Divya Kaeley

Myanmar’s pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has described Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru among her “greatest sources” of influence, as she encouraged American students to read the works of India’s Father of the Nation. Suu Kyi, said Gandhi, civil rights activist Martin Luther King and her father and “political mentor” Aung San were all men of principles and she read works by them to keep herself disciplined when she was placed under house arrest by her country’s military dictators.

Addressing a packed hall of students at Columbia University here yesterday, where she got a standing ovation, the 67-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner said she has been very inspired by Gandhi’s writings and strongly urged the students to read his works.

Slamming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the issue of allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, BJP leader L K Advani today recently said the red carpet was being rolled out for Walmart when it faced protests even in the US and New York City “shut Walmart out”. Advani also said BJP had opposed the measure when NDA was in power.

Slamming Trinamool Congress, Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said steps like allowing FDI in retail sector, hiking diesel prices and limiting cap on domestic LPG could have been taken earlier if there was no pressure from parties like the one headed by Mamata Banerjee. Ruling out any threat to the UPA government following withdrawal of support by TMC, the senior Congress leader said, “Our government has support of over 300 MPs in the Lok Sabha, including members from parties giving inside and outside support.”

Four days after a bitter split on the issue of forming a party, Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday expressed hope that Anna Hazare will be back with his group in another “three-four months” if it can work honestly in politics. “Some people say Anna has left us. He hasn’t. He is in our hearts. None can take him away from us. It is just that while he believes that politics is a dirty thing, we are of the view that we have to enter politics to clean it.
Meanwhile, chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday slammed activist Arvind Kejriwal and his team for asking Delhi residents not to pay electricity bills and accused them of spreading anarchy in the national capital. If people don’t pay their electricity bills as asked by Kejriwal, then people would have to face consequences, she said.

India is expected to soon seek consultations with the US under the aegis of World Trade Organization (WTO) on visa fee hike for professionals, which discriminates against Indian software companies that send employees to America on short-term contracts.

Although the commerce ministry had internally started the process in April, collecting all the relevant information and data to make a strong case in the WTO is taking time, a senior official told PTI.

BJP Sunday accused the Samajwadi Party of entering into a deal with the UPA government and playing the “communal card” to justify its support to the Congress-led government at the Centre. BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain claimed that people of the country were forgetting the word communalism. ”Barring Assam and Uttar Pradesh, there is no communal strife in the country. There is no communalism especially in NDA-ruled states. People are forgetting the word communalism. But some are using it to serve their political interests,” Hussain said here.

Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju on Sunday appealed to the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan to release Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, who is on death row for over two decades, on humane grounds. “I am appealing to you in the name of humanity to release Sarabjit Singh, who is in a Pakistan jail, and send him back to India as soon as possible,” Katju, a former Superme Court judge, said.

From this week’s edition of Generation Next, you will note that why it is so very important for us to take our Generation Next seriously, why we need to invest in Generation Next urgently and why we need to support them. Maha Hussain, a 15-year-old author noted that she was not taken seriously by people when she told them that she is writing a novel. She took upon herself a challenge by producing a 230 page novel. You will also note that while environment is last in the priority list of adults to address, for youth Mother Nature holds a special place in their hearts. It is our Generation Next that understands causes like supporting cancer research and prevention, looking after the environment and volunteering for the right reasons and right causes. Algonquin College sponsored survey indicates that youth is even more socially conscientious than the Canadian corporate world.

However, when we look at what is happening around us, we disregard novel ideas of youth as “childish” or “silly.” This Generation Next – also referred to as Generation Y – has proven skeptics wrong time and again. It is high time that we start thinking about investing in this generation. Mr. L. Robin Cardozo, CEO of Ontario Trillium Foundation, notes that more and more young people with college and university degrees are unable to find sustainable jobs, however much emphasis needs to be placed in investing in our youth. One young employee of Service Canada noted that although jobs are being created but there are too many of us who are unemployed and something needs to be done fast because youth is more prone to get depressed. Additionally youth is under social pressure to find sustainable jobs.

Youth is our future. Generation Next is the one that will be running our country’s economy, yet the institutions are not acutely investing in youth.

While the federal government and Ontario government have a number of different projects underway, very  few people are aware of these positive initiatives. No wonder people are not using the support available to them fully.

