With the rise of ISIS , it's again the Jews who are the highest risk group in the world. Pleasure to share an article by the founder Director of IIPM, Dr. Malay Chaudhuri, wherein he shows how India can support the community - by offering them a safe abode - as India’s Civilizational Role in the midst of global war mongering!
To Israel, with Love
-Dr. Malay Chaudhuri
My best friend in High School days in Rajshahi, where I spent my childhood, was Haider Kabir. In Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, my closest friend was Hossainoor Rehman and the man whom I used to admire most was Motin Zuberi. He was from UP, and later went on to become a professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University. In my days in Berlin School of Economics (Hochschule fuer Oeknomie, Berlin – Karlshorst) all the other members of my small seminar group (nine in all including me) were from Arabian lands – five of them were from Syria and one was from Lebanon and two were from Jordan. It also so happened that I opted for Urdu (on suggestion from my father) in class VII, unlike most other Hindu boys of my class – who opted for Sanskrit. When I was studying MA in Calcutta University, I was a student of Islamic History. It is therefore, quite natural that I feel the pain intensely at Arabs being bombarded day in and day out by USA and its allies often killing innocent civilians. I do realize the dangers of barbarism being spread by groups like the ISIS and I feel immense pain at the deaths they caused in Paris. Yet I share the joy of Syrian commoners, who find a shelter with dignity in Germany, my second homeland, where I studied seven long years (1958 - 1965) and again during 1969 – 70, when I wrote my D Sc. Thesis. During 1965 – 69, I often visited Germany.
I feel proud that I was fortunate enough to study National Economic Planning and Management (Plannung and Leitung der Volkswirtschaft) in East Germany. I arrived in East Germany (German Democratic Republic – Deustsche Demokratische Republik, D.D.R.) in January 1958 with a scholarship from Calcutta University, to study Indology. Within one month of my arrival, Neues Deutschland carried an announcement that prices of many consumer items like overcoat, shoes were drastically reduced (e.g.: from 700 DM to 300 DM for an Overcoat and from 300 DM to 100 DM for a pair of winter shoes). As I arrived in Germany in winter I urgently needed an overcoat and a pair of winter shoes and was quite happy to buy these items. Simultaneously, wages of a few groups of ordinary workers were increased. I knew from whatever knowledge I acquired in Economics as my pass subject during graduation with Honours in History, that whenever wages increase – prices of consumer goods also increase. Here was just an opposite phenomenon! I was told this was possible because of successful implementation of National Economic Planning. I thought I could study this wonderful and practical subject and not Indology – which I could always study later even in India. I wrote Prof. P C Mahalanobis, one of world’s most renowned statisticians and member of Planning Commission, who founded Indian Statistical Institute, seeking his guidance and possibility of finding a job in India on my return. He was kind and considerate to encourage me to study the subject without much worrying about finding a job. So I changed my subject of study and joined Berlin School of Economics in East Berlin.
Some of my friends from Syria were young army officers and were sent to East Germany to study and undertake research in Economics. One of them Dr. Murad later became Minister for Economic Affairs. I learnt about it from Economist. I also came to know that Dr. Rajjai became Minister for Statistics. Dr. Hilmi, whom I met in Delhi (He came to attend UNCTAD conference) became Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade. Dr. Kassem, I learnt became Vice Chancellor of UN University in Baghdad. Dr. Akil became a very high official of Syrian Planning Commission.
I do not know where they are now and if they are alive. I wish them well and they must be around 85 years and more now, since they were quite senior to me in age. I shudder at the thought that they are running to save themselves and their grand children from bombs coming down over their heads. So, I share their intense pain and helplessness with a belief that they were good men. My background and my past association with my friends, majority of them were Muslims during all stages of my life, make me think deeply about human solution of their problems.
Around one-third of Syrian population has now become refugees; most of them have crossed borders of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Around 5% to 10% are trying to take shelter in Germany. Germans – who were once condemned as Fascists and responsible for holocaust of 6 million Jews, most of whom were killed in gas chambers scattered around Germany, are now proving themselves as most humane and civilised in their generosity and allowing Syrians to settle down in German Soil with dignity. No wonder that the Chancellor of Germany, Honourable Frau Merkel has now become a serious candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize next year.
