Yousaf Raza Gillani sworn in as Pakistan Prime Minister

As a part of a clearly stop-gap arrangement, Mr. Yousaf Raza Gillani of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – the party of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto - was sworn in as Pakistan’s 25th Prime Minister.

An alumnus of the Government College of Lahore (Pakistan), Gillani comes from a family with rich political heritage. His father Alamdar Hussain Gillani was a signatory to the Pakistan Resolution, the 1940 document on the basis of which Pakistan was created out of India. His grandfather Ghulam Mustafa Shah Gillani served as an MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly), while his great grandfather Raja Bakhsh Gillani served as a Mayor of Multan in undivided India (i.e. India before its partition in 1947).

It is quite evident that Mr Gillani will be in his position for just few days, before “loyally” vacating the chair for some “big fish” (like Mr. Asif Ali Zardari). However, let us all wish him good luck and a great time. We sincerely hope that he will be successful in driving his country towards a bright future, provided he gets enough time to do the same.

Democratization Process In Bhutan

The tiny and picturesque Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan witnessed the beginning of democratization process with the holding of first parliamentary elections in the country.

It was a momentous event in the history of the country, which has been under absolute monarchy for more than a century.

While celebrating the event, the democracy enthusiasts of the world must not forget to appreciate the King of Bhutan for his role in this matter. It may sound very strange, but actually it was the King himself who had pressed for initiating the democratization process through holding of parliamentary election. Given the huge popularity he has, the King could have easily avoided any such democratization process if he had any such wishes. But as an intelligent and sagacious person, he found it wise to behave like a “modern king” by showing spontaneous regards for the principles of democracy.

If the King’s next door neighbour, King Gyanendra of Nepal showed the same sagacity and prudence, then today he would have very much remained in his throne with full honour, instead of going through the terribly humiliating phase that he is going through right now.

Now The Palestinian Peace Process Under Laden’s Attack

Osama Bin Laden may have already “carved a niche” as a prominent enemy of peace, but he is absolutely not willing to “sit on his laurels”. That became evident when he savagely criticized the Palestinian peace negotiations with Israel, and appealed for a holy war (Jihad) to “liberate” Palestine.

The news, that I came across India’s prominent news web site http://www.ndtv.com/, is as follows –