It is Generation Next that can play crucial role in establishing linkages between Canada and their countries of origin to work in the benefit of their country and the rest of the globe.

“I stopped mid-sentence, my mouth hanging wide open. Leaning against the wall behind Cairo, a boy had suddenly appeared. He seemed a few inches taller than me, but I couldn’t tell for sure because he was blurred. I could only barely make out the features on his face, but his toothy smile clearly stood out, despite the rest of him being, well, faded. He almost looked like an old photograph. I blinked once, trying to figure out if he was really there, and the boy started to wave. I blinked a second time and something about him seemed very familiar. Then I finally blinked a third time and he was gone.”

This is an excerpt from a book called “Faded.” “Faded” is written by fifteen-year-old Maha Hussain. She is a grade 10 student in the Region of Halton.

When she was authoring the book, many adults did not take her seriously, thinking that a 15-year-old cannot accomplish writing a 238-page novel, “but I’ve proven them all wrong and it’s all cool” Maha said talking to Generation Next. She started writing “Faded” at the age of 12.

One day Maha was sitting down with a friend when she came up with the idea of writing a novel. The story line runs on saving the world. Even though ‘Hope’ – the lead character of the novel – and her imaginary friend had a lot of bad blood among them, “they were able to work together to save the world,” Maha tells us. The story is somewhat reflective of global conflicts of our world.

Writing, however, is not on Maha’s mind for her future career. She loves Sciences and wants to be a doctor. “You’ve to be kinda realistic. Sometimes my [written] work might not sell at all..you have to do something that you love and make enough money to survive,” she says pragmatically..that’s why I am also thinking about being a doctor.”

Talking about issues of high school students, Maha said “a lot of people in my generation don’t take school seriously enough..and we need to take care of the environment..if we don’t try to save our planet today, we won’t have a planet to live in tomorrow.”

During the course of putting together the novel, Maha had full support from her parents. “Sometimes I thought my parents were even more excited than I was.”

Maha has noticed that South Asian parents are engaged with school in meetings and so on if one parent is not working. “If both parents are working, then I guess they don’t have enough time to be engaged with school boards,” she added.

Maha is member of the Student Council at her high school. She is also member of Free the Children, and a group called Ontario Students Against the Impaired Driving.

And her message to all of Generation Next’s readers is “Please read my book. I’ll really appreciate it,” Maha Hussain said laughing.

I was in Islamabad when I got into a heated debate on the United States’ decadence and moral corruption with a gentleman who was nearing 60. He asked me what it feels like to live in North America, how people treat us, what are the living conditions like, is the government fair to us and so on. This gentleman, by the way, had lived in the United Kingdom in 1980s. He was convinced that the West and North America is no place for us to raise our kids; it’s full of evil and the governments there are liars.

I haven’t lived in North America for long – a few years in New York City and a few years in Mississauga. And I have nothing but good to say about the part of the world I live in. The US offered me the best education of the world; my professors were extremely encouraging. In fact they prodded my brain, challenged my views to think rationally but at no time did I feel that they are even slightly pushing me to give up my values or my culture. The debates with diverse groups in class make you more tolerant and open to listening to others’, an attribute we – the South Asians and Muslims -   absolutely need to learn. Just by living and interacting with Americans can at times make us humane.

My sisters and I, and many other girls could walk out of the class at ten at night, sometimes even later than that, without a tinge of fear that someone would pass a rude remark on us or that we are not safe here. I could wear hijab if I wanted to or shalwar kameez, and no one would look at me as if they were X-raying me. I have countless opportunities to grow provided I work hard. Yes there are isolated incidents of hatred or racism but then again we have come from the part of the world where Punjabis don’t like Sindhis and South Indians are not too familiar with North Indians or Beharis have something against Mardrasis, sunnis are up against shias, and wahabis have their differences with deobandis and so on. In fact after 62 years of living in Pakistan, some of us are still mahajir (migrants). Yes, occasionally, people might not sit next to me in New York City transit because I was wearing shalwar kammeez, but what’s the big deal! America and Canada gave me the freedom and the liberty to be who I am and no one can cherish these liberties better than  I can and hundreds of thousands of South Asians and Muslims like me.

