PAKISTAN - THE TERROR CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

Indo-Pak relations have hit a new low after the Mumbai terror attacks. India, along with the US, has launched a diplomatic war to pressurize Pakistan dismantle its terror infrastructure. Two questions come to my mind when I think of this diplomatic tactic – first, will diplomatic tactics yield results? And second, today, is Pakistan in a position to dismantle its terror organizations?
Before answering both the questions, it is important to understand – how did Pakistan end up being the breeding ground to some of the most dangerous terror organizations of the world? After all it did not part ways with India in 1947 just to wage a proxy war!

I believe it all began in 1971 when Pakistan faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of India. Pakistan realized that it could not defeat India in a direct war. With the humiliation of losing Bangladesh, perhaps (and I am guessing here) it wanted to get back by doing something similar. Kashmir became the obvious choice – a state with Muslim majority, grieved local population and a disputed border with Pakistan. It supported organizations that trained terrorists to wage a proxy war in Kashmir. Also, during the same time, US was fighting a war against Russia (erstwhile USSR) in Afghanistan. US too by this time had learnt its lessons from Vietnam fiasco where it had suffered huge losses in a decade long direct war. It too wanted to train and arm local groups who would wage the war on its behalf. So Pakistan, a nation that shared border with Afghanistan and an old ally, became the natural choice where such terror groups mushroomed and trained people to wage war in Afghanistan and India.

All this went well till the cold war. After cold war, US lost interest in the proxy war and backed off support to these groups. During the same time, Al Qaeda under Osama Bin Laden that had worked with US in Afghanistan now turned against it. Al Qaeda became US’s enemy number one for its policies of supporting Israel and war against Iraq. Al Qaeda transformed itself into a global terrorist organization with the aid of Islamic nations like Saudi Arabia. It operated from the difficult mountainous terrain bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan. The terrain has always been under the control of local war lords where these Al Qaeda and other terrorist organization have taken safe refuge.

US is now fighting the monster it had created. Pakistan on the other hand is divided on the issue of supporting these terrorist outfits. The army and its intelligence agencies still see supporting terror outfits as a source of power, while the politicians see it as a dangerous path that is economically unviable. The intelligence agencies are so closely knit with these outfits; it is hard for them to just disengage with them. And with the army having an upper hand in Pakistan, the path to remove the terror infrastructure is fraught with peril to democracy. Also, the terrorist outfits are not under the control of Pakistan government. They are independent groups with stable source of income from other Islamic nations. To that extent, even if the army wants, it will not be able to remove the terror infrastructure so easily.

Pakistan has now become a big threat to the world. It is a nuclear nation, which is home to world’s most dangerous terrorist organizations. Further, Pakistan has economically not done as well as India. A military solution, especially from India, can frustrate a nation that will not be able to digest another defeat. It can lead to a nuclear war, or even worse, passing of nuclear technology to Al Qaeda. Either way, repercussion will be disastrous. Under such circumstances, I am not in favor of a nuclear war. I support the diplomatic path – whatever it offers.

Whenever I was surrounded by fear, sickness or trouble my mother taught me a prayer "Tati woh na lagyee..." Even though I never knew its meaning, I recited it religiously whenever things were not fine. Today, incidently I read the meaning of these lines in an article on www.sikhnet.com. The meanings of these lines touched a deep chord within me as they give me the warmth of being with my Guru. I would like to share the lines with one and all...

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The hot wind does not even touch one who is under the Protection of God.

On all four sides I am surrounded by God's Circle of Protection; pain does not afflict me, O Siblings of Destiny.

I have met the Perfect True Guru, who has done this deed.

He has given me the medicine of God's Name, and I enshrine love for the One Lord.

God has saved me, and eradicated all my sickness.Says Nanak, God has showered me with His Mercy; He has become my help and support.

[Guru Arjan, SGGS, 819:16]

The Boss

The boss is the single biggest reason why people switch organizations. He is often the biggest factor who contributes in creating a good work place. In the last few weeks I have been pondering over things that bosses can do to make office a great working place:
- The boss should inspire trust by being fair and apolitical amongst team members.
- He should take ownership of the team's output. Blaming is defintely not a trait great leaders show. They protect their team members when they make mistakes and have a big heart to take set backs in their stride.
- A good boss should clearly communicate his expectations to the team.
- He should be a good mentor who can help his subordinates learn through their mistakes. In this way he works towards building a commited team.

Through my own experiences I have hardly seen all the above traits present in a single person. People rarely have everything. My own recent experiences have not been very good and that is why I have been thinking a lot about it.

Stress in work life

Modern lifestyle is taking its toll. India is moving towards a hectic work life culture where life takes a definite backseat. Why is it, I wonder? I see so many people late in office for no reason. It has become a culture to stay late in office. There are eyebrows raised if some leaves early. People remark, doesn't he have work?

I am worried about this herd mentality where people stretch themselves because everybody else does so. Its time we have to re-think our priorities and wisely decide if our actions are worth it.

Work life balance

Ever since my engagement, I have been pondering over issues like 'investments' and 'work life balance'. Whereas investments are for future happiness, work life balance is essentially for present happiness.

Few days back I met a senior who is into private banking. He specializes investing for high net worth individuals. We met over coffee and he imparted some cool knowledge on safe investments. He resolved my doubts over investing in real estate, equities and other investment options. He told some safe investment plans which are relatively risk free. That day, it seemed, he s0lved one of the issues that had been bothering me.

Work life balance seems to be elusive. I hear my colleagues crying over it. They crib over long hours and undue stress at work. Sometimes I feel, is it everyones' habbit to criticize working environment in a group? Other times I find their concerns genuine. Though at present I don't feel any pressure, I don't know how will things be after marriage.

Work life balance is an individual concept. It is pointless making generalizations. My work life balance will depend on my future partner, boss and many other things that are beyond my control. It is a concept that has to be evaluated at every stage in life and hence it is pointless thinking about it.

Ahhhh... and that solved my second problem too.

India of out of 2007 cricket world cup

Nothing unusual. India lost to Sri Lanka in a decider for qualifying to the next round. It was a shameful defeat, where India team, as usual, timidly gave up. It is a sad moment because it leaves millions dejected. But if we look at the brighter side, it will leave the nation better off. Had India qualified, it would have meant millions of young people glued to TV sets for the remaining tournament. Considering that an average game of cricket lasts for eight to nine hours; millions of people watching would have resulted in wastage of productive time.

India is fast changing. Lifestyles are getting cramped with work and it is getting harder to maintain a work life balance. In such circumstances, cricket even otherwise would have died its natural death. The game is just not meant for a nation on the run. Perhaps that is why USA and Canada gave up cricket and metamorphised the game into baseball.

Now only God knows what would happen to cricket - I hope it results in hockey gaining popularity.

Life in transition

Arranged marriage is a tricky affair. The day my parents started looking for a match, I had this strange feeling taking over me. How could someone choose a life partner after talking to someone for few minutes? On top of it many elders in my family scared me by saying that it was the biggest gamble I was to take in my life.

I met Sumit Kaur Kohli in Chandigarh's Sector 34 Gurudwara. I was impressed with her education and attitude towards life. She was simple and exhibited maturity that I was looking for in my life partner. It did not take much thought to decide in her favor.

Next day, both families had a simple roka ceremony in the same Sector 34 gurudwara where Sumit and I had first met. It symbolized an important transition in my life. From bachelorhood I am now moving towards a completely different phase, with someone new to accompany me.