This book reflects my continued interest in the Volunteering and Community services. I was a member on the Board of the Harbor foundation for the retarded; The Rotary Clubs of the cities I resided in, The Battered Woman’s Aid group, and The Art Center. I was also keenly involved in and organized the 50th birthday of the city of Palos Verdes, and 10th anniversary of the formation of the city of Ranch Palos Verdes. From that I catapulted to Politics and was in the inner circle of the Republican followed by Democratic Party. The chapters like the Politics of Convenience Upset the Balance of Power; the Pendulum Theory; and the Cyclical Theory are the products of what the real situations were.
This book reflects my continued interest in the Volunteering and Community services. I was a member on the Board of the Harbor foundation for the retarded; The Rotary Clubs of the cities I resided in, The Battered Woman’s Aid group, and The Art Center. I was also keenly involved in and organized the 50th birthday of the city of Palos Verdes, and 10th anniversary of the formation of the city of Ranch Palos Verdes. From that I catapulted to Politics and was in the inner circle of the Republican followed by Democratic Party. The chapters like the Politics of Convenience Upset the Balance of Power; the Pendulum Theory; and the Cyclical Theory are the products of what the real situations were.
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This book reflects my continued interest in the Volunteering and Community services. I was a member on the Board of the Harbor foundation for the retarded; The Rotary Clubs of the cities I resided in, The Battered Woman’s Aid group, and The Art Center. I was also keenly involved in and organized the 50th birthday of the city of Palos Verdes, and 10th anniversary of the formation of the city of Ranch Palos Verdes. From that I catapulted to Politics and was in the inner circle of the Republican followed by Democratic Party. The chapters like the Politics of Convenience Upset the Balance of Power; the Pendulum Theory; and the Cyclical Theory are the products of what the real situations were.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781463442927 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 11/21/2011 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 256 |
| File size: | 534 KB |
Read an Excerpt
Politics of Convenience!
Upset the Balance of PowerBy Go Pal
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2011 Go PalAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4634-4294-1
Chapter One
The Golden Sparrow
India, the Golden Sparrow, was also called the "Jewel of the East."
The "Plunderers," of all countries of the world eyed it as a prize catch.
The international traders were keen to rob it's riches, jewels, stones, natural resources, including gold, silver, over the centuries. The Greek and Roman merchants were deeply involved with the Indian commerce, until they were cut-off by the Mohammedan Powers. Then came the Arabs in their dhows, and made significant progress in the commerce between India and Europe, but these exceedingly profitable opportunities fell into the hands of the Portuguese, French and most of all the Dutch. They later established the East India Company. These nations waged battles to capture ports and landing sites in the Indian coastline.
However, the foxy Englishman John Mildenhall, convinced Emperor Jehangir to grant free trading powers, to the East India Company formed by Clive in 1600 AD. The Brits were quick to learn that the Indians always fight with each other and can never team-up to fight the outsiders. They took advantage of this lack of unity, and we had to pay heavy price for it till mid twentieth century. They slowly took over the country under the pretext of protecting the Moguls against French, Portuguese, and Dutch. They systematically got rid of all other Europeans, using their tactics, statesmanship and better business acumen.
It was easy for them to get rid of the Moguls, as the quality of their dynasty degenerated, and after they won the Plassey war, and slowly conquered Bengal, through intrigue and economic drain. After dealing a decisive blow to the French, The British East India Company was in full control of the upper Ganges plains.
In the south the, Anglo Mysore war ended in peace treaty with Tipoo Sultan, who was in league with the French. Mysore was now at the disposal of the British. However Napoleon Bonaparte's attack on Britain, gave William Pitt an excuse to collect funds from the wealthy States, under the new law of "Subsidiary Alliance, " with the nawab of Hyderabad, Marathas, and other Indian Princely states. This gave the Governor General extreme powers to take over their entire administration and funds, if he was dissatisfied with them on any account. Basically the Company's domination spread from sea to shining seas, across the base of the whole Indian Peninsula. The excuse was that it is protection money. After grabbing their total collections from their subjects, as taxes, they were given small portion for their expenses and upkeep.
