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Witch at the Pond is a collection of short stories - with each story being based on real life incidents. After reading the book, you would be surprised to know that it has been written by a first-time author.
What I absolutely loved about the book is that each story attempts to convey a message, but it does so very subtly. So subtle, in fact, that each reader might perceive it in a different way. This, I believe was intentional and I know for a fact that it is extremely difficult to achieve.
Then there are the descriptions! Few of the stories are set in a village where I hail from. While reading the descriptions of the places, festivals, countryside, temples, houses, I could almost see them in front of my eyes. The author transported me right to my village. The surprising part is that even for a person who might never have visited the place, the descriptions hold an equal amount of interest. The author sort of immerses you in all that attention to detail.
This is not to say that the book is only limited to rural life. Nope. There are stories from the corporate world, board meetings, bus journeys, business schools and everything in between. The point, here, is that each incident reflects a different aspect of the author's life and experience.
I particularly enjoyed the humor in some of the stories. I found myself grinning like an idiot while reading the book in a bus, eliciting strange stares from co-passengers.
All in all, Witch at the Pond reminded me of my favorite short stories book - Wise and Otherwise by Sudha Murthy. Now that is saying a lot!
At the price point that it sells, this book is absolutely a steal. Witch at the Pond is a must-read.
So, we've all heard and read about Anne Frank, who is arguably the most famous victim of the Nazi-perpetrated WW II holocaust. Anne Frank has been made immortal through her diary "Kitty", which is now a book "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl". We have read about what went through the early teenager's mind, body and life as she was holed up in a warehouse somewhere in Amsterdam trying to escape arrest by the Nazis; for two years. We have also all read about her crush on Peter van-Daan, the boy two years older than her, whose family was also in hiding along with the Franks in the same house.
Now, can you imagine the entire incident from Peter's point of view? Had he maintained a diary too, what might he have written in it? Would he see it differently from Anne? Anne was a proud Jew and she wanted to get back to her roots once the war was over. Peter, on the other hand, just wanted to be him – Peter van-Pels (in Anne's diary he is mentioned as van-Daan) – without any racial or religious tags. Are these two opinions really as mutually exclusive as they seem?
Sharon Dogar, in her book "Annexed" writes up an imaginary diary – one that Peter might have penned. Anne's diary abruptly stops at the date when the 2 families were finally arrested and sent out on the last train to Auschwitz camp. However, in "Annexed", Sharon goes beyond the arrest and into the concentration camps, the gas chambers, the lives which are worse than death, the death marches.
What struck me about this book is the depth of Sharon's imagination. She has gone deep into Peter's soul and understood his character in mind-boggling detail. You would be forgiven for thinking that this actually is Peter's diary!
The other aspect of "Annexed" is how it makes you feel for the residents of the hide-out, for Peter, for Anne, for the victims of the holocaust. It reminds you that the simple things in life that you take for granted – are not really so. Peter keeps talking about "outside" in his diary. Can you imagine being indoors for 2 years straight, without ever stepping out, and yearning with all your being just to be outside for a few minutes?
The closing chapters describe the conditions in the concentration camps in detail – and leave you horrified. How is it possible for one human to nurse so much hatred against other? How can Anne's father Otto Frank stay focused and advocate against "an eye for an eye" even in the face of such impending doom?
All in all, I would highly recommend "Annexed". If you have read The Diary of Anne Frank, then this book is a great read to make you appreciate the sometimes contradicting, sometimes agreeing views from Peter's point of view. Even if you haven't read Anne Frank, "Annexed" is still a recommended read (although I also suggest you read Anne Frank first!).
What's it About?
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| Image source: Flipkart page for this book. |
Meet Anamika Mukherjee. While on a trek in Markha Valley in Ladakh with her husband and friends, she suffered from pulmonary oedema, and had to abort the trek mid-way. She returned to Leh for rest and recuperation.
Ok, that's just he beginning of the story. What happened after that is the real thing. While her husband returned home having completed the trek, Anamika stayed back. And, after she had recovered enough, set her sights on completing the trek that she had left unfinished!
