Any time there is a problem, fight or misunderstanding between two parties, there are a few ways to improve the relationship and they are either via. exchange of dialogues, exchange of cultural programs, development of economic environment and diplomacy.  What Ms. Kejiwal is doing a step in the right direction, but it is not a course of action which has not been tested before.  To make a long story short, Indian Bollywood has provided lot of economic opportunities to the Pakistani actors on a continuous basis.  Indian government has also attempted to ameliorate a bilateral relationship through Samjhotta bus service between India and Pakistan.  Lots of summit meetings have also taken place between the high officials of both countries since the birth of Pakistan, India and Pakistan have tried to award a Most Favored Nation status to each other.  Unfortunately, nothing has worked.  The situation between these two countries is worse than what they had started with in 1947.  Now, I do not mean to sound like a frustrated and pessimistic individual, rather I believe in keeping a positive attitude under all circumstances with the hope that some miracle will happen.  Ms. Bahree, in my opinion, India has done whatever it could by extending an olive branch to the Pakistani government many a times to reduce the trust deficit, but all in vain.  The main reason of this failure is the nexus of Pakistani army/ISI.  Pakistani army will never forget what India did to them in 1971 with the creation of now Bangladesh.  Needless to say, in that war Pakistan lost half of its nation and its military was humiliated to the extent they cann't forget.  Therefore, the Pakistani army will never let the civilian government in Islamabad sign and accept any proposal with India which will go against the interest of the former.  One can exchange dialogues, sign agreement and try to help reducing the trust deficit when both parties are free of any duress.  In the case of India and Pakistan,  the latter is under pressure from the nexus stated above and the hands of the civilian government in Islamabad are tied behind their back.  Therefore, no matter how aggressively Indian government and/or private parties attempt via diplomacy and social or cultural media, one ought not to expect any miracle to happen, at least not in the near future.  This is my opinion.

It is very interesting that the Saudi King is afraid of fanaticism and militant policies pursued by the ISIS.  They are butchering the non-Suni people with full impunity - beheading them, making them slaves and playing with the honor of females.  Ironically, the Saudi King is advising the western nations to fight against those who have hijacked Islam.  I just cann't help but laugh at the vulnerable situation the Saudi King feels himself in.  Instead of displaying his sense of fear, the King ought to admit that the forceful implementation of Sharia Law emanated from Wahabism, a 6th century law fully financed and supported by his forefathers.  It was and has been the Saudi Petro dollars which is promoting Wahibism through Madrassas in Pakistan and other Muslim countries.  It was the petro dollars which brain washed yesterday's children through these madrassas and those children have become today's martyrs. It is his family - Saudi Kingdom- which has hijacked Islam and no one else.  So, what is happening in front of his eyes is his family's own doing.  As the saying goes 'as you sow so shall you reap.  The whole world is witnessing slaughtering of innocent human beings every day.  Thanks to the Saudi Kingdom.  I think it is an opportune time for the King to make an announcement to stop abetting, financing and promoting all religious activities which help the ideology of killing of innocent people, spread hatred among other religions, rather work for establishing peace and tranquility in the world.  Hopefully, when he meets his Allah, the latter may forgive him for his sins.

The decision by the Qatar government sounds very ironical.  First, they funneled the pertro dollars to abet, finance and organize the Hamas force to fight against Israel knowing fully well that the arsenal possessed by Hamas is not even  near the capability and capacity of what Israel Defence Force (IDF) has in store.  The outcome of  a few weeks battle between IDF and Hamas is a clear indication of what was expected of this struggle.  Hamas has lost couple of thousands of their people in addition to many injured.  This is in addition to lots of property damage - many score of buildings have been razed to ground.  One wonders if this was a calculated move on the part of Qatar government to excite Hamas and have them witness the killing of innocent people and the destruction of property or was it just a sheer stupidity of not being able to sense the fire power Israel possessed to face a few thousand hired Hamas force.  Now, the Qatar government is ready to spend petro dollars to reconstruct the damaged buildings.  Did Hamas and Qatar government achieve anything which they should be proud of ?  No wise man will see any sense coming out of this venture.  Yes, it would have made sense for the Qatar government to invest the same petro dollars to construct schools in the Gaza area for the Palestinian population where people could get some education and be productive for the country instead of raising flags and get themselves killed.  It is a waste of human lives and man power.  Unfortunately, the majority of Muslim population is so uneducated that they do not even realize that they are being used by the leaders as sacrificial lambs Their brains have been instilled with the religious fervor to the extent that their individual thinking has been hijacked.  Their leaders are sitting in a posh air conditioned bungalows enjoying their lives at the expense of poor people in the streets.  Instead of demanding good schools where children can get educated and be competitive in the global economy, they are following the marching orders of their leaders blindly.  I wonder when the Muslim population which is being exploited by the leaders and Sheikhs come to its senses.

