Wednesday 29 May 2013

The Dragon looks at India


Can the  Chinese be trusted? Their record says no. Normally what they say, they don't mean and are in the habit of land grabbing and unilateral actions through inducements, if that doesn't work, then threats. Recently, Li Keqiang, Premier, People’s Republic of China visited India. He said, ‘Our two countries must shake hands and conduct exchanges so that together we can raise the standing of Asia in the world.’

In the wake of the recent border dispute, India and China are making efforts to rebuild ties, factoring in political and economical realities on the ground. But before we look further, let us peep at the past, with tension on the 3,488 km of the India-China Line of Actual Control from time to time.

Shaksgam valley – Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq km to China in 1963.
Demchok – China claims that India has occupied 500 sq km in Demchok.
Finger area – In 2008, Chinese troops took down 3 Indian Army fibre glass huts on 7 Nov at Doka La.
Barahoti – In 2011, two Chinese choppers landed 4 km inside the LAC on the Indian side on 23 August. Troops took down 17 fortifications, Earlier there was a 21-day face-off here in August 2002.
Asaphila area – In 2011, around 44 Chinese troops set up tents 3km inside Indian territory in the Asaphila area on 15 August.
Depsang – In 2013, a platoon of PLA troops ventured 10 km into Indian territory on 15 April. They withdrew on 5 May after India took a tough stance. The Depsang incursion may have revived bitter memories of the 1962 Indo-China border war which many won’t forget in a hurry. India faced humiliation against the Chinese aggression. It had hurt the Indian sentiments very badly.
After promises of peace, China builds 5-km road crossing LAC. The intrusion took place on May 17, two days before Chinese PM Li Keqiang arrived in Delhi.
China claims 70,000 sq km of territory in Arunachal Pradesh as under Indian occupation.
China can deploy 6.8 lakh troops to the border within a week. Can India match this given the poor infrastructure; though India now in earnest is developing roads, basic infrastructure and airbases for quick movements of troops and weapons.

 Apart from India, China has disputes with many of its other neighbours too. India may have the longest disputed boundary with China, but many other countries have territorial issues with China:

Nepal and Bhutan – China has minor territorial issues with Bhutan. In Nepal, it interferes over Tibetan refugee problems. China is also eyeing hydroelectric schemes in Nepal.
Veitnam – The two communist states stare at one another due to China’s expansion of its South China Sea claim has led Veitnam to seek allies, weapons and more.
Philippines – With no navy or airforce, this country has been surprised to find itself on the frontline of China’s South China Sea claims and facing harsh economic sanctions by China.
Taiwan – China claims it to be a rebel province, not independent at all. 
Japan – It is China’s enemy number one. Despite Japan’s huge trade and investment in China, Beijing has been unrelenting in it’s island dispute with Japan. Even a pro-China government in Tokyo made no difference.
South Korea – bombed and harassed by North Korea, it has come to believe China is tolerating this activity by its main Asian Ally.
Mongolia – Disputes over natural resources and ethnic minorities have led this otherwise mild-mannered nation to invite the Dalai Lama.

The present bilateral trade between India and China is $66 billion and is expected to touch $100 billion by 2015. Just as bilateral trade and investment will bring the two countries closer, but the political issues and border dispute is a reality, which needs a mature diplomacy with give and take. The recent Depsang incursion resulted in uproar in Parliament and rhetoric from opposition leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav, announcing, ‘drive away the Chinese, if required, let’s go for another war with the Chinese’ ; without realizing the implications of this war. Mature leadership and smart diplomacy is the need of the hour.

If India and China, the two Asian giants are to come closer, they should engage on a equal footing with mutual respect for each other. Love thy neighbor will only be possible with engaging the dragon! And China should be sincere in its efforts to solve the remaining vestiges of history with India, with a new and modern outlook with a global role for both the Asian giants.



Friday 24 May 2013

Jaggery - The Sweet & Sacred Food





Jaggery or Gur or Gul as it is colloquially known is made by boiling sugarcane juice. Gur has an important place in Indian cuisine and culture, mainly because it is considered pure, unlike sugar where chemicals and bone charcoal are used in refining it. Jaggery, also called Gur or Gud, is used as an ingredient in both sweet and other dishes across India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka....


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Jaggery is considered a sacred and healthy food by Indians and many others across the globe. It is sold in different forms – cubes, blocks, sticky lumps, round disk shapes, etc. It’s available in whitish brown, dark brown and blackish brown. In Mangalore, Karnataka round disks known as ‘Volle bela’ is available, packed in dried palm leaves. Kids in jest call it ‘Mangalore Cadbury’ and love to chew it as chocolate.


