2008 January

Border

January 30, 2008 at 12:15 pm (Current events, Europe, UK, UN, USA, africa, china, conflict mangament, culture & multiculturalism, election, india, politics, rights, society, south asia, world events)

*”Some of these groups that are making life difficult in Terai may have some kind of links in north India. It would be enormously helpful if Indian authorities are able to keep these people under control.” - Matthew Kahane, UN resident & humanitarian coordinator in Nepal

Just a couple of days after I wished India a ‘Happy Republic Day’, some incidents have drawn my attention to India’s relationship with its neighbors, especially the ’smaller’ ones.

Some news items:

*Nepal has informally alleged India of encroaching Nepali territory in Susta.

India has been accusing of Pakistani intelligence ISI using the Nepali territory.

*There were exchange of firings with the killing of at least one civillian between the two sides of Indo-Bangladesh border over a minor scuffle.

*US envoy to Nepal, Nancy Powell is in New Delhi to discuss Nepal issues with Indian officials.

*China has ‘unofficially’ expressed its concern on the activities going on in the Southern Terai bordering India.

*”Some of these groups that are making life difficult in Terai may have some kind of links in north India. It would be enormously helpful if Indian authorities are able to keep these people under control.” - Matthew Kahane, UN resident & humanitarian coordinator in Nepal

The Indo-Nepal relationship is the most ambivalent of all. The people & leaders of both countries vassilate between suspicion & trust now & then.

The issues of culture, economy, & border has never been defined clear-cut as with other countries.

But it’s high time that the traditional international border between the two nations is regulated in accordance with international parameters.

Allowing unwanted political & criminal groups to rule their own agenda on both sides of in the name of cultural similarity has been harmful to both countries.

Almost all nations share similar cultures on both sides of the political borders, but that is not a criterion/excuse to keep them open when more harm than good is inflicted on both sides.

In fact, Indo-Nepal border may be the most unregulated porous border in the world - even EU countries have not been able to adopt such openness.

And India has already increased its vigilance with the deployment of its Border Security Force along more than 1000 kms Indo-Nepal stretch. But no such effort has been dared from the Nepali side.

Either Nepali government & people should accept the Indian security umbrella like Bhutan, or deal with the issues with a firm backbone.

For, in most conflicting nations, especially those with high cross - border criminal activities, the old adage still holds true - that good fences make good neighbors.

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Forgive, Not Forget

January 29, 2008 at 9:04 am (Current events, Europe, UK, UN, USA, africa, china, conflict mangament, culture & multiculturalism, election, india, nepal, politics, rights, society, south asia, world events)

”We ask that if he had any faults, please forgive them; may he be absolved of all his mistakes.” Siti, Suharto’s daughter

People normally have extraordinary attitude for forgiveness. They can even forgive Suharto who was responsible for the killings & sufferings of the millions.

That Suharto died normally at 86, and is still receiving state honors in his funeral & mourning is rather strange for a dictator whose rank is among Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol-pot, Saddam, & Edi-Amins.

With Suharto ends another living legacy of the Cold War era - the ruthless genocide, corruption, and human rights abuses.

Is Suharto justified because he was one of the crusaders/or jihadis in the ‘communist cleansing’ alliances?

How can a revolutionary person who fought for the independence of his country become one of the biggest grave- diggers of his own people?

Suharto certainly deserves forgiveness in the name of humanity; and he must not be forgotten for the same reason.

For Suharto is not only a man but also a history.

May Suharto Rest in Peace!

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Happy Republic Day

January 26, 2008 at 3:46 pm (Current events, Europe, UK, UN, USA, africa, china, conflict mangament, culture & multiculturalism, election, india, nepal, politics, rights, society, south asia, world events)

The top level diplomatic visits to & from Delhi suggests that India will be the sixth permanent member of the UN Security Council very soon.

The US, Russia, & France have been wooing India, one of the biggest weapon buyer in the world.

The joint military parade with the arch-rival China recently and the increasing trade volumes between the two most populous nations have also boosted up India as a force to reckon with.

