[sacw] SACW #1 | 18 Feb. 02

Harsh Kapoor aiindex@mnet.fr
Mon, 18 Feb 2002 23:38:11 +0100


South Asia Citizens Wire - Dispatch #1 | 18 February 2002

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

#1. Pakistan: Textbooks and the jihadi mindset
#2. India: History in the textbooks (Shail Mayaram )
#3. India: Stitching a saffron map (AG Noorani)
#4. India: Prisoner of love & other stories (Amit Sengupta)
#5. USA / India: Shipments of Scrap and Stress
#6. India: Bombay - Urban Glory (SOMINI SENGUPTA)
#7. UK to encourage Islamic mortgages (Andrew Verity)
#8. Book Review: Sexuality, Obscenity, Community: Women, Muslims &=20
Hindu Public in Colonial India
#9. Book Review - Pakistan-India: Understanding each other
________________________

#1.

DAWN
12 February 2002

Textbooks and the jihadi mindset

A report prepared by the Centre for Information and Research (CIR) at=20
SZABIST, Karachi, is quite an eye-opener. Intrigued by the growth of=20
intolerance and violence in a society which had at one time been home=20
to peace-loving sufis, CIR undertook to investigate the factors which=20
have spawned the "jihadi" mindset in the people - to use its=20
director's words. An evaluation of the social studies and Pakistan=20
studies textbooks proved to be a revealing exercise. It is plain that=20
from a very early age children are virtually indoctrinated in what=20
has been claimed to be the ideology of Pakistan.
Without going into a discussion on what this is supposed to be, one=20
can discern a pronounced bias in the textbooks that are being taught.=20
Thus, the students are told that the cause of the downfall of Muslim=20
power was the fading of the spirit of jihad. The young minds are in a=20
very subtle manner also filled with prejudice against the=20
non-Muslims, specially the Hindus in India, against whom, by=20
implication, jihad is to be waged. Regrettably, no effort is made at=20
all to instil in the readers tolerance and respect for other faiths.=20
In the same vein, the textbooks manifest a strong bias against=20
pluralism. Hence the country's cultural diversity is not projected as=20
a positive phenomenon. Equally disturbing is the anti-democratic and=20
pro-authoritarian thrust in the contents of the books our children=20
are studying in schools and colleges.
All this is besides the factual mistakes that proliferate in the=20
textbooks. By distorting facts, a writer can easily give a twist to=20
events to prove the point of view he wishes to project and reinforce.=20
When exposed continuously to such negative messages, specially in the=20
formative years of life, it is inevitable that the youth of our=20
country grow up believing that all non-Muslims are the enemies of=20
Islam and to survive we must take up arms against them. Similarly, by=20
instilling in the minds of the students that India is the enemy=20
number one of Pakistan, our textbooks make it difficult for the youth=20
to think rationally about the imperatives of India-Pakistan relations.
The textbooks' failure to instil tolerance and acceptance of=20
plurality in the students has led to violence in our society. On the=20
one hand, the reader is taught unwavering discipline and=20
unquestioning acquiescence to authority. On the other hand, he=20
doesn't learn the basic sociological fact that cultural and=20
linguistic diversity enriches a society and a country. To live with=20
people from heterogeneous backgrounds, it is important that every=20
individual recognizes and respects the basic right of the other to=20
his own cultural identity. This respect forms the underpinning of a=20
democratic society in which 'live and let live' should be the norm=20
and a participatory method should be adopted to allow representation=20
to all.
Unfortunately, our textbooks are sadly lacking in this respect.=20
Although textbooks are periodically revised - every major change of=20
regime ushers in a process of revamping the textbooks - no=20
consideration is given to the basic approach. Attention is invariably=20
focused on the political contents, the idea being to villify the=20
ousted government and lionize the regime in office. The more=20
immediate need is to revise the textbooks with the idea of making=20
them a medium of imparting human rights education, tolerance, a=20
breadth of vision and respect for human beings, be they men or women.=20
Some NGOs have been doing a commendable job in this field. HREP,=20
Simorgh, the Book Group and others have produced books which are=20
designed to teach students humanism and libertarian values. One hopes=20
the government will look into this matter as it embarks on its=20
programme to reform the education sector.

______

#2.

The Hindu
Tuesday, Feb 19, 2002

History in the textbooks
By Shail Mayaram
http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2002021900071000.htm

______

#3.

