Afghanistan - miscellaneous

General Conditions

Afghanistan Is in Its Worst Shape Since 2001, European Diplomat Says - One of the most experienced Western envoys in Afghanistan said Sunday that conditions there had become the worst since 2001. He urged a concerted American and foreign response, even before a new American administration took office, to avoid “a very hot winter for all of us.” , by Alison Smale - NYT

War and Drought Threaten Afghan Food Supply - A pitiable harvest this year has left small farmers all over central and northern Afghanistan facing hunger, and aid officials are warning of an acute food shortage this winter for nine million Afghans, more than a quarter of the population , by Carlotta Gall - NYT

Afghanistan's Communications Revolution - Today, Afghanistan bears little resemblance to the nation it was long forced to be. Working together after the Taliban was removed from power, the U.S. and Afghan governments recognized the importance of dramatically increasing access to communications networks and establishing access to the Web. Experts from around the world helped Afghanistan establish a modern ministry of communications , by David A. Gross and Amir Zai Sangin - WP

Refugees and Returnees

Remembering Afghan Refugees - ...But there still are over 3 million Afghan in Pakistan, and over 1 million in Iran, and these remaining refugees are now reluctant to return home. Deteriorating security, widespread poverty and unemployment, and a severe lack of social facilities such as access to education and healthcare constitute major obstacles to voluntary repatriation of most Afghan refugees , by M. Ashraf Haidari - EurasiaNet

Shadow of Guantanamo follows freed inmates back to their homes - After years in detention, Afghan returnees have bitter memories as they face new hardships....They call them the Bandi Guantánamo, the Guantánamo returnees, and their welcome home is far from warm. All across Afghanistan in recent months, scores of men have been coming back from a long journey halfway around the world , by Jason Burke - Guardian

History - Archeology

Soldiers in Helmand unearth British rifles lost in 1880 massacre - British soldiers serving in Afghanistan have recovered weapons looted from the bodies of their Victorian forebears.
Rare Martini-Henry rifles lost in the bloody defeat at Maiwand in July 1880 have been retrieved 128 years later by troops fighting the Taliban and al-Qa'ida in Helmand province , by Keith Howitt - Independent

In Afghanistan, French archaeologists uncover ancient city - Poor villagers who once looted the site now help excavate walls and artifacts at what they call the City of Infidels....For years, villagers have dug in the baked earth on the heights of Cheshm-e-Shafa for pottery and coins to sell to antiques smugglers , by Matthew Pennington - AP

Archaeologists Find Giant 'Sleeping' Buddha In Afghanistan - More than seven years after the Taliban destroyed the two giant Buddha statues at Bamiyan, an Afghan-led archaeological team has uncovered the remains of a third giant Buddha nearby , by Ron Synovitz - RFE/RL

Afghanistan - plans, tactics, strategies...and problems

Descent Into Chaos - An Interview with Ahmed Rashid on Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Taliban , by Wajahat Ali - Counterpunch

Afghanistan's Descent - New Book Explains the U.S.'s Nation Building Failure , review by Spencer Ackerman - Washington Independent

Distracted and weakened, Nato is lost - The alliance, influenced by the US, is chasing phantom enemies. Meanwhile in Afghanistan, the real ones prevail....So concerned is Nato about its image that this month it has hired a senior executive of Coca-Cola to help do something about it...."Nato is not a washing powder and it doesn't need rebranding", a defensive Nato spokesman told journalists... , by Richard Norton-Taylor - Guardian

The Afghan fire looks set to spread, but there is a way out - Far from being a noble cause, the occupation of Afghanistan is poisoning the region and will never bring peace or security....Far from reducing the threat of terrorism, this crucible of the war on terror has simply spread it around the region, bringing forth an increasingly potent campaign of resistance and giving a new lease of life to a revamped Taliban as a champion of Pashtun nationalism , by Seumas Milne - Guardian

All Counterinsurgency Is Local - Politically and strategically, the most important level of governance in Afghanistan is neither national nor regional nor provincial. Afghan identity is rooted in the woleswali: the districts within each province that are typically home to a single clan or tribe. Historically, unrest has always bubbled up from this stratum — whether against Alexander, the Victorian British, or the Soviet Union , by Thomas H. Johnson and M. Chris Mason - Atlantic Monthly

The guests at Kabul's garden parties - Summer in Afghanistan is the fighting season, and the time for Kabul garden parties. At diplomatic, military, and donor agency receptions it is always interesting to count the number of known and rumored drug lords and human rights abusers in attendance , by Nick Grono and Joanna Nathan - Boston Globe

Germany Discovers a War in Afghanistan - For years, Germans have preferred to see their country's presence in Afghanistan as armed development assistance. That myth is now becoming more difficult to maintain as the violence spreads to the north where the Germans are based - Spiegel

The US strategy for Afghanistan won't work - Covert operations only succeed when they have strong local allies who want outside support....Bush has not adopted a new policy, but is resorting to covert operations, the political disadvantages of which are obvious, and military benefits dubious , by Patrick Cockburn - Independent

