From the image above of the cast you can see that the story was culturally specific to Chinese people…..death and how it is met as each of us must do. During the film the Chinese culturally accepted approach of keeping the prognoses from the dying person is contrasted with the western way of sharing each and every detail of the upcoming event and approaching suffering.
The film is advertised as a comedy and there are lots of smiles and even polite chuckles . I got the feeling the serious , reserved Chinese don’t belly laugh often or at all but doesn’t mean they are humorless.
For me, thinking of our government negotiating over tariffs with China, it would be fine to learn from them about the celebration of life which is the family’s last gift to their loved one. In this case the matriarch. The eldest son tries to explain the Chinese culture to his daughter who is thoroughly westernized;
“She (your grandma) carried all of us through joy and sorrow. Now it is our turn to carry her through her time of death by shielding her from the truth.
As stated at the beginning of the credits, “This Film Is Based Upon A Lie”. A lie yes, forbidden in all the world’s religions, but a lie told in celebration and love for which forgiveness is given, I hope!
All the days, weeks, and months of training are over. . . . The waiting and training are over. . . the warriors knew for certain as they received live ammunition for the first time.
And President Roosevelt wrote and delivered a special prayer asking God’s blessing on their endeavor.
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s D-Day Prayer
On the night of June 6, 1944, President Roosevelt went on national radio to address the nation for the first time about the Normandy invasion. His speech took the form of a prayer.
The date and timing of the Normandy invasion had been top secret. During a national radio broadcast on June 5 about the Allied liberation of Rome, President Roosevelt made no mention of the Normandy operation, already underway at that time.
When he spoke to the country on June 6, the President felt the need to explain his earlier silence. Shortly before he went on the air, he added several handwritten lines to the opening of his speech that addressed that point. They read: “Last night, when I spoke to you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.”
Text of Radio Address – Prayer on D-Day, June 6, 1944:
“My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.
And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:
Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.
Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.
They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.
They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.
For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.
Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.
And for us at home — fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas — whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them–help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.
Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.
Give us strength, too — strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.
And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.
And, O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.
With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.
Postcard match. This peaceful beach has seen so much.
On our way to the vast beaches by Les Gougins in Manche, just north of Utah Beach, we took a small detour to pay our respects in Angoville-au-Plain.
Hidden down ancient lanes long sunk into the Normandy countryside, Angoville is reached by a single track road.
This is a hamlet, not even a village; with a few tidy houses leading up to a well proportioned stone church, set within tended grounds.
A peaceful scene that hides shocking scars still visible from 1944.
Screaming Eagles
Angoville-au-Plain, Rue de l’Église, June 1944
On the night of 5/6 June the 101st Airborne division parachuted in behind Utah beach. One objective was to destroy a route essential to the German forces, the Cherbourg to Paris road near tiny Angoville-au-Plain.
Surrounded by the infamous ‘bocage’, a flattened countryside that hid bogs, dips and snipers, Angoville became the centre of intense battle before being briefly captured by the Americans.
Kenneth J Moore
Two medics of ‘Screaming Eagle’ 101st Airborne, Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore, with Lieutenant Ed Allworth, quickly went into action setting up an aid station inside the 11th century church at Angoville-au-Plain.
They braved open countryside to search for the injured, taking them back to the church to carry out life saving aid.
The battle intensifies
Shortly afterwards the Americans were forced to withdraw from the village. As the battle intensified Lt Allworth left the medics, aware that as a soldier if he stayed he would endanger the medics, and those in their care.
Kenneth Moore described that first evening:
“By the evening we had 75 of them (wounded personnel and one local infant, in the church). Our own folk had come to tell us that they could not stay any longer. So we we’re left with the wounded. A German Officer soon arrived and asked if I could tend to his wounded too. We accepted. During the night the churchyard was the scene of another battle.
Robert E Wright
Two of our casualties died. But among those I could tend, none lost their lives. I tended all sorts of wounds, some were skin deep but others were more serious abdominal cases.”
The battle for Angoville-au-Plain raged around the church for three days, with possession lurching back and forth between the two sides.
At one stage German troops forced their way in, but seeing the medics were impartially treating injured from both sides, withdrew and placed the international symbol of medical aid on the church door. The red cross flag.
A mortar hit the building causing further injuries but the medics struggled on. To their shock on 7 June two German observers surrendered to them, after hiding all that time in the church tower!
By 8 June the battle was finally over and Angoville-au-Plain became the established headquarters of Robert F Sink, the officer in command of the 506th PIR Robert and Kenneth had a well earned sleep.
