I got to read that book as it sounds deeply detailed.
From what little I know of Nehru it appeared he remained an idealist and Gandhian pacifist in his outlook up until 1962 when the PRC reminded him the world was going to be more complicated. Indira was the opposite but had fewer options.
"Miles to go before I sleep..."
Posted by Nemo at January 25, 2009 10:11 AMThank you for the very informative post on the Kashmir issue. I must read the book you mention.
Jonathan
Posted by at January 25, 2009 11:58 AMFYI,
A friend of mine notes:
"BTW, The term Pakistan coined from Punjab, ……. Is the dumbest explanation I’ve heard for it. Pakistan at the time included Bengal too – why is there no B in the name.
The name Pakistan means “land of the pure” in Urdu."
Posted by S Brennan at January 25, 2009 05:07 PMS. Brennan,
Your friend is correct that Pakistan means "land of the pure" but it is also the case that the words happened to represent the major regions that the Muslim League believed should be part of Pakistan. The fact that Bengal was not overtly captured in the word doesn't necessarily mean that the etymology is incorrect.
Also see Wikipedia.
Posted by eriposte at January 25, 2009 06:29 PMOne more clarification - one of the three major regions of J&K is Ladakh, which is predominantly Buddhist. In the discussion above I am referring primarily to Jammu and the valley of Kashmir.
Posted by eriposte at January 25, 2009 06:31 PMRemember when Led Zeppelin's song "Kashmir" was used in the 1998 version of the move "Godzilla?" Do you think the movie was making a political statement? Then there was the tie-in with Godzilla and the Taco Bell dog in an ad campaign that ran during the same time.
Are there Taco Bells in Kashmir? I would think after that movie, maybe not.
Posted by Muck at January 25, 2009 08:16 PM