Thursday, August 25, 2016

India's Pakistan Phobia

Why is India's Hindu leadership so paranoid about Pakistan and Pakistanis?   Let us examine the source of India's Pakistan phobia by looking at a series of events in South Asia and various statements made by analysts, strategists and Hindu leaders across the political spectrum.

While the Muslim League led by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah accepted the British Cabinet Mission's plan of May 16, 1946 to grant broad autonomy to states within united India, the Hindu-dominated Indian National Congress rejected it.

The Cabinet Mission plan envisaged a united independent India with the Muslim-majority provinces grouped together with Sind, Punjab,Baluchistan and North-West Frontier Province forming one group, and Bengal and Assam forming another. It provided for the Hindu-majority provinces in central and southern India to form another group.  It gave the central government in Delhi the power to handle defense, currency, and diplomacy, and the rest of powers and responsibility to the provinces, coordinated by groups.

After rejecting the Cabinet Mission plan, the Hindu leadership proceeded to vehemently oppose the inevitable creation of Pakistan in 1947.


The Partition:

Since its unsuccessful bid to stop the Partition in 1947, the Hindu leadership of India has made every effort to make Pakistan fail, starting with the division of assets of British India. Pakistan was allocated 17.5% of the assets and liabilities. Cash was held by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that delayed the transfer of Rs. 750 million for several months after the partition in an attempt to strangle newborn Pakistan in its cradle. In addition, Pakistan was allocated 165,000 tons of military hardware of which Pakistan received only about 20,000 tons by September 1948.  The rest of the 145,000 tons never came to Pakistan.

Why is it that India has worked hard to make Pakistan fail? To answer this question, let us look at how various leaders, strategists and analysts see the India-Pakistan relationship:

Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution's Stephen Cohen:

 “One of the most important puzzles of India-Pakistan relations is not why the smaller Pakistan feels encircled and threatened, but why the larger India does. It would seem that India, seven times more populous than Pakistan and five times its size, and which defeated Pakistan in 1971, would feel more secure. This has not been the case and Pakistan remains deeply embedded in Indian thinking. There are historical, strategic, ideological, and domestic reasons why Pakistan remains the central obsession of much of the Indian strategic community, just as India remains Pakistan’s.”




Hindu RSS leader M.S. Golwalkar described as "worthy of worship" by current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi: 

"Ever since that evil day, when Moslems first landed in Hindustan, right up to the present moment, the Hindu Nation has been gallantly fighting on to take on these despoilers. The Race Spirit has been awakening.”

Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's Defense Minister Krishna Menon:

"In Pakistan's view the Partition is only the beginning. Her idea is to get a jumping-off ground to take the whole of India.....it was from the Mughals that the British took over (India). Now the British having gone, they (Muslims) must come back (to rule all of India)"

India's ex National Security Advisor and Foreign Secretary J.N. Dixit:

"The reason Britain partitioned India was to fragment Hindu areas into political entities and ensure Pakistan's emergence as the largest and most cohesive political power in the subcontinent. Pakistan's ultimate aim is to fragment India. Pakistani invasion of Kashmir in 1948 and subsequent wars are part of this continuous exercise. The Kargil war and the proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir are the latest example of this pressure. India has not been decisive and surgical in resisting Pakistani subversion. India has voluntarily given concessions to Pakistan despite defeating it in all major conflicts. Pakistan's long term objective is to ensure that India does not emerge as the most influential power in the South Asian region. The Pakistani power structure has a powerful antagonism toward Hindu-majority civil society in India. Pakistan has sought the support of a large number of Muslim countries and Asian and Western powers (China and the US) to keep India on the defensive. Pakistan's continued questioning of Indian secularism, democracy and constitutional institutions is a deliberate attempt to generate friction within India. Pakistani support of the secessionist and insurgent forces in Jammu and Kashmir, in Punjab and in the north-eastern states of India confirms this impression."

In a 2014 Gallup poll, most of the world said they saw the United States as the biggest threat to world peace. Indians chose Pakistan as the biggest threat.

Source: WIN/Gallup International. Map Courtesy of Joe Hammer

Summary: 

India's Hindu leadership continues to live under the long shadow cast by centuries of Muslim rule of the Subcontinent. Many independent historians believe that India's Muslim rulers were generally quite benevolent, a characterization contested  particularly by right-wing Hindu followers of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They see present-day Pakistan as an extension of India's Muslim rule and fear being dominated by Muslims yet again, a fear articulated by India's first defense minister Krishna Menon. India's Hindu leadership needs to overcome this irrational fear to work with Pakistan to build the foundations of a better and more peaceful future for their children in South Asia.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Indian Agent Kulbhushan Yadav's Confession

Has Modi Stepped Up India's Covert War in Pakistan?

Ex India Spy Documents Successful RAW Ops in Pakistan

London Police Document Confirms MQM-RAW Connection Testimony

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

Ajit Doval Lecture on "How to Tackle Pakistan" 

Chabahar Port

48 comments:

Azlan H. said...

Science may have an explanation for this:


Phobias may be memories passed down in genes from ancestors

Memories may be passed down through generations in DNA in a process that may be the underlying cause of phobias

Memories can be passed down to later generations through genetic switches that allow offspring to inherit the experience of their ancestors, according to new research that may explain how phobias can develop.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/10486479/Phobias-may-be-memories-passed-down-in-genes-from-ancestors.html

Anonymous said...

1000 years Muslim rule over Hindu-subcontinent still lives in the shape of Muslim Pakistan. The very first attack came early 700s... and till date the Muslims reside in whole of subcontinent. The first Muslim state in India was founded there in 711.

Jag said...

A few holes in this post -

1. Congress did not reject the Cabinet Mission Plan and there was a proposal to examine the plan through an interim Govt. via the Constituent Assembly.
2. One of Congress' nominee was Zakir Hussein which ticked off Jinnah so much that he was the one who withdrew his nod to the Cabinet Mission Plan
3. It is laughable to call the Congress as representatives of "Hindus" - since Maulana Azad, Zakir Hussein and many others were members. Heck, even Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan supported the Congress. If I am not mistaken even the father and/or grandfather of your ex foreign minister Kasuri were Congress members.
4. I am unsure about the ammunition - please provide a relevant source.
5. 55 crores were withheld because of differences but after Gandhi going on a fast, this amount was released.

Riaz Haq said...

Jag: "please provide a relevant source."

Plenty of books by Indian, Pakistani and European authors have documented what I said in my post... the most recent being "Midnight Furies" by Nisid Hajari, an Indian and "India vs Pakistan" by Husain Haqqani, a Pakistani.

Shamim said...

Their fear is that historically Hindus always surrendered before muslim invaders without putting up enough fights. They fear the same fate awaits them, if they get a chance they wont leave a single muslim and christian alive in India.

