Journal of an Optimistic Contrarian

2 new couplets

2011-10-15T02:59:00.000-07:00

Aaah happy day wrote after a long time. Pretty decent ones too.

Do lafzon me simta hai aatish-e-sansaar
ik gham-e-ishq dooja gham-e-rozgaar

Aatish's world is defined complete with two phrases
One the sorrow of love the other the sorrow of making a living

humsaaya-e-asmaan ko lambi faakon ka dar nahi
dum bharta hai shahbaaz par shikasta'par nahi

The fellow traveler of the sky is not intimidated by long periods of hunger
The Royal Falcon has paused to take a breath but its wings are not clipped yet

(a falcon hunts for days sometimes weeks to make a kill, sometimes shadowing a single prey)

Enjoying a touch of Schaudenfreude

2011-08-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

I have to admit to having some perverse pleasure about the riots in Britain. Mean you say, cruel even? Maybe! But lemme explain why.

About 10 years ago, I was walking around somewhere in New Delhi Airport. Some western looking woman sidles up to me and says " Sir, Have you Indians ever heard of the concept of "queue"?". I thought she was asking for directions or something coz I was just passing by and was not cutting in front of her or anything like that.

It took me a while to figure out what she was saying coz it seemed it was a strange question to accost a stranger for. Now after I figured out her question, I did not know what to answer. And I was furious. Its obviously an insulting thing to point out but there is obviously a grain of truth, in fact lots of truth to it. The lack of civic sense in every city in India (with the honorable exception of Mumbai) is a byword. So there was nothing I could say except mumble a few words of grudging apology. (We still live in a world where, whether I like it or not, somehow all acts of Indians everywhere, good or bad is somehow my responsibility too, but I digress).

But I was still infuriated at the gall of the woman. Then she went on how she had to suffer through the hell of India trips for work.

I have been to Britain, and I didnt think it was kosher for me to accost a passing stranger about all the things I found wanting in that country.

Now since she had very deftly caught a weak point in our culture, I could not really come up with a quick comeback. And generally I rather enjoy dealing with this sort of international quarrels, coz I can come up with a devastating response more often than not. Then I have noticed British (and its always British, and I suspect probably always English, never German/French/American) making nasty remarks about Indians, on their TV shows etc. And in my limited interaction with Brits, they are the rudest westerners I have come across (Now most people are nice, so its not they were especially nasty, just worst among a pretty good lot overall).

So now, no damn British woman (or man) will ever dare to comment on India's civics again. And if they do, oh man I will be ready ;).

I must say I have been very impressed with David Cameron's tough response on the riots. Sound leadership like this for a few decades, and maybe Britain will become a better nation. And for the causes of the riots, I think the writer Theodore Dalrymple aka Anthony Daniels has some good ideas about why they are happening.

Top reasons people worry too much

2010-08-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

1. People need a higher purpose to their lives. therefore when things are hunky dory in their personal life, they feel unfulfilled/guilty and try to find a cause to get worked up about. This is not true of the poor, sick or otherwise distressed cause they just don't have the ability to think beyond their immediate problems.

2. A lack of scientific temper, over reliance on gut instinct, or what feels good/right. Gut instinct approach to complex problems generally leads to bad conclusions. The need to come to a definite opinion about everything, though many things are simply not knowable beyond a reasonable degree of probability, and often not even that. Lack of understanding of basic statistics and excessive faith in media and experts. Systemic biases in media to sensationalize issues.

3. Some causes require one to insist on changing how other people think and behave. This is true of causes like religious causes (convert the heathen), promoting values (why do young people nowadays dress like that) or ideological (I cant believe you are a democrat OMG). Since this is extremely difficult to do it causes distress and worry.

4. A tendency to think that one's way of life/ culture is the best of all possible worlds. Since we live in a time of rapid social change causes distress.

5. A culture that places too much emphasis on "my heart is in the right place" than "I have a brain that can function beyond the rudimentary" excessively. too much emotion, too little intellect.

6. Ignorance of history and thus the ability to decipher how damn good things are right now for humanity in general compared to history. Overly pessimistic approach to problems though bad ideas by their very definition are unsustainable and tend to die out.

7. Unreasonable insistence that there should be no human misery or conflict, though some measure of this is inevitable. Unreasonable idea that large human problems say malnutrition can be fixed overnight, though it can only be a gradual process.

8. Inability to differentiate between relative and absolute deprivation. Relative deprivation by its very definition cannot be eliminated.Excessive insistence on fairness/equity in all aspects, though its the natural condition that people/things are unequal to a goodish extent.

9. Affinity for doomsday theories, OMG we are all gonna die! Society is going to hell. Apocalypse is coming unless we repent! Blah blah blah.

10. Faulty assumptions about stuff like economics, "if somebody is winning somebody else must be losing" (life is not a zero sum game!). "Rich are always bad and they exploit poor." "Unions are always bad." "The rich always get richer and poor get poorer." "Debt is always bad, me and my country should always be debt free."

11. "Humanity sucks coz they cant see the obvious truths that i do, I gotta save them, even if its from themselves against their will. Aah the burden I carry. Woe is me!"

12. "If I do my job well, I deserve stability, security, a house that always goes up in value, a few vacations, good health care and schooling and all other basic comforts of life. waaah I played by the rules but got laid off anyway.Life is so unfair waaaaah sob sob"

13. The Halo effect: A Nobel prize winner in physics says he wants to ban cucumbers since he believes cucumbers cause lung caner. He is a Nobel prize winner therefore he must be right. I have eaten thousands of cucumbers in my lifetime. I am so screwed (worry worry). Nomura is a smoking hot girl, Momura doesn't like me. since she is smoking hot, she must be a good judge of people. There is something wrong with me. (worry worry)

14. I am devoted to Cause X, Alice doesn't believe in Cause X. But I am good person, therefore Alice must be a bad person. There are so many bad people like Alice who don't believe in cause X. The world is full of bad people and we are going to hell in a hand basket (worry worry).