This journey is what the book “Worth Every Gasp – A Lone Woman's Journey In the Himalayas” is all about. Anamika was joined by an acquaintance Ballu, who had in the past accompanied them as a guide on a few treks in Uttaranchal. Yes – you read that right. A lone woman, trekking in the Himalayas with a man who is not her husband!
Anamika spent a few months trekking in the Himalayas. She started in and around the “lower altitude” (ya, right!) Manali . This was to get a feel for her readiness for the higher altitude treks in Ladakh. Once she was reasonably sure she could pull through, she got back to Ladakh, where she completed, among others, the Markha valley trek which had been her nemesis last time round. That accomplished, she also spent a few weeks back in Himachal Pradesh, rounding off her adventures with the trek to Chandertaal, and then one final visit to the Valley of Flowers in Uttaranchal.
Salient points? For one, the adventure itself is extraordinary. I mean, can you even begin to imagine the adventure quotient of this trip? In addition, the writing style is so endearing and alluring, I almost packed my bags and left for Ladakh while reading this book.
The language, the wit and humor. You would be pleasantly surprised at the number of philosophical questions that are put forth in the book, disguised as anecdotes.
Then, the writing is also very candid. It is full of matters which we all think about but never say out loud. “What? A married woman sleeping in the same tent as a guide?” How does one cope with toilet issues on journeys like these? How does a woman cope with unwanted attention, especially if she's a solitary traveler?
But, most of all, the thing that made me absolutely riveted to the book is the author's description of the places. Believe me when I say that describing natural beauty is a gift. And the author is gifted. I found myself repeatedly doing a Google image search for the places she mentions, and quite often finding that the image she drew for me very closely matches the image on screen.
Verdict All in all, if you are a travel enthusiast, a trekker, a nature lover or a Ladakh-addict, then this book is for you. I guarantee you – you will not be disappointed.
Children of a Better God is a novel by Oriya writer Susmita Bagchi. It was written originally in Oriya (Deba Shishu) and has been translated into other languages, including English.
This is one novel which first by-passes the brain and proceeds straight to the heart. However, it eventually asks several questions of the reader.
The story is about Anupurba, who has just returned from the US with her husband and two sons. Anupurba was an art teacher in the US, but she doesn't find any suitable job for herself back in Bangalore. She ends up volunteering to teach art at Asha Jyothi, a school for spastic children.
This experience turns out to be a life-changing one for Purba. The story takes the reader through Purba's journey, which begins with the realization that she had very wrong notions about cerebral palsy. Her initial apprehensions are found to be unfounded. She ends up being emotionally attached and also succeeds in making a difference, even guiding the children to an art exhibition.
Children of a Better God is more than a story. It attempts to give people a glimpse into the lives of children who suffer from cerebral palsy, to remove misconceptions, to answer several questions, to pose others. - Spastic children may have physical deformities, but they are often shunned by society because of misgivings.
- Dealing with children requires lot of patience, dealing with spastic children even more so. For example, the book has one character, Uma, who has almost no legs, has a very bad temper. So, how does one deal with such children? Ignore their excesses? Or strike a balance by being strict with them?
- What such children lack in anatomy, they make up for in something else. They are brilliant in art or poetry or academics - something or the other. By no means are they to be dismissed.
- What is the future for spastic children? What happens when they are at the threshold of adulthood? Do they crave for romantic and sexual fulfillment?
Above all, the book reinforces the point that has been made about special children time and again: They do not need your sympathy. It is the understanding and support that they seek from this society.
I would definitely recommend this book. Apart from educating me about spastic children, it has sent me on a soul-searching mission. It has also increased my respect for the countless nameless teachers, volunteers, ayahs and other staff who work selflessly and tirelessly to give hope to special children.
Finally, 4 years after I started blogging, I have won an award! I have won the Best Book Review at AvantGarde Bloggies Awards for my review of Bitter Chocolate. First and foremost a BIG thanks to Poonam and her team of judges and designers for organizing this award. If any of you out there think that running an online awards is a simple matter, you really need to read this post about the process that was followed – from nomination phase right up to the polls phase. Hats off to the team!