Hasan J. said...

Mr. Riaz - I agree with your analysis all the way. However, what concerns Indian more is an economically progressing and stable Pakistan with potential of becoming a show stopper upsetting Indian designs in the region. A financially stable Pakistan with China alongside could either delay or shatter it's dream of becoming a super power for good. It's all about economy that has sent Indians seeking sanctions to DC spending hundreds of millions of dollars against Pakistan. it's a challenge that Indians reckon that need to be addressed before it becomes too big and too difficult to handle. It's scope is far more wide and deeper than mere resurgence of muslim power in the region. A strong and economically stable Pakistan is just not in the Indian interest. Period.

Riaz Haq said...

Hasan: "A financially stable Pakistan with China alongside could either delay or shatter it's dream of becoming a super power for good"

India under Modi is waging a covert proxy war in Pakistan to destabilize it and hurt its economy. The Indians have said they don't want China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to succeed.

http://www.riazhaq.com/2016/08/indias-role-in-quetta-bombing.html

Riaz Haq said...

India’s founding fathers set Pakistan up to fail by Nisid Hajari

Two months later, after lurid reports emerged of a massacre of Hindus in the remote district of Noakhali in far eastern Bengal, Gandhi fueled Hindu hysteria rather than tamping it down. Nearing 80 by then, his political ideas outdated and his instincts dulled by years of adulation, he remained the most influential figure in the country. His evening prayer addresses were quoted and heeded widely. While some Congress figures presented over-hyped casualty counts for the massacre — party chief J.B. Kripalani estimated a death toll in the millions, though the final tally ended up less than 200 — Gandhi focused on wildly exaggerated claims that marauders had raped tens of thousands of Hindu women. Controversially, he advised the latter to “suffocate themselves or … bite their tongues to end their lives” rather than allow themselves to be raped.

Within weeks, local Congress politicians in the nearby state of Bihar were leading ugly rallies calling for Hindus to avenge the women of Noakhali. According to New York Times reporter George Jones, in their foaming outrage “it became rather difficult to differentiate” between the vicious sectarianism of Congress and radical Hindu groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), whose cadres had begun drilling with weapons to prevent the Partition of India. Huge mobs formed in Bihar — where Hindus outnumbered Muslims 7 to 1 — and spread across the monsoon-soaked countryside.Huge mobs formed in Bihar — where Hindus outnumbered Muslims 7 to 1 — and spread across the monsoon-soaked countryside. In a fortnight of killing, they slaughtered more than 7,000 Muslims. The pogroms virtually eliminated any hope of compromise between Congress and the League.

Equally troubling was the moral cover the Mahatma granted his longtime followers Nehru and “Sardar” Vallabhbhai Patel — a Gujarati strongman much admired by Modi, who also hails from Gujarat and who served as the state’s chief minister for over a decade. Echoing Gandhi’s injunction against pushing anyone into Pakistan against their wishes, Nehru and Patel insisted that the huge provinces of Punjab and Bengal be split into Muslim and non-Muslim halves, with the latter areas remaining with India.

Jinnah rightly argued that such a division would cause chaos. Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs were inextricably mixed in the Punjab, with the latter in particular spread across both sides of the proposed border. Sikh leaders vowed not to allow their community to be split in half. They helped set off the chain of Partition riots in August 1947 by targeting and trying to drive out Muslims from India’s half of the province, in part to make room for their Sikh brethren relocating from the other side.

Jinnah also correctly predicted that a too-weak Pakistan, stripped of the great port and industrial center of Calcutta, would be deeply insecure. Fixated on building up its own military capabilities and undermining India’s, it would be a source of endless instability in the region. Yet Nehru and Patel wanted it to be even weaker. They contested every last phone and fighter jet in the division of colonial assets and gloated that Jinnah’s rump state would soon beg to reunite with India.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/05/26/pakistan-india-independence-gandhi/

Ahmad F. said...

I have also heard the argument being made that Jinnah wanted a United India but the extremist Hindus wanted a division. So why would they oppose partition?

Riaz Haq said...

Ahmad: "I have also heard the argument being made that Jinnah wanted a United India but the extremist Hindus wanted a division. So why would they oppose partition?

I have based my post on a number of recent books on the subject including Nisid Hajari's Midnight Furies and Hussain Haqqani's India vs Pakistan.

Both bear out the acceptance of Cabinet Mission plan by Jinnah and its rejection by Congress.

Both also support the argument that the Hindu leaders made partition much more bitter than it needed to be as part of their wish to make Pakistan fail and then seek reunification in a central polity dominated by Hindus

Aftab said...

Why does Pakistan/Pakistanis feel so insecure after 70 years? I don't get it? I am an US born Pakistani and many parents just talk about this stuff all the time. It will be more fruitful if everyone just get over it.

Riaz Haq said...

Aftab: "Why does Pakistan/Pakistanis feel so insecure after 70 years? I don't get it? I am an US born Pakistani and many parents just talk about this stuff all the time. It will be more fruitful if everyone just get over it. "


Pakistan has lost over 60,000 people to terror since 2003. Since you say you're US -born, let me ask you this: How many people has the US lost to terror? About 3,400 since 911, including deaths on Sept 11, 2001. Should US feel secure? Why doesn't it?

http://www.riazhaq.com/2015/10/us-gun-violence-islamophobia-and.html

Singh said...

Does India have Pakistan-phobia or does Pakistan have India-phobia? The answer is yes to both.

As for Hindus fearing Muslim rule, years of subjugation by Muslim rule, and later British rule, has left its indelible mark on Indians. No escaping it. This doesn't mean India fears Muslim hordes coming from the West to invade India again. Today, Pakistan is both a foreign policy and national security concern.

As for India trying to make Pakistan fail, there is no need for India to do anything. Pakistan does a good job of shooting itself in the foot at almost every turn.

Anonymous said...

Riaz Sb.

My take on partition is little different.

Although Congress claimed to be a secular party representing all ethnic and religious groups, Muslims were skeptical. As a result, its Muslims membership never exceeded 3% despite all efforts. That is why right after the elections of 1936, Nehru started a “Mass Muslim Contact” movement. You don’t start mass contact movement with a group that are part of you. That skepticism still prevails. Kashmir is an indication that partition was inevitable. Had it not happened in 47, it would have happened in 57, 67 or 77, but would have happened with or without Mr. Jinnah. But the genocide after 1947 would have made Yugoslavia look like a child’s play and would have created many small countries.


So at some point Nehru and Patel realized that a large Muslim population (30-35%) would create problems for Indian union and getting rid of them would be beneficial. It will not only get rid of a hindrance but will also create a powerful enemy that could become a focal point of hatred. Conditions were created to pave way for Pakistan. Once Pakistan came into existence artificial problems were popped up to keep animosity alive.


