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A sensational news has been broadcast all around that is salacious in the extreme. The aim is simple to try and malign the image of Donald Trump as being unworthy to hold the chair of the president of the United States. This is what we can say the final salvo to discredit the incoming president after earlier attempts to besmirch him with his comments on women years ago failed.  At that time it was announced that Donald had made some disparaging remarks against women and show his macho image.  The 4th estate and men of standing who were averse to a Donald presidency went hammer and tongs after him. Even Hillary stepped in and used the words "despicable" for the crowds attending Donald's meetings.

All this did not stop Donald who won the electoral college and the seat of the US president. The sad part is that even men of letters and members of the GOP joined the Democratic candidate Hillary to try and ensure the defeat of Trump. Yet, Donald won and then began a systematic campaign to malign him. The aim was simple, to discredit the victory of Trump and show the world that the man won the election with the help of an external power. They hatched the cyber attack by Russia in favor of Trump. The Intelligence agencies having their own ax to grind joined in and secretly leaked the report. But again Donald remained unscathed and the man mounted an attack head on the Intelligence agencies like the CIA and FBI.

Now another lurid detail has emerged. It is alleged that Donald on a visit to Moscow for a Miss world contest asked for a couple of Russian girls to do an act before him which included urinating on each other. The press opposed to Donald coined the word " Golden Showers". The event may or may not have taken place, but the fact remains there is no proof and the entire report is unsubstantiated. Yet the mainstream US media latched on it and began to broadcast it. Donald Trump has called the incident fake. he may be correct because in case there was any truth this report would have been made public before the counting day. Now the only aim seems to be to malign Trump.

The Russian president has come out in support of Donald Trump. he has rightly pointed out that the Russian intelligence has no such news or information. He has also added that it does look unreasonable that a man who had access to the most beautiful women would do this. He contended that Russian girls are the most beautiful in the world but the act of urinating or indulging in Golden showers in front of Donald may not be true.

One can say this was like David the last sling to down Donald ( Goliath) and it will probably die a natural death.  But it will also give fodder to the tabloid newspapers that publish salacious news item to investigate this further. Yes, they could come out with "proof" but one can be sure that it could be manufactured one.  Even if the event was true it is no reflection on the capability of the man himself who like Samson has shaken the foundations of the US democracy and slanted thoughts.

Donald Trump is a phenomenon and one will perhaps see results in the months to come. Donald is a showman and will be the 45th president of America. Sadly it is a divided America and the world will never be the same. In the meantime thennews of Golden showers is good news away from mundane speeches and news in the political arena. The world is an interesting place and so is politics.

The world is a dynamic place and nothing is static. Nations produce leaders who make their countries great and some do not have the vision and let their countries down. A classic example is China and India in Asia. The 19th and 20th century saw a see-saw between the two for a prominent position in Asia and as things stand the Chinese dragon is breathing fire all around while the Indian elephant scurries to find a place for itself.

Background

At the turn of the century, the omnipotent power in Asia was the British. They were astute and had de-fanged the dragon. By virtue of they ruling India, the country was much ahead of China. It was a safe period with Tibet a classic buffer state between India and China.  Industry began to thrive in India and the British set up a network of rail and roads that was unrivaled in the world. Jamshedji was allowed to set up the first steel plant outside of Japan and an aircraft factory was operational in Bangalore. China at that time was involved in internal strife as warlords with massive private armies ruled and battled each other. There were near anarchy and no industry worth the name existed. There was also another two players in China namely the Kuomintang and Communist party who battled it out with each other.In contrast, India was peaceful and making progress.

Shifting Fulcrum

Towards the middle of the last century, the fulcrum began to shift towards China. The communists under Mao Tse Tung won a decisive victory and General Chiang Kai Shek fled to Formosa. At that time in 1948, even a bycycle was manufactured in China and agriculture management was primitive. In India, a steel plant was functional and cars and airplanes were being made.There was no comparison with China as the rupee had near parity with the British pound. The Chinese currency was worthless. 

India also inherited all the rights of the Imperial British power. Tibet was a buffer state and the Indian army was allowed to station troops at strategic places in Tibet. Logically India, under Nehru, should have built on this platform, but within a decade China stole a march over India.The Chinese communists under Mao had one track vision to undo the wrongs of history and make China a great power. In contrast, this strategic vision was lacking in the Indian leadership led by Nehru and his successors. Almost all the rights the British had so meticulously built up in Tibet were given up. The right to maintain troops in Tibet was squandered and Nehru fearing a military coup decided to give the military the lowest priority.

