Indian imprint on Armenia
Frontline, India
Aug 1, 2006
TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROMESH BHATTACHARJI
The remote village of Odzun reveals an Indian connection.
THE road from Yerevan, Armenia, to Tiblisi, Georgia, goes through
impressive terrain. The twin summits of Armenia’s Bible Mountain,
Mt. Great Ararat and Mt. Little Ararat (5,165 metres and 3,925 m
respectively), loom mesmerisingly to the south. From the shoulder
of Mt. Aragats (4,090 m) after Pushkin Pass, the steep walls of the
hills gradually move closer to the road. The space at the base of
the narrow and deep Debed Gorge is shared between a railway line
and a road that are marvels of scientific daring. Throughout this
route are strewn many relics of the Soviet past. Huge factories
that once employed thousands in these remote mountains are smokeless
and silent. Now there are only some signs of optimism checking the
otherwise all-pervasive decrepitude evident in the rows of attendant
apartment blocks that surround the many industries along the way.
High above Debed Gorge, is a surprising plateau. The zig-zag road from
the lowest point in Armenia (380 m above sea level) suddenly becomes
straight, lined with fields, and bordered with huge trees. Shepherds
with their flock hold up traffic and smile at the impatience of car
drivers. This is the lovely village of Odzun, once known an Awjun.
A 7th century Armenian church is perched on a shoulder dramatically
overlooking the deep Debed Gorge. The Armenian Orthodox Church
celebrates mass differently from the way churches do in the West.
There is no written order of service. There are no chairs. There is a
spacious domed hall in which people stand. There is usually at least
one high-vaulted porch for entrance. The focus is the altar, which,
except in the more important churches, is very simply dressed. The
service continues for hours and worshippers enter and leave at will.
This kind of freedom is much like the informality of worship in
eastern temples. The Odzun church was from A.D. 717 to A.D. 728, the
seat of the Armenian Pope Hovhan Odzntsi, better known as Catholicos
Yovhan Awjnec. This church was built before his time. He, however,
shifted to Echmiadzin near Yerevan and since then that has been the
seat of all Armenian Popes.
Photo: THE CHURCH OF Odzun and, to the left, two roughly hewn
rectangular rock obelisks encased in huge blocks of stone. The
structure is believed to be a gift an Indian king gave an Armenian
general for his help.
The Odzun church is cavernous, gloomy especially in winter, and
spartan. It is surrounded by three aisles, which have now collapsed.
It has lasted the depredations of the Persians and the Arabs, albeit
not without repair. Like most buildings in the area, it is built in
pink felsite stone. It does not appear to have windows at waist-level,
which is typical of the period. Instead, they are close to the roof,
perhaps to intensify the no-hope melancholy air. There are graves
of prominent persons from several hundred years ago to the present
in the surrounding graveyard. There is also a memorial commemorating
people from Odzun who died fighting in the Second World War; it has a
fresco of Stalin decorating one small corner of it. Stalin was born
in Gori in nearby Georgia.
Opposite the north wall of the church is an unusual monument. The
priest taking us around the ancient three-aisled Basilica said that
that structure of two roughly hewn rectangular rock obelisks encased
in huge blocks of stone was a tribute given by an Indian king for
the help given him by an Armenian general from Odzun. Local legend
has it that it is a fertility symbol. No more of this legend could
I get out of this priest. Interestingly however, on either side of a
sunrise-facing window (symbolism to be marked) stand sculpted angels
holding snakes. The two snakes entwine to decorate a bust of Christ,
a design extremely uncommon in Christian art. Veeshap is the Armenian
name for a snake, which could well have its roots in the Sanskrit
word, vish that is poison, and the Hindi word for snake, saamp. It
is said that the descendents of two Hindu princes founded a village
named Veeshap in nearby Turkey. This influence, strange and foreign,
can be seen today only in Odzun in the entire region.
I subsequently found that Armenia’s Indian connection was a fact,
though little is known about this particular bit of history. In the
appendix to an informative book published in 1937 called Armenians
in India – from the earliest times to the present by Jacob Seth,
an Armenian in Kolkata, I found an interesting story.
Photo: THE VIEW FROM the Cascades, a gigantic artificial waterfall
built in the Soviet era. This is the highest point in the capital
