U Tirot Sing.............India's Unsung Hero.

*      U Tirot Sing, was one of the Khasi chiefs in the 18th century drew his lineage from the Syiemlieh clan. He was Syiem (chief) of Nongkhlaw, part of the Khasi Hills. He shared authority with his council, representatives of leading clans within his territory. He fought against the British to prevent them from taking over control of the Khasi Hills. 

*   The British gained control of the Brahmaputra valley after concluding the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826. They wanted to construct a road through this area to connect Guwahati with Sylhet to save weeks of travel. David Scott, the agent of the British Governor-General for the Northern Territory, found that U Tirot Sing wanted to regain the duars (passes into Assam) in return for the permission for the road project. 

*   But when the news came that the British were deploying forces in Assam, U Tirot Sing convened a Durbar and passed orders for the British to evacuate Nongkhlaw. The British refused and the Khasis attacked the British garrison in Nongkhlaw in April 1829 and killed two British officers thus inviting the British retaliation against U Tirot Sing and other Khasi chiefs. In the Anglo- Khasi Wars the Khasis lacked firearms and fought with swords, shields, bows and arrows. Unable to engage the British in open battle,the Khasis resorted to guerilla warfare that  dragged on for about four years. 

*      U Tirot Sing fought with with native weapons such as a sword and shield. He was shot at by the British and hid in a cave, but was eventually captured by the British in January 1833 and deported to Dhaka. The location of his hiding place was given by a Khasi chief who was bribed with gold coins by the British. He died on 17 July 1835. His death anniversary is commemorated every year as a state holiday in Meghalaya.

*      Only a few Indians outside the North-East know about this great hero of India's freedom struggle. It's high time he gets his due recognition. 

A Greek tragedy ?

 

*   Every lover of history and literature today would be feeling the pain and anguish at the economic condition of Greece that 2000 years ago was not only a great economic power but also a great military power which defeated the mighty Persian army, and won a decade-long Trojan war. 

* Greece was the place where a great and mighty civilization flourished for centuries. It gave the future Roman civilization and other civilizations the literature, theatrical culture, drama and democracy. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the world's two of the greatest books inspired Virgil, Chaucer, Shakespeare and thousands of writers across the world and till date continue to inspire millions of budding writers. The four famous ancient Greek dramatists: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Eurides and Aristophanes inspired the latter day Latin and English dramatists. 

*  The battles of the Thermopylae, the Salamis and the Marathon still inspire and baffle the military leaders. 

*      Greece gave the world the 'Olympics', which today has become the greatest sporting extravaganza. 

*  So much was the power of Greek civilization that Augustus, the Roman emperor had asked Virgil, to write the book linking the Roman lineage to the Trojans. Thus a great book, Aeneid was written. In the ancient times no country could escape the magic of Greece.  

*  Greek mythology and Greek Gods are revered and admired by people of all religions. Every woman aspires to acquire the beauty of a Helen and a Penelope. The millions of girls have been named after them.   

*    The nation that taught the rest of the world how to live deserves a better fate. Greece may not regain the glory it lost two thousand years ago, but she at least deserves to live in dignity.

Rohingyas.........the Landless People

*       The Rohingya people have become the forgotten people. The world leaders and superpowers preoccupied with the Middle-east and the Islamic State terrorists have almost forgotten the persecution of this minority group, thousands of which have perished in the sea, and thousands are seeking asylum in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and other Asian countries.

History        

*       The Rohingyas Muslims are people of Indo-Aryan race from Rakhine state in Burma. Some historians believe they are indigenous to Rakhine, while the others claim they have migrated to Burma from Bengal, primarily during the British rule. After the first Ango-Burmese War in 1826, the British annexed Arakan and encouraged the Muslims from Bengal to work as the farm labourers there. The Muslim then constituted 5% of Arakan's population which in 2015 has shot up to almost 29% in the state. 

*       During the World War II, the state witnesses a series of communal violence after which the region became ethnically polarized. In 1982, General Ne Win’s government enacted the Burmese Nationality Law, which denied the Rohingya Muslims the citizenship. About 735,000 Rohingyas live in Burma, mainly in the northern Rakhine townships, where they are 80–98% of the population. 

Genesis of Problem

*      The British encouraged the Muslims from the adjacent regions to migrate into the then thinly populated and fertile valleys of Arakan as farm labourers. There was no international boundary between Bengal and Arakan and thus no restrictions on migration between the regions. In the early 19th century the Muslims en mass migrated from the Chittagong and settled in Burma seeking work. The impact of immigration was more acute in Arakan, the least populated region. 

*      During World War II, the Japanese forces invaded Burma, then under the British rule. The British forces retreated and as a result communal violence erupted between the Arakanese and the Muslim villagers. The British armed Muslims in northern Arakan to create a buffer zone to protect the region from a Japanese invasion. 