A decision to provide government security to a private citizen, Mr. Shah Rukh Khan, sounds a strange act on the part of local government.  Rather, should I say that it is a mere waste and wrongful use of national resources.  I understand the fear and security of a life of an individual, but why the local government is treating him a VIP person just because he is a Bollywood star and a rich person.  I wonder if tomorrow a poor man gets threatened by any of the Mumbai goons, would the local government be ready to spare a few security personnel to watch his house and protect his life.  Definitely not.  So, is it then by protecting Mr. Khan and not worrying about the life of a poor man who is equally threatened by the goons, the local government is differentiating the value of one's life from the other?   If Mr. Khan is threatened for whatever reason by the mobster, he has the means to protect himself.  Why does local government has to get involved in this matter?  If the central or state governments just think of rich and Bollywood stars only, the nation will be left behind.  The main purpose of both the governments ought to be to protect and uplift the less fortunate, educate them, create jobs for them and make sure that they are made to realize that their lives are equally important as the lives of Bollywood stars.

The tussle and rift between India and Pakistan is beyond repair precisely due to the reason lies with the Pakistani military.  Pakistani military is the supreme authority in Pakistan as far as its relationship with India is concerned.  In order to maintain its prestige, military will not like to see any improvement in this bilateral relationship.  Whenever, there is any initiative taken by either the government in Islamabad or New Delhi to improve these ties, one witnesses a turmoil or ceasefire violation on the LOC.  I can equate relationship between India and Pakistan with the situation in the Middle East - Jews and Palestinians- and North and South Korea.  The hatred for each other has been flowing in their blood streams.  Kashmir issue is not the real issue between India and Pakistan.  Pakistan military with the support of its non-state actors in Pakistan and separatists in J & K ( part of India) has been keeping this issue alive to maintain its importance and divert an attention of local Pakistanis away from its failed economic policies.  Pakistan could not manage and handle the territory it received in 1947.  They have already lost half the area during 1971 war which gave birth to Bangladesh.  The rest of 4 Provinces - Sindh, Panjab, Balochistan and KP - are in turmoil and innocent people are being slaughtered on a daily basis which shows devoid of ability and capacity of the Islamabad government to mange the remaining territory.  Therefore, an ambition to acquire more territory via. Kashmir is baseless.  The only way to solve this Kashmir riddle is by dismantling the Pakistani army by launching a full scale war, and winner takes all.

I could not agree more with Mr. Husain.  He did not mince any words about this barbaric policy pursued by the Saudis.  He is the only Muslim writer I have come across who seemed to have no hesitation in pointing fingers at the root cause of Islamization.  However, Mr. Husaim seemed to insinuate that the Clerics are more or less responsible in proliferating this un-spiritual ideology of Salafism whereas the Saudi King seems to have a moderate view of Islam.  I do not agree with that understanding.  Saudi family owned the country.  Nothing moves without their permission.  If the Royal family wants to stop this barbaric way of preaching Islam, they can do it at a heart beat. So, in my opinion, it is the Saudi family who is bent upon preaching a 6th century Sharia Law for the Muslims.  They are investing billions of dollars globally by establishing Madrassas to achieve this objective.  I wonder if the Saudi family realizes how many innocent people are being slaughtered daily who do not agree with the philosophy of Salafism.  In my opinion, it is the petro-dollars which is a 'trouble-maker' for this global menace.  I wish these Sheikhs could use this wind fall profit from the black gold in establishing good educational facilities where their locals could get academical education to compete in the whole world in different fields.  But that is not what they did because the basic mentality of Muslim rulers is not to educate the masses, keep them illiterate and rule them like slaves.  The only way to eradicate this Salafism ideology is to confiscate the source of revenue from these Sheikhs and stop the cash flow to these Madrassas.

