Nehru's Defeat in Tibet

Momentous events took place in China and Mao and his communists seized total power. This was in 1949 and American puppet escaped with his life to Taiwan.In 1947, the British also left India and Nehru became prime minister. This was a catastrophe for India but a boon for Mao and China. In 1950 China attacked Tibet China –Tibet War 1950 Before China struck Tibet, Nehru did something extremely silly. He never realized the potency of military power. China had a free hand and they overran Tibet. When the Chinese army was advancing, the India Home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel wanted an Indian response to help Tibet, but Nehru did not agree as he saw China as a "historical friend".

As the Chinese occupied Lhasa, they assured Nehru that the autonomy of Tibet would be maintained. The Chinese took a firm grip over Tibet and began to make things difficult for the Indian consulate. Nehru was in fix as he had lost all bargaining power.The Chinese now suggested that the Consulate General in Lhasa be downgraded to a mere consulate arguing that the Indian mission in Beijing would have full access to Lhasa. Nehru again in his misplaced zeal that Tibet problem was a creation of British imperialism agreed. This was a most foolish mistake as India reduced its strength in Lhasa. In 1959 the Dalai Lama fled Lhasa with about a 1000 followers to India. After a 2 day trek, the Dalai Lama reached India and asked for political asylum. For once Nehru gathered same courage and granted political asylum to the Dali Lama. This was after he received secret information that the Chinese planned to kidnap him while inviting him to a concert in the military cantonment. In the same t period the local Tibetan people were up in arms against the Chinese in what is known as the Khampa rebellion.But it collapsed against brutality of the Chinese. The Chinese were incensed at the escape of the Dalai Lama and imposed severe restrictions on the Indian consulate. In 1962 the Chinese army attacked India, ostensibly to rectify the historical wrongs of imperialism still followed by India and Nehru. The Indian consulate was closed and sealed and the entire Indian staff sent to India. India thus lost its last foot hold in China. Nehru somehow never reacted to Chinese adventurism. The time to react was in 1950, when the PLA had invaded Tibet, but he was found having a nap. 60 years have elapsed and India is not permitted to have a consulate in Lhasa. In 2014 a request was made to reopen the Indian consulate, but China rejected it. India is thus persona non grata in Tibet and all the gains of the British and Young Husband were frittered away by Nehru. The Chinese still claim large tracts of Indian Territory. Not only this the Chinese have occupied 30000 square miles of Indian land in Aksai Chin.Thus at one stroke Nehru reduced India to a second rate power vis a vis China. I wonder whether history will forgive him.

What is ESP?The Power to Divine.

Some time back a book written by Peter Hurkos 'Psychic' was published. In this book Peter Hurkos claimed that during the second world war he was window cleaner in Holland. While he was cleaning a window a German Air raid took place. As per Peter, he fell off the perch and was rendered unconscious.

Once he recovered consciousness he realized that he had developed Extra Sensory powers of Perception.Thus he could visualize that the man next to him on the hospital bed was a British agent.He also had a fleeting vision of the Gestapo running towards the hospital.Accordingly he warned the agent about it. This particular episode only confirms what the Hindu yogis are saying all along.They say that man has certain sections in his brain which if activated can invest the man with these super extra sensory powers. They outline many methods which can help ignite these powers. These methods center on prayers, rituals and yoga. The last part also enjoins a man to remain celibate. Thus when you perform the Sir Asana - the head stand then over a period of time it may be possible to develop ESP powers. However one must remain celibate as the theory is that the sperms of a man who remains celibate go along the spine to the base of the head and form a flower there.In turn these life giving sperms help ignite sensory powers. Perhaps all this sounds far fetched but there are people in this world who have these powers. Some even claim that they can contact a departed soul. In this context the case of Ruth Montgomery is interesting.She was an educated lady and also wrote a number of books.She claimed the books written by her were dictated by writers from the spirit world. Even in Mumbai there are Moslem Pirs who are men of God who can read your mind with uncanny accuracy.There is one such worthy at Mohammad Ali road who requires the visitor to put his thumb in a small porcelain plate and then he will tell you why you have come and what your problem is. The world of ESP and the latent powers in man has as such so far not been subjected to scientific study.Most of the study is perfunctory and there is a need for scholars to sit down and evaluate all aspects of these phenomena. Perhaps this is the last frontier that needs to be crossed.

Comparing Two Works of Erotic Literature: The Perfumed Garden and The KamaSutra

Comparisons are always odious but sometimes they can stimulate the thinking process and lead an intellectual further on his path of seeking knowledge. The Perfumed Garden and the Kama sutra are two works that concern the sexual side of human life. Both were written in a bygone age and have stood the test of time.

