Special Frontier Force as a military organization symbolizes the recognition of Tibet as a Sovereign Nation and it specifically acknowledges that the Institution of Dalai Lama and the person holding this title as the true independent, ruler of Tibet apart from being a high-ranking priest of Tibetan Buddhism.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: The title ‘Dalai Lama’ is not simply about the person known as Tenzin Gyatso. The term is applied to a Sovereign, political institution of Tibet that provides a system of governance based upon popular belief in traditional Tibetan Buddhism. The Tibetan soldiers who serve in Special Frontier Force do not acknowledge any superior authority and they owe their total allegiance to their Supreme Commander called Dalai Lama.SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama speaking with US President Barack Obama during their meeting in the Map Room of The White House in Washington, DC on Friday, February 21, 2014.(Official White House photo by Pete Souza)
Special Frontier Force is a military organization jointly founded by the United States, India, and Tibet during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. The US and Indian nationals who serve in this organization derive their authority over the Tibetan soldiers of this organization by virtue of the power granted by Dalai Lama the Supreme Commander of the Tibetan Force. On March 31, 1959, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama had arrived in India as a political exile and was granted political asylum in India. He had established the Tibetan Government-in-Exile which is based in Dharamsala of India.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama speaking with US President Barack Obama during their meeting in the Map Room of The White House in Washington, DC on July 16, 2011.
The United States often describes His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama as a spiritual, and cultural leader of Tibetan people without explaining the cultural aspects of Tibetan governance. In Tibetan Culture, the title Dalai Lama is given to the Leader or Chief who provides a system of Government. The Dalai Lama has the same executive powers that are typically exercised by the Head of State of any independent, sovereign nation. The title of Dalai Lama is the equivalent of titles such as President or Prime Minister who hold the executive power in nations like the United Sates, India, and Great Britain.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama speaking with US President Barack Obama during their meeting in the Map Room of The White House, Washington, DC on February 18, 2010.
THE SOVEREIGN, POLITICAL INSTITUTION OF DALAI LAMA:
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama who has visited The White House on numerous occasions during the last 30 years is the rebirth of a long line of “TULKUS” who descend from the Compassionate Bodhisattva named “AVALOKITESVARA.”
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama who had visited The White House in Washington, DC on February 21, 2014 and on numerous other occasions meeting with various US Presidents during the last 30 years, is the rebirth of a long line of “TULKUS” who descend from the Compassionate Bodhisattva named “AVALOKITESVARA.” In Tibetan Buddhism, a “TULKU” is a particularly high-ranking Lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one. But, it is very important to recognize Dalai Lama as a ‘Hierarch’, a Leader or Chief who provides a system of Government. The Sovereign, political institution of Dalai Lama is formally known as ‘Ganden Phodrang’. The succession of this ‘hierarchy’ is maintained by the discovery of a child born soon after the death of a Dalai Lama into whom the ‘Spirit’ of the deceased has entered.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: Tenzin Gyatso(b. 1935), the 14th Dalai Lama’s Enthronement Ceremony on 22 February, 1940. Dalai Lama is the ruler of Tibet.SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: The 14th Dalai Lama sitting on the throne in this photo image of 1956-57 while Tibet came under Communist China’s military occupation during 1950. With military assistance from the United Sates and India, Tibetans had revolted against the Communists and the Dalai Lama fled into exile when the massive Tibetan Uprising failed during March 1959.SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: The Sovereign, political institution of Dalai Lama is formally known as ‘Ganden Phodrang’ and this is the Official Seal of the Tibetan Government.
The Great Fifth Dalai Lama, Lobsang Gyatso(1617-1682) founded the Ganden Phodrang Government of Tibet in 1642. During his reign, the Potala Palace on the Red Hill in Lhasa was built. The successive Dalai Lamas have headed the Tibetan Nation for nearly four centuries. The name “DALAI” is the anglicized version of Mongolian word “TA -LE” which is used as an honorific title and the equivalent of the Tibetan “RGYA-MTSHO” meaning Sea or Ocean which suggests the breadth and depth of wisdom and the temporal power of Dalai Lama on Tibetan way of life. Tibetans call the Dalai Lama as ‘Rgyal-ba Rin-po-che’ which means ‘Great Precious Conqueror. The Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso(1543-1588) had received this honorific title during 1578 while on a visit to the Mongol Chief Altan Khan who had applied this title retrospectively to the previous hierarchs making Gendun Drupa(1391-1474) the First Dalai Lama, and Gendun Gyatso(1475-1542) who became the Second Dalai Lama. This strong hierarchical organization of Tibetan Buddhism and the governance of Tibet has become the focus of Tibetan Cultural Identity and Tibetan National Character. The Eighth Dalai Lama, Jamphel Gyatso(1758-1804) fought a war with the Gurkha troops from Nepal and had defeated them with some assistance from Manchu China. Tibet existed in a serene and unperturbed state for several centuries even while Tibet came under the control of the Yuan or Mongol Dynasty of China. In 1644, Chinese Manchu, Qing or Ching Dynasty was established and Tibet during the reign of its Seventh Dalai Lama, Kelsang Gyatso(1708-1757) came under Manchu China’s nominal protection although for the most part, the Tibetans retained full control over their internal affairs. The Manchu China Dynasty was overthrown in 1911 and the 13th Dalai Lama, Thupten Gyatso(1876-1933) had expelled the Manchu China’s troops from Tibet, promptly reasserted Tibet’s full Independence. The Great 13th Dalai Lama ruled with full personal authority and reigned as head of a Sovereign State. He had further formally announced Tibet’s full Independence on February 13, 1913.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: The Potala Palace on the Red Hill in Lhasa was built during the reign of Lobsang Gyatso(1617-1682), the Great Fifth Dalai Lama. The Sovereign Authority of the Dalai Lama as the Ruler of Tibet was established before the US President became the Chief Executive of the United States.SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: Special Frontier Force was founded by the United States, India, and Tibet during 1962 to defend the Tibetan Nation represented by this Flag. The Command and Control of the Tibetan soldiers, the chief fighting element of the Special Frontier Force is based upon the Supreme Authority of the institution of Dalai Lama.
Tibetans celebrate the 13th day of February as Tibetan Independence Day in recognition of their sovereignty. Being ‘Sovereign’ means that Tibetans do not acknowledge any superior and being a Sovereign Nation, Tibet has the full power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract alliances, establish Commerce and do all other acts and things which independent states may have the right to do. For 39 years, from 1911 to 1950, Tibet had indeed existed as an Independent Nation and had signed the bilateral “Mc Mahon Treaty” in Delhi during 1914 following the ‘Simla Agreement’. During October 1950, Communist China’s People’s Liberation Army invaded Tibetan soil and Tibet has come under China’s military occupation. It will be incorrect to suggest that Tibet is a part of China. Tibetans do not acknowledge China’s rule and Special Frontier Force is a military alliance that symbolizes the Tibetan Resistance Movement to oppose the occupation of Tibet. I am pleased to share a few photo images of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, the living symbol of the Tibetan Resistance Movement when he visited The White House in recent past.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: The construction of The White House started in 1792. The United States started diplomatic relations with Tibet as it got alarmed by the Communist takeover of China during 1949. However, the 14th Dalai Lama is the first Dalai Lama who has ever visited The White House.SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: On April 16, 1991, the 14th Dalai Lama met with US President George H.W. Bush during his first visit to The White House. President Bush had served as the Director of Central Intelligence Agency during 1976-77 and was directly associated with the military organization called Special Frontier Force.SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: The 14th Dalai Lama met with US President Bill Clinton on June 20, 2000 at The White House.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama speaking with US President George Bush during their meeting in The White House on September 10, 2003.SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama speaking with US President George Bush during their meeting at The White House in Washington, DC on November 09, 2005.SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama speaking with US President Bill Clinton during their meeting in The White House in Washington, DC.
I would like to respectfully submit to my readers that the term “DALAI LAMA” recognizes the person who represents the sovereign, political institution, the seat of Tibetan Government and Tibetan Sovereignty. Kindly permit me to offer you my “TASHI DELEK” greetings to all of you to seek your support for Tibetan Freedom from occupation.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – BEHOLD THE MAN – ECCE HOMO:
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – BEHOLD THE MAN – ECCE HOMO: Roman Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate of 1st century A.D. had presented Jesus to a big crowd of Jews of Jerusalem making this announcement: “Ecce Homo.”( etcha homo. Latin. Behold The Man). This reality of Jesus actually represents the fundamental problem of man who exists as a prisoner because of the problem called ‘Sin’. To liberate man from the burden of Sin, Jesus was arrested and was tried like a criminal. I would like to Behold Jesus, the Son of Man to describe the physiological function called ‘Homeostasis’ that maintains stability and equilibrium to keep constant the conditions of Life.SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – BEHOLD THE MAN – ECCE HOMO: Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche(1844-1900), German philosopher wrote his last book titled “Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is” in 1888 before losing his mental lucidity. I Behold The Man to describe the physiological condition called ‘Homeostasis’ that provides stability and equilibrium within the organism to maintain all the vital mechanisms to keep the conditions of Life constant in the face of varied internal and external environmental conditions.
I define the term ‘Spirituality’ as an internal mutually beneficial partnership between the cells, the tissues, and the organ systems of the human organism and the Whole Organism which exists as the human being. Spirituality brings structural unity and functional harmony and is the fundamental basis for man to discover Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility in his living condition and in his living experience in any given external environment as a member of any given external community. In terms of Science, the human being is a biological community of independent cells and each exists with its own internal environment and an external environment and constantly interacts with its own intracellular organelles and other living cells found in its external environment. Similarly, man has an internal environment called ‘Milieu Interieur’ and the organism tries to maintain ‘Homeostasis’ which is defined as the tendency to maintain internal stability by coordinated responses of the organ systems that automatically compensate for environmental changes and it is analogous to maintenance of stability or equilibrium while participating in social interactions within a social group. French physiologist, Dr. Claude Bernard(1813-1878) described ‘Homeostasis’: “All the vital mechanisms, varied as they are, have only one object; that of preserving constant the conditions of Life.” In this context of the structural and functional relationship of the human organism to maintain stability and equilibrium within the organism and while participating in social interactions within a social group, I would ask my readers to “Behold The Man.” I would like to present two men and provide a contrast as to how their ‘Homeostasis’ was compromised and as to how they failed to keep their existence; 1. due to an external threat to existence posed by the social group in which the individual lived and participated in social interactions, and 2. due to an internal threat posed by another living organism with which the individual participated in biotic interactions.
BEHOLD THE MAN – ECCE HOMO – THE SON OF MAN:
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – BEHOLD THE MAN – ECCE HOMO: Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, lived as a human being. The phrase ‘Ecce Homo'(Latin. Behold The Man) is used to describe a picture or statue of Jesus wearing a Crown of Thorns. This picture describes the nature of man’s dependent and conditioned existence. Man in his mind and imagination makes himself “Free” and in reality exists as a Slave to a sinful nature. Man can either exist as a Slave of God or as a Slave of Sin. There is no “Freedom” or “Salvation”, or “Liberation”, or Deliverance from Bondage without the operation of an uplifting Force of God’s Unconditioned Love called “Divine Providence”, the Force of Mercy, Grace, and Compassion called “KRUPA” in Indian Sanskrit language.