Mr. Basit is justifying his meeting with the Kashmiri separatists as an on going acceptable activity between Pakistani diplomats and the separatists. He further states that the Indian government never objected to such meetings in the past.  Let me remind Mr. Basit that two wrong things do not make it right.  The foreign policy followed by the Congress leadership at the center towards Pakistan was a failed policy, and India is still paying the price.  I agree with the Indian government's stand with respect to stakeholders in Kashmir.  These separatists have no stake at all, and if someone asks me, India is the only stakeholder in Kashmir.  Kashmir ought to be a mute point if and when any further negotiation takes place between India and Pakistan.  Kashmir should not be on the agenda at all. Also, looking at the present chaotic situation in Pakistan, one is not sure how long this present civilian government in Islamabad is going to last.  India just need to sit on the side and let the dust settle before taking any diplomatic initiative.

I agree with the decision taken by the Indian government of not to participate in the impending Secretary-level meeting on August 25th. Since its birth for its survival, Pakistan has been pursuing a dual-faced policy not only with India, but with the United States also - the main donor of Pakistan's exchequer.  Pakistan wants to keep the diplomatic door open with India while abetting, financing and keeping a close relationship with the proxy entities in Kashmir.  These few Hurriyat leaders are serving Pakistan's interest in fomenting chaos in Kashmir.  These Hurriyat leaders also need to be brought to the books due to their anti-India relationship with the leaders of Pakistan. What these leaders are doing is a symptom of treason and need to face a legal music accordingly.  The idea of earmarking crores of rupees to bring back Kashmiri Brahmins and creating jobs in Kashmir are very positive and creditworthy steps announced by the Central government.  Once the employment situation in Kashmir is improved, the Muslim youngsters who are in the streets every day with an anti-India banners, will be working in the office and become productive instead of being a destructive force.  As far as Pakistan is concerned, it is going through a lot of turmoil due to the pressure from PTI and PAT parties who are demanding Prime Minister's resignation.  Under the circumstances, the Indian government ought to wait for the final outcome.  It is possible that Nawaz Sharif may not remain in the office for a long time.  Let the dust settle before making any diplomatic move.

It is very interesting that the Saudi King is afraid of fanaticism and militant policies pursued by the ISIS in the northern part of Iraq.  They are butchering the non-Suni people with full impunity - beheading them, making them slaves and playing with the honor of females.  Ironically, the Saudi King is advising his countrymen to fight against those who have hijacked Islam.  I just cann't help but laugh at the vulnerable situation the Saudi King feels himself in.  Instead of displaying his sense of fear, the King ought to admit that the forceful implementation of Sharia Law emanated from Wahibism,  It was and has been the Saudi Petro dollars which is promoting Wahibism through Madrassas in Pakistan and other Muslim countries.  It was the petro dollars which brain washed yesterday's children through these madrassas and those children have become today's martyrs. It is his family - Saudi Kingdom- which has hijacked Islam and no one else.  So, what is happening in front of his eyes is his family's own doing.  As the saying goes 'as you sow so shall you reap.  Saudi King is 90 years old and, needless to say, there is not much time left for him before he meets his Allah.  May be it is an opportune time for the atonement of Kingdom's sins for spreading 6th century Sharia Law though Wahibism.  The King ought to make an announcement to stop abetting, financing and promoting all religious activities which help the ideology of killing of innocent people, spread hatred among other religions and work for establishing peace and tranquility in the world.  Hopefully, when he meets his Allah, the latter may forgive him for his sins.

China has been bullying its neighbors for a long time now to satisfy its territorial ambition in that part of the world.  Chinese government has endorsed and approved this policy to create its hegemony in that region by declaring the territory in the South and East China Sea as well as the border locations with India as part of China.  The end results seems to be that India, Japan, Philippine, Korea, Vietnam etc. are feeling a military pressure from China to defend themselves in case of any unforeseen military eventuality.  Chinese government has been threatening to disrupt the oil drilling operations managed and operated by these countries in the South and East China Seas.  To complicate this issue further, China also has an on-going dispute about a few islands in that region with Japan.  Speaking of bad relations with the neighboring countries, China recently printed its revised map showing Arunachal Pradesh (an Indian territory) as part of China.  It is true that a windfall economic prosperity in China has provided enough stimulation for the Chinese government to pursue its goal of becoming a super power, but their way of approaching that objective seems to be on the wrong footing.  They cann't become a super power by annoying and bullying all its immediate neighbors.  Country becomes a super power by helping others grow and coming to the needs to those who need help.  United States became a super power not by bullying any country, but by fighting with the aggressor and helping others to come out of ruins.  Therefore, to safeguard its security, Japan has started evaluating their self-imposed restriction signed after WWII of not to manufacture heavy duty defense equipment.  The latest press report indicates that Japan has developed a stealth bomber equivalent to USA's F-35 which will help the Japanese forces to counter any military attack from China.  I am sure this idea is going to proliferate in other countries also whether they will start manufacturing their own military equipment or sign security treaties with each other to keep that region devoid of any turmoil.  As we know, America is trying to work on strategic relationship with the new Indian government by sharing technology in the defense and other fields.  To counter Chinese aggressive territorial designs, it may be an opportune time to contemplate on the lines of signing a long term security treaty with India which will be  mutually beneficial to both. TIME IS NOW TO STOP CHINA BEFORE IT GETS TOO LATE.

