Nargis, the not so sweet smelling flower …


The word ‘Nargis’ should call your mind to the word ‘Flower’ (the sweet smelling Daffodil) …especially if you are a North Indian…or even a Pakistani or Bangladeshi for that matter!!

But in today’s world it’s a synonym for the unparalleled destructiveness of Mother Nature! The Cyclone (Nickname ‘Nargis’) hit the Irrawadi Delta in the Myanmar last week, with devastating consequences. While people of Myanmar (Formerly known as ‘Burma’) is still trying to come to terms with the ruins of smooth sounding ‘Nargis’, the military junta in Myanmar (led by a freak named (Gen) Than Shwe) and the world at large, including our own India, is maintaining a low profile. The military Junta simply refuses to acknowledge the damages caused to its people and is more concerned about the ‘fake referendum’ which seeks to legitimize its rule over its citizens, in other parts of Myanmar. They have even refused to accept the aid from reputed Human Rights organizations including the Red Cross, Medicines Sans Frontiers and UN World Food Program, under the ill-willed excuse that they have enough food for carrying out the relief operations on their own.

The elusive, but oppressive military junta in Myanmar, which shows no respect for its own populace, is one of the most dangerous, gluttonous and sadistic government establishments in today’s world!! The worst part of it all is that none of her neighbours are even showing the courage to force General Than Shwe and his men from accepting the international aid that is trying its’ best to pour in. This is perhaps under the assumption of the respective countries, that any sort of intervention in Myanmar sets a precedent for outside meddling over their own shortcomings.

In any case, this is an unprecedented obstruction of humanitarian aid in modern humanitarian relief efforts. We as neighbors of Myanmar (the country which was part of the erstwhile British Raj of India and a country of people whom we used to call as our brothers and sisters) have not even have had the galls to send in a stern warning to the regime to accept the humanitarian aids (The rice we sent as humanitarian aid to Myanmar is being used as ‘Sand bags’ for the Burmese military) . If a country like India, which seems rather proud to proclaim itself as the ‘Super Power’ of the future, has to have any respect in the eyes of the world, it needs to pro-actively take some steps to counter the megalomaniac military leadership in Myanmar.

So the Government of India, please wake up and take up your well deserved place in the geopolitical arena if you actually aspire to be a superpower in future and pressurize the Burmese junta to accept relief materials urgently and prevent further escalation of human tragedy and misery in Burma