I don't think the problem is with the people. It seldom is. It's to do with the governments of the people(not by the people or for the people). Iran's leaders support terror throughout the world. This is common knowledge. I don't blame the people, I blame the leadership. Iran is totalitarian theocracy dedicated to the eradication of an entire race. The fact that soon this theocracy will have nukes scares me somewhat. At the moment, unfortunately, Iran seems to have more influence over Pakistan then the U.S. does. I would like to see this change. I would be grateful to India if she can help bring us closer together to fight the Mad Mullahs of Tehran.
dj On Wed, Apr 8, 2009 at 1:37 PM, Viswanathan <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dear Neil, > Though present day India has no 'common border' with Afghanistan, this > region was culturally and economically very close to India during the > past two thousand years.We all grew up hearing the stories of Gandhari > (from Gandhara-present day Kandahar) who married the king of > Indraprastha ( present day Delhi)and the war between her sons and > their half brothers that form the basic theme of the epic > Mahabharata . The story of Kabuliwallah (The man from Kabul-a short > story by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)) continues to be retold here > again and again in dance dramas, films..As you may be aware, Hamid > Karzai had his University education in India. > Formation of Pakistan was a tragedy.The sooner we forget old wounds > and embrace each other, the better for both Indian and Pakistani > people. There were many times even recently, when better sense > prevailed and the war rhetoric was buried by both sides. However, many > interests are at work in both camps to keep these people -who eat the > same food, love the same music and the same films- at war always. > Persia (present day Iran) is also another place with long cultural and > economic ties with India. Till 1979, we used to have many students > from Iran-on Iranian Government scholarships- studying in our colleges. > (In my medical college,they used to sell us sports shoes brought from > home while back after a vacation..) > For some time, we used to hear about a pipeline carrying natural gas > from Iran to India through Pakistan-supplying Pakistan as well ('the > peace pipeline'). It would have been a great Idea-we would have a > reason to be friendly towards our Pakistani brothers. It seems US did > not like this, and the project is now all but dropped, I understand. > > It is only natural that people from US-and even from Britain- can view > the relations between these four countries from a 'Western > perspective',( I know Neil to be an exception) but I hope they would > consider the possibility of other valid views as well. > Viswanathan > > On Apr 2, 4:49 am, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: >> India is one of Karzai’s few remaining champions. Delhi sees the new >> Afghanistan as a part of its sphere of influence. It has four >> consulates in Afghanistan and has given its government $1.2 billion in >> aid: a remarkable sum for it to donate to a country that is 99 per >> cent Muslim and with which it has no common border. Delhi has also put >> up the new parliament building and chancery, and has helped to train >> the army. India’s most ambitious – and, for Pakistan, most alarming – >> Afghan project is a new highway that will provide a route to the >> Iranian port of Chabahar. Not only will Afghanistan no longer need to >> use Pakistani ports, the road’s destination is a clear indication of >> India’s intention to consolidate an alliance with Iran in western >> Afghanistan in order to counter Pakistan’s influence in eastern >> Afghanistan. The road network, as they see it, is a new way to fight >> an old war. It’s precisely in order to resist the India-Iran bloc – as >> well as the emerging axis between Delhi and Washington. We don't seem >> to be hearing very much about this. Any viwes from closer to the >> ground? > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
