Indians are known for their hospitality toward theirs guests.
The friendly attitude attracts many Israelis who need to get away... to places where their passports are welcome. Israel is surrounded by Muslim neighbors who are not as accommodating.
Germans make another group of frequent tourists. The historical Indo-Aryan link is still strong. Some museums here hang signs acknowledging the support of the Republic of Germany.
The common history begins in Central Europe to Eurasia about 4,000 years ago. The Aryans conquered their way from Europe all the way down to the Indian subcontinent leaving religion and language in their wake. The Germanic languages (including English), the Romance languages as well as Greek, Farsi and Hindi are all come from this common heritage.
One of the Aryan religious traditions which remains very common in India is the swastika. It is an Aryan symbol usually hung for luck. Even in the United States it was thought of this way until the rise of the German National Socialists, especially among a small superstitious lot called aviators. The Finnish Air Force still uses the symbol today.
Still, for the "Allies," there is no avoiding the thought of the hakenkreus in the black, white and red all over German Imperial colors. The Nazis chose the symbol in honor of their Aryan heritage and added the dignity of the traditional imperial standard.
Today, India's bazaars and markets sell swastika trinkets and souvenirs, as well as the occasional copy of the less conspicuous Mein Kampf.
Shopkeepers say that Germans do buy swastika decorated items and copies of the book banned to them back home. Laws in Germany and Austria forbid the possession of Mein Kampf and other 'unconstitutional' material, save for use in academic settings.
Whether those items frequently make it back to Germany is unclear, but India seems to be a place where Germans, with a soft spot for their Nazi past, and Israelis can feel comfortable.
How's that for Kumbaya? Ja...
The history of the swastika as a symbol in Asia and Asia Minor is very different to that in Western Europe and the North America. I too was challenged to reinvestigate the symbol's meaning when in Korea and Japan. The swastika is used to mark religious temples on the maps. It would appear that the German regime stole this symbol of peace as yet another propaganda tool.
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