The Vulgate or Latin Version of the Bible, the official biblical text of the Roman Catholic Church, in the New Testament Book of The Gospel According to Apostle John, Chapter 19, verses 4 and 5 describe the words used by the Roman Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate when he presented Jesus to a huge crowd of Jews that had gathered outside his palace to demand that Jesus must be punished by Crucifixion: Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Ecce Homo !”(Behold The Man)
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – BEHOLD THE MAN – ECCE HOMO: Man leads a dependent and conditioned existence. The existence of Jesus, the Son of Man was conditioned by God’s Plan for humanity who acquired Sin through acts of disobedience that violated God’s Will and Purpose in man’s life. Jesus when confronted by an external threat, the demand for crucifixion, that takes away the stability and equilibrium needed for his existence, He did not beg for mercy, did not plead with Pilate to set Him free. The existence of Jesus as a human being was threatened from the time of His conception for He was sent to the world to live in an environment and interact with a social community that had already inherited Sin.
To maintain Life, man has to always preserve the stability and equilibrium of his internal and external living conditions. But, man constantly faces several threats to his existence and these threats may exist within or without, the environment in which the existence is maintained. Jesus faced the threat called the demand for his crucifixion because of His social interactions with members of His own social community of Jews who failed to understand God’s Will and God’s Purpose in human life. The Roman Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate was unwilling to find any crime in the conduct of Jesus and had repeatedly told the gathering of Jews that he finds no basis for a charge against Him. Pilate very reluctantly imposed the capital punishment not only because of the insistent demand of Jews , but because of the unwillingness of Jesus to beg for mercy or pleading to set Him free. Apostle John has reported on the conversation between Pilate and Jesus 😦 John 19:10-11) “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said, “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” Before His arrest and trial by Pilate, Jesus had demonstrated various kinds of supernatural powers and had performed miracles. In fact, both the Jews and the Romans had mockingly told Jesus that He could save Himself from crucifixion using supernatural powers and prove His claim to be ‘The Son of God’. I understand the Biblical narration of crucifixion to behold the human being, to understand the human condition that has no real freedom and is simply dependent upon an external source of support called ‘Providence’. Jesus who had stated that His mission or purpose in life as that of sharing the ‘Truth’, knows that the human being has no ‘Free Will’ and understands that man has no choice apart from living in obedience to God’s Will and Purpose in human life. It is not surprising to find that Jesus made no attempt to run away from the threat, and did nothing to defend His existence. He had simply desired to bear witness to God’s Will and God’s purpose of His human existence. Jesus as a Spiritual Being showed patience and showed tolerance of people who were persecuting Him and for His Deliverance, He called upon His Father: “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he said this, he breathed his last.”(The New Testament Book of the Gospel According to Apostle Luke, Chapter 23, verse #46). The fact that Jesus has simply existed like any other mortal human being is revealed in His final announcement as mentioned in The Gospel According to Apostle John, Chapter 19, verse#28 which reads: Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” In my view, thirst is the clearest symptom of mortal existence.
BEHOLD THE MAN – ECCE HOMO – NIETZSCHE:
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – BEHOLD THE MAN – ECCE HOMO: Nietzsche wrote this book in 1888 and it was published twenty years later in 1908. He signs the book “Dionysus versus the Crucified.” Nietzsche made an attempt to draw a contrast between himself and Jesus Christ.Spirituality Science – Behold The Man – Ecce Homo: In his final book, Nietzsche claimed that he truly is a man and in his view, to be a “man” alone is to be more than a “Christ.”
To Behold The Man called Nietzsche, as a practitioner of Medicine, I would give a least amount of attention to his views and perspectives about human values and human existence. I would like to ascertain his complete medical history and assess his medical condition through a careful physical examination and use any investigative tools that may help me to know the man under my observation. Nietzsche born October 05, 1844 was apparently in good health during 1864 when he went to the University of Bonn to study theology and classical philology and in 1865 he transferred to University of Leipzig. He began military service in October 1867 in the cavalry company of an artillery regiment, sustained a serious chest injury while mounting a horse in March 1868. He resumed his studies in University of Leipzig in October 1868 while on extended sick leave from the military. In 1869, the University of Leipzig conferred the doctorate without examination or dissertation and paved the way for his selection for professorship in classical philology(Linguistics) in the University of Basel, Switzerland. He took leave during August 1870 when he had participated in Franco-Prussian War as a voluntary medical orderly. He had to quit that service when he contracted dysentery and diphtheria. His health problems continued to persist and by October 1876, Nietzsche requested and received a year’s sick leave. Because his health continued to deteriorate steadily he resigned his professorial chair on June 14, 1879. Nietzsche was seriously ill, half-blind, in virtually unrelenting pain during a decade of isolation from 1879 to 1889. He lived in boarding houses in Switzerland, France, and Italy with only limited human contacts. His most acknowledged literary and philosophical masterpiece, “Thus Spake Zarathustra” was published between 1883 and 1885 in four parts. Nietzsche’s final lucid year was 1888, a period of supreme productivity. He wrote and published ‘The Case of Wagner’, wrote a synopsis of his philosophy, ‘Twilight of the Idols'(published later in 1889), The Antichrist(published later in 1895), ‘Nietzsche contra Wagner’, and ‘Ecce Homo : How One becomes What One Is’, a reflection on his own works and his human significance. Ecce Homo got published in 1908, twenty years after its composition. Nietzsche collapsed in the streets of Turin, Italy in January 1889 and lost control of his mental faculties. He spent the last 11 years of his life in total mental darkness. He was first moved to an asylum in Basel, then he lived in Naumburg under his mother’s care and after her death in 1897, he lived in Weimar in his sister’s care. He died on August 25, 1900. His medical condition suggests the diagnosis of Atypical General Paralysis caused by the Tertiary Stage of Syphilitic infection and is known as Neurosyphilis which is the involvement of brain and nervous system due to dormant Syphilitic infection. I am most surprised to note that Nietzsche had failed to take into account the problems of his own injury and sickness that compelled him to change the direction of his life repeatedly without giving him the opportunity called “Free to Will.”
Spirituality Science – Behold The Man – Ecce Homo: This Spirochete bacterium known as Treponema pallidum which had infected Nietzsche had eventually wiped out his mortal existence. This Syphilitic infection causes Meningoencephalitis, inflammation of the brain and nerve tissues that destroys cerebral cortex leading to general dissolution and death within 3 to 10 years after the onset of clinical symptoms of brain involvement.
Nietzsche’s ability to maintain ‘Homeostasis’ was undermined when he got exposed to infection by a Spirochete bacterium called Treponema pallidum which infects man during sexual relationship with an infected individual. It is very easy to ignore this infection as in its Primary Stage the infection causes a painless sore at the site of infection and the sore heals without application of any medication. This bacterium remains dormant and may manifest signs of infection called Secondary Stage after a lapse of several months. During that Secondary Phase there would be generalized eruptions of the skin, mucous membranes, inflammation of eyes, bones, and central nervous system. It must be noted that during Nietzsche’s lifetime, there were no proper antibiotic drugs to treat the Syphilitic infection. The Tertiary Stage is delayed for some time(15 to 25 years) after the initial infection. During the period Nietzsche had lived, this kind of Syphilitic infection accounted for 10 percent of all admissions to mental hospitals. In Nietzsche’s case, looking at the medical problems that he had experienced during 1876, I would like to suggest that he had contacted Syphilitic infection during 1861 while he was about 17-years of age, because of a social interaction with another human being who was already infected by Syphilis. Nietzsche had formulated all his perspectives and views about human values, and human existence not knowing that he has no “Will to Power”, or “Will to Life” if he fails in the battle against the invasion of his body by this Spirochete bacterium. In his book Ecce Homo, Nietzsche proclaims the ultimate value of everything that has happened to him including his near-blindness as an example of ‘Love of Fate'(amor fati). He might not have given attention to problems like injuries and diseases which have a direct relationship to the course of action that man deliberately chooses to express his sense of Freedom of choice and action. The madness that claimed Nietzsche only months after he began writing Ecce Homo had already begun its work. He reveals the tragic fact that his very aliveness was in a state of being overwhelmed, consumed, by powerful unconscious emotion, the condition called ‘decadence’. He writes about Christianity’s decadence while in reality his brain was getting destroyed by the Syphilitic infection.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – BEHOLD THE MAN – ECCE HOMO: Nietzsche has correctly stated that people don’t want to hear the ‘Truth’. As a human being, he is not an exception to that Rule. The Truth is, man needs an Illusion if he has to exist on the surface of fast spinning object called planet Earth.
In the last Chapter of Ecce Homo titled, “Why I am a Destiny”, Nietzsche suggests a contrast with Jesus to claim that he truly is a “man.” In his view, to be a “man” alone is to be more than a “Christ.” In my opinion, both Nietzsche and Jesus had lived their lives as human beings and they faced great threats to their existence from different directions. It is indeed correct to suggest that man is like Christ for man is created in God’s own image. Nietzsche’s Spiritual Being was challenged by the problem of a bacterium that entered his body and similarly, the Spiritual nature of human society is challenged by the problem of Sin and acts of disobedience. Man finds it to difficult to experience Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility as there is no stability or equilibrium in his living condition. I would like to invite my readers to “Behold The Man” to know the human being and the physiological mechanism called ‘Homeostasis’ that is central to the mortal human existence as it faces internal or external threats. Eventually, man depends upon the Force of Mercy, Grace, and Compassion called “KRUPA” in Indian Sanskrit language even when man has no knowledge of God’s existence.
SPIRITUALITY – THE SCIENCE OF VIRTUE AND VICE: Socrates(470-399 B.C.), Greek philosopher compares the harmony produced by virtue in the Soul with the harmony of the parts in a healthy body. His view provides a rational basis for seeking a scientific understanding of Virtue and Vice.
Greek philosopher Socrates(470-399 B.C.) compares the harmony produced by Virtue in the Soul with the harmony of the parts in a healthy body. He states, “Virtue is the health and beauty and well-being of the Soul, and Vice the disease and weakness and deformity of the same.” His view provides a rational basis for seeking a scientific understanding of Virtue and Vice. If Soul or Spirit is defined as the vital, animating principle that operates in all living beings, Spirituality is a Science that describes the establishment and existence of man as a Spiritual Being. I would define Spirituality as an internal, mutually beneficial partnership between the cells, the tissues, and the organ systems of the human organism and the Whole Organism which exists as the human being. To that extent it may be stated that, Spirituality brings structural unity and functional harmony in the multicellular human organism. Spirituality involves both intrapersonal, and interpersonal relationships. However, in common usage Spiritual relationships are stated as interpersonal relationships based upon sympathy, and understanding of thoughts and feelings. To develop a basis for scientific understanding of Soul or Spirit and the characteristic attributes of Spiritual functions, I would like to give special attention to the following defining aspects of man, his living condition, and the nature of human existence: 1. Man as a Conscious being, 2. Man as an Intelligent and Mental being, 3. Man as a Moral being with ability called Discernment, 4. Man as a Social being formulating his biological existence through spiritual, biotic interactions both intraspecific and interspecific, and 5. Man as a Physical being making choices between right and wrong in the context of self-preservation or existence. The last is an area where I would like to suggest that we have to make a careful distinction between Human Nature and Human Behavior. In my view, I seek to find Human Nature in terms of living functions that the human organism performs to maintain its existence while living in a given environment and participating in interactions with other members of its biotic community and much of these functions can only be understood at molecular and cellular levels. The term Human Behavior is the subject of study of a Science called Psychology. The terms Virtue and Vice are used without making a careful distinction between Human Nature and Human Behavior and hence cause some confusion in defining them.
VIRTUE IS GOOD, AND VICE IS EVIL:
SPIRITUALITY – SCIENCE OF VIRTUE AND VICE: Immanuel Kant(1724-1804), German philosopher states that good and evil occur only in the realm of freedom, not at all in the realm of existence or nature.