There is nothing wrong in dreaming high and trying to achieve those sometimes non-achievable dreams.  That is exactly what ISIS leader is determined to achieve.  Of course, time will tell what happens if they come close to that objective.  However, what is important for the civilized society here is not to ignore the ideology of these militants which is giving birth to these fanatic ideas of creating a caliphate regime in the world. Their slogan of being able to unfurl their flag either on the White House or somewhere else may be immaterial, baseless and non-achievable, but needless to say, their ideology is based on a firm belief that they can achieve this objective.  So, this ideology needs to be changed and, if possible crushed.  The enthusiasm which has become the driving force of their speedy movement in the Middle-East ought not to be the concern of Washington only, but of all countries where these brain washed caliphates are operating and that includes India also. Needless to say, India has been suffering in the hands of these militants for decades and the neighboring country is of no help to eradicate this menace, rather it abets, finances, trains and monitors their operations against India.  Therefore, the slogan emanating from the leader of ISIS could become a headache for the world if not checked and eliminated.  NOW IS THE TIME TO BE AGGRESSIVE AGAINST THIS EVIL.

What Hamas had done by constructing these tunnels was a work of art.  It is so ironical that on one hand this nation is condemning the existence and the nature of operation of Hammas (terrorist organization), and on the other hand providing American cement along with other materials and financial assistance to the Abbas government which has joined hands with the Hammas to run the Palestinian governmental operations.  What Israel has been doing and will be doing is right.  It is the job of the Israeli leaders to protect the lives of Israeli citizens.  However, I am little bit pessimistic about the future of Israelis in that part of the world - one due to the wavering and abysmal foreign policies of USA and secondly, due to the sheer # of Muslims and the flow of petro-dollars to equip Hammas soldiers. In my opinion, time there is in favor of Muslims.  If you notice, each child is being brain washed and the seeds of hatred and ill-will against Jews are being planted in their brain.  These children will be tomorrow's suicide bombers.  Secondly, Muslims can afford to sacrifice thousands and thousands of their fellow Muslims, but Israel cann't afford to lose that number of people every time they have to fight with the Muslims.  Lastly, majority of Muslims in that region are unemployed and are being fed with the help of petro or American tax payer dollars.  So, they have nothing to lose whereas Israeli economy is flourishing and they cann't afford any disruption in their economic boom.  However, a barbaric solution to this problem is the application of nuclear arsenal by the Israelis to make Gaza a parking lot.

I could not agree more with the writer about the despicable situation in Pakistan regarding ill treatment faced by the minorities in the hands of fundamentalists. On top of this, it seems that the government in Islamabad is ignoring and showing no concern at all to the fate of the minorities.  Minorities are being converted to Islam forcefully, their daughters are forced to marry  Muslims, blasphemy is not tolerated at all which means no freedom of religion and speech.  When Jinnah created a Pakistan, his intention was to have a secular state in which all people - Muslims and non-Muslims will be treated equally.  I wonder what happened to those intentions of the founder.  What a shameful situation?  As we all know, Pakistan is an epicenter of terrorism which is instrumental in creating havoc worldwide.  The civilized world has been suffering from this menace stemming from Pakistan.  Instead of isolating and segregating Pakistan, unfortunately, lot of cash flow is still being funneled to the Pakistan exchequer by the western countries.  That needs to be stopped.  Pakistan is a failed state run by incapable people - I would not even call them leaders.  Karachi, Balochistan and Panjab are burning every day.  KP province does not want to be part of Pakistan.  It is a state run by the nexus of military/ISI which has no sense of human responsibility- people in Pakistan are suffering, ill educated, no good health facilities, no respect for law and order and no life at all for female community.  The militants are running around in the country with full impunity creating havoc everywhere.  Yes, the world is concerned about the nuke arsenal Pakistan possesses.  May be it is time for the western nations to arrange some type of coup and take possession of this arsenal before they get into the hands of these brainwashed militant groups.

