People often bitch and moan about how bad things are in India or that things are now deteriorating in the U.S.
But few realize how much worse things are in so many other parts of the world like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Zimbabwe or in Western Africa.
The New York Times has a P.1 story today on how in parts of Pakistan (the Swat district), the Taliban has become so powerful that they issue death threats and prescribe rules of living via the Radio.
No singing, no dancing, no cable TV, no school for girls… (Although the story does not say so, we guess that includes no watching Bollywood movies too).
Horrifying.
Here’s an excerpt from the NYT story:
Using a portable radio transmitter, a local Taliban leader, Shah Doran, on most nights outlines newly proscribed “un-Islamic†activities in Swat, like selling DVDs, watching cable television, singing and dancing, criticizing the Taliban, shaving beards and allowing girls to attend school. He also reveals names of people the Taliban have recently killed for violating their decrees — and those they plan to kill.
….With the increasing consolidation of their power, the Taliban have taken a sizable bite out of the nation. And they are enforcing a strict interpretation of Islam with cruelty, bringing public beheadings, assassinations, social and cultural repression and persecution of women to what was once an independent, relatively secular region, dotted with ski resorts and fruit orchards and known for its dancing girls.
Last year, 70 police officers were beheaded, shot or otherwise slain in Swat, and 150 wounded, said Malik Naveed Khan, the police inspector general for the North-West Frontier Province.
The police have become so afraid that many officers have put advertisements in newspapers renouncing their jobs so the Taliban will not kill them.
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“…how much things are worse in Pakistan, Srilanka, Somalia and Western Africa…”
Honestly that doesn’t make me feel any better. Come on, don’t set too low a standard lest our leaders start using that against us.
“Corruption?… Be blessed that you lucky b** have a central government at all to corrupt unlike in Somalia…”
“No water?.. Hey, in Zimbabwe people survive on sewage and piss.”
I could go on and on but you get the point.
And now on the story on Pakistan. The Talibanisation of Swat didn’t happen in a day. It took years and there was considerable resistance too. Army was deployed at one point.
Pakistan is close to becoming a failed state. Nobody really knows who pulls the strings. The Government has scarcely any idea about what the army is upto. ISI has resisted all attempts to bring it under civillian control and continue to exist as a rogue autonomous agency. Baloochis want their own country, pashtuns likewise. Not to mention every disgruntled cheiftain in FATA wanting their own.
The only thing that keeps them together is their common hatred for America, Israel and India (in the order of increasing hatred). To unite a divided set of barbarians ready to blow each other up, a common enemy is essential. Not my words, but Genghis Khan’s. And thus Pakistan depends on us for its existence which would have been fine if they didn’t have nukes that can reach the farthest corners of India and destroy us in seconds. The worst thing that could happen is these end up with some idiots with long arabic names and a really twisted perception of reality.
On the 60th anniversary of a republic…Wishing I had uninterrupted power supply. Lucky i have electricity at all, people in some countries in western africa apparently go through their entire lives without ever seeing a bulb.. WOW!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Nice comment.
2. You write: The Talibanisation of Swat didn’t happen in a day. It took years and there was considerable resistance too. Army was deployed at one point.
The army is still posted in the Swat district but the military personnel are too scared to go out of their camps or in cahoots with the local Taliban (who have sophisticated weaponry like sniper rifles, Kalashnikovs, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, mortar tubes, night-vision goggles and flak vests, according to the NYT piece).
[Deleted because of repetition]
SWAT is not the only haunting thing for Pakistan.
Its also other provinces such as Balochistan and Sindh. People are completely suppressed there and I still can’t understand why Pakistanis always mention the Indian Military aggression in Jammu and kashmir,when more people have died in Balochistan alone compared to in J&K.
Even in J&K,there is something called as Human Rights and media freedom,which is completely absent not only in Baloch,but also in the mainland Punjab (PAK).
In the recent drama ,the Pakistani nation staged regarding the Mumbai attacks,the only people speaking in sanity were the Human right activists from Pakistan and the next moment there were death threats for people like Asma Jehangir for speaking the truth. How can we expect Human rights to be practiced in such a country?
SWAT is a lost cause. Now Pakistan must work to rescue the rest of the nation which is infected with Madarasa fundamentalism-a type of terrorism introduced during Zia-Ul-haq’s regime for the bloody Islamization of Pakistan.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
If the lot of Indian Muslims is not improved, they too will fall sway in large numbers to the preachings of the fundamentalists. This has already started happening going by the involvement of homegrown elements in the violent attacks in different parts of India.
Lo! Here we have our own Talibanistic elements called Sri Ram Sena and Kannada Rakshana Vedike
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090081377
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Thanks. We’ve made a brief mention of Ram’s Monkeys Run Amok in Mangalore Pub in Incredible India.
SI : If the lot of Indian Muslims is not improved, they too will fall sway in large numbers to the preachings of the fundamentalists. This has already started happening going by the involvement of homegrown elements in the violent attacks in different parts of India.
Homegrown elements are – Software engineers …doctors ..etc … Hamas in Palestine has a sizeable no of Western educated PHD’s in its ranks ….
its like a dog tail …
Srinivas : Hamas in Palestine has a sizeable no of Western educated PHD’s in its ranks ….
VHP and RSS also have educated american indian patrons
remember the CAG warning Obama earlier on Sonal shah.
definitely we are so lucky to live in india as politicians in pakistan are wrecking havoc accross the nation. its totally gone pakis have no other choice but are being pummelled again and again to submission
guess wat ‘ll happen to india because of the developments in pak
(dint consider Ramsena, and other religious parties which are being projected as rebellious parties as they are just barking dogs good for nothing… they cant even control their own children )
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Ramsena, and other religious parties which are being projected as rebellious parties as they are just barking dogs good for nothing
We disagree. BJP and their monkey senas create great deal of insecurity among minorities and women.
being in bangalore iv never experienced any such things
im a non hindu and i frequent pubs with friends iv never ever encountered any such things ,well there are issues here and there , but it is purposefully mingled with politics. they paint politics in every other issue happening in india . may be the media is projecting the whole thing much higher than what it is actually to boost their TRPs. The media both here and in the US backed by political agencies are highly condemnable. they try to belittle such a great country with many diversities by spreading such false propagandas everywhere.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
The article was with reference to the Swat region in Pakistan.
Sure, India is a gazillion times better but things are deteriorating now because of some Hindu communal elements and a few Muslim bombers.