LETTERS

Tibet

China-baiting has become the criterion for recognition as a member of the "strategic community" in India. The likes of George Fernandes and Brahma Chellaney try to malign China every now and then and win the title of 'hawks' from the U.S. government and media. The articles by N. Ram and Subramanian Swamy, which have given a systematic, befitting reply to such hawks, will be remembered as marking a watershed in Sino-Indian rapprochement ("Tibet: A reality check" and "Sino-Indian relations through the Tib et prism", September 15). The conclusions drawn by Ram after a five-day sojourn in the Tibet Autonomous Region are in consonance with the 15-day "reality check" by an Uttar Pradesh delegation in 1997 ("Tibet on March", Charan Shandilya, Supriya Press, Gh aziabad).

Western propagandists, who have propounded theories such as a 'clash of civilisations' between India and China with Tibet as the faultline, are not even able to camouflage their duplicity on the question of 'religious fundamentalism'. If a religious lead er takes over power in an Islamic country (for instance, Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran) it opens a debate worldwide on the 'jehadi nature of Islam', where spiritual and temporal authorities merge. Usually a call is given for global cooperation to diffuse it . But the same propagandists are not ashamed of hailing the Dalai Lama as a symbol of the union of spiritual and temporal authorities. They have even conferred the Nobel Prize for Peace on him, forgetting the violence perpetrated by the Khampa guerillas at the behest of their leader in 'self-imposed exile'.

If Islam is depicted as the source of global instability, Buddhism is paraded as the religion of 'peace' that is fully represented in the figure of the ex-resident of the Potala/Norbulingka Palace, Altai's Dalai. There has never been a totalitarian regim e in Islamic countries. Nor has there been any instance of state-sponsored pogrom or genocide in these countries. At the same time in countries where Buddhism is a dominant religion - Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and so on - mass killings have tak en place since the Second World War.

Western propagandists also try to humiliate China by accusing it of perpetrating "cultural genocide against non-violent Buddhists". A clear Western game is getting exposed now: pit India against China and keep Asia disunited.

Ram's interview with Liu Bo ("India can help develop Tibet") shows China's commitment to improving bilateral ties by means of Tibet's development. Chinese scholars from Kunming (Yunnan) have earlier suggested a trade zone involving India, China, Banglade sh and Myanmar. President K.R. Narayanan endorsed this suggestion during his recent visit to Yunnan.

In spite of China's eagerness to open up to India, the Indian strategic community is bent upon portraying China as a nation with an aggressive strategic outlook. Subramanian Swamy brilliantly countered this with the following words: "China has borders wi th 14 nations, and except for India it has resolved its disputes with all, including Russia. India, has borders with six countries, and excluding Bhutan it has disputes with all five." Chinese strategic culture has been a defensive, cocooned one. This is evident from a great wonder like the Great Wall and from the fact that Admiral Zeng Ho did not colonise a single territory though he undertook naval expeditions as far as Africa in the 15th century. This was in total contrast to the nature of the expedi tions from the West. Indian strategic thinking is still influenced by Kautilya's 'mandala' concept (neighbours are enemies) and we do not trust any move by our neighbours for rapprochement. Subramanian Swamy put it aptly: "It is India that has muc h to be defensive about, not China."

Niraj Kamal
Patna

The articles on Tibet makes it clear where Indian foreign policy on China has gone wrong. Being a large democratic state in South Asia, India cannot ignore China with which it has many similarities - the size of the population, the agrarian economy, and so on. It should establish permanent friendship with China. A bloc of democratic nations of South Asia can be formed, which will be a challenge to the United States' imperialism. But unfortunately, successive Indian governments failed to recognise the im portance of having relations with China. Today under the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government the situation has deteriorated.

By providing asylum to the Dalai Lama, a separatist running a government in exile on Indian soil, the government of India has broken its policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other sovereign nations. India must not hesitate to recognise T ibet as a part of China as Tibetans themselves have accepted Chinese rule.

Geoffrey Tyson writes: "Accordingly, on January 1, 1950 Mao-Tse-Tung declared the liberation of 3 million Tibetans from imperialist aggression to be the priority objective of the 'Chinese People's Liberation Army' and the following October Chinese troops entered Tibet to carry out their civilising mission. The Tibetan army - almost medieval in training and equipment - fought bravely but was no match for the better trained Chinese forces. In May 1951 Tibetan representatives went to Peking and there signe d a 17-point agreement providing for Chinese rule over Tibet, but guaranteeing the continuance of Buddhist institution, the autonomy of Tibetan government and status of Dalai Lama." (Nehru - The Years of Power, 1970, pages 131-132)

If this is a fact, we should remove the obstacles and go ahead to strengthen the relationship with China. It will be better for India and China and for the rest of the world.

Mehaboob Ali Balganur
Sindagi, Karnataka

You deserve some of the choicest bouquets for your Cover Story and Photo Essay on Tibet, almost a dark country to most Indians.

It was a delight to read the in-depth account of the political developments in Tibet and its economic progress. Going through this issue I felt I went on a tour of Tibet. However, the editor's portrayal of "reality" is hardly convincing.

S. Raghunatha Prabhu
Alappuzha, Kerala

I strongly doubt whether your cover feature really checks the reality in Tibet. It is biased and iniquitous in its description. It lacks the journalistic character of non-sidedness. It is only an individual's devilish point of view, and that too after hi s maiden visit to Tibet.

