Worf, you are obviously a very ignorant person. Indians get along fine with each other. Have you ever been to India?

Clearly you are a very intelligent person.

India has already been through that process about 50 years ago. Ever heard of the States Reorganization Act 1956? And all the language riots and ethnic riots that accompanied that messy process toward streamlining state borders? I am not completely in favor of any further reorganization. It doesn’t make any more administrative sense to do so, but intra-state separatist movements keep popping up, e.g. Gorkhaland and the Naga unification movement at the expense of other northeastern states. Perhaps it’s time for Pakistan and Bangladesh to apply the same Act to themselves.

India has only begun the process with that act. By reconstitution I was referring to a much greater devolution of powers. Keep defence, foreign affairs and certain other aspects under centralized control, while allowing the states to have total control over their economic and political future. This would be as close as possible to a confederation. This will be messy but it will be up to the state governments to negotiate and broker state borders. Compromise is crucial here. A small part of the reason why India has so much widespread poverty (half of the world’s poverty and hunger is the extensive bureaucracy and corruption that comes with too much centralization of administrative structures.

One of the many reasons why Europe outpaced China past the 14th century was the diversity of worldviews and ways of thinking embodied across the region whether it be political, economic or cultural. India will only out-turtle China if and only if it embraces and enhances its internal diversity as much as it can without endangering the unity of the monopoly on violence.

At the same time I think democracy at the ‘federal’ level shouldn’t be done by mass voting but rather equal or slightly in-equal number of representatives from each internal state. If the population of a people or a size of the state is too small, make them a canton (as exists in parts of Europe, specifically Switzerland) and give them some sort of appropriate representation at the ‘federal’ level. This will allow for certain states to be broken up further as to recognize the wishes of the people on the ground. This also avoids the bouts of majoritarianism that are bound break out more often as the demographics of individual states further diverge.

Such extensive reforms will also allow an avenue for the rest of South Asia to be integrated into such a supra-state of sorts without risking their autonomy. Only true power to the people(bottom-up) will allow India to eradicate the inexcusably high levels of poverty, hunger and inequality, thereby allowing it out-turtle homogeneous autocratic China(top-bottom).

India itself is ultimately fated to either being reconstituted to be more like the EU (absorbing the rest of South Asia in the process) or be completely Balkanized (again along with the rest of South asia).

“Afghanistan used to have the reputation as one of the most hospitable places in the world, and Afghanis as amongst the most sweet and kind.”

I am surprised that a woman is saying this. Even when they were sweet and kind, Afghan society was highly tolerant of misogyny and pedophilia. Females were chattel, to be awarded to rivals for settling disputes. To be born a woman in Afghanistan, particularly in an economically disadvantaged family, pretty much condemns you for life.

However, this doesn’t mean that the Afghans deserve what is happening to them over the last few decades.

p.s. cool handle……sherni.

Kumar et al – Short of an imminent take over of Pakistan by the fundamentalist element, I don’t foresee the west using their armies to remedy Pakistan. They just don’t have the stomach for it. And the Mullahs, Army Generals, and the Politicians of Pakistan know it all too well. They also know that, it’s only a matter of time before the coalition gets tired and cuts a deal with the Taliban: Osama is handed over to the Americans, who then announce “mission accomplished” and exit Afghanistan, leaving the wretched country for the Taliban. Of course, the talibs will be warned to keep their act local [Afghanistan, Pakistan and India only], otherwise uncle sam will be back to bomb you back into what ever preceeded the stone age. Everybody is happy with this outcomey, except the women, children and minorities of Afghanistan, NWFP and FATA. And as long as we don’t see their plight on CNN, they don’t exist.

P.S. As cliched this may sound, Pakistan’s and our only hope are the Pakistani people. Only they can fix the situation. Really.