Virtue is Good and Vice is Evil. Men tend to estimate or judge all things according to their own condition and the way things affect them. What is the principle of goodness in the virtues? There are several questions about objectivity or subjectivity of good and evil. How to determine good and evil? Are they determined by nature or convention? Are they objects of Knowledge or simply a matter of Opinion? Are they relative to individual desires? The terms Virtue and Vice are related to Morality, consideration of Good and Evil in human life, and with the issue of Right and Wrong in human desires, thoughts, and actions. However, to make the determination about good and evil, to make the distinction between Virtue and Vice, a few objective principles could be relevant; 1. The Rule of Reason, 2. Confirmity to Nature or Natural Law, 3. The Standard of Utility – useful and profitable nature of Virtue, 4. Obedience to the Moral Law and Moral Duty which is often shaped by acceptable standards established by social conventions or man-made rules and regulations that regulate human actions and behavior in a civilized society, and 5. Submission to God’s Will as dictated by individual’s religious faith. According to Immanuel Kant(1724-1804), German philosopher, good and evil occur only in the realm of freedom, not at all in the realm of existence or nature. Kant asserts that good and evil always imply a reference to the will as determined by the Law of Reason which is the Law of Freedom. In Kant’s view, virtue is the moral strength of a man’s will in his obedience to duty and Free Will is the seat or the source of all the goodness or evil that there is. While I appreciate the view shared by Kant and its relevance to the understanding of human actions and behavior, the concept of “Free Will” fails to account for man’s biological existence. To exercise “Free Will” man must establish his living condition called existence. The Law of Reason, human rationality, and human knowledge do not fully account for human existence. It is not rational for man to exist on the surface of a very fast spinning object like planet Earth. Man’s power of reasoning has no role. Man’s existence is possible because of the Force of Gravitation, a Law of Nature and its operation can be explained but cannot be accounted by the Law of Reason.
MORAL PHILOSOPHY – THE SCIENCE OF VIRTUE AND VICE:
SPIRITUALITY – THE SCIENCE OF VIRTUE AND VICE: Thomas Hobbes(1588-1679), English philosopher claims, “Moral philosophy is the Science of Virtue and Vice,” – and “Therefore the true doctrine of the Laws of Nature is the true Moral Philosophy.”
According to Thomas Hobbes(1588-1679), English philosopher, “Moral philosophy is the science of virtue and vice” – and “Therefore the true doctrine of the Laws of Nature is the true Moral philosophy.” In Hobbes opinion, virtues derive their goodness from Natural Law or the Laws of Nature. Their contrary are vice. Natural Law demands man to do whatever is required for self-preservation and peace. Self-preservation is the end which determines the direction of virtuous conduct. Hobbes defines human nature as self-interested cooperation. In his view, the goodness of virtues must be praised as the means of peaceable, sociable, and comfortable living.
THE LAW OF REASON, THE LAW OF NATURE, AND DIVINE NATURE:
SPIRITUALITY – THE SCIENCE OF VIRTUE AND VICE: Baruch Spinoza(1632-1677), Dutch philosopher taught that there is but one Infinite Substance, God or Nature having infinite attributes. He held that human mind and human body as merely different aspects of a single Substance and God is Nature in its fullness.
Baruch Spinoza(1632-1677), Dutch philosopher taught that there is one Infinite Substance, God or Nature having infinite attributes of which only thought and extension are knowable. He held that human mind, and human body as merely different aspects of a single Substance and God is Nature in its fullness. Both Spinoza and Hobbes stated a theory of Virtue making self-preservation the end which determines the direction of virtuous conduct. Both consider civil peace or the good of others in relation to self. Whereas Hobbes describes Virtue by reference to Natural Law, Spinoza identifies virtue in terms of adequate ideas of God’s Nature. Spinoza identifies Virtue with power and holds that, “The more each person strives and is able to seek his own profit, that is to say, to preserve his own being, the more virtue does he possess.” “The endeavor after self-preservation…….the primary and only foundation of Virtue.” “To act in confirmity with Virtue is to act according to the guidance of reason……, it is a good which is common to all men, and can be equally possessed by all in so far as they are of the same nature.” In Spinoza’s view, self-preservation has its foundation in knowledge of God. While I generally agree with the view shared by Spinoza, I tend to think that this self-preservation or human existence is fundamentally established by God’s Unconditioned Love which does not demand knowledge about existence of God. In other words, man can maintain his conditioned existence without any basic ability to gain knowledge of God.
THE RELATIONSHIP OF VIRTUE AND VICE WITH HAPPINESS:
SPIRITUALITY – THE SCIENCE OF VIRTUE AND VICE: Aristotle(384-322 B.C.), Greek philosopher states that happiness may be seen as constituted by bodily and external goods such as health, pleasure, friendship, and wealth. Virtue is the good that causes our thinking and acting well with respect to all other goods. Happy man is one who is active in accordance with complete virtue.
Virtue can be viewed in the context of Duty or that of gratification and pleasure. Virtue can be seen as the means to obtain the end called Happiness. Virtue is a natural and necessary condition of Happiness. Virtue and Happiness can be explained as reciprocal notions like Cause and Effect. In Kant’s view, Virtue consists of doing one’s duty to become worthy of happiness. Virtue is related to happiness through the medium of duty. Aristotle(384-322 B.C.), Greek philosopher states a view of Happiness in which it may be seen as constituted by bodily and external goods such as health, pleasure, friendship, and wealth. Virtue is the good that causes our thinking and acting well with respect to all other goods. Happy man is one who is active in accordance with complete Virtue. If the object of Virtue is Happiness, I would like to assert that there will be no Happiness unless and until man discovers Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility in his living condition called existence. The specific quality of the maxims that define the difference between Virtue and Vice are Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility. In my opinion, man the Spiritual Being is known from the nature of his conditioned human existence seeking Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility within himself and with others in his environment, and community. I would like to define the terms Virtue and Vice as relative to man’s experience of Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility in his own life and in his interactions with his external environment and community.
Special Frontier Force – China’s Military Threat: On the happy occasion of the celebration of India’s Republic Day on January 26, 2014, I would like to speak about the military threat posed by China’s military occupation of Tibet.
India declared itself as a sovereign Republic on January 26, 1950. As Indians celebrate Republic Day on this day, I would like to share an article titled “AIM OF CHINA’S MILITARY REFORMS” authored by Professor Jayadeva Ranade, a member of the National Security Advisory Board, Distinguished Fellow with the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi and who had in the past served as the additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat with which I was associated during service at Special Frontier Force. This military organization has come into its existence during 1962 following a military pact/alliance between the United States, India, and Tibet. Its military mission is to counter the military threat posed by China by its military occupation of Tibet since 1950. China’s military conquest of Tibet still poses the same threat.
Special Frontier Force – China’s Military Threat: The Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Myanmar Defence Service and Commander-in-Chief, Myanmar Army Vice Senior General Soe Win visited the Indian Army Eastern Command Headquarters in Fort William, Kolkata on December 10, 2013. He is seen with Eastern Army Commander Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag who served as the Inspector General Special Frontier Force from April 2009 to March 2011.
For the first time in the history of Special Frontier Force, its Inspector General is now appointed as the Vice Chief of Army Staff(VCOAS). Lieutenant General Dalbir Singh Suhag served as Inspector General Special Frontier Force from April 2009 to March 2011. He served as the GOC-in-C, Eastern Command from June 16, 2012 to December 31, 2013. His present appointment as the Vice Chief of Army Staff indicates that he will become the next Indian Army Chief in August 2014.
In my opinion, China’s military power, military strategy, and military tactics will not assure the inevitability of peace that is imposed by its military occupation of Tibet. Peace and War are conditions that prevail in relationship with an external reality called Natural Order. Tibetan Resistance is a symptom of the absence of Natural Order in Tibet. Resistance will prevail, and Resistance will endure if Natural Order is not restored in Tibet. Tibetans love Tibet and the Love of one’s own country is neither a moral, nor a religious virtue for it is a Natural Virtue. Speaking of War and Peace in Tibet, I would like to ask, “Can we order Peace for the sake of War, and not War for the sake of Peace?” If Perseverance is the Secret of all Triumphs, Tibetan Resistance can hope for its Victory.
Special Frontier Force – China’s Military Threat: China’s Military Power, China’s Military Strategy, and China’s Military Tactics cannot overcome the Power of Perseverance, the Perseverance of Tibetan Resistance.
R. Rudra Narasimham, B.Sc., M.B.B.S., Personal Numbers:MS-8466/MR-03277K. Rank:Lieutenant/Captain/Major. Branch:Army Medical Corps/Short Service Regular Commission(1969-1972); Direct Permanent Commission(1973-1984). Designation:Medical Officer. Unit:Establishment No.22(1971-1974)/South Column,Operation Eagle(1971-1972). Organization: Special Frontier Force.
Aim of China’s Military Reforms
By Jayadeva Ranade
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE – CHINA’S MILITARY THREAT: WORLD PARLIAMENTARIANS CONVENTION ON TIBET HELD IN OTTAWA, CANADA, 2012. Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy, Washington, DC, Professor Jayadeva Ranade, Distinguished Fellow with the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi, with Richard Gere, Chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet.
Published: 21st January 2014 06:00 AM
The writer is a member of the National Security Advisory Board and former additional secretary in the cabinet secretariat, Indian government.
Special Frontier Force – China’s Military Threat: China CV-16 Liaoning Aircraft Carrier. Navy J-15 Flying Shark takeoff. China has modernized its military capabilities.
Modernisation of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has entered the final stage of its current phase. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s Third Plenum, which was held in November 2013 and represents a major advance in China’s reforms, provided a substantive push to the PLA’s modernisation when it approved proposals for major organisational restructuring. The reforms coincide with China’s continuing assertiveness that has unsettled its neighbours. Appointments to the Central Military Commission (CMC) effected earlier by the CCP’s 18th Congress in Beijing in November 2012 accelerated the drive to strengthen and modernise the 2.3 million-strong PLA. Within days of his appointment as the CMC chairman, Xi Jinping not only endorsed the military modernisation policies of his predecessors Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, but also began bluntly advocating more rapid modernisation and technological upgrade of the PLA. The organisational reforms approved by the CCP’s Third Plenum indicate that changes are imminent in the PLA’s command structure comprising the four principal departments and seven military regions. The PLA Navy (PLAN), PLA Air Force (PLAAF) and China’s strategic missile strike force, namely the Second Artillery, have clearly been allotted an enhanced operational role and will receive priority in allocation of budgets and manpower. Personnel of the Second Artillery, PLAAF and PLAN already receive higher salaries than their counterparts in the PLA’s ground forces. Within days of the Third Plenum, CMC vice-chairman and till recently the PLAAF commander, Xu Qiliang, wrote an article in the party mouthpiece People’s Daily confirming the reforms will be implemented. He mentioned that the number of non-combatants would be drastically reduced and that the reforms would enable the PLA to win wars. Quite separately, reports filtering out of Beijing and disclosed initially in the solitary official English-language China Daily, suggest that plans have been finalised to merge the military regions. These envisage reorganising the seven military regions into five “combat zones” (zhan chu) within the next five years. Over the past few years China’s military literature has hinted at such impending change with occasional references to “Theatre Commands”. The reorganisation is intended to concentrate firepower and troops trained for a specific type of warfare within a single theatre or zone for ease of rapid deployment. Land and sea warfare forces are to be grouped separately. This reorganisation gives the PLA a definite “outward orientation” neatly meshing with its doctrine of “active defence”.
