This is our big moment. The self-made slayer. Arihant is its name, which in Sanskrit means destroyer of enemies. Every Indian must be proud, but just about. I am sure submarines with such staying power are the stuff that would make anyone trying to mess with us via the water route quake in their knees.
We are now part of the USA, Russia, France, UK, China league.
The difference is these countries get their war thingies and get on with life. It makes them feel superior and it conveys to the citizens a sense of safety, however cynical some of us might be.
Instead, we had our President Pratibha Patil break a coconut; Vedic chants were recited. And, of course, in this case too religious sentiments have been hurt.
Some Jain monks have objected to the word Arihant because according to their faith, which is non-violent, it means destroying the enemies within us, like greed, lies and stuff.
Why pick on a name? Why don't they protest against wars and skirmishes that take place every other day? Heck, they should not go anywhere near pesticides.
Would they object to anyone from their community in the armed forces?
Is it just the name or what it stands for? If violence is a problem, then they ought to take issue with the violence they cause to themselves when they choose the path of abstinence.
Meanwhile, Arihant will be a sleeping whale in the waters. A few elitist types will talk about how we are moving ahead. There will be only a handful who will understand and appreciate the ramifications and dynamics of being one of the biggies without gloating about it.
I am not an authority or knowledgeable about these things. I'd much rather watch our Prez snorkelling.
- - -
A big thumbs up to the Akal Takht for asking the Sikhs to build water bodies rather than gurdwaras. Other religions should follow suit and do something concrete. You can pray anywhere...even in a submarine...
Farzana,
ReplyDeleteI like your endorsement of building water bodies.I would add cleaning and maintaining them part of national service.
Making longer parts of rivers navigational will save money and space which we do not have.It is much cheaper to move goods on water with barges and such.
Miniaturising the nuclear power plant technology is a great progress in technology for India .Military side is always dubious.Watchout for China till they become more democratic and tolerant.
I do not like religeous bodies messing with politics.I can make exceptions for environment and development.
.
Thanks again
kul bhushan
rxri.blogspot.com
Hey Farzana, please do be a tad more accurate - it was Mrs Gursharan Kaur, the wife of Dr Manmohan Singh who broke the coconut, not Smt Pratibha Devi Patil. By the way, what DO you wish to convey in this post?
ReplyDeleteKul Bhushan:
ReplyDeleteMaintenance is an issue but once a step is taken at least symbolically by a religious body it will send out the right signals. I do not see this as interference; had that been the case then perhaps my views would be different. Religious organisations playing an activist role can cause problems later because most issues get politicised.
China has indeed a huge military capacity and its designs in the North East are known but I'd not worry too much.
We have done our selling out with the nuclear deal with the US.
Swordarm:
Thanks for pointing out the error. You are right, of course that it was Ms Gursharan Kaur. Ms Pratibha Patil as commander in chief of the armed forces was buzzing in my head.
Re your other point, I believe in freedom of reception, so make of it what you will...maybe it is all about loving snorkelling over submarines!
Exactly my thought when I saw Mrs. Singh breaking the coconut... are they going to run the sub on coconut oil? All of India's "official ceremonies" follow the Hindu ways..it's insensitive to say the least.It's ok if you are inaugurating a dance festival... but to follow such rituals when inaugurating a hi tech office/ lab ( I have witnessed this so many times) or a war machine, is so illogical. Most of us go though such ceremonies without thinking anything...
ReplyDeleteThe Armed forces are supposed to shun any kind of religious symbols, so what are they going to do with a submarine going around with a Red Tilak ( I am sure they have put it there:)?
Hey Bugger, stop commenting on what you dont know even an iota of facts......if only u knew anything about jainism rather than eating those creatures through mouth and mind.
ReplyDeleteRBaruah:
ReplyDeleteTo say the things we do invite such feverish reactions. You are spot on about the armed forces; I include the Indian govt too. A secular democracy routinely falls into the religious rituals trap in PUBLIC MATTERS. That is just not on.
That they also try to work on iftaar politics and have swamis and bishops and maulvis getting into a dialogue on political matters ought to make all citizens wary and angry.
Thank you for understanding the post!
---
Sometimes I let undesirable comments pass to showcase just how religiosity makes people abusive. This was not about a religion and its private practice but the interference of certain practitioners in matters of state. This was reported and no one has been able to contradict any point I have made. Therefore, as they stand, my points remain valid.
DEAR FV AND MR BARUAH
ReplyDeletei disagree about the points raised by u regarding armed forces and pooja....
you seem to be mixed up between interference by religious leaders(whoever they are) and acts of faith committed by warriors with their weapons(how so ever advanced these are)
the practice of remembering god before embarking upon a mission or before inducting a new weapon platform depicts just one thing....soldiers need their gods ...advanced weapens or not...
of course u will be at liberty to criticize when robots are inducted in forces and they start doing pooja before unleashing destruction..
war is a different ballgame and the need to believe that god is on their side is really important( believe me no one will be willing to die for mere salary). without this faith ..motivating soldiers is a little difficult to say the least.
PS: whether it should be covered by media or not is ....upto the wise ones to decide...
Mash:
ReplyDeleteI am speaking for myself...I do not know RBaruah's views beyond what has been stated...
I am not mixing up the two (politics and army) because I have specified it to be a matter of state.
