Violence Is Not Preached In Religion

Few days ago a politician wrote an article trying to analyse and finding a solution for Islamic Terrorism and it was published by a reputed newspaper which now I feel has lost that reputation at least in my eyes for the simple reason that even though people get angry at various situations and don't know what to do except just blame others but they engage in self-control and self-censorship for the fear that what they do might have repercussions in the future, for their country, for their kids or for people in general and that is what is humane. However neither this 'reputed' newspaper and nor this politician seem to be on the same page of the dictionary.

      It’s been happening ever since the twin tower attacks. Since then people have been linking a particular religion as a synonym of terrorism. This way of thinking is not at all rational. Recently Norway had its share of terrorism when a fundamentalist Christian bombed a building and massacred people with his gun in cold blood. I would like to know what this esteemed politician would want to say to that or what would he say when he is asked about the nuns in Odisha who were raped by people who supported their 'saffron' leaders. What would he say about those Sikhs who were killed by the mob just after Indira Gandhi was assassinated? There are no limits to the number of examples that I can give of barbarism that has been committed by people of nearly all religions. 

      Even Ashoka the king attacked and killed people but then he learnt of his folly. He looked in the eyes of the mothers whose sons he had killed, he looked at small children who played unaware that their father was being taken for cremation and how would a wife feel when she is to know that the man she loved for years has been killed in this fight for land. These question are relevant even today, it is only the reason behind this new 'war' that has changed everything else remains the same. Even now kids would be made orphaned; even now parents would just look on as the child who played on their laps is laid to rest before them. Earlier people fought over land and today they fight over god.

      It is strange how people think that only their religion is right and that it their birth right to ensure that others bow down to their way of thinking and follow their religion. Not many thankfully think like that. However there are elements whose ultimate objective is to simply kill of the opposition or ensure that they convert to their form of thinking. That is exactly what that article of this politician hinted at. 

      The sad part of this form of democracy in India is that, even thought people may fight for their rights and talk about more freedom and protest if the state as much as tries to clamp down on even a single right of theirs, the people in India are simply not ready for this form of multi-party democracy. And they won't be until and unless they stop voting on the basis of religion, caste, gender, region etc. This has to stop. How is a country to progress if the people themselves are divided on the basis of these small thing which at the end of the day won't even play a minor role in shaping my future?

      Everybody talks of progress and growth but when will the people themselves grow up and look at each other as humans and not as individuals from a different religion. Humans are supposed to evolve into intelligent life-forms. They are meant to make miracles happen. And miracles do not happen unless one does not think beyond himself/herself. They only happen when an entire community is to be benefited; for even if there is a god, he won't want only one of his kids to have his wish full-filled. He would want the wishes of the entire community's be full-filled. That child who was about to die of a disease survive thanks to a transplant. As the sun is about to set on his life when he is in his seventies, that same kid in him would ignite and he would look around him and ask, how has my existence helped those around me? And as he says this his eyes will first go to the picture of a dog whom he saved from coming under a car. He would look at his family and see that they are crying and he would know that in his life, he has done thing, good thing, for the grave of a bad man does not get any visitors, as Mr. Scrooge had dreamed.

      Thus similarly it is true that whatever religion you may follow you want to end up in heaven. And the gates to heaven do not open for people who have done bad things in their life.  A mother in a movie explains to her son when the son unknowingly talks about killing people of another religion, she says "There are two kinds of people in this world. One who do bad things and the other who do good things. It is up to you who you want to be." This line is absolutely true in life. I for one can never ever even think of killing another human let alone do it for ethnic cleansing. Its the way I have been brought up. My mother used to tell me the same thing that they said in the movie. I have decided who I want to be life. Now it is your chance to decide.

The Time After The Blast

A couple of days ago, a tragedy struck us. Three blasts rocked Mumbai and with it also the country. Nothing could be done about it. News channels aired their favourite 'Are you safe?' programs while papers came up with ridiculous headlines which instead of showing sympathy and support to the victims commercialised their agony. Ministers claimed that it wasn't a failure of intelligence, some questioned that claim while the others simple said that during their rule the number of such incidences were limited and advocated a zero tolerance policy for Terrorism. It didn't bother me what people had to say about the incident. What bothered me was what they did about it and how they helped the people in need.

