DYNAMICS OF CULTURE (HISTORY OF INDIA)

Exile on Main Street

The Dynamics of Cultural Borrowings

What was the role of the people of Southeast Asia in this process of cultural borrowing ?
Were they merely passive recipients of a culture bestowed upon them by them by the Indians ?
or
Did they actively participate in this transfer ?

The passive thesis was originally emphasized by Indian advocates of the 'Greater India' idea, as well by as European scholars who belonged to the elite of the colonial powers then dominant in Southeast Asia. The concept of an earlier 'Indianisation' of Southeast Asia seemed to provide a close parallel with the later 'Europeanisation' under colonial to provide a close parallel with the later "Europeanisation" under colonial rule. The first transchant criticism of this point of view came from the young Dutch scholar JC van Leur.

Van Leur highlighted the great skill and courage of Indonesian seafarers and emphasized the fact that Indonesian rulers them selves had invited Indian Brahmins and had thus taken a very active role in the process of cultural borrowing. Van Leur's book an Indonesian trade and society was published posthumously, in 1955. In the meantime, further research has vindicated his point of view.

The Indian influence is no longer regarded as the prime cause of cultural development; rather, it was a consequence of a development, which was already in progress in Southeast Asia. Early Indonesian inscriptions show that there was a considerable development of agriculture, before Indian influence made itself felt. However, indigenous tribal organization was egalitarian and prevented the emergence of higer forms of political organization. The introduction of such forms required at least a rudimentary form of administration and a kind of legimation of these now governmental forms which would make them, in the initial stages, acceptale to the people. It was at this point that chieftains and clan heads required Brahmin assitance. Althoug trade might have helped to spread the necessary information the inititative came forr those indigenous rulers. The invited Brahmins were isolated from the ruler. People and kept in touch only with their patrons. In this way the royal styles emerged in South-East Asia just as it had done in India.

A good example of this kind of development is provided by thed earliest Sanksrit inscription found of Indonasia (it was recorded in Eastern Borneo around 400 A.D.) Several inscription on large Megaltihs mention a ruler whose name, Kundunga shows not the slightest trace of Sanskrit influence. His son assumed a Sanskrit name, Ashavavarman, and founded a dynasty (vansa). His grand son Mulavarman, the author of the incription, celebrated great sacrifices and gave valuable presents to the Brahmins. Of the latter it is explicitly state that they had come here - most likely from India. After being consecrated by the Brahmins, Mulavarman subjected the nighbouring rulers and made them tribute givers (kara--da) Thus these inscription present in a nutshell the history of the rise of an early Indonesian dynasty. It seems that the dynasty had been founded by a son of clan chiefly independently of the Brahmins, who on their arrival consecrate the ruler of the third generation. With this kind of moral support and the new administrative know-how the ruler could subject his neighbours and otain tribute from them.

The process paralleled that which we have observe in south and Central India. In its initial stages, however, it was not necessarily due to Indian influence at all. Around the middle of the first millennium AD several of such small states seem to have arisen in this way in South-East Asia. They have left only a few inscription and some ruins of temples, most of them were obviously very short lived. There must have been a great deal of competition, with many petty rajas vying with each other and all wishing to be recognized as maharajas entitled to all the Indian paraphernalia of Kingship. Indian influenced increased in this way and in the second half of the first millennium AD a hectic activity of temple erection could be observed on Java and in Combadiam, wher the first larger realms hac dome into existence.

Though it is now generally accepted that southeast Asian rulers played on active role in this process of state formation, we cannot entirely rule out the occasional direct contrbutin of Indian adventures who proceeded to the East. The most important example of this kind is that of the early history of Fuman at the mouth of the Mekong. Chinese sources report the tale of a Brahmin, Kaundinya, who was inspired bya divine dream to go to the Funan. There he vanquished the local Naga princess by means of his holy bow and married her, thus founding the first dynasty of Funan in the late first century AD. We have heard of a similar legend in a connection with the rise of the Pallava dynasty and this way indicate that Kundinya came from south India where the Kundinyas were known as a famous Brahmin lineage. A Chineage source of the fourth century AD describes an Indian usurper of th throne of Funan. His name is given as Chu Chan-t' an' 'Chu' always indicates a person of Indian origin and Chan-t-an could have been a transliteration of the title 'Chandana' which can be traced to the Indo-Scythians of northern India.

Presumably a member of the dynasty went to southeast Asia after having been defeated by Samnudragupta. In the beginning of the fifth century AD another Kaudinya arrived in Funan and of his it is said in the Chinses annals :

He was originally a Brahmin from India. There a supernatural voice told him: 'You must go to Funan, Kaundinya rejoiced in his heart. In the south he arrived at "P" an-p' an. The people of Funan appeared to him. The whole kingdom rose up with joy, went before him and chose him king. He changed all the laws to confirm to the system of India.

