Revenge of the Secularists Gandhi used Ram-Rajya as a concept of ideal government. It is common usage in Indian languages especially Gujarati to speak of Ram-Rajya as ideal government. But Gandhi`s thesis was that India of his time was anything but Ram-Rajya. Bad state of affairs in India came about because Ram-Rajya was not there. That strove him to apply his energy to building Ram-Rajya.

OTOH Jinnah ``knew`` Islam was great and democracy was natural corollary of Islam. Jinnah did not apply his energy to understand that Islam was not great and so called natural democracy embedded in Islam was really a myth. Jinnah resisted any suggestion to the contrary. I think somewhere along he fell victim to brainwashing by his Islamic buddies. If he was such a great secularist then his views about Islam clearly shows that he must have been very impressionable person. Probably most Muslims are like him. Most develop early in their life an ability to obfuscate and confuse others. Sometimes ability of their brains to clearly think itself dies, victim of their own practiced art of obfuscation. They just forget how to think logically. Most Muslims are forced to be apologists for Islam. They deny that bad things are there in Islam itself. First set of beliefs that need reformation are Islamic beliefs themselves.

Revenge of the Secularists Zeena your #6 and #7 are contradictory.

In #6 you are advocating democracy for Pakistan and suggesting that somehow if you follow path of democracy you will have bad filtered out and good rising up. Then in #7 you are changing your mind. Now you want rejection of what everyone believe. Now you want a powerful ideology which somehow must be sold to masses who should be led by this ideology. You are saying that only true heroes start with their unique ideology first and then masses follow them. In other words you do not want masses to figure it out themselves (egg) but a superman (hen) giving a ``prefect`` idelogy which should be so persuasive that masses will just follow it. This leads to question: Do you want first a great hen to materialize or is it okay if eggs start hatching in large number and their collective wisdom carries your country forward?

You already had a great murghi (Jinnah) now all your eggs are broken. Please make up your mind: Do you want democracy or do you want great leader leading?

US–India Deal and Kashmir From Census India website (URL: http://www.censusindia.net/fsex.html)

Female Sex Ratio (Excluding J & K)
Number of Females / Thousand Males
India 927
Rural 939
Urban 894

State with Highest Female Sex Ratio Kerala 1036
State with Lowest Female Sex Ratio Arunachal Pradesh 859

UT with Highest Female Sex Ratio Pondicherry 979
UT with Lowest Female Sex Ratio Chandigarh 790

District with Highest Female Sex Ratio Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) 1205
District with Lowest Female Sex Ratio Dibang Valley (Arunachal Pradesh) 788

Data Source: 1991 Census of India

---

My comment:

Situation is now fast becoming alarming in some north Indian states that government is carrying ads on television urging people to stop female feticide. Between 1991 Census and now female feticide has probably increased to an alarming proportion.

#139 [I dont think North-South divide is an issue in India anymore.]

I think so some of fixed stereotypes will always remain. I did not mean to suggest that there was an issue. OTOH what I am saying is that our adversarial neighbors, Indian Railways and unprecedented expansion of cheap education has turned Indian society into what it is today. Because of Indian Railways a low caste south Indian can escape casteist discrimination and try his luck in north where all that matters is whether or not he has any saleable skill. In Mumbai a south Indian can try his luck regardless of his caste as long as he is willing to learn local languages and he is willing to work.

If India does not involve in a major war and nature helps India can be on top of world. I think so biggest challenge that India faces is uncertainty in agriculture because of which government is forced to stretch resources just to ensure food supply at stable prices. If India can pull off second green revolution and develop superior grain storage technologies then a lot of uncertainty in food insurance will be taken care of.

As for Pakistan indulging in ``Low Intensity Conflict`` (AKA terrorism): Please go on dreaming about success in snatching Kashmir from India. Bring on more of your suicide bombers. All you will manage to do is make all Indians see what you are. Bombings will make India more united and not less. And strongly united India helps India become even stronger. It helps India remove many wrinkles in its path.

After 9/11 especially such thinking merely puts Pakistan on radar screens of war against terrorism. World is watching. More of such thinking is just going to push Pakistan near self-destruction faster. USA has learned its lesson. USA is not going to let Pakistan get away with murder this time.

Reality of Pakistan is that after Pearl murder western journalists really do not take any big risks in approaching Pakistani informants and so they are dependent on Pakistan government for informant vetting. And Pakistan government is never going to let informants who can expose true face of ISI ever come near western journalists. So nexus between ISI and jihadic outfits will always be documented in confidential dossiers of RAW, CIA, KGB and like and such information will never be made public except when it has utility in propaganda or disinformation campaigns.

RAW, CIA, KGB etc are national intelligence agencies. Their mandate may include covert activities. Do you think any country is going to take it lying down the type of faltugiri that Pakistan indulges in? No of course not. As for whether or not RAW is engaged in Pakistan type violence in Pakistan (random bombing is mentioned in SHIREEN M MAZARI article): for an ordinary citizen of India this could be disinformation propaganda or it can be truth. There is no objective way to find out. RAW activities are off limits from public scrutiny. If it is true then an average Indian citizen`s reaction could be that at long last India is paying back Pakistan in same coin Pakistan has been dealing India with. Tit for tat! It is good. But in all likelihood such articles are playing to a Pakistani gallery.

US–India Deal and Kashmir On taking LIC (low intensity conflict) into mainland India:

This is a defeatist policy for Pakistan. India is a divided country. It is bound by common fear of jihadic northwest and heartless communists on northeast. So far south Indians hated north Indians. And north was seen deservedly taking the brunt of Pakistan sponsored terrorism. Because north Indians were perceived as bullies who wanted to impose their language and crush local culture etc. But when you take terrorism to south, south Indians will come closer to north India. It is going to increase low intensity cohesion that is mobilized by common adversaries in north. It is my view that Pakistan sponsored terrorism reduces centrifugal forces in India. That is why (and for other reasons) Kashmir should never be given up. It provides a reason for mobilizing nationalist and patriotic feelings in general public. South Indians realize that access to north Indian job market is good for them. Had it not been for northern metropolises (Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata) many south Indians would not have experienced good careers and had it not been for many south Indians working in north many north Indians would not appreciate how south Indians are different but not necessarily in bad way.

Just as an adversarial Pakistan serves to bind India, a balkanized Pakistan serves to reduce motives to bind. That is why IMO India should stop short of doing a Bangladesh II. RAW`s top priority should be to gather military intelligence especially keeping track of important strategic assets of enemy.

US–India Deal and Kashmir Pakistan will always remain a small, insecure and semi-jihadic country. At least in foreseeable future nothing is going to change dramatically. India will hold on to Kashmir. If Kashmir is given up it will have domino effect. Political parties of all hues agree on that. India of foreseeable future will be caste and ethnicity ridden loosely federal developing country aspiring to be an economic superpower. At least in foreseeable future India will avoid trying to be military superpower. But it will continue developing its nuclear arsenal. Poverty in India is not going away anytime soon. Declining female to male ratio because of uncontrolled female feticide will bring down India`s population very quickly in next century. Declining female-male ratio will create a large pool of single males which is good for hiring in military if that is what future India does. Else these males will contribute to economy. An average single male tends to be more productive because he is not hampered by family. All in all India of future will be advancing faster in all fronts. Poverty will decline because of fewer mouths to feed.

Apostasy and Islam I find the language in 2:256 unclear. Could following version be consistent with original Arabic?

“There is really nothing to argue: Right can be easily distinguished from wrong. Whoever rejects wrong and believes in Allah has surrendered to most reliable ally. Because Allah is omnipresent; he hears everything and knows everythings.”

My point is this: could it be that the idea that this verse means ``there is no compulsion`` might have been brought about by idiosyncrasy of Arabic to English translation?

Apostasy and Islam Abdul Rahman, the 41 years old Afghan, was at one point 14 years old. Even before that he was 4.1 years old. Was he believer even at those ages? I mean when did he enter the ``door``?

And: What is this about 4 month grace period for ruminating about whether to convert or not and why leave country after you said ``Naah, I am remaining what I was``? What is logic behind 4 month grace period? Or, is it that it is not be questioned because ``it is God`s word``?

Kibbutz Criminals Re: # 402

Zeena on my #382

zeemax is not my another nick. I was just giving you some advice. After all you write to be understood, don`t you? So should not you polish your language?

Kibbutz Criminals #345 by bjkumar

Thanks for this cut-and-paste. I am an atheist. But sochtaa hu.n mein agar dua maangtaa aaj apne khudaa sey mein kyaa mangtaa. May IMs never suffer such fate in India as Jews suffered. May be things will never be so bad in India hopefully. May be there will always be people who will be strong enough to stand up and say ``no``. Actually the fact that it did happen in Germany where voice of conscience remained mute is quite disturbing. What special qualification Indians have? What special ability to stand up is there in Indians? That is why large number of conscientious IMs should publicly speak against terrorist attacks.

Kibbutz Criminals Zeena, You should not type any vowels, spaces, commas, stops, question marks etc in your interacts. We will just know that you do not wish to be understood. Same advice can be given to a lot of Paki interactors and writers here. Or, better still just do not bother writing interacts. It is so much better. No hard work of typing, spellcheck, thinking etc etc. You will save your time and other people`s time.