The Kama sutra written in Sanskrit is the older book having been complied in the 2nd century in reference to the Julian calendar on the Christian Common Era. It probably dates to 101-200.The author of the Kama sutra is supposed to be Vatsyayna. However we know very little about the author except that he was a Brahmin. The purpose of writing the book was to show a way to realization of God. The perfumed garden on the other hand was written in Arabic and came much later. The book is credited to Sheik Nefzaouj and was compiled in the 16th century. Not much is known of the Sheik either. It has no pious intentions like the Kama Sutra but is plainly written with the idea of arousing sensual pleasure. However both books were translated by Richard Burton an English man and we must remain forever indebted to him for his painstaking effort. The western world has not produced any ancient erotic manuals, perhaps because of the straight jacket approach of Christianity and the earlier puritan approach. But the eastern manuals recognized the sexual side of man and the result is two great masterpieces of erotic literature. Both the books though dealing with sex have followed different approaches. The perfumed garden is more like a story book with nearly 22 stories as part of the text. These are erotic stories and the effort of the sheik is to integrate them with the main text and bring out the essence of the sexual nature of man. They also serve as a guide for attaining extreme bliss- for one cannot deny the fact that the sex act by itself is the most potent form of pleasure in the world.

Vatsyayana's Kama sutra on the other hand is a relatively clinical book. The book represents a different culture and is closely entwined with religion. Hindu philosophy has recognized tantra and sex as a form of achieving god and the authors main purpose is an exposition of this aspect of the Hindu religion. The book reads more like a manual or treatise and reading it one can glean that the books intentions are different from the book written by Sheik. As per the original translation of Burton in 1883 the Kama sutra has 1250 verses distributed over 36 chapters which are further divided into 7 parts. The book deals with all aspects of sex including types of women, the sexual poses, diets for rejuvenation and a host of other sex matters. It is a monumental work and one can glean a lot of knowledge from this book. The perfumed garden on the other hand is pure erotica and reads more like a fairy tale book. It engrosses the readers with its stories. Interspersed with the stories is good advise on all matters relating to sex. Over the centuries both books have been read and reread any number of times and are a source of intense gratification to most readers. It is a moot point that most works on the sexual side of mans relationship with a woman has emerged from the orient. I will recommend reading both the books -nothing can be better than that.

BOOK REVIEW, Jaswant Singh's ' Jinnah, India, Partition,'

Jaswant Singh's latest book 'Jinnah, India, Partition' is a scholarly work. Jaswant, who hails from Rajasthan, a desert state on the western border of present day India, is an ex- Indian Army officer who as a Major resigned his commission to pursue a political career. He was a founder member of the BJP the Hindu revivalist party. Jaswant is generally regarded as an authority on matters of defense and national security. He rose to prominence in the BJP and was selected by Vajpayee to be the Foreign Minister during the erstwhile BJP rule during 1998-2004.

Jinnah is like a red rag to a bull for most Indians and politicians. Hardly a book has been written about the founder of Pakistan by any notable Indian. Thus Jaswants book fills a void and makes an attempt to understand the mind of Jinnah and his equation with the Hindu leaders of the congress viz Patel, Nehru and Gandhi. The book is lucid and well written. His interpretation of the sordid and tortuous period of partition in 1947 is well presented. Jinnah now given credit for Pakistan was not really a communalist at all. Remember his opposition to the Khilafat movement supported by Gandhi? But he was out maneuvered by the Hindu Leaders Gandhi and Patel and slowly his mind accepted the two nation theory. Who is to blame for this transformation? Jaswant writes with flair and brings out the hand of Nehru and Patel in this transformation. India may well have remained united only if Nehru in his greed to become the Prime Minister had not played into the hands of the British. Jaswant lucidly brings about the transformation of Jinnah from a nationalist and secularist to the sole spokes person of Indian Muslims. But he is able to give no definite answer. Singh brings out the fact that Jinnah was not a hater of Hindus, but was only allergic to the Congress party and its Hindu leaders Gandhi and Nehru. Many Indians will not agree with this. The responsibility of partition has to be squarely shouldered by Nehru who had the ear of Gandhi at that time. Jaswant has thus stoked the embers and the flame has grown so high that it has consumed him. The BJP has expelled him and Jaswant is in no man's land for writing something that is anathema to most Hindus. But Jaswant needs to be complimented for writing something that will give fresh food for thought to intellectuals. One can disagree with Jaswant's assessments but can't afford to ignore it. The prose is simple and on the whole the book is well written. It's worth a read by any person who is interested in the sub-continent.