Insightful newsletter of Drishtikone: Issue #181 - The appropriate plane of communalism
“The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name.” ― Confucius
Year after year, Tulsi Gabbard is the only leader anywhere in the world who gives a serious, loving message on every Hindu festival publicly. I have not seen any politician in the West, even Hindus share such messages.
I have had the chance to discuss spiritual aspects of Hinduism with her in some detail on one occasion, and her depth and serious understanding were very refreshing. In fact, very few people I have spoken to in my life have such a clear understanding of the real spiritual basis of Hinduism as Tulsi. I am not talking about the typical religious way of looking at things, which most of us do. But fundamentally sound.
That is why I wanted to start with her message on Diwali as the basis for wishing everyone on one of the most important festivals (other being Mahashivaratri) for spiritual seekers around the world.
GRATITUDE: Thanks to Anandji for a very generous contribution to Drishtikone. Truly humbled.
narratives and interests that aligned to targeted India
Vikram Sood explains what narratives are and their role in his amazing book - “The Ultimate Goal: A Former R&AW Chief Deconstructs How Nations and Intelligence Agencies Construct Narratives”.
Narratives and subterfuge through verbal psychobabble are ways to create an alternative to military options. They allow a country to break down the systems within its adversary’s society. Public opinion is a powerful weapon that can be used to bring down the nation’s leadership while playing up the anti-government and treasonous forces. This has been the time-tested strategy for political dominance.
Let us see how the strategic interests of the British empire played havoc with millions of lives and the future of Indian society.
British encouraged the radical and extreme Muslims to take charge of pushing their weight around. The British strategy was one of “divide to conquer for annexation”. This principle later morphed into “divide and rule”.
Bitten by the unity between Hindus and Muslims, the British strongly promoted communalism post-1857.
The Secretary of State, Sir Charles Wood asserted “we have maintained our power in Britain by playing off one part against the other and we must continue to do so,” in a letter to Lord Elgin, the Indian Governor-General. Lord Dufferin also got a similar message from Secretary of State Viscount Cross.
Churchill was specifically anti-Brahmin. He used Gandhi as a synonym for “Brahmins” who he thought Gandhi want to replace Brits with. The way he posited Brahmins against the Muslims is very instructive.
During colonial rule, the British had a clear favorite in Muslims. 30% of the entire Indian Army was composed of Muslims. Jinnah’s Dawn newspaper was largely funded via government advertisements.
IN fact, the director of the Intelligence Bureau in India made the following remark - “the game has been well played… the Indian problem has been thereby thrust into its appropriate plane of communalism.. an opportunity for orderly evacuation now presents itself.”
Pakistan was a strategic necessity for the British. Both, as a base for action in the Middle East and as a bulwark against India.
The narratives created around the partition, the facilitation of the disputes, like Kashmir, and eternal communal hatred so the enmity and battles keep on going in a way that Pakistan will always be dependent on the British (and then US) protection, were the product of British assessment of their strategic interests in India.
That remains true for the West to this day.
Modi has been a threat to most of the machinations of the West. Whether it is the KGB’s successors - FSB (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation) and the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service), the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) or the MI6 - the aim remains the same.
The political domination of India.
The disintegration of Pakistan even at the cost of destroying Islamic terrorism around the world is still NOT an acceptable price to pay for these forces. They still
China’s new Defense doctrine - the “Outline”
China’s Central Military Commission has issued a new operation doctrine. On November 7th, 2020 a new “Outline” doctrine was unveiled for the joint operations of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The "Outline" is the Chinese military's combat doctrine system created for the new era.
M. Taylor Fravel writes shares the significance of this new “Outline”.
It has been 20 years since the doctrine was updated.
The old doctrine had 89 regulations, and the new ones it is believed will have more.
The shift will be from campaigns to operations as the unit of analysis for China’s operational establishment.