Although a diverse & heterogenous country with more that 70 pc Hindu population, India has been able to maintain its secular spirit, despite some set-backs now & then.

Even common Muslims enjoy more freedom in India than anywhere in the world, including the post-9/11 USA.

Still India needs to do a lot in its domestic front & in the neighborhood. The widening economic & digital gaps within the population, and skirmishes with the neighboring countries - that India playing a ’Big Brother’ in the sub-continent - are the two main stumbling blocks to its march toward prosperity with dignity.

Happy Republic Day to India.

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People’s Verdict

January 26, 2008 at 3:34 pm (Current events, Europe, UK, UN, USA, africa, china, conflict mangament, culture & multiculturalism, election, india, nepal, politics, rights, society, south asia, world events)

JANAKPUR MEET AMIDST TIGHT SECURITY: A person passing through a security check to get to the venue of the meeting in Janakpur on January 26. The Terai bandh call given by the Terai outfits led to the poor attendance in the meeting. (pic: newsfront.com.np)

The grand presence of people from all walks of life in the mass meeting going on right now organised by the Seven-Party-Alliance(SPA) including the Maoists at Janakpur, Nepal is a definite & unequivocal answer to the opportunistic ‘Bihari Politics’(sorry no offence meant to the people of Bihar) prevailing in present day Nepal, especially in the Southern Terai-Madhes.

The mammoth gathering there is a warning not only to the communal armed & unarmed(?) alliances, but also to the ruling SPA that Nepali people, whether from the hills or the plains, are not going to tolerate any longer if they are prevented from making the Constituent Assembly through the electoral processs.

Refusing to be intimidated by the shutdown strikes and threats of killing & bombing against the mass gathering, the people have given their verdict that peace & stability prevails in their agenda against any rhetoric.

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Changing Perceptions - Change in World Order

January 24, 2008 at 12:40 pm (Current events, Europe, Gender issues, UK, UN, USA, africa, conflict mangament, culture & multiculturalism, election, india, rights, society, south asia, world events)

Victim of Madhesi-Pahadi communal riot in Kapilvastu, Nepal

Darfur Refugee Camp in Chad

Date	2003–present
Location	Darfur
Status	Conflict ongoing; humanitarian catastrophe (est. 200,000-400,000 dead and 2,500,000 refugees)

Combatants

JEM factions
NRF alliance

Janjaweed
SLM (Minnawi)
Sudan

African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS)
United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)

Commanders

Ibrahim Khalil
Ahmed Diraige

Omar al-Bashir
Minni Minnawi

Luke Aprezi
Martin Luther Agwai

Strength

N/A

7,000

(Wikipedia)

Conflicts seem natural among human civilizations.

Only the nature of conflict changes.

After the WW II, two types of conflicts prevailed in the latter part of the 20th century; viz ideological & civilizational.

*Ideological conflicts: Pre 80s, Cold War, US Vs USSR, Communism Vs Capitalism, Bipolar World

The fall of the communist empire in the Soviet Block was followed by a series of ethnic/racial genocides mostly in the Balkans, Mid-East, Africa, and Asia.

*Civilizational Conflicts: Post 90s: No matter what Bush says, its a multi-polar world.

Heterogenity in the population has been increasingly becoming a risk factor for conflicts.

Intra-religious and Inter-religious conflicts are changing the paradigms of the world order.

People now define themselves in terms of ancestry, religion, language, institutions, customs, and regionality.

The traditional idelological & nationalistic identities as well as the political boundaries of all nations have been rendered porous.

The euphoria of the fall of the Berlin Wall was soon to evaporate.

Chinese Muslims were to to walk thousands of miles crossing several borders to Chechnya to fight against the Russians.

In their ‘Fight Against Terrorism’ Americans were to find their own citizen as the Taliban fighters.

Once the Maoists in Nepal gave up their arms sidelining the ‘Barrel of the Gun’ policy, scores of armed outfits mushroomed up threatening the very social fabric with deadly communalism.

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