Futility of 'Aman ki Asha'

                     

‘Aman ki Asha’ is a peace initiative launched by two major media houses of South Asia- Jang Group of Pakistan and Times of India of India. The stated objectives of this peace venture are to promote friendly, cultural, open trade and commercial relationships between Pakistan and India so that defense budgets of both countries may be brought down and consequently greater economic resources may be made available for socio-economic development of both countries. When analyzed in the perspective of regional geo-strategic and economic conditions, the futility of these stated objectives of this peace initiative is exposed.

The fallacy of idea behind ‘Aman ki Asha’ is based on the mis-conception that India’s defense budget would be reduced to its smaller portion, if Pakistan’s defense budget is reduced to its smaller portion. Every state allocates its defense budget according to its geo-strategic and economic conditions. India’s geo-strategic and economic imperatives are linked with horizons much beyond Pakistan. India cannot base its defense spending on that of Pakistan’s. 

Since ‘Aman ki Asha’ has been launched in 2010, Indian has increased its defense budget from Rs. 1417 b in 2009-10 to Rs. 2.03 trillion in 2013-14- - i.e. an increase of more than 600 b - as against Pakistan’s defense budget of Rs. 378 b in 2009-10 and Rs. 627 b in 2013-14. – an increase of Rs. 249 b. By adding the exchange rate difference, we may see India has increased its defense budget during this period (i.e. 2009-2014) about four times more than that of Pakistan’s. The irrelevance of ‘Aman ki Asha’ is obvious. 

India is not only economic competitor of China- major chunk of both counties’ exports are labor intensive goods- but also competing China politically at the regional level. If China and Pakistan are trying to forge economic and political alliance and bring CAS as well into its fold, India  has its own plans to reach out to CAS through Iran. Most importantly India has border disputes with China, and has also gone for war in 1962 in this connection; these factors make India a military competitor to China. In the perspective of this military competition, USA (and UK) is promoting India’s role as a counterpoise to China at the regional level and India is reaping benefits of this role by having  access to the west’s technology, investments, and markets, all playing vital role in India’s economic development. Presently, India is investing a lot militarily in Afghanistan and the reason is not only that India wants to reign its enemy (Pakistan) but also that India (and USA) wants to ensure that China, Pakistan, Iran and CAS may not emerge as an economic and political block; India’s presence in Afghanistan would be a hurdle in the formation of such a block. Even if Pakistan and India become friendly states, India would not like Pakistan to forge an alliance with China, Iran and CAS because such an alliance would bring extra pressure on India to resolve Kashmir and water disputes with Pakistan judiciously and may also deprive India of CAS’s emerging economies.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that India cannot reduce its defense budget drastically even if Pakistan does so and obviously Pakistan would not do so. If all objectives of ‘Aman ki Asha’ are gone through in details, it becomes clear this peace initiative is designed to bring Pakistan and India together so that, on the one hand, Pakistan may be kept away from the likely emerging regional economic and political block already mentioned, and, on the other hand, Pakistan’s vigor to stand in India’s way may be diminished so that India’s position as counterpoise to China and the west’s market may be secured. This peace initiative actually aims at rapprochement between India and Pakistan through papering over their mutual disputes. 

If Pakistan accepts subordinate position to India, as is envisaged through ‘Aman ki Asha’, and opts to establish cordial relations with India without getting mutual disputes resolved, Pakistan would be forced afterwards to resolve mutual disputes more on Indian terms, due to the kind of dependance Pakistan may have over India as a result of such mutual cordial relations. The prevailing conflict scenario between India and Pakistan may serve Pakistan’s purpose in the better way, because regional geo-strategic scenario likely to emerge out of likely regional economic and political block may force India to settle Pak-India disputes more on Pakistan’s terms. Even if India may not be forced in that way, in any case cordial relations between India and Pakistan without resolving mutual disputes first would serve more of Indian interests than Pakistan’s. Kashmir and water disputes with India are too important and too vital for Pakistan to acquiesce in anything to India unduly.  

 After opening of Pak-China Economic Corridor, USA may not be interested in resolving Kashmir dispute; once this dispute is resolved, India may be won over to likely regional economic and political block emerging out of this economic corridor; in that case India’s role of military counterpoise to China and the west’s market would cease to exist- an eventuality which would not be favored by the USA. In other words, it goes in better interests of Pakistan to adopt a policy which may foil USA’s interests in India. Two main USA’s interests in India are to secure India’s position as a counterpoise to China, and to secure India’s market. By establishing cordial relations with India without resolving mutual disputes would secure USA’s both main interests; adopting a hostile policy towards India till resolution of mutual disputes may foil USA’s interests in India. Once USA’s interests in India are foiled and regional economic and political block is operational, India may be won over to Pak-China side by making India resolve mutual disputes.

We may conclude that ‘Aman ki Asha’ is an irrelevant and futile exercise as for as its stated objectives are concerned. However, it does serve India’s and USA’s interest; that is why we see these both countries back this initiative.  Only naive people may think what is in the best interest of India and USA is also in the better interest of Pakistan; this view (right or wrong) might be presented in the regional scenario before 2010 but not in the present scenario. The present scenario in the perspective of USA's withdrawal from Afghanistan dictates what is in the best interest of Pakistan is also in the best interest of India. India should resolve mutual disputes with Pakistan and play role of a responsible regional player instead of becoming watchdog of USA' interests.

