BUDDHISM AND TERRORISM.(updated)

 By K P PASWAN.

 In international politics, no body imagined, ever since the end of 2^nd world that balance of power might be disturbed by balance of terror. Well trained army can easily neutralize a dreaded terrorist or group of terrorists, but they cannot eliminate the philosophy and culture of terrorism, which has become an effective tool in the hands of terrorists to achieve their sinister design. They terrorize their opponents without invoking the wrath of super powers.

Buddhism as we know, originated in India and spread through peaceful means to China and Far and East. It has started its assertiveness, and we must understand the reasons for  change in attitude.

 Islamic radicals, all over the world are regarded as dreaded terrorists, who espouse the cause of terrorism in the name of religion, but not supported by Islamic scholars. Small groups of these terrorists inhabiting non-Muslims countries, get support from the West, and rich Arabian Islamic states who are contributing their oil money to spread terror, just to keep themselves in power. West and US are worst victims of religion based terror, but still they are supporting terror activities of a group of lunatics, just for economic gains and to counter political influence of erstwhile super power like Russia and new emerging economic power like China.

 Except Germany and to some extent France, the so-called EU is suffering from economic stagnation. EU cannot dictate the politics of the world and they cannot reshape the economic landscape of former colonies. Islam like Christian, Hinduism and Buddhism are religion with large followers all over the world. Entire Central Asia is dominated by rich Islamic nations, with Saudi Arabia leading the group of Islamic countries. 

There is also a Shiite majority country, Iran which is as rich as Saudi Arabia and is engaged in funding the terrorists, in neighboring countries. Iran and Saudi Arabia are sworn enemies, there are some groups of fanatics, belonging to this religion, who are virtually bent upon tarnishing the image of this wonderful region. Once Angela Merkel. The Chancellor of Germany remarked the Christians were the most oppressed religion in the world, yet the willy politician of economically prosperous Germany, did little to declare the horrendous killing of Armenians at the hands of the brutal Ottoman king in 1915 as genocide, just to please macabre president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, whose anti Christians policy is well known to the Western world.

 Historically Buddhism is the only religion which may be called a religion of peace and have suffered badly at the hands of Arabian invaders, and lost it sphere of influence from Afghanistan to Philippines. Peace loving Buddhists were forced to convert to the religion of the invaders. In Afghanistan, the fanatics Taliban ransacked the statue of Buddha in Bamiyan, which existed since the foreign invaders captured Afghanistan, and nobody on this earth raised voice of protest. On the contrary a large number of Indians claiming themselves as followers of secularism, half-heartedly condemned the ransacking of statue of Buddha. Philosophy of original Buddhism is based on a particular Upanishads, which questions the existence of an immortal super power, and instead prescribes ways and means to get rid of worldly sufferings. Lord Buddha is being regarded as the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and is revered by Hindus as well. Constitution of  India, does not distinguish between Hindus and Buddhists. Dalits converted to Buddhism enjoyed benefits like reservation in jobs and educational institutions

Terror in Buddhism is not a proper word to describe the awakening among the Buddhists in modern world, greatly influenced by extraordinary progress in fundamental science. Modern fundamental science does not recognize the existence of a personal God.Buddhists  maintains silence, when being asked the reasons for the origin of the universe. These scientists are echoing the philosophy of Buddhism. In fact, amongst the particular physicists, philosophy of Buddhism is being read widely, and. In Vedanta, soul has been identified with Brahman and not with a personal God. In Buddhism soul dies to born again. Here the neuro science plays a major part and Dalai lama has evinced keen interest in Neuroscience just to solve the puzzle of life and death.