      I am very happy to say that I wasn't disappointed as the human spirit awoke as the news about the blast spread and people offered their help to the stranded. Social networking sites were full of offers to people to give them a ride home, offering a place to stay and people even from the overseas tweeted to the stranded telling them that they would call the folks of the stranded due to the mobile network being down and all. Nothing more could have been done to show how united the people were. The terrorists only succeeded in revoking those sentiments of unity and sympathy which were not seen on the faces of news anchors as they went into commercial break after having had a chat with their correspondents on the death toll.

      The topic #mumbaiblasts became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter for a couple of hours while tags such as #offer2help came up as people tagged their offers of help and sent around a message to the masses. Some of the stranded responded to the tweets and they were taken care of. People took out their cars and drove up long distances only to help a person stranded at a temple reach home. This simple act of kindness gave me an absolutely strange feeling as I looked on in delight as offers to help flowed.

      The common Indian politics started soon after with many a people blaming certain communities for the tragedy that struck us all. This one thing infuriated me the most and I lashed out at those who were trying to incite communal hatred. Of course they had their own reasons which they childishly tried to prove right in front of us as me and a couple of my friends questioned the very logic behind each of them and proved them wrong. Many a friends of mine on Twitter asked me to not respond to them but then I couldn't help it and gave the irritants a piece of my mind. However trolling continued.

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      Even as the twitterati offered help, news channels went from celebrity to celebrity asking for their opinion on the blast. That according to me was very immature as no person with a rational mind set would support blasts aimed at civilians and true to rationality all condemned the blasts and offered their condolences and sympathy. One thing that did strike me was that the very next day, the city came to a halt quite to the delight of the terrorists whose aim of bringing the city to a stop had been fulfilled. Roads remained empty and offices, schools and colleges recorded the lowest attendance ever. However I did go to college.

      Even as I entered the college there was an eerie feeling. Two souls looked at me as I showed the watchmen my ID and entered the campus. The basketball court was deserted quite unlike normal days when it has people playing and at times talking to each other in groups. Rain poured down as I traced my steps to my lecture room. It seemed like silence had indeed invaded the place. A teacher replied, when asked why the college hadn't declared a holiday stating that the Principal thought that by declaring a holiday they would only be ensuring that the terrorists get what they want i.e. the ability to bring fear into our minds. I sat in my class and talked to five students out of a class of hundred who were present. Only one lecture took place that day.

      What my principle said was indeed true. These acts of bombings had always been meant to bring fear into the minds of the people. Even as leaders visited the victims and talked policy, the roads remained empty. The crows circled the sky as cops wearing raincoats stood at various points eyeing each and everyone who passed them. The terrorists would be caught shortly but what would happen? They would be given a 'free and fair' trial and then they would stay in prison courtesy the Government of India. Next day the city returned to normal as cars honked at each other and students responded with a 'present' to the attendance call. Nothing should ever break this spirit of our again like the way it was broken on that day for till we are here we must refuse to bow our heads to terrorism.

The Concept of Clean Politics

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      Politics has always been a key element of our society. Without it, it would be hard to even establish whether a society even existed or not. Its a concept that is said to be as important to society as oxygen or water is to mankind. Everything that has ever defined us and the world that we live in has been influenced by this eight letter word. On the one hand it started two world wars and on the other insured the peaceful settlement of the Suez Canal dispute. So now that you come to see of it, politics is morally colourless i.e it can result in wars or solution of disputes peacefully.

     The concept of politics became famous thanks to Shakespeare and his play Caesar. I was taught the play in tenth standard and it was also my first brush with this concept. Since then the concept has fascinated me. It is so intriguing that you can achieve so many things with this one word and its careful usage. Its a tactician's dream. For ages people have planned and conspired against each other, no wonder the world is in shambles today. We have to deal with multiple threats like terrorism, rival countries and a relatively new concept known as rogue countries which I can use to describe the failed state of Pakistan which uses a dual policy. One that is anti-terrorism and the other pro. Of course it is a hide and seek game to prove the latter.

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      So has politics ever been clean or has it always involved those small dirty tricks that seem to be white on the outside and black like a kettle on the inside. It is confusing while at the same time we have the answer in front of us. It is like asking whether a man has ever lied in his life. Now we don't know about everyone but we can make the most likely assumption that every man has lied in their life at least once. And so it is. We take two possibilities and choose an option that is more likely and that is that politics had been a dirty business since the very start. And there is no better example to start with than that of Caesar himself.