15. Inability to recognize the deuced difficulty of predicting future effects of events,and underestimating the effects of unintended consequences. Sometimes the happiest events at first glance tend to put events in motion that are disastrous, and vice versa.

16. Extrapolation: My career/ social life/ what have you sucks till now in spite of best efforts. therefore it will always suck. (worry worry)

So we should all relax, smile more and have a cocktail!

Sher

2010-01-20T07:36:00.001-08:00

Kyunkar aatish saari jawaani ro rokar gawaayi tune
Jab bhi husn ka hukum bajaya ishq ki thokar khayi tune

Why oh why "aatish" did you spend your entire youth crying away
Whenever you were a slave to Beauty, you were hurt by Love

Husn-e-Bekhabar (Unknowing Beauty)

2010-01-15T18:15:00.000-08:00

Nikle the tafreeh-e-gulistaan ko aatish par safar garmi-e-gard-e-sehra nikla
jise husn-e-bekhabar samjha tha dost zaalim husn-e-beparwaah nikla

I went for a stroll in the garden but the journey was through the dry burning desert
I thought Beauty was innocent and unknowing, but mistook cruel indifference as innocence

Couplet

2009-06-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

Aatish ka kaatil bhi hai wahiin jisne quais ko galgal-e-aam kiya
Husn ne chhupkar ghaat lagayi aur phir ishq ne kaam tamaam kiya

Quais - Majnoon

galgal-e-aam - giving bad repute

Sailaab-e-ishq

2009-01-26T19:13:00.000-08:00

Ranjish nahi dil ko koi sahaara nahi milta
bas sailaab-e-muhabbat ko kinaara nahi milta
chaand sitare falak pe jagmagate har shab
Chaudhviin ke chaand ka nazaara nahi milta

Couplet

2009-01-26T19:12:00.000-08:00

Lab pe tera naam aana jigar se intekaam hai
Tujhse bhi azeez mujhe tumhara naam hai

(Honestly this poem I dont remember whether I wrote myself or heard it somewhere)

Hisaab-e-Ishq (the Accounting of Love)

2009-01-26T19:07:00.000-08:00

Nafa na ho muhabbat me kabhi nuksaan nahi rehta
Gham-e-ishq ke siwa dil me koi samaan nahi rehta
Dard-e-hijr se guzar gaya jo jo shaksh
Zindagi me phir khauf ka gumaan nahi rehta

There is never loss in Love if there be no gain
Beyond Love's sorrow no sorrows remain
The one who has been parted with his beloved
Life poses no greater challenge to sustain

Shikwa with translation

2008-10-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

Shikwa (Complaint)

Illahi teri kudrat me aisa karishma kyun hota hai
jiska chehra phool sa ho dil patthar ka kyun hota hai

God in your Creation why are such miracles borne
Those with beautiful faces have a heart like a stone

Jawab-e-shikwa (God's Reply)

Kudrat hamari mukammal hai, iski hasti naznee(n) hain
Chehera gar phool sa ho to patthar ka dil lazmi hain.

My Creation is Perfect, Its Balance is sensitive
For a Beautiful face, a stony heart is imperative

Shikwa
nadaan ko jaha mein aksar shikast ka saamna hota hai
phir jazba-e-muhabbat jazba-e-masoom kyun hota hai.

The Innocent generally face failure in life,
Then why is Love the passion of the Innocent

Jawab-e-shikwa (God' Reply)

Sach hai jaam chhalakte hai dast-e-masoom ke paimanon se
soch samajh aashiq ho jae ummeed nahi sayanon se.

Its true that the Cup (of Victory) slips from Innocent hands
But if you were smart, you wouldn'nt fall in Love in the first place

Gham-e-ishq dardbhara ik raag purana hota hai
shikast-e-ishq ke baad hi masoom sayana hota hai.

The Sorrow of Love is an everlasting pain
But defeat in Love makes the Innocent an intelligent man

Shikast ho jae phir bhi hausle barkarar rakh,
khudi par bharosa kar khuda par aitbaar rakh.

Be not despondent in defeat, keep your spirits high
Keep faith in Self and God

phir girengi bijliyan kucch aur intezaar kar
lazim hai ab zara sayanon ki tarah pyaar kar.

Lightning will strike again, wait a little bit more
But this time Love intelligently

Shikwa
Khudaya aapki baat to dil ka bahlana lagta hai
sayanon ka ishq to mohabbat ka fasaana lagta hai.

Almighty your words sound like false consolation
And Intelligent Love, is that love at all?

Bigad gayi taqdeer jo wo phir kaha phirti hai
barak gir jae jaha dobara kaha girti hai.

Luck once turns bitter, does it ever turn?
Does Lightning strike the same place twice?

Ashk tham jate hain to dil lahoo rota hai
mukhtasar bhool saze-e-ta-umr kyun hota hain

When my tears stop, my heart cries tears of blood
Why do small mistakes result in lifelong punishment?

Jawab-e-shikwa

Gila taqdeer se baja hai shewa-e-chaman se to nahin
dil se masoomiyat chahti hai wafa zahan se to nahin.

