sport? ‘Dangers are every where. People get hurt even when sitting at home and doing nothing. Just because there are risks it doesn’t mean that our girls should not do what they like? The only thing I tell her is to research well into whatever she wants to do. She should find out everything about the sport and only then get into it.’
Shivangi Jaisingh, 22, is another avid polo enthusiast who is studying to be a doctor and loves playing polo. Does she face any discrimination when she plays the game? ‘Not really,’ she says. ‘People have been really nice and encouraging. Sometimes, I have seen people being shocked at the idea of girls playing polo but otherwise they have been really accepting.’
These conversations reminded me of the new version of Cadbury’s ad that I had seen some days back. In this version a woman is playing a cricket match and her boyfriend is cheering her from the stands. She strikes a six and the man runs into the field and starts dancing. The earlier version of this ad where a woman cheers for her partner and starts dancing when he scores a six has been around for decades. This new ad is all about the very evident change that has been breezing in our lives and thinking for some time now and which is being echoed by these girls and their parents.
But what has really caused this change now? How is it that what was solely considered a man’s territory is now beckoning women too? Vikram Aditya Singh Barkana, who is an avid polo player, a horse trainer and the co-founder of Polo Factory feels that social media has been a great harbinger of change. He says, ‘In the recent times, the world has become a close knit unit as a result of the social media. When people here see women and girls playing polo in different parts of the world, their thinking changes. Now, the exposure to the developments and progress around the world has changed the mindset of the parents and the society in general. Since the things are happening at a big level, so it has helped people gain confidence that they too can follow their heart and mind.’
For Sneha Harjare, 32, who is originally from Nagpur, polo has been all about a new beginning. She says, ‘I studied to be a pilot. I started working at the airport, then I switched jobs. I got married and then got separated. I now run a preschool in Mumbai. Polo has heralded a new era into my life. It is my escape from the world. I love riding horses. For me, that is the real horse power! So, how did her parents take it? ‘ My mother was excited about my decision but my dad was surprised but they supported me whole heartedly. They too are happy that I have found a new passion which is so rewarding.’
This article by Shailaza Singh was recently published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section
The life of a journalist is quite interesting. A journalist not only gets to meet interesting and intriguing people from all walks of life but also is a witness to the events that create history. However, the journalist’s own life is almost like that camera that is often hidden behind its own million photos which become the cynosure of all eyes. The life story of Meenal Baghel, the founding editor of Mumbai Mirror has also been somewhat similar. Though the articles, stories and now podcasts of this enigmatic Jaipur woman have helped people to make sense of their world, her own untold life story is nothing short of an adventure.
Meenal Baghel, Founding Editor of Mumbai Mirror
It is quite rare that you get to meet and understand the mind of a journalist. So, when Meenal Baghel, the ex. founding editor of Mumbai Mirror and now the host of Times of India podcast, agreed for an interview about her life at her parents’ home in Jaipur, I was almost as eager as a child in a candy store. For a person who had helped Mumbai Mirror from scratch, I had expected to meet a very no-nonsense kind of a professional. Instead, I met a soft-spoken lady who had a glint of humour in her eyes and a voice that spoke of her life experience. As we settled down to a free-wheeling chat, I asked her about her early years in Rajasthan. She said, “My father worked at State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ). I have studied in schools of Kota, Jaipur, Bikaner. From the very beginning, I was clear that I wanted to be a journalist. I have always been a story teller, a voracious reader, a writer and a debater.” Interesting! But then, what prompted the move to Mumbai? “I graduated from Mira Girls College in Udaipur. I went to Mumbai because I was feeling very claustrophobic in Udaipur and I wanted to get out and start working. So, I enrolled in a part time journalism course in St. Xavier’s Institute of Communications, St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai. I was at a stage where I wanted to take charge of my own life. I also started working at Indian Express as an intern. My foray into journalism was a homecoming of sorts because I loved the deadlines, the late hours and the intensity of my job.”
But didn’t a big city like intimidate a girl from a small city of Rajasthan? Meenal smiled and shook her head, “As a matter of fact, when I went to Mumbai, I realized that though it is a big city, it is very insular. At least in those days (early 1990s), I felt people were so caught up in their life in Mumbai, that it was almost similar to being in New York where people feel that New York is the centre of the world and nothing else matters. The Americans have a very little idea of what is going on in the rest of the world. Same is the case with Mumbai. For me, a person who knew more about the world than an average Mumbaikar, I never felt under confident in Mumbai. The schools I attended had so much engagement with politics, with social issues, language, literature and helped me to develop a good command over my language. They had these fantastic libraries where I used to spend hours poring over the back issues of The Illustrated Weekly and other such magazines. A lot of people sometimes struggle when they go to big cities from relatively smaller places. But my teachers were so fantastic that I never ever felt out of place.”
St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai
CAREER TRAJECTORY
Her determination is quite evident in her soft yet firm tone. So, what was her career trajectory like? “After Indian Express, I got a job in the features team at Mid-Day Newspaper. That was the time my father got posted to Mumbai. After a couple of years, I got to know that Vinod Mehta who was the Mumbai editor of ‘The Pioneer’ had launched ‘The Pioneer’ in Delhi. So, I applied and got a job. My aim was simple. I wanted to work and learn from great editors. I was there for about a year. I worked as a general beat reported who used to cover crime and all sorts of things like junior reporters do. After a while, I learnt that M.J. Akbar, who was a big name in journalism at the time was starting Asian Age. I joined Asian Age where I covered politics and looked into editorial too. In 1996, I got a Chevening Scholarship, which is a fully funded one-year scholarship by the government of UK. When I came back, I joined Indian Express, which was headed by Shekhar Gupta. I was with the Indian Express for six years, which proved to be a great learning experience for me in both Delhi and Mumbai. Then I learnt that my friend Akash Patel, who was the editor of Mid-Day, needed someone to help him relaunch Mid-Day. So, I joined him as the deputy editor. In 2005, after about two years, The Times of India reached out to me as they were looking for an editor for the Mumbai Mirror which was being launched. So, that year, I joined the Times of India as the editor of Mumbai Mirror and there has been looking back since then.” When I heard this, I had to know what helped her to survive in an industry which is known for its cut throat competition and office politics for sixteen plus years? Meenal replied, “I have a very simple policy which I think has served me well. I only believe in focussing on my job. If my job was to build Mumbai Mirror, I only focussed on that. For instance, Times of India is a huge building, there are a number of sections like Economic Times, Maharashtra Times etc, but all these years, I still don’t know many people there. That’s because I was focussed on going to my floor and working with my people and making sure that the Mumbai Mirror came out every day as one of the best newspapers. My approach is very blinkered in terms of my job. I don’t allow a lot of distractions in work. When we started Mumbai Mirror, a lot of people said it will shut down in a year. When you start a newspaper, you do face challenges, you struggle. I didn’t not allow any of those detractors to influence anything. In that sense I was a very determined person and I had decided that I will give it my best shot no matter what. More than that, I have worked in many places but I found The Times as one of the best employers. I don’t say it because I am working there but because the thing with them is once they figure out that you are sincere about your work, they give you enough space to do your job.”
Turf Wars But then there are all those famous turf wars that a regular feature of all news rooms! How did she deal with them? Meenal feels that she was very fortunate that she got into a senior editor’s position very early in life. “So, my big challenge has been leading some very dynamic newsrooms and taking care of the administration part. I believe that newsrooms are like human beings and their moods reflect on the newspaper editions that come out. There are days that you feel low on energy and the headline of the next day is equally low energy. Then on days, when the energy is high and people are on the top of their game, it shows in the next day’s edition. So, I feel it is important to have good energy in the newsrooms so that everybody trusts each other. In a lot of larger newspapers, there are turf wars, where people say this is my beat and you will not come on my beat. So, my entire challenge was to create a newsroom where these turfs don’t exist. For example, someone is covering aviation and a crime reporter gets a tip off. So, typically what will happen is that no one will share information or the aviation guy will say that this is my story. So, I make would make sure that the journalist who got the story would share the by-line with the person covering the story and they would work together. So, you had many more people thinking about not just their own beat but also about getting new stories.” For an editor of a daily newspaper, it is quite a challenge to get interesting front page stories every day! How did she cope? Meenal smiled and said, “It would invariably happen that I would be searching for a kick ass story for the front page and till 9 in the evening, I wouldn’t get a story which is good enough for the front page. The 9 to 10:30 pm was a crazy newsroom. But perpetually at 10 pm something would come up. Actually, this getting stories at the last minute has been such a regular feature of my life that I now genuinely believe that God is a journalist.”
The photograph of Ajmal Kasab by Sebastian D’Souza
Raw Courage For a person who has been a witness to the evolving history in one of the most dynamic cities of India, when was it that she really realized the true nature of journalism? Meenal takes a sip of her tea and a faraway look comes into her eyes. “In the evening of November 26, 2008, I had gotten off from office and was at a friend’s son wedding. I got a call from a colleague who was at VT station, ready to go home. His voice was shaking. He told me that there was a mafia attack in Mumbai. He asked me if I could hear the guns in the back ground to which I said yes. I called my colleagues and we were trying to figure out what was happening. We were told that there was an attack in Colaba on the Taj Hotel. Our office was right opposite Colaba. It was all unfolding in real time. One of my colleagues was a photo editor called Sebastian D’Souza. He ran to the VT station with his telephoto lens and hid in an empty local train. From that position, he shot the photo of a man walking with a AK56. Another photographer colleague was hiding behind this pile of newspapers along with a constable who was firing at these terrorists. The constable just lifted his head and almost immediately got shot in the head. For the entire country, it was a night of mayhem, where most people had no idea about who these attackers were. However, the photograph taken by Sebastian was the only photo in the country which identified this man as Ajmal Kasab. We were all stuck trying to get back to our office because the entire area was cordoned off. We worked on our mobile phones and sent in the front page at 1 a.m. with the headline ‘The man who terrorized Mumbai’. Out of the ten men who eventually attacked Mumbai, only Ajmal Kasab survived and he was the guy whose photo Sebastian shot! This photo became the only document and the testimonial in the case that linked Pakistan with the terror attacks. So, that was the time, a lot of people realized that journalism is not just news but it is raw courage where journalists put themselves in the line of fire. There is a famous saying that journalism is the first draft of history and that is what happened that night!”
To be continued..
This article by Shailaza Singh appeared in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section on 7 November 2021
Article by Shailaza Singh ‘The Podcast Queen of India who hails from Jaipur’ published in Rashtradoot’s Arbit
‘Daru Peene Ka Din’ or DPD is a quaint custom that has been in our family for long. Every Saturday night was about spending time with the family, where children would drink soft drinks while my father would sit with his favourite whiskey or rum. However, despite the name, DPD was more about creating memories.
When he was serving in the forces, every Friday, my father would come home from his office and happily announce, ‘Aaj to DPD hai’ (Today is DPD). While many people still gape at him and wonder what is DPD, we children knew DPD well. DPD meant Daru Peene Ka Din (The day to have alcohol). My father’s logic was simple. In a five-day week schedule, drinking on Friday night was a good idea because he didn’t have to go to work on Saturday. Every DPD was like a mini party complete with all the fine crystal glasses and crockery. My father would bring some salted chips, peanuts. My mother would insist on getting juice or soft drinks for us, children, so that none of us felt left out. He would then pour himself a small peg of whiskey in a nice crystal glass, which he nursed for a long time. If we had guests or relatives at home, they would also join us with a small peg of their preferred drink or a glass of juice. Once everything was brought into the sitting room, all of us including my mother would sit down and have our drinks and snacks while soulful voices of Jagjit Singh or Pankaj Udhas would sing about beauty, moonlit nights and the days of childhood, which would often spark conversations about life, problems or even the bygone days.
