India and World Leaders

Swami Bodhananda
in an email response to Rajiv Malhotra

Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2003 4:41 AM
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SAMBODH
Copyright©2000-2005Sambodh Foundation New Delhi
Email <info@sambodh.org>

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...Thank you for forwarding this wonderful piece from Pakistan. Not that we did not know this statistics, but Pakistanis have to know it too. This is not to terrify them, but to let them understand that democracy and free market alone can unleash people's hidden potential.

In this context Prime Minister Vajpaye's inaugural talk in the Hindustan Times sponsored 'Peace Dividend conclave calling upon Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan to join hands to pool their enormous resources is timely. You also get solicitous advices from the like of Madeline Albright (in the same venue) crudely rubbing on India of the need for a plebiscite/referendum in Kashmir if India wants a seat in the UN Security Council.

I do admit that she has a point in that we were not able to solve this dispute innovatively and indeed it is a supreme test for our ingenuity, leadership and problem solving skills. Our young people should apply their mind in building model solutions to the Kashmir problem as well as the problems of poverty, illiteracy, drinking water shortage etc. India will indeed emerge as a world super power side by side with US, EU, and China. But India should also lead the world intellectually and spiritually. That is were the real work lies.

I have been following your recent writings about (1) the Anglo-Saxon-American Trivarna domination reducing India and China to the status of sudras (2) lack of representation for India, Indian thought and India's contribution to the world, in the American academic world (3) the need for awakening the Indian community in America to this problem and leverage their enormous financial and intellectual muscle to India's advantage in the academia, media and in think tanks.

In this resource scarce world power will be the ultimate arbiter. Power means a few dominating others at any given moment of time. Any given society will be structured hierarchically reflecting this truth. India and Hindus must learn to think on those terms if we want to be world leaders. Either India has to dominate or an alliance dominated by India has to dominate or India will be dominated. You cannot escape from this truth.

Regards,
Swami Bodhananda.
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2003 4:41 AM