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India’s cultural influence on Southeast Asia – APSC Mains Essay

(Essay submitted in APSC Mains Essay Writing Contest 2019 – Essay Topics for week 7)

 

India’s cultural influence on Southeast Asia by Kiriti Dehingiya

 

In the history of mankind, it is evident that the countries having rich culture influence their neighbouring countries lacking advancement in culture. Likewise, since India has a rich cultural heritage of about 5000 years old, India’s cultural influence on the countries of Southeast Asia is quite undeniable.

Indians had cultural and trade contacts with other countries of Southeast Asia since times immemorial. The civilization and culture of India began to penetrate Southeast Asia during the beginning of the first millennium. From Ptolemy’s account written in the 2nd Century AD, the reference of Yavanadvipa is quite relevant in this context. Because, it proves that the influence of Indian culture on these countries existed in the 1^st Century AD itself. Ptolemy’s note also gives us information about the existence of Indian communities in Funan or Cambodia. By the 5^th Century AD, the Indian religions- Sanatana Dharma, i.e., Hinduism, Buddhism and cultural traditions took deep roots in the regions of Burma (now Myanmar), Thailand, Malaysia, Indo-China and Indonesia. This fact is proved by the evidences of epigraphy and literatures. But, this influence was not a sudden phenomenon. It took place gradually. In this process of influence, Buddhism acted as a catalyst in introducing Indian culture to its neighbouring countries. Trade had also played a great role in this regard.

There are many examples of evidences of cultural influence of India on Southeast Asia. Some of the most prominent evidences are as follows.

• Many Southeast Asian languages contain a large proportion of words which have Sanskrit or Dravidian origin, e.g.: Malay language, Javanese language etc.. The scripts of some languages of these countries are clearly derived from Indian language scripts, e.g.: Thai language.
• The traditional dances and shadow-puppet theatres in some Southeast Asian countries are very popular which continue to gain popularity by depicting the adventures of Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman. In Thailand, the Hindu epic-‘Ramayana’ is very popular till today.
• Southeast Asian concepts of Kingship and authority owe much to ancient Hindu political theory. The Thai monarchy still requires the presence of Gour Brahmans (who by now have become Thai in all respects except the name) for proper performance of its ceremonials.
• The ground-plans of Borobudur stupa in Java and the Khmer temples of Cambodia can easily be related to Indian religious texts.
• Several Thai ceremonies related to ordination, marriage, merry making, cremation etc. have their roots in Indian tradition. Though Buddhism is prevalent in Thailand; Brahma and other Hindu deities are also widely worshipped in Thailand.

In this way, one can easily come into conclusion that there are considerable influences of Indian culture on Southeast Asian countries. If these elements of influence are utilized properly, e.g.: by organizing international cultural events, seminars etc., the cultural ties between India and the countries of Southeast Asia will be strengthened  which will be of great help in promoting international peace and harmony along with the development of tourism industry.

[ 490 Words ]

 

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Private investment in Assam – Issues & Prospects – APSC Mains Essay

(Essay submitted in APSC Mains Essay Writing Contest 2019 – Essay Topics for week 6)

 

Private investment in Assam – Issues & Prospects by Mrigakhi Rabha

Liberalisation reform of 1990 in India has provided a platform for investors to choose their investment location in the country. The present BJP led government of Assam has organized first ever global investor summit, “Advantage Assam”, which encouraged and excited private investors to participate. It has seen investment commitment to nearly Rs. 70000 crores in various sectors. Assam government has recognized 12 sectors in the summit; agriculture and food processing, handloom-textile-handicrafts, logistics, river transport, port township, IT-ITeS, pharmaceutical-medical equipment, plastics, petrochemicals and powers for encouraging private investment.

However, there are various obstacles attached with the private investment in the state: i) Natural Calamities such as floods and droughts which impact a large production and income of the state. The quality of infrastructure is pulled down. Revenue generated are diverted for the flood relief ii) The difficult terrain contributes to poor transport facilities. Railway transport facilities are less than what is required to its need to reach the isolated areas iii) Instead of preservation, it has been observed a depletion of huge quantity of natural resources. Investment in Assam is channelized towards the exploitation of the rich resources like tea, jute and oil iv) The sensitive border goes against the economic interest of the state and maintenance of law and order is a critical subject in the state. Large amount of money is spent in the maintenance of the police administration v) The administration of Assam is neither efficient nor clean.

