KILLING FIELD,THE MIDDLE EAST(updated)

 

BY K. P. PASWAN.

Killing Field is also the name of a Hollywood movie related to Vietnam war. But Vietnam was not a killing field, but a battle field in which mighty USA, fought with a simple and bushy bearded Ho Chi Minh, who was a nonviolent political head of an impoverished Buddhist country.

 GENUINE KILLING FIELD. This blog is related to a real and genuine Killing Field, which consists of entire Middle East, rich in oil but lack in other mineral resources. Here the autocratic rulers are seriously engaged in killing rivals with sophisticated killing machines imported from the USA, Russia and Western Europe., This real killing field came into existence nearly eight hundred years years ago, when the Caliphate was destroyed by a Mongol warrior, who was notorious for killing and executing the vanquished without hesitation. Later on the Caliphate was revived by the Ottoman empire of Turkey.

 The large swathe extending from west Africa to the border of Europe is witnessing sectarian conflict, and for some autocrats, this killing field is nothing, but a battle for survival even, if it means annihilation of Muslims by Muslims.  Jihadist in the Middle East after 1950, was fueled by corruption and injustice, but new facts carry the message that killing field is a western attempt to conquer Islamic nations. This movement keeps growing, than threat to interest to people, belonging to other faiths.

 Shiites are always at war with the Sunnis although they are devout Muslims, but the Sunnis majority states of the Middle East refused to consider them even Muslims. Iraq, Syria and a few Emirates are Shiite majority states, but being ruled by the Sunnis autocrats. The Shias were always at the receiving end, but with emergence of Iran as an important economic and military power, the Shias in the middle east are more assertive and are in revolt everywhere in and around the Killing Field. 

 Iran is the only super economic and military power in Central Asia, with Shias in majority and is more progressive in their outlook than the Sunnis. Iran is on the threshold of acquiring nuclear arsenals and would like to fight its traditional rival, Saudi Arabia. Iran does not have Salafi and Wahhabi system of religious philosophy to export and spread fanaticism in different countries of the world. Iran is capable in manufacturing activities and by exporting manufactured products like Cars, Tractors and Garments to Sunni majority states in Africa, has earned much goodwill  in these countries.

THE KURD CONUNDRUM. Population wise the, Kurds constitute most ambitious communities in the middle east.  They are the largest minority group, even though the Kurds are Muslims. In Iraq they are the backbone of  national economy. Under Saddam Hussein, the Kurds were frozen of only industry, the oil, while thousands of families were forcibly removed from their land round the oil rich city of Kirkuk, with the result they launched guerrilla type of war against the Baathists and succeeded in creating a semi sovereign state in northern Iraq. In Turkey, the Kurds, in the past, inflicted severe damage to the Ottoman empire, which was notorious for killing those, who refused to submit to Caliphate. With the end of Ottoman empire, the Kurds and the Turkish Muslims excel in killing each other. The same story is being rewritten in Syria, a country of prosperous people now lying in ruin.

 Only solution is to create a separate home land for the Kurds, but Turkey would not agree for fear of losing large swath of land. In Iraq the Kurds are in the occupation of northern part of Iraq, and they  always maintained cordial relations with the Shias. The Sunnis fear the division of Iraq into three parts North for the Kurds, South for the Shia would mean nothing for the Sunnis, as most of oil field are in North and South of Iraq, 

 

Interestingly the division of Iraq was suggested by the current president, Joe Biden of the USA, when he was a Senator. In Syria, the Kurds always fought their nemesis Turkey, a country without natural resources and no oil at all. Oil exploration in the ocean, near Greece has unearthed oil and natural Gas, but not enough for total requirement of Turkey. 

Turkey, under Recep Tayyip Erdogan always controlled many pockets of Syria, where plenty of natural gases is found. But the rise of ISIS changed the economic equation of the middle east. The US needed the support of the Kurds to drive out the ISIS from entire Middle East and the strategy succeeded to a great extent. The rise of ISIS was a serious attempt to establish the supremacy of the Sunnis in the middle east, and it received help from all the Sunnis majority states including Turkey. Erdogan murky deal with ISIS just to get Iraqi oil, created a fertile ground for the violent ISIS, who unleashed terrorist activities against fellow Muslims.

 ARAB SPRING. Contrary to popular belief, that advent of Arab Spring heralded a new spring in the Central Asia, it virtually fortified the killing field. Arab Spring led to murder and mayhem not only in Egypt and Tunisia, but created fear psychosis in the mind of nasty authoritarian regimes in the middle East.  However, there is no denying the fact, that these autocrats also undertook welfare measures to ward off the Arab Spring. The most powerful fighters were Islamist, including the conservative Al Qaeda, but none were more power full or more distinctive, than the fighters of ISIS, and they received logistic support from autocratic rulers, who were afraid of losing their throne. ISIS carried out public executions,  and displaying severed heads. Those who shouted’ I swear to Caliphate’ were spared but those who uttered ‘We swear by God’ were butchered.