Tsewang Gyaltso
Chennai

With due appreciation of the extensive coverage and remarkable depiction of the "reality" in Tibet, it is evident that with his leftist baggage firmly in hand, the Editor has been taken for a ride in Tibet, and the attempts at brainwashing are far too un subtle.

Rakesh Kumar
Received on e-mail

Kashmir

This refers to the articles by A.G. Noorani and Praful Bidwai on Kashmir ("A report on Kashmir" and "To give peace a chance", September 1).

The saffron brigade that leads the government in India has to take into account Pakistan's success in acquiring nuclear weapons and in linking the no-holds-barred proxy war sponsored by it in Kashmir with the pan-Islamic 'jehad'. India's bete n oire has apparently shed its fear of suffering a defeat like the one inflicted on it in 1971 because it can convert any war against it into a nuclear war. The Union Government has spent about Rs.1,50,000 crores in Kashmir but has not won the support of the Muslims in the Valley. It is also clear that Pakistan is unlikely to accept the idea of freezing the Line of Control and accepting it as the international border as a solution to the Kashmir problem - an idea it did not buy at the time of its defe at in 1971 and the signing of the Simla Agreement in 1972. Even bilateral talks between these two prisoners of past hatreds will not yield any solution because of the mutual fear of 'loss of face'.

The delineation of a border in 1947 and the subsequent delimitation of the border in Kutch and the division of the Indus water system were the outcomes of arbitration or mediation.

If I remember it right, during the discussions between Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and United Nations mediators, it was agreed that if a plebiscite could not be held to determine Kashmir's future, some other solution would be worked out. Pakistan's c ase derives sustenance from the U.N. resolution on Jammu and Kashmir whose non-implementation incidentally is also one of the obstacles in India's becoming a permanent member of the Security Council. Maybe, Kashmir experts in India can explore the possib ility of asking the U.N. Security Council to abrogate its resolution on a plebiscite in Kashmir and suggest an alternative solution, taking into account the ground realities, including the need to promote secularism in India, which is the best guarantee for the safety of Indian Muslims whose number is almost equal to Pakistan's population.

Prem Behari
Lucknow

Veerappan

Veerappan appears to have chosen his victims carefully ("Veerappan's prize catch" August 18). One of the most wanted fugitives of India, he has evaded the long arm of the law for the last 15 years only because governments have been soft on him.

Vinod C. Dixit
Ahmedabad

Education

This has reference to "A vision for India's schools" (August 18). Educational institutions should not be developed as shops or distribution centres that treat education as a commodity to be consumed by students. Schools should act as 'focal socialising a gencies'. Education should aim at inculcating scientific and moral values in students. They should be trained to solve problems in a scientific way, relate freely with the immediate environment and imbibe the finest ideals of their tradition. They should also be motivated to learn from their past.

Sudhakar Prasad
Patna

The articles on education were disturbing. In India, the right to education is indeed a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. This was decided by the Supreme Court in the Unnikrishnan case. The Constitution says that the Supreme Court's pronouncement is the law of the land.

Tarunabh Khaitan
Bangalore

Zoos in India

"The Nandankanan tragedy" (August 4) is a shocking report on the abysmal state of the zoos in the country. Zoos have become veritable death traps. Among the authorities there is utter lack of concern for the wildlife in captivity. The Central zoo authori ties have yet to initiate action to improve conditions in the zoos.

A specialised cadre to look after the well-being of the wildlife in captivity is a must. The zoos are understaffed and the staff are poorly paid. It is time the Centre and the States worked together to improve the infrastructure of the zoos all over the country to raise them to international standards.

D.B.N. Murthy
Bangalore

Maheshwar dam

The team of experts assigned by Germany has vindicated the Narmada Bachao Andolan's stand that there has been multiple violations of resettlement and rehabilitation norms in the case of people affected by the Maheshwar hydroelectric project ("A moral vic tory for the NBA", August 4). The report will help take forward the people's movement to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of the project-affected people.

That big dams such as Maheshwar are unviable for a large, funds-starved country like India hardly needs emphasis. Like all other big dam projects, the Maheshwar dam seriously threatens the livelihood of people living in the project area. The Ministry of Environment and Forests' decision to give statutory clearance for the project without addressing the issues of environmental degradation, submergence of large tracts of cultivable lands of the poor, and so on, is unjustified.

Sanjai Kumar
Hazaribagh, Bihar

Bihar

The Bihar government remains a mute spectator to the violent confrontation between the Ranbir Sena and ultra-leftist organisations ("The killing fields", July 21). But a whole lot of politicians other than those in the ruling group are also to blame for the deteriorating situation. The genesis of the problem lies in the decision of the V.P. Singh government to implement the Mandal Commission report. Instead of bridging the gaps between various social groups, politicians tried to create schisms in order to garner votes.

The most affected section is the so-called "upper castes", who have been branded as landlords and persecuted by the state. But the fact is that after the enactment of the Bihar Land Reforms Act in 1950 and the abolition of the zamindari system, Bhumihars , who belong to the category of "upper castes", could no longer be called landlords. Since the average landholding of a Bhumihar is just four acres, they are in the category of marginal farmers. The continuous subjugation of Bhumihars led some disgruntle d youth among them to form the Ranbir Sena.

The Ranbir Sena has chosen the path of violence, which is bad for democracy. Leaders of all political parties and various groups should sit together and try to evolve a lasting solution to the Bihar problem. The various extremist groups should be pressur ed into coming back to the democratic path.

Manish Verma
Bihar