Can Indian people endure the World War 3 or any major war if it occurs?

Can Indian people endure the World War 3 or any major war if it occurs?

Predictions aside, let’s just here talk about the possibility of World War 3. It has been rumoured that the next world war can hit in next 20 or 30 years and no matter what, almost all the major countries would be participating in the war. Being a powerful nation, India will also be a part of it. However the real question is, can India endure the consequences of a world war? Wars always come with destructions and chaos and crisis. It’s how you deal with these thing that shows your endurance and approach toward such situations.

Yes, India has fought personal wars in history. However, we all know that world war is a way more dreadful than those wars. Moreover, we have suffered severely in those wars too. But are we ready to suffer the consequences of any major war? That would include a judgemental war against Pakistan.

For me, the answer is simply NO. India doesn’t seem ready to deal with such disaster. The reasons are quite simple and straight.

People’s mentality:

To be honest, most Indian People are hypocrites. They boast to handle any kind of tragedy, but when the tragedy hits, they complain about problems. Thanks to Prime Minister Modi that he has shown us how Indians would behave during real crisis. Apparently, the current generation has never seen an actual war. They don’t know what war looks like and how it impacts citizens of the country. The main reason behind their lack of knowledge is their lack of curiosity toward their own history. Our own history. Almost every Indian takes History as a boring subject and that is the reason why they don’t know anything about war, emergency, crisis and shortage of supplies.

Tolerance:

The recent act of Demonetization seems to have shocked many people. Though it has been a noble initiative by the government to curb terrorism and black money, people tend to be complaining about temporary inconvenience they have been facing. Such problems include long queues at banks and ATM, unable to access their money quickly enough and shortage of new currency. All the other problems are related to these three issues. Now, this act has shown us the real tolerance level of people. Most Indians boast about India-Pakistan judgemental war and claim to support the government. Whereas they can’t even endure temporary barriers.

Impact of wars:

There is a reason why knowledge is important. As Robert Langdon says in Dan Brown’s books that the knowledge of our past is the key of our future. We must know the history, at least the important history, so that we would not make the same mistakes again and again. I’d like to refer this to our youth.

When American Civil War was being fought, nearly 4,00,000 men died in that war and people started blaming President Abraham Lincoln for their deaths. Even the Republicans started opposing Lincoln on his amendment to abolish slavery. However, he stood by his decision and that resulted in the creation of United States of America and abolishment of slavery. The war concluded deaths of more than 7,00,000 men. If you’ve read the history properly, you know how many people selflessly contributed their luxuries and their comforts for the sake of their nation.

During 1960s’, while Vietnam War was being fought, it has been reported that even young fellows from college had enrolled themselves to participate in the war. Apparently, they did suffer dreadful consequences including lifetime injuries and heavy amount of deaths. What today’s youth has presented us is completely opposite thing. They don’t want to suffer temporary inconvenience and they boast about tolerance and courage.

Even in India, youth contributed the movements of freedom during early 1900s. However, youth was inglorious to choose violent ways in those movements, according to non-violent ones. And it was reported in the late 1940s that youth really did contribute in their own ways. However, considering the current youth, I hardly believe they’d ever think about leaving their comfortable AC rooms and contribute anything to nation.

I’m not denying the problems that a common man faces due to demonetization. However, if you think about major wars, not only army but the people also have to face troubles. And these troubles generally include money shortage, food shortage, long term financial crisis, deaths, economic downfall any many more terrible problems that we can’t even imagine. Yes, such problems CAN occur even in the judgemental war between India and Pakistan. The world war would be more hideous than that.

During the Second World War, the world almost sank in the crisis, while India had merely participated. Besides we were going through our freedom issues. Today’s youth who don’t read, who don’t want to glance back, they don’t know the real face of freedom. It may look like a nice scenario now, but back then, it was not a financially cheerful moment. After the wars with China and Pakistan, we’ve suffered a lot, which the current generation does not know.

