(Pix: Bala)
I am in love! The weather is awesome. I can feel the wind through my hair tickling the nerve endings. The ripples in the lake carry fall colors to the banks. The ducks slide along smiling. The bench amidst trees makes me skip a heartbeat. I trod over fallen leaves. They miss you.
The first thing that comes to our mind when we hear the word radical Islam, is terrorism. It brings to mind the picture of an AK47 sporting Muslim guy who kills for religious reasons. The media has fed us with so much of ‘jihad' that it is difficult to think of radical groups as anything but driven by and killing for a religion. However, today I heard a talk by Eli Berman that gave me an economic and sociological perspective into the motives behind the formation and development of a radical group.
Berman’s mainly argued that ‘God’ or ‘religion’ is not the central motive of a member of a radical* group**. Instead the motives are altruistic. Ariel Morari, an Israeli psychiatrist studied suicide bombers and their families to conclude that they do not mention religion and heaven/afterlife as their motives. Neither is the primary motive seeking revenge for a personal attack nor economic deprivation. These people do not show any suicidal tendencies and are not depressed. Instead they have altruistic motives along with delusions about self-importance. They generally aim to change the status-quo or the current government they are unhappy with.
According to Berman every person tries to be a part of that group which provides him resources and benefits to run his family. Generally it is the government. But it could also be the radical group. These groups are involved in providing basic services like schools (even if in the form of mercenary schools), hospitals or health services, loan facilities and the like. The person will be a part of whichever of the two he thinks provides him better facilities. This to me has two implications. One, a country with a weak and inefficient government has a greater risk of strong radical groups. Two, a country/region afflicted by presence of violent radical groups can be treated by creating a strong government that efficiently provides the social services. However creating a strong government is difficult and external intervention for the same can be disastrous as seen in the
One of the important characteristic of a radical group is the restrictions it places on its members’ behavior. They have to follow a certain dress code, refrain from certain foods, pray according to schedules, etc. These restrictions leave the member with nothing better to do with his time but do that what the group wants. They are pulled away from the mainstream and the bonding gets stronger. The restrictions make them better participants by concentrating their energies and time on the goals of the group. However this raises the question why at a time when the overall consumption power of individuals is increasing would someone want to opt for the restrictions? Berman says that these groups are like close knit communities that have their own system of mutual aid and insurance where everyone’s needs are fulfilled. When the market in a region grows, benefits of better education, employment and other alternatives increase the fear of selective attrition of the talented young. The members fear that these young earning members would leave their community, country, or group and decrease the supply for mutual aid and insurance. In an effort to keep them within the community they become a part of such radical groups that limit their outside options. By restricting options the radical groups make the members into workers with contained desires and demands. This further makes them stay back in the group and not stray out attracted by the alternatives available. As the available alternatives grow, the restrictions become stricter.
Along with a strong mutual aid system, these groups are also good at coordinate violence. The aid system, restriction, and bonding lead to mutual trust amongst members. A terrorist organization builds upon this trust that it builds up through its benign activities of providing social services. A terrorist organization is, according to Berman, structurally same as the benign organization of a radical group mentioned earlier. The mutual trust helps them carry out terrorist acts, as the leaders are assured of the loyalty of the members they entrust to carry out the activities. As they are cut off from the mainstream, wish to change the status quo, are comfortable within the services and opportunities provided by the group and completely dependent and loyal upon the group they see it as their task to carry out the terrorist acts that they are asked to.
This theory is appealing. But it seems too simplistic an explanation of the existence of terrorist and radical groups. