A Pakistani and an Indian

[jamahir]

it is funny to see that the op was a article calling for unification, but yet has started another round of india/pakistan fight on pdf...

i propose this... ( proposal for a new division of south asia | Page 10 ).

 

[asq]

This is all geopolitics. It is a dirty business. The British divided us for geopolitical reasons, using our internal differences and we are still fighting over it. Though you exaggerate, I agree Indians are also somewhat arrogant and the arrogance will increase as India becomes more and more powerful. All of us should adjust our mindsets and let us not pass on the negative things we inherited from old generation on to the future generations.

You said I exegerate, i think I am being polite and ignoring lots of unjust acts by India, so there it is, you have Indian mind set which tells you that you are original inhabitants of India, history on the other hand tell that you as an Aryan who came from other lands few years before Muslims did, but than that is how the world was in old days, Roman came to England when tey were in power.

So till the truth is spoken and adhered to, there will be diffences that cnnot be bridged, so it is upto Indians to adopt the truth and follow it for the good od every one.

 

[Sneaker]

We prefer the more neutral term 'South Asian' !

This term was just coined to be politically correct, by people who can't say they are "Indian". Sadly, this doesn't have a historic backing like the term "Indian"....

 

[Dushmann]

You said I exegerate, i think I am being polite and ignoring lots of unjust acts by India, so there it is, you have Indian mind set which tells you that you are original inhabitants of India, history on the other hand tell that you as an Aryan who came from other lands few years before Muslims did, but than that is how the world was in old days, Roman came to England when tey were in power.

So till the truth is spoken and adhered to, there will be diffences that cnnot be bridged, so it is upto Indians to adopt the truth and follow it for the good od every one.

Though I believe India is not doing lot of subversive activities in Pakistan so far, let us be frank, Pakistan is a grave national security threat for India and India has no option but to deal harshly with Pakistan; if necessary break it. This is all because of the ego and insecurities of the Pakistani elites. Sadly, it is the common man who will have to face the consequences of all this politics. Civil war and anarchy is a very a horrible thing. Just because of delusions of of Pakistani elites and their politics, common people will have to face it.

If Pakistan stops becoming security threat to India, gives back occupied land, does not act as mercenary agent of external powers like Anglo-Saxon/american imperialists, Chinese imperialists etc ; India will have no need to do any such things to Pakistan. In fact India by it's nature is very passive and non aggressive in geo-political matters.

 

[Arya Desa]

pakisthanis grossly overestimate their capability. A country that harboured Bin Laden should have some shame when talking about terrorism.

 

[Armstrong]

This term was just coined to be politically correct, by people who can't say they are "Indian". Sadly, this doesn't have a historic backing like the term "Indian"....

The term Indian or India too is an artificial construct 'cause someone 'coined' it like they called any term; why then must time be the barometer to measure a term's acceptability or unacceptability ?

Besides when the 'term' India was appropriated by the State of India to weave a narrative that to speak of Ancient India and the State of India to be as one or the other naturally no one would be willing to accept that just as people would be alright with accepting the term European but not German just because the civilizational discourse, narrative, literature etc. of Germanic Nations like Scandinavians, Afrikaners, Flemish, Swiss, Frisians, Austrians, Icelandic etc. essentially make them all scions of Ancient Germania.

So South Asian is not only a more neutral term but also one that is more apt in describing what we are.

 

[dray]

No chance of peace with Hindutvadasis. In the end one of us is going to survive by eating up the other. We all know which one of us eats meat.

2/3rd of India's population eat meat, that's around 80 crore people, how many people in Pakistan eat meat?

 

[Armstrong]

2/3rd of India's population eat meat, that's around 80 crore people, how many people in Pakistan eat meat?

I eat meat equivalent to a crore people myself !

 

[Sneaker]

The term Indian or India too is an artificial construct 'cause someone 'coined' it like they called any term; why then must time be the barometer to measure a term's acceptability or unacceptability ?

Besides when the 'term' India was appropriated by the State of India to weave a narrative that to speak of Ancient India and the State of India to be as one or the other naturally no one would be willing to accept that just as people would be alright with accepting the term European but not German just because the civilizational discourse, narrative, literature etc. of Germanic Nations like Scandinavians, Afrikaners, Flemish, Swiss, Frisians, Austrians, Icelandic etc. essentially make them all scions of Ancient Germania.