Technology:

Internet would be the most important factor in future wars. Today people know how to boast on Social Media, but when they would see the dreadful glimpse of war, I bet their fingers will tremble while typing. Internet has power to spread the news quicker. And we don’t know if this would be an advantage or a disadvantage during the war. We can surely spread the information quickly enough, but so is with rumours. And believe me or not, rumours create anarchy. And during the real crisis, anarchy breaks our courage.

Here I’m not just talking about Indian Youth. Let’s take American Youth in count too. Recently Donald Trump’s Victory made them go crazy enough that they started destroying their own properties. They started protesting against him violently. Now, God forbids, but what would you do if Trump is the president and the World War starts? Would you protest against his every decision? America has rich history of strong presidents. President Lincoln handled the situation wisely. President Kennedy remained strong. Are we considering that today’s American People would even selflessly support the war as their ancestors did back in 60s? I’m not even talking about enrolling themselves, I’m just talking about moral support. The same goes with Indian Youth too.

Conclusion:

I’m just asking few questions. And if you figure out the answers, there is your conclusion.

Are we saying that these people, who can’t stand temporary inconveniences, are able to endure the consequences of any major war? Are we saying that these people could endure the shortage of supplies? Are we sure these people could endure deaths without blaming anyone? Will these protesters also protest against any decision taken during the war? While those young kids of college selflessly enrolled them in military to fight in the war, do we expect our youth to contribute even a little bit?

Valour, courage, selflessness, power… These words sound extraordinary. But when we have to prove them, we hesitate. 

Compromise is not a struggle

 Compromise is not a struggle

Once while I was sitting at bus-stop waiting for a bus, and suddenly a man around sixty-four or sixty five years old came by and sat beside me. Honestly, he was well-suited than me. I was just watching him. He was wearing a perfectly ironed shirt and pant and nicely polished shoes. I presumed that he might be a high profile government officer. 

I plugged out my earphone from my mobile and put it into my bag, while I realized that the man was watching me. As I glanced at him awkwardly, he smiled politely. Even his smile seemed too much professional.

“Young lad! College boy?” he asked.

 

“Yes,” I nodded, ignoring a strange conversation.

“Must have drowned yourself in fun and enjoyment,” he said.

“Not actually,” I shook my head. “I don’t do fun.”

“Pity then. You should,” he grumbled. He paused for a moment and then asked, “So what do you study?”

“Computer science,” I replied bluntly. 

“Tech people,” he sighed. “I really admire you people, but I curse you at the same time.”

Undoubtedly, I was surprised by that sentence. Why would an old man like him curse people like me? 

“Why is that?” I asked curiously.

“When I was like you, perhaps bit older than you, I was working in a private company. We used to make metal components of vehicles and automobile. I worked there for two-three years, and then I quit. I wasn’t really a smart man like you. I was just an ITI guy, who could work on those old instruments and machines. But then this new thing came. Computer Science. They assured us to change the face of technology. Well, honestly, we all were happy that something different was coming along. But when it did, many things were made automatic. They had reduced man power at considerable amount, and many of my colleagues became jobless. I was fortunate though. I had already learnt some new things which might have kept my job for few years. But those men were really poor and they couldn’t learn these new things without proper education and training. We saw many people switching their career and starting a business. Many of my friends took shops on rent and started business. But still, I heard many people went back to as worker at construction sites. Unfortunately, your technologies had reduced man power there too. But still there was a chance of getting a job that could feed you. But I was always pitied on those people who couldn’t make it through,” he explained.

I was quietly listening him. That man was making some really appropriate points, on which I agreed. That must be really unbalanced and chaotic situation back then. 

“Anyway, I decided to make my son a techy person like you. I could never learn that computer thing, on which my son mocked me for quite long time. But I made him an engineer, just like you,” he said.

“That’s good,” I spoke blankly. 

“Yes,” he nodded. “Although, he is quite older than you. He is currently working too. But still sometimes when we discuss with each other, he mentions the same problem with his generation. He once told me that they learn things and they get upgraded in few years and they don’t get time to learn those new things. And he also mentioned that nowadays, engineers have worst fate. Is it?” 

“Yes,” I admitted. Well, I knew that most of us don’t have that glorious future. 

“Do you know what people do in such situations?” he inquired.

I remained quiet and that said it all.

