Recently this Blog discussed the smart, tactical and resolute moves of the Obama Administration in Asia. These moves are the signals sent by a real leader of a strong, courageous country to an aggressive power like China that seeks to establish its hegemony. This determination is why China respects America and is afraid of American power.
Then this week, we saw a stark contrast, We found out how a meek leader of a soft country responds to the bullying of an aggressive power. The aggressive power is the same, China. But the protagonist in this case is India.
This week, a four-day International Buddhist Conference was held in New Delhi. Around 1,300 Buddhist scholars, thinkers and followers from over 30 countries attended the conference.
Buddhism originated in India. Gautam Buddha was a product of India. The bulk of his work was done in India and various monuments in India are witness to his travels and teachings. Buddhism was carried to the then known world by the messengers of Emperor Ashok, one of the greatest emperors in world history. India has had many great sons and daughters. But today’s Indian flag is adorned by only one man’s symbol, the Chakra of Ashok. The mission that organized the International Buddhist Conference is fittingly named the Ashok Mission.
(Buddha Statue at Sarnath, India – src Wikipedia) (The Chakra of Ashok – src Wikipedia)
India enjoys a special respect in much of the Buddhist world as a birthplace and as the founding society of Buddhism. So this conference in India’s capital should have provided a significant diplomatic opportunity to present India’s strength.
Unfortunately, the Indian Government only presented India’s cowardice. The Ashok** Mission, organizers of the Buddhist Conference, had invited His Holiness the Dalai Lama to give the valedictory speech. This is but natural because the Dalai Lama is the most well known and the most respected Buddhist scholar in the world today. But China was furious and demanded the cancellation of the conference.
The Dalai Lama, right, is greeted by a Buddhist monk during the Global Buddhist Congregation
in New Delhi Wednesday – src WSJ – Raveendran/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
The Ashok Mission condemned China’s politicization of the conference. As Ashok K. Wangdi, a member of the Organizing Committee, said:
- “It is first and foremost a religious event. We are very upset by China’s attempt to politicise it,”
You would expect the Indian Government to condemn China’s actions and make India’s participation stronger and more visible. But the Indian Government did just the opposite. The President of India and the Prime Minister of India expressed their inability to attend the Conference.
Understand this – This is an International Conference in India’s Capital that honors the greatness of teachings of one of the greatest Indians in world history. And the President and Prime Minister of India ran away from this Conference in their own capital because they are afraid of making China angry! If this isn’t an act of cowardice, we don’t know what is.
Attendance at this conference is not a small issue. Buddhism is a major religion in Asia. So being regarded as the source and center of Buddhism bestows a unique standing on the country just like being the birthplace of Islam has bestowed a unique standing on Saudi Arabia. As South East Asia grows in prosperity and power, as the Asian people become more confident and proud of their Buddhist heritage, the importance of being the founding center of Buddhism will only grow.
This new contest between India & China is now evident to all. As the Washington Post wrote on November 30, China is trying to “burnish the Communist Party’s credentials among China’s vast Buddhist population, numbering in the hundreds of millions.” India, they write, is “regularly sponsoring Buddhist conferences across Asia and at home. Its
five-decades-old record of sheltering the Dalai Lama counts heavily in
its favor, as does its historical pedigree as the land where Buddha
gained enlightenment, taught and achieved complete Nirvaan*.”
This is why the cowardice of the Indian Government is so pathetic. In any other country, the entire Cabinet plus Opposition leaders would have attended the Dalai Lama speech to send a visible message to China. But as Professor Bharat Karnad writes in the Express, “the trouble is the Indian government is easily spooked by China, enough any way to get it to do a pre-emptive kowtow.”
Ironically, this cowardice of the Indian leadership may have actually helped India. The delegates at the Buddhist Conference blamed China for its aggressive stance, according to the Washington Post:
- “This is a religious congregation and not a political one,” said Alvydas
Turskis, a delegate from Lithuania. “This is not even Chinese
territory; this is another country. There is no aggression here against
any country. Why should anyone object to something so peaceful?”
The delegates at the conference also administered a real rebuke to China and delivered a win for India. They decided to establish a new International Buddhist organization based in India. This new International Buddhist Confederation, to be headquartered in
India, is to provide a common platform for Buddhists and present
“a strong and united Buddhist voice, with moral authority to identify,
recognize, protect, preserve and revive Buddhist traditions, practices
and communities.”
This story illustrates the contrast between the two largest democracies in the world. One is smart, resolute, and rises up to every challenge. One is a mentally strong society that uses every challenge to become stronger. The other is mentally weak and runs away from every challenge that might require a sustained effort. This
is why one democracy has achieved and consistently maintained its
superpower status while the other democracy only dreams about it.
But there are encouraging signs that the Indian Society may be waking up. In contrast to the Prime Minister and the President of India, the state Government of Paschim Banga (old West Bengal) pointedly ignored and verbally rejected the request by the Chinese government asking officials not to attend an event at which the Dalai Lama gave an address.
* The phonetic spelling is Nirvaan as opposed to the anglicized nirvana, a feminization of Nirvan.
** Again, the correct spelling is Ashok and not the anglicized feminized Asoka.
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