YEZIDIS. There is no place of dissidents and those, who do not subscribe to your ideology in the area in and around the Killing Field. The Yezidis constitute a small community, who do not believe in Islam and are maintaining separate identity in Iraq. There is no evidence to show that they ever posed security threat to state. but they were the worst victims of the religious fanatics and surprisingly the US’s intervention saved the  Yezidis from total extinction.

USA’s ROLE. It is not the oil, but to counter the Russian and Chinese  influence in the middle east, which led the USA to jump in to the Killing Field. In fact, several autocrats including Saudi Arabia, cannot survive without the support of US.  Before the advent of European powers in Central Asia, nobody knew that entire central Asia contained oil, enough to cater to the needs of entire world. Oil was known to local people since the beginning of the 19^th century, but its potential was realized only, when colonial powers like Great Britain and France made their presence known to local people. These Colonial powers had technology to explore the Gold Rush, that is oil. So exploration of oil created enough scope for employment and security threat to the power-hungry Autocrats and above all led to the formation of Killing Field. So it is wrong to say that the Western powers created the Killing Field. These Powers including Russia took undue advantage of fanaticism and tribal conflicts and sold their deadly weapons to those autocrats, who were threatened by their own people. The ISIS flourished because of support from the same autocrats who helped the US and Russia to defeat them.

Ramsfield. Ramsfield, the former Secretary of State during the presidency of George Bush was a much-hated man whose actions created strong anti-American feeling in the Middle East. Rumsfeld invented the theory of Chemical weapons in Iraq, when one of brothers of Saddam Hussein was nicknamed as Chemical Ali. There was no Chemical weapons in Iraq, but in the name of destroying the manufacturing center of Chemical weapons, Iraq was devastated beyond repair.

 In fact CIA failed badly both in Iraq and Vietnam and this failure led to humiliating retreat of Americans. The dictator Saddam Hussein was himself to be blamed when he invaded Kuwait and declared war against a Shiite Iran, where Saddam Hussein as a Sunni was a hated political figure.Iran inflicted heavy damaged to Iraq. An assault on the ISIS, offers rest of the world a simplistic narrative good against evil, it is not hard to rally international opposition to Jihadists, who rape women, behead dissidents and plunder the properties of the rich and poor.

 FINAL WORDS His Holiness-Pope, from the Holy See,  paid a visit to Iraq in search of peace, there are no more than one hundred thousand Christians left in war torn Iraq.  Vatican found ruins of a great civilization destroyed by the fanatics, for whom human life did not matter much. Pope also met much respected Ayatollah Sistani, who preached peace even when ISIS was threatening his own place of learning.The progressive and modern educated Muslims against the radicals can really win in the Middle East, if they move beyond defeating ISIS to some lasting form of security and stability, otherwise the Killing Fields created by power hungry and greedy autocrats is not going to disappear.

   AND LAST FEW WORDS

Outside of the shadow of the Killing Field, none of  us must be under any doubt ,who are they (Radicals) and what they represent.

THE RISE AND FALL OF INDIAN GOP(updated)

 

BY K P PASWAN.

Indian National Congress Party also known as GOP in India is battling for survival, while American GOP facing crisis, is set to flourish  once again.GOP in India was founded  during the colonial era, after mass uprising in 1857 for expressing grievances. It turned itself into a major  political platform, which, in the course of time, fought for independence of India  under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi, The country became independence in 1947. The Congress won parliamentary election several times and the country ‘tryst of destiny, words coined by Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, vanished with his death.

It is not so that people in general loath this political party, in fact Congress party still commands much respect, if percentage of voters considered. Decline of the Congress party may be attributed to emergence of regional political outfits in every state, devoid of any political philosophy/ideology. Their ranks are filled with people, who care only for castes and creed and falsely claim themselves as secular and are staunch anti Dalit.

 DYNASTIC RULE. The word being spread by the opposition namely Dynastic rule, is misnomer. And Italian Connection is more treacherous. President Bush in the USA saw his son, another Bush, as the president of the USA  and in the cabinet of Boris Johnson of UK, several persons of Indian origin are occupying important portfolio. In the USA, president Biden has appointed more than four dozen American Indians at key position and some of them had been confirmed by the Senate. Surgeon General of US is an Indian American Surgeon, named Vivek Murty. In India, Nehru Gandhi dynasty ruled the country for a longer period, only because people voted  to Congress party.

 Pt Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi were towering personalities, who cared for cared for every section of society, and influenced contemporary international politics. These great political figures imposed strict discipline among the ranks and file of the party.  Oppositions lacked leadership, Rahul Gandhi and his mother enjoy widespread support, but unfortunately, they cannot compete with caste oriented society, encouraged by corrupt politicians belonging to opposition parties.  In the name of political dissent, some of the old stalwarts of Indian GOP left the party, as their purposes were not served by the so called Dynasty.