You say: the practice of remembering god before embarking upon a mission or before inducting a new weapon platform depicts just one thing....soldiers need their gods ...advanced weapens or not...
of course u will be at liberty to criticize when robots are inducted in forces and they start doing pooja before unleashing destruction..
You have yourself mentioned unleashing destruction, so whether a robot is employed or a soldier this element remains constant. Therefore, the gods that soldiers need are for emotional reasons, right? Therefore it becomes a personal faith, which is the prerogative of an 'individual' soldier, not the forces as whole.
Incidentally, terrorists all over the world invoke some god or the other before embarking on their missions and even while at it.
war is a different ballgame and the need to believe that god is on their side is really important( believe me no one will be willing to die for mere salary). without this faith ..motivating soldiers is a little difficult to say the least
As you know, the Indian armed forces have people from different regions and faiths. If one army loses, must it then stop believing in that god? Don't atheists make good warriors?
I am aware that soldiers may be unwilling to die for mere salary, even after their genuine demands to up the scale are met.
I repeat: religion in a secular democracy should be a private matter and a soldier could well pray or even indulge in superstitious beliefs for himself. It cannot be a part of the national psyche...
I am afraid we have to disagree on this completely.
DEAR FV
ReplyDeletewe absolutely have to disagree...
i feel your discussion is more theory oriented.remember all gods waged wars....so we r getting mixed up.
terrorists invoking gods....ya they do....war is justified by the winners.yesterdays martyrs..were they terrorists?can todays terrorists be martrs tmorrow.. all these r justifications given by wise ones...
even secular armies need to win and for winning every logical , illogical, correct incorrect method will be employed....
if religion motivates a group of men ...so be it...
now stipulating that just because we call ourselves secular so no prayers....i am afraid real life is diffrent..
and business of war is a little diffrent
regards
Mash:
ReplyDeleteTheories do not sprout out of nowhere, though I do agree that people on the ground have a better handle on things.
Yes, all gods waged wars, but they were not praying to themselves! There will always be a conflict of good over evil, and that will be based on our assumptions. Somebody's good could be our evil etc...same goes for terrorists and martyrs...to the groups they represent they seem like shaheeds; and then there is the argument of freedom fighter as terrorist, which only some of us 'wise ones' indulge in :)
Of course, secular armies need to win wars, if they or anyone has to get into a war zone in the first place (we have disagreed over that as well). Religion I have already said can motivate people at an individual level. Come on, being on the front you cannot have a jagran. Who is to prevent private prayers? And how 'holy' is one if he employs "incorrect methods" to win? This would be like any other venture...
How would you call the armed forces different, then?
You say: i am afraid real life is diffrent..
Vive la difference!
Warm regards :)
Dear Mash
ReplyDeleteI agree that some people need religion, and maybe soldiers need it more... it's perfectly ok for soldiers to pray.. it should not matter to anybody how they pray, whom they pray ( it's actually good to have all the gods on our side in a war :). But the Armed Forces of a secular country should not invoke just one God ..I will not comment on the spiritial leanings of the Army since I don't have any proper knowledge of it, so I will comment on only what is apparent all around me. Take the case of the submarine; it's supposed to be a great military achievement, a pride for the country. But then when you chant vedic mantras to "empower" it, you are automatically excluding some people from taking "pride" from this event... and I feel that even if one is person or one soldier feels left out or unwanted then it's just not right. ... I don't know how it will motivate a person from another religion to sit on this sub as it is not blessed by his God ( if that is the motivational factor).
PS: I am Ms Baruah:)
dear Farzana and Ms Baruah,
ReplyDeleteyour argument seems to be more demographic in nature...i.e why this god and why not theses gods.
I agree with you ladies that govt should not prefer one way of prayer over other....
As i see it you all are angry because it was covered on national media.
The point i am treying to make is....that life threatening situations or high risk , high stress situations change human perceptions and reactions tremendously....
Armed forces have sarv dharm sthals...where we all are free to pray our own way...still due to human limitation prayers are carried by people in whatever manner they know to pray.
Number of Hindu , Sikh and christian soldiers who flocks to peer babas all along the tough terrain..and faith they have (mind you pure faith...)
and similarly to gurudwars and churches...(all make shift military structures)
Fv ..Yes, all gods waged wars, but they were not praying to themselves! ....:) if you notice gods had their gods..but every one was fighting in the name of god..:)
.
.
And how 'holy' is one if he employs "incorrect methods" to win? This would be like any other venture...
here lies the truth.....holy and unholy..right and wrong...pious and unpious exist just in discussions and justifications....otherwise all these are just other ventures...to be completed professionally.
PS: nice making your acquaintance Ms baruah.
Personally i had long spiritual journey of being aggressively atheist to agnostic to just a guy who respect others point :)
Dear Mash:
ReplyDeleteOkay...in high stress situations people do resort to all manner of faith-healing. When I alluded to incorrect methods, then it was seriously ethical query. If god represents truth and good, then this gets nullified. Maybe, I am a lukha who has no venture to complete.
I believe in the dictum as stated in an old shair:
"Khudi ko kar buland itna
ke har taqdeer se pehle
Khuda bandey se khud poochhe
bataa teri raza kya hai"
You may still disagree.
PS: You have never told me you were pleased to make my acquaintance :)
RBaruah:
Glad to see a 'Ms' here; it seemed like a male zenana!