It has been just few days that I have got a Tibetan colleague. This handsome, smart and intelligent man in his 20s - whom I will like to refer to as X - fled Tibet 17 years back (when he was a little boy), and since then has been settled in India. Some of his relatives also stay here, though his parents are still in Lhasa.
Apart from being a good colleague, X has also been a nice "discussion partner" for me. During lunch break or coffee breaks we discuss various interesting issues, like China's occupation of Tibet, Dalai Lama, China's hypocrisy about Communism, Indo-China relationship, sporadic freedom movements by some Tibetan groups in Tibet, Tibetan advocacy and campaign groups in India, etc.
Anyways, just yesterday (21st November, 2009) X told me an interesting thing, which I want to share with my readers.
I had just casually asked him how the Tibetans perceive India.
And what did he say?
He said that since ancient times Tibetans refer to India as - PHAK-PAI-YUL.
So what does that mean?
It means - The Country of Everything That Is Noble.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Darjeeling Is In West Bengal
Well, this is a message meant precisely for all those Indians who DO NOT know that Darjeeling is in the state of West Bengal, and feel that it is in the beautiful state of Sikkim.
Since I shifted to Delhi from Kolkata in 2001, I have come across a huge number of people who do not know that Darjeeling is in my home state of West Bengal, with most of them having this perception that Darjeeling is in Sikkim.
It is only after my latest such experience on 13th November 2009, where one colleague expressed surprise to know that Darjeeling is in West Bengal, that I decided to make this posting to inform everybody that Darjeeling is in West Bengal.
And yes, I will also like to dispel this misconception of a number of people that Siliguri is in North-East India. In reality, Siliguri is in West Bengal, and is in fact my place of birth.
Since I shifted to Delhi from Kolkata in 2001, I have come across a huge number of people who do not know that Darjeeling is in my home state of West Bengal, with most of them having this perception that Darjeeling is in Sikkim.
It is only after my latest such experience on 13th November 2009, where one colleague expressed surprise to know that Darjeeling is in West Bengal, that I decided to make this posting to inform everybody that Darjeeling is in West Bengal.
And yes, I will also like to dispel this misconception of a number of people that Siliguri is in North-East India. In reality, Siliguri is in West Bengal, and is in fact my place of birth.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The Harassments Of N-E Youths In Delhi – A Long Term Effort Is What We Need
The continuous harassments of the North-East youths in Delhi, which range from verbal taunting to sexual molestation, have understandably resulted into a widespread hue and cry. And indeed the government should take a well-planned and carefully chalked out step to address the issue.
Personally I feel that the government should go for a two-pronged plan, with both a short term as well as a long term approach. First it should immediately take some steps to curb or at least lessen the problem. At the same time it should go for a long term approach aimed at complete uprooting of the problem.
As far as the short term approach focused on immediate result is concerned, the Delhi Police should set up a special cell exclusively meant for the North-East youths. There is no need to have a huge manpower or high level infrastructure for the same, as that is not required. It is only that the police force needs a dedicated arm for handling the problem. And it must be very strong in the execution of its duty, showing a stern and ruthless face while countering and handling the offenders. And every strong step that the team will take against an offender must be highly publicized in the media, with the names, pictures and family details of the offenders being highlighted. This will generate strong fear in the mind of the scoundrels who are indulging into these nasty activities.
Now let’s focus on the long term plan. This should entail an honest effort to understand the root cause of the problem, and addressing the same.
The government (not only the Delhi or Central government, but all relevant government entities) must start educating the so-called mainstream Indians that the North-East people are not aliens from the Mars, but are our own brothers and sisters from a certain part of our motherland which is geographically just a little isolated from the rest of India (Or is it really isolated? I have been to so many places in North-East, and I do not think so). There should be an all round and continuous effort to allay misconceptions about the North-East region and its inhabitants. And such efforts should not be confined merely within holding occasional exhibitions of North-East handicrafts or dishes. Rather there should be dissemination of information, through various channels of communication, about the rich culture of the region (like colourful folk dances of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh), interesting events (like elephant race in Assam during Brahmaputra Beach Festival at the time of Bhogali Bihu), fascinating folklore of Nagaland, literary legacy of Tripura, the rich Buddhist heritage of Arunachal Pradesh, the interesting practice of Jhoom cultivation in Mizoram, and so on.