Special Frontier Force – China’s Military Threat: Shenyang SAC J-16 Stealth Fighter Aircraft. Military Spending will not increase Military Power.
According to these reports, the three mainly coastal military regions of Jinan, Nanjing and Guangzhou are to be converted into three “combat zones”. Adopting a mainly maritime role, their primary objective will be to reinforce China’s efforts to establish dominance over the East China Sea and South China Sea and face up to the US-Japan alliance. By 2020, all three zones will be reinforced by three aircraft carrier combat groups. Reports suggest existing aircraft carrier Liaoning will be deployed in the East China Sea, while the other two aircraft carriers will be in the South China Sea. Interestingly on January 1, Xinhua showed pictures of Liaoning returning to its home base in Qingdao after month-long exercises in the South China Sea, but avoided mention of the run-in with the US-guided missile warship USS Cowpens. In April 2013, Xinhua reported Rear Admiral Song Xue, deputy chief of staff of the PLA Navy, saying a second aircraft carrier was under construction. He told foreign military attaches that it would be larger and carry more fighter aircraft. On January 18, 2014, party secretary of Liaoning province Wang Min disclosed China’s second domestically produced aircraft carrier is being built at Dalian and would be ready in six years. The four inland military regions of Shenyang, Beijing, Chengdu and Lanzhou are to similarly be merged into two large combat zones. Chengdu and Lanzhou both exercise operational jurisdiction over the India-China border. Each of the two new zones will have units of the PLA Navy, Air Force and Second Artillery integral to them. They will function under a new unified combat command. These reports also disclose that the PLA’s 300,000 non-combatant personnel will be eliminated by 2022. Though China’s ministry of defence denied the reports, it is pertinent that mention was first made in China Daily and that its contents are generally in consonance with Xu Qiliang’s assertion in People’s Daily and the reforms approved at the CCP CC’s Third Plenum.
Special Frontier Force – China’s Military Threat: China has built over 39 Wind Tunnels that include Subsonic, Supersonic, Hypersonic, and others to improve its ability to design and test its military aircraft.
Special Frontier Force – China’s Military Threat: China has reportedly developed a WU-14 Hypersonic Glide Vehicle. China’s Military Empire will collapse under its own weight as things in Nature change while Natural Order remains Unchanging.
Rapid advances have also been made in the indigenous development of advanced defence technology and hardware in the past three years. Emphasis was underscored with the appointment of General Zhang Youxia, a known proponent of indigenous development of modern advanced defence technology, as director of the PLA’s General Armaments Department (GAD) in October 2012. The latest development was the announcement on January 9 that China had conducted the first flight test of a new hypersonic glide vehicle, dubbed the WU-14 by the Pentagon, thus becoming one of five nations to possess this capability. The hypersonic vehicle, capable of travelling at speeds between Mach 8 and 12, represents a major advance in China’s secretive strategic nuclear and conventional military and missile programmes. China had in May 2012 opened a new JF12 shockwave hypersonic wind tunnel—the largest of its kind—that replicates flying conditions between Mach 5 and 9.
Also this month, pictures of the new two-seater J-16 stealth fighter built by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation were posted online. Slated to first be inducted by PLAN and later the PLAAF, the J-16 is loaded with eight tons of air-to-air and anti-ship missiles and has a combat radius of several hundred miles, enabling it to help Chinese warships battle for control of regional waters claimed by China. Some reports claim two dozen J-16 are ready for induction. These military reforms will give the PLA an outward focus, implying that “recovery” of territories claimed by Beijing will be a central feature of China’s strategic agenda. They will reinforce diplomacy aimed at realising “China’s Dream”. Xi Jinping, meanwhile, continues to further tighten his and the CCP’s grip on the PLA. An important example is the Third Plenum approving the PLA being brought within the ambit of the party’s anti-corruption watchdog, the Central Discipline Inspection Commission. Professor Jayadeva Ranade is a member of the National Security Advisory Board and former additional secretary in the cabinet secretariat, Indian government.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
BhavanaJagat is inspired by Goddess Sarasvati who personifies Pure Knowledge and Perfect Wisdom.
Here’s an excerpt:
BHAVANAJAGAT AT LOUVRE MUSEUM: Millions of people visit the Museum to simply look at the exhibits. I would like to invite my readers to visit http://BhavanaJagat.com to read my posts and share their opinions.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE – INDIA – UNITED STATES EXTERNAL RELATIONS:
India’s diplomatic relations with the United States have come under critical scrutiny after the public humiliation of an Indian diplomat posted at the Indian Consulate in the City of New York. In spite of serious political differences, both India and the United States along with Tibet could formulate a military alliance/pact that has resulted in the creation of a military organization called Special Frontier Force or Establishment No. 22. There is a common understanding and a shared vision between these three countries about the military threat posed by Communist China’s illegal occupation of Tibet since 1950. This military alliance/pact has withstood the test of times and continues to thrive despite several changes in the political leadership in India and the United States. This is an area of agreement and cooperation. At the same time, India must not be blind or gullible enough to ignore the goals of US foreign policy in Southeast Asia. The United States continues to be an important ally of Pakistan and a major military partner of India’s enemy. From the day of its inception, Pakistan continues to pose the same military threat to India’s vital security interests in Jammu and Kashmir. This security threat is further aggravated by the military relationships between People’s Republic of China and Pakistan. While Pakistan pursues its open agenda of occupying Kashmir using military force, both the United States and China desire to downsize the Republic of India. Both of them share a vision of India that is broken into several smaller, independent state entities. If that is the reality, India must estimate the need for its Consular services in the United States. Mr. Prabhu Dayal, the former Indian diplomat who had served in New York has recommended closing down the Indian Consulate in New York. In my view, India has no requirement to maintain several Consulates in the United States and all functions must be centralized at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC. Further, India must ask the United States to close down all US Consulates operating in Indian cities of Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad in due recognition of the US foreign policy that aims to breakup Indian Union.
R. Rudra Narasimham, B.Sc., M.B.B.S., Personal Numbers: MS-8466/MR-03277K. Rank: Lieutenant/Captain/Major. Branch: Army Medical Corps/Short Service Regular Commission(1969-1972); Direct Permanent Commission(1973-1984). Designation: Medical Officer. Unit: Establishment No.22(1971-1974)/South Column, Operation Eagle(1971-1972). Organization: Special Frontier Force.
“Fear and loathing in New York: Former diplomat Prabhu Dayal reveals how Indian envoys to the US can fall victim to maids pursuing their American dreams.”
PUBLISHED: 18:03 EST, 22 December 2013 | UPDATED: 18:08 EST, 22 December 2013
Prabhu Dayal was India’s Consul General in New York from September 2008 to February 2013.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE – ESTABLISHMENT NO. 22 – INDIA – USA EXTERNAL RELATIONS: India-Tibet-United States military alliance/pact must be reviewed because of the US foreign policy that encourages Sikh Separatists who demand the creation of Khalistan. The USA grants political asylum to Sikh Separatists and is recruiting them to serve in the US Armed Forces with an intention to use them in a future Separatist War on India. The USA is also supporting the Separatists of Kashmir. The US must choose its allies if it has to confront the military threat posed by the People’s Republic of China.
Devyani Khobragade’s arrest has resulted in an unprecedented Indo-US row which shows little sign of abating. Since I was Consul General in New York from September 2008 till February 2013, I feel duty-bound to put the situation in a full and correct perspective.
Devyani worked as my deputy towards the end of my term. Moreover, I also faced a lawsuit about which some misinformed comments continue to be made in sections of the media. I met (Devyani’s domestic help) Sangeeta Richard several times at the consulate. She not only seemed happy and cheerful, but also struck me as being quite well-groomed and educated – not the usual type of domestic worker.
Given the recent history of problems faced by the consulate, I advised Devyani to be careful. I also told her that there were plenty of people around who could misguide Sangeeta and create trouble. Cases of desertion by domestic assistants are not new. For decades, domestic assistants accompanying our diplomats to the US have gone missing, preferring to stay there illegally and pursue their dollar dreams.
Countless security guards, including many from the police and paramilitary services, have also done likewise.
Although the US authorities have invariably been informed whenever this has happened, they have done nothing to nab them. As is well-known, the US has a very large number of illegal, undocumented aliens who provide cheap labor. However, in October 2000, the US Congress enacted the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA). In terms of this Act, our domestic assistants who abscond can now obtain a trafficking visa by alleging that they were subjected to involuntary servitude and not paid wages as per US laws. They can get a three-year T Visa which gets converted to full resident status.
Naturally, such persons allege that they would face extreme hardship if they were deported back, as Sangeeta Richard has done. In return, they have to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies against the alleged traffickers – their former employers. Then in 2010, New York state enacted the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, after which there has been a spate of lawsuits filed by domestic workers.
HOOK OR CROOK:
Devyani Khobragade may have fallen victim to a common menace – maids desperately seeking green cards.
It is no secret that many Indians go to the US and try to stay on by hook or crook. Thousands of Sikhs have managed to obtain political asylum by alleging that they are being persecuted in India and thus getting full resident-status.
Privately, many of them admit that they only took the asylum route as it was the only way they could get a Green Card. However, the US authorities continue to give asylum visas to many Sikh applicants, blindly ignoring the fact that the Sikhs are a thriving community in India, and that our Prime Minister is himself a Sikh. However, the asylum visa is not available to everybody. This is where the TVPA has opened the doors to people like Sangeeta Richard, who can obtain official passports as domestic assistants of our diplomats, get an A3 visa from the US Embassy, reach US shores, work there for some months, abscond and then obtain a T Visa.
The visa fraud allegedly committed by Devyani Khobragade was in fact committed by Sangeeta Richard as she misrepresented her terms of employment to the US Embassy during her interview with the Consular officer to get an A3 domestic worker visa, which would later enable her to leapfrog to a trafficking T Visa.
Now, a few words about two earlier cases which took place in New York.
Shanti Gurung worked as a housekeeper for Dr. Neena Malhotra, Consul for over three years. I met her often as she would come to the consulate to attend functions such as Republic Day, Independence Day, Diwali, Baisakhi etc., as well as music concerts, and she was always happy and contented.
I was shocked when she went missing on the eve of Dr Neena’s departure from New York on transfer, and even more shocked when she filed a lawsuit a year later against her employer alleging confinement, forced labor, slavery, ill-treatment etc. No doubt, she did so to obtain a T Visa.
Mrs. Santosh Bhardwaj worked as my housekeeper for two years in India and four years in Morocco before joining me as my domestic assistant in New York in February 2009. Eleven months later, in January 2010, she absconded from the consulate building where she lived.
Seventeen months after that, she filed a suit against me alleging slavery, forced labor, non-payment of full wages etc. She alleged that she was not given proper accommodation and was made to sleep in a storage area. She also made an allegation about an incident of sexual harassment. These allegations were prominently reported in the media.
Six weeks later, her lawyers filed an amended suit in which the allegation about sexual harassment and being made to sleep in a storage area were voluntarily dropped.
Under US judicial practice, a plaintiff enjoys absolute litigation privilege and can amend a suit by adding or deleting charges. However, these and many other allegations had already received wide publicity in the media and continue to be referred to even now.
The fact was that she was not made to sleep in a storage area but was provided a fully furnished one bedroom apartment in the consulate building with heating, air-conditioning, television and an attached bathroom, and there were many witnesses to this fact.
As regards sexual harassment, this charge was also false. The media gave very little coverage to the voluntary dropping of these charges.
