China moving ahead, talking about temples & mosques will waste our time: Ex-Navy Chief Arun Prakash
New Delhi, Aug 11: China is moving ahead in areas like artificial intelligence and robotics and it would be a waste of time if India distracts itself by talking about temples and mosques, former Navy Chief Arun Prakash said on Sunday.
However, he expressed hope that the abrogation provision of Article 370 and the change in the status of Jammu and Kashmir will bring peace and help foster integration and economic development in the region.
"For our whole existence as an independent nation, we have seen and suffered from these fissures - linguistic, religious, caste etc. These conflicts have continued throughout our independent existence," said Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd.) while delivering Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture here.
"What we need to do is to try and tamp them rather than to exploit them...China is talking about artificial intelligence, robotics and machine learning and all that. And if we are going to talk about temples and mosques and so on, then obviously we are going to waste time," he added.
Curious to know whether anyone from the 'Raghuvansha' (descendants of Lord Ram) was still residing in Ayodhya, the Supreme Court on Friday had put this query to 'Ram Lalla Virajman', the deity and one of the parties in the politically sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case.
Fourteen appeals have been filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
Prakash, who served as the chief of Naval staff from July 2004 to October 2006, said on Sunday, "It is in key interest of national security to ensure peace and tranquillity domestically before even looking outside."
"So to take away the half front, which the Army Chief mentions, we need to ensure domestic peace, harmony etc. Therefore, the issues that are of a divisive nature need to be minimized rather than exploited," he added.
In June this year, Army Chief Bipin Rawat said that Indian armed forces are ready for a "two-and-a-half-front war". Rawat was referring to Pakistan and China as two fronts and internal security threats as the half front.
Prakash said Sunday, "Our actual preparation should have been to ward off Chinese pressure. They don't have to fire a bullet. There are many other ways of pushing India. And if we prepare to counter China, then Pakistan would automatically be taken care of."
Talking about recent situation in Jammu and Kashmir, he said, "One hopes that the recent abrogation of Article 370 and the changes in the status of erstwhile J&K (Jammu and Kashmir) will bring peace and help foster integration and economic development."
Earlier this wee, the government revoked provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, withdrawing special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and split the state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
"If we are to debunk Jinnah's two-nation theory and convince the Muslim majority Union Territory (UT) of J&K that they made the right choice in 1947, then we need to reflect seriously on some larger issues," he said.
"One, whether the pursuit of majoritarianism of any kind is a good idea for a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multilingual country like India. Two, whether in generating insecurity amongst any section of our people will enhance India's security or undermine it."
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