The next round of thanks goes out to those of you who voted for me since you are the ones who made me winner :)
Congratulations to all the winners and runners-up. But more importantly – congrats to all those who made the final shortlist. Remember – being shortlisted is in itself an achievement since your post would have undergone scrutiny from some of India's topmost bloggers. The polls were merely a measure of one's popularity/network than of the quality of the post itself.
Don't agree with that last sentence? Check the percentages of votes that each post polled in the Best Book Review category. You will see that 3 out of the 6 did not get any votes at all. I suppose this is either because the authors were unaware they had been nominated; or that they simply did not publicise it. I, on the other hand, put up the link on twitter, facebook, my blog, gtalk status requesting people to vote. Further, although I did persuade my readers to read the various entries before voting, I do not know how many actually did that. In fact, I am pretty sure there were several who voted for me without even reading my post!
Bottom-line: All the shortlisted posts were winners in their own rights. Congratulations to each and every one of those bloggers.
It goes without saying that this award spurs me to do better and to improve the quality of my blog. Let's hope that this motivation is translated into the real thing on the blog :)
What's it about? “Its Not About The Bike” is the story of World Champion in cycling Lance Armstrong's fight against cancer – testicular cancer. To put things into perspective, Lance won the Tour de France – the crowning glory for any cyclist - after he had recovered from cancer; and he did it twice back-to-back. That's how inspiring his story is.
The Chronology The book traces the life history of Lance Armstrong, his childhood in Texas being raised by a single mother, how he started riding the cycle and how he was a winner right from college days.
By the time he reached his early twenties, Lance was a world champion already. Just as his career was shaping up, cancer struck. Lance describes how he ignored some ominous signs and wrote them off as effects of intense cycling. In fact, he even rode the 1996 Olympics and did not return a good result. He did not know it at that time but he had competed in the Olympics with cancer in his body.
1996 was the year when Lance was told the three dreaded words “You have cancer”. So, here he was, at the turning point of his career, already a champion, starting to make money, beginning to train big time to conquer the Tour de France and at that opportune moment, he is diagnosed with cancer.
The Fight The book then follows the story of how Lance fought the cancer – against all odds. His cancer was at a very advanced stage already. It had spread to his chest and even brain. He was given very low chances of survival. Lance describes the struggles that he went through – surgery, catheter, chemotherapy (which he says is worse than the disease itself). There were a lot many other challenges:
When he was diagnosed with cancer, Lance was moving from one team to another – so he did not have insurance! He knew he would become sterile eventually (remember it was testicular cancer he suffered from), so he froze sperm with the hope that he would someday be still able to conceive a baby. One of his sponsors, Cofidis, pulled the rug from under him – essentially they gave up on him. There was no dearth of de motivation from all quarters.
But in spite of all this, Lance fought – he fought and survived the cancer. His key allies in the fight were:
Knowledge – as soon as Lance was diagnosed, he started reading up on the topic and armed himself with as much knowledge as possible. He took second and third opinions from doctors His mother's unflinching devotion. Friends and family's support. Doctors, nurses and medicinal science. Above all – spirit.
Each and every one of these factors played a crucial role in Lance's recovery and the absence of even one of these might have spelled doom.
What Next? But surviving cancer was only the first part of the story. After recovery came yet another struggle – what to do with the rest of his life? When Lance had been sick, he had just wanted to live – even if it meant he'd never had to mount a bicycle again in his life. During the “survivorship” phase, he had all but given up on cycling. To add to it, he had to undergo tests every month for one year to ensure that cancer had not reared its ugly head again.
He was a mental wreck. He was to understand later that this is called “survivorship” and it is an extremely difficult phase to go through. He had put everything he had into fighting the disease and surviving and now that he had done it – he was spent. There was a hollow sensation and he didn't know what to do with the rest of his life.
As if putting the pieces of his life together was not difficult enough, Lance had to deal with de-motivating comments from lot of people too.
