Interview with a Historian

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Hi Scout #2 . . . this is where India meets Pakistan. We take blackouts and power cuts in our stride, as we proceed to do what we do best. Hasta-la-vista.

Ref #1 and #5

Don`t have to wait for Dr. Anderson`s book. You already have George Perkovich`s massive tome called ``India`s Nuclear Bomb``. Amazon says it is out of print but used books can be had cheap, for $4.89.

Go ahead, give it a try.

re:#1

``It would be nice if we at Chowk can learn about the publication of Anderson`s book on India`s nuclear program and people who participated in it. ``

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Dr Anderson is still working on this book and Chowk will certainly carry details about the book after it is published.

Ref trinity #3

[I think little can change until India redefines secularism as separation of religion from the state affairs instead of using the old Congress definition of ``fair`` representation of religions in the state affairs.]

If you think that anytime soon India will ignore religion, ethnicity, caste, etc., in running its political affairs, you are mistaken. After all, that means meritocracy and the last meritocracy in India died around 1960.

Nope, we in India will be frikking around as usual. Muddling along, as the Brits call it.

Dr. Anderson you make a good point about a lot of history being undocumented and certainly unsought for in India. The Indian culture in general seems to favor myths over facts. This is palyed out daily, when most debates political, scientific, and social end in references that are 3000 year old and who can dare argue with those. I think little can change until India redefines secularism as separation of religion from the state affairs instead of using the old Congress definition of ``fair`` representation of religions in the state affairs.

Chowk Press,

does a major east coast blackout not deserve the front page?

Very interesting interview. It would be nice if we at Chowk can learn about the publication of Anderson`s book on India`s nuclear program and people who participated in it.

Regarding the suspicions and their handling: Xenophobia is one of the essential sources. Apparently, it should not apply between India and Pakistan but if you look deeply you would find that there are plenty of reasons for the needed xenophobia.

Both India and Pakistan suffer from respective populations` belief in the respect for the elite. That respect is good for achieving unique things in life but is counterproductive for the amity needed in a population group. Both nations have to learn Franklin-Washinton-Jefferson-Adams principles from America to learn put proper balance on the peaks of achievement and benefit s for the average of the population.

Pakistan needs to learn to leave the obsession with religion and India should learn to be responsible financially and politically at the grass root level. For example, Indian population should make the conscious decision about the clean-up and conservation of natural resources without grossly and unjustly distributing the benefits of development. This is the essence of Gandhian principles of economics.

The crux of the matter is how to crystallize this popular will. Who are the leaders that will point and move the societies in that direction? It behooves the governments of these countries to use fiscal carrot-and-stick approach to initiate the incremental steps. The politicians must establish a system of governance that allows for stable development. India has been more successful than Pakistan in these regards. Hence, the better position of India in almost all fields except nuclear weapons where a parity exists. An analogy with America and Soviet Union is quite applicable. Thus the conclusion: Pakistan has to undergo the same transition that the Soviets underwent in 1989-90. They too have to move away from anti-Indianism at all costs just as the Russians abandoned the lopsided emphasis on Marxian ideology.