Chinese Apologists in India - What's Your Point?

I used to have great respect and admiration for 'The Hindu' newspaper and its other publications such as Frontline and Sportstar. There's simply no question that this group continuously raises the bar when it comes to journalistic quality while maintaining a healthy market share. But there is one subject that constantly bothers me - so much so that I almost feel betrayed - and that is their fervent, almost religious pro-China stance. You see, like many ordinary peole, I too look for people I can trust, and it's not easy to find such people or institutions these days - especially those who seem to share my own values. 'The Hindu' and 'Frontline' come pretty close - mainly due to my own strong feelings of social justice and respect for truth, even at the cost of one's own religious identity. So, as a Hindu, I don't feel offended when I read articles (not just in The Hindu and Frontline, but anywhere) that castigate atrocities by Hindutva fanatics because I know that the people who carry out these acts do not speak for me. I know the highest ideals of Hinduism have nothing to do with what one calls oneself. And truth is more important than 'respectability' that condones exploitation. It's not just the editors - by and large, all the writers and columnists in The Hindu and Frontline seem to share these views. For example, though journalists like P. Sainath are wellknown, when their articles appear on Frontline, they seem that much more effective and provocative. OK, enough said on why I respect this group, though there's more to say.

What provoked me into shaking off my laziness in restarting this site is this article in The Hindu by M.K. Bhadrakumar, Tibet issue and the Indian reaction. If I hadn't noticed the name of the writer at the top, I would have easily mistaken it to be written by some Chinese diplomat in India. You see, there may be some validity to some of this gentleman's arguments. But what really amazes me is the whole tone of the article - it sounds so much like coming from a Chinese nationalist who is suspicious of India's motives and outraged at India's reactions. He doesn't seem to realize or acknowledge that the Indian official reaction and statements have been among the most muted internationally. Indian reaction to the Tibetan issue has been totally pathetic - only an Indian with some knowledge of the geopolitical realities can appreciate the difficult balancing act that Indian officials have to perform when dealing with anything to do with China, whereas any other major power in the world - militarily or otherwise - doesn't have to think twice before criticizing China, even as billions of their own dollars and pounds are invested in China. Now, for this writer to criticize and attack even this most timid words from India, writing in an Indian newspaper is beyond mindboggling. Of course, I only have to remember that he is writing in 'The Hindu' which has a tradition of blindly supporting and extolling everything done by China. Why do they take this stance? I have no clue.

I suspect that the chief editor, Mr. N. Ram has deep sympathies towards the communist cause. But that's fine by me - I am all for social justice, equity and the equitable sharing of nature's wealth. But to support this particular regime in China? I just cannot fathom the logic. The Communist Party in China is 'communist' only in name - of course, it shares all the brutal ways of the ex-Soviet version, including media censorship and all that. If you look at the whole approach to China's modernization drive, you would get the feeling that the whole thing is driven by greed, opportunism and callous disregard for human rights and human sensitivities - almost as if the end justifies the means - which is not the approach that 'The Hindu' takes in all its coverage of other subjects. The Indian ethos is that means matter. Though many Indians today may not feel that way, there are still enough number of us who share the Gandhian view that means do matter, even if it means suffering at the individual level in achieving a greater good. But in China, a whole generation of migrant workers is considered 'expendable' while they build their cities at breakneck speed. The internet is full of sad stories of how individual property rights are trampled upon by the builders and developers with the active assistance of the state machinery to achieve their development goals. What kind of development is that which considers the individual as expendable in the cause of achieving national 'glory'?

As an Indian who believes in the concept of 'karma', I feel that the Chinese authorities have much to answer for. If you do not believe in righteous action or karma, then it's different - obviously the Chinese are not burdened by such limitations. Yes, it is a burdern, if you think about it - if you are truly convinced that what you are doing is right, then that gives you greater energy, with no regard to the truth. That's fine for the Chinese - for all their civilzational greatness, there is something in the Chinese psyche that seems to allow them to do anything to achieve personal welfare and social order. A case in point is their widespread use of capital punishment for crimes ranging from tax evasion to adulteration. In 2006 it executed as many as ten times more people than the country ranked second - Iran, whereas there is a growing list of countries worldwide that have completely abolished the death sentence. I have met many Falun Dafa practitioners in North America. Their stories of persecution by the Chinese authorities are so scary to an average listener. I have heard of believable reports and allegations of organ-harvesting from excuted prisoners, including the practioners of Falun Dafa, who generally lead a much healthier lifestyle through their practices that have some things in common with our own ashtanga yoga practices. Why am I saying this? For the Indian government, it may be a geopolitical necessity to have good relations with China. But the Indian public need not close their eyes to what goes on inside China. And certainly they don't need to buy the official Chinese line that Tibet has always been a part of China, even if it means exposing ourselves to questions of legitimacy over Kashmir. But 'The Hindu' through it's articles seems to promote this view - that the only prism to view China is through that of the Communist Party. Why? This is one question that is truly perplexing, notwithstanding their editor's communist sympathies. I have absolutely no problem with Mr. N. Ram's support for socialist causes or movements worldwide, including moral support for the Cuban people and the Castro regime. But to blindly support this particular entity in China?

OK, back to this article - which is of course not written by Mr. N. Ram, but by a retired diplomat who worked in the Indian Foreign Service. Go read that article again and watch for the tone of the article - and decide for yourself where his loyalty apparently lies. I am not saying that he should blindly take a nationalistic position as an Indian - that has no meaning whatsoever, in my opinion. But to completely disregard the distinct cultural identity of the Tibetan people, the atrocities that took place during the so-called cultural revolution, the continuing encroachment of the Tibetan land and their daily life by the Han Chinese - who are essentially foreigners as far as the Tibetan people are concerned - all for what? To satisfy the vanity of the Chinese Communist Party dominated by the Han race? And you expect that the Indian government should shut up and continue on their timid ways in awe of the Chinese behemoth? And you cannot even stand the rather pathetic murmurs of protest or disagreement voiced by the Indian officials when it is against your beloved China? I know it's starting to sound more like a rant - I just couldn't make sense of this article. Does it even matter to you that the Tibetan people are human beings with their own culture, tradition, and most of all, feelings of human dignity? Why should all these be sacrificed for the sake of some imaginary glory which no thinking person in the world is ready to accept? We all know that the Chinese state machinery is entirely capable of brutality. You may have forgotten Tiananmen Square, but the world hasn't. If the Chinese government hasn't carried out a similar brutal repression in Tibet (yet), it is because this is the year of the Beijing Olympics. For all their brutality, the Chinese regime also wants to gain some respectability. Time will tell if they will get that.