Assimilators not Conquerors - Part II

The diaspora of Hindu colonists were quite unlike the later European ways of colonization. The European colonizer started as a trader too but he acted often with tacit or indeed explicit support of his government. He was accompanied by private militias or the state’s military forces to impose trade practices that would lead to international outrage if practiced today. He never intended to make these countries his own but was there mainly to exploit the resources for the benefit of his homeland. Thus, his strategy was to first gain control over the market and people, impose his laws that would allow him to drain resources away, and finally change the lifestyle and culture of the peoples. The latter was their gift to the colonized: a Eurocentric education, judicial, bureaucratic and political systems. As a ‘mother country’ India too experienced this strategy of colonization herself.


Unlike the European colonizers, Indians went out of their country without any sort of backing of any of the Indian states. These ancient Indians often left their country to settle abroad, not to make fortune and run back to the motherland. It was diaspora in the truest sense. As a result, they ‘Indianized’ the local cultures first in order to make life more acceptable as outsiders. This led to penetration of the Indian civilization, culture, and languages in South East Asia. This took place so peacefully that the indigenous population never felt that their country had been taken over. They enriched the native populations by introducing the art of writing, high degree of culture, improved methods of cultivation, improved handicrafts and introduced new industries. These early waves of migrations laid the foundations for later control and dominion over these regions by Indian kings.

Cultural integration and societal disintegration as consequences
The mark that ancient Indians left on south and south-east Asia can be gauged by scratching the surface of these states. Behind edifices of western European culture reflected in the education, bureaucratic, and political systems, lies cultural and societal linkages to a much earlier epoch. The local peoples of these countries have adopted religions that emanated out of India – Buddhism and Hinduism and later Islam. Their cultural practices are rooted in ancient Indian customs. The wonders of Angkor Vat, the Hindus of Bali, and the temples of Borobodur mark more tangible evidences of this influence. Integrating into the culture, influencing lifestyles and ethnic practices weaved strands of Indian-ness into the islands and nations.

In direct strategic and tactical contrast, the British many centuries later, re-colonised south-east Asia. In Malay speaking countries - Malaysia, Thailand, Bali, Sumatra, and parts of Philippines, the British in the last century, brought about and oragnised migration along religious and racial lines. For instance, they took Tamil ‘coolies’ to build the railway systems, tall and powerful Sikhs as policemen, and the Chinese as administrators. They did not change the Malays' - the indigenous locals - way of life and they did not really bother the British, but their ethnic minority management was such that each group hated the other: the Tamils hated the Sikh cops who hated the Chinese who paid their wages. The consequence now is that the Chinese are very powerful businessmen; the Sikhs still are middle class while a large proportion of Tamils are working and under-class. Many of the Malays have in the meantime converted to Islam and Malaysia and Indonesia are now Islamic states.

Assimilators not Conquerors

It’s never the case that those who are rich and wealthy have any need to travel for survival needs. Millenia ago too, people tended to travel when traveling, unlike today, was dangerous, expensive and often fatal, especially overseas, for economic reasons. In fact people of Indus valley civilization were intrepid travelers, traveling by sea to ports in the gulf region, the oldest recorded date right back to the Mesopotamian times, around 2100 BC. They were traders and it is likely that those traveling into the south east Asia were traders too. While Sri Lanka and Myanmar are just over the horizon for Indian seafarers, negotiating tricky straits and storms to land in Java, Sumatra, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bali and the Philippines demonstrated their real test of skill and endurance over 2,500 years ago. Sailing west was relatively easy as the annual monsoon winds carried their sailboats from Kutch to the Gulf and then south to East Africa and a few months later, on their return journeys the trade winds, which had changed direction, would take them into lands beyond their motherland of Jambudvipa or India as it was known then.

Ancient Nomenclature
Many of the countries of South-East Asia with Indian names were colonised by sea-faring travelers from the south-eastern parts of India, namely Tamraparn or modern Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Kalinga or Orissa. The table below lists some of the ancient Indian names of countries in SE Asia. Some of these names can be found in the early Indian epic of Ramayana, where Sugriva, a monkey, is sent in search of Lady Sita in the forests of Yavadvipa, or Java. Two possibilities are relevant. Either these regions were populated by people of Indian origins for a very long time or these were inhabited much later, when the migrants replaced indigenous names with the names of places they had left behind. Something similar can be found in the practices of migrants throughout history as demonstrated by those who populated north America, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, where they used names of the original British towns and villages they came from. Thus New York must have been populated by those from York in north England, while Perth is likely to have been inhabited by people from the county of Perthshire in Scotland. Note the phonetic similarities in the ancient and modern names.

Ancient Indian names of Modern South-eastern states

Indian Name - South & S-E Asian countries

Jambudvipa - Bharatavarsasha or India
Dvipantar - India abroad or ‘beyond the seas’
Indradvipa - Myanmar, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
Nagadvipa - Thailand and parts of Malaysia
Soumya - Laos, Vietnam and parts of Thailand, also Soumya - Siam in recent past
Kamboj - Cambodia and parts of Vietnam
Malayadvipa - Malaysia
Balidvipa - Bali
Suvarnadvipa - Sumatra. Palembang was known as Srivijaya
Yavadvipa - Java
Varunadvipa - Borneo
Simhapura - Singapore
Hamasvati - Parts of south Bangladesh and Myanmar
Tamravarna - Sri Lanka
Individual vs State
The colonisation of south and south-east Asia by ancient Indians was not driven by the dual needs for power and subjugation. The driving force was one of exploration and commerce. But trading was not a fashionable occupation in ancient India, preoccupied with notions of purity and contamination. Manu, the Indian Adam, is documented in the scripture of ‘Manusmriti’ to describe trading as a "low" profession. He lumps them with arsonists, dancers, musicians and ordains that those that undertake voyages beyond the seas are 'mlechchhas' : the ritually impure, who should be ostracized socially.