Bin Laden takes up Palestinian cause


Osama bin Laden lashed out on Thursday at Palestinian peace negotiations with Israel and called for a holy war to liberate the Palestinian lands, a day after a bin Laden audio on a militant website threatened Europeans. Al-Jazeera TV broadcast audio excerpts attributed to the al-Qaida leader that urge Palestinians to ignore political parties ''mired in trickery of the blasphemous democracy'' and to rely on armed might.''Palestine cannot be retaken by negotiations and dialogue, but with fire and iron,'' he said.It was for the first time that bin Laden spoke of the Palestinian question at length since the deteriorating situation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, where the Israeli military has been fighting with militants who fire rockets into southern Israel.Bin Laden added that Palestinians who are unable to fight in the ''land of Al-Quds'' - a Muslim reference to Jerusalem - should join the al-Qaida's fight in Iraq.''The nearest field of jihad today to support our people in Palestine is the Iraqi field,'' he said.He also called on the people of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to ''help in support of their mujahideen brothers in Iraq, which is the greatest opportunity and the biggest task.''Al-Jazeera did not say how it obtained the recording, which was broadcast with an old photograph of bin Laden in a white headscarf and traditional Arab dress.There was no indication how recently the recording was made, or if it was an unreleased part of the audio posted late on Wednesday on an extremist website that has carried al-Qaida statements in the past. The two messages were bin Laden's first this year.In the first recording, bin Laden accused Pope Benedict XVI of helping in a ''new Crusade'' against Muslims and warned of a ''severe'' reaction for Europeans' publication of cartoons seen by Muslims as insulting the Prophet Mohammad.In the audio on Al-Jazeera, bin Laden said the sufferings of Palestinians in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip began when Arab leaders supported the US-hosted Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, and the ''Zionist entity,'' the militant name for Israel.''By their support, they are considered partners to this horrible crime,'' bin Laden said of Arab leaders who are backing the Mideast peace talks.He appeared to be seeking to merge the Palestinian cause into the wider al-Qaida struggle. There have been concerns that al-Qaida would try to increase its influence in Palestinian territories, with supporters of the terror network calling for such action on websites.Israel has been battling Hamas in Gaza since the Islamic militant group took control of the strip last June from followers of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israeli air raids are common in Gaza and militants fire rockets into Israeli towns near the strip.''Palestine will not return to us with the negotiations by the submissive rulers, their conferences, nor by demonstrations and elections,'' bin Laden said. ''Palestine will come back to us if we awaken from our ignorance and adhere to our religion and sacrifice our lives and means to it.''New CrusadeAlthough al-Qaida has previously released two messages in as many days - most recently by bin Laden's top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri in December - the latest two appeared to be the closest by bin Laden, said Ben Venzke, head of IntelCenter, a US group that monitors militant messages.''Al-Qaida has been making a concerted effort to be responsive to developments in news cycle and to respond to current events with their perspective on it,'' Venzke said. ''The situation in Gaza and the reprinting of cartoons was something bin Laden felt was important to address.'' A militant website that frequently carries al-Qaida postings, said later on Thursday that it expected bin Laden's new audio on ''The Way to Salvage Palestine'' soon.In Israel, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said that Israel does not comment on bin Laden's statements.Saeb Erekat, a negotiator for Abbas' Palestinian administration, said it was up to all parties in the talks to show that bin Laden's path isn't the way.''We and the international community must prove him wrong, because we have been pursuing peace through negotiations, and I believe the parties involved must make every effort to make the year 2008 a year of peace,'' Erekat said.The audio released on Wednesday raised concerns that al-Qaida was plotting attacks in Europe. Some experts said that bin Laden, believed to be hiding along the Afghan-Pakistan area, might be unable to organise attacks himself and was trying to fan anger over the cartoons to inspire violence by supporters. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the contents of bin Laden's message ''are filled with hate and encouraging people to murder innocents in the name of a perverted and depraved cause.'' A Vatican spokesman, the Rev Federico Lombardi, said on Thursday that bin Laden's accusation about the pope was baseless. He said that Benedict repeatedly criticised the Muhammad cartoons, first published in some European newspapers in 2006 and republished by Danish papers in February.





No matter how sweet the smell of rose is, it can never be enjoyed by a mentally deranged man who is used to the stinking smell of excrement. Similarly, no matter how much pleasant the ambience of peace and harmony is, it is never welcome to a blood sucking demon like Osama Bin Laden. After all how can he appreciate a peace process, which is likely to prevent bloodshed, when human blood is his main source of sustenance? Rather he will appreciate the situation which will witness the untimely deaths of thousands of innocent people, through war, bomb blasts, etc.

The human society is a genuine enigma. It is this human society which has given birth to the apostles of peace like Gautam Buddha, Jesus Christ and Mahatma Gandhi. And it is this same human society that has given birth to blood sucking fiends like Osama Bin Laden.

The Tibet Turmoil – The World Must Recognize The Fight For Freedom

For the last few days the global media has been closely following, quite understandably, the turmoil in Tibet. There has always been a strong protest from the Tibetans against the domination of their country by China. The Chinese government has been very ruthless in suppressing this Tibetan protest, one result of which was His Holiness Dalai Lama’s exile in India. There is strong pressure from China on India to denounce Dalai Lama, a pressure that India has so far handled with diplomatic aplomb. China has always accused Dalai Lama for instigating Tibetans against the Chinese government (as if it is a crime to motivate one’s countrymen to fight against foreign domination), and has accused him for instigating the present riot that has taken place in Tibet. In fact, the way the Chinese government has accused the widely respected religious leader has simply crossed all limits of decency. The Chinese government has used languages which even a man on the street will think twice before using in a public place. Their audacity is such, that they called Dalai Lama “A Wolf In Monk’s Robes”. Who has given the Chinese government the right to hurt the emotions of thousands of people who perceive Dalai Lama as the representative of God? Would they be able to use such a language about a religious leader from the Islamic community?