The Cabinet mission plan was not rejected by Congress high command, but was sabotaged by Pt. Nehru. In the press conference he said that congress will not abide by the deals made during the British rule. It is said that when he was leaving someone asked “do you know what you just did?” To which he replied “I know exactly what I have done”.


As far as their foreign policy is concerned. India does not want an economically stable and progressive neighborhood, since that would strengthen the internal separatist movements. That is why India has meddled in the internal affairs of every neighbor, making sure that not a single economically powerful country emerges in SA. Right after the separation of East Pakistan, it started supporting the Shanti Bahini in Bangladesh. Their support to LTTE is well known. Considering SL’s high ranking on HDI index, without 30 years of civil war it could have become another Singapore or Hong Kong. In Nepal, the current PM was at one time considered a terrorist but would easily go around in India and meet high ranking politicians. The border disputes were not resolved with any country, just to make sure that another enemy can be popped up at a moments notice. Pakistan is presented as a villain because it is the only country that has stood up and refused to accept Indian hegemony and done to India what India has done to others.


India union needs external enemies for its existence and Pakistan is the focal point of hatred that has kept India united.


Zamir

Anonymous said...

Pakistan’s obsession with India is quite understandable but India’s obsession with Pakistan makes absolutely no sense.

Pakistan has a population of two hundred million, whereas India’s population exceeds 1.2 billion. Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) is roughly $930 billion dollars, whereas in India it is over $8 trillion dollars. Pakistans GDP growth rate is estimated at 4 percent, whereas Indias economy is growing at over 7 percent. Including military reserves, India has an army three times the size of Pakistan’s, 3.4 million versus 1.1 million, with a budget six times greater than Pakistan’s, $40 billion versus $7 billion. This is just a quick snapshot of Indias superiority over Pakistan. Choose any category from geography to economy to conventional military capabilities, and India has better indicators across the board.

In the past year two major think tanks based out of Washington DC have encouraged the American government to work with Pakistan in an effort to bring the country into nuclear orders mainstream. Their recommendations are based on the fact that Pakistan has made a number of efforts to match its export control lists with those of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and Missile Technology Control Regime. Not only this, Pakistan fully complies with Resolution 1540, which establishes legally binding obligations on all UN Member States to have and enforce appropriate and effective measures against the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, their delivery systems, including by establishing controls. The 1540 Committee at New York has nine experts and a Pakistan is proud to have Mr. Zawar Abidi working at the Committee as an expert there are no Indians in that elite group. Pakistan is one of the most proactive States in implementing UNSCR 1540.Pakistan proactively participates in initiatives like the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) and the Global Initiative on Countering Nuclear Terrorism. Pakistan’s Centre of Excellence for Nuclear Security (PCENS), praised by President Obama during the 2010 NSS is a regional hub for sharing best practices in nuclear security and training. PCENS is already running courses for regional countries, while India has nothing like it.

During the previous National Command Authority meeting, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif indicated that Pakistan would ratify the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. This is another positive step to build Pakistans credentials for NSG membership

Despite all of this, America still shies away from supporting Pakistan’s interest in membership of these export control arrangements.

Pakistan meets the criteria for membership of these regimes like any other non-NPT State (Other nuclear weapon States that are not signatories to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty (NPT) include Israel and India). This political apartheid against Pakistan must end to improve the credibility of the nonproliferation regime.

The only reason America chooses not to back Pakistan for membership to these regimes is because of the strong Indian lobby in Washington DC, obsessed with denying Pakistan any opportunities to develop a strong relationship with the United States.



http://nation.com.pk/columns/06-Mar-2016/india-s-pakistan-obsession

Anonymous said...

You do realize cabinet mission plan was unworkable and a recipe for balkanization.

Such a weak centre in such a large country could not survive let alone allow Nehru to carry out massive reform like ending feudalism in India and modernizing Hinduism by ending polygamy etc.

Riaz Haq said...

Anon: "Such a weak centre in such a large country could not survive..."

I disagree. Cabinet Mission Plan reserved defense, treasury and foreign affairs for Delhi, the strongest part of any federal government, including the US government in Washington.

When India breaks up, it won't be because of "weak" or "strong" center; instead, it will be because of the poor treatment of Dalits and various ethnic and religious minorities and indigenous tribes across the length and breadth of India.


http://www.riazhaq.com/search?q=disintegration

Anonymous said...

So why not have the same in Pakistan?

Only defence treasury and foreign policy at the centre complete autonomy for all provinces?

And Pakistan is 1/10 the size of united south Asia...

Nasir said...

Riazbhai, how do you see the future now that the history has been described? Future prediction difficult baat hein lekin where do you see Pakistan India? On Kashmir issue, economy, military, education, and world relations and trade??

Riaz Haq said...

Anon:"So why not have the same in Pakistan?"

Pakistan just did a major devolution of power to provinces with the passage of 18th amendment in 2010:

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/news/2010/04/19/7587/the-18th-amendment-and-pakistans-political-transitions/

Riaz Haq said...

Nasir: "Riazbhai, how do you see the future now that the history has been described? "


Pakistan should continue to make positive overtures to Modi but I don't see any improvement in India-Pakistan as long as India pursues the Doval Doctrine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYRuk8H5M9E

So Pakistan has to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.


http://www.pakalumni.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1119293%3ABlogPost%3A89677&commentId=1119293%3AComment%3A110231&xg_source=activity

Anonymous said...

It is not India that is destabilizing Pakistan. It is the CIA (US).

Why? REVENGE. Pakistan/ISI has humiliated the US/CIA in Afghanistan by its double-agenda and the CIA now wants to get even.

Note that this REVENGE theme has been the hallmark of the CIA in the past. In 1971, the USSR was backing India (Indira) & Bangladesh (Mujeeb), whereas the US was backing the Pakistan Army. When India won the war and Bangladesh became a reality, the US was internationally humiliated by the loss. Soviet influence dramatically rose in South Asia, whereas American influence waned. Sensing this, Bhutto also ran to the Soviets and made friend with them. This infuriated the US Establishment and the CIA swore REVENGE against Mujeeb, Indira and Bhutto.

RESULTS? Mujeeb was massacred in CIA-backed army coup in Bangladesh (1975). Indira was nearly overthrown by CIA-funded agitations (1975) and a CIA-backed Morarjee eventually became PM in India (1977). Finally, Bhutto was hanged after a CIA-backed coup by Zia (1979). See? All scores settled. Mission accomplished. CIA wins again.

CONCLUSION: When the CIA wants REVENGE, it will stop at nothing. This is what Pakistan is facing today-- not some incompetent bungling government in India.

Anonymous said...

In this article you now say that Modi & Doval (who came to power in mid 2014) are destabilizing Pakistan.

