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The Safe Base in Paradise
Frederick Forsyth’s new novel The Afghan 
There have been incidents in Kerala showing that trouble is brewing in the paradise. One such incident was the Marad massacre.
On May 2, 2003, armed men hacked eight fishermen to death in Marad, Kerala. The judicial commission report which probed this incident found all arms of the “secular” Congress Govt., which was ruling till now, guilty . According to the commission, atleast one senior politician belonging to the Muslim League, a coalition buddy of Congress, had advance knowledge of this conspiracy. The other findings of the commission are explosive and “vote bank” politics was explcitly blamed for this.[Courting the fundamentalists]
Recently it was revealed that Mohammad Fahad, one of the two Pakistani militants arrested in Mysore was based in Kozhikode.
Fahad, hailing from north Nizamabad in Karachi, was issued an Indian visa on November 30, 2005 for 45 days. The Karnataka police had confirmed that he overstayed his time. His stepbrother Abdul Khader, it is learnt, has been taken into custody by the Karnataka police. Abdul Khader is running a fancy shop in Mysore and both his kids are studying in Bangalore, while his wife is residing at Kappad.
Police sources said that the raids at the industrial unit had been carried out for two reasons. The police suspect that the company owner has some relationship with Abdulla Koya. Apart from that a blast had occurred at the site five years ago, the police said.[Massive search operation in Kozhikode district]
So far we have not seen any international terrorists from Kerala, but with political parties actively courting terrorists for staying in power, Kerala could serve a base for such folks.
Cross-posted to the INI Signal.
Guns, Rock Climbing and iPods
Sometimes international politics and diplomacy offers more chance of fun than watching kids play in a day care center. The first one comes from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi who landed in Nigeria with some 200 armed body guards. When the Nigerians refused the body guards to carry arms, Gaddafi threatened to walk some 40 kms to the capital city from the airport. With some intervention from President Obasanjo, the Libyans backed down, though it would have been more fun to see Gaddafi walk all that distance.
The second piece of funny news from that land where Uncle Castro rules from the bed. Right now the biggest threat to Cuban national security comes from – Rock Climbers (gasp!). The reason is that Castro launched his 1959 revolution from a camp in the Sierra Maestra Mountains and now the the Cuban Govt. thinks that all people who climb mountains are about to conduct another revolution. Also some of the Cubans climb mountains with Americans. Due to this now Cubans are required to get a permit before climbing, with only one problem that no one knows how to get a permit.
If tiny countries can act juvenile, it is hard for the lone superpower to stay away. In a move which is sure to bring down the regime of Kim Jong Il, United States has banned the export of iPods, plasma televisions and Segway electric scooters to North Korea. When Kim knows that he will have to listen to music on the Zune, watch the latest James Bond movie on a normal television and will have to walk instead of zipping on the Segway, he is sure to roll back his nuclear programme and come out from the Dark Side.
I thought I would stay away from blogging for the holidays, but all these folks won’t let me.
Even before Castro is dead..
In this age and era how do you still run a Communist country or state? By switching to capitalism, of course. We have seen this in China, Russia and West Bengal. Now it is happening in Cuba as well and they are not even waiting for Fidel to die
Between 1989 and 1993, Cuba’s gross domestic product fell 35%, while the island’s foreign trade slumped by 75%, says Carmelo Mesa-Lago, professor emeritus of economy at University of Pittsburgh.
As living standards plummeted, Havana residents ate many of the city’s cats. An epidemic of optic neuropathy, caused by deficiencies in nutrition and resulting in temporary blindness, struck down some 35,000 Cubans. For Raúl, economic security became a critical part of national security. “Beans are more important than cannon,” he told troops in 1994.
Although Mr. Castro has steadfastly opposed economic reforms during his 47-year communist regime, his younger brother and anointed successor, Raúl, has shown a deep interest in free-market experiments in the past. As defense minister since the 1959 revolution, he has frequently looked to the military as his laboratory.
