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SAARC summit reveals pathetic inadequacy of South Asia's leaders
comment from Maldives
January 2002
'But here is a truth we can all agree on: a solution to the Kashmir dispute must be found so that the phrase 'threat of nuclear war' can be consigned to the history books and the next generation of Pakistanis and Indians does not become so accustomed to such a phrase that, in the midst of the massive build-up of troops along the border, it continues to live its life as though nothing out of the ordinary is going on.'
By Kari Huus, an international writer and editor for MSNBC.com - 3 January 2002.
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The Indian Ocean is heating up. This is the cradle of Buddhism, Hinduism and Tagore's philosophical poetry. This is the fountain of inspiration from where Beatle Harrison's sitar notes originated. This is also where, in recent history, a whole royal family got gunned down, re-drawing the spiritual façade of the mountain kingdom Nepal. The world's former basket case, namely Bangladesh is now famous for corruption. The whole region is full of ironies.
Beyond Taj Mahal and the chaotic subcontinental drift lies one of the most pristine coral reefs in the world. Away from the ceremonial awakenings of SAARC in Kathmandu, an atoll island community waits with baited breath as they stare with horror at the unfolding human destruction around them. These reefs keep ecological balance and the natural order intact. Now they are endangered.
Paradise is being brutally raped and ravaged by the ugly head of high-tech war games seemingly headed towards the total annihilation of this ancient melting pot of east and west. An ancient civilization is under threat.
Our island culture that is believed to be as old or older than the Sanskrit language is under the threat of nuclear annihilation. Before Global Warming could get us drowned, our own politicians could easily land us in deep water. A geopolitical quagmire is rolling in South Asia.
The intellectuals do not seem to be placed in a position to put any kind of sense into the well-oiled mindsets of hard-boiled leaders and politicos of all colors and creeds. The collective well of enlightened thinkers has long ago dried up with the declaration of the end of history, and the birth of post-modernism.
According to Samuel P. Huntington, this is 'the age of Muslim Wars'. His simplistic categorization of cultures into watertight compartments, however, sounds pathetic. This type of grandstanding commentary does not help us either. The inadequacy of his argument is discussed by Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen, in his essay 'The Right to One's Identity' in the Frontline issue of 5 - 18 January 2002.
According to Sen, 'The main hope of harmony in the contemporary world lies not in any imagined uniformity, but in the plurality of our identities, which cut across each other and work against sharp divisions around one uniquely hardened line of impenetrable division'.
It is the respect for pluralistic thinking that may finally get us out of this huge confusion and escalating disaster that is brewing around Paradise. However, the sight of imposters paying lip service to grand designs in highly choreographed summits such as the SAARC charade in Nepal, only help to indicate the dire need for better leadership and more pragmatic politics in South Asia.
We need a reality check. Now.