God's Reply

The complaint against your luck is justified but not with the way of the world (shewa-e-chaman)
Love asks for an innocent heart, not naivete and innocence of the mind

Aata tumhe mohabbat ka shaoor akal nigahbaan bhi ho sakti thi
khafa tumse ho gai jo nigah-e-hoor meherbaan bhi ho sakti thi

If you knew the protocols of love, if your intellect could have been your guide and protector (nigahbaan) then..
The eyes of the beloved (nigaah-e-hoor) which flashed in disdain could have looked at you with fondness

Shahar-e-husn sarfaroshan ki aazmayish kadi hain
Inaam jannat-e-khwab hai to saza bhi badi hain

In the City of Beauty (shahr-e-husn), the lovelorn have to face tough challenges
And if the prize of success is paradise of your dreams (jannat-e-khwaab), the punishment for failure is severe too
(sarfaroshan literally means jo sar katwane/phodne ke liye nikle)

hamdard bhi hai hum tere mana kasak bhi tere pyaar mein
magar roothe mehboob ko manana nahi hamare ikhtiyaar mein.

Though I symathize with your plight and understand your pain
But even I (God) cannot make change the mind of an angry beloved (mehboob)

sangdili zeenat-e-husn hai is kadar barham na ho
zakhm-e-dil aisa bhi nahin jiska koi marham na ho

Cruelty (sangdili ya patthardili) is a glorious and becoming attribute of Beauty (zeenat-e-husn), But dont be upset so
The heart's wounds (zakhm-e-dil) are not such that that there is no balm (marham) for the soul

taqdeer ka phirna mumkin hai giraft-e-jazbaat se nikal
barak phir gir sakti hai agar husn ki barsaat me nikal

Its possible toi change your destiny, but break the chains of your (sad) emotions
Lightning (bark) can strike again, if you go out in the rain (husn ki barsaat literally is rain of beauty doesnt translate well)

Guzarish (Request)

malik ki baat sar aankhon par tabedaar karta hain
yakeen to nahi aata magar aitbaar karta hain

The Humble Servant (tabedaar) accepts the Master's words
Though I disbelieve but I trust all the same

Guzarish bas itni roz-e-hashr pe insaaf karna
jinse jaha me mil na sake jannat me milaap karna

My only request do Justice on Judgement Day
The one who I could not meet on Earth make her mine in Heaven

Tamam Shud (Thats It)

Bebasi-e-ishq (The Helplessness of Love)

2008-02-16T23:31:00.000-08:00

Dil hai beqasoor tere jalwon ki khata hai
Bebasi ka matlab har aashiq ko pata hai
Toofanon par bas aatishfishaan par kaabu
insaan ki nahin farishton ki adaa hai

aatishfishaan- volcano

Ek aur sher

2008-01-12T23:03:00.000-08:00

On Jealousy:

zulfon se khelkar aariz-o-lab choom kar gayi
ranjish mujhe us jhoke se tujhko chhoo kar gayi

It played with your hair and brushed your cheeks
I am jealous of the gust of wind that blew near you

New couplet

2007-10-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

New couplet i randomly thought of....

Tere husn me simat gayi hai kudrat ki har masti
jhalak bhar jo deedar hue chha gayi sarmasti

The tide

2007-09-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

Chaand ki kashish se samandar madd-o-jazr hai
badi door tak yaaron mohabbat ka asar hai

The attraction of the moon makes the oceans ebb and flow
Lo! To what a great distance Love affects the lovelorn

On freckles

2007-09-30T14:51:00.001-07:00

I have always found freckles to be rather cute and attractive. So here is my tribute to the freckled :)

Shab-e-firoz ka noor barsaana har haseena ka bhi saubhaag nahi
Wo husn bhi kaise mahrukh ho gar chaand se mukh par daag nahi

To glow with the radiance of the moonlit nights is rare even for the beautiful
How can Beauty have a "moon-like face" if she doesn't have freckles (like the full moon)

Baat se baat chale

2007-06-30T22:04:00.001-07:00

Poetic ideas are sometimes derived from other works.

This is a couplet I am pretty proud of taking a thought from a great poet and developing it a bit.

This is the original from Maninder Singh Bedi

Hua jo teer-e-nazar neemkash to kya haasil
Mazaa to jab hai jo seene ke aarpaar chale

If the arrow of her glance is lodged in my heart no matter
The fun begins if it goes through and through

Now here is mine:

Armaan hai maidaan-e-wafaa me apna bhi ik mazaar ho
Bashart bas ki zakhm-e-dil seene ke aarpaar ho

I wish to have my grave in the Garden of Love
Only if the wound in my heart is through and through

Jigar Muradabadi

2007-06-10T00:37:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of couplets from the chap who is considered the greatest ghazal writer of all time. Jigar. (He also has the dubious distinction of consuming alcohol at a rate that was simply astounding for a good part of his adult life.) Few can match him for depth of thought, lyricism and technical mastery.

Love's success

Allah agar Taufeeq na de insaan ke bas ka kaam nahi nahiin
Faizaan-e-mohabbat aam to hai Irfaan-e-mohabbat aam nahiin

If God doesnt grant him wisdom, man cannot succeed (in love)
Falling in love is commonplace, to recognize love requires divine grace

3 more outstanding couplets (translating them is deuced diff)

use haal-o-kaal se waasta na garaz mukaam-o kyaam se
jise koi nisbat-e-khaas ho tere husn-e-bark-ekhiraam se

na garaz kisi se na waasta mujhe kaam apne hi kaam se
tere zikr se teri fikr se teri yaad se tere naam se

teri subah-e-aish hai kya bala tujhe ai falak jo ho hausla
kabhi kar ke aakar muqaabla gham-e-hijr-e-yaar ki shaam se

And finally Jigar on Wine

Mujhe uthane ko aaya hai ai waaiz-e-nadaan
jo uth sake to mera saagar-e-sharaab utha
kidhar se bark chamakti hai dehe ai waaiz
mai apna jaam uthaata hoon tu kitaab utha

(You have come to uplift me o silly priest
if u can uplift hold my wine flask
We will see where God's Divine light glows (reference to Mount Sinai/Moses)
You lift your Book and I lift my wine glass

The Secret Of Love

2007-03-12T22:19:00.000-07:00

Raaz-e-Ishq

Shamma khud jalti hai uska yehi hai kaam
abas parwaanon ne use kiya hai badnaam
Kamaal-e-Husn se hai waakif har koi
Raaz-e-Ishq nahi bayaan hota sar-e-aam.

