Modi shines at Biarritz G7 Summit

In a shining example of diplomatic elan and finesse Modi punctured Pakistan’s hopes of internationalising Kashmir issue. At a time when Pakistan is holding on to the lone thread of Trump’s on and off remarks on Kashmir mediation, Modi held a meeting with President Donald Trump along the sidelines of G7 summit. Without brooking on Kashmir issue, he discussed trade and energy. Categorically rejecting third country mediation he stated all India-Pakistan issues are bilateral and that both were together before 1947. Trump’s off the cuff remarks on Kashmir provided much needed oxygen for Pakistan’s anti-India agenda. By consistently advocating bilateral nature of India-Pakistan Modi took steam out of Pakistan’s agenda of dragging Kashmir issue to international forums. Spooked by India’s statement and Trump’s admission that Kashmir is bilateral issue, left isolated Imran Khan issued a nuclear war threat. Through deft diplomatic manoeuvring Modi rendered not only Trump’s regular outbursts on Kashmir redundant but stumped Sino-Pakistan’s badgering.

Even in his discussions with Prime Minister of UK, Modi didn’t raise Kashmir issue. But ahead of the bilateral meeting with Trump, he discussed Kashmir issue over the leadership dinner. To the worst embarrassment of Pakistan and China, Kashmir didn’t figure even in the G7 declaration. On the contrary, Hongkong protests, Iran, Libya, Trade, Ukraine found a mention. India pulled a major diplomatic victory by assuring world leaders that India is in full control of Kashmir situation. To the consternation of Pakistan geopolitical cauldron simmering over escalating trade tariff, Gulf crisis, unabated missile testing of North Korea and maritime tension flareups in South China Sea has hardly any time for Kashmir issue. Having eroded its reputation as motherhood of terrorism, Pakistan’s familiar nuclear threats hardly evokes any response now. By contrast, India’s assurances as a responsible nuclear power are more impactful.

Over years, India’s steady growth, adherence to international values deservedly made it an emerging power. As a recognition to its growing stature, India is now invited to be part of multilateral forums.  Lending more credence to democratic voices across the globe, France, the host country of G7 summit invited leaders of India, Australia, Spain, South Africa, Chile, Senegal, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Rwanda to the special outreach session of the G7 Summit.

Themed on “Inequality” the 45^th G7 Summit held at Biarritz; France between August 24-26 witnessed heavy diplomatic activity. The grouping of advanced economies-the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan formed G6 in 1975. A year later Canada joined the group making it G7. After Russia’s admission into the group in 1998, the club which accounted for 40% of global economy became popular as G8. In 2014 Russia was expelled over Crimean annexation issue.

Lately, the group which used to be an influential voice started losing its sheen. In absence of consensus building over global issues and mired in controversies, analysts are now questioning the relevance of this influential club. The fissures are becoming more prominent with every passing year. Last year, Trump had an unpleasant spat with other members over trade tariffs and Canada refused to sign the Joint communique. Increasingly analysts are now questioning the relevance of the group which excludes the leading growing economies of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Geographically, the group is devoid of countries in the Southern hemisphere altogether. Consequently, the group seemed to be no longer pertinent to address, discuss and offer solutions for global issues. The summit also junked the process of signing a joint communique. Guest countries joined the G7 leaders (France, the US, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan and the UK) and discussed a range of issues like Biodiversity, climate change, global trade and Digital technology. Raging Amazon fires dominated the discussions in climate session skipped by Trump, who considers global warming as hoax and pulled out the US from the Paris Accord.

Geopolitics is going through major churn; economic and political world order is disrupted. The post-World war-II institutions are tethering and showing signs of fatigue. Roiled in disagreements and misunderstandings old multilateral forums are failing to reach a consensus on troubling global issues. Locking horns over trade issues major powers have shunned their responsibilities. Filling leadership lacuna middle order countries are leading discussions on global issues. Indo-French collaborative effort to mitigate climate change harnessing renewable energy stands as a stellar example in that direction.  

Sustaining these efforts Modi lead a dedicated session on Digital transformation and spoke about use of technology for payments and innovation in India. He attended session on Biodiversity, Oceans and Climate and highlighted India’s efforts towards eliminating single-use plastic, harnessing solar energy and sustained efforts to protect flora and fauna. Earlier, India and France which share common vision towards issues of climate change, conservation of biodiversity supported the Biarritz Pledge for Fast Action on Efficient Cooling and committed to support energy efficiency standards in refrigeration.

Along the margins of G7 summit, Modi met UN Secretary General (SG) and discussed India’s initiative on single use plastic, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure to be launched in New York. In response to SG’s climate concerns on the thermal emissions, Modi explained India’s renewable energy popularisation efforts and the incumbent need to be part of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for largescale use of nuclear power. Guterres expressed his willingness to support India’s bid for membership at NSG. Modi held talks with President of Senegal on the final day.

While neighbouring Pakistan is unravelling itself by accusing the Muslim Ummah for honouring Modi and intensifying cyberwar of inundating social and print media with malicious anti-India propaganda, Modi is slowly wining the world marshalling all the diplomatic sources at his behest. By taming President Trump, Modi has unequivocally changed the game.

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Indo-French multidimensional strategic partnership going from strength to strength

Prime Minister Modi who is on his three-nation visit made his first stop over in France on 22^nd. His visit comes a week after “closed door informal consultations” of UNSC members over Kashmir developments on Pakistan’s request duly supported by China.  For all the hullabaloo, to the utter embarrassment of Pakistan the consultations ended without issuing any statement. France and the US firmly supported Indian government’s constitutional changes in J &K. France opposed any formal meet and maintained that the issue must be resolved bilaterally by India and Pakistan. After the dastardly Pulwama attacks, France supported India. It was instrumental in listing of JeM chief Masood Azhar under the UNSC sanctions as designated international terrorist a process stalled by China for a decade.

