[Reader-list] Liquid jihad

[Kshmendra Kaul]

Dear Rakesh
 
I personally do not subscribe to the "attack" formulation, in at least it's physical dimension.
 
No one can change Pakistan other than the Pakistanis themselves, just as no one can change India other than Indians themselves. In both cases hopefully change for the better
 
The problem is in the "All Is Well" attitude. "Haan problem toh hai, magar buss chandd hee logon mein, aur kuch hee baaton mein" (Yes there is a problem but it is confined to just a few people and just a few issues). That is the problem; the glossing over realities out of disinterest, or out of lack of knowledge, or out of embarrasment in acknowledging facts. 
 
Such voices, those in Pakistan and their parroting buddies in India or (in similar situations)those in India and their parroting buddies in Pakistan are, in my opinion, amongst the worst enemies of the people of either country. 
 
Such voices abound in the 'people to people' contact groups who (quite astonishingly so) think that their fraction of one percent of  the population represents the realities in the two countries. What they weave is perhaps sincerely what they believe in, but the fraction that they are, they reflect on similar fractions of the entireties and do little else but cover-up the realities. 
 
Not unexpectedly they fail in amounting to much.   
 
All does not become Well, little becomes Well by declarations of 'All Is Well, Buss Thoda Sa Problem Hai'. 
 
Kshmendra


--- On Wed, 3/17/10, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com> wrote:


From: Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Liquid jihad
To: "Kshmendra Kaul" <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>
Cc: "reader-list" <reader-list at sarai.net>, "Pawan Durani" <pawan.durani at gmail.com>
Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 7:33 PM


Dear all

It would certainly be most unfortunate that a canard of lies would be spread (as has been the practice of hawkish elements across nations, be it Narendra Modi, George Bush or Osama Bin Laden) in order to generate passions, breast-beating and calls for aggression and discarding of reconciliation to sort out issues. And such a phenomena certainly calls for action on the streets but in a non-violent manner. And the monster which America created to destroy the Soviet Union has now turned to destroy its' creator and all those who it thinks are the obstacles in the establishment of an Islamic caliphate, be it Israel, India or Europe (though it would be wrong to say that there are no genuine grievances among those who do become 'terrorists'). 

At this time, it requires further action by the civil society in Pakistan to actually ensure that such elements don't gain more strength, and are comprehensively defeated. The only hope of the entire world lies in this society actually combating the dangerous voices of treachery and violence (comprising of the dominant section of the Pakistan army, the ISI, leaders who side with the army, and the jihadis, who are often described as autonomous actors but can't survive without the support of the army and ISI, as well as the clergy preaching violence against innocents). They have to be attacked systematically on all fronts, be it ideologically or their capacity to create havoc and wreck our lives. All this has to be tackled. And whether we like it or not, at some point of time, force may be required to defend oneself, though it can't be of the form which Bush unleashed on Iraq or Afghanistan. 

It is certainly time this lesson is given to Pakistan and nations start moving in UN towards it with this objective in mind, instead of giving massive funds which are not monitored and are only diverted towards the purposes of the Army as the end-result. 

Rakesh