But the seeds of economic reform in Cuba may be planted more firmly than many suspect. One piece of evidence: Raúl has traveled to China a number of times to study Beijing’s economic policies and in 2003 he invited the leading economic adviser to then Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, who played a leading role in opening up China to foreign trade and investment, to give a series of lectures in Cuba. Fidel Castro, who deeply opposes reforms, was a notable no-show, says Domingo Amuchastegui, a former Cuban intelligence officer who now lives in the U.S. and keeps close tabs on political developments on the island.[Cuba’s Military Puts Business On Front Lines (subscription reqd)]
A memorial for vipassana
Once Buddhism spread from India to neighboring countries, Buddha’s teachings were also preserved in Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Laos. In Burma, through a teacher-student relation, the practice of vipassana was also preserved for almost 2000 years. Sayagyi U Ba Khin (1899-1971), the first accountant general of independent Burma taught it to S N Goenka and ever since that Goenka has led the establishment of dhamma centers to teach vipassana free of cost around the world.
A golden pagoda, the world’s largest stone monument and the first dome in human history of this size without any supporting pillars will be innagurated in Mumbai this week. This large meditation hall which can hold upto 8000 meditators will also be holding the authentic relics of the Buddha.
This pillarless 27-meter-high dome is attracting architectural wonder considering that thousands of stones, each weighing about 600-700 kilograms, are suspended without any external support. “These massive stones seemingly float over our heads, locked into place by the interlocking principle of one stone gripping and holding another. The more weight that is added to the stones, the more firmly the stones grip and hold each other,” said M M Khandhar, a veteran construction engineer with experience of building projects in the US. When fully complete, the pagoda will be 100 meters high.
The biggest stone dome with a hollow interior built anywhere in the world before the Global Pagoda was the Gol Gumbaj Dome in Bijapur, southern India, which is 40 meters in diameter. The Global Pagoda is more than twice its size.
“We initially contemplated building the pagoda in reinforced concrete and steel. But the project aim is to build a structure to last for a thousand years, so we decided to use the basic building principles that have existed in ancient India for centuries, combined with latest construction technologies,” explained the Mumbai-based Global Vipassana Foundation that is executing the project. “The construction plans were finalized following advice from consultants and research studies, including one by the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai.”
When Goenkaji first expressed his wish to have such a dome built without any pillars in the meditation hall, to avoid inconvenience to meditators, almost all consultants and technical personnel expressed their doubts, saying this was almost impossible.
Chandubhai Sompura, an Indian architect, provided the breakthrough by demonstrating the idea of the locking system of stones using bars of soap cut into the same shape as the present stones are cut. A stone has grooves cut both horizontally and vertically, and is designed to interlock in both directions and hold the stones in place. [Asia’s spectacular monument of gratitude]
NPR Links (1)
National Public Radio and local affiliates like KQED in San Francisco and WHYY in Philadelphia bring some of the best interviews and discussions you can hear in American Media. Here are some interviews worth listening. (Click on the Listen button on the page)
- Ahmed Rashid, author of Taliban on Fresh Air
- What Mathematicians do. If you want to understand Poincaré conjecture and the beauty of pi, then listen to this.
- Rajeev Chandrasekharan, on his new book about life in the Green Zone in Baghdad
- Nobel laureate Jospeh Stiglitz on Globalization.
- Historian Niall Ferguson talks about the wars in the 20th century.
Well deserved Nobel Prize
Even though the Nobel Commitee gives awards to terrorists like Yasser Arafat, war criminals like Henry Kissinger and writers like Harold Pinter who is more famous for his anti-American rants, once in a while they give it to someone deserving like Mohammed Yunus.
“Every single individual on earth has both the potential and the right to live a decent life,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. “Across cultures and civilizations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development.”
“Eradication of poverty can give you real peace,” the 66-year-old Mr. Yunus told reporters in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, according to Reuters. “Now the war against poverty will be further intensified across the world.”Mr. Yunus, who has a Ph.D. in economics from Vanderbilt University, has said he was inspired to start Grameen by a chance meeting with a poor woman in 1974. She made bamboo stools for a living, but had to borrow money at rates as high as 10% a week to purchase materials. The exorbitant interest left her with the tiniest of profits.
