|  | India/Pakistan
Osama bin Laden: Myths and reality
Washington has long wanted to get its hands on Osama bin Laden, whom they wanted on international terrorism charges even before Tuesday's attack on the United States. The Taliban government in Afghanistan, under whose wing bin Laden shelters, has refused to cooperate. Syed Saleem Shahzad writes that it will continue to do so, even in the face of a military attack by the US. (Sep 13)
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Echoes across South Asia
In the wake of the New York terror attacks, Pakistan and India have to deal with a whole new reality. Islamabad needs to balance the needs of the United States against those of radicals within the country, while India has the opportunity to strengthen its security ties with Washington, writes Sandeep Shenoy. (Sep 12)
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US courts Muslim backlash
United States retaliation against Osama bin Laden, the man widely believed to have masterminded the attacks on the United States, could have the reverse effect of stirring presently peaceful Muslims around the world to militancy, writes Syed Saleem Shahzad. (Sep 12)
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THE ROVING EYE
Masoud: From warrior to statesman
The fate of 48-year-old Ahmad Shah Masoud, leader of forces fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, is unclear following a suicide bomb attack on him by two Arabs posing as journalists. Earlier, in an exclusive interview with Pepe Escobar in his Panjshir Valley base, Masoud recounted that according to astrologers he will live for another 40 years, in which time he will be able to stop Pakistan meddling in Afghanistan's affairs and rid it of the fundamentalist Taliban, at the same time uniting it into a tolerant Islamic state. (Sep 11)
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IT multinationals put Indians in the shade
Faced with shrinking markets in other parts of the world, multinational information technology companies have increasingly turned to India, with such success that they now dominate each and every segment of the sector. Compaq, powered by a strong performance in servers and desktop computers, leads the way, writes Raju Bist. (Sep 11)
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Go somewhere else, young man
In Pakistan, where human smuggling is flourishing, hundreds of young men are leaving their hometowns and bleak futures for the promise of better lives on distant shores. Too bad it's illegal - and the problems encountered in fleeing through the human smuggling network make the quest for opportunity a dangerous one. (Sep 11)
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Rivers wash away Bangladeshi farmers' hopes
Erosion - called the "silent disaster" - is stealing away many Bangladeshi farmers' hopes ofcarving out livings from the soil. The government says it will do something aboutit, but as solutions remain elusive and cities become crowded with landless rural migrants, erosion continues to eat away at Bangladesh unabated. (Sep 11)
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Practice casteism, don't talk about it
The Indian government was successful in blocking moves to have the issue of caste discussed at a recent world conference on race. However, Indian's Dalits (formerly "untouchables"), for the first time were able to air their grievances to an international audience, writes Sultan Shahin. (Sep 10)
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Fingers pointed as Lankan power crisis worsens
Sri Lanka is in the grip of a drought that has not only cut water supply for consumption and irrigation, but also resulted in power shortages. Environmentalists and state power agencies are pointing accusing fingers at each other over responsibility for the crisis, amid fears that the current daily two-hour power cuts may stretch to an unbearable eight hours in the next two weeks. Meanwhile, the nation prays for rain. (Sep 10)
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India hidden behind investment barriers
The Indian government has pledged to step in to resolve a festering row between US energy giant Enron and a state government. While the decision is welcomed, especially by cautious foreign investors, major barriers still need to be lifted if India is to prosper under its privatization and economic liberalization program. (Sep 10)
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Wanted: a global balance of power
China has noted and welcomed a change of heart by the US administration in its policy on a missile defence shield vis-a-vis China. The US now appears to recognize the necessity of a balance of power with China, but that is something that will worry countries like Japan and India. Francesco Sisci argues that a more global balance is needed, with a focus not on "rogue states" but on equilibrium within a wide Eurasian framework. (Sep 10)
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Musharraf moves to sideline Bhutto
The Pakistan government is believed to be trying to cut a deal with former premier Benazir Bhutto, according to which she will not personally participate in general elections scheduled for next year in exchange for allowing her Pakistan People's Party unhindered participation. Muhammad Rafique writes that there are sound reasons for the initiative. (Sep 7)
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Colombo's deal with Marxists raises doubts
Sri Lanka's ruling People's Alliance (PA) has cobbled together a working arrangement with the country's Marxists, which appears to salvage a tottering government but could create more woes for the war-ravaged and drought-hit country. (Sep 7)
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SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY
Chapter 5: Political polarization on communal lines
As Ceylon's Legislative Council evolved in the 1920s, Tamil leaders insisted on their importance as a race and opposed the territorial representative system. Thus, the majority Sinhalese were able to re-establish their political superiority, writes K T Rajasingham in the fifth chapter of his treatise, a history of Sri Lanka from a Tamil viewpoint. (Sep 7)
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THE ROVING EYE
The Panjshir Valley summer show
Fresh from hunting for the giant reclining Buddha in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, wandering correspondent Pepe Escobar drops into the Panjshir Valley, heart of that part of Afghanistan not controlled by the Taliban and home to heartthrob leader Ahmad Shah Masoud. What he finds is a region of irresistible attraction to international lovers of war zones, a motley crew indeed. (Sep 7)
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Warning: writing can be dangerous to your health
The censorship of a page in a recent edition of Newsweek is seen by some as just another in a series of government attempts to placate Pakistan's powerful orthodox religious lobby. Yet, with a teacher being sentenced to death for speculating on the private life of the prophet Muhammad, the censorship appears to others as not only a blow to press freedom in Pakistan, but also a dire warning against speech going against the grain of the Muslim orthodoxy. (Sep 6)
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Indian surpluses go against the grain
People in India are dying of starvation at a time when the government is groaning under food surpluses expected to reach 80 million tons. Against this backdrop, the country's highest court has issued a call for action. This could prove easier said than done in the face of rampant corruption and inefficiency. (Sep 5)
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ANOTHER CHINA
Chapter 11: Peace or war?
War is war, whether waged by means of missiles or international finance. Francesco Sisci argues in this serialization of his book that the Asian financial crisis, the Indian nuclear tests, and the US-Japan plan to deploy a Theater Missile Defense shield are linked in a geopolitical struggle that has evolved from Cold War to "soft war". And all this has cost China dear by distracting it from what has been its primary task for the past 20 years: economic construction. (Sep 3)
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