SUNDAY, JUNE 6, 2021 (PAGE 3) SACRED SPACE BOOK REVIEW !Although , now people are recognizing its importance and things are definitely changing . But, what we need is a thor- Spiritual Revolution ough change. So, the next question that follows is that how are we Victory without a drop of blood going to bring about this revolution? The Self-Revolution-The good thing about this is that it Ashok Ogra match against 4 Assam Rifles." Call of the moment is a self-revolution - A thorough, fundamental change in That was enough to take care of his height! He became your own self .A way to conquer your own self. At later Most likely, the name of Padma Shri Major Bob Khathing, the first Manipuri to get a King's Commission in 1941. Tanya Sharma stages , you will observe that you will automatically start a decorated soldier, a civil servant, a diplomat and a minister As a young captain in, he assisted the United States Army affecting/influencing the lives of others as well .Today , the - all rolled into one- means nothing to those living this side of Air Forces efforts against Japanese forces at Jorhat as a logis- After glancing over this title, what is the first thought the mighty Brahmaputra River. For that matter not many that has come to your mind? Are you reminded of great rev- lives have become so complex that people are not able to tics Liaison Officer, helping them fly military transport air- Indians are familiar with the warrior class AHOM. Our histo- olutions of the past, the French or the American? I know, at get answers to their own questions . The social bonds have crafts from India. the first instance it seems to be a bit radical. Because, the also weakened to a great extent. People are living a life full ry books have been unfair to the North East, in general, and The author excels when narrating nuggets of interesting word "REVOLUTION" has to do with a fundamental of pretensions .The social media is an epitome of that to the fighting spirit of its people, in particular. In fact, in the facts: "during these operations, Bob transformed himself change .Honestly, even I thought twice before putting this where you try to portray everything rosy happening in your history of Independent India, many from its frontier regions completely into a Tangkhul tribal that he actually was. His heading to the article .But , I believe "SPIRITUAL REVO- life , but hollow inside .In such a scenario , to understand - Ladakh and the Northeast - have significantly contributed army tunic was replaced by Tangkhul shawl under which he LUTION" is the call of the moment and we must pay heed the true essence of life ,get answers to your questions and to defending our borders and towards the process of nation - concealed his weapon and his back-pack was by a bamboo to it. to lead a really meaningful life , the spiritual journey is very building but have been relegated to the margins in our polit- basket in which he carried dried meat, salt and other rations vital. WHY? This is the first question that comes to our mind ical narrative since independence. for the prolonged period of operations." What to do? .Why do we after all need this change? What is wrong with It comes as no surprise that many are unaware of the bat- Major Bob was conferred the Member of the British At this initial stage, it is not very easy to chalk-out how the way things are going? For answering this question, I tle of Imphal and Kohima during World War II; the Japanese Empire and Military Cross in recognition of his services ren- would first like you to peep into the glorious history of this revolution can come about. However, I can think of the army - who had earlier driven the allied forces out of Burma following steps that we can take at the personal level. dered. India. India has been a land of great spiritual masters. Ours - were first held and then pushed back by the British/ Indian After the war, he joined the interim government of is the land of wisdom and knowledge acquired through the * The first step I would like you to take is to simply spare soldiers. thirty minutes every day for yourself, away from all distrac- Manipur as minister in charge of the path of spiritual -quest. But, over a period of time we have It is, therefore, heartening hill administration in 1947. Later, on seen degradation in that proud tradition. Our colonial-past tions .Just sit down with yourself and try to connect with that a biography 'A LEG- your own being. Some people may call it meditation. But, request from Akbar Hydari, the first and westernization can be one factor responsible for that. ENDARY Governor of Assam, Bob joined the Because, we were told by the colonial masters that whatev- that will be little big a target to begin with. Initially we have Nationalist- Bob Khathing,' to cultivate a habit to be in our own company, in silence. Assam Rifles, where he served as an has been penned by Col. Tej K. Assistant Commandant. It is this job Believe me , people find it difficult to sit with themselves Tikoo - in the hope that the even for two minutes .Either they start negative-thinking that will fetch glory to Bob and make memory of this great son of him an iconic figure in independent or they need something to distract them ( mobile-phone, India remains alive and his con- for instance ).But , gradually one can form a habit . India. When a massive earthquake tribution towards the unity of causing nearly 4800 casualties dev- * The other step that I would recommend is that try Manipur and India is not forgot- accumulating the pearls of wisdom by reading some good astated Assam in August 1950, Bob ten. took charge of mounting massive res- texts. Our holy books are a great read for a spiritual experi- In the words of the author: ence -be it The Bhagwad Gita, The Bible, The Quran, The cue and rehabilitation measures. "His (Bob Khathing) timely The knowledge that the author Guru Granth Sahib or The Buddhist texts etc. Reading the expedition to Tawang in 1951 original version is quite difficult. But, there are good trans- has of the region lends authenticity to prevented China from grabbing the biography. He is able to bring out lations and interpretations available these days. Although, NEFA (Arunachal Pradesh) after even I have not been able to move beyond Gita till now, but raw, unknown but highly relevant the latter had over-run Tibet, facts and weave them into an inspir- it is definitely in my bucket-list to enrich my personality and suppressed the uprising .These books were written to teach us a way of life. Today, ing story. He can't hide his admira- there with iron hand." tion for Bob when he writes: "one can we have dissociated with this knowledge and therefore Born into the Thangkul Naga experiencing things like"Existential-Crisis". Apart from only imagine what the situation must tribe on February 29, 1912 at have been in 1950, when Bob led the that, we (especially the youth) should read the works of Ukhrul in Manipur, Ralengnao great personalities like Swami Vivekananda, Gandhiji etc. diplomatic mission to the 'unknown.' Khathing attended a local mis- It was not merely its logistics which Reading such texts with a critical and analytical mind sionary school until Class-V and er is "western" is superior to the "ancient-Indian/tradition- will definitely help us find answers to our questions. were formidable, it was the very al" .Rather, what we are witnessing today is a sense of alien- later joined the Government nature of the tasks involved, that pre- I personally like to use the word spiritual rather than High School in Shillong. After ation from that tradition. The first challenge that people religious because religions have actually divided humanity sented huge challenges: high alti- often experience when they try to follow this path is a sense passing out of school, he went to the Bishop Cotton College, tudes, narrow bridle paths, fast flowing ice-cold streams, instead of unifying it. The spirit is same in every human Guwahati, where he became the first tribal from Manipur to of unacceptance. Unacceptance from themselves and from being. So, we can better relate and interact with the other rough terrain, extreme cold of winter months and above all the near and dear ones. This is because of a wrong under- graduate. the reluctance of the entrenched vested interests in Tawang being as a soul/spirit/divine manifestation. The British found it difficult to pronounce Ralengnao and standing of the word spiritual .Generally, people associate The present state of human existence and society is not to cooperate with him, initially, out of fear of the Chinese." started calling him Robert that got shortened to Bob- a name ascetism,"tapasya",meditation, leaving the worldly life etc. very encouraging. On the material front, we are progress- Bob secured Tawang with the help of 200 troops of 5 with this path. But, in my understanding this is a wrong that stuck to him. Col. Tikoo has the requisite credentials to ing at a very rapid pace. But , at the same time we are Assam Rifles and 600 local potters and unfurled the nation- conception of this word. Although, the perceptions are experiencing an erosion of values , humanity , morality write what is certainly an inspiring biography of a great sol- al flag on February 14, 1951- with national anthem played changing.