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Thursday,
December 27, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Politics
of war cry Order on
medical seats |
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Elusive
Osama THE USA wanted him dead or alive. But the terrorist mastermind turned out to be smarter than the super power. Initially, it seemed the America-led anti-terrorism coalition would succeed in getting the trophy after a heavy bombardment in Afghanistan’s Tora Bora region. Its hopes were, however, belied as the military campaign entered its final stages. Today it is difficult to believe any claim about the Saudi fugitive whom Time magazine’s readers preferred as their Man of the Year. The latest is that Osama is hiding somewhere in Afghanistan’s areas bordering Iran. This claim has been made by the Editor of Pakistan’s respected Urdu daily Ausaaf, Mr Hamid Mir, who has written a well-received book on Osama.
General
Musharraf’s cosmetic action
Celebrity
status for New York Mayor
‘Pak’ soldier’s
endless wait for pension
Device
to bring down infant mortality rate
Revenge
of the enlightened
1961, Peace: DAG HAMMARSKJOELD
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Politics of war cry
MUFFLED beats of war drums are being heard, but from a distance. On Tuesday both Prime Minister Vajpayee and Home Minister Advani toned down the Sangh Parivar rhetoric on hot pursuit and BJP president Jana Krishnamurthy said amen. Mr Vajpayee declared that there are several options and India would first exhaust them. Mr Advani was more forthright and wiped out the hot pursuit course from the agenda. Until now political analysts believed that the government talked tough and was even threatening under intense pressure from the RSS and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. But the BJP chief made it clear that it was for the government to decide on the course of action and the meeting of the national executive on Friday would fully back whatever the next course is. For the present there is no clear indication of border skirmishes. No matter the cross-border firing and shelling and insistent claims of destroying bunkers, both India and Pakistan have domestic compulsions to keep the border temperature pot boiling or at close to boiling point. Mr Vajpayee has talked of firing the other arrows in his quiver. These have been identified as the withdrawal of permission to Pakistan Airlines to overfly Indian airspace (which will invite instant retaliation, complicating Indian Airlines
flights to Kabul) and ending that country’s status as the most favoured nation (MFN) in trade. This is a grand name for something normal. India treats the neighbour in tariff as it treats anyone else. With two-way trade being very low, the MFN status is more symbolic than a determinant. But the Army sent out a strong signal of border disturbance. It cancelled the prestigious annual parade on January 15, explaining that its personnel, tanks and armoured carriers were deployed on the border and shifting and bringing them back for the parade would disrupt the emergency drill. Simply put, its analysis is that there could be an emergency and it has to be prepared for it. Translated in normal prose, the Army expects the border to hot up in the days to come. It may not come but the armed forces are getting ready for it. More significantly, the Army has asked the Defence Ministry to either cancel the Republic Day parade or scale it down dramatically. Normally, about 5000 service personnel march down the Raj Path and twice the number are in supportive services. Tanks, missiles and armoured carriers are brought to Delhi to flesh out the parade. This will not be possible this year. But there are two snags in dropping the parade. One, it has never happened before, not even after the 1962 debacle. And two, it will send a bad message since Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been invited to be the chief guest. And India is trying to establish friendly relations with Latin America! |
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Order on medical seats IN the past five months the Supreme Court has passed at least as many orders covering the field of medical education. The importance of the apex court's directives needs to be analysed in the context of the scale of political and bureaucratic interference in the process of decision-making and the framing of the policy governing admissions to various courses of study. In August the apex court upheld the validity of the relevant rules framed by the Centre in March, 1994, in what came to be known as the "post-graduate medical courses-admission" case. The apex court held as valid the ruling of different high courts, including the one covering Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. In simple language, the option exercised by a candidate for selecting a post-graduate course of study should be treated as final. Through another order passed in late August the Supreme Court declared