Chinese supremacy

China attacked Tibet and occupied it and Nehru just sat and watched. This was the turning point in Asia and established China as the major power. A short border war in 1962 followed with a decisive Chinese victory and all at once India was reduced to a fifth rate power. All the gains of the British built up over 100 years were squandered as the Chinese began a massive military buildup. China also started a massive military-industrial base while Nehru wasted time in trying to be a "great non-aligned leader".

Rise of China

Within another 5 decades, the Chinese following Mao's Red Book encircled India, occupied vast tracts of Indian land and claimed the entire north East state of NEFA (now Arunachal Pradesh) as part of China. China concentrated hard and followed a system of reverse engineering that saw it catch up with the west. They took a head start as a nuclear power and in contrast the Indian president Dr. Rajendra Prasad talked of disbanding the army and getting all duties to be done by a police force. One cannot think of anything more ludicrous than this. Successive Indian prime ministers like Morarji Desai failed to understand the geopolitical power and let India slide down. Now China is supporting a hostile Pakistan and has weaned away Nepal and Lanka from Indian influence. The Chinese are surrounding India and their military-industrial base is 2 decades ahead of India. Considering that in 1948, China's industry was primitive this is a tremendous achievement. They are now the dominant power in Asia while India looks for ways and means to assert itself. Things won't be easy and the Chinese may well have the last laugh in this scenario.

The GOP  is as good as over with the acceptance of Donald as the Republican candidate to face Hillary Clinton.It was not a smooth convention as there was a lot of acrimonies. Many, particularly from the old guard led by Mitt Romney are miffed at the success of Donald Trump. This man was not given half a chance a year back to bag the nomination and yet he has triumphed heads on. Donald was like a boxer fighting a ring battle with the referees biased against him. But he knocked out his opponents and the referees were sidelined. 

Rise of Trump

The rise of Donald Trump is a grave blow to the ego of the older republicans and their supporters. Even now the opponents of Donald in the run up to the nomination have refused to endorse their opponent though they had been soundly defeated. Thus Ted Cruz and John Kasich have avoided endorsing Donald, in addition, many in the old guard have instigated agitations and sit-ins against Trump. One reason for this is that in case Donald wins at the hustings, these men would all be sitting outside the dining hall and only eating porridge. Donald is a strong man and not a candidate of the  establishment.  This has hurt the ego of the senior Republicans  and it will not be a surprise if they support the opponent of Donald Trump, the democrat candidate Hillary Clinton to undermine a Donald victory.

All sorts of protests are being made against Donald. In one case 100 women stripped down and protested against the nomination of Trump.  But the opponents forgot got one point and that is that Donald commanded grassroots support among the Republicans and that is what propelled him forward. Donald himself gave an excellent analogy of his victory. He said he was like a boxer fighting in hostile territory  and the only way he could win was by a knockout, which he did. 

Coming election

What about the election? at the start, many of the Gallup polls gave an advantage of 12 points to Hillary over Donald. But despite the massive lead., it has slowly been whittled down and Donald is almost abreast of Hillary. Many Americans like the views of Donald. Some of them are indeed those that affect an average American. He has talked of Islam as an opponent and suggested ways to crush Islamic terrorism by hitting the ISIS leadership at their bases. He has announced that he would declare war on ISIS. He has announced that he would stop migration from  Mexico by building a wall. It may be an impractical suggestion, but it appeals to the American people. He has also announced that he would counter China and that again is a move that appeals to the common man, who feels that China is a threat.

Many Americans used to a policy that was something like appeasement as personified by Obama  are happy with such opinions of Donald. He sometimes talks off the cuff and that shows that perhaps he will have to be more measured when and if he becomes the President. The Muslim world will not be happy at the rise of Donald and his victory at the hustings may well be a landmark in world history and hasten the Armageddon- the last battle between good and evil. The definition of good and evil is relative as to which side you are on. Hillary is the status quo candidate and to my mind, she will bring in only stagnation, both politically and economically.