Jaggery or Gur or Gul as it is colloquially known is made by boiling sugarcane juice. Gur has an important place in Indian cuisine and culture, mainly because it is considered pure, unlike sugar where chemicals and bone charcoal are used in refining it. Jaggery, also called Gur or Gud, is used as an ingredient in both sweet and dishes across India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. For example, a pinch of it is sometimes added to sambar, rasam and other staples in India. Jaggery is also added to lentil soups/dal to add sweetness to balance the spicy, salty and sour components, particularly in Gujarati cuisine.




Jaggery is made from both sugarcane and the date palm tree. The sugar made from the sap of the date palm is both more prized and less commonly available outside of the regions where it is made. The coconut palm is also tapped for producing jaggery in West Bengal, South India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, syrup extracts from kithul trees are widely used for jaggery production. This is considered the best quality jaggery available in local market and is given a higher value than jaggery from other sources. All types of the jaggery come in blocks or pastes of solidified concentrated sugar syrup heated to 200°C. Traditionally, the syrup is made by boiling raw sugarcane juice or palm sap in large, shallow, round-bottom vessels.

Hindus, during religious ceremonies offer delicacies such as chakkara pongal, obattu and payasam made of jaggery as Prasad to gods and goddesses. It is considered life-giving and soul- sustaining. In many parts of India, there is a tradition of eating a piece of jaggery before setting out on an important assignment , or on hearing good news or success in a venture, and sharing it with family and friends.

It is also known for its medicinal properties. In traditional home-cure by elderly folks, gur is used in the making of ‘kashai’ or ‘kaada’ to cure sore throat and cough. According to Ayurveda, jaggery is packed with valuable minerals. Being a complex carbohydrate, it is digested and absorbed into the blood gradually. Eating a piece of jaggery after a good meal helps in digestion and prevents acidity. It is believed that jaggery purifies blood, keeps blood pressure under control, prevents and cures pimples and makes skin and hair healthy. Besides providing relief from premenstrual-cramps, jaggery is useful in preventing pregnancy-related anaemia. It also provides relief from migraine, headaches, and acts as an antioxidant and also cleans the respiratory tract of dust and pollutants.


Maharashtra is the largest producer and consumer of jaggery; most vegetable dishes, curries, and dals contain it. In rural Maharashtra and Karnataka, water and a piece of jaggery is given when someone arrives home from working under a hot sun. Kakvi, a byproduct of the production of jaggery, is also used in rural Maharashtra and Karnataka as a sweetener. It contains many minerals not found in ordinary sugar and is considered beneficial to health in traditional Ayurvedic medicine. It is used as an ingredient of many sweet delicacies, such as gur ka chawal (jaggery rice), a traditional Rajasthani dish. In Gujarat, laddus are made from wheat flour and jaggery.


In Myanmar, jaggery is harvested from toddy palm syrup. In central Myanmar and around Bagan (Pagan), toddy syrup is collected solely for the purpose of making jaggery. The translucent white syrup is boiled until it becomes golden brown, and then made into bite-sized pieces. It is considered a sweet and is eaten by children and adults alike, usually in the afternoon along with a pot of green tea. It has been referred to locally as Burmese chocolate. Toddy palm jaggery is also sometimes mixed with coconut shreds, jujube puree or sesame, depending on the area. This type of jaggery is also used in Burmese cooking, usually to add color and enrich the food.

The Muzaffarnagar District in Uttar Pradesh has the largest jaggery market in the world, followed by Anakapalli in the Visakhapatnam District in Andhra Pradesh. The Kolhapur District in western Maharashtra is also famous for its variety of jaggery, which is yellow and much sought-after in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Mandya in Karnataka is also known for its jaggery production. Jaggery in all languages is sweet!


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The Forgotten Brown Warriors:


The present generation should know this; a hundred years ago, over 1.5 million soldiers from British India were fighting the First World War for the British Empire. Nearly every sixth soldier fighting on behalf of the British Empire was from the Indian sub-continent – Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Gurkhas. And more than 70,000 men were killed in far away battlefields in different countries. They are the forgotten warriors of the Indian sub-continent. Nobody talks about them, their acts of bravery and the sacrifices made for the then British Empire. May their souls rest in peace. 


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India's popular car till the late seventies
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Tuesday 14 May 2013

History has come a full circle!




Britons would rather have been born Indian says a recent study in UK. India beat off not only the other major emerging economies, but the US too. Caught by a near triple dip recession, a whopping third of Britons say their economic prospects would have been better if they had been born in India. Something for Indians to be proud of!

