So much for “Aman ki Asha”

2 snapshots from the “Aman ki Asha” Facebook Page presented below without comments…

Aman ki Asha 1

***

Aman ki Asha 2

Snapshots taken at around 1030pm IST.

Comments and thoughts welcome.

Image logo: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/amankiasha.cms

B Shantanu

Political Activist, Blogger, Advisor to start-ups, Seed investor. One time VC and ex-Diplomat. Failed mushroom farmer; ex Radio Jockey. Currently involved in Reclaiming India - One Step at a Time.

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20 Responses

  1. Prakash says:

    This is not a debate, this is a roadside dog fight which can not attract a debate

  2. Shantanu Dey says:

    Shantanu, I am another Shantanu who is hooked on to your blog. Had published my thoughts and opinions on the same topic some times back –

    http://jabdakhata.blogspot.com/2010/01/relationship-with-pakistan-some.html

  3. B Shantanu says:

    @ Shantanu Dey: Thanks…I will have a look at your blog post…

  4. ashok says:

    I pity Pakistan a confused and bewildered nation that it has becom.And I have sympathy for such thoughts coming from our Paki friends. What else can they do except fret fume froth at the mouth.

  5. AdityaNayak says:

    I kinda of agree with Ashok.

    I pity Pak, coz these guys need to get a life. We already have enough hatred in this world why do these guys want more?

    But, not just the guys across our border a lot of our people have been dead against it. Infact, i have spent almost the whole of today’s morning defending the movement. 🙂 search for demon ki asha and you will know. 🙂

    But I just hope that at the end of the day some sanity prevails and common people turn the tide against these violence mongorers in the society and those who sit in the parliament. coz war doesnt do good for anyone. except if you own a weapons factory 🙂

  6. sg says:

    i find it absurd and foolish that the toi went along with this nonsence. who are we fooling here, the jung itself is propogating anti india sentiments in its papers, thats how they can survive in pak. its nothing but a media run campaing so that india and pak are pushed to speak to each other,as though we falling head over heels to as per the papers. let me tell you more than 80-90 % f pak can never stand india, its only a small community in their living rooms that drink wine / scotch. before they tell us to come for a talk its better they put their own house in order. but with the army and jihadis in control its never going to happen.

  7. B Shantanu says:

    More on Aman ki Asha:

    Pak Punjab assembly urges govt. to deny transit route to ‘enemy’ India
    Wednesday, January 27, 2010,7:04 [IST]

    Lahore, Jan.27 (ANI): Punjab provincial assembly members have urged the Gilani government, through a resolution, to refuse any transit trade facility to India through Pakistan until the resolution of the water dispute and the long pending Kashmir issue.

    The provincial lawmakers passed a resolution, which stated that India must be considered “an enemy” until the pending issue between the two countries are resolved.

    Anyone aware of any similar resolution by any Indian state legislative assembly? I guess not…That would be the day.

    Somewhat related: Bend over backwards…

  8. Moderator says:

    *** COMMENT from Indian Friend ***

    We all knew it very well India & Pakistan are still fighting. but we are fighting for last 60 yrs what the benefit. Pls let me know what is the solution by which we can concentrate on the peace & developing our countries. both countries have the same problems. Hunger & poverty is main problem in front of us. If we remains in this condition we can’t survive.
    you also know we both countries have lots of negative things. Some people in Pakistan & some people in India don’t want the peace. But why we bear.

    Despite fighting I am asking all the Indian & Pakistani people do we have any solution for this fighting. Pakistani people have lots of reason to say bad against India but Indian people hav more than them. Its will always continue. We must find the SOLUTION.

    PLS SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS.

    http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=263144437814&topic=12925

    With Regards
    Your Indian Friend

  9. Trust Times Of India says:

    How can you take this Aman ki Asha at face value, coming from Times Of India ?

    It has not been disclosed, was there any Private Treaty or not ?

    (Background: Indian Media Scam — Private Treaties and
    Times Group Private Treaties
    )

    What is TOI’s objective and interest ?

  10. B Shantanu says:

    Pl read in the context of “Aman ki Asha”.