The Taper burns tis her nature to be aflame
Alas! the moths give it a bad name
Of the Wonder of Beauty everyone knows
The Secret of Love not common proclaim

The taper and the moth are common allegories for beauty and love. The moths linger around the flame only to be burnt.

The New World Order

2007-03-10T10:19:00.000-08:00

This is a Rubaai (quatrain), that I dreamt up a few years ago. It was inspired by the Agni missile series, because all said and done what separates the men from the boys is the size of their toys. The aatish-e-parwaaz in the Rubaai is the fire aflight (Agni - fire).

Here is a brief desciption of a Rubaii.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubai

And this is a link to the rubaii

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE5-1/edit.html

Atish.

A ghazal

2007-03-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

Ya to tum hui hogi ya koi tumsa hua hoga
Noor-e-husn se gumaa(n) toor ka jalwa hua hoga.

ye nazuki-e-kamaal nahii(n) kudrat ke haath mein
tujhko jisne banaya dast-e-khuda hua hoga.

karte hai Shireen ka zikr hota hai Farhad ka bayaan
na haseen tum si hui hogi na aashiq hum sa hua hoga

sharma kar chaand chhup gaya hai badalo(n) mein
shayad tumhara ghar se nikalna hua hoga.

Tujhe dekhkar jo shaksh dil ko na thaam le
Koi bedil-o-benazar ya farishta hua hoga.

Bhool jae tujhe magar dil jo hai yakeen
nahin kabhi kahi koi tumsa hua hoga.

is gali mein phool khilte hai mausam-bemausam
kisi aashiq ka janaza guzra hua hoga.

Rangeen mehfilo(n) mein aatish ko dhundte ho,
kahi tanha gham-e-ishq mein rota hua hoga.

(Toor ka jalwa is the divine light Prophet Moses saw on Mount Toor)
(Dast-e-Khuda is the hand of God)

The Greatest day in the History of Man

2007-03-07T22:39:00.000-08:00

The Greatest Day in the History of Man

is Today.

Beyond all reasonable doubt, Todayless people are poor, illiterate, unemployed, malnutritioned, suffering, diseased, dying in war, suffering from racial, gender, ethnic or social discrimination than any other time in the history of Man.

Dont believe me?

check this out www.gapminder.com

We are in the middle of a great surge in global productivity, growth and empowerment.

The media is omnipresent and brings us disturbing images and numbers from around the world with increasing efficiency, and it is often mistaken for regression.

And the great thing is, Tomorrow will be an even better day and the record will be broken.

Atish.

New couplet

2007-03-06T23:45:00.000-08:00

gham-e-zeest fikr-e-duniya se kahii azaad na kar de
ai gham-e-ishq tu mujhe kahii barbaad na kar de

gham is sorrow but also denotes emotion/occupation.

A couple of light couplets

2007-03-06T22:39:00.000-08:00

These are a few couplets, a little light in tone. I have felt that popular Hindi/Urdu poetry delves a little too deep into mournfulness and despair. So these are bittersweet, where a chap can look at a painful situation with self effacing humor.

Jabse tujhe dekha sanam jeena mera muhaal hai
tere bagair zindagi jaise namak bina daal hai

Since I have seen you my Love life has come to a halt
Living without you is like sipping soup without salt

To those who think above one is pure humor, sip some daal when the cook has forgotten to add salt, and then imagine a lifetime so.

The next one is based on a true ironic moment when the beloved did ask me "why do you look so upset, what's wrong with you?" (husn vakai kabhi kabhi bada bekhabar hota hai). I was debating whether I should laugh or cry (I laughed, cant cry in public).

Wo aakar humse pooche gamgeen-o-hairaan kyun ho
Goya pareshaani pareshaan se pooche pareshaan kyun ho.

She came and enquired today why I look sad and forlorn
As if Trouble asks the Miserable the reason for his Misery

Foreign Policy Stuff 2

2007-02-28T23:34:00.000-08:00

Here ia a paper that reflects on the second foreign obsession of thinking Indians (for the first see Foreign Policy stuff 1 post)

This one is also dated, written in 2003, and thankfully subsequent events have toned down some of the risks mentioned here, and the whole US India relationship has been substantially improved, nay transformed by Maryada Purushottam George W Bush Ji (on why I call him that I will explain in a later post).

A little caveat, I use the term realim here to denote enlightened national self interest, rather than any particular school of thought. In fact when I wrote this I was not aware that there are multiple theories of revolving around realism, with many variations. Frankly I find it tough to read too many theoretical books on such topics, so this is the opinion of an amateur observer only.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE5-4/nandv.html

Article Reviews

Building a New Partnership with India, Teresita Schaeffer, The Washington Quarterly, Spring 2002 http://www.twq.com/02spring/schaffer.pdf

Teresita Schaffer deserves to be commended for writing a fairly comprehensive account of the major factors affecting Indo–US relations. She has made an accurate diagnosis of the variables that might affect the trajectory of this relationship and the challenges therein. She has refrained from making any major controversial suggestions on how US policy (or India’s policy) should be molded to accommodate the challenges.

