Interesting book--

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/EBOOKS/pfs.pdf

i read this today. i skipped half the chapters that did not interest me but i plan to return to them shortly. thanks for posting this link. this is a good book. a few observations:

- pakistan is a hollow state with no weapons (only generals), no economy, no industries, no infrastructure and no literacy. if india invaded pakistan, it would collapse -- a very eerie thought indeed. we are still stuck in the 1947 refrain and think of pakistan (in our psyche) as an adversary worthy of respect or trepidation. there was no need for indians to rejoice over the kargil victory -- it was a fait accompli. india has the wherewithal but not the maturity in international politics to invade pakistan. china and USA have already invaded and are fighting for space there -- not necessarily by design but this does mean that india now stands excluded. USA and china, both, have a sizable presence of their military in pakistan. baloochistan, fata, wazaristan and pok, which comprise 50% of pakistan's land (if not more) are out of the administration of the pakistan military and govt. this land is up for grabs now -- for the USA and china -- and this is the STARK reality as the author mentions in his concluding remarks. pakistan army and govt. rule only over punjab and sind! baloochistan, a big landmass, has natural resources (afghanistan too!). pok can perhaps be excluded as something already grabbed by china and china can perhaps be excluded from this equation but india is nowhere in this equation. overtures to afghanistan by india are too little too late.

- the author ascribes the two nation theory to the muslim league and to the founder fathers of the aligarh movement et al. i would think it was something largely precipitated by the british -- the communal divide i mean. the muslim league was their puppet. the british were wary of the hindu elite in bengal, who, they felt could foment an anti-raj movement. the muslims, socially, never stressed on education or learning (the western sciences or philosophy). so the british, after the mutiny (or first indian war for independence), thought it necessary to divide bengal, especially bengal, where they anticipated trouble, along communal lines. they thought the illiterate muslims would not support the hindus for two reasons now at least. and they were right! that led to the first division of bengal in 1905. ironically, the muslim league got it's sizeable representation, in the constituent assembly i think, through east bengal (where they got overwhelming votes/representation). the muslim league did not enjoy sanction from any other province. or, at the very least, despite being in the constituent assembly, the muslim league had governance only over bengal during the transition of power period but nowhere else. it was also in east bengal, in noakhali, where the largest carnage or pogrom of hindus took place in 1946, under the rule and blessings of the muslim league and british (tacit) governance, that propelled the muslim league into national consciousness. about how 26/11 or babri masjid or godhra propelled things into national consciousness. noakhali was a deliberate program. all hindus were exterminated in that large district -- the few that escaped were not appeased or convinced by gandhi's visit and fled to assam and tripura. calcutta riots preceded noakhali by a few days but the number of dead were few in comparison and they were from both sides -- the non muslim league administration did not turn a blind eye! but noakhali brought congress to its knees. it agreed for a partition. these events are important 'cos they were carefully cultivated and orchestrated, by the british, and they had the desired effect. eventually the punjabi-pathan army of pakistan would sideline jinnah and democracy and a few decades later east bengal would secede. my point is that while the author recognises that the british cultivated (this still existing) sense of racial superiority among the punjabi-pathan army of pakistan (thorough a martial race status bestowed on them to overpower the brahmin mangal pandeys), they also cultivated this sense of communal difference and that their muslim or islam the religion was the one superior. the british were the real culprits. jinnah was only a puppet -- first used by the british and then the punjabi-pathan army. only gandhi realized the real danger. he was nobody's puppet. he spent four month in noakhali -- not doing dharna but walking through villages. but he died.

- some parts of the book are outright hilarious. they made me laugh so hard that i had to stop reading and lie down to wait for the mirth to abate. pakistan is the biggest joker state on this planet. i will quote now from the book:

pakistan army goes for a picnic in fata -

The Pakistan army actually entered the F.A.T.A. for the
first time in its history in 2002 on the pretext of
helping the US in its war on terror. In 2006 the same
army made an ignominious retreat from the area after
suffering hundreds of casualties, signing a peace deal
with the Taliban who control an area of the F.A.T.A.
called Waziristan (see map on page 136). The “peace deal”
(160) made by the Pakistani Army with people who are
supposed to be Pakistani citizens guarantees that the
Pakistani army will never return to Waziristan and a
return of confiscated weapons, as well as the payment of
reparations for damage. This has been described as a defacto
acceptance of an independent “Islamic Emirate of
Waziristan” – ruled by the Taliban, in an area that
serves as a safe harbor for the Al Qaeda and other
assorted Islamist militia personnel.

pakistan wants to stand up, walk out of south asia and merge into central asia -

And while some Pakistanis have reacted to India with this
degree of hatred and suspicion, others try to urge
Pakistan to virtually move out of the Indian subcontinent
into Central Asia or even the Middle East. Ahmad Quraish
wrote in the Pakistani paper the Nation (89):
...the following steps are necessary:
• Political: Pakistan's...ministries must...deemphasize
Pakistan's inclusion in South Asia and play up
Pakistan's role in Central and West Asia.
• Cultural: Islamabad's cultural cooperation with
West Asian and Central Asian countries must be
revitalized..
• Changing the name of Pakistan's national
monetary unit .. by adopting either the Riyal or the
Dinar..instead of the Rupee, which has exclusive Indian
connotations.
• Educational: The other major facets of
Pakistan's identity - the Arab, Persian, Turkic and
Central Asian - must be emphasized in our schoolbooks. If
this requires drafting new books on Pakistan studies, so
be it, and these must be compulsory reading for Pakistani
students

paki generals are supermen -

these military officers also have dangerously selfexaggerated
opinion of their capacities both in terms of
defence of the country's frontiers and their ability as
an organized body to fix all problems of the society.
Confidence in one's abilities, pride and constant
struggle to excel professionally are essential elements
of a good officer's corps. The problem starts when these
positive traits are stretched to unrealistic limits,
which now enter the zone of grandiose ideas and selfrighteousness.

and a very afraid icon now for the next excerpt -

The "smartly dressed, well spoken Pakistani men and women
that one may see on television" form a small, wealthy
elite group that have been described by the expression
"Rich, Anglophone, Pakistani Elite". As the description
suggests, they are rich, they speak English and they form
the elite, the cream of Pakistani society. They actually
form a very small minority, numbering perhaps 25,000 in
all. Most of the wealth, land and industries of Pakistan
are said to be concentrated among about 43 top families
of Pakistan, who, along with top army officers, form the
cream of Pakistan(4).

this extended family of 25,000 needs to be coup-ed and deposed.

it is also pertinent to note that it was on gandhi's express advice (from noakhali) that nehru dispatched his cabinet or ministers to the districts of bihar (and up) to warn hindus who were contemplating a reprisal with dire action. nehru wired gandhi within two days communicating that things were in control.

HK, this is nothing to do with the book or your review but just wanted to let you know that a "Rich, Anglophone, Pakistani Elite" introduced himself and chatted with me for quite some time yesterday. We had a pretty good conversation.

We are "acquaintances" now. I will update you if we become "friends".

LOL. if you ever get invited by him for dinner, do take pics. of the beef kebobs and post them here. then we all can learn about their cuisine.

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:LOL. if you ever get invited by him for dinner, do take pics. of the beef kebobs and post them here. then we all can learn about their cuisine.

Please also post detailed description about the attire. Particularly the bifurcation of lower body outer garments with respect to the number of limbs protuding out of each segment. Any resembalnce to lunig, lehngas should be carefully noted.