Reunification of India-Pakistan-Bangladesh?

[mohabbat]

With the reunification of East and West Germany, North and South Yemen, North and South Vietnam and now with talks of reunification of North and South Korea, Will there be reunification of India,Pakistan and Bangladesh into India as it was before 1947 when British partitioned India on religious lines?

North and South Korea are talking about reconciliation and reunification. They were separated for almost the same duration as India, Pakistan-Bangladesh had been. Are religions (Islam vs. Hindu & Sikh, etc.) more powerful than political ideologies (communism vs. capitalism) in dividing people?

[NYAhmadiX]

Dear Mohabbat, we have seen what happened to forceful merger of various ethnic/religious group in Yugoslavia, in Soviet Union, and even the same faith and ethnicity, i.e., Czechoslovakia. So there are as many arguments for Unification of Bangla-Indo-Pak as there are for them being autonomous nations.

India has always had a loose confederation of various princely states and never was a unified nation, not even under the British. So things have not really changed since the independence. All current states in India are pretty much what they were prior to 1947 (except that Rajas no longer enjoy ruling their constituents), and same holds for Pakistan.

Would you like to see Indian Sub Continent become a Microsoft? I think Baby Bell model suits the region just fine.

We can overcome our differences without being a one big country.

[faceup]

NY dosth,

There is great wisdom in what you speak:
" I think Baby Bell model suits the region just fine. We can overcome our differences without being a one big country."

Agreed! and, then the two Punjabs, Bengals & Kashmir can create greater co-operation/alliances without being merged into one entity!

Separate, yet one;
Far, yet close!

[mohabbat]

NYA:

Which modern day country has been a Nation since begining. None. There was no Turkey 70-80 years back. There was no Greece. There were just empires Roman empire, Greek Empire, Ottoman empire. The concept of nation is pretty new. How about USA, Australia or New Zealand, they were not countries few hundred years back. Atleast India was named as a country thousands of years back, maybe not a country which we look now but there was India even two thousand years back maybe not centrally rules but a conglomorate of princely states. But that way all present day countries were.

[NYAhmadiX]

Well, not all present day countries were like what they are today. Many European nations, e.g., Belgium, Eastern part of France, Luxembourg, etc., were once part of Germany. Although Belgians are of German and French ancestry, but I don’t believe that they will ever want to be part of those nations again. Macedonia (the Republic) and Macedonians in Greece are same people, yet two different identities. Romans ruled what is present day Italy and went as west as England and as South as Greece. Pakistan and Bangladesh are two separate countries now, and have established their own rightful identities, and it is not possible (even practical) to merge all independent countries of the Indian Sub continent into one big nation.

The current trend is to breakup, and not reunify (e.g., Indonesia). The examples you quote, i.e., Korea, Yemen, Germany, Vietnam are instances where the population is very homogenous. That model will be very difficult to counterfeit for the Indian sub-continent.

And by the way, Greece and Turkey are as ancient as India. The empires began in those countries that ruled other parts, but Greece has always been a Country. Athenian Governments controlled most parts of what is present day Greece.

[ZZ]

I have never understood the obsession of some indians of unification, particularly punjabis.

Koreas are unifying since people want it. China and Taiwan are not unifying since Taiwanese dont want it. Pakistanis dont want it. And many Indians will view unification as inviting trouble.

Imagine India with 40% Muslim population. Can Indian leaders handle it? What are u talking?

[anant]

First let us concentrate on atleast trusting each other..tehn being friends..and then re-unification....long way away.with the governments we have today

[mohabbat]

Media has played an important role in not improving India-Pakistan relations.
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jun20...00/oped/o2.htm

On my various visits to India, it has been disheartening to see the futility of the tension between the two countries. The people are the same, the language is similar, the same jokes, and above all the same problems. And yet there is no hope of sharing, learning from each other and building each other's capabilities. It just reflects the level of civilizations that while in Europe one Schengen visa ensures entry to over seven European states, in South Asia you simply cannot get a visa to visit a country which till fifty years ago was your ancestors' home. Worse is that so much of the cultural heritage that you see there is yours too. All the Mughal monuments, the landmarks of British rule, and so much of what you read in your history books as belonging to your ancestors, is there. And we cannot even have access to see that. .... syas Masooda Bano, Islamabad-based Development Researcher

[mohabbat]

Korea will become very powerful if united. Will external forces allow such reunification especially China, Japan, Russia and US.

In case of India-Pakistan-Bangladesh, external forces like China, US, Russia would not like such unification. China would definitely not like such a huge neighbor. The hostile India-Pakistan relationships suits Balance of power in Asia, particularly for China and US.

[ullu]

mohabbat damn unification.. let these countries be able to feed its people and educate them. will unification help it?

[mohabbat]

Very true Ullu. But how can they feed without peace.

The 1990s was a disastrous decade for Pakistan's economy, with the number of poor people nearly tripling, according to the country's annual economic survey released Thursday.

Forty-four million people now live below the poverty line, unable to consume even the basic minimum of nutritional food, compared to 17 million in 1987-88.

``Declining economic growth, persistence of severe macro-economic imbalances, lack of social safety nets and poor governance in the 1990s have had adverse affects on the country's poor and most vulnerable,'' the 1999-2000 Economic Survey said.

Only 1.2 million people in a country of 140 million people pay taxes.

[Tiberiansun]

R U Nuts! There will be a massacre like Rwanda only 1000 times greater people in our countries particularly dont like each other except for a very small minority.there are religous/cultural/ethnic diffrences,in Rwanda there were only 2 groups Tutsis & Hutus.The subcontinent has more than a 1000 languages,if you from east to west or north to south everything changes food, cloths, religion even the hindus pray to totaly different deities in different regions. Pakistan which was formed on the basis of religion could not stay together & thus bangladesh was created. Many Tamils want their own state of Eelam comprising of tamilnadu & jafna as they donot like the rule of the northners.