A happy tradition
From the time I can remember, DPD has been a happy tradition in my family. It was about bonding, remembering and being with the family. In school I used to often listen in astonishment when my friends used to talk about their fathers getting drunk and violent. At the time, I had always associated alcohol with happiness and spending time with the family, which was why I was never averse to someone drinking in moderation. Some of my relatives used to raise their eyebrows at the practice especially because my parents were quite cool about the idea of me drinking alcohol when I was old enough. Interestingly, though we always sat with my father when he had his drinks, neither my brother or I, became very fond of alcohol. However, whenever I sat with my father to have an occasional glass of wine (my brother is still a teetotaller), it was not about the drinks but more about just spending time with the family.
Hypocritical respect
Things changed when I got married. I had an arranged marriage and my husband had told me that he liked his drinks, I was quite okay about it. However, a few days after my marriage, I discovered that my husband was always told that having alcohol with parents or even talking to them about alcohol was a sign of disrespect. My husband was very particular about respecting his parents, no matter what! So, he had always had a couple of bottles stashed away in his bathroom. Every day, after returning from work, he went into his bathroom to change his clothes and quickly gulp down a couple of pegs of whiskey. This had been happening for the last ten-fifteen years. Then like a good son, he would rinse his mouth, go out and spend time with his parents and other members of the family. No one would talk about the whiskey bottles in his room or how many pegs he has had. His father too had his own stash which he would pour in a plastic glass and gulp it down. Though they could have milk, sharbat and other soft drinks, the father and son seldom sat down for a couple of drinks together. It was only when my husband had a heart attack on our honeymoon, that I realized the true meaning of DPD in my husband’s house and the perils of drinking alone.
Alcohol Challenge
The other day, when I was sitting with my mother and father on a DPD, I asked them why is that my brother or I didn’t consider drinking that big a deal. My father replied, ‘We never created the challenge of alcohol for you, that is why!’
The challenge of alcohol? What does that mean? My father replied, ‘I had my first drink with my grandfather. In our house, drinking was never a big deal. So, we too did not make it a big deal for you children. Infact, we made it a happy occasion.’
My mother added, ‘yes. I always ensured that you children had glasses of soft drinks and snacks when you sat with us on those DPDs. When you grew old enough, we never said no to your tasting alcohol, which meant you did not have to strive for it and soon lost interest!’
Matters of the heart
She reminisced, ‘As a matter of fact, after marriage when I used to see your father drinking, I used to get quite worried because in my family too alcohol was not encouraged openly. In one of our postings, our neighbour was Dr. Gladwin S. Das, now an eminent cardiologist in USA. I shared my concern with him and he showed me a cardiology text book where it was written that a couple of pegs occasionally can actually help in enhancing the functioning of the heart. From that time, I decided that DPD is a good idea.’
This was the first time I understood what my parents actually did. But I had to know more, so I talked to Dr. Manasvee Dubey, a psychologist. When I narrated the entire story to her, she said, ‘Your parents actually took the challenge out of the alcohol for you. Most parents don’t understand that the moment you stop a child from doing something or put restrictions, they actually make them want that thing more. Humans all rebellious by nature and the moment you agree or give them a feeling of control, they will have nothing to rebel against!’
Drink of Good Times
When I asked my mother, why she gave us a glass full of juice or soft drinks, she replied, ‘it was simply to make you feel equal to us. We didn’t want you to think that we can drink and you can’t. That would again have made you think that you aren’t equal to us in some or the other way and made you want to reach out and prove that you are equal to us.’
My father quipped, ‘Generally people drink when they are upset, worried or even ecstatic. We didn’t let you associate alcohol with extreme emotions. DPD was a regular, once-a-week affair which was about having a good time with the family in the evening. You never saw me tensed or worried when I was drinking, so alcohol never became a solution to any problem. Instead, we preferred to talk things out during these DPDs.’
The middle path
That statement brought back memories. When my husband was worried or stressed or upset, he would quickly pop in to the bathroom and take a swig or two though his family was none the wiser. Sometimes, he would drink excessively and then have arguments and showdowns which unfortunately would never resolve the problem. For him, alcohol was the crutch to deal with problems or actually express himself.
Dr. Manasvee Dubey says, ‘Drinking in moderation is not a bad idea. However, the problem with alcohol is that people consider it a taboo or a fashion statement or a solution to their problems. It is none of these. When you drink in moderation, alcohol helps you to relax, unwind and drop your guard and talk your heart out, which is actually the solution to all the problems.’
This article by Shailaza Singh was recently published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section
Buses and cars queuing up on hill stations. People milling around the popular tourist places without a care in the world. The pandemic remains but it seems a different epidemic has infected the minds of some people who feel that vaccination is the ultimate passport to satisfying their wanderlust. Is that really the case or are we again courting danger?Shailaza Singh investigates.
In the past year, I have gained tremendous knowledge and insight…into my house. I know every nook and corner of my house including the walls, the doors and windows. Infact, I have even made friends with the lizard and spiders in those dark corners. You will be glad to know that I have finally acquired enough knowledge to apply for a Ph.D. (if there exists one) in Home Knowledge. And this newly found insight has been a by-product of the pandemic and the lockdown where all one could do was to either wash clothes or cook food or like me stare at the walls and windows of the house (washing and cooking don’t take much time in today’s era). Moreover, I have been very inspired by the famous poem ‘Leisure’ which says ‘What is this life if full of care. We have no time to stand and stare.’ So, I did precisely that!
STAND AND STARE However, this has not been an easy journey. After all, how long can one stare at a lizard that seems to be sleeping on the wall? Then, there is that matter about the spiders and their cobwebs. The design may be fascinating to look at but it doesn’t talk or travel anywhere. Staring at the sky in the day is a dangerous occupation, especially in places where sky scrapers exist because people feel as if you are staring at them and they start staring back which makes you wonder if they have been afflicted by a pandemic of another kind. Yet, all said and done, staring is an art which not many people would understand.
STARING IN THE WILDERNESS One day, when I was on my usual round of staring, I got a call from a friend named Prashant Gupta. He works in Delhi and is not a starer like me. He told me that he has decided to travel to Manali. The moment he mentioned this, I warned him to stay away from the likes of Manali, Shimla and other such popular hill stations. He laughed and said, ‘No, I am not going to the crowded part of Manali. Rather, a couple of friends and me have decided to take a road trip to a cottage situated on the outskirts of Manali. It is a homestay located next to a flowing river and mountains. All I will do is just sit and stare at the scenery.’ I must confess that I was taken aback when he said that he would just sit and stare! I had never thought that he would be a starer like me! Then why couldn’t he stay at home and stare at his walls? Prashant was candid. ‘I have to get out. I understand that there is COVID but I am vaccinated and so are my friends. Besides, we aren’t going to any crowded places. We will be spending the days in wilderness and as far as I know, the company of animals and birds is quite safe.’
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED The conversation with Prashant got me thinking. Till now, I was wondering if the pandemic has literally killed the travel and tourism industry. To know the current scenario, I talked to Laveena Lalwani, a Jaipur based tour planner for ‘Make Our Holidays’, a company that deals in customized tour planning. “ Ever since some of the restrictions have been lifted, people have started craving for the mountains. Most of them have this notion that the air in the mountains is fine and the cases are lower. Now, people are looking for offbeat destinations like Bhimtal or Pangot rather than Mussoorie and Nainital. Himachal Pradesh is full of people taking ‘workcation’ where a group of four to six people hires a villa. They work from home and spend a month in the wilderness. North East is another destination of interest for people. Now, people are waiting for rains to stop so that they can travel to places like Meghalaya, Cherapunji, Shillong, Guwahati. In Rajasthan, there are places like Alsisar Haveli or Khem Pratap Garh near Churu that are unexplored and offer a holiday and staycation.’ So, have there been any advance bookings? ‘There are advance bookings for the North East. However, earlier we used to take fifty percent of the amount for a booking in advance but these days since it is so uncertain, we prefer taking a smaller amount since we may have to return the money in case the lockdown is imposed again.’
CHANGE THE TASTE Aditya Chaudhary and his wife Shivani Chaudhary live in Delhi and love travelling. They have travelled to many places in India and abroad. However, since the last two years they have been staying in their house. Don’t they feel the need to travel? ‘What is the point of travelling and endangering yourself?’ says Aditya. ‘People often say that they feel claustrophobic but I don’t see how you can be claustrophobic at your own home? Of course, if you are feeling stifled, you can always go for a walk or cycling. I bought my cycle in the first pandemic. Since the last two years, I have cycled and walked for my recreation and I am happy. So, what about people visiting the unexplored destinations? ‘The idea good looks in theory,’ says Aditya. ‘But the kind of population density India has, you are bound to meet people even in the rural areas or the most isolated of the places. So, the problem is still there.’ MASS AMNESIA Sudhir Ghuse, a professional working in a multinational firm in Pune had recently visited Jaipur on an assignment with a colleague. ‘In the evening, the two of us decided to visit Amber fort. When we reached there, we found crowds milling around the fort. The only people who were wearing masks were the girls who had taken pains to match their masks with their outfits. The rest of the crowds were oblivious to anything except having a good time. I had worn my face shield and gloves but people were staring at me as if I was an alien. Looking at the crowd, we decided to go back to our hotel. I wonder why people don’t understand the danger or perhaps they have somehow forgotten the past!’
THE CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVES Shivani Chaudhary feels that the problem is a lot more complex. ‘Its not as easy as it sounds. Every one cannot be judged from a single perspective. There are people who might be literally losing their sanity being bound in their homes. Alternatives have to be developed. I love travelling but then I decided to visit my parents and in-laws rather than go and mix with strangers in an unknown destination. But then, that is also not a feasible idea for the long term. So, to keep myself busy, I have enrolled into a new course online. At least, this will help me to upgrade my skills in the long run.’ Shweta Singh, a home maker believes that instead of focussing on the restricted travel in the pandemic, one should focus on creating a happy home. ‘In these two years, I have learnt pottery and interior designing. I have applied all my learnings to create a beautiful home. My children have enjoyed this transition and are happy being at home.’ Sudha Chandran, a psychologist feels that the focus needs to change. ‘It is true that man has been used to wandering and traveling. However, during these times, when travel literally means endangering your family and loved ones, one can think of different alternatives. A lot of people have learnt new languages, developed new hobbies and have upgraded their skills. As an investment, this is sure to pay them in the future.’
THE REVENGE ON COVID When he was asked what really is revenge travel, well known media personality Vikram Chandra replied, ‘Revenge travel is when you take revenge on COVID by getting COVID! That’s by travelling in hordes without taking any precautions.’ The question is since when has travel become so important that it surpasses the need to survive the pandemic itself? Why cannot we use this time to better ourselves as professionals and people?
This article was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit section on August 14, 2021
In the post pandemic world, the internet has become the new place to be. Today, every one from the fashion world whether a hot shot designer or newbies who are just testing their wings can be found online. Shailaza Singh explores the fashion net!
The net leveller of fashion
Sunil Sethi opines that the online trend has been a game changer for many. “Earlier people from Delhi were used to making a trip to Delhi and checking out new trends in fashion in those markets. However, now people are used to buying from the comfort of their homes. So, naturally the retail market will suffer. The designers who have been investing in opening shops and stores, especially single operators who only work on flagship stores may not be able to continue with paying high rents on their store. So, some churning is bound to take place as far as the Indian fashion designers are concerned. International markets have opened up at a much faster pace than domestic, so those who are into export markets might get some reprieve because of the business coming from that end.”
Pallavi Jaipur says, “The online world has helped in defining a new channel of buying and selling which is now here to stay. It has definitely increased the reach of the products.”
Rajesh Pratap thinks that now there are a lot of people who are ordering expensive items online. “Earlier, people didn’t have the confidence to buy a suit or a lehenga online because they had to try it on and get the fitting done. However, now people are ordering even expensive clothes. Brands have made it so convenient that people will come to your house and you can try it out to see if fits. Returns are becoming easier. So, online buying is gaining more credibility. You know you can get the fitting done and return it if it does not work. So digital fashion, distance selling is a reality. This is what has changed already. And this is a case everywhere. Now people have realized the futility of renting out expensive places, paying their employees huge conveyance allowances. They have understood zoom meetings are faster, easier and cheaper. Likewise, even in high fashion, things will change with time. But what those changes are, we will get to know with time.”
