Fear and suspicion has grown like wildfire in the wake of ‘war on terrorism’. Many countries have been engulfed in this brutal fight.
It is time for countries to do a bit of introspection – because by promoting hatred, fear and suspicion we may be creating schizophrenia among all which is at present incurable.
In TV channels, newspapers and blogs we basically get to read what the Western perception is. But it is important to view the world from other people’s point of view.
Today I came upon a website which frighteningly mirrors a growing suspicion/disillusionment outside of America. Although it talks of a different time and era, but it definitely relates to America.
Here is Quotes from Our Native Past, a statement from the 1927 Grand Council of American Indians, the native Americans.
“The White people, who are trying to make us over into their image, they want us to be what they call ‘assimilated,’ bringing the Indians into the mainstream and destroying our own way of life and our own cultural patterns. They believe we should be contented like those whose concept of happiness is materialistic and greedy, which is very different from our way.
“We want freedom from the White man rather than to be integrated. We don’t want any part of the establishment, we want to be free to raise our children in our religion, in our ways, to be able to hunt and fish and live in peace. We don’t want power, we don’t want to be Congressmen, or bankers….we want to be ourselves. We want to have our heritage, because we are the owners of this land and because we belong here.
“The White man says, there is freedom and justice for all. We have had ‘freedom and justice,’ and that is why we have been almost exterminated. We shall not forget this.”
Taking on the Muslim nations is not like subduing the native Indians in America!
So when the NATO forces pound Afghanistan into submission and the leading TV channels flash ‘Breaking News’, one should pause and ponder whether innocents are being butchered along with the Taleban. As in Lebanon, the collateral damage would be very high.
Then there is that chilling forecast of Nostradamus that a fierce war would start from the banks of the Euphrates river and engulf the Christian west and Arab muslims at the beginning of the 21st century. I am sure everyone now knows where the Euhprates river is!
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.