I told all this and more to this gentleman but he wasn’t happy with my response at all. He tried to show me a different picture of the US, a picture where George Bush forced the troops on Iraq by lying about Saddam Hussain and the weapons of mass destruction to not only Americans but to the entire world. He tried to tell me how America has no respect of sovereignty of other countries and how she is killing people in Afghanistan and the northern areas of Pakistan using her pilotless planes. He tried to tell me how immoral and decadent the western societies are where our girls go off to marry the blacks and the whites; how our children and teenagers’ character is damaged by morally corrupt societies. Somehow he failed to see and appreciate everything I and many others like me love about North American and the Western societies. He also forgot to mention that Americans didn’t like Bush’s policies so they elected a Democrat as a President of the US. And that the UK’s Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will probably face an inquiry commission on Iraq.

Somehow this elderly gentleman’s views – which of course are the views of a very select group – have seeped into the minds of South Asians and Muslim young men and women living in North America. They have been born and bred in the most beautiful part of the world, they hold the US passport, yet they are getting terrorist training. They are going to Pakistan, Yemen and Syria to get military training and are legitimately coming back to the US – the scenario that has the US government concerned as it rightfully should. Ms. Anne Patterson, the American ambassador to Pakistan, believes this is a “nightmare scenario” about which a government cannot do a whole lot. She added “It’s not very many. But it’s hard to get a precise number,” Patterson said.

However, as a community we can and we should step up to help our governments.

Yes people especially youth are distraught with the US government’s lack of initiative on Palestine and its lies about Iraq, but can you – can anyone – think of a country where you can live so blissfully and criticize the governmental policies at the same time. Mind you, criticizing the policies is very different from criticizing the state that has given you everything.

Can you be critical of the government in Saudi Arabia, in Pakistan, in India? Human rights’ violation in Saudi Arabia is well documented, however very few people criticize the Saudi government. In fact many people associate criticizing Saudi practices with condemning Islam.

As a community, as parents and as teachers we need to be mindful and watchful of who our kids and our youth are interacting with, what their background is, what their views and ideology is and what are they preaching to our kids. Many of the imams in the community are not very knowledgeable even about the Quran and other revealed books of God; they know very little of sciences and literature and culture of other societies. We have to carefully see what our kids are being taught at Islamic schools. No one is saying anything against the religious studies, however being radicalized is dangerous, very dangerous for all of us. Remember Osama bin Laden was only one man and he has ruined the name of Islam and Muslims throughout the world. Our adults have grown up in the societies where tolerance, patience, respect for women and ideas is not very much appreciated. For them to live and raise kids in an open society where almost everything is up for debate and criticism is hard.

In addition to that we live in a virtual world where the information is out there for us to access, comprehending and grasping it is another story though. We live in a world where we can conquer hearts and minds of people through google, twitter, youtube, facebook and several other social networking sites. Violent acts, bombing buildings, shooting at people disgusts human nature at a very basic level. If you want to get your message across, use technology and your brain. We should be envious of Jews’ success in North America. They have made inroads into the society not by using guns but by using their minds and education. Jews can tell stories of how they were discriminated and racially targeted, yet they have succeeded by their hard work, and not by using guns. And so can we.

Thinking about harming such a country is mind boggling to the majority of people. Here in Canada, the Canadian government added the name of Al Shabaab in the list of terrorist organizations whose activities are banned in Canada. Al-Shabaab means the youth. According to official press release “The Government received reports from the Somali community that Al Shabaab has attempted to radicalize and recruit young Canadians. The listing of Al Shabaab will help the Government of Canada to better support the Somali community of Canada.”

If gentlemen like the one I got into an argument with is in any shape and form the mentor of our kids in North America, we should be beware of them. We have to teach our kids the blessings of the Western societies. And about that moral corruption part, it’s up to you to adopt it or leave it. We have this freedom too.

Author:Asma Amanat

Comparisons are odious. Still when Europe celebrated early this week the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, I thought of the border at Wagha, drawn more than 62 years ago. It has no wall. Yet it is difficult to scale it because its brick and mortar is that of distrust and bias. The Berlin Wall was built to separate the two Germanys. It was a forced division. In the case of India and Pakistan, the partition came about after a willing compromise. Still the fact remains that the wall stands between the two countries to remind people how they have wasted some six decades in hating each other and in letting the opportunity for development together go by.

Founders of the two countries wanted relations to be friendly and amicable. Mahatma Gandhi told the Indians that he would go and live at Karachi. Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah said that Pakistan and India would be like Canada and America and have the same proximity and easy travel and trade as the later had. Both the founders have been betrayed.

