The Battle for Pakistan Iron cuts iron. Demonstrate in favour of Kiyani.

The Battle for Pakistan Iron cuts iron. Demonstrate in favour of Kiyani.

Earthquake Relief Efforts It`s gratifying to know of Pakistani general public`s overwhelming response. I think we Indians can at least send antibiotics and other medicines. In an ideal world of course our men and machinery should have reached ahead of those from the US and Britain. Indian public has all the sympathy and good wishes for their neighbours. Only the day before a two minute silence was observed in my neighbourhood Ramlila for both Pakistani and Indian victims.

Jerry’s Pakistan Re: # 407 So polite of you, sir! Now YOU shut up.

Jerry’s Pakistan Re: # 402 Ref 395

Jerry’s Pakistan What`s happening here? 399 does not belong to me.

My reply to 397
I reject your assertion in its entirety, sir.

Jerry’s Pakistan Re: # 395 Sorry, sir I don`t subscribe to that description.

Jerry’s Pakistan
Re: # 389 Aisha: Madam, if I am not mistaken the word Kaffir comes from Arabic and means a non believer, uncivilised, etc. as in Muslims vs. Kaffirs (includes Hindus I believe). I think here it simply means uncivilised tribals. Apartheid was of course the accepted practice in South Africa, created by `civilised` gora people.

Imagine sharing a prison cell with a cannibal!

Times change, values change and so do people, madam. Gandhi did many more outrageous things. Its for us to have our perspective on what good he gave to mankind. Follow the path of non violence and there shall be eternal peace. Peace is also achieved by Mutually Assured Destruction. The former is for civilised people and the later for Kaffirs.

Thanks.

Jerry’s Pakistan Re: # 369 Mantolives. Here are some stale arguments in response to your own.

(i) Did Muslim League led by Jinnah indulge in armed revolt. They did not. So were they fluff freedom fighters, sir? Civil disobedience is much more effective than armed revolt. It gives the common man a chance to be part of the freedom movement. An armed struggle needs arms in the first place and has to be underground essentially. It is easily repressible by force. How long can you beat back peaceful demonstrators? If the British hoped to use him who actually lost. From a purely strategic point of view what was the other choice?

(ii) Trying is one thing and succeeding another. What else can an essentially lone man do? He was aware of his stature and the method was quite effective. Its something like Amitabh Bacchan going on a fast unto death to make a point against communal violence.

(iii) Pass. Read 366-368. He paid with his life.

(iv) A man grows up, doesn`t he?

On the whole his contribution is the mantra of ahimsa i.e. non violence. It will always be relevant. His practice of this mantra may have been imperfect, yet he tried and gave it prominence.

Jerry’s Pakistan Re: # 225 Salim,

I agree with your ideas, sir. Ultimately boundaries must become irrelevant one people or not. We have far too much in common to continue as permanent adversaries.

South Asia’s Clarence Darrow # 99 Romair

Pakistan needs institutions to begin with. Pakistan can borrow Ambedkar`s (which he copied from God knows how many sources, so no copyright on it! Besides Ambedkar was a Jinnah fan and a non-Hindu) constitution for themselves. It has worked for us, should work for you too. Work it for a decade and then we can sit like brothers and talk about Kashmir and the whole of subcontinent.

Will Kashmiri Pandits Ever Return to their Abode…? Re: # 26 Afghani dalits... Good one!

Confronting Terror Sorry for the double dose. It was purely unintentional.

Confronting Terror
Well, I just watched Mangal Pandey, The Rising. A good movie. For a change there doesn`t seem to an overt attempt to demonize the British. There is also an element of education for people like me. Even though its only a movie, it succeeds in bringing out the fact that Hindus and Muslims put their differences aside and fought together against the Company Raj. Its easy to see that this unity would have been devastating for continuation and survival of the Raj in India. 1858 onwards there is a distinct attempt at dividing these communities. There was an attempt to divide History of India into Ancient Hindu and Medieval Muslim, Muslims the opperessors and Hindus the oppressed. No wonder it was the English educated `progressive`, `liberal` muslims indoctrinated into a non indigenous view of Indian history and culture who proved to be the leaders of the movement for Pakistan. Todays India and Pakistan may be different countries, even different nations, but they were once one people who had one common oppressor. To me this game of divide and rule is still continuing and the players haven`t changed much either.

One more thing more directly relevant to the article here. A demonization of a religion tends to harden even the liberals making them cling to their communal identity even more and thus is counterproductive. We deal with people and communities and not religions in our daily and political life. Finding basis of terror in a `religious manual` only paradoxically highlights the issue, just like frequent reminders of ill effects of alcohol serve to remind the addict of alcohol and not of the ill effects. Any thoughts ...

On Salim, he is a bit like Afridi. Can look silly sometimes but masterly otherwise. The parts highlighted by KK and others are indeed condemnable. Some other stuff is simply brilliant.

Confronting Terror
Well, I just watched Mangal Pandey, The Rising. A good movie. For a change there doesn`t seem to an overt attempt to demonize the British. There is also an element of education for people like me. Even though its only a movie, it succeeds in bringing out the fact that Hindus and Muslims put their differences aside and fought together against the Company Raj. Its easy to see that this unity would have been devastating for continuation and survival of the Raj in India. 1858 onwards there is a distinct attempt at dividing these communities. There was an attempt to divide History of India into Ancient Hindu and Medieval Muslim, Muslims the opperessors and Hindus the oppressed. No wonder it was the English educated `progressive`, `liberal` muslims indoctrinated into a non indigenous view of Indian history and culture who proved to be the leaders of the movement for Pakistan. Todays India and Pakistan may be different countries, even different nations, but they were once one people who had one common oppressor. To me this game of divide and rule is still continuing and the players haven`t changed much either.

One more thing more directly relevant to the article here. A demonization of a religion tends to harden even the liberals making them cling to their communal identity even more and thus is counterproductive. We deal with people and communities and not religions in our daily and political life. Finding basis of terror in a `religious manual` only paradoxically highlights the issue, just like frequent reminders of ill effects of alcohol serve to remind the addict of alcohol and not of the ill effects. Any thoughts ...

On Salim, he is a bit like Afridi. Can look silly sometimes but masterly otherwise. The parts highlighted by KK and others are indeed condemnable. Some other stuff is simply brilliant.

Bin Laden And Hiroshima Re: # 114 Ajeet

``Once you accept that, then the devastation caused is only a matter of degree. Whether you are killed by a knife, a bullet, a firearm or an atom bomb, you are dead and what killed you becomes immaterial.``

As it is, in a nuclear war, the dead are luckier than the survivors. They and their future generations continue to suffer.

Also there has to be an outer limit even to barbarism. You can`t possibly poison rivers with radioactive material and stuff of that kind. There has to be an ethics of war too! Reasons like this led to banning of chemical weapons. An evolved human race will look upon nuclear war in the same terms as desecration of holy books and holy places: sheer blasphemy.