The Return But Lance returned. He mounted the bike and when he did – he was a changed man. Before his disease, he had been a rash young man who dint think much about strategy. He used to just mount the bike and use brute force to win.
Now he was a more calculating, team-player and after a few months of riding, he know he had it in him to become a professional again. He met with tremendous de-motivation, some people just dismissed him. But he fought this battle too.
In 1999, against every possible odd, Lance won Tour de France. By now, he had married and he and his wife had also initiated the process of IVF. They wanted to have a baby.
Even this victory was not free of sour grapes. The French media accused Lance of drug abuse. Lance had to prove is innocence too. Further, many people dismissed his victory as a fluke.
And then Lance won the Tour de France again in 2000. That shut is detractors up.
The Take-Away “It's Not About the Bike” is as inspiring as a real life story can ever get. Lance maintains that cancer changed him – his life. He says cancer made him a better person and changed his perspective of life. However, I think this holds for any disease, or acute adversity that a person faces. Determination, awareness, will to fight and human spirit are indispensable to overcome any major problem in life.
I rate “It's Not About The Bike” at 4.5 stars out of 5 and I think it is a must-read for what it teaches you about life.
Imagine one fine day, human beings were to vanish from earth. No, we are not talking about extinction or asteroid collision or anything of that sort. Just imagine that all our constructions, all our signs are retained – just we humans are plucked from the earth. What would then happen?
“The World Without Us”, by Alan Weisman, tries to answer just that question. I'm sure we all know what we've done to the Earth. But, reading this book will give you a more complete picture of this. It leaves no stone unturned, no aspect of human interference untouched. Just a sample of what are the topics the book touches upon: What will happen to New York city without us? What will happen to oil refineries? How long before the nuclear power plants disintegrate without humans to maintain them? What will happen to farms and farmlands in the absence of humans? Will corals reinvent themselves sans us? How long will the non-biodegradable poison (plastic) continue to poison the animals, bird and aquatic beings after we're gone? Will nuclear waste buried at several places deep below the earth continue to poison all future species for millions of years to come (remember, fuel-grade Uranium has a half-life of 700-million years)?
What is even more interesting is that in order to understand what will happen in future; Alan takes us through a history of how the arrival of humans wreaked havoc with the environment. How the appearance of humans coincided with the extinction of megafauna (massive animals like giant sloths which were twice as big as today's elephants). So guys, if you though the industrial revolution was the beginning of the destruction of the earth, you are off by a few million years!
Then, Alan also takes an educated guess as to what might be the monuments which will last the longest – and as you would have guessed, most of them are ancient!
I think I'll leave you with that – and rate “The World Without Us” as a must-read if you are an environmentalist or a nature-lover. The author has travelled to all corners of the earth in quest of the answer; and he takes you from corals to deserts to Chernobyl to Serengeti to the Korean DMZ to the 5-centuries old forests in Poland and Belarus. All this makes for a very interesting read; not to mention a very relevant and thought-provoking one at that.
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The top 3 in the world as far as “satire, with a meaning” goes are: Dilbert, Ramesh Srivats and Amit Varma. I have been a fan of Amit Varma and IndiaUncut for years now – and it was but obvious that I had to read his book!
Just imagine “What if IndiaUncut had been a book?” – and thats My Friend Sancho for you!
The Story: Well, this is no suspense story – but I'll still keep the story part short so as to avoid “spoilers”
Abir Ganguly, a reporter on a crime beat is informed by the police about an impending arrest. The reporter reaches the scene where the “arrest” turns out to be a shooting and one man ends up dead. Muneeza, is the daughter of the man who was shot dead.
The two meet when Abir is asked to do a story about the life of the innocent man who was shot dead. Abir takes Muneeza's help to know her father's life better. It doesn't help when Abir is later asked to make it a split-story; with half of it painting a picture of the person who shot the bullet – Inspector Thombre.
How Abir goes about writing this story occupies the rest of the book.