    Courtesy, Neeraj Diwan, < ahref="http://bit.ly/d9X1a3">ऐ हिन्दू…जूते पड़े लश्कर के तुझे:

    ऐ हिन्दू तेरी पिटाई हुई, लश्कर के शेर जवानों से
    लश्कर के शेर जवानों से, तुझे जूते पड़े रुसवाई हुई

    तेरा नगर मेरा नगर.. श्रीनगर श्रीनगर

    हिन्दू तेरी मौत आई, लश्कर आई- लश्कर आई
    अमरीका तेरी मौत आई, लश्कर आई- लश्कर आई

  11. manasa says:

    Its an utter waste of time and patience to make peace with PAK. if v start on peace and all that nonsence which is never gonna work, it would be a true insult and a sign of ignorance to all the innocent people who have died earlier in the blasts.there has been a series of blasts and terror activities going on and on which is a clear indication that PAK would never sort it out . I wonder how foolish can a news agency like TOI be to ever think about something like the aman ki asha . no common man or any relative of the ppl who have suffered in the terror attacks will ever support this… y should v show concern and bring about peace with people who wont even respond 4 our efforts.. only actors and singers by organizing concerts can never bring about anything..its important to have the majority of the common ppl in India too..

  12. B Shantanu says:

    Great post from Pragmatic on why Pakistan isn’t trustworthy enough for India to attempt the process of bridging the trust deficit.

  13. Sid says:

    @Indian Friend on #8,
    We all knew it very well India & Pakistan are still fighting. but we are fighting for last 60 yrs what the benefit.
    We are still alive and are writing Hindu as religion in the census forms. That is the “benefit”. If that is not a benefit according to you, then you deserve “Aman ki Asha”. Thousands of “Asha”s in Pakistan and Bangladesh instinctively know the friendly attitudes they can expect from millions of “Aman”s in those countries.

  14. B Shantanu says:

    More on “Aman ki Asha”: check the flags in the pic.

  15. B Shantanu says:

    Excerpts from Shashi Tharoor’s Delusional liberals:
    It is hard to imagine anyone in India, however sympathetic they might be to Pakistan, dissenting from this view of the malign role of the Pakistani military. In our naďveté, we also tend to assume that
    Pakistani liberals would agree with us, seeing the salvation of their land lying in greater democracy and development, free of the
    stranglehold of the world’s most lavishly-funded military (in terms of
    percentage of national resources and GDP consumed by any Army on the
    planet). Alas, judging by their reactions to Taseer’s article, this
    seems not to be the case.

    In his rebuttal, Ejaz Haider goes into great detail about the strength
    and deployment patterns of the Indian Army, as if to justify the
    Pakistani military’s behaviour.

    But there is no recognition whatsoever that India’s defence preparedness is prompted entirely by the fact that Pakistan has launched four incursions into our territory, in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999; that India is a status quo power that manifestly seeks nothing more than to be allowed to grow and develop in peace, free from the attentions of the Pakistani military and the militants and terrorists it sponsors; andbluntly, that there is not and cannot be an “Indian threat” to Pakistan, simply because there is absolutely nothing Pakistan possesses that India wants.

    If proof had to be adduced for this no doubt unflattering assessment, it lies in India’s decision at Tashkent in 1966 to give “back” to Pakistan every square inch of territory captured by our brave soldiers in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including the strategic Haji Pir Pass, all of which is land we claim to be ours.

    If we do not even insist on retaining what we see as our own territory, held by Pakistan since 1948 but captured fair and square in battle, why on earth would we want anything else from Pakistan?

    No, the “Indian threat” is merely a useful device cynically exploited by the Pakistani military to justify their power (and their grossly
    disproportionate share of Pakistan’s national assets). But Pakistani
    liberals are particularly prone to the desire to prove themselves true
    nationalists; it is the best way to ensure that their otherwise
    heretical opinions are not completely discredited by the men in uniform who hold the reins of power in the state.

    As this otherwise minor editorial spat demonstrates, Indians need to put aside their illusions that there are liberal partners for us on the other side of the border who echo our diagnosis of their plight and share our desire to defenestrate their military. Nor should we be
    surprised: a Pakistani liberal is, after all, a Pakistani before he is a liberal.

  16. B Shantanu says:

    From a recent article by Sushant Singh on Bilateral Trade with Pakistan:
    ..Many Indian commentators have built on it to suggest that increased trade will be a springboard for solving all the outstanding issues between India and Pakistan.

