From: tsreddy@skitime.Eng.Sun.COM (T.S.Reddy)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.pakistan
Subject: Re: Report: U.S. insists Pakistan prove it's not backing terrorists
Date: 12 Jan 1993 18:38:16 GMT
Organization: Sun
NNTP-Posting-Host: skitime

In article <1993Jan11.205339.1392@oakhill.sps.mot.com> fmbutt@engage.sps.mot.com (Farooq M. Butt) writes:
>In article <ll3fo0INN9p@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM> tsreddy@skitime.Eng.Sun.COM (T.S.Reddy) writes:
>>     As a erstwhile native of Bangalore (which is being called Silicon Plateau),
>>I can vouch that one of the main reasons for it's immense success is that people
>>from all over India can settle there and feel right at home. Right now, the rest
>>of the world is also taking notice of that fact. Relatively little of the " I
>>want the whole pie for my caste, my language, my religion" talk exists.
>>
>>     In the same vein, a simpler solution for Pakistan is to make a genuine 
>>attempt at solving problems with India on a bilateral basis and to start 
>>thinking of playing a constructive role in the sub-continent. It is  
>>abominable that when fratricidal enemies all over the world are making
>>up, the people in the sub-continent are going for each others throats
>>with a new vengeance. Until and unless Pakistan solves it's problems 
>>with India, it has little chance of seeing genuine progress.
>
...
>OK... I agree with you, so when's India going to make a step towards
>this noble goal of brotherhood?  When, for example, will it step up
>and rebuild the Barbri Masjid and tell the BJP and RSS "kar sevaks" to
>stop inciting mass hysteria and hatred among the poor, jobless masses
>?  If you watched CNN World Report yesterday you would have seen Mian
>Nawaz Sharif sahib telling the nation that destruction of temples is
>unislamic and uncalled for.  The report also showed Pakistanis busy
>rebuilding mandirs damaged by the unruly mobs.  I have yet to see an
>official admission of guilt or contrition on the part of the Indians.
>
     I am not seeing this in terms of blaming each other (though  
there is plenty of blame to go around in the sub-continent
for the state of things there). What I saw in your earlier posting was
the castigation of the U.S. for abandonment of Pakistan and subsequent
targeting for terrorism. I say that blaming the U.S. is pretty lame.
Pakistan effectively used U.S. largesse vis-a-vis Afghanistan to
effectively counter India militarily, so it's not as if it was a
one way street. But the main point is that the realization has not set 
in in the sub-continent that no country has a sugar daddy to look
after it any more. Also, I don't think the world cares two hoots
who is to blame for the riots, which caste/language/religion is right etc..
What is important is that there is a limited amount of resources for which
innumerable countries are competing and that the countries of the
sub-continent have to work hard to attract those resources. This is
the context in which I posted. Bangalore is the first city in the
sub-continent which has made a start at attracting value added
capital.  I am proud of this fact, but I am also aware that all
it take is a few people on the fringe to completely screw things up
and god knows that sub-continent has plenty of those types.

     I know I am talking from an idealistic point of view, but what
other solution is there? After millions killed during partition, 
three wars, thousands dying every year in ethnic and religious 
battles, when is the sub-continent going to say "Enough is enough?"
When are the rulers of the sub-continent going to base their decisions
with this in mind?

>fmb