What Was Happening in the World 100 Years Ago in 1912?

Many things that happened in 1912 shaped the lives of generations to come.

Significantly, as in 2012, the end of the world scenario was already there. There were persistent rumours in Novgorod, Russia that the anti-Christ had already been born and the world would soon end.

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• People lived much shorter lives in 1912. Average life expectancy in USA was 51,5 in 1912 (now 78,3)
• The car began to change the way people live. Ford's Model T was being mass-produced in USA.
• The first electric self-starter for automobiles introduced – you didn’t need to go out and crank the car to start by turning a heavy handle.
• In most “developed” countries women were not allowed to vote.

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• Zeppelins were seen as the future of air travel, but airplanes were becoming more common. Women (at least one) were allowed to fly in the UK, but not vote until 1928.
• The first air force in the world, the Royal Flying Corps (Royal Air Force nowadays) formed in 1912. Dropping bombs from the sky became a common practice from then on.
• The Radio started becoming a major communication tool. The Titanic would be the first ship to send a radio SOS before it sank on April 14^th 1912.
• Unions and progressive legislation started making the life of the workingman more comfortable and safer. Purer food and safer drug laws began making life healthier for everybody.

Wars going on in 1912:

• Serbia, Montenegro and Greece declared war on Turkey.
• Turkey attacked Bulgaria.
• Italians at war with Turkey and took over Libya.
• US Marines invaded Nicaragua (leaving finally in 1925) and Honduras
• US forces land in Cuba to quell anti-discrimination protests by Afro-Cubans

Italian Dirigibles bombing Turkish troops. The first aerial bombing in history! Photo source:

Now let’s take a look at what was happening around the world in 1912:

Australia

• First air crash in Australia, between Mount Druitt and Rooty Hill
• The Maternity Allowance Act 1912 granted a “Baby Bonus” of five pounds (325 GBP today) to the mother of every child born in Australia. No one even thinks of including indigenous and non-citizens. 

China

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• Bad things begin to get worse for China. Empress Dowager Longyu endorses the Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor on 12.2.1912. This ends 2000 years of imperial rule in China.
• The Republic of China is established on 1^st January 1912 on mainland China (now they govern only Taiwan). Sun Yat Sen loses his presidency to Yuan Shikai (General who wanted to have himself crowned as the emperor during his presidency after Sun Yat Sen’s death).
• Republic of China adopts the Gregorian calendar

France

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• First non-stop Paris to London flight by aviator Henri Seimet in 3 hour
• 3 year military service chosen unanimously by the French council of war
• Morocco becomes a protectorate of France  
• The Archbishop of Paris decreed that "Christians must not tango." 

India

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• India’s first Indian Anglican bishop Vedanayakam Samuel Azariah appointed
• In 1912 India introduced compulsory registration of motor vehicles.
• Muslim Indian doctors and nurses join the Red Crescent organization established in 1912 to help Turkish troops in the Balkan war of 1912.
• Decision taken to move capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi
• Rabindranath Tagore, on his way to England by boat from India translates his poem Gitanjali into English. His son loses the poem in his father’s briefcase on the London Tube. An honest man tracks them down and returns the papers. Tagore’s friend Sir William Rothenstein hears about the poem, contacts W. B. Yeats. Eventually Tagore becomes the first non-Westerner to get the Nobel Prize in 1913.

Russia

Familiar? No, not Saddam or Gaddafi but Rasputin of Russia.

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• Bolshevik Conference in Prague ‘expels’ the Mensheviks - the Bolsheviks are formally established as a separate party
• Lenin engineers Stalin, Zinoviev, and Ordzhonikidze on the Central Committee, to control Malinovsky 
• Pravda, the Soviet communist party newspaper begins publishing 
• Rasputin’s enemies publish the Czarinna’s adoring letters to Rasputin. Public outrage causes him to flee St.Petersburg. Rasputin returns at the Czarinna’s request and the young Czarevich’s health improves
• Strikes begin in the Lena goldfields in Siberia as the company forces workers to eat meat from horses’ penises. Troops fire and kill 200 peaceful marchers.
• Worker’s health insurance act passed by the Russian parliament, the Duma.
• The Rothschilds sell all their Russian oil interests to Royal Dutch (Shell)

