The Saffron Autumn

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Ref Paigham #36

[But then hypocrite ,unfair & prejudiced Hindians (Hindutva Indians)have no problem preserving Karan Sing of the Gulab Singh dynasty because of Kashmir .Doesn`t it .?]

So, tell us exactly what the Indian government has done to PRESERVE Karan Singh? He lost his Privy Purse along with the 550+ other Rajas back in the late 60s. If he continues to live, should the Government of India kill him?

What a pinhead!

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Hey 12-Head. You were complaining somewhere about the Indian government not recognizing Tipu`s heirs. Well, I thought I would add to your list of complaints about non-recognition of former dynasties. You might already be aware of the trials and tribulations of the descendants of the various kings of France, Bulgaria, Austria (Austro-Hungarian empire), Romania, Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia, Russia, China, Egypt, Iraq and Iran. Here is another dynasty whose fall you can lament:


Korean prince leading vagabond`s existence, hoping for royal respect
BY SANG-HUN CHOE
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea - One of Korea`s last princes lives out of a two-seat van packed with books, laundry and an electric range. He used to sing at nightclubs for American GIs and sleeps in flophouses.

Yet he`s so proud of his blood line that he never sheds his clothes in a public bathhouse when others are around.

Now Yi Seok, 62, has launched a one-man crusade to restore the lost dignity of his disgraced Yi Dynasty family, which ruled the Korean Peninsula for 518 years until colonial Japan took over in 1910.

``If I die, there will be no one left to tell the stories of the last royal family,`` Yi says.

South Korea is proud of its heritage, which includes the invention of the Korean alphabet during the Yi Dynasty. Historical dramas about romance and bloody coups at the ancient royal court are a TV staple. At royal palaces in Seoul, tourists watch a changing of the royal guard and hear court-music performances.

LOST TO HISTORY

But few in South Korea know the names or whereabouts of relatives of the Yi Dynasty`s last king.

Koreans accuse the dynasty`s last rulers of incompetence and blame them for Korea`s humiliating 35-year subjugation to Japanese rule.

``I am aware of the criticism,`` Yi Seok says. ``But with all its achievements and failures, the royal family deserves better treatment.``

Although a few hard-core supporters demand that South Korea switch to a monarchy, Yi considers such demands unrealistic. Instead, he believes the government should let him live in a palace, ``at least as a tourist attraction.``

The government is not considering Yi`s request, citing public skepticism.

Yi Seok also wants to build a museum where people can learn about the royal court.

Four years ago, he established a ``National Federation for Preserving the Great Korean Royal Court`` -- an organization operating mainly out of his van. He runs a website and claims thousands of members who are asked to pay the equivalent of 83 cents a month.

A member recently wrote: ``Your Highness, I have always wondered about you. . . . Now that I know you are alive, I am brimming with tears of happiness.``

``Some people call me crying,`` Yi says. ``An 80-year-old man called me the other day, offering to come up to Seoul just to bow before me.``

Most are unaware of Yi`s campaign.

``I both feel sympathy and anger at the last king and his family,`` said Kim Jae-chun, a taxi driver. ``I understand why people do not want to think about the subject. It`s embarrassing history.``

The Yi Dynasty crumbled during the reign of Yi Seok`s grandfather, King Ko Jong, when great nations jockeyed for control of Korea. Rival court factions shifted to Chinese, Russian and Japanese forces and the intrigue led to the assassination of the queen by Japanese troops.

Of Ko Jong`s dozens of grandchildren, Yi Seok is the only grandson living in South Korea. All his elder brothers are dead. Two younger brothers run auto repair and liquor shops in the United States. He also has two sisters in the United States and three in South Korea.

President Syngman Rhee, who founded South Korea in 1948 after Korea`s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, let Lee Seok`s family live in one of the several royal palaces in Seoul, but confiscated its vast assets.

When the military rulers in the 1960s deprived Yi`s family of financial allowances, he worked as a disk jockey. In 1962, he began singing at night clubs, entertaining American GIs with such songs as I Left My Heart In San Francisco.

