Sikhs and Shanghai: An Age Long Past

Sikhs in Shanghai: Relic from a Forgotten Time

Background

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When China was a weak nation the British wishing for a toehold in China subjected the Chinese to the famous "Opium wars" which led to the defeat of the Chinese and the hoisting of unequal treaties.. In 1900 the Chinese made a last-ditch attempt to overthrow the western powers in what is known as the Boxer rebellion, but they were again defeated and the most famous siege of Peking was lifted after 55 days. This was the period when the British inducted regiments of the Indian army consisting of Sikhs to fight the Chinese. The Sikhs played a stellar role in defeating the Chinese. 

This was also the time when the western powers got special privileges in China and the city of Shanghai became the focal point of these interests. The British began to man all the civic services and the police in Shanghai. To help them the British brought in Sikhs from Punjab in India. These Sikhs joined the Shanghai police force and for the next 40 years they continued there till the advent of the Japanese and the ousting of the British

Sikh policeman

Sikh gurudwara in 1908

Sikhs Settle in Shanghai

The British brought in the Jat Sikhs from Punjab. These men nearly 6 ft. tall overawed the small Chinese who began to fear them. The British inducted these Sikhs in the Shanghai police force. The Sikhs also brought in European sports like Hockey and cricket. The Sikhs were all in the lower ranks and many were part of horse battalion. Many pictures of these Sikhs are available in the museum in Shanghai, now managed by the communist regime.

The Sikhs also erected at least 6 Gurudwara in Shanghai. All have now been destroyed. Many were restored after the exit of the Japanese but the communists who frowned on religion destroyed them. Presently perhaps one Gurudwara is still in Shanghai.

Why no Military Coup in India

The Army calls the shots in civil administration in Burma, Pakistan and Thailand

Image Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Army

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It is an enigma why the Indian army did not follow the path laid out by India's neighbors like Pakistan, Burma, and Thailand and continued to be a mute spectator even when India burned and its own privileges and perks were curtailed.

The political scenario around India's neighborhood is very different from what we see in India. Burma, Pakistan, and Thailand have an entrenched military presence in civil administration. In India, the civil administration from the days of Nehru has always sidelined the army and over the years whittled down its perks and privileges. They have been instrumental in reducing the army to a position of weakness vis a vis China and Pakistan and the stage is set that at the moment the Indian army cannot even sort out Pakistan which is one fifth the size of India. Combating China is more of a dream than reality. 
 
The army itself accepted this p[osition and I for one can see no explanation for it.

It started with Pakistan when General Ayub Khan seized power in 1958. He dismissed the corrupt civil administration and ushered in his own form of governance called "basic democracy". Elections were held but not on the name of any political party.

The next step was the rise General Ne Win. He carried out a military coup and ushered in an era of military rule and now after 6 decades the army is the most important factor in Burma and has 30% seat reserved for it in parliament. 

In India, this has not happened probably because of the weak and pacifist ethos of the Hindu. After all, Frank Moraes wrote about the Hindu as being "meek and mild". This is, however, a half-truth as the Buddhist religion is even more pacifist than Hinduism and yet military coups have taken place in Buddhist countries like Burma and Thailand and a lot of blood is shed.

The truth is somewhere else and probably lies in the lack of ambition by the Indian army top brass and the extinct for self-survival. Let me get my rank and continue to say three bags full so how am I concerned about anything, even the privileges of my men.

The political leadership has almost emasculated the army and one wonders why we can't have a coup here. Probably the composition of the army on the basis of caste and religion has something to do with it. Unlike Buddhism and Islam, Hinduism is not a composite religion and caste and clan is the dominating factors. The castes are almost antagonistic to each other and a coup  an impossibility. A Castiest army cannot unite for a military coup.

Shocking revelation as Saudi Crown Prince says West asked to spread Wahhabism

Saudi prince has accused the west of supporting Wahhabism-Photo-( image credit-star 2 sun-Youtube.com)

The cat is out of the bag as some stunning revelations have been made by the Saudi Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman. According to his information which he mentioned in an interview to the Washington Post, the crown prince said that it was the West that initially asked Saudi Arabia to spread Wahhabism to counter the then-Soviet Union.

Wahhabism is an extreme form of Islam and the Western powers thought it would be an excellent tool to beat Soviet Russia. The Outlook has reported that this led to Saudi funding of Madrassas and construction of mosques all over the world to stop the rising tide of communism.

Fear of Russia

The crown prince has said that initial investments in mosques and Madrassas was routed through Pakistan but later the Saudi government gave money directly. The crown prince has admitted that money was also given to the Taliban.

Everything was going fine till the 9/11 attacks took place and the Western powers led by the USA and UK realized they had committed a blunder. The Taliban which they had created and supported had turned against them. The Saudis continued their funding at that time as it was not possible to backtrack at once. The fact remains that it was the Western powers led by Britain and the USA that encouraged the spread of the extreme form of Islam.

Can the Scent of a Woman Intoxicate a Man

remember seeing the movie 'Scent of a woman' starring Al Pacino as a retired blind Colonel of the US army. If I remember Al Pacino makes a comment that I wish I had a woman in bed and got up in the morning with her smell pervading the bed. Does smell have a meaning as far as sex is concerned? More so for a man, the smell of a woman can be intoxicating.

The theory of smell or to use the scientific terminology pheromone is nothing new. Basically, it's a chemical substance secreted by certain animals like insects which often functions as an attraction for the opposite sex.

Well, my experience shows that a younger woman in bed is an aphrodisiac and one reason is the peculiar scent that emanates from her.

Glory of Sikh Soldiers in World war I

Nobody remembers, not least the GOI and the veterans the Sikh Indian soldiers who fought against the central powers during WWI. They effectively were the main force that broke the back of the Turkish army in Mesopotamia. Salute them