Thailand/Siam

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• Failed uprising against the absolute monarchy. The new king Vajiravudh, who considered himself an Edwardian gentleman, began his plans to westernize Siam. He spent his time translating Shakespeare into Thai, establishing a Wild Tiger Corps personally answerable to him alone and running up huge state debts. Emboldened by the successful overthrow of the Qing dynasty in China some army officers unsuccessfully plotted to overthrow the absolute monarchy (achieved in 1932).

UK

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• Literacy rate in UK is 40% in 1912 (now 99%)
• Minimum wages for miners introduced after strike threats
• Suffragettes smash shop windows in Oxford Street and destroy Pillar boxes. They were often jailed, force-fed when they went on a hunger strike and released so they didn’t die in prison.
• Harriet Quimby, is the first woman pilot to fly across the English Channel.
• Piltdown man, posed as the missing link between apes and humans. (It took 40 years to debunk the hoax).
• A courier driving a horse-drawn delivery truck earned enough to buy 34 pounds of bread on his daily wages - exactly the same as a carpenter or mason in 1450. 

USA

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• U.S. Public Health Service is established
• New Mexico is the 47^th state and Arizona becomes the 48^th state
• First use of zippers in clothing
• Tokyo mayor Yukio Ozaki gives 3000 cherry blossom trees to Washington, D.C. to symbolise the warm friendship between the countries.
• A 190 kg meteorite explodes over the town of Holbrook, Arizona. No deaths.
• Salonkeeper John Schrank shoots President Theodore Roosevelt. With a gaping wound and the bullet still in him, Roosevelt delivers the speech. The 50 page written speech and a steel spectacle case in his breast pocket had stopped the bullet from going too far and saved his life.
• Average yearly income is $1,033 (for 2011 it is $ 42, 979.61)
• A gallon of gas is 7 cents (now $ 4.50)
• A loaf of bread is 5 cents (now $ 5)
• A medium priced home was $ 2750 (now $ 300 000 - $ 500 000)

The Vatican

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• Pope Pius x (St. Pius) issued his Encyclical letter Lacrimabili Statu and writes 

“When so many abhor the faith or fall away from it, the zeal for spreading the Gospel among the barbarous nations is still strong in the clergy.”

Predictions Made in 1912

The coming of the wireless era will make war impossible, because it will make war ridiculous. - 

Guglielmo Marconi, pioneer of radio, Technical World Magazine, October, 1912, page 145.

This has obviously not materialised. Currently, there are 37 ongoing wars, civil-wars and insurgencies, which demand more than 1000 deaths per year according to the Uppsala Conflict Data Programme.

If you are wondering what in the world happened 100 years ago, you might be tempted to worry if 2012 is really the end of the world as so many are clamouring. 

No, rest assured, one thing is sure - The world is not going to end in 2012!

What does it mean to live in an Independent Country?

What does it really mean to live in an independent country? 

Today here in Finland people are celebrating Finland’s 94^th independence day and there are big celebrations. Finns celebrate their independence in a unique way. In the evening there is a big party at the president’s official residence. The glitterati are invited and almost 60% of the population are glued to their TV sets watching this livecast. Who’s there with whom and wearing what motivate the curious watchers.

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What does living in an independent state really mean?

Does independence mean owning the land or being able to own land? 

Then 1.338 billion Chinese are not independent as by Chinese law, people have only land-use rights, which in the case of residential property, expires after 70 years (40 years for commercial property).  

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Does independence mean having your own language and culture? 

There are many communities speaking the same language yet they do not have their own country e.g., 4,7% of Bulgarians are Roma people but they do not have their own state.

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Does independence mean recognition by other states? 

This criterion is also not universally valid. The State of Palestine is an official member of the Arab League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and UNESCO in addition to being recognised by 127 UN member states. But Israel does not recognise it and occupies the land and even though the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) recognises Israel.

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Does independence mean having your own currency? 

