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2006-04-22 India-Pakistan

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Posted by john 2006-04-22 00:00|| || Front Page|| [7 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 I'm not sure India would want it back.

A few years after partition, an Indian cabinet minister likened the creation of Pakistan to the amputation of a gangrene afflicted limb.

Punjab is especially problematic. There has been 60 years of islamist hate mongering.

Posted by john 2006-04-22 07:57|| 2006-04-22 07:57|| Front Page Top

#2 Must read commentary as always John. Thanks.

Posted by phil_b">phil_b 2006-04-22 09:26|| http://autonomousoperation.blogspot.com/]">[http://autonomousoperation.blogspot.com/] 2006-04-22 09:26|| Front Page Top

#3 I foresee pretty much the opposite for a long time.

It is the sum total of attractive forces vs. repulsive forces between groups in a country that determines how cohesive it remains. Many countries have very different peoples, yet their attractive balance is greater than their mutual repulsion. Take Canada, for example.

Attractive forces include a powerful and intelligent leadership, backed by the military, who always seeks to maintain this coherence. Greed is another factor, wanting to keep resources on the lands of a less-desired minority. Third is how much national power the minorities are allowed to have. And fourth are outside powers who seek to break off parts of a country.

Repulsive forces include an inept, corrupt and inefficient government of one minority, that does not share power. Segregation of minorities. A weak and ineffectual military and national police. Great inequality of wealth. And an organized secessionist movement backed by an outside power who seeks to foment trouble.

For this reason, in the short term, I see Iran as a much better candidate for partition than Pakistan. Again, in the short term, Pakistan may even enlarge, by gaining Iranian Baluchistan.

Pakistan's military is also rapidly gaining in strength, which is being used more and more against those who would subvert the state or push for secession or the maintenance of independent enclaves within the country.

Posted by Anonymoose 2006-04-22 09:34|| 2006-04-22 09:34|| Front Page Top

#4 The smaller they are, the less troublesome.

Posted by gromgoru 2006-04-22 09:55|| 2006-04-22 09:55|| Front Page Top

#5 comments are from Fred

Posted by john 2006-04-22 10:40|| 2006-04-22 10:40|| Front Page Top

#6 Finding some way to slow down or stop the cousins-marrying thing would help a lot, too...

Posted by Seafarious">Seafarious 2006-04-22 11:27|| 2006-04-22 11:27|| Front Page Top

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