She was so well treated in Delhi and Morocco that she voluntarily went with us to New York. Did our treatment towards her suddenly change so drastically in New York that it was tantamount to slavery and involuntary servitude?
The suit alleged that I had not paid her wages at $10 an hour as per the contract. Here, I would like to draw attention to the website of the US State Department which states the following: “As of March 2011, the Department has decided that no deductions are allowed for lodging, medical care, medical insurance or travel. As of April 2012,deductions taken for meals are no longer allowed”.
However, Mrs. Bhardwaj worked for me in New York from January 2009 till February 2010, when deductions for perks were allowed by the State Department. If perks are included, the emoluments of my domestic assistant were considerably more than what she was to get under the contract. A fully furnished one bedroom apartment in the Upper East part of New York does not come for less than $2,500!
Added to this were the expenses towards water, electricity, heating, air-conditioning, food, medical cover, travel passages (including for home leave) plus a handsome salary.
BIASED & HIGH-HANDED:
The emoluments of all officials posted by the MEA(Ministry of External Affairs) to Embassies and Consulates include salary and perks; the emoluments of a domestic assistant accompanying an Indian diplomat are built into the officer’s own package, and include salary and perks.
It is only after March 2011 that the US State Department has begun to disallow deductions for perks for domestic assistants. Litigation in the US is a very expensive and stressful process. Most lawsuits end up in an out of court settlement without acknowledgement of wrongdoing.
I, too, had no option but to settle the case. India’s view has been that the domestic assistants of our diplomats hold official passports and should be outside the purview of US labor laws. The US side has not agreed to this, insisting that US laws apply to them. This impasse continues.
What about the future? We should either get the US to agree to our position or change our present arrangement relating to the domestic assistants. Our officers should not be caught in this sort of situation arising from how the Ministry of External Affairs interprets the emoluments given to domestic assistants and how differently the US authorities interpret them. This would prevent the sort of ordeal which Dr Neena, Devyani and I myself have gone through.
It is understood that the MEA is trying to revamp the system and may itself sign contracts with domestic workers instead of officers having to do so.
Will this revamped arrangement shield officials posted at our Consulates fully? I am afraid not, for one must recall the case of Krittika Biswas, a 12th grade student and daughter of a Vice-Consul serving under me in New York. She was arrested and handcuffed in front of her fellow students at her school on the charge of cyber-bullying one of her teachers, although she asserted that she had a diplomatic passport. She was not allowed to contact her parents or anyone till the evening, and was kept in a detention center for 28 hours with prostitutes and drug addicts in the same manner as Devyani.
My colleagues and I had to run from pillar to post to get her released. She was not taken back to her school but had to attend a sort of reform school. Later, it was discovered that it was not Krittika but another student who was responsible for the cyber-bullying, but he was not arrested.
What can one make of this except that the New York law enforcement agencies were biased and high-handed?
The Krittika Biswas case makes me apprehensive that given the US position on immunity, even if we were to revamp our system relating to domestic assistants, we will not be able to guarantee that officials in our Consulates will not be arrested or dragged into law courts for some reason or another.
The US is a highly litigious country where suing people is a sort of favorite pastime. Family members of consulate officials are not given any ID cards and have absolutely no immunity. Hence, they are even more vulnerable.
An atmosphere of fear already pervades our Consulate in New York, and the New York Consulate is no longer a sought-after posting for this reason.
What are we to do in such a situation? Some of my former colleagues go to the extent of saying that if diplomats posted in our Consulates in the USA do not enjoy immunity, then we should close down these Consulates and do all Consular work from the Embassy in Washington DC, where our officials enjoy immunity.
This is not so cynical as it may sound. Firstly, Consular work relating to passports, visas, OCI cards, PIO cards has already been outsourced. Instead of bringing the documents to the Consulates, the outsourcing company could courier them to the Embassy.
Secondly, a large number of persons already send their applications to the Consulates by mail, and they would instead have to send these to Washington DC. What difference would it make if someone living in Boston has to send the application to Washington DC instead of to New York?
Of course, the Embassy’s consular Section would have to be considerably strengthened for handling the additional load. All other work such as information, culture, outreach and economic would also have to be done from Washington alone, which is not so difficult in today’s age of instant electronic communications.
DON’T DRAG FEET:
As regards all the endless protocol work involving receiving and seeing off delegations which keep coming to New York, it could be done by the Permanent Mission to the UN, whose officials enjoy immunity.
At present, the protocol load is shared by the Permanent Mission and the Consulate. Again, the protocol wing of the Permanent Mission will have to be augmented.
I know that this suggestion by my former colleagues may be dismissed as being too cynical. There is no doubt, however, that our officers posted at the Consulate in New York have begun to feel very insecure after all these recent cases, and the same may also be true for the other Consulates in Chicago, San Francisco, Houston and Atlanta.
How will India protect its diplomats posted to the consulates given the US position on immunity? Drastic situations call for drastic steps, and if we can’t learn from bad experiences, then we alone are to be blamed. Foot-dragging will not get us anywhere.
(The writer is a senior diplomat who has served as India’s Consul General in New York)
Whole Dude – Whole Genocide: US President Richard M Nixon in his taped conversation with US National Security Adviser Dr. Henry Kissinger reveals his personal understanding of historical events such as the persecution of Jews in Germany by Hitler, the massacre of black Catholics in Biafra region of Nigeria, the slaughter of civilian population of East Pakistan. I am not surprised to note that they had no sympathy for the suffering of Tibetan people and they took the sinful action to formulate a new US foreign policy that involved establishing trade, commerce, and diplomatic relationships with Communist China.
I am pleased to share the blog post titled “Looking Away From Genocide” authored by Gary J Bass, Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. This blog includes excerpts from the conversation between US President Richard M Nixon, and US National Security Adviser Dr. Henry Alfred Kissinger. President Nixon makes a direct comparison to the slaughter in East Pakistan to other atrocities against humanity and asks Kissinger for his opinion on Biafra massacre(Nigeria) and the persecution of Jews in Germany by Hitler. President Nixon reveals his personal understanding of such historical events in this brief conversation and it would have a most chilling effect on any reader. I am not surprised to note that Kissinger had no interest in formulating a true national security policy. He was totally obsessed with his own plans to dominate the foreign policy conversation and getting rid of William P Rogers, the US Secretary of State. In the face of such moral bankruptcy, India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had boldly launched her Secret War in East Pakistan and I am glad that I had participated in the training of Bengali guerrilla fighters and later initiated the Liberation of Bangladesh on 03 November, 1971 with military action in Chittagong Hill Tracts with attacks on Pakistani border posts deep inside the enemy territory.
SERVICE INFORMATION:
R. Rudra Narasimham, B.Sc., M.B.B.S., Personal Numbers:MS-8466/MR-03277K. Rank:Lieutenant/Captain/Major. Branch:Army Medical Corps/Short Service Regular Commission(1969-1972); Direct Permanent Commission(1973-1984). Designation:Medical Officer. Unit:Establishment No.22(1971-1974)/South Column,Operation Eagle(1971-1972). Organization: Special Frontier Force.
NOVEMBER 20, 2013
LOOKING AWAY FROM GENOCIDE
POSTED BY GARY BASS
On March 25, 1971, the Pakistani Army launched a devastating military crackdown on restive Bengalis in what was then East Pakistan. While the slaughter in what would soon become an independent Bangladesh was underway, the C.I.A. and State Department conservatively estimated that roughly two hundred thousand people had died (the official Bangladeshi death toll is three million). Some ten million Bengali refugees fled to India, where untold numbers died in miserable conditions in refugee camps. Pakistan was a Cold War ally of the United States, and Richard Nixon and his national-security advisor, Henry Kissinger, resolutely supported its military dictatorship; they refused to impose pressure on Pakistan’s generals to forestall further atrocities. My new book, “The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide,” tries to reconstruct this dark chapter of the Cold War, using declassified documents, investigative reporting, and countless hours of White House tapes, including about a hundred newly transcribed conversations. Thanks to the secret taping system that he installed to record his own blunt conversations, Nixon inadvertently left behind the most transparent Administration in American history. The tapes offer the most revealing account of Nixon and Kissinger’s raw thinking. Staffers at the White House and the State Department were often more pragmatic than their principals, so the documents they produced make the Administration appear more moderate than it was. It’s only on the audio tapes that Nixon and Kissinger’s full radicalism is on display. But the White House tapes are maddeningly hard to use. The State Department’s official historians have done excellent work in declassifying some of the most sensitive discussions, but to this day, particularly embarrassing portions of the tapes are bleeped out on the basis of specious national-security concerns. (I’ve made my own requests for a mandatory declassification review of these bleeps under the terms of an executive order.) The tapes remain a largely untapped resource, in part because they are enormous, unwieldy, badly organized, often bleeped, crackly, laborious to transcribe, and hard to understand. You can hear Nixon and Kissinger at work in the following audio clip, which is followed by an annotated transcript I made for “The Blood Telegram.” (Some snippets from this conversation are available in a volume of the State Department’s “Foreign Relations of the United States” series, but this is the first full transcript.) This discussion, which also involved the White House chief of staff, H. R. Haldeman, took place not long after the start of the crackdown in East Pakistan. Nixon and Kissinger are having one of their typically prolix and digressive conversations, concentrating this time on foreign policy. The tape is unusually clean: the sound quality is good, and there are no bleeps, though there is some music playing in the background. The clip below begins just as the conversation has turned from the Vietnam War to the possibility of an opening to China. To establish communications with Mao Zedong’s regime, the White House was exploring several clandestine channels, including messages carried to the Chinese leadership by Romania’s Communist despot, Nicolae Ceausescu, and Pakistan’s military dictator, General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, known as Yahya. The Pakistan channel would soon culminate in Kissinger’s first secret trip to Beijing, in July, 1971. He flew direct from Pakistan, which provided an airplane and a cloak-and-dagger cover story—another reason for the White House to support Pakistan even as the killing continued. WHITE HOUSE TAPES OVAL OFFICE 477-1 APRIL 12, 1971, 10:24-10:33 A.M. NIXON: Now, another thing. I want to know about Yahya and Pakistan.
Nixon had a great personal fondness for Pakistan’s military ruler, who was carrying out the brutal crackdown on the Bengalis. “He’s a decent man,” Nixon repeatedly said, as the death toll mounted.
I want to be sure that we’re not caught in a crack here where State then puts out a whole lot of stuff that they’ve done. Now Bill has not said that he wants to say anything about Pakistan, has he?
The President seems to be making sure that the distrusted State Department would not, on its own, condemn Yahya for killing Bengalis. “Bill” is William Rogers, Nixon’s ineffectual Secretary of State, who had been reduced to near-total irrelevance by his rival Kissinger.
KISSINGER: No. NIXON: Has Sisco?
Joseph Sisco, the headstrong assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs, was a particular annoyance to Nixon and Kissinger, who would later call him “a maniac” and “such a whore.”
KISSINGER: No. But it’s out there, out there [indistinct]. The Dhaka consulate is in open rebellion.
American diplomats in East Pakistan, horrified by the slaughter, had been reporting the killing in gruesome detail. On April 6th—just a few days before this conversation—the U.S. consul general in Dhaka, Archer Blood, sent a telegram signed by almost all of the U.S. officials in East Pakistan, formally voicing “strong dissent” from the White House’s pro-Pakistan policy, which they characterized as “moral bankruptcy” in the face of “genocide.” In retaliation, Nixon and Kissinger would soon eject Blood from his post in Dhaka.