This report on the second Kaundinya is the most explicit refernce to an Indian ruler who introduced his laws in southeast Asia. In the same period we notice a general wave of Indian influence in southeast Asia, for which the earliest Sanskrit inscription of Indonasia - discussed above - also provide striking evidence. We must however, note that even in the case of early Funan there was no military intervention. Kaundinya had obviously stayed for some time at P'an-P'an at the Isthmus of Siam, then under the control of Funan and he ewas later invited by the notables of the court of Funan to ascent the throne at a time of political unrest.

EASTERN BENGAL AND BALKH (HISTORY OF INDIA)

Breach of Trust

EASTERN BENGAL AND BALKH

It is almost certain that Chandragupta had other successful military operations to this credit the basis of refernces mentioned in Virasena's Udaygiri cave inscription that the king set out 'to conquer the whole world', and in Sanchi inscription in which one of Chandragupta's military officer is said to have obtained great glory by winning many battles. But we have no definite and detailed information regarding the nature and result of these campaigns.

The military exploits of a king called Chandra are mentioned in Mahrauli iron Pillar inscription. It is stated in the inscription that the king defeated a confederacy of hostile chiefs in Vanga and having crossed in warfare the seven months of the river Sindhu, conquered the Vahilkas.

Vanga denotes Eastern Bengal, verynearly the same country as Samatata which is included in the tributary frontier states of Samudragupta. It is possible that some of the rulers refused to accept Chandragupta's authority and consequently the latter had to fight against them. The compaign resulted in the inconporation of the province in the Gutpta empire.

Vahilka, according to Dr. R.C. Majumdar, is almost certainly to be identified with Balkh (Bactria) beyond the Hindukush mountains. 'Here too,' the motive of the compaign was probably similar tothat against eastern Bengal, i.e. either the Kushans who referred to sas Daivaputra-Shahi - Shahanushani in Allahabad Pillar Inscription had acknowledged the supremacy of Samudragupta rebelled, or Chandragupta II wanted to establish his authorirty on a firmer basis'.

Samudragupta had begun the work of conquest. But it was his son who completed the task and kingdoms on the border but also the territories ruled by foreign hordes like the Sakas and Kushanas. Chadragupta too the title of Vikramaditya (Sun of power) and for this tilte he had a better claim than any other sovereign of northern India. That he was the real architect of the Gupta empire, there can be no two opinions.

Chadragupta II ruled for nearly 35 years. And he was succeeded by Kumar Gupta -O in 415 A.D. He, too, ruled the empire for about 40 years. Details of his reign art not known. However as he, too. Performed the horse sacrifice, probably he added to his inherited dominions.

ESSENCE OF BHAGATISM

 

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

ESSENCE OF BHAGATISM

Bhagvatism believes in : action performed attached to its fruit is fetter causing endless of briths while nishakama karma is release and true renunciation, selfless, loving pursuit of personal God is true bhakti which inspires selfless action and service, pursuit of one's varnasharma-dharma i.e. social obligations is one's true dharma, God incarnates Himself from time to time in human or any other form in order to uphold dharma and wipe out sin; and every human being has a right to achiev moksha provided he finds shelter in God.

CAUSES OF POPULARITY

Significantly the cult of Vasudeva-Krishna spread rapidly and became most popular. Reason being, Krishna, satisfied all human urges and emotions as son (of Devaki and Yashoda as conwerd (protecting cows much venerated both by the Aryans and the non-Aryanas), as human or divine lover (of gopis and young women), as saviour (of the oppressed by killing his maternal uncle Kansa and demons, of the non-Aryans by hcallenging the Vedic God Indra, of the women by saving Draupadi's honour) as ambassador (playing this role for the Pandavas), as charioteer (by driving Ajruya's rath) as preacher (upadesha in Kurukshetra), as dvarapala (gatekeeper and receptionist when the Pandavas conducted the Yajna) as the lover of tradition (his presence at the time of the conduct of sacrifices) as friend (of the poor, the cowherds and Sudama), as lover of music (playing flute), as just kind (of Dwarka) and by his emphasis on a combined pursuit of Inana, karma and bhakti made brahminical religion more flexible and more easily acceptable. It was this tradition which cound and did attract foreign mlecchas and which transformed Brahmanism into Hinduism.

To sum up, Krishna probably even more popular than Rama, is a divinity of a rare completeness and catholicity, meeting almost every human need. As the divine child he satisfies the war maternal drives of Indian womehood. As the divine lover, he provides romantic wish-fulfillment in a society still little tightly controlled by ancient norms of sexual relations. As charioteer of the hero Arjuna on the battle filed of Kurkshetra, he is the helper of all those who turn to him and even saving the sinner from evil of rebirths if the has sufficient faith in the Lord.