Ashdown: What I told Gordon Brown about Afghanistan - We do not have enough troops, aid or international will to make Afghanistan much different from what it has been for the last 1000 years – a society in which the gun drugs and tribalism have always played a part....On the military side we also need to understand that we probably cannot defeat the Taliban – only the Afghan people can do this - Spectator Coffee House

A Man, A Plan, Afghanistan - If Obama really wants to smite Al Qaeda, this is what he should do....To defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda, the United States must start dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan as one region, not as separate entities , by Peter Bergen - TNR

Insurgents in Afghanistan show strength, sophistication - A summer of heavy fighting during which Western military leaders had hoped to seize the initiative from Islamic militants has instead revealed an insurgency capable of employing complex new tactics and fighting across a broad swath of Afghanistan , by Laura King - LAT

Time to Rethink Tactics Against Taleban - Afghanistan has gone from “Good War” to “Losing Battle” almost overnight....the world has finally woken up to the fact that Afghanistan is spinning out of control , by Jean MacKenzie - IWPR

Afghanistan's tipping point? - This is a critical time for the region, with US and Nato forces facing stalemate and the Taliban resurgent....What western intelligence and military officials call the most dangerous part of the world has reached a critical juncture , by Richard Norton-Taylor - Guardian

The secret NATO report

French soldiers unprepared for Taliban ambush: report - A secret NATO review obtained by The Globe and Mail shows that the French who were killed in August did not have enough bullets, radios and other equipment. By contrast, the insurgents were dangerously well prepared , by Graeme Smith - Globe and Mail

France defends military's might in Afghanistan - NATO report saying ambushed troops lacked sufficient ammunition, communication equipment threatens to broaden debate , by Susan Sachs - Globe and Mail

NATO denies ambushed French troops were ill-equipped - NATO on Sunday sought to downplay "leaked email correspondence" that suggested French soldiers had been ambushed by better-armed Taliban fighters in Afghanistan last month - AFP

Afghanistan - hearts and minds, spin and propaganda

The civilian victims of airstrikes

“Troops in Contact” - Airstrikes and Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan - Human Rights Watch

Afghanistan: Civilian Deaths From Airstrikes - Airstrikes Cause Public Backlash, Undermine Protection Efforts - Human Rights Watch

Evidence Points to Civilian Toll in Afghan Raid - To the villagers here, there is no doubt what happened in an American airstrike on Aug. 22: more than 90 civilians, the majority of them women and children, were killed , by Carlotta Gall - NYT

Precision, what precision? - They call it 'precision' bombing, but it is killing so many civilians that the US and Nato risk losing the battle for hearts and minds in Afghanistan , by Richard Norton-Taylor - Guardian

Does killing Afghan civilians keep us safe? - Western airstrikes target terrorists, but innocents are caught in the crossfire , by Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann - LAT

Slaughter, Lies, and Video in Afghanistan - The Value of One, the Value of None. An Anatomy of Collateral Damage in the Bush Era , by Tom Engelhardt - Tomdispatch.com

Afghanistan blames vendetta for civilian deaths - An American military operation that killed up to 90 civilians was based on false information provided by a rival tribe and did not kill "a single Taliban" , by Jason Straziuso - AP

Taking sides

Taliban win over locals at the gates of Kabul - While clashes in remote Helmand dominate the headlines, another battle is being waged by the insurgents on Kabul's doorstep. There, the Taliban are winning support by building a parallel administration, which is more effective, more popular and more brutal than the government's , by Jason Burke - Guardian

Lost War in Afghanistan - ...There are thousands of others who are routinely killed as Taliban, without so much as meriting a passing mention in the Western media; let alone raising questions if they were really militants or innocents caught in the crossfire , by Aijaz Zaka Syed - Middle East Times

Selling the Taliban - ...However, an insurgency is at its heart a battle of wills and staying power, not of military might. Insurgents in Afghanistan appreciate this and have created a sophisticated propaganda operation that both targets what is seen as weakening support back in foreign capitals and seeks to mold perceptions among the Afghan population , by Joanna Nathan - WSJ

Afghan Insurgency Diversifies As Taliban Forges Alliances With Other Factions - "There has been a growing body of people who are opposed to the central government and are opposed to the presence of foreign forces here. Some are ready to make alliances among themselves, at least in the short term. That does not mean that they are all Taliban." , by Ron Synovitz - RFE/RL

Mistakes By Afghan Translators Endanger Lives, Hamper Antiterrorism Effort - ...And what is lost in translation can hurt efforts by NATO and the U.S.-led coalition to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. In the worst cases, innocent civilians can be arrested or wrongly targeted as Taliban fighters , by Ron Synovitz - RFE/RL

