Asoka Chakra, Chanakya and RAW


By Janaka Perera In all probability those who caused the horrifying
bomb explosion at the Marriot Hotel in Islamabad and those behind the
bomb blast in several Indian cities this month share the same
extremist politico-religious objectives even if they are not members
of the same group. The nature of the explosions – especially the one
at the Marriot clearly reflect the technical expertise that only a
mafia gang like the LTTE can provide – may be on payment because the
Tigers seem to be running short of funds nowadays. At the same time
there is no question that Prabhakaran is plotting and dreaming of
doing a 'Marriot' in Colombo, even as the Security Forces are moving
towards the gates of the last remaining town of his mythical Tamil
Eelam. During this year's SAARC summit Indian delegates agreed on the
urgency on combating terrorism. If they are sincere then they cannot
afford to pick and chose but go all out to convey a clear message not
only to terrorists of all hues who are deliberately and willfully
targeting unarmed civilians and non-combatants but also to their
ardent supporters within and outside India. And these terrorist-
sympathiz ers include the Norwegians whose dubious peace-making India
too endorsed, although it lost all credibility among the Sinhalas.The
majority of Sri Lankans therefore do not want to hear Delhi's or any
other government's pontifications about the need to win over the
Tamils and ensure their safety in the Wanni before dealing with the
Prabhakaran' s terrorist outfit. Perhaps by the same token Pakistan
has every right to tell India to ensure the security of India's
Muslims against periodic Hindu extremist violence - before going after
Muslim zealots for blasting bombs there. We however need to recall
here that the Sinhala majority by and large had a great regard for
India in the years before Indira Gandhi got the bright idea of
'disciplining' Sri Lanka with the LTTE 'rod' which eventually turned
out to be a viper. Even today Hindi movies, music, songs and dances
are popular among the Sinhalas far more than Tamils. North Indian
languages like Bengali have close ties with Sinhala. As a school boy
I witnessed the very warm welcome that large crowds gave Prime
Minister Jawaharlal Nehru when he arrived at the then civilian airport
of Ratmalana in 1962 during Sirimavo Bandaranaike' s first term as
Prime Minister. Contrast it with the visit of his grandson Rajiv
Gandhi in 1987 when he was nearly hit on the head with a rifle *** by
an enraged Sri Lankan sailor. Eventually the PM was destined to die at
the hands of a group which his mother nurtured. It appears that since
1983 Delhi has caught a Tiger's tail which it cannot now let go lest
the animal turns around and attacks – especially because the Tamil
National Alliance and Tamil Nadu jingoists are riding the brute. Even
when GOSL is trying to convince India to let go off the tail she is
hesitant to do so. In this context in if ever President Mahinda
Rajapaksa succeeds in handing over a captured Prabhakaran to India it
would be no surprise if he is not put on trial, after all the Gandhis
(Sonia and Priyanka) seem to have slowly developed – perhaps for
political expediency - a soft corner for Nalini and other convicts who
plotted Rajvi's assassination. Delhi's mistake has been to imagine
that Kautilyan methods would always work in India's favour in the
region. Kautilya alias Chanakya was Indian Emperor Chandragupta' s
Chief Minister who developed a strategy of destabilizing and weakening
neighbouring states around 320 B.C. His methods proved advantageous to
both Chandragupta and his successors including Emperor Asoka (who
later gave up wars of expansion after embracing Buddhism and adopted
the Dharma Chakra as the State symbol). India's Research and Analysis
Wing (RAW ) subsequently researched, developed and used these
Kautilyan methods for expanding Delhi's power in the region including
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In fact this is the Indian Government's real
reason to adopt the Saranath Lion Capital and the Asoka Chakra or
Dharma Chakra as India's National symbol - which appears on her
national flag - more than out of respect for a great Buddhist Emperor
and his religion as many Buddhists believe, according to Bangladeshi
writer and Barrister M.B.I. Munshi (The India Doctrine published by
Bangladesh Research Forum) http://www.asiantri bune.com/ ?q=node/
13418


M. Javed Iqbal
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