At the very outset, she states that the US-India relationship cannot be an alliance but a selective partnership based on realism and candor, and based on specific areas of common interest. This is an accurate statement. An alliance between India and the US resembling the US-British relationship is not feasible. The natural and perceived interests of large civilization states often diverge. Due to the much stronger economic, military and diplomatic power of the US, such a relationship would only be possible with India assuming the position of a de facto vassal state, which its size and civilizational memory would not allow it to do.

Though realism is foreign affairs is an unquestionable truism, its importance in this context needs to be highlighted. Both states have been guilty of ignoring this principle. India adopted moralistic and sometimes reactionary anti-Americanism at times. Washington has been guilty of letting bilateral ties languish due to a distorted vision through a cold war prism, and a lack of sufficient understanding of and sensitivity towards India. Important areas of cooperation remained untapped due to Washington’s insistence on issues like nuclear non-proliferation, though it was simply beyond its power to undermine Indian consensus on the issue. Subsequent acceptance of India’s nuclear weapons by the US, and India’s strong (and lonely) support of the AMD program also indicates a welcome growing maturity on both sides.

The paper goes on to list important changes in India and Asia that affect the relationship, and is largely accurate in these assessments. These include the higher growth and size of the Indian economy. The greater interdependence between the Indian and US economies due to higher participation of multinationals in the Indian economy and the strong growth of the IT sector. The decline of the preeminence of the Congress Party and the era of the coalition politics is also mentioned.

India requires a broader range of relationships since it cannot depend on the strong political support of a weakened Russia. India is the predominant military power in the subcontinent and the largest military power between the Persian Gulf and East Asia, two major centers of US military presence. The prevailing situation opens up important areas of military cooperation. India’s overt nuclearization has also focused US interest in the area. It is a welcome development that US has matured its attitude to India’s nuclearization and India to greater US military presence in Asia.

The paper goes on to detail the importance of Indian economic growth, the ideology and dynamics of major political groups, internal economic situation, and the dynamics of India’s interests and relations with other countries, to the Indo US relationship.

An important assertion that Schaffer makes is that US should accommodate India into the club of nations that manage the nuclear non-proliferation regime. This is a welcome suggestion since India’s record on non-proliferation is superior to acknowledged Nuclear Weapon states such as China. The denial of NWS status makes little difference to the ground realities, and is an unnecessary irritant. The other important policy suggestions are increased military and economic cooperation in the Persian Gulf and Asia Pacific region.

The paper rejects the possibility of an anti-China axis between the US and India as impractical, and makes reasonable and valid arguments for the same.

The denial of critical defense and dual use technologies by the US to India is a major irritant in bilateral ties. The decline of the Russian armament supplies to India opens opportunities to expand the defense trade between the two countries. However the paper refrains from suggesting any changes in US policy on the issue.

Schaffer succeeds in identifying the fundamental difference in worldview between the two countries. While the US interest is to consolidate its role as the world’s sole superpower, India desires an increasingly multipolar world with itself as a major pole. The shadow of Indo-Pakistan tension over Kashmir looms large over the relationship. While the diagnosis is accurate, the prognosis is vague and unclear. The paper suggests a “sustained and sophisticated US diplomatic strategy” to defuse the situation. There is very little in terms of policy suggestion. Though the paper does suggest that Pakistan has to be pressured to stop cross border terrorism, it qualifies this assertion by saying that it might be difficult to persuade Pakistan to do the same.

Unfortunately, this single issue has the potential to overshadow all other recent positive developments and opportunities. The failure (or reluctance) of the US to force Pakistan’s hand on the terrorism issue is an overriding factor in the minds for the Indian establishment. This fact, coupled with the acknowledged difference in worldviews, and the denial of critical defense technologies suggest a strategy of containment against India. The motives of the US in this regard are irrelevant, since there is a growing view among the Indian security establishment of Pakistan as a US (and Chinese) client state to contain India.

For Indians, the acknowledgement of Pakistan as a “frontline ally against terrorism” is a ludicrous ‘Alice in Wonderland’ scenario. From India’s point of view, the US has been guilty of disregarding India’s legitimate concerns over terrorism, and equating the aggressor and victim by hyphenating its relationship with India and Pakistan.

Though the imperative for an alliance with Pakistan can be justified and understood as a tactical necessity, the opacity of US intentions towards Iraq, and its inconsistent stand towards WMD and nuclear technology transfers vis-à-vis North Korea and China is viewed negatively in India. The perception of India as “Morality without Strength” is reciprocated with a perception of the US as “Strength without Morality”. This is an unfortunate scenario that should be addressed by both countries at the diplomatic level, even if overall geopolitical policies remain unchanged.

The danger is that the success of present US policy is predicated to an acceptance of the status quo from India. If India decides to disregard US concerns and assurances, takes a proactive approach and precipitates direct military action against Pakistan, the entire edifice of US foreign policy in the region would come crumbling down.

Support for the military option has been growing steadily in India, with major provocative events such as the Kargil War of 1999, 9/11 and the attack on the Indian Parliament in Dec 2001. Some terrorist groups have been displaying increasing autonomy in their actions, sometimes defying the will of Islamabad. With Indians losing faith in Pakistani assurances and American guarantees, a major attack such as the one on Parliament would make the military option politically imperative, especially if a government with weak nationalist credentials is in power, the threat of nuclear escalation notwithstanding.
In conclusion, the paper is lucidly written and an important and comprehensive account of the gamut of factors affecting the US and India bilateral relationship. However its use as a policy paper is limited since it does not venture any major innovations in policy by either country.