 Stunning rise of BJP has nothing to do with growing concern for the majority Hindus, who survived assaults of different natures in different times without the patronage of any political party and will continue to survive till eternity. NDA is flourishing on false promises. Every welfare scheme being talked loudly by NDA has been hijacked from the GOP. The present PM is famous for rare honesty, but he is yet to contribute anything worthwhile to a depressed economy. Corruption has been institutionalized under NDA. India is dangerously and highly polarized society, and it is difficult for a single political party to win the election on its own. It is not so that every cabinet minister in the Modi’s cabinet is corrupt, some of them are highly experienced and certainly not corrupt but they are leaders, who openly preach discrimination against the  Dalit and other weaker sections. With spread of education and modern technology like internet, Face Book, and,Twitter, political consciousness is seen even among illiterate Indians .

Political history of India since 1950 when the country was declared republic till 1984 may be divided into three parts, if an honest and logical conclusion is to be arrived for the decline of the Congress. Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi guided the nation when it was underdeveloped, less populated and with less education. Caste ridden society was the biggest challenge to honest politicians in power.

 Nehru was an astute politician and a statesman of international fame. Cold war was at its zenith in a bipolar international politics. It is therefore pleasant surprise to see that Pt Nehru laid the foundation of modern democratic India against all odds. His contemporary S Truman, the American president was skeptics of communist ideology and Pt Nehru championed mixed economy with a dose of socialism and  this bore testimony to his pragmatic approach. During period under study, Communist party was the main opposition and they were demanding nationalization of big industries which were few and far between. But the outstanding Pt Nehru, new that nationalization of Tata and Birla was not going to stimulate economic growth. He introduced Five Year Plans to boost economic development keeping in mind the general welfare of the people, The international politics was changing its color. Capitalism was championed by the USA while Communism was headed by the USSR and the colonial powers like Great Britain and France were breathing heavily, Faster Dulles, the US Secretary of State was threatening the opponents of the US, and credit goes to Pt Nehru to  adopt non alignment movement as its goal of foreign policy.

 The period witnessed some of the brilliant politician occupying the post of Secretary of State like Dean Rusk and Ellsworth Bunker in US. President Eisenhower and J Kennedy respected Pt Nehru and such respect would always elude the current group of leaders.

 In absence of vibrant economy and dynamic stock market, no mortals on the earth were going to start large scale manufacturing units in India. Pt Nehru befriended the USSR  to neutralize American politicians who were threatening newly independent nations to toe America or perish. Starting of five years plan heralded a new epoch in emerging economy. GOP was at its zenith as the opposition parties had no alternative economic theory, beneficial to the nation as a whole. 

CONFLICT WITH CHINA. Much has been written and several theories advanced for bad performance of the Indian army and for ignominious defeat of India at the hands of China. We forget that the strong man of China, Mao Zedong was a nasty dictator, dreaming to spread his Cultural revolution to every part of the world. China’s aggression on India, proves that an overambitious politician has no end or limit to his ambitions. It is also said that Pt Nehru did not order air strike against China, it was certainly, an options available but at what cost? The safety of than Kolkata (Calcutta) was of paramount importance, and by restraining Air Strike, Kolkata was saved. The oppositions suffer from hallucinations by very mention the name of Indira Gandhi. She fought with Pakistan,divided it into two parts, mocked Richard Nixon and his Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and sacrificed herself for the sake of the country. Her outstanding achievements in  every field created jealousy among her antagonists, who resorted to legal and illegal means to remove her from national politics. Nobody  knows the meaning of Total revolution which paralyzed the nation,   In post emergency(1975)  India, we find  rise of  a series of fractious and corrupt coalitions which not only ruined the economy, but convulsed the entire nation

 MORE HINDU THAN A HINDU. I have spent a few months in a famous Administrative Academy in India, which rightly boasts its  library as one of the best in the world. While studying the life of Indira Gandhi, I read about Pt Nehru, in the words of Indira Gandhi ''He was more Hindu than a Hindu and more Indian than an Indian'. In the same breath, she declared""Just as majority community has no right to deprive minorities of rights as enshrined in the constitution, at  the same time minority has no right to black mail the majority". By imposing emergency Indira Gandhi virtually saved the country from plunging into anarchy and turning India into another Middle East. She was right in imposing emergency There are allegations of violation of fundamental rights without elaborating, whose fundamental rights were violated ?.  In 1975 ,more than 95% of Indians did not know anything about fundamental rights, and these people were happy in emergency. And those who were aware of fundamental rights were creating drama, attracting international  attention. All the power hungry and disgruntled politicians with only one agenda ‘Remove her, were put behind bar. However they succeeded in removing her. What followed after her ouster is interesting.