“Compromises,” he said. “Some compromise with money. Some compromise with knowledge. And some compromise with skills. It is not actually their fault for not being qualified for the job, is it? Yet they have to compromise.”

“I wouldn’t,” I grumbled out of pride. “I would never compromise any of these.”

He looked at me curiously and said, “But sometimes you don’t have a choice.”

“But compromise is never an option. It doesn’t just waste your hard work, it makes you dishonourable. One compromise may not seem a big deal, but when you succeed, you just prefer compromise at every point of your life just because of your obsession with success,” I said calmly. 

He kept staring at me, while I said that. “You seem like really good lad,” he whispered. “You know where these things lead us. Tell me, are you obsessed with success or peace?” 

“I don’t know what I want yet. But I do know one thing that I don’t want success that has no meaning of that word,” I muttered. “For me, success is not just achieving wealth and prosperity. The journey matters the most to me. People choose different ways to get success. We call them shortcuts. But if you walk with self-pride, it is very unlikely that you’ll get success. I have heard many people telling me that once you reach there, nothing actually matters. But I still can’t stand with this concept of getting success by faking things. I can’t be dishonest with myself to just reach there.”

“But most of the people don’t work that way,” he grinned. “You’re right that for some people even little bit of dishonesty ruins the joy of their success. Because everyone has different priorities in life. Some people make their success priority. But some people make their honesty their priority. Legends say that honest ways lead you to success. But those legends were made during honest world. This is just a dishonest world. Here, honest ways may starve you to death.”

“When I come to your age, I don’t want to feel that my entire life was worthless. But perhaps dishonest ways will put me in that feeling of worthlessness,” I confessed.

“Then you shouldn’t be dishonest with your life,” he advised.

“And it will keep me away from success, forever,” I grumbled in disappointment.

“I’m not going to lie just because you could keep your motivation. But yes, it is very likely that it will keep you away from success,” he admitted. “Honesty is not everyone’s cup of tea, boy. People think that their compromises are their struggle. But it’s not. Compromise is not struggle. Honest people are rare. No one stays that way. But even if they do, how many of us know about their honesty?”

“Perhaps we don’t want to show people our honesty. Why would we?” I said.

“Yes, we shouldn’t,” he agreed. “And that is the you live with honesty. You may never see the face of success in your life, but you know the face of honesty. And believe me, it is more assuring than success.”

We remained quiet for a moment, as a bus passed by. 

“You said you quit the job. What did you do then?” I asked curiously.

“I became an insurance agent,” he replied calmly.

There was a strange silence for few moments. We both knew that irony, and I honestly wanted to laugh, yet I didn’t. However, he started laughing and I joined him.

Feminism : A process to achieve Gender Equality or Domination?

Feminism

A process to achieve Gender Equality or Domination?

Nowadays, people have assumed that both these terms have the same meaning. However, they don’t understand how these terms convey their meanings. In an ideal world, people would need Gender Equality which would give all the genders equal rights in everything, including transgender people, who are remarkably ignored while talking about Gender Equality. Now it’s the time we all understand the difference between these both terms and decide which we want to choose and head with.

What is Gender Equality?

Gender Equality, as the term literally means, is a state where all the genders (not only men and women) are treated equally, with giving them equal rights. The laws for genders should also be equal so that they could defend themselves equally.

Nowadays, women rights have been raised so high that laws have been bent toward a specific gender, which is preventing another gender from defending itself, even if it is right. Not all people of all genders are good. If there are terrible men, then there are terrible women too. When you give powers to certain category of people, the bad ones would try to misuse it to achieve their own selfish goals. It is fact. However, these biased law are influenced by feminism, not by gender equality.

What is Feminism?

Feminism literally means to favour feminine gender, which apparently means to favour woman. If you think that Gender Equality and Feminism mean the same, you’re wrong. Now you must be wondering why. Because, Gender Equality is our goal, not the process. On the other hand, we are using Feminism as a process to achieve our goal of Gender Equality.

Apparently, for last many years, people have been feeling that the wold is cruel to women, which is causing them to suffer a lot. That may be true, we don’t deny that. And for that reason, people have seen an inevitable need to establish feminism and support it so that it could raise woman empowerment from feminine perspective, and eventually, we will reach our goal of Gender Equality. Feminism is being used as a process for Gender Equality.

