Living in the dark ages and refusing to give way!

China is a typical example of how an entity can hold on to archaic values amidst a fervently changing world and yet continue to grow like cancer. Yes, growth without a change in mindset is cancer. What’s cancer all about? China does not believe in mutual dialogue; it has a judiciary that has a communist mind-set; it does not believe in a free press (Remember its attempts at a censored version of Google for its citizens?) and it is an expansionist power. Needless to say it is the only international entity that still speaks of ‘crushing’ an upraising that is caused by years of identity crisis and suppression. ‘Crush’ in the context used is so archaic that I thought of college ‘crushes’ when I heard that every word scream at me in a front page headline today.


There is evidence that the Chinese government is harassing the Chinese occupied Tibetan provinces with its single child norm. China's one child policy was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to limit communist China's population growth. Although designated a temporary measure then, it still continues. And going by the recent statement of a Chinese population official to a leading Indian daily, the one-child policy will not change for at least another decade. In mainland China the communist government takes to imposing fines; pressurizes to abort an ‘unwanted’ pregnancy and even takes to forced sterilization for second or subsequent pregnancies. Of course, I have a problem with it because it is inhumane but more so because it is regressive and hence pitiable. China is compared to India which is one of the world’s largest democracies. Economical statistics have attained such a stature in the New World Order they have become a basis for comparisons that would otherwise be baseless.


It’s no wonder that the terrorist forces that are plaguing the earth today have not thought of China yet? They target people and nations not red uniformed spineless work forces. The terrorist forces are looking to curb progress not mindless growth for it won’t affect them anyway. They are looking to curb a tolerant mindset and those with no attitude or mindset are safe doing their daily labor (and getting compared to one of the largest democracy in the world, India and all this just because of their sheer moolah).


If some nations play Big Brother to the world then India is a typical example of a Smug Younger Sibling that eyes a bar of candy no matter what. The soft baby is eager to share its candies when it sees no threat to its interests but chickens out when it’s time to speak for a neighbor it once sheltered and still does. Can the Indian government let go of its trade with China? Can it let of the cheap toys and gadgets China smuggles into India every year? Can it let go of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh for a ‘petty maroon-uniformed lame section of religious monks’? No. It’s sad – India is chickening out and while its neighbor uses up its own crude cane on a helpless unarmed agitated section – the Tibetans. This is the every section India once played messiah to giving it shelter when His Holiness Dalai Lama fled from China on March 17th 1959 and a cabin for a government in exile in Dharamshala. On second thoughts, is this mercy killing or sheer chickening out on the part of Indian government’s part? One suspects it is the former, not going by its track record but going by the India’s silence pregnant with cowardice as its neighbor makes Human Rights sound like an alien concept with every passing day.

By

Lakshmi Vishwanathan