One of my ex-bosses converted to Buddhism after he visited Tibet. He was so impressed by the simplicity of that region, it's people, it's culture, he almost felt a spiritual connection. He had some great stories to tell about the people and it's culture, but not so great stories to tell of the Chinese authorities who were changing Tibet for ever.
Tibet has been some what of an intrigue for me. Ever since Nehru and then Rajiv Gandhi stabbed the Tibetans on their backs they have been going down the slippery slope. Of course we are not allowed to support the Tibetans and their cause. It's politically uncomfortable. So we want to hush this up. "Shhhh.... don't. It's the dragon".
Arundati Roy, N.Ram and Vinod Mehta don't want to look us that way. Towards the east. Palestine and West bank is more "sexier" to discuss and come across as learned, bleeding heart, liberals.
China has an over powering influence in Indian sub continent today. 2 years back, the Maoists in Nepal caused havoc. While the dhimmi Indians watched from sidelines, China was displaying sheer vulgar power over Nepal via it's proxy the Maoist. Same with Burma. Who is the real force behind the military junta, one of the most repressive regimes of the world, is a well known secret. Only thing, no one wants to spell it out loud.
Tibet,Nepal, Burma, even Taiwan, tell us something about this imposing Dragon called China and its designs. There is invariably a shade of "imperialism" associated with Super powers. History has shown this. China is no different. It may be even more ruthless than others as it proved almost 20 years ago at Tiananmen Square. That was probably just a glimpse of it's actual mind set.
The rumors of China encircling India may after all not be far from truth. But don't worry, we won't discuss China. Israel, Palestine, Gaza strip, America are more "fun" to discuss. After all imperialism is only what the media defines. So let's enjoy Olympics. Let's see how magnificently and on a grand scale China show cases Olympics. Let's enjoy the rise of China.
P.S : More arm twisting by China here
No comments:
Post a Comment