Dr Sawraj Singh

INDIA'S President Pratibha Patil is now visiting China. This a very important mile stone in the Relations between the two countries. The Indian President is visiting China after 10 years. The last time an Indian President visited China was in the year 2000 when President K R Narayanan visited China. The relations between the two countries have not grown smoothly. In the fifties, the relations were very close and the two countries came up with the five principles of peaceful co existence, “Panch Sheel”!

Then the relations took a nose dive after the 1962 India – China war. After many years of strained relations the relations started improving in eighties. However, the trade between the two countries did not grow very much until the first decade of the twenty first century when it really took off. In the last few years the trade grew so much that China became India’s largest trading partner. Last year the relations again became strained and the trade volume also went down.

India is concerned that the trade is running more in China’s favor, out of the total exports, China’s share is about two thirds and India’s share is about one third. India wants to increase its exports to China so that the trade can be balanced.

However, it is not just the balance of trade that bothers India. India is concerned about China’s growing influence in Asia, particularly among India’s neighboring countries. The border dispute has not been resolved. India has aligned itself with America and that is the main source of strained relations with China. China perceives the alliance between America and India as an alliance to contain China. Even though India has aligned itself with America yet its objective interests are identical with the Asian and the third World countries. This is India’s biggest dilemma. India cannot get the status it deserves under the Western domination. On the one hand, India wants the old Western dominated World order changed so that it can get its proper status in the World community but on the other hand, it is afraid of China becoming the dominant country in the World.

Historically, India and China always had very good relations. Two thousand years ago a Chinese king invited Buddhist scholars from India. They set up the Buddhist temple in the central China. From there, Buddhism spread to China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Chinese students came to study in the Texla University. Until today, some of these students’ writings are important source of India’s written history. The two countries had good trade relations for many centuries.

In the last two centuries, the World has really suffered from the Western domination. There has been more environmental damage done in the last two centuries than any time in the history. The Western capitalist greed has pushed the World to the major economic crisis. The tensions between the various religions, races and cultures are at the highest level in history. Before, they were mostly regional but now they have become global.

The situation can explode into a third world war which can be the most destructive war in the history of mankind. The main cause of the growing tensions is the desire of the west particularly, America to maintain its domination. The only way we can preserve peace and harmony in the world is by ending the western domination. Western capitalism has already out lived its usefulness. India should join China and Russia to change the western dominated world order to a multipolar world. We sincerely hope that the Indian President Pratibha Patil’s visit to China will bring the two countries together and they can make the world better not only for their people but for the whole world.

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Isolation

Professor Vinod Anand

IN this world-wide crowd, each person lives his own life, and is a loner in that sense. The term isolation also refers to the act of being alone. It also refers to solitude which is a state of seclusion. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may work, think or rest without being disturbed. It may be desired for the sake of privacy. A distinction can also be made between physical and mental seclusion. People may seek physical seclusion to remove distractions and make it easier to concentrate, reflect, or meditate. However, this is not necessarily an end in and of itself.

Once a certain capacity to resist distractions is achieved, people become less sensitive to distractions and more capable of maintaining mindfulness and staying inwardly absorbed and concentrated. Such people, unless on a mission of helping others, don't seek any interaction with the external physical world. Long-term solitude is often seen as undesirable, causing loneliness or reclusion resulting from inability to establish relationships.

But for some like monks long-term solitude is a means of spiritual enlightenment. Indeed, marooned people have been left in solitude for years without any report of psychological symptoms afterwards. It is, therefore, said that relationships essentially of non-toxic friends is a must for a happy life. It leads to positive interaction. One must have a highly durable relationships with others. As one proceeds in age, at least one good relationship must be established every year, and one should see that it is durable.

Isolation is also a part of uncontacted peoples, also known as lost tribes, who, either by choice or chance, live, or have lived, without significant contact with the connected civilizations of the world. Recent usage favors the term "isolated" rather than "uncontacted", as few peoples have remained totally uncontacted by modern civilization. For example, poor people living in high land areas in various countries have no connection with the other world, and they live their own lives. They are also termed as fully subsistent people. Many indigenous rights activists call for such groups to be left alone in respect of their right to self-determination.

Even a recluse is someone in isolation who hides away from the attention of the public, a person who lives in solitude, i.e. seclusion from interaction with the world.

The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester". A person may become a recluse for many reasons: a celebrity may seek to escape the attentions of his or her fans; a misanthrope may be unable to tolerate human society; a survivalist may be practicing self-sufficiency; and a criminal might hide away from people to avoid detection by police. It can also be due to psychological reasons A recluse can also be considered as a loner.

There is good example to support what we have said above. Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American aviator, engineer, industrialist, film producer, film director, philanthropist, and one of the wealthiest people in the world.

However, he is perhaps best remembered for spending his later years as an eccentric, reclusive billionaire.

Isolation is sometimes the pervasive withdrawal or avoidance of social contact or communication. It can contribute toward many emotional, behavioural and physical disorders including anxiety and panic.

Many of the poems deal with the depressive's sense of isolation from normal human activity and habitation. Look at the following:

“Empty wind swept streets
Sand is dancing in the air
Man's isolation” by Jim Milks

“Being Isolated
I Don't Feel Down
Not Really Irritated
Not Gonna Frown” by Sasaki

“The pleasure of pain and isolation
Are the things given to me, by this world?
The world where the wounds are fresh
And never do heal” by Rohit Sapra

It is also said that isolation is connected with evening when the sun sets, and we overly-isolate ourselves. The reason is that as the day finishes, people get back to their households, and the whole atmosphere becomes very quiet. Look at the following:

“Tanha safar beeta mera, jeeta hun main kiske liye,
Tanha hua to kya Hua, yeh jam hai uske liye”
“Tanhai la Aalam, “Nazar” ki hai duniya,
Kabhi shaam aayi, kabhi din hai hota.”

“Shaame tanhai ki baat karo,
Yade-ayyaam ki baat karo,
Jo bhi karo jaie karo,
Dil bahelane ki baat karo” by Vinod Anand “Nazar”

The essence of what I have said is that one should not think that he is alone or isolated. There is always the Almighty within him. He should, therefore, enjoy every moment of this life.
I shall end this write-up with the following stanza:

“Have You Ever Been
Poetry about life? Isolation and devastation.
Have you ever been in a hopeless situation,
standing on the outside just looking in?
Have you ever been on a journey full of hope?
Only to find that the road” by Shannon Farlouis

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