NIXON: I understand…[indistinct] I want to know how we can respond to it [indistinct]. We’re going to be…[indistinct] you know what I mean? KISSINGER (emphatically): Mr. President, we’re going to wind up on the worst side if we start backing a rebellion there now.
Though Nixon and Kissinger were discussing actual rebellions in East Pakistan and Biafra, Kissinger was also accusing Blood of “open rebellion” for having sent his formal cable of dissent through official channels. Kissinger would later call Blood “this maniac in Dacca, the Consul General who is in rebellion.”
NIXON: But Bill—but Henry, we did not back the rebellion in Biafra, did we?
Even before the crackdown in East Pakistan began, U.S. officials had warned that the country could descend into the kind of bloody chaos that had recently been seen in Biafra, an oil-rich region of Nigeria that attempted to secede in 1967. The Nigerian government managed to crush the Biafran resistance in 1970. As a candidate for President in 1968, Nixon had denounced genocide in Biafra; by 1971, yesterday’s inaction in Biafra had become a rationale for today’s support of Pakistan.
KISSINGER: That’s right. NIXON: That’s a hell of a lot more reasonable. I know, there are less people in Biafra. Is that the reason? Does morality become—look, there weren’t very many Jews in Germany.
As Nixon knew, Kissinger was one of those German Jews; at least thirteen of his close relatives had been murdered in the Holocaust.
KISSINGER (murmurs): That’s right. NIXON: Was it immoral—was it therefore not immoral for Hitler to kill them?
Nixon, unprompted, is comparing the slaughter in East Pakistan to Biafra and the Holocaust.
KISSINGER (murmurs): That’s right.
Kissinger goes along with Nixon’s comparison of Hitler and Yahya, but still maintains his support for the Pakistani dictator.
NIXON: See, that’s my— [indistinct] And the Biafrans are black— [indistinct] Catholics!
This part is hard to hear, but may be about how Americans ignored the Biafrans because they were black, and about Catholic support for the Biafran cause. As Nixon later said, “Biafra stirred up a few Catholics.”
KISSINGER: Mr. President, if we get in there now— NIXON (cross-talk): It’s ridiculous. KISSINGER: —we get West Pakistan turned against us, and we get—the Bengalis are going to go left anyway.
The State Department had repeatedly noted that the Bengali leadership was quite pro-American, but Kissinger dismisses that.
NIXON: Yeah. KISSINGER: They are by nature left. Their moderate leadership is in jail, maybe they shouldn’t have been put in jail, but that’s the way it is now, and, uh—
Kissinger realizes he’s made a wrong turn, is actually criticizing Yahya, and falls awkwardly silent.
NIXON: I just want to [indistinct]… get a little work… [indistinct] Is that in the West—West Pakistan thing or not? [indistinct] KISSINGER: Why don’t you wait ’til Wednesday, Mr. President, when we have the meeting and then we can get a paper to you. NIXON: All right. KISSINGER: Because I am afraid in the present state of the State Department if you interfere too early— NIXON (annoyed): I’m not interfering, I just want to know what he thinks!
Nixon snaps at Kissinger for the nonstop bureaucratic combat against Rogers. To handle Kissinger’s obsessive feuding with the Secretary of State, the President had Haldeman set up an informal “Henry-handling committee.” In the end, Kissinger drove Rogers out, and claimed both top foreign-policy jobs, national-security advisor and Secretary of State.
KISSINGER: Well, he’s going to submit a paper to us and then you’ll know what you think—what he thinks. NIXON: Oh. He’s going to submit a paper? KISSINGER: Yeah. NIXON: You’re sure he knows I want it? KISSINGER: Oh yes, he knows you want it. No, he’s—Bill is all right.
Kissinger starts to walk back, trying to praise Rogers.
Bill is— NIXON: I just got to know what the hell they think. I mean, I’m not trying to—… [indistinct] I think if we get in the middle of the whole thing [indistinct], it’s a hell of a mistake. KISSINGER: It’s a disaster. No one else is doing it. NIXON: Look—let’s face it. The people that bitch about Vietnam bitched about it because we intervened in what they say was a civil war.
This was one of Nixon’s most potent arguments to silence Americans who were outraged by the suffering in East Pakistan. Democrats like Ted Kennedy, the White House argued, were simply trying to drag the United States into another civil war in Asia.
KISSINGER: That’s right. NIXON: Now some of those same bastards, like… [indistinct] want us to intervene in Biafra. And some of those same people want us to intervene here. Both civil wars. Real civil wars. Now what in the hell are we talking about? KISSINGER: They want us to cut out economic aid to West Pakistan. NIXON (surprised): For what reason?
Kissinger is careful to defend U.S. aid to the Pakistani military government, despite the atrocities. Blood had argued that the bloodshed in East Pakistan was a very good reason to cut off economic aid to Yahya.
KISSINGER: It’s—pure doctrinaire reasons. Because India is screaming in turn, because they’re scared to death of their own Bengalis. Deep down the Indians don’t really want an independent East Pakistan, because within ten years of that the West Bengalis are going to start bringing pressure on them for autonomy. It’s a classic situation for us to stay out of. There’s nothing for us in there to take sides in this. And for us to cut off aid will infuriate the West Pakistanis.
Millions of Bengalis in India were deeply shocked by the killing of their brethren across the border in East Pakistan. The Indian state of West Bengal, unstable and impoverished, was already a headache for the Indian government—and the crackdown in East Pakistan sent some ten million refugees fleeing into India’s border states, above all into West Bengal. This left the Indian government fearful of further unrest in the state, and desperate to find a way to get the refugees to return home. India secretly sponsored Bengali guerrillas fighting back against Pakistani troops. Finally, in December, 1971, India and Pakistan would fight a brief fourteen-day war, ending with an Indian victory and the creation of the new country of Bangladesh. Unlike Blood and the other Americans in Dhaka, Kissinger seems not to realize that the loss of so many Bengali lives might impact American foreign policy. For all his mastery of the use of American leverage, he nevertheless rules out the possibility of applying any pressure on the Pakistani military.
Photograph by Frederic Lewis/Hulton Archive/Getty
Nixon and Kissinger: A Forgotten Genocide in Bangladesh
This is my special tribute to Lohit River and I post this blog to remember my life’s journey; a journey from 1962 to 1972. During 1962, I was a student at Giriraj Government Arts College, Nizamabad, Andhra Pradesh, India and I was studying in the First Year of a 3-Year Bachelor of Science Degree Course. During October 1962, when China attacked India across the Himalayan Frontier, Indian people spontaneously reacted condemning the act of Chinese aggression. It gave me a strong motivation to serve the country to defend the Northern Frontier. My dream came true during 1969 when I was granted Short Service Regular Commission to join the Indian Army Medical Corps. On completion of my basic military and professional training, I was deputed to Special Frontier Force and I had the proudest moment of my life when I visited the War Memorial in Walong, Lohit District, North East Frontier Agency(NEFA) during 1972. I got married during January 1973, while I was serving in the North East Frontier Agency and Lohit River is my witness to my Life’s Journey and Commitment.
SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE – LOHIT RIVER: Map of Anjaw District, Arunachal Pradesh State, India.
I am pleased to share an article titled ‘China opens new highway near Arunachal Pradesh Border’ written by Ananth Krishnan that was published in the HINDU on November 01, 2013. I had served in that area and the military organization in which I had served discouraged photography and I did not take photos of the natural scenery of that area. I would like to share some photo images published by http://GreenerPasturesInd.Wordpress.com and others, particularly the images of Lohit River that flows down the Anjaw District of Arunachal Pradesh.
The North East Frontier Agency(NEFA) was constituted in 1912-13. To settle the border between India and Tibet, Sir Henry McMahon, Secretary in the Indian Foreign Department represented Great Britain at a conference held in Simla during 1913-14. The Simla Accord or Simla Agreement between India, Tibet, and China resulted in the McMahon Treaty and the McMahon Line established the official border between India and Tibet. India after gaining her independence and after becoming an independent Republic has ratified the McMahon Treaty. People’s Republic of China which came into existence during 1949 had opposed this Treaty and had occupied Tibet during 1950 rejecting the status of Tibet of being an independent nation. The Communist China’s occupation of Tibet has posed a military threat to Peace and Democracy in Southeast Asia and Tibet’s Head of State, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during March 1959 as a consequence of China’s repressive, brutal military actions. On August 26, 1959, in this northeast frontier sector, China’s People’s Liberation Army crossed the McMahon Line for the first time to capture an Indian border post. China abandoned this post during 1961 and launched a major offensive war during October 1962 attacking Indian Army positions in the entire North East Frontier Agency. Due to the firm intervention by the US President John F. Kennedy, China declared unilateral ceasefire and withdrew its forces from all the areas it had captured in the North East Frontier Agency. One of the consequences of this 1962 War of China’s Aggression on India was the creation of a military alliance/pact between India, Tibet, and the United States to defend the border and to challenge the military occupation of Tibet. This military pact/alliance has established a military organization called Establishment No. 22 which is later given the name of Special Frontier Force. I had served in Special Frontier Force along with Tibetan soldiers and we were defending North East Frontier Agency during that period of my military service. The North East Frontier Agency became Indian Union Territory and was named Arunachal Pradesh on January 20, 1972. The State of Arunachal Pradesh was formed on February 20, 1987. I had arrived at Doom Dooma(Dum Duma) during February 1972 after my successful participation in the military action called ‘Operation Eagle’ which initiated the Liberation of Bangladesh on November 03, 1971 with attacks on Pakistan’s military border posts in Chittagong Hill Tracts. The United States had withdrawn its CIA personnel from our Organization prior to the launch of Operation Eagle. However, our military alliance/pact withstood the test of the times. In 1972, CIA contacted my Unit in North East Frontier Agency and had requested us for our assistance to plant monitoring devices to record data from China’s underground nuclear tests in occupied Tibet. China’s occupation of Tibet, it claims for Indian territory and China’s military build up still pose a grave threat to Peace and Freedom in Southeast Asia.
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: I was based at Dum Duma(Doom Dooma) Airfield during 1972-73.
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: Lohit River enters the plains and flows as the Brahmaputra River.
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: At the southern end of Lohit District, Lohit River enters the plains.
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: The bridge near Parasuram Kund also known as Brahma Kund.
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: This Border Road along Lohit River did not exist during 1972-73. I had the pleasure of trekking along this route.
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: Suspension Bridge across Lohit River.
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: A Special Tribute to Lohit River.
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: This bridge swings in the air and is commonly called “JHULA” which refers to the swing found in recreational parks and playgrounds.
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: Walong Valley
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: Parashuram Kund
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: A view taken at Hayuliang.
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: Hayuliang-Walong Road.
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River:
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River:
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River:
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: Walong War Memorial
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: “WALONG WILL NEVER FALL AGAIN.”
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: Walong, Anjaw District.
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: Trip to Kibithu
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: Mishmi Hills
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: Hayuliang
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: The Border Post at Kibithu
Special Frontier Force – Lohit River: Lohit River near India – Tibet Border.
R. Rudra Narasimham, B.Sc., M.B.B.S., Personal Numbers:MS-8466/MR-03277K. Rank:Lieutenant/Captain/Major. Branch:Army Medical Corps/Short Service Regular Commission(1969-1972); Direct Permanent Commission(1973-1984). Designation:Medical Officer. Unit:Establishment No.22(1971-1974)/South Column,Operation Eagle(1971-1972). Organization: Special Frontier Force.