In your previous two articles, you have provided a list of terrorism-related causalities. The data there clearly shows that attacks in Pakistan have *decreased* since 2014.

That makes no sense.

If, as you say, Modi-Doval are determined to destabilize Pakistan, then the attacks & causalities should have gone *up* since Modi came to power in 2014.

In fact, when I look at the data-sheet you have provided, I can see that the attacks & casualties first started to rise when *Manmohan Singh* came to power in 2004 (after defeat of BJP's Shining India) and then continued to be high during his regime.

As soon as he left in 2014, the attacks & casualties rapidly dropped and have kept decreasing every since.

If anything, then, the data indicate that it was *Mannohan Singh* who was destabilizing Pakistan.

There must be a big flaw in your logic somewhere. Please clarify.

Riaz Haq said...

Anon: "In your previous two articles, you have provided a list of terrorism-related causalities. The data there clearly shows that attacks in Pakistan have *decreased* since 2014. That makes no sense. If, as you say, Modi-Doval are determined to destabilize Pakistan, then the attacks & causalities should have gone *up* since Modi came to power in 2014."


Improvement in Pakistan's security situation has happened in spite of Modi-Doval duo stepping up India's covert terror war against Pakistan that has been ongoing for decades. It's the success of Pak Army's Operation Zarb e Azb.

C Bose said...

[Improvement in Pakistan's security situation has happened in spite of Modi-Doval duo stepping up India's covert terror war against Pakistan that has been ongoing for decades.]

Has any International body like the UN or country acknowledged the Modi-Doval duo as a terrorist organization? Please tell us if any other country is backing Pakistan's claim of terrorism from this pair.

Riaz Haq said...

Bose: "Has any International body like the UN or country acknowledged the Modi-Doval duo as a terrorist organization? Please tell us if any other country is backing Pakistan's claim of terrorism from this pair"


To answer this question, let us begin with a quote from former US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel who said: "India has always used Afghanistan as a second front against Pakistan. India has over the years been financing problems in Pakistan".

On what basis did Chuck Hagel make the statement about India's use of Afghan territory to attack Pakistan? Was he, too, just another victim of conspiracy theories? Off course not. Secretary Hagel had the benefit of intelligence briefings by the CIA given to him in multiple capacities: first as US Senate Intelligence committee member and then as US Defense Secretary.

Since Mr. Hagel made his statement, there has been further evidence of India's involvement in Balochistan with the recent arrest of Kulbhushan Yadv, a serving Indian Navy officer working under cover in Balochistan. Yadav has confessed to working with terrorists launching attacks in Pakistan.

US analyst Laura Rozen explained India-Taliban nexus as follows: "While the U.S. media has frequently reported on Pakistani ties to jihadi elements launching attacks in Afghanistan, it has less often mentioned that India supports insurgent forces attacking Pakistan, the former (US) intelligence official said. "The Indians are up to their necks in supporting the Taliban against the Pakistani government in Afghanistan and Pakistan," the former (US) intelligence official who served in both countries said. "The same anti-Pakistani forces in Afghanistan also shooting at American soldiers are getting support from India. India should close its diplomatic establishments in Afghanistan and get the Christ out of there."

There is large and growing evidence of it. Ex US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has talked about it. Several US analysts have detailed it. Kulbhushan Yadav, a serving Indian Navy Officer, arrested in Balochistan has confessed to it. Revelation of London Police documents linking MQM leader to Indian funding shows it. Statements made by Ajit Doval back in 2014 and his later appointment as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's lend credence to it. So does India's past behavior against Pakistan as acknowledged in "Mission R&AW", a book by ex RAW officer R.K. Yadav.

http://www.riazhaq.com/2016/08/indias-role-in-quetta-bombing.html

C Bose said...

"Financing problems" indicates supporting the Baloch Independence Movement. What's wrong with that? There are many, including the CIA are involved in preventing genocide in balochistan

Riaz Haq said...

Bose: "There are many, including the CIA are involved in preventing genocide in balochistan"

Genocide? Let me tell you what genocide is...it's in Indian-occupied Kashmir at the hands of 700,000 Indian soldiers and India is using fake videos to distract attention from it.

Two Kashmiri activists accused India’s mainstream media on Sunday of “constantly publishing and airing baseless reports” about Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to defame Pakistan.

“We are shocked to notice how brazenly an Indian newspaper has used a picture of our anti-India demonstration in Muzaffarabad and presented it as an anti-Pakistan protest,” said Uzair Ahmed Ghazali of the Pabsan-i-Hurriat Jammu Kashmir at a press conference along with Hamid Jamil of the Refugee Welfare Organisation and other activists.

The Facebook page of The New Indian Express used on Saturday a picture of Mr Ghazali and Mr Jamil chanting slogans. The caption was: “Anti-Pakistan protest erupts in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.”

Showing the printout of that page to reporters, Mr Ghazali said it was a picture of a five-year-old anti-India demonstration they had organised in Muzaffarabad to condemn invasion of Kashmir carried out by India on Oct 27, 1947.

“Indian media outlets are hell bent upon establishing that anti-Pakistan sentiments are on the rise in AJK, in the worst breach of media ethics,” Mr Ghazali said.

He said visuals from different areas and occasions were being used to create a negative impression about AJK.

He said another Indian media outlet had used visuals of the ongoing Rangers’ operations against hardened criminals in Karachi and described them as from the AJK.

“They can hoodwink a section of their population but not the international community, let alone the Kashmiris on either side of the divide,” he said.

Mr Ghazali said that even in doctored video clips the Indian media had failed to air a single sound bite in favour of India and its unlawful rule in Kashmir.

“There are some people in Kashmir who want its accession with Pakistan and there are others who want its independence... But no-one supports India...” There was complete unanimity among both the groups about India’s eviction from the disputed region, he said.

“Pakistan is the advocate of our cause and it runs in the blood of Kashmiris. Anti-Pakistan sentiments in Kashmiris could be a wish of the Indian government and media but not the reality,” he said.

Mr Jamil said Indian media outlets had been tasked to show doctored clips about AJK in order to divert attention from the reign of terror let loose by its troops in the held territory.

He urged Pakistani media to counter the baseless propaganda by Indian media on Kashmir. “They show doctored clips, you need to show the reality,” he said.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1215440

Anonymous said...

Riaz Haq,

You didn't get it, he is talking about the genocide of Indian dreams and desires. Or maybe Indian scientists have invented a device that allows them to see things that don't exist. After all it is such an advance civilization that 10 thousand years ago they were traveling inter gallactaclly on their 10 engine airplanes. This device allows them to see constant curfew in Quetta, stone pelfting youngsters, anti Pakistan demonstrations and ofcours genocide, not to mention strong separatist leader and political parties in Balochistan. You know the things that most mortal intellegent humans cannot see.