The Hindustan Times February 19, 2002
=09=20
Stitching a saffron map
by AG Noorani

There is a world of difference between one corporation proposing to=20
another a merger in the common interests of both and a known=20
corporate raider mooting the idea to a corporation zealous of its=20
independence. There is as clear a difference between Jawaharlal=20
Nehru's concept of an Indo-Pak confederation and that of Deendayal=20
Upadhyaya, an advocate of Akhand Bharat. [...].
Full Text at : http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/190202/detide01.asp

______

#4.

The Hindustan Times
Tuesday, February 19, 2002

Prisoner of love & other stories
by Amit Sengupta

This is the most auspicious time for Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad=20
Naipaul to visit India. He can see for himself how the VHP circus is=20
unleashing that great cosmic energy of which he is so proud,=20
resurrecting that magnificent civilisational urge of Brahaminical=20
Hindutva which had been buried in our history books by the pseudo=20
secularist, pan-Islamic conspirators. [...].
Full Text at : http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/190202/detpla01.asp

______

#5.

The Washington Post
Monday, February 18, 2002; Page A16

Shipments of Scrap and Stress
Indian Groups Say Steel From Twin Towers Is Contaminated

NEW DELHI -- For scrap trader Sashi Kumar, the collapse of the World=20
Trade Center towers five months ago has become a "daily headache."

His problems began last month when a routine shipload of steel scrap=20
arrived in the southern port of Chennai. This time, the 33,000-ton=20
shipment apparently included material salvaged from New York's ground=20
zero.

Environmental and labor activists say the scrap metal was=20
contaminated by other debris from the twin towers -- such as=20
cancer-causing asbestos, PCBs, dioxins, mercury and lead -- and=20
accuse the United States of dumping "toxic and hazardous material" in=20
India. They have launched an aggressive campaign calling for a halt=20
to further movement of the scrap.

"What I have purchased is just steel scrap," said Kumar, 36. "I=20
believe it may contain some scrap from the WTC site, but there is no=20
label, no sticker on the scrap that says it is WTC scrap. Now it has=20
become a headache for me."

The city of New York has decided to sell 175,000 tons of steel scrap=20
from the World Trade Center, despite emotional appeals from relatives=20
of some of the more than 2,800 people killed there on Sept. 11. Some=20
of it is going to U.S. cities, but about 60,000 tons has been sold=20
overseas, to companies in India, China and South Korea, where it will=20
be turned into everything from appliances and bridges to car parts=20
and even new skyscrapers. China's largest steel company, Shanghai=20
Baosteel, has denied reports it plans to make souvenirs from the=20
metal.

"This is not normal demolition steel scrap," said Anantha=20
Padmanabhan, executive director of Greenpeace India. "Just look at=20
the circumstances in which the twin towers came down.=20
High-temperature incineration with jet fuel has taken place. This is=20
incineration steel."

"Each office in the WTC had computers, chip boards, tube lights,=20
electrical lights, video and computer monitors, plastics and=20
furniture," he said. "There is every possibility that high levels of=20
toxins are in the debris that would pose serious health and=20
environmental risks to uninformed recycling workers in India."

Indian port authorities conducted no tests on Kumar's cargo when it=20
arrived because it was imported as general steel scrap, which is=20
legal in India. About 700,000 to 800,000 tons of steel scrap is=20
imported into the country every year for recycling and reuse. The low=20
import tariffs on steel scrap make it more attractive than using what=20
is available in the country.

Part of Kumar's New York scrap has already been sent to be made into=20
recycled steel for construction, but he has agreed to allow a=20
Greenpeace team to inspect the rest.

Greenpeace said more steel scrap from the World Trade Center has=20
arrived in the western Indian port of Kandla and a third shipment is=20
bound for the eastern city of Calcutta later this month.

"I don't like the label 'WTC scrap.' In this trade, I don't ask=20
questions about the source of the scrap," said Kumar, who has been in=20
the scrap trade for five years.

But all the controversy about his latest consignment has made him=20
wary. Recently, he received photographs of demolished bridges in the=20
United States and an offer to buy the scrap from the debris.

"I said no, let's not even talk about it. Maybe after all this I=20
should just say I want disaster-free scrap."

Kumar said the events of Sept. 11 weigh on him.

"If I think about the enormous tragedy, I feel very sad," he said. "I=20
don't want to make a commercial deal out of disasters. But if I had=20
said no, somebody else would have used it. It has to be used=20
ultimately. It can't be thrown into water."