Window in the church of Angoville-au-Plain
Tributes in Angoville-au-Plain
Today across from the church, like so many villages in once ravaged Normandy, is a war memorial with two flags. One French and one American.
Unusually this memorial is not carved with a long list of dead; it is a celebration of lives saved.
‘In honour and in recognition of Robert E. Wright, Kenneth J. Moore. Medics 2nd Bn 501 PIR 101st Airborne Division. For humane and life saving care rendered to 80 combatants and a child in this church in June 1944.’
Inside the Church the shattered glass has been replaced, thanks to kind donations, and remembers the bravery of 101stAirborne Division. The windows illustrating parachutists, and of course an eagle, are unlike any we have seen before in a Normandy church.
One of the bloodstained Pews
The bloody scars of Angoville-au-Plain
All war leaves scars. Many can be hidden by time, some cannot.
The scars of Angoville-au-Plain are in the church. They are not the bullet holes or the windows showing soldiers and battle. They are the still blood-stained pews that served as hospital beds for 80 brutalised casualties of war.
It is impossible to calculate how many people, then and now, owe their lives to Kenneth and Robert’s bravery.
We do know that for their efforts in saving 80 lives under atrocious conditions, Kenneth and Robert were both awarded the Silver Star.
On my visit to Normandy in July 2017, we walked down the country lane to this unassuming church. The road wound through fields marked with the hedge rows though lovely to see were so daunting to the paratroopers and other warriors making their way through them in June 1944.
As I look back, this church and the tales it holds along with La Friere Bridge are the most meaningful for me. The bridge where my brother Sgt. George Tullidge fought until he was mortally wounded and the church where the brave American medics cared for all in need. . . both Allied and Axis soldiers represent the American spirit of bravery, care and unselfishness giving their all for freedom and justice.
who, at the age of twenty years, gave his life in the Invasion of France, June 8th, 1944. And to all the other heroes who willingly and gladly gave and are giving their lives to rid the world of tyranny and oppression.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
– John 15:13
I am George’s sister whom he never met. I was born two years after his death. Now, being the only member of my immediate family still alive, I want to tell the stories I heard about George and dedicate them and him to the ages.
George was the oldest of three sons, Tom and Arch were the younger. Tom was the Tommy of the letter that George wrote. All three brothers were graduates of Staunton Military Academy , SMA of Staunton, Virginia . George graduated in 1941 and went to Virginia Tech for college. George had passion and talents for swimming and held records at Va. Tech that remained unbroken for years after his death. I always heard that he had a goal of swimming in the Olympics, after his service to the country was completed. This excellence in swimming shows his character and determination, as he had suffered with polio in his shoulder as a child.
I am not sure when, but George wanted to enlist in the army during World War II, like many brave, unselfish young men. With his military school education and ROTC at Virginia Tech, he could have been an officer which is what Daddy wanted. I am sure that it was not for a elitist desire but hoping his oldest son would be safer as an officer during the fighting. George wanted to enlist and fight with the men and ultimately he died with them.
Fast forward to June 1944. George had earned the rank of Sergeant. He and many paratroopers jumped into France under darkness on the night of June 5. The plan for the beginning of the allied invasion of Normandy was thousands of paratroopers to jump into France and make their way to the cliffs of Normandy from the interior of the country. The next day, the invasion began from the sea, and if all had gone as planned, the Germans in the bunkers at the top of the cliffs would have been surrounded. The best planning had unforeseen flaws. Sadly, many of the paratroopers were lost, landing in trees, separated from their buddies, or engaged in battle with random German soldiers.
George fought bravely at La Fiere Bridge a key position on the road to St Mere Eglise. He continued to fight until all his men were safe even with a wound in his hip. He was awarded, posthumously, a Purple Heart for being wounded and a Bronze Star for bravery. Today, the wound would not be life threatening but this was before wide use and availability of antibiotics.
George died in England on June 8, 1945. He had the little booklet that Mama had sent him somewhere on his person. Today it is known as A Paratrooper’s Faith…
Please read the section about my mama and her project through the years to turn this family loss and tragedy into a blessing to other service men and their families. She loved to receive letters of testimony about people being encouraged by George’s little book up until she died at 94 years of age.
After the award ceremony for mama at the Pentagon, our family was invited to Fort Bragg where Mama was the honored guest at a parade and a street was named in honor of my brother, Tullidge Way. At that time, my brother Tom donated the original letter George had written to him (in the front of the booklet). Tom said, “George would have wanted the letter there. ” Mama was also awarded the Iron Mike Award of service from the enlisted soldiers at Fort Bragg.