G. Ali

Riaz Haq said...

G.Ali: "This device allows them to see constant curfew in Quetta, stone pelfting youngsters, anti Pakistan demonstrations and ofcours genocide, not to mention strong separatist leader and political parties in Balochistan. You know the things that most mortal intellegent humans cannot see."


Excellent! Bravo!! LMAO!!!

Anonymous said...

C.Bose said

Has any International body like the UN or country acknowledged the Modi-Doval duo as a terrorist organization?

An international body called UN says that Kashmir is a disputed terrritory, do you agree with them? Or is it cheery picking season?

G. Ali

Anonymous said...

Op Ed in The Hindu

India often demands that it should not be conflated with Pakistan but who is really doing the ‘conflating’? From cricket pitch and hockey ground to the battlefields of Kargil and Siachen, few things seem to give us greater delight than our victories over a miserable messed up country with a sixth of our population and one which is steadily going under.

If anyone is making Pakistan appear much more formidable than it really is, and a country worthy of its attention, it is only India. To the rest of the world an unstable nuclear-armed terror-exporting Pakistan is now viewed with the same suspicion long reserved for inscrutable and unpredictable North Korea and that is the way it will be for a long time to come. India no longer need burden the point.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/we-must-stop-obsessing-over-pakistan/article9046471.ece

Jasbir Singh said...

I hope more Indians get exposed to such blogs as yours. Many are not aware that even educated Pakistanis are vehemently believe India as their eternal enemy. Time has come to reciprocate. We have the size now we shall have the will. Please keep it up

Anonymous said...

Jasbi Singh,

Riaz Haq usually posts data from unbiased sources. What a pity small mind you guys have that equates unbiased as anti-Indian.


G. ALi

Anonymous said...

Regarding the Op Ed in The Hindu. Please read the very first comment

"are you on weed? why are you exaggerating so much about India? I am in this country for almost 30 years and know that how well we are doing! it is all the hupe just created by western media to built us against china and after that we will be involved in un-ended arms race. US need Indian money and they can offer any thing against it............ It will be just a matter of time when US will be strong and will take up their hands from India. and Indians think they are very Vital in the world politics........."

Looks like there are still people in India who are capable of thinking logically, however, just wondering if the sedation case has been charged against this guy.

G. ALi

Riaz Haq said...


Indian writer Yoginder Sikand in his book "Beyond the Border":

When I was only four years old and we were living in Calcutta (in 1971)...it was clear that "Pakistan" was something that I was meant to hate and fear, though I had not the faintest idea where and what that dreaded monster (Pakistan) was.

What I heard and read about the two countries (India and Pakistan)--at school, on television and over radio, in the newspapers and from relatives and friends--only served to reinforce negative images of Pakistan, a country inhabited by people I necessarily had dread and even to define myself against. Pakistan and myself were equated as one while India and the Hindus were treated as synonymous. The two countries, as well as the two communities were said to be absolutely irreconcilable. To be Indian necessarily meant, it seemed to be uncompromisingly anti-Pakistani. To question this assumption, to entertain any thought other than the standard line about Pakistan and its people, was tantamount to treason.


https://books.google.com/books?id=xoJICgAAQBAJ&pg=PT6&dq=Beyond+the+Border:+An+Indian+in+Pakistan+yoginder+sikand&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbp--kuf_QAhVP0GMKHcn2AEYQ6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=Beyond%20the%20Border%3A%20An%20Indian%20in%20Pakistan%20yoginder%20sikand&f=false

Riaz Haq said...

#Modi blames #Pakistan for #Kanpur #train tragedy when NIA investigators silent : Uttar Pradesh News - #India Today

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/narendra-modi-gonda-pakistan-kanpur-train/1/890869.html

While the investigators have been cautious in blaming Pakistan or its intelligence agency ISI for Kanpur train tragedy, PM Modi told an election rally at Gonda in UP that the derailment was a conspiracy hatched across the border.

Addressing an election rally at Gonda in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today blamed Pakistan for Kanpur train derailment. About 150 people had lost their lives in the train tragedy November last year.
Modi stated that the Kanpur train derailment was a conspiracy hatched across the border. He said that the people of the city need to elect those who were full of patriotism.
The Kanpur train derailment case is being investigated by multiple agencies including the National Investigation Agency. The investigators involved with the case have, however, stayed away from naming ISI or confirming a foreign hand behind the derailment.

An informed source, privy to probe details, said, "The investigation is in nascent stage."
WHY MODI RELATED KANPUR TRAGEDY WITH PAKISTAN: THINGS TO KNOW
PM Modi was addressing a poll rally at Gonda, which will go to poll in the fifth phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh. Gonda is close to the Indo-Nepal border and the PM expressed concerns about its safety.
"A rail accident happened in Kanpur, few people have been caught. Police found out that it was a conspiracy from across the border. If such people, who will help (conspirators), get elected from here, will Gonda be safe? Will nation be safe then," asked PM Modi.
PM Modi's comment is in sharp contradiction to investigations so far by UP police, central railway board and even National Investigation Agency (NIA). These agencies are yet to draw any conclusion on a Pakistan link to Kanpur train derailment. A senior officer of the NIA refused to comment on the issue.
The probe conducted by three agencies did not pick any forensic evidence of explosives. The recovery of technical evidence in the form of audio clips is still being examined. A team of NIA has gone to Nepal to make further probe. But no strong leads have emerged so far.
However, a clear Pakistani ISI link emerged to Ghorasahan in East Champaran district of Bihar, where an IED was discovered in October last year.
Bihar Police had arrested three murder case accused identified as Moti Paswan, Umashankar Prasad and Mukesh Yadav, who spilled beans of ISI link. They told the Bihar Police that the ISI had planned the derailment of Indore-Patna Express in November last year.
Moti Paswan told the police that he visited Kanpur rail track before the train derailment. Police also recovered two WhatsApp audio clips from the phone of one of the accused. Two suspects could be discussing Kanpur derailment.
Paswan is said to have confessed to having been involved in the train derailment along with two others including Zubair and Ziaul, who have been arrested in Delhi.
The NIA earlier this month said that Dubai-based Shamshul Huda was the "mastermind" for the Ghorasahan sabotage behind the Indore-Patna Express train accident in Kanpur on November 16 last year. But, a similar link has not been confirmed by the NIA.
Intelligence agencies suspect that Shamshul Hoda could be behind the derailment as he is said to have extensive network of sleeper cells in Delhi, Kanpur, Patna and Nepal. Hoda is further understood to have been in touch with one Sheikh Shafi in Pakistan. Sheikh Shafi is believed to be one who gives regular instructions through Hoda on how to carry out terror attacks in India.

Riaz Haq said...