      Caesar was murdered because he was becoming too big. He was overshadowing others and was starting to seem like a threat. Thus he had to be done with and so he was murdered, murdered by his most trusted comrades, Caesar's story went onto become epic. However there is one thing that is worth a mention here. As we see that as Caesar became powerful, the number of his enemies also increased and this is true to every individual who rises high and has a massive public support system. So he was murdered for political gains and thus it proves the fact that since ancient times politics has been a dirty business.

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      We are further convinced of this when we look at the recent examples of Libya and Syria. I have explored Libya in a previous post and thus I won't be discussing it and instead I would take Syria as an example. Syria has been a dictatorship for a long time and it's people have been denied their rights for a long time. Hence it was quite natural that a tipping point be reached and thus at this tipping point the public anger overflowed from the pot. Widespread stirs and agitations took place and they were put down. The authorities used every resource that they could to fight the very same people whom they were meant to help in their quest for progress. Its a tragedy if you look at it closely.

      So we have the answer that we wanted. Yes politics has always been a dirty business. Always some interests are involved. But does it mean that this black and white picture of politics can't be given a make over and turned colourful like the rainbow maybe. Well I would say that this black and white picture can't be turned into a rainbow-colourful but it certainly can be lightened. Colours can be added and the baggage attached to the word 'politics' can be lost. But it doesn't start just like that. No one individual can do it. It has to be a community's work. It is like a society garden. Everybody needs to plant the seeds, water them and take good care of them if flowers are to bloom and happiness to come.

      How can one do it? Well it is simple. Grab your paper and get your pen, and pen your worries on it. Just direct your feet to the sunny side of your mind. I took that line from a song but how does it matter, the message goes out loud and clear. It means that you should write what worries you. Put it down on a piece of paper while at the same time suggest things or steps that can be taken to improve the situation and that would be you doing your bit. So as I finish this article I look at my TV screen and see the farmer agitation and I hope that I can do something about it. With that hope I shall again take to my laptop and pen another article but till then this is me signing off and hoping that things come out well.

Justifying the crackdown at Ramlila Ground

      On June 4th as the clock ticked form 11:59 PM to 12:00 AM the Delhi Police stationed itself at the Ramlila Maidan. What was to follow was to be dubbed as one of the worst incidents ever to happen in a democracy like India. Allegations were made against the government. People warned that we were returning to the Emergency Era. The Delhi Police had raided the maidan, many protesters were injured and Baba Ramdev was taken to Dehradun. 

      The crackdown received criticism far and wide. BJP President Nitin Gadkari said, "Home Minister P Chidamabaram has replaced General Dyer who had massacred peaceful agitators in Jallianwala Bagh during the freedom struggle". LK Advani termed this police crackdown as "naked-fascism". Human Rights groups demanded answers from the government.

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      All in all the government was cornered but not even for a moment did anybody think about all of this from the government's point of view. Maybe it was the sudden excitement that people found themselves surrounded by or maybe it was the collective anger that people had for the government. Nobody was happy. Rising prices, corruption and what not. Something had to give. And thus the government found itself to be a lone woodcutter in the forest, surrounded by hyenas ready to tear apart the woodcutter. 

      I admit that the crackdown may have been a little too harsh but it was what was needed. I believe that the constitution grants the government the right to crackdown on such protests if it feels that it may disrupt civil peace or cause civil unrest. I feel what the government did was totally justified. If you come to think of it all, if any damage had been done to public property had the protest gone out of hand thenn who would have had to pay for it? We would have had to pay for it from our pockets. Our taxes would have been used to pay for it all and I for one refuse that my money be used to pay for damage caused because of a Baba whose total net worth is over a 1000crore Rupees. 

      Another argument that the people raise is that 'Women and children were harmed'. I find this argument to be the dumbest of them all. Doesn't everybody go about claiming that women and men are equal? So why this special reference to women alone. It's a bit strange now that I look at it carefully. And the children. It is unfortunate if any children were hurt but at the same time only the parents are to be blamed. I have to still meet a single parent who would take their child along to such a place when they know that the issue is going to get very political. Of course many would defend the parent's action by saying that the parents took the child because their future was at stake. OK fine if at all the future of their child was at stake even then I would say that not a single person I know would take their child to such a place. They would go themselves but not a single parent would allow any harm to come to their child.