as ultra vires the decision of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences to reserve 33 per cent post-graduate seats for internal candidates. The court rightly took a dim view of the attempt to make merit a martyr at the altar of the irrational policy of reservation. The two rulings should serve as a reminder of the need to establish fair and academically sound norms for admission to post-graduate courses of study. Through another significant judgement delivered in early September the apex court said that the students selected under the "15 per cent all-India quota" to MBBS courses in various states (other than their home state) "should be allowed to compete for admission to the post-graduate medical course in the state where they studied irrespective of the rules of residence" covering admissions in the states concerned. A week later the apex court upheld the validity of the relevant 1998 rule stipulating "residency requirement" of 10 years preceding the last date of receipt of applications from candidates seeking admission to a post-graduate course in medical and dental sciences in Goa Medical College. In the context of the shortage of medical colleges in the country for coping with the increasing demand for medical education the Supreme Court ruling delivered last week deserved wider notice. The apex court held that the state government was the only authority under the regulations mentioned in the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, for deciding the location of a new medical college within the state. Another ruling given early this week too should help in the regulated increase in the number of seats in various medical colleges in the country. Any proposal for an increase in the number of seats should henceforth be submitted to the Central Government and the Medical Council of India for scrutiny. In a manner of speaking, all that the state government concerned has to do is obtain no objection certificates from the Centre and the MCI for increasing the number of seats in the medical colleges under its jurisdiction. |
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Elusive Osama THE USA wanted him dead or alive. But the terrorist mastermind turned out to be smarter than the super power. Initially, it seemed the America-led anti-terrorism coalition would succeed in getting the trophy after a heavy bombardment in Afghanistan’s Tora Bora region. Its hopes were, however, belied as the military campaign entered its final stages. Today it is difficult to believe any claim about the Saudi fugitive whom Time magazine’s readers preferred as their Man of the Year. The latest is that Osama is hiding somewhere in Afghanistan’s areas bordering Iran. This claim has been made by the Editor of Pakistan’s respected Urdu daily Ausaaf, Mr Hamid Mir, who has written a well-received book on Osama. Mr Mir has discounted the assertion of an English-language newspaper, Pakistan Observer, that the Al-Qaeda chief died of a lung disease early this month and was buried in Tora Bora according to the Wahabi Islamic belief. The Observer quoted a Taliban commander, but without naming him because of obvious reasons, saying that Osama’s janaza (burial ceremony) was attended by his close aides, and his bodyguards even fired a few shots in the air in honour of their departed leader and guide. Then the unnamed Taliban commander went on to add that the USA could never achieve its cherished goal of finding Osama even when he was dead as his unmarked grave might have disappeared after the carpet bombing of Tora Bora. The Observer story has revealed something the world, including the know-all, America, could never lay its hands on — that the man topping the FBI’s list of most wanted persons was suffering from an acute lung problem. Earlier reports had it that his kidneys were not functioning properly. This is not the end of interesting speculations about him. A report emanating from Rome wanted the people on the Osama trail to believe that he was hiding in Kashmir. An enterprising journalist came out with a new thesis that the most dreaded man had shifted along with his trusted aides to a certain African country via Iran before the American bombing of Afghanistan began. Many Osama-watchers are convinced that he is in the Pashtun-dominated border belt of Pakistan and living like an ordinary person. Tomorrow there may be some other theory about the man who is acquiring the status of a mythical figure. Whether he is no more in our midst and relaxing in the company of his Creator, or laughing at the failure of the most powerful anti-terrorism coalition to catch of him will continue to be debated for quite some time. Even if he has been made to sleep forever, his ghost may not allow the Americans to get a good sleep for as long as the burning and falling World Trade Center towers remain etched in their memory. For the moment, it suits both the USA and Pakistan to declare Osama bin Laden dead. The reason is that the Americans might be feeling the necessity of taking respite after having got tired of hitting the barren Afghan mountains with their latest destructive devices, and their Pakistani friends might be wanting to save their skin from the anti-terrorism coalition forces which should logically concentrate on the “land of jehadis” in search of the elusive tormentor of the USA. |