So South Asian is not only a more neutral term but also one that is more apt in describing what we are.

Coined terms become identities when they stand the test of the time. It is very hard to impossible changing the established identities. Good examples are US and Iran. US citizens call themselves "american" when they are actually Europeans. Iranians did not change their "iranian" identity even they changed their religion. Indian union has monopolized term "India" only because others abandoned it largely. I have an Indian restaurant run by a pakistani and an Indian store run by a Bangladeshi where I live, nobody is stopping them from using term "India".

 

[Armstrong]

Coined terms become identities when they stand the test of the time. It is very hard to impossible changing the established identities. Good examples are US and Iran. US citizens call themselves "american" when they are actually Europeans. Iranians did not change their "iranian" identity even they changed their religion. Indian union has monopolized term "India" only because others abandoned it largely. I have an Indian restaurant run by a pakistani and an Indian store run by a Bangladeshi where I live, nobody is stopping them from using term "India".

'test of time' - What the heck does the test of time have to do with anything ? Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankans, Bhutanese, Nepalese and Afghans (if you buy into that Greater South Asia thing) don't call themselves Indians so does that grant legitimacy to our terms ?

This is a frivolous exercise in chest thumping nothing more. And besides what the heck is an Indian as an ethnicity to begin with ? I'm a Kashmiri what in heaven's name have I got in common with a Malayalee that both he and I are clubbed in the same classification ?

 

[Sneaker]

'test of time' - What the heck does the test of time have to do with anything ? Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankans, Bhutanese, Nepalese and Afghans (if you buy into that Greater South Asia thing) don't call themselves Indians so does that grant legitimacy to our terms ?

This is a frivolous exercise in chest thumping nothing more. And besides what the heck is an Indian as an ethnicity to begin with ? I'm a Kashmiri what in heaven's name have I got in common with a Malayalee that both he and I are clubbed in the same classification ?

Test of time is nothing but adaptation of the identity by many people. I am not saying pakistani identity is not legitimate. I am supporting OP in that one can be pakistani (srilankan, bengali etc etc) and still be Indian..

 

[illusion8]

2/3rd of India's population eat meat, that's around 80 crore people, how many people in Pakistan eat meat?

He probably meant beef eater, the percentage should be same then.

OT: Nice read, could feel his pain in the piece.

 

[Armstrong]

Test of time is nothing but adaptation of the identity by many people. I am not saying pakistani identity is not legitimate. I am supporting OP in that one can be pakistani (srilankan, bengali etc etc) and still be Indian..

And I'm saying that a Pakistani doesn't need to be an Indian because India as a social construct is a defunct idea now replaced by South Asian identity which truly views the notion of a geographical India as a a Subcontinent of Nations as opposed to one big Nation as the State of India envisioned herself to be.

 

[Sneaker]

And I'm saying that a Pakistani doesn't need to be an Indian because India as a social construct is a defunct idea now replaced by South Asian identity which truly views the notion of a geographical India as a a Subcontinent of Nations as opposed to one big Nation as the State of India envisioned herself to be.

Nobody needs to adopt an identity if he/she doesn't want to. But when you reject an identity, you should also reject other things associated with that identity, for good or for bad. South Asian identity is the one which failed, not Indian. You never see "south asian cuisine" or "south asian studies".. all you have is Indian cuisine and Indology..

 

[Armstrong]

Nobody needs to adopt an identity if he/she doesn't want to. But when you reject an identity, you should also reject other things associated with that identity, for good or for bad. South Asian identity is the one which failed, not Indian. You never see "south asian cuisine" or "south asian studies".. all you have is Indian cuisine and Indology..

Because India took the notion of a geographic and ancient Indian Subcontinent and superimposed it onto the State of India and sold it to the world as if to speak of one is to speak of the other and if you've got salespersons numbering more than the entire African Continent naturally thats how its going to be perceived.

P.S You do see South Asian Studies; there are numerous Undegrad, Grad and Post-Grad qualifications available on that subject (especially in England) !