Liberals and intellectuals on either side should assess what they have lost and what is still achievable. We, nicknamed as peace knickers, have hit a plateau and we find it difficult to move further. We go over the same exercise when we meet at seminars or colloquiums. We express lofty thoughts and we feel good in ventilating them. Yet we have made little progress because those who enjoy power find it beneficial if the two countries do not go ahead politically, economically or socially. One leading Pakistani businessman, recently in India, said that Pakistan had been stumped by the fauji (military) and India by netas (leaders).

The common man, groaning under the burden of rising price and lessening income, has no reprieve from the anti-propaganda doled out day in and day out. He is fed up with the same slogans and shibboleths raised 60 years to instill in the public mind that the enemy lived across the border and should not be trusted. The media has been a willing partner to spread hatred and venom. I am more concerned about the youth which in India is getting indifferent to Pakistan.

When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at Srinagar a few days ago that India was willing to have talks with Pakistan and laid down no conditions, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gillani should have picked up the telephone to request him to fix the date for talks. Instead, Pakistan Home Minister Rehman Malik said that India was behind the Taliban. The evidence produced was a few India-marked arms, which are available anywhere, and “a stack of currency notes” sent to Baluchistan. How does New Delhi gain by backing the Taliban who have said that India was their next target?

On the other hand, Pakistan has little to show on the action it has taken on the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attack even after one year. The case has been adjourned on one reason or another. True, the court cannot be harried. But does it explain all the delay? The latest is the plot unearthed by FBI. National Defence College at Delhi was sought to be attacked by Pakistan expatriates David Coleman Headley and Tashawar Hussain Rana. Manmohan Singh was justified in complaining that Pakistan never informed India about the plot. The disclosure by former president General Pervez Mushraff that ISI had a hand in every act of violence is, indeed, disconcerting.

True, Pakistan is in the midst of a do-or-die struggle. It needs all the help and understanding. Yet it has not yet realized that it can face the situation more firmly and confidently by making up with India. And this is not possible until Islamabad stops behaving as if India is its enemy. Fortunes of the two are so inter-linked with each other, as Manmohan Singh says, again and again that they have no go from friendship. This means that they have to cover the journey to the future together. Both have at least 70 per cent of their population extremely poor, hardly affording two square meals. They have a long way to go.

Often it is said that India must solve Kashmir first. New Delhi has said many a time that it wants to have a peaceful settlement. But Kashmir is not the cause but a consequence. There is so much suspicion piled up against each other that even if you were to solve Kashmir, there would be another Kashmir unless the mistrust goes.

It is contended in Pakistan again and again that India does not regard Kashmir as a disputed territory. When New Delhi talks on Kashmir it concedes the point without spelling it out. After all, it does not hold talks on Tamil Nadu, West Bengal or Kerala. India has said many a time that the Kashmir question is yet to be settled. The official-inspired meetings to discuss Kashmir indicate that New Delhi wants a settlement with all the elements sooner than later. However, Pakistan must know that the Indian polity cannot go through another partition and that too on the basis of religion.

The priority of the two countries should be to have an accord on Afghanistan. With Abdullah Abdullah withdrawing from the contest for presidentship because of rigged polling, the country’s leadership has got ruptured. Even a united Afghanistan is not strong enough to confront the Taliban. The divided one has no chance.

New Delhi and Islamabad may be able to bring the divided leaders together, including Gulbadin Hikmtayar or who is Pakistan’s prodigy. America’s stake in Afghanistan is only to the extent of fighting against Al-Qaida and the Taliban. India and Pakistan have a long-term interest in Afghanistan. They should help the country become strong so that it can fight against the forces of terrorism on its own.

Sooner or later, America and Europe are going to withdraw from the area. Both India and Pakistan need to chalk out a policy where there is no vacuum like the past when America left all of sudden and did not even collect the arms which the Taliban used to come to power. A joint India-Pakistan policy on Afghanistan, if reached, will lead to many things. It will give Pakistan access to the markets beyond Afghanistan and, more importantly, the Indian markets. Confidence between the two will bring about that.

If the two countries or, for that matter, the region picks up rhythm of free trade and travel other problems would become easy to solve. Then I do anticipate that the wall at the Wagha would come down and the border would become soft for people in the region to travel at will

Author: Kuldip Nayar