Yes, I suspect that a mind, lacking nuance, would fail to see better alternatives, such as insisting that Indian markets remain as open to American products as American markets to Indian imports.
Posted on 01/25/2004 8:16:33 AM PST by VinayFromBangalore
Yes, I suspect that a mind, lacking nuance, would fail to see better alternatives, such as insisting that Indian markets remain as open to American products as American markets to Indian imports.
I don't think you properly understand the nature of democracy in Kashmir. Kasmir can have an election only on what the Indian govt will allow them to have. If they want to have a plebiscite on whether to stay with India (as was mandated by the UN), that vote will never be allowed by the Indian govt because they know what the result will be. Election in Kashmir, as well as in most parts of India, is a complete farce.
I would much rather have India broken up into 5-8 different countries on ethnic, linguistic and religious grounds. Then each state would be a much more functioning govt and better place to do business. There will be more accountability in govts of smaller nations and an otherwise educated populace can actually succeed in their own home country. Western Europe has been much more stable since every ethnic group got its own country. Eastern Europe is falling on the same lines as well. The most volatile places in Europe like Northern Ireland and the Basque region have similar ethnic problems which have never been solved. All of Africa has exact similar problems. The American experiment doesn't work everywhere. That is a reality. Let every group have their own piece of land. Higher walls make better neighbors.
First of all, the British didn't leave India. Britain had to give up its colonies after they signed the Atlantic charter. I would take India under British rule than India ruled by a bunch of oligarchs and morons any day.
Secondly, the plebiscite was ordered in 1947. The Indian govt never allowed it way generations before ethnic cleansing in India. To satisfy the critics, I would send back the Kashmiri Hindus into Kashmir before a plebiscite takes place. People from Kashmir never got to decide what kind of govt they want to live under and the Indian govt will never allow that because they are engaged in an ego-war with Pakistan.
More importantly, India is not a liberal democracy. It is at best an oligarchical fiefdom. There is no free and fair elections in India. Election violence is an everyday occurrence and most people vote for candidates for fear of repression. Honest candidates are sometimes knocked off by political oligarchs and that is the way it is. Ask most Indians honestly on the level of democracy in India, and they will tell you the whole story. But, get them drunk first. I would personally love to see India balkanized. The best thing that happened to India is separation from Pakistan. The two countries live in relative peace, except over one piece of real estate whose status could not be resolved by the British. Tons of people died when India and Pakistan were separated. But, be certain that more people would have eventually died if the countries stayed together.
Ask any Indian who has lived both under English rule and self-rule, which one they would prefer. There was a huge outflow of Indians twenty years after the country was independent because of corruption, socialism, etc. The English essentially brought civilization into India. Sure there are grand and pompous temples and architecture and science and math that came out of ancient India, but years of Moslem rule and the debilitating caste system made life for the little guy extremely unbearable. So bad, that you see people leaving the state-sponsored Hinduism into Budhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and later Christianity in droves. In fact, most Christians you will meet in India came from the lower caste because they have been waiting for a God who would love them no matter what caste they are. The caste-system and the treatment of women and minorities were so bad, that the English rule was considered much more liberal and tolerable. In the US, that was never the case. We presented a form of govt equitable to everyone that replaced and improved the English rule. Not the case in India.
I have lived on and off in India for 10 years. I have not only lived in cities but villages and mountains. I got a view of India that most Westerners will not get. Every time I had to deal with the local MP (Congressman) of any party, my blood will start to boil. I came very close to hitting one for his open mistreatment of his constituents. Most Indians are treated like parasites by Indian politicians. They come around during election time threatening for votes. Political murders were numerous. A little less in the cities where corruption is slightly more subtle than in the villages where it is rampant. Democracy is a complete farce. People are forced to vote for candidates because otherwise they will face repression. In cities, it ranges from prolonged power failures to in the villages where your entire village can be burnt down. This is not from a movie, but things I have witnessed personally. If you don't believe me, ask any Indian, especially someone from a lower caste.
If India is keen on instituting democracy in Kashmir, the first thing they will do is let people have a plebiscite. The Indian govt will allow election in Kashmir, only to the extent that they will toe the Indian govt line. That is not democracy. The people in Kasmir must determine what they want to do with their homeland.
Breaking up India into several countries is the best alternative. It has worked in Europe and it will work in India primarily because Indians have fairly high human capital. The only thing that holds them back is the Indian govt, which is utterly corrupt and unresponsive. Better to have local govts than one federal one. My observation about partition from Pakistan is fairly accurate. India shares a huge border with Pakistan - from Gujrat to Kashmir. The only problem is in Kashmir whose fate was not decided by the British. Breakign Kashmir 50-50 is a valid alternative. Hindus can live on one side and Moslems on the other. You brought up the point of Africa. The biggest problem in Africa is exactly countries whose borders overlap different ethnic groups. Break up Sudan into four countries and all the ethnic cleansing will stop. Same ethnic problem over land in Rwanda.
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