RAJEEV GANDHI. He succeeded his mother who was assassinated. He was also known as Mr Clean  owing to his honest image. He could not tolerate corrupt persons, but had to face the dilemma, he was surrounded by a coterie of corrupt friends, who were bent upon to serve their sinister design. His finance minister was an honest man, but without knowing, how to use his honesty for the welfare of the people. There was a Bofors scandal, we learn that the best fighting guns were purchased and huge commission was paid to middlemen and Rajeev’s name was dragged along with a famous character of Hindi Cinema, who used to earn more money than the amount of commission involved in the scam. Without knowing the labyrinth of complex arms sale, his opponents created a hilarious drama which is being played even today. Bofors Scam was invented by the sick mind of the people, who were not happy with limited political power.  After his tragic assassination, India needed charismatic leaders, in absence of which opposition got much awaited  opportunity to grab the power by invoking caste, creed and regional autonomy

POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY One PM introduced Urine Therapy for treating serious disease, second one famous for anti-Dalit stand was PM for less than a month. He was followed by an honest PM, little knowing that he too was surrounded by a battery of corrupt politicians, when he was toppled than there was a period of political and social anarchy which continues even today. There was also a PM from the opposition side who was more of a poet than a politician and during his period maximum number of our Commissioned Officers were martyred, but he failed to get a Nobel peace prize. Than we had a coalition Govt, the PM of which, declared his own Doctrines which allowed Pakistan to flood Delhi with a large number of ISI agents. His Finance Minister presented Dream budget which fulfilled his dream of becoming a billionaire.

The GOP under Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi represent an institution and a political system which has given India an imminence in international politics There is no example in the history of any sovereign country where two PM belonging the same family sacrificed their lives for the sake of their country and not for their personal gains.

 PESSIMISTIC VIEWS. India is a highly polarized country of a different kind. Cast and creed are ingredients of DNA of every citizen. After independence, there is marked spread of education and with the advent of modern technology of communication, we also see the return of Caste system, which once prevailed in ancient India, We do not find true nationalistic characteristic of any political party. Every state has its own political party based on the social structure of that state, so in future like-minded political party may join together to form a Govt, but stability of such coalition will always remain in danger, as the head of regional political party who may aspire to become PM of India  may not be  known outside his state.

. In recently held parliament session a member belonging to Congress party was not given ticket for the Rajya Sabha, due to his unfounded dissenting voice. At the time of his farewell in the Upper House he started weeping and surprisingly our  PM was also seen wiping tears as if both of them had lost some near and dear in the pandemic. In fact, both of them created hilarious scene.

If in the next parliamentary election, Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi face each other as leader of the GOP and the NDA respectively, it will be a curious match, Rahul has accused the PM of being Corrupt, while the PM has maintained studied silence. Rahul Gandhi needs to follow up on his intention of making his party, once a club of near and dear looks as though it represents modern India, the foundation of which was laid down by his great grand father Pt Jawaharlal Nehru. That means pushing through organizational changes and tightening his grip on how the party chooses its parliamentary candidates. He will be a real and strongest contender at the next election. The best way to exercise influence for Rahul Gandhi in modern India is from within its biggest political groups rather than from fringes, who are neither enigmatic leftist nor hard core rights but hypocrite. Chances of revival of the Indian GOP is bright provided reality is not sacrificed at the altar of pragmatism.

 

CONCLUSION. Several factors are responsible for the decline of Congress Party. In a caste ridden nation, Congress has bright chance of revival by learning the nature of people, who vote in the name of caste and religion. Multi party system in India is not going to vanish, unless Congress party come foreword with a set of plans, necessary for welfare and unity of the country.Other wise democratic character of India is likely to be tarnished by the current breed of casteist politicians.

(updated on 29thApril)

DICTATOR MEETS HERMIT. (upgrade)

BY K P PASWAN

At the out set of this article, it is proper to clarify that Xi jinping is the dictator of China and Hermit does not mean the dictator of North Korea,  but the Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India whose very appearance gives the impression that a sage, or hermit is the political head of the biggest democracy of the world.

 Chinese dictator has just announced the end of poverty in China, which he calls as Miracle, the economic safety for the poor, however, remains, perilously thin by international standard. This is important as there is no international body to monitor the removal of poverty programmes in China.   Xi Jinping has been declared as president of China till he desires to quit which is not going to happen. Xi Jinping happens to be a politician  who  knows how to manipulate an election not based on universal franchise.

HONEST COMMUNIST. Any way president Xi jinping being an honest communist, has removed more than 170 corrupt ministers and has punished 1.35 million lower ranking Communists officials. All these removed Communists were genuinely corrupt individuals and this step bolstered his image as a genuine crusader against corruption and side-lined his potential rivals. China’s free market policies under Xi Jinping have unleashed extraordinary growth in the past decade, but the Govt has lost control over economic activities. China is less relevant to what is really going on in the economy. How China can be responsible stakeholder in the world economy, if it actually cannot follow through with its international commitments.  What is most striking is China’s inability to impose needed regulations or to predict what will happen when it does regulate.

