February 23, 2008

More than five months ago, following former Pakistan Primer Nawaz Sharif’s forced deportation to Jeddah within hours of his landing at Islamabad on September 10, it was written in these columns (in the September 15 issue of this journal) that the countdown had begun for “Bush’s friend Mush”: It’s just a matter of time before Musharraf is bundled out of power. In the wake of the real crisis for the military ruler the issue of whether or not he contests the presidential poll in uniform has (…)

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan applauds the people of Pakistan who overcame several obstacles and despite pre-poll rigging gave a clear verdict in favour of democratic governance. Regrettably, this opportunity was not available to the electorate in Balochistan. Boycott of worthy political leadership from contesting the elections and their call for staying away from the polls have not reflected a genuine will of the people of Balochistan to the 2008 polls. This will pose a challenge (…)

The people’s support for the Congress seems to be receding despite the high growth rate of nine per cent and implementation of the people-oriented Employment Guarantee Programme. The party has lost power in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The increase in Maoist activities and restiveness of the people, as seen in the flare-up of the son-of-soil syndrome in Maharashtra, are indications in the same direction. People are disaffected. The coming Budget can make a decisive (…)

At a time when India is projecting itself on the world’s stage as a modern democracy, while it hosts international literary festivals and book fairs, the Government of India, most mainstream political parties and their armed squads are mounting a concerted assault on people’s Right to Free Speech.
It is a matter of abiding shame that even as some of the world’s best-known writers were attending the Jaipur literary festival and presti-gious publishers were doing business at the World Book (…)

Away from home, Away from my dear cat, my books and papers, my friends, Away from my life, With my face and head covered in a quilt stinking of uncertainty, Lying for days on end Lying one knows not where, With the heart gnawed and clawed viciously.
Then when the heart stops, the inevitable CCU, To draw life somehow back from the edge, Back to throbbing, the heart would like to return, the sick body seeks home, To return to the cat, to friends, to the cherished touch. The mind journeys (…)

The time has come when we have to seriously ask ourselves if we are really serious about preserving in one piece this Republic of India. Many in our country think that to talk about disintegration of the Indian Union is just a fantasy with an over-dose of panic. They can’t take it that we may have taken the road to Bosnia.
Three months ago, this impression was widespread. It can’t happen here—was the average Indian reaction when the mighty USSR fell apart without a whimper, and when (…)

BOOK REVIEW
Development has a Woman’s Face: Insights from within the UN System by Krishna Ahoojapatel; APJ Publishing Corporation, New Delhi; 2007.
The topic of the volume under review could not have been more apt, it is almost self-explanatory. It presents a gender-sensitive analysis of the interface between woman and development. The author very succinctly elaborates on the interrelationship between the two and states that an understanding of this relationship is vital for a balanced (…)