Discussion Board

Uncle Sam''s game


Total 18 messages Pages | 1
Amit Dutta
Let 'em have Kashmir
by Amit Dutta on Mar 04, 2005 02:32 PM  | Hide replies

This province costs us lives and money, just get rid of it and we can have some peace. Let the Pakistan have it. And all minority-dominated regions should be given complete autonomy (except defence and foreign policy) so that these problmes don't arise again. This should include most of the Northeast and the Punjab as well. This would be true democracy, which great thinkers like Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and writers like Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy would, surely, support. The only person who can take this bold and necessary stop seems to be a self-sacrificing person like Smt. Sonia Gandhi. She rightly has the hallowed name Gandhi because no one, apart from the Mahatma himself, would have been capable of the sacrifice she made in refusing to become the prime minister of India. Let her rule and India will become the secular and pluralist democracy that it almost abandoned in 1999 and regained last year, thanks to her courageos crusade for the ordinary citizens of India. She is the only person in India who understands their problems of poverty and caste, unlike its money and publicity-seeking politicians. So let her negotiate a peaceful end to Kashmir and other Indian problems.

    Forward  |  Report abuse
Message deleted by moderator
Pradip K Mazumder
RE:Let 'em have Kashmir
by Pradip K Mazumder on Mar 16, 2005 10:17 PM
Are you nuts? How come peace would prevail in Kashmir if India accepts the proposition of secession by the radical Islamists. Kashmir will then become a bastion of radical Islam. If you compare the status of Indian Kashmir with POK then things would become pretty clear that democracy prevails only in Kashmir in India where people always elect their own leadership. In POK there is no election, the population became estranged, they are considered outsiders (Mujaheedins)! What is Pakistan's record with human rights and treatment towards minority. Pakistan, in gact, is under a siege, see Beluchistan. Damn with the opinion of a contrived Salman Rushdie, an inconsistent Sen and a media-crazy Arundhati roy, they are not representative population of India. Kashmir to Kanyakumarika India is one and any malicious intention to break it will be thwarted by INDIANS.

   Forward   |   Report abuse
Pradip K Mazumder
Uncle Sam is no Roman empire
by Pradip K Mazumder on Mar 02, 2005 01:36 AM  | Hide replies

It came to me as a rude shock that the author represents Gandhi-Einstein institute. Both these towering personas of the last century worked relentlessly for peace and amity. But the author suggests a perpetual tense relationship with Pakistan. If Berlin wall can fall, US-Japan can emerge as strong allies, US and Vietnam can explore business opportunities then why India and Pakistan can not live with a lively bon homie? Of course Pakistani military rulers always used Kashmir issue as a deceitful weapon of their nefarious design to remain in power. Musharraf was no exception. He starts yielding only after American pressure was mounted on him. The peace initiative taken by President Clinton and Secretary of State Colin Powell deserve all the praise. America-bashing will not help India in any way rather a strong Indo-US relationship will guarantee a peaceful coexistence in the region. Creating a global chaos may bleed American resources and will provide an impeccable weapon of terrorism. So, it is better for US and the world community at large to create an atmosphere of cooperation, peace and harmony. Creation of a Roman empire in the 21st century is a Neroic nightmare.

    Forward  |  Report abuse
Message deleted by moderator
Salil Kader
RE:Uncle Sam is no Roman empire
by Salil Kader on Mar 03, 2005 12:20 PM
Well I agree with Pradeep. Gandhi and Einstein were always for peace. But Mr.Sen's tone sounds quite contrary to the names he purports to represent. Sonal, war hasnt solved anything; as u yourself pointed the US invasion of Iraq has only created more so called "Islamic Terrorists". On 1/03/05, more than 100 people were killed in Iraq. Did u notice? Most ppl didnt. Thats peace for you. We fought four wars with pak, and the Kashmir prob has only intensified. And Sonal I have met a few Pakistanis and incidentally not one wanted Pak to go on with its Kashmir policy! So lets not generalise. Lets be positive. Being negative will never take us anywhere.. I have lost a close friend in the valley.. I dont want to lose any more.

   Forward   |   Report abuse
sonal
RE:Uncle Sam is no Roman empire
by sonal on Mar 03, 2005 02:32 AM
Its sad u didnt get the essence of the article. Can u recall any one regional conflict resolved peacefully. Infact if u c now every other regional conflict is still alive in the hearts of the people. We can work towards peace but we must remember that its only an impossible dream.
Have u ever personally met a pakistani ?? Let me tell you they WANT kashmir to b a part of pakistan, at any cost (to india). Pakistani people do not care what the government is at the centre and thats the reason they find the military regime better than democracy. US government(Republicans and democrats) is nobodys friend, not even their people. They want business(moolah). Do u really believe that attack on iraq has added to the world peace situation ? Mark my words, Iran is next.

   Forward   |   Report abuse
Pradip K Mazumder
Uncle Sam is no Roman empire
by Pradip K Mazumder on Mar 02, 2005 01:34 AM

It came to me as a rude shock that the author represents Gandhi-Einstein institute. Both these towering personas of the last century worked relentlessly for peace and amity. But the author suggests a perpetual tense relationship with Pakistan. If Berlin wall can fall, US-Japan can emerge as strong allies, US and Vietnam can explore business opportunities then why India and Pakistan can not live with a lively bon homie? Of course Pakistani military rulers always used Kashmir issue as a deceitful weapon of their nefarious design to remain in power. Musharraf was no exception. He starts yielding only after American pressure was mounted on him. The peace initiative taken by President Clinton and Secretary of State Colin Powell deserve all the praise. America-bashing will not help India in any way rather a strong Indo-US relationship will guarantee a peaceful coexistence in the region. Creating a global chaos may bleed American resources and will provide an impeccable weapon of terrorism. So, it is better for US and the world community at large to create an atmosphere of cooperation, peace and harmony. Creation of a Roman empire in the 21st century is a Neroic nightmare.

