India/Pakistan


	February 20, 2002	atimes.com

India/Pakistan

Sri Lankan ceasefire no kid's stuff
The ongoing military use of children within the ranks of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka threatens to become a sticking point in the negotiation of a permanent ceasefire between the Tigers and the government. The Tigers, however, are not the only guilty party, writes Sudha Ramachandran. (Feb 19)
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THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING INDIA
Part 4: Doing business in India

With its dynamism, skilled workforce and huge population, India has much to attract the foreign investor. But at the same time, much of the Indian business environment can be bewildering to the outsider. This article, the fourth in a series presented by Asia Times Online in collaboration with Heartland, looks at the Indian market from a European perspective. (Feb 19)
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India's nuclear program fails to make the grade
For the second time this year, India has ordered the closure of a nuclear plant over safety concerns, even as the country steadily falls behind a target of generating 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power by 2020. This is only the latest response to a long line of problems that have beset the nuclear power sector since its inception decades ago, with one critic describing it as "a disaster waiting to happen". (Feb 19)
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Bangladesh's bleak economic fortunes fall further
The Bangladesh Development Fund meets in Paris next month to decide on the volume of aid. Finance Minister Saifur Rahman admits that donor agencies are asking questions about internal matters "that are seemingly insulting", but says that with the economy in such bad shape Bangladesh is so desperate for assistance that government officials have no choice but to stomach such queries. (Feb 19)
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INDIA'S UNQUIET EASTERN FRONT
Part 3: Giving peace a chance
The struggles for self-determination in India's northeast are a tangled web that has been woven since before independence. Simplistic use of force by the central government has only made matters worse. Yet there is hope, finds Sultan Shahin in the conclusion of a three-part series, not least in the people's fatigue with violence. (Feb 18)
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Musharraf: A leader in search of a new category
Although there is not yet the advantage of hindsight, all indications are that Pakistan's leader, Pervez Musharraf, has made some monumental judgments that will markedly improve the destiny of his nation. Thus, he might be well on his way to greatness. Furthermore, writes Ehsan Ahrari, Musharraf seems to be seeking to create a leadership category of his own. (Feb 18)
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More red ink for Pakistan
High hopes have been dashed that US gratitude for Pakistan's "stalwart" support in the war against terrorism would take the form of generous economic support. This disappointment coincides with news that Pakistan's troop mobilizations on its western and eastern borders have spiked its budget deficit. Nadeem Malik reports. (Feb 18)
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THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING INDIA
Part 3: One India, many Indias?

India's government structure is quite centralized, but the constitution has been amended about 80 times to suit the changing needs of center-state power sharing. The third in a series of articles presented by Asia Times Online in collaboration with Heartland examines that ongoing process, and offers suggestions for how that evolution should continue. (Feb 15)
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Unnerved Andhra Pradesh seeks talks with rebels
The radical left People's War Group and the government of India's Andhra Pradesh state are preparing for talks, barely two months after a nation-wide ban was imposed on the militants. Behind the government's sudden change of stance is a string of attacks by the Marxist group on economic targets - which has scared off foreign investors. Sudha Ramachandran reports. (Feb 15)
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Ill winds blow for Hindu fundamentalists in state polls
India's largest state of Uttar Pradesh has the country's worst social and developmental indices. It is also home to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's personal consitituency, as well as the stronghold of the Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that he leads. Against a backdrop of a dispute over Ayodhya's Babri mosque and the ongoing tensions with Pakistan, voting swings there and in two other northern states bode ill for the BJP. (Feb 15)
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Pakistanis free to love on Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day came in the aftermath of President Pervez Musharraf's January speech that reined in religious parties and their leaders. So this year there were neither strict official enforcement of morality laws nor threats from religious extremists, and most Pakistanis reacted with glee. (Feb 15)
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SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY
Chapter 27 - Horsewhip Amirthalingham
After the shooting of two of their officers, the police retaliate by burning down the Jaffna Public Library, destroying its collection of over 97,000 valuable books. K T Rajasingham writes that this was an evil design to deprive the Tamils of their historical past and national identity. Events led to a motion of no confidence being passed against leader of the opposition Amirthalingham, amid calls for him to be horsewhipped. (Feb 15)
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Pearl kidnap catch could turn to ashes
It's just another strange turn in the Daniel Pearl kidap saga. The man who has confessed in court to the abduction, and who now says that Pearl is probably dead, is likely to turn out to be a minor player. Syed Saleem Shahzad reports. (Feb 14)
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Pakistan's payback; what payback?
In the face of strong domestic opposition, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf achieved a task many thought he was not up to: marching in step with the United States in its war on terrorism. Now in Washington and expecting substantial payback, he instead received a huge surprise. Nadeem Malik writes that Pakistanis will not be at all happy with what they perceive as only a limited return for their strategic shift in the region. (Feb 14)
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Hurriyat's 'people's election' more novel than practical
The All-Party Hurriyat Conference, a group that represents a segment of Kashmiri opinion critical of the Indian state, announced this week that it will hold a "people's election" in both the Indian and Pakistani parts of Jammu and Kashmir. The move indicates both a softening on the part of the Hurriyat and pressure to show that it has some popular following in the Kashmir Valley, but it will also further polarize public opinion. (Feb 14)
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Oil palm plantations fuel discontent in Sri Lanka
Debate, sometimes turning violent, is raging on the pros and cons of Sri Lanka's conversion of its traditional rubber plantations into oil palm. The rubber industry, naturally, was not pleased, and now environmentals have jumped on the bandwagon, although their claims have been labeled just so much hot air by other observers. (Feb 14)
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Delhi lays down the welcome mat for Washington
Confirmation of the blossoming romance between India and the United States, especially with regards to the heightened American presence in Central Asia, has raised eyebrows in Moscow, Beijing and Tehran. Ties between the world's two largest democracies have never been cozier, but Sudha Ramachandran writes that India best beware. (Feb 13)
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Global farm trade: And the rich stay ...
The battle over how to conduct global farm trade, currently heavily lopsided in favor of the rich - and protectionist - developed countries, was front and center during World Trade Organizations talks last week. The United States and the Cairns Group faced off against India, Pakistan, several developing countries of Africa, and China, which for reasons of its own maintained a low profile. D Ravi Kanth reports on what he calls "this indefensible scourge of international trade". (Feb 13)
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Heat from Enron's meltdown hits credit agencies
The crisis surrounding the collapse of energy giant Enron Corp has focused attention on US government agencies that finance and facilitate private projects in developing countries, schemes that critics charge are rife with human rights and environmental abuses. One of the biggest controversies involves India's Dabhol power plant. (Feb 13)
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Bangladesh's short-term agenda falls short
The new government of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia launched an ambitious 25-point program in October that was to wind up triumphantly on January 26, her 100th day in office. Things have not worked out as planned; poverty and crime remain rampant, and the government is feeling the heat. (Feb 13)
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India's great buyback scramble could be nearing end
India's stock markets may well be depressed, but of course that doesn't mean there aren't any investors and businesses taking advantage of the situation. Share buybacks have become all the rage, essentially to repel takeover threats. But Raju Bist reports that the practice is not without its critics, including a leery but powerful government department, meaning the party could soon be coming to an end. (Feb 12)
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