    Consider China. China is today India’s biggest trading partner, after bilateral trade gained momentum in the early 1990s. But this has not led to any forward movement on the longstanding border disputes between India and China.
    Compared to China, India’s relationship with Pakistan is far more complicated. India has a history which melds with the creation of Pakistan and its subsequent national identity. Moreover, unlike with China, trade deficit is going to be heavily skewed in India’s favour in case of Pakistan. This will fuel resentment against India and provide ammunition to anti-India extremists in Pakistan.

    The argument that increased bilateral trade will make Pakistani elite a stakeholder in regional stability is based on a flawed premise. Pakistani military has a monopoly on Islamabad’s policy towards India and Pakistan’s military-jehadi complex directs terror in the region. However strong be their interests, Pakistani business elite are in no position to influence, leave alone confront, the military-jehadi complex; more so when it comes to dealing with India.

    Just because some items are not in the negative list doesn’t mean that Indian brands in those items will flood the Pakistani market. In a country where soft drinks are banned by lawyers and universities because companies making them are owned by Jews and Ismailis, what chance do goods made by Hindu-owned companies hold. In fact, clever Pakistani businessmen, unable to compete with their Indian counterparts, will be the first to leverage religious extremism and anti-India hate to protect their market share. Rather than help democracy or promote liberalism in Pakistan, this trade deal could actually further the extremist cause by bringing in greater financial support. The military-jehadi complex can then evolve into a military-jehadi-business complex.
    …While welcoming trade measures, not one Indian leader has reminded Islamabad about the need to punish terrorists like Hafiz Saeed who continues to threaten India from public platforms.

    Yes, bilateral trade is the only long-term structural solution for lasting peace between India and Pakistan. But it can come into play only after Pakistani military-jehadi complex has been dismantled. The establishment of bilateral trade links should not distract India from working towards that goal.

  17. B Shantanu says:

    Some excerpts from a recent article by Sh Vikram Sood Trading with Pak – When hope is a policy:
    The current discourse is that India should encourage trade with Pakistan as this would lead to better relations and eventual normalisation of relations between the two countries. This reasoning is not borne by empirical facts. Trade creates profits, wealth, inequalities, vested interests and heartburn but does not solve political disputes.

    There is no denying that Japan-China (US $ 300 billion) and China-US (US $ 800 billion) relations in trade are booming but political rivalry bordering on animosity and hostility is well known. Pak-China trade relations are pathetic (US $ 8 billion) yet the political-military relations are higher that the skies and deeper than the oceans.

    Our trade with China is burgeoning but has it solved or even looks remotely possible that this will solve the border problem? On the other hand, trade imbalances such as ours with China and the content of the trade have inbuilt characteristics of a future conflict. …
    In India we continue to delude ourselves. The current mantra is that trade between India and Pakistan is the magic key that will transform India-Pakistan relations and lead to eternal peace. Once again hope has become policy. Arguments are now being discovered to buttress this hope.

    The only difference today is that Pakistan, is in the middle of an economic slump. It faces an acute power and energy shortage, a low growth rate and rising deficit, high inflation and low investment, would want to temporarily shed the Kashmir-first slogan and get over its economic plight before reverting to form.

    We are now rationalising why it is not necessary for India to insist on a reciprocal MFN (sabse pasandida mulk) from Pakistan because that country has compulsions. As long as they move to reduce the negative list India can live with it, is the argument. Issues like transit trade can also wait. Further to attract Pakistani business and encourage it to perform better India should be able to sell power and petroleum products to Pakistan.

    The economic argument is that it is more viable (read profitable) in some situations to sell electricity to Pakistan rather than to a state within India. The offer to sell gas that we import through our terminals in Gujarat and give to Lahore via Bhatinda despite our own shortages, is misplaced generosity. It is therefore extremely illogical and we should instead be building our strategic reserves for the difficult times ahead following reduction of imports from Iran. We pretend that the wheat we sent to Afghanistan via Karachi did not originate in India and Pakistan pretends it has given transit to Afghanistan and not India.

  18. Divya says:

    Hi Shantanu

    I just discovered this website (thanks to Shobha De) and I immediately thought of you –

    http://www.mediacrooks.com/

    Do you already read this?

  19. B Shantanu says:

    Divya: Yes, I follow it occasionally..and I read their latest post too! Thanks

  20. B Shantanu says:

    Why has appeasement of hardliners in Pakistan, an avowedly communal state carved out of the two-nation theory, become a touchstone for secularism in India?

    Opening lines of The habit of bending over backwards by MJ Akbar, 13 January 2013.
    Do Read. Please.