In realty it was the British Strategic Naval Power that resulted in defeating the mighty Spanish Armada (= David vs. Goliath). In almost the same way, capturing of 4 Indian trading vessels, from Gujrat to the Red Sea, Middleton of the East India Company created an aura of awe that led to the British supremacy. However Clive was the real architect, of building the British Empire in India. He reduced Dutch to submission in 1759 and quickly closed the irregularities of his interference by accepting compensation from the Dutch. India's prominence on the Silk Road, its fertile land, and the cheap labor growing by geometric proportion, were some of the attractions for the aggressive colonizers!
Centuries ago, people used horse, or bullock carts, and migrated in lands alongside or adjacent to the banks of largest rivers like Ganges, Jamuna. They settled in small villages and large townships! There were no faster transportation systems.
The main arteries of the old India were two largest rivers, as they defined the Defuse Map of India. The highest mountain peaks of Himalayas really protected our Motherland, on the North from the Russians, Chinese, the Moguls, the Greeks, the Iranians, the Turks, the Aryans, the Teubelanes, and Mongols like Genghis Khan, to name a few! To enter or attack India, one had to discover a few vulnerable passes through the treacherous and rugged mountain ranges of the Northwest frontier provinces of India.
The purest, most handsome, and high cheekbone Aryans (still found in NW India), came from Central Asia (Iran/Persia), across the passes, through the rugged NW Indian mountains, 3500 years ago. They were considered superior amongst races. During the days Hitler commandeered the supreme powers, he ordered young German girls to mate with Aryan men and produce a superior race, after he got rid of the Jews. A teenage beauty told me about this in a London dance hall. She was on a short holiday from Germany.
The world was attracted to India-The Golden Sparrow- for a) its wealth b) the brilliant brains of the educated Sanskrit Gurus, their high levels of achievement in the Art of Yoga, Transcendental Meditation, and c) its condiments. The literacy excellence of the Sanskrit language, the preaching of the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagvad Gita and above all the Hito-Updeshas, were really impressive. Hito-Updeshas means "advice, suited to help your well-being." These contain hundreds of couplets, giving good advice for reader's future and development. Some ruler like Chandra Gupta Maurya, was the showcase of India's greatness. He brought down Alexander the Great, and also renounced his greatest empire in the world. He walked away in penance, looking up to the Jain guru Mahabir.
National Library of India has authentic literature on Indian history, showing that the fabric of Indian and Persian Empire was expanding in 4th century BC. It stretched from Greece to India. The famous Alexander the Great was proud and an egoist man. He could not bear the humiliation of India being the "Intelligence Capital" of the world. He wanted to control, crush anyone of superior intelligence, and rule this great country, just like Central Asian, Russians, Mongols, Greeks, and Moguls before him did. He used his superior techniques of warfare, especially designed armors, and the art of bringing the prowess of elephants into mad hysteria as an unstoppable force to crush everything that came in their way! Passing through the formidable Khyber Pass, piercing through rugged mountain ranges of the Afghanistan, breezing through Punjab (like Hitler later took Poland over, in 2 hours), crossing the Beas River and on to the 64 gates in the huge Walls of Delhi built by the Moguls. They moved in waves reaching a crescendo, creating the biggest scare in the whole of India, especially amongst the defense forces! They destroyed over 570 buildings and four cities in 2000 BC but lost a high percentage of their army. They were worn out and exhausted. All the same, they were the superior forces that created a fear complex amongst the whole of India.
However, during the months taken by Alexander's forces, to reach from Khyber Pass to Bangalore. There was a trap being set up by a gentleman, an excellent war planner, the grandfather of Ashoka the Great, who was respected as a benevolent ruler marrying an ordinary girl and creating real unity amongst all sectors of society. It was Chandra Gupta Maurya He helped India to become a great Country. His grandson Ashoka was even greater. He maintained and spread the excellent heredity of Chandra Gupta.