POLITICAL BACKGROUND - HAMID KARZAI

POLITICAL BACKGROUND
The former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) occupied Afghanistan from 1979 until early 1989. By late 1987, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that one million Afghans had died in the fighting between Soviet troops and the mujahidin resistance forces (supported by arms from the United States and Islamic nations such as Pakistan). The Soviets withdrew in 1989, partly because of instability in their own government. (The USSR broke apart into independent states in 1991.) Afghanistan
experienced internal chaos and President Muhammad
Najibullah struggled to maintain control of the country as
pressure from the mujahidin and outside forces increased.
The country floundered, with rival factions battling for
control of the government. In 1992, the mujahidin gained
control of Kabul and Najibullah’s government fell.
An interim government was established by a coalition of
Islamic groups known as the Seven Party Alliance (SPA).
Rival groups continued to clash violently and UN attempts to
broker peace among the groups were unsuccessful.
Burhanuddin Rabbani became president of the Interim
Government in 1992, but maintaining control of the various
factions in the country proved nearly impossible. Alliances
continually shifted after President Rabbani took office; he
was scheduled to leave office in December 1994 but refused
on the grounds that political authority would disintegrate
totally.
One of the major forces vying for power was the Uzbek
militia of General Abdul Rashid Dostum, whose break with
Najibullah in early 1992 helped overthrow the communist
regime. In January 1994, Dostum led an unsuccessful
rebellion against Rabbani. Another faction was the Iranbacked
Hizb-e-Wahdat (Unity Party, an alliance of eight Shia
Muslim groups). In early June 1992 Hizb-e-Wahdat had
agreed to join the mujahidin regime but broke with Rabbani
in January 1994.
In 1994, a new group known as the Taliban (Students of
Religion, or Seekers) formed and began rallying to control the
country. Consisting of Islamic clerics and students from
seminaries that sprung up in Pakistan among the communities
of Afghan refugees, the Taliban movement came into
being after the war against the Soviets and Najibullah. The
Taliban seized control of the southeastern city of Kandahar in
November 1994 and continued to gather strength.
In February 1995, the Taliban gained control of areas on
the outskirts of Kabul and demanded that Rabbani surrender.
When Rabbani refused, and the Taliban rejected UN efforts
to include it in a peaceful transition, an 18-month stalemate
around Kabul ensued. In its drive to Kabul, the Taliban
amassed about 25,000 troops, a few hundred tanks, and ten combat aircraft. In September 1996, Taliban victories east of
Kabul led to the destruction of the Rabbani government’s
defenses, and the government withdrew to the valley north of
Kabul. With the Taliban capture of Kabul, the Northern
Alliance formed, made up of differing factions that had one
thing in common: their passionate interest in ousting the
Taliban. Northern Alliance forces continued to fight for
control of the north.
In spring 2000, the Taliban, claiming a series of defections
from the Rabbani Northern Alliance camp, began preparations
for a renewed offensive to gain the remaining part of
Afghanistan not under their control. The Taliban government
was led by mujahidin fighter-turned-religious-scholar,
Muhammad Omar. He is thought to have been born in
Kandahar in 1962. Described as a determined man, Omar
had served as deputy chief commander in the Harakat-i-
Inqilab-i Islamic party of Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi
during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Virtually unknown until the Taliban’s capture of Kandahar,
Omar remained a mysterious figure with reportedly strong
ties to Osama bin Laden and other Islamist radicals. Under
Omar’s Taliban government, the Afghan people were
subjected to harsh imposition of Islamic law. Women were
forbidden from working outside the home (except health
workers), girls’ schools were closed, and a strict Islamic dress
code was imposed. The Taliban lost international support as
it imposed harsh punishments on those who violated Islamic
law. The UN and other international aid organizations
(including UNHCR, UNICEF, Save the Children, and Oxfam)
cut back or ceased operations in protest; many staff members
were female and unable to adhere to the strict regulations.
Taliban control did restore peace by suppressing and
disarming members of rival militias. The roads were
reopened, leading to a greater availability of food in areas
under Taliban control.
When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New
York and The Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on 11
September 2001, international attention focused on Afghanistan.
Most experts implicated Osama bin Laden and his close
associate, Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar, in the
attacks. The U.S. government, with support of its allies,
undertook a month of massive air attacks until the Taliban
was driven out of power in October 2001 and an interim
government was installed in December 2001. Hamid Karzai
was named chairman of the interim government.
In the weeks and months following the fall of the Taliban,
life in Afghanistan was fraught with danger. U.S.-led military
operations were ongoing. International peacekeepers, aid
workers, and Afghans became victims of grenade attacks, fire
fights, and bombings, making the security situation
precarious. Thus, the task of reconstruction and providing
aid to Afghanistan has proven difficult. In January 2002,
donor countries pledged US$4.5 billion for the reconstruction
effort. However, less than half of the amount earmarked for
2002 was ever actually delivered.
In June 2002, a loya jirga (council of elders) was convened
to choose a government to lead the country for 18 months to
two years until elections are held. Karzai was elected transitional
head of state, garnering 1,295 of a possible 1,575
votes. On 19 and 22 June Karzai introduced a 28-member
cabinet representative of many different ethnic and political
backgrounds. He named three vice presidents—Mohammed
Qasim Fahim, Karim Khalili, and Haji Abdul Qadir. Vice
President Qadir was assassinated on 6 July 2002. Karzai
himself narrowly escaped assassination on 5 September 2002,
as a gunman dressed in an Afghan military uniform shot at
him and Kandahar’s governor Gul Agha Sherzai as they were
getting into their car. On 22 November 2002, a plot to
assassinate Karzai or his defense minister, Mohammed Fahim,
was thwarted.
As of January 2003, there were still two million Afghan
refugees in Iran and approximately 1.5 million in Pakistan. In
2002, an estimated two million Afghans returned home.