      After the crackdown, we saw BJP protesting against it. A clip of Sushma Swaraj was being aired by news channels which showed her dancing to supposed patriotic tunes at Rajghat. She defended herself aggressively by asking whether it was a crime to dance and sing patriotic songs at a place like Rajghat where the father of our nation was cremated. Even if we allow patriotic songs but still dancing at a place like that is condemnable. That is a place where one should remain silent and show his respect for Bapu. And however much you claim that you were simply singing and dancing to songs in praise of the motherland, it does not explain why you had the urge to dance to whatever patriotic song that you were dancing to at Rajghat. There is a time and place for everything. I for one regard it as a clear cut insult to me and to every Indian because of the special place that Bapu holds in our society.

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      Many critics of the government compared the India under UPA to China. I for one find this comparison both silly and childish. It is strange that people are able to criticise the government like that and still say that they are living in China. I really doubt if in China people are even seen or heard of after they have made such a statement against the government. Comparing this incident to the Tienanmen Square protest or to the Tahrir Square protests is nothing but an insult to those protesters who bravely fought their regimes in the hopes of having a better tomorrow. I don't think that this crackdown evoked any feeling of being that helpless that one compares it to the those valiant protests that happened in China and Egypt respectively. People claimed that all the politicians had Swiss bank accounts. That statement too is dumb. Did they go and get the bank statement of those individuals? Why do people insult politicians just like that? Agreed that politicians are public servants but still you do not own them. Our democracy can be best described as a restaurant where the Prime Minister is the waiter and he has to come at one call as soon as he is summoned by any Tom, Dick and Harry. What the people do not understand is that he has got much more important things to attend to like administrating this huge country of ours.

      One of the many factors that makes me critical of Baba Ramdev's protest is the fact that the man travels in private jets even though he has taken sanyas. This one thing alone makes me not want to believe whatever he says. Besides, what is left of a fast after you have taken some honey and lemon juice? Also not to forget all this fasting was like holding the government to ransom. I for one wonder what would happen if an unstable person tomorrow undertakes a fast saying the government must bomb some country for all the atrocities that it is committing on India by means of terrorism. If the fast gets good publicity then many idiots would also join the protest. At that time a crackdown would be needed. We can't simply bomb a country and then hope that they won't nuke us.

      This fasting incident made my Grandma nostalgic. She told me that when she lived in West Bengal, almost every single day there would be a strike or a fasting by a group of workers wanting a rise in salary. They claimed that they were being made to work a lot and not being a paid a fair amount. What was the result? At times when the strike would go on, the company would go bankrupt and shut down. Hence all of them would lose their jobs while the Union Leaders were taken care of by political parties with vested interests. A similar thing is happening in India. Every single day somebody goes on a fast for some issue or the other. He is endorsed by celebrities who at times simply fail to understand the fact that adding their name to such a campaign would have a broad effect and many people would join in the fasting without actually being aware of what the core issue is.

      Thus all in all, promoting such things is not going to be beneficial to anybody despite whatever people may claim. I hope this article succeeded in telling you guys that if you want to protest against something then fasting is not the way to go. You can do rallies. Sit at the pavements and shout slogans, protest. But this thing of holding mass protest is not good. It won't do the country any good. Police forces would be diverted to ensure that these protests don't turn violent or to ensure the safety of the leaders from things like ensuring the security of the common man, terrorism and robberies. So even though the constitution grants us the right to protest but it is up to us to understand, be reasonable and to protests in a way that does not hurt the economy, administration or anything for that matter. If we are to all grow old together in this great country of ours then we must find ways to let out our anger against the government in respectable and acceptable ways.

Education...Nah! Tuitions...Yeah!

Guess who topped the twelfth grade exams?

1. The student who had his hand up with a well-thought intelligent answer in class! 
2. The student who was not seen or heard in class.

      You are forgiven for making the mistake selecting option 1 because we are talking about the Indian Education System. What should a developed education system lay emphasis on? The child's all round development but in India the education system is meant to lay emphasis on studies and studies alone. Studies are emphasized regardless of the fact whether the child is interested in the subject at hand or not.

