- Sleeping on the job – October 16, 2007 (The Pioneer)
To come back to Burma, does South Block realise that the people of Burma have a memory. Some day they will regain their freedom. No totalitarian regime, whether it is Hitler’s, Stalin’s or Pol Pot’s, has lasted forever. When the Burmese tyrants fall, the people will remember which side India was.
I wish a balance could be struck between lofty principles dear to India’s tradition and earthly economic interests. In the meantime, Aung San Suu Kyi and her countrymen need India’s firm commitment on the ground of human values.
- Why China will not allow democracy in Myanmar – October 15 (Rediff.com)
In a recent speech, Hu asserted: ’Morality is a key factor to the country’s development, social harmony and the people’s happiness.’ Well, it depends on what one calls ’morality’. The frail Aung San Suu Kyi may not have the same definition…
- A Vague Policy – October 7, 2007 (The New Indian Express)
ANYWHERE in the world, the first thing that a student of international relations is supposed to learn is the definition of ‘national interest’. Of course, the concept can vary from one country to another, from one epoch to another, but it is nevertheless a rather clear notion, with more or less same the parameters everywhere. A couple of years ago, I purchased a textbook on “Indian Foreign Policy” out of curiosity…
- India must speak up – September 29, 2007 (The Pionner)
The massive pro-democracy demonstrations led by Buddhist monks and nuns in Burma, which have unleashed a vicious crackdown by the military junta, remind us of the demonstrations in Lhasa in 1987, when hundreds of monks took to the streets to beg for more freedom…
- Burma’s freedom cry – Septemebr 27, 2007 (Phayul.com)
The Dalai Lama also addressed the generals: “As a Buddhist monk, I am appealing to the members of the military regime who believe in Buddhism to act in accordance with the sacred dharma in the spirit of compassion and non-violence.” His fellow Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu believed that “The courage of the people of Myanmar is amazing and now they have been joined by their holy men. It is so like the rolling mass action that eventually toppled apartheid.” The generals are difficult nuts to crack, but let us hope!
- Songs of Sadness – September 27, 2007 (Rediff)
Apparently Beijing would have conveyed to Yangon that China hopes the junta will ‘properly handle issues’. But as a Western diplomat in Beijing told Associated Press, ‘China has been working to convey the concerns of the international community to the Burmese government, but it could definitely do more to apply pressure.’ It would be in China’s interest. After all, Beijing is supposed to be the trustee of the Olympic Truce whose objective is to ‘contribute to searching for peaceful and diplomatic solutions to the conflicts around the world.’ But has the Chinese leadership heard of this essential element of the Olympics Games?
- Who cares for Myanmar – April 29, 2006 (Pioneer)
When President APJ Abdul Kalam left for a four-day trip to Yangon in March, Delhi did not hide that
the main purpose of the presidential visit was to sign a deal allowing India to search for new ways to tap Myanmar’s natural gas reserves. The idea was to ‘balance’ China’s influence…
- Fate and freedom – August 14, 2005 (NIE)
What a strange fate for this young toddler Lhamo Dhondrub, born 70 years ago in a small village of northeastern Tibet. One day in 1937, a delegation of monks entered the village and knocked at his parents’ door. A few weeks later, the boy was officially recognised as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama and at the age of 4, he was enthroned as the head of the Tibetan State…
- Myanmar’s Iron Lady – June 20, 2005 (Rediff.com)
The fearless daughter of General Aung San, the hero of Burma’s freedom struggle, turned on 60 June 19, thereby completing a full cycle according to the Buddhists who follow the 5 elements and 12 animals calendar…
