Honor And Sacrifice

Napoleon Of India

                                One of the greatest military geniuses a successful General yet least known warrior in Indian history was General Zorawar Singh. A true legend ,a fiercest warrior a great planner and executioner whose legacy of conquests in the Himalayas shaped Indian frontiers for posterity. For his incredibly stunning victories in  Ladakh, Tibet, Baltistan and Skardu General Zorawar Singh  has been refereed to by historians as "Conqueror of Ladakh" and the "Napoleon of India". It's because of General Zorawar's conquest of Ladakh India's international border extends till Ladakh to this day.

                              Zorawar Singh a Dogra Rajput was born in Kahlur in Bilaspur in erstwhile undivided state of Punjab in 1786. As a young boy joined the army of Maharaja Gulab Singh of Jammu . His sincerity and valor impressed Maharaja and with successive conquests was made general. After conquering the hilly region of Kishtwar he was appointed Governor(wazir) of Kishtwar by Maharaja Gulab Singh.Traditionally Dogra Rajputs excelled in mountain warfare negotiating mountain ranges with comfort and the warrior clan formed the bulk of General Zorawar  expeditionary force.

                                                         Zorawar Singh’s fort, Ladakh

                         General Zorawar Singh impressive conquests started in 1834 with expansionary military expeditions to Ladakh. During the course of time Leh,Kargil and eventually Ladakh was annexed to the Kingdom of Jammu. In 1840 General Zorawar Singh invaded Baltistan (in modern Pakistan) and after fierce fighting merged the state with Jammu Kingdom. With the conquest of Balti kingdom the central district of Skardu also came under Dogra domain of Jammu. The victory over Baltistan is significant as it is one of the most rugged terrain,situated in the Karakoram range to the south of K2, the world’s second highest mountain.

                             General Zorawar Singh’s next and the last military expedition was the invasion of western Tibetan region. Sweeping all resistance before them the General captured Gartok in August 1841 and with victory of Taklakot in September 1841 and  construction of a fort at a place called Cohi-t’ang, Zorawar’s conquest of western Tibet was  complete. It was further observed that it was the interference of the British, in a bid to protect their self-interest that weakened the General's position during his expedition to Lama's territory and ultimately led to his death.On 12th December, 1841 General Zorawar Singh was hit by a bullet on his left shoulder and died at Taklakot .In an operation lasting three and a half months, some 550 miles of Tibetan territory was captured by General Zorawar Singh.

                            The Tibetans however recognized the valor of General Zorawar Singh and built a memorial at Taklakot in his memory. Tibetans call it “Singh-ba-Chorten” at To-Yo.  Postal Department had published a brief biographical note on General Zorawar Singh in the information brochure that was published along with the commemorative postage stamp released on 31.12.2000 to honor a valiant Son of the soil.

Swastika

                         Swastika is one of the most sacred symbol in the world, perhaps one of the most misunderstood religious symbol too. It's origin dates back to neolithic period (new stone age).Swastika symbol have existed long before the name was given to it and is recognized worldwide. One of the earliest object excavated with Swastika inscribed symbol is on carving of ivory tusk (bird artifact) dated back 10,000 BCE in Mezine, Ukraine. Archaeological evidence of swastika shaped ornaments, artifacts, stone carvings, pottery, weavings , buildings, monuments, bridges, postcards and in temples and other items inscribed with Swastika is found around the world.

     

                   Swastika is considered to be a sacred and auspicious symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Odinism. The word "Swastika" comes from the sanskrit word svastika - "su" meaning "good," "asti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix meaning "it is good" or  “being fortunate”. Swastika is a symmetrical cross with its arms bend usually at right angles, four arms each represent a key point the seasons (winter, spring, summer and autumn), the phases of life (birth, life, death and re-birth), the phases of the day (night, morning, day and evening), the elements (air, fire, water and earth), the phases of the Moon (lunar eclipse, waxing, full and waning, the cardinal points (North, East, South, West), etc. Swastika symbol is depicted in many cultures with different meaning attributed synonymous of good.  In Buddhism Swastika represents eternity and it appears on the chest of some statues of Buddha. In Hinduism it represents Sun’s rays, in Christianity swastika is used as a hooked version of a Christian Cross and appears in many ornaments and church decoration.

Ancient Swastikas: A-Rhodes (585 BC) B, C – Greek (500 BC) D – Greek (615 BC) E – Peru (300 CE) F – Woodland Indian (1000 CE) G – Greek (300 BC)

                          In the summer of 1920, National Socialist German Worker’s Party (NSDAP or the Nazi Party) adopted the symbol Swastika which he was accustomed to during his school days at Benedictine monastery school in Lambach, Austria. The ancient monastery was decorated with carved stones and woodwork that included several swastikas.  It was during the Second World War Swastika one of the most powerful recognized symbol unfortunately was denigrated due to Nazi deeds. From the universal genuine sign symbolizing good it suddenly became a racist ‘Aryan’ emblem, a symbol of the Nazis and their atrocities, a symbol of hate,evil ,racism etc.

