Mr. President, Stop the War! akber:

I don't think some Indians "hatred" as you call it has to do with Fox News. It has to do with the fact that the terrorists who attacked their cities are connected to Pakistan. This is their point of view. You can put it in the Fox News box if you like though.

Story of Hindustani #36

We want to be bored with the specifics. Particularly those of us who don't think this is boring at all. :)

Story of Hindustani afat, call it a font, or a script, I've heard Urdu script referred to as nastaliq on many occasions. I've been corrected when I've referred to it as Urdu script.

Story of Hindustani the script that Urdu uses is called "nastaliq", and yes, "shahmukhi" is nastaliq. It's called shahmukhi, rather than gurmukhi, because of the nastaliq/Persian influence, no?

Story of Hindustani Cobra:

In your RSS zeal, I think you fail in lessening the impact of English which when imposed on certain communities including ours was not done without religious overtones. Do remember that when the British took over, it was the missionaries who taught English while "persuading" us why we should abandon our previous faiths. Religion was a huge part of the colonization process as well.

Razia:

This was a good article, and while I think that Hindustani may have worked once upon a time, you can see the attitudes like Cobra's, or more than a few Pakistanis as to why Urdu and Hindi, while practically the same in grammar and/or colloquial usage, will face fierce opposition should it be considered one language.

If it were to become one language, then all the words, Persian/Arabic influenced as well as Sanskrit influenced should be accepted by all, not imposed on all. When you have more than a few Pakistanis who deny that Hindi is even part of our language in its grammar or vocabulary, and I've encountered that a few times, it would take a lot more than to convince them, beyond this argument of why Urdu and Hindi is one language.

Having taken some linguistics courses, I am not even certain that it is one language, its similarities notwithstanding. If I remember correctly, linguists base their studies based on speaking rather than script. I think that if Hindustani could be classified as a parent language (for lack of a better term early in the morning!) then Urdu and Hindi would be offshoots of that.

I do not necessarily believe that it should be one script, but in India where the population is larger and more diverse, Urdu should not die as a language in vocabulary or script, even with the history of how it was brought to "India". And Pakistanis in turn, should not be so dismissive of the Sanskrit influences in our language.

Mr. President, Stop the War! ellora:

I understand.

Mr. President, Stop the War! akber:

I am trying to remember a time when Pakistan was actually "stabilized". Surely you mean the further destabilization of Pakistan in which some of our own have had a hand?

I like ellora's version of the letter a lot better.

I still have a problem with referring to any pre-meditated mass murder as a fluke, lack of intelligence notwithstanding.

Mr. President, Stop the War! "a fluke mass murder"???????

Just seeing that made me decide not to read the article.

Author Nafisa Rizvi Talks About \"The Blue Room\" This was a good interview. I don't know if Ras is actually going to interact here since this was originally published in Dawn, but thanks so much Ras!

I think magical realism is a great way to tell stories from our part of the world. I don't think it's the best way, but I hope this novel gets lots of readership.

What Rizvi said about jinns reminded me of quite a few incidents back in Lahore. Like how some girls used to point at one corner of our school playground, and insist that there were jinns occupying it, and while there were those who did not know whether they were being fooled or not, that corner was assiduously avoided for a few days. :)

Hey America, Come Join The Civilized World! Kulharee ne hum sab ki lay li?!

Hey America, Come Join The Civilized World! tahmed saab: sadly, no, he no longer does. And his "horrible hindoos" bit is really tired too, even though certain Indians now use it as a badge of honor.

Of course, my opinion matters little to him. :)

Hey America, Come Join The Civilized World! hamidm isn't even a comedian anymore, but bulleya is still bulleya. 8-\

Book Review: The Shadow of the Great Game – The Untold Story of India’s Partition PR:

I guess I see the point about looking to one's own garden, and the non-appropriateness of Vijaylaxmi Pandit's actions. But I also believe that what she did, whatever her own reasoning was at the time, was taking a stand against an attitude that existed to some point in her own not-at-the-time independent country, and yes it embarrassed Britain, and it should have.

Then again, there's a good reason why I decided diplomacy and negotiation were for souls other than mine. :)

Book Review: The Shadow of the Great Game – The Untold Story of India’s Partition I think this would be an interesting read, and a valuable addition to the history and literature re: Partition.

It was a fairly balanced (as balanced as one can be here at Chowk) review of a book that examines the differing agendas of those who were at the forefront of independence and the "taqseem".

A few things:

1) I'm not sure, from what I have read, that as Pardesi says, Nehru was so "bhola" about Kashmir. On the other hand, Pardesi, if Wolpert is correct, it may have been a plan, whose execution was "unexpectedly" placed in his lap, after the attacks.

2) I had not known about Nehru's sister condemning apartheid at the UN. Great that she did that!

I am not certain why ajeya got all up in PR's grill, but seriously what does the latter's identity have to do with this when he is presenting an objective view of Sarila's book?

I think any book about Partition is going to be hotly contested by one or both sides, especially here on Chowk where certain people hold such extreme views which naturally tip the balance. But thank you for sharing this with us.

Book Review: The Shadow of the Great Game – The Untold Story of India’s Partition yes! another article that's gonna garner 500 plus interacts, wooohooo! On a more serious note, I shall read this before making any more comments.

Hey America, Come Join The Civilized World! sattar:

I am aware of the issues that patients go through. I've also had a chance to eavesdrop because I worked in my father's clinic during the summers when I was in high school and college. I got to see first hand what insurance companies would pay for, and what they wouldn't, and know of how doctors (or their office managers) have had to wrangle with companies.

My mother takes various medications for her neuropathy, high blood pressure, and diabetes and she has had to change what she was taking before because the insurance company was no longer going to cover them to something else, and getting used to new medications all over again has not been without nausea, sickness, etcetera.

We can keep giving personal examples like these, but I don't think I want to take this much further. I had no intention of canceling out negative experiences. Just to say that yes, the system is broken, but talking about how easy it is for the medical profession to go for the more costly when it is not needed, is not the case for a lot of doctors. There are those quick draw ones, but if there was something wrong with my back - and there is - and a few tests like MRI's were suggested, I would want to have those to see how much my spine has deteriorated, and I would want the woman or the man to be able to afford her or his prescriptions while doing that. I know there is unneccesary testing, but it is NOT ALWAYS the first thing a doctor suggests.

Perhaps my vantage point is different because I have been on both sides. I believe America and her doctors do provide some of the best care in the world, and ultimately both sides, the caregiving side, and the insurance providing one need to work together to make that continue.