India and France became strategic partners in 1998. France is India’s strongest European ally and the only European country with which India has structured partnership. President Jacques Chirac who was guest honour for Republic Day parade in 1998 instituted the strategic partnership with India. After four months when India conducted nuclear tests, France refrained from condemning the tests. Chirac recommended lifting of sanctions. France was also supportive of India during the Kargil war and even transferred high level defence technology later. It was the first country to seal the civil nuclear pact with India. France has unique distinction of being guest of honour at Republic Day maximum times. Taking the relationship to a new level, last year during President Macron’s state visit to India countries signed reciprocal military logistics agreement. France is the second country to sign such an agreement after the US.

France has vital interests in both Indian and Pacific Oceans and has 9.1 million square kilometres of exclusive economic zone in Indo-Pacific region. France’s geographical definition of Indo-Pacific exactly matches India’s elucidation. France’s emphasis towards counter terrorism as part of Indo-Pacific security strategy in the aftermath of Islamic State influenced terror attacks in the littoral states of Sri Lanka resonates with Indian concerns. France has standing presence of 8000 troops in the Western Indo-Pacific region to safe guard its interests.

Through the logistics agreement India and France countries have enhanced interoperability between the forces which have been conducted joint (Varuna-naval, Garuda-Air, Shakti-land) exercises for the past 18 years. India and France through robust surveillance China’s Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) in the Western Indian Ocean region can counter the ambitious maritime power projection of China. To this, end some analysts are even suggesting a “sister cities” kind of arrangement between India’ Andaman Nicobar Islands and France’s Reunion Islands to uphold the freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Climate change and its deleterious effects on the littoral states has been point of convergence of both countries. Maritime cooperation between India and France who share common understanding on all aspects of Free and Open Indo-Pacific will be a “win-win” scenario.

Most strikingly, unlike other P5 members France believes in strategic autonomy and never hesitates to stand away from popular western opinion if its interests are compromised. Similarly, India never hesitates to charter independent course to foster its strategic interests.  In the recently concluded Shanghai Dialogue, French Defence Minister released a defence document, titled “France and Security in the Indo-Pacific” highlighting France policy towards Asia-Pacific. Use of Indo-Pacific reflects France’s enhanced attention towards Indian region and by consequence India.

Given President Trump’s repeated flip-flops, withdrawal from multilateral arrangements and anti-globalisation rants, France is seeking to diversify ties with like-minded countries. Facing similar predicaments, India which is looking for a reliable security partner is levitating towards France. Driven by convergence of interests both countries are steadily expanding the ambit a of an enduring friendship. Geopolitically old alliances are crumbling and new friendships are blooming to prep for the new reality of a changing world order. Deeper Indo-French engagement is a consequence of a such geopolitical realignment.

Modi’s visit to France within the first three months of his second term exemplifies India’s renewed interest in strengthening strategic partnership. In a befitting tribute to growing congruence of interests and mutual trust, French President Emmanuel Macron held wide ranging talks with Indian Prime Minister, at Domaine-de-Chantilly, a glorious French castle built over rocky marshlands in an area of 7800 hectares and houses historical paintings, a museum, parks, gardens.

Macron congratulated Modi on his stupendous electoral victory. Modi briefed Macron about the revocation of article 370 and stated that J &K is an integral part of India. Reiterating France’s position, Macron said, “PM Modi told me everything about Kashmir and the situation in J&K. I said Pakistan and India will have to find a solution together and no third party should interfere or incite violence”. Referring to Indo-French friendship Modi said, “Our friendship rests not on selfishness, but on the solid ideals of ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’. This is the reason why India and France have stood shoulder to shoulder to protect freedom and democracy”. 

Defence cooperation has thus far been the mainstay of Indo-French partnership. With India expediting purchase of 36 Rafale jets despite motivated political mudslinging, France is now incentivised to buttress its defence production cooperation with India. France which is India’s major defence partner and involved in building six Scorpene class submarines extended support to “Make in India” giving a fillip to collaborative aerospace and defence industrial production. France was first country to sign civil nuclear agreement with India. Giving wings to civil nuclear cooperation, as agreed, France is all set to begin construction of six nuclear reactors for the Jaitapur nuclear power plant.

Diversifying cooperation, countries exchanged MoUs on Skill Development, renewable energy, cooperation in cyber &digital security and an arrangement to create joint maritime domain awareness. Last year, countries signed a joint strategic vision of cooperation in Indian Ocean Region sharing their concerns, joint challenges towards an open, inclusive, Indo-Pacific. Expanding the latitude of multi-dimensional strategic partnership leaders have now adopted an Indo-French roadmap on Cybersecurity and Digital Technology to foster economic growth and ensure safe internet access.

In line with the theme of the G-7 summit of inclusive, transparent and open digital environment countries have agreed to cooperate on cybercrime, digital governance, foster research and development in Artificial Intelligence. To structure scientific and academic partnership including new research advancement in Artificial Intelligence, countries are holding second knowledge summit at Lyon in October.

India and France who shouldered the responsibility of promoting use of renewable energy through International Solar Alliance (ISA) to mitigate climate change have reaffirmed commitment to combat loss of biodiversity. Countries have resolved to phase out inefficient fossil fuels subsidies.

Both India and France are facing the brunt of burgeoning terrorism. India is victim of cross border terrorism while France is weary of burgeoning Islamic State influence domestically. Mincing no words, France unlike other strategic partners of India called out the bluff of Pakistan. They contended, “terrorism cannot be justified on any grounds whatsoever and it shouldnot be associated with any religion, creed, nationality and ethnicity”. They asked countries to work together to extricate roots of terrorist safe havens and infrastructure “disrupting terrorist networks and their financing channel, halting cross border movement of terrorists belonging to Al Qaeda, Daesh/ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizbul Mujahideen, Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT)” Cognizant of the scourge of online radicalisation, countries advocated implementation of Christchurch call to action to eliminate violent content on internet and implementation of UNSC Resolution 2462 on fighting terrorist financing. France extended support to India’s global conference on terrorism in November. Taking an indirect dig at the predatory trade practices and unsustainable connectivity projects, countries supported implementation of “G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment”.

France is India’s gateway to Europe and is ninth largest investor in India. Bilateral trade worth $12.95 billion largely in favour of India is much below the potential. To promote bilateral investment and trade and increase ease of market access, countries have agreed to hold high-level economic and financial dialogue.