    Forward  |  Report abuse
Lionel Baptista
Conspiracy theory run amok
by Lionel Baptista on Mar 01, 2005 07:25 AM  | Hide replies

The author is one more in a long line of conspiracy theorists. If the US were so plenipotent pray why did they have not come up with the October surprise - a conspiracy favourite? While it is true that they have made inroads into Pakistan, it stretches credulity to suggest that they control Pakistan. The truth is that the Pakistanis have got little to show for their "alliance". The author shows a poor understanding of strategic gains India will reap from the flow of Kashmiris west to east. It is the Pakistanis who have the most to lose from this situation.

    Forward  |  Report abuse
Varun Shekhar
RE:Conspiracy theory run amok
by Varun Shekhar on Mar 04, 2005 08:56 AM

Don't you think it's trange that, after all that has happened, the U.S has not once condemned Pakistan for its behaviour-supporting terrorists and exporting nuclear weapons components? If Iraq had done the same thing..

   Forward   |   Report abuse
arul bhaskar
Conspiracy theorists are back again
by arul bhaskar on Mar 01, 2005 07:08 AM  | Hide replies

I thought left-wing, knee-jerk US-haters were out of fashion. Here comes one more crawling out of the wood work. A good antidote to people who believe in malignant US conspiracies, 'this the US could've, that the US would've and then ooh, the demise of poor Mother India will follow', is to read the Admiral Prakash interview in rediff.com. Work hard on improving your economy, integrate it with the global economy so that hurting India would also hurt other economic powers badly, build a strong indigenous defence, and then rely on India's size to make it impervious to any threat. China is well-versed in this strategy, and the whole world including the USA knows this.

    Forward  |  Report abuse
shantonu
RE:Conspiracy theorists are back again
by shantonu on Mar 02, 2005 01:18 PM
Why does correctly identifying US interests in South Asia constitute knee-kerk anti-Americanism? Is the opposite of that knee-jerk pro-Americanism? Aren't the Americans doing what they pretty much like, everywhere, from Haiti to Iraq and showing whose's the boss to everyone in Europe too? Indians must use their brains and understand that, yes, while growing stronger and not offending the US government (which I am sure Mr. Sen will agree would be provocative and dumb), they need to be aware that the US, like every other country, looks after itself. Circumstances clearly dictate that they cannot abandon Pakistan, their ally since the early 1950s, but taking away their nuclear toys in the process suits India too. NRIs in the US make good money, but they also need brain food evidently!

   Forward   |   Report abuse
Abhik  Ray-Chaudhury
RE:Conspiracy theorists are back again
by Abhik Ray-Chaudhury on Mar 01, 2005 10:38 PM
I agree with you completely.

   Forward   |   Report abuse
Srinivasan
RE:Conspiracy theorists are back again
by Srinivasan on Mar 10, 2005 08:56 PM
US has and will only worry about its best interests and India would do well to emulate the US in that aspect. You only need to look at US history in supporting brutal right-wing regimes in South America and the middle-east (for all these years) to understand that their actions are solely based on what is best for their own country's well-being. This recent push for democratisation of the middle-east was mandated by the need to cut-off the source of Jihadis and recruits for Al-Qaeda at its very source and not because US is the torch-bearer for democrary. If they were, things would have changed long ago and not after a handful of terrorists managed to do what even USSR at its peak did not manage to do-take their war to the American mainland. No doubt, India has a lot to gain from a close and friendly relationship with USA. At the same time, it needs to be aware about its own long-term national interests and goals which do not necessarily align with that of USA. China has done remarkably well in that aspect-getting all the US dollars, staying neutral on many issues while not losing any of its sovereignity. The US has no permanent friends or enemies - only permanent interests.

   Forward   |   Report abuse
prashant rawat
RE:Conspiracy theorists are back again
by prashant rawat on Mar 01, 2005 11:50 PM
Well, I agree with Mr Bhaskar on somethings and not on others. In my naiveity or whatever, I find the initial lines in his response to Mr Sen's article knee-jerk! I agree with him that making India strong would take care of many of the problems and the head-and-heatarches of the strategies to take care of them. However, his example of China in that regard is blasphemous!!! China even when it was not at all strong, was on a land grabbing spree (just one point in a good long list) and didn't care a hoot about the US or the world order. Infact, it didn't even permit critical official statements from the governments world over. India has to show and adopt strategies to become strong on many fronts simultaneously. Otherwise it wouldn't have flown rockets and satellites, etc even when a good 30 crore or more of its people were below poverty line. I just hope our leaders really know their lines well and are smarter than their counterparts in Pak, US and China combined! :(


   Forward   |   Report abuse
prime135
Superb
by prime135 on Mar 01, 2005 02:50 AM

Superb analysis. Well done.

    Forward  |  Report abuse
Total 18 messages Pages: | 1
Write a message