You must have seen men favouring Gender Equality instead of Feminism, and most of you would be wondering why.

Why men favour Gender Equality instead of Feminism?

Initiatives like Feminism look worthy when they are approached. However, such initiative should have some limits that could prevent misuse of the concept. Apparently, Feminism does not have any limits. Presuming by the current scenario, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Feminism would be used as domination power once we have reached our goal of Gender Equality. Such initiatives could be initiated, but to stop them at their predetermined destination is hard. Because the people who have always been supporting Feminism, would insist to keep it in order to keep balance in society. In future if we achieve Gender Equality through Feminism, Feminists would like to follow the concept in order to keep the situation that way.

However, when you overuse something, it takes the shape of horror. Feminism has vast chance of being dominating power. And then in the name of democracy, people would ask for men empowerment in order to achieve balance once again, and that would eventually cause domination once again. And this cycle will never stop.

That is the common difference between Feminism and Gender Equality, which you must keep in mind before declaring that you’re supporting this and that. We are not stopping you from supporting either of these things. It completely depends on you. But if you want to achieve the real goal, you must think before you act. 

Democracy : Rationality v/s Influence

Democracy

India has been a democratic country for past 66 years now, and even if you ask some 18 years old, who are supposed to be holding a voter right, is uncertain about the difference between Independence Day and Republic Day. If we have such uncertainty about these things even after 66 years of democracy, what would the situations have been in 1950 when they first gave people the right to elect their own government?

India got freedom in 1947, which made us free people. No more slaves. However, when we became a democratic nation, 60% people had no idea how the democratic country works. Because most of us had never been into democratic country before. National Congress had a power to influence people at that time, since most followers of Gandhi were from Congress. Meanwhile, people had nearly forgotten the role of real martyrs by 1948 when Gandhi was also declared as Martyr. Most of the people had believed that we got freedom just because of non-violence. Thus, all of the efforts of violent freedom fighters like Bose, Bhagat Singh, Azad had vanished all at once. People had influence of Gandhi and his followers, who apparently were Congress. In 1947, Nehru was made the Prime Minister of India, who was not actually elected by people at first.

Let us now imagine a scenario here. Suppose, you are a common man of an independent India. However, you are uncertain about how the democratic countries work. And you are asked to vote to choose the leader of your country. Who would you choose? For me, I would look back to see who has recently been a leader, and how his leadership was. Apparently, the country was under Congress’s influence then. So naturally, I would vote for a person representing that party or follower of the person who had just been a leader. That would be anyone’s choice, since we don’t know how other people would rule. We have recently been assured about every facilities and some wise and delicious words to which we are certainly attracted, and we would vote for it. However it is not our rational decision, because we are too naïve to make a rational decision when we are still influenced by our freedom. Irrationally made democratic decision is not a democratic decision at all.

Seeing the apparent history of Elections, we can see what influence can do and what democracy we have chosen. Even at this point of time, when a person doesn’t know the different between the importance of 15^th August and 26^th January, how can we expect him/her to make a rational decision about the future of the country? When you are uncertain about the difference between freedom and democracy, how are you making a rational decision? However, people have been wiser so far. People have recognized that influence and its consequences. But still, are we being rational about the benefits of country? Or are we just selfish about benefits of our own?

We have given the enormous power in our hands. Are we sure that we know that power well? Governments don’t make people. People make governments. But how many times have you actually elected the government rationally?

