The pen, mightier than the sword…Really?

The  

sword  

and  

all  

its  

mutations  

are  

armaments  

designed  

to  

instil  

fear,  

terror,  

injury  

and  

-  

far  

too  

often  

-  

cause  

death.  

But  

did

mankind  

have  

a  

time  

when  

wars  

were  

fought  

with  

writing  

instruments?  

Or  

was  

there  

a  

time  

when  

there  

were  

no  

wars  

at  

all?

Though  

I  

am  

convinced  

that  

the  

second  

question  

has  

a  

better  

chance  

of  

being  

possible,  

how  

did  

we  

fall  

from  

that  

warless  

time  

into

this time of unceasing war? And can we get back to that warless time?

Throughout  

history,  

mankind  

has  

done  

things  

to  

each  

other  

that  

can  

only  

be

described  

as  

atrocious,  

oppressive,  

criminal  

and  

brutal.  

Opressors  

intentionally

and  

forcefully  

imposed  

their  

own  

culture,  

language,  

religion  

and  

civic  

order  

on

the   

oppressed,   

opressors   

have   

altered   

and   

eradicated   

many   

civilizations,

cultures  

and  

peoples.  

Then  

wrote  

history  

as  

they  

wanted  

it  

written,  

made  

up

tales  

of  

their  

own  

greatness,  

of  

how  

they  

freed  

a  

certain  

land  

of  

a  

tyrant  

or  

a

devil  

or  

brought  

them  

education,  

language  

and  

salvation.  

This  

counterfeited  

 

history  

is  

taught  

in  

schools  

and  

the  

atrocious  

events  

are  

justified,  

glorified  

and

made  

necessary  

for  

our  

salvation.  

A  

new  

culture,  

language,  

religion  

and  

civic

order  

is  

made  

prevalent,  

and  

the  

murderous  

opressor  

is  

honoured,  

respected

and  

revered.  

We  

need  

to  

accept  

and  

keep  

in  

mind  

that  

the  

history  

we  

were

taught  

is  

NOT  

the  

absolute  

truth.  

We  

can  

do  

this  

only  

if  

we  

realize  

that  

history

is written by the victor and not the vanquished.

Lets  

walk  

back  

in  

time  

to  

see  

what  

lessons  

we  

can  

pick  

up  

along  

the  

way.  

The

land   

of   

my   

birth   

was   

existing   

for   

centuries,   

people   

were   

communicating,

travelling,  

cultivating  

and  

doing  

what  

a  

civilization  

does  

to  

live  

and  

prosper.  

They  

traded  

and  

trade  

grew  

to  

other  

civilizations.  

Then

someone  

formed  

an  

army  

with  

weapons  

of  

destruction  

with  

an  

intention  

to  

"conquer  

the  

world".  

He  

caused  

harm,  

suffering,  

pain

and  

death  

to  

innocent  

people  

along  

his  

path.  

Where  

was  

he  

heading?  

.....  

to  

the  

source  

of  

the  

riches  

that  

he  

enjoyed  

through  

trade.

The  

path  

he  

marched  

to  

‘conquer  

the  

world’  

was  

laden  

with  

destruction  

and  

human  

pain,  

but  

history  

gave  

him  

the  

title  

of:

Alexander  

the  

great!  

My  

god!  

He  

and  

his  

army  

tortured  

and  

killed  

innocent  

people  

for  

years  

with  

one  

goal  

in  

mind  

-  

that  

of

alexander  

-  

conquer  

the  

world.  

  

I  

wonder  

if  

those  

he  

tortured  

would  

confer  

on  

him  

the  

title  

of  

'great'?  

Chint  

ixtta..........history  

is

written by the victor and not the vanquished.

After  

many  

repeats  

of  

this  

incident  

by  

other  

history-proclaimed  

'Greats'  

a  

group  

of  

portuguese  

‘conquistadors'  

or  

conquerors  

arrived

in  

a  

little  

sleepy  

coastal  

part  

of  

the  

Konkan  

now  

called  

Goa.  

Welcomed  

by  

the  

locals  

with  

the  

words  

"hea  

gauant  

tumcho  

ieukar  

asa"

(to  

this  

land  

we  

welcome  

you),  

they  

started  

trading  

through  

the  

natural  

harbour  

located  

in  

present  

day  

Marmagao.  

Then  

a

missionary  

catholic  

priest  

posted  

in  

Goa  

wrote  

to  

the  

king  

of  

portugal  

and  

requested  

an  

inquisition  

be  

imposed  

on  

the  

"black  

devils"

who  

worship  

“strange  

images”,  

and  

speak  

an  

“unknown  

language.”  

There  

is  

no  

need  

to  

discuss  

what  

was  

worshiped  

and  

spoken,  

as

that  

is  

not  

the  

issue  

here.  