Today, after all these years, this little booklet is still reaching and encouraging people. I have had emails from people requesting copies and am down to 9 of the original copies. Some have been printed by nieces and nephews. This is the impetus of me doing this now. I have ordered more copies of the booklet printed. And honestly, reaching the big birthday of 70 encouraged me to do my part.
Just recently, a great niece was visiting the American Cemetery to visit George’s grave. At the entrance you enter a building and a docent locates where your loved one is buried. He will walk you to the stone. He asked my niece if she was related and she said ,” Yes.” The guide said that there are quite a few visitors who ask to visit George’s grave purely from his story and A Paratrooper’s Faith with no blood family connection at all.
That alone encouraged me! What a beautiful legacy of my Mama’s love for her son and her generous and giving spirit and faith. .
Anne Bowler Tullidge Bell
Polio to Paratrooper is the story of George Tullidge. The book was written by Anne Archer Tullidge as way to memorialize George for the family. We are releasing the story now. The proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to charities that support our Armed Forces.
The early landings, at about 0140 directly on the town, resulted in heavy casualties for the paratroopers. Some buildings in town were on fire that night, and they illuminated the sky, making easy targets of the descending men. Some were sucked into the fire. Many hanging from trees and utility poles were shot before they could cut loose.
A well-known incident involved paratrooper John Steele of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), whose parachute caught on the spire of the town church, and could only observe the fighting going on below. He hung there limply for two hours, pretending to be dead, before the Germans took him prisoner. Steele later escaped from the Germans and rejoined his division when US troops of the 3rd Battalion, 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment attacked the village, capturing thirty Germans and killing another eleven. The incident was portrayed in the movie The Longest Day by actor Red Buttons.
Later that morning, about 0500, a force led by Lt. Colonel Edward C. Krause of the 505th PIR took the town with little resistance. Apparently the German garrison was confused and had retired for the rest of the night. However, heavy German counterattacks began later in the day and into the next. The lightly armed troops held the town until reinforced by tanks from nearby Utah Beach in the afternoon of 7 June.
Krause and Lt. Colonel Benjamin H. Vandervoort both received the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions in the capture of the town. Sgt. George Bowler Tullidge III received the Bronze Star, while a collection of Bible verses and of his letters home, A Paratrooper’s Faith was distributed throughout the 82nd Airborne by his parents from after his death until the 1990s. 2nd Lt. Thomas J. Tighe of the 70th Tank Battalion received the Silver Star posthumously for his actions on the morning of June 7th in securing the town, during which he was killed when his tank was hit by German artillery fire.[5]
Henry Langrehr was also involved in the capture of Sainte-Mère-Église. He crashed through a greenhouse roof, as retold in the The Longest Day. On 6 November 2007, along with five other men he received the Legion of Honor medal from the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy.
George at VPI
Display of George at the Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mère-Église, France
Letter from General Gavin following George’s passing.
George’s medal including Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
Anne Archer Tullidge
In 1989, Anne Archer Tullidge was awarded the “Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service” by John Marsh, Secretary of the Army, who cited her personal commitment, deep concern, and unselfish devotion to the United states Military. She printed and distributed 300,000 booklets over 50 years. We, her family, are honored to continue this, her project.
Anne Archer Hogshead Tullidge, author of ” A Paratrooper’s Faith” died in 1995. She used the pain and loss of her oldest son’s death to be a source of comfort and encouragement for thousands of others.
Jack Marsh Awarding Mrs. Tullidge the Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service
George Bowler Tullidge III
George Bowler Tullidge III
George’s final resting place with his fellow American soldiers in the American Cemetery in Cambridge, England.
Until recently, George’s grave was incorrect. It had listed him as a member of the 17th ABN. On D-Day, the 507th was attached to the 82nd. Due to the tireless effort of George’s sister, this error has been corrected. Please clicki here to see more about our visit.
Guest
Posted on : January 31, 2019
Amazing…. a very moving story, your efforts to get his story out there (and also his grave corrected!) are truly inspiring. Thank you for introducing us to your brother!
John F. Cuddy, Sr., USA, COL (Retired)
Posted on : October 14, 2018
I picked up a copy of "A Paratrooper’s Faith" while attending Basic Airborne training and ROTC Advanced Camp at Ft. Bragg, NC in 1985. It has been a constant companion for me through 28 years of Army Guard and Reserve service including deployments to Former Republics of Yugoslavia (Operation Joint Endeavor – 1996), New Orleans (Hurricane Katrina/Rita Relief – 2005) and Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom – 2008). I am grateful for Sgt. Tullidge’s service and sacrifice and the continued dedication of the Tullidge family – they have had an lasting impact on me and so many others – Thank you!