Afghans fed up with government, US - The bearded, turbaned men gather beneath a large, leafy tree in rural eastern Nangarhar province. When Malik Mohammed speaks on their behalf, his voice is soft but his words are harsh. Mohammed makes it clear that the tribal chiefs have lost all faith in both their own government and the foreign soldiers in their country , by Kathy Gannon - AP IMPACT

Helmandis Fear Taleban Noose Tightening - They suspect insurgents are close to taking full control of province, despite official claims that they are being pushed back. The Helmand authorities and international officials appear to be struggling to keep a lid on mounting local panic over a recent Taleban offensive which is said to have taken them to the very outskirts of the provincial capital - IWPR

Britain pays for surge of spin doctors in Kabul to counter Taliban propaganda - A former Downing Street spokesman who once worked alongside Alastair Campbell has helped mastermind a revamp of the Kabul government's notoriously slow public relations operation. Some 15 new spokesmen are now being hired, with the chief of a newly built media centre starting work this week , by Nick Meo - Telegraph

Afghan villagers flee from Taliban - Refugees set up tent camps as fighting rises in the south. Heavy fighting across southern Afghanistan over the past two years has forced thousands of families to flee backcountry villages caught between the firepower of coalition forces and a resurgent Taliban , by Jason Motlagh - Washington Times

The Afghan-Pakistan War ???

Power cuts fuel Pakistan's power struggle - The assassination attempt on the Prime Minister is the latest twist in a complex battle for influence , by Anatol Lieven - Times

Playing with firepower - President Bush is taking a big gamble in launching overt attacks on Pakistani territory , by Christina Lamb - Times

Pakistan Is the Problem - and Barack Obama seems to be the only candidate willing to face it.
At a recent dinner party in the British embassy in Kabul, one of the guests referred to "the Afghan-Pakistan war." The rest of the table fell silent. This is the truth that dare not speak its name. Even mentioning it in private in the Afghan capital's green zone is enough to solicit murmurs of disapproval , by Christopher Hitchens - Slate

Pakistan’s Dangerous Double Game - Unsure of Islamabad's loyalties, U.S. forces open up a more aggressive, controversial strategy in the tribal areas , by Ron Moreau and Mark Hosenball - Newsweek

The American War Moves to Pakistan - Bush's War Widens Dangerously - ...Its effects on Pakistan could be catastrophic, creating a severe crisis within the army and in the country at large. The overwhelming majority of Pakistanis are opposed to the U.S. presence in the region, viewing it as the most serious threat to peace , by Tariq Ali - Tomdispatch.com

Facing Islamist chaos and America's Rambo, Pakistan is turning to No 10 - Asif Ali Zardari will discuss his radical new vision in Downing Street today, knowing Washington can derail everything , by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark - Guardian

Washington Is Risking War with Pakistan - As Wall Street collapsed with a bang, almost no one noticed that we're on the brink of war with Pakistan. And, unfortunately, that's not too much of an exaggeration , by Robert Baer - TIME

Losing the Afghan-Pakistan War? The Rising Threat - The situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating for nearly half a decade, and is now reaching a crisis level....the next President will face a critical challenge in dealing with a war that is probably being lost at the political and strategic level, and is not being won at the tactical level , by Anthony Cordesman - CSIS Report

Anthony Cordesman has called it the Afghan-Pakistan War since at least October 2007, although in December 2007 he called it the Afghan-Pakistani Conflict. Back in May 2007 he called it the Afghan (Pakistan) Conflict. CSIS Archived Reports.

Pakistan's 'bleakest moment' - ...Proverbially listed as a failing state, this precariously poised country could now be in a downward spiral towards becoming a failed state , by Ahmed Rashid - BBC

Pakistan on the Brink - Mismanaged “war on terror” has stirred extremism, threatening to rip Pakistan apart , by Ahmed Rashid - Yale Global

US fishing in Pakistan - The United States has just invaded Cambodia. The name of Cambodia this time is Pakistan, but otherwise it’s the same story as in Indochina in 1970 , by William Pfaff - Khaleej Times

U.S. military advisors may soon head to Pakistan - The U.S. and Pakistan have cleared remaining obstacles, so the long-delayed team may arrive within weeks , by Peter Spiegel - LAT

Some comments from Pakistan

Is there War On Terror yet? - The search for Osama bin Laden is a hoax. The US has been in occupation of Afghanistan for seven years, and not one Allied soldier is involved in this search. Thousands of Afghans have been killed, but not one has lost his life defending Osama. NATO is here only to crush the resistance to illegitimate US occupation of Afghanistan. And Pakistan was slowly coerced to join, as an abettor in the crime , by Shahid Aziz - The Nation

Land of conspiracies - In a recent email exchange, one of the ideological founders of the country's largest left-oriented parties said that he believed that the "core strategic objective of the US" was to "establish its control over the Pakistan Army – to weaken it when it is strong and strengthen it when it is weak but maintain total control over it." , by Ahmed Quraishi - The News

Timidity abroad, feudal ferocity at home - It would appear that the wimpish political leadership, in the wake of the no-nonsense statements of the army and air chiefs, has finally reconciled to the fact that the nation could not continue to accept the expanding US military intrusions into Pakistan , by Shireen M Mazari - The News

The Marriott Attack

Strike at 'den of Western decadence' - On the day Pakistan's President condemned terrorism, militants gave a deadly response , by Jason Burke - Guardian

Taliban message to India too - This was coming for a while; most people could see it approaching almost inevitably. To my mind, the horrendous suicide assault on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad is a direct fallout of recent US military strikes inside Pakistani territory along the Afghan border, of the Pakistani Army’s own operations in the Waziristan region and probably also of President Asif Ali Zardari’s strong appeal this very afternoon against terror. This is the Taliban telling all of us: Here we are, let us see what you do to us.