BUDDHISM IN SriLANKA.  SriLanka is predominantly Buddhist country. Tamil Tigers, a ruthless terrorist organization once convulsed the largest democracy in the world. Rajeev Gandhi an outstanding Indian politician with a clean image was brutally assassinated by the followers of a cruel P Prabhakaran, who was a staunch Catholic  and introduced the suicide brigade to achieve his aim of carving out a small sovereign state for the Tamils in SriLanka. What is surprising that the killers of Rajeev Gandhi are expecting release from the prison as the ruling party in Tamilnadu has demanded their release. In a way there is no justification of condemning the uprising of Buddhists against the religious groups for whom terror is a means to satisfy the wish of God, whose very existence has been denounced by modern science and Buddhists. Once it appeared that the tiny island country, SriLanka might face disintegration and a separate Tamil state might be carved out of political geography of Sri Lanka.  Prabhakaanr, a Catholic and surprisingly his followers were mostly Tamil Hindus. Tamil Tigers enjoyed political patronage in a particular state in India, but the Govt of India never supported the disintegration of Sri Lanka.

For two decades Sri Lanka lived with civil war The Civil war killed 64000 people from 1983 to 20001 Tamil rebel who had their own parallel government with courts, traffic courts and a national anthem behind their heavily defended border, had long demanded separate nation for Tamils.  The Tigers stated that if  their sovereignty recognized, then they would discuss the establishment of a federal state, but  the Sri Lankan Govt insisted on a unified state The Tigers had its own die hard  brigade of dedicated fighters named as Tigers. Rebel leader V Prabhakaran often launched new offenses killing not only the Sri Lankan soldiers but also common people, on being suspicious of spies belonging to opposite camps. Lankan army and its paramilitary allies, behaved a little better, raping, abducting, and executing civilians thought to support Tamil nationalism. Both sides accused the other, explaining any killing carried out by their side of the divides as forgivable retaliation. Eric Solheim, from Norway and the Chief Negotiator said SriLanka won’t be sorted out in a few months. Lankan seemed to have forgotten the spirit of cooperation that flickered briefly the spirit of cooperation after the Tsunami. International donors gave 7.5 Billion dollars, but bitter squabbles over how to share the cash, nationalist Sinhalese and Buddhist monks claimed giving aid to the Tigers legitimized terrorism only aggravated the situation.

The rise of Buddhism is an instance of politicization of religion worldwide. Like Hinduism which is concentrated in India, but are migrating to every corner of the world in search of better life and economic opportunity. Buddhism fundamentalism is a myth, but certainly there is military showing up. Buddhism which emphasizes detachment from worldly desires and compassion for all living being has been around 2500 years. In the past, several Buddhist majority countries were converted by the foreign invaders to their own religion, but this is the age when Buddhists are adopting a tough-minded new profile, which can be explained in parts by their sufferings in the past. In China and Taiwan there is marked growth of Buddhism and reflect loosening of political control. While a secular US successfully converted S Korea and Magnolia to Christian countries, but they badly failed in other countries of the far and east.

 Buddhism was supposed to offer Dalits in India a way out of country’s oppressive caste system. Dalits have no difficulty in converting themselves to new religion, as Buddhism to some extent is similar in nature with Hinduism. In India Buddhism like Hinduism is a way of life. If we go to Materialistic ways of Buddhist Philosophy, then we find some outfits of Hinduism, openly defy the existence of supernatural power. ‘’The universe swings from this end to that end, there is no Ishwara”. This famous quote from the Upanishads forms the fundamental of Buddhist philosophy. In India Gautam Buddha is regarded an important recarntation of divine power and in Bodhgaya, a Hindu priest perform rituals which resembles the practices of Hinduism. In fact, a particular Upanishads is the central point of Buddhism religion. Gautam Buddha maintained studied silence when asked about the presence of a supernatural power behind the origin of the universe. Since Buddhism do not accept the supremacy of Vedas, so it is difficult to treat Buddhism as a dissent group of Hinduism. Tibetan Buddhism is closer to Hindu philosophy and the Chinese and Japanese Buddhists are attracted towards Tibetan form of Buddhism.

In India resurgent Buddhism have began entering politics directly. Here is an opportunity for the Dalits to liberate themselves from the shackles of their oppressed past. This sort of political participation is  also seen in far and east. In Sri Lanka Buddhist Sinhalese majority were fighting an on and off war against the Hindu Tamil minority since 1983. The Tamil Tigers led by P Prabhakaran who  ordered the killing of former PM of India and surprisingly his supporters in India called the killers as a great secular leaders and martyrs. The Sinhalese supported a full-fledged crackdown on Tamil fighters and pushed the Government to back away from an internationally backed ceasefire.