=A9 2002 The Washington Post Company

______

#6.

The New York Times
February 17, 2002
CORRESPONDENCE

Urban Glory
By SOMINI SENGUPTA

PHOTO: The crush of arrival and departure at the Churchgate railroad=20
station, in Bombay, India.

BOMBAY
New York, the place I came from six weeks ago, recently rediscovered=20
- at terrible cost - some of the reasons cities are great. They are,=20
as New York has showed, humanity's great reservoirs of kindness,=20
civility and resilience. Only cities can turn ruin and death into a=20
kind of collective grandeur.

Grandeur may not be the first thing you think of, watching as, with a=20
look that says, "I will get a seat on this train even if I have to=20
kill you," the working girls of Bombay sprint in their sweat- stained=20
saris up the platform of the Churchgate railroad station and jump on=20
board before the arriving train comes to a halt.
A seat on a rush-hour train, as it wends its way north from=20
Churchgate, is as precious as sleep, and anyone who stands idly in=20
the way will most certainly be bruised, bonked and subjected, in=20
rapid-fire Hindi, to Bombay's worst insult: "When did she get here=20
from the village?"

Then again, by the time the working girls of the second-class ladies=20
compartment ("For Ladies Only, all the 24 hours," it is marked=20
outside) get on board, they have dodged Bombay's nearly homicidal=20
rush-hour traffic, skipped over a bandaged or limbless beggar (some=20
authentic, some fake, some children), haggled over the price of=20
bananas and green beans or pumpkin or eggplant from the hawkers=20
lining the corridor to the station and passed a small army of men=20
urinating along the streets.

Much is made of Bombay's glorious past. In Indian lore, this was the=20
city of gold, a citadel of civility. In modern times, Bombay became=20
India's equivalent of Manhattan =97 the big town an ambitious boy from=20
the provinces could go to make it among the soaring skyscrapers.

But these days, Bombay has come to represent another sort of=20
urbanity. The buildings are falling down and the streets are clogged=20
and the stench is enough to make the dogs howl. Indeed Bombay has=20
become the subject of great debate. This month, Outlook, a national=20
news magazine, declared in a cover story on Bombay: "The Death of a=20
Great City."

The story listed some of the city's innumerable ills: crumbling=20
infrastructure, rising religious intolerance, the miserable state of=20
its poor.

To all of which Midday, Bombay's afternoon tabloid, roared back:=20
"Dead? Not Us!"

In fact, Bombay continues, somehow, to thrive. And part of its magic=20
lies in being able to turn its appalling disorder into an=20
idiosyncratic, improvisational, style of life. As the formal, planned=20
city falls into disrepair, the scrappy, informal one finds a way to=20
make do. A boy from the provinces may think twice about coming here=20
(he may go to New York instead), but dreams are still here and people=20
still come to realize them.

To many who live here, that Bombay is getting worse, while=20
demonstrably true, is beside the point. The brawl of daily life is=20
what you sign up for. "Bombay is a terrible place but a great city,"=20
Charles Correa, the city's most famous architect, said in a new and=20
much talked about documentary about Bombay called "One City, Two=20
Worlds." If he had to choose, he added, he would choose the great=20
city.

A kind of communal grandeur can be experienced daily, in a small way,=20
on the train rumbling slowly out of Churchgate station. Those with=20
seats start chopping and peeling in preparation for dinner. Among the=20
standees, pressed shoulder to hip in the sweltering heat, the=20
luckiest find space near the open train doors, saris trailing in the=20
wind.

Bombay's trains ferry seven million commuters a day, several times=20
their capacity, and fatal accidents are a regular occurrence. But by=20
some daily miracle of civility and forbearance few ever seem to go=20
mad from the heat, the hustle, the claustrophobic press of sweating=20
midriffs.

Instead, the women open their tiffin canisters and share grapes. They=20
inspect the baskets of hawkers selling sesame candy, potato chips,=20
glass bangles, feather dusters, hair clips and packets of delicate=20
stick-on bindis to adorn the forehead. One or two somehow sleep=20
through it all. (One of the men's cars, equally crowded, is devoted=20
to passengers who like to sing the bouncy Hindu hymns called bhajans=20
all the way home.)