Like other rape cases in India, this is another sad story happened to a 27 year young lady in Kolkata.  I think these type of inhuman tragedies are happening in India due to either non-existence or non-compliance of severe legal punishment under the Indian Constitution for such crimes.  In this particular case, the way police authorities handled the situation is pathetic.  It appears that the police authorities were careless, not concerned and simply ignored the seriousness of this crime.  Of course, the rapists will face the punishment predicated on whatever verdict court announces, but in the eyes of this writer, local police is equally responsible for not understanding the seriousness of this crime and needs to face the legal music too.   This writer is a firm believer of an enactment of a national law (mandatory to be applied in states also) which will put the rapist, once proven guilty, behind bar for life without any possibility of parole., and if victim's life is involved, then the rapist needs to be hanged in public square to set a precedence for others who might be contemplating of committing a similar crime.  Yes, it sounds very barbaric, but the government authorities need to become barbaric with the criminals.  This is the only way to eradicate this heinous crime from the society.  If females are not safe in a society, that society will be reduced to ashes, morally speaking.  Unsafe and tortured females cann't nurture their children properly, cann't provide them adequate and proper education which means eventually that country's existence will have no meaning and value in the world community.  Unfortunately, these rape cases are happening on an hourly basis, it seems like, all over India.  This writer wonders what it is going to take before the central and state governments wake up and do something to eradicate this inhuman menace from the society?

The writer of this article is trying to misguide the public as well as the White House by insinuating that improving relations with India is a futile exercise in light of a few political differences between these two countries, even though the Indian government officials have stated that there is a possibility that these differences may be settled in September when Mr. Modi visits Washington DC.  The writer also is forgetting that American prestige and status in the world forums is decelerating in spite of being still  the super power.  Even small countries are not willing to be dictated by the USA.  As I see it, America does not have many real friends left in the world.  The writer of this article seems to have the notion that any country can survive in a vacuum when the current economy is predicated on global relationship.  Therefore, on the contrary, America needs India strategically, politically and globally to continue having its influence worldwide.  Also, one ought not to ignore the increasing military might of China in that part of the world which is going to be a big challenge for the USA.  If the latest press reports are true, China has ICBM (DF41) with the range of 12000 KM which can hit any corner of the United States.  To counter Chinese territorial ambition, it is very timely that America extends an olive branch to India.  I hope that the leaders in Washington DC are not misled by people who have anti-India thoughts brewing in their mind.

In view of worldwide political imbroglio the USA is experiencing, a recognition by the White House as to how important and strategic relationship with India can become is one thing, but to turn that recognition into a reality by taking a step forward by extending technological assistance in various fields is another issue to contemplate.  Having knowledge of a situation is the accumulation of facts which is a good start, but to have a wisdom to analyze those facts and come out with a win-win solution is something different.  In the eyes of this writer, what is missing is a long term wisdom to put an Indo-US relationship on a concrete footing especially when the USA has basically a very few genuine friends left in the world.  Needless to say, China is flexing its military muscles and trying to be a world super power by spending tons of money to strengthen its armed forces.  The USA relationship with Russia is not going anywhere.  Basically, Middle-East is burning on a daily basis.  The USA can use India's help, being a friendly nation to Russia and to many of Muslim countries, finding a solution to some of the problems in that part of world.  This can be achieved only if the USA is willing to accommodate Indian concerns whether it is in the civil nuclear area or defense technology etc.  This relationship ought to be on a long term basis, without any politics involved, with the understanding that there will be no ditching of each other come what may.  Once that faith and belief are determined, the USA will have a solid force of strength to counter balance Chinese influence in that part of the world.  Also, one should not under estimate India's contacts and relationship with Russia which has been in existence since 1950s.  America can utilize that relationship to soften the current tension between the United States and Russia.  I would say the ball is in the court of the USA and it will be interesting to see how this ball is rolled in September when Mr. Modi will be talking to Mr. Obama on one-to-one basis.