Raghavendra Rathore says that the migration of the fashion world to the online space has helped a lot of young blood to the market, which is bound to notch up the competition as a result of the pandemic. “You will see a lot of young designers suddenly muscling their way into the mainframe of Indian fashion because they now can create one product and don’t have to create a collection or have an army of tailors. Today, in the fashion business, you just need one prototype, a decent photographer and a decent website. So, whole migration to online is going to challenge the industry but at the same time provide opening for younger brands who didn’t have visibility or get into fashion week or capture the mindshare of the larger public except for partnering with Bollywood or other such biggies earlier. In a way, the field has become more level. Now the bigger brands will now be seen sitting next to a younger brand on a website. So, you don’t have to have big pockets to get into fashion. There is blood bath ahead of us in terms of price point and quality (what you see, buy and eventually get).”
However, he also feels there will be a churning of sorts when it comes to the fashion business selling its wares online. The consumers might also learn a few lessons. “On the flip side, the treachery of how people market and package their products will increase. There is bound to be a lot of instances of disappointment where an item costing 2500 rupees may not really look like a 2500 rupees item. We are not used to looking at products at that price point. Earlier people were used to buying 15000 rupees worth of product after they could touch and feel it. Now when people will buy a similar looking item for a lesser amount online. When they receive it and touch it, they may say, ‘Oh my God, this is polyester!’ There is going to be a great setback or mismatch in terms of expectations which will again course correct in a few months and people will arrive at somewhat a midpoint. All that is going to be a huge challenge because people would want to buy more for the same amount of money rather than quality because right now because there is hardly any opportunity to showcase the quality products considering the current paying ability of most people.”
It is indeed true that most people of the fashion world have been forced to move online due to the pandemic. In fact, the American fashion retailer Gap has closed all 81 stores in UK and Ireland to move to the online space.
Accessorize this!
Speaking of fashion, where do the accessories feature in this post pandemic world? Have they been dropped like hot cakes or are they still hot?
Sunil Sethi believes that people will be more devoted to practicality rather than fashion. “People now realize that there are some day-to-day things that they would need all the time. So, carrying sanitizers, extra masks, gloves are going to be a norm. Most men too will look for some sort of a man bag which will help them to carry all these things along with their gadgets like iPads with them where ever they go.”
So, what about footwear? He says, “These days women are out of practice with their heels. So, obviously, dress shoes and heels are less in demand. Hence, office wear will include more flats than heels. These days, I see more and more people going in for sneakers or breathable shoes. People no longer look down on what is called activewear in footwear. As a matter of fact, this kind of getting more prominence and acceptance.”
Raghavendra Rathore believes that there will be a lot of accessories when it is about handmade or sustainable products as a result of lesser number of artisans available for work. “Most people will focus on creating a lot of handmade accessories like earrings or masks.”
Neeta Mohapatra agrees. “These days more and more people are purchasing accessories from small firms and NGOs, which is a good trend to have emerged during the pandemic.”
Swati Vijaivargie says believes matching masks are the new accessories while shoes and bags are passe. “People are looking at matching masks and scarves.” Ashima Parnami disagrees, “I cannot sacrifice fashion for safety. Fashion or no fashion, I prefer wearing my N95.”
Loyal Core
Earlier, the fashion aficionados swore by their favourite brands. Saying something about their beloved brands or designers had the potential to spark a passionate debate or even a full fledged war. Has the new world order impacted the brand loyalty?
Raghavendra Rathore feels that brand loyalty may vanish temporarily especially in the ongoing pandemic. “The consumer on the other side is becoming more discerning and the loyalties they had to brands are going to dissipate at least for the next few months or maybe for a year. Until it is gifting or impressing somebody, having a brand of prestige is going to take second priority. So, if the inflow of salary is stagnant, logically people are going to move to brands which are suddenly popping up and are equally producing qualitative products. So, as far as the consumer is concerned, loyalty will disappear, though the consumer will go and soak in the trends in the brands but they will buy replication elsewhere.” However, he believes that this might be a phenomenon reserved only for products with a short shelf life and will probably inspire new changes too. “The products that have a life cycle of more than two seasons or year and a half, I don’t think there is going to much erosion from their story boards and they will probably have customer loyalty because it is a long-term investment. People will start spending less on what is perishable or will wash away or tear in six months, because they want to wear something in the personal space and maybe save the big purchase for a later time. Many companies have probably understood this trend. For example, iPhone has launched new and less expensive versions of their products. Although the process would have started some years ago but this becomes an opportunity for them to launch six models which are comparatively low priced. You will see this happening across all industries. People have already been working on this front and what can be remoulded has been remoulded and has already been launched or will be launched in the coming months.”
-Concluded
This article by Shailaza Singh appeared in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section on 16 July 2021
If there is one thing that has really undergone a big change in this pandemic – it is the style and perhaps even the size of the weddings. From a time where people used to invite almost ‘every Tom, Dick and Harry’ to showcase the achievement of their lifetime, weddings have now become an intimate, family-only affairs with classy dresses. Shailaza Singh delves into this aspect of pandemic fashion with some interesting results.
Intimate weddings- More Classy than Massy!
“India has always been a land of occasions, weddings and festivities,” says Pallavi Jaipur. “Weddings have now become more intimate and classier. Now the brides and grooms are investing in clothes which are classy and timeless and can be reused in multiple ways rather than just the trend of the current season.”
Sunil Sethi says that he has observed a new trend that has emerged in this pandemic. “The budgets may have gone down for the ready-to-wear segment, when it comes to couture, people are looking for even finer clothing. In the first phase of the pandemic, the budgets went down. For example, someone who could afford a lehenga worth five lakh rupees originally was happy in something which was about half the price because the weddings were more intimate and the rest of the people (except for the bride who I agree had to be dressed in her Sunday best) weren’t spending much even if they were one of the fifty invited for the wedding. However, the bride, bridegroom and their parents continue to buy the finest clothes from the Indian designers. No wedding is complete without some body buying designer wear for the ceremonies. Interestingly, these days, people in the high-net-worth category have upped their budget, which means that they are going for finer pieces as they have plenty of time to plan. Most weddings have now been postponed for a longer period which is going to be probably November or January. Naturally so they are being pickier. FDCI will also be doing a couture week in August so that people can pick and choose from the new collections.”
Raghavendra Rathore, believes that now weddings are becoming a classier and more elegant affair with the designer wear following suit. “Till the time we really get out of this pandemic created mess, weddings I believe will be more intimate and elegant. Naturally, the buyers will gravitate towards more personalized, classic and sophisticated designs which will allow them to recycle their wedding outfits for other occasions in the days to come.”
Rajesh Pratap believes that there are two kinds of consumers. “Some people have learnt from the past and are now organizing quieter weddings and keeping a low profile. However, there are those who have not learnt their lessons and are still splurging and hosting crazy weddings. In a way, this is all a bipolar reaction from the consumers.”
Twirling Sarees Interestingly, saree seems to have become the ultimate ‘rediscovery of the pandemic’. Many people have gone treasure hunting in their own wardrobes to return with long forgotten sarees and tons of creativity. Neeta Mohapatra explains, “the evolution of the saree is what I call creativity at its best. People are now wearing it as Roman robes at home while some are making comfy skirts out of it!” Ashima Parnamiseconds the thought. “Saree has always been in vogue regardless of the times. The very versatility of saree, especially the chiffons and cottons has made people experiment with it amidst this pandemic!”
Deep Wardrobe Diving Speaking of recycling, the other day, I was having a video chat with my friend Smitha who is somewhat of a fashionista and lives in Mumbai. She was wearing a white kurta with a scarf and the whole effect was quite classy. I complimented her on her style and asked her if this was a new addition to her wardrobe. She smiled and said, “This kurta is quite old. When I was looking at sorting out my clothes this pandemic, I discovered a lot of pieces that I can really wear well with accessories.”
Neeta Mohapatra believes that recycling has become the new trend in vogue where people can not only look good in their old clothes but save money! “Recycling of old clothes is a big trend. For example, styling a plus size kurta with a belt and shoes can actually be a statement because it can be made to look like a shirt dress or a kaftan.” Sunil Sethi agrees. “People have rediscovered their wardrobe as in they have so many clothes that they haven’t worn for a number of years. They have been able to reassess their wardrobe, understand the new things that they need to buy if at all or have enough in their own wardrobe that they should be wearing. People are only buying what is absolutely necessary for them.”
Rohit Kamra has also observed the change when it comes to people shopping for new clothes. “There has been a paradigm shift in the buying patterns. People have now developed a sudden interest in their wardrobes. Come to think of it, most of us have decent wardrobes. We mostly buy not because we need the clothes but because the buying feeds our psyche in a way. Nevertheless, we have seen cases of revenge buying, especially in countries like Europe and America where the pandemic no longer seems to be a threat as a result of the mass vaccinations.”
Revenge Rages
Neeta Mohapatra is of the opinion that there are different categories of people when it comes to shopping for new clothes. “Some people are shopping online, left right and centre even during the pandemic. In fact, the online purchasing has grown by 51% since the last year especially in India according to an Economic Times report. Women are hoarding jewellery and clothes. Now people want to live for today since no one knows what is going to happen tomorrow. Even I have been shopping to my heart’s content. I have a baby girl and I love shopping for her too. Some people don’t shop because they say they have nowhere to go and hence no need to shop for anything fancy.”
Rajesh Pratap says that the phenomenon needs to be observed for some time before we can actually term it as revenge buying. “There are people buying clothes and accessories. However, I can’t say whether this revenge buying is here to stay or not. We would need to wait and observe before we can think about judging these trends. Accessories have taken a big hit because there are no lunches or cocktails to go to so why would you buy that crazy bag? However, will you not buy it ever in your life? I can’t say! Gifting is still happening but not that much.”
Ashima Parnami can hardly wait to shop offline! “I have been dying to shop and have visited many stores as the lockdown has been lifted. For me, I am not a very online person when it comes to clothes. I need to touch and feel the fabric before I can think about buying it. I can buy bags online but clothes are definitely best bought offline!”
Sunil Sethi feels otherwise. “These days, there is a lot of talk about revenge buying. Many people have been saying that those who have lacked a certain thing now have no qualms about purchasing it whether it is cosmetics or affordable products or entertainment. Personally, I don’t believe in this revenge buying phenomenon because I feel that as a result of the pandemic, now most people have been able to gain an understanding about what they have and what they need. Now, I don’t think we will see the trend of shop till you drop anytime soon. I guess we will see revenge buying in people buying the best insurance policies or the most profitable returns in investments or new ventures in the equity market. The revenge buying may happen in people planning a second home somewhere in a place where life will be safer for them if an event like this ever happens again. That is where I see a lot of money going. People will be happy to get rid of acquisitions, assets, properties that they no longer need in their lives and concentrate on the present.
This article was published in Rashtradoot’s Arbit section on 15 July 2021.
He lives Khusrau, he breathes Khusrau; so much so that he even dreams of Amir Khusrau, an Indian poet and a Sufi mystic who lived in the 13th century. For Pradeep Sharma ‘Khusrau’, the Sufi mystic has reached out to him beyond time and helped him to discover his calling.
A man possessed I had only read stories like Laila-Majnu or Heer-Ranjha where people gave up their entire lives for the object of their affection. I had seen movies like Darr, where Shah Rukh Khan’s character does not stop at anything to gain the affection of the girl he is madly in love with. However, I could never imagine these stories in real life because after all, most of us are quite practical, worldly wise people who understand that we all need to work for a living. However, a meeting with Pradeep Sharma ‘Khusrau’ changed it all. He is ridiculed by his relatives but respected by many in the world. He may not be rich but his self-created ‘property’ is probably worth millions in the international market. Pradeep Sharma ‘Khusrau’ is not your ordinary collector; he is man in love with Amir Khusrau. For him, his day starts and ends with Khusrau.
