Mar 12, 2001 01:36 PM
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Afghanistan a land locked nation lying between Pakistan and Iran, has now grabbed world attention yet again. As I write this review the world is held in suspense whether or not icons of world heritage- the Bamiyan Buddha statues have been completely destroyed or not, a fact which increases media coverage of this state of affairs. Thrown into the limelight is the fact that the well known American spy satellites that successfully monitor strategic facilities across the world are unable to capture images of the statues which are located in a cave and are of the same colour as the surroundings.
It was from the very beginning of civilisation associated with various events thereby gaining a unique position in world history. It and its people were laid waste by marauders of the ilk of Genghis Khan. It later became a stop over of travellers such as Marco Polo following the silk route into China and our very own Indian kings possessed territory extending till Afghanistan, the mausoleum of Prithviraj Chauhan is also there but how long it will last given the present state of affairs is anybody's guess. With the arrival of the British, Afghanistan was known as the North West Frontier, of their British Indian kingdom where disease and Afghans were warriors every soldier of the British Empire had to battle unsuccessfully. That peace had once prevailed in Afghanistan is evident from the works of Buddhist monks which are being presently destroyed.
It has since then been dealt with a harsh hand by the world, it has been witness at the height of cold war to a war waged between the then U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. on its own soil. It was the U.S. to satisfy its own selfish needs pampered, raised and mothered the Taliban to fight its( U.S.'s) war against the Russians. The Taliban were trained and gifted the best of firepower by the U.S.A. Such missiles like the Stinger were a gift from their generous benefactor. With the Cold War over and the U.S.S.R. no more the U.S. turned the Taliban out into the cold and turned their attention to other issues. Angered at the withdrawal of support by their ally the Taliban, decided to get active and support themselves. The proverbial saying 'An ungrateful child is sharper than a serpent's tooth' can be applied to the Taliban who have turned and are waging a 'jihad' on the U.S.A. They are bombing anything that represents the U.S. The U.S. seem to have nurtured 'a viper next to their bosom'.
Waging a bitter civil war in their country they managed to gain control of a larger portion of their country and decided to implement their own laws which was their conversion of religion to meet their own ends. Knowing they had gained control by unlawful means, they implemented stringent laws to ensure that the people's will to resist was broken and they could rule. They managed to gain media attention with the Kandahar hijacking but were soon relegated to the sidelines again. Tasting media attention and searching for a way to regain it they have now hit upon the idea of demolition of heritage structures. Like a child seeking attention they strive to gain the world's attention.
When leaders condemn the religious intolerance shown by the Taliban, we should not forget we Indians too are guilty of intolerance. A structure in Ayodhya was pulled down by Indians whoever they maybe. A priest and innocent children were burnt alive in Orissa by Indians whoever they maybe. Communal riots in India are incited by Indians whoever they maybe. Clashes over the issue of caste, language even land involve Indians whoever they maybe. Road rage that many of us exhibit is also a show of intolerance. Can we not tolerate someone cutting in front of us on the road? Can we not wait at a traffic red light without blowing a horn? But we shouldn't tolerate violation of our sovereignity by neighbouring countries.
I appeal to you as we condemn the intolerance in Afghanistan let us strive to avoid intolerance in our own nation even if it be road rage exhibited on our roads.