SELECTION. The China Communist Party consists of nearly 2000 delegates and their election is not known, but the meeting of the congress is itself a little more than rubber stamp affairs. They matter for only one reason, sweeping reshuffling of leadership, that is decided in advance during secretive horse-trading  among the elite. There is an unwritten consciousness, that a general Secretary  must retire after attaining age of 68 and that General Secretary cannot hold the post for more than ten years or two terms. But Xi jinping being an expert manipulator, tamed the corrupt delegates by threatening to expose them through electronic media and international news agencies.

  Xi Jinping he is not accountable to any constitution, because the Communists have their own ways of ruling the country, without being elected by common people and Xi jinping  faces a trade-off, the more he defies the party, the longer he will retain  power, but the more personalized and therefore unstable the political system itself may become. There is widespread horse trading before the Politburo meets to glorify the achievement of China and Xi jinping an honest politician knows the  trick to neutralize the horse traders.

THE HERMIT. So what is so special between a dictator and a democratically elected political leader Narendra Modi? Both are honest, but Xi Jinping is more vocal, Every year quite a large number of money launderers in China are facing firing squad. while in India, such type of money launderers are enjoying luxurious life style, whether they are in or out of imprisonment. Money launderers in India do not  face harder punishment.

 The dictator Xi jinping flaunts his friendship with Imran Niazi, the PM of Pakistan who owes his position to a corrupt army of Pakistan. Niazi has openly called Narendra Modi, a dangerous man and Xi jinping wondered whether Narendra Modi would take offense. Xi Jinping is putting countries encircling the biggest democracy that is India into the club of countries, that reveal the US, erode democracy and use natural resources to defy economic gravity. Support for democratic institutions in China is one of the lowest in this world. A glaring example is the violent protest in Hong Kong has plunged into his most serious crisis since coming to power.

In contrast Indian PM I is a democratically elected leader. He belongs to a political party with a history of favoring rich, espousing the cause of free market and opposed to left wing politics. The ruling party in India is accused of being anti minority, but this accusation is open for debate. Hangover of partition is yet to be vaporized from the memory of the people. Political parties whether in power or in opposition are neither secular nor communal but they are opportunists, corrupt and they also believe in defection, if it serves their purpose. It is therefore surprising to see an honest politician like Narendra Modi, heading a political party not known for consistency, but there is no alternative. Several and serious charges of corruptions were spread ed to defame the PM but these charges were never proved.

 The Grand Old Party.The Congress ruled India with some notable achievements, like preparing a poor country to accept  new technology of development, and laying the foundation of modern India. The concept of non-alignment as adopted by the legendary PM Pdt Jawaharlal Nehru played an important role not only in shaping an emerging economy, but also a new political reality. Narendra Modi has inherited strong political institutions, strengthened by Pdt Nehru and late Indira Gandhi. Weaker sections especially the Dalits always remember these two dynamic leaders for giving them right to live with dignity. 

 Narendra Modi is being accused of centralizing power but there is nothing alarming. Caste and creed, play important role in the life of a politician in India. Transfer of power from Congress party to the present political party in power was smooth. In a parliamentary system of government, rigging of election is practiced on large scale and polling booths consisting Dalit voters are captured in India and is known as Booth Capturing. Rigging of election may be replaced soon by Stolen election as theorized by Donald Trump in the USA. So in next parliament election the word Rigged Election might be replaced by Stolen election. Narendra Modi is a man of words and is following the policy of Late PM Indira Gandhi ‘LESS TALK MORE WORKS’

It appears Narendra Mod like Chinese dictator is conducting a purge of his own, which intensified when various investing agencies like CBI,NIA etc conducted raids to nab the corrupt individuals enjoying the patronage of corrupt politicians in power.  Unfortunately, the PM has surrounded himself with a handful of ruthless, callous and  gluttonous cronies, who are happy, so long as they have the blessing  in looting the country.

ECONOMY.  After pandemic, economy has returned to growth, but  emergence of Omicron variant of Coronavirus is creating alarm for Indian economy. There are  few options   to bring the deficit back to a sustainable level, which means, either taxes have to be increased or a serious attempt may be made to rein in the entitlements largely mandated programmes like Aadhar based subsidiaries Ayushman, Dhanjan etc that constitute of bulk of spending. But any serious attempt to take entitlements, now looks doomed. No one dares to touch to defuse in a troubled world

FINAL WORDS. No body is immortal. No politicians can hope to remain in power till their last breath. Once out of power Xi Jinping, the president of China and Narendra Modi, the PM of India, will be remembered in different ways and for different reasons.

JUMPING,THUMPING,BUMPING(updated).

