Straight From the Heart: Dushman Kaun?

There is nothing original in this article. As usual, blame the western capitalism and the companies representing it for all the ills of the subcontinent. Blah, blah, blah, blah.... It`s cowardly, and an easy way out, to blame someone else for your problems that are your own doing.

``Ghalib`s Hindi``? It is news to me that Ghalib wrote in Hindi!

Re: Ikbal Khan

An excellent article on an oft forgotten issue.

You have certainly put your finger on the pulse of a sick and dying patient and you have identified the sickness, which ails him. If I could take this a step further, the fever (problems) chart (situation) of the patient (subject) is serious and the moderates (doctors) are the only people who can help with the prognosis.

This article reminded me of what Edmund Burke once said on the eve of the French Revolution: ``evil succeds not, because good men do it, but because they do nothing to stop it!``

The other quote this article brings to mind is what Robert Kennedy said on April 4, 1968 upon hearing the news that Martin Luther King, Jr. was assasinated. That year he was campainging for the presidency and he was in the deep south, when he heard the news. Against his advisors` wishes, he had his car stopped at a side of the road, where there was a crowd of black voters. He shared his thoughts about MLK with them and ended his eulogy with the words of the ancient Greeks:

``Let us go out and tame the savage nature of men and make gentle the life of this world.``

I agree with you a hundred percent; keep up the flame and never call retreat and may your battle cry be: sic semper tryannius - death to the tyrants!

Ref: Godot

You said it was news to you that Ghalib wrote in Hindi. Well, what does `Hindi` mean, anyway? Anything that belongs to `Hind` is Hindi. Well, Ghalib did write in Hindi. By the way, if you thought he wrote in Urdu (which borrows its grammar from Hindi language and vocabulary from both Hindi and Farsi) and is an Indian (or Hindi) language. Yes, some Pakistanis also speak Urdu, but the language is Indian (just as Americans or Australians speak English but the language is British or of England).

Re: Godot # 1:

Mirza Ghalib wrote in a letter to Alauddin Ahmed Khan Alaai, `` Wallah mera kalam, Hindi ya Farsi kooch meray paas nahiN hay. Aaagay jou kooch haaf`zay maiN maujood thaa woh likh bhaija. Ab jou kooch yaad aagaya, woh likhtaa hooN.``

This is taken from Khatoot-e-Ghalib as compiled by Ghulam Rasool Mehr, published by Shaikh Ghulam Ali & Sons, fourth ed,1968, page 67, lines 5 & 6.

MIK

Good effort ikbal! I appreciate your sincerity, and concern for the people of sub-continent.

However, please don`t blame the multinationals or any other outside force / power for what is really sub-continents own doing.

In my humble opinion ``Economic Stagnation`` is the biggest problem that sub-continent faces at the moment.

We are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty my friend. The only, and perhaps the quickest way out is to attract foreign investment. And guess who will do that?

None other than your evil multinationals....and thats just a fact of life.

Revolution, Evolution, Grass root awareness, Education of masses etc. etc. - None of that will succeed unless that cycle of poverty is broken first.

Thats my opinion anyway.

re:Fairdinkum

ever heard of neo-colonialism and neo-Imperialism?????

MNC`s are one very handy and effective way and means of perpetuation, subjugation and dependecy...and that vicious circle of poverty which has strangled us only gives them riches...while we sweat and fret....the LDC`s..

``Their existential raison d`etre survives on profligating this hatred.``

The word you`re looking for, I believe, is ``proliferating`` (perpetuating, promoting, increasing in numbers) not ``profligating`` (profligate means excessive, self-indulgent behaviour...progligatING is not a word).

-!Kamran!-

While taking a pragmatic view towards the problems between India & Pakistan, and proposing sections of society to cleanse, the author forgets that there are fundamental idealogical differences between the two countries that cannot be reconciled easily.

In the last 50 years, Pakistan has failed to carve out an identity for itself that does not involve India. Only when Pakistan can see and describe itself in complete isolation from India can we hope to reconcile the differences between the two countries.

I would have spoken up once for peace. Not now,

not after Kargil. And I think the silent majority

in India which wanted peace with Pakistan has

also changed its mind. I regret this, but peace

cannot be achieved with a nation which does not

understand the concept.

Re: Kamran9999:

But of course you`re right! See what happens when we do not use the mind? The word s/b ``propagating``.

``Proliferating`` does not sit well.

regards,

P.S. Are you the Rubinaesque Kamran?

Are you the Rubinaesque Kamran?

Yours truly.

However, there is nothing Rubenesque about her. :)

-!Kamran!-

Peace is what we need, we need food and education for the poor not some God Dammed Ghouri missile than can go 100 miles...what the hell is wrong with everyone from this Country...economic sanctions result in inflation, which results in unemployment, which results in depression...at the rate Paksitan is going it will never get out of a depression...a war is not the answer to Kashmir...get rid of your pride...screw Kashmir...lets at least make what we have a better place, before taking over Kashmir and making that place a inefficient, corrupt, and screwed up as the rest of Pakistan...

Re: mayhem, #12

Amen.

There are plenty more facts like this, but two

will suffice :

1. India spends 10% more per capita than Sri Lanka on education, according to an article in the Indian newspaper, The Hindu. Yet Sri Lanka is 90% literate, and India barely above 50%. The article says that teachers in villages take their salaries but do not turn up to teach.

2. The government of India itself (Fifth Pay Commission) reports that government employees work only two hours per day on the average.

Question to ponder and find out for yourself :

how much of the government budget goes on salaries ? (both state, and central)

Also : defence is a legitimate function of government. On other responsibilities of government, there is a lot of room for disagreement.

Another fact : India`s defence budget as % of GDP

is 3.3%. Pakistan`s and China`s is greater than 5%.

Based on information like this my conclusions are that India will not benefit by diverting money from defence to development; rather it will benefit by trimming the rolls of government employees and by spending development money more efficiently. Similar conclusions may or may not hold good for Pakistan -- I do not have enough information.

The call to reduce defence spending and magically get development is feel-good sloganeering and does not betray any real thought devoted to the matter.

-arun gupta

Arun Gupta, what you have said is great, but what you don`t realize is that when the Pak govt tested its nuclear capabilities that is when sanctions hit us. India can survive on its own, even with sanctions-it has a self supporting economy-but Pakistan can`t. The govt basically stole the people`s money (11 billion dollars of it) by freezing their accounts until ``further notice.`` Inflation has proceeded at an exponential rate in adittion to a host of other factors, it is these problems which defence creates...

Re: arun gupta

Interesting observations.....

On the issue of defense spending, most of that money does not go towards the procurement of new equipment, but towards the maintainence of the existing hardware and on saleries.

On the issue of Indian defense percentages vis a vis Pakistani, India still spends more due to its better GDP than Pakistan and in real terms, taking inflation into account. Pakistan`s share is actually more than 5% (in real monetary terms, Pakistan`s defense budget is around 45% of its GDP, because of its attempts to seek ``parity`` with India.)