What I feel is that the world should take serious note of what is happening in Tibet. Can any person, having minimum rationality, deny this fact that China is doing something really obnoxious by forcefully occupying Tibet? Isn’t it a clear case of imperialism? On what basis have they got the right to occupy Tibet?

The peace loving people across the world should immediately start a strong campaign against the illegal Chinese domination of Tibet, thereby creating a strong pressure on Beijing to withdraw itself from that beautiful land.

One thing has always surprised me. I have always found that the so-called intellectuals are very fast in criticizing the capitalist countries (like the USA) when the latter do something that is apparently unethical. These intellectuals are so smart in criticizing the USA for its war against Iraq (something which I also do not support). But these intellectuals never criticize Fidel Castro of Cuba for ruling (or shall we say oppressing) his countrymen with an iron hand. Similarly, I never find these intellectuals to criticize the Chinese government who has been playing with the feelings, emotions and self-respect sense of the Tibetans all over the world.

It is high time we stopped all sorts of hypocrisy, and criticize all sorts of unethical activities, irrespective of the country responsible for that. If we do not extend our support to our Tibetan brothers and sisters who are fighting for the liberty of their beloved motherland, then we have no right to call ourselves a civilized society.

Euthanasia Needs A Serious Consideration

I have always felt that selective use of Euthanasia (mercy killing) is something that the human society should seriously think about. Several human rights activists and other members of the global intelligentsia have been strongly opposing the idea of Euthanasia, and I appreciate their views. However, a couple of incidents that I have read/heard about have convinced me about the necessity of selective Euthanasia.

Just recently I read in “The Times of India” (India’s largest English language daily)about the painful experience of Manjunath Kalmani. Manjunath is an Indian software professional who went to work in the USA. He was approaching a successful career when in 2002 he met with a major car accident, that left him paralyzed neck down. Even his speech was highly affected, and he was dependent on a machine even for breathing. He stayed in this condition in US hospital for 6 years, with nobody from his family beside him. And why did nobody from his family bother to visit him in the USA? Because they could neither afford a visit to America nor could bear his treatment cost.

Anyway, the US government was kind enough to continue with his treatment for 6 years. But ultimately his Visa expired, and now the US government has sent him back to India. It was just the other day that “The Times of India” carried a touching and sensational story on his plight, bringing the matter into public notice. This resulted in promises of financial and other helps from various people, bringing some respite for this hapless techie. And now even his family has come forward to accept him back.

This shocking and painful story has made several people to come up with various comments and interpretations, based on their diverse analysis of the incident. Some people have criticized Manjunath’s family, which had simply deserted their own child. Some people feel that since the Indian government benefits a lot from the foreign exchanges sent by the NRIs (Non Resident Indians), therefore it is the duty and responsibility of the Indian government to extend helping hand when any of those NRIs are in trouble.

However, I will like to analyze the incident from a different angle. My question is, does not this incident highlight the necessity of Euthanasia? Just think of it. For six years a person is lying on his bed just like a vegetable, with absolutely no sensation neck down. He is dependent on other people for every mundane activity. He needs to be fed, bathed, clothed. He needs other peoples’ help to wash his stool, and even when he needs to urinate. In a nutshell, he is completely dependent on the mercy of other people. Imagine yourself in such a condition for just one year, and you may have some idea about the tremendous mental trauma and plight that Manjunath has gone through (and is still going through).

And please remember that is it not an exceptional case. We all know that there are numerous such cases across the world, with people leading lives confined to their beds after meeting with devastating accidents, diseases, etc. These people are leading lives that are worse than one can imagine in Hell, and are praying to God every moment for a quick death. Do we have any right to keep them alive, thus prolonging their tremendous sufferings? Or is it better to relieve them from their sufferings through painless killing, ofcourse when we are sure that there is no hope for any improvement?

I know that legalization of Euthanasia may lead to some negative developments as well. For example, a depressed or heartbroken person, who is frustrated with his life and is planning to commit suicide, may take the help of Euthanasia to end his life. It can even be used by people for committing murders, like causing the death of an uncle/cousin, etc. for grabbing a share of family fortunes. There can be several other misuses of Euthanasia, as well.