What's So Special About It? For one, there's copious amounts of Amit Varma's hallmark humor and satire. Secondly, the book abounds in Amit Varma's second hallmark – humor with a message. The main point of the book is about the kind of life journalists lead – and it made me regret the criticism I often hurl at them. It's also about the kind of life policemen lead – putting the reader in their shoes.
By the time you are done reading the book (by the way the 200 pages won't take you too much time – 3 hours, give-or-take); you will be happy with your life and end up wondering “Why the hell am I complaining about my life? Had I been in these people's shoes, would I have handled things as well as they did?”
And that is the best quality of My Friend Sancho. I would rate it at 3.5 stars. It is not outstanding, but is still a must-read. Go get yourself a copy right away! ********************** Other books I have reviewed:
Update: This article has been cross-posted at DesiCritics
Update 2: This article has been published at YouthKiAwaaz. Update 3: This post has been recognized as the Best Book Review Post at Avantgarde Bloggies Award 2009.
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“Bitter Chocolate” is a book which is sure to shock the reader at every each and every page flip. The book deals with Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in India. Through this book, the author Pinki Virani shatters every myth regarding CSA, and jolts the reader out of complacency regarding the issue. She explains the effects of such abuse on the child, and proceeds to offer suggestions – for prevention, as well as to deal with abuse. This book considers as CSA, cases where the abuser is more than sixteen years of age, and the abused is less than sixteen.
"Bitter Chocolate" is split up into three “notebooks”.
**************** Notebook 1 starts off with an account of the author's own childhood experience. It then touches upon scores of instances of CSA from all across the country, cutting across social strata (both of the victim and the perpetrator) and age of the victim. There are some instances where the abused is too young to even know she has been abused! Some of the accounts were disgusting enough to make me question the very notion of “humanity”. Sample this: A lot of cases of CSA occur within the house of the child, at the hands of a person known to the child. Boys are the target of the abusers too – and we are not talking of a one-off case here. Far more little boys are sodomized than one can imagine. There have been cases of women being perpetrators (although this forms a small percentage) Only a negligible minority of the perpetrators are actually “suffering” and need “treatment” (referring to paedophilia – which is an excuse often used by child abusers to get away). Yes, the driver, liftman, security guard at school might be looked at suspiciously, and the child might be warned to be cautious of such people. But what if the abuser is a person who, ostensibly, is supposed to protect the child? What if the child is violated by uncles, teachers, grandfathers, older cousins, family friends, even brothers and most shocking of all – fathers? This is not all that rare – as Pinki details out in the book. People who are gentle, caring and smiling by day – turn predators when they find themselves alone with the child. The sickest of all factors mentioned in the previous point is that the child is often abused by the very person who the child is totally dependent on! Thats the irony. In many cases, the abuse does come to the notice of the family members of the child – but they often do nothing about it. Reason? Our twisted notion of the “Khaandaani Izzat” measured solely by the “purity” of its girl child. The boy victim is luckier in this respect, as the family's izzat does not rest on his shoulders, and it is more probable that something will be done about it when his case comes to light. In a vast majority of the cases, the victim feels guilty that (s)he was responsible for what happened. And family/society does nothing to dispel this guilt. How blood-boilingly-repulsive is that? Child prostitution and child pornography are more widespread that one might be led to believe.
This list is just an indication of what to expect from the book. It is difficult to control oneself while reading some of the examples – I often found myself closing the book in disgust or choking or wiping a tear from my eye.
**************** Notebook 2 undertakes a long-term study of a couple of real-life stories, thereby examining the effects of CSA on a victim. It explains the short-term and long-term effects of CSA, and how it has the potential to destroy a person's life – forever. Some of the effects mentioned include: Physical scars and emotional insecurity (these short-term effects are pretty obvious) Confused sexuality, promiscuous behaviour on part of the victim (this is a long-term effect where the victim might experiment with homosexuality/multiple partners in an attempt to “erase” the memory of the abuse). Problems in family life, including emotional and sexual problems Most destructive of all, the abused may turn predator in the long run, and when the child grows up, (s)he may end up abusing a child in turn.
