Why peace is so hard to achieve
Dear Sir,
Peace will probably remain elusive in 2014. Hatred continues to reign. Millions of the world’s people, including the vulnerable among the children, women and elderly and those with disabilities are still looking for liberation from poverty, exclusion and invisibility. Africa is disintegrating under political and communal violence. The brutal battle for political supremacy borders on genocide as millions are slaughtered in an orgy of total destruction.
The entire moral fibre of the world rests on three pillars: justice, truth and peace. At this moment in 2013 the world is sadly lacking in all three. One of the reasons that peace has been so hard to achieve is that we have uncoupled our search for peace from the search for universal justice and unvarnished truth.
Military, economic and environmental violence in the era of globalisation cause immense suffering and may ultimately threaten the existence of life as we know it.
Violence is the product of a human-built social order in which some people and institutions control most of the resources, make the decisions, that necessitate violence, and operate with minimal accountability.
Violence is a natural consequence of a system inordinately influenced by a relatively small, interconnected group of corporate, military and government leaders with the power to instill fear, to increase their excessive fortunes, and to restrict information, particularly about their clandestine dealings.
Judging from 2013 it seems evident that 2014 will be worse, the 14th year of the 21st century.
Farouk Araie, Johannesburg
Mission not easy for Kejriwal
Dear Sir,
This has reference to the correspondence related to the emergence of a new generation politics in India, particularly AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) and advent of Arvind Kejriwal as New Delhi’s new Chief Minister.
While felicitating the new generation politics, their proclaimed objectives and the people who offered their support to defeat the political dictators who dominated Indian democracy down the years, I think, it is too early to celebrate such spontaneous evolution of democratic process.
The stunning victory of AAP in New Delhi is the result of spontaneous reaction of the people who were promised of their basic needs. Criticism and fault-finding are easy tasks whereas application of viable corrective measures is not.
AAP is a political party with no previous experience in exercising power politics. It has emerged in political domains addressing the common people’s socio-economical issues that stimulated an undercurrent in the bottom layers of the Delhi population which constitutes a large portion of the State’s electorate. Kejriwal and his team have to prove their commitment and willpower to accomplish their mission and promises to Delhiites. It is not an easy job.
Scarcity of the resources is not a problem in any state of India, but the problem is the execution of the power and the management of the resources with justice among the people.
In modern times, election in democratic process is expensive as far as political parties are concerned and in order to ensure required funds, corporates’ support is essential. So, almost all political parties should maintain their corporate-friendly policies to a certain extent. Corruption basically is a byproduct of this corporate-friendship. AAP is no exception.
K K Nazimudeen, PO Box 441, Doha