However, the concerned authorities can always take suitable steps to minimize the misuses of Euthanasia, by formulating certain guidelines. For example, rules can be made that a person can be granted Euthanasia precisely when he is going through severe physical suffering, and he cannot have Euthanasia when he has any other type of sufferings, like mental shock, trauma, depression, frustration, social humiliation, etc. In fact, rules can be made to strictly prohibit application of Euthanasia in the cases of victims of mental plight, no matter how much severe the plight is.

And steps should also be taken to properly define those physical sufferings that will legally justify Euthanasia. For example, rules can be made that a person can be granted Euthanasia only when he has become permanently bed ridden (due to paralysis, etc.), with no sensation in major parts of his body, and with little or no possibility for any improvement. It may be stipulated that physical problems that do not necessarily confine somebody to bed, like loss of hands or feet, will not legally justify the application of Euthanasia.

Moreover, rules must be made that in case there is any application of Euthanasia, then prior permission must be taken from a group of experts (from Medical, Legal and Ethical domains), and even the conduction of Euthanasia must also take place under their supervision.

I doubt whether any person can deny this fact that there are at least some cases where Euthanasia is virtually a must. While a huge number of people oppose Euthanasia purely from ethical angle, there are many who oppose it out of this fear that it may be misused. What I feel is that government of every country has a number of experts who know how to prevent misuse of Euthanasia. It is quite natural that any law can be misused. It becomes the responsibility of the government to ensure that no law can be misused by anybody. A government cannot refrain from introducing a law – when it is evident that its selective use is a must – simply because there is a strong possibility for its misuse.

After 35 Years, Pakistan Gives Back “Kashmir” To India

It was a touching moment for presumably all the Indian citizens when Kashmir Singh, an Indian prisoner detained in Pakistan’s jail for 35 years, finally had the opportunity to reunite with his wife and children.

It was way back in 1973 that a young, 32 years old Kashmir was arrested in Pakistan on charges of espionage, and was put on a death row in a jail in the Pakistani city of Lahore. Since then his wife Paramjit Kaur had been patiently waiting for the return of her husband, while singlehandedly upbringing their children with great hardships.

Today, after more than three decades her long, anxious and cherished wait has finally come to an end. It is a different matter that the 32 years old dashing husband whom she had last seen 35 years back is now a 67 years old man, who has probably past the prime time of his life. But that is least likely to mar the happiness of the Singh family, who now know how it feels to get back a beloved one after decades of waiting.

A note of thanks should be attributed to Mr. Ansar Burney, Pakistan’s Human Rights minister. It was he who had traced Kashmir Singh while making an official visit to Lahore's Central Jail, and got Mr. Singh a pardon order from the Pakistan President Mr. Pervez Musharraf.

We eagerly await similar developments in the cases of all the Indian citizens languishing in the Pakistani jails, and all Pakistani citizens languishing in Indian jails. India and Pakistan have had enough of hatred and malice. But now time is changing, with both the countries trying their best to strengthen the relationship. It is now time to give love and compassion a chance.

So can we except the Human Rights activists taking up the issue on both sides of the border, eventually resulting in a pro-active diplomatic initiative by both the governments in this regard?

Mumbai (India) Woman Deserted By Husband For Giving Birth To Female Child

India might have established herself as a booming economy, with her educated citizens having all the “right credentials” like tech savvy lifestyle, access to world’s best consumer products, etc. But it is highly doubtful whether economic progress can be interpreted as a symbol of social progress, as well. It is this doubt that struck my mind after I came across this news at http://www.ndtv.com/, the news web site of India’s prominent news channel NDTV 24x7 -