David Bennett, LTC (R) Army JROTC
Posted on : July 24, 2018
I am incorporating these quotes periodically into my lesson plans as a JROTC instructor. I also use these quotes for my Scoutmaster Minute for my Boy Scout Troop from time to time as well. Great hip pocket resource for leaders dealing with young people. I got this book from a Chaplain at Fort Bragg back in the mid 1990s and it was extremely powerful and moving. This book helped me professionally and personally through some very troubling times and I believe it can help others too.
Adam Tillinghast
Posted on : April 14, 2018
I got a copy of "A Paratrooper’s Faith in 1985 when i inprocessed at the 82d Replacement Company. I kept it with me during my four years in the 82d and eventually returned to civilian life. I returned to the Army three years later and stayed in for 27 more years. I could not find my copy of the pamphlet until I was getting ready to retire in 2018. My son is now serving in D 1/505 PIR, 82d ABN Div. He knows who George B. Tullidge III is and attends chapel services just off Tullidge Way on Fort Bragg. The impact of that small book that George’s mom made is still going on. <br />
Bob Jefferis
Posted on : January 21, 2018
I was cleaning my shop today, and I found a box of things that belonged to my Dad. Although not assigned overseas, My Dad flew B-25’s starting in 1944. I found his copy of A Paratrooper’s Faith. I was compelled to read this, what a wonderful collection of poetry and Bible verse. We lost my Dad in 1998. This helps to understand some of what made my Dad and men like George who and what they were. What a beautiful collection. God bless you and keep you.
Guest
Posted on : May 29, 2017
Thanks Anne, what a story I never heard before. Your family was and is quite special.
Guest
Posted on : April 02, 2017
I went through Army Jump School in 1978. In the Chapel I found several copies of "A Paratrooper’s Faith" and took a few, handed out some and kept one for myself. Around 1979/80, I actually called Mrs. Tullidge on the phone. I was actually surprised that she answered. I told her how much this little blue book meant to me. She said, "Thank you" and we ended our conversation. I am looking at that little blue book right now again. It is now April 2017 and I have read that little blue book so many times I have much of it memorized. The book is now very faded, taped together in some places and the staples are rusted, and some of the pages want to fall out, but it is still readable. Someone told me just yesterday, "We have no idea how many people we have touched or how much good we have done. Keep the faith." I will.
Steve Appleby
Posted on : February 26, 2017
As director of The Eldred WW II Museum I recently received a copy from a WW II 82nd ABN. Vet. Even this old Paratrooper cried while researching the story. What an amazing Mother, what a wonderful family. I will now try to get copies to give to the many servicemembers I know, including my own two sons. Thank you for sharing this incredible story of courage , sacrifice and above all, love. May God bless you .
James C, MAJ Retired
Posted on : December 21, 2016
Anne,<br /> <br /> Thank you for continuing the legacy of your brother and mother–your family. I was given the book from a friend in the 82nd some 35 years ago when I was a long ways from home. It was surely an inspirational and encouraging collection, and will remain so.
Marcia Decker Ray
Posted on : October 01, 2016
I have a copy of the Paratroopers Faith that belonged to my father Edwin Decker B co 504 PIR. I have it displayed on my piano with a picture of my father taken when he was in Italy, a 504 and 82Nd Airborne challenge coin and a model of a C47. Beautiful story thank you for sharing.<br /> <br />
John Hay LTC Retired
Posted on : September 08, 2016
Ann, <br /> Thank you for sharing this web site with me. George’s legacy lives on with the 507th Regiment at Ft. Benning , Ga.
Grace
Posted on : July 14, 2016
Reading this brought tears to my eyes. Our Dad was 507th F company. Thank you!
Tina Dean
Posted on : July 13, 2016
Your loving tribute to your brother and mother touched my heart. Your love for your family and devotion to keeping George’s and your mother’s stories alive is so evident in your words. My father was 501 PIR, 101st Airborne and was dropped in on D-Day. I, like you and so many others, owe such a debt of gratitude to these brave men. They are all heroes in my book. Thank you for keeping a piece of the D-Day history alive. God bless you.
Brenda Taylor
Posted on : July 12, 2016
What a touchingly beautiful story.