      

                                                         

Racial Traits, Spiritual Elevation and 'Dua'/ Prayer

We have already seen in the article “Racial Traits and Spiritual Elevation” there  is no such thing as spiritual superiority on the basis of racial traits. Racial traits are neutral in their essence; they can be used both for the good or for the bad. There is no single human trait which can be used for the good only or for the bad only. Human traits may be superior or inferior in terms of attaining worldly achievements, but they cannot be superior or inferior in terms of spiritual achievements. All human traits may be used to attain equal but distinct spiritual elevation or spiritual degradation. Every individual is distinct in his/her spiritual achievements because every individual is bestowed with distinct traits/emotions which provide the basis for spiritual elevations. No doubt Allah determines everything to be faced by human beings;  Allah  determines spiritual elevation/degradation on the basis of human deeds or Allah's will but not on the basis of race.

We know that human being is granted with various kinds of traits/emotions- pleasures and sorrows, liking and disliking, excitements and shocks, sadness and happiness, love and hate, affection and aversion, hope and frustration, trust and distrust, self-respect and lack of self-respect, courage and cowardliness, patience and impatience, resilience and lack of resilience, meanness and charity, mercy and cruelty, anger and joy, shallowness and profoundness etc. Out of these traits, every individual is granted by Allah with a fixed   composition/set of traits in terms of kind and magnitude/degree, which may vary from person to person. This fixed composition of traits/emotions is called ‘shakilah’. 

 Allah says: "Everyone acts according to his own disposition/ ‘shaakilah’: But your Lord knows best who it is that is best guided on the Way" (Isra-84).

 Once granted to human being, fixed composition of traits is never changed. (plz see my article ' Determined Psyche of Human Being'). Every person acts in his/her life according to this composition of traits he/she is bestowed upon. Actually traits are the basic tool through which a person is judged by Allah in this worldly life.  These human traits are neither good nor bad in their essence; it is the human choice of the situations, and kind and magnitude of these traits to manifest in those situations, which makes a human deed good or bad. A human deed based on each kind of traits (e.g. love or hate, anger or lack of anger, lust or lack of lust, courage or cowardliness etc) may be either good or bad, depending upon the situation chosen and the magnitude of trait to display in such situation. For instance lack of anger shown in a situation which requires anger to be shown would be a bad act; similarly showing anger in a situation which requires lack of anger to be shown would be a bad act. Similarly lesser degree of charity shown in a situation which requires greater degree of charity to be displayed would be a bad act; similarly greater degree of charity in a situation which requires lesser degree of charity to be shown would be a bad deed. (e.g. a Muslim cannot bequeath more than one third of his property through his will). 

 

It does not mean that all human races have been bestowed with equally good traits for worldly achievements; definitely some individuals/races are blessed with better traits than the other individuals/races. But such superiority of racial traits impacts only worldly achievements; it has nothing to do with level of spiritual elevations. As long as spiritual elevations are concerned, equal but distinct spiritual elevations may be achieved on the basis of every set of racial traits (every individual is distinct in his/her spiritual achievements because every individual is bestowed with distinct traits/emotions which provide the basis for spiritual elevations).  All kinds of traits (whether superior/inferior for worldly achievements) can be used to do the good or the bad deeds. There is no single human trait which can be used only for the good or only for the bad deed.

From the foregoing it is clear that there is no such thing as spiritual superiority on the basis of racial traits. But it does not mean that ‘dua’/prayer may not be made for piety/spiritual elevation of a person/group of persons/tribe. ‘Hazrat’ Zakria (a.s) prayed to have a pious son which was granted in the form of ‘Hazrat’ Yahya (a.s). Similarly ‘Hazrat Ibraheem' (a.s) prayed to have leaders (both spiritual and worldly) in his progeny; this prayer also has been granted. But what is to be appreciated is if a certain person/group of persons/tribe is pious due to ‘dua’/ prayer, it does not mean such person/group of persons/tribe has gained such piety due to some special traits/emotions. Actually any other person/ group may attain the equal but distinct level of spiritual elevation which has been attained by a particular person/group/tribe due to application of ‘dua’/prayer [But obviously prophet-hood cannot be attained by every person because prophet-hood is always by birth as per Allah’s Sunnah; and according to Allah’s law no prophet can come after our Nabi (s.a.w)]. In fact, ‘dua’/prayer means to invoke Allah’s special intervention to get the things done, which happen through application of Allah’s ‘Sunnah’/ natural laws. The natural law is that spiritual elevation has nothing to do with racial traits which are neutral in their essence and every trait/emotion can be used for the good and for the bad. Dua/ prayer is not to invoke violation of Allah’s laws; ‘dua’ is just to invoke Allah’s special intervention to get a thing which, of course, happens only through Allah’s laws/ natural laws.  
 People are tried by Allah through two ways: through 'khair'/good or through 'sher'/ bad. The people which are made pious due to 'Dua' are the people which are tried through 'khair'/good; such people have to prove themselves to be worthy of 'khair'/good they are granted with without their effort through 'Dua'; if such people tried through 'khaira' do not prove to be worthy of such 'khaira', that 'khaira' is taken away from them. Similarly if people tried through 'sher' prove to be not worthy of such 'sher', that 'sher' is taken away from them. Therefore we may conclude that a pious person/group of persons which are pious due to ‘Dua’/ prayer have not gained such piety due to any special traits/emotions. Piety is the result of interplay of human traits/emotions. These human traits are neither good nor bad in their essence; it is the human choice of the situations, and kind and magnitude/degree of these traits to manifest in those situations, which makes a human deed good or bad.