I write with reference to media reports on the gigantic statue erected in Mongolia in memory of Genghis Khan. The great Khan needs no memorials as he has left behind his imprint in a manner and to an extent that no one can obliterate. The Khan conquered rulers and kingdoms by day and in the night he ‘conquered’ the then usual spoils of war — women. As a result, today more than 30 million men, that is, 0.5 per cent of the world’s population, stretching from the Pacific to beyond the Caspian Sea carry his Y-chromosome. Perhaps this was his way of making up for the thousands he slaughtered! The only area where his lineage extends to where he did not conquer is the Hazara Tribe (the tribe of thousand) which is now in present day Afghanistan. Since the Y-chromosome is only passed along the male line these men are literally the direct descendants of the Khan. Has anyone else laid a better succession plan?
T R Ramaswami, Mumbai
