On Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 10:26 AM, Vinayak Hegde <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Elimination of conflict is a pipe dream since so much of the Pakistani
> identity depends upon being Anti-Indian.

I keep hearing this argument. What are the numbers to support this
claim? And I would be very interested in learning more about Pakistani
views on what they think the Indian identity is.

> What I fail to comprehend is
> the continual comparison of India to Pakistan by Indians - knowing
> that Pakistan is a vassal state of the US (just look at the aid being
> pumped into Pakistan) and a failed nation. Besides the Anti-Indian
> stance is one of the reasons what makes the Army generals powerful in
> Pakistan.

Let us not forget the crores of brown paper envelopes and consultant
fees and miscellaneous kickbacks that a prolonged conflict or enemy at
the gates keeps generating. Bofors? Coffins for Indian soldiers killed
in Kargil? Night vision binocular procurement? If it was not East
Asia, it would be Eurasia.

> The problem is having to define Kashmir and Kashmiris as Thaths
> pointed out. There has been large scale migration from the valley.
> Besides J&K consists of Ladakh and Jammu regions in addition to
> Kashmir itself.

I think the most pragmatic (and likely) solution for the conflict is
the de jure recognition of the Line of Control as the border between
Indian Kashmir and Pakistani Kashmir. We came close to it during the
bus diplomacy initiative. If such an accord were reached we would
still have some way to go for Peace. The ISI should stop (it will if
the US leaned on it heavily) cross border terrorism and the Indian
military/police should go about rebuilding trust by carrying out a
hearts and minds operation similar to that conducted in Punjab in the
late 80's, early 90's.

Thaths
-- 
"I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to SPEED around a city, keeping
 its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode. I think
 it was called, 'The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down'." -- Homer J. Simpson

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