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When the plane hijack standoff
(beginning December 24 and ending December, 31, 1999) was
keeping the Indians on tenterhooks, and the attention of the
world press’ was focussed on the proceedings, Osama bin
Laden made a grandiloquent statement listing India, Russia and
the USA as Islam’s biggest enemies. It has proved costly to
dismiss such bombastic verbiage as a madman’s rhetoric. It
is perilous indeed to ignore Bin Laden and others of his ilk.
A large section of the Islamic world clings to his words as it
would to a messiah’s pontifications. Osama bin Laden is
suspected to have been behind the blasts targeting US
embassies in Africa. After India released Maulana Masood Azhar,
the ideologue of the Pakistan-based terrorist Harkat–ul–Mujahideen,
he resumed his "jehad" cry against India and the
USA, forcing the latter to warn Pakistan against encouraging
such tirades.
Add to that
the subcontinent’s "nuclearisation" that
encourages Pakistan to continue training and patronising
terrorists in a brazen manner. In fact so emboldened the
Pakistani establishment felt that in May 1999 it thought
nothing of conducting an undeclared war in India’s Kargil
sector. It managed to defy the world opinion for uncomfortably
long time, raising visions of nuclear holocaust; the scary
spectre was raised after intemperate language was used by
Pakistan military brass. Their insistence on the right to
first nuclear strike is causing universal anxiety. Yet it is
improbable that these hotheads are unaware of the dangers to
their own existence in the aftermath of such an eventuality. A
conventional war appears very much on the cards that might,
just might, take us to the brink of the ultimate catastrophe.
However,
Kashmir is only a pawn on the grand pan-Asian chessboard,
where Pakistan sees itself as a major player. This valley is
of strategic significance in the realisation of Pakistan’s
dreams of holding sway over West Asian and Central Asian
economies. The annexation of Kashmir will enable Pakistan to
conduct forays into the Central Asian Republics, as well as
China’s resource-rich Xinjiang province (there have been
reports of fundamentalist Islamic activity here, prompting
China to seal its borders with Pakistan). This would result in
enhancing its status among the oil rich sheikdoms of West
Asia. Since the Central Asian Republics are far richer than
Arab countries in natural resources, they are more vulnerable
to Islamic fundamentalism, given the newfound religious zeal
– a reaction to decades of forced atheism under the Soviets.
There is
irrefutable evidence of Pak trained guerillas fighting against
Russians in Chechnya. The training centres that churn out
mujahideen in Pakistan dot the landscape from Peshawar to
Lahore to Karachi. And these men will be used not only in
Kashmir but also for creating a pan-Islamic Pak-friendly
political system in countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,
Kyrghyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and other Central Asian
republics.
Sharma’s
style is racy. This keeps the reader glued to the book. Sharma
gives details of the activities of such terrorist
organisations as Markaz-ud-Daawa-Wal-Irshad, Sipah-e-Sahiba
Pakistan as also the ISI. He gives profiles of some
Pakistan-backed militant outfits like Hizb-ul-Mujahideen,
Muslim Mujahideen, Al Barq, Al Jehad Force, Harkat-ul-Ansar,
etc. We all know that recently more such outfits have come
into being like Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Toiba, etc.
Thanks to the
September 11 attack on the WTC we have been reminded of the
chilling presence of the Al Quaida – Osama bin Laden’s
international network.
These are
highly motivated young men, capable of inflicting crippling
damage on the targeted countries and their vital
installations. Is it not a matter of serious thought how an
almost bankrupt country like Pakistan is able to sustain,
almost perpetually, low key Jehad the world over? Perhaps
Osama bin Laden is only one of the country’s several
patrons? Despite clear evidence of Pakistan’s complicity in
training Islamic desperados it has managed to avoid being
declared a terrorism exporting state! Another outrage against
all things civilised is the destruction of the invaluable
Buddha statues of Bamiyan by Afghan fundamentalists. That the
universal outcry against this vandalism has been brushed aside
as a speck of dust shows the impotence of world opinion.