      In the exams, the child who is always active in class, answers questions and is recognised by the teachers as a good student gets average marks while students who are not heard of manage to get excellent marks because the examiners give marks only to the answers which are good enough to be introduced in any guide. They do not see whether the child has understood the fact or simply mugged the answers.

      I am not ridiculing the entire tuition system. I understand that at times tuitions are needed for subjects like Maths and even for languages that you haven't learnt before like French or Russian but I don't understand the logic behind having tuitions for subjects like Political Science or Psychology. Is there a need? No student can be so dumb that they won't understand what is being taught in the class in the above subjects.

      What I don't stand for is that you go to college and then go for tuitions mug those huge answers that are given by your coaching classes and then just print them out on your examination sheet word to word and then end up topping the exams. I know many people who didn't take tuition and who got average marks and I also know people who took tuitions and got good marks. It is upto you to decide who to respect. I respect the one who didn't take tuitions and got average marks. They are the ones who will do well in abroad where there are is no tuition system. So for all those who didn't take tuitions, you did better than the rest.

The US-Pakistan Relationship: Friend or Foe?

    For a long term relationship to last, trust needs to be there. But in the case of the American-Pakistan partnership trust has not been something that was meant to be there. The Americans changed their interaction with Pakistan when the Iron Curtain fell and they started becoming Pro-India but they later had to change this position of theirs due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks which resulted in the US declaring war on Afghanistan.

    Afghanistan was a poor third world country that was far away from them and which had witnessed numerous political events in the past decades. But now that they had invaded the landlocked country it became important for the US to strike a partnership(short-term) with Pakistan in order to prevent terrorists from entering Pakistan and escaping the 'American Wrath'. But that was never meant to be.

    Though the partnership was struck but Pakistan under the dictatorial regime allowed the Taliban to enter and hide in Pakistan. The Pakistani Government thought that they could now get the best of both worlds. They would terrorize India using the vast number of terrorists who had arrived in Pakistan and also by threatening India by the weapons gifted by Uncle Sam. But in doing so they did not realize that they were on the wrong road and had to change.

    The result: Pakistan was soon being regarded as a 'terrorist state' with more than 80% of the global attacks being traced back to them. The Americans could not do anything. They could not attack Pakistan as it had got its own weapons of mass-destruction which ironically had been acquired by Pakistan as the US turned a blind eye to the Pakistani Nuclear Program.

    Now the Americans are in a tight spot. Years of bad foreign policy have come back to haunt them. The US does not have a clear way out to get out of this mess that they have got themselves in. All they can do is wait. Wait for the time to pass and for the region to become stable. Only then can they decide on their next course of action to deal with the 'Terrorist State'.

Teach What is Relevant

Education is something that teaches a person the necessary things that are required for him to get a job. Example if a person wants to join NASA then he has to know physics. But what is the use if he is being taught something that is of no use to him. He is being taught psychology which as a programmer would be of no use to him. So its a waste of time isn't it. Instead of psychology he can be taught something better.

I'll give another example. A student is given a choice of subjects after passing 12. If he wants to take Economics. Then the best subjects for him would be Maths and Statistics but maths and stats are in the same group so he has to chose only one of them and in the third group there are subjects which won't be a lot of help to him. But yet they are there.

This type of education is bad for the country. One must study to get a hang on the things that would be necessary for the type of job he wants. That will make the student more efficient. These types of problems cripple the education system. However, the current government has showed the resolve to change it. We do not know whether there will be a major change or not or will the education system head for the best or worst. But the thing that we can do is. Create awareness. That is all we can do and awareness in turn will force the government to change the policies for the better.

The Cyber Wars

Internet is now a national asset. It has helped in connecting people and also in a lot more things. But as they say, there is always another side to things. And yes indeed there is. Along with the pros of the internet come the cons. But these two elements are there in everything. In some cases the pros are more and in some it’s the other way round. But this here is a unique case.

Internet has had a lot more than its 15 minutes of fame and it is still on it. Internet here is a unique case of how something can be so good and yet so bad. The threat that comes with internet is something major. Something so major that it threatens the entire world as now a days many things are computerised if not all.

Recently the bill ‘Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset’ which was approved unanimously by the US Homeland Security Committee attracted some negative attention with people raising concerns over their privacy on the net. This bill will give the US president the authority to ‘kill the internet’. Some claim it to be the President’s ‘Internet Kill Switch’. This bill would be put to vote on the Senate floor shortly. But it has brought forth the major problems of the net to the public.