Thailand has 90 % of its population as followers of Buddha but country’s south where a Muslim insurgency   has been raging for years, so many Thai Buddhists have taken the matters into their own hands by forming self-defense groups. Nearly7000 volunteers have been armed with shotguns imported from Russia. Here it is interesting to see that coronation of Thai King is not complete without Vedic recitations from the Brahmins of Banaras, a holy city in India. While in India there is only one temple dedicated to Lord Brahma (God Of Hindus), In Thailand there are many Brahma temples and are visited by the Buddhists. Muslims insurgency in Buddhist dominated countries is very common as insurgents receive donations from Saudi Arabia. In South Korea a grand mosque was built by the Saudis in exchange of aids.

 Myanmar is facing the revolt by the Rohingya's Muslims who are demanding separate nation consisting of Rakhine province of Myanmar. These Rohingya's are funded by neighboring countries like Malaysia which in turn receive donation from Saudi Arabia, The Rohingyas are not welcomed even in Muslims countries Myanmar has been a peaceful Buddhist country until the Rohingya created problems, with the result that entire Buddhist communities, even the army have resorted harsh measures to deal with insurgents, which-is not being supported by the West, but won’t mind suppressing Muslims in their own land, and would gladly support the terror activities in other countries.

UIGHUR. Uighur are Muslims of China and is in the news for maltreatment of these Muslims by Govt of China. The stark reality is that these Uighur have been supporting the political power of Pakistan.  Uighur have matrimonial relationship with Pakistanis. Every month large number of Pakistanis are expelled from China for preaching terrorism, but these expulsions are never highlighted by print and electronic media either in India or in the West. Some of the American MNCs and German Business magnets are involved in oppressing the Uighur as these Muslims are source of cheap labor force. No Islamic country, not even Saudi Arabia has ever taken the suppression of Uighur with China.  Islamic nations like Turkey and Egypt have extradition treaty with China and are extraditing Uighur terrorists to China.Talibans in Afghanistan has dissociated from supporting the Uighur even though Talibans are known for their rigid Islamic ideology.

Buddhists like to discuss topics like corruption and climate change, such thinking has already seen in modern Japan. Buddhism growth in China, could also translate to other, long term challenge to the ruling party headed by strongman XiJinping. More and more Chines Buddhists are adopting the Tibetan variety or worshiping with itinerant spiritual instructions at home, outside of Govt approved temples and outside Govt control. Many of these  Buddhas, frequently criticality the ills of present days Chinese society including politically sensitive.

OTHER BUDDHIST COUNTRIES. Laos, Vietnam. And Kampuchea are small but important countries where Buddhism is the religion of the majority. Foreigners interested in preaching their own religion, spend huge amount of money to convert the people of Vietnam, but they badly failed. The largest Hindu temple, now dedicated to Lord Buddha is found in modern Kampuchea, previously known as Cambodia. Buddhism in Vietnam, Laos and Kampuchea are more or less based on the Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and some of the rituals resemble practiced by Hindus. All these countries suffered badly during the colonial era, but with the advent of new technology and the fastest ways of communication, these Buddhist countries are enjoying the fruits of globalization of technology. They are also asserting their Buddhist ideology and in some countries like Myanmar, SriLanka and Thailand,Buddhists  are confronting major challenge to their religion in the form of religious terrorism which has its roots in the Middle East, and enjoys the support of Western powers. With emergence of China as a leading economic and military power, Buddhist countries have become more assertive and are claiming and glorifying the peace-loving religion of the world.

