In Pakistan, more alarmingly even than usual, the flag of jihad is fluttering and extremists are marching on the state, says The Economist. “Amid a worrying surge in Islamic militancy, a fight between rival radicals may not be the good news Pakistan says it is.”
“Of several concurrent—partly co-ordinated—dramas involving Islamist militants, the bloodiest is in South Waziristan, a semi-autonomous tribal region on Pakistan’s north-western frontier. In three weeks of high-altitude battle there between local Taliban and foreign—mostly Uzbek—Islamists, more than 250 foreigners are reported to have been killed.
“The army, which has failed to clear the foreigners from South Waziristan in four years of trying, announced on April 9th that the Talibs had done so. Yet quite why this fight began, whether it has ended, and what it means for Pakistan and the broader ‘war on terror’ all remain unclear.
“A less obscure struggle was launched in Islamabad on April 6th by a mullah named Abdul Aziz. He gave the government a month to close the capital’s brothels and music shops, and tear down advertisements depicting women. He also declared sharia law within the high walls of his mosque and the adjoining madrassa. If the government were to respond with force, he promised it suicide-bombings.
“After hearing this sermon, Mr Aziz’s followers, allegedly more than 10,000 bearded males and burqa-clad females, set fire in the street to a pyre of music videos and CDs extracted from local traders.
“The mosque, Lal Masjid, on the roof of which these young zealots can be seen practising martial moves with staves, is barely a mile from Pakistan’s supreme court, parliament building and the headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI).
“For much of Pakistan’s history, the ISI, the army’s main spying outfit, has mobilised Islamists to fight its wars, in Afghanistan, Kashmir and elsewhere. This was consistent with a broader policy, pursued by successive—especially military—governments, of pandering to Islamists.
“Because it had made common cause with the fanatics, the army thought it could control them. If this were ever true, it is not now…”
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Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.