Mr. Yunus, according to his autobiography, dipped into his own pocket and lent a group of 42 basket weavers the equivalent of $27. Even that small amount improved living standards. Equally importantly, he has said, the women repaid the loans.[Microloan’ Father Yunus Is Awarded Nobel Peace Prize]
Microfinance has now led to the idea of Microinsurance which is like life and disability coverage for low-income people in emerging markets to protect the family if the bread winner dies or falls sick.
Bajaj Allianz, an Allianz Indian joint venture, offered its first microinsurance product in the subcontinent in 2003. In August Allianz said its Indonesian unit started a microinsurance pilot project. The aim is to design and sell a product that will cover the outstanding balance of a loan in the event that the person who took out the loan dies. The policy would also pay the loan taker’s family double the loan amount.
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Nonetheless, charitable groups such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Aga Khan Foundation USA, the Munich Re Foundation, and ACCION International are also pushing microinsurance. They see it as a complement to microfinance loans, something that can increase financial sophistication in far-flung places, while protecting people who are vulnerable from ruin when breadwinners get sick or die.[Out of ‘Microfinance’ Work Springs Insuring Loans for Impoverished]
Chola period bronze idols discovered
Three bronze idols of Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati were unearthed at Airavateeswara Temple, Darasuram, in Thanjavur district. The Siva idol, measuring two feet four inches x one ft five inches and Parvati measuring one ft three inches x two feet, were found in the north west corner of the cloister `Mandapa’ at a depth of 2.5 ft during conservation work carried out by Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai circle.
According to Sathyabhama Badreenath, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Chennai circle, the idols are a part of the Somaskanda group though they are two separate pieces. Siva is seated in `Sukhasana’ position with four arms, the upper arm carrying `mriga’ and `mazhu’ (battle axe) while the lower arms are in `abhaya’ and `simhakarna’ positions.
The idol is adorned with Jatamakuta, Udharabhanda, etc. Parvati is also in `Sukhasana’ position and her right hand looks as if she is holding a lotus. [ Chola period bronze idols discovered]
The article has pictures of both the idols.
Time to ship a 100 pack DVD-R from Amazon
Apparently someone from Amazon is hand crafting each of those 100 DVD-R’s in my order.
Book Review: The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism
The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism
Excluding the first chapter which contains the preliminary narrative, the Bhagavad Gītā contains 650 verses. A sloka takes at least twelve seconds to narrate which means that if Krishna spoke without a pause it would have taken him over two hours to complete his sermon to Arjuna. Considering the fact that a great war about to commence it seems unlikely that the entire Bhagavad Gītā as we know it today was delivered by Krishna on the battle field according to A.L.Basham.
Basham, known more popularly for his work, The Wonder That Was India
Coming back to the lack of proportion in Gītā, Basham says that Arjuna’s quandary is settled within the 38th verse of the second chapter, but still Krishna turns to other matters which are irrelevant to the main theme. The rest of the the Gita was added later, at least by two hands. One of them was a philosopher of the Upanisisadic type interested in the Brahman and the other was a theist, a devotee of Vishnu.
His theory comes by the analysis of a later interpolation into the Mahabharata known as Anugita which occurs in the seventeenth book, the Asvamedha Parvan. At that time the war is over and Arjuna reminds Krishna of what he taught him in the battle field and admits that he has forgotten Krishna’s words. Krishna talks again about Brahman, early forms of Samkhya and Yoga philosophy, but there is no reference to bhakti or Krishna’s divinity from which Basham concludes that the Anugita was inserted into the Mahabharata when Bhagavad Gītā was devoid of its theistic passages.
He has many other revelations as well. For him there was no trace of Hinduism in the Indus Valley Civilization which is where the book starts. The pashupathi seal which shows a horned god sitting in a yogic posture known as utkatikasana, discovered in Mohenjo-daro according to many resemble a proto-Shiva, but not for Basham. The full face of the god is closer to a tiger than a man and it is not clear if the god is ithyphallic. He also dismisses evidence for ritual temple prostitution and the inducements of calm or trance states called yoga as dubious.
