India must isolate Pakistani radicals and army establishment,

Radical Islamism and Jihad

India must isolate Pakistani radicals and army establishment

Whose Side Are We On?

By Rajiv Kumar

Sep 9, 2009

To better appreciate complex diplomatic endeavours, we must start by taking note of some facts. First, India accounts for about 80 per cent of South Asian GDP. Being so dominant, it has to bear an asymmetric responsibility for achieving stability, peace and prosperity in South Asia. This must be the bedrock of our neighbourhood policy. Second, we cannot choose our neighbours and should work with whoever we can to help Pakistan defeat the jihadis. Otherwise, there will be negative outcomes for our own experiment at building a pluralistic, multi-ethnic and democratic society. Third, the strategic balance between the two countries must surely rule out any ideas of a decisive military victory. That road leads only to mutually assured destruction. We may well have to bite the bullet one day, but it is best avoided.

Fourth, there is not one monolithic Pakistan we can engage with. A choice must be made. There is the Pakistan of the armed forces which treats the country and its people as a fiefdom to be exploited for personal benefit. There is another Pakistan toiling in poverty, deprivation and backwardness for which succour from daily injustices is welcome from any quarter. Fundamentalists, meanwhile, see themselves as guardians of the Pakistani state and true representatives of the Islamic republic. They see victory within their grasp because they have duped the army into believing that it can calibrate the growth of jihadism.

http://newageislam.com/india-must-isolate-pakistani-radicals-and-army-establishment/radical-islamism-and-jihad/d/1754

رواں صدی میں مسلمانوں کی ترجیحات کیا ہوں؟, Urdu Section, NewAgeIslam.com

Urdu Section

رواں صدی میں مسلمانوں کی ترجیحات کیا ہوں؟

In this attempt, first of all, the Muslims should try to find out the reasons for their tragic condition. How and why have they been degraded to such a low-level as to remain an undeveloped and unstable community, whereas other communities of the world have succeeded even in harming them? Why are the Muslims lagging behind and have remained backward educationally, financially and politically? Other communities, who were the victim of impoverishment, lifted their status and raised themselves to greater heights.

Obviously, there are certain reasons for Muslim backwardness – the greatest of all is that they have lagged behind in education, research and technology. On the other hand, other communities especially the western communities pulled their socks up, continued their struggle for all-round progress and succeeded in their hardy endeavour, obtaining notable successes in financial, political and cultural fields as well as in defence and science and technology. The economy of the western countries is quite strong; so the American dollar and the European euro are enjoy greater standing throughout the world. This gives them an upper hand in the international trade market; their products sell like hot cakes everywhere in the world making their currencies more valuable than others.

http://newageislam.com/urdu-section/رواں-صدی-میں-مسلمانوں-کی-ترجیحات-کیا-ہوں؟/d/1604