Ahmed Rashid, Lahore-based journalist, scholar and author of the acclaimed The Taliban, spoke to Sankarshan Thakur a few hours after the Marriott attack - The Telegraph, Calcutta

Bloodshed of desperation becomes the real threat to Pakistan - ...This is the real threat in Pakistan: not imminent “Islamic revolution”, state failure or loss of control of nuclear weapons, but a spread of terror, with sooner or later – as in Algeria and elsewhere – the State in desperation resorting to counter-terror in response. The State will survive but the bloodshed could dwarf anything seen since the loss of East Pakistan , by Anatol Lieven - Times

Pakistan braced for new wave of violence - Pakistan's intelligence and security officials yesterday warned that the weekend suicide bombing at Islamabad's Marriott hotel, which killed at least 53 people, could be the start of a wave of attacks targeting the country's largest cities , by Farhan Bokhari - FT

Pakistan - FATA, NWFP

The Raj in Waziristan

A warning on terror from Frontier Frank - Waziristan is America’s new front line in the war against the Taliban. The last British officer to have served there, now 81, tells it cannot be tamed by force alone , by Christina Lamb - The Times

Waziristan 1936-37 : The Problems of NWFP and their solutions - "The world is very old; we must profit by its experience. It teaches that old practices are often worth more than new theories." - Media Monitors Network

Waziristan 1936-1937 : The Problems of North-West Frontiers of India and their Solutions - by Lieut.-Colonel C. E. Bruce (book, 92 pages, pdf)

Tribal Areas

Pashtuns Say They Are Caught In Someone Else's War - But the Pashtun intelligentsia -- on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border -- say they want peace and are asking for a better understanding of the dynamics of their homeland , by Abubakar Siddique - RFE/RL

Pakistan’s tribal areas - A wild frontier - It will take more than American missiles to bring order to Pakistan’s north-western border region - Economist

How to Catch Osama - Get Some Intelligence - Seven years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden remains as elusive as ever. Most analysts believe the al Qaeda leader is hiding out in Pakistan’s tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan. So, FP asked five Pakistani experts to tell us how to catch him , by Shuja Nawaz - Foreign Policy

Taliban opens new front in Pakistan - The Taliban has laid down the gauntlet to Pakistan's overstretched security forces by opening up a new front in the north of the country , by Isambard Wilkinson - Telegraph

Council Report Calls for New U.S.-Pakistan Partnership to Confront Militants in Tribal Areas -
The United States will need an adjusted, long-term commitment to Pakistan's tribal regions in order to bolster U.S. security and eliminate national and international terrorist networks - CFR

Securing Pakistan's Tribal Belt - Pakistan constitutes one of the most important and difficult challenges facing U.S. foreign policy , by Daniel Markey - CFR, Council Special Report

Pakistan’s Tribal Challenge - Antiquated laws and maladministration contribute to the rise of the Taliban and Al Qaeda , by Ziad Haider - Asia Sentinel

Pashtunistan

The Pashtun Question and Pakistan's Fears - It is believed that Pakistan’s Afghan policy is still guided by its fears about the Pashtun Question. But if it is so, using terrorism will hardly do. The two countries need to resolve the issue through negotiations , by Shahid Ilyas Khan - Media Monitors Network (September 2008)

‘Pashtunistan’: The Challenge to Pakistan and Afghanistan - The increasing co-operation between Pashtun nationalist and Islamist forces against Punjabi domination could lead to the break-up of Pakistan and Afghanistan and the emergence of a new national entity: an ‘Islamic Pashtunistan’ , by Selig S. Harrison - ARI (February 2008)

Beware Pashtunistan - ...All this has raised the specter that a breakaway "Pashtunistan" will emerge under Islamist leadership. Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, retired Maj. Gen. Mahmud Ali Durrani—himself a Pashtun—warned of this last spring: "I hope the Taliban and Pashtun nationalism don't merge. If that happens, we've had it, and we're on the verge of that." ,
by Selig S. Harrison - Newsweek (November 2007)

The Pashtun time bomb - ...But another, more ominous reason also explains their success: their symbiotic relationship with a simmering Pashtun separatist movement that could lead to the unification of the estimated 41 million Pashtuns on both sides of the border, the breakup of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the emergence of a new national entity, "Pashtunistan," under radical Islamist leadership , by Selig S. Harrison - IHT (August 2007)