Kibbutz Criminals Sau Baat Kee Ek Baat. Islam`s days are numbered. May be a century, may be a millenium at most.

Rifts, Fissures, Cracks, Gaping Holes If you make comparison with other countries then only you can come to some worthwhile conclusions. Variation in access to education exists in all countries. I think so we need objective index for comparison.

``Language, history, science, maths, these are the fundamentals of any curriculum. Yet getting acquainted with these skills, if not exactly mastering them, does not make a person educated.``

Indian education system does not impart basic enterprise skills. Even basic skill of ordering food in restaurants, taking a ride in bus/train, etc etc are all left to chance events in life of a person. Like sex education. Sometimes these ``real`` skills make or break future of a person. In USA a schoolgoer is taught how to drive a car. To drive a car you need a license. Earning a driver`s license is part of coming of age in USA. But you do not need a license to walk the street and find a place you wish to reach using walking as only ``technology`` that you use. Or using a bicycle or find your way about in a town. Most important skill that a schoolgoer in India will learn is to look up a number in telephone directory. Yet how many of us were formally trained to do that? How many of us made a telephone call from a PCO before graduating from school? There is a divide between those who made a telephone call in their school years and those who did not. So how about ``teaching`` how Indian PCO phone works? How about systematically making a list of ``real`` skills and make them part of curriculum?

The Quest for American Popularity in Pakistan Pakistan will remain into forseeable future a semi-jihadic state and it will be forced to whore for US. Its relation with US will remain ambivalent like of a whore who cannot make up her mind about whether she loves her client.

Rethinking Foreign Policy -- Can Pakistan and India Agree? I would let behram alone. He is a poor pakistani (possibly parsee) who probably failed in final year Mechanical Engineering examinations at university and so now he is working as plumbing consultant as a poor asian immigrant earning his dau waqt kee daal roti. All his hatred is probably nothing but a lot of hot gas he is forced to smell as plumbing consultant.

Rethinking Foreign Policy -- Can Pakistan and India Agree? ``India’s dreams of becoming a world power have never been closer to becoming reality than now. But to do so, India has to be acceptable as a leader in its own backyard``

Who says so? Being a world power is a perception thing of whole international community. No world power is liked by immediate neighbours. In fact the civilian nuclear deal with US really proves my point. Are we already ``acceptable`` as leader in our backyard? No we are not. Yet US is ready to partner with India. Only very naive make such simple minded ``rules``: ``acceptable in its own backyard``, etc. Reality is very different.

Pakistan will always remain semi-jihadic state. As long as oil is main energy source Pakistan will be dependent on it. Middle east will never be allowed to develpe nuclear enrichment technology. Not even for producing energy. When oil energy becomes more expensive than nuclear energy US will allow establishment of nuclear power plants only on condition that they will be heavily monitored. By that time some non-nuclear energy source might also be available as a result of research done in west. West will happily provide them to world just so that west does not have to chase away nuclear wannabes and incur huge monitoring and military costs.

Varanasi Explodes May be ISI was involved, may be not. If ISI was not involved then was some local Muslim subversive group involved acting independently? Such allegations (that local IM group working independently) are more damning for IMs than blaming it on a foreign hand.

Foreign hand or not such operation is impossible to do without help of some locals who are sympathetic to this (foreign or local) cause. So locals will be blamed regardless. Some bad apples may cause entire lot to be declared unfit.

If the power does lie with people, it is probably not as simple as not doing anything. Police may suppress Pavlovian response but feelings underlying such response will simply go underground. People will speak bad things not openly but in hushed voice. In coming month 2000 may not die but passion might be filed away in the collective mind as something to be disposed off either through therapy or through violence. Some catharsis has got to happen. Either 2000 now or something bigger later. Something bigger what? Holocaust?

What is different now as compared to (say) 50 years back is now USA also sees evil character of Islamic fundamentalism. Reagan may have embraced Islamists arguing that in their war against godless anti-capitalism, believers of all faiths are brothers. But Americans now know things are not so simple. If anything people now know it is that the things are not so simple. If now Americans say that in their war against terrorism Hindus (with secular pretense or otherwise) are their brothers then they are yet to let India draw natural conclusions from events like this. May be India does not want to draw conclusions. After all a national government does not behave like a dog in Pavlov`s experiments. People may behave like that but governments wait. Wait for opportune moments. Or they fight proxy wars. Let Americans do dirty work of fighting terror.

May be the scourge of Islamic fundamentalism will be gone only when many powerful nations become victim of it. May be 9/11 has driven a final nail in the coffin of Islamic fundamentalism. Time is ticking. May be India will ``use`` (even if unwittingly) this event to unite its disparate ethnic groups to a united goal (whatever that is).