General Musharraf’s
cosmetic action AT the end of his five-day visit to China, Pakistan’s military ruler and self-appointed President, General Pervez Musharraf, once again declared blandly that he would consider taking action against Pakistan-based organisations if he was given “proof” that they had indulged in terrorist acts. In a strange sort of way the sheer gall and hypocrisy of his posturing compelled attention. However, a few hours later his government, deeming discretion to be the better part of valour, froze the bank accounts of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), one of the main engines of cross-border terrorism against this country, one more jehadi outfit. No big deal this; indeed, it is no more than a cosmetic gesture that is unlikely to take in anyone except the most gullible. In the first place, the American demand on the Pakistani administration was for a “crackdown” on the Lashkar, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and other jehadi groups, not for the kind of play acting that has taken place. India, of course, had legitimately asked for the arrest and extradition of the leaders of LeT and JeM, the two networks responsible for the dastardly attack on Parliament in New Delhi on December 13. But it would have been unrealistic to expect a positive response to this by the Pakistani military. A categorical demand from the USA, articulated personally by President George W. Bush, was a different matter, however. And yet General Musharraf has found it necessary or expedient to make only a token response to him too. Even before any official notification was issued, the top leaders of the deadly Lashkar had announced their voluntary resignations. Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, the outgoing president of LeT, also announced the sudden “translocation” of all three of its offices in Pakistan to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), as if it mattered. He added, for good measure, that he made no distinction between the two parts of Kashmir and that the Lashkar did not recognise the Line of Control (LoC). Secondly, it is no less important that though Mr Saeed — prominent on the American FBI’s list of “the most wanted” — has quit as president of LeT, he remains the head of the Markaz Dawa-al-Irshad, the umbrella body that coordinates the activities of various jehadi groups. Thirdly, as for now, Islamabad has acted against only two organisations, LeT and the Ummah Tameer-e-Nau (UTN); there is no mention of Jaish, the real culprit responsible for the assault on Indian Parliament. The UTN also might have been spared were it not for Mr Bush’s strong displeasure with it. After all, this shadowy entity, masquerading as a charity, was the brainchild of a retired nuclear scientist of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission who had been advising Osama bin Laden on how to fabricate crude nuclear weapons. Fourthly, the measly action against such outfits becomes meaningless considering that almost every Pakistani jehadi group identified by the USA as worthy of punitive action, beginning with the Harkat-ul-Ansar in the past, has promptly changed its name and continued with its nefarious activities. Jaish, too, has been quick to rename itself, just as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda elements now in Pakistan’s tribal areas have renamed themselves. Incidentally, it was in these areas that the hijackers of IC-814 were initially taken so that the Musharraf government could plausibly claim that they were not in the territory under Pakistan’s control! Fifthly and finally, it cannot be overlooked that only the other day the jehadi groups murdered in cold blood and in broad daylight in Karachi Mr Ehtesamuddin Haider, elder brother of Lieut-General Moinuddin Haider, Minister of the Interior in the Musharraf government! This has a message of its own, considering the jehadis’ claim that Mr Haider was killed “in retaliation” for his brother’s attempt to regulate the burgeoning madarssas that are indeed factories for the mass production of bigots, extremists, fundamentalists and terrorists. General Haider’s tentative attempts to enforce a ban on public display of weapons and collection of funds in the name of jehad have also enraged the jehadi groups. They have, in fact, branded General Musharraf an “infidel” who has “sold his country to America”. If in spite of all this, Pakistan’s military dictator is not taking the kind of stringent action against LeT, JeM, UTN, et al, that is absolutely necessary and is being demanded by the US President, the reason is not far to seek. There is a fundamental contradiction between two