It is still not only about democracy. Because democracy can still be used as dictatorship if you know how to use it. Yes, influence is one way to do so. However, majority of our people always run away from politics and political agendas, which is good for themselves. But, are sure that your uncertainty about politics and political leader would lead you to vote a right person? I don’t think so. How can you vote rationally when you are unaware of the political progress and development of your nations? We see roads, bridges, infrastructure, and markets being constructed. We see our essential facilities being upgraded. We see our individual benefits being increased. But is this all that defines a governance system? Are you aware about what your current government achieved economically and internationally? Are you aware about how your governments have developed so far? There are ways of development, and those ways often pass through corruption. And when we find about that corruption after 5-10 years, and the government is still in power, are we strong enough to reveal that corruption? Certainly no. Because we are part of that corruption, and we know that if we try to bring down the government in power, our individual growth would decrease. For past many years, we have seen government officers asking for bribe despite their fine salaries and well-paid schemes introduced by that government. And when the system is being pressured to be transparent and quick, the same government officers have criticized the transparency using various irrational issues. And who are these government officers? Among us. He may be your relative or your neighbour, to whom you have talked at evenings and heard them. And yes, it is an influence. If those people criticize transparency, you would be in influence of criticizing it too. Clearly, those officers are going to vote according to their individual unethical growth. But are we being honest and making rational choice, or are we just being influenced by them and making the choice accordingly?

You surely would be surprised how you have actually known your government so far. Or you would be surprised on the usage of power that you have been given. Rational and honest decisions would make right choices. But honesty often vanishes with influence. No matter if you are seeing things around you getting better, you will still make irrational and influenced choices because the source of your influence is in touch with government and you are not. We all are basically the part of a corruption that we want to abolish, but unfortunately, we can’t. The great political advisor Chanakya once said, “If you give power in wrong hands, it would take a horrible shape.” It doesn’t literally mean what it says. It means if the power is given to those who don’t know the value of that power, it is worthless. We have power, but we are still reluctant to value it. We are still learning. And that power is democracy. 

The Government of Ashoka

The Government of Ashoka

(268 BCE - 232 BCE)

Note: Here Dhamma means Dharma and Dhammika means Dharmika. In Buddhism, they are mentioned so.

Emperor Ashoka - the great is well-known in our culture for his brutality as well as his peacefulness in later life. I also wrote a blog about the agony of his older life, which was entitled as The Legend of Kunala. However, today the topic isn’t about agony. It’s about ideologies, secularism, politics, and liberalism. All these things existed 2200 years ago during empire of Ashoka. Most of the people don’t know that Ashoka had been brutal only for four years since his coronation. In the fifth year, he had become peaceful and follower of Dharma. He had started practicing Dharma under the guidance of Tissa. Throughout his life, Emperor Ashoka built 33 edicts and inscribed them with his ideologies, which were proven to be extremely helpful in to later kingdoms. His ideologies were so convincing that even Greeks, Alexandrians and their neighbours started following them. They supported Ashoka, not because of fear, but because of convincing ideologies. His edicts show how generous the emperor was, and how he made laws to treat humans and animals along with nature. They also describe how the emperor supported secularism, proselytism, liberalism and many more ideals.

Emperor Ashoka

Proselytism:

The first thing which is important that Emperor Ashoka allowed not only his people, but all the people of different territories to convert their faith, their religions on their own will. Proselytism, we might say. He believed that people may follow any faith they want, or any religion that they see the dharma in.

Now it is the best conquest of Dhamma that beloved of gods (Ashoka) considers to be the best conquest. And it has been won here, on the borders, even six hundred yojanas away where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond that where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamprapani. - Rock Edict n. 13 [S. Dhammika]

Besides, he further states in Kandahar Edict that.

Ten years of reign having been completed, King Piodasses (Piyadassi/Ashoka) made known piety to men, and from this moment, he has made men more pious, and everything thrives throughout the whole world. And the King abstains from living beings and other men and those who are huntsmen and fishermen of king have desisted from hunting. And if some were intemperate, they have ceased from their intemperance as was in their power and obedient to their father and mother and to elders, in opposition to the past, also in the future, by so acting on the every occasion, they will live better, more happily. - Kandahar Edict   

Ashoka considered the conquest over his rage superior than any other conquest he had ever done. He became stable and stability always leads to a better reign. Not only he allowed proselythism, but he also created some moral laws which were acceptable to everyone.

Ashoka's edict in Kandahar

Moral Accepts of Ashoka

Right Behaviour:

According to Ashoka, right behaviour was a key to be happy and prosperous. Right behaviour allows you to follow your dharma properly. He has stated in his edicts about importance of right behaviour.

