A cup for keeps

The world is watching football now and it8217;s very exciting, but we8217;re not in it. It8217;s like Akbar Allahabadi8217;s verse on the Raj: 8220;Mehfil unki, saqi unka, aankhen apni, baki unka8221; The gathering, the cup-bearer, all is theirs; only our eyes are ours. Meanwhile it8217;s the fiftieth anniversary of the splendid but aborted Panchila Principles formulated by Chacha Nehru. All it fetched us was international egg on our honest, stupid faces, thanks to our brother across the Himalaya. As late as 2002, the Chinese impudently said that their relationship with Pakistan was based on the good neighbourly principles of Panchshila and what was India getting antsy about? Fine behaviour from the descendents of Fa Hien and Huien Tsang, of the brilliant scholars who translated the Lalita Vistara and Buddha Charita into Chinese. However when they threw out the Buddha, I guess they threw out their own history and did not need to respect Buddha-desha either.

But after all, the new millennium is still a fresh lease of time and perhaps a new era of mutual faith may be cautiously but sincerely worked upon? Especially because India, for all her Himalayan blunders, is the land of Great Ideas, which are original, creative and liberating: the earliest republican states janapadas, the Ashokan edicts on rule by law, Vedic notions like 8220;Aah noh bhadrah8221; Let noble thoughts come to us from every side, 8220;Ekam sat viprah bahuda vadanti8221; Truth is One, though perceived differently, the Upanishadic view of the Self When I see my self in the other, how can I hate anybody?, ahimsa, Advaita God is One and we are part of God, Ik Onkar Satnam God is One, Truth is his Name. Old India had already worked out concepts like sustainable development, forest conservation through sacred woods, respectful land use though bhumi-puja, water harvesting and recycling 8212; which New India must now relearn.

Despite our frequent betrayal of our own ideals, we8217;re still a land of terrific potential. And at every turn of the page, our ideas tell us, 8220;Go ahead, make it better8221;. With a new government in place and so many important games being played in sports, politics and business, perhaps it8217;s time to dust the disappointment off Panchshila8217;s principles: non-aggression; mutual respect; peaceful co-existence; non-interference in each other8217;s affairs; respecting each others8217; territorial integrity. Don8217;t you think the religions of India would do very well to modify their tenets and practices in terms of Panchshila? Perhaps mahants, mullahs and priests of every persuasion would like to consider a joint Panchshila Resolution for communal co-existence and true affectionate integration, not just ghettoisation. August 15 is coming up soon. Wouldn8217;t it beat winning the Euro?