Yerevan.The twin peaks of Mount Ararat, now in Turkey, can be seen
in the distance.
In 149 B.C., Gissaneh and Demeter, two princes of Kannauj, Uttar
Pradesh, tried to plot against their father, Dinaks Pall. These
names are from Armenian sources and thus only vaguely resemble Indian
names, and the imagination has to be exercised somewhat to detect the
linkage. According to Seth, Gissaneh could be Krishna and Demeter,
Juganath. Dinaks Pall could be Dinesh Pal.
The conspiracy was detected and the princes fled to the sub-Caucasus
kingdom of Armenia. At that time the country was not landlocked as it
is now; it had access to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and had
merchant ships that used to go to India and China. The two princes
and their families, courtiers and a small army most probably travelled
by ship and did not cross the difficult overland route to Armenia.
Photo: THE OBELISKS OF Odzun a close view.
They were welcomed hospitably by King Valarsaces, the brother of
Arsaces the Great. Sixteen years earlier the latter had lost some
territory to the Persian king Selucus, and his brother may have thought
that this could be a useful alliance. Within 15 years these two princes
were put to death for plotting against the king. However, their three
sons, Kuars, Meghtes and Horean, were allowed to rule over Taron (now
in Turkey’s province of Van) and established cities known by their
names. They later founded the city of Kharkh, high in the mountains
of north-west Armenia, and set up two temples in the names of their
fathers. These cities prospered and expanded unhindered until A.D. 301.
By then Christianity, which entered Armenia in A.D. 66, had spread
all over the kingdom. But small pockets still stuck to their old
beliefs. These were mainly Hindus who had settled there for 450
years. Any person who was not with the majority was considered to be
against it and so in A.D. 301 a fierce battle broke out between the
Armenians led by the prince of Angegh and the Hindus led by Demeter
and a soldier priest called Artzan or Arjun. A detailed description
of what followed is given by Zenob, a Syrian follower of St. Gregory,
The Illuminator, who spread Christianity in Armenia. Zenob describes
how the Hindus were eventually defeated after a prolonged conflict
in which some of Armenian troops, who were converted Hindus, joined
their former brethren. Artzan, Demeter, and a popular Armenian prince
were killed in battle. Zenob records that 1,038 Hindus were buried.
Seeing so much blood shed, a truce was called. A structure to celebrate
the Armenian triumph was built – perhaps the strange two-arched
monument holding obelisks that we see in the Odzun church today. The
obelisks could be remnants of phallic symbols from the Hindu temples
that are thought to have existed once on the site. The inscription
on the monument mentions the last of the conversions to Christianity.
Photo: THE FIRST ARMENIAN JOURNAL, printed in Madras in the 17 century.
Armenia and India have had commercial links for centuries. There
have been colonies of Armenians in India’s coastal cities for four
centuries. In Yerevan’s ancient manuscripts library, Matenadaran, is
a 17th century copy of the first journal published in Armenian, which
was printed in Madras (now Chennai). Many armies of the feudal states
in India and also the British army had Armenian soldiers and officers.
Photo: A STATUE HONOURING Catholicos Yovan Awjunec (A.D. 717-728),
whose papal seat was in Odzun until he shifted to Echmiadzin.
Odzun’s cultural and religious link has thus far gone unrecorded.
Artzan means statue in Armenian. Odzun, also pronounced as Awjun,
sounds very much like Arjun. There is little doubt that this could
have been the scene of the struggle between the two communities and
that the strange monument remembers that trial of strength.
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Karabakh leader meets newly trained officers
Arminfo, Yerevan
1 Aug 06
Stepanakert], 1 August: The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic [NKR], Arkadiy Gukasyan, yesterday [31 July] met officers
of the defence army of the NKR who had received military education
outside the republic, the press service of the president has said.
The president congratulated the officers on completing their education
with good and excellent marks and expressed confidence that they
would serve their motherland with honour. Gukasyan stressed the role
of professional officers in establishing an army with combat ability
and ensuring peace for people. He added that the government increases
the volume of work every year to improve the conditions of military
service and resolve social and household problems.
The defence minister of the NKR, Lt-Gen Seyran Oganyan, also took
part in the meeting.