CAUSES OF BUDDHIST TERROR. In modern era, no religion can flourish on the basis of glorification of terrorism There is lack of democratic institutions and intellectual debate pertaining to our position in the world. Some of the Islamic nations are rich beyond imagination, but instead of  utilizing vast sums of money for development works in poor Islamic countries, these rich Muslims are acting in a different ways. Deadly weapons manufactured in the West are being imported at huge cost to fight the liberals and pro-democratic elements in the Middle East. Exodus of a large number of poor Muslims form Africa and the middle east bear testimony to the apathy of the autocrats, who are ruling these rich Muslims countries. Buddhists are certainly not rich, and so are at the receiving end. China is not being opposed for exploitation of Uighur, but Myanmar, a poor Buddhist country is being projected as a threat to world peace. 

FINAL THOUGHT In the words of former president of US ‘’This world is full of cheats and deceits’’ Buddhism cannot be equated with radicals like Boko Ha ram, ISIS and Talibans, which pose threat to human race. Buddhism does not support violent agitation to glorify its rich philosophy.

TERROR IN GAZA.(updated)

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BY K P PASWAN.

Smart relationship with the West is necessary, if even temporary respite from terror in Gaza is required. Ali Larijani a moderate Shiite, who was a leading presidential candidate in the  presidential election of Iran,made such a wonderful statement in the context of deadly fight between Israel and the Iranian backed Hamas, who occupied large part of Gaza and face eviction. 

Unfortunately, he lost the election, but his views are respected, The residents in the besieged city of Gaza are facing continued shelling. They failed to celebrate the Muslims Holiday of Ramadan. US and Russia are supposed to arrive at a reasonable political deal as Iran enjoys the diplomatic support of Vladimir Putin, while US is openly siding with Israel. Glorification of terrorism by Hamas is not acceptable in modern era of complex diplomacy. There are good reasons to suspect the sudden, extraordinarily violent reigniting of the dormant Israel-Palestine conflict was plotted and triggered in Tehran.

Then there is lack of unity among the Palestine. Hamas and Mahmud Abbas, the leader of PLA, always plot against each other. Mahmud Abbas enjoys US support and is backed by other countries in the Middle East. For three decades Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has nurtured and funded HAMAS, powerful Shia party cum militia. Disciplined and ruthless, Hamas has in effect used Shia unity to gain a strong holdover policy. Politically fractious and geographically dispersed Gaza’s ruled by Hamas have no dominant militia and is dependent upon Iran for logistic support.

 Critics blamed the former Jewish PM for the recent conflict. Repressive, racist policies pursued by Israel’s prime minister, are the main cause of the explosion, they insist.But Netanyahu alone cannot be blamed. Iran with a dream to impose its authority upon the Islamic countries in Central Asia is responsible for the war between two groups of people.

Netanyahu is no longer PM of Israel . In a democratic set up he had to make room for new PM who is a hardliner and is opposed to any kind of deal with Palestinians.

  One thing is certain, if and when the killing finally stops, there will be plenty of blame to go around. Iran’s dominant hardliners has motive, opportunity and means. Security chiefs in Iran have been repeatedly humiliated by semi-covert Israeli attacks. Pressure to hit back in a big way has been growing. This followed the assassination of a top nuclear scientist on Iranian soil. At last CIA found a match in MOSSAD, the spy agency of Israel.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps wrongly think, that it is capable to avenge last year’s killing, in an American drone strike, of its Force commander, General Qassim Suleimani. Israel, meanwhile, has  attacked Iranian oil tankers. It regularly bombs Iranian bases and proxies in Syria.

 If deepening regional polarization prevents the US from lifting sanctions – and the Vienna nuclear talks collapse, hardliners in Iran (and Israel) will count it a victory. Hardliner Iranian Ahmadinejad,  expressed his desire to run for presidency and he was hoping the tactical support of Ayatollah Khamenei.But he was out of the race and hardliner Cleric of Iran Ibrahim Raisi was elected as new president of Iran. He enjoys the support of Supreme Leader Ayatollahs Ali Khamenie.

It is not difficult to detect Iran’s hand behind the latest violence. Israel was vulnerable to a swift, large-scale “tactical” operation. The massive rocket fire launched in  May of this year, an unprecedented series of barrages, appear to be part of an Iranian-inspired plan. This is because Islamic Jihad, an Iranian proxy, is involved in the rocket fire, and because Hamas is backed by Iran. Hamas is setting the pace – and that pace may be one that is being watched or even guided from Iran.