Reprogrammed A graduate in fine arts and a cartoonist, his tryst with Khusrau began when he happened to listen to a gramophone record titled, ‘The Multifaced Genius of Amir Khusrau Dehalvi’. As a result, he started developing interest in Khusrau and his works. However, he was diagnosed with neuro psychosis in 2006. Says Pradeep, “I was afflicted with neuro psychosis, a disease which has no cure in medical science. Till about 2010, I was bedridden and could not go anywhere. The doctors had no clue why I was afflicted with this disease. However, they had prescribed a lot of medicines which I had to take every day for the rest of my life. According to them, if I didn’t take these medicines, the next option would be a mental asylum. I used to either sleep for 20 hours in a day or be awake for days at a time. I lived on sleeping pills too. I was quite depressed that my life had taken such an unexpected turn. During this period, my father consulted an astrologer who said that I would be bed ridden for the rest of my life. For me, this was the most depressing period of my life.”
The Magic in Dreams Pradeep had almost given up hope of leading a normal life again. He started getting bizarre dreams where he met a strange old man with a beard. Sometimes, he would be accompanied with another old man. He says, “In 2009, I started getting strange dreams during my sleep. I used to dream of sitting and crying in a deserted place with old monuments. In these dreams, an old man with a white beard used to talk to me. I kept getting these dreams repeatedly. The old man used to talk to me in English. He would always assure me that my current problems would soon be over. He said that medical science had no answer to my disease but he could cure my disease. When I asked him why was I facing such problems, I was told that these problems were as a result of my past deeds and this was a self-purification period. He said that my suffering will come to an end but I had to throw all the medicines given by the doctor because these medicines were making me dull. However, when I talked to my mother and doctor about this, they dismissed it as a bad dream and did not let me throw away the medicines.” Pathar Wale Baba “In 2010, I had visited the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin with a friend. I met a semi-nude fakir who was called Pathar wale baba, who rarely is seen by any visitors. He gave me a bottle with water and told me that to drink this water any time I felt depressed or sad. He told me that as I finish the water in the bottle, I will also be cured. The old man in my dream also advised me to drink the water.” Persisting Dreams We seldom remember our dreams when we wake up. For most of us, dreams are nothing but vague images and impressions that make no sense in the real world. However, for Pradeep, dreams became his guide. When he could not throw the medicines for the fear of his family and doctors, he dreamt about the old man again. “After about three months after I had the first dream, the old man visited me again. This time he did not have a beard. He admonished me and asked me if I really wanted to get well. He told me the doctors had no idea of what they were doing and asked me to throw the medicines. I ultimately threw the medicines but could not sleep for the fear of turning mad without them! However, I slept that night and got up at 11 am. My father who believed that I was merely using the illness to avoid work was quite upset about this. However, my mother was convinced of my problem because she knew the kind of medicines the doctors had prescribed. Soon, I started feeling well again. I no longer felt dizzy or scared again. Dream on However, this was not the end of these dreams. He kept getting dreams where he was instructed about everything. Pradeep says, “The dreams continued to guide me. In my dreams, the old man used to give me detailed instructions about whom to meet, where to go etc. I used to get up in the morning and write down all the details. Based on these dreams, I made a project report. When I shared this project report with professors and other senior people they were taken aback! They thought that this report was a work of some great professor. They could not believe that I made it! According to them, it was impossible for a common man who had not studied or learnt about Amir Khusrau in detail. I still get those dreams and receive instructions on what to do or how to proceed.” Family Matters As a result of his dedication to his passion, Pradeep had to face the ire of his family members. They felt that he was simply wasting his time on this frivolous pursuit on Khusrau and not earning any money. In Pradeep’s words, “My parents aren’t very encouraging when it comes to my passion. My father threw me out of the house twice. However, I came back. He felt that my passion towards Amir Khusrau was nothing but madness and it was not letting me concentrate on building a good career. But during that time, I was in a state where I could not understand what my parents were trying to tell me. I was totally oblivious to their admonitions and was only focussed on Amir Khusrau.” “I was married twice. The first time, I got married to a lady who demanded 10 lakhs within 2 months of being married. When I refused, she filed a dowry and domestic violence case. Ultimately, I had to shell out around 3 lakhs rupees to get out of it. The interesting thing is that I or my parents hadn’t asked her for anything yet I feel she was a woman who made a living by marrying unsuspecting guys and then using the dowry law to extract money. I didn’t want to marry the second time but my parents pressured me into it. However, this marriage also did not work as a result of fights between my parents and wife and my financial problems. I have a son who stays with my wife. We are separated for the last 2.5 years.” “Even today, my relatives, my cousins keep calling me and tell me that I am ruining my life. I believe no one has the right to judge anyone. They are not feeding me or fuelling my passion in anyway. I don’t listen to them. I believe whoever has become great in the world was first ridiculed for his passion. I love Khusrau and that is what my purpose of life is.” Happy days For most of his life, Pradeep Sharma Khusrau has spent money on acquiring works of Khusrau from various parts of the world and faced backlash from his family. However, there was a time, he was paid for working and researching on Khusrau. He says that was the most beautiful period of his life because he was getting money to follow his heart. “In 2012, I received a phone call from Hazrat Nizamuddin from a gentleman called Farid Ahmad Nizami. Everyone at the Dargah knows me as Pradeep Sharma Khusrau. The gentleman told me that the Aga Khan Foundation in Delhi is looking for someone to help them in their research on Amir Khusrau. At that time, I was working as a drawing teacher in a school with a salary of 20,000 INR. The next day, I attended an iftar party with some of my friends. I was talking about Khusrau in a group, when I was approached by a gentleman from Agha Khan foundation who said that they had been looking for me after they got to know about my passion and expertise on Khusrau. He told me that they couldn’t find anyone though they had approached well known professors and experts and even given advertisements in newspapers. He said that though the people who came were qualified but none of them had the relevant expertise when it came to Khusrau. He asked me to come to his office the next morning. I was interviewed by a panel of 5 people who asked me about 50 questions on Khusrau. They were so impressed with my answers that they immediately gave me an appointment letter as a researcher on Amir Khusrau.” “However, I told them that I was working as an art teacher and needed to serve the notice period. I talked to the principal who did not agree to relieve me. When I shared my predicament with the people at Agha Khan foundation, they offered a part time arrangement. So, I used to get up at 5 am, go to the school to teach. At 2 pm I used to go to the foundation and work there till 8 or 9 pm. The project became bigger and finally I was asked to join full time. I explained my problem to the principal and I was relieved after my notice period. Then I joined the Aga Khan foundation at a salary of 70,000 INR. Initially the project was for two years. However, they liked my work so much that they asked me to work with them for two more years. These four years were almost like a golden era for me. I travelled to 22 states in search of Khusrau, organized concerts, programs, symposiums and seminars. I was immersed in Amir Khusrau day in and day out. My folks also did not trouble me because they were happy with the money coming in. After four years, I was given another year-long project on Mirza Ghalib and Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan.” Office Politics Pradeep’s golden days were soon riddled with office politics and colleagues who resented his success. He says, “Soon people started resenting me for my knowledge and work, I had a tiff with my senior who wanted me to take the short route for everything. I couldn’t do that because Khusrau was a passion and I wanted to do everything properly. So, she started sending negative reports about me. As a result, I was asked to leave. So, I worked till 2018 and since then I worked in two schools and today, I am unemployed. However, I am still working on spreading Khusrau’s work and words.”
This article was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit section on 12 June 2021
Most people would like to find their love online these days. They love the sense of adventure, thrill that comes with it. There are millions of options available no doubt. However, the net also has an abundance of scammers who are just waiting to ensnare those besotted with love!
One goes, others come- Bus, Train and Chats!
Sunita, 39 was quite upset. Her online friend had not been talking to her for an entire week now. They had been friends for over two months. He did not answer her calls and just sent a cryptic message saying, ‘will talk later’. One day, her friend Mansi came to meet her. ‘Why are you so upset?’ she asked. Sunita told her the issue. Mansi nonchalantly said, ‘he must have found someone more loaded. After all, its an investment of time!’
Sunita revealed that her online friend had asked her for her photographs which she refused to give. Since then, he had become distant and kept saying that she did not trust him enough. Mansi nodded, ‘yes, he wanted to have a little bit of ‘fun’. When he could not get it from you, he decided to try his luck elsewhere. Remember, in real life or net, when one goes, other comes whether bus or train or even a chat friend.’
Options Galore
Dr. Anamika Papriwal, a psychologist says, ‘When one goes on apps like Tinder or TrulyMadly or Aisle, they are given an impression that there are plenty of options to choose from. It is like being in the biggest supermarket of the world where you have millions of options to choose from. So, you will always keep wondering if there is anything better than the one you currently have or if you don’t get the desired features from that product, you will have no qualms about leaving it and trying for the next best option. As a result, the relationships online are hardly long lasting unless you disconnect from the app once you have found the person you were looking for.’
Need based transactions
When Arunima 41, decided to come to India for two months, she knew she would be lonely without her husband and daughter. She comes here regularly to take care of her business and stays for months at a time. She says, ‘Every time I come here, I start scoring for people who are looking for a casual, no strings attached fling. After all, why should boys have all the fun? I have a family back home and I am not looking for any kind of melodrama or complications or monetary problems. There are many who are looking for the same thing and we get together. Once the two months are over, we bid adieu and promise to never be in touch again. So far this arrangement has worked for me quite well.’
Kaveri Banerjee a psychologist based in Delhi says, ‘Online relationships are nothing but simple transactions that are a matter of convenience for most people. They are mostly need based and not based on emotions or long term. When the need is met, the people go their own separate ways.’
Agrees Govind, 35, ‘I am a single guy who is not looking for long term. When I meet a girl online, I want to meet her immediately so that I can evaluate if we are a good fit. If she delays the meeting or does not want to meet before knowing me and chatting with me, I tell her that I don’t have either the time or the patience for such conversations.’
Honey! I want your money
Vihaan was 50-year-old widower, settled in Chandigarh. His sons and daughters were married and were living in different parts of the country and the world. Vihaan stayed alone in his house with his servants. One of his friends advised him to logon to Tinder, an app for single men and women. Vihaan liked the idea because he could look at prospective matches from the comfort of his house. He chanced upon Aparna, a single mother working in a not-for-profit organization (NGO). She was a 45-year-old divorcee who had a college going son. They instantly hit off and Aparna even introduced Vihaan to her son Nikhil.
They talked for long hours on end on audio and video calls and Aparna told him how she had single-handedly raised Nikhil after her husband walked away with another woman. Vihaan felt he had met a kindred soul in Aparna. He talked to his friends and they advised him to go and meet his dream girl. Aparna readily agreed to the idea. Vihaan had booked his tickets for the following week. Before the day he was to travel to meet her, Vihaan got a call from Aparna at about 1 a.m. She told him that Nikhil had met with a serious accident and was in the ICU. He had lost a lot of blood and the doctors would not operate until she deposited 2 lakh rupees. She said she did not have that kind of cash and asked him to help. Vihaan asked her for her account number and promptly transferred 2 lakh rupees. After about five minutes, he received a ‘thanks’ on WhatsApp from her number. He tried calling but now her number is always switched off.