Cooper Beverley-Meise
Posted on : July 12, 2016
Beautiful tribute. Your brother continues to touch lives, as does your mother.
Maureen Lewicki
Posted on : July 10, 2016
What a beautiful story. I am always deeply touched by the sacrifices the ww2 veterans made and the paratroopers’ mission was incredible. To be dropped behind enemy lines in pitch black night is an experience impossible to fathom. George’s mother was amazing to turn her grief to something that tangibly ministered to so many people. God bless your family for carrying that ministry forward.
A Hindu Nationalist Wave May Lift Modi to Victory published by the Wall Street Journal
Conflict with Pakistan and media-savvy supporters have boosted the Indian prime minister’s prospects.
By
Sadanand Dhume
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in Kolkata, April 3.PHOTO: RUPAK DE CHOWDHURI/REUTERS
Baghpat, India
India’s 900 million eligible voters head to the polls in an election staggered over six weeks starting April 11. With nationalist sentiment surging after a confrontation with Pakistan, and the opposition in disarray, an outcome that appeared uncertain a few months ago looks exceedingly likely: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, is poised to win a second term.
Opinion polls and anecdotal evidence suggest Mr. Modi remains popular. Many Indians believe the BJP is fulfilling its promise of economic renewal, military prowess, corruption-free governance and restored national greatness.
Concerns about Hindu-nationalist attacks on government critics, human-rights groups like Lawyers Collective and Amnesty International, and religious minorities—especially Muslims—do not appear to resonate beyond a small English-speaking urban elite. So far, opposition Congress Party President Rahul Gandhi—the son, grandson and great-grandson of prime ministers—has failed to emerge as a credible contender.
None of this guarantees victory for Mr. Modi. Fifteen years ago another BJP-led government looked similarly poised to romp to re-election, only to suffer a shocking defeat to the Congress Party. Mr. Modi’s popularity notwithstanding, the BJP remains a marginal presence across large swaths of southern and eastern India. This leaves Mr. Modi’s party little room for error in its traditional strongholds in the north and west.
Still, the smart money remains on India returning Mr. Modi to office, albeit as the head of a coalition with fewer seats than before.
Five years after Mr. Modi led the BJP to India’s first single-party majority in 30 years, his image as a selfless and self-made leader is largely intact. In more than two dozen interviews I conducted in Delhi and the populous Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh, respondents spoke of the prime minister’s “good character” and sincere desire to improve India. For some Hindu voters, he holds a quasireligious appeal. An Uber driver from the industrial city of Ghaziabad likened Mr. Modi to Lord Rama, revered by pious Hindus as the epitome of a just king.
Despite a clutch of state-election victories last year, Mr. Gandhi pales in comparison to Mr. Modi. At a dusty roadside restaurant two hours outside Delhi, a group of sugarcane farmers sat on string beds and sipped sweet, milky tea. When asked about Mr. Gandhi, 41-year-old Sanjay Chauhan shook his head. “He doesn’t even know how to speak,” he said in Hindi. “Why should we have to endure him?”
Congress Party officials attribute their leader’s image to a malicious misinformation campaign on WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter that portrays Mr. Gandhi as a bumbling man-boy unable to string together two coherent thoughts. They may have a point. In person, Mr. Gandhi comes across as thoughtful and well-mannered, though not particularly charismatic. Nonetheless, the damage has been done. Rehabilitating their leader’s image remains a long-term challenge for the party.
A divided opposition also benefits Mr. Modi. In Uttar Pradesh, for instance, the Congress Party failed to come to an agreement with two large caste-based parties that could have consolidated the opposition. In a recent YouTube video, Shekhar Gupta, a prominent journalist and political commentator, described opposition parties as having a “death wish.”
In contrast, Mr. Modi and BJP President Amit Shah have stitched together a string of alliances with smaller regional and caste-based parties, including those led by politicians known to have misgivings about Mr. Modi’s imperious style of leadership.
Add to this the BJP’s ability to shape the national narrative. The party and its ideological fellow-travelers use attack-dog TV channels, a shrill army of social-media shills and a web of fake-news sites and WhatsApp groups to impugn critics’ patriotism and discredit any message that clashes with the party line.
Last month a petition signed by 108 economists and social scientists—including several based at U.S. universities—questioned “political interference” in official Indian economic statistics. A group of 131 pro-BJP chartered accountants responded quickly by certifying their faith in government data. International experts who question whether India’s February airstrikes in Pakistan hit their targets, or who play down the significance of an antisatellite-weapon test last month, immediately find themselves under attack from Modi supporters online and in Indian media.