The book goes on to cite the opinions of several counsellors, doctors, child psychologists on this matter. The bottom line is: CSA devastates a child and this devastation can manifest itself much later in the life of the victim.
**************** Notebook 3 comes round to providing approaches to prevention of CSA. But not before it touches upon the reasons the abusers have a free run in India: For one, the laws pertaining to CSA in India are grossly inadequate. Only rape (as in, penetration) carries any significant punishment. Secondly, the abusers are probably aware that there are very small chances of the truth coming out into the open. Even if it does, our notion of family pride ensures that everything will be hushed-up and the abuser is free to go find his(/her) next target. The book provides examples where a judge simply refused to believe that a grandfather was abusing his granddaughter. This shows how skewed the upholders of the law are with respect to the issue of CSA. Finally, the abuser is aware that even if a case gets to court, it is an extremely uphill task for the family of the child to prove anything. The child will have to be produced in court and will be cross-examined. It is definitely easy to confuse a child during cross-examination.
Pinki Virani goes on to provide several practical approaches to tackle the menace. These revolve around the idea that if the perpetrators of CSA are brought to book, then it could help partly in discouraging such despicable acts in the future. The approaches include Tougher, and clearer laws dealing with CSA – starting with the proper definition, to increasing the punishment. Child-friendly process to deal with the matter (for example, the child not having to be repeatedly cross-examined and explain the harrowing experience several times, in graphic detail, to complete strangers). Child Protection Units (to counsel the victim of abuse) and Child Protection Courts (to handle all cases where the victim is a child). But above all, Pinki pins the hope on responsible parenting. This includes providing an open atmosphere at home so that the child is not hesitant to speak out is (s)he is abused, being aware of what the child is up to, where (s)he is and such, and most importantly, dealing with disclosure appropriately (without blaming the child for what happened).
I have just summarized some of the points – the author goes into the nitty-gritties of each of these factors.
**************** Yes – "Bitter Chocolate" is hard-hitting. Yes – At times, you'd rather just quit reading the book. Yes – the book will definitely give you several sleepless nights. Yes – at times, the extremely graphic descriptions might be just too much to take.
In spite of all this, I still recommend one and all to read this book. For the simple reason, that unless one reads this book, one will not really grasp the magnitude of the menace. It is human nature that unless something shocks us beyond imagination, we treat it as just one of those things. If I had just read a statement that CSA does take place – I might not have reacted as strongly as I am now doing after reading the book.
"Bitter Chocolate" is a must read.
**************** My Personal Views on the topic:
It is my belief that an adult who sexually abuses a child does not even qualify as a human. CSA is the lowest to which humanity can stoop. Of course it has to stop. But the issue is definitely a complex one. For example, in the case where a person who is supposed to provide for the child (shelter, food) himself resorts to sexually abusing the child, there is no easy solution.
I agree with most of the approaches outlined in The Bitter Chocolate – both for prevention of CSA and to deal with it. However, something does not seem right. Making sure the child is aware is a good thing – but then, at what age does one begin educating the child about CSA? The book highlights a case where a girl was abused even before she uttered her first word! Educating school-going children to be wary of strangers is a good thing – but what good would children be if they are not .. well .. children? I'm not sure if it's a good thing if a child is suspicious of everyone and everything. Early adolescence is an even more difficult time to explain about CSA. There is every possibility that the child loses the distinction between a good touch and a bad touch – thereby treating every touch as a bad one. So, we end up with a case where a child has never been sexually abused, but still tunes out of love and sex completely. Its almost like the child has been frightened into this emotional situation.
I completely agree with the author regarding the urgent need for the law to be reformed to be more child-friendly. Child Protection Units and Child Protection Courts are definitely bound to be effective.
To conclude, I think that it is the responsibility of every citizen to raise our voice against this most heinous of crimes, to work towards its prevention, and to push for reform. Remember, children are our future citizens. What kind of country would it be, where a staggering 40% of the girls and 25% of the boys have, at some point of time in the past, been sexually abused as children?