Sonakshi was a 44-year-old single lady living with her parents in Hyderabad. She was a very successful entrepreneur who had been too busy for marriage during her youth. Now, she felt the need to share her life with someone. Her friends advised her to download a dating app. Soon, she got connected to Raghu, a businessman who was based in New York, USA. Raghu was an issueless divorcee who was looking for his soulmate. He was a great conversationalist and Sonakshi discovered that they could talk for hours on end about every topic in the world. After about two months, Raghu told Sonakshi that he will be coming to meet her. He wanted to marry her and take her back with him. Sonakshi’s joy knew no bounds. Raghu sent her pictures of all the expensive gifts including Apple iPad, diamond jewellery that he had purchased for her. Sonakshi’s friends warned her to be patient and not get blown away by such gestures. But Sonakshi could not wait. She was ready to meet her Prince Charming. On the day that Raghu was supposed to reach Mumbai, Sonakshi got a call on her phone. The man speaking on the other end said that he was calling from the customs department in Mumbai airport. He told her that Raghu has been arrested since he had items worth more than the permissible limit and unless he paid, they will not let him go. Sonakshi asked them to send the details where she could send the payment and the person sent her a link. She was asked to pay 1 lakh, which she immediately paid without even thinking. Then she got a call from the concierge at the hotel where Raghu’s stay was booked. She was told that though Raghu was supposed to make the payment to book the room, his phone was out of reach. So, they asked her to make the payment of 50,000 INR. They sent her the link and she made the payment. After sometime, she got a call from Raghu who told her that the custom’s issue was solved and he wanted a business class ticket from Mumbai to Hyderabad. He asked her to transfer 50,000 INR and said that he will return it as soon as he meets her. Sonakshi transferred the money. She later tried to call Raghu but since that time his phone has been switched off.
Dr. Anamika Papriwal, a psychologist says, ‘I have heard of women talking to men for days and they asking them to pay their children’s fee or give them money for their daily expenditure. Many of these people who pull off such scams have an innate understanding of the human behaviour. They first befriend the person, establish trust with them and then spend time talking to them. Once the person starts trusting them, they start with small transactions which they promptly return to again establish trust. Once that is done, they move in for the kill. In a way, it is an addiction where the person gets addicted to the other person. You can get anything done from an addict who needs his daily dose. That is how this works!’
Truelove.com
However, not all is gruesome and gory in the world of online dating. There are stories where people have found true love too. Thirty-year-old Puja met Nikhil on a dating app. Initially, she thought he was quite arrogant and snobbish. However, when they started chatting, she realized that he and she shared the same dreams and values. Nikhil travelled to Baroda to meet Puja and her family. After a while, Puja too visited Nikhil and his parents in Lucknow. Soon, they were married and are now blessed with a baby boy. Arjun, a 35-year-old doctor living in Gurgaon had faced rejection from a lot of girls. Online, he met Shruti, an interior designer who was also living in Gurgaon. Shruti was beautiful but suffering from self-image issues owing to her weight. They connected and realized that they had a lot in common. They got married after dating for two years and are still going strong.
This article was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit on 2 June 2021.
The online dating apps have proved to be a life saver for the trapped or even unattached Indian men (and even women) who are looking for a ‘little bit of fun’. These apps promise them an exciting world full of beauty, adventure and anonymity from the comfort of their computers!
The phone is a convenient tool for people who seek love online
In the movie, ‘Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani’, Ranbir Kapoor says, ‘ Shaadi is dal chawal for pachaas saal till you die. Arre life mein thoda bahut keema pav, tangdi kabab, hakka noodle bhi hona chahiye na?’ (Shaadi is rice and lentils for the next fifty years till you die. One should have a bit of keema pav, kebab, hakka noodles too, isn’t it?) This sentiment has been echoed time and again in most Hindi movies, where the poor husband has no choice but to listen to his wife for the rest of his life. It doesn’t matter whether it is an arranged marriage or the one done out of love. The husband cannot help but be tormented by his ever present wife. In movies like Pati, Patni Aur Woh, Sanjeev Kumar loves his wife Vidya Sinha but later falls for Ranjeeta who is obviously more beautiful and desirable. From then till now, countless movies like Biwi No.1 and many more have depicted the adventures of husbands who are fed up with dal chawal and go out to seek more in the world. More often than not they are caught in the end or suffer a heartbreak by the other woman and apologize the wife. But does it really impact their appetite or quest for variety? The advent of apps like Tinder, Aisle, Truly Madly has probably come as an answer to the collective prayers of those poor Indian men who have been desperately looking for some kind of distraction or fun on the side which can spice up their mundane existence. Not all men on these apps are married, some of them are looking for partners because they have been divorced or widowed or were never married in the first place. But then, we all know dating is not as easy as it sounds. It is a game which has been played between men and women for centuries. Earlier, the women played coy, made the men chase them, woo them or even invest in them. Most of these games haven’t changed- they have just been transferred into the online world.
Dating Games
The online world is an interesting place. You can see a man or a woman sitting on the bed or the couch engrossed in their phones, perhaps with a slight smile or a frown on their face and you would not suspect a thing! You wouldn’t know if the man is trying to woo a woman or doing his office work. This is particularly the case of the poor unsuspecting wife in the lockdown who thinks that her oh-so-sincere husband is working from home to ensure that the money flow is not interrupted. She does not question him because he is there right in front of her eyes, looking perfectly innocent! When he gets a phone call, he steps out for hours because he tells her that the background noises in the house tend to disturb his conversations. She agrees and lets him go. After all, what can he do amidst the prying eyes of the neighbours? He is only talking to people in his office! Isn’t he? Sumit, 41 has been working from home since last year. Initially, he found it quite boring because there was nothing else to do except work. He could not gossip with his colleagues or have lunch outside the office. He says, ‘In our office, there are a lot of beautiful young girls who work as interns. It is so refreshing to see a pretty face, the first thing in the morning.’ However, with the lockdown, things changed. Now all he saw was his wife, children and old parents. Meeting friends was fraught with dangers lest he gets COVID. He was at his wit’s end with boredom till he chanced upon a Tinder ad on the net. He logged in and hasn’t been able to log out till date. He says, ‘Life has definitely become more interesting. I cannot meet the girl physically but then apart from that there is nothing we cannot do. There are so many girls I have connected with. Some are intelligent, others are good looking- I am spoilt for choices and my wife does not have to know! She knows I am working hard to make the ends meet. Talking to these girls is like a breath of fresh air and I am hurting no one!’ There are many such men, married and not married. who have found breather from their mundane existence through these dating apps. Joseph 38 has been separated from his wife for the last 8 years. He is not officially divorced as a result of the family. He has been on Tinder for the last 3 years. ‘As a man, there are times I crave for physical intimacy. However, I am not ready for any kind of commitment. Apps like Tinder have people who look for a similar ‘no strings attached’ arrangement which was an ideal situation for me.’ So, how has he been faring after COVID? ‘These days, I have gotten into the online mode where I can talk to the person through video or audio or skype. We can delve into all kinds of talks including the intimate ones and that helps me to cope with my loneliness.’ Satish Kumar, 41, divorcee, and an entrepreneur from Hyderabad, who is at the moment stuck in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh says, ‘Dating apps are a huge respite for a person like me who is stuck here in the pandemic. I had come to see off my parents who were going to visit my sister in USA. As a result of the lockdown, I couldn’t travel back to my place. I pass my time by chatting with people, especially women from different walks of life.’
The Con Game
So, how has his experience been on these dating apps? Satish says, ‘I am primarily on Tinder and Aisle. Tinder has an advantage that you can connect with people all over the world. I have many friends in different parts of the world whom I can talk to. However, Tinder has a lot of men and women who are nothing but con artists who seek gullible people to extort money. I befriended a divorcee on Tinder. Since I too am looking for a long-term relationship and eventually marriage, I found her good to talk to and we connected well. After a few weeks, she told me that she needed money for her eight-year-old daughter’s treatment. Since, I am myself a father, I could identify with her pain and sent her the money within no time. The next day she had blocked me and all my attempts to contact her failed.’ However, these con games are not just played with men alone. Gullible women are also entrapped by men on these dating sites. Gayatri, a divorcee and an architect from Coimbatore was duped by Prateek who told her that he was short of cash for his mother’s treatment. They had met some months back and Gayatri liked him. ‘I thought he was such a dutiful son to his mother. I talked to his mother on the video call and she seemed like a nice lady. She told me that she had been looking for a daughter-in-law like me who would be a good wife for her son.’ Prateek even came to meet her a couple of times. ‘He seemed to be a decent guy and I thought he was genuinely interested in me. He wasn’t looking for physical intimacy at the moment he said; he was only looking for a long-term relationship that could culminate into marriage. I felt as if he was the answer to all my prayers.’ After some months of regularly talking on the phone and video calls, at about 1 am in the night, Prateek called up Gayatri and said that he needed money for his mother’s heart surgery. ‘He said his mother had suffered a heart attack and even showed her sleeping in some kind of a hospital bed. I could not suspect anything because by that time I was convinced that we will be soon married.’ She transferred 20,000. She tried calling up Prateek afterwards but since then his number is always switched off.
Dr. Anamika Papriwal, a psychologist believes that it is not just the pandemic that has made people vulnerable but also the excessive phone talks. ‘There is no doubt that the pandemic has contributed to a heightened feeling of vulnerability. Most people are finding themselves trapped at home with nowhere to go out. How long can you talk to your friends and even family about the routine, every day happenings? Moreover, these talks don’t impact the brain as much as the talks on the phone do because when you listen to the other person on the phone, it is like some one whispering in your ear. It is more personal, more intimate and it registers in your brain more deeply. These people who manage to dupe people out of such a lot of money are actually called con or confidence artists. If you listen to their talks, they will talk in a very soft and soothing voice which inspires feelings of love, even lust and above all confidence and intimacy. You then start depending on this person and are afraid to lose him or her. The moment they sense this, they move in for the kill.’ Kamaal, 45 believes that the very fact that they enjoy talking to men and women on dating apps makes these people vulnerable. ‘Let us face it. I would not attribute the entire problem to the con artists or the men or women who use these platforms to get money out of people! The truth is that these men and women are having so much fun talking to these people that they stop thinking logically and get duped. The person on the other end knows that she is speaking to someone who is looking for spice in life and she or he provides that spice. If the other person ends up being swindled for being such a love-struck fool, whose fault, is it?’
THIS ARTICLE BY SHAILAZA SINGH APPEARED IN RASHTRADOOT’S ARBIT ON JUNE 1, 2021
A few years ago, like all children, my daughter had fallen in love with cartoons on Cartoon Network. She used to watch all kinds of programs including Tom and Jerry, Shiva, Chota Bheem and the cringe worthy Oggy and the cockroaches. As it is, for me the very word ‘cockroach’ is enough to induce a sleepless night, the three cockroaches made it worse! My daughter sat spell bound as the cockroaches and Oggy kept battling it out in Oggy’s refrigerator and at times literally tore the kitchen apart in pursuit of vengeance! The icing on the cake was that the voice-over artist sometimes mimicked voice of Shahrukh Khan, sometimes Nana Patekar, Sunil Shetty and other such then popular actors. After some months, I was so fed up that I asked my friends to help me. One of my friends downloaded and shared a Japanese Anime ‘Spirited Away’. At that time, there was no Netflix or other OTT, so we had to make ado with the subtitles. I showed the movie to my daughter and she loved it! And that was the reason enough to discontinue the cable service.
It has been a decade since I and my daughter introduced ourselves to subtitles and movies from different countries and languages. Earlier, we downloaded these from different sites like YouTube and torrents which offer ‘free’ movies. Initially, I was quite scared that some kind of Internet police might come and catch me for going on torrents and other such sites. I had prepared a list of counter arguments and kept it in my bedside cabinet for such emergencies and foreseen circumstances. Some reasons given in the list were:
Downloading movies with subtitles is better than letting the children watch serials produced by Ekta Kapoor or other such people. Though the children are intrigued by the idea of saas-bahu politics (children are born politicians) and repeated plastic surgery (they love the idea that they can hide behind a new face if they do something wrong) and multiple divorces and remarriages (my daughter was simply hooked on to the idea that for each marriage she will get at least three to four new dresses with matching dress and jewellery!)
Watching other movies with subtitles is actually education! One of my friends told me that her son who goes off to sleep in the English class at school actually learnt reading by watching movies with subtitles. He loved Hollywood action movies like Rambo and would actually read the subtitles to understand what actors like Sylvester Stallone were saying (most of them actually mutter under their breath). With time, his English literature teacher was actually impressed with his ability to read in the language!