Though I don't see the German help as the ultimate solution. The ultimate solution will lie in a massive reconstruction of lands of Arabs, wiping out all traces of war, simultaneously followed by a massive education programme so that all that is human in Islam prevail over all that has no relevance in today’s world. Costs of reconstruction and reoriented human education will not exceed even 10 % of the cost of war. Migration of Arabs to Europe and USA will hopefully make politicians of these countries realise this. I have every reason to hope just as Germany has undergone a thorough transformation from Hitler’s Fascism to Merkel’s humanism, Arabs will also be counted among the best humans. With economic prosperity, humanism will flourish. Modern technology will ensure sustainable prosperity for all and humanism will prevail all around the world.
Having said that I also realize till such a situation arises it's not really the Europeans who are the biggest threat group in this entire war mongering. The biggest threat group are the Jews. Historically, Israel should have been curved out of a part of Germany and Poland, but Israel was curved out of Palestinian land to “divide and rule” – a known imperialist game – thus sowing the seeds of eternal enmity between Jews and Arabs.
Even before nuclear understanding with Iran has been approved by US Congress, the top Iranian religious head has pronounced that Israel will not exist even 25 years from now. In every war with the Islamic extremists we inch closet to a sudden wiping out of Israel and the Jews. My heart also goes out for them. For their economic prosperity, closed knit ways of living and staunch religious beliefs they have been harmed enough in the past and I would shudder at the thought of a newer harm to them. Having seen them also from close quarters I can vouch that Jews are the most hardworking, talented and innovative people. At one time it used to seem that at least 60% of Nobel prizes in science used to come to Germans and amongst that a similar percentage to German Jews. I believe while the war and reconstruction process goes on, this community of hard working people need a plan.
To my mind, the whole process can be accelerated if India plays its role in the noblest tradition of accommodating all kinds of races with differing religious beliefs. Just in the same way as India had given shelter to Parsis and recently Bahais. India can now invite Jews to settle down in Indian soil, if they so choose over a period of next 25 years or more.
Let us invite Jews of Israel and offer them land to migrate to India, say in Odisha a land parcel equal to the present size of Israel (around 21,000 sq km), ie hardly one seventh of Odisha (around 1,56,000 sq km). Odisha has enormous landmass without huge population density of the kind prevailing elsewhere in India. Let the Jews from Israel come over to India and live here peacefully for ever like Parsis and Bahais. They will in fact also transform not only Odisha but whole of India and contribute to mutual prosperity.
Jews in turn may be willingly asked to offer a reasonable market price for the land in full or equated annual instalment in next 25 years at internationally accepted rate of interest around (2 % - 5%). Odisha, in turn, will not only become prosperous (with scope of earning around $1.5 to $6 trillion), people of Odisha may also find new avenues of employment.
I know a lot of what I write can be written off as utopia. But I believe in dreams of global peace. Our PM is visiting all countries and planning all sorts of bilateral deals. One visit to Israel with the above agenda, however utopian, will bring more respect to India and you never know, change the course of history.
Let the holy city of Jerusalem be under UNO, where people from all religions – be it Jews, Christians or Muslims have free access and let the Al-Aqsa Mosque become a symbol of peace and humanised transformation of all religious beliefs. Let peace prevail and India once more contribute to civilizational transformation of mankind.
Know more about Arindam or get in touch with him: https://youtube.com/c/DrArindamChaudhuri www.Instagram.com/dr.ArindamChaudhuri https://m.imdb.com/name/nm1374768/ https://www.ft.com/content/57cb97bc-f3db-11da-9dab-0000779e2340?segmentid=acee4131-99c2-09d3-a635-873e61754ec6 https://elitedelhimagazine.wordpress.com/2018/10/21/the-mega-disruptor-and-godfather-of-private-education-in-india/ https://www.abillionleaders.com/media-feedback.html https://m.businesstoday.in/story/best-b-schools-iipm-arindam-chaudhuri/1/188870.html https://Facebook.com/dr.ArindamChaudhuri https://www.arindamchaudhuri.com/ https://www.abillionleaders.com/
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