#Indians, What to do if you can't hate a #Pakistani? #BJP #ABVP

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/what-to-do-if-you-cant-hate-a-pakistani/article17530129.ece

Last week, I got a frantic call from my friend V, who seemed very upset.

“I can’t tell you what I’ve done!” he sobbed over the phone.

“What happened?” I said. “Did you stab someone in murderous rage?”

“No,” he said. “It’s worse.”

“Did you accidentally slap your boss?

“Even worse.”

“Did you forget your anniversary?”

“I allowed a Pakistani to hug me.”

“Oh my god, tell me you didn’t!”

“I did, I did,” he said, and began to wail so loudly I had to hold the phone away from my ears.

I let him wail peacefully for five minutes.

“Okay, enough,” I said. “Sometimes bad things happen to good nationalists.”

“But why me?” he said tearfully. “I’ve hated Pakistan all my life. I’ve been a member of the ABVP since the age of two. What will I do now? With what face will I ask anti-nationals to go to Pakistan? They will laugh at me.”

He blew his nose extensively, which seemed to calm him a bit, but grated on my nerves.

“Look, we all make mistakes,” I said. “What matters is how we make amends.”

“I know what you mean,” he said. “I’ll surrender myself to the police. I’ll confess that I was hugged by a Pakistani.”

“But how did this happen?”

He then told me the whole sordid story. Apparently, V, a tax consultant, had attended a conference of tax consultants in the Bahamas, which is a Mecca for tax consultants, and a favourite tax haven of patriotic Indian politicians, some of whom were his clients. One of the conference delegates happened to be from Pakistan, a man named — you guessed it — Khan.

One balmy evening, after a day spent exchanging notes about the global best practices in tax dodging, V was having dinner in an open-air restaurant and generally minding his own business, when the Pakistani sat down at his table and began to make small talk. V, of course, put up a strong resistance.

“Nice weather,” Khan had said.

“Pakistan must be hell,” replied V. “How do you guys manage?”

“I love your shirt,” said the Pakistani.

“What was Kasab like as a friend?”

“I quite enjoyed your presentation.”

“Do you work for the ISI?” V persisted. “How do you juggle tax consultancy and terrorism?”

“India is a beautiful country,” Khan answered. “Indian women are lovely.”

“Really?” V snarled. “Your ‘love jihad’ won’t work any more.”

“India and Pakistan have so much in common,” Khan said. “It would be wonderful if we could visit each other easily.”

“You guys visit us anyway, sneaking across the border once the snow melts.”

“I’ve always condemned cross-border terrorism,” Khan said, helping himself to an olive.

“Do you dodge bullets on your way to work?” V said. “How does it feel to live in a failed state right next to a vibrant democracy like India?”

Khan’s response was sedate. “As a young nation, we have a lot to learn, and we are learning from India too.”

“He was charming like the devil,” V recalled. “He paid for my food, my drink, and even shared a few accounting tricks I didn’t know before.”

“You mean, you actually liked this Pakistani guy?” I said, disbelievingly.

“I... I couldn’t help it,” V stammered. “By the time we were leaving, we’d become such great friends, he gave me a hug. To be honest, I didn’t mind it at the time.”

“That’s utterly shameful,” I said.

“I realise that,” V said. “My biggest fear is, what if every Pakistani turns out to be as likeable as the one I met? What if they are not all devious, evil monsters out to destroy India?”

I couldn’t believe my ears. “You are sounding like Arundhati Roy,” I said, which was the worst insult I could think of, and I hung up.

Riaz Haq said...

China-Pakistan economic corridor unacceptable to India: Shivshankar Menon

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/china-pakistan-economic-corridor-unacceptable-to-india-shivshankar-menon-4623185/


THE CHINA-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), as it stands today, is not acceptable to India, Shivshankar Menon, a former National Security Adviser to the Government of India, said on Friday. “The sovereignty aspect of the CPEC, as proposed now, is unacceptable to us,” Menon said during a conference on The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): India’s perspectives on China’s ambitious plan. The former diplomat’s statement comes at a time when China has made a fresh attempt at inviting India’s interest in President Xi Jinping’s pet project, the BRI, of which CPEC is a part.
On March 4, Chinese diplomat Fu Ying asked India to reconsider its position on the BRI keeping in mind the “larger picture”. India has been wary of the CPEC as a part of it passes through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. “For India, there is an added contradiction that the CPEC passes through Indian territory under Pakistani occupation,” Menon said. By making “long-term financial investment in the initiative”, he said, China seems to “solidify and legitimise that occupation”, Menon said at the conference held in Mumbai by the Observer Research Foundation.
The conference was held to deliberate India’s position on the BRI ahead of China’s first international forum in May. Several economists, diplomats and mediapersons participated in panel discussions. While Menon acknowledged the economic benefits of the trans-continental initiative that connects 60 countries in Asia and Europe, he said that not all projects under the BRI were for economic justification, including the CPEC.
“Not all projects under the BRI are economically viable, which suggests that there is geo-strategic motivation involved,” he said, adding that most parts of the BRI passed through some of the “most insecure” regions. Menon, however, stressed that India would be more willing to join the BRI if it were more comfortable about the security in the regions concerned and the geopolitical context within which BRI is proposed.

Riaz Haq said...

At #G20Summit, #Modi's obsession with #Pakistan continues with attacks on #India's neighbor http://toi.in/yeMKea via @timesofindia
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/at-g20-pm-narendra-modi-slams-pakistan-in-strong-message-on-terror-tries-to-rally-nations/articleshow/59497679.cms

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at Pakistan at the G-20 summit on Friday as he named terror groups LeT and JeM along with global scourges IS and Boko Haram to drive home the point that some countries use terrorism as a tool and that the outfits are united by a common ideology despite different labels.
Looking to take the lead on terrorism, Modi also presented a 11-point Action Agenda for fighting the global menace as he made a clear reference to Pakistan when he said "some nations are using terrorism for achieving political goals".
Modi named Lashkar and Jaish in the same vein as IS, al-Qaeda and Boko Haram. "Their only ideology is to spread hatred and commit massacres," he added. He said all these groups had the same basic ideology even if they went by different names. Modi emphasised that nations today are not as well networked as terrorists are.
The G-20 leaders' statement reflected the "safe havens" concern to some extent. "There should be no `safe spaces' for terrorist financing anywhere in the world...In order to eliminate all such `safe spaces', we commit to intensify capacity building and technical assistance, especially in relation to terrorist financing hot spots," it said. The statement stressed the resolve to make the international financial system "entirely hostile" to terror financing.

Riaz Haq said...