Zaroorat-e-Ishq (The Need for Love)

2007-02-28T23:10:00.000-08:00

Zaroorat-e-Ishq

Khuda ne ishq ko bheja kyun
Qayamat ka andaaz ho jaaye
Lutf-e-jannat chakh le insaan
Dard-e-dozakh bardaasht ho jaaye

The following is a rough translation:

The Need for Love

Why did God send Love on Earth
To prepare man for Judgement Day
To give a glipmse of the pleasures of Heaven
And to prepare him for the torments of Hell

Love's Empire

2007-02-28T23:00:00.000-08:00

I found this awesome quatrain by Samuel Coleridge (the opening Lines of his nazm "Love"

All thoughts, all passions, all delights,
Whatever stirs this mortal frame,
All are but ministers of Love,
And feed his sacred flame.

This was such good stuff that I decided to translate it into Hindi as best as I could, and went on to write a few more rubaaiis on simlilar topics. I did make an attempt to transate the whole thing, but my God, its impossible to rhyme "Genevive" in Hindi. And it started sounding atrocious in parts. On the advise of my sister, I gave up that venture. But this one below came out rather well I think.

To Begin with here is my translation of Ustad Coleridge.

Huqumat-e-Ishq
Har lutf har khayaal har junoon
Har cheez jo dil ko lubhati hai
Sab ishq ki shamma ka idhan hai
Aur ishq ka huqum bajati hai.

A Contrarian View on Serbia, Bosnia et al

2007-02-27T19:34:00.000-08:00

Please note I neither endorse nor necessarily believe in the information in the link below. But it does make one think.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/02/the_straight_story_on_yugoslav_1.html

On wine and drinking

2007-02-26T21:39:00.000-08:00

A couplet on wine, and the proper way to drink

Hosh me na aa jaaoon na bahosh rah sakoon
bas itna pila saqiya madhosh rah sakoon

Leave me neither senseless nor let in my senses be
Just pour me enough O Saqi I lie somewhere between

Saqi - winebearer

A very funny contrarian view

2007-02-26T21:24:00.000-08:00

President of Czech Republic Calls Man-Made Global Warming a 'Myth' - Questions Gore's Sanity

Czech president Vaclav Klaus has criticized the UN panel on global warming, claiming that it was a political authority without any scientific basis.

In an interview with "Hospodárské noviny", a Czech economics daily, Klaus answered a few questions:

Q: IPCC has released its report and you say that the global warming is a false myth. How did you get this idea, Mr President?•

A: It's not my idea. Global warming is a false myth and every serious person and scientist says so. It is not fair to refer to the U.N. panel. IPCC is not a scientific institution: it's a political body, a sort of non-government organization of green flavor. It's neither a forum of neutral scientists nor a balanced group of scientists. These people are politicized scientists who arrive there with a one-sided opinion and a one-sided assignment. Also, it's an undignified slapstick that people don't wait for the full report in May 2007 but instead respond, in such a serious way, to the summary for policymakers where all the "but's" are scratched, removed, and replaced by oversimplified theses.• This is clearly such an incredible failure of so many people, from journalists to politicians. If the European Commission is instantly going to buy such a trick, we have another very good reason to think that the countries themselves, not the Commission, should be deciding about similar issues.•

Q: How do you explain that there is no other comparably senior statesman in Europe who would advocate this viewpoint? No one else has such strong opinions...•

A: My opinions about this issue simply are strong. Other top-level politicians do not express their global warming doubts because a whip of political correctness strangles their voice.

• Q: But you're not a climate scientist. Do you have a sufficient knowledge and enough information?•

A: Environmentalism as a metaphysical ideology and as a worldview has absolutely nothing to do with natural sciences or with the climate. Sadly, it has nothing to do with social sciences either. Still, it is becoming fashionable and this fact scares me. The second part of the sentence should be: we also have lots of reports, studies, and books of climatologists whose conclusions are diametrally opposite.• Indeed, I never measure the thickness of ice in Antarctica. I really don't know how to do it and don't plan to learn it. However, as a scientifically oriented person, I know how to read science reports about these questions, for example about ice in Antarctica. I don't have to be a climate scientist myself to read them. And inside the papers I have read, the conclusions we may see in the media simply don't appear. But let me promise you something: this topic troubles me which is why I started to write an article about it last Christmas. The article expanded and became a book. In a couple of months, it will be published. One chapter out of seven will organize my opinions about the climate change.• Environmentalism and green ideology is something very different from climate science. Various findings and screams of scientists are abused by this ideology.•

Q: How do you explain that conservative media are skeptical while the left-wing media view the global warming as a done deal?•

A: It is not quite exactly divided to the left-wingers and right-wingers. Nevertheless it's obvious that environmentalism is a new incarnation of modern leftism.•

Q: If you look at all these things, even if you were right ...•

A: ...I am right...•

Q: Isn't there enough empirical evidence and facts we can see with our eyes that imply that Man is demolishing the planet and himself?•

A: It's such a nonsense that I have probably not heard a bigger nonsense yet.•

Q: Don't you believe that we're ruining our planet?•

A: I will pretend that I haven't heard you. Perhaps only Mr Al Gore may be saying something along these lines: a sane person can't. I don't see any ruining of the planet, I have never seen it, and I don't think that a reasonable and serious person could say such a thing. Look: you represent the economic media so I expect a certain economical erudition from you. My book will answer these questions. For example, we know that there exists a huge correlation between the care we give to the environment on one side and the wealth and technological prowess on the other side. It's clear that the poorer the society is, the more brutally it behaves with respect to Nature, and vice versa.• It's also true that there exist social systems that are damaging Nature - by eliminating private ownership and similar things - much more than the freer societies. These tendencies become important in the long run. They unambiguously imply that today, on February 8th, 2007, Nature is protected uncomparably more than on February 8th ten years ago or fifty years ago or one hundred years ago.• That's why I ask: how can you pronounce the sentence you said? Perhaps if you're unconscious? Or did you mean it as a provocation only? And maybe I am just too naive and I allowed you to provoke me to give you all these answers, am I not? It is more likely that you actually believe what you say.