However, my list of reasons kept lying in the cabinet because no one ever came! So, we read the subtitles and we watched movies. An old friend was curious about why did I go through so much trouble for movies with subtitles when most English movies either had Hindi subtitles or were dubbed in Hindi. It was then I told her about my experience with the well-known movie Jurassic Park’s dubbed Hindi version. In that movie, there is a scene where the female protagonist says ‘I want to see the dinosaur’s shit.’ This dialogue was translated into ‘mujhe dinosaur ka gobar dekhne hai.’ I am not arguing whether it was the correct translation or not but from that point onwards, I steered clear of dubbed movies!
I also bought a lot of CDs and DVDs of good movies that I believed would help her to inculcate some good values. Some came with subtitles while others did not. We kept our CDs very carefully lest they get scratch marks because then the CD would not either play certain segments or would simply get jammed . We also did not jump tracks because that again could lead to scratches and bad unplayable sectors. The CDs could only either be played on our computers or television sets which meant sitting in the living room, switching on the television or the laptop, inserting the CD and then waiting for it to play. When my daughter complained that it was a cumbersome process, I told her stories of the VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) in which we had to insert this huge video cassette, rewind it and then play. She rolled her eyes. She said that idea was unimaginably old fashioned and preposterous!
New entries
Then Netflix breezed into our lives. I deleted all my downloads and tore the long list of reasons. The CDs were forgotten in an old cupboard. Even today, I don’t know what to do with my huge collection. I thought of turning them into plates and decorations but then a friend advised me to wait because according to him one day, these CDs and DVDs would be treasured as antiques and I would be able to make a lot of money by selling them! I am still waiting!
With Netflix and later Amazon Prime and other such OTT platforms, my phone became my new cinema hall. I could walk into it anytime and watch the movie and the scene of my choice again and again- A far cry from the first time that I was introduced to cinema in Jaipur in my summer holidays!
Back then, my maternal grandfather hated movies with a vengeance! He believed that movies did nothing except corrupt minds of young people. So, on the pretext of going to the vegetable market, my aunt masterminded the great escape and smuggled my grandmother, mother, my brother and me in a matador car and took us to the Rajmandir Theatre to watch the matinee show Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Sharabi’. She even paid a friend to shop for vegetables and fruits. When the movie finished, we went to Niros Restaurant, ate food, picked up the vegetables and fruits and went back home! Till date my grandfather is unaware of these little escapades!
Today, with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hot Star, and other such platforms, my daughter and me huddle up in any corner of the house and watch these movies and series regardless of their language. Sometimes, we hook it up to the television and even binge watch with a bowl of fresh popcorn. We hardly realize that we are reading the subtitles. The interesting bit is that we keep discovering new things about distant lands. One day, my daughter told me that in Japan, people are not scared of haunted houses because they believe that each house has its own spirit. So, whenever they move in to a new house, they thank the spirit and ask him to take care of them and their family. This fact she got to know from a movie called “My neighbour Totoro”.
Covid time pass
The good part about these movies with subtitles is that one has to pay attention to understand what is going on. Hence most of times, in this era of COVID, online movie watching is quite engrossing! Not that we have achieved nirvana but cartoons have been replaced by a lot of meaningful content and thank fully Oggy and the cockroaches have been completely forgotten!
However, the danger still looms large as I just discovered that Salman Khan has launched another no brainer ‘Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai’ on OTT. While Oggy and the Cockroaches rile me with goofy no brainer conversations, a Salman Khan movie brings up questions like ‘why cannot Salman Khan protect India from COVID?’ or ‘If he is so strong, why cannot Salman Khan help in dealing with the pandemic?’ Wouldn’t it be great if these OTT platforms had questions to these answers in subtitles too?
This article by Shailaza Singh was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper on 12 May 2021
One lazy Sunday morning, about ten people found themselves walking through the streets of the walled city of Jaipur. It was an eclectic mix of some teenagers, professionals in age groups ranging from 30s to 50s. Some held very serious looking cameras while the others were clicking pictures with their mobile phones. It was the second and the final day of the visual story telling workshop which was being conducted by Tabeenah Anjum Qureshi, a seasoned journalist and photographer with Outlook India. Though the older people tried to play it cool, they couldn’t help getting infected by the raw enthusiasm of the teenagers who kept clicking with their phones and cameras. The resulting photographs revealed unseen but beautiful facets of Jaipur, those which could only be discovered by an untrained eye.
Camilla Townsend’s book ‘The Fifth Sun’ dispels the age-old notions that depicted Aztecs as a blood thirsty, barbaric civilization and throws light on their triumphs and struggles.
According to the Aztec folklore, the universe had imploded four times previously and they were living under the fifth sun thanks to the courage of an ordinary man called ‘Nanahuatzin (Na-na-wa-tzeen). When the Gods asked for a volunteer who could immolate himself and bring forth a new sun, Nanahuatzin volunteered and without much fanfare stepped into the fire. As he burned, the sun rose and the life on the earth was saved.
When I read this interesting story from Camilla Townsend’s book “The Fifth Sun: A New History of Aztecs”, which had been awarded the Montreal’s McGill University’s much coveted US$ 75,000 Cundill History Prize 2020, I was reminded of a similar legend inscribed on a plaque in the Mehrangarh fort of Jodhpur in Rajasthan.
When Rao Jodha wanted to build a grand fort on a hillock, a saint who was known as the Chidiyawale Baba was meditating in that area. Disturbed by the soldier, he cursed that if the king attempts to build the fort of his dreams, his kingdom would be fraught with repeated draughts. When the king begged the saint for forgiveness, the saint told him that though he could not take the curse back but if the king could find a man who is buried alive on his own will, the curse would be neutralized and the city would be protected. Thus in 1459 they found a volunteer in Rajaram Meghwal, who agreed to sacrifice his life protect the land and its people. In return, Rao Jodha promised him that he and his heirs would look after Rajaram’s family. But, the question is would a foreigner understand this sacrifice or would he term it as a barbaric act? How can someone truly understand and appreciate these acts of heroism and sacrifice unless they understand the underlying culture, bravery and emotions of the person who willingly chose to end his life for a cause which he perceived to be much greater than him? In most articles, books and movies, the Aztecs have been depicted as people who loved violence and brutally sacrificed people for their own pleasure or purposes. The Spanish conquistadors who came wrote about the grisly ceremonies where the Aztec priests would slice open their victims’ chests and offer their still beating hearts to the Gods. The bodies would then be tossed down the steps of the towering temple of Mayor. Many archaeologists have found skull racks and towers during the course of their digs and expeditions.
Movies like Apocaylpto have enough violence to convince the world that this ancient civilization knew nothing else. Spanish is a language spoken by millions across the world, hence when the Spanish conquistadors wrote about their perceptions and impressions of this ancient civilization, people took it to be the truth. No one till now really bothered to go beyond this widespread perception of the Aztecs because for the people of the west it would mean looking at the other side of the story. It would mean understanding the point of view of an almost extinct civilization, the people who were really not ‘Indians’ but had been forced with a name just because when the famous explorer Christopher Columbus landed in Antilles near Mexico, he believed that he had reached the Indian Ocean. Though the mistake was discovered with time but the name stuck with Europeans, the Spanish friars and the subsequent explorers who referred to the native Americans as Indians. It seems quite similar to how some people still think of India as a land of snake charmers and elephants!
‘After the conquest, the young people trained in the Roman alphabet began to write down what the various elders said, carefully transcribing their words onto paper and then storing the folios on a special shelf or in a locked box- another well-loved innovation that the Spaniards had brought…[…].’ It was these records that helped Camilla Townsend, who is an American historian and distinguished professor of history at Rutgers University, New Jersey in United States, to understand the real Aztecs and their life. In her book, she says she ‘was sitting in a library when heard a captured Aztec princess shouting at her enemies.’ This inspired her to read the accounts of the early native Americans in Nahuatl (Na-wat) and Spanish and write a book which for the first time presented the Aztec point of view to the world. From the book, it is obvious that the Aztecs were intelligent, enterprising and tough people who had learnt to make the best of every situation that they found themselves in. In one story, when they found themselves living as the servants of another, more powerful ancient tribe, they devised a plan for their freedom. They offered to take responsibility for handling the festivities of an upcoming religious holiday and asked the overlord chiefs to lend them their broken cast off weapons for a performance for the rulers which they were happily given. After all, what could they do with the old weapons? ‘They worked night after night, patiently, painstakingly gluing, sewing and repairing, rendering the feathered, painted shields and spears truly beautiful . At last, they were ready to launch their bid for their people’s freedom- which of course they won.’ Aztecs were known for their sacrifices. Some prisoners of war were sacrificed in religious festivals while the women desired by the warrior were sent to his household. However, the sacrifices were not as gory as the movies and books have made them out to be. ‘In reality, it seems to have been a gravely quiet, spellbinding experience for the onlookers, […]. After a sacrifice, the warrior who had captured and presented the victim kept the remains (the hair and ceremonial regalia) in a special reed chest in a place of honour in his home for as long as he lived.’ It was mostly men who were sacrificed, however, when women were sacrificed the ceremony was different. ‘In one annual festival, for instance, a young girl taken in war was brought from a local temple to the home of her captor. She dipped her hand in blue paint and left her print on the lintel of his door, a holy mark that would last for years and remind people of the gift she gave of her life. Then she was taken back to the temple to face the cutting stone. It was an ancient tradition among the native people not to give way before one’s enemies; such stoicism brought great honour. ‘ This reminded me of the sacrifices made by women in the Indian culture specially when they had to perform jauhar to preserve their honour. Even today, many of Rajasthan’s forts have handprints of women who sacrificed their lives for their honour. In India’s history too, whether in war or death, men who have met their fate with courage have been revered and honoured.
When I asked Camilla Townsend about why sacrifices were such an integral part of all the ancient cultures of the world, she said, “I think the concept of a human sacrifice began as this idea where the ancient human beings were trying to show the divine that they were willing to accept their fate in a rather beautiful way. But unlike the common depiction in many books, these sacrifices initially were not an attempt to humiliate the enemy. On the contrary if the young warrior died without screaming, he was given a great honour as if he himself was a God. All warriors knew that if they were taken prisoners, that would be their fate. They would then try to show themselves, their enemies, their Gods and their people how strong they were and how willing to die they were for the cause.” However, she further added that when the Aztecs were at the height of their power, sacrifices acquired a different meaning all together. “In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries when the Aztec civilization was at its prime, instead of sacrificing an occasional prisoner of war, they started to sacrifice dozens of their enemies and prisoners of war. We have a text from that time which says that they used to go and kidnap or take people from the outskirts, places they were interested in conquering and bring them to their capital city and watch the sacrifices. These terrified people were then sent back to their homes where they convinced their townsmen to give up without a fight or else be prepared for a terrible war.”