of the General’s main objectives. One is to be on the right side of the USA at a very heavy cost to himself and his country by joining the fight against Osama and the Taliban. The other is to keep the jehad in Kashmir going. Let no one forget that General Musharraf has said repeatedly that he agreed to become America’s “frontline ally” against its own creation, the Taliban, to “save” Pakistan’s economy, its “strategic assets” (for which read nuclear weapons) and its “Kashmir cause”. If cross-border terrorism disappears, what becomes of Pakistan’s “Kashmir cause” on which there are strong views even within the Army leadership? However, there is a point beyond which the General cannot go on riding two horses galloping in opposite directions. Egregious Pakistan-backed terrorism against India has stretched its patience close to breaking point. Already, the armies of the two countries are deployed almost eyeball to eyeball. After the Pakistani troops initiated the firing in the Samba sector, the exchange of fire between the two sides has become intensely fierce. Mr Kamran Khan, a Pakistani journalist plugged into the Army top brass, has written in The News that Pakistan is hoping to invoke the “doctrine of riposte” which presupposes that India would strike first. He also claims that 350 warplanes of Pakistan would get the better of the 800 fighter aircraft of India because Pakistani F-16s would be able to jam all Indian radar systems. This clearly is bombast but perhaps reflects the mindset of the Pakistani military leadership. Under the circumstances, the responsibility of preventing the situation from getting completely out of hand lies with the USA. This is so because Pakistan is in no mood to listen to any reasoning emanating from India but cannot defy the USA beyond a point though it has tried both defiance and duplicity. There was a time when it was trying to dictate what America could or could not do in Afghanistan. But later it piped down. Of late, it has been pretending that it does not know where the top Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders who have escaped from Afghanistan and whose list America has already given it, are. What heightens America’s responsibility is that President Bush’s categorical demand for stringent Pakistani action against LeT, JeM and other terrorist organisations was preceded by his most disconcerting prevarication. It indeed cast doubts on the sincerity of America’s claim that it wanted to fight terrorism of all kinds in all places. For, while condemning the Lashkar for its terrorism, Mr Bush, flying in the face of facts established by the US State Department itself, declared LeT “Kashmir based” and “Stateless.” To this he added fiction that the Lashkar had been targetting both India and Pakistan undermining General Musharraf, and adding to India-Pak tensions. And from this flowed his most absurd suggestion that India, Pakistan and USA should act against the Lashkar and Jaish “jointly.” This is on a par with saying that the USA should have acted in Afghanistan jointly with the Taliban. Later, Mr Bush corrected himself and admitted that LeT was functioning from its bases in Pakistan and this time did not repeat the unacceptable plea for joint action by India and Pakistan. What course the American policy takes now is of vital importance and therefore of great concern to India. The leader of the international coalition supposedly waging a war on global terrorism needs to be told that in the matter of “persuading” Pakistan to crush jehadi groups that export terror to Kashmir and other parts of India, words are not enough. These must be matched by action that is immediate and effective. Otherwise the consequences will be catastrophic. |
Celebrity status for New York Mayor HE is not the readers' choice. Yet Time magazine of the USA has declared New York Mayor Rudolph Giulliani as its Person of the Year. This is a rare honour bestowed every year by the international newsmagazine. Going by its website, the majority of the readers preferred terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden for hogging the headlines more than anybody else. Their second preference was US President George W. Bush. But the influential magazine's editors did not agree. They have the overriding powers in the matter and therefore decided to declare Mr Giulliani as "Time's Person of the Year". The editors say they have chosen Mr Giulliani "for having more faith in us than we had in ourselves, for being brave when required and rude when appropriate and tender without being trite, for not sleeping and not quitting and not shrinking from the pain all around him". He demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities in him when New Yorkers were traumatised by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. He emerged as "the personification of courage". He is, in fact, described as a phenomenon. His second term as New York's Mayor expires on December 31, and the law has it that he cannot contest for a