Experts point out that electoral bonds introduced by the government two years ago formalize opaque corporate funding that disproportionately benefits the BJP. The ruling party nonetheless touts the bonds as a major campaign-finance reform.
In the long run, shutting down debate hurts India’s ability to learn from mistakes. For now, it adds to the BJP’s electoral edge.
The Congress Party hopes that by promising grand welfare programs—including a minimum-income scheme to grant handouts of about $1,000 a year to some 50 million poor families—it can claw back power. But the BJP is selling a story that many people want to believe, of a resurgent India feared by its enemies and respected by its friends. Stopping the Modi juggernaut won’t be easy.
Appeared in the April 5, 2019, print edition.
This is the last in a three day focus on Incredible India. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to live , travel there, and love her amazing people. Most people will not have that opportunity but it is important other than happy memories for me. In just a few years, India will become the most populous country on earth due to the massive loss of life in China under the one child per family policy. India has massive problems, without a doubt, but she also has intelligent, creative innovators with a spirit no passion for innovation, brilliant internet innovators ,and problem solving engineers, and gifted physicians. India has much good work to meet the needs of her 1.3 billion souls. She has the most educated 20 year old waiting, not too patiently, to tackle the problems of woman/man kind!
(Let me introduce you to PM Modi who is up for reelection in India beginning tomorrow. This post was before Mr. Modi’s first national election. I have written quite a few posts on Mr. Modi. If you would like to read them type in Modi in the search bar. I thought this one is the most interesting an introduction before either election !) Incredible India!
Opinionated Man(aopinionatedman.com) is asking for posts from people who value the importance of voicing his/her opinion. So here sits this white, American woman talking about Mr. Modi, the current Chief Minister in Gujarat, India! Why you might ask? We stayed in Ahmedabad, the capital city of Gujarat, for four months. India is just on the precipice, poised to either soar to the heavens or continue in timidity while remaining under the control of a royal family! What, the British handed over the country in 1947, you might say? But when they left, the Nehru/Gandhi family was there to step in. More about them later.
First, I want to introduce Mr. Modi to you. From the picture you can see his vision and though words are cheap, he has lived by them. He was born in Gujarat into a lower, middle class family. His first entrance into business was with his brother as teenagers running a tea stall near the train terminal. He worked his way up through the ranks in the pre-BJP. to the BJP of today. In 2001, he was ready to step into the failing shoes of Mr. Patel, and replace the inept administrator ,who was accused of corruption and abuse of power . Mr. Modi believed in privatization, capitalism, small government, and this began his rise to “rock star” status.
In. 2002, there were wide-spread anit-Muslim riots in Gujarat. Radical Muslims had burned a train of Hindu pilgrims and this began the riots. Mr. Modi has been accused of turning a blind eye to the Muslim persecution, but a court has ruled that he was not complicit in these horrendous crimes. The accusations have continued and the US has denied him a visa for a visit several times because of demonstrations here. In America, I thought someone is considered innocent until proven guilty? I wonder what will happen if he is appointed Prime Minister? Since 2002, there have been no more anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat.
In the mean time, Glittering Gujarat has begun to shine in India and the world under his leadership. He has been elected three times by his constituents and there is evidence as to why. Gujarat is the fastest growing state in India, the economy is the fastest growing in India, best IT area ( Mr. Modi is quite proud that all his police are computer literate), and in a country where place after place that we visited had blackouts of electricity, Gujurat is selling excess back to the company. I remember only once in all the time that we were there , a black out of only a few minutes. The agriculture profits have grown to 9.6% , the highest in this mostly agrarian country and he has a triving International Kite Festival and hosted an international conference on economics this year. One statistic that I was amazed at was that when Mr. Modi became CM, there were 11 colleges in and around Ahmedabad and now there are 42! It is being called the Boston of India. All those young people are poised to take on the world! Mr. Modi says that India has the largest population of educated youth in the world. ( China has the one child family planning policy.) The young people are energized and love Mr. Modi. He is their hope for positive change. Tourism is up 30% in two years thanks in part to the “Breathe in a Bit of Gujarat) beautiful professionally made commercials These promote tourist destinations and are narrated the beloved Bollywood star, Amatabh Bachchan who is set to film his third round of promotions.