India - communal violence against Christians

Foreign papers

Christians in India face prospect of more attacks by extremists - Attacks on nuns, churches and Christian refugees across India are stoking fears that Hindu extremists are planning to target minority communities as the country prepares for a general election , by Rhys Blakely - Times


Christians Face Hindus' Wrath - Violence in Indian State Tied to Conversions, Economic Strains , by Emily Wax - WP


As India's Election Nears, Anti-Christian Violence Picks Up - Anti-Christian violence that started in a remote corner of eastern India last month is breaking out in other states and is expected to spread further ahead of nationwide elections to be held in the next few months , by Paul Beckett and Krishna Pokharel - WSJ

Orissa, the drama of the refugees: forced conversion to Hinduism or more violence - According to the government, the situation is "under control", but it has delayed the elections, and has barred entry to the district of Kandhamal. A Christian activist denounces new violence against the refugees, while Hindu fundamentalists have drawn up a list of 140 Christians "guilty" of the murder of the Swami , by Nirmala Carvalho - AsiaNews.it

Karnataka: 20 churches attacked, Christians accuse police of inaction - Young Hindu fundamentalists attack an enclosed convent. Police knew in advance that attacks would take place. Hindu radicals pledge more violence in other states of the Union , by Nirmala Carvalho - AsiaNews.it

Arrests over India church attacks - Police in the southern Indian state of Karnataka have arrested over 60 people in connection with attacks on churches and clergymen over the weekend - BBC

Hindu leader arrested in Indian church attacks - Police in southern India have arrested a senior leader of a right-wing Hindu group in connection with attacks on Christian churches and prayer halls last weekend, an official said Saturday , by Muneeza Naqvi - AP

Churches attacked in India amid religious tension - Suspected Hindu radicals in India ransacked three churches near the city of Bangalore on Sunday despite a crackdown after anti-Christian attacks in the region - AFP

Indian papers

Communal rage: New face of violence - The communal violence and retaliation by security forces claiming two more lives in Kandhmal in Orissa on Saturday, and Bajrang Dal-led attacks on Christians in Davanagere and Chikmagalur in Karnataka, no longer appear to be isolated incidents , by Gautam Siddharth - Times of India

How Bajrang Dal built its muscle - In just 12 years since its birth in Karnataka, the state unit of the Bajrang Dal has gained ground to make its forceful presence felt, particularly in the coastal and Malnad regions , by Rishikesh Bahadur Desai - Times og India

Is caste bias the reason? - Attacks on churches have exhumed two long standing debates: is untouchability the root cause of conversion and whether lowcaste Hindus convert to escape caste-based discrimination , by Rishikesh Bahadur Desai - Times of India

Rights groups question govt inaction on attacks - India’s inability to stop attacks on Christians in Orissa and Karnataka could snowball into a major international embarrassment. The question international rights groups are asking is whether these attacks are organised and, if so, what is the government doing to stop them , by Seema Guha - DNA

Are Parivar & BJP returning to Hindutva? - As the BJP zeroes in on “save the nation” as its poll plank, its sangh parivar brethren have begun their own kind of campaign for their own notion of nationalism rooted in Hindutva , by Rajesh Sinha - DNA

Bajrang Dal is under terror watch - The government is beginning to take a hard look at the Bajrang Dal, not just for its involvement in the anti-Christian violence across Orissa and southern India, but also for its exhibited capabilities to make bombs , by Rajesh Sinha - DNA

Violence fuels ‘Christian jihad’ fears - The anti-Christian violence ongoing in several states allegedly by the Bajrang Dal and other affiliates of the Sangh Pariwar may spur a Christian jihadi group, fear church leaders, Congressmen from Karnataka, the CPI(M) and even union finance minister P Chidambaram , by Kay Benedict - DNA

Playing the communal card - The attacks on Christians and their places of worship in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and now Kerala, underscore the brute anti-minorityism of Hindutva outfits, and the concomitant polarised polity on which the BJP thrives - Economic Times

Are minorities safe in BJP-ruled states? - They are treated as second class citizens
The unleashing of anti-Christian violence on the pretext that Christians have murdered Swami Lakshamananand is a replay of the anti-Muslim pogrom launched in Gujarat on the pretext that Muslims have burnt the Ramsevaks in Godhra. As Gujarat pogrom was well planned, the anti-Christian violence in Orissa and Karnataka is also well planned and has been built up over a period of years , by Ram Puniyani - Economic Times

'Vested interests are hitting back at Christians' - The attacks on the Christian community are not restricted only to Mangalore or Orissa, but have spread to other states like Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and even the national capital - Rediff

'State must ensure reconversion is not forced' - They said there is no way they can return to their villages. There is this threat that you can't return if you don't convert to Hinduism. One lady even showed me a letter personally addressed to her with her name on it. It said if she wanted to return to her village she had to reconvert to Hinduism - Rediff

