Saturday, October 29, 2005

Earthquake and Politics

The recent earthquake in Kashmir area was unfortunate. Thousands of people lost their lives and many more lost their livelihood. The politics that ensued in post-earthquake scenario was like rubbing salt on the wound. But, if anyone was expecting that such politics should not happen is clearly out of three dimensional realms. This area is most militarized region in the world, and perhaps, hardest terrorist hit region in the world as number deaths due to terrorism crossing 75,000 lives. So, it is obvious that there is going to be heavy political wrangling after earthquake. I have few contentions about certain issues that are raised during earthquake conundrum.

First, if anyone is thinking that this earthquake will bridge gap between India and Pakistan then they are clearly hallucinating. There is no gap to bridge between these two nations, because, they are heading towards opposite directions. A gap forms when two things are moving in same direction but trudging different paths. But in case of India-Pakistan, one nation is perpetually caught in the vicious cycle of fundamentalism, heading towards disaster for sure and other nation in spite of its diversity, gigantic corruption and incompetent system that matches its size is laboriously moving towards self-reliance and perhaps, towards better future. To bridge the gap between two, either India has to retract what ever progress it has achieved or Pakistan needs to modernize itself, recasting it self by distancing itself from wacko fundamentalism. Both of such things are impossible.

There was huge outcry from so called Kashmiri leadership that corporate India is not doing enough for quake victims. There may be some truth in that but Kashmiri people should be ashamed of themselves asking for such help from the people, whom they hated for so long. They resent Indian leadership, Indian populace, Indian diversity; they even ethnically cleansed Kashmir by either killing or driving out Hindu Kashmiri Pundits from the valley. And now, they are angry because Indian corporations are not helping enough. Rewind time to the year 1986 and we can read news papers warning Kashmiri Hindus to vacate the Kashmiri land or face certain deaths.

I am not saying that Indian corporations are not helping enough because they sympathizes with Kashmiri Hindus, I doubt if they give a damm about them. Simply speaking it is very dangerous being a Hindu in Kashmir valley and most of the Indian corporate giants are Hindus. Not that they discriminate on the basis of religion but no one will allow their employees getting killed in Kashmir valley only because they are Hindus.

Kashmir is a part of India, whether Kashmiri Muslims wants to believe in that or not. I think Indian government is doing everything in its capacity to help the quake victims. Indian government is not great in relief effort but I refuse to believe that they are not doing enough work only because the affected area is Kashmir. They (Indian government) are doing their job the way they usually do it, irrespective of calamity hit area. But it is necessary for Kashmiri people to do introspection. Only that way they will be able to build strong future.

There is strong current among Indian seculars that India should give monetary aid to Pakistan, but it is a classic case of degenerated individuals. I am writing this blog and there is news that there were series of bomb blast in Delhi. I am wondering if India end up providing money to Pakistan then India will basically finance the next set of bomb blast. All those people, who are for sending help to Pakistan, should be immediately deported to their beloved Pakistan.