Foreign policy stuff

2007-02-26T21:10:00.000-08:00

It is said that the thinking Indian has 3 foreign obsessions - Pakistan, PRC and the US. Of these, US and Pakistan are well understood due to deep cultural and/or historical ties, while PRC remains largely unknown (to most).

I tried to summarise my thoughts on the known obsessions in a couple of review articles that contain a distillation of what I have read and experienced ove the years. The primary reason for writing review papers rather than new papers is to escape the necessity of indexing a bibliography which takes 4 times as much time as writing a short paper.

The following is a review of a paper by Stephen Cohen "The Nation and the State of Pakistan". It was written in 2002, but is still largely applicable.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE5-1/nandv.html

The Nation and the State of Pakistan

Stephen Phillip Cohen, The Washington Quarterly, Summer 2002, pp 109-122.

Steven Philip Cohen is a prominent South Asia “expert”. It may be pertinent to note at the outset that there are no prominent US experts in India or South Asia experts in the United Kingdom. The prominence of individual experts is a phenomenon that arises only when there is a lack of understanding among the decision-making intelligentsia of another country or region. Therefore individuals like Cohen have significant influence on US policy for the decision makers are dependent to an extent on their input.

Cohen provides a largely accurate narrative of the short history of Pakistan and its current sociopolitical environment. His fundamental premise is that Pakistan is too large a state to be allowed to fail.

However his paper contradicts itself at many points. These contradictions are consistent with the inherent contradictions of the idea of Pakistan itself. It will be difficult for any scholar to remain consistent and argue against the failure of Pakistan. For a state to be saved from failure, it is necessary that it should not have failed already. Cohen defines state failure as a country where security, human services, justice and basic necessities are not provided. He also says that the ideological failure is a subjective and contentious topic, and thereby skirts the problematic issue. It is implicit in these statements that Cohen believes ideological failure is distinct from institutional failure. In other words a nation can exist and succeed in an ideological vacuum. He fails to address the fundamental question of how a state can exist without an identity for its citizens or a raison d’etre. Nor does he suggest any mechanism for forging a new Pakistani identity. In fact he is extremely despondent about that occurring in the foreseeable future.

Cohen’s idea of Pakistan:

Cohen states that Pakistan was created to protect Muslims from intolerance and bigotry of the Hindu majority. And to serve as a “beacon” for oppressed Muslims around the world. He draws an analogy with the state of Israel. It is a tenuous analogy.

It is not clear how Indian Muslims suffered intolerance and bigotry from India’s Hindu majority akin to what the Jews suffered around the world. After all unlike Jews, Muslims were well represented in the armed forces, judiciary and the bureaucracy in British India, and had strong organized political associations. At worst there was an apprehension of intolerance from the Hindu majority in an independent India. It is also unclear how Cohen gets the idea that Pakistan was to serve as a “beacon” for oppressed Muslims around the world. Unlike Israel Pakistan does not allow oppressed Muslims to seek refuge in Pakistan. Cohen makes no attempt to explain this assertion. The only statement he makes is that Pakistan aspired to be a leader of Islamic states. There is nothing extraordinary or laudatory about this ambition. Every state of substantial size aspires for global leadership and great power status. Also Israel apart from being a Jewish homeland is also an immigrant state. The immigrant adopts Israel as his country, Hebrew as his language and gradually assimilates into an Israeli identity. The Pakistani still defines his identity from his linguistic, regional, religious (Islamic) sect, and tribal affiliations. The events of 1971 and subsequent political movements in Sindh, Balochistan, NWFP and the Mohajir movement have amply demonstrated this.

Cohen accepts that the fundamental premise behind the creation of Pakistan was the Two Nation Theory that states Hindus and Muslims are two separate nations that cannot live together.

After the creation of Bangladesh it was clear that Islam alone couldn’t be the binding factor for a linguistically and ethnically diverse people such as the subcontinent’s Muslims. As long as India exists and matures into an increasingly prosperous and liberal state, and India’s Muslims continue to thrive and prosper in a democratic secular India, in a largely peaceful if occasionally fractious relationship with the Hindu majority, there is no justification for Pakistan to exist. The present day Pakistan is just the antithesis of India. Continuous conflict with India is its only source of unity.

Cohen seems to be mesmerized by what he claims was Jinnah’s vision of a liberal, democratic and moderate homeland for ‘some of India’s Muslims’. He also suggests that it is because of the fact that Pakistan has drifted away from Jinnah’s vision that it has come to its present sorry state. He does not recognize that Jinnah himself was unable to provide a liberal and democratic setup for Pakistan in his lifetime. His insistence on the imposition of Urdu as the national language on Bengalis and other linguistic minorities cannot be condoned as a democratic move. Cohen refuses to acknowledge that the Two Nation theory is in fundamental conflict with the principles of liberty and democracy.

In the later chapters of the report, Cohen’s definition of state failure seems to change to one of territorial integrity, rather than the security and welfare of its citizens. His main argument against disintegration of Pakistan is that it could cause unforeseen calamities to the entire region, and the nuclear weapons could be lost to rogue states or terrorist elements. However Cohen himself acknowledges that Pakistan is unlikely to change it policy of a hopeless vendetta against India in Kashmir and elsewhere. In other words he finds sustained terrorism against India as an acceptable price for some unforeseen threats that might emerge from Pakistan’s disintegration. He ignores various polls in Pakistan by multinational agencies that most Pakistanis prioritize economic growth, education, civic amenities and governance above Kashmir as a national priority. In doing so, he accepts the Pakistani Army’s stance on Kashmir as representative of the people of Pakistan. The Kashmir mission is undoubtedly a necessity for the Army to legitimize its hold to power.

