Of Greeks and Persians.

It's quite remarkable how your personal perceptions of any one individual can colour your views about an entire race or ethnicity. (I say that without qualification, because life is too short to delve into statistics that will disprove this sterotype - and right now, I don't care for any politically correct insights). In the past few days I've had business dealings with 4 individuals - 2 Greeks and 2 Iranians, none of whom knew each other. Without going into specific details, both Greeks tried to either renege on the deal or short change me, whilst the Iranians were willing to go the extra mile and put their personal credibility on the line...after all, personal trust still forms the basis for the wheels of commerce to flow smoothly.

I will never look at Western pro-Hellenic accounts of ancient Greek-Persian conflicts in the same light again...the phrase "beware of Greeks bearing gifts" has never sounded so true. The only Greeks I want to meet now are those who are either serving me in a restaurant or who are located on the other side of the TV screen....

...and I wish Iran all the best for World Cup 2006. :)

ps. just in case you were wondering - no, I'm ain't no drug dealer. ;)

Udham Singh

Asian Dub Foundation
Song: Assassin (a tribute to Udham Singh)
Album: Rafi's Revenge (1998)

Mohammed Singh Azad
Zindabad

No apologies
Not a shot in the dark
This is a warning
The Sleeping tiger awakes each and every morning
The time is now right to burst the imperial bubble
My act of revenge is just a part of the struggle.

A bullet to his head won't bring back the dead
But it'll lift the spirit of my people!
We'll keep on fighting
We've been a nation abused
Your stiff upper lip will bleed
And your pride will be bruised.

No apologies
Not a shot in the dark
This is a warning
The Sleeping tiger awakes each and every morning.

We'll keep on fighting
We've been a nation abused
Your stiff upper lip will bleed
And your pride will be bruised
The time is now right to burst the imperial bubble
And my act of revenge is just a part of the struggle.

Synchronise time
Vengeance will be mine
As I cross the curzon line into his mind
I will burn the trophies he owns
Symbols of a future postponed.

Mohammed Singh Azad
Zindabad!

A bullet to his head won't bring back the dead
But it'll lift the spirit of my people!
A bullet to his head won't bring back the dead
But it'll lift the spirit of my people!
I'll shake hands with the hangman
I'll wear the noose with pride
For unlike the British I've no crimes to justify
Pentonville will be my last place on earth
And death will return me to the land of my birth.

**************************************

On the 31st July, 1940, Udham Singh was hanged at Pentonville jail, London. On the 4th of June in the same year he had been arraigned before Mr. Justice Atkinson at the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey. Udham Singh was charged with the murder of Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the former Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab who had approved of the action of Brigadier-General R.E.H. Dyer at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar on April 13, 1919, which had resulted in the massacre of hundreds of men, women and children and left over 1,000 wounded during the course of a peaceful political meeting. The assassination of O'Dwyer took place at the Caxton Hall, Westminster. The trial of Udham Singh lasted for two days, he was found guilty and was given the death sentence. On the 15th July, 1940, the Court of Criminal Appeal heard and dismissed the appeal of Udham Singh against the death sentence.

Prior to passing the sentence Mr. Justice Atkinson asked Udham Singh whether he had anything to say. Replying in the affirmative he began to read from prepared notes. The judge repeatedly interrupted Udham Singh and ordered the press not to report the statement. Both in Britain and India the government made strenuous efforts to ensure that the minimum publicity was given to the trial. Reuters were approached for this purpose.

Shorthand notes of the Statement made by Udham Singh after the Judge had asked him if he had anything to say as to why sentence should not be passed upon him according to Law:
Facing the Judge, he exclaimed, 'I say down with British Imperialism. You say India do not have peace. We have only slavery. Generations of so called civilization has brought for us everything filthy and degenerating known to the human race. All you have to do is read your own history. If you have any human decency about you, you should die with shame. The brutality and bloodthirsty way in which the so called intellectuals who call themselves rulers of civilization in the world are of bastard blood...'

MR. JUSTICE ATKINSON: I am not going to listen to a political speech. If you have anything relevant to say about this case say it.

UDHAM SINGH: I have to say this. I wanted to protest.
The accused brandished the sheaf of papers from which he had been reading.

THE JUDGE: Is it in English?

UDHAM SINGH: You can understand what I am reading now.

THE JUDGE: I will understand much more if you give it to me to read.

UDHAM SINGH: I want the jury, I want the whole lot to hear it.

Mr. G.B. McClure (Prosecuting) reminded the Judge that under Section 6 of the Emergency Powers Act he could direct that Udham Singh's speech be not reported or that it could be heard in camera.