OSCE MG Co-Chairs to Meet in Paris August 2
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.08.2006 14:25 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ US Ambassador Matthew Bryza, the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chair, intends to inform in Paris his fellow co-chairs about the
results of the visit to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict region. Bryza
briefed about it in Baku on 1 August as a result of consultations
held at the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
The diplomat said that the talks with Azerbaijani authorities did
not concern the Azerbaijani-U.S. cooperation. “As a co-chair of the
OSCE Minsk Group I want to hear the opinions by President and Foreign
Minister on the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,”
Bryza stressed, reports Trend.

Turkish Writer Indicted for “Insulting Turkishness”
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.08.2006 14:46 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Arizona University professor, writer of Turkish
origin Elif Shafak is indicted for “insulting Turkishness”. Novel
Father and Illegitimate Son gave cause for criminal prosecution
on article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code, which provides for
imprisonment up to 3 years. The novel of the 35-year-old writer tells
about the events in 1915 in the Ottoman Empire, reports United Press
International.
“Armenians and Turks live in different eras. If we want a genuine
dialogue between the two parties, we need to recognize this time
factor,” Shafrak writes. One of heroines of the novel is Armenian
Armanush, who tells about her ancestors, killed in the Armenian
Genocide and waits for repentance.

Kars Mayor Wants to Reopen Armenian Border
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.08.2006 15:11 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Kars Mayor Naif Alibeyoglu is waging an uphill
battle to overcome nationalist sentiments against Armenia to once
again get the Turkish-Armenian border reopened to civilian traffic
and trade since being shut down in 1993 due to the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict. Alibeyoglu says that reopening the border crossing with
Armenia will not be simply a move that will boost the local economy of
the region but will also constitute a major breakthrough for Turkish
exporters who have been dreaming of acquiring cheap and secure land
and rail access to markets in Central Asia and beyond.
Being a prosperous, multinational city, where Turks, Kurds, Armenians,
Russians and Georgians lived, Kars is today one of the poorest regions
of the country. 70% of Kars population left the town lately. The
only income of the locals is cattle breeding. The opening of the
border will revive Kars, the Mayor believes. “Turkey’s future is
in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Turkey lost this market to Russia
and America,” Alibeyoglu says.
Kars Mayor Alibeyoglu is a devout believer that the city can regain
at least some of its past splendor. Alibeyoglu pictures Kars as the
Davos of the Caucasus. “If that was its status 80 years ago, then why
shouldn’t it be so now?” he asks. Kars will be home to the 3rd Festival
of Caucasus Cultures between Sept. 15-17, hosting groups from 30
countries including Armenia, Ukraine, Sudan and even Cuba. The festival
is just one attempt to earn Kars the recognition it deserves. Apart
from that, the municipality has a number of projects to preserve
the unique Tsarist-era architecture of the city, responsible for the
city’s decrepit charm. In addition, a large citadel and a crumbling
Armenian church-turned-mosque are some of the sights accounting for
Kars’ specialization in ruins, reported Turkish Daily news.

Karabakh denies Azeri report on crease-fire breach – agency
Mediamax news agency
1 Aug 06
Yerevan, 1 August: The press secretary of the defence ministry of the
Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR], Lt-Col Senor Asratyan, has denied
a report of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry that “a soldier of the
Azerbaijani army was killed in another breach of the cease-fire by
the Armenians on 29 July”.
Asratyan told Mediamax that “Azerbaijan’s military leadership
normally attributes any fatal emergency in the Azerbaijani army to
the Karabakh side”.
He said that “by putting the blame on the Armenian side, the
Azerbaijani command always adds more fire to anti-Armenian feelings
in Azerbaijan and tries to salvage its reputation in the eyes of its
own nation”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SYRIAN ARMENIANS JOIN LEBANESE ARMENIANS FLEEING TO ARMENIA
Armenpress
YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS: About 136 Armenians were flown today
early in the morning to Yerevan from Aleppo. Eighty nine of them
were transported yesterday by buses from Beirut to Aleppo where 47
Armenians living in Syria joined them and flew to Yerevan.
Armenian deputy foreign minister Gegham Gharibjanian told Armenpress
that the number of Armenians who want to leave Lebanon decreases. He
said at present 30 Armenians, who are not in a hurry to leave the
country, are registered at the Armenian embassy in Lebanon.
Since the beginning of military actions 778 Armenians have been
transported to Armenia from Lebanon. The next regular flight from
Aleppo to Yerevan will be implemented August 3.
The Armenian borough in Lebanon is far from the war zone and has not
been destroyed. There are no victims among the Armenians.
Around 54 Armenians – 49 citizens of Israel and 5 citizens of Armenia –
have so far been transported to Armenia from Israel.

