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June 12, 2005
REVIEWS: Singing a familiar tune
Reviewed by Dr Mehtab Ali Shah
Syed Ali Mujtaba’s book is a combination of 15 articles, orbiting around one central theme: can the South Asian states form the United States of South Asia? Mujtaba modestly claims that this book is the layman’s manual to help him understand the region of South Asia. It is for the general reader, including people who do not know anything about South Asia or its inhabitants. Though notes, references, and a bibliography are not provided, it is a reasonably researched book and should be added to the reading list on South Asian literature.
Broadly speaking, the articles fall into three categories: the first deal with specific issues related to the subcontinent, such as the aftermath of the partition of India, past and present India-Pakistan relations, the Kashmir issue, and the creation of Bangladesh. The second comprise country briefings on Sri-Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. The third set of articles discuss the common problems of the states of South Asia and are an analysis of and an introduction to subcontinental issues, Saarc, and the region as a whole.
In the chapter on the partition of India, the author observes that Pakistan was not intended to be a theocratic state, and the transfer of population on the basis of religion was unthinkable. The Muslims migrating from India received a culture shock when they experienced the dissimilarities between them and the native Sindhis. Mujtaba, however, does not talk about the Sindhi point of view about the influx of Muslims from India. Besides a host of other problems, the cultural unfamiliarity became a major factor in their mutual alienation.
In the chapter on India-Pakistan relations, the author argues that there are more similarities than dissimilarities between the two countries. Both have fought aimless wars against each other. India cannot undo or fracture Pakistan, nor can Pakistan snatch away Kashmir from India. Mujtaba talks about foreign influences in South Asia as he explains that after the nuclearization of the region in 1998, America has been actively involved in the region. It has a profound interest in the denuclearization of the region, and the defusion of India-Pakistan tension. After 9/11, America professes to promote democracy in Pakistan and also uses it as a base against the Al Qaeda and the Taliban terrorist networks operating within Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mujtaba believes that the confidences building measures (CBM) adopted by India and Pakistan and the advent of a composite dialogue have been initiated with by the blessings of the United States.
India-Pakistan relations cannot be understood without a comprehension of the Kashmir imbroglio. Mujtaba argues that the static position of the two countries on this issue has obstructed any marked progress in India-Pakistan ties. According to him, India and Pakistan both have ignored the position of the Kashmiris on their wellbeing. He, however, praises and gives credit to the Vajpayee government that appointed the Kashmir Committee, headed by an eminent Sindhi Human rights lawyer, Ram Jaithmalani. The committee was to open a dialogue with the Kashmiri activists including the Hurriyat Conference leaders.
Mujtaba perceives the assassinated Hurriyat leader, Abdul Ghani Lone, as representing the standard Kashmiri opinion on the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Lone was an opponent of a trifurcation or any multifurcation of Kashmir. He was a staunch believer in the intra-Kashmiri dialogue for achieving a common position on the future of the state. Kashmiris from both sides of the Line of Control and abroad, along with some prominent Pakistanis and Indians, met in Kathmandu last year.
The Pakistanis and Indian journalists have also visited both sides of the LoC, which has helped their respective readers to gauge the public mood of the other side. Moreover, the recently launched Srinagar-Muzzafarabad bus service will bring the Kashmiris closer together in determining their destiny.
In relation to other South Asian issues, Mujtaba is pleased to note that Bangladesh, as an overpopulated and under resourced country, has made enormous progress in the social sector, especially health care, and quality drugs are now available at affordable prices to the bulk of the population.
In general, Mujtaba also deals with the common problems faced by the South Asian states. These issues include bigotry, separatism, heavy defence expenditures, refugees, water scarcity, food insecurity, deforestation, environmental degradation, and illiteracy. He states that the nature of these problems cannot be tackled single-handedly and should be dealt with collectively. He states that Saarc provides a proper and effective mechanism for this purpose.
The main focus of Mujtaba’s book is on one issue: could South Asian states, on the model of the European Union, form a bigger union known as the United States of South Asia? If not, what are the obstructions in the way of this scheme and how can they be removed and what factors would be conducive to achieving this objective? Mujtaba points out that in this region there is an overemphasis on a narrowly defined nationalism. This along with the military dominance over the state apparatus (a reference to Pakistan) is the major stumbling block on the way to regional integration. Can these deep-rooted blocks be removed? Mujtaba appears to be skeptical about its success, but writes that the plying of the bus service across the LoC, the warmth between Delhi and Islamabad, as well as the pro-active polices of the extra-regional powers in South Asia, could be a step in the right direction.
The reviewer is professor of international relations at Sindh University
Soundings on South Asia
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
New Dawn Press Group
Available with Royal Book Company BG-5, Rex Centre Basement, Zaibunnisa Street, Karachi-74400. Tel: 021-565 3418, 567 0628
Email: royalbook@hotmail.com
ISBN 1-932705-40-6
226pp. Rs500
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