Netanyahu critics based in France, Germany and UK, blame him, first and foremost, for a predictable disaster – the culmination, they say, of his behavior at home over many years. Through illusions, incitement, a captive media, brutal policing and discriminatory laws, Netanyahu has repressed Israel’s Palestinian citizens, preparing the ground for violent conflict.

Biden clearly has no plan. He is fighting like hell the lethal Covid19 virus and perhaps has little time to devote his experience in the recent flare off in Gaza.

By its neglect, the international community, especially Britain and EU, which had long championed Palestine’s cause, has effectively colluded in Netanyahu-Biden efforts to bury the two-state solution. A deepening sense of abandonment and injustice, compounded by the relentless, officially tolerated depredations of right-wing settlers in the West Bank and, lately, in east Jerusalem, has now pushed Palestinians back to the perilous brink last reached during the 2000 intifada. This hopeless regression marks a fundamental failure of both Israeli politics and democracy.

In four elections in the past two years, Netanyahu proved only that a majority of voters rejected him as leader. Endless divisions between the numerous opposition parties ensured his ugly, right wing populist-nationalist brand embedded itself in Israeli society. Now it’s happening again. Some Israelis claim Netanyahu  deliberately created a new national security crisis to enable him to stay in office despite the serious charges of corruption, just as he has done in the past by invoking the Messianic Cult for Iran. True or not, the upshot may be the same.

Former president of US, Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, proposed a property developer-style “deal of the century” that trashed the very idea of a Palestinian state and pretended the occupied territories problem could be solved by ignoring it, or by annexing it.

 Joe Biden and his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, thought they could park Israel-Palestine. They want to concentrate on China, the pandemic, and a huge domestic agenda. To their evident discomfort, it has come back to bite them. Biden’s usual sure touch is missing here. He clearly has no plan. And old reflexes die hard: the US blocked a UN security council statement  that was critical of Israel. Even if Biden intervenes forcefully to end the current violence, he is unlikely to succeed as he lacks appetite for the sort of  that defeated successive WhiteHouse predecessors. Taken together, as of now, these elements suggest there is little prospect of a lasting halt to bloody conflict in Gaza.

Israel's success in Gaza is in the interest of US. Israel Defence Forces are targeting selected unauthorized building and destroying them with surgical precinct .It was a week of carnage in Israel and Palestine, as Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza and Hamas fired a near-continuous hail of rockets at Israel.

Israel has known demonstrations and violent clashes with security forces. Wartime is especially tense; in 2000, the  Israeli Arab citizens who were demonstrating at the start of the second intifada, a wound that has never healed. But since Israel’s founding, no one could recall waves of people attacking people, property and symbols, civilians on civilians, among Israeli citizens. The violence began suddenly and spread through towns around the country and it has not ended.

Tel Aviv was not a flashpoint for riots and  took no more rocket fire. In a break from rocket attacks which resumed in force,the city suddenly felt quiet on a spring day, but eerie. Last week, Israelis learned that beneath the sunny veneer, lies the menace of ethnic conflict, but only after it crashed through the surface.

 Jewish and Arab mobs hunting each other down. Autocrats ruling small Sheikdoms in the middle East, sought to quantify which group, Jews or Arabs, committed more violence. But the quest for symmetry or quantification is futile. What matters is to learn how it happened that citizens rose up against one another. For Jews and for Arabs, the answers are vastly different.

 Many Palestinian citizens of Israel have resorted to violent protest  in Jerusalem that precipitated the latest Israeli-Palestinian escalation. They were expressing a long history of despair. These citizens often liken themselves to African Americans: they too have been excluded from the nation since its founding. The two groups share a long history of political, social and economic marginalization that continues today. Among Palestinians in Israel, those conditions have contributed to severe problems of gangs and gun violence, with little redress from the state

IMMEDIATE CAUSES.