Ashoka the Great
(Thanks to Wikipedia-Free encyclopedia for certain Pieces of Information extracted from Google search)
One of the pillars of strength of India –THE GOLDEN SPARROW, Ashoka the Great's popularity exceeded that of his grandfather, who built most of the Mauriyan dynasty. His techniques of ruling enhanced his control over the hearts and minds of his subject, enemies, and neighboring lands alike. He enhanced India's popularity as a great nation, during the 40 years of his rule. Thus the Golden Sparrow became the "Jewel of the East." Mauryan dynasty lasted just 50 years, after his death. The last Mauryan ruler was brutally murdered by his commander-in-chief, while he was taking the Guard of Honor of his forces, in 185BC.
The Northwest Territories of the Mauryan Empire (modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Greece,) became the Indo-Greek kingdom after Pusyamitra Sunga ended in 78BC. In 1992, Ashoka was ranked #53 on Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential rulers in history.
The reign of Ashoka Maurya could have easily disappeared into history, had he not left behind a record of his accomplishments, in the form of magnificently sculpted pillars and boulders, with a variety of inscriptions and teachings, etched into the stone.
The smartest thing Ashoka, did was not to use the difficult Sanskrit language, for his engravings.
Taking a cue from his respected guru Buddah, he used the current practical language Prakrit.
Ashoka had many wives and children. Mahindra and Sanghamitra were twins born by his fourth wife Devi, in the city of Ujjain. They went into Sri Lanka and converted the King, the Queen, and their people to Buddhism. He came under the spell of his youngest and wicked wife, who got his son Kunala, blinded.
One of the more enduring legacies of Ashoka, was the promotion of relationship between Buddhism and the state. He replaced the notion of divine kingship (E.g. in Angkor kingdom,) by the close association between the religious hierarchy and monarchy. He used to call a conclave to settle a number of contentious disputes between the administration and the Buddhist Sangas during his reign. This resulted in harmony in several southern estates of his kingdom. A living example of that in modern times is the state-supported Buddhism in Thailand- a symbol of a new imperial unity and a cementing force uniting diverse elements.
Ashoka's Edict below, indicates Buddhist influence amongst Hellenistic kings: Conquest by Dhamma has been won here on the borders. Even six hundred yojanas away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni.
The Ashoka Chakra, the wheel of Righteousness,
Is at the center of the National Flag of India today, where it is rendered in a Navy-Blue color over a white background?
The Lion Capital of Ashoka- atop an Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath, erected in 250BC, has been adopted as the National Emblem of India. It shows the horse on the left and the Bull on the right of the Ashoka Chakra, in the circular base on which the four Indian lions are standing back to back.
The quality of the rulers had deteriorated, 3000 years after Ashoka-the-Greats' rule. By 1600 AD. The Golden Sparrow had lost its wings and was so weakened and divided that a handful of people under Clive; a third-rate British soldier could take over the whole nation, using the fundamental technique of "Divide and Rule."
The Muslim Emperors of India caused the divisions of India on religious lines. The split up of Pakistan by the British in 1947, could not last out and soon created a new country Bangla Desh (meaning Bengali speaking country) on the east of India where the British had originally established the East India Company.
However, going back to 2000 BC Chandra Gupta Maurya, the above- mentioned grandfather of Ashoka, ambushed the invaders by building an un-pierceable ring around the forces of Alexander the Great, who were resting around Bangalore.
This resulted in fierce battle ending in the bottleneck of the Hastnapur cul-de-sac.
