#15 "Inflammatory Radcliffe"... In search of Peace and Stability

India and Pakistan, two nations born in a very unique fashion on the basis of religious identity. The countries were born because of insistence of the few political leaders. A nation of the most diverse culture divided into two by paying a huge unrecoverable cost of human life and culture, and giving rise to a hatred for each other rooted deep in the hearts of the citizens of the two countries. India and Pakistan won independence in August 1947 and it was accompanied by the largest mass migration in human history of some 10 million. Both countries got independence in 1947 but civil unrest as well as ethnic and religious discord threatened the stability of Pakistan while Indian politicians ratified a constitution, which led to the first democratic elections in 1951. The roller-coaster of India-Pakistan relations dates from the first day of division. The main reason of conflict is the region of Kashmir. India, Pakistan, and the Kashmiris, each believing they should control the region, are disputing the "ownership" of Kashmir. Three major wars have been fought over this, costing thousands of lives, destruction of the valley and unnecessary militarization. This hatred has also cost both the nations a huge cost socially and economically. If the nations would find a way to coexist peacefully, it would pave a way for them to progress socially, culturally and economically too, as there would be less/no need to incur amount on militarization programs of both the countries and in peace, culture flourishes.

Study the past if you would define the future. - Confucius

But the history taught to the new generations through textbooks and the word of mouth of the previous generation inspires hatred for our twin country. No doubt that the creation of Radcliffe border has always been and will continue to be a reminder of that unfortunate painful division. But at least we can try and present history that would have a neutral perspective to it, not inspiring hatred in the young minds. It is the ultimate truth that there is no way to change the geography or to choose our neighbors, thus it is beneficial for both to live peacefully and cooperate with each other and not encourage hatred in any form.

It is not that citizens of India and Pakistan are completely unaware of the events on the other side of the border. In today’s tech world, specially in a democratic country like ours, there are many means for knowing the other side, like the social media, news channels, etc. And one way of enhancing the understanding of the other nation’s concerns, issues, culture and heritage, of which both nations have much in common, can be to start education exchange programs. Our country already has successful tie-ups with some nations, so why not do the same with our neighbor too. The educational exchange programs will help the new generations to gain and share knowledge, helping in constructive development and both sides will get a chance to understand each others culture which is full of love and innocence. Though India is far ahead from Pakistan in the various fields like science, technology and healthcare, and there is more to give than to gain. But if it in any way helps inspire a peaceful future, then it is a worthy investment. Regarding healthcare situations, I’d like to draw attention to recent cases of polio disease in the Punjab region of Pakistan, and threat that the disease might get grip on this side of border too. It reminds us that eradicating diseases on the other side would not only benefit Pakistan but India too.

A country’s economy is one of the most important asset and any country is crippled without a strong economic growth. Also, no country in the age of globalism is self-sufficient for all the commodities. Presently, the trade between India and Pakistan is $2.4 Billion and business relations with our neighbour should be encouraged further. Business brings prosperity and development. It is worth considering that if there is a strong and profitable economic dependency between the countries, then each of the neighbour would think twice before taking any action that would have any sort of negative impact on business relations. Trade should not halt because of any frequent tension because ultimately common man suffers.

In peace, culture and prosperity flourishes. But there have been a number of ceasefire violations recently from Pakistani side. The exchange of fire heats up the situation and does severe damages at both side of border, specially to the civilians. The violations should be stopped because this recoils previous efforts and hesitates future efforts between the two of bringing peace and stability. Both countries should respect the ceasefire agreement and try to maintain peace along LoC. There should be DGMO (Director General of Military Operations, local commanders of the area) meetings regularly to maintain ceasefire. Diplomatic relations are key to maintain peace and coordination. But it is very important to empower democratic powers on both sides. People and media should not give unnecessary coverage and attention to radical people and they should be boycotted and strict action should be taken against them.

A very crucial factor in Indo-Pak conflict is the region of Kashmir and the separatist forces acting in the region. An important step needed to curb these forces, in my view, is to develop J&K. When the people of Kashmir will get education, employment, prosperity then they will not be encouraged to indulge in illegal activities and will not support separatists. Similar steps should be taken for other sensitive border areas too. This is also strategically crucial. Govt. must help in building connectivity in the region to ensure convenience to people and the connectivity would also be helpful in discouraging the undesired forces acting there.