The deterioration of the political status of Palestinians in Israel hangs heavily over social and economic problems.There are thousands of Arab settlers who occasionally indulge in violence against the Jews, but they will never leave Israel. They are mostly living in well built houses funded by Iran, and by earning from drug trafficking and extortion. Israel has passed certain laws relating to illegal construction of buildings. So Israel ordered the demolition of illegal building so that better civic amenities might be provided to settlers. In other words Israel refused to regularize the illegal colonies which were posing danger to health programmes of the government.

The Jewish rioters live in a different reality. Jews sit at the top of Israel’s social, political and economic hierarchy. The gangs still stalking Israeli towns shouting “death to Arabs” have tremendous power. Jews from extremist settlements in the West Bank joined the riots in Gaza.

Here, too, there are underlying trends. Israel’s right-wing parties have campaigned for far greater Jewish dominance in Israel. The nationalist right wing has led and legitimized rage against Arabs, left-wingers, migrants and the media. Tension with the supreme court has deep historic roots in Israel. Many Jews go by the laws of the Torah from back then, 2,000 years ago. No cause or circumstance justifies vigilante violence. All attacks on civilians are a crime; defiling synagogues or mosques is atrocious. Perpetrators are personally responsible and must be held accountable.

 Creation of an independent Palestine state is not going to solve the problems, it is so because the Arabs enjoy certain civic amenities including health related issues which shall be not available in a new nation.

FINAL THOUGHT.

 It is doubtful if Jews and Arabs can live together in peace again without the cooperation of IRAN.  First step is that Iran, must not  consider itself as the leader of Islamic world and second, Israel is willing to make some compromises.  But “we must love one another” appears to be a day dream.

 

 

CHINA AND RUSSIA IN BI POLAR WORLD.(updated)

 

BY K P PASWAN

 There are two super powers, fighting for supremacy and above all fighting for dictating the politics of the world.But there is also a former super power Russia, which cannot be overlooked in a bi polar world Bipolar political world is being led by US, Russia and China. There is not even scant scope of cold war, as the deadly nuclear weapons, owned by these three super powers are known to entire world. There is only psychological fear in the mind of all political heads of the contemporary world. 

After the end of second world war, US was the only super power, threatening the entire world to toe the politics of US. In the words of the then Secretary of State of US, Faster Dulles, those who did not support US, were enemies of US. USSR under Stalin, was trying its best to challenge the mighty US and achieved parity with US in military strength, but economically USSR was so stagnated, that ultimately led to fall of USSR, creating vacuum, which was filled by China.

 With the fall of USSR, mighty US remained unchallenged leader of a uni polar world, till China emerged like a monster to challenge US, both economically and militarily. USSR was fragmented and the major one known as Russia, lost not only the status of super power, but it is doubtful that Russia is even a regional power. Russia is respected, but not feared by people of the world. It is also respected, because its ability to probe the outer pace and, in all probability, China cannot match Russia, if the later tries to colonize some areas of Moon or the Mars.  Russia is hated by US, and would avail every opportunity to browbeat Russia.  Joe Biden, the US president has called Russian President Putin as a killer.In a way Russia can change the balance power if not the balance of economic power.

With rise of China as a super economic power, balance of power has shifted, not because China has achieved parity with US in military power, but because of emergence of smaller nations like Pakistan, North Korea and to some extent Israel as nuclear power, Pakistan and N Korea are poor nations in terms of GDF, but pose serious threat to international peace. Iran ruled by loathed Ayatollah Khamenei is on the threshold of acquiring nuclear weapons, which will further disturb the power equilibrium in the Middle East. 

With emergence of so many nuclear power states, balance of Power has been replaced by balance of Terror. In fact, terror activities encouraged by some rich nations like Saudi Arabia and Iran are well known and can be tackled effectively, but terror activities encouraged and funded by underdeveloped countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan may cause irreparable damage and may be compared with damage caused by dropping of atom bomb on Hiroshima.