And while educating people about North-East, government should have a special focus on highlighting this issue that North-East is not a primitive land dominated by age-old tribal customs, but a perfectly modern place inhabited by people with modern outlook. (In fact, it is thanks to this modern outlook that some North-East women wear so-called revealing dresses, which actually make some Delhi scoundrels to perceive them as “cheap”). While the tourism ministries of the Central as well North-East governments always highlight the jungles, mountains and rich and colourful tribal life of this region, there should also be efforts to highlight the modern urban life that is present here. The “mainstream Indians” must know that in North-East there lie both beautiful and modern towns like Shillong, Guwahati, Imphal, etc. People should be told about things like the oil refinery in Assam’s Digboi (Asia’s first oil refinery). This will make people realize about the economic significance of this region.
In fact, the idea about North-East is so poor in Delhi that a huge number of people here feel that the North-East people eat cockroach and snake in their lunch and dinner. But these people do not even know that the three North-East states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram are the only three Indian states where English is an official language. These people also do not know that Arunachal Pradesh is the only non-North Indian state where Hindi serves as the lingua franca among the various tribes speaking different languages.
My paternal aunt (obviously a Bengali) married a gentleman (my dear Paban Uncle) from the Karbi tribe of Assam. A well-educated, intelligent and cultured bureaucrat (IAS), Paban Uncle was one of my childhood heroes. It was he who taught me to realize, appreciate and love the rich culture of North-East, a region that India is so fortunate to have within its boundary. Today both of his daughters (my dear cousin sisters) are well-educated and well-established (one of them is a bureaucrat like her father). And they have given me a nephew and a niece who are the apples of my eyes. (Though I have not met my niece yet, but of course I love her).
I am grateful to the picturesque North-East for having such a beautiful uncle and cousins, who have had such a strong influence on my life.
Apart from the family, I have also come across a number of North-East people in my professional and social life, and I must say that I have found all of them to be genuinely intelligent, well-read and hardworking. Yes, I mean it.
Grow up, “mainstream India”. Learn to respect your own brothers and sisters. Stop nurturing wrong perceptions about them, and stop harassing them for what they are. If we keep harassing the North-East youths in Delhi simply for the “offence” of being a bit culturally different, then how are we different from the scoundrels of Australia who are unabashedly harassing the Indian youths settled there? What the North-East friends are facing in Delhi is “domestic racism”, and it is the responsibility of us, the responsible Delhites, to prove that we are not that bad.
Personally I feel that the government should go for a two-pronged plan, with both a short term as well as a long term approach. First it should immediately take some steps to curb or at least lessen the problem. At the same time it should go for a long term approach aimed at complete uprooting of the problem.
As far as the short term approach focused on immediate result is concerned, the Delhi Police should set up a special cell exclusively meant for the North-East youths. There is no need to have a huge manpower or high level infrastructure for the same, as that is not required. It is only that the police force needs a dedicated arm for handling the problem. And it must be very strong in the execution of its duty, showing a stern and ruthless face while countering and handling the offenders. And every strong step that the team will take against an offender must be highly publicized in the media, with the names, pictures and family details of the offenders being highlighted. This will generate strong fear in the mind of the scoundrels who are indulging into these nasty activities.
Now let’s focus on the long term plan. This should entail an honest effort to understand the root cause of the problem, and addressing the same.
The government (not only the Delhi or Central government, but all relevant government entities) must start educating the so-called mainstream Indians that the North-East people are not aliens from the Mars, but are our own brothers and sisters from a certain part of our motherland which is geographically just a little isolated from the rest of India (Or is it really isolated? I have been to so many places in North-East, and I do not think so). There should be an all round and continuous effort to allay misconceptions about the North-East region and its inhabitants. And such efforts should not be confined merely within holding occasional exhibitions of North-East handicrafts or dishes. Rather there should be dissemination of information, through various channels of communication, about the rich culture of the region (like colourful folk dances of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh), interesting events (like elephant race in Assam during Brahmaputra Beach Festival at the time of Bhogali Bihu), fascinating folklore of Nagaland, literary legacy of Tripura, the rich Buddhist heritage of Arunachal Pradesh, the interesting practice of Jhoom cultivation in Mizoram, and so on.
And while educating people about North-East, government should have a special focus on highlighting this issue that North-East is not a primitive land dominated by age-old tribal customs, but a perfectly modern place inhabited by people with modern outlook. (In fact, it is thanks to this modern outlook that some North-East women wear so-called revealing dresses, which actually make some Delhi scoundrels to perceive them as “cheap”). While the tourism ministries of the Central as well North-East governments always highlight the jungles, mountains and rich and colourful tribal life of this region, there should also be efforts to highlight the modern urban life that is present here. The “mainstream Indians” must know that in North-East there lie both beautiful and modern towns like Shillong, Guwahati, Imphal, etc. People should be told about things like the oil refinery in Assam’s Digboi (Asia’s first oil refinery). This will make people realize about the economic significance of this region.