What about the Euro then? It is the only legal tender in 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. 

• In the UK, Scottish, Northern Irish, Channel Island and Manx banknotes are legal tender and technically can be used all over the UK. But they are considered a local issue of banknotes denominated in GBP and these areas are not separate countries.

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Does independence mean having your own army? 

The Vatican is recognised as a sovereign state but does not have an army (any more after 1970). Costa Rica abolished their army in 1949. Liechtenstein also abolished its army in 1868. They do have a SWAT team in case someone is planning something naughty against them. 

Then there are non-state armies such as the 

• Mahdi army in Iraq
• the Taliban in Afghanistan
• the Hezbollah in Lebanon and 
• the Al-Qaeda. 
• About a dozen separate armed groups fight the Junta (and sometimes each other) in Myanmar. 
• Private armies like the Bakassi Boys in Nigeria can be found in many countries alongside national armies. 

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Does independence mean having your own legal system and court of laws? 

British Overseas Territories like Falkland Islands, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Gibraltar or Bermuda have their own legal systems (based on English common law) but they are not independent states. Non-state judicial systems can be found in many parts of the world e.g., Bangladesh and Philippines. 

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Does independence mean having the rights to tax people? 

People living in most countries pay taxes to different bodies like central or federal government, state government, municipalities, and cities. Nation states like Monaco have no income tax. Companies can also deduct money from employee salaries to pay for their pensions, e.g., Mandatory Provident Fund in Hong Kong, Employees Provident Fund in Malaysia and Employees Provident Fund in India.

Max Weber in Politics as Vocation approached this issue of defining an independent state through the criteria of compulsory political organization and the right to a monopolyof the legitimate use of force. 

• Would the people of Iraq and Afghanistan (with soldiers from 23 countries using their monopoly of the legitimate use of force on some Iraqis) agree?
• The militaries of three foreign countries - Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan - are now operating in or around the edges of DR Congo. 

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Is independence just a feeling?

Positive feelings are closest to people’s heart when asked about what being independent (as a country) means. People who have lived in areas occupied by “other” outside countries, states or powers often talk about experiencing oppression but not always. 

• Could it be that in reality, the majority of the people staffing the local level mechanisms of oppression operated by outsiders are indigenous people? They stand to gain the most by helping to maintain the power imbalance.

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• Oppression and unjust treatment can be got from one’s own elected representatives. The plethora of class-action lawsuits and the current civil unrest in many countries (mostly rich democracies) do reveal this sad truth. 
• Are the common people in stateless Palestine under occupation more miserable than people in North Korea ruled and oppressed by their own people?

Did all the people in history who lives "stateless" not know what Independence means? For 99.8% of known history, people have lived rather autonomous lives without strong central authorities controlling them (Carneiro, 1978).

Most of the symbols of nationhood, statehood or cultural hegemony come from a people’s history. Many factors, some careful manipulation, have influenced how these have gained the power to generate emotive responses in the people. 

Is the feeling of being a proud patriot contradictory to the lofty concepts of universal brotherhood of man? Sometimes they may seem to be, but they need not necessarily be so.

Crew of the Japanese submarine I-29 after the rendezvous with the German submarine U-180 300 km southeast from Madagascar. At bottom left is the Indian nationalist Subhash Chandra Bose. 28 April 1943.

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In most countries, where independence was not always there (meaning limitation of basic rights and some other state power dictating local matters), independence is portrayed as having been won and defended by precious blood. Later generations, who have never experienced such strife, usually consider many earlier hard-earned freedoms as givens, their birthright. 

Let us hope that they should never need to experience loss in order to value what they have.

Some Thoughts About Independence From Around the World

From USA, this is Veteran Walter Smith’s message to Finland on its 94^th Independence Day.  

"The old Finns were a lean and hardy lot. Emerging from years of oppression, they cherished their hard won freedom. Alas in too many nations fat with prosperity, their people have drifted off into complacency, as their freedoms were slowly shriveled away by political corruption. 