Balance of Terror. Terrorism existed in some forms from ancient times, but there was no globalization of terrorism till 1960, when terrorists replaced conventional war with guerrillas activities, first in the middle east and then in a few countries of Latin America. US, so far enjoying the status of a superpower in a uni polar international politics, resorted conventional war to crush the anti US forces, but suffered heavily as was seen in Vietnam and to some extent in Central Asia. The Jewish state Israel struggled for survival, while the lunatics and Jihadists, opposed to Jewish State indulged in terror activities, threatening US and USSR, as both these powerful nations were working in the opposite direction. USSR was openly supplying arms to the terrorists who were opposed to Israel. Middle East became the epicenter of terrorism which disturbed the Balance of Power.

 While US being a super economic power sustained prolonged and high intensity war in Central Asia. USSR was reluctant to participate in the war and instead resorted to war by proxy, helping the terror groups in Central Asia and in Afghanistan. Communism did not flourish in a poor Africa, simply because the Communist USSR as a super power was unable to provide economic aid on a large scale.  On the contrary USSR failed to sell deadly weapons to African countries as these nations had no money to purchase Soviet made weapons. Moreover Colonial powers were still active in their former colonies and prevented USSR from making inroads into Africa. Balance of terror also led to the phenomenal economic growth of China, which under Mao Zedong, only exported terror in the guise of cultural revolution, but unlike USSR did not participate aggressively in the cold war. US is the main beneficiary of china’s passive desire for expansion of violent communist ideology.

ZONES OF CONFLICT. Strange things were happening in Europe between 1980 to 1990. Entire Europe was gripped by a tale of suspicion, subversion and spooks. Widespread evidence of USSR meddling in politics and universities prompted Ronald Reagan, the popular president of US to declare, that his country was facing unprecedented scale of foreign interference, German spy agency accused USSR of using social media to contact a large number of west Germans including laws makers and civil servants in the hope of gleaning information and recruiting sources. There had been reports of KGB agents trying to groom up. US under Ronald Reagan started to learn of possible intervention, but impending confrontation and showdown were averted, when KGB suspended all sinister designs and actions in West Germany.US asserted its position by declaring itself the only super power in an uni polar world.

COLLAPSE OF USSR. Collapse of USSR was inevitable. USSR was succeeded in creating a bipolar world, but it was going to affect its very  existence. USSR was not a homogeneous country. The Czar captured several small states with different religious and ethnic background and these small provinces never surrendered their distinctive identities to the whims of Communists. There are reasons and documented proofs that US and Europeans were fomenting troubles in these provinces. USSR was a space and nuclear power, but its agriculture was passing through terrifying phase of depression, and there was no cure in sight, without the help of foreign powers, which had in their possession latest technology to improve agriculture. Any way collapse of USSR witnessed the strengthening of uni polar world in which US was dictating the politics of world.

 RISE OF CHINA. With the fall of USSR and birth of modern Russia, US badly needed a regime with flexible loyalty. In the case of China, it is difficult to say whether Mao Zedong was a hard core communist, but its flexible political ideology was reflected in 1971, when president Richard Nixon landed in Beijing and the golden handshake between an enemy of communism and a self-proclaimed Communist changed politics of the world, this is seen as the beginning of the end of USSR.

 It is also said that somehow CIA played active role in breaking of USSR, but with or without any role played by American spy agency, USSR was determined to breakup into small states, and it certainly broke up and China emerged as a Sharp Power.

HUMILIATION OF RUSSIA. Collapse of USSR witnessed the re-emergence of uni polar world between1990 to 2100. It was now the turn of US to humiliate Russia. It may be recalled that Boris Yeltsin did not face widespread oppositions, when he disbanded communist administration. A large number of small states parted away with former USSR like Hungry, Czech, Romania, Azerbaijan and a host of others. These small countries declared themselves as independent sovereign nations, and expressed their desire to join EU and even NATO. Pathetic condition of Russian economy led to collapse of communist regimes in other parts of the world.

CHINA AND BIPOLAR POLITICS. There must not be an iota of doubt that modern China is the direct product of golden handshake between Mao and Richard Nixon in 1971. With opening of economy, China imported latest technology relating to communication, agriculture and heavy industries. It was already a nuclear power but not an economic power.

