No Time For The Dead

3

There is no Northeast beyond Calcutta. That is what many believe and often unfortunately that is what appears to be true. India's Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as the Deputy Prime Minister when informed in 1949 that the "native state" of Manipur might be reluctant to merge fully with the Indian Union came out with the response, "Isn't there a Brigadier in Shillong?" (Baruah: Durable Disorders, OUP). The tone and tenor set by Patel, still rules New Delhi's vision of the Northeastern states and the mainstream Indian perception about the Northeastern States. They are lumped together, all individuality erased when it comes to governance or any other issue be it life, or death. Amidst all the complaints of neglect of the Northeast an unfortunate precedence is being set in the manner India has suddenly started remembering its dead. The context is, of course, the terrorist attacks that took....

Chasing The Old Monk

2

Dalai Lama means different things to different people. To some it means that I am a living Buddha, the earthly manifestation of Avolokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion. To others it means that I am a "god-king". During the late 1950s it meant that I was a Vice President of The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China. Then when I escaped into exile, I was called a counter-revolutionary and a parasite. But none of these are my ideas. To me 'Dalai Lama' is a title that signifies the office I hold. I myself am just a human being, and incidentally a Tibetan, who chooses to be a Buddhist monk. Freedom In Exile--Dalai Lama In March 1959, a new batch of IFS probationers were escorted by K Natwar Singh for a meeting with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in South Block. Midway the meeting stopped.....