Another interesting aspect about the Aztecs was the way they maintained two calendars and considered thirteen a lucky number. We, in India also refer to a lunar and a solar calendar. However, in our case, both calendars have the same number of days. “There were two ongoing cycles of time. One was a solar calendar which consisted of eighteen months of twenty days, plus five blank or unnamed, frightening days at the end, for a total of 365 days. The other was a purely ceremonial calendar containing thirteen months of 20 days each, for a total of 260 days…The two cycles of time both returned to their starting point at the end of fifty-two solar years. Thus a bundle of fifty two years as they termed it was as important to them as a century is today. To name each year they tied it to the ceremonial calendar’s most important number: thirteen. The fifty two years were divided into four groupings of thirteen each, like this: One Reed, Two Flint-knife, Three House, Four Rabbit, Five Reed, Six Flint Knife…[..] Thirteen Reed, and then beginning again One Flint-knife.” In her book, it was the younger generation of the Aztecs who worked to preserve the ancient records when they were conquered by the Spanish. Is it the case today too? Is the young generation doing anything to preserve their culture? “Yes, the younger generation of the native Americans in United States of America (USA) is trying to preserve languages and to offer classes and do everything that they can to make sure that the future people still have some access to these ancient ways of knowing speaking and believing. Today many young people leave the reservations, get jobs in the cities and become activists and remind us all that they are still native Americans. But it is an uphill battle compared to situation in Latin America where people were not put in reservations and can speak in their language, if not follow their religion. The people in Mexico have established classes, community centres, radio programs and books to validate and get people excited about these traditions. However, the truth is that to get a good paying job in Mexico, you must learn Spanish and then possibly English. It will not pay you in a financial sense to become an expert in languages like Nahuatl (Na-wat). The scholars in United States have been thinking about it and trying to raise money about it. Though there have not been any grand successes yet but there are programs attempting to make a difference.” The book is filled not just with the real account of the events that transpired but also with fables and legends of the Aztecs that helped them to find their strength and fight battles that they would eventually lose. For the first time, Camilla Townsend could present a different story of a civilization that has long been misconstrued and misunderstood. However, one wonders if there are any other such long lost civilizations whose stories have just been misconstrued by their conquerors and they had no one to tell the truth?
This article by Shailaza Singh was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section on 11 April 2021.
The doors have opened. People refuse to be confined to their homes despite the much feared return of the pandemic and its horrors. Amidst the social distancing and face masks, audience at Ravindra Manch were more than ready to watch the new play ‘Rashmirathi’ and get spellbound by theatre once again!
When I received the invite to Ram Dhari Singh Dinkar’s classic Hindi epic poem Rashmirathi which was being directed by Abhishek Mudgal, I was apprehensive yet excited. Like everyone else, I have been reading about the return of COVID and increasing in the number of cases. However, the chance was too good to miss. After a year of overdose of stay-at-home shows and movies on Netflix and other OTT platforms, I was craving for something different. When I reached Ravindra Manch, where the play was being held, I saw no crowds outside. This made me think that perhaps, the people weren’t ready to come out yet. The play had already started when I went in. I looked around expecting to see a nearly empty hall. However, almost all the seats were occupied! Everyone was staring raptly at the stage where the actors were performing. I sat down and looked at the gentleman sitting in the adjacent seat. He was so busy watching the performance that he did not even look up to acknowledge that a new person had sat next to him. I turned my attention to the stage where the actors where performing. In the current scene, Vasudev Krishna had come to Hastinapur as the ambassador of peace. After a while, the scene shifted to Karna’s conversation with Krishna who tells him that he is actually Kunti’s son and Pandavas’ eldest brother. Karna breaks down and tells Krishna that he cannot deceive his friend Duryodhana. Interestingly, there were no props on the stage. The male actors were bare chested and wore a simple dhoti while the female actors wore short white kurtas and dhotis. As Karna broke down and lamented his misfortune, the crowd was so moved that the hall resounded with the applause. Some even wiped the lone tear too! As I watched the play, I couldn’t help but sympathize with Karna, the man who was blessed by Gods but cursed by destiny. Whether it was sitting patiently despite the large insect gorging on his flesh so that his guru Parshuram could get the much-deserved rest or assuring Kunti, the mother who had abandoned him that he will not harm any of her sons except Arjun, Karna was a man who tried to do the right thing. However, the universe always conspired against him. The background music and acting ensured that the two hundred and fifty plus audience did not get up from their seats. Simple Impact Intrigued by the simple yet appealing presentation of the play, I quizzed Abhishek Mudgal. He said ‘This is a very long play which is divided into seven chapters. When I read it, I realized that if we clubbed it with costumes and sets, it would take the attention away from the very essence of the play which are dialogues and verse. So, we decided to keep the props symbolic and suggestive and I told the actors to concentrate on their dialogue delivery. Reception Abhishek was quite upbeat about the reception in Jaipur. ‘This was the fifth performance and we’ve had 100 plus people in all our other performances. The play will now be performed in places like Bikaner, Jodhpur and Allahabad.’ Tryst with Rashmirathi Rashmirathi was not as popular and hence became the obvious choice. ‘I have done different kinds of plays, including absurd plays, folk plays etc. During the pandemic we experimented on various genres like folk theatre, absurd theatre and realism. I had not attempted classical theatre. Between Dharmavir Bharti’s Andhayug and Rashmirathi, the latter was a better choice because Andhayug has been performed a number of times.’ Mahabharat’s Nepotism ‘The world today is no less different than what it was in the age of Mahabharat. Even today, if a person is talented and good at what he does but does not have the right level or contacts or caste or values, he does not find acceptance and struggles to make a place for himself. It takes time for any new actor despite his talent to actually find acceptance amongst the colleagues or audience. So, these things have been here since the era of Mahabharat. Karna was talented and according to some even better than Arjun. However, had it not been for Duryodhana, nobody would have recognized Karna for his talent. It was Duryodhana who elevated his status, made him a king and gave him a platform to showcase his talent to the world. Arjun could not kill Karna in an equal duel, so he killed him when he was trying to fix his chariot’s wheel. Karna was the reason why Duryodhana was prepared to fight the war because he depended on Karna’s prowess as a great warrior. We have always been told that the great war in Mahabharat was fought on Arjun’s merit. However, Dinkar’s book suggests that Karna was the reason why Duryodhana chose to fight in the first place.’ Preparation ‘The first rehearsals began on 5 September 2020 and the first show was performed on 8 November. So, it took us two months to prepare for the first show. During the initial twenty days, we spent in learning the Hindi words and their meanings because the play is written in pure Hindi. We spent a lot of time learning the meaning of every word. After that we learnt the dialogues and started rehearsing. The first show lasted three hours. We edited it further and in the fifth show we could limit it to two hours. We still have to edit it further to make it crisper.’ Discovering Hindi For Abhishek, reading Rashmirathi was like discovering a new universe of Hindi language. ‘This book made me realize the true depth of our literature and the kind of words that exist in our language. I wished I had read Rashmirathi earlier. While reading this play, I discovered so many new things about Hindi. I believe the younger generations should be exposed to these kinds of books and plays to truly understand the language. These days, we don’t even read many such masterpieces of Hindi literature that have been written by authors of the yore.’ Language no bar Abhishek believes that the language does not matter when it comes to plays. ‘In my years as a play director, I have realized that language does not hinder anyone from watching theatre. When we were performing some of our Rajasthani, Hindi or Urdu plays in the southern states of India, I was surprised to see a large number of audiences turn up for even ticketed plays that were in Hindi or Urdu. It was that which made me realize that that as long as the audience understands the body language, moves, theme of the play, they enjoy the play even if they don’t understand the language. They don’t need any translation. I remember there was a Manipuri play which was performed in Jaipur. I along with more than 800 people had attended the show. We had not understood the language but could understand everything else that was going on in the play.’ Pandemic plays The reception of Rashmirathi has buoyed his spirits. ‘Before the pandemic, most of my plays were being sold out. Now we have a lesser audience but I am glad that despite the pandemic scare people are still turning up to watch these plays. The truth is that we love live art because interacting with others, sharing thoughts and ideas is our very life blood. We as people cannot stay without it! So, yes we are slowly getting back and theater is coming back in a big way.’ The play was potent and moving. Yet, more moving was the realization that people will now no longer let COVID govern their lives. Yes, there were masks, there was social distancing and amidst all this, the play happened! After a year of drought and remaining indoors, the hungry spectators feasted on it with their eyes with no holds barred.
This article was published in Rashtradoot’s Arbit on 28 March 2021.
I am not much into reading political histories or dissecting the course of events in history. However, when it comes to the enigma of Pakistan, I like most Indians can participate in endless debates and discussions about the country. I have been fed movies, books and ideas stalwarts like Gandhi, Nehru, Sardar Patel and many more who have struggled for independence and resisted partition. I have been a witness to a plethora of discussions about how India and Pakistan can be friends or can never be friends. So, naturally when I read Professor Ishtiaq Ahmed’s book Jinnah: His Successes, Failures and Role in History, Penguin Viking, it stirred a hornet’s nest of questions in my mind about the much revered Quaid-e-Azam of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Professor Ishtiaq Ahmed is a Swedish political scientist and author of Pakistani descent. He is also the Professor Emeritus of political science at Stockholm University and visiting professor, Government College University, Lahore.
While reading the book what struck me as odd was that until Jinnah relentlessly pursued it, though there were people thinking about creating a separate state for Muslims, no one thought of actually dividing India before 1940. Jinnah was merely a pawn used by the British to deepen the wedge between Jinnah’s Muslim League and the Indian National Congress.
“The British were now laying out a red carpet for Jinnah. However, it would be too hasty to draw the conclusion that the British were already plotting to divide India. At that point, the British strategy was mainly to checkmate congress ambition to drive British out.”
This quote from the book intrigued me. Was Jinnah the main force behind the partition of India? What would have happened had Jinnah not proposed the formation of Pakistan?
Professor Ahmed: Had Jinnah not proposed the formation of Pakistan, and it not been created as a separate state, the 1000-year-old experience of staying together would have become an asset. I am not saying that there would have been no problems or disputes or occasional communal riots. But what I believe is that there would have been a good balance. Contrary to what most people believe, the Congress never wanted to make India a Hindu state. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have included such a large percentage of Muslims in the Indian army.
The book brings another relatively unknown fact to light. Jinnah was never particularly keen about India’s freedom. In fact, he was quite happy had the British granted a dominion status to India. His letter to the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald in 1929 is quite revealing.
“ …I may tell you without exaggeration that the movement for independence is gaining ground, as it is supported by the Indian National Congress. […] I would urge upon you […] to persuade his Majesty’s government without delay to make a declaration that Great Britain is pledged to granting to India a full responsible government with dominion status.”
“ Jinnah was apparently speaking as an Indian patriot and blamed the British for the radical nationalists winning ground but was advising them to frustrate the Congress’s ambition to win independence for India by uniting all Indians”.
Time and again, the author mentions Jinnah’s and Gandhi’s relationship and the various skirmishes they had.
“That Jinnah and Gandhi could not develop a stable rapport was probably both a matter of negative chemistries as well as they’re over all political posturing. Jinnah considered himself Gandhi’s senior in so far as Indian nationalism was concerned. He cut his teeth in politics in 1906 while Gandhi was away in South Africa. Nevertheless, a process had been set in motion whereby Gandhi would upstage Jinnah has the premier leader of the Congress Party”
“In 1915, Jinnah was the head of the reception committee set up by the Gujrat Society (the Gurjar Sabha; both Jinnah and Gandhi were Gujaratis). Jinnah had very warmly welcomed Gandhi and praised his leadership in generous words. Gandhi responded by saying that he was ‘glad to find a Mohamedan not only belonging to his own region’s Sabha but chairing it.’”
“While some people feel that the remark was meant to demean Jinnah, others feel that Gandhi merely spoke in a spirit of elation and pride that fellow Hindu and Muslim Gujaratis were together in the nationalist awakening in those times.”
Yet there were times, Jinnah had to face embarrassment too!
“In 1917, Gandhi again offended Jinnah when the latter spoke at a public meeting in English, while Gandhi and his followers insisted that all speakers speak in an Indian language. They interrupted him repeatedly and Jinnah had to manage in his broken Gujarati.”
From your book it was clear that Jinnah did not like Gandhi! But Gandhi was a leader of the masses! How did he succeed despite Gandhi’s popularity?
Professor Ahmed: It was not just Gandhi. Jinnah had a problem in playing second fiddle to anyone. When people started gravitating towards Gandhi and the leadership of the Indian freedom struggle went to him by default, so Jinnah had no choice left but to create a counter leadership. So, he became a leader of the Muslims. However, not many people understand that his path was not easy. He had strong opponents like Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad and leaders from Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, who were anti-imperialist. Despite all the opposition, he succeeded. In the second world war, Congress made a huge mistake. They promised the British support only on the condition that the British would initiate the transfer of power. Had they cooperated without this condition; the Muslim league wouldn’t have had even a remote chance! The main leaders of the Indian National Congress were arrested in the Quit India movement and remained in jails for three years. This eliminated all the competition for Jinnah. He could mobilize the Muslims with all the tall promises.