#Indian #Muslim: How I Got Over That Dark Geographic Shadow Called #Pakistan: “Musalman ke do hi sthaan, qabristan ya Pakistan” (A Muslim has only two choices of abode – graveyard or Pakistan). #BJP #Modi #Islamophobia
https://thewire.in/culture/how-i-got-over-that-dark-geographic-shadow-called-pakistan … via @thewire_in

Pakistan became an enemy that came between my friends and me occasionally, and between my country and me often. My yearning for acceptance of my loyalty as an Indian was strong, even though it came at the cost of irrationally bashing ‘Pakistan’ for its cricket and its politics, and anything that kept me on ‘the side of my people’ was acceptable to me.

So, Pakistan, with which I had maintained a safe distance growing up, came close, uncomfortably close, when my husband had to travel to Pakistan for his journalistic pursuits. It was almost an irritation when my father had to go to the Pakistan High Commission to fetch my husband’s visa in his absence.

My work got me in touch with Pakistani academics and researchers, and that is when I began to know Pakistan as its people. I found a window into their research, courses, and universities, daily email exchange and communication grew, and very soon my Facebook profile could list at least a hundred ‘friends’ in Pakistan. In early 2017, as my son recovered from a major heart surgery at Jaypee Hospital, I learnt of a family who had traveled from Pakistan for their son’s surgery. Our children were in the same ICU, fighting bravely for life, and outside, their Indian and Pakistani mothers shared their grief and bonded over the pain that they were going through. After three months of tough fight, the Pakistani boy passed away, and I remember his inconsolable mother as she cried in disbelief at her misfortune and the futility of her struggle. The little hope and courage that I would gather every day to see my son for two minutes every morning in the ICU seemed ruptured, and I could feel her pain. I hugged her, as this was the only solace that I could offer to another mother, who happened to be a Pakistani.

A few days ago, I was at the Chaophraya Emerging Leaders’ Dialogue in Bangkok. A first of its kind in a nine-year-old Track Two dialogue between India and Pakistan, the dialogue brought together mid-career professionals who represented the next generation of leadership across industry and scholarship from both countries.

---

I can claim to know the ‘people’ side of Pakistan now, which is as humble, passionate, and desirous of amity as are the people in India. They are also progressive, articulate, and ambitious, as are my people.

I can appreciate them for what they are without the fear of being abused and demonised for this. I have come of age. But not all Indian Muslims who are subjected to verbal abuse and violent attacks and are repeatedly asked to ‘go to Pakistan’ will have the opportunity of mental healing. School-going Muslim children, who are derogatorily called ‘Pakistani’ by their classmates, will grow up as vulnerable and marginalised adults. No cricket enthusiast will ever be able to appreciate cricket for the spirit of the game, and no one will offer a hand of friendship.

So next time, when some Vinay Katiyar (founder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s youth wing, Bajrang Dal) asks Indian Muslims to go to Pakistan, we should be able to tell him: I belong to India, it is my homeland, and Pakistanis are friends.

Riaz Haq said...

Mamata B: PM #Modi talks of #Pakistan all day like their ambassador, Hindustan ka charcha karo. “If someone says give me a job and I have no work, PM says go to Pakistan. If someone says we don't have any industries, he says go to Pakistan..” #India News


https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/pm-modi-talks-of-pakistan-all-day-like-their-ambassador-mamata-banerjee-1633632-2020-01-03

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called Prime Minister Narendra Modi the ambassador of Pakistan and said that instead of talking about India, he talks about Pakistan all day.

Speaking at an anti-CAA rally in North Bengal on Friday, Mamata Banerjee said, "Why do you always compare our nation with Pakistan? You should rather speak of Hindustan. We don't want to be Pakistan. We love Hindustan. PM Modi talks of Pakistan all day as if he is the ambassador of Pakistan."

"If someone says give me a job and I have no work, PM says go to Pakistan. If someone says we don't have any industries, he says go to Pakistan. Pakistan ka charcha Pakistan kare, hum Hindustan ka charcha karenga, yeh humaari janmabhoomi hai (Pakistan can talk about themselves as much as they want, we should talk about Hindustan, this is our motherland)," Mamata Banerjee said, attacking PM Modi.

She also asked, "India a big country with rich culture and heritage; why do you regularly compare our nation with Pakistan?"

Addressing the rally in Siliguri, Mamata Banerjee also vowed to continue with the protests against the Citizenship Act and said the agitation will continue until the controversial law is repealed.

"They only know how to divide the nation on the basis of religion. But my religion is to defend the freedom of people. This is our second freedom struggle, always remember this, to save the country from religious bigotry," she said.

Mamata Banerjee also said, "It's a shame that even after 70 years of Independence, we have to prove our citizenship."


She also accused the BJP of "deliberately" creating confusion over the implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC), saying its leaders have been making contradictory statements on the issue.

"On one hand the prime minister is saying there will be no NRC but on the other, the union home minister and other ministers are claiming that the exercise will be conducted across the country," Mamata Banerjee added.

Riaz Haq said...

#CAA_NRC_Protest: Why is Narendra #Modi so obsessed with #Pakistan? And why should Modi care more about minorities in Pakistan than the #Muslims of #India currently facing unprecedented brutality in #UttarPradesh under #Yogi #Adityanath’s govt. #Hindutva https://gn24.ae/9348027c8a2e000


The Modi government’s singular obsession with Pakistan has got the hyphen with Pakistan back. Says a senior foreign office official wryly: “Our institutional memory should remind us that all governments worked hard to ensure that the world should stop the hyphenation of India with Pakistan. Now the Modi government only compares us to Pakistan.”

The Modi government’s Pakistan obsession is puzzling. Modi said at a rally that the Opposition and students protesting against the CAA and its bigoted twin the NRC, should protest against the way the minorities are treated in Pakistan.
----------------------

The Narendra Modi government’s controversial domestic actions such as the religious filter in the proposed National Register for Citizens (NRC), the abrupt removal of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and whittling down India’s only Muslim state to a municipality are finally beginning to have international consequences.

The world is wondering that with the application of a religious filter to policy decisions can India still be called a secular republic?

How has the world’s largest democracy (our prized tag) snuffed out the Internet and democracy in Kashmir?

Indulge me when I tell you about a phone call I got from the fiery young Iltija Mufti, the daughter of Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Mufti along with two other former chief ministers, Omar Abdullah, and his father, 83-year-old Farooq Abdullah, have now been in detention for five months.

A tearful Iltija told me that she had been detained in her Srinagar home and was not being allowed to visit the grave of her grandfather Mufti Mohamed Sayeed, also a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

Iltija asked me: “What is my crime? Was I going to throw stones? Is it a sin to want to seek comfort from my family when my mother has been detained for five months? They will never release her. My mother will die.”

The brave firebrand I know was openly sobbing on the phone gulping down her tears.

I felt stricken -- unable to offer her any comfort. What could I say? What reassurance could I offer a daughter about her mother in detention for months.

Riaz Haq said...