To uphold spirit of multilateralism both leaders called for urgent UN reforms. France not only supported India’s permanent membership to UNSC but invited India to be part of G-7. President Macron observed, “We wanted India to be part of G7. I have changed some parts about how G7 is organised. Because, there are several matters in which we can’t move without India, there are matters in which India’s presence is important.” France’s new found interest in seeking India’s participation on global issues is an endorsement to its steady rise. Being the 6^th largest economy in the World with enviable demographic dividend, India is a land of immense opportunities. Adherence to democratic spirit, transparent functioning, contributions towards peacekeeping further boost its credentials as an emerging power.

Besides the extensive diplomatic outreach, in his special address to Indian Diaspora at France, dedicated a memorial to victims of two air India crashes in 1950 and 1960. He hailed the support of locals in retrieving the remains of the crash. Coining a new term “INFRA” which stands for India and France, Modi fondly recalled the depth of Indo-French bilateral ties. Above all, the consecrating hollow of “Auroville” at Pondicherry a testimony to enriching spiritual sojourn of the Mother, born as Mirra Alfassa in Paris to India to collaborate with Sri Aurobindo will stand as befitting cultural enabler of contemporary Indo-French friendship.

Modi’s proactive and pragmatic diplomacy in the past five years has changed World’s perspective towards India. By shunning decadence and complacence Prime Minister is using every opportunity to contribute and project India’s unique attributes. Common interests are driving nations to come together. By actively participating in global conversations and making useful contributions Modi is making India more relevant and important. Like India, France pursues an independent policy. At a time when World is suffering from lack of consensus on various global issues, India and France are exploring common ground to cooperate and deepen engagement. Trade spates and fissures between big powers are compelling like- minded countries to form coalitions. Indo-French multidimensional partnership is thus an attempt to create a new global agenda.

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Interview with Shrikanth Talageri on rebutting Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT), linguistics and chronicling history

For the last two centuries the proponents of Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT) made every attempt to undermine the idea of India. While the Out of India (OIT) or Indian Homeland Theory (IHT) contested the preposterous construct, the AIT brigade managed to mislead people churning out deeply flawed analysis that exacerbated the fissures in Indian society. OIT defenders often called the bluff of the AIT which fares poorly in test of scrutiny in terms of linguistic and archeological evidences. Having failed to convincingly establish their theory, AIT has taken the refugee of the sophisticated genetic analyses to add some credence to their propositions. 

To this end, Tony Joseph, who regularly brings out article in favor of AIT, last year published a book, Early Indians to strengthen the claims of the Vedic people being the steppe pastoralists who invaded India. With the chatter of AIT slowly gaining considerable momentum to destabilize and divide India, there is now a sudden need to demolish the mythical AIT theory. Shrikant Talageri, an independent scholar who did pioneering work on the Aryan issue reviewed Tony Joseph's book and published a rebuttal through his latest work, "Genetics and the Aryan Debate". The book besides meticulously exposing the distortions of AIT with irrefutable data in the long term can pave way for mainstreaming of OIT. MyIndMakers congratulates Shrikant Talageri on his publication.  

Here is an excerpt of e-interview carried out by me for MyIndMakers.

Q1) According to you, what has been the basis for the categorisation of languages into different linguistic groups? b) Why were Aryan Invasion Theorists drawn towards Sanskrit language? c) Is their keen interest an endorsement to Sanskrit as an evolved language?

a)     The basis of the categorization of languages into different "families" is their definite relationship to each other and their origins in a common ancestral "proto"-language (I will not bother to consider more hypothetical and in my opinion dubious categories such as the so-called "Nostratic" group of families).

I ask you to consider the clear relationship in the following examples:

English relationship words father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, Sanskrit pitar, mātar, bhrātar, svasar, sūnu, duhitar, Persian pidar, mādar, birādar, xvāhar, (Av.) hūnu, duxtar, etc.

English number three, Sanskrit tri, Avestan thri, Latin treis, Greek treis, Russian tri, German drei, Lithuanian trys, etc.

English personal pronouns we, you, Sanskrit vay-, yūy-, Avestan vae, yūz, etc., and also Sanskrit: nas, vas, Avestan noh, voh, Russian nas, vas, Latin nos, vos.

English personal pronouns me and thee, Sanskrit me and te, Avestan me and te, Greek me and se/te, Latin me and te.

The most basic verbal forms which can never be borrowed: (English am, art, is) Sanskrit asmi, asi, asti, Avestan ahmī, ahī, astī, Greek eimi, essi, esti, Latin sum, es, est, Gothic: em, ert, est, Hittite: ēšmi, ēšši, ēšzi, Old Irish: am, at, is, Russian: esmy, esi, esty, Lithuanian: esmi, esi, esti, Albanian: jam, je, ishtë, Armenian: em, es, ê, Tocharian: -am, -at, -aṣ.

To get the full impact of the relationship, compare all these words with the equivalent words, eg. the words for three, in the Dravidian languages, Tamil mūnṛ^u, Malayalam mūnn^u, Telugu mūḍu, Kannada mūru, Tulu mūji, etc., or in the Austric languages Santali pɛ, Turi pea, Vietnamese ba, Khmer bǝy, etc.

b) The early European scholars (there were no "Aryan Invasion Theorists" till much later) were drawn towards Sanskrit for two reasons:

First: they were amazed to find languages so very similar to their own, with Sanskrit representing an ancient period, in a distant area separated from them by unrelated languages like Turkish, Georgian and Arabic.

Two: Sanskrit grammar, as codified by Panini, represented a highly advanced form of grammatical analysis before which their own grammars seemed almost childish.

All this led to the science of Comparative Linguistics and the concept of language families.

c) Sanskrit was an evolved language in the sense of its highly codified grammar and rich literature. Sir William Jones who first concisely presented the case for this language family, described it as follows: "The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either".

Q.2. In your book you discuss the Old and New Rig Veda in length. Why is the chronological data of Rig Veda so important for Aryan Debate?