Arif Yunusov: Arab World Practically Backs Armenians
PanARMENIAN.Net
01.08.2006 15:51 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Arab world practically backs Armenians, stated Head
of the Department of Conflictology of the Institute for Peace and
Democracy, political scientist Arif Yunusov. “Let us be frank. In
Lebanon the Armenian Diaspora actively supports Hezbollah and it is
not a big secret. Or does Iran help us in the Karabakh issue? No,
it does not: only owing to Iranian assistance Armenia could endure
economic problems. And not only economic ones,” the Azeri political
scientist stated.
Yunusov underscored that Israel helped and continues helping Azerbaijan
to strengthen army and economy.
“Did we forget about the role of the Jewish lobby?
Thus, criticism aimed against Israel should be rational and
constructive,” he said.

RUSSIAN STATE DUMA QUESTIONS EXPEDIENCY OF IAC SPECIAL POWERS IN CIVIL AVIATION
Yerevan, August 1. ArmInfo. In order to promote the development of
civil aviation in Russia the Council of Federation of the Federal
Assembly of Russia has decided to consider the expediency of providing
the Inter-State Aviation Committee with the functions and powers
of special authorized civil aviation and air accident investigation
agency in Russia.
The resolution expresses concern over the imperfection of state
administration in the sphere. A number of tragic accidents in civil
aviation within a short period of time have proved the urgent need
for enhancing control over planes and improving airport equipment
and personnel training. The resolution notes the need to change the
system of air accident investigation for ensuring its independence
and competence.
To note, Armenian experts share the concern of the State Duma,
particularly, concerning the activities of IAC. They note that IAC is
expert on Soviet and Russian planes only and is not very competent
on foreign liners, particularly, Airbus. Besides, the fact that
the chairwoman of the committee Tatyana Anodina is engaged in air
business is a serious obstacle to its impartiality. Russian media say
that Anodina owns 3.25% of Transaero, while her family owns 44.14%
of the company. Some sources say that Transaero has serious plans
concerning Armenia’s air market.

RETAINED PROFIT OF ARMENIA’S BANKING SECTOR TOTALS $53.9 MLN JULY 30
Yerevan, August 1. ArmInfo. The retained profit of Armenia’s banking
system grew by 3.5% in Jan-June 2006 and by 39.9% as against Jan-June
2005 to 22.6 bln AMD ($53.9 mln). The share of retained profit in
the total capital was 22.1%.
According to ArmInfo’s ranking of commercial banks of Armenia, the
leader in retained profit are Converse Bank – 4.9 bln AMD or $11.7 mln
(12.9% growth in Jan-June 20065 and 45.2% growth as against Jan-June
2005), HSBC Bank Armenia 4.6 bln AMD or $10.9 mln (+27.2% and +34.6%
respectively), Anelik Bank 3.8 bln AMD or $9 mln (+9.1% and +35.3%)
and INECO 2.2 bln AMD or $5.3 mln (+4.7% and +34.7%).
12 of 21 banks shown growth in the index in Jan-June 2006 and 14 banks
as against Jan-June 2005. Unibank showed 153.8% growth and Prometey
391.6% respectively.
Of 7 banks who retained profit dropped, the leader is ITB Bank 104.2%
to loss of 2.5 mln AMD.