Rakesh (Webmaster at Bharat-Rakshak.com) posted this collection of useful links to background articles on Pakistan.
This is serious reference material�- please do try and read as much as possible.
Have a nice weekend and Happy Reading.
.
UNDERSTANDING PAKISTAN:
Jinnah’s Pakistan: An Interview with MA Jinnah, and how the Pakistan of Yesterday is the Pakistan of Today
http://iref.homestead.com/Messiah.html
Know Your Pakistan
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE6-1/Shiv.html
The Monkey Trap: A synopsis of Indo-Pak relations
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE5-2/khayyam.html
PAKISTAN-FAILED STATE: an ebook that owes its origin and existence to BRF.
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/EBOOKS/pfs.pdf
A landmark article that demolishes myths built up about Pakistan
http://www.saag.org/papers8/paper710.html
Pakistani Role in Terrorism Against the U.S.A
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE5-2/narayanan.html
Pakistani Education, or …

*** CAUTION: Long Post but a MUST READ ***
Last week, I posted a short note on the Emergency in Pakistan and promised readers to share more thoughts and views. �
In this post, I will delve deeper into some of the issues and examine a very provocative hypothesis i.e.�might it serve India’s interest better if Pakistan is partitioned into�four provinces (NWFP, Baluchistan, Punjab and Sind; assuming POK decides to merge with Jammu & Kashmir)?.
I realise this is speculation (some might even say that it is dangerous speculation) but�then I have rarely�shied …

By now, most of you must have read about the imposition of� Emergency in Pakistan by General Musharraf (read a report on the�turmoil here: Black coats face off brute force).� Although a transition to full democracy has been�promised soon,�the signs are not good.
I have not yet had a chance to read through my entire “pending list” of articles and news-stories on this development but VCK and Patriot made a few good points on another post which I have� moved here in the hope of prompting more discussion.
Please read and share …

In the middle of an otherwise fine interview with IBN, SRK appears to have got into a bit of a muddle trying to explain Shoaib Malik’s��remarks�(and here)�after the recent T20.� Excerpt:
Bhupendra Chaubey: “Then how do you respond to what had happened at the T20 World Cup finals? You were there. The Pakistani team lost the match to India, and the Pakistani captain, Shoaib Malik, at the podium said �My apologies to the entire Muslim community across the world�. You think he went out of line there?”
Shah Rukh Khan: No, I …

Most of you would remember the senseless destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by Taliban from a few years ago.
Some days go, I had alerted readers to another attack on Buddha statues – this time in Pakistan – which most media channels (including the revered BBC) chose to downplay.
Two days ago, the Islamic zealots returned to complete their unfinished business.
Excerpts from the story:
“The historic statue of Buddha in Pakistan’s Swat Valley was attacked for the second time in 20 days on Saturday night, damaging its head and shoulders. Militants have threatened …

First from Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar, “150-year dream for 150-year old ships”
Excerpts:
“…Dreams are costless, but canals are not. Project documents claim that the canal will save ships 36 hours of time and 570 nautical miles of distance.
But a recent study by Jacob John in Economic and Political Weekly exposes these claims as highly exaggerated. Up to 70% of the traffic through the canal is projected to come from Europe and Africa. And John estimates that the time saving from Europe to Kolkata will be only eight hours, and the distance …

Even as Shri Karunanidhi refuses to back down�from his remarks on Shri Ram, comes this news from neighbouring Bangladesh*:�
“Bangladeshi authorities (on)�Tuesday� (18th Sept) arrested a cartoonist after drawings that Muslims said insulted their religion were published in a national newspaper…
…he was arrested under a stringent law that allows detention without any specific charges.
Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation, has no specific blasphemy laws. But offenders can be prosecuted for hurting religious or public sentiments….
The controversy involves a cartoon character making a play on Prophet Muhammad’s name, which Muslims deem insulting to Islam …

This is a sad story of the North East.
It is a first-person account of how bad things are in the beautiful land of the “seven sisters” – in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and other neighbouring states in the North East of India.
Having lived for several years in Assam, I have a very special affinity for the region and great personal interest in the developments there.
Assam, together with its six “sisters” is also a region of great strategic importance and critical to long term stability of our country.
Some of you may …

Most of you must have already read about the clumsy handling of the SethuSamudram affidavit by UPA last week.
But this particular post on the issue caught my eye. In “The Ramayana, the Sethusamudram and Indian Archeology“, Cynical Nerd examines the real intent and motives behind the moves by UPA and ASI. Some excerpts from this superb critique:
EXCERPTS (emphasis mine):
“…The Archeological Survey of India (ASI), under instruction from the political leadership in New Delhi, filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court yesterday claiming that there was no historical evidence that Rama …

Things are beginning to look interesting.
Praveen Swamy writes in The Hindu’s Op-Ed (extract):
“…A mass of credible electronic intelligence suggests that HuJI�s director of south India operations, Abdul Sahel Mohammad, operates out of Karachi. Mohammad � a one-time Hyderabad resident who uses the code names �Shahid� and �Bilal� � is wanted by Interpol for at least four separate terror strikes.
Pakistan has responded to Indian calls for his arrest by flatly denying his presence on its soil.
…
Indian intelligence has known since March 2007 that eight kilogrammes of military-grade explosive were delivered …