The chronology of the Rigveda, especially its division into the Old and New Rigveda, is absolutely vital to any historical study of the text. Treating the whole Rigveda as one single text can make it amenable to false historical analysis: e.g. you can say: "The spoked wheel is known to the Rigveda" or "The Rigveda has a large name-culture and vocabulary in common with the Avesta and the Mitanni documents" or "The Indus and its western Afghan tributaries, and the western mountains, lake, places and animals are familiar and well-known to the Rigvedic people". This allows the false picture that the invention of spoked wheels and the common period of Rigvedic-Avestan-Mitanni unity are pre-Rigvedic, and that the original area of the Rigveda extends from Afghanistan to westernmost Uttar Pradesh. 

But the truth is: "The spoked wheel is known to the New Rigveda, but totally unknown to the Old Rigveda" and "The New Rigveda has a large name-culture and vocabulary in common with the Avesta and the Mitanni documents which is totally unknown to the Old Rigveda", and "The Indus and its western Afghan tributaries, and the western mountains, lake, places and animals are familiar and well-known to the New Rigveda, but totally unfamiliar and unknown to the Old Rigveda". This shows that the Old Rigveda represents a very ancient period long before the invention of spoked wheels and the common period of Rigvedic-Avestan-Mitanni unity, and that the original area of the Rigveda extends only from Haryana to westernmost Uttar Pradesh.

So stark is the difference that the New Rigveda knows and uses the word rātri for night, which is known to all post-Rigvedic Sanskrit, Prakrit and Indo-Aryan texts and is the common word for all modern Indo-Aryan speakers and in all other languages (Dravidian, Southeast-Asian) which have borrowed it from Sanskrit. But rātri is totally unknown to the Old Rigveda (and the word is unknown outside India as well): the Old Rigveda uses the word nakt- which is the common word in all the branches of Indo-European languages outside India, but totally unknown to modern Indo-Aryan.     

Q.3. Your book is a rebuttal to the claims made by Tony Joseph in favour of AIT (Aryan Invasion Theory) based on the genetic analyses carried out by 92 scientists. What are your specific objections to his conclusions?

As I have shown in detail in my book:

a) Tony Joseph's book claims proof for the AIT on the basis of genetic evidence. The only evidence which can show the geographical origin of the location of anything is evidence from the fields of Linguistics, Archaeology (and related sciences) and Records (reliable traditions, and actual texts or inscriptions). We know from the evidence from these three fields that chess and Buddhism originated in India: there is no "genetic evidence" showing the movements of chess and Buddhism from India to North, East and Southeast Asia (and in ancient times, West Asia as well).

Likewise genetic evidence cannot show the movement of Indo-European languages into India. The evidence from the fields of Linguistics, Archaeology (and related sciences) and Records (reliable traditions, and actual texts or inscriptions) absolutely and irrefutably proves the OIT (out-of-India Theory) or IHT (Indian Homeland Theory), which is why there is this desperate attempt to squeeze out evidence for the AIT from Genetics, which is like trying to squeeze out blood from a stone.

Genetics can neither prove nor disprove either the AIT or the OIT.

b) Tony Joseph claims that "genetic evidence" shows that immigrants from the Steppes into India brought the Indo-European languages into India between 2000-1000 BCE. At the most, genetic evidence can show that immigrants from outside brought new DNA (haplogroups, genomes, or whatever) into India from outside, that they mixed with the local populations, and that this DNA is present in the present population of India. Whether the claimed evidence shows all this or not, and whether it shows that this happened between 2000-1000 BCE or not, will have to be determined by an examination of the evidence by unbiased expert scientists in the field of Genetics.

But even if all this turns out to be true, it cannot under any circumstance show that these immigrants brought the Indo-European languages into India. Even with all other factors being neutral, the logical conclusion would be that since all their alleged migrations and intermixing within India did not create even a ripple in the archaeological record, or leave any kind of memories among any section of the different groups concerned, it would only show that they got integrated into the local populace everywhere, accepting the local languages and the general culture and traditions, like most other later ancient people in the historical record (the Greeks, Persians, Scythians, Huns, etc.).

But all other factors are not neutral, they are very positive: it is impossible to make these linguistic claims in the face of the fact that the recorded evidence of the Rigveda, the Avesta and the Mitanni records, as I have irrefutably proved (and no-one has dared to take up the challenge to try to prove me wrong), shows that the Vedic people were exclusive residents of the Haryana-western U.P are as far back as 3000 BCE with more ancient antecedents going back further east and further backwards in time. It would be like trying to claim, in defiance of the evidence of the Buddhist, Chinese, Greek and Persian records, that "Aryans" entered India from the northwest 2000 years ago.

c) Tony Joseph claims that the Reich genetic report of 2018 proves all these above claims about Steppe people entering India from Central Asia between 2000-1000 BCE. As a matter of fact, even without the "Indo-European" aspect of the claim (i.e. irrespective of the "Aryan" aspects of it), an examination of the data in the report shows that the Reich report fails to show even the definite intrusion of these Steppe people ("Aryans" or otherwise) into India in that period.      

Q.4. You mentioned that India has traditionally preserved the Rig Veda for thousands of years through oral transmission. Is this something unique to the culture of this land unlike people with religion of book?

Yes, this is absolutely unique to the culture of this land, but only with respect to the Vedic texts and particularly the Rigveda. The two following videos on youtube demonstrate the rigour of the method of Vedic oral transmission:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7s8XWCguoo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9mSJ809as8

But this is best described in the words of none other than Michael Witzel:

“Right from the beginning, in Ṛgvedic times, elaborate steps were taken to insure the exact reproduction of the words of the ancient poets. As a result, the Ṛgveda still has the exact same wording in such distant regions as Kashmir, Kerala and Orissa, and even the long-extinct musical accents have been preserved. Vedic transmission is thus superior to that of the Hebrew or Greek Bible, or the Greek, Latin and Chinese classics. We can actually regard present-day Ṛgveda recitation as a tape recording of what was composed and recited some 3000 years ago. In addition, unlike the constantly reformulated Epics and Purāṇas, the Vedic texts contain contemporary materials. They can serve as snapshots of the political and cultural situation of the particular period and area in which they were composed. […] as they are contemporary, and faithfully preserved, these texts are equivalent to inscriptions. […] they are immediate and unchanged evidence, a sort of oral history ― and sometimes autobiography ― of the period, frequently fixed and ‘taped’ immediately after the event by poetic formulation. These aspects of the Vedas have never been sufficiently stressed […]” (WITZEL 1995a:91).

