The Turk who loves the Gita

[NaiNikaa]

Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (1925) Ex-Prime Minister of Turkey.

After the 1971 military crackdown by the left, the Upanishads, Gita, and Geetanjali were banned in Turkey.

Mr Ecevit, had translated Tagore's Gitanjali and the Bhagavad Gita into Turkish.





Bulent Ecevit (1925 - ) the then Turkish prime minister, was asked what had given him the courage to send Turkish troops to Cyprus (where they still remain). His answer: he was fortified by the Bhagavad Gita which taught that if one were morally right, one need not hesitate to fight injustice. Besides the Gita, Ecevit was also influenced by Nehru’s Glimpses of World History.

Ecevit first learnt Sanskrit at the Ankara University. Later his love for poetry and philosophy led him to Rabindranath Tagore. He learnt Bengali to appreciate and later translate Tagore’s writings, including some poems from Geetanjali. During his visit to India in early 2000, Ecevit fulfilled his dream of visiting Shantiniketan. After the 1971 military crackdown by the left, the Upanishads, Gita, and Geetanjali were banned in Turkey.

Turkish prime minister Bulent Ecevit's passage to India has far greater significance than that of an Indophile scholar-statesman realising his long cherished dream. Mr Ecevit, had translated Tagore's Gitanjali and the Bhagavad Gita into Turkish. Together with Delhi and Agra, he has included a visit to Shantniketan in his itinerary.

(source: The Turk who loves the Gita - telegraphindia.com).


In a 1974 British television interview, Bulent Ecevit, the then Turkish prime minister, was asked what had given him the courage to send Turkish troops to Cyprus (where they still remain). His answer: he was fortified by the Bhagavad Gita which taught that if one were morally right, one need not hesitate to fight injustice. Besides the Gita, Ecevit was also influenced by Nehru’s Glimpses of World History.





According to Ecevit, he was forced to order military strikes on Cyprus because the Greek Cypriots, in league with Greece, had staged a coup and declared unity with Greece. Turkey had to protect the Turkish Cypriots and its own interests. Besides, the situation could lead to a war with Greece. Thus even though he hated violence, Ecevit had had to order the strikes. He felt that he was morally right and had in the ultimate analysis, prevented much more damage.

The Gita had also guided Ecevit when he decided to contest the chairmanship of the Republican People’s Party in 1972 against the venerable Ismet Inonu, Kemal Ataturk’s successor. Inonu played a vital role in Turkey’s transition from one party rule to multiparty democracy. But Ecevit opposed the 1971 ultimatum issued by the military which led to the resignation of the prime minister, Suleyman Demirel, while Inonu, the leader of the opposition, acquiesced in it so as not to exacerbate the political situation. Ecevit said that while he had the greatest respect for Inonu, he differed with him on this point. Inonu lost and retired from politics.




https://www.telegraphindia.com/opini...ta/cid/1015644

[NaiNikaa]

Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (1925 – 2006) was a Turkish politician, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist, who served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister of Turkey in 1974, 1977, 1978–79, and 1999–2002. He was the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) between 1972 and 1980, and in 1989 he became the leader of the Democratic Left Party (DSP).

He was born in Istanbul to a middle-class family. Ecevit's father Fahri Ecevit was a professor in Ankara University. His mother, Fatma Nazlı, was among the first women in Turkey to paint professionally.

Ecevit said his mother was of Bosniak ancestry and his paternal grandfather was of Kurdish ancestry.

In 1944, Ecevit graduated from Robert College in Istanbul and started working as a translator at the General Directorate for Press and Publication (Turkish: Basın Yayın Genel Müdürlüğü). In 1946, shortly after marrying his classmate Rahşan Aral in 1946, he moved to London to work for Turkey's press attaché. During his stay in London, he studied Bengali, Sanskrit and Art History at the School of Oriental and African Studies, but did not graduate.[4] He later went to the United States in the mid–1950s on a State Department fellowship, and worked at two newspapers in North Carolina.

Ecevit was elected into the Turkish parliament for the first time in 1957. He was a Member of the Parliament between 1960 and 1961 during the 26th, 27th and 28th governments. Ecevit served as the Minister of Labour between 1961 and 1965, contributing to the acceptance of the right to strike and collective agreement. In 1966 he became the secretary general of the Republican People's Party (Turkish: Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP). In 1971 he resigned from the post as a protest to the party decision to support the transitional government established by a military intervention.


In 1972, he succeeded İsmet İnönü as the leader of the party and became Prime Minister in a coalition with the National Salvation Party of Necmettin Erbakan (the 37th government of Turkey).[7] This government is known for ordering the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 20 July 1974.[8] So he was nicknamed "Conqueror of Cyprus" (Turkish: "Kıbrıs Fatihi") by Turkish people after that successful operation.

Upon assuming the leadership of the CHP, Ecevit played a major role in redefining the party's political position in the centre-left (Turkish: Ortanın solu), which proved controversial. In the 1973 general election, the CHP won a plurality of the votes and seats in parliament. Despite the party's secular credentials, Ecevit formed a coalition with the Islamist National Salvation Party (MSP) headed by Necmettin Erbakan. Despite lasting only ten months, Ecevit's first government was responsible for the successful Turkish invasion of Cyprus, for which he is nicknamed the 'conqueror of Cyprus' (Turkish: Kıbrıs Fatihi). Despite winning an increased share of the votes and seats in the 1977 general election, Ecevit was unable to form a coalition and instead formed a minority government which lasted just one month. Justice Party leader Süleyman Demirel subsequently took over as Prime Minister and formed a three-party nationalist coalition. Ecevit's CHP was able to bring down Demirel's government by 1978, after which he became Prime Minister for a third time by forming a government supported by some independent MPs. Ecevit resigned as Prime Minister in 1979 following an election defeat in the 1979 senate elections.

Bülent Ecevit recalled that he learned for the first time of the existence of Operation Gladio, a secret "stay-behind" NATO army, in 1974. He has also said he suspected "Counter-Guerrilla", the Turkish branch of Gladio, of responsibility for the 1 May 1977 Taksim Square massacre in Istanbul, during which snipers fired on a protest rally of 500,000 citizens, killing 38 and injuring hundreds. CHP defeated AP in the 1977 general elections by gathering 41% of the votes (the election came just after the events of 1 May). But with 213 seats out of 450 Ecevit could not receive a vote of confidence (see 40th government of Turkey). In 1978 Ecevit formed his third government (42nd government of Turkey). However, after a defeat in by-elections in 1979, he resigned.

[xxHaRrOw-GiRlxx]

Very good article

[Desi_0_0_Doll]

same race which invaded India