EAST AND WEST
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BY H N VERMA
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Two centuries ago, "East and West" was a popular expression among the Western intellectuals who often carped East is east and west is West and the twins will never meet. To them East meant the Ottoman Turks and their empire, imputing that the Turks were conceited and savage and treated their opponents in the most barbarian ways. They gauged their opponent’s eyes, impaled their skin, filled it with straw and hung it outside to frighten others. The Westerners considered themselves civilized and not cruel. Anyway, the orthodox and conservatives amongst both Christians and Muslims traded hatred for each other. Followers of other religions such as Hindus, Buddhists suffered at the hands of both. Indians wee categorized as Easterners and they looked with aversion at their rites and rituals though they held their philosophy and literature in esteem.
Yet the Intellectuals looked down upon others. Dr. Radhakrishnan said such Indianists were vain, ignorant, greedy, crass stupid and vaunted self interests and what was worse they did not express remorse for their uncouth behavior and bad manners. True ignorance is not the monopoly of any particular people. Muslims called Hindus kafir, Christians called them uncivilized and Hindus paid back by calling them Mlechchhas. This hate has climaxed with jihad. Young men and women with bombs commit suicide so as to kill non-Muslims, whether the dead are children and innocent people having nothing to do with politics. They attacked Indian Parliament and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. Such fanatics want to convert others to fall in line with their ideology.
Islamic scriptures sanction jihad and punishment to infidels. Hindus permitted the ghastly system of Sati and padres sexually abused the young. The clerics were punished by church and the state. The scriptures are followed forgetting that these were written at a particular time for a particular purpose and the words used in them can have different meanings. Jihad itself is interpreted in two ways- for use in peace of mind or for coercing others to fall in line with the Jihadist’s dicta. The concept of image also sails in the same boat. A devout Buddhist asks how does beheading Buddha in Bamiyan by the Talibans differ from the pictorial presentation to amuse the readership of a journal. There was a time when Muslims opposed printing by mechanical process whereas Christians considered images as a means of enlightenment. Then someone quipped West looked forward, East looked backward. But not for long, Muslims learned the process and became adept in skill and technique. Is it not a fact that Muslims painted animals and human beings?
The West thinks political power ascends from the people (Mao thought power was in the barrel of the gun.) rather than from the potentate appointed by the God. By and large man is rational but reasoning at times parts his company and then he behaves worse than animal. It will be humane to erase the man-made misgivings which emerge from time to time. Let East and West merge and be one humanity. The scriptures also in the end say Om Shanti, Peace, Amen.
(Writer has many books at his credit and is a historian. He is also former advocate of Supreme Court of India.)
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