Monday 16 November 2015

Gen. V.K. Singh, Laxmanji, and Lord Nelson


General V.K. Singh says that the intolerance debate in India is the 'creation of imaginative minds.

 In other words, intolerance does not exist in India.

 This reminds one of the Balkand of the Ramcharitmanas, where Parshuram tells Raja Janak to remove the impertinent Laxman from his sight, else he will kill Laxman. At which Laxmanji says :
" मूदें आँख कतहुँ कोउ नाहीं " ( i.e. shut your eyes, and there will be nobody ).

 This is also known as ' turning a Nelson's eye ' or deliberately ignoring a problem; or pretending the problem does not exist, attributed to the British Admiral Lord Nelson's putting his blind eye on a telescope at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 and saying that he does not see the enemy anywhere.

Gen. Singh was the commander in chief of the Indian army, so he is certainly entitled to follow in the footsteps of another commander in chief.

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