A sorority of the daily commute emerges this way =97 "train friends"=20
they are called. Chances are these women know only each others' first=20
names, workplaces and stations of embarkation and disembarkation. But=20
it is real friendship, nonetheless. A journalist friend tells me a=20
story about a colleague who, out of the blue, was diagnosed with=20
cancer and immediately checked into a hospital for treatment. Two=20
weeks later, a stranger popped into the sick woman's office and asked=20
after her. "She is my train friend," the visitor said. "We haven't=20
seen her in two weeks. Is everything all right?"

Several days later, a gaggle of train friends showed up at her=20
hospital bedside.

The journalist tells this story with an only-in- Bombay sort of=20
wistfulness that puzzles the casual visitor. But this is how=20
Bombayites are. They won't live anywhere else. As a New Yorker,=20
commuting by subway and living in my closet-sized allotment of space,=20
I think I understand.

According to the 2001 census, 11.9 million people live within the=20
city limits and nearly 16 in the entire metropolitan region. By 2015,=20
Bombay is projected to be the largest city in the world, with an=20
almost unimaginable 28 million souls. It's the third world city of=20
the future, a megalopolis of nightmarish statistics stained with=20
red-black juice of the betel nut, the city's chewing gum.
Sleep in Bombay, even if you're staying at the ultra-posh Taj Hotel,=20
is fleeting. There may be a convention of argumentative crows outside=20
your window. Or a pack of stray dogs may be disputing ownership of a=20
garbage heap. All through the day, knife-sharpeners and vegetable=20
peddlers and ice-cream sellers and monkey tricksters parade down the=20
streets, each with their own distinct sirens to announce their coming.

A friend from Brooklyn has just come back to Bombay. He wants me to=20
see the oasis of temples tucked in the middle of the city. He wants=20
me to smell the spice factory from the roaring train. He is waiting=20
for the monsoon to come. To watch it pour, he will go to Marine=20
Drive, that curving, glittering thoroughfare along the Arabian Sea=20
that people here call the Queen's Necklace.

THE monsoons here will make you cry, the locals tell me; to see it,=20
tourists from the Arab world pack the Taj Mahal hotel. They check=20
into the coveted seaward rooms and watch the rain pouring down on the=20
harbor. They take home parrots.

Marine Drive is also famous for a unique Bombay creature: the=20
tetrapod. They are the octopus-like concrete structures placed along=20
the seaside. They have many uses: to sprawl out on for an afternoon=20
siesta, to sit and stare at the water, to squat on and defecate at=20
dawn should you be among the millions of Bombayites who lack access=20
to a toilet.
The tetrapods are designed to keep back the sea, and they make Kiran=20
Nagarkar, a novelist and another Bombay native in love, giggle with=20
pleasure. "There are times when I could just hug this city," Mr.=20
Nagarkar tells me, eyes closed in a beatific smile. "The sea. The=20
tetrapods..." his voice trails off.

My Brooklynite friend sends me something from the Bombay poet, Nissim=20
Ezekiel. I suspect he wants me to understand why he's not coming back=20
to Brooklyn. The poem is called "Island."

Unsuitable for song as well as sense
the island flowers into slums
and skyscrapers, reflecting
precisely the growth of my mind.
I am here to find my way in it.
Just like New York.

______

#7.

BBC News
Monday, 18 February, 2002, 11:34 GMT
UK to encourage Islamic mortgages

Andrew Verity
BBC personal finance reporter
The BBC has learned of moves by the Treasury and the Bank of England=20
to encourage Islamic mortgages, investments and current accounts in=20
Britain.
With the number of well-to-do British Muslims growing, many are=20
avoiding buying homes.
Many Muslims are renting their homes
That is because it is against Islamic law to borrow or lend at a rate=20
of interest.
Now it has emerged that at least three leading banks are preparing to=20
launch special home loans that get round the problem by avoiding=20
charging interest. [...]
Full Text: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1826000/1826834=
.stm

______

#8.
Book Review
Name of the book: Sexuality, Obscenity, Community: Women, Muslims and=20
the Hindu Public in Colonial India
Author: Charu Gupta
Publisher: Permanent Black, New Delhi
Year: 2001
Pages: 388
Price: Rs. 650
ISBN: 9-788178-240008
Reviewed by: Yoginder Sikand