third term. But if the law is changed, Mr Giulliani can get a third term even without fighting an election. British Prime Minister Tony Blair was so impressed by Mr Giulliani's leadership after the September 11 tragedy that he recommended to Queen Elizabeth the Mayor's name for an honorary knighthood. This is another rare honour — a Knight Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire — though Mr Giulliani will not be called Sir Rudolph as he is not a British. Argentina on the brink of disaster The resignation of Argentine President Fernando De la Rua following widespread riots in protest against the economic policies of the government marks the end of an ignominious chapter in the annals of this financially-crippled nation. Never in the history of this country had a President been so humiliated by the people as Mr De la Rua whose failure to tackle the economic crisis led to a whopping 43-month recession, choking in the grip of $132 billion public debt. The President was forced to resign as thousands of angry Argentines took to the streets looting shops and supermarkets and plunging the country into anarchy. Reports say about 27 people were killed in the two-day rioting while hundreds were injured and arrested. Mr De la Rua’s plan to stick to office by clamping emergency failed to click. Last Wednesday, he declared a state of emergency for 30 days, suspended constitutional rights and gave the government sweeping powers to make arrests. Such was the extent of public anger that he was forced to revoke the emergency within two days of its proclamation. During the last few years, Argentina has never been free from economic and political crises. Mr Domingo Cavallo, who served under President Carlos Menem till 1996, was hailed for introducing some austerity measures with a view to paring down ballooning deficits and for bringing hyperinflation under control. But he had to go along with Mr Menem mainly because of the latter’s profligate policies and corrupt governance. Since then, the downhill slide of this country started because of the lack of foresight and dynamism on the part of successive rulers. Against this background, it is doubtful whether the new President, expected to take over after the elections scheduled to be held on March 3, 2002, would be able to grapple with the economic crisis and put the country on the right track. The populist Peronist Party, which controls Congress, has unanimously selected Mr Adolfo Rodriguez Saa to be the next President. Mr Saa, presently the Governor of the central province of San Luis, does not have a very clean image to boast of. He is believed to be more popular in the country for his involvement in a sex scandal in 1993. Whoever is chosen as the next President by the Argentines, he will have a tough time in tackling the serious economic crisis. Ironically, while the solutions to Argentina’s economic crisis seem to be murky, the problems are crystal-clear. It is said that the biggest decision before the new President will be what to do with Argentina’s currency peg, which makes one peso equal to one dollar. In any case, Argentina is in for an uncertain future. |
‘Pak’ soldier’s endless wait for pension THIS is the extraordinary story of an ordinary soldier on the Indo-Pak border near Ladakh and a fascinating tale of a father who asked his son to fight for an army on whom he had once trained his guns. Eighty-one-year old Ali Hassan has seen it all: the tragic reality of Partition of India and Pakistan, an unsure existence as a Pakistani soldier for the sake of survival and finally a homecoming. A year after his retirement, the Indian Army freed his native village, the small hamlet of Tiakshi on the Indo-Pak border, during the 1971 war. Though happy about the outcome, Hassan, an erstwhile Naib Subedar with the Pakistani Army, had a worry. He wondered whether his monthly pension of Rs 25 would reach him now. It never did. Hassan said, “I got admitted into the Pakistani army in June 1952. I worked for 18 years. Then in June 1970 I retired, became a pensioner, came back to my village and settled down with my family”. “A year later, during the Indo-Pak war of 1971, the Indian army freed our village from the clutches of Pakistan. I stayed at Tiakshi as it was my home. Years have passed and nobody asked me anything about my association with the Pakistani army, neither did I think it was important enough to talk about,” he stated. Recently, the Indian soldiers of the 19 Kumaon Brigade posted nearby came to know about Hassan’s plight. He was asked to present himself before the authorities and finally, the commander of the 15 Corps stationed in Ladakh, Lt.