**************** Juts a footnote – CSA is by no means purely an Indian phenomenon – nor is it restricted only to poor and developing countries. It exists everywhere. USA is struggling to counter child pornography and some other countries like Cambodia are waging a battle against child prostitution (I have written about this at Innocence Snatched). The entire world is violating its children – and the responsible citizens of the world have to come together to eradicate CSA once and for all.
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Other books I have reviewed:
This Review is cross-posted here; the original post is at BlogSarovar.
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Zahid Hussain is a veteran Pakistani journalist. He is the Pakistani correspondent for The Times (London), The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek. His book "Frontline Pakistan - The struggle with militant Islam" was published in 2007; and covers events up to 2006. It does not mention the end of Pervez Musharraf's rule and the restoration of democracy in Pakistan, nor does it mention the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. It goes without saying that the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai had not taken place at the time this book was published.
You must be wondering why this book review is preceded by this Prologue! Well, because although Frontline Pakistan does not relate directly to 26/11, it gives the reader an astonishingly detailed insight into the history of militancy in Pakistan, the unwillingness of authority to keep it in check; and thereby goes a long way in explaining the current response of Pakistan to the 26/11 attacks.
In its 11 chapters, Frontline Pakistan takes the reader through various turning points in the history of the region, including (not in any particular order)
1947 and Partition The political history and turmoil that Pakistan went through in its early years General Ayub Khan and his decade-long rule Pakistan's 3 wars with India (1948, 1965 and 1971 - the last one resulting in formation of Bangladesh) Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's rule followed by the bloodless coup by Zia-ul-Haq The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan followed by a long Jihad against the Soviets The withdrawal of Soviets from Afghanistan; followed by rise of religious extremism in Pakistan The Kashmir deadlock Pakistan's nuclear program 9/11; followed by Pakistan's alliance in the US War on terror.
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After reading the book, I have come up with my conclusions on the prime reasons for the instability in the region. These are the opinions that I have formulated and are not necessarily stated per se in the book.
Prime Reason #1: The US-Russia cold war
When the Soviets arrived in Afghanistan in the fag end of 1970's, the CIA jumped in to "help" Afghanistan to fight the Soviets. Of course, the help extended probably had more to do with USA's eagerness to show its one-upmanship in the cold war rather than any genuine concern for Afghanistan. Help it did, but the means were questionable to say the least. USA lifted some of the sanctions which had been imposed on Pakistan when the latter had started its nuclear program in the 70's. CIA teamed up with Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI to help counter the Soviet occupation by Afghanistan. ISI, in turn, whipped up strong religious sentiments amid calls for Jihad. Weaponry was provided in abundance, tribals in the lawless region along Pak's border with Afghanistan were trained and given arms, and thus there were a huge number of volunteers to fight for Afghanistan against the Russians.
This generosity in supplying arms to religious fanatics backfired badly on USA. With the exit of Soviets from Afghanistan came the Taliban rule. For one, the Taliban was right-wing to the extreme. Secondly, the thousands of youth who had answered the call for Jihad had now become trained in arms and ammunition, even in explosives and such. The Taliban sheltered, even sowed the seeds of, terrorist groups in Afghanistan (al-Qaeda for example). The stage had been set for religious fanaticism which had nothing to do with the religion it was supposedly glorifying. This was the beginning of the perversion of the term "Jihad".
Prime Reason #2: Extremist ideology originated from, and financed by, the Arab world
A large number of mujahids who fought in the Afghan war were from the Arab world. Also, petro-dollars had made some elements in the Arab world extremely rich. The fact that some of these "extremely rich elements" also happened to be conservative extremists did not help the cause of stability in the region.
Even after the defeat of Soviets in the Afghan war, the right-wing religious ideology was kept alive by scores of Arab-funded madrasas all over Pakistan. This extremist ideology kept the Jihad flame burning for decades to come. The madrasas became breeding grounds for future mujahids.