But we should not ignore the prospects that can parallelly flow with the private investment undertaken. Assam is not only the largest economy of the North Eastern region of India but it is also industrially advanced and has comparative proximity of gateway for India to connect with ASEAN countries. Its proximity lies with its rich natural resources which is still bringing a prominent name in the business of tea. Other resources such as mineral, oil, rubber, cultivation of organic vegetables and fruits will bring a respectable position to the state. With the advantage of the pleasant climate and scenic landscape, the tourist department is looking for private investment to give a boost to tourist and offer a variety of choices for the visitors from world heritage site to the temples and monuments. The state also enjoys various educational institution which guarantees skilled workforce, the investors do not have to hire workers from the other states.

Assam being a backward state in the country is trying its best to climb the ladder of economic development. It has been gifted with rich natural resources which if under proper channel made investment in it, would reach to a new height of development. The state government of Assam is trying to connect with various investors through summit and positively it has resulted with huge amount of investment. Thus we may look for prosperous Assam in near future.

[ 470 Words ]

 

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Vanishing Greenery in Assam and its impact – APSC Mains Essay

(Essay submitted in APSC Mains Essay Writing Contest 2019 – Essay Topics for week 4)

 

Vanishing Greenery in Assam and its impact By Khasib Ahmed – Download PDF

 

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Can Environment Protection and Economic Development go together? – APSC Mains Essay

(Essay submitted in APSC Mains Essay Writing Contest 2019 – Essay Topics for week 3)

 

Can Environment Protection and Economic Development go together?

By Bandeep Rabha

 

Introduction:

Man has always maintained a cordial relationship with the nature from the ancient times. The Indian culture has always revered trees as a symbol of divinity. Infact, Lord Krishna identified himself as Ashwatha, or the peepal tree. By the beginning of 19^th century the developed countries began exploiting natural resources in excuse of economic development and this resulted in rapid degradation of the environment. At present the developing countries like China and India are also contributing hugely to environmental degradation.

Environment and Economic Development:

The natural environment plays a very important role in our economy, as a direct input into production and through many other services. For the rapid development of the country, projects like power plants, mines etc. needs to be implemented which are the core inputs for all other industries. Natural resources such as minerals and fossil fuels acts as raw material inputs to them. Other services of environment which enable economic activity are sequestering carbon, filtering air and water pollution, protecting against flood risk and soil formation. It is also vital for our wellbeing providing us with recreational opportunities, improving our health and much more.

Economic growth, in turn, is important for the prosperity and wellbeing of the economy and its citizens – in both advanced economies and in developing nations. For developing countries like China and India where substantial chunk of population could hardly meet its daily need, economic development is only pill which could pull these people from the quagmire of poverty. It is also important factor for improvements in health, education and overall quality of life.

Effects of Economic Development on Environment:

While economic development has many benefits – raising standards of living and improving quality of life across the world – it has also resulted in the depletion of natural resources and the degradation of ecosystems. There has been much debate over whether or not it is possible to achieve economic growth without unsustainably degrading the environment and a growing realisation that economic growth rate at the current rate of depletion and degradation of environmental assets cannot continue indefinitely.

The ruthless development increased the percentage of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere which led to the rise in the long term mean temperature of the earth often called as global warming.  The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.

The global warming has increased the frequency of extreme weathers conditions like droughts, floods, cyclones etc. which would ultimately affect the crop production in almost all countries.  Since agriculture sustains the life of the poorer sections of the society, changing weather pattern is putting their existence as well as food security at stake.

Way Forward:

The only option left for the humans is to tread on the path of sustainable development which improves life of a person without adversely affecting the environment surrounding him. As once Mahatma Gandhi has said, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not enough for any man’s greed”, sustainable development also calls for the development in perpetuity which is not possible if the environment is ignored.

[ 510 Words ]

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