The problem is Hacking and identity thefts. These problems are a relatively new thing. Last year and even this year we read many news reports about the hackings that were taking place with the main source being China. Reports claimed that China had its own Cyber Hacking Army. I do not know whether I should believe it or not but the recent hacking carried out from the Chinese Territories gives me reason to believe so.

Many countries have built their own Cyber Army with the US and China leading the pack. But the thing to note is that this might result in the onset of new types of wars, the wars which will involve no bloodshed. They would be called ‘The Cyber Wars’ where one country would hack into the other country’s confidential database and take out information that is of interest or paralyse the entire internet facility within that country.

The worst of these attacks is called ‘A Fire sale’ wherein everything within a country is hacked and rendered useless or paralysed or even controlled. It is best shown in the movie Die Hard 4.0 where the cyber infrastructure of the United States is hacked and controlled by the terrorists. In such a situation, everything in the country that is computerised is controlled by the hackers. And that involved the Traffic Signals which are now days are controlled by computers. Furthermore the entire internet infrastructure can be paralysed which means that people will not have access to the internet.

Then the hackers can get on with damaging the economy as many of the economic activities are carried out via the internet. This may result in losses of over a Billion and more and at times might lead to the worst and that is another Great Depression. Another aspect is the mass media which is by far one of the most important. If they have control over the mass-media then they will have control over what we are seeing. The TV shows and all would be controlled by them. They will show us what they want to show and we will be seeing it.

Seeing the above scenarios it does not come as a big surprise if many more countries adopt laws which control or monitor the internet. But a problem with the internet being controlled or monitor would be the complete loss of privacy. The government would have the right to control the things that we do when on the net. In some of the less democratic countries it might lead to Government tyranny. The government would block access to sites which criticizes them or which it does not feel is appropriate for the internet community to view. And this has already happened in many countries example China and is happening in countries example Pakistan where sites like Facebook and YouTube were blocked for sometime as they were deemed to be immoral.

Thus there are two sides to everything. These two sides prevent us from coming to firm conclusions to such issues. At one hand is the security and on the other is privacy. Thus we are on the tip of a mountain and it would be are decision which would either lead us to a new world or to doom. But the thing to note is that both the decisions are sensible. I being a netizen prefer security but also being a blogger makes me want to choose the right to expression. But whatever is done should not be done to the extreme. As taking any decision and going to the extreme will cause both unhappiness and dissatisfaction.

The Complicated Indo-Sino Relationship Part III

India and China are two giants located in South East Asia. These two giants exercise a lot of power over Asia. They have had conflicting views but they have formed an alliance of sorts against the developed countries which want to impose their policies on the developing countries.

There are many issues which unite the two countries together. One of them is terrorism. Terrorism has targeted both the countries. Terrorists are pretty active in China which has resulted in the Chinese forming many policies. In the future also the fight against terrorism may continue and it will unite more and more countires together.

Energy is going to be a major problem in the future. This will lead to India and China collaborating in the field of energy and coming up with new technology. I have made this assumption based on the fact the two countires produce excellent scientists.

Diplomacy is a major issue which is going to affect world policy in the near future, or should I say that it has already started affecting it. India and China will come together to form a major front for the developing countries. This front will be extremely powerful as it would also involve countries like Brazil. This front will start wresting power from the developed countries and soon the world policies will favour the developing countries.

There many things that will  happen in the future. This topic of mine just dealt with some of these things that will be affecting India and China. I will soon start a parallel series that will deal about things that will happen in the future and that series will include countries and the state of technology.

The Complicated Indo-Sino Relationship Part II

The Indo-Sino relationship has been improving steadily but there are certain things that might become a hurdle in the near future. China as the world knows befriended Pakistan to counter the Indian influence. Now that such a lot of time has past, the two a become the closest of buddies. China won't go against Pakistan on any topic at the international level. And India and Pakistan don't have a great history together.


China's continued support to Pakistan might hinder this friendship process that has started between these two great nations. Pakistan which India believes sponsors terrorism and it does has many a times escaped thanks to the United States which has vested interests in that region or thanks to China which is its great ally.


Another issue that might cause misunderstanding between the two nations would be their stands on nuclear weapons. China has a huge arsenal and this is bound to make India uncomfortable. If such a thing ever happens then it might lead to a nuclear arms race which would be the worst thing to ever happen.