“[…] the Vedas were composed orally and they always were and still are, to some extent, oral literature. They must be regarded as tape recordings, made during the Vedic period and transmitted orally, and usually without the change of a single word.” (WITZEL 1997b:258).

“It must be underlined that just like an ancient inscription, these words have not changed since the composition of these hymns c.1500 BCE, as the RV has been transmitted almost without any change […] The modern oral recitation of the RV is a tape recording of c.1700-1200 BCE.” (WITZEL 2000a:§8).

“The language of the RV is an archaic form of Indo-European. Its 1028 hymns are addressed to the gods and most of them are used in ritual. They were orally composed and strictly preserved by exact repetition through by rote learning, until today. It must be underlined that the Vedic texts are ‘tape recordings’ of this archaic period. Not one word, not a syllable, not even a tonal accent were allowed to be changed. The texts are therefore better than any manuscript, and as good as any well preserved contemporary inscription. We can therefore rely on the Vedic texts as contemporary sources for names of persons, places, rivers (WITZEL 1999c)” (WITZEL 2006:64-65).

Q.5. While AIT fails to explain several incongruities, academic curriculum is awash with theory of Aryan Migration. Your rebuttal substantially disproves the AIT. But how can the false myth of Aryan Invasion, which attempts to divide and destabilise India through the handle of caste system be countered?

The caste system has become a multi-headed hydra today. It was basically a sociological problem whose ill-effects had to be countered and reformed by Hindus themselves, but this prospect seems more difficult by the day. On the one hand we have the enemies of Hinduism using it in order to divide, destroy and destabilize India, Hinduism and Indian/Hindu society. On the other hand, we have politicians of every single hue contributing, in different ways, to convert it into an undefeatable bhasmasura who can never be reined in or destroyed. But so far as linking it to the AIT is concerned, once the OIT is generally accepted as the official, mainstream and true position, the link automatically stands destroyed.

To make the OIT the official and mainstream position, we must present one strong unified OIT case, which is irrefutable and unchallengeable, based on the true data, facts and evidence, as I have done in my books, and not let our side be sabotaged from within by various "Hindu" vested interests who are more interested in pushing their own unscientific and illogical positions than in winning the battle. I refer to the Vedas-are-eternal-and-not-composed-by-human-beings militants, Vedic-culture-is-the-ancestral-culture-of-the-whole-of-India-(or-the-whole-world) enthusiasts, Linguistics-is-not-a-science-and-there-is-no-such-thing-as-Indo-European-languages dogmatists, the-whole-theory-is-purely-a-conspiracy-of-colonial-rulers insisters, etc.

This should be followed by officially and unitedly compelling the AIT side to either disprove or accept this OIT case in fair, open and honest debate, and not letting them get away with stonewalling and ignoring.

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Modi charms Bhutan with “heart to heart connection”

Modi’s two-day maiden visit to Bhutan on August 17^th which made an impressionable impact on the Kingdom was obscured by India’s big diplomatic victory at the UNSC. Prime Minister Modi who rolled out “Neighbourhood First” policy has always attached special importance to India’s strategic ties with immediate neighbours. The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan which shares borders with India and Bhutan is of immense significance to India. Holding ode to a time-tested friendship, India and Bhutan celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations last year.

After SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) become defunct, India continued its multilateral engagement with Bhutan through BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Trade and Economic Cooperation). Underpinning the strategic importance of Bhutan, India has always accorded highest priority to friendly ties with the Kingdom. During his first tenure, in line with India’s tradition, Modi made Bhutan his first port of call. On being re-elected, he invited BIMSTEC leaders for his swearing in ceremony and even held talks with his Bhutanese counterpart Dr. Lohtay Tshering. External affairs Minister Jaishankar Subramanyam made his first foreign trip to Bhutan and earlier this month Foreign Secretary, Vijay Gokhale visited Thimphu to prepare ground for Modi’s official visit.

This Himalayan Kingdom, a monarchy slowly and successfully transitioned into a stable democracy has now graduated into Middle-income country. Bhutan’s working relationship initially guided by the Treaty of Perpetual Peace and Friendship with India of 1949 was revised by a friendship treaty in 2007 laid foundation for contemporary bilateral ties. Calling Bhutan as “trusted friend and neighbour” in his pre-departure statement, Modi said “(bilateral ties) these are reinforced by a shared spiritual heritage and robust people to people ties”.

As a special gesture, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering, his cabinet and other senior officials welcomed Modi extended a warm reception.  After the ceremonial guard of honour, Modi had an audience with His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, The King of Bhutan and the Fourth Druk Gyalpo his father and called on the opposition party leader. Signifying the special nature of the visit, Bhutan hosted the bilateral talks at a 400-year old Semtokha Dzong, castle monastery built by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, founder of Bhutan. The monastic and administrative dzong was opened for the first time for exchange of MoUs and inauguration ceremony. Modi held prayers at the dzong and extended the duration of the loaned Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal’s statue excavated by the British and kept in National Museum at Kolkata previously by five years.

Marking five decades of exemplary hydropower cooperation leaders of both countries released special stamps and agreed to expand scope of bilateral cooperation. Besides official launch of Rupay card, leaders inaugurated 720MW Mangdechhu Hydroelectric plant and ground earth station of South Asia Satellite (SAS) at Thimphu. Cognizant of the positive impact  of SAS India offered to increase the bandwidth of an additional transponder to boost broadcasting services and disaster management. Countries exchanged 10 MoUs with cooperation in space technology, trade and digital technology receiving major boost. Modi enhanced the subsidised LPG to 1000MT per month and offered an additional $100 million currency swap under Standby Swap Arrangement.