By K P PASWAN

Kim Jong Un. There is a tiny country in the Far East, being ruled by a young dictator who is in the habit of firing ballistic missiles and threatening neighbours of total destruction. That dictator is named as Kim Jong UN,  who excels in admiring China and an assertive Russia.This young dictator, is famous for Jumping, Thumping and Bumping. 

  Kim Jong UN's intransigence has become an increasing problem for China, the only friend of N Korea in the world. To Xi Jinping, the dictator of China ,the North Koreans are dangerous robbers under Kim, but are helpless for many reasons. While the young and neurotic dictator KimJjong Un is convinced that Xi Jinping has become a capitalist traitor. 

 It appears that both the dictators are right and complements each other. Kim Jong Un often disappears and reappears. Rumors were even set afloat that he was dead, due to certain heart disease, but he  reappeared limping, which means he has some serious health problems.. It was even predicted by the certain section of media, that Kim Un was toppled and that his sister was all set to become new dictator of N Korea .Kim Jong Un gained further attention when he ordered the execution of  his half brother.

EDUCATION, Kim Jong along with his sister were educated in Switzerland, but this country is not famous for imparting either quality or higher standard of education. Teaching of Homeopathy is regarded as the best education in Switzerland. The founding father of Quantum Physics suffered from Hay Fever and every year, in the fall, he used to go to Switzerland, where he relaxed till his hay fever subsided. It is not only difficult, but impossible to say whether Kim Jong or his sister received degree in Homeopathy, but it appears, he learned the virtues of a dictator in Switzerland. His father falsely propagated to simple people of North Korea, that he was a rising star, during his time, the planet Venus was shining in the sky brightly, and he took full advantage of equating himself with the planet VENUS. Due to excess drinking, he suffered from mysterious neurological disease, treated by a French doctor, but died mysteriously. Kim Jong UN's father had several wives and illegitimate children, but KIM JONG UN was chosen by the military junta, as he was educated in Switzerland and was found competent to lead a country of poor and malnourished. Moreover his elder brother was found unreliable and incompetent.

In 1961 China entered into an agreement with North Korea by which, China is bound to help N Korea in the event of foreign aggression. China is the largest trading partner(80 percent) of N Korea and is responsible for Kim Jong Un’s belligerence

NUCLEAR BLAST. Technically North Korea is neither war with S Korea, Japan or the USA, but N Korea regularly threaten to turn S Korea, Japan and the USA into seas of fire, and even stronger economic sanctions have failed to deter N Korea from carrying out Nuclear tests. Possession of nuclear arsenals by this tiny and poor nation, has disturbed the balance of power in the Korean peninsula. There is nothing for the USA to do anything meaningful to checkmate the madman of North Korea.

ENDGAME. Overambitious Jim Jong Un may be a threat to S Korea and Japan, but does not pose a global threat. North Korea flourish upon illegal trade like smuggling of narcotics,  and counterfeit drugs to China. South Korea continued to supply food grains on large scale to its estranged brother, but stopped the supply, once North Korea started carrying out nuclear tests followed by missiles launch.

 China is the only country, which can,  tame a country completely dependent upon it. It is stated that more than 300000 N Koreans are hiding in China. There is a Chinese city near the border of N Korea, by the name, DAN DONG, which is epicenter of legal and illegal trade with China. It is seen from a study of international politics of Far and East, that during the period of Donald Trump, N Korea conducted more nuclear and missiles tests and Kim Jong Un had several meeting with Donald Trump.

The USA has so far refused to acknowledge N Korea as a nuclear power and has imposed strict economic sanctions, crippling the economy of N Korea. So the endgame of China is not to disturb the fragile regime of N Korea, but instead create a buffer zone between Japan and China. Collapse of regime in Pyongyang means, unimaginable exodus of N Korean refugees to China, which faced 1400 kms long border with N Korea. It is also seen that Donald Trump was more interested in containing the economic superiority of China than punishing N Korea.

THAAD. Terminal High altitude Area Defense anti ballistic missile system is known as hit to kill technology, it destroy enemies missiles-even carrying nuclear arsenals by colliding with them with high speed. THAAD is more effective than Patriot anti missile device, provided to Israel during Iran and Iraq conflict, when every missiles towards the Jewish state was destroyed. S Korea hosted THAAD and was not liked by China, which believes that THAAD puts its hegemony at risks and it may loss South China Sea. So it becomes more than crystal clear that China has lost its influence over N Korea, which sees nuclear capability as a necessary conditions for economic development and prosperity. But China would not mind, deserting all weather friend if it realizes that its economic prosperity is in doldrums, because of hard economic sanctions imposed upon Pyongyang.

HACKERS. Nothing is heard about the pandemic( Covid 19) in N Korea, but reports from S Korea reveal startling facts, most of the infected persons in N Korea were executed. North Korea tried unsuccessfully to hack Pfizer vaccines. According to one report from S Korea, Pyongyang runs 7000 professional hackers engaged in fraud, blackmails and online gambling that generate annual revenue to the tune of 900 million Dollars.