I live in a Roman style republic, and like old Rome, my nation has become a military empire of conquest, my freedoms become less and less by the day. But there is one freedom they cannot take away, and that is the freedom to Love.  

As Emma Goldman once said: 

“Free love? As if love is anything but free! Man has bought brains, but all the millions in the world have failed to buy love. Man has subdued bodies, but all the power on earth has been unable to subdue love. Man has conquered whole nations, but all his armies could not conquer love. Man has chained and fettered the spirit, but he has been utterly helpless before love. High on a throne, with all the splendor and pomp his gold can command, man is yet poor and desolate, if love passes him by. And if it stays, the poorest hovel is radiant with warmth, with life and color. Thus love has the magic power to make of a beggar a king. Yes, love is free; it can dwell in no other atmosphere. In freedom it gives itself unreservedly, abundantly, completely. All the laws on the statutes, all the courts in the universe, cannot tear it from the soil, once love has taken root.

”I love Finland, home of the brave; in war and peace, yours is a history to be proud of♥."

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From India, this is Aswani Srivastava with his thoughts about living in an independent country.

"Independence is everything. Freedom is everything. I think it is foolish to debate over the same. One has to agree with me. Being independent is what everyone aspires for. And I am very much sure of the fact that today most of us are enjoying the fruits of freedom. Life without freedom is a waste, a disaster to be more specific. I really cannot imagine myself being in such situation at any point of time in my life.

I love my country and I am glad we are living in one of largest democratically independent countries of the world. As a citizen of an independent nation, I have nothing much to wish except see my country grow fourfold. No doubt, the growth has been staggering since the day we got independence, but there’s still a lot to be done. We are still being rated amongst the developing nations and this is really sad to know. I think a lot depends on the youth brigade, which I believe has the firepower to make it happen at anytime in future. Hopefully, we shall achieve the same status one day...!"

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Source: Robert L. Carneiro, "Political expansion as an expression of the principle of competitive exclusion", p. 219 in: Ronald Cohen and Elman R. Service (eds.), Origins of the State: The Anthropology of Political Evolution. Philadelphia: Institute for the Study of Human Issues, 1978.

What is so special about Diwali festival?

A dazzling display of light and colours; loud noises, new clothes and exquisite delicacies just cheer up the festive mood. When millions of oil lamps, candles and colourful electric lights blink and firecrackers light up the sky for many nights in a row you know that Indians are celebrating Diwali. 

In 2009, US President Barack Obama also attended Diwali in the White House.

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Every sixth person on the planet celebrates Diwali somehow and it is an official holiday in 10 countries outside India.

• In Malayasia Diwali is celebrated as Hari Deepawali
• In Singapore, it is Deepawali
• In the USA, Diwali has been given official holiday status by the congress in 2007 and San Antonio in Texas was the first US city in 2009, to sponsor a fireworks display
• In the UK, it is a grand excuse for anyone loving fireworks, light and partying
• In Australia and New Zealand, Diwali is a festival of light as also all things Indian

So what is Diwali?

As a five-day event, Diwali or deepavali or Kali Puja or festival of lights is one of the most important festivals of India and not only for Indians but also for many people in other countries as well.

Significance of Diwali for different religious traditions

As with all things Indian, Diwali has multiple layers of meanings and different significance for different religions.

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• For the Jains, Diwali is the day when their 24th and last tīrthaṅkara (prophet) attained Nirvana around 527 BC.
• For the Sikhs, Diwali celebrates Bandi Chhorh Diwas or day of freedom, when their sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Ji was released from imprisonment by the Muslim emperor Jahangir in 1619.
• Buddhists also celebrate Diwali as the day the great Buddhist Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism around 265 BC.
• Hindus celebrate Diwali for many reasons. 