Police incited attacks on Christians: Probe - A fact-finding team assessing attacks against Christians in Karnataka has held the state government “directly responsible for allowing violence to spread” , by Nagendar Sharma - Hindustan Times

In cold blood - ‘There is a limit to religious freedom’ - Karnataka Home Minister Dr VS Acharya makes a poor defence to SANJANA, arguing that the violence was anti-conversion - Tehelka

For god's sake - Every evening Abhimanyu Diggal, 45, leaves the Tikabali relief camp, walks into a church, looks at the destruction, bows before the Cross engraved on the broken walls, and prays: "O Lord, restore sanity and forgive those who destroyed your house, our dwellings and killed my relatives." , by Farzand Ahmed - India Today

Attacks on Christians planned by BJP: Congress - The Congress on Wednesday blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for communal violence against Christians in Karnataka saying the opposition party was playing vote bank politics ahead of assembly and Lok Sabha elections - Indo-Asian News Service

Death threats keep Orissa Archbishop in Delhi - Orissa's Archbishop Raphael Cheenath has been camping in the national capital since violence erupted in the state targeting the Christian community and says he is unable to return home because of death threats from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) - Indo-Asian News Service

Modi, Patnaik flay govt advisory on Karnataka, Orissa - Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi have said that the Centre's move to issue an advisory to Orissa and Karnataka over attacks on churches is political motivated - Press Trust of India

Preying Hard - Borders blur between the state and the anti-Christian aggressors - In hindsight, it would seem that the attacks on Christians in Karnataka were waiting to happen. A fortnight before 17 Christian prayer halls were targeted on September 14, the Sangh parivar and the BJP government had been sending ominous signals , by Sugata Srinivasaraju - Outlook

India - the relationship with China

Nuclear Distraction - ...the deal will make it easier for Washington to call on India as a counterweight to China's influence.

...the deal will bring India into the U.S. camp as a regional counterweight to China's growing influence. But it appears unlikely that India would allow itself to be used as a foil against an increasingly assertive China, lest Beijing step up military pressure along the long disputed Himalayan frontier and surrogate threats via Pakistan, Burma and Bangladesh , by Brahma Chellaney - WSJ

Nuclear India must end its China-bashing - India’s success last week at the Nuclear Suppliers Group meeting in Vienna unleashed a wave of nationalist chest-beating , by Joe Leahy - FT

Tibet tops agenda in India-China talks - Border meeting to focus on region where Indian nationalists are staking an increasingly loud claim , by Randeep Ramesh - Guardian

New Delhi looks to Asia for energy - India is slowly joining a host of other nations jockeying for power in the resource-rich and strategically important Central Asian region, leading some observers to call it the “New Great Game” , by Rahul Bedi - The National

India looks to Central Asia for energy - How will India secure its energy supplies? The question is relevant to China as well. China’s energy needs are three times those of India , by Hari Sud - UPI Asia

India targeting China's oil supplies - Military planners in India are eyeing a crucial junction of the world which serves as the conduit for 80 per cent of China's imported oil , by David Blair - Telegraph

China's military ambition fuels Asian arms race - China's growing military ambition, matched only by its growing military spending, is fuelling a rapid Asian arms race , by Richard Spencer - Telegraph

China and India have been on opposite sides since the Cold War - The Cold War made for strange alliances - and these have quickly changed since its demise , by Richard Spencer - Telegraph

India 'must not show weakness to China' - India's defence ministry occupies the soaring colonnades of the Secretariat Building, an imposing legacy of the British Raj in the heart of New Delhi , by David Blair - Telegraph

India moves closer to US to balance China's rise - As India modernises its armed forces, the country is forging an increasingly close alliance with America in an effort to counterbalance the rise of China , by Rahul Bedi - Telegraph

US to court India to balance China - Whoever is voted in as the next US president in November, coping with the growing Chinese threat will remain a key area of defence policy , by Alex Spillius - Telegraph

India to spend more on defence than Britain within five years - India's military spending is set to overtake Britain's present defence budget within five years as the country transforms its armed forces to counter-balance China , by David Blair and Thomas Harding - Telegraph

European military budgets still far surpass China and India - The growth military might of China and India has undoubtedly been rapid in the last decade, but their defence budgets still fall short of the combined total of Europe's leading military powers , by Thomas Harding - Telegraph

Pakistan - miscellaneous

Cultural and political change

Right at the Edge - Déjà vu: The Vice and Virtue brigade has taken control of a large swath of Khyber agency near the Afghanistan border. At the commander’s compound in Takya, the author and photographer encountered a group of armed men and boys sitting in a Toyota pickup truck, reminding them of Kabul in the 1990s , by Dexter Filkins - NYT

Pakistan's westward drift - The drift is not geophysical, but cultural , by Pervez Hoodbhoy - Himal Southasian