#Indian woman Amulya Leona held for chanting 'long live Pakistan' at #CAA_NRCProtests. Her comments were immediately condemned by a local #Muslim politician. #Muslim politicians in #Hindu-majority India are often targeted as being "pro-Pakistan" #Pakistan https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-51531988


An Indian woman has been arrested and charged with sedition for chanting "long live Pakistan" at a protest in the southern city of Bangalore.

Amulya Leona was participating in a demonstration against a controversial citizenship law, which critics say discriminates against Muslims.

Her comments were immediately condemned by a prominent local Muslim politician.

Asaduddin Owaisi, who was at the rally, said neither he nor his party supported India's "enemy nation Pakistan".

Muslim politicians in Hindu-majority India are often targeted as being "pro-Pakistan" by political rivals, particularly in the last few years. The neighbouring countries have a historically tense relationship, fighting three wars since Pakistan's formation following the partition of India in 1947.

After the incident at the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) went viral, Ms Leona and her family were the target of massive outrage.

Clips of her comment were circulated widely, and her father has complained that a group of people came to his house and forced him to chant "hail mother India". They also told him that he had not brought his daughter up properly and threatened him against getting bail for her.

Police in the district told BBC Hindi that they are investigating his complaint, adding that Ms Leona would be produced before a judicial magistrate in 14 days.

What is the CAA?
The law offers amnesty to non-Muslim illegal immigrants from three countries - Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

It amends India's 64-year-old citizenship law, which currently prohibits illegal migrants from becoming Indian citizens.

It also expedites the path to Indian citizenship for members of six religious minority communities - Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian - if they can prove that they are from Muslim-majority Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh. They will now only have to live or work in India for six years - instead of 11 years - before becoming eligible to apply for citizenship.

The government says this will give sanctuary to people fleeing religious persecution, but critics argue that it will marginalise India's Muslim minority.

Riaz Haq said...

#Indian Defense Analyst Dr. Pravin Sawhney: "PAKISTAN HAS NEVER LOST TO INDIA. NOT IN 1965! NOT IN 1971! IF INDIA HAD DEFEATED PAKISTAN, THERE WOULD BE NO LINE OF CONTROL IN KASHMIR TODAY". #India #Pakistan #China #Kashmir #CPEC | | JNN | https://youtu.be/QfhG-vtLfUs via @YouTube Watch at 33 Minutes in 43:12 Minutes video interview

Riaz Haq said...

#India’s #RAW recruited 3 warlords in #Afghanistan, including Ahmad Shah Masood, says 'RAW: A History of India’s Covert Operations' by investigative journalist Yatish Yadav. He doesn’t disclose the names of 2 other warlords still in #Afghan politics

https://www.deccanherald.com/national/raw-had-recruited-three-warlords-in-afghanistan-says-book-868599.html

At least three RAW spies involved in covert action in Afghanistan have claimed that Afghan armed forces were "demoralised and divided, remained practically inactive" during the Soviet army’s December 1979 invasion, the book, which will be released on Monday said.


The book also claims that the US knew about the Indian activities in Afghanistan and the Americans launched propaganda against the RAW with stories appearing with Washington dateline, which said that the US supply of arms was a "sort of punishment" to India for failing to oppose the Soviet Union on Afghan soil and the Soviet-Vietnam interference in Cambodia.

RAW also feared, the book said, that the Taliban would not waste time in killing former President of Afghanistan Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai once they gained dominance in the war. An Indian spy recalled the message the RAW sent to Najibullah,
who was staying at the UN mission in Kabul, to leave the country but he refused outrightly. Another effort was made through a reluctant Massoud, but Najibullah rejected the offer once again, arguing that the Taliban may not attack him.

Riaz Haq said...

Indian analyst argues that “Xijinpingistan” (#China) is why #India should woo #Pakistan. But what gets in the way is “Antipathy to subcontinental Islam, Muslims, anything remotely local Muslim-related (and even Urdu language” #Islamophobia #Modi #Hindutva

https://bharatkarnad.com/2022/01/26/xijinpingistan-is-why-india-should-co-opt-pakistan/

The lament is about the Indian government being so addle-brained it still doesn’t know which is its one true enemy — Xijinpingistan, a fact that, in one sense, is at the root of all our external problems and the country’s subordinate status. As a people, we are so blinded by traditional prejudices and cultural bias, rational strategizing goes out the window. I am referring to the anti-Muslim sentiment, of course.

This factor has shaped India’s foreign policy, undermined vital national interests, and shrunk the country into a dependency and a pawn in the global chessboard of power politics. It offers an object lesson for other well endowed countries on how not to screw things up and connive at one’s own reduction. The real tragedy, however, is that no one — not the people at-large, not the government, and not the policy establishment, has learned from this still unfolding fiasco, because no one thinks anything is seriously wrong!

Antipathy to subcontinental Islam, Muslims, anything remotely local Muslim-related (and even Urdu language)

Riaz Haq said...

'Pakistan isn't Collapsing, India Should Focus on Silver Linings. Boycott or War Aren't Options'


https://youtu.be/GNapL0APNUY


In a 30-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire to discuss his book ‘India’s Pakistan Conundrum’, Sharat Sabharwal ( ex Indian Ambassador to Pakistan) identified three preconceived notions that the Indian people must discard. First, he says it’s not in India’s interests to promote the disintegration of Pakistan. “The resulting chaos will not leave India untouched”.

Second, Indians must disabuse themselves of the belief that India has the capacity to inflict a decisive military blow on Pakistan in conventional terms. “The nuclear dimension has made it extremely risky, if not impossible, for India to give a decisive military blow to Pakistan to coerce it into changing its behaviour.”

Third, Indians must disabuse themselves of the belief that they can use trade to punish Pakistan. “Use of trade as an instrument to punish Pakistan is both short-sighted and ineffective because of the relatively small volume of Pakistani exports to India.”

https://youtu.be/GNapL0APNUY

------------

Historically, the relationship between India and Pakistan has been mired in conflicts, war, and lack of trust. Pakistan has continued to loom large on India's horizon despite the growing gap between the two countries. This book examines the nature of the Pakistani state, its internal dynamics, and its impact on India.


The text looks at key issues of the India-Pakistan relationship, appraises a range of India's policy options to address the Pakistan conundrum, and proposes a way forward for India's Pakistan policy. Drawing on the author's experience of two diplomatic stints in Pakistan, including as the High Commissioner of India, the book offers a unique insider's perspective on this critical relationship.


A crucial intervention in diplomatic history and the analysis of India's Pakistan policy, the book will be of as much interest to the general reader as to scholars and researchers of foreign policy, strategic studies, international relations, South Asia studies, diplomacy, and political science.


https://books.telegraph.co.uk/Product/Sharat-Sabharwal/Indias-Pakistan-Conundrum--Managing-a-Complex-Relationship/26726289