After 68 years of division there are few signs of peace and cooperation between India and Pakistan. There are events which give us hope like the time to time release of prisoners from both sides, having cultural events of celebrities in the other country and, telecasting and appreciation of T.V. shows from the other side. People want peace, love, respect, education, better standards of living, and employment not the war, hatred, bloodshed and gunfire exchange. Pakistan must stop giving nourishment to terrorism at their homeland. Terrorists like Dawood Ibrahim and Hafiz Saeed must be taken under trial. They should be punished because they are the enemy of humanity and not of one country only. Pakistan is weak, both in strategic domains and in political and intellectual leadership to maintain equal terms with India, while India had progressed enormously in developing public institutions, educational institutes, in commerce, trade and industrial growth and scientific advancements. India and Pakistan both share common miseries of hunger, natural disasters, flooding, healthcare and so many other problems. It’s time to move from mistrust into a common shared engagement of cooperation and development. I’m sure you will find all this approaches bit unrealistic because of poisonous past. Yes ‘One hand alone cannot make the clap sound’ and Pakistan must understand this. I’m proud to say that India always finds a way and takes initiative to maintain friendly relation with Pakistan but radical elements and haters present at other side of Radcliffe deteriorate the relationship. In the end, I’d like to quote Paulo Coelho, ‘Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbor is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions.’

-- Prateek Dixit and Rusheel Shukla

#14 Catastrophic Game

You deserve better than tyranny and corruption and torture chambers. You deserve to live as free people. And I assure every citizen of Iraq: ‘your nation will soon be free’....”, stated by George W Bush, the former president of United State during the Iraq war, captured in a documentary titled "Iraq's sectarian war", needless to say that these words are far different from the scenario which resulted henceforth. The U.S. war on Iraq aimed to eliminate weapons of mass destruction and the roots of Al Qaeda, of which former didn't exist at all and the terrorist group spanned the country only after the invasion.The war aimed to make Iraq a model democracy based on law, but US brought them a worst nightmare. The invasion destroyed the social fabric, cultural heritage and economy of Iraq. After the death of Dictator Saddam Hussein, the ambitious plan of US to make Iraq a peaceful country got totally failed. US is accused of creating the men of death, leaving a fertile ground for the rise of Terrorist Organisations and being the root cause of terror in the Middle East. They left Iraq when they were in baleful situation and the vacuum of power so created in Iraq, gave the extremists an opportunity to establish their empire and now the Iraq and Syria are In turmoil due to rise of new terrorist empire called ISIS.

President Barack Obama on 19th Sept 2014 signed a legislation into Law authorizing the U.S. military to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State militants in the Middle East. After reading about this decision I felt undulated. Are they committing another mistake? Are they too late to react? Is there no other solution left? So many questions were blowing up my mind.

US overthrew Saddam’s regime and defeated Al Qaeda but it couldn't destroy them. After 2010, the group resurfaced with full force. Extremists successfully freed a number of prisoners and slowly began rebuilding their strength. And today, ISIS holds considerable part of the territory in both Iraq and Syria. ISIS took advantage of the beleaguered & demoralized Iraqi armed forces who lacked motivation to fight against ISIS in captured areas. ISIS was getting considerable support from the people in those border areas who were oppressed by the former dispensation of Nouri Al Maliki. So many foreign fighters left their homes to join the terror group. The impact of ISIS on the society of Iraq and Syria was phenomenal. Documentary titled “The Islamic State by VICE ” depicting violent acts of ISIS, including sexual violence against women is both shocking and disturbing. Their brutality has crossed every limit of Insanity; and the Iraqi and Syrian society are on the brink of extinction. Terrorism experts say they are better organized and are more dangerous than AL-Qaeda.

The withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in 2011 deteriorated the security situation of the beleaguered nation. Their withdrawal didn't strengthen the government of Iraq. The United States has provided billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment to the Iraqi army, which are now under ISIS regime. The United States had already chosen to sacrifice humanitarian interests to secure its own security concerns by providing financial and military support to the Iraqi regime, but they damaged the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent citizens. The most important event which lead to the rise of ISIS is the civil war in Syria. This is the crucial factor which gave space to ISIS for the establishment of their so called Caliphate. I have expressed my concern over the Syrian civil war in my article titled 'Unrest in Syria Civil War Ongoing'. The unrest in Syria has been ongoing since last 3 years ,but did not came under international attention for a long time, and the neglection includes the period in 2012, when Obama had refused to arm the rebels to fight Assad despite repeated requests from several fronts. And now US has promised to openly arm the moderate Syrian opposition expecting b rebels to use those weapons to fight only ISIS, along with Bashar al-Assad regime.

A Swift Intervention with arms and air strikes might be easy for a great power like US, but achieving the desired political goals is completely a different matter. Interventions & engagements in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq have been long with no concrete results. Another important consideration is that today armed international interventions are likely to be condemned by many of the countries unless they are clearly in self-defense or have been authorized by the UN Security Council.

The events of invasion in the recent history of the world seem to be guided more by the self-interest of the invading country rather than by the stated humanitarian interests. It seems that US tries to get profited by providing weapons to both the warring sides and at same time tries to stay in their good-books; even if it means having devastating effects on the people. Wars do no good for anyone, but are the means of economic expenses while damaging the established structure of the society. It might also be of interest to note that US has taken keen interest in situations of unrest in the countries where it could got benefited by the huge reserves of oil, clearly an economic motivation behind sponsoring the civil wars. It is also worth mentioning that having  control over territory in Iraq would have served the dual purpose of controlling the Iran nuclear program and controlling the business routes passing through Middle East.

U.S. president Obama accepted few months ago and said that “I think Americans have learned that it’s harder to end wars than it is to begin them ”. This statement is very important because it is an acceptance of the big brother of its’ catastrophic acts. It's not acceptable to first create a habitat for fierce terrorist organizations to grow and later to fight against them , that too only when there are some visible interests in the act. The wars can be won with the help of deadly weapons but it’s always the innocent people who suffer. When weapons destroy social fabric and economy of any society, it is inevitable that terrorism will emerge. Iraq is the best example of this situation. The intervening country should help in strengthening the social, economic and political conditions of the invaded country instead of fueling the internal disturbances. The decision of U.S. to arm Syrian rebels, in my view, will prove to be catastrophe for the country and is another deadly game of the USA. All measures the U.S. is taking to suppress the violence are means to destroy the terrorists but not the terrorism.

( An armed mob , driven by an ideology , supported by a belief is more dangerous than a professional Military force)

- Prateek Dixit

(Edited by Rusheel Shukla and Debasis Dash)

#13 Selective Humanism

Since almost over a month, I was stopping myself from writing on this issue. But I cannot resist any more to express my concerns on perplexed international perspective. I'm saying this in terms of major international deadly conflicts going on in Middle East and in Ukraine as well. 7 days ago a long-term ceasefire has been agreed upon by Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, ending seven weeks of fighting that has taken lives of 2,200 people. Everyone knows that this is not the end of conflict but a temporal pause. A senior Hamas leader has said that they had carried out the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli civilians in the June. First time anyone from the militant group admitted it and that has helped spark the current war in the Gaza. Anyways I'm not writing to brief about this conflict but my concern is the farce attitude of the world. World powers are highly intrigued, but as other times have shown too, that they just focus on their self-interest only ignoring the harm of the other. The word Humanism is very fairly used to gain interest by siding some very important issues and the causes of them. The double standard attitude and biased reaction of the world on different issues stuck my mind to use this ink-horn term 'Selective humanism'.