As a pivotal developmental partner, India always had a special friendship with Bhutan which is extremely crucial for India’s security. Chinese incursions into Bhutan’s Doklam trijunction in 2017 exposed India’s military vulnerabilities. While India averted the standoff with deft diplomacy, Dragon’s aggressive underpinned the strategic importance of this tiny neighbour, which calibrates prosperity in terms of Gross National Happiness.

Bhutan the most trusted friend of India in the region has rebuffed Chinese overtures and hasn’t established official diplomatic relations with Beijing. Maintaining the sanctity of the Special Friendship Treaty, India and Bhutan has always been considerate towards each other national security interests. In line with India’s policy of providing assistance to Bhutan in every five-year plan, on the eve of Tshering’s visit to India in December 2018, India sanctioned 4500 Crores. Bhutan has always looked at India as sole partner. The older generation Bhutanese hold India in high regard. In this digital age of seamless interconnectivity, facing unemployment, young Bhutanese are keen forging ties with new countries including China an economic superpower. Aspiring and ambitious Bhutanese youth are looking for new avenues, investment opportunities and more development are not averse to opening doors for China. Given Chinese propensity to lure countries with investments, weighing the importance of strategic partnership with Bhutan, Modi has injected genuine human touch and spiritual connect to reach out to Bhutanese people. Before departing Modi visited National Memorial Chorten, attended a cultural performance at a Buddhist Monastery.

Describing India and Bhutan as “natural partners”, Modi reflected on the deep spiritual connect and the unique nature of Indo-Bhutanese friendship  in his address to students of Royal University. Elucidating India’s growth rise as biggest investment destination and innovation hub, he invited Bhutanese to be part of this new renaissance and partake fruits of development.   Earlier in the joint press statement, Modi reiterated, “It is privilege of India that we are a major partner in the development of Bhutan” and concluded, “The history of India-Bhutan relations is a glorious as its promising future. I believe that India and Bhutan will remain a unique model of relations between two countries in the World”.

Tshering’s press statement, “We are very happy to report that Prime Minister Modi’s visit was for only two days was a successful visit in terms of what we wanted to get and what we could give, mainly in terms of heart to heart connection” after Modi’s departure stands testimony to the genuine human touch and new warmth infused by Modi in energising bilateral ties.

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Vested Groups lead Pakistan’s dubious anti-India Agenda

The historic decision of stripping Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and its concomitant complete integration has irked Pakistan and China who have illegally occupied Indian territory. For decades, both countries have been using Indian territory to foster their strategic interests.  By bifurcating the state of J&K into two Union Territories of J &K and Ladakh, India has attempted to deal the border disputes with Pakistan and China separately.  While Pakistan’s immediate meltdown over revocation of article 370 was anticipated, China which illegally occupied strategic Aksai Chin, serving as a conduit between Tibet and Xinjiang province took time to react. To begin with, Islamabad’s provocative statements and efforts to internationalise Kashmir issue hardly stirred global cauldron. Expect for the Congress Party of India whose statements matched Pakistan’s vehemence, no country threw its weight behind Pakistan.

Since its inception, Pakistan advocated Ghazwa-e-Hind (bleed India by thousand cuts) used J&K as a launch pad making it an invaluable pawn to serve its strategic and domestic interests. Rattled by India’s audacious move on Kashmir, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan convened joint session of the parliament and lashed out“The BJP's mindset is like the mindset of white supremacists who go on mass shootings in the US. They are racists. If you look at elections, you will see that they did everything Hitler did during elections in Germany. They have backed the opposition into a corner”. He added, “They wanted to ensure that Muslims are treated as second-class citizens” and gave the decision a deliberate Hindu-Muslim spin. By overtly cultivating terror ecosystem to foster its strategic interests, Pakistan lost its global credibility. Barring vested groups which have tacit understanding with Islamists and Leftists no one cared about Pakistan’s protestations. 

Contemporary history is replete of examples where vested groups have convincingly changed global narratives. Famous as “Red and Black Reactionaries” the uncanny alliance between Leftists and Islamists has been at the forefront in reshaping global interpretations. Leftists who are deeply moved by the concept of “the exploiter and the exploited” had genuine leanings towards their cohorts who always played a victimhood card. Interestingly, these two groups with diametrically opposite leanings and preferences have forged a deep friendship as Leftists believed that Islamists belonged to “the exploited” camp. Divested from the realities on the ground, these influential groups always worked hand in glove with Islamists across the globe. Leftists who believe values of democracy and human rights as colonial relics of the West are naturally drawn towards the Islamists who deride democracy and want an Islamic Caliphate. Thus, historically a bond of alliance held Leftists and Islamists together.

While Muslim Ummah (the OIC Countries) remained indifferent to Pakistan’s insidious propaganda, Leftist brigade across the globe and India’s Pakistani apologists upped ante against the political dispensation portraying it as a Hindu nationalist party. This brigade who detested Modi’s ascension to power since 2014 seized every opportunity and platform to defame acts of government. Irrespective of government’s developmental agenda for J&K, towing Pakistani line, Leftists termed integration of J&K as an act of Hindu triumphalism and advanced a propaganda instigating separatists. Ironically the elite who openly resented democracy criticised the legislation passed by two-thirds majority in both houses as illegal. They accused government’s preventive restrictive measures to avoid any violent flareups and subsequent loss of life as fascist. Busy enumerating disruption of normal life in J&K due to suspension of communication network they hardly raised their voices against imposition of section 144 across North Waziristan for one month. Running out of options, Pakistani President gave a clarion call to militant groups for “Jihad” against India but saviours of the liberal world haven’t battled an eyelid. International community which is now too familiar with Pakistan’s dubious agenda has refused to intervene and largely subscribed that J &K is a bilateral issue. Almost globally isolated, the leftist foot soldiers are investing their intellectual might to advance Pakistan’s anti-India agenda.

Instead of hailing the revocation of Article 370 that created equal opportunities for all the residents of the state and nullified the misogynistic legislation self-proclaimed apostles of liberal values gave a vicious twist. With their anachronistic allegations against government of the day, liberal elite of India are exploring every avenue to foment unrest in the valley. Email trail of the noted tukde tukde gang which went viral on Twitter shredded their mantle of high moral ground into tatters.

