History repeats itself

History is quite amusing. It has this funny way of repeating itself. I won't go into all the cases where the cycle has repeated, but the simple case of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Years and years ago, before I was born, or even my Dad was born, there was this short, dark haired, toothbrush moustached chap called Adolf Hitler. He was a maniac. He was powerful. The world feared him. So, when Berlin hosted the 1936 Olympics, the world went to Berlin and legitimised the Nazi regime. Look what happened. 10 years later, 15 million people were dead- Germans, British, Indians, Jews and the list is endless.

Hitler and his regime were responsible for the cold blooded murder of 6 million people of the Jewish persuasion and a few Gypsies and a few Russians..... you get the picture.

The world stood by with the stupid policy of appeasement while the Nazi machinery crushed everyone and everything it wanted to. The same thing is happening again.

The Chinese Communist Party is among the most evil and ruthless regimes the world has ever seen. We all see a bright and glowing Shanghai and the 'Made in China' toys everywhere, but let's take a few minutes to see the reality.

The Great Leap Forward - Launched by Chairman Mao in 1958 to transform China from an agarian economy to an industrial economy. Peasants were rounded up and forced to work in Steel Factories. To produce steel, whatever 'scrap' was available, was melted. This included pots, pans, farm implements etc. Farmers were forced to make steel instead of working on farms.

However, the weather conditions were not too good and there was a famine. With more people working in factories instead of farms, produce was limited. With short sighted policies and the forced export of grain despite the famine, it is estimated that approximately 20 million Chinese peasants died.

At that time, the Chinese people were also forced to follow the ghastly policy of 'yi zi er shi'. Since food was not available, the Chinese were forced to eat children. Since one cannot eat one's own child, children were swapped. The term literally means - you eat mine, I'll eat yours.

With that disaster, Mao decided to launch the 'Great Leap Forward'. This was a cultural movement to rid the country of "liberal bourgeoisie" elements and to continue revolutionary struggle. It is widely recognized, however, as a method to regain control of the party after the disastrous Great Leap Forward led to a significant loss of Mao's power due to his short sightedness.

The most gruesome aspects of the campaign were the torture and killing of innocent people and the suicides that were the final options of many who suffered beatings and humiliation. In August and September, there were 1,772 people murdered in Beijing alone. In Shanghai in September there were 704 suicides and 534 deaths related to the Cultural Revolution. The authorities were discouraged from stopping the violence of the Red Guards. Said Xie Fu-zhi, national police chief: "If people are beaten to death . . . its none of our business. If you detain those who beat people to death . . . you will be making a big mistake."

This is the way that the regime reacts to it's own people.

Tibet was forcibly occupied. The Tibetans have been denied the right to self governance. Thousands of Tibetans have been murdered and imprisoned.

Uyghurs are routinely rounded up and killed on the suspicion of being 'terrorists'

We all saw the Tiananmen Square massacre where students campaigning for democracy were killed and arrested.

By the far the worst atrocities have been committed against the Falun Gong. Falun Gong is an ancient exercise/martial art. When the Communist Party realised that the following of the Falun Gong was in the tens of millions, they started a ruthless campaign to stomp it out. People were imprisoned without a trial, killed, executed and worst of all - their body parts were being sold in the international market.

China is the manufacturing hub of the world. Environmental controls are rarely implemented. Pollution continues unchecked. People are imprisoned for showing dissent and then they disappear.

Among the nations that China supports and provides weapons to - Pakistan, North Korea and Zimbabwe.

The world made a mistake once - by supporting the Berlin Olympics and giving legitimacy to Hitler and his murderous regime. When will we learn from that mistake?

Communism is not all honey and heaven as it is made out to be. The Chinese brand, especially, is evil. The Indian commies who adore Mao need to be given a proper kicking. The likes of Basu and Karat need to be given a reality check. Their policies of repression - whether at Nandigram or elsewhere in Bengal are just their way of emulating the Chinese. They too need to be stopped.

In retrospect, we all know that Senator McCarthy was insane - but the question is - was he on the right track?

Since 1958 - the Chinese Communist Party's policies, actions and repressions have led to the deaths of more than 80 million people. To give you an idea of what 80 million means, imagine this - people standing in a line, hands outstretched, each holding the other's hand to form a giant chain. A chain of 80 million people will form a line 50,000 kms in length. That's more than the circumference of the Earth.

The Olympics need to be boycotted. The world needs to force the Chinese Communist Party to give up it's anti human policies.

Reality is that no one will boycott the Olympics. Maybe no one should..... but it's time to start asking questions. But until then, hey.... atleast there's one thing for certain - if you need an organ transplant - head over to Shanghai.....