Twitter posts, Facebook hash tags, Newspapers and what not? There was only one topic of discussion around the globe that is Israel Gaza war. The protesters, commentators, NGO workers, human rights activists - everyone have just forgot any other issue than Gaza. "Gaza under attack” was used like Israel is the only one responsible for everything. If any terrorist organization kill our people, we too expect same reaction from our govt.; and Israel did the same. I'm not a supporter of Israel but am a person irked by double standard in perspectives. My question is why did everyone forget about Syria when Israel-Gaza conflict started? Actually the world was silent on this issue since last 3 to 4 years. The uprising against Bashar al-Assad has been the biggest and longest story of what used to be known as the "Arab spring". The death toll in Syria in 3 years has reached more than 1, 90,000. We never heard "Save Syria" anywhere. Where were human right watchdogs and why they were not discussing this? But for Caza Protests everywhere, rallies everywhere, UN resolution to end Israel-Gaza fighting; in India demand to discuss this issue in parliament which in my opinion was completely senseless. Why world is silent on other issues. Israelis and their supporters complain about "selective outrage" and it is very true because a new name of terrorism expanding its feet in Middle East ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), is relatively ignored. Islamic terrorists in Iraq are killing children and are involved in human trafficking, thousands of Christians and Kurd were compelled to flee from towns, they bombed the churches and Shi'ite mosques, they mis-held women, and thousands of Yazidis had to escape to a mountain. Lot more can be said about ISIS but it is enough to verify my concern. After Gaza started, media has almost forgot to talk about Ukraine crisis. There were very few protests against kidnapping of hundreds of girls in Nigeria. So many other sensitive issues are still in world those are still covered.

Why other issues are not discussing like Israel and Gaza conflict? Is this because Israel Gaza conflict is conflict of two religious group? Where are protesters, commentators, NGO workers, human rights activists? Why opposition in India not demanding other issues to be discussed in parliament? Why are there no protests? Why the international community not taking serious measures to tackle all other issues? Why Why Why? When we ask this question we get very interesting answers. Some say Israel's retaliation is the violation of International rights but they don't want to know that Hamas is operating from schools, residential areas and even sacred places i.e. Mosques. Is ISIS operating under international laws? Is this acceptable? The number of rockets fired from Gaza are not less in number, the only difference is that Israel is capable to save its citizens. Taking a glance from Indian perspective, we know that Israel supported India in Kargil war against Pakistan. Organizations like Hamas always support the independence of Kashmir. But some political parties and people still oppose Israel. It's ridiculous.

It's a fact that any war in the world takes us years back. The shedding of innocent blood, bombing of buildings, spreading hatred are criminal acts. Those who carry out such acts have deviant beliefs and misleading ideologies and are responsible for the crime. But retaliations also cause severe damage as the bombs do not differentiate between the good and the bad people. I am reminded of the words I read in a book by Ayatollah Ali Khamene’that "Killing of people, in any place and with any kind of weapons, including atomic bombs, long-range missiles, biological or chemical weapons, passenger or war planes, carried out by any organization, country or individuals is condemned". The double standard response of powerful countries and people is unacceptable. Heavy outrage on some and unnoticed attitude toward other issues should be disregarded. Those who talk about humanity at some point and are silent at another point of time should be consistent with their reactions towards the similar chain of events. If it’s actually humanity, how can it discriminate between people suffering from similar if not same problems? I strongly disregard the nature of powerful nations and some people for showing‘selective humanity’as and when they find suitable.


- Prateek Dixit
(Edited by Rusheel Shukla)

#12 Impatient Minds

Everyone have basic flaws and it's very natural to have, but some flaws are dominant and varies in different people. A dominant flaw is a much more noticeable and here I'm pointing toward impatient attitude. Anyone can become impatient and there are so many reasons. But when we live in distressful, depressed and insecure environment mind gets easily impatient. And then we see a light of hope which we think will takes away all our agonies and fill our life with happiness, we becomes restless and any delay in that process makes us more impatient and angry.