ALBANIA - FATOS THANA NANO - PRIME MINISTER

 

The Republic of Albania is situated in southeastern Europe
and is bordered to the south by Greece, to the east by the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), to the
north by Serbia and Montenegro, and to the west by the
Adriatic Sea. The total area is 28,748 sq km (17,864 sq mi),
of which over two-thirds is mountainous and the rest river
valleys and coastal lowlands.
The country’s total population was estimated at 3.5
million in July 2002. Over 95% are ethnic Albanian, with
Greeks comprising most of the rest. Outside of the country’s
borders live about an equal number of ethnic Albanians,
mainly in the Kosovo region within Serbia and Montenegro,
and also in Macedonia, Greece, and Italy. About 70% of the
population are Muslim; however, atheism is also widespread
as a result of an official ban on religious worship from the
1960s to 1990. By 2002 the government had relaxed this ban,
and the practice of religion increased slightly. The Albanian
language has two main dialects, Geg and Tosk (considered
the official dialect).
The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) was
estimated at US$13.2 billion in 2001, with per capita GDP
estimated at US$3,800 that year. The national currency is the
lek. Albania’s natural resources include oil, gas, coal, and
metals. Agriculture and mining constitute the largest industries.
Frequent drought, obsolete equipment, and the need to
consolidate numerous small farms have hampered the growth
of the agriculture sector.

AFGHANISTAN - HAMID KARZAI

 

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, located in Central Asia,
is a landlocked nation slightly smaller than Texas. It has a
total land area of 647,500 sq km (250,001 sq mi). It is
bordered on the north by the former Soviet republics of
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, on the east and
south by Pakistan, and on the west by Iran. A strip of land
less than 80 km (50 mi) wide and known as the Wakhan
corridor extends to the northeast. It forms a 76-km (47-mi)
border with China. The population was estimated in 2002 at
27.7 million, although decades of warfare make accurate
population counts impossible. The capital, Kabul, is located
in the east-central part of the country. The 2002 population
of Kabul was estimated at 2.1 million; a large number of
displaced persons, many of them refugees from neighboring
countries, returned to the city in 2002.
The average elevation is 1,200 m (4,000 ft). The towering
Hindu Kush mountain range, running southwest from the
Wakhan corridor in the northeast, has elevations of more
than 6,200 m (20,000 ft). In the provinces north of the Hindu
Kush the altitude drops to about 460 m (1,500 ft), enabling
farmers to grow cotton, fruit, grains, and other crops. The
central part of the country features a plateau with lush valleys
suitable for grazing sheep, goats, and camels. In the
southwest, the land is a barren desert where the temperature
extremes are the greatest found anywhere in the country.
Decades of violent civil and international conflicts have
caused widespread poverty, devastated the roads, bridges,
and infrastructure, and left the countryside riddled with
dangerous land mines. (The United Nations [UN] estimates
that 7–10 million land mines remain buried in Afghanistan,
rendering much farming and grazing land useless.) Earthquakes
in the northern Hindu Kush region, overgrazing, and
rampant deforestation by citizens in search of fuel and
building materials all combine to present the government in
2002 with the challenge of resurrecting even the most basic
services.
Pashtu and Dari (Afghani variant of Persian) are the
official languages. Dari is the language spoken in Kabul and
has historically been the principal language of Afghan literature,
government, and business. Many Afghans are bilingual
and almost all are Muslim.