Instead the beginnings of religion for him started between 1500 and 900 B.C.E when the Rg-veda was composed – not by indigenous people, but by Aryans who entered India after the decline of the Indus cities. The authors of the hymns could not have been the residents of the Indus civilization for they do not make any mention of those cities. Also, the Vedic hymns mention horses which did not exist in Indus cities. He does not wonder why the authors of the Rg-veda mention life on the shore of sapta-sindhu rivers even though they arrived in the region after two of the rivers had dried up.
Unlike the Eminent Historians, Basham finds various admirable concepts in Hinduism. He notes various theories on the creation of evolution of the universe as wondered by Cyrus Spitama in Gore Vidal’s Creation, like the Golden Embryo (Hiranyagarbha) from which the universe emanated according to the Rig-Veda. Basham is very impressed with the development of thought in Vedic literature and mentions Rg-Veda (10.129) for its picture of the universe evolving out of the primal condition that was neither being nor nonbeing, neither cosmos nor chaos. This hymn according to him is the oldest expression of philosophic doubt in the literature of the world and forms a landmark in the history of Indian thought.
Besides these he also notes the Purusasukta (Rg-veda 10.90) which is beautiful from a literary point of view as well as a verse found in Brhadaranya Upanishad (1.4) which informs us that the mating of Purusa and Viraj produced a second Purusa and then the Gods. In Brhadaranya Upanishad he also finds new accounts for the theory on creation which ascribes primacy to Death, Brahman and a personal self showing the richness and variety of Upanisadic literature.
In Brhadaranya Upanishad (3.2) the sage Yajnavalkya comes to the court of King Janaka of Videha (northern Bihar) and he is questioned by another sage, Jaratkarava Artabhaga on what happens to a man after his death. Yajnavalkya does not answer it in public, but they both walk alone and talk to each other and Jaratkarava becomes silent. What Yajnavalkya told him was the theory of transmigration of the soul which was held in secret initially, but later was made public.
This concept alongwith the ideas of samsara and karma were all products of great intellectual thought according to Basham. These concepts of transmigration and karma was adopted by heterodox leaders like the Buddha and Mahavira as well. Other concepts introduced by the ascetics include the atman and the Brahman and he is fascinated by a debate on if the absolute and ultimate entity is “without characteristics” (nirguna) or “with characteristics” (saguna).
Basham also questions the Marxist theories which connect the rise of heterodoxies such as Buddhism and Jainism as a revolt against the class system. According to him, Brahmins formed the largest group of both monks and lay supporters of Buddhism. In its early form Buddhism appealed mainly to intellectuals and rulers and very few members of the lower orders supported it.
Besides the Vedic literature, Basham is impressed with the two epics as well. He thinks that there was nothing religious in the Mahabharata originally, but religious content was added later by the Brahmins. Seeing the popularity of the original poem, the Brahmins took over the transmission of it from the royal bards and crudely sandwiched many doctrinal, mythological and theological passages into it. He blames the gotra of the Bhargavas for this crime. In fact the original poem did not even have Krishna according to him.
While most of us believe that Ramayana is older than Mahabharata since Rama is the seventh avatar and Krishna the eight, Basham says it need not be so. According to him the list of avatars was produced much later than either books. Also there is evidence that Mahabharata was finally edited in 500 C.E and by that time Ramayana was well known and was interpolated into Mahabharata. He also thinks that Mahabharata had a rugged beauty without high finish or intellectual style while Ramayana was the work in ornate and classical style of Sanskrit.
Basham traces the religious and philosophical life of India from the Indus Valley civilization to the crystallization of classical Hinduism in the first centuries. This book is short and on a flight from San Francisco to Washington D.C. this book can be completed in the time the flight goes over Denver. Basham’s writing echoes the theories of the eminent historians and considering the fact that he was the the doctoral guide for the likes of Romila Thapar, it is not a surprise.
The book is available in the varnam book store