HINDU WARRIORS GUARD SINGAPORE FROM TERROR
Dr. Jai Maharaj
Forwarded message from "G.Subramaniam" <gsu...@comcast.net>
[ From: "G.Subramaniam" <gsu...@comcast.net>
[ Subject: Hindu Warriors Guard Singapore From Terror
[ Date: Wed, 14 Jul 2004
http://www.thinkcentre.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=1436
Hindu Warriors Guard Singapore From Terror
(Reuters) 18 April 2002 by Maria Golovnina
These days, Nepalese not Singaporeans guard some of the
city's most sensitive sites. Gurkha soldiers, widely
regarded as the most fearsome fighters in the world, are
on the front line in the city-state as Singapore clamps
down on Islamic militancy in the wake of the September 11
attacks on the United States. The Hindu warriors, raised
in the foothills of the Himalayas and recruited by the
Singapore police, have seldom been in the public eye here
although their contingent has been based on the wealthy
island for more than 50 years.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Gurkhas helped quell racial
riots, strikes and trades union disputes in Singapore and
won praise for their ability to bring calm and be
impartial in any dispute.
Such turbulent times are long gone in Singapore but with
tension high in the wake of the September attacks and the
discovery of a plot to attack targets in Singapore, the
Gurkhas are replacing local policemen at some of
Singapore's most sensitive buildings.
These include the U.S. embassy and the American Club both
the target of a foiled bombing plot by a regional Islamic
group as well as the huge Jurong island petrochemical
complex and Changi international airport.
"I think it's right to say that the Gurkhas, as part of
the Singapore Police Force, have become more important
here after September 11," said Commander Bruce M. Niven,
head of the Gurkha Contingent in Singapore.
The Gurkhas' main strength is their impartiality in the
multiracial city-state of four million people.
"In the local context, impartiality is one of their
unique attributes," Niven said.
"Not being influenced by the local scene is part of their
concept in Singapore. They just don't get emotionally
involved in anything they may get caught up in."
It is the absence of political or religious roots in
Singapore that has granted the soldiers a reputation of
utmost objectivity --key to success in Singapore which is
inhabited by ethnic Chinese, Malay and Indian
communities.
On A Knife Edge
The Gurkha Contingent was officially created in Singapore
in 1949 from ex-British Army Gurkhas.
The city state has expanded the Contingent in the past
few years according to a source with knowledge of the
Gurkhas, but the events of September 11 could result in
further increases.
"Before, you just never saw them on the streets (of
Singapore)," said the source, who did not want to be
identified.
"But the government is pushing them more into the public
domain, which is a very interesting phenomenon."
The recent arrests of Islamic militants suspected of
plotting bomb attacks have cast a shadow over the
security-conscious island republic.
"We are a police force and we respond to what our
republic requires of us in times of peace or in time of
tension in the world," Niven said.
"We are unique here in the sense that our Gurkhas are
police officers... While a soldier is perhaps out there
to kill people, Gurkhas here are essentially present to
maintain the peace, and protect people and property."
Yet, a Gurkha cop is still a Gurkha. According to legend,
once his kukri dagger has been drawn in battle, it must
"taste blood". If it has not, its master has to cut
himself before returning it to its sheath.
Descended from the Rajputs tribes of North India, Gurkhas
conquered the small Nepali region of Gorkha after being
forced out from India in the early 16th century. Settling
down in their new home, the called themselves Gurkhas.
A City in a City
From there, Gurkhas have travelled widely, serving the
British empire in many parts of Asia but particularly
Singapore and Hong Kong.
The Gurkha Cantonment in Singapore is like another world,
with its own shops, schools and playgrounds.
"This is a small township, and I am like a mayor," Niven
said.
Stationed in Singapore on a temporary mission, the
Gurkhas do not sink deep roots into the city's soil. They
are not allowed to.
The principle of impartiality forbids them to marry
Singaporean women.
Most end up returning home to their villages in the hills
where most people grow rice and wheat.
So far only two or three of them have broken the
tradition and chosen to stay in Singapore instead of
returning to Nepal, one of the world's poorest countries
and torn by a six-year-old Maoist rebellion that has
claimed some 3,500 lives.
Niven said they are mainly recruited from the Hindu and
Buddhist villages and begin their careers at the age of
18 to 22.
End of forwarded message from "G.Subramaniam" <gsu...@comcast.net>
Jai Maharaj
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The terrorist mission of Jesus stated in the Christian bible:
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth:
I came not so send peace, but a sword.
"For I am come to set a man at variance against his
father, and the daughter against her mother, and the
daughter in law against her mother in law.
"And a man's foes shall be they of his own
household.
- Matthew 10:34-36.
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AlCapone
"Dr. Jai Maharaj" <use...@mantra.com> wrote in message
news:DTJ2s04zTgq4@zR892l2RtiofYz...
manutd9_win
more than they trust Singaporeans. the PAP, they really are all about money.
They think money will save them.
"Dr. Jai Maharaj" <use...@mantra.com> wrote in message
news:DTJ2s04zTgq4@zR892l2RtiofYz...
STRAIGHTS TIMED
"AlCapone" <AlCa...@Mafia.com> wrote in message
news:40f60a37$1...@news.starhub.net.sg...
> they come cheap not becoz of their myth
>
try telling that to LKY ! ...LOL