The Book of Life

pages of wisdom crime but, as terrorism, it failed completely. No nation withdrew from the Olympics; instead, 161 countries announced their participation: “The destruction of KAL 858 was a monstrous crime, but as an act of terrorism it proved to be a monumental failure. No country was frightened away from the Olympics. On the contrary, 161 countries have announced they will attend, more than at any previous Games.”—Reader’s Digest, August 1988 Any act of destruction against another is really an act of destruction against oneself. Such a person harms only himself and cannot truly harm anyone else. WORDS OR REALITY Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) was awarded the title of “Sir” by the British government in 1915. But in 1919, when the British carried out a brutal massacre of unarmed Indians at Amritsar, Tagore returned the title. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938) was given the same title in 1922. He accepted it—and never gave it back. Personally, I do not consider accepting the title of “Sir” to be wrong. But, given the kind of themes Iqbal expressed in his poetry, the British honour seemed completely out of