Published in the HINDU: November 1, 2013 03:14 IST | BEIJING, November 1, 2013
China opens new highway near Arunachal Pradesh border
Ananth Krishnan
Nearly 1 billion Yuan project comes to light after seven failed attempts over the past 50 years
China on Thursday opened a new highway that links what the government has described as Tibet’s “last isolated county” – located near the border with Arunachal Pradesh – with the rest of the country and will now provide all-weather access to the strategically important region. Chinese state media have hailed the opening of the highway to Medog – which lies close to the disputed eastern section of the border with India – as a technological breakthrough, with the project finally coming to fruition after seven failed attempts over the past fifty years. China started attempting to build the highway to Medog – a landlocked county in Tibet’s Nyingchi prefecture – in the 1960s, according to State media reports, in the aftermath of the 1962 war with India. With Thursday’s opening of the road, every county in Tibet is now linked through the highway network, underlining the widening infrastructure gulf across the disputed border, even as India belatedly pushes forward an upgrading of border roads in more difficult terrain. The official Xinhua News Agency on Thursday described Medog as “the last roadless county in China”. Before this week, Medog was the only one of China’s 2,100 counties to remain isolated from the highway network, according to State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). What the project will do State media reports have focused on the development benefits that the project would bring and have sought to play down the strategic dimensions. Local officials said the road’s opening will bring down commodity prices and widen access to healthcare. The road will also provide access to the border county for nine months of the year. That the government was willing to spend as much as 950 million Yuan – or $ 155 million – on a 117-km highway, with ostensibly few economic returns expected, has underscored the project’s importance to State planners. Local officials said prior to the opening of the highway, reaching Medog required traversing the treacherous Galung La and Doxong La mountains at an altitude of 4,000 metres. With frequent landslides, the road was often rendered impassable. Now, the road will be accessible for “8 to 9 months per year, barring major natural disasters”, Ge Yutao, Communist Party head of the transportation department for the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), told Xinhua. Work on the 117-km road began in 2009, a year after the project was given the green light by the State Council, or Cabinet. Renewed attention on infrastructure projects The opening of the road comes at a time when there has been renewed attention on infrastructure projects in border areas in India and China. Last week, both countries signed a Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Beijing, aimed at expanding confidence-building measures. The agreement calls for setting up channels of communication between military commands, increasing the number of border personnel meetings, and formalizing rules such as no tailing of patrols, to build trust and avoid incidents. The agreement does not specify or limit either country’s plans to boost infrastructure – an issue that, analysts say, has in the past triggered tensions along the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC), most notably in April when a Chinese incursion sparked a three-week-long stand-off in Depsang, Ladakh. Han Hua, a South Asia scholar at Peking University, suggested in a recent interview that the “basic reason” for the incident was “too much construction” along the border. The Chinese side, she acknowledged, did not have to build closer to the disputed LAC because their infrastructure, as well as more favourable terrain enabled quicker mobilisation. “If we don’t have the overall collaboration of the military, policy-makers and decision-makers on both sides,” she said, “it will be difficult to avoid such incidents”. ‘India’s plans will not be limited’ The BDCA, Indian officials said, will not limit India’s plans to upgrade infrastructure. It recognises the principle of equal and mutual security, which allows either side to pursue its security in its own way. At the same time, officials say the BDCA will still help “regulate activity” along the border by opening up new channels of communication, even as the border continues to remain a matter of dispute. On Thursday, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun told a regular press conference that military personnel would hold “regular meetings” and “make joint efforts” to maintain peace in border areas, following the signing of the BDCA. The agreement, he said according to a Xinhua report, “summarised good practices and experiences on the management of differences in China-India border areas”.
Whole Dude – Whole Villain: Archer Kent Blood, the US Consul General at Dacca, East Pakistan sent this “Blood Telegram” to question the US Foreign Policy that utterly failed to denounce the atrocities, the massacre of innocent, unarmed civilians, mostly Hindu minority community living in East Pakistan during 1971 by the military rulers of Pakistan. He sent this telegram as his moral duty to uphold the humanitarian principles.
WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE VILLAIN: Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th President of the United States(1969-1974), and Dr Alfred Henry Kissinger, the National Security Adviser(1969-1975) deserve to be known as Whole Villains for not responding to the problem of genocide in East Pakistan( now known as Bangladesh) during 1971. Their actions are evil, unprincipled, and make mockery of the US Constitution.
The word ‘Villain’ describes a wicked or unprincipled character in a novel, play, etc., who opposes the protagonist or hero. Villain is someone or something regarded as the cause of a problem, difficulty, injustice, or great crime. It speaks about the evil nature of a person, very bad, disagreeable, or objectionable and such a person is often characterized as a ‘scoundrel’. I am pleased to share Ashok Malik’s review of the book “The Blood Telegram – India’s Secret War in East Pakistan” authored by Gary J. Bass. The book reveals Archer Kent Blood, the chief US diplomat in Dacca as the hero or protagonist who had suffered on account of the actions of President Nixon and Dr. Kissinger, the National Security Adviser during 1971 . The real character and nature of President Nixon and Kissinger as ‘Villains’ can be easily discerned by reading this historical story titled “The Blood Telegram.” The book talks of the courage and uprightness of Archer Blood who was a first-hand witness to the genocide in East Pakistan, the oppression of Bengali speaking Pakistanis, the mass murder and elimination of Hindu minorities and the humanitarian crisis that spilled into a massive refugee problem in India. Mr. Blood meticulously reported the massacres, the bloodshed in East Pakistan and had urged the US administration to take action to stop the military dictator of West Pakistan. Mr. Blood suffered greatly for his efforts and devotion to work. He was ignored, singled out and victimized by Dr. Kissinger. Mr. Blood’s career in the US State Department was utterly ruined and destroyed. This book is the story of what Mr. Blood did and how he suffered for being true to his conscience and his calling. It must be noted that the men and women who make up the State Department or work for the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) are often conscientious, well-meaning folks, schooled in the simplicity and goodness of small-town, middle class life in the heart of America. They are moral people, keen to use their country’s power to make the world a better place. Such conscientious people who belonged to the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) had rendered their service at a military organization in India known as Special Frontier Force or Establishment No. 22. Both the US President Richard M. Nixon, and Dr. Henry Kissinger, the National Security Adviser must be recognized as “WholeVillains” for their actions were motivated by an unprincipled desire to befriend Communist China without any concern for its involvement in killing its own people during the “Great Leap Forward” program of 1957-58, and during the infamous “Cultural Revolution” of 1966-69. The story reveals how Nixon and Kissinger were blinded by hate for India and Indians. They had visualized Pakistan as an essential ally and gateway to Communist China and had totally ignored the problem of human suffering in the Land that took a very painful birth as Bangladesh after India’s victory in a military battle during November-December 1971.
Gary J. Bass, Professor of Politics & International Affairs at Princeton University is the author of the book titled “The Blood Telegram.” He described the heroic role of Archer Kent Blood, the US Consul General in Dacca(Dhaka), East Pakistan during 1971.Archer Kent Blood(March 20, 1923 to September 03, 2004) was the US Consul General, the Chief US Diplomat in Dacca, East Pakistan during 1971.Whole Dude – Whole Villain: Massacre in East Pakistan during 1971 is fully revealed in this book. This Genocide must not be forgotten and the Villains must be exposed.Whole Dude – Whole Villain: The role of General Yahya Khan, the military ruler of Pakistan, and US President Nixon in the brutal killings of unarmed civilians in East Pakistan during 1971 is now fully revealed. This is their photo image dated October 24, 1970. In this relationship, the US has totally disregarded the value of Democracy and showed no concern for Human Dignity and ignored its traditional role of defending Human Rights.Whole Dude – Whole Villain: The mockery of the US Constitution. Dr. Henry Kissinger is the Arch Villain in this story and he is seen in this photo meeting the leader of another country while the responsibility of conducting diplomacy belonged to the US State Department. Kissinger flew to China from Pakistan and had used Pakistan as a gateway to Communist China. Both of these Villains are responsible for the millions of people who died in the land called East Pakistan during 1971. Kissinger had misused and abused his position as the National Security Adviser. In clear violation of the US Constitution, he had usurped the power of the Secretary of State to conduct secretive, diplomatic negotiations with foreign leaders.
During 1971, I served in a military organization called Establishment No. 22, or Special Frontier Force which in reality represents a military alliance/pact between India, Tibet, and the United States to contain the military threat posed by Communist China’s illegal occupation of Tibet. It must be noted that Nixon had served as Vice President for two terms 1953-1956, and 1957-1960, during the presidency of Dwight David Eisenhower. President Eisenhower and his Secretary of State John Foster Dulles continued President Truman’s policy of containing Communism. In Southeast Asia, Eisenhower supported and had employed the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) to organize the Tibetan Resistance Movement since 1957-58. Later, President John F. Kennedy took the initiative to formulate the military alliance with India and Tibet that created the Special Frontier Force during 1962. The Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) has represented the US as our military partner and took the initial responsibility to impart the necessary military training to all personnel. The mission of this Organization is that of fighting a war to evict China from the Land of Tibet and the men are not used for spying, or gathering intelligence as undercover agents. The CIA has used the services of this Organization to monitor the nuclear activities of Communist China as China was conducting underground nuclear tests inside Tibet. During 1971-72, in a complete reversal of its foreign policy, the United States allowed the National Security Adviser to change the course of the country and to make decisions on foreign relations without giving any role to the duly appointed Secretary of State. Kissinger used the infrastructure of US State Department to orchestrate a policy that has ignored the vital US national interests and its commitment to Democracy and Freedom. Kissinger had chosen to support Pakistan’s military dictator and had used him to gain access to the Communist Leaders in Peking that paved the way for President Nixon’s visit to China during February 1972. This book reveals as to how Nixon was baffled and annoyed by American sympathies for India and he communicated this opinion to Pakistan’s military dictator General Yahya Khan and observed that Americans could be suffering from a “physiological disorder.” Nixon and Kissinger encouraged other countries to illegally ship their US supplied weapons to Pakistan in violation of US laws that prohibit such transfer of military equipment.
Kissinger had urged China’s Foreign Minister Chou En-Lai to open a second front and attack India to stop India from giving assistance to the people of East Pakistan. As India initiated the Liberation of Bangladesh, Nixon sent the US Seventh Fleet into Bay of Bengal without any concern about India’s logistical support to the US Army that was fighting a bloody war in Vietnam, a war in which Communist China had played a big role to ensure the defeat of the US Army.
WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE VILLAIN: During April 1969, Chairman Mao Tse Tung had selected his Defence Minister Lin Biao as his successor and Lin became the Vice Chairman of the Communist Party. Both of them must be held accountable for the atrocities, the crimes against humanity perpetrated in the name of “Cultural Revolution” during 1966-69.WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE VILLAIN: Lin Biao Defence Minister and Communist Party Vice Chairman, the successor of Chairman Mao Tse Tung was apparently assassinated by Prime Minister Chou En-lai and Chairman Mao Tse Tung on September 13, 1971 as he tried to escape from the country. After his killing, most of the People’s Liberation Army’s Generals of high command were purged. It totally amazes me to know that the US National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger had requested Prime Minister Chou En-Lai to launch a military attack on India during that time to prevent India from taking military action to resolve the humanitarian crisis in East Pakistan.
During 1971, the US National Security Adviser, Dr Henry Kissinger had kept his visit to Peking as a big secret. However, at Special Frontier Force, Establishment No. 22, we were fully aware of his activities. The Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) officials who were serving at Establishment No.22 as military instructors were abruptly asked to return to the United States. Communist China had insisted that it would agree to meet Henry Kissinger and receive him in Peking only after the United States removes all its personnel from India who at that time were employed in the Special Frontier Force/Establishment No. 22. After their departure, India and Tibet had agreed to jointly launch a military action in Chittagong Hill Tracts to initiate the Liberation of Bangladesh and to stop the genocide in East Pakistan.