As per the Chinese government communications, the “Outline” focuses on…
…establishment of a legal system for joint operations, establishing basic concepts, establishing basic systems, clarifying basic rights and responsibilities, answering the major questions of "what wars and how to fight" from the system level, strengthening the clear guidance for preparing for war, and consolidating and deepening leadership (Source)
It is obvious that the Chinese are looking for wider reforms in their defence and attack capabilities to make their forces more nimble and coordinated.
reform of the command system, scale structure, and force composition are of great significance to promoting the liberation and development of our military's joint combat capabilities (Source)
One wonders if the Indian establishment is closely following these new shifts within the Chinese security system because it will have a very significant impact on the Indian options going forward.
market corner - quick bytes
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Junk food love during COVID? Jubilant FoodWorks (operates Domino’s Pizza and Dunkin’ Donuts chains) share price at an all-time high - more
High online sales show an economic revival - more
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Farm sector to generate more solar energy - more
A complete guide to comparing Mutual Funds in India - more
Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved posts 22% jump in net profit to ₹424.72 crore - more
BSE signs MoU with premier bullion trade associations across India for commodities derivatives market - more
nota bene
Pfizer vaccine side effects: A day after pharma firm Pfizer indicated that its vaccine candidate against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) was 90% effective in stopping infections, several volunteers who were given the shot complained of side effects like headache and fever, per a report. (Source)
Pak bans online payments for Indian content: Pakistan government has asked Pakistani banks to immediately ban online payments from this country for the subscription of electronic media content from India, according to a media report on Friday.
The decision was taken by the Cabinet on November 9, Dawn newspaper reported, adding that the banking authorities have also been asked to submit a compliance report to the State Bank of Pakistan, the central bank of the country, by November 13. (Source)
Logistics giants gear up for COVID vaccine distribution: Snowman LogisticsNSE 8.95 %, Blue Dart ExpressNSE 0.99 %, Allcargo LogisticsNSE 1.07 %, DHL Express, and Mahindra LogisticsNSE 1.27 % are among the logistics leaders that are gearing up to take on the mammoth task of transporting Covid-19 vaccines across the country. A couple of them are also in talks with pharma companies such as Serum Institute of India to develop a logistics and transportation plan, said people in the know. Snowman Logistics, a cold chain logistics provider, has reserved space for more than 10,000 pallets, which will hold 70 million doses of the vaccine, across all its locations. (Source)
Imran Khan Govt spied on Maryam Nawaz in her bathroom!: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Sharif has launched a scathing attack on the Pakistan Prime Minister by revealing the hardships she faced when she was lodged in prison under the administration of the Pakistan Army led by Imran Khan government. In a startling revelation on November 12 (Thursday), Maryam alleged that apart from her jail cell, the jail authorities had installed cameras even in the washroom she used in jail. (Source)
Xi Jinping personally stopped Ant Group IPO: President Xi ordered Chinese regulators to investigate and effectively shut down Ant's stock market flotation, the report said. China's President Xi Jinping personally decided to pull the plug on Ant Group's $37-billion (£28 billion) initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing Chinese officials with the knowledge of the matter. The decision to stop what would have been the world's largest-ever IPO, came days after the fintech giant's billionaire founder Jack Ma launched a public attack on the country's financial watchdogs and banks. President Xi ordered Chinese regulators to investigate and effectively shut down Ant's stock market flotation, the report said. (Source)
How China traps countries: Zambia has finally received a six-month reprieve from China Development Bank on repayment of its debt due in October, the government in Lusaka announced last month after a desperate SOS that it was on the verge of a default. Lusaka had already been attempting to restructure and refinance its Chinese debt when SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, first reached Africa and rapidly spread across the world, infecting over 52 million and wreaking havoc on global economies. It has only gotten worse. Like in Kenya, one of China’s largest trade partners in Africa that owes $6.5 billion to China, 22 percent of its total external debt. China’s interest payments represent 87 percent of the cash used to service debt expenditure in 2019. Kenya is yet to work out an arrangement with China but has been reluctant to seek debt relief amid reports that it was concerned it could hurt its ability to tap capital markets. (Source)
5 days of Diwali
This is a new channel where this young lady is trying to explain the different aspects of Hinduism and Dharma through her well-articulated videos. They may not be spiritually profound, but the attempt is good to share useful content for our kids.
Please subscribe and share it widely. Here she discusses the 5 days of Diwali with some extremely useful information. Do watch it and share it.
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