Now to the Congress Party , the party in power nationally. I was shocked watching them on TV and reminded of the royal family in Britain with their distance from the people and seemingly bored indifference. Dr. Singh, who is the Prime Minister, never speaks, doesn’t hold news conferences or connect with the people. It is said that he is the ” place holder” until Rahul, who is the current VP, is ready to be Prime Minister. He will be the fifth generation of this family to be in power, if his party is reelected. The Guardian paper had a very clear quote about the Gandhi family(2007) :
“The Nehru/Gandhi family brand has no peer in the world-a member of the Gandhi family has been in charge of India for 40 of the 60 years since independence. The allure of India’s first family blend the right to rule of the British monarchy with the tragic glamour of the American Kennedy clan.”
Mr. Rahul Gandhi appears distant and disinterested on TV. He has made no major contributions to the country and is merely waiting his coronation,unless the people of India have had enough of this family and their lack- luster contributions to the country. India continues the Parliamentarian form of elections so there is no direct election of Prime Minister, as is the case in Britain.
Let me finish with two Narendra Modi stories. When asked if he was going to provide each student with a laptop upon graduation he replied, ” I am providing a good education so that they can get a good job and buy their own laptop!”
During the horror and tragedy in Uttarakhand this year, the government and many of the the states sent food and supplies in large buses , not thinking that roads were no longer accessible or even there. Mr. Modi sent helicopters filled with supplies and saved many stranded , hungry souls.
Naremdra Modi is a smart, seasoned politician. He has vision and the will to carry it out with hard work and determination. He has a proven record in Gujarat as charismatic, a vibrant eloquent speaker, and a leader to give hope and tools to the youth of India. He may be a Rambo, sometimes in style, but his state loves him and what he has done to bring prosperity to all Gujarati citizens. He is ready now to take his “Modi Model” to the whole country and be the leader for all of India. India is ready to become a leader in the world but they need a strong leader to guide them. Namo Modi is the man!
( People laugh at me and says I should be Mr. Modi’s American campaign manager….hmmm.. . . . .. . . “Namo, I am waiting by the phone!”)
I am a retired elementary teacher, well seasoned world traveler,new blogger, grandmother, and a new enthusiastic discoverer of the wonderfully complex country of India. Anne
National Elections in India are coming beginning on April 11 and ending on May 19. Imagine, there are nine phases and yes, people stand in line for hours to cast a vote. Then they soak a finger in dark ink to verify their responsibility has been completed. In 2017 there were 1.339 billion souls in Incredible India.
An Indian friend told me that voting is very important to the poorest of the poor. . . the Daliet or Children of God so named by Mahatma Gandhi. It is the belief in India on voting day that everyone is equal with one ballot .!
(especially in South Asia) a hermitage, monastic community, or other place of religious retreat
Sunday is a perfect time to visit Gandhi’s Ashram in Ahmadabad. In fact any day in the midst of the hustle and bustle of this crowded center of commerce, stop by to breath deeply and take in some serenity . On the weekends there are many families having an historical outing with their children. There are often large groups of school children on a field trip to a historical site. Indians are very proud of their culture and history and rightly so. teachers take their students on field trips on weekends. Great idea.
In the video notice the amazing open building which is the center of the Ashram. It is the museum building where “things” would normally be housed and put on display. Gandhi had no “things”, he had only words and ideas which are on display as you wonder in and out of the open building. Oh yes, and there are pictures of his demonstrations and marches. Gandhi and his wife lived here for many years and it is said that here he planned the March to the Sea which is often referred to as the beginning of the journey which lead to freedom from Britain.
The video is long so watch as much as you like. I thought it the best and couldn’t bear to choose a shorter one!
University of Oklahoma President James L. Gallogly talks to students and others during the Rally to Stop Racism on the university campus in Norman, Okla., on Jan. 22.PHOTO: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
From Tufts to California Polytechnic, racist images persist on social media, if not in yearbooks
By
Melissa Korn
College students in blackface aren’t just confined to yearbooks from 35 years ago. Administrators around the country are finding more instances as they flip through the publications’ pages, and confront images elsewhere on campus as well.
A student at Massachusetts-based Tufts University posted on Instagram a photograph of herself in blackface in January, an incident still under investigation. Also in January, two female University of Oklahoma students issued public apologies and left the school after one of them appeared in blackface and used a racial slur in an online video recorded by the second student.
Last year, California Polytechnic State University, also known as Cal Poly, suspended fraternity and sorority activities after two sets of racist photos were published online, including one in which a fraternity member dressed in blackface.
“This video signals to me that we have much more to do to create an environment of equity and respect,” said University of Oklahoma President James L. Gallogly at the time of the recent incident.
