'Why was Alexander not Great'.....................by K J S Chatrath

 Wars have been a scourge of humanity. Alexander of Greece tried to conquer various countries. He conquered Thebes, Ionia, Tyre, Egypt, and Persia. He overthrew the whole Persian Empire killing a very large number of people and causing great misery. He was a great war-monger. And surprisingly we started calling him ‘Great’. 

And more recently when the World War-I played havoc with millions on this planet, we started calling it ‘The Great War’! By the same logic were Changez Khan and Hitler ‘great’?

How totally inappropriate! ‘Great’ can be used in a number of ways and the manner in which it is used to describe the 1914-1918 War should not be taken to mean ‘ glorious’ or ‘exalted’ or ‘distinguished’. It should be understood in the limited sense of ‘major’ or ‘momentous’. It is ironical that the same people do not call World War-II as ‘great’ though the number of dead in it was far more than in the WW-I!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Some stunning AI portraits by Polish painter Dorota Piotrowiak' - shared by KJS Chatrath

Image
Dorota Piotrowiak' obtained a diploma in the painting studio of prof. Mieczyslaw Ziomek at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń in 1996. . She works in painting, sculpture and graphics. Since 2013, she has been creating models and dioramas of nature, as well as maquettes and thematic displays for national parks, landscape parks and museums. She conducts authorial workshops for children and young people using the papier-mâché technique. She is the initiator and organizer of “Sztuka Papieru” ( the Art of Paper ) Festival in cooperation with the Friends of the Lower Vistula Society and Paper Technical School in Świecie on Vistula. Associated with the Art of Paper studio ( www.sztukapapieru.pl ). Here are some of the portraits made by her: Disclaimer: The copyright remains with the original holder. This blog is intended to introduce this amazing artist to a wider audience.
Read more

'Unexplained deaths of a number of Indian soldiers & non-combatants in France after Armistice on 11th November 1918' - by K J S Chatrath

Image
Today is the anniversary of the Armistice day, 11th November 1918, when fighting in the First World War officially stopped. I am collecting details of Indian soldiers and non-combatants who died in France after Armistice on 11th November 1918. Some one has to explain the reasons of their deaths long after fighting had stopped.  Here are a few Indian Syces (Horse groomers) who died after Armistice and who lie commemorated in Etaples Military Cemetery in France. Totally forgotten. Respectful salute to them. Devia; Syce; Syce Corps; Sehore Depot; Service number 1737; Died 11.3.1919; Death after Armistice on 11.11.1918; Commemorated in plot number XLIV A.11. (Etaples Military Cemetery)..    Kalloo ; Syce; Indian Army; Service number 2298; Died on 04.02.1919; Death after Armistice on 11.11.1918; Commemorated in plot number XLIV.A.7..   (Etaples Military Cemetery)   Narayan; Syce; Sehors Depot Syce Corps; Service number 2221; Died on 13.02.1919; Death
Read more

Arthuna- a cluster of gems waiting to be 'discovered' - by K J S Chatrath

Image
  I was lucky to have visited Arthuna, located in Banswada district of Rajasthan early this week. I took a train up to Ratlam and from there Arthuna by excellent road is about 130 kms. The place is a gem for archaeology lovers waiting to be visited and written about.I am grateful to my facebook friend and a remarkable traveller and blogger Mr. Sabya Sachi Ghosh for getting me interested in visiting Arthuna. I look forward to soon meeting Mr. Ghosh in person.  Previously known as   Utthunaka, Arthuna was the capital of Paramara rulers of Vagada during eleventh-twelfth centuries A.D. They patronized both Jainism and Saivism simultaneously, so they constructed a number of Siva temples. An inscription of the Paramara prince Chamundaraja records that he built a temple of Siva called Mandalesa in honour of his father in A.D. 1079. Another inscription of A.D. 1080 mentions that his officer’s son named Anantapala also founded a temple of Siva.  In a group of temples known as Hanumangarhi i
Read more

Total Pageviews