Sawraj Singh

IN the year 2009 when many western countries faced the worst recession, China managed to grow its economy by about 8.5 %.  Many people had an impression that the growth in the Chinese economy is mainly dependent on the cheaper exports and the resulting trade surplus.  However, china proved to the World that it can maintain growth even with a big drop in the exports.  China is focusing on the internal development.  One of the major areas of the internal development is the upgrading of the Chinese railway.

On August 15, the new high speed railway line between Shanghai and Tianjin will be inaugurated. It may be a mere coincidence that August 15 is also India’s Independence Day.  The new high speed railway line will cut the traveling time from about ten and a half hours to about nine hours.

Shanghai is the major business and traditional center of China and Tianjin is the biggest and most important city in the northern China.  Now, almost all the major Chinese cities are connected to one another by the high speed railway lines.

If we look at the history of development of the capitalist countries then one fact stands out; Railway has played a very important role in the development.

In the nineteenth century, the leading capitalist country, England, developed railway system in many parts of the world.  For example, the British laid a network of railways in India, connecting all the major cities and the ports to one another.  Just as the steel production has been an indicator of the level of development of a country, railway has also been a good indicator of that.  China now leads the World in the development of the railway.  China not only has the largest network of the railway system in the World but also has the most technologically advanced system.

The QInghai – Tibet railway is the technologically most advanced railway system in the world.  This is the highest railway line in the World and it passes over the frozen ice for a long distance.  To avoid melting of the ice the railway line keeps the ice frozen and solid.  The train has glass windows which cut back the glare and the ultraviolet radiation.  Because of the high altitude and thinning of the air, the train supplies oxygen.

Recently, China has laid an extensive net work of high speed railway lines.  It is now leading the World in this technology.  The speed of the train is more than 300 kilo meters an hour.

The high speed trains were first developed in Japan and were called “Bullet Trains”.  Later, France developed the high speed lines.  However, Japan and France are very small countries.  China is one of the largest countries in the World, whose area is larger, then the U.S.A. and about 3 times more than India.  Therefore, China becomes the first large country in the World to develop the high speed lines.

Let us compare the speed of the Chinese trains to the American and the Indian trains.  The fastest trains in America are in the North East part of the country, between Boston and Washington D.C.  The trains on these lines run at about 75 miles an hour (125 kilo meters per hour).  In India the fastest trains are called “Rajdhani Expresses” these trains run at about 100 kilometers (about 60 miles an hour).

Recently an American delegation went to China to study the Chinese railway system and was very impressed by the Chinese system.  They want to apply the Chinese technology in America and develop the American railway system which is lagging so much behind.

Becoming the largest steel producer, winning the largest number of gold medals in Beijing Olympic, buying more cars than any other country in the World and now becoming the country with the most advanced railway system, China continues to forge ahead to the most powerful country in the World.

[Sawraj Singh, M.D. F.I.C.S. Chairman Washington State Network for Human Rights, Chairman Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice]

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Living with diversity

Carrie Loewenthal

THE neighborhood of Flushing in New York City is home to more than 200 places of worship. The street blocks in Flushing, New York City, may seem long to walk on a hot summer day, but they make the distance between the world's many religions seem short.

On one block alone, the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir neighbors the Boon Church of Overseas Chinese Mission, which faces the Singh Sabha gurdwara. This block exemplifies the rest of Flushing, a neighborhood 16 kilometers east of Manhattan that compacts more than 200 places of religious worship into 6.5 square kilometers. Flushing is a community in Queens, one of the five boroughs that make up New York City.

A short walk around the neighborhood takes a visitor past 151 Christian churches (many are Korean), 30 Buddhist temples, seven Hindu temples, three Jewish synagogues, four Muslim mosques, two Sikh gurdwaras, two Taoist temples and a group practicing Falun Gong, according to statistics compiled in 2007 by R. Scott Hanson, visiting assistant professor of history at the State University of New York at Binghamton. His book, City of Gods: Religious Freedom, Immigration, and Pluralism in Flushing, Queens-New York City, 1945-2001, will be published in 2010.

"Flushing was founded in 1645, when it was known as Vlissingen after a town of the same name in Holland. By the 1660s, when the British took over the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (and it became known as New York), Vlissingen was also Anglicized and became Flushing," Hanson says. "Some English settlers in Vlissingen had already started to refer to it as Vlishing before then, so one gets the sense that Vlissingen was just too hard to say, even for locals."

Local residents also proudly claim Flushing is the "birthplace of religious freedom in America" because of the Flushing Remonstrance, a petition by Flushing residents in 1657 asking the Dutch colonial government to uphold the religious freedom provisions of the town charter. It is recognized as the earliest political assertion of freedom of conscience and religion in New York.

Several factors came together over time to make Flushing one of the most religiously diverse communities in the United States. It is centrally located, with two major New York airports nearby, subway, bus and railroad stops and major roads. International visitors came to the area for two major World's Fairs (1939-40 and 1964-65). Many immigrants wanted to get away from overcrowded Manhattan to find a little bit more space, grass and trees in the outer boroughs like Queens. Also, a loophole in the zoning law made it possible for many different immigrant groups to build so-called "community facilities," including houses of worship, in residential neighborhoods, Hanson says. Converted houses and storefronts serve as churches and temples, scattered up and down blocks between larger places of prayer.

These conditions attract scores of immigrants to the area because it is easier to establish faith-based community centers that bring some familiarity to a new, foreign home. Waves of Irish, Russians, Greeks, Italians and Africans, over time, have shared space with and made way for Indian, Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Pakistani, Afghan, Korean, Mexican and Central American residents, according to The New York Times.

