By describing refugees from Myanmar as “migrants”, a deliberate attempt is being made to obfuscate the issue and avoid taking responsibilit...
By describing refugees from Myanmar as “migrants”, a deliberate attempt is being made to obfuscate the issue and avoid taking responsibility for the people seeking shelter in India. A refugee has a right to protection under humanitarian law, which is the essence of the idea of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” that has been the focus of so much discussion by Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi and his intellectual and spiritual supporters.
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or world is one family is an idea found in Hindu sacred texts. The verse from the Upnishad goes like this:
“One is a relative,
the other stranger,
say the small minded.
The entire world is a family,
live the magnanimous.
The idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam was celebrated in a rather large way in 2016, when the Art of Living group organised a world cultural event around this theme. It featured a grand orchestra consisting of 8,500 musicians playing 50 different instruments performing in Raag Desh a song celebrating the notion that the world is one.
In 2019, the Vivekananda International Foundation, which has close ties to the Bharatiya Janata Party, organised a seminar titled “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: Relevance of India’s Ancient Thinking to Contemporary Strategic Reality.”
But though Prime Minister Modi has often quoted the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, his government is refusing to embrace the men, women and children...Read more