Last word

Donald has got the nomination, now it is between him and Hillary. The lady has the advantage as she has a united democrat party behind her with the solid support of Obama who would like Hillary to carry on with his legacy. On the other hand, Donald has a splintered GOP behind him and many would like to cut his roots. But the acid test is the American people and they will decide. But again the American election system is in a way rigged as a candidate with a greater majority of votes may not win. This is because of the peculiar system of having elections by the electoral college. Thus in a particular state in case  a candidate wins he bags ALL the electoral votes. One has now to await the elections in November to see who wins the greater number of electoral votes.

 Introduction:  

Bal Gangadhar Tilak, one of the earliest leaders of independence movement, gave the slogan  ‘Freedom is my birth right’ .He along with two other leaders  Bipin Chand Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai  formed the trio  popularly known as Bal, Pal and Lal. The British called him “ Father of Indian unrest”. . 

Early life and career

He was born on  23rd July 1956 in Ratnagiri (Maharashtra). Tilak graduated in first class in the year 1877 and passed law in 1879.. He started his career as a teacher. He taught mathematics. He was also a journalist. He mixed religion with politics.  According to him: "Religion and practical life are not different. To take Sanyasa (renunciation) is not to abandon life. The real spirit is to make the country your family work together instead of working only for your own. The step beyond is to serve humanity and the next step is to serve God."  He organized the Deccan Education Society His emphasis was on  nationalist ideas and Indian culture. . 

Political role 

He was a leading Freedom fighter before Mahatama Gandhi appeared on the national horizon. His contemporary Bal Krishna was a moderate leader  He was considered radical. He was  imprisoned on  numerous occasions. The experience in Mandalay Jail  considerably moderated him. . This moderation and softening of stand led to joining Jinnah and Annie Besant along with whom he formed Home Tule League. He joined Indian National Congress in 1890

Irrational opposition to even reforms  

His radicalism and blind opposition to British administration often resulted in very ridiculous position. He would oppose British even when he agreed with their motive. He did not favour the 1891  Age of Consent Bill that he dubbed as interference with Hinduism  The age of marriage of a girl was  raised from 10 to 12 years. Tilak would not support the British government even in a laudable reform like raising age of girl’s marriage. Again he did not like strict measures by British government to deal with the wide spread plague. Tilak opposed even the measures taken for public benefit. He wrote inflammatory articles in Kesari.  He quoted Bhagwad Gita to justify killing of oppressor. In the backdrop of murder of some British officers, Tilak was charged with incitement to murder and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. The imprisonment raised his image as a martyr and a national hero. He adopted a new slogan ‘Swaraj’ (self rule) is my birthright and I shall have it."

Social, literary and religious contribution 

Tilak said, "I regard India as my Motherland and my Goddess, the people in India are my kith and kin, and loyal and steadfast work for their political and social emancipation is my highest religion and duty".   He is also known for his book “Gita Rahasya’ that he wrote in Mandalay prison. 

He ran two weeklies- Kesari in Marathi and Mahratta in English. His editorial contributions gave him recognition as 'awakener of India'. The weekly Kesari later became a daily and continues even today. His another contribution is .Ganesh worship as a grand event. Even now Ganesh Puja (worship) is celebrated every tear. He would use such events for patronizing swadeshi movement, glorifying Hindu/ national culture and raising political issues. He also founded ‘Shri Shivaji Fund Committee for celebrating ‘Shiva jayanti’. His deliberate act of mixing independence  movement with religion also caused Hindi Muslim differences.  His reverence for Shivaji has been taken up by Hindu political organization Shiva Sena.

Conclusion 

To conclude, role or Tilak in awakening the nation against foreign rule can hardly be over stated.  In fact, the credit for complete independence movement largely goes to him. The earlier leaders were content with getting more autonomy and better conditions for Indian officers and employees under British government. They would be satisfied with just dominion status. His slogan- Freedom is my birth right- brought a sea change in Indian independence movement. However, mixing freedom movement with religion had some side effects. The non Hindu nationals of India were skeptical of the movement.  The activities like Ganesh Pooja and Shivaji jayanti alienated the minorities and thus to some extent weakened national unity so essential for genuine freedom movement. In this connection, we may contrast Tilak with Bhagat Singh and Subhash Chandra Bose. The revolutionary movement of Bhagat Singh and the overseas military operation by Subhash Chandra Bose were genuinely secular without any communal or religious colour.