In fact, the idea about North-East is so poor in Delhi that a huge number of people here feel that the North-East people eat cockroach and snake in their lunch and dinner. But these people do not even know that the three North-East states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram are the only three Indian states where English is an official language. These people also do not know that Arunachal Pradesh is the only non-North Indian state where Hindi serves as the lingua franca among the various tribes speaking different languages.
My paternal aunt (obviously a Bengali) married a gentleman (my dear Paban Uncle) from the Karbi tribe of Assam. A well-educated, intelligent and cultured bureaucrat (IAS), Paban Uncle was one of my childhood heroes. It was he who taught me to realize, appreciate and love the rich culture of North-East, a region that India is so fortunate to have within its boundary. Today both of his daughters (my dear cousin sisters) are well-educated and well-established (one of them is a bureaucrat like her father). And they have given me a nephew and a niece who are the apples of my eyes. (Though I have not met my niece yet, but of course I love her).
I am grateful to the picturesque North-East for having such a beautiful uncle and cousins, who have had such a strong influence on my life.
Apart from the family, I have also come across a number of North-East people in my professional and social life, and I must say that I have found all of them to be genuinely intelligent, well-read and hardworking. Yes, I mean it.
Grow up, “mainstream India”. Learn to respect your own brothers and sisters. Stop nurturing wrong perceptions about them, and stop harassing them for what they are. If we keep harassing the North-East youths in Delhi simply for the “offence” of being a bit culturally different, then how are we different from the scoundrels of Australia who are unabashedly harassing the Indian youths settled there? What the North-East friends are facing in Delhi is “domestic racism”, and it is the responsibility of us, the responsible Delhites, to prove that we are not that bad.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Dalai Lama’s Arunachal Visit – A Tight Slap For Audacious China
The audacious Chinese leadership got a tight slap with His Holiness Dalai Lama’s smooth visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the unarguably Indian state that China considers to be a part of its own.
China found its strong pressure on India to be completely futile with the latter strongly defying the pressure and allowing the revered Tibetan leader to visit this majestic region in north-eastarn India.
To top it, standing on the soil of Arunachal Pradesh Dalai Lama described the state to be an integral part of India, and also slammed China for its “hard line”.
Hope China has understood that India is not the pushover that it had thought it to be.
The 1962 war is a distant past, China. Stop being obsessed with that success, and try to move on. Today’s India a strong country, a country simply not ready to tolerate your high-handedness. Got it dude?
China found its strong pressure on India to be completely futile with the latter strongly defying the pressure and allowing the revered Tibetan leader to visit this majestic region in north-eastarn India.
To top it, standing on the soil of Arunachal Pradesh Dalai Lama described the state to be an integral part of India, and also slammed China for its “hard line”.
Hope China has understood that India is not the pushover that it had thought it to be.
The 1962 war is a distant past, China. Stop being obsessed with that success, and try to move on. Today’s India a strong country, a country simply not ready to tolerate your high-handedness. Got it dude?
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Promoting India Abroad As A Favoured Tourist Destination – Customized Marketing Is The Key
Other day I was reading the interview of a top Indian bureaucrat. The gentleman – let him call Mr. X – has been a top official with the Central Tourism Ministry under Government of India (GOI), has been involved with the famous “Incredible India” campaign, and is considered to be a top destination marketing expert of the country.
During the interview Mr. X has said something that is very significant. We all Indians take pride in the diverse tourist attractions of India, such as mountains, jungles, sea and desert. It is the presence of so many natural features that has made India such a colourful tourist destination.
However, Mr X has said that it is this multifaceted “destination personality” of India that has made it so difficult to promote India abroad as a tourist destination. And why is India’s multifaceted personality – resulting from her diversity – a problem in promoting the country as a favoured tourist destination? Because it makes it difficult to make a proper “branding” of India. You will fail to decide how you will brand India – as a country of mountains, jungles, sea beaches, or anything else. Collective promotion of all the features robs every feature of its due glaze, making it look much less insignificant and attractive than actually what it is. The target audience comes to know about all the features present in this land, and fails to notice the speciality of any of them.