Dharma is good. But what constitutes Dharma? It includes little evil, much good, kindness, generosity, truthfulness and purity. - Pillar Edict n. 2 [S. Dharmika]

A person follow his own Dharma, which might not be perfect. But a person should always try to practice Dharma which includes much good, kindness, generosity, etc. Such type of Dharma leads a man to peace and happiness.

He further states in another edict about importance of right behaviour.

And noble deeds of Dharma and practice of Dharma consist of having kindness, generosity, truthfulness, purity, gentleness and goodness increase among people. - Rock Pillar n. 7

If a person practices right kind of Dharma which includes right type of behaviour, it absolutely increases above mentioned qualities in human nature.

Benevolence:

Ashoka’s Dharma meant that he used his powers to try to make life better for his people and who tried to change the way people thought and lived.

Kindness to prisoners:

Before his transformation, Ashoka was considered as the most brutal ruler of the Indian Subcontinent. However, his brutality never crossed the limit to punish innocence. He punished criminals more brutally. However, after his transformation, he used to visit them everyday to see transformation in them. He ever created some facilities which prisoners might accept.

It is my desire that there should be uniformity in law and uniformity in sentencing. I even go this far, to grant a three-day-stay for those in prison who have been tried and sentenced to death. During this time, their relatives can make appeals to have prisoners’ lives spared. If there is none to appeal on their behalf, their prisoners can give gifts in order to make merit for next world, or observe fasts. -Pillar Edict n. 4

Ashoka allowed three-day-stay policy in which relatives could stay with them in their last days and appeal to spare their lives. If prisoner doesn’t have any appealer, then he could give gifts to poor or observe fasts to make their next life easier. People at that time believed in rebirth, as some people still do, and most of their final activities are performed in order to get better rebirth.

He later states another policy.

In the twenty-six years since my coronation, prisoners have been given their amnesty on twenty five occasions. -Pillar edict n. 5

Respect for animal life:

Ashoka was the first ruler in Indian History to ban slavery, animal slaughter and many more unethical things. He always urged people to have respect for each type of animal. In fact, during his reign, people actually became fully vegetarian. His edict also mentions how he declared ban to animal slaughter.

Twenty-six years after my coronation various animals were declared to be protected - parrots, mainas, Aruna, ruddy geese, wild ducks, nandimukhas, gelatos, bats, queen ants, terrapins, boneless fish, vedanyaka, Gangapuputaka, fish, tortoises, porcupines, squirrels, bulls, okapinda, wild asses, wild pigeons, domestic pigeons and all four-legged creatures that are neither useful not edible. Those nanny goats, ewes and sows which are with young or giving milk to their young are protected, and so are young ones less than six months old. Cocks are not to be caponized, husks hiding living beings are not be burnt and forests are not to be burnt either without reasons to kill animal is not to be fed to another. - Pillar Edict n. 5

Thus emperor banned animal sacrifice too and declare them to be protected. Some of them are extinct species today, but at least he tried to protect them. He was the first person who spread enlightenment among people to respect the animal as they are part of our nature.

Religions exchange:

Ashoka was the first ruler to invent the concept of secularism. Secularism means having separate ideologies from extreme religious ideologies which might harm the government. Ashoka always believed that there are good things in every religion and we should build a government by choosing those good ideologies from each religion. Now that was a whole new concept in that era, and Ashoka actually made that happen.

All religions should reside everywhere, for all of them desire self-control and purity of heart. -Edict n. 7

While he had already stated in his first edict to ban animal slaughter for anything. People used to slaughter animals to offer them as sacrifice to particular deity. But he banned it.

Here in my domain, no living beings are to be slaughtered or offered in sacrifice. - Ethic n. 1

He believed that getting in touch with various religions will help you to grow your knowledge about different ideologies. And then you get to choose best ideologies from them. That’s why he later states-

Contact between religions is good. One should listen to and respect the doctrines professed by others. Beloved of gods (Ashoka), King Piyadassi (Ashoka), desires that all should be well-learned in good doctrines of other religion. -Edict n. 12

I believe, religions don’t make governments, people do. And government should be free of extreme religious ideologies. Because they grow radical extremism and radical extremism burns the world. Adopting good ideas from all the religions and civilizations is the best way to build a perfect government. Recently, the world has been going through a terror, which are spread by some radical Islamic groups, who just want to force their extreme ideologies on government. Every religion has some things which are extreme to live with today. So we have to get rid of that. And we are. When religions began, they were all good at their inception point. But then they are politicized and corrupted by people. And then, few extremists make them points of radical extremism.

Spread of Ashoka's teachings

Social and Animal welfare:

Medical Treatments:

Ashoka was one of the best ruler the world has ever seen, and he built magnificent libraries, colleges, schools and hospitals to help people as well as animals, which included nourishment of nature. In his edicts, he proves that.

Everywhere within, beloved of gods, King Piyadassi’s domain (Ashoka’s domain), and among people beyond the borders, the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Satinyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far as Tamrapannis and where the Greek King Antiochos rules, and among the kings who are neighbour of Antiochos, everywhere has beloved of gods, King Piyadassi (Ashoka), made provision of two types of medical treatments: Medical Treatment for humans and Medical Treatment for animals. Wherever medical herbs, suitable for humans or animals are not available, I have had them imported and grown. Wherever medical roots of fruits are not available, I have had them imported and grown. Among roads I have had wells dug and trees planted for the benefits of humans and animals. - Edict n. 2

Thus, throughout the Indian Subcontinent and even in Greece, Emperor Ashoka imported herbs, plants, fruits, trees and medical resources to help people and animals. He also nourished nature with these procedures.

Roadside Facilities:

Very few people know that the first ever road built was Grand Trunk Road, which is from Amritsar to Lahore. However, that road was built during Mauryan Empire, when there was Stone Age and it was built by stones. Emperor Ashoka reconstructed the road made by his grandfather Chandragupta Maurya, from Patliputra (Patna) to Takshila (Taxila). He built many roads connecting various cities around the Indian Subcontinent.

Along roads, I have had banyan trees planted, so that they can give shade to animals and men, and I have had many groves planted. At interval of eight krosas, I have had wells dug, rest houses built, and in various places, I have had watering places made for the use of animals and men. But these are minor achievements. Such things to make the people happy have been done by former kings. I have done these things for this purpose that the people might practice the Dharma. - Edict n. 7

He took care of every traveller as well as animals and nature. He nourished his motherland and enlightened people to do the same.

Map of Ashoka's Edict

Officers of faith:

This was the whole new concept introduced by Emperor Ashoka. He appointed officers of faith, who would go and live among people of various religions various race, and advice them to follow Dharma.

In past there were no Dharma Mahamatras, but such officers were appointed by me thirteen years after my coronation. Now they work among all the religions for establishment of Dhamma, for the welfare and happiness of who are devoted to Dhamma. They work among the Greeks, the Kambojas, the Gandharas, the Rastrikas, the Pitinakas and other people on the western borders. They work among soldiers, Chiefs, Brahmins, householders, the poor and aged and those devoted to Dhamma for their welfare and happiness. So that they may be free from harassment. - Edict n. 5

Thus, he tried everything to establish pure and peaceful Dharma across the world. He spread his teachings and laws till the western borders. Even Greeks and Syrians admired him a lot in their biographies. While Emperor Ashoka was the first person to start keeping records of these things. He inscribed 33 edict around the Indian Subcontinent and made 40 pillars, around the border which represented his glory and dignity. There are only 10 pillars left today, which are also like ruins. Ashoka’s coronation was done in 268 BCE, while he died in 232 BCE when he was 72 years old. He might have died in his own agony, but his life-long teachings are precious. His reign remained for 35 years, and he ruled as Dhammashoka (Peaceful Ashoka) for more than 30 years. In previous years, he gave shape to the modern India, by merging them into the one invincible empire, and later for 30 years, he cherished it with good qualities. The Greatest Emperor. He was truly the universal emperor.

But still, even after 2200 years, Ashoka’s edicts can lead us to better future. His edicts can lead us to make better governments. His teachings can make us a better person.

Ashoka's one of the edicts 

Ashoka's one of the edicts