Re: Bhook Hartal (Hunger Strike)
^^
The pain and suffering of one's own can lead people to extraordinary things...So before someone decides to inflict pain on others, the first idea is to stop the inflicting being done to one's own...Hence the desperate attempts of the suicide fighters to protect one's own...
As far as hunger strike is concerned, I remember a Buddhist monk in Vietnam who self-immolated himself as an act of defiance to the North Vietnamese government as protest of unfair treatments to Buddhists...The monk is now given the title of Boddhisatva...
What did that achieve? Nothing...A few other monks followed suit...Nothing...After the American invasion of Vietnam, a few other Buddhists turned to self-immilation as a means of protest...Did that achieve anything? Nothing...Vietnam was still occupied by American forces...
The idea of hunger strikes and bhook hartaals happens when there is a conscientious observer...Do you think the Nazis would have given a damn if Jews went on a hunger strike? They did, but that was forced thanks to the Nazis...
Similarly, if 10,000 Iraqis went on hunger strike today, do you think it would matter to the US? Many thousands went on hunger strikes throughout the world against the Iraq invasion...Did that achieve anything?
If anything, the US forces would be happy to be rid of 10,000 Iraqis...This will sove nothing...
The logical choice for any person who has lost everything, thanks to the invaders, would be rather to die fighting and blowing the enemy to kingdom come or at least till they leave...