Updated 02:00 IST[Late City] | Saturday, August 7, 1999, New Delhi
A new cult in China
(T. V. Rajeswar on the rise of Falun Gong)
Communism is the dominant cult in China, officially adopted and assiduously enforced. Of the four communist countries, China is the most dominant, the other three being Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam.
The communist cult received its first major shock when Khrushchev made his famous speech in 1956 denouncing Stalinism and other ugly aspects of Marxism-Leninism. Many miles down the road, Gorbachev started dismantling the USSR in the aftermath of the ten-year long disastrous Afghan war when Russia was made to bleed. Boris Yeltsin completed the demolition job by 1991 and the cult of communism had a sudden death in the country of its origin.
Communist China represents an amalgam of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Tse-tung’s thoughts and, in a large measure, Deng Xiaoping’s pragmatic economic philosophy. It is reformist and practical, with state capitalism masquerading as communism. To give just one example, it was announced in early July, 1999 that consequent to reforms and restructuring of China’s state-owned enterprises, more than three million workers would be laid off during the current year but the state would try to relocate them as much as possible.
China is likely to face many serious challenges in the coming years. A panel of experts, many of them Chinese, who met in Beijing recently to discuss the future of China during the next fifty years, foresaw many serious difficulties and problems. Some of the important forecasts were that the Chinese population would rise to 1.6 billion by 2030 AD of whom the working population alone would be around a billion, calling for creation of numerous new jobs every year; that in fifty years 80 per cent of the population would move to urban areas creating colossal urban problems and depleting working population in rural areas; that feeding this huge population would be possible only by optimum utilisation of genetic engineering of agriculture; and more importantly, that China cannot catch up with the West economically in the next fifty years notwithstanding its creditable growth rate since 1989. The experts cautioned China not to spend too much on militarisation before becoming economically strong and cited the example of Russia and its collapse as its militarisation was not related to economic strength.
Such are the serious problems awaiting China in the coming years. China cannot therefore tolerate anything which even remotely has the potential to challenge its absolute authority. The outlawing of the Falun Gong sect on July 22 has to be seen in this context. Its leader, Li Hongzhi, based in New York claims to be a higher being sent to earth to help his followers “achieve divine status before the imminent extinction of the science-addicted human race”. The more gibberish the philosophy, the more is the following for cults. So it has been with Falun Gong and Li claims a following of about a hundred million built up during a period of seven years. Falun Gong has a well organised propaganda network. The sect’s philosophy, if it can be so called, is based on Buddhism, Taoism and the martial arts of China, Korea and Japan. Falun Gong means “Wheel of Life” which would perhaps be traced to Buddhist lexicon. Falun Gong’s followers are promised miraculous powers and immunity against illness of all forms.
The Chinese authorities are understandably wary of sects given to practising martial arts because of its past history. Falun Gong’s claim of a hundred million followers far exceeded the membership of China’s Communist Party. Worse, among the followers were a large number from the party and the armed forces. With all this mounting evidence, the sudden assembly of over ten thousand followers of Falun Gong in the Forbidden City in April 1999 came as a shock to the Chinese rulers. Their quiet arrival from different directions and their silent demonstration against the state restrictions took the administration by surprise. Investigations showed that as many as 700,000 members of the Communist Party were members of Falun Gong. The threat to the state authority stared the ruling hierarchy in the face. The Chinese official mouthpiece, The People’s Daily, characterised it as a challenge to the destiny and future of the Communist Party and the government. A series of arrests have since been made and the crackdown is continuing.
A spokesman of the US administration has condemned the banning of the sect and expressed anxiety for Li’s life. If anything, this should exacerbate the Chinese rulers. American apathy during Premier Rongzi’s visit to USA, the delay in sponsoring China for WTO membership, the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade by NATO planes and the US Congressional accusation of long years of espionage by China have all soured the relations between China and the USA. China could not therefore be blamed if it believed that the Falun Gong is a carefully crafted conspiracy by the CIA. It may well be a CIA operation since a sect whose guru sitting in New York cannot enrol a membership of a hundred million in seven years, and more importantly make thousands of them travel distances and assemble in common places to exercise and interact. All this needs enormous amount of money and a network of hundreds and thousands of agents.
India’s own experience in respect of Ananda Marg is worth recalling. During the early years of Indira Gandhi’s rule when Leftists and even Communists were brought into the administration as well as government, the USA was alarmed and was looking for various counter measures. Somewhere in the corridors of power and think tanks in the US, the idea to encourage and finance religious movements as an antidote to Communism in India was hit upon. Ananda Marg was the principal beneficiary but there were others like Balayogi, the young person who married an American woman and became a rage among a section of Americans for a short while. Ananda Marg had a retired postmaster, P. R. Sarkar, as its guru and his philosophy involved total secrecy, absolute obedience to the master, tantrik rites and wearing of uniform.
In the mid-1970s Ananda Marg became very affluent with branches sprouting all over the world and a large number of followers coming from several parts of the world. The Ananda Marg’s avdhoots were posted in several countries like Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines etc, and its Asian regional headquarters was located at Guam island with an American woman avdhoot as its head. After the loss of power of Indira Gandhi in 1977 and her return to power in 1980 when the communists and fellow travellers were edged out, Ananda Marg lost its foreign financing and patronage. It is still active though, with its headquarters at Purulia, West Bengal, and not beyond the suspicion of unlawful activities.
The US knows from first hand experience the strong following which cults attract all over the world and their terrific influence over committed followers. The US itself is no exception. In 1977 an evangelist, Kim Jones, led 900 persons, most of them Americans, to commit suicide in Guyana. Twenty years later, 39 persons, most of them highly educated, belonging to the sect of Heaven’s Gate killed themselves. In fact, the US is said to be having about 1,300 cults. If therefore some limb of the US administration was behind Falun Gong for building up a potential challenge to the absolute authority of the Chinese Communist hierarchy, it was understandable. But can China be blamed for banning the Falun Gong?
___________________ |
