News India-Times

Thubten Jigme Norbu, the eldest brother of the Dalai Lama and a tenacious symbol of the Tibetan struggle for independence, died on September 12 in Bloomington, Ind., his home in exile for four decades.

He was 86 by Western standards but 87 according to Tibetan tradition, which considers a person to be a year old at birth.

A major Buddhist figure in his own right -- he was believed to be the 23rd reincarnation of a famous high lama -- Norbu had been in declining health after a series of strokes. He died of natural causes, said his son, Jigme.

Norbu taught Tibetan studies for more than 20 years at Indiana University, Bloomington. Amid cornfields on the outskirts of town he created a Tibetan cultural center that has drawn thousands of visitors, including the Dalai Lama.

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Labels: Bloomington, Dalai Lama, eldest brother, independence, Indiana University, Thubten Jigme Norbu, Tibet, Tibetan struggle, Tibetan tradition

# posted by PressMart Team @ 12:15 AM 0 Comments

His handlebar moustache and his ramrod stiff gait gave Field Marshal Sam Hor musji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw a commanding presence on the battle field, but to the troops that served under him he was their beloved "Sam Bahadur", a soldier's general who put their well- being before his own.

Manekshaw, 94, who died at the military hospital at Wellington in Tamil Nadu early on June 27 after developing acute bronchopneumonia, will be best remembered for the decisive campaign he crafted during the 1971 India-Pakistan war that saw the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation after the surrender of over 90,000 Pakistani troops in what was then the eastern wing of the country.

That campaign was the defining moment of his tenure as the Indian Army chief 1969-73 and led to his elevation as India's first field marshal, a largely ceremonial post but which ensured he maintained close links with the 1.1 million-strong force till the very end.

Ever the one to speak his mind out on matters military, Manekshaw, a highly decorated officer who was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry during the Burma campaign of the Second World War, often found himself in a minority of one - but firmly stood his ground.

Three instances stand out vividly.

The first was when he famously refused to address then prime minister Indira Gandhi as "Madam", saying the sobriquet was reserved for occupants of a "certain kind of house".

"I shall stick to prime minister", he maintained.

The second was during the 1971 war when he had signboards reading "Hands in your pockets, You are entering Pakistani territory, Indian girls are prettier" erected at various spots as Indian troops advanced along the western frontier.

Manekshaw was panned as being sexist and accused of insulting Indian womanhood but he stood his ground.

"It's the best way of telling the troops to behave and to concentrate on the job at hand," he contended.

The third happened at the very end of his career, days after he had retired from the army.

A young reporter from a tabloid, at the fag end of an interview, asked a seemingly innocuous question, "What would have happened had you opted for Pakistan at the time of independence (in 1947)?"

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Labels: 1971 India-Pakistan war, battle field, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, Hero, independence, Indian Army, Indira Gandhi, moustache, pakistan, Pakistani territory, Tamil Nadu, troops, War, Wellington

# posted by PressMart Team @ 11:22 PM 0 Comments

Yeats, wrote on the pain of childbirth and on whether, adding up the achievements and disappointments of age, all that price was worth paying, must find echoes in our hearts (with a few words changed) as we look at India and Pakistan at age 60.

"With 60 or more winters on their heads, Are they any compensation for the pang Of their birth, or the uncertainty Of their setting forth?"

After many off-again, on-again sputtering starts, India seems to be moving towards becoming a global economic power. One hopes that Pakistan's tottering constitutional walk too, will someday steady into a purposeful march towards democracy. In the meanwhile, let us have a look -- not at the carnage that preceded the Partition, but the colorful characters who strode the Indian stage during the enactment of the tragedy.

Two recent books take us back to the pang of the birth of the two nations, and the uncertainties of their setting forth -- ‘An American Witness to India's Partition,' by Phillips Talbot; and ‘'The Shadow of the Great Game,' by Narendra Singh Sarila.

Both Talbot and Sarila were at the bedside of Mother History during the blood-splattered delivery of the two nations. The accounts of the momentous events they witnessed have a freshness that professional histories often lack. The official history of Partition has been told before; in these columns we will refrain from a retelling.

But, apart from the big outline, these two books give us telling details, making historic figures step down from their pedestals and seem human.

In 1938, the New York-based Institute of Current World Affairs awarded 23-year-old Talbot a fellowship with a mandate: visit South Asia and learn about the intricacies of life in India.

Labels: 60years, independence, india, indian and pakistani, pakistan

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