A few other highly publicized instances of blackface have heightened awareness of the persistent problem. Fashion house Gucci has apologized for being insensitive after pulling a sweater that critics likened to blackface, while Florida’s secretary of state resigned last month after photos were published showing him in blackface at a 2005 party. Colleges regularly appeal to students to consider whether their Halloween costumes are offensive, to avoid such controversies.
After a racist yearbook photo sparked a Virginia political scandal in recent weeks, school administrators are also going back over publications from prior years.
American University library staff and faculty recently reviewed old copies of its yearbooks dating back to 1926. They said Monday that they had uncovered 15 photos, cartoons and drawings from 1934 to 1981 that were of concern.
“The racism and ignorance reflected in these images is abhorrent,” wrote Daniel Myers, American University’s provost, and Fanta Aw, vice president of campus life. “The images we have found require more than discovery, transparency, and apology; they deserve candid acknowledgment and action.”
They said the school will coordinate educational programming about the images.
Virginia Governor Says He Wasn’t in Racist Photo, Won’t Resign
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said at a press conference Feb. 2 that he wasn’t either of the people depicted in racist attire in a picture from his 1984 medical school yearbook. Photo: AP
The scandal roiling top political leaders in Virginia was triggered by the emergence of a racist photo on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s 1984 medical-school yearbook page in which one person appeared in blackface, alongside a person in Ku Klux Klan attire. Mr. Northam first apologized for being in the photograph. But later he denied he was in it, though he admitted to darkening his face with shoe polish in a 1984 dance competition. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring also admitted to wearing blackface in college.
Yearbooks are often student-run operations, published independently. Schools have struggled with what to do when racist images appear in them.
Eastern Virginia Medical School, which Mr. Northam attended, discontinued its yearbook in 2013 when a photo with Confederate imagery was published. After the photo on Mr. Northam’s page emerged, the school ordered an investigation into how the yearbooks were overseen.
Since the Virginia scandal broke, decades-old copies of yearbooks from the Virginia Military Institute, the University of Richmond and elsewhere have been posted online depicting students dressed in blackface and wearing Ku Klux Klan costumes, among other offensive images.
A 1979 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill yearbook photo posted on Twitter last week showed two students dressed as Ku Klux Klan members, with a third in blackface smiling as a noose is hung around his neck.
“Such images reflect a past that must be reconciled and understood,” said University of Richmond President Ronald Crutcher, adding the school’s Commission for University History and Identity has been exploring “how our history has been recorded.”
In 2015, the Kappa Alpha Order, a fraternity with a large presence on Southern campuses, updated its bylaws to say chapters shouldn’t sponsor events with the name “Old South,” a reference to themed parties where members and their dates donned antebellum attire. The rules also bar the use of Confederate uniforms.
Kirt von Daacke, an assistant dean and history professor at the University of Virginia, is reviewing student and alumni publications dating back to 1865 as co-chairman of a commission examining the university’s history during segregation. The commission was created last year. He said he has found a few instances from the 1970s and 1980s of students darkening their skin for Tahitian and Arabian Nights-themed parties in yearbooks but hasn’t completed his review of publications from more recent years.
Dr. von Daacke cautioned that his findings so far don’t mean there weren’t still racist events on campus. “Yearbooks aren’t who you are, they’re who you want people to think you are,” he said.
In recent years, offensive images have mainly moved from yearbooks to YouTube and Instagram.
Tufts’s Office of Equal Opportunity is investigating last month’s incident. A spokesman said that it would be premature to speculate on potential disciplinary action, and that the incident “has prompted a good deal of dialogue.”
At the time, Tufts University President Tony Monaco condemned the image. “Blackface has a long history of being used to demean, belittle and objectify people of color in the United States and worldwide,” he said in an email to all students and staff.
Appeared in the February 15, 2019, print edition as ‘Colleges Find New Pictures Of Blackface.’
I live in New York but I am from Virginia. I must admit that that I was horrified to read of other parts of the country where these despicable acts of racism have occurred. And yes a tad relieved that it was not more sad news from Virginia. As a teacher, I think this insensitive attitude is at least in-part lack of understanding and lack of education
. I remember one Halloween not so long ago when a member of the royal family of Britain dressed as a Nazi . The image was seen all over social media. When he was questioned, the young prince said he had not thought his actions through. Seems hard to imagine as much as the Brits went through in WWII, that that he would be so thoughtless.
We all need to learn about and from history so as to not repeat past evils.
Below is the link to my blog about growing up in the Jim Crow South.
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TalesAlongTheWay 