Chandra Gupta Maurya's superior war techniques, creating thundering sounds by drumbeats, which made elephants, mad and turn back on their owner's army, gave the crushing blow to Alexander. The ensuing confusion, melee and waves of planned, coordinated attacks by the Indians, defeated, a 150,000 enemy force, taking most of them prisoners and killing others. This massacre brought Alexander to his knees, and he capitulated. After this greatest victory the battle town, Hastnapur, edging the old city of Patna, gained the historic importance, as the center of power. British Imperial forces had their headquarters here in 1600. Over centuries this city, built, Buddhist shrines and Hindu temples, over Mogul mosques in layers. There was lots of reconstruction activity, after the fierce floods damaged and had leveled most structures to the ground. Subsequently, the drought created layers of dust, mud, etc. Over the years, Hastnapur became a city of multi layers. However, during excavation, some multistory buildings were found intact by the famous Russian archaeologist of Turkmenistan. His excavations proved what the Greek ambassadors had described, 2000 years ago. As of Chandra Gupta Maurya his series of victories made him the world-renowned benevolent ruler. There were ambassadors from 118 nations, stationed in India during his reign. Many envoys brought fabulous gifts and were full of admiration of India's riches, and of the Great Chandra Gupta Maurya. His grandson, Ashoka, designed, Chakra (wheel) as the world's most respected seal. India became the Golden Sparrow, the commercial capital of the world trade, the grand station on the silk road to China, so much so that today India is the greatest democracy in the world and present India flag has the Ashoka Chakra right in it's mid-center.
I agree that too much of everything is bad. Too much power in one hand or one party is never a self -resolving proposition.
As Mahatma Gandhi said "power kills power to accumulate power and eventually destroys itself."
We kids were scared even by the mention of his name, when Genghis Khan was at the peak of his power! Where are Alexander the Great, Hitler, and so many others? The beauty of tremendous power, and influence like that of Chandra Gupta Maurya who crushed Alexander the Great, lies in the fact that he gave up his power when he was at its peak. He then went looking for peace in the small temples. He became a follower of Buddha who himself had walked away from his princely possessions, and retired at the peak of his fame, as did Ashoka. They became symbols of respect and household names and not hated, like marauders and dictators who lacked the far sightedness, to give up power, at its peek.
This is the right moment to reflect some thought brought up by Karl Marx, published in the New York Herald tribune. He referred to the debate on India in the House of Commons. It was said that the Hindustan is an Italy of Asiatic dimensions the Himalayas for the Alps, the Plains of Bengal for the Plains of Lombardy, the Deccan for the Apennines and the Isle of Ceylon for the Island of Sicily. Hindustan was dissolved into as many independent and conflicting states as it numbered towns, or even villages, when not under the pressure of the Mohammedan, or the Mogul, or the Briton? Similarly, Italy had, from time to time, been compressed by the conqueror's sword into different national masses. Yet, from a social point of view, Hindustan is not the Italy, but the Ireland of the East. And this strange combination of Italy and of Ireland, of a world of voluptuousness and of a world of woes is anticipated in the ancient traditions of the religion of Hindustan. That religion is at once a religion of sensualist exuberance, and a religion of self-torturing asceticism. A religion of the Lingam and of the Juggernaut (Jagannath in Hindi, means Vishnu- Lord of the world), A religion of the Monk, and of the Bayadere.
British Colonial rule, was an imitation of the Dutch? To characterize the working of the British East India Company, it is sufficient to literally repeat what Sir Stamford Raffles, the English Governor of Java, said of the old Dutch East India Company:
The Dutch Company actuated solely by the spirit of gain. They viewed their [Javan] subjects, with less regard or consideration than a West India planter. They had squeezed from the people their utmost mite of contribution, the last dregs of their labor, and thus aggravated the evils of a capricious and semi-barbarous Government, by working it with all the practiced ingenuity of politicians, and all the monopolizing selfishness of traders.
All the civil wars, invasions, revolutions, conquests, famines, strangely complex, rapid, and destructive as the successive action in Hindustan may appear, did not go deeper than its surface. England has broken down the entire framework of Indian society, without any symptoms of reconstitution yet appearing. This loss of his old world, with no gain of a new one, imparts a particular kind of melancholy to the present misery of the Hindu, and separates Hindustan, ruled by Britain, from all its ancient traditions, and from the whole of its past history.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Politics of Convenience! by Go Pal Copyright © 2011 by Go Pal. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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