Hari Sud’s International View

  Gaddi* and the King (*Pahari word for Sheppard) I am going to relate you a story about Himachal Pradesh, which really happened a few centuries back. It is not about Shimla but about a princely state of Himachal Pradesh. It is about Kangra and Haripur-Guler, the twin cousin states north west of Shimla.  Trigatha was a large kingdom witch ruled from Kabul in Afghanistan to Kangra in Himachal Pradesh in the 8th and 9th century. Its Hindu rulers lost many battles to aggressive and freshly converted Afghans to Muslim faith. The Hindu rulers finally retreated to Kangra but were still being chased by Mahmud of Ghazani. In 1009 AD, he came to grab its treasury. After that event, for the next three hundred years, the kingdom shrunk 90%. It was left alone, although a few forays were made by the Muslim rulers in Delhi. The area ruled by the Kangra King was mostly hilly terrain with with a few valleys and rivers flowing through them, hence grain and other production internally fulf...

 Shimla's Gunj Bazaar. Chaos is the right word to describe the scene at Gunj Bazaar in Shimla at about 7.00am everyday, what the author remembers when he was in his early teens in the fifties. My job Saturday morning was to bring warm milk and bread to my dad for breakfast. Shimla Gunj Mandi became operational at approximately 6 a.m. If I remember correctly sixty years later, the farmers who grew vegetables, potato, fruits in the surrounding areas would bring their produce to sell to their favorite “Arhatiya” (Commission Agent) store. It was weighed and dumped in a heap and auctioned. There were quite a few Arhatiyas in the Gunj Bazaar, mostly Suds/Soods. The farmer preferred the Arhatiya who sold his produce fast and gave him his money right away. The auctioneer of the Arhatiya, usually on top of his voice, begins the bidding process. So are the other Arhatiyas. They may be selling different items. The Arhatiya concurrently could be auctioning other items also. In the din of this ...

  Tunnels in Shimla Shimla’s life-line is the Cart Road is also known as the Circular Road. Both commerce and pedestrians follow this pathway. Built around 1860 from Kalka to Shimla to move the government from Kolkata to Shimla each year, it had also become the life-line for commerce and people. Although the road begins at Kalka but only the area around Shimla is called the Cart Road, but it continues all the way to Shipki Pass at the China border with road designated as NH22. It was widened from its initial 20 feet width, several times during 1860 to 1920 period up to Shimla. Beyond that, it remained this 20-foot route until around the 1950s. It was later extended and made motorisable. The construction of this road was no easy task because the mountains and their spurs stood on the path. Mules, horse-drawn carriages and bull-drawn carriages require a level road and gentle incline. This was only possible if the road went along the contours of the mountains. Once completed, it bro...

 Scandalous Shimla during the British Era We know the British rulers for their stiff neck, impeccable manners and brisk walk. That is how Oxford graduates and or Sandhurst trained army officers mostly behave. In 1857 there were 881 British subjects in Shimla, by 1881 that number had risen to 1551. At the turn of the century in 1900s, there were close 2100 British subjects in Shimla. A bigger bulk of these subjects were of the female persuasion. Reasons: the men were away on assignments whether civil or military, they left their wives behind in the glamour city like Shimla and others places too. Their lifestyle was also upper class, far more comparable to Indian Rajah. The men came from the top echelons of society in England, who made through the high-end British school and university system. Above all, they had qualified the tough Imperial Civil Service exam or got thru successfully the four years of tough Sandhurst military training school. Now commissioned into the army or public...

 Haatos of Shimla The year was1984 and I was taking my 8 years old son to Shimla. It was his second or third visit, but he was too young to recall anything. He didn't speak Indian languages, but he did have some understanding of our Pahari dialect. We had taken a bus to Shimla. The mountains, the deep gorges and the difficult bus trip fascinated him.  Upon arriving at Shimla Bus Stand, he observed, men chasing the bus. The bus had slowed down, hence they could keep pace with it. Suddenly a young man thrust his badge thru the open window. My son was wondering - what was that for? As far as he was concerned, it was something new. I knew that the guy running alongside the bus is a porter, he was thrusting his badge into our hands so that we hire him to carry our baggage or be our Shimla guide. That was the way of life in Shimla. He earned money and supported his family back home. Suddenly I read the number 0599 on his badge. I immediately recalled this badge number. It belonged t...

China has lost the 2020 battle. Whether it was centrally directed from the Peking or over enthusiastic General in charge got carried away started this fight. Forget the details of the intrusions in Galwan and finger area. The Chinese hated India’s infrastructure upgrade on the border hence came to teach India a lesson but lost the battle. That sudden capture of Kailash heights by India on August 29/30 put the whole Chinese operation in jeopardy. All that finger area capture is in Indian gun range. India can blow up their build up in case of trouble started by them again. Presence of Indian tanks at the Depsang area is another reminder to the Chinese. Their light tanks can be made into minced meat if they start a fight their. Hence what did they gain ......... nothing worthwhile. It proved one point that India can match Chinese buildup on the border - man for man and gun for gun. Chinese expected that Indians will not stand the -40 degrees in the inter and they will run away. On the oth...

  We are back to Obama Administration with Joe Biden as president now. Most of his men are ex Obamaites. Does America have to recreate not so smart Administration of the bygone era. Yes, Obama smiled a lot which convinced the people that everything is OK. Not true......... China captured all the South China Sea, hence shipping and security of that region is in doubt. The Chinese overgrew in military might during Obama Administration and America kept importing stuff from China, filling up their pockets. That money went straight into their military and Obama and his men kept watching. Russia was threatened with war if they stepped one step further in Ukraine. As a matter of fact, neutralistic Eastern Europe closer to Russia is good for everybody. it is a buffer for advanced Western Europe, but Obama could not control his advisors not work to grab Ukraine into its own fold. Now there is an unending war with no results. And many more issues like that in Iraq and Pakistan. The latter co...