Majority of the international media houses dominated by this elite brigade have jumped into fray in peddling false news and morphing old videos to project India in a bad light. Overriding authentic government notifications about the law and order situation these agencies lost no time in distorting the facts and publishing on their platforms with global reach. Angered by this rampant negative propaganda, government has asked BBC and Aljazeera to produce rough footage of their videos. But none of these agencies have reverted back as of now.

With its finances almost on the brink of collapse, looming under international sanctions and allies almost silent on the Kashmir issue, Pakistan which can ill afford a conventional war is now marshalling bots to carry out its malicious propaganda. Adding a fresh chapter to chronicles of retaliatory wars, Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) has unleashed cyber war. Since August 5^th ISI began recruiting thousands of techies and hackers to wage an information war against India. These bots assigned with task of spreading anti-India contents have been inundating the social media with morphed videos to sow seeds of discord and fan anti-India passions. Thousands of pages and doctored videos of atrocities from elsewhere are being passed off as latest pictures from Kashmir to poison minds of youth. Simultaneously, they are laying honey traps to extract insider information from army officials. Indian surveillance agencies have now traced several of these bots who are retweeting doctored videos and manipulated facts to ISPR (Inter-Service Public Relations). Intimidated by the Indian accounts which are busting the fake messaging factory of Pakistan on social network, ISI is issuing death threats and warnings to the families and near and dear ones of the social media champions. Similar kind of pattern has been witnessed in the aftermath of the Pulwama and Balakot attacks. This inexpensive cyberwar is now becoming the new normal of Pakistan. When an Indian media agency questioned the sudden spurt of accounts and spurious activities of Blue Tick, Pakistani based twitter handles, churning out tonnes of fake reports, the liberal gang refused to comment and silently endorsed the negative campaigning against India. Twitter handle which is overtly leftist issued vague statements and preferred to buy time.

In the process of internationalising Kashmir issue, Pakistan has downgraded diplomatic relations with India, imposed complete trade ban and suspension of the Samjhauta and Thar express to escalate the situation. Not satisfied with badmouthing of India across the social and print media, Pakistan is now taking its war to global cities. Violent targeting of the India Diaspora peacefully assembled before the Indian Embassy to celebrate Independence Day Celebrations at London by thousands of pro-Pakistani mobs who were transported to the city by chartered coaches funded by Imran Khan’s close friend Sayed Zulfi Bhukari stands as a tall example of an unspoken understanding between Islamists and Leftists. British leftist legislators have been at the forefront in condemning India government’s decision of revoking special status to Kashmir. City Mayor, Labour Party’s Sadiq Khan supporting right to protest shirked away from condemning the violence perpetrated by the pro-Pakistani lobby. Above all the endorsement and participation of the Lord Nazir Ahmed who is currently investigated for paedophile charges in the violent riots in London suffice to indicate leftist politicians’ soft approach towards Islamists. Indeed, the leftist lobby for the fear of losing political capital are indifferent to anti-India propaganda carried by the pro-Khalistani forces in the UK working at the behest of Islamist forces.  Not far behind, hundreds of Californians marched protesting the revocation of Article 370 in a rally organised by Javaid Akhtar, a Kashmir Action Committee Member.

Kashmir issue has been Pakistan’s jugular and grappling severe economic distress, Pakistan has outsourced its agenda to Pakistani Diaspora and Islamists to internationalise a bilateral issue. China detested any external intervention in three-month long Hongkong protests claiming it as an internal issue has supported Pakistan’s petition on India’s internal decision for closed meetings at UNSC. It is time to bust the hallow of Pakistan and China who dragged India to international platform over its internal issue. Both these countries who cares two hoots for human rights violation and democratic functioning are taking shots at India over Kashmir issue. India has always welcomed talks with Pakistan with a precondition of talks and terror cannot go together. Instead of condemning Pakistan for its unending punitive cross infiltrations, vested interests are taking India for task. It is time to call the bluff of fabricated narratives of the vested groups.

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Modi-Shah’s Panacea for the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir

With the bold decision of bringing out a presidential order for repeal of article 370 Prime Minister Narendra Modi ably assisted by Home Minister Amit Shah has raised the bar of governance. The master stroke which is a game changer will predictably pave way for integration of the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. Paying a befitting tribute to the founder of the Jan Sangh Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee who sacrificed his life for the state, the duo has left no stone unturned to bring a semblance of normalcy to the state. Kashmir, home to the Sarada Peeth, the veritable seat of learning is integral to Indian identity. By demolishing the formidable constitutional obstacles, the leadership have resurrected the civilizational identity of India.

Though the instruments of accession have been the same for the princely states of India, a narrative was created whereby Article 370 was considered as inevitable link between the state and Union of India. By subsequently elevating the status of the article to a stature of indispensability the political leaders of J &K successfully made it a touchy issue. Any attempt to amend the article was interpreted as an assault on identity on Kashmir. To be political right, parties have refrained from amending Article 370 which is transitory and temporary.

Kashmir which shares boundaries with two enemy countries is strategically crucial for the sovereignty of India and any error in judgement or an oversight in assessing the security can have grievous consequences for the country. Being a Muslim majority state, political parties desisted from amending the article 370 which posed impediments in mainstreaming the state with the rest of the country. Neither successive leaderships nor political parties ever showed the guts to question the status quo which over past seven decades pushed J &K into a state of decadence. Instead of empowering the state, by restricting investments and stalling the percolation of developmental measures article 370 strangulated the economy. Even after seven decades of special status the state lagged in all developmental parameters and is currently the largest recipient of government’s aid.

Over the decades, political elites of the state stoking the fire of self-determination pocketed funds, deprived the government of much needed finances and allowed the insurrection to thrive. The agenda of abrogation of article 370 has been one of the core electoral promises of BJP. Having cogent plans for mainstreaming of Kashmir and bringing it on par with other states, BJP despite being labelled as opportunist joined hands with ideologically incompatible PDP to enter the realms of power in the state. While it ended on a bitter note as expected, the party hasn’t given up on its commitment of doing away with Article 370 and Article 35 A.