 We are told that in the decades of 1980, Japan was second largest economy. In electronic, Japan displaced Philips of Netherlands. Grundig and ITI of Germany and in the auto sector Japan posed serious threat to Ford of US. But Japan was dependent upon imports of raw materials for its manufacturing activities. China and S Korea smelt the profits and virtually hijacked and stole the latest technology from Japan. China with the help of US and a united Germany was the main beneficiary. Chinese students in US were actively engaged in stealing technology and currency manipulation. The result was the resurfacing of bipolar international politics. This means that there are only two super powers, US and China standing against each other and threatening the security of the world.

 China, despite of outstanding economic growth cannot claim to dictate the politics as it deems fit. China is rich in natural resources, but Russia’s natural resources are uncatchable. Globalization has exposed the political and economic nature of China, but the Communist China with a dose of liberal democracy, cannot sustain its economic prosperity for a long period. With limited natural resources it will be impossible to maintain its position as the second super power for a long period. 

 For natural resources China will have to court the friendship of poor countries of Africa and Latin America, these so-called poor countries are rich in natural resources and may prove as reliable sources of raw materials to China, provided, US does not involve in opposing such moves . Russia under Vladimir Putin is trying hard to attain self-sufficiency in its agriculture products and the country is spending money to create infrastructure for economic development. 

Russia is also capable to put obstacles in the path of US to create ground for strengthening friendship with small  Islamic nations ruled by autocrats  in Central Asia. Russia is supplying latest missiles and other destructive weapons to Syria, Iran and even Turkey. China is silently moving in the same direction, but with limited success, it is so because China is not trusted in any corner of the world. But Russia and US are also not trusted for some different reasons.

LIMITS OF BIPOLAR WORLD. China is a super power next to US and the international politics has turned to Bi polar. China has been described as Sharp Power. But there are limitations. China stops well short of the hard power wielded through military force or economic muscle. Sharp Power works by manipulation and pressure, the result is different from cold war, less dangerous, but harder to deal with. Russia and US were sworn enemies, but China is keenly courted as trading partner by US that is investing huge sums beyond its border This naturally gives its influence which it is using to shape debate abroad in areas, where it wants to muzzle criticism such as its political system.

Sharp power wraps all that up in something altogether more sinister. It seeks to penetrate and subvert politics and media, surreptitiously promoting a positive image of the country  misrepresenting and distorting information to suppress dissent and debate, China’s sharp power has three striking characteristics. it is pervasive, it breeds self-censorship and it is hard to nail down proof of that it is the work of Chinese state.

 Will China’s sharp power prove a success? Under XiJinping autocratic leadership, the political environment has changed dramatically. For the first time since Mao Zedong’s era, it has a highly visible strongman in charge. XiJinping has crushed rivals with a ruthless campaign against corruption and is perhaps the most honest politician wielding extraordinary power in contemporary world. 

China wants to be sure that control at home is not vulnerable to the control abroad. China’s sharp power poses conundrum to Western policymakers. Rather than learning to live with each other. China and the West might drift into sullen misapprehension. There is no question of checks and balance. N Korea and Iran can only create serious problems  in a bipolar world without any permanent solution and throwing the concept of checks and balance into dustbin.

FINAL THOUGHT. Policy makers in India, US, and the West are neither playing down the risks, nor underestimating the threat from China. Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger had created a monster to teach a lesson to USSR and Japan, but what an irony? The monster has turned into a new variant of Frankenstein, posing a serious threat to US. But the world has learned a lesson from the collapse of USSR. Perhaps China is fearing the same fate. US will go to any extent to displace China from the position of superpower. China cannot grab Taiwan, which is effective weapon in the hands of Pentagon. China is facing threats from Uighur, Hongkong and in Tibet. There is every likelihood that in the next fifty years, China will exhaust its natural resources and Russia may re-emerge once again a new super power with some democratic ideology.

 US will need Russia to prevent China from playing negative role in bi polar world .