UNIFICATION of two Korea seem to an impossible dream as all the stakeholders except, S Korea has not shown any interest. South Korea now accounts for more than 9% of direct foreign investment in China and is worried that a united Korea would be awkward to deal with. Anti Chinese sentiment in S Korea is easily aroused. China also fears that a large number of ethnic Koreans  in the border region could in future demand secession from China, and integration into a united Korea with the help of opportunists like Japan and the USA.

 It is also feared that an united Korea with advance technology may achieve parity with China and adversely affect its superiority in economic prosperity. Actually it is this fear, which is haunting the ruling class in China, giving them restless night. Chinese companies hungrily eyeing N Korea’s raw materials ,like iron ores, coal and gold. North Korea in absence of modern technology has welcomed Chinese companies to develop its mines and generate revenue. Japan has declared that N Korea’s nuclear tests will not prompt it to pursue its own nuclear ambition. In fact, both China and the USA are afraid of Japan, and fear that an united Korea would side with Japan, despite the hard facts that Korea suffered at the hands of Japanese soldiers during the second world war. Meanwhile the Pentagon has declared that the US was not going to live with a nuclear N Korea. But for an ailing Jong Un, atom bomb is an equalizer secure in his family legacy while forcing the global community to treat N Korea as an equal . But his family legacy is in danger ,he is himself in danger. 

Final Words. A nuclear N Korea is dangerous, but less dangerous than Pakistan and Iran. N Korea happens to be a poor country, excelling only in its ability to manufacture crude nuclear arsenals which are vulnerable to THAAD .  In North Korea, every year we hear thousands of deaths due to hunger and undernourishment. Hermit Kingdom has disappeared, leaving behind fond of memory of a peace loving Buddhist country.

STORY OF A SELF CONFESSED DEPRESSED PERSON.(updated)

BY K P PASWAN.

TRUE STORY

This is a true story of a qualified technocrat who by his own admission was overambitious which led to depression and panic attack but managed to recover and is leading a normal life. In his own words,

I am an Electrical Engineer, educated in a reputed Engineering College. My dream was to join a service for Engineers, for which there used to be a competitive examination . In the first attempt I failed, so I pinned my hopes on the second attempt, but once again, I failed. Only one attempt was left, and I pondered over the reasons of my failure. Every candidate was given only three chances to clear the examination. For the third and final attempt, I studied hard and after sitting for the competitive examination, I was convinced that I would clear my hurdle but I failed in my final attempt. 

VAGUE FEAR I began to notice certain changes in myself, there was sadness and disturbed sleep. Than one day in a stormy night suddenly, I began to weep, it was raining and every body rushed to me, but after 15 minutes I became normal. This incident happened nearly twenty years ago. Being an educated person I concluded that I was heading for trouble and that I may suffer from mental illness. 

At that time there used to be a famous psychiatrist at a distance of 300 kms from my native place. On the pretext of going in for an interview, I went to meet the psychiatrist, who saw me,examined and asked a few searching questions and finally, told me that I had a nervous breakdown, and he consoled me, told me, engage in some  other works. In the name of medicines, he advised me to take low dose of a tranquilizer for a few months and warned me that relapse of panic attack or nervousness  was very common, and not to give up prescribed drug without consulting him. He advised me to read religious books at bed time and do morning walk and simple Yogic exercise. I followed his advice sincerely, and began to notice marked improvement. Unfortunately when the improvement was at its zenith, the psychiatrist died of heart attack and thinking that there was no need to take the drug, I stopped the drug and within twenty days I suffered another nervous breakdown and once again everything became normal within 15 minutes. I lost my sleep and I often had vague fear. Life became hell for me.

SECOND DOCTOR Than I had an occasion to visit the Engineering College situated at a distance of nearly 200 kms from my residence, There I decided to meet a MBBS doctor attached with the college, I narrated everything in detail and for nearly one hour, I talked to him, he was noting down several points and this reminded me of my meeting with the psychiatrist, who was no more. Than he studied the prescription of the psychiatrist and for the first time, he prescribed an antidepressant of low dose, and he asked me to remain in the city for at least 15 days and report him immediately, if I ever developed suicidal tendency. There was no such type of dreaded thinking even in the past and after one week I noticed extraordinary improvement and this report pleased the doctor.

FOR FRANCE In my Engineering College I came to know of vacancy of Engineering graduates from a French Co. I also filled the form without even slight hope of being selected. After three month I was called for interview. I met the doctor, who once again examined me and told that there was nothing wrong and cautioned me against stopping the drug suddenly. Needless to say my vague fear was gone forever.

