Political theories have always been rife and the current hot theory amongst them is the Chinese version of How to break India. If you go into the details, the theory is no different than Divide and Rule, a very well known theory employed and successfully executed by British while ruling India. So, the question is, will the proposed theory work in the present scenario as well? Pondering about this question while discussing with Anand, I was reminded of another story (popular in the Marathi literature for ages):
Once upon a time, a cap seller was on its way from one town to the another and he has with him a bag full of caps. On the way in a jungle, he decides to take a siesta under the tree but forgets to lock his bag. The monkeys in the jungle are very notorious (what else they can be?) and steal all his caps. Now, in an effort to get back all the caps, he tries everything he can. runs after the monkeys, climbs trees but all in vain!!! monkeys are too fast to him. Moorover, monkeys to their nature, start to irritate him. They start imitating all his actions one after the other and here the clever man comes up with a brilliant idea. He indulges all the monkeys into a game such that they follow all his actions. Whenever he sits, they all sit. Whenever he stands, they all stand. Whenever he jumps, they all jump. Whenever he laughs, they all laugh. Whenever he scratches his head, they all scratch theirs. Then suddenly, he fervently takes the cap from his head and throws it into this bag and all monkeys follow the act. The cap seller immediately locks his bag containing all his caps and runs away. Proud of his achievement, he narrates this story to all his friends and fellow villagers. Soon, the story becomes a legend to be narrated for generations to come...
The time passes and the grandson of the cap seller decides to pass through the same jungle. Confident that he can always get back all the caps from notorious monkeys, he decides to be nonchalant and on purpose decides to keep his bag containing all caps open. Monkeys come, take all the caps from the bag and wait for him to wake up. As he wakes up and sees all the caps being stolen, he is still confident. He laughs out reminiscing a DeJa Vu. Soon, he starts playing the same games with the monkeys as his grandfather did and they also start to follow him religiously. They all sit, whenever he sits. They all stand, whenever he stands. They all jump, whenever he jumps. They all laugh, whenever he laughs. They all scratch their heads, whenever he scratches his head. Satisfied as it has been proceeding the way it has been scripted, the grand son grows more confident and he takes his cap and throws into the bag. At the very next moment, the leader of the monkeys jumps, steals the last cap from the bag leaving the grandson a one liner, "Don't we have grandfathers?"
Moral of the story: Even monkeys learn generations after generations...lol.
Unfortunately, Indian history has not been encouraging when dealing with China. We had to concede a part of our land to China after the famous Sino-India war in 1962. Addressing the parliament after the debacle, the then first prime minister of India Pandit Nehru had defended, "Fellow countrymen, but we don't have to worry. It's only a barren land. Nothing grows on it." To which one of the Parliamentarion Govind V. Pant (I am not sure about the name) responded, "Panditji, Yeah mera sar hein. Ispe koi bal nahi. Kya aap chahate hein ki mein ye kisi aur ko du aur khush ho jau?" (Panditji, This is my head. I am bald. Do you want to me to offer it to someone and be happy about it?)
Given the fact that the younger India much more confident, dynamic and progressive, it would be non-realistic to believe that the "Divide and Rule" theory would work in the present scenario unless we screw up...screw up big time...screw up more than monkeys do :)
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Disclaimer: The post is not meant to offend any of the Chinese friends but to prove the fallacy of the theory. What states do and what people believe is more often than not very different. I am sure we all want peace and no more than peace.
Once upon a time, a cap seller was on its way from one town to the another and he has with him a bag full of caps. On the way in a jungle, he decides to take a siesta under the tree but forgets to lock his bag. The monkeys in the jungle are very notorious (what else they can be?) and steal all his caps. Now, in an effort to get back all the caps, he tries everything he can. runs after the monkeys, climbs trees but all in vain!!! monkeys are too fast to him. Moorover, monkeys to their nature, start to irritate him. They start imitating all his actions one after the other and here the clever man comes up with a brilliant idea. He indulges all the monkeys into a game such that they follow all his actions. Whenever he sits, they all sit. Whenever he stands, they all stand. Whenever he jumps, they all jump. Whenever he laughs, they all laugh. Whenever he scratches his head, they all scratch theirs. Then suddenly, he fervently takes the cap from his head and throws it into this bag and all monkeys follow the act. The cap seller immediately locks his bag containing all his caps and runs away. Proud of his achievement, he narrates this story to all his friends and fellow villagers. Soon, the story becomes a legend to be narrated for generations to come...
The time passes and the grandson of the cap seller decides to pass through the same jungle. Confident that he can always get back all the caps from notorious monkeys, he decides to be nonchalant and on purpose decides to keep his bag containing all caps open. Monkeys come, take all the caps from the bag and wait for him to wake up. As he wakes up and sees all the caps being stolen, he is still confident. He laughs out reminiscing a DeJa Vu. Soon, he starts playing the same games with the monkeys as his grandfather did and they also start to follow him religiously. They all sit, whenever he sits. They all stand, whenever he stands. They all jump, whenever he jumps. They all laugh, whenever he laughs. They all scratch their heads, whenever he scratches his head. Satisfied as it has been proceeding the way it has been scripted, the grand son grows more confident and he takes his cap and throws into the bag. At the very next moment, the leader of the monkeys jumps, steals the last cap from the bag leaving the grandson a one liner, "Don't we have grandfathers?"
Moral of the story: Even monkeys learn generations after generations...lol.
Unfortunately, Indian history has not been encouraging when dealing with China. We had to concede a part of our land to China after the famous Sino-India war in 1962. Addressing the parliament after the debacle, the then first prime minister of India Pandit Nehru had defended, "Fellow countrymen, but we don't have to worry. It's only a barren land. Nothing grows on it." To which one of the Parliamentarion Govind V. Pant (I am not sure about the name) responded, "Panditji, Yeah mera sar hein. Ispe koi bal nahi. Kya aap chahate hein ki mein ye kisi aur ko du aur khush ho jau?" (Panditji, This is my head. I am bald. Do you want to me to offer it to someone and be happy about it?)
Given the fact that the younger India much more confident, dynamic and progressive, it would be non-realistic to believe that the "Divide and Rule" theory would work in the present scenario unless we screw up...screw up big time...screw up more than monkeys do :)
_______________________________________
Disclaimer: The post is not meant to offend any of the Chinese friends but to prove the fallacy of the theory. What states do and what people believe is more often than not very different. I am sure we all want peace and no more than peace.
3 comments:
I think it's G.B.Pant. I second his comments. Just bcoz our head is bald doesn't mean that someone can play Tabla on them.
I'm just reminded of recent news about China. You must have read recently that some Chinese pharmaceuticals have exported duplicate medicines with Made in India mark. Is this a jealousy or avengeful tactics?!
I can bet that it is easier to divide india into its primary components that China - our diversity is as much a weakness as it is a strength if there is no unity.
I have personal experiences of seeing a clear affinity between people of the same language, for instance, between tamils, between kanadigas, etc. Even affinities exist between the same caste even today. I don't wish to name examples but it is true. How much these petty affinities fade out in face of national unity remains to be seen if at all there is a real threat, a real gameplan by the chinese.
Among the chinese, there always seems to be an irrevocable unity. I have not seen this among indians who seem to be divided among themselves. Just my humble opinion though. I could be very wrong and I hope I am.
Peru, Hari and Others,
Give me some time. I will write an update taking account of these concerns soon.
Sometimes, I have no room to accomplish other things :)
Guru
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