Pakistan looks to life without the general -
Critical changes transforming the nuclear-armed state as the pro-US strongman's power ebbs away. And these changes may not be welcome to the West , by Jason Burke - Guardian

Pakistan is at last finding its voice. The US would be wise not to gag it - For 2008 to be recalled as a democratic watershed, America must learn to respect the Pakistani answer to extremism , by Mohsin Hamid - Guardian

Zardari

Pakistan's Next President Is a Category 5 Disaster - If there's a case to be made against democracy, few countries make it better than Pakistan , by Bret Stephens - WSJ

Asif Ali Zardari: the godfather as president - He may be a pliant partner for the west, but with his record of corruption, Zardari is the worst possible choice for Pakistan , by Tariq Ali - Guardian

Mad and bad – but the West will turn a blind eye - Dogged by allegations of crime and corruption, Pakistan's new president could lose power to his army if he fails his restive people , by Jemima Khan - Independent

From 1998
House of Graft: Tracing the Bhutto Millions - Bhutto Clan Leaves Trail of Corruption - A special report , by John F. Burns - NYT

Two military dictators

A soiled past - Is resurrection possible for a dictator? Always possible. Time is a great restorative. All you have to do is await that moment when your successor has made an even bigger mess than you left behind. I should imagine that the currently-reviled ex-dictator of Pakistan should be back in some demand within a year or so, given the pace at which his tormentors, Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, have begun to torment each other , by M J Akbar - Khaleej Times Online

As Pakistan comes full circle, a light is shone on Zia ul-Haq's death - The plane crash that killed President Muhammad Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan has spawned myriad conspiracy theories since his C-130 plunged into the Bahawalpur Desert with his top generals and the US Ambassador on board , by James Bone and Zahid Hussain - Times

The Kalash - New Statesman

Pakistan's ancient religion - Maureen Lines gives insight into the ancient religion of the Kalash people who live in the mountains of Northern Pakistan

Temples of the Kalasha religion - Most anthropologists believe that a good deal of the Kalasha religion may have been borrowed from Islam

Are the Kalash being converted to Islam? - Some Western journalists get disappointed when the truth they wanted doesn't turn out to be what they were looking for...

India - miscellaneous

Poverty

Lower castes get a leg up in the new India , by Somini Sengupta - IHT

Child malnutrition is an old stain on a new India ,
by Henry Chu - LAT

The Waste-Pickers of Delhi - The original Delhi recyclers have turned garbage into cash for decades. Now, a carbon-credit-generating incinerator may put them out of business , by Daphne Wysham - Mother Jones


Indian Ocean, China, US

The latest 'great game' involves Indian Ocean - A Sri Lankan port being built by China points to Beijing's jockeying with India for regional influence - AP

India/China reality check - Smoke and Mirrors: an Experience of China by Pallavi Aiyar , review by Sukhdev Sandhu - New Statesman

Obama, McCain Should Make U.S.-India Relations a High Priority , by Nirav Patel and Vikram Singh - WPR

Ramayana, Hindu nationalism

All Indian life is here - The British Library's Ramayana miniatures - masterpieces of Hindu art, many painted by Muslims - are testimony to a time when religious relations on the subcontinent were less fraught , by William Dalrymple - Guardian

Orientalism Inverted: The Rise of 'Hindu Nation' - Is Indianness just a German ideology? In the first of a two-part analysis of neoliberalism in the subcontinent, Neil Gray traces the history of Hindu cultural nationalism, from a colonialist mystique of pure spirituality to today's fascist pogroms and economic polarisation - Mute

India - communalism, fanaticism

Hindutva, riots, pogroms

Rioting is rarely ‘spontaneous’ , by Ranjona Banerji - DNA

Disuniting colours of fanaticism , by Jug Suraiya - Times of India

Cry, my Beloved Country! , by Aijaz Zaka Syed - Khaleej Times Online

From Kashmir to Orissa, the saffron camp’s violent role , by
Amulya Ganguli - Thaindian

Muslims, jihad, terror

A tale of two Azmis , by Rajdeep Sardesai - Hindustan Times

Jihad Finds a Home in India - Ominous signs point to a growing militant presence among India’s Muslims , by Anand Kumar - Asia Sentinel

India's Counterterrorism Failings , by Sadanand Dhume - WSJ

Orissa - pogroms

Christians ‘forced’ into Hinduism after attacks , by Shaikh Azizur Rahman - The National

Maoists issue strict warning to Hindus , by Shaikh Azizur Rahman - The National

Violence in India Is Fueled by Religious and Economic Divide , by Hari Kumar and Heather Timmons - NYT

India: where Christians are a target for the religious murder mobs , by Rhys Blakely - The Times

Bloodthirsty madness - The deplorable killing of Swami Lakhmananda Saraswati gave Hindu extremists the excuse to unleash a second terrible fury on Orissa's Christian community , by David Griffiths - New Statesman

India’s Christians: politics of violence in Orissa - A wave of Hindu nationalist attacks on Christians in eastern India is rooted in local issues of caste and conversion but also part of a larger political strategy , by Jacob Ignatius - Open Democracy