Over half the residents of Flushing were Asian American at the time of the last census in 2000. The community's main street "has the kind of business diversity, foot traffic, liveliness and buzz Middle American main streets only dream of," says New York magazine.

Despite Flushing's capacity to provide a home for so many different groups of people, learning to live together has taken time because "people become more accustomed to diversity over time," Hanson says.

"The 1970s was a period of growing pains, and into the 1980s and 1990s, when diversity really escalated," he says. Now, Hanson adds, "people are at least aware. There is a sensitivity that's there."

Ganapathy Padmanabhan, the public relations officer for the Hindu Temple Society of North America, agrees. "We find Flushing to be respectful and tolerant," he says.

The Hindu temple was consecrated in Flushing in 1977 and members work to be good neighbors, Padmanabhan says; the temple welcomes about 500 people during the week and up to 3,000 on weekends.

"We make very good neighborly relations. We take care that [neighborhood residents are] not disturbed," he says.

Beyond maintaining peace with the neighbors, the temple does have some interaction with people of other religions in the area. After all, it sits one block away from the Boon Church and Singh Sabha gurdwara and about four blocks away from one of the oldest mosques in Queens, the Muslim Center of New York.

Although occasional incidents of vandalism and hate crimes have taken place over the years, and tempers flare over parking problems on weekends, diversity exists "without warfare and bloodshed," Hanson says. People cannot connect any conflict to the past, which allows for a spirit of "live and let live."

"Many Muslims, Christians and Jews come here," says Padmanabhan. "People from other faiths visit the temple, particularly students. We take them around the temple and tell them about our religious practices."

Other places in the United States where diversity has become commonplace include Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington; Fremont, California, near San Francisco; and Rogers Park, Illinois, in Chicago. Like Flushing, these areas all border urban centers.

Hanson acknowledges that even in Flushing, with all its diversity, interaction among groups is often "superficial." In a lecture at the Queens Museum of Art, Hanson said, "City people value their privacy, so while residents of Flushing may live, work, and worship near each other; overall there is not much meaningful, lasting interaction among different ethnic/racial/religious groups."

But Flushing should continue to flourish as a model of religious pluralism, Hanson predicts. He credits Flushing City Councilman John Liu, the first and only Asian American on the New York City Council, with making great efforts to bridge remaining gaps between the groups in the area.

"I'm hopeful about the future," Hanson says.

Carrie Loewenthal is a special correspondent for America.gov [Courtesy span magazine]

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Medieval Khaps bring darkness to Haryana

SELF styled caste panchayats in Haryana are playing havoc with the lives of young innocent couples and their families who challenge the traditional caste shackles to marry by their choice. The rising number of such incidents, gruesome killings and social boycotts in Haryana is a matter of deep concern, which needs to be immediately addressed.

The state government should tighten its grip over such developments and take a strict action against all those who indulge in criminal activities in the name of panchayats.

This demand was made at the Citizens’ Rights Convention held at Jat Bhawan in Sector 1 here today. It was organised by certain social organisations, including the left wing of the All-India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA) and the Janwadi Mahila Samiti.

The purpose of the convention was to build an alternative platform that could provide space and discourse for healthy culture and deal with social issues like marriage and dowry in a progressive and democratic manner, said Jagmati Sangwan, one of the organisers.

She said the convention was also aimed to build pressure on the government, police and the administration to take swift action against the perpetrators of such heinous crimes and put forward the demand to have a special law to deal with such cases in a time-bound manner.

Over 500 men and women form all over Haryana, including intellectuals, educationists, lawyers and members of women’s organisations, took part in the convention, she claimed.

Chief of the AIDWA, Haryana, Sangwan, while placing a resolution in defense of citizens’ rights, emphasised upon the need to develop alternative and more democratic modes of relationships and need for a healthy dialogue in favor of young couples in the family, panchayats and educational institutions.

She said a powerful campaign was needed to defend the rights of such adults who marry by their own choice against all odds. Jyotsana Chatterji, president of the joint women’s programme, and Premila Loomba of the National Federation of Indian Women, highlighted the need for change in the traditions of khap panchayats and warned them not to take law into their own hands.

Leading educationist DR Chaudhary and convener, All-India Lawyers’ Association, Ragubir Singh Hooda claimed that khap panchayats in the name of brotherhood were in fact caught up in stagnant and retrogressive social and cultural values and people at large should raise protest against such criminal fatwas.

Sudha Sunderraman, General Secretary, AIDWA, in her speech condemned the “silence” of majority of political parties and leaders on such a significant issue affecting the very secular fabric of democratic society. She called upon all citizens to raise their voice and stand united in defense of constitutional rights of all citizens. Other speakers included Kirti Singh, Supreme Court Lawyer, Sohandas, secretary, HGVS, Savita of All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch, Parvesh Arya of Sarvadeshik Arya Yuvak Parishad, Vikram Mittal, state president of SFI, Dinesh state president of DYFI, Ravi MohanRaj “Rachnatmak Samaj” and Shaista Choudhary of Mata Sita Ravi Sewa Sanstha.

A significant component of the convention was the participations of young couples and other family members who have undergone or are undergoing the drama in the name of caste or Gotra. These included Ravinder and Shilpa, Vedpal’s sister Poonam, mother of Manoj & Babli Smt.Chanderpati, Sonia from Assanda with her sister in law Sheela and others. On this occasion. Cultural team of HGVS performed a play called “Mujhe Jeene Do”.

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