Hi Ray, It sounds from the morning news that the tension between India and Pakistan has declined somewhat. I strongly suspect that Bush's public appeals for restraint have been accompanied in private by threats of various sorts.
It seems to me that the quarrel over the fate of Kashmir is a pure case of culture versus the amour propre of nation-state politicians. You will know, of course, that Pakistan was born in 1947 when India regained independence after British rule and came about as a result of violent clashes between Muslims and Hindus in India causing tens of thousands of deaths and the biggest and fastest migration in world history when, out of fear for their lives, millions of Hindus headed south into India and millions of Muslims headed north into the area of what was to become Pakistan. This decision by ordinary people knocked some sense into the politicians at the time and it was decided to separate the two cultures constitutionally. Unfortunately, when the boundaries were drawn up between India and Pakistan a fairly large and culturally distinct region of the Punjab was artificially divided between Kashmir and Pakistan. This has became the pivot of further Muslim-Hindu clashes with most Kashmiris (predominantly Muslims) now wanting independence from India. Rationally, the problem could be resolved by the obvious solution of tidying up the boundaries furthur, giving independence to Kashmir and giving assistance to Hindus and Muslims to relocate if they wish. But the politicians of India and Pakistan are still savouring the giddy sense of power that comes with nation-statehood and ordinary Kashmiris will be the last to be consulted. I'm sorry for this further example of my 'Belief built on Tenacity', but there we are. Happy New Year, Ray! (Wearing my other hat, I have to report that Americans seem to be spending on cultural goods again and I hope this applies to you in New York.) Keith Hudson __________________________________________________________ �Writers used to write because they had something to say; now they write in order to discover if they have something to say.� John D. Barrow _________________________________________________ Keith Hudson, Bath, England; e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________