As such many Indians or rather Jambudvipians were making one-way trips away from home. In line with the prevalent thinking in those times, the priestly Brahmin class looked down upon the traders, while the Kshatriya clans who were usually kings took no notice of this entrepreneurial zeal. This lack of organisational and military support for the intrepid traveller and settler from India, is probably the major driver behind the process of acculturation and assimilation that stands in direct contrast to other colonists this region has experienced since.

The woebegone Indian cop

Now I've nothing against cops in India. I have however major problems with the police big-wigs who manage the cops on the beat. The poor public image of the Indian policeman is due largely to the lack of traning, proper equipment, standard clothing during winter months, amenities promised in their job profiles but denied by their senior officers and most importantly, the manner in which their officers remain callous and indifferent to their requirments. Read on

The Maoist Menace in India

The Maoist problem in India has assumed gigantic proportions. Just yesterday 25 policemen were killed in broad daylight by armed Maoist guerillas in the eastern state of West Bengal, a hotbed of extreme-left wing activity. I recently wrote an article which created passions on both sides, which I'd like to share with you all. Do let me know what you think about this problem and express your views about my analysis - good, bad or ugly; all welcome.

Today is the 1st reunion of the batch of 1983 of St Michael's, Patna. I spent some years studying there as an adolescent and have many wonderful memories of that place. Here's a song I used to sing in those days, and still do. It has wonderful yodelling and a catchy and pacy melody that i love. it's all about a man trying to woo a woman using the 'chords' of his palpitations. Here goes

How can we 'get' the ultimate reality?

There are many ways to the truth but in essence three distinct types reveal it, in my view. One could approach the truth through the route of the intellect which is what physicists involved in studying the beginning of time and universe do - Einstein for example. Another route is the way of intuition where one has a direct experience of the truth through 'visions', 'contacts', etc - visonaries, sadhus, seers, etc. Finally,finding the truth through the route of the instinct is when one 'gets it' by doing something, those that live the truth of ultimate reality,perhaps Jesus, Buddha, Ramana Maharshi. The human brain, which is ultimately the reciever for whatever it is that is being 'recieved', has THREE distinct modes of gaining insight therefore: Intellect which is the preserve of those favouring objective reality - reality gauged through EXPERIMENTS that can be described, defined, and replicated to others through the use of formuale and theories. This is objective knowledge that is contained in books, sometimes in the form of theories (relativity theory) that cannot be observed, only described through mathematical deductive logic. Intuition which is the preserve of those faviouring subjective reality - reality that can be EXPERIENCED through rituals, processes, seances, channeling, etc. This is knowledge that is subjective and only 'shared' aspects with others allow people to accept its existence. This is the realm of global inductive logic and not the preserve of science but spirituality. Instinct which is the preserve of those favouring life and living - reality that is lived and breathed on a daily basis without the need for it to be described, debated and explained and used to persuade or pontificate to others. It is, it just is; the realm of the EXISTENCE. The knowledge is lived as the reality - Ramana Maharishi and people of that ilk belong to this group. They dont claim to be the ulitmate 'knowers' nor push and cajole others to follow their path. Their state of blissful existence can only be inferred by others by observing how that person exists as well as feeling it inside when in their presence. It is the state of what Sri Aurobindo called 'Sat-chit-anand': and refers to the triadic reality of existence- consciousness - bliss. It refers to that ultimate state of being where you are conscious of it and exist in bliss as a result of it. In terms of us it refers to live and let live, the wider the diversity, the better. Tolerate and be tolerated, for all this emerges from the one-truth. A lump of clay, a clay pot and a clay sculpture may appear different, serve different purposes and require different processes to come into existence, but clay they are. Similarly, we all appear and behave differently, but belong to the ultimate truth-existence we all do. If one has the ability to be in all three modes equally sophistically and easily, then that person would be the best exemplar of whatever that one means by the term ' exalted'. Usually one exists predominantly in one form or another and therefore certain things are left to the individual to infer and understand and exist. Have you got what is required to fathom this?

The Origin of Universe Verse from Rg Veda

From the Rg Veda, verse 10.129: There was no non-existent, adn there was no existent at that time There was neither mid-space nor Heaven beyond. What stirred? and whose control? Was there water? The abyss was deep. Neither death nor deathlessness was there then. There was no sign of night or day That One breathed without wind through its independent power. There was nothing other than it. Darkenss was there, hidden by more darkness in the beginning. A signless ocean was everything there. The potential that was hidden by emptiness -- that One was born by the power of heat. Desire evolved then, which was the first seed of thought. Searching in their hearts through inspired thoughts, Sages found the connection of the existent in the non-existent. Their cord was stretched cross-wise. Was there something above? Something below? Were there powers of insemination and powers of expansion? Was independence below, offering above? Or was it? Who really knows? Who shall here proclaim it - whence things came to be, whence this creation. Even the Gods are on this side, along with the creation of this world. So then who does know whence it came to be? But he who is its overseer in the highest heaven He surely knows? Or if he does not know..? END Such a soulful and poignant description of the creation of this universe, I have not read. And the similarity is striking for me.