Whole Dude – Whole Villain: On November 04, 1971, India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made a final attempt to get support from President Richard Nixon to resolve the humanitarian crisis in East Pakistan. By that time, US had already decided to remove all its CIA personnel who were employed as military instructors at Special Frontier Force/Establishment No. 22. However, we began our military operation to initiate Liberation of Bangladesh without any assistance from the US personnel deputed by the CIA.Whole Dude – Whole Villain: India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi could not obtain any support from US President Richard Nixon during her visit to Washington D.C. on November 04, 1971. However, it did not deter Special Frontier Force/Establishment No. 22 from initiating our military action to dislodge Pakistan’s Army from East Pakistan. We began our military action on November 03, 1971, a day before this meeting.
INDIA’S SECRET WAR IN EAST PAKISTAN:
WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE VILLAIN: These two leaders, the US President, the military dictator of Pakistan must be held accountable for the genocide in East Pakistan during 1971.WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE VILLAIN – ORIGINAL SIN: The mockery of the US Constitution. The US National Security Adviser, Dr. Kissinger had misused and abused his official position to meet foreign Heads of State to formulate US foreign relations without the participation of the US Secretary of State. I call this Villainous act as “Original Sin”. Both Chairman Mao Tse Tung, and Prime Minister Chou En-Lai were leaders of the “Cultural Revolution” during 1966-69 that participated in crimes against humanity.Whole Dude – Whole Villain: “The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh” by Archer Kent Blood, the US Consul General in Dacca during 1971 describes the Villainy, the detestable acts of Pakistan’s military generals, and US President, and National Security Adviser.
India launched a Secret War in East Pakistan to respond to the huge humanitarian crisis which could not be resolved. United States pretended its ignorance of this whole problem. This military operation was given the code name Operation Eagle. On November 03, 1971, while India’s Prime Minister was visiting Washington D.C. in a final bid to enlist the support of President Nixon, Special Frontier Force without the US personnel moved into Chittagong Hill Tracts. President Richard Nixon had failed to endorse our military action, but we executed this military action using military equipment, field gear and rations provided by the United States. The infantry weapons and all other tools that we had used were the same as those used by the US Army in its Vietnam War. We prevailed in the battlefield and forced Pakistan’s Army to withdraw from their entrenched positions. The official war of India with Pakistan was declared by India’s Prime Minister on December 03, 1971.
Rudra Narasimham Rebbapragada Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4162, USA Special Frontier Force-Establishment No.22-Vikas Regiment
SERVICE INFORMATION:
Personal Numbers: MS-8466/MR-03277K; Rank: Major. Branch: Army Medical Corps/Short Service Regular Commission(1969-1972); Direct Permanent Commission(1973-1984). Designation: Medical Officer. Unit: Establishment No.22(1971-1974)/South Column,Operation Eagle(1971-1972).
Reference: National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 79. The Tilt: The U.S. and the South Asian Crisis of 1971.
Whole Dude – Whole Designer – Matter and Spirit: Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza( 1632-1677) Dutch philosopher taught that there is but one infinite substance called God or Nature having infinite attributes. He held that mind, and body as merely different aspects of a single substance. In his view, God is Nature in its fullness.
Matter is an actual substance that has properties such as mass or weight, and occupies space. Matter has other attributes like motion, size, shape, and a form by which it may be recognized. Materialism is defined as a system of thought that explains the nature of world as entirely dependent on “matter” the final reality. Materialism as a philosophical doctrine deals with matter as the only reality and that everything in the world, including thought, will, and feeling can be explained only in terms of matter. Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza, Dutch philosopher taught that there is but one infinite substance, God or Nature, having infinite attributes of which only thought and extension are knowable. He was excommunicated from his Jewish community. He held that mind and body as merely different aspects of a single substance. In his view, God is Nature in its fullness. Matter is immutable or indestructible, and Spinoza explained the indestructibility of matter is established by the uncreated and eternal nature of God. “By Body”, Spinoza writes, “I understand a mode which expresses in a certain and determinate manner the essence of God in so far as He is considered as the thing extended.”
This philosophical doctrine of Materialism is used in modern times to explain that comfort, pleasure, and wealth are the only goals or values of human life and human existence. The idea of materialism is used to contrast it with the spiritual, or intellectual goals, or values of human life. In my view, man will not be able to define his purpose in life if there is separation of matter, and spirit. Man is a physical being with matter and form. To define the goals, or values of human life, man must understand what it is to be a substance and what it is to exist. If matter and spirit are separated, and if there is no unity between matter and spirit, human life would be simply impossible. The word or term ‘Spirit’ is associated with characteristics such as immutable, immortal, immovable, imperishable, indestructible, immaterial, eternal, and unchanging, or constant nature of a substance which withstands the influence of time If God is uncreated and is eternal, Spirit is a natural extension of that God’s nature and shares the same attributes. To recognize the spiritual potential of a substance, we have to understand the nature of matter.
The Laws of Conservation – “Life is neither created nor destroyed”
WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE DESIGNER – MATTER AND SPIRIT: If materialism is about the influence of material wealth, I would like to use the Power/Force/Energy called Money to talk about Life and Death. The Laws of Conservation are applicable to both living, and non-living matter. Hence, it can be stated that “Life can neither be created nor destroyed.” If any person can refute my claim using valid, scientific information, I would give the person an US $1,000 bill as a reward.
If materialism is about the influence of material wealth, I would like to use the Power/Force/Energy called Money to talk about Life and Death. The Laws of Conservation are applicable to both living, and non-living matter. Hence, if matter can neither be created nor destroyed, it can be stated that “Life can neither be created nor destroyed.” If any person can refute my claim using valid, scientific information, I would give the person an US $1,000 bill as a reward.
The Laws of Conservation of Matter:
Whole Dude – Whole Designer – Matter and Spirit: Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794) French chemist and physicist, the founder of modern Chemistry. He gave the name Oxygen to the gaseous chemical element discovered by Joseph Priestley. He discovered the composition of Water molecule. He formulated the Law of Conservation of Mass.
Chemical elements are the fundamental materials of which all matter is composed. There are about 107 known chemical elements. Chemical elements can combine with one another to form a wide variety of more complex substances called compounds. The number of possible compounds is infinite; perhaps a million chemical compounds are known. When two or more elements combine to form a compound, they lose their separate identities and the product has characteristics quite different from those of the constituent elements. The gaseous elements hydrogen and oxygen with quite different properties can combine to form the compound water which has altogether different properties from either hydrogen or oxygen. Most of naturally occurring matter represents physical mixtures of compounds. The indestructibility of matter was explained by Lavoisier as the Law of Conservation. “We may lay it down as an incontestable axiom,” Lavoisier writes, “that in all the operations of art and nature, nothing is created; an equal quantity of matter exists both before and after the experiment.” What appears to be the destruction of a body is merely the transformation of its matter into another physical condition, without loss of mass unless there is an equivalent gain in energy. The total quantity of matter and energy remains constant throughout all physical changes. Material substances undergo changes when they interact with other material substances, but this “change” cannot be described as the permanent reality. The permanent reality describes the unchanging, or constant nature of chemical elements and molecules in spite of their tendency to interact with other elements and molecules.
WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE DESIGNER – MATTER AND SPIRIT: Water is the simplest and most abundant of all the molecules found in all living matter. The chemical composition of living matter reveals 70 to 80 percent water. At the same time, water can exist as simple, physical, or non-living matter. I claim that water molecule has the potentiality to constitute living matter because of its spiritual nature. Under the influence of time, living matter is transformed into molecules of non-living matter and yet the properties of molecules is fundamentally conserved allowing the change to proceed in either direction.
The Laws of Conservation are any of the several principles applied in Physics and Chemistry that state that certain properties of an isolated system remain constant with time. Each Law signifies that the nature of a substance or thing that does not change with the passage of time. However, it must be noted that change is the pervasive phenomenon of the natural world. It is said that, “Things in Nature Change with Time.” Although matter may change its form, or shape under the influence of time, its mass always remains the same. The Law of Conservation of Mass implies that matter can be neither created nor destroyed, that is, processes that change the physical, or chemical properties of substances within an isolated system leave the total mass unchanged. Similarly, The Law of Conservation of Energy implies that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, although it can be changed from one form (mechanical, kinetic, chemical, etc.,) into another form such as heat, or the energy consumed in the performance of work. In an isolated system, the sum of all forms of energy therefore remain constant. Every conservation law concerns a collection of two, or more objects, isolated from external influence, for which some physical quantity remains unchanged in time, or is conserved, quite apart from the details of what goes on between the interacting particles within the system. An important function of conservation laws is that they make it possible to predict the macroscopic behavior of a system without having to consider the microscopic details of the course of a physical process or chemical reaction. The fundamental character of these conservation laws is evident in the fact that each law may be deduced from or related to a symmetry property of space and time. The symmetry property of space and time determines the periodic frequency with which a natural change occurs while the nature or properties of things is conserved to allow the change to repeat itself in an expected manner.
What is Spirit? Unchanging Nature in a Changing World:
WholeDude – WholeDesigner – Matter and Spirit: Many important biological processes involve Redox or Oxidation and Reduction Chemical Reactions. These chemical reactions reveal a dynamic process that is the characteristic of both Life and Death. If Life is explained by a series of chemical reactions, the same process continues into Death.
Natural Science, and Natural History is about the natural phenomenon called change. The systematized knowledge of Biological Sciences provide us with information about extinction which is the most common phenomenon in planet Earth’s Natural History. Earth has witnessed several major, and minor episodes called extinction during which certain life forms got wiped out. While extinction is driven by climate change and its associated environmental change, life continues to exist on Earth without any apparent change in the chemical composition of living matter. Extinction involves the loss of forms and it does not involve a change in the nature of the corporeal substance that has the potential called Life and is known as Living Matter. In other words, it may be stated that if a change is observed in the natural world, it is always supported by an underlying, unchanging principle. While living things are born and die at the end of their lifetime, the matter, or the corporeal substance which has the potential to establish Life remains unchanged and its nature is conserved and is not affected by time. Under the influence of the cyclical flow of time, individual, living things are born and are dying while the Principle of Conservation maintains the unchanging nature of things that constitute Life or Living Matter. Life is established by a vital, animating principle called Spirit; the presence of Spirit can be related to the unchanging or immutable nature of Matter that gets the nature called Eternal, or Immortal, or Imperishable or Indestructible that overcomes the limitations imposed by Time and Space. The Magic of Creation involves the use of a design, or plan to introduce the abilities such as thought, will, feelings, and cognition into matter that reveals their presence or absence while passing through stages like Life and Death. The same chemical elements, chemical compounds, and chemical reactions operate in the state called living and death and both are maintained by the same unchanging nature of Matter and Spirit. In my opinion, it may not be correct to regard Spirit as separate from Matter. It will not be correct to separate man into physical body or matter, thinking substance or mind, and immaterial substance called Spirit. There is no human existence if there is disunity or separation of Matter, Spirit, the Body, and the Mind. The uncreated, Eternal, Spiritual nature of God that is shared by Spirit and Matter would lead us to claim: “Life can neither be created nor destroyed.”
Prabhu Dayal was India’s Consul General in New York from September 2008 to February 2013.
Devyani Khobragade may have fallen victim to a common menace – maids desperately seeking green cards.
Whole Dude - Whole Spirituality 