-General Arjun Ray, sent for him. Hassan spoke his heart out to a fellow-soldier. According to Hassan, “When I met Corps Commander Arjun Ray, I told him in detail about my problem. I told him I was a soldier in the Pakistani army at one time and since I came back home, I hadn’t received my pension. Now I am old and I have no money”. Ali Hassan added: “I asked him if he could do something. The Corps Commander told this correspondent that because the matter concerns Pakistani army, he cannot do much. I saw his point and accepted my destiny.” There was little the Indian army could do about making arrangements for Hassan’s pension from Pakistan but unlike the Pakistanis, who have a history of leaving their own soldiers in a lurch, the Indian army went out of its way to solve his problem. Pakistani army authorities were told about this devoted soldier who was an Indian too. Despite a series of requests, there was no response from that country. Hassan feels hurt but says he is not surprised. Even during his stint as a Pakistani troop, he had observed that the welfare of the common soldiers mattered little to the higher-ups. “I clearly remember that the arrangement for soldiers is not what it is here. There was very little support for the soldiers by way of logistics or amenities,” Hassan informed. Having seen the way the Indian army cares for its soldiers, Hassan, like millions of parents across the country, has put his son in this profession for the defence of the nation. He is convinced that life as a soldier in the Indian army would ensure a bright future for his son. Hassan explained, “The Corps Commander said he would be happy to admit my son into the army if it was okay with me. I was touched and said ‘if you want to take him, how can I say no’.” The future does certainly seem bright for his 20-year-old son Habibullah Khan, a new recruit at the Ladakh Scouts Regiment. Excited and full of enthusiasm, Habibullah said, “This is the 18th week of my training and I am in the 10th week of educational training. It is great here in the army, the training is very exciting”. He is also a trifle sad for being away from his home but he feels it is a sacrifice. “There is nobody able at home. My mother is no more and my father and my wife are alone at home. So sometimes I get worried about them,” Habibullah added. At home, Hassan continues to wait for his pension. He says he will wait till the end of his life. He smiles, perhaps thinking he has paid back his debt to India by dedicating his own son to the service of the nation.
ANI |
Device to bring down infant mortality rate A new semi-open intensive care machine has proved to be a success as far as controlling infant mortality is concerned. Developed by doctors at the JK Lon Hospital in Jaipur, the machine has reportedly brought down the incidence of neo-natal deaths to as low as eight per cent. According to an estimate, currently 65 per cent of infant deaths during the first month after birth occur due to various infections, hypothermia (low body temperature), birth asphyxia (delayed cry) and low birth rate. Although not yet formally launched, the machine has been in use as part of experimentation in the hospital’s nursery for the past one-and-a-half years. Dr Ashok Gupta, one of the two doctors who designed the equipment, certifies it as far better than the normal incubators in many respects, besides being cheaper. Unlike an incubator, which can take care of only one child, the new machine can house as many as four simultaneously. Hence, it saves on power, the doctor says. According to Dr Gupta, the equipment provides basic care to a newborn, which is not the case with an incubator. It can also be upgraded and attached to a ventilator or a computer. Moreover, intensive care management is possible. The other distinct feature, Gupta says, is that the machine can be placed even in a general ward. It is fitted with blue and white lights. The blue lights help in detecting any possible attack of jaundice. And, if a child is suffering from the disease, the light provides care to him. The white lights are said to be utilised to help determine the colour/complexion of the baby if this cannot be clearly ascertained before starting any treatment. The doctor informs that the machine is to cost around Rs 50,000. Compared to the incubators, which cost anything between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh and take care of only child at a time, the relative cost of the new equipment per head, likely to be launched next month, comes out to be
less. ANI New homes for old Xmas gizmos Australians were urged not to simply dump their old computers and mobile phones if they received new ones during this Christmas season. Member of Parliament Viictor Perton said recycling was the correct response to an upgrade as computers and mobile phones contained toxic heavy metals that could leach into soil and waterways. “The environmental costs of dumping computers and other equipment are monumental”, Perton said in Sydney. “Defunct technology poses an enormous environmental hazard, especially when sent to landfills”. Australia’s major phone companies have been roped into a programme where old phones could be dropped off for recycling. Perton said older computers were not necessarily obsolescent and could be passed on to those who had no need for the latest technology.