‘Certainly the view here is that among the growth economies, India is rather doing well,’ Chris Worrell, the author of the study said. In fact, it seems Brits would rather have been born in India than anywhere else. After six years of economic hardship, 32% of people surveyed in a year-long ‘Future of Britain’ study named India as their preferred country of birth with the figure rising to 36% among the 16-24 year-olds.

There is a sense of people being aware that Britain is no longer the power that it was economically, and that growth will be driven by new economies. The slump is bringing out British qualities last seen during World War II; people are saving more, eating out less, buying only necessities, cancelling gym memberships, selling off possessions and taking up second survival mode with 41% expecting the 2-5 years of recession.

‘But young Britons emerge far less pessimistic than 35-55 year olds. Younger people are more outward looking and receptive to other cultures,’ said Worrell. Following India, Brazil was the choice of 29%, followed by Russia (28%), China (27%) and USA (26%), according to the study conducted by the communication agency OMD UK.

At least India has something to cheer about! We are not doing that bad. The world is taking notice of our economic growth.

Sunday 5 May 2013

Siddis - The Forgotten Indians





The Siddis came to the west coast of India around the seventeen century. The first Siddis are believed to have arrived in India in 628 AD at the Baruch port. Later several others followed them. Most Siddis are believed to be descendants of slaves, sailors, soldiers and merchants of East Africa. They came from Africa – Abyssinia, Sudan, Eritea, Morocco and Mozambic as traders, soldiers, helpers, servants, mercenaries and guards.......

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The Siddi, also known as Sidi, Siddhi, Sheedi or Habshi, are an ethnic group inhabiting Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Members are descended from the Bantu peoples of the East African region. Some were merchants, sailors, indentured servants, slaves and mercenaries.

Siddis also known as Habshi, are an ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. The Siddi population is currently estimated to be 20,000-55,000 spread across Karnataka, Gujarat, Hyderabad in India, Makran and Karachi in Pakistan. Siddis are Indians of African descent and mostly settled in the west coast, mainly coastal Karnataka, Maharastra and Gujarat. Their appearance, looks and curly hair make them standout among the locals. This is the community we know very little about, that is hidden from general view but is still part of the mainstream. Many of them are mistaken for African tourists.



The Siddis came to the west coast of India around the seventeen century. The first Siddis are believed to have arrived in India in 628 AD at the Baruch port. Later several others followed them. Most Siddis are believed to be descendants of slaves, sailors, soldiers and merchants of East Africa. They came from Africa – Abyssinia, Sudan, Eritea, Morocco and Mozambic as traders, soldiers, servants, mercenaries and guards. Because of their fighting poweress, they were preferred as soldiers. They were physically strong and ready for any hard work. They were loyal to their masters and received grants of land in return for their valor and services. Some Siddis even have established small Siddi principalities on Janjira island.


After having settled here for centuries, speak the local languages, eat the local food and have even adopted the local dress and culture too. However their cultural assimilation stopped short only of marriage which helped them to remain racially integrated to this day. The only link that still connects them to Africa is their Goma dance and music; the spiritual dance is similar to what is done in the land of their origin. Most of them are Sufi Muslims, but many follow Hinduism and Christianity too.


They have embraced India, wish to live here; this is where they belong. They no longer have any links with the land of their origin. But some of them are surprised that after so many years here, some people sometimes stare at them, calling them Negros from Africa. They just laugh it off. Sometimes even the police question them, asking for their passports, mistaking them for tourists. When they respond in the local language, the cops smile and walk away.

Since they are blessed with good physic, strength and stamina, dancing, running and sports activity come naturally to them. Over the recent years sports talent hunters have picked up raw talented boys and girls from Siddi community, for proper systematical training at sports schools, to tap their hidden talents for various sports. Some have already made an impression in various sports like running, boxing, football, etc.

In recent years many from the community have taken to education and traveled out of their villages to towns and cities for further education and jobs. Some of them have even taken up office and professional jobs. They are proud to be Indians. They too want to be part of the Indian success story. They love India as much as we do. Make them feel part of this great nation. 

Isolated and reclusive, Siddis are mostly confined to small pockets of villages in the Indian states of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. In India, Karnataka has the largest concentration of Siddis. According to latest estimates there are around 3,700 Siddi families in the state with a total population of 18,000. Other Siddhi populations in the sub-continent include around 10,000 in Gujarat and 12,000 in Hyderabad.



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Indonesia has world’s largest Buddhist temple

The Borobudur Temple, located on the Indonesian island of Java, is the largest Buddhist temple. Built in the 9th century during the reign of Syailendra dynasty, the temple was constructed with approximately 56,000 cubic meters of volcanic stone, has around 504 Buddha statues and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels. It was restored with UNESCO’s help in the 1970's.

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Milagres church, Mangalore, Karnataka, India
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