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China Cuddles With Maoists
   Next Article → THAILAND: Man of the People
December 10, 2007: British Army recruiters made one of their regular calls for volunteers, and over 17,000 young Nepalese men turned out to apply for 230 openings. Britain maintains, as it has for two centuries, a force of 3,500 Nepalese (mainly Gurkha) troops. The average annual income in Nepal is $240, while a Nepalese serving in the British Army makes at least $25,000 a year. Getting in is like winning the lottery. The Indians also recruit Gurkhas for their army, but the pay is much less.

 

The Maoist criminal (as opposed to political) violence persists. Increasingly, the Maoists are shaking down foreign tourists as well, often using violence to persuade the reluctant. The police and army are under orders not interfere, lest widespread fighting resumes. But the extortion is seen as purely political, with the Maoists using the money for personal, not party, purposes.

 

December 8, 2007: The Indian Army has resumed close relations with the Nepalese Army. These relationships were severed four years ago when the Nepalese king tried to crush the Maoists. Communist members of the Indian government, and Indian leftists in general, were pro-Maoist and got the government to cut off relations with the Nepalese military. But now the Indian Maoists have become more violent, and have refused to negotiate. Time to do what you can to contain the Nepalese Maoists as well.

 

December 5, 2007: Sensing a shift in power, China has made peace with the Nepalese Maoists. Although the home of Mao, China has renounced many of the revolutionary tactics preached by Mao Tse Dung. Mao is also seen as an inept ruler, who killed tens of millions of Chinese with idiotic economic policies.

 

 

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Est. 22       12/10/2007 10:09:32 AM
Britain maintains, as it has for two centuries, a force of 3,500 Nepalese (mainly Gurkha) troops. The average annual income in Nepal is $240, while a Nepalese serving in the British Army makes at least $25,000 a year. Getting in is like winning the lottery. The Indians also recruit Gurkhas for their army, but the pay is much less.
 
* Indian Army also recruits more than 60,000 Gurkhas at any point of time as opposed to UK 3,500.
 
* Indian Army also provides easily accessible medical and dental care to its retirees as opposed to UK.
 
* Indian Army also provides decent standards of free elementary and secondary education to the children and grand children of its Gurkhas; for UK's Gurkhas it is posible only if the soldier is able to bring his family to UK... which is practical only for senior NCOs and officers.
 
* The British have been steadily cutting down the number of positions available for Gurkhas; India has been expanding slots retired Gurkha veterans in its police and border guards forces.
 
* A really talented Gurkha can rise to the highest ranks of the Indian Army; the maximum a Gurkha in British Army can hope to be is a Lt. Colonel.
 
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dont_tread       12/10/2007 5:04:58 PM
"Although the home of Mao, China has renounced many of the revolutionary tactics preached by Mao Tse Dung. Mao is also seen as an inept ruler, who killed tens of millions of Chinese with idiotic economic policies.
 
perhaps thats how westerners view Mao, but as anyone who has spoken with chinese citizens can attest, they view Mao as an almost god-like father figure and know only of the "good" things he has given china. The communist party has ingrained an image of Mao and communism in the minds of the people that is so complex and thorough that people who did not grow up in china cannot even fathom its psycological depth.
 
 
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