Prime Reason #3: Kashmir
After the partition in 1947, the Maharaja of Kashmir requested Indian assistance to ward off attack by armed tribesmen from Pak's NFWP (North-West Frontier Province). A year-long war later, UN had intervened and both India and Pakistan had agreed to hold a referendum in the state of Kashmir. Pakistan's official contention is that this referendum was never held and thus Pakistan disputes India's claim to Kashmir. Two decades later, in 1972, the Shimla agreement was signed which created a Line of Control in Kashmir - thus was born Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK - which is referred to as "Azad Kashmir" in Pakistan).
This still did not seem to satisfy Pakistan - nor the extremists. There were allegations of ill-treatment of Muslims in Kashmir by Indians. In late 1980's and early 1990's, terrorism reared its ugly head in the "paradise on earth" Kashmir valley. Fodder was easily available in form of war-hardened fighters returning from Afghanistan.
The key factor in the Kashmir issue was that the Pakistani administrations (whether during military rule or democratic rule) were openly supportive of the "cause" of Kashmir. This only spelled doom for any effort at peace in the region.
Prime Reason #4: Authoritarian/Administrative failure to contain terrorist acitvities on Pakistani soil (often deliberate)
The rulers in Pakistan have time and again turned a blind eye to the rise of militancy within the country in all its forms - home-grown in the madrasas, armed activities in the lawless tribal belt, or imported militancy in the form of al-Qaeda and others. The reasons have varied.
Ideological - The Paksitani army and ISI have always had several extremist-oriented members among their ranks. Political - Zahid Hussain points out that Musharraf could have contained terrorism in Pak by casting a net on the activities of various terrorist groups. However, most of Musharraf's actions in the war on terror have been half-hearted - under international pressure. The real agenda was survival. Musharraf feared backlash from within the army and from the Pakistan's citizens had he gone ahead dismantling the terror network. That is the reason that although several top al-Qaeda "leaders" had been captured and handed over to US during Musharraf's rule, he had stopped short of completely wiping out these terrorist groups. In essence, Musharraf failed the world in favor of his self-interest. This, notwithstanding the fact that he had risked his life by supporting the US war on terror (several assassination attempts on him stand testament to this).
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Frontline Pakistan is a must-read for anyone intending to understand the complex dynamics of the volatility in the SE Asia region; and the so-called "Islamic Terrorism". The author has conducted interviews with several prominent personalities - right from Pervez Musharraf, to several radical leaders (even leaders of groups which were later designated as terrorist groups). This lends the all-important element of credibility to the book.
I must warn the reader that even though the book looks "small" (at 190 pages), it can turn out to be a fairly demanding read - since it takes lot of concentration to grasp the enormity of some of the statements/events which Zahid describes.
The book does refer to religious extremism and Islamic militancy every so often - however, I am disappointed that there is absolutely no attempt to show the reader the moderate or liberal faces of Islam or those of Pakistan. Agreed that this is not at all the objective of the book (after all, the caption says "The struggle with militant Islam"). But, to an uninitiated reader, it might give the wrong impression of the religion as a whole. The book would have been more balanced, had the author described or even referred to in passing mention, the role of moderate or liberal Pakistanis in the fight against terror.
It is for this single lapse that I deduct one star; I rate Frontline Pakistan at 4 stars out of 5 - and of course, designate it as a must-read.
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The Prime Reason #4 which I have detailed above, explains Pakistan's refusal (or rather, inability) to meet India's demands of eradication of terrorism from Pakistani soil post-26/11. While Musharraf and the military Government had considerable sway over the extremist religious parties, the same cannot be said of the present Government. Any attempt by the current Gilani Government in Pakistan to dig deeper into 26/11 and bring the perpetrators to book, will only meet with vociferous, internal opposition. We can continue to hand over dossiers and Pakistan will continue to deny the involvement of any Pakistani national, in spite of Pakistan being well aware of the attacks having been orchestrated from Pakistani soil by Pakistanis.
Disclaimer: This is my personal blog. All the views and opinions expressed on this blog are entirely my own and do not reflect the views of my employer, organization, relatives, friends, acquaintances or any other person/entity.
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