EARNING HIS KEEP

``I sang at every U.S. military base in South Korea. I was a cross between Andy Williams and Pat Boone,`` he says. `An aunt learned about this and she wept and lamented that a Korean prince became a `clown,` but I had to make a living.``

Yi Seok enjoyed national fame with a 1970s hit, A House of Doves, a melodic song about a happy family. But he was forced to emigrate to the United States when Maj. Gen. Chun Doo-hwan took power in a coup in 1979 and evicted Yi`s family from the royal palace.

Overstaying his American visa, Yi mowed lawns, cleaned swimming pools and worked as an armed guard in a liquor store in the Los Angeles area. After securing a green card, he ran his own liquor store.

He returned home in 1989.

Recently a sympathetic landlord let Yi Seok temporarily use a small office. Scattered about are unpacked boxes. Downstairs, music throbs from the ``Don`t Tell Mama`` night club.

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Completely randomly

Many Indians seem to feel that Pakistanis are underestimating the broader issues of nationhood and precedence which make India prefer a long running bloody conflict in Kashmir to allowing it to separate from India. I`m thinking that we also underestimate the broader issues behind Pakistan being very unwilling to give up on Kashmir. Would a Pakistani care to confirm/deny/correct me on this? Regards

#13 ``Tsk, tsk, tsk. You don`t seem to understand the Islamic viewpoint on shahadad. Or the rules for counting the dead. So here is a primer for you.
Only Muslims can die a martyr`s death.
Even if a Muslim is executed for capital crimes by a non-Muslim government, he is automatically a martyr. etc etc etc

well if that is your gripe - we can tie you to a cannon and lite the fuse - in effect canonizing you : )
Nice article. I guess it really is as simple as that - you just wake up one morning decide and next day gone.

Studebaker:

``.Since Palestine etc. do not affect Indians Hindus directly you have to only concentrate on Kashmir . ``


How many Hindus have you seen in UP collecting money for the Yahood? Forget about Palestine, have you seen Hindus collect money in India for Hindus in Fiji? No. We care about our nation, our country. Pakis bleed for Palestenians, though I have yet to meet an Arab who`s heart bleeds for Pakistan.

``Honestly judge the Kashmiris on the basis of its merit of case .One thing for sure is that Kashmir is NOT another state of India like Gujrat & U.P and stop comparing incidents there with incidents in Kashmir

If you think no hindu can live in Muslim majority areas i would disagree because 140 million Indian muslims can live as minority in India not b/c of any special privelege but by the fact that they have been doing so 1000 yrs and Pundits have been doing so hundreds of years too. ``

Studebaker, the very fact that you condole about Pandits reveal you are Indian. Indian Muslims, having lived amongst non Muslims, have become used to a pluralistic society so u think of Hindis as human.

But the case of Kashmir Valley stands as a clear cut example of the inability of a non Muslim minority to live amongst Muslims in any sort of dignity.

Studebaker: I must say it is a pleasure to interact with you when you take the time to write coherent posts. But your Kamala posts are compeletely whacko.

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pmishra2 #22
Check out Mr Isa Daudpota. His article reduces to these few lines : ``We will kill you so you must be friendly and agree to our demands. If you don`t agree to do as we say its because you are unfriendly and jingoistic. Oh - and US must pay us and build us this and that so that we stop wanting to kill you``

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Studebaker:

I guess the point you are making is that Kashmiri Muslims are not monolithic identity. Agreed. Do you however believe in the concept of a dominant discourse?

To give you an example, if I didn`t know better, I would think TAhmed and Urstruly belong to two different religions. Though they both profess to be Muslim, the philosophies and concepts they stress upon are diametrically opposed to each other. Now, within Islamic society, one view will ultimately prevail, not in an absolutist sense, but as a dominant discourse.

How should non Muslims then react?

#20 sadna

The general idea is that muslims have special rights to get agitated and start blowing themselves up and killing everyone in sight. This is somehow natural and OK. Their oppression is so severe (forget the tibetans, the East Timorese, the Kashmiri pandits, ...) that they cannot help themselves.

Overall it is an astounding argument, specially when made by educated people. One gets the feeling that people who argue like this (not a large fraction of all muslims, of course) are more like murderous children than adults.