                            Swastika engraved in Lambach Monastery that inspired Hitler 

                          Another interesting feature that i stumbled upon is Swastika is a symbol of motion. The clockwise motion spinning of Swastika (using this orientation 卐) symbolises decomposition, death, destruction while an anti-clockwise motion signifies creation, evolution, and the fertility-giving properties. By varying its directions people justify  the clockwise, Nazi version of the swastika mean hate and death while the counter-clockwise version would hold the ancient meaning of the symbol, life and good-luck.

                                            Swastika on a Greek silver stater coin from Corinth, 6th century BC

                        In my opinion it is one of the holiest symbol, auspicious and reverend around the globe by disciples of different religion. It's true meaning and ancestry(origin) might never be deciphered but its safe to assume disciples will reclaim it as auspicious and divine and far from the Nazi ideology of hate and supremacy for which Adolf Hitler used the symbol..

Tackling Terrorism

                    
                    Terror and terrorism is perhaps the most widely used in today's world. While there's actually no single definition of what "terrorism" means and still there are many, and often, they're incompatible. One most appropriate being and used by law enforcement agencies is : "Terrorism is the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."  
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                     Trying to intimidate and subjugate people and government by group of people through force is terrorism and religious fervor attached to it is the new phenomenon terrorizing humanity in today's era. The unfortunate truth staring mankind is the overzealous vociferous religious bigots(although in minority) prevalent in all religions today. These minority religious fanatics are boisterous and get emboldened due to indifference of silent majority.

                     These religious extremists aren't confined to one religious group marking there presence in almost all religious groups. Atrocities by extremists Buddhists elements in Burma have made life miserable for Rohingya Muslims, similar stories emerged from Sri lanka where religious minorities were persecuted by extremist Buddhists. Terrorizing Hindu and Sikh communities in USA, Europe ,Australia by Christian bigots doesn't raises eyebrows anymore, vandalism of temples and gurudwara isn't rare. Religious tensions fomented by Hindu and Muslim radicals and resulting riots is an interminable process in some parts of India. All these riots uproot inhabitants and causes friction in the overall mindset of population besides causing irreparable loss to life and property.

      The biggest threat to humanity in 21st century is emanating from religious extremism and the biggest organized extremists groups have emerged from Islamic radical groups. These Islamic extremist groups have pan-Islamic ambitions and are incredibly brutal in action .These Islamic fundamentalist groups earlier operated from different Islamic nations and are very well funded but now have established there own country by occupying vast territory between Iraq and Syria. Islamic fundamentalists have ambitions of uniting all muslim countries to form a caliphate initially and then subjugating the world through intimidation and convert the world to Islam. 

   These Islamic radicals believe in the ultra orthodox interpretation of Koran and justify its implementation through violence. These groups gets fundings and unending stream of volunteers to fight for ignominious cause of there from different sources. Moving on from video and audio cassettes, DVDs today internet has become the most efficient tool for Islamic terrorists for propaganda and publicity. The optimal use of internet by glorifying there abominable acts helps terrorists in alluring gullible people to there ranks. The Internet has arguably replaced the role of the printed media in the field of terrorism, terrorists can take whatever message and images they decide to straight to the online targeted audience, which is global in reach. Internet has become a potent tool for incitement to commit acts of terrorism, radicalization and recruitment of terrorists. Lately terrorists use the Internet ranging from psychological warfare and propaganda to highly instrumental uses such as fundraising, recruitment, data mining, and coordination of actions.

                    Another tool to further there propaganda by Islamic terrorists is media coverage. In this time and age of 24*7 media coverage Islamic terror groups have successfully exploited it to hilt. They have successfully publicized their political causes, inform both friends and foes about the motives for terrorist deeds, and play victim thus explaining their rationale for resorting to violence. Media has worked as a tool by terrorists to legitimize there ideology create an atmosphere of fear and suspicion, legitimize their acts, and reach greater audiences. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the current leader of al-Qaeda, argues that “[al-Qaeda is] in a battle, and more than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media. [Al-Qaeda is] in a media battle for the hearts and minds of the ummah”.

                  Lone wolf Islamic terror attacks is another byproduct of radicalizing through cyberspace . Most of these Islamic terrorists who operate independently are self radicalized through internet propaganda machinery of Islamic radical groups. Their barbaric acts could have been planned in a single day, have no past history of violence and thus difficult to detect yet they have an impact that provokes as much publicity and fear as any terrorist act around the world. The Islamic terrorist organization that recruits lone terrorists through the Internet are the most difficult and dangerous to confront and only by preaching tolerance such self radicalized terrorist violence can be reduced.

 

                    The key to defeating terrorism is prompt action by international community by solving the societal and political failures in terror infested countries. It's equally important to destroy the well oiled propaganda machinery by constant coordinated action to thwart attempts to enroll new recruits by terrorists.The financiers of terror groups are equally dangerous and steps should be taken to throttle finances of terrorists. Terrorism is aggression against society and harsh punishment should be handed over to perpetrators of heinous crime. It will act as deterrent for those who harm innocent people or threaten to destabilize the foundation of society.Equal emphasis should be given on reforming education in madrasa. More skill & modern knowledge should be imparted besides religious knowledge to pupils for better job prospects. Economic disparity creates a fertile ground among young restless population towards victimhood and thus enticed towards extremism hence a comprehensive pro active military, political, financial  and reformist strategy is necessary to combat scourge of terrorism erupting around the world.