The significance of Diwali can be interpreted through three themes in Hinduism:

• The victory of light over darkness/evil theme - Narakasura, a big baddie, goes on a rampage. He conquers almost everything on Earth (literally meaning a large chunk of the Indian sub-continent) as also the heavens. In one version eventually a woman, Krishna’s wife Satyabhama kills this personification of evil and the rule of evil gives place to the rule of light.
• The return of the rightful ruler theme - Rama one of the central figures of the Indian epic Ramayana returns home after 14 years of Vanbas or banishment. He is welcomed by diyas (ghee/oil lamps) lit in rows of 20. The Pandavas of the other Indian epic, the Mahabharata also return after 12 years of exile and 1 year of agyatavas on this day.
• Correct aspiration over formal practice in religion theme – Krishna (who represents the highest level in Hinduism and an incarnation of Vishnu) discovers farmers about to offer their annual offering to Indra, who is a sort of prime minister of heaven (also deity of thunder and rain). Krishna questions the farmers' fuss about this ritualistic offering and expectations of being able to influence natural phenomena. He teaches them that being farmers, their efforts should be better directed at farming. So they neglect Indra’s offering. This annoys Indra and being a touchy god, he promptly floods the villages. Krishna (as he emanates from a higher plane of being then Indra) lifts the gigantic Mount Govardhan and holds it to shield the people and their cattle from rain. Finally Indra gets the message and stops persecuting the villages. This story elucidates the foundation of the Karma philosophy so very central to Indian thought.

What is The Esoteric Significance of Diwali?

All things spiritual and religious have two aspects, the exoteric and the esoteric. The exoteric is all about details and form of rituals, sacrifice, observance of rules and who does what and who shouldn’t do what. Almost all of the quarrels, fights and wars concerning religions stem from this aspect.

The esoteric aspect is an entirely different affair. It refers to things beyond representation. This is done through allegories, myths and symbolism. Often the esoteric employs mundane and very familiar everyday symbols to hint at hidden truths. So, what is the esoteric significance of Diwali?

Why should we celebrate after four thousand years a certain king coming back from exile and being welcomed? Does it really teach us something if a divine being is said to have being going around teaching deeper truths about life? Yes and no. It depends, on the eyes of the beholder.

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Narakasura is the Asura or demon son of the earth goddess Bhudevi or Bhumi and Vishnu (from the highest levels of the Indian pantheon). So, he is pretty much indestructible, unavoidable and quasi eternal. The Narakasura story tries to tell us of a recurring condition of life. "Baddies" or bad events happen every now and then. There cannot be life totally without them. So we should learn to accept them as recurring challenges with equanimity and nothing more. This teaches the idea of equanimity. Equanimity or upekkhā (in Buddhism) is not indifference.

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In Hinduism it is an active principle of functioning with full attention to phenomena without attachment to negative factors. The path to equanimity is very difficult in real life as we have to fight our "demons" inside us. This struggle on the way to equanimity is the real Jihad (and not killing people who don't agree with us).

The desperate people going to seek help from Krishna shows that we need to achieve humility and ask for help. Then if these attitude factors are in place, we always get help, though from unexpected sources and in unexpected manner. We should also be perceptive enough to recognize this help as it may be different from what we expected.

Now Krishna is omnipotent. So he could just as well undo or delete the demon. But he doesn't and goes to fight a bloody battle. Why does he then bring his wife Satyabhama into the deadly battle with the demon Narakasura? It is not very usual that big strong men going to battle take their wives to be beside them in battle. In one version, at some point in the struggle Krishna pretends that he is mortally hurt and his wife Satyabhama promptly takes the opportunity to kill the demon.

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How should we interpret this? We can go utterly wrong if we choose to interpret these events historically or literally. Does this contain a hidden feminist agenda or should we understand that even women could be strong when standing in a chariot next to a god? Hardly.

What about a symbolic interpretation? Should we interpret this so that Krishna symbolises our intellect and Satyabhama the emotions? Only by combining intellect and emotions and using them together skilfully can we defeat demons (i.e., solve recurring problems). In order to succeed we need intent, motivation and then skilful application of right effort in the desired direction. Then and then only success is achieved.

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So, by switching our perspective away from the literal and historical interpretation to a symbolic approach we learn deep truths about how we can live our lives better no matter where we live and in whatever age. Reading this ancient story on an iPhone, iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab in 2012 would still bring you gems of life lessons only if you have got the right mindset to grasp them.

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Happy Diwali!