Of course,
Operation Enduring Freedom might dump Osama and his cohorts
into the dustbin of history but books like the one under
review shall remain of interest to professionals and laymen
alike.
* * *
India
Through Japanese Eyes
by Toshio Yamanouchi. Sterling Publishers, New Delhi.
Pages x+266. Rs. 600.
Indo-Japanese
relations date back to more than 1400 years. In Japan, during
the Nara and Heian periods, India was called Tenjiku or the
Holy Land of Buddhism.
In the modern
times India was a major supplier of raw cotton and pig iron to
Japan during the period before the World War II. During the
early 20th century Toshio Yamanouchi’s company used to
import steel items from England and pig iron from India. Says
the author, "In the early 1920s when the IISCO was
established as a supplier of pig iron to Japan, India, England
and Japan equally shared the equity capital. Considering the
time (Taisho era), this investment by Kishimoto in India was
quite large. Through this joint venture, Kishimoto acquired
the sales right for all the pig iron produced at one blast
furnace of IISCO for the Far East."
This book
weaves the story of Japan’s industrial progress with the
story of Indo-Japanese relations, especially in the field of
trade. If, on the one hand, it tells you of how industrial
behemoths came into being through mergers, takeovers, etc., it
also informs you of the why and what of Japan’s trade
relations with India. Students of international affairs as
well as economics will find it interesting.
* * *
Lord
Mahavira
by C. R. Bhansali. M&P Consultancy & Marketing Co.,
New Delhi.
Pages 163. Rs. 150.
Lord Mahavira,
whose original name was Vardhamana, was son of Siddhartha who
was the head of a Kshatriya clan called Jnatrikas in Vaishali. A
contemporary of Lord Buddha, he was the last of the Tirthankaras
as per the belief of the Jain community. Varadhmana married
Yashoda and a daughter was born to them. He left home at the age
of 30, shed his garments and ornaments, and pulled out his hair
with his own hands. After 12 years of wandering he attained
nirvana under a sal tree by the side of the Rijupalika river
near a town called Jrimbhikagrama. He discovered the right way
to become free of pleasure and pain of the material world. He
came to be known as the Jina (the conqueror), nirgrantha (one
who is free from bondage), and kevalin (one who is omniscient).
Says Acharya Mahaprajna, "Enlightenment was the culmination
of his spiritual pursuit that ended his prolonged fasts."
Mahavira observes
that violation of moral values leads to depression due to the feeling
of repentance. Today’s psychoanalysts will call it "guilt
complex". Adhering to moral values helps in one’s spiritual
progress. He further points out that weapons do not provide security;
instead they lead to universal unrest. Doesn’t this ring a bell?
He also recommends
the maintenance of perfect balance between pravitti and nivritti in
one’s life. Rather than attempting to improve others, one must
concentrate on self-improvement. Self-observation not only raises us
above sectarianism and casteism but also helps us transcend narrow
nationalism.
Lord Mahavira upholds
the concept of karma as a replacement for God. He believes that man is
the architect of his own destiny and he can rise only by his own
efforts and not by the grace of any external agency. Lord Mahavira
says, "Attachment and aversion are the root cause of karma and
karma originates from infatuation. Karma is the root cause of birth
and death and these are said to be the source of misery. None can
escape the effect of their own past karma." Every inexplicable
event in the life of an individual occurs due to the karma accumulated
in his previous birth. According to him, "Soul is the central
point of spiritual discipline". For spiritual realisation he
preaches right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. Says Bhansali,
"The life and teachings of Lord Mahavira have inspired millions
of people to take the noble path preached by him. The three principles
of nonviolence, non-absolutism and non-possession will guide mankind
for all times to come.
Bhansali has divided
this volume into 11 chapters. Each chapter is divided into
subsections, each of which gives a gist of Mahavira’s teachings
pertaining to one specific aspect of human life. For example in
chapter four the teachings relate separately to anger, pride,
delusion, illusion, desire ,etc.
Such books as the one
under review need to be read frequently for each reading reveals
something new to us. Moreover when we falter in life these pearls of
wisdom stand us in good stead.
An excellent buy.
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