Blog: Living near a landmine.

Maoists in Nepal, Mutiny in Bangladesh, Cold China beyond the cold plateaus of Tibet, the Junta in Myanmar, High tides in Maldives and a marginally chaotic Pakistan. Those are India’s neighbour. No we are not at peace. We are at war. We continue to be optimistic rather than pragmatic about the situation we face. The dilemma is what would you do when your neighbours houses are on fire? Will you go out and help the neighbours or save your own home. An unsafe Pakistan makes the situation more susceptible to more terrorist activities in India. China well, would be easy to brush off and point west, but then they are definitely more proactive thatn us in whatever they do or claim to do. Any form of opposition in China is like finding a 100 storey skyscraper in downtown Kabul.

Pakistan was founded on every kind of vice one can imagine. It’s existence was approved to keep India's progress in check. I don’t expect any form of stable government barring, Army to provide stability to Pakistan. Pakistan has little to show of its own identity. You cannot just have an existence by being antithesis to some one else. There idea of originality is limited to the image in the mirror. The fact is that India has diversity, Pakistan has fractionalism. India is a thriving economy; Pakistan is more than a disaster to happen. It is an uncharted shooting range. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you from, whether foe or friend whether a guest or a mercenary. If it can happen in Lahore one can just imagine how hostile would the beautiful valley of Swat would be.

The question in my mind is, why are American quiet? Who did the Taliban managed to hit back after it was annihilated within weeks if not days. The fact is this thing happened in the American presence, sends jitter. You like it or not, Afghanistan-Pakistan region will never be ever stable at least in the life my life time. Pakistan (and Bangladesh) was carved out of India in just 73 days this insured Sub Continent remain divided and no single entity ruled over the Oil rich regions near the Caspian, Iran, Iraq. Off course Kuwait too was carved out of Iraq to ensure that Iraqi don’t have a port to funnel out the oil. Off course there are interests involved who have affinity for oil, both for consumption and for trade. That was one possible reason why the region is the way it is.

While if you happen to go through and read Afghani history, it is painted red. It is traditionally been a country always caught in war or cross fire of two fighting. Either it has been the cause or an instrument of war. Shakuni the great gambler in Mahabharata, was angry over the way her sister was treated, what followed is more than one chapter in History. However, one can just wonder if altitude of those places has rendered the place cold, cold of human emotions. Off course it is also a social issue.. I have nothing against Pashtuns/Afghani. It is the violence. I know every country has its share of things which things which are not glorious. India too has had a share of not so proud moments. But the phoenix did rise from the Ashes and managed to fight the dogma and some how manage to keep the flames of spirituality glow. I am afraid it will engulf itself in the turmoil.

The other thing of this terrorism menace going by the various acts of terrorism or what I called acts against humanity, you and I all are affected. You and I are both an eyewitness and a victim of these acts of terror against humanity. I am dead sure it is not about God or Religion. It is just a façade.

I think I will dwell more on this later.