Although the struggle between competing communalisms in South Asia=20
has been largely a male-directed affair, women play a central role in=20
communalist discourse. The =91proper=92 place of women has been an issue=20
of major concern and anxiety for communal revivalists of all=20
religious persuasions. Contestations with other faith-based=20
communities have also involved new representations of women, both=20
=91theirs=92 as we=92ll as =91ours=92. As other communities are sought to b=
e=20
combated, new visions for =91appropriate=92 female behaviour also come to=20
be articulated. In this sense, then, communalism is a highly gendered=20
affair, but one which few writers on communal politics in India have=20
actually dealt with at length.
This remarkably well-researched book seeks to do precisely=20
that: to explore the multiple representations of women in Hindu=20
communalist discourse in the late colonial period. Gupta carefully=20
examines hitherto little-used material=97colonial reports, vernacular=20
newspapers and popular tracts=97to produce a brilliantly argued account=20
of how the notion of =91appropriate=92 Hindu womanhood came to be=20
developed by Hindu polemicists engaged in a furious battle against=20
the Muslim =91other=92. Although her study focuses only on one part of=20
India=97the then United Provinces, today=92s Uttar Pradesh=97the=20
conclusions she draws are of more general relevance. After all, the=20
UP was, and still remains, the major bastion of communal politics--it=20
was here that both the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League were=20
born and where they had their most lasting impact.
Gupta=92s main thesis is that growing Hindu revivalism in the=20
United Provinces from the late nineteenth century onwards, based as=20
it was on a clearly anti-Muslim agenda, also had critical=20
implications for Hindu women. Although providing women some sort of=20
agency, as =91defenders of tradition=92, the overall implications for the=20
status of Hindu women was seriously negative. Thus, Hindu revivalists=20
furiously opposed measures to improve the status of Hindu women, such=20
as providing them the right to divorce and inheritance, on the=20
specious grounds that this would constitute a grave violation of=20
Hindu =91tradition=92. The =91proper=92 role of the Hindu woman was said to=
=20
be in her home, and her principal task was to cheerfully serve her=20
husband and to raise =91proper=92 Hindu boys who would go on to defend=20
the =91Hindu nation=92. The echoes with contemporary Muslim arguments are=20
remarkable. Although certain Hindu reformist groups such as the Arya=20
Samaj did in fact make serious efforts at improving the status of=20
Hindu women, they too shared the common belief that the actual place=20
of the woman was at home, the archetypical, self-effacing housewife.
In their battle against the =91menacing=92 Muslim =91other=92, Hindu=20
polemicists projected women as the defenders of the Hindu faith and=20
the Hindu community. Thus, the burden of preserving =91tradition=92 and=20
patriarchy came to rest on women=92s shoulders, while their menfolk=20
increasingly took to Western ways. Crucial spaces that popular=20
tradition afforded them to articulate women=92s own concerns, such as=20
popular entertainment, were sharply condemned as =91un-Hindu=92 and=20
=91Islamic=92, =91obscene=92 and =91polluting=92. =91Lower=92 caste women, =
who had=20
earlier enjoyed considerable more mobility than others, were exhorted=20
to emulate their =91upper=92 caste sisters. Their freedoms were sought to=20
be severely curtailed, as they were brought into the rigidly=20
patriarchal world of Brahminism. =91Lower=92 caste men responded readily=20
to this newly afforded opportunity to rise up the social ladder by=20
adopting =91upper=92 caste norms that put their own womenfolk at a=20
distinct disadvantage. The =91pure=92 Hindu woman was sought to be=20
contrasted with the =91lascivious=92 Muslim woman of loose morals.=20
Lip-service was paid to the degraded state of Hindu womanhood, whose=20
unenviable plight was conveniently sought to be explained away as a=20
result of Muslim =91oppression=92. At the same time, few concrete steps=20
were actually taken to improve their conditions.
While =91upper=92 caste Hindu polemicists made major successes in=20
seeking to promote their own agenda, fuelling equally powerful and=20
counter-responses from the Muslim elite, equally misogynist, Gupta=20
argues that Hindu women did not respond passively to the efforts of=20
their menfolk to tame them. Resistance took various forms, some=20
direct, others more subtle and insidious.
As a corrective to the male-centric writing of communalism in=20
South Asia, and as a chronicle of the troubled times of late colonial=20
UP, this book excels. A similar exercise, on constructions of Muslim=20
women=92s identities fashioned in the struggle of Muslim communal=20
groups against the Hindu =91other=92, would make for a more balanced and=20
complete picture of what is, by all counts, a very complex=20
phenomenon. That needs to wait for another full-length book, however.

