Friday, December 01, 2006

Freedom Struggle or Struggle for land


Violence or Non Violence route to freedom, sometimes I wonder the concept of land, boundaries, where will this take us all. Indians fought for their freedom, for a century and then landed up with 2 countries divided on seeds of hatred. With no system to run the governance, illiteracy and poverty creating a system of corrupt politicians and slow bureaucrats.

Just imagine the earth, with the concept of boundaries and motherland as a country.


In our sub-continent we have a India, a Pakistan, a Sri Lanka, a Bangladesh, a Burma, Nepal and a China.

In India we have freedom struggle for the land of Kashmir, where we have various forms of freedom, some for free Kashmir from India and Pakistan, some for Kashmir to be merged with Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, some for merging with PoK with IoK, then there are few working on merging of Ladakh and Jammu as separate entities to be merged with India. So even if one of the above happens, there will be again struggle for freedom in Ladakh as they might not be able to relate to anyone around them.

In Assam we have freedom struggle by ULFA for sovereign Assam, and The National Democratic Front of Bodoland for autonomous region as Bodoland.

In Manipur, we have Peoples Liberation Army for liberating Manipur from India and United National Liberation Front demanding for independent socialist state of Manipur.

If either of them successful, what will happen to all the different tribes and followers of different religions will they again identify borders for themselves and start fighting for freedom.

In Nagaland, we have National Socialist Council of Nagaland - Isak Mulvah and Khaplang, two divisions fighting for same cause but difference in their geographic areas for freedom.

In Tripura, we have the National Liberation Front of Tripura and All Tripura Tiger Force, again struggle for land and freedom. Tiger Force seeking expulsion of the Bengalis. So even if one of them are successful, we will see a struggle by the Bengalis here for their freedom.

In Meghalaya we have the Achik National Volunteer Council seeking to establish Achik Land, and The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council seeking to establish freedom protecting from Achik. Again even if one of them successful, there will be another freedom struggle…

In Mizoram, we have Hmar People's Convention-Democracy,HPC(D), seeking the freedom of Hmar and Bru National Liberation Front seeking for freedom of Reangs.

So….more freedom struggle..

In Arunachal we have the Arunachal Dragon Force, seeking freedom of Arunachal and claimed area over other states.

Oh we also had Khalistan, followed with lot of riots and assignation of Prime Minister.

And we have the Peoples War Group, now known as CPI (Maoist) trying to establish Compact Revolutionary Zone aims to establish as a continuous revolutionary base area from which to advance the people's war in India. The area runs from Nepal, where Maoists are conducting the Nepalese People's War, through parts of six states in eastern India: Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Andhra Pradesh.

So one more struggle, and once this might be achieved there will be factions in ideology and then more struggle in the name of freedom.

And we have more struggles in India, struggle for Gondwana, seeking to create a Gondi state from parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra.

Struggle for Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu with eastern Sri Lanka, Telangana, and Vidarbha.

Now some of them want just statehood, and then emerge visionaries with a struggle for a separate nation.

Now lets take Pakistan, struggle for freedom of Balawaristan, Hunza-Brooshal, Pashtunistan, Sindhudesh and Waziristan.

In Nepal, we have Maoists running a parallel government.

In Myanmar, we have struggle for separate land for Arakan, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Kuki, Mon, Rakhine people, Shan, Wa, Zomi

More Struggles, So more boundaries, more cabinet ministers and hope that voice of common person can be heard.

Why do boundaries come, why is there struggle, at any given time there will some one not happy, is it when the mass is not happy or few.

Does it mean that 80% of people are still happy but the 20% who are not happy have enough power and will to raise their voice for separate boundaries.

Do boundaries create insecurity and create armies, and higher spending on arms rather than basic reason for establishing a country to focus on healthcare and happiness related parameters. Do boundaries create greater realization of how few our resources are, gives us the thought that greater resources available in other boundaries could help us. So we build an army and go about increasing our boundaries for more. And then you realize you have control over large boundary. Until you realize that there emerges another struggle stronger than your, to make another boundary. Is that what happened to Great Britain in Pre World War 2, USSR pre-melt down, or is that what going to happen to China, USA and may be some day India.


And the last century also the mother of all struggles and creation of boundary in middle of desert by Jews all around the world coming and establishing a nation Israel. But then was a struggle for another boundary, Palestine.

What happens when such boundaries keep increasing, Zoom out of our subcontinent, to other continents, look at Africa, it was once colonized by handful European countries.

And now, do we even know the names of the countries there. Each already having atleast half dozen freedom struggles

Where is the place heading for, struggle creates new states, and new countries. Until you realize that you are not able to succeed, so you start acquiring others freedom and then

So basically we land up in this creation of large country and then again breakup to smaller countries, a circle never ending.

So is the question of struggle just for freedom or just boundaries, or is it about power hungry leaders or is it just unhappiness or is it all about economics. Combination I guess.


When I think of Economics, may be, so is it fair to say, if you are state of living is good, you will not think of a separate country or for separate boundary.

For example British left Hong Kong in 1997, as their lease had expired and the people with better standard of living compared to China were assured One Nation with 2 Systems. So its boundary as such dint matter until their standard of life was better.

Now if my concept of motherland is righteousness, then so is yours, and so is the all those 100 hundred struggles out there. How do I measure whose struggle is right, or whose supercedes, that is we support LTTE for separate country in Sri Lanka and Tibet as separate country, then we must support Free Kashmir. But that not right because we are giving up our land in case of Kashmir and decreasing land of other greater lands known as countries. So is it just a support for the struggle of freedom, or is it for land.

So a century ago, China was attacked by British because few ships carrying opium to China from British East India was destroyed. So China, ended up being in decades to come a nation distributed geographically by different other developed nations. And today time has changed, China, easily has done slow and silent hostile take over of larger parts of Central Asia.

(Tiber Struggle in India)-So If you want a freedom struggle successful it has to gain momentum and involvement of people of the land and not in exile. There has to be great amount of unhappiness through which you could promise the masses that through this struggle you could end their misery. (at some one else cost and enjoy that reign until your opponents start the struggle)

To curb any future struggles, just pamper your people with good governance, with open borders.

May be its destiny, that creates human minds induced to create bigger nations or smaller nations. And circle of life moves on…

Sometimes, I wonder, when I was kid we used to play game on capitals of country, I wonder how many capitals will keep increasing as decades go by. And to think of it I wonder, when I look at the sky, that out of all the planets and stars out there, as far my knowledge is we are the only planet with life, and we then have countries with boundaries, and more struggles for newer boundaries.

Ironic to Say after all this,
Jai Hind
Navendu