JINNAH, NEHRU AND THE LAMA

JINNAH, NEHRU AND THE LAMA

Recently I came across a news item that reminded me of a famous mythological story of King Shivi. King Shivi was Lord Rama’s ancestor. He finds a reference in the Sibi Jataka tales of Buddhism which says that he had offered his own flesh to an eagle to protect an innocent bird that had sought the king’s shelter from the violent predator. Similar to this Buddhist tale, on March 17, 1959 the spiritual leader Dalai Lama had embarked on a dangerous journey to asylum, crossing the Himalayas on foot with a retinue of soldiers, to India. To Dalai Lama’s luck, India at that time was ruled by Nehru and not Jinnah, which would have been the case if we believe Dalai Lama that Nehru 'a self centered person' did not accept Gandhiji’s offer of Prime Mnistership to Jinnah. Had it been Jinnah at the helm of affairs in India, as the Dalai Lama makes us to believe, does the spiritual leader believe that he would have been welcomed in Jinnah’s India? Jinnah, on the contrary, would have him handed over to the Chinese counterpart straightaway. Even Nehru could have very well strengthened Sino-India relationship and “Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai” by handing over the Tibetan spiritual leader to China. 

NEHRU & THE DALAI LAMA

But like King Shivi, India under Nehru, not only welcomed a pigeon heart Dalai Lama with open hands but also provided him asylum from a hawk eyed China, despite knowing well that it may displease the Chinese. India not only invited Chinese ire and aggression but a humiliating defeat in 1962, as well. The “Idea of India” for Nehru was not a mere speech, but he practiced what he preached and hence following the age old tradition of “Vasudeo Kutumbakam” (The whole World is one single Family), India, under Nehru, sacrificed its national interest over its ethos. To call such a person ‘self-centered’ after 56 years of his death was quite demeaning of the Dalai Lama. This is the height of hypocrisy to which a spiritual leader could sink into. God bestow the Lama with wisdom and true spiritualism. Dalai Lama had once said “Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent". Dalai Lama would have done well had he remained silent than to speak about a man behind him. I prefer to speak out as silence here would have amounted to acceptance of a wrong view point about my country and my leader from a foreigner.

A CARTOON IN TODAY'S TOI. (COURTESY: TOI)