UPA government ruled India for last 10 years. They failed to govern country in various fronts and lack in foresight and planning. Besides MNREGA, Food Security, RTI, RTE and some other good works, country faced so many failure under UPA rule. India lost momentum in GDP growth and it fell to around 4 % last year, Lots of scams shattered trust of common man on govt. , lack of goodwill to take strong decisions, and failed to attain impressive progress in foreign policy front, lake of quality education facilities, poor job opportunity, this all created anti incumbency against UPA regime. NDA led by Mr. Narendra Modi (Now PM) take advantage of this and did massive election campaign against congress and projected his idea of development. BJP promoted themselves as they have solution for every problem of country and promised to bring 'achche din' in India. His leadership quality and charismatic personality helped a lot to make people convinced to vote for his party and allies. And the same time we cannot deny the fact that congress failed to promote whatever achievements they have. The historic election campaign for 16th Loksabha election broke every barriers of caste, religion, creed and as a result NDA won a mandate for decisive leadership. Large no. of rallies, 3D rallies and strong social media campaign  rises hope among masses and people voted NDA led by Mr. Modi for their hope and aspiration. And therefore NDA formed government with a clear majority.

BJP promised a lot to peoples and rises aspiration of us. Narendra Modi's idea to make India a developed nation where everyone will have shelter to live, 24*7 electricity,  transparent govt. , corruption free system, security for female, to strengthen internal security system, to make constructive progress in the foreign policy front, to provide minority an equal opportunity, to control inflation, to modernize armed forces and police force, to encourage manufacturing in India, to provide job opportunity to youths, to improve quality of school and  higher education, to focus on skill development, to improve the qualities of health services, to reduce the fiscal deficit and to work for other various very important fronts. People started believing that this man have solution of every problem and voted for him. It is true that in last 5 years the economic condition of India affected badly as a result the job opportunity decreased. This makes youth which are the power of India vote for NDA. I know it is not possible to make India a heaven only in few years but govt. will have to deliver what they promised..

With the oath taking ceremony of Mr. Modi's govt. people started thinking that 'acche din' has arrived. Many people thinks that the India is about to change because Modiji is in power. Mr. Modi really proposed model of  high expectation to people by which many of us expecting changes with less time. Any delay to bring 'True achche din' making so many of us restless. I decided to write this article when I observed reaction of common man after 'Rail Budget'. People reacted so negatively like the Mr. Modi's govt deteriorated the condition of Railway. In this reference I'm saying the some people "Impatient Minds". The increasing inflation rates is a big problem for common man but it's not an issue which is solved in just 30 days. Opposition parties specially congress alleging the NDA to govt. of increasing the rates. I believe, how can the wrong doings of last 10 years can be improved in just 30 days. I'm not politically bias to any party but I know NDA needs 5 years to deliver what they promised. Some people started saying that 'achche din' won't come. May be some think that the petrol price should be very very cheap because modiji promised, some people think that railway fair should be very cheap and at the same time facility must be world class, some think there will be no more rcrime, all because now the govt. is changed and modiji promised to change the condition of country. This "IMPATIENT" attitude is totally wrong. We all must understood the actual situation around us, the actual condition of the country, the current economic of our country. This is just a start and any permanent change came with the regular effort and requires time. Sometimes media doesn't play their role to present govt. policies in a proper way and this impact the depressed  mind of people. It is very well know to us that it's very hard to survive with very high rates of everything but it's not due to the new govt.

Every government promises a lot of things, but not everyone of them got fulfilled. Modiji promised to bring 'achche din' which make India prosperous. Youths, women, old age people, children everyone has aspirations and hopes. But it's time to contribute to nation building because to make country and our life happy, it's not only the sole responsibility of govt. It's just the start of  new govt. and they have to do a lot to bring permanent positive change in the country. I observed impatient attitude among lot of people but this must be change. I hope there will a so many positive changes in the country and will be bring with our contribution with the government. We cannot judge any govt. by just giving then 30 days to work. Decision is taken after every five years. It's time for govt. to do whatever is in favor of country may be it's seems harsh for today. It's time to live with hope and we have to be patient with any delays in the progress. I'm sure we all countrymen with new govt. will bring 'achche din' for our lives and ultimately for our Mother India. JAI HIND!

- Prateek Dixit

#11 (Pseudo)Freedom of Press in India

It's been a very long time since I posted my last article. Recently the world observed 3rd May as "World press freedom day". I came to know about this when my sister who is a journalism student post about it on facebook. There were few comments of her friends who criticized the press. This left me with no choice but to write on this topic. Journalism is considered the biggest ideological weapon and its history is long. Newspapers have always been the primary medium of journalists since 1600, with magazines came in the 18th century, radio and television in the 20th, and the Internet in the 21st century.

