Kashmir and internal politics of Pakistan

From the point of view of the separatist leaders, they are doing their job by obeying faithfully every direction coming from their Pakistani paymasters. Indian security agencies are doing their job by curbing the rebellion. Unfortunately, the real loses are the gullible people of Kashmir, who are dancing to the tune of the Hurriyat leaders. They are not applying their mind to understand the simple truth that by listening to the orders of the separatists, they are not going to  get "azadi", but are definitely ruining their future. This is the message the mainstream political parties should convey to them loudly.

The problem might have originated because of the internal politics of Pakistan. General Raheel Sharif, who is a four-star rank army general, currently serving as the 15th Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army,  will retire as Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan) in November 2016. Maybe he has become ambitious. Maybe he wants to do a Parvez Musharraf,  the mastermind of a Kargil infiltration that brought India and Pakistan to a full-fledged war in 1999,  who after months of contentious relations with the Prime Minister Sharif, staged military coup d’état that allowed him to seize control of the government. The military establishment in Pakistan has been instrumental in fuelling the current agitation in Kashmir. The PMLN has no other option but to occasionally issue some statements supporting the current agitation that has been continuing for 64 days in Kashmir.

Pakistani leaders make tall talk about Kashmir. Some say it’s in their jugular vein. Some say it’s their lifeline. Some say that they will never forget Kashmir. Some say Kashmir is an unfinished agenda of the partition.  But in reality, they mean nothing. They know very well that they will bring only destruction, maybe to the extent of annihilation, to their country if they try to wage another war with India to snatch Kashmir. Kashmir has become a useful tool of doing politics in Pakistan. Whenever the incumbent government fails to deliver on governance or gets itself mired in corruption, it takes the easy route of diverting people’s attention by raking up the K-word, which sounds very sexy to ears of the audience in Pakistan.

And we should not forget the military in Pakistan, which probably has the ultimate say in any matter in Pakistan. Pakistani army officers have gained enormous wealth by keeping the jihad factory running and keeping the pot boiling in Kashmir. Currently, the position of Nawaz Sharif has become vulnerable after the Panama papers revelations. The leaks reveal that three of his children own offshore companies and assets not shown on his family's wealth statement. The companies identified so far include three British Virgin Islands-based companies Nescoll Ltd, Nielsen Enterprises Ltd and Hangon Property Holdings Ltd. These companies have been used to channel funds to acquire foreign assets, including some apartments along Park Lane in London's Mayfair area. Maybe Raheel Sharif sees a good opportunity to topple the government and usurp power. From the comments posted in various Pakistani websites, it’s not to be missed that the military gets strong support from a section of the Pakistani people. Therefore, Raheel has started trouble in Kashmir to gain his popularity in Pakistan.

But, why should the people of Kashmir bring unbearable miseries to them by using themselves to be used as a pawn at the hands of politicians of Pakistan. The message should be loud and clear from New Delhi that they will never get "azadi". Wage a propaganda war in Kashmir. Make them understand that they are currently under a spell which has brought only doom to them.

Pictures taken from net

How logical is banning commercial surrogacy?

India’s government has cleared the way for a measure that would ban all commercial surrogacy in the country, allowing only close family relatives to become surrogate mothers. The proposed measure is a blow to the thriving but unregulated rent-a-womb industry that many activists say is exploiting poor women. Read https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/rent-a-womb-industry-in-india-may-be-shut-down/2016/08/24/39684d60-79e3-42c9-893d-9ff5998ce179_story.html


The blanket ban on commercial surrogacy is very difficult to understand for me. Exploitation of poor women is cited as the prime mover behind the proposed ban. Is that a valid reason? The logical step should have been to prevent the exploitation, to plug the loopholes in the law, and not banning the entire thing. Exploitaion is everywhere. For example, BPO workers are being exploited by their employers. So what the government should do? Should they ban the entire BPO operation, or should they increase the minimum wages?

Surrogacy is a great scientific achievement, and Indian people should not be denied the fruits of it. Finding close relatives, who have already become mother, for becoming surrogate mother, that too without any commercial consideration, will be extremely hard to find.

This surrogacy business has been very good for earning revenues in foreign currencies. In the past decade, India has emerged as one of the top destinations for childless couples from around the world who pay impoverished women to give birth to have their children. India and the United States are among a handful of countries where the practice of in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer is allowed. According to one estimate, at least 40,000 surrogate babies were born in the past decade. Many foreigners came to India to hire surrogate mothers for prices that could range from $8,000 to $40,000.  Also, as more and more wealthy Indian people have been getting into it, it has been a good means of economic justice. It's true, the poor women have been exploited. The middle men were taking the bulk of the money. But isn't that the case every where? For example, if the farmer gets rupees 4 per kg  for a produce, the market price is rupees 16. However, I  am not defending the exploitation. There has to be some mechanism to ensure that the surrogate mother gets at least 50% of the total money.

If the proposed bill is passed, there will be two possibilities. First, the entire business may go underground, thereby letting the law enforcement agencies having a field day to earn black money. If the the law enforcement agencies do their job honestly, then the business will go to other countries like Thailand, Georgia etc. Huge flow of Indian currencies to foreign countries is definitely not a good idea.

Lastly, I think this proposed bill is very unscientific and regressive in nature. It might have come out of the brains of some "gau rakshaks"!

Pictures taken from net