WAYS TO GO
The last two days, August 14th and 15th, were celebrated as "Independence Day" by Pakistan and India respectively, sixty years after their formations in 1947.
As Wikipedia notes, the
"two self governing countries legally came into existence at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947.
The ceremonies for the transfer of power were held a day earlier in Karachi, at the time the capital of the new state of Pakistan, to allow the last British Viceroy, Louis Mountbatten, to attend both the ceremony in Karachi and the ceremony in Delhi."
The New York Times had two op-ed pieces, written by two prominent citizens of both Pakistan and India, that are worth reading.
Each author ends gives a fairly personal account of what the 60th birthday means to them, ending with their wish for their respective countries.
Here's the wish from the Pakistani author:
"A 60th birthday brings with it the obligation to shed some illusions. Pakistanis must realize that we have been our own worst enemies. My wish for our national anniversary is this: that we finally take the knife we have turned too often upon ourselves and place it firmly in its sheath."
The Indian op-ed ends with the following observation on the Partition:
"It had been meant to solve, once and for all, the Hindu-Muslim question. But in both countries, the two communities have only grown further apart."
Maybe the next 40 years will show a lot more progress on this front. After all, both countries have very large majorities of young people coming of political age, as we really get into this century.
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