I understand what Mr. X has said. It is true. Whenever we think of a country, there is a certain geographical feature that comes in our mind, such as snow clad mountains in the case of Switzerland, savannah and wild beasts when we think of Kenya, blue ocean and golden sea beaches when we think of Mauritius or Caribbean Islands, and so on. But just try to think of India, and soooooo many features come into your mind, leaving you both thrilled and confused. (The irony of having too many?)
Well, my humble self has a small suggestion, and I feel that the Tourism Ministry already has this idea in its mind.
Since the plentiness of India’s geographical features is creating a branding problem, then why do not we go for “customized branding” in the context of the country where we are promoting our motherland?
For example, when we are trying to promote India in Switzerland, then it is stupid to talk about the beautiful snow-clad mountains that we have, because that will understandably fail to woo the Swiss people. So we should tell them about precisely all those features that they do not have – the desert of Rajasthan, the golden beaches of Goa and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, etc. Similarly, while promoting India in Mauritius and Caribbean Islands it is meaningless to talk about the golden beaches of Goa and Andaman, but highlighting our mountains and jungles (with rich wildlife) will be a great idea. And again, trying to woo the people from countries like Kenya and Tanzania through our jungles and wildlife will be a foolish plan, but they can be enthused to visit our land by talking about the mountains and sea beaches (yes, these countries have beautiful Kilimanjaro, but they will always find visiting Himalayas a good idea).
We can make customized promotion in terms of our “soft assets”, as well. For example, Buddhism is so popular in some countries like Japan, Thailand and Sri Lanka. We can promote India in these countries (the Tourism Ministry is already doing it) by promoting those Indian spots that have strong links with that religion. This will certainly draw a number of tourists from these countries, and that is already happening actually.
I think the Tourism Ministry has already taken some steps in line with customized marketing. It is only that they have to take the concept more seriously.
During the interview Mr. X has said something that is very significant. We all Indians take pride in the diverse tourist attractions of India, such as mountains, jungles, sea and desert. It is the presence of so many natural features that has made India such a colourful tourist destination.
However, Mr X has said that it is this multifaceted “destination personality” of India that has made it so difficult to promote India abroad as a tourist destination. And why is India’s multifaceted personality – resulting from her diversity – a problem in promoting the country as a favoured tourist destination? Because it makes it difficult to make a proper “branding” of India. You will fail to decide how you will brand India – as a country of mountains, jungles, sea beaches, or anything else. Collective promotion of all the features robs every feature of its due glaze, making it look much less insignificant and attractive than actually what it is. The target audience comes to know about all the features present in this land, and fails to notice the speciality of any of them.
I understand what Mr. X has said. It is true. Whenever we think of a country, there is a certain geographical feature that comes in our mind, such as snow clad mountains in the case of Switzerland, savannah and wild beasts when we think of Kenya, blue ocean and golden sea beaches when we think of Mauritius or Caribbean Islands, and so on. But just try to think of India, and soooooo many features come into your mind, leaving you both thrilled and confused. (The irony of having too many?)
Well, my humble self has a small suggestion, and I feel that the Tourism Ministry already has this idea in its mind.
Since the plentiness of India’s geographical features is creating a branding problem, then why do not we go for “customized branding” in the context of the country where we are promoting our motherland?
For example, when we are trying to promote India in Switzerland, then it is stupid to talk about the beautiful snow-clad mountains that we have, because that will understandably fail to woo the Swiss people. So we should tell them about precisely all those features that they do not have – the desert of Rajasthan, the golden beaches of Goa and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, etc. Similarly, while promoting India in Mauritius and Caribbean Islands it is meaningless to talk about the golden beaches of Goa and Andaman, but highlighting our mountains and jungles (with rich wildlife) will be a great idea. And again, trying to woo the people from countries like Kenya and Tanzania through our jungles and wildlife will be a foolish plan, but they can be enthused to visit our land by talking about the mountains and sea beaches (yes, these countries have beautiful Kilimanjaro, but they will always find visiting Himalayas a good idea).
We can make customized promotion in terms of our “soft assets”, as well. For example, Buddhism is so popular in some countries like Japan, Thailand and Sri Lanka. We can promote India in these countries (the Tourism Ministry is already doing it) by promoting those Indian spots that have strong links with that religion. This will certainly draw a number of tourists from these countries, and that is already happening actually.
I think the Tourism Ministry has already taken some steps in line with customized marketing. It is only that they have to take the concept more seriously.
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