THE JUDGE (to the accused): You may take it that nothing will be published of what you say. You must speak to the point. Now go on.

UDHAM SINGH: I am protesting. This is what I mean. I am quite innocent about that address. The jury were misled about that address. I am going to read this now.

THE JUDGE: Well, go on.
While the accused was perusing the papers, the Judge reminded him 'You are only to say why sentence should not be passed according to law.'

UDHAM SINGH (shouting): 'I do not care about sentence of death. It means nothing at all. I do not care about dying or anything. I do not worry about it at all. I am dying for a purpose.'

Thumping the rail of the dock, he exclaimed, 'We are suffering from the British Empire.' Udham Singh continued more quietly. 'I am not afraid to die. I am proud to die, to have to free my native land and I hope that when I am gone, I hope that in my place will come thousands of my countrymen to drive you dirty dogs out; to free my country.'

'I am standing before an English jury. I am in an English court. You people go to India and when you come back you are given a prize and put in the House of Commons. We come to England and we are sentenced to death.'

'I never meant anything; but I will take it. I do not care anything about it, but when you dirty dogs come to India there comes a time when you will be cleaned out of India. All your British Imperialism will be smashed.'

'Machine guns on the streets of India mow down thousands of poor women and children wherever your so-called flag of democracy and Christianity flies.'

'Your conduct, your conduct - I am talking about the British government. I have nothing against the English people at all. I have more English friends living in England than I have in India. I have great sympathy with the workers of England. I am against the Imperialist Government.'
'You people are suffering - workers. Everyone are suffering through these dirty dogs; these mad beasts. India is only slavery. Killing, mutilating and destroying - British Imperialism. People do not read about it in the papers. We know what is going on in India.'

MR. JUSTICE ATKINSON: I am not going to hear any more.

UDHAM SINGH: You do not want to listen to any more because you are tired of my speech, eh? I have a lot to say yet.

THE JUDGE: I am not going to hear any more of that statement.

UDHAM SINGH: You ask me what I have to say. I am saying it. Because you people are dirty. You do not want to hear from us what you are doing in India.

Thrusting his glasses back into his pocket, Udham Singh exclaimed three words in Hindustani and then shouted, Down with British Imperialism! Down with British dirty dogs!'

As he turned to leave the dock, the accused spat across the solicitor's table.

After Singh had left the dock, the Judge turned to the Press and said:
'I give a direction to the Press not to report any of the statement made by the accused in the dock. You understand, members of the press?'

Rest in peace Udham Singh.

A random thought

What or who created the world, the universe ? Apparently our universe, comprising of an infinite number of galaxies and solar systems, is expanding....but what is the universe expanding into ? What is outside of the box ? What existed before the supposed Big Bang ? ...and don't say nothing...coz I ain't gonna believe ya.

Guess the film :)

We're off to see the Wizard,
The wonderful Wizard of Oz,
We hear he is a wiz of a wiz,
If ever a wiz there was.
If ever oh ever a wiz there was,
The Wizard of Oz is one because,
Because, because, because,
Because, because...
Because of the wonderful things he does!
We're off to see the Wizard,
The wonderful Wizard of Oz!

...I bet you're still wondering which from film that song was taken from... :-))

Is God dead ? (a statistical view)

So I was having a shower this morning, wondering why in Canada you can't seem to buy shower gel bottles with a built in plastic hook that you hang on the shower head, when I all of sudden I had a flashback to a philosophy tutorial I was once in many moons ago.

It occurred to me that the 19th century German philosopher, Nietzsche may have had a point when he stated that God is dead. His underlying premise was his idea of "life-affirmation," which involves an honest questioning of all doctrines which drain life’s energies, however socially prevalent those views might be. Nietzsche’s atheism was voiced in reaction to the conception of a single, ultimate, judgmental authority who is privy to everyone’s hidden, and personally embarrassing, secrets; his atheism also aimed to redirect people’s attention to their inherent freedom, the presently-existing world, and away from all escapist, pain-relieving, heavenly otherworlds.

However, the 17th century French philosopher, Blaise Pascal, formulated a wager in respect of God's existence. He reasoned that you might as well believe in God because if he did not exist you would lose nothing, whereas if he did exist, believing in him might earn you a place in heaven (or hell for non-believers). Expressed symbolically using decision theory we have:

If you prefer A (agnosticism) to B (existence of God), and prefer B (God) to C (eternal hell and damnation), then there is a gamble between A and C (A with probability p, C with probability 1- p, for some real-valued p) that you regard as equally desirable as B (existence of God) for sure. Therefore, you are better off believing in God than no God.

LOL - how was all that for arguing with myself ! :)