Woman rues family's disdain for daughters

A mother of two children was recently thrown out of her home because her husband and his family wanted a son.''I am sitting outside. Please let me come in,'' said Ramila Tated.Ramila Tated was sitting outside her own home, pleading to be let inside, after she was thrown out along with her two daughters. She had to spend Saturday night on the steps outside her house. Ramila's husband Shailesh and his family, who own a jewellery store, threw her out because they wanted male children.So much so that after the first girl was born Ramila was forced to go through abortions twice, as the illegally done ultrasound report showed she was expecting girls.''My husband's family came over once after I had a minor fight with my husband. They tortured hours. My father-in-law beat me up and even set me on fire but I managed to escape,'' said Ramila Tated.But when on February 11 she delivered another baby girl, her husband left the house and even threatened divorce.On Saturday night several people walked into Ramila's house and showed her out, forcing her to seek help from the police.''She was being tortured physically and mentally since her marriage in 2004. There is also a case of harassment due to dowry demands,'' said D P Jhende, Police Inspector.The Dahisar Police has also registered a case of dowry harassment after Ramila's parents were told to give 5 lakh rupees for bringing up the first daughter.While Ramila's husband and brother-in-law Rajesh have been arrested, the police is also looking for the two doctors from KK Hospital and Ameen Hospital, who revealed the sex of the child before birth.




The news just left me shocked and horrified. Is it 2008, or 1908? What a shame that India is still experiencing incidents like this, that too in areas adjacent to metro cities and not only in remote villages.

It is undoubtedly true that the Indian government is doing a lot for strengthening the national economy, otherwise the Indian economy would not have achieved what it has achieved so far. But shouldn’t it show the same level of sincerity and effort for the social development of the country, as well? How can it be accepted that even at this age we have families where a female child is considered to be a liability (and not asset), and the “accused mother” is thrown out of the family as a “punishment” for what she has done.

Agreed, the government has launched a battery of social awareness advertisements, trying to teach the Indian mass about the equality of male and female children. I personally have often come across such ads in TV, apart from finding a lot of them in billboards in various parts of various Indian cities and towns.

But has the government ever bothered to check whether its communication efforts in this regard have been effective or not? Has there been any “impact analysis” of all these mass awareness programs? I am not privy to the government’s internal affairs, and I doubt whether I have any right to make any remark. But frankly speaking, I strongly doubt whether the government at all bothers about the success of its social responsibility ads. Otherwise such incidents would have ended long back.

The government should seriously analyse its communication strategies as far as mass awareness campaigns on gender equality are concerned. While going for an ad or any other communication method, it should first check whether the communication channel it has selected is at all effective as far as the target audience it is trying to communicate with is concerned.

For example, we all know that this social bias against female children is predominantly found among the lower strata of the Indian society. And a huge section of these people are illiterate. And if that is the case, then what is the use of crafting such communication efforts which are understandable only to the literate people? For example, if the government is trying to communicate with a section which is mainly illiterate, then it is purely meaningless to come up with billboard ads. They will certainly send this message to the educated and elite section of the Indian society that the government is highly worried about the social bias against women. But the message will remain inaccessible to the intended target audience.

The same can be said about such ads published in print media, as news paper is also inaccessible to the illiterate people.

And the same can be said about the ads in electronic media, like TV. They are still better, as these ads contain small dramas, through which this message is sent to the target audience that there should be equal treatment for children of both the sexes. And TV’s eligibility as a communication channel is beyond doubt, as it has become a household item even in the backward regions of the country.

But the way these TV ads are prepared, do they really sensitize people? I am not a communication expert. But what I feel, these ads reflect a very lukewarm attitude. This can be understood from this fact that all of these ads are of the same nature and type, without any effort to make them more innovative and effective. It will be nice if the Indian government thinks about how to make these ads more result oriented.

The government can also go for several other methods, like sending celebrities (film stars, sportspeople, etc.) to those so-called lower strata people, to talk to them directly on this issue. These celebrities are often regarded as demi-gods by the illiterate and semi-literate mass, and the government might get good results by sending social messages to the target audience through these celebrities. In fact, the government is already using such celebrities in some of the ads in electronic and other media.

Sometimes the government can also take the help of religious personalities. For example, if it is found that a particular religious personality has a huge fan following in a certain area, then that person can be used to spread such valuable social message among people of that area.

At the end of the day, I just want to make this appeal to the Indian government that it should be as serious in making the Indian mass socially educated as it has been in strengthening the Indian economy. The Indian mass has witnessed the success of its government in developing the Indian economy, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Now the mass awaits equal success from its government in social development initiatives, successfully addressing all the social evils that the country still suffers from.