History stores the extensive role played by journalism not in India but in the entire World. The Independence movement of various countries, the revolutions around the globe and social activism are helped by journalism to people to reach the destination. The freedom of this profession always tried to suppressed by the monarchist, dictators, and ruling regimes. Every ruler tries to take remote in their hands to control it. But press is effective only when it is free to express. It is well said by the Nobel Prize winner journalist Albert Camus that "A free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad".  According to press freedom index India comes in the category of countries where press is in difficult situation. India ranks 140th position in terms of freedom of press. It's not a good indication in a vibrant democracy like us where media is considered so called "Fourth Pillar of democracy". Journalism is a great source of information and empowers the people if it is free from any censorship. But question is: Is it free in our country?

The Constitution of India provides the right to freedom. The right to freedom in guarantees the Freedom of speech and expression. But recently Doordarshan had edited out portions from Modi's interview created a massive controversy. It's clearly seems that National news broadcaster is still not acquired complete autonomy from MIB (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting). Yes Indian constitution enables the legislature to impose certain restrictions on free speech under some heads likes security of the country, public order and sovereignty and integrity of India etc, but to censor media for playing politics is not good for healthy democracy. When few months ago Penguin India withdrawn all copies of Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: An Alternative History from the Indian market erupted same controversy in media world over the freedom of speech. In this matter not only the government is but the people of this country equally responsible. We are actually losing an opportunity to enjoy this right. We can easily lose our mental state by just listening to other's view especially when the matter of discussion centered to religion. Democracy allows people to express their views and thoughts. Recently in general elections the picture seems opposite. Today's Netas are not cool minded as they are supposed to and like what kind of Netas born earlier. The increment in the personal attack also had broken many records in this poll season. As long as our representatives do not show signs of improvement until people can not get changed.

This could be one side of the paper but on another side media is not completely clean. Media in country did a lot to uphold the voice of people but in a decade after the technology changed the scenario it's very important for press to raise the standards through a code of conduct. There are so many news mediums are available in country but sometimes we see the content shown by some TV news channels are not as much as important or needless. In a race to raise the TRP, media is hurting their image. This should be stop and here Press council of India can play an important role. It would be better for media and the viewer if the media regulates themselves and understood the nature of content required. Many a times we saw the competition to report the event or any big happening by reporters rules out the moral values. I'm also against the entry polls surveys conducted by the news houses before the election. They are free to do that but it definitely influences the mind of voters. This distraction of mind of voters are harmful for democracy. In this election paid news are big point of controversy and this is a new threat which deepens their roots strong. In a recent judgment The Supreme Court said that "the Election Commission is empowered to probe into the allegations of paid news if the expenses for the same are not being reflected in the election return filed by the candidate". This shows that the paid news is a big problem and commendable steps should be taken to stop this. Media must not bias to anyone but they must show what is right because media is doing most important service of educating people.

Society is influenced by media in so many ways. It has played significant role in strengthening the society. Media is considered as mirror of the modern society. The purpose of the media is to inform people about current new affairs and to tell about the latest gossip and fashion and many more. Here I believe there are need to change content pattern in the media especially in print media. If we compare our newspapers with the western counterparts, we find we have more reports on politics than science and technology. The double way communication with the viewers and readers are also need of modern time. That's why social media is playing a huge role in today's world. No doubt, overall Indian press is doing exceptionally well but some issues are yet to tackle immediately to increase the credibility and to improve image of Indian media among people and the world. Media is greatly done in this 16th Loksabha election which result the highest voter turnout in Indian polling history. This is a good sign that our media and democracy are maturing. Important issues during the campaign included rising prices, corruption, economy and security, infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water were raised by media which helped voters to vote smartly. Indian democracy is on its way towards maturity and the is great responsibility on shoulders of media to play its critical role to educate people because history have this quote said by great journalist Joseph Pulitzer that "Republic and its press will rise or fall together".

- Prateek Dixit