SELECTION  After seven months, I was selected along with 11 others for the jobs in France. And before leaving for France, I met my doctor attached with the Engineering College. He reassured me of brighter days ahead and told me to remain in constant touch with him through correspondence and told me to adjust the dose as per my requirement. I left for France. To my surprise I found myself surrounded by Indian workers. The place of my work was far away from Paris, but easily reachable. And after one and half month, I began to look for a competent doctor as I wanted to get rid of my disease permanently. I had to work hard which kept me engaged free from irrational thinking, responsible for my disease and when one day, I casually mentioned to a physician, who was in our factory as a permanent counselor, he was not surprised that the drug I was taking, was being taken by a large number of workforce, majority of them in managerial capacity and this gave me further solace.

 After one year, our place of work was changed to another units of the same factory and while journeying to new place, I noticed a board, Yoga Center, it was not difficult for me to go their after finishing my jobs in the manufacturing unit.  When I visited the Yoga Center, I was shocked to see several VIPs along with rich and poor, practicing Yoga under the guidance of a French Yoga expert and also an aged Indian master of Yoga.

 There was a separate enclosure named as Shivanand ways of Yoga. Saint Shivanand was the most celebrated Yoga master of India. Needless to say I enrolled there. Later on I found that many known psychiatrist were visiting the Yoga Centers regularly. While in India I picked up certain Yogic postures, display of which in the Yoga center, impressed others, after seeing my postures the psychiatrists advised me to reduce the dose of antidepressant drug under his guidance.So titration of dose began.

After four months there was further titration and by the end of third year, when our contract was about to end, I was no more on antidepressant. There was withdrawal symptoms, but these were managed by symptomatic treatments. I have firm belief in  GOD and I have every word of the holy Geeta in my memory.  I read Geeta every night at my bed time. After the end of contract I got another job in a different place but near to yoga center. The French Psychiatrist was surprised to know that I was taking my panic attack so seriously and told me that such type of disease was common among youngsters and get worse by wrong treatment. In the Yoga center I learned a particular type of, Yoga breathing suggested by late Sri Iyengar and when I mastered that breathing exercise,I realized that five minutes of that breathing exercises, once a day in the morning, was equal to ten tabs of tranquilizers. While in France. I came close to a qualified nurse, she is extremely good looking and now we are married.

HOME AGAIN After six years I came back to my home to be welcomed by my family and friends. Our wedding was once again solemnized as per our traditions and my French wife was delighted. We celebrate Christmas and Diwali with great fanfare. Now the question, why I suffered? The answer is simple, my impossible ambition. Back in India, I read in the newspaper that several celebrates wee committing suicides, it is simply because of their day dreams. They are far from realizing, that we always aspire for something difficult to achieve, we always think about achieving impossible thing.

TALK THERAPY In the western countries talk therapy is preferred side by side with drug therapy and in most of the cases there was no need for drug, provided talk therapy is conducted in a scientific manner. In India, a large number of students are graduated with psychology as prime subject, their services can be utilized as  counselors, but their talent is wasted. Moreover celebrities battling depression are in the habit of changing doctors after doctors even if doctors are psychiatrists, It is because lack of communication between the physician and the patient. In India most of the suicide committed by patients were found to be in touch with psychiatrists. It means that the patient was kept on drugs without talk therapy or counseling was not imparted in a scientific way. I remember the words of my first psychiatrist Don't allow the drugs to control you, instead you control drugs.

In India as well as in European countries most of the higher ups are taking sleeping pills or tranquilizers, just to cope with tension. Life without tension is meaningless provided, we try to cope it with strong will. We often hear that certain celebrates of Hollywood are battling depression for a long time and committing suicide out of desperation. Similarly most of the younger generations, suffer from panic due to lack of employment or failed love. All over the world, women are more vulnerable to mental sickness.

 Barring extreme cases of bipolar disorder, there is no need to prescribe modern novel drugs, when a competent psychiatrist would tackle the patient by counseling alone, it is so because that the so called novel drugs may be more efficient without toxic side effects, but the attending doctor has no time to be in constant touch with the patient. There are several new drugs available in the market. These drugs are as efficient as older drugs, but with less toxic side effects. All these drugs are supposed to rectify neurotransmitter in the brain. Less or more neurotransmitter is an assumption, but not scientifically proved, these drugs are successfully used in treating depression and other symptoms related with hypertension and even diabetic. All the tranquilizers are effective against panic, but are highly addictive. Adjustment of drugs, perseverance and strong will are necessary for a permanent cure and for these regular counseling by trained psychologist is of paramount importance. In majority of cases meeting with a psychiatrist may not be necessary, it is not like other disease but product of brain engaged in irrational thinking.

 LAST WORDS. Nine years have passed and, I am waiting for a relapse, but the waiting is likely to grow longer and longer.It is my own experience, that practice of Yoga may be made compulsory in schools as it is a strong way of calming tension ridden mind. If drugs are necessary,than patient may be encouraged to adjust the dose as per response.In majority cases, complete recovery is a reality and not a dream.