Cohen then gives a vague recommendation that US must keep assisting Pakistan and build its institutions. He also suggests that US should attempt to bolster education, and counter propaganda against India, and against the US and its allies. He does not provide further details on the mechanism for this policy. It can be assumed that he proposes US support for the dispensation in power, i.e., the Pakistani Army to this end. Here he contradicts his own statement that the Army would not be willing to change anti-India policies.

In conclusion Cohen presents a good primer about the history of Pakistan and the prevailing social and political situation. He also provides a good background in Pakistan’s ideological moorings and the problems therein. However his only policy recommendation seems to be the continuation of the status quo, with peripheral modifications. There is no road map for his personal objective of a moderate, modern, Muslim state. It is possible that he does not recognize the inherent fallacy of the Two Nation Theory for he seems to be a believer himself. His policy suggestions do not attack the fundamental problems with Pakistan. The term ‘appeasement’ immediately comes to mind. It seems to lack the vision or courage to suggest a proactive policy that would defuse the threats the present incarnation of Pakistan presents to the world at large, and India and the US in particular.

Shikwa (Complaint)

2007-02-25T22:32:00.000-08:00

This poem is inspired by Iqbal's Shikwa and Jawaab-e-Shikwa. It is a list of my complaints to God about the inevitable tragedy of inncocent Love and God's explanation to why all is exactly as it should be.

I am apprehensive to translate it for a larger audience, since my limited abilities at translation might ruin it completely.

SHIKWA

Illahi teri kudrat me aisa karishma kyun hota hai,
Jinke chehere phool se ho, dil patthar ka kyun hota hai.

Jawab-e-shikwa

Kudrat hamari mukammal hai, iski hasti naznee(n) hain
Chehera gar phool sa ho to patthar ka dil lazmi hain.

Shikwa
nadaan ko jaha mein aksar shikast ka saamna hota hai
phir jazba-e-muhabbat jazba-e-masoom kyun hota hai.

Jawab-e-shikwa

Sach hai jaam chhalakte hai dast-e-masoom ke paimanon se
soch samajh aashiq ho jae ummeed nahi sayanon se.

Gham-e-ishq dardbhara ik raag purana hota hai
shikast-e-ishq ke baad hi masoom sayana hota hai.

Shikast ho jae phir bhi hausle barkarar rakh,
khudi par bharosa kar khuda par aitbaar rakh.

phir girengi bijliyan kucch aur intezaar kar
lazim hai ab zara sayanon ki tarah pyaar kar.

Shikwa
Khudaya aapki baat to dil ka bahlana lagta hai
sayanon ka ishq to mohabbat ka fasaana lagta hai.

Bigad gayi taqdeer jo wo phir kaha phirti hai
barak gir jae jaha dobara kaha girti hai.

Ashk tham jate hain to dil lahoo rota hai
mukhtasar bhool saze-e-ta-umr kyun hota hain

Jawab-e-shikwa

Gila taqdeer se baja hai shewa-e-chaman se to nahin
dil se masoomiyat chahti hai wafa zahan se to nahin.

Aata tumhe mohabbat ka shaoor akal nigahbaan bhi ho sakti thi
khafa tumse ho gai jo nigah-e-hoor meherbaan bhi ho sakti thi

Shahar-e-husn sarfaroshan ki aazmayish kadi hain
Inaam jannat-e-khwab hai to saza bhi badi hain

hamdard bhi hai hum tere mana kasak bhi tere pyaar mein
magar roothe mehboob ko manana nahi hamare ikhtiyaar mein.

sangdili zeenat-e-husn hai is kadar barham na ho
zakhm-e-dil aisa bhi nahin jiska koi marham na ho

taqdeer ka phirna mumkin hai giraft-e-jazbaat se nikal
barak phir gir sakti hai agar husn ki barsaat me nikal.

Guzarish

malik ki baat sar aankhon par tabedaar karta hain
yakeen to nahi aata magar aitbaar karta hain

Guzarish bas itni roz-e-hashr pe insaaf karna
jinse jaha me mil na sake jannat me milaap karna

A few thoughts on poetry and poets

2007-02-25T22:04:00.000-08:00

Accha shayar hone ke liye, khusoonan accha ishqiya shayra hone ke liye zaroori hai ki uske kabhi bepanaah ishq ho jaaye. Aur bhi accha ho ki ishq pehle iktarfa ho, magar phir dotarfa hokar kamyaab ho jaaye. Aur behter yehi ki phir wahi ishq barbaad ho jaaye aur ek dardnaak judaai ka waakya guzre. Is tarah shayar ka ishq ki sab rangeen tasweer se ikhtiyar ho jayega.

Magar mujhpe jo guzri wo faiz ahmed faiz ki zindagi se kaafi milti julti hai. When he went to college in Lahore he later said: " In this atmosphere there was also the wonder of the beginning of love but we had just a glimpse of this period, when we reached the end of love's companionship. "

So all my poetic attempts are based on such a glimpse, a mere whiff of Love's glory.
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To be a good poet, particularly to be a good romantic poet, it is preferable that one falls helplessly into love. Ideally love should be initially unrequited but ultimately successful. And then the whole affair ends tragically with a painful period of loss and parting. In this way, the poet would become familar with all different shades of love's experience.

But whether it be my misfortune or good fortune, all that happened to me is similar to the experience of Faiz Ahmed Faiz' experience during his college days: " In this atmosphere there was also the wonder of the beginning of love but we had just a glimpse of this period, when we reached the end of love's companionship. "

So all my poetic attempts are based on such a glimpse, a mere whiff of Love's glory.