Just 75 days into the second term, Modi government which has absolute majority having successfully passed 28 bills and rejoicing the tag of exceptional productivity in the parliament has silently prepared ground for abrogation of article 370. It has made the right moves and made best out of Pakistan’s hubris which is riding on the wave of the diplomatic coup post Imran Khan’s visit to the US and Trump’s mendacious outbursts on Kashmir mediation. After bluffing President Trump of taking stringent action against terrorist outfits and the namesake arrest of terror master mind Hafiz Saeed, Pakistan earned back the military assistance worth $125 million from Trump who is obsessed with extrication of troops from Afghanistan. America which needs Pakistan’s help in bringing Taliban to table for peace negotiations have turned a blind eye to its terror activities.

Islamabad for the fear of FATF sanctions has temporarily shutdown terror camps in PoK region. But America’s military assistance has emboldened them. Back to their old tricks of trade, Pakistan reactivated its terror modules in PoK after Khan’s successful visit to the US on July 22^nd. Since then relentless cross border firing and numerous cease violations became a norm. Exalted Pakistan began targeting civilians.

In the past two weeks, Indian security forces neutralised several terrorists including top JeM commander Munna Lahori and his associate who mastered minded car blasts. Keen on extracting revenge for his killing and with independence drawing closer, ISI has reportedly readied groups of suicidal attacks to carry out fidayeen attacks in the valley. Alerted by intelligence reports, India has revved up security. During their regular checks found Pakistani landmines and an American sniper along the Amarnath yatra trek. With immediate effect government cancelled yatra, stationed extra 28,000 troops in the valley and carried out two cross border raids 30km deep into PoK annihilating Neelum-Jhelum terror camps.

Contesting the grounds for deploying unusually higher number of troops, the Congress ecosystem and mainstream Kashmir political parties lashed out at government’s so-called fascist move. Undeterred by these anti-India rants, preparing ground for larger integration government introduced a Jammu Kashmir reservation (amendment) bill in the parliament and passed it in Lok Sabha on Friday. Panicked by quick paced events, Kashmiri politicians met on Saturday and upped tirade against government of India. As a final move, government in anticipation of domestic backlash kept prominent politicians Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah and Sajad Lone under house arrest.

With Parliament in session, the Cabinet Security met at 9:30am and made the final move towards integration of Jammu and Kashmir. Subsequently, Home Minister Amit Shah announced about Presidential Order for the abrogation of Article 370 in Rajya Sabha. Instinctively, government has adopted the same route of Presidential Order to nullify the 1954 order issued by then President Dr Rajendra Prasad. With this audacious decision, BJP struck at the roots of the very legal provisions that ignited terrorism, jihadism, separatism and augmented alienation in Kashmir valley. While celebrations erupted across the country welcoming government’s decision Congress led opposition parties condemned this move. Meanwhile while legal debates about the prospect of contesting this move through Supreme Court are contemplated. Enthused by the support from political parties (Shiva Sena, Akali Dal, AAP, TRS, YRCP, AIDMK, BJD and TDP) of diverse hue, government has put the bill for voting. At the time of writing, Rajya Sabha has passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill with a huge majority of 125 versus 61votes. With BJP having required numbers passage of bill in Lok Sabha is almost a done deal.

Under the provisions of the bill, Jammu and Kashmir will be bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Jammu &Kashmir union territory with a legislative assembly will work along the lines of the article 239 followed in Puducherry and the Union Territory of Ladakh will be without legislature. The onerous task of law and order, land will be under the control of central government. Civilian administration and governance will be under the ambit of the elected representatives of J&K. With bifurcation now a done deal, delimitation of J&K is on cards. Delimitation commission will now redraw the constituency maps for assembly and parliamentary elections. This will ensure equitable representation from both Jammu and Kashmir regions. So far, Jammu despite being highly populated was poorly representation. This process will correct the historical aberration of under representation of Jammu region and long pending Ladakh’s request of delinking from J&K.

By abrogating article 370 Modi government has hit bulls’ eye. Firstly, the timing of the decision has been perfect. By toeing Pakistan’s line and effectively undermining the popular national sentiments, Congress has blown up its fortunes as a party which values national interests. The party which is now licking its electoral wounds and leadership crisis has eventually plotted its own decimation with its inimical approach towards J&K in the Parliament. Secondly, millions of Indians and especially Kashmiri Pandits have been waiting for this momentous occasion with bated breaths. By legally invalidating the two gruesome articles, BJP has earned the support of these people for a lifetime. Thirdly, geopolitically India is on a slippery slope. Trump with his untenable South Asia policy and incongruent approach of evacuating from Afghanistan has indirectly made Pakistan an indispensable actor in the peace process. GHQ Rawalpindi keen on grabbing this opportunity is planning to relocate the Afghan Taliban to Kashmir for carrying out their anti-India agenda. Unlike in the past, the central government which will have complete control over the internal and border security of the region. Through seamless coordination of various forces, India can effectively curb infiltration across the borders. Fourthly, till now Pakistan has been justifying intervention in Kashmir claiming to be a stakeholder in the disputed territory. By attributing the special status to Kashmir as incomplete accession, it has defended its position at various forums. Any attempt to further drag Kashmir at international forum will be deemed as interference in the internal affairs of India.

Fifthly, no sooner government introduced bill for J&K reorganisation, India briefed diplomatic envoys that proposals of bill are internal to India aimed at providing social justice, economic development and good governance. Any attempt by Pakistan to foment terror will be considered as an attempt to balkanise India. Sixthly, with law and order and security under the control of central Indian government, jihadi menace can be swiftly curbed. Seventhly, with special status gone, the sham self-determination propaganda of separatists will hardly receive any international support. For long, separatists denigrated India, insulted Indian symbols and stoked anti-Indian passions with free will. Hence forth any attempt to insinuate violence against state will be tantamount to treason. Further, farce claims of tukde-tukde gang of alleged state excesses will hold no water.

With indomitable will and unflinching commitment Modi and Shah laid a path for mainstreaming J &K. The road ahead is challenging and needless to say, might be replete of bloodshed. But a beginning has been made. Now it is time to assuage concerns of Kashmiris to bring them into the regular fold.

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