#RandomThoughts The secular reforms of Turkey, which were initiated by the Republic's founding father Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, appears to have failed. The political, economic, and cultural reforms which were initiated by Mustafa Kemal were revolutionary and served as a template for all secular states. Among the two most important reforms he brought in were making primary education free and compulsory and granting Turkish women equal civil and political rights. These were done ahead of many Western countries. The constitutional referendum that was held throughout Turkey on 16 April 2017 to approve 18 proposed amendments to the Turkish constitution, perhaps changes all that.
The new administrative system will take effect after the elections in 2019 when Erdogan's current term ends, yet immediate changes are enabled for the president to head the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) while serving as president, and make high-level appointments, including members of Turkey's top judicial body without parliamentary approval.The new powers would allow Erdogan to issue decrees, declare emergency rule, appoint ministers and state officials as well as dissolve parliament. He could also potentially stay in power until 2029, while the prime minister's position would be abolished. No foreign or domestic political power can effectively challenge Erdogan's authority in Turkey now. As Erdogan grows more powerful, Turkey will become less and less Westernized and consequently, less secular too.
#BitterPill All over the world maps keep on changing . Over the last 100 years itself so many countries have vanished and so many have come up . It should not surprise us if within the next 50 to 100 years, the map of India is also redrawn. What seems impossible now may always be treated as the logical solution after five decades.
If we apply ourselves honestly and objectively without letting nationalist sentiments or the synthetic patriotism cloud our mind and detach ourselves from the ensuing result, then it will be obvious to all of us that given the situation prevailing there, Kashmir should not stay within India. Our presence there is like an occupation force. It is a stark reality that is facing us and should be acknowledged. In the heart of our hearts, we do. The huge number of security forces that the Indian state have deployed there is perhaps a pointer to the efforts that is being exerted to keep the situation under control. There is no point in blaming the security forces. Because they are not there in their own volition. Successive democratically elected governments of the Republic of India have kept them posted there to ensure that Kashmir does not break away from the nation.
As of now the situation will continue to remain like this and perhaps alternate between bad and worse, depending upon the weather and support from Pakistan. Let us all accept this fact. Because as a large democratic country with a federal structure and regular elections , no government can even dream of ethnic cleansing . Moreover, due to the disputed and special status accorded to the state, it is also difficult to migrate a large number of people to settle there as China has done in Tibet to dilute the mix of population. Because of land border and continuous border dispute with Pakistan, we also can not use force like the Sri Lankans did to finish off the Tamil Eelam (for the time being).
Force and brutality is not the answer, it can at best be a reaction. The only way we can defuse the Kashmir problem is by scrapping the special status for the state and make peace with Pakistan . Some may point out that another option would be dismember Pakistan itself. But perhaps they forget that Pakistan is a nuclear state and China will not be amused with the idea. Simply using force without making demographic alteration by mass migration will never help to integrate the state into the Indian union. Kashmir needs to be populated by Indians who own land there, otherwise it will never be a part of India.
As pointed out, this situation will prevail for some time to come and therefore naturally we will hear regular news of attacks , terrorism and human rights violation. Politicians will continue to use the strife to garner votes. On paper, it may appear that the best solution would be to let the state go free and fend for itself. That will save us a great waste of resources. And show those separatist hotheads how the shoe pinches. But the cold fact is that the Republic of India can not let Kashmir slip away from itself. Because, the moment it goes away, there will be clamour from Nagaland and other N.E. states which will trigger the waking up of the dormant sub-nationalism from other areas. The genie will escape from the bottle. Kashmir is the cork that has kept it in. So we have no other option but to occupy it physically. Looks like we have already lost the soul. That makes the job more difficult.
But who knows what will happen after 50 years.
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