*     At the time of independence movement in India, the Rohingyas in Burma formed a separatist movement to merge the region into East Pakistan. Before the independence of Burma in January 1948, the Muslim leaders from Arakan approached Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and asked for his help in merging Arakan’s Mayu region with Pakistan considering their religious affinity and geographical proximity with East Pakistan. The proposal never materialized since it was turned down by Jinnah saying that he was not in a position to interfere into Burmese matters. 

*      After Jinnah's refusal, the Rohingya elders founded the Mujahid party as a jihad movement in northern Arakan in 1947 with the aim to create an autonomous Muslim state in Arakan. Ne Win carried out military operations against them for over two decades. As a result, many Muslims in the region fled to neighboring Bangladesh as refugees. Rohingya Mujahideens are believed to be still active within the remote areas of Arakan.

Immigration Over the Years

*      The post-war illegal immigration of the Rohingyas into that area was on a vast scale, and in the northern areas they replaced the Arakanese." From 1971 to 1973, saw an exodus of ten million Bengali refugees to neighbouring countries. From 1971 to 1978, a number of Rakhine monks and Buddhists staged hunger strikes in Sittwe to force the government to tackle immigration issues which they believed was causing a demographic shift in the region. Ne Win's government requested UN to repatriate the war refugees and launched military operations which drove off around 200,000 people to Bangladesh. In 1978, the Bangladesh government protested against the Burmese government concerning "the expulsion by force of thousands of Burmese Muslim citizens to Bangladesh." The Burmese government responded that those expelled were Bangladesh citizens who had resided illegally in Burma. In July 1978, after intensive negotiations mediated by UN, Ne Win's government agreed to take back 200,000 refugees who settled in Arakan. In 1982, the Bangladesh Government amended the citizenship law and declared all "Rohingyas" are non-nationals.

The 2012 Rakhine State riots

*       The 2012 Rakhine State riots were a series of conflicts between Rohingya Muslims who are majority in the northern Rakhine and ethnic Rakhines who are majority in the south. Before the riots, there were widespread and strongly held fears circulating among Buddhist Rakhines that they would soon become a minority in their ancestral state. The riots erupted because of gang rape and murder of a Rakhine woman by Rohingyas and killing of ten Burmese Muslims by Rakhines. From both sides, whole villages were "decimated". The government responded by imposing curfews and deploying troops in the region. 

The 2015 Rohingya Refugee Crisis

*        In 2015, to escape systemic violence and persecution from Burma government thousands of Rohingyas migrated from Burma and Bangladesh, collectively dubbed as the 'boat people' by international media. About 25,000 people have taken to boats from January to March in 2015. About hundreds of boat people perished during the journey. An estimated 3000 refugees from Burma and Bangladesh have been rescued or swum to shore and several thousand are believed to remain trapped on boats at sea with little food or water.

*         Bangladesh has become overpopulated and it has failed to provide its citizens with basic needs and therefore, the people are entering illegally into neighbouring countries. It's important that Bangladesh controls its population. This would solve not only its problems but also of other Asian neighbours.

Kausani..............a traveller's delight !!!

*     Kausani is located about 50 km north of Almora in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand in India. There are very few places in the Himalayas that can compare with the beauty of Kausani. This picturesque hill station is famous for its scenic beauty and spectacular 300 km wide panoramic view of the Himalayan peaks like Trishul, Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot and Panchchuli. Kausani lies atop a ridge at an altitude of approx 1900 m in the midst of dense pine trees overlooking the Someshwar valley on one side and the Katyuri valley on the other. The place inspired Mahatma Gandhi so much that he called it the 'Switzerland of India'.

 

 

*   The birthplace of the famous Hindi poet, Sumitranandan Pant is a quaint place that draws thousands of people each year. Kausani is travellers’ delight. Ten years ago during the vacation this place inspired me to write a novel, a love story. I can't reveal more than this. In my earlier posts under ‘writing fiction’ I've posted a few excerpts from the book. The place simply sweeps you off your feet.  

*       Who knows? It could inspire you too. So, what are you waiting for. Pack your bags and soak your soul in the tranquillity of the place yourself.

Writing Fiction.....................................

 ............ from inside pages of my book, (yet to be titled).

*        The pines, some greener and softer than others, and one taller than the next, vying for visitors' attention stood resigned to the fact that the holy mountains grabbed all the attention. But they drew comfort from the fact that once a while a few leisure travellers would walk in their midst and sit under their shadow, a writer would gaze at them for hours appreciating their individual and collective beauty; children would pluck their leaves and brush them against their tender cheeks and feel them between their palms.