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Revenge of the enlightened A dog sat beside the railway track when a train passed by, cutting off an inch of his tail. The dog waited for the train to return to take his revenge. So, as the train went past next, the dog tried to bite it, and the wheels ran right over its neck, slicing off its head. The moral of the story is that never lose your head to avenge a small offence. The instinct of revenge is innate in birds and animals but it is very strong in human beings. “A tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye,” is man’s code of revenge. This tendency is the source of most of the misfortunes of man. In the words of Shakespeare, “Man, proud man, if dressed in a little brief authority, plays such fantastic tricks before High Heavens as make the Angels weep.” Man runs amuck and opens a front against the authority of the Almighty. The vicious environment created by such persons can better be imagined than described. The most classic and unique example is the life of King Hiranyakashipu. The king had secured a boon to ward off his death, which made him arrogant and he forced his subjects to worship him as God. Everybody in his kingdom bowed to his dictates except a potter, who continued to worship Lord Rama. The king took it as an affront to his authority and had the potter beheaded. The poor wife of the potter continued to worship Rama and marked her time to avenge her husband’s death. Time rolled on. The king got a son and named him Prahalad, who like the others worshipped his father. One day, child Prahalad happened to visit the locality where the potter’s family lived. As he watched a burning kiln in which pots were being baked, Prahalad saw three kittens jumping out of the burning kiln. The potter’s widow praised Lord Rama for saving the kittens from the inferno. Prahalad was wonder-struck and enquired from the woman about Rama who had saved the kittens. The potter’s wife was also curious to know about the child. When she learnt that he was king Hiranyakashipu’s son, she thought this was the time to avenge her husband’s murder. It was the best revenge of its kind she thought of. She served child Prahalad to the best of her capacity and then explained that by mistake the pot containing the kittens had been placed in the kiln and it was set on fire. It was by the grace of Almighty Rama that the kittens were saved. She also told him about the omnipresent and omnipotent Rama. This transformed Prahalad and his faith shifted from his father to Almighty Rama. This led to hostility between the king and his son. However, to the delight of the potter woman who had injected God-knowledge in Prahalad who stood against Hiranyakashipu and caused his liquidation. What a unique revenge. Wiping out a dark age with enlightenment. After the assassination of Baba Gurbachan Singh there was a clamour for revenge among his followers. Addressing a congregation, Baba Hardev Singh said: “The best revenge would be to spread Baba Gurbachan Singh’s message of truth to every nook and corner and dispel the feelings of hatred and enmity.” That is the way of saints to take revenge. Jesus Christ, Guru Arjun Dev, and Guru Teg Bahadur fought against tyranny by making the supreme sacrifice. This was their revenge against falsehood and tyranny. One can reconcile with the cruel acts of nature, but the blows and misfortunes inflicted on man by man can best be avenged by enlightening the errant with the truth and instilling love, humility and fellow-feeling in them. With such ‘revenge’, one can hope for a millennium of peace, purity and prosperity on earth. |
The eyes are to be cast to the crows, That look on one besides Him. *** Blessed are those eyes who at a very tender age Have gone-a-seeking for His vision, Offering their life as the price. *** The eyes are incarnated only to see Him. And pray at their birth to bestow His vision on them. And pass the rest of life in enjoying the glory of this vision when it comes to their lot. —
Shah Latif. From Bankey Bihari, Sufis, Mystics & Yogis. *** The eyes have one language everywhere. —
George Herbert, Jacula Prudentum *** The eyes indicate the antiquity of the soul. —
Ralph W. Emerson, The Conduct of Life: “Behaviour” *** Compassion and contentment are the two great virtues whose contact gives birth to dharma (righteousness). —
Japji Sahib *** Be content with what thou hast received, and smooth thy frowning forehead, for the door of choice is not open either to thee or me. —
Diwan-i-Hafiz *** True contentment is a thing as active as agriculture. It is the power of getting out of my situation all that there is in it. It is arduous and it is rare. —
G. K. Chesterton.
*** Poor and content is rich, and rich enough. —
Sir William Shakespeare, Othello, 3.3.172 *** In time of war the devil makes more room in hell. — A German proverb *** Let him who does not know what war is go to war. — A Spanish proverb |
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