Influence is a major hurdle that separates these two countries from being big time allies. This has many a times happened between the US and UK but not to that serious an extent. However, India and China share borders. This is a major problem because if they didn't share borders and had been far  away from each other then their area of influence would not cross into the other's. But being neighbours, this is bound to happen. It is already HAPPENING.

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Complicated Indo-Sino Relationship Part I

India and China are the most important nations of the 21st century. They are the rising superpowers. But both have their own respective problems that pull them down. Both these nations will have a powerful say in the world affairs sooner than later. It is already happening. The recent Copenhagen Summit where India helped China in getting a good and fair deal. Such incidents are increasing, where both these nations have taken surprising steps sometimes supporting each other and sometimes against each other. This is what makes the Indo-Sino Relationship so complicated.

Both these countries have a history. There is a lot of mistrust between the two countries which is evident from the fact that they don't trust each other and always view each other with suspicion. This all started due to the 1961 war, when India and China were at war with each other. There are many versions as to why the war was fought but somewhere down the line it is clearly visible that these two nations are a little vary while dealing with each other which has resulted in centuries of mistrust. But why so?

The main reason for all this lies in economics and foreign affairs. Both these countries are going to be superpowers sooner than later and like all the countries in the world, they also would have some differences in opinions regarding various matters. This is quite the case here. Both these countries have huge differences in opinion. Lets take Pakistan for example, China is considered to be an ally of Pakistan which is quite true. China has always supported Pakistan in many of its "misadventures" be it the nuclear weapons race or preventing sanctions. India on the other hand is considered to be an arch-rival of Pakistan. This assumption is mainly based on India's stand on various issues which are sometimes against Pakistan but India has also supported Pakistan, but that is a different story all together. The fact is  that this varied opinion is a major problem in improving the relation between the two nations(India and China).

Another factor is the race. The race for  supremacy which I believe is very much the main problem. Both these countries want to outdo each other in every field. India wants a UNSC seat which I believe is very much India's right because India does not have a big brother(like China for Pakistan and USA for Israel) with a UNSC and besides it has earned. India is the most powerful country in the Indian subcontinent. This is a major problem for China because as long as China has a hold on that seat it will be a big brother type figure in Asia but with another asian country also getting that seat, the big brother image is bound to take a beating and so will its influence.

But this was all about the negatives shared by the two countries. Positives are also there. Both these countries have realised that though they may be powerful nation but it is still not enough to overcome the US supremacy. This resulted in the two forming an alliance of sorts at the Copenhagen to get the result that they both wanted. This played the trick. India and China are so powerful nations that when together even the US can't impose its policies and ideals on them. The duo agree on many matters like terrorism. But this is still not enough. A lot more should be done to improve the relations.

India recently gifted a replica of Sanchi Stupa to China. Such acts are the most welcomes as they help in improving relations between the two countries. This improvement in relations might lead to a new era of diplomacy wherein both India and China to help and support each other in their own various endeavours. The time has come when these two nations will join hands and change the vary face of International Politics.

TO BE CONTINUED....

THIS POSTS CELEBRATES THE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE INDO-CHINESE RELATIONSHIP.

We are not Alone

For ages man has wondered whether he is alone in this vast universe which has over a billion stars. Numerous science-fiction movies have been made on small green men from mars. But that might be a reality sooner than later. Nasa has claimed of having found compelling evidence of life on mars.

          They have reportedly found a form of pond scum which is the building block of life. This could be a turning point in Human History. There are more than a billion possibilities at the moment and there a billion answers to the billion questions which are being raised about mars.

          If aliens are indeed found which will take some time, it would have a significant impact on the very foundations of Space Science. Aliens are a topic of controversy. It will be exciting to see the reaction of the people, if it is proved that there are aliens.

          We should be careful when dealing with aliens. If we ever find them, they might be an advanced species with capabilities which are still dreams for us. They might use them to conquer us. They might have special abilities. They can destroy us for all we know.

          They can also be friendly and may help us improve ourselves. They can help us in following the non-violent path by providing us with insight into how humans won't survive if there is no peace.

          We don't know who the aliens are nor do we know anything about their behaviour. But one thing is certain that, if aliens exist and they do give us a visit then every thing will change for the good or bad.