What  

my  

ancestors  

did  

in  

the  

privacy  

of  

their  

land  

and  

in  

their  

homes  

is  

nobody’s  

concern  

especilly  

not  

of

a  

guest!  

Should’nt  

we  

all  

have  

a  

right  

to  

freedom  

of  

religion,  

speech,  

profession  

and  

privacy.  

Then  

why  

were  

my  

ancestors  

termed

devils? History is written by the victor and not the vanquished.

Of  

course  

religious  

heads  

and  

others  

argue  

that  

the  

missionaries  

were  

civilizing,  

educating  

and  

bringing  

the  

good  

news  

of  

Jesus

Christ  

to  

my  

ancestors.  

STOP:  

first  

of  

all  

Jesus  

Christ  

is  

not  

his  

name,  

his  

name  

was  

Yeshua  

bar  

Yussuf,  

and  

yes,  

he  

did  

instruct  

to

spread  

the  

good  

news  

and  

also  

very  

specifically  

instructed  

his  

friends  

NOT  

to  

take  

any  

provisions  

with  

them,  

and  

that,  

if  

not

welcomed,  

they  

should  

dust  

their  

feet  

and  

walk  

away.  

Did  

he  

say  

torture  

and  

kill  

those  

that  

you  

spread  

the  

good  

news  

to?  

Yet,  

this

missionary,  

headed  

conversion  

efforts  

with  

the  

protection  

of  

portuguese  

armies,  

and  

requested  

the  

Goa  

Inquisition  

-  

one  

of  

the

longest  

inquisitions  

in  

history  

-  

causing  

  

inhuman  

imprisonment,  

torture  

and  

deaths  

of  

innumerable  

helpless  

goan  

hosts  

to  

this  

man

and  

his  

clan.  

To  

add  

insult  

to  

injury,  

what  

does  

history  

do?  

He  

gets  

revered  

and  

named  

"Goencho  

sahib"  

(lord  

of  

Goa)  

Chint

ixtta..........history is written by the victor and not the vanquished.

Not  

long  

after,  

and  

not  

to  

be  

out  

done  

by  

portuguese,  

french  

or  

dutch,  

and  

also  

that  

they  

do  

not  

miss  

out  

on  

the  

profits,  

england

sent  

a  

trading  

company  

to  

set  

up  

shop  

in  

this  

land.  

They  

called  

it  

the  

East  

India  

Company.  

They  

said  

they  

just  

want  

to  

trade  

in  

spices  

-

mostly  

pepper,  

but  

slowly  

they  

caused  

economic  

and  

political  

jealousies,  

took  

over  

kingdoms  

and  

princely  

states,  

caused  

states  

to

war  

with  

each  

other  

and  

then......this  

trading  

company  

evolved  

into  

the  

biggest  

war  

machine  

in  

history.  

In  

one  

instance,  

war  

was

waged  

on  

a  

prince  

in  

south  

India.  

There  

is  

a  

balance  

sheet  

of  

this  

war  

in  

the  

London  

library  

that  

inventories  

all  

that  

was  

used  

in  

this

war.  

Cannons.  

rifles,  

bullets,  

cannon-balls  

men  

etc.  

The  

profit

  

made  

from  

this  

war  

is  

shown  

in  

this  

balance  

sheet.  

Even  

though  

the

profit  

made  

is  

enough  

to  

make  

my  

jaw  

fall  

to  

the  

floor,  

I  

do  

not  

consider  

it  

as  

important  

as  

what  

we  

need  

to  

know.  

There  

was  

a

switch  

from  

peaceful  

economic  

trade  

to  

violent  

and  

forceful  

plunder  

for  

the  

"benefits  

of  

war".  

Who  

benefited  

from  

it?  

Chint

ixtta..........history is written by the victor and neot the vanquished.

A  

recent  

TV  

advertisement  

ended  

with  

the  

statement..  

"sometimes  

what  

history  

tells  

you  

is  

not  

the  

truth".  

What!  

we  

studied  

history

in school and worked so hard at it. How can we digest the fact that what history tells us may not be the truth?

History is written by the victor and not the vanquished! Will the victor write a tale speaking of the atrocities they have committed?.

It  

is  

time  

the  

vanquished  

heal  

themselves,  

gain  

strength,  

rebuild  

our  

dreams  

and  

live  

as  

per  

the  

thought  

of  

God  

-  

we  

owe  

this  

to  

our

Creator. Chint ixtta (think friend)

Shanti:  

A  

Sanskrit  

word  

to  

describe  

a  

state  

of  

being  

in  

the  

knowledge  

and  

understanding  

that  

keeps  

the

soul in peace, rest, calmness, tranquility and bliss even when storms and turbulences appear.

Peace  

I  

leave  

with  

you,  

my  

peace  

I  

give  

unto  

you:  

not  

as  

the  

world  

giveth,  

give  

I  

unto  

you.  

Let  

not  

your

heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. - John 14:27