Yes, the promises made by Jinnah were indeed tall! He promised the fabled land not only to Muslims but to Sikhs and Dravidians of South India.
“Although Jinnah had on several occasions made the division of India sound fair: 200 million Hindus getting three-fourths of India while 90-100 million Muslims getting one-fourth, he gave different signals to the Sikhs and Dravidians of South India. To the Sikhs he offered a Sikh state if they could show him where its boundaries would be drawn. Implicitly it meant the few Sikh princely states because otherwise the Sikhs were not in a majority anywhere in Punjab, not even in the princely states. To the Dravidians, he pledged support for demanding a separate state in the South.”
Jinnah finally got the partition that he had worked for. However, instead of getting the whole of Punjab and Bengal, he got what he described as a ‘moth-eaten’ Pakistan. Is that why Pakistan has a victim mentality? Are things changing now?
Professor Ahmed: The very foundation of Pakistan is based on the blame game. It began with Jinnah who was the creator of the two-nation theory by saying Hindus and Muslims cannot be one nation. Even after the formation of Pakistan, Jinnah believed that the Congress was conspiring to harm Pakistan. However things have now started changing. After the release of my book, a lot of people have contacted me from places like Lahore and India. They ask me questions which have not been asked in the last 73 years. The new generation is yearning to break the shackles and people like Arzoo Kazmi, Abbas Haider are regularly posting videos which are self-critical and help in increasing awareness amongst the masses. I hope the narrative now turns into that Pakistan and India can be brotherly countries. There is a huge percentage of population in both India and Pakistan who don’t get food to eat. I believe that these issues of humanity can be resolved by both nations by diminishing the arms race and releasing the resources for the nation building and increasing the human betterment index. The people in power in both nations are enjoying themselves. In Pakistan, it is the poor who are bearing the brunt of this problem. The privileges of people in power are unbelievable! You should especially see the properties of the Pakistani army generals who retire. India still doesn’t have that level of corruption at least in the army. In Pakistan, generals have been able to purchase islands in Australia, create chains of restaurants, despite having no inherited wealth or property. Where do they get so much money to buy these properties?
“A favorite lament which one hears in Pakistan is that India could stabilize as a democracy because Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru was the helm of affairs for seventeen long years to steer India away from disturbances and upheavals, while Pakistan’s bad luck was that Jinnah died too soon after Pakistan had come into being. Had he lived that long, Pakistan too would have become an ideal Muslim democracy. The facts belie such analogy.”
The author says that Jinnah was an autocratic ruler whose dismissal of elected governments of NWFP and Sindh were the most egregious examples of a governor- general flagrantly overstepping his office. The declaration of Urdu as the official language of Pakistan deepened the sense of deprivation and alienation of the Bengali majority of united Pakistan.
Where does India stand in comparison with Pakistan?
Professor Ahmed: India still has a better record as far as corruption is concerned. Though they have made mistakes where their political decisions are concerned, at least so far none of the Prime Ministers of India have any corruption charges against them. India has been able to control a lot of its culturally inherited caste issues by creating reservations for the people from the oppressed castes. In a way it has been able to democratically, peacefully, constitutionally deal with the negativity in its cultural package. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar despite being the biggest critic of the Congress party was made the chairman of the constitution drafting committee, which I feel was the greatness of the founding fathers of the nation. The humanism of Mahatma Gandhi and the modern outlook of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru has helped India to become a genuinely elected democracy. I will not say that it is social democracy yet because the caste system has been a part of her psyche and sociology for more than three thousand years. Hence, complete eradication will take time. The biggest achievement is that of one man, one vote, whether it is a Brahmin or Dalit.
Professor Ishtiaq Ahmed’s book Jinnah: His Successes, Failures and Role in History has been an eye opener as far as the Jinnah’s motivation for the creation of Pakistan is concerned. Professor Ahmed believes that India and Pakistan can be friends because we are the same people. However, is that really the case? In the following part, we talk to the well-known defence analyst Maroof Raza to know more about India’s equation with her neighbours and way ahead.
Games People Play- Chinese Whispers
Maroof Raza is a retired Indian Army officer with more than 20 years of experience as a mentor, anchor, correspondent, lecturer, writer and a commentator on issues of National Security and Strategic Affairs. He has also authored books like Low-Intensity Conflicts: The new dimension to India’s military commitments and Wars and No Peace over Kashmir. He minces no words when it comes to India’s relationship with Pakistan and China.
Can we be friends with Pakistan?
Why are we still under the impression that India and Pakistan can be great friends? Our governments and diplomats especially in the South Block in New Delhi are constantly harping about old out-dated ideas like non-alignment or friendship with Pakistan or investment in Afghanistan which have no practical relevance in today’s world. The other day I was talking to my friends in the US who were asking me questions like why cannot India and Pakistan be friends and collectively provide a market for America? They think that as long as India and Pakistan are not firing at each other or Pakistan is not sponsoring terror, India can be friends with Pakistan. I think this is the kind of nonsense that you get fed in the western countries. There is a simple logic we need to understand once and for all. Pakistan is not interested in being friends with India. For Pakistan, friendship with India is the first step towards denying its own independent identity. They believe that a Pakistani is a person who is not an Indian. What is a Pakistan according to them? It is an anti-thesis to India. So, becoming friends with India will mean a loss of their very existence and identity. People keep coming up with ideas like a great Grand Trunk Road which will connect India to all its neighbours like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Myanmar. All those ideas are a naught. China has already created a counter to the Grand Trunk Road by creating the China-Pakistan economic corridor which has much more financial steam and depth!
So, can India really govern the equation with its neighbours?
Of course! We should get out of the insecure idea that China can dominate a country like India which has a population of more than 1.5 billion. China along with its allies including Pakistan has a population of approximately 2 billion. Pakistan is one sixth the size of India and yet India keeps losing sleep over it. If you want to learn something, learn it from Israel. You have to make India strong! That in itself will make people secure in their environment. You don’t have to become so big that you cannot manage your own affairs. What is really China doing in the neighbourhood? It is simply putting its money in places like Pakistan and Srilanka. India could have done the same thing. Instead of putting money in places like Afghanistan, they could have invested in Nepal, Bangladesh and Srilanka. But Manmohan Singh and to an extent the current government also is so enamoured being America’s side kick that they don’t even think about it.
But hasn’t China has been luring the countries like Pakistan and Srilanka into a debt trap?
That is what China will do. Please understand that over the last 25 years, China has acquired a lot of foreign exchange. It doesn’t know where to spend it other than to buy out countries and create a zone of influence all over in Asia, Africa, Latin America. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which extends from East Asia to Europe is not just a road! It is a cyber and a business network. It is something like if someone draw some lines on a cellophane sheet and places it on the top of another country. In this way, they can superimpose another set of networks on a country. This is what China’s land connectivity and whole lot of other initiatives are. When they cannot connect by land, they connect by the sea and they try and take control over the trading routes or the ports on the way by either buying it out or creating pressure on the potential client. The thing with the Chinese are that they are very sweet initially. They go to the countries and bribe the leadership. They bought off the generals of Pakistan, the Rajapaksa family of Sri Lanka in this manner. Later on, after the agreement is signed, people realize the rates of interest is virtually unpayable. That is how they gain control over the area. Why cannot India do the same thing? I believe in India we waste too much time in politics, politicians and border disputes.
How can we solve the border dispute? Why do our maps include the disputed areas like POK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) or Aksai Chin even today?
Maps are a part of a historical legacy and these maps have come to be over a period of time in terms of what you regard as India or states who acceded to India. Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India. After the independence when the Indian subcontinent was divided into India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, India never was in Aksai Chin. So, people are making a claim based on a map that the then Maharaja of Kashmir, Gulab Singh had drawn on the basis on the information he had given to W.H. Johnson, cartographer. Apparently, the Maharaja had told him to show his territory to be as expansive as possible, well beyond the Karakoram Pass. So, Johnson did that and showed the territories between Karakoram Pass and Kunlun Mountains. But this map was never presented by the British to China. By 1866, the Maharaja’s soldiers had vacated these areas and the Chinese took control of Shahidullah. The ‘line’ laid out by Johnson was modified by Major General Sir John Ardagh, the director of military intelligence in Delhi in 1897. Post-independence, even though Aksai Chin has been shown as un-demarcated, all the claims of India have been based on this line. The earlier governor of Jammu and Kashmir had said that if India has the money and the resources to fight conflicts, then it should spend it on the development of Jammu and Kashmir rather than fighting over territories which were never ours in the first place. I believe that there is no option except settling the battle over the boundary line. The way out is to decide what you are willing to keep and give. Nobody, even a country which is one-fifth or one-sixth the size of India will not allow you to keep everything. No one can keep printing maps and say this is mine and that is mine. Today, I feel one has to have the guts to stand up and say let us settle the boundary line.
The Chinese ambassadors have been saying that we can delink the boundary dispute and get on with business. If that happens, India has the advantage because then if it can ban or stop taking their products which means a loss of 50 billion dollars to China per year. It is a huge amount which it cannot afford. It is also the money that they are pouring into Pakistan through China Pakistan Economic Corridor. What is the point?
China is expanding, but people are not happy! Will there be a revolution some day in China?
Please don’t live in the hope that one day there will be a revolution and it will take over the communist party. The communist party will ruthlessly crush those who try to do something like this. This can only happen in a democracy. Democracies can be toppled because democracies are caught up between use of force and non-use of force. But communists are very sensitive to the challenges to their authority. Tiananmen Square in 1989 was a misjudgement which they will ensure does not happen again.
In the eventuality that our neighbours attack, will countries like America come to our aid?
Please understand that continental conflicts will have to be fought by yourself. No one really is there to help, not even America. When there was a brewing conflict between China and Japan about some islands that lie between them, America who has been Japan’s ally ever since the second world war promised to come to Japan’s aid ‘only if China attacks first. The fact is if China attacked first, it would probably render Japan dysfunctional. Japan is a very advanced country which has made some very good weapons. However, in an age where there are so many different verticals of attacks that include conventional forces, satellite forces, missiles, chemical and biological weapons, an attack can render a country defunct!
A few days back, there was a discussion on the apparent Chinese cyber-attack which reportedly led to a power outage in Mumbai last year. This is the first signal that your cyber adversary gives which is an initial black out of 12 hours or more. They are still clueless about how it happened. This is a part of the unrestricted warfare that China follows. They attack your grids and they make you realize that your entire financial capital can collapse in a second. Likewise, Russia attacked Estonia, which is a completely wired-up country. Everything came to complete standstill. Aircrafts couldn’t land or take off, electricity went off. Russia even did it in Ukraine. Britain claims that it can give Moscow a blackout for 24 hours. The problem with India and China is that India is a passive country and China is aggressive. Therefore, China will do everything to establish its agenda. India mostly reacts.
The only saving grace in the event of a nuclear attack more in the case of Pakistan than China is something called second strike ability. In case Pakistan hits us with all their nuclear weapons, our submarines will still be safe and we will also hit them back. From the Pakistan India perspective, it depends on whether Pakistan is willing to lose one or two or three cities at the cost of destroying India. Hence, the only relevance of nuclear weapons is that it prevents the other person from attacking you. So, don’t expect anyone to come to India’s aid in case of a full-blown war. US and the other countries will only make the right noises. I believe UN is nothing but the world’s most over rated debating society. The fact is that despite India being touted as the potential great power, it does not have a coordinated or comprehensive national security strategy in case of any attack. All the three forces have separate strategies. It is also important to have a clear aim which in India’s case is defence and not capture.
Shailaza Singh
This article was published in Rashtradoot Newspaper’s Arbit Section on 11 March 2021
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