Prelude To Carnage? - The killing of VHP’s Swami Laxmananda Saraswati in Orissa has set off a wave of communal violence , by Bibhuti Pati - Tehelka

In the name of God - The consequences of lessons taught by men of religion, among the desperately poor in Orissa , by Vijay Simha - Tehelka

Hindutva's Violent History , Angana Chatterji - Tehelka

Down The Dark Road , by Ravik Bhattacharya - Indian Express

Inside Kandhamal, Orissa’s communal cauldron , by Soumyajit Pattnaik - Hindustan Times

In a crucified state , by Biswamoy Pati - Hindustan times

Maoists behind swami murder , by Soumyajit Pattnaik - Hindustan Times

Why we hate , by Atul Sethi - Times of India

Bihar - floods

Bored by Bihar? Here’s why you must care -
Across 1,000 villages, there are no rotting corpses in hospital corridors, no stench from bloated blue skin, no bandaged and bloodied children, no wailing relatives. No mass funerals , by Neelesh Misra - Hindustan Times

Eyes off the storm - As the world's media watched, Hurricane Gustav came and went without disastrous consequences. Meanwhile there's a real disaster in Bihar – but no one seems interested , by Randeep Ramesh - Guardian

Even in flood, India's `untouchables' last rescued - In the two weeks since a monsoon-swollen river burst its banks, ancient prejudices have run just as deep as the floodwaters. India's "untouchables" are the last to be rescued — if at all , by Gavin Rabinowitz - AP

Flooding in India: Why wasn't the government ready? - Three million people have been displaced. Critics call for more help from the Indian Army , by Mark Sappenfield - CSM

A nation in denial, 18 days after great flood - The prime minister reacted to the crisis on August 28, ten crucial days after the flooding began. Too few military rescuers have been sent by New Delhi, and too late , by Neelesh Misra - Hindustan Times

Killer Kosi could leave Bihar barren - Modern India’s worst ever floods continued to eat up vast swathes of farmland in Bihar, with a much larger war to fight: thousands of acres of barren farmland, property squabbles, no cattle to plough the land, and homeless millions , by Neelesh Misra - Hindustan Times

Why rivers decide to run away , by Divya Aggarwal - Times of India

Koshi River - Wikipedia article

Kashmir - jihad, azaadi, secularism, communalism

A Jihad Grows in Kashmir - For more than a week now, hundreds of thousands of Muslims have filled the streets of Srinagar, the capital of Indian-ruled Kashmir, shouting “azadi” (freedom) and raising the green flag of Islam , by Pankaj Mishra - NYT

Peaceful Protests In Kashmir Alter Equation for India - Tough Response Criticized as Outmoded , by Emily Wax - WP

In Kashmir, Conflict's Psychological Legacy - Mental Health Cases Swell in Two Decades , by Emily Wax - WP

Kashmiris Seek Trade Route to Pakistan - Hindus Blocked Off Road to New Delhi , by Emily Wax - WP


Valley of Tears , by Jyoti Thottam - TIME

Can India rethink Kashmir policy? , by Soutik Biswas - BBC

The valley of despond - But a few reasons for hope in Kashmir - Economist

A Ticking Time Bomb: U.S. Officials Should Not Forget Kashmir , by Nirav Patel - WPR

Secession Dreams - With an eye on Georgia, Kashmiris once again entertain the prospect of independence. It's not a good idea , by Sumit Ganguly and Kanti Bajpai - Newsweek

Who are the Jihadis? , by Prem Shankar Jha - Indian Express

Why Pakistan is reactivating the Kashmir front , by Sushant Sareen - rediff

Kashmir's 'azaadi' demand is about religion , by Yogi Sikand - rediff

That K word again! - The war cry for 'azaadi' in the volatile valley of Kashmir has suddenly found a chorus among some of Delhi's sharpest thinkers , by Barkha Dutt - Khaleej Times Online

Secularism: A Myth? - While the government wants the Pandits back in Kashmir, the refugees from Jammu are ignored , by Syed Ali Safvi - Tehelka

The Need Of The Hour Is Statesmanship - There is no reason why we should not create a borderless Jammu and Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control , by Abhishek Singhvi - Tehelka

Killing Kashmiris By Comparison , by Mohamad Junaid - Countercurrents

...Indian nationalism has become akin to a religious faith and India a god worthy of worship.

...Indian nationalism as a religious faith in the service of the Hindu empire.

...India became synonymous with Bharat Mata, the territorial Hindu deity to be worshipped through deshbhakhti. Kashmir, which is called "the secular crown of India" without any hint of shame or irony, was actually imagined as "the crown of Bharat Mata"

...Kashmir in the same vein also became the atoot ang (an unbreakable body-part) of the anthropomorphic goddess Mother India.

...the state seeks to firmly place Kashmir within the Hindu imagination, as another point on the sacred map of Bharat Mata.