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A
Critical Analysis Indian Elections
A comprehensive
analysis of the Indian elections and its effects on
Pakistan.
[ZAFAR NAWAZ JASPAL]
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The Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee
has tendered his resignation to the President of India,
which has been accepted. Sonia Gandhi has met with
the President of India to form the government at the
centre. Earlier, the Congress-led coalition had nominated
Sonia Gandhi as their candidate for the next premiership
of India. Sonia Gandhi, 57, would become India's next
prime minister, following her late husband. But in
an interesting move Mrs. Sonia Gandhi decided not
to become Prime Minister and indications are that
Dr Manmohan Singh (pioneer of economic reformers)
could head the new multi-party coalition government.
Now Mrs. Sonia Gandhi his decided not to become Prime
Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh has taken the oath of
Prime Minister. It is estimated that her reluctance
to take up the post is on account of her “deep
hurt” caused by the Sangh Parivar campaign against
her on her foreign origins.....more
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Indo-Pak
Peace Process
The prospects of Indo-Pak
peace process.
[A RASHID] |
Even as a part of mudslinging, which is part of
election campaigns in the Third World countries,
the Congress leadership, at no stage of electioneering,
voiced against the peace process, with Pakistan,
initiated by the BJP leadership. The Congress leadership,
after their astounding victory at the hustings,
also lost no time and hurried to straighten the
record by unequivocally affirming to pursue the
peace process in earnest. Still more significant
is the reticence on the subject, which means a tacit
approval by the numerous leaders forming part of
the grand coalition with the Congress. This amazing
consensus of the political conglomerate of the largest
democracy of the world betrays the future course
of events with regard to the Indo-Pak rapprochement.
Another marvelling dynamic of the affair is that
the peace process gets under way immediately after
the confrontation had reached its apex over a year
ago, when the armed forces of both the countries
were arrayed on the respective borders in an eyeball
to eyeball confrontation and the balloon was expected
to go up any time soon....more
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Where
are the micro benefits?
Where is the “trickle”
of the “tricke-down economics” promised to
the masses.
[Dr S M RAHMAN] |
“The Muslim
League is determined to win freedom but it will
be a freedom not only for the strong and dominant
but also for the weak and suppressed.”
This was the vision that the founder of Pakistan,
Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah expressed quite
unequivocally on February 05, 1938, while addressing
the Muslim University, Aligarh. This vision has
yet to be translated into reality. No matter, what
economic policies were formulated, the benefits
hardly accrued to the masses, whose great chunk
is still languishing in poverty. The macroeconomic
profile, which the financial managers of the country
are projecting, is indeed quite glittering. But
as they say all that glitters is not gold. Some
of the indicators are quite promising and even impressive.
There is no denying the fact that Pakistan's economy
was awfully mismanaged and was almost on the brink
of abyss of total collapse. Thank God, it has been
salvaged and has registered a growth rate of 5.1
percent, a little higher than expected and perhaps
higher than many countries in our vicinity. The
other indices are also very impressive particularly
the foreign exchange reserves, which have crossed
$ 12 billion mark, which by no means is an ordinary
achievement. The inflation rate as per official
figure is 3.3 percent. Export has risen and budget
deficit has been curtailed. Foreign remittances
have also gone high. These are 'glittering' generalities.
In propaganda parlance there is a card-stacking
technique - only the favourable cards are exposed,
and the negative ones are concealed, which present
a rather gloomy picture, particularly when one takes
stock of economy at micro level. Similar hopes were
built in India as well, which was projected as fast
emerging Asian Tiger and the fact that its software
export had increased from $ 128 million in 1991
to $ 62 billion in 2001, adding 5.1 million mobile
phone subscribers every month and creating one million
job opportunities every year and so on.....more
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