India/Pakistan

[Whickerman]

A colleague of mine (from India) states that it is her hope to one day see India and Pakistan being one country again.

Is this a naive fantasy or could it come to pass?

[heathfield]

Sadly, I don't think she'll live long enough to see it happen.

[jake-the-peg]

In 1987 I was working in Germany and I asked one of the guys why Bonn was such a small capital and why the Capital wasn't somewhere like Frankfurt.

He said it was because it was just filling time unti re-unification when Berlin would be the Capital again.

We had a good laugh then about how improbable that was and how we'd not live to see it.

The moral of the story is that the most improbable things happen in politics

Stranger things have happened

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44479000 /jpg/_44479170_paismcg203.jpg

see?

[danchip]

dont the majority of indians/pakistani's (hope that is the right word) hate each other

[jake-the-peg]

What more than Belfast Loyalists and republicans did?

[R1Geezer]

They are full of mad relgious nutters of all flavours. The main aim of pretty much any religion is division, war, pain and sufferring. So I'd have to say it's a bit of a long shot!

[JockSporran]

It's not a crazy idea at all. India and Pakistan were one country before British colonialism, after all. OK, it doesn't look like it's going to happen soon. But someday, maybe.

[keyplus90]

It is true that India & Pakistan were once one country. Any one who knows history knows how the minorities were treated then during Mughal empire and others. Since the division, here is how Muslims are living in India.

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


Pakistani�s surely do not want to be like that.

[jake-the-peg]

And I'm guessing they would reply with this link

http://www.hinduhumanrights.org/Pakistan/index .htm

and we all go around in the merry dance of factional division.

I don't think I'll live to see it but I said that about Germany

[Lonnie]

India and Pakistan one country again, I think its possible, but only after a major war, one that will draw in the rest of the world, and thats not too far off.

[keyplus90]

Jake - Website you gave me Hinduhumanrights tells me a lot.

I would expect a bit more credible evidence from someone like you.

[rojash]

I wonder why everyone seems to think that there's an apostrophe in the plural of Pakistani, but not that of Indian?

[adrenochrome]

It will never come to pass. It should also be remembered that India was created by the British, whereas prior to occupation it was numerous states each ruled by a Raj.
India has a very peaceful image in the West, largely due to Mahatma Gandhi's approach of non-violent action. However, the truth is very different. There is an extremist Hindi right within India, and life outside the major cities is very different to life in Mumbai etc. 1000s of Indian Christians have been raped and/or murdered by Hindi fundamentalists, and the government has embraced the American/British anti-Islam approach to politics.
Pakistan and Bangladesh are both Islamic states, and are about as likely to join with India under a Hindi government as America is likely to become a Shinto state, praying and idolising the Japanese Emperor. Why should they give up the independence that they fought hard for?
Does your friend say that she would be happy to have a re-unified India with Islam as its ruling religion? I bet she hopes for a unified Hindi India. Ask her.

[Rosetta]

keyplus, there are often more than one perspective on a situation as complex as relationships between India and Pakistan and both you and Jake concentrated on one different aspect, both have some validity.

It does however demonstrate the tit for tat thinking that underlines the distrust between the nations. With religious polarity increasing, or so it seems to me, reunification seems a distant goal

[luxury]

Hi Whickerman,

Wouldn't it be beautiful to see peace everywhere.

Your dear friend wants the same as Ghandi wanted way back.....

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

Who's taking up the fight now???

[123everton]

Yes it is and no it won't.

[123everton]

Ok I've read through it now, constitutionally India is secular.
At the time of partition there were attrocities on both sides and against themselves (many murderered their own sisters to prevent them from getting raped) Bangldesh's indepence was guaranteed by India (Indira Ghandhi I think) so that's a little less unthinkable.