______

#9.

DAWN
REVIEW (ENGLISH): Understanding each other
Reviewed by Moizza Binat Sarwar

The Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) in Colombo, which=20
was established in 1992, is an NGO "for collaborative research,=20
networking and interaction on strategic and international issues=20
pertaining to South Asia".
Its publication Cross currents chronicles the experiences and=20
activities of a group of young Indian and Pakistani professionals and=20
scholars crossing their respective borders, courtesy the RCSS, in an=20
effort to interpret and bridge their differences.
Though the book is dominated by the Pakistani views (after all eight=20
Pakistanis and only three Indians participated in this exercise), the=20
Indian group makes thought provoking observations. Some readers here=20
might find them disconcerting because we're still living in a world=20
of self-delusion.
"Nothing prepared me for the visual shock of seeing AK-47s=20
everywhere," observes Nayana Bose.
She adds, "I began to understand why democracy may never take firm=20
root in Pakistan... they (Pakistanis) were quite happy to go along=20
with the decisions one person would take for all, often without=20
consulting everyone."
The visits comprised not only touring and secretly sizing up of the=20
"enemy" but also the presentation of papers on various national and=20
regional issues. The Indians visited first in March-April 2000, and=20
their focus was on confidence building measures (CBM.) While Arpit=20
Rajain (India) stresses the need for CBMs in the nuclear and missile=20
areas, a counter presentation by Omar Farooq (Pakistan) emphasizes=20
that military CBMs should be the priority since India has supremacy=20
in conventional weapons while the two countries enjoy parity in their=20
nuclear arsenals.
Suparna Dasgupta (India) takes up the economic CBMs such as trade. If=20
India and Pakistan have a solid, official trading base which is to=20
their mutual advantage, she argues, they would frustrate the=20
destabilizing forces in the region.
Nayana Bose focuses on the role of the NGOs and (that ever-present=20
anathema to peace) the media in conflict resolution. She underscores=20
the common ground shared by the NGOs in the two countries. Since=20
these organizations work at the grassroots level and are unhindered=20
by the official mindsets, they could learn from each other's=20
experience.
Interestingly the overwhelming impression the guests from the other=20
side of the border got was one of sincere hospitality from the hosts=20
to the man on the street. This fact goes to prove how much of the=20
hatred between the two countries is dependent on the official=20
mud-slinging which is also reflected in the media.
Bose makes a valid suggestion. He calls for a shift in the focus of=20
the media to CBMs rather than propaganda and for easy access to the=20
other country's newspapers.
Open discussion followed Bose's presentation starkly displaying the=20
disparity in the two nations' stance on Kashmir. Pakistan says,=20
"Kashmir first". India calls for "Diplomacy first via economic and=20
social CBMs". The latter seems to make more sense mostly because 50=20
years of "Kashmir first" has failed to achieve Pakistan's purpose.
There is the inevitable, heated debate on Kashmir but Bose's comment=20
labelling it as "propaganda at its best" is reflective of the general=20
mindblock Indians seem to have against anything related to Kashmir.
The Pakistanis were enthralled by their visit to the golden triangle=20
- Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. As they toured the numerous historic sites=20
of India it became increasingly evident that Pakistan had less=20
history to show off because of its lack of interest in its heritage.
Farooq Dar gave voice to the general feeling of the population of the=20
two countries in his presentation when he says, "the majority of them=20
wants peace, but do not trust their counterpart".
Sarah Bokhari's presentation on the nuclear trend discusses the=20
development and causes of the nuclearization of the region.
Waqar Ahmed Shaikh gives statistics portraying the cumulative loss to=20
the region in terms of trade and economic cooperation on account of=20
the India-Pakistan tension. Other issues which came up for discussion=20
were the non-military threats in South Asia.
What clearly emerges from this little book is that the younger=20
generation in India has not been prejudiced by the elder's bitterness=20
at partition but prejudices and mistrust linger on. Yet there is a=20
conscious and deliberate move towards peace. There is more concern=20
for the individual rather than for the state. This is a fascinating=20
read, though the monotonous reiterations of the RCSS's principles has=20
a jarring note.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cross currents: a Pakistan-India odyssey
Edited by Nayana Bose and Adnan Rehmat
Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, 2 Elibank Road, Colombo-5, Sri Lanka
Tel: 94-1-599734-5
Email: rcss@s...
ISBN 955-8051-23-3
100pp

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