Japan's Emperor Akihito and
Empress Michiko pose for the photographers with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and his wife Gursharan Kaur on their arrival at AFS Palam in New Delhi
On Monday, the
Imperial Couple will attend a ceremonial reception at the official residence of
President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi and visit Raj Ghat, a memorial to
Mahatma Gandhi. Later in the day, the president will hold a state banquet for
them
The Times of India.com
The Emperor's pathway to India's heart
30 November 2013, 09:21 PM IS
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indus-calling/entry/the-emperor-s-pathway-to-india-s-heart
If in 1960 Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru received the visiting Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko, 53 years
later, a Nehruvian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, receives the same couple,
now the Emperor and Empress, having ascended the throne in 1990.
What a coincidence.
It must be a result of his good
karma for Japan, as he is indisputably the most popular and respected Indian
leader in the Land of the Rising Sun. The speech he gave in Tokyo this year in
May is reflective of his special feelings for the Japanese people. He mentioned
Japan as an inspiration to India and envisioned a path of strategic
cooperation, specially marking the maritime region. He said: "Asia's
resurgence began over a century ago on this island of the Rising Sun.
Ever since, Japan has shown us the
way forward. India and Japan have a shared vision of a rising Asia. Japan's
rise as a modern, knowledge-based industrial power was a source of inspiration
to India's great national leaders."
Nothing defines better the warmth and
cordiality between india and Japan than the age-old cultural and civilizational
ties. Shintoism, too akin to the Hindu beliefs, and the patriotic fervour of an
average Japanese inspired Indian monks like Swami Ramtirth and Swami
Vivekananda, made an everlasting influence on writers like Rabindranath Thakur
and powered revolutionaries like Subhas Chandra Bose. The economic and
industrial relations might have witnessed delayed milestones, yet an average
India grew on feelings of admiration for the Japanese products and
friendliness.
I
t is on these trusted foundations
that Tenno Heika (His Majesty the Emperor) and Kogo Heika (Her Majesty the
Empress) get a hearty Namaste from a billion-plus Indians.
It's difficult for
the ever revolting and 'eager to break tradition' new generation of India to
understand the awe and reverence with which people in Japan look at their
emperor and empress. In spite of a new constitution and the reduction in the
powers of the royalty, their majesties are considered divine and even a letter
handed over to them invites wide spread criticism and ridicule. Some time back
when a young actress turned legislature suddenly gave a letter over Fukushima
disaster to the Emperor, there were demands from all quarters that she should
be asked to resign.
The Emperor himself is credited with
breaking the tradition when he married a commoner; strictly the royalty is
expected to marry only in the families of Japanese nobility. Both meet the
common people as much as they can. The emperor, 79, underwent a bypass surgery
last year, so Empress Michiko shoulders most of the burden of attending rituals
and formal programmes on his behalf, yet its amazing to find that both attended
more than 300 events last year.
Their India visit is considered a
proactive gesture by Prime Minister Shinjo Abe's government, which is keen to
enhancing and strengthening India ties with a traditional strategic fervour.
Abe mesmerized Indian parliamentarians when he addressed them in the Central
Hall in 2007, quoting Dara Shikoh (perhaps the first foreign dignitary to
remember the great symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity and Vedic scholarship) and
Swami Vivekananda. It's not just 'Abeconomics' that is ensuring increased
Japanese investments to India but his long-term maritime strategic policy that
must make Indian presence and power in pacific and South China Sea more
assertive and secure.
Here lies the key to lay the solid foundation of
India-Japan strategic ties.
Dr Manmoghan Singh also had
emphasized the need for an upgraded cooperation in maritime sphere in his May,
2013, speech in Tokyo. He had, unhesitatingly said, "The Indo-Pacific
region is witnessing profound social and economic changes on a scale and at a
speed rarely seen in human history ... this region faces multiple challenges,
unresolved issues and unsettled questions. Historical differences persist
despite our growing inter-dependence; India and Japan are among the major
actors in this region. Our shared religious, cultural and spiritual heritage
embodies the principles of peace, co-existence and pluralism." He added:
"Maritime security across the linked regions of the Indian and Pacific
Oceans is essential for regional and global prosperity. We should, therefore,
uphold the principles of freedom of navigation and unimpeded lawful commerce in
accordance with international law, resolve maritime issues peacefully and work
together more purposefully to harness the potential of the seas and address
common sea-based challenges such as piracy."
The Emperor's visit will
make the entire Japan focus on India and the rest of the pathway will be
cleared flawlessly.
It is important that from the Indian
side an old Japan friend Salman Khurshid is appointed as Minister in waiting
for the visiting dignitaries. From Japanese side, former Prime Minister Mori's
inclusion in the royal entourage is significant. He is credited with laying the
solid foundation of India-Japan cooperation in recent times and India has
conferred Padma Bhushan on him.
This visit is a good omen for our
bilateral ties and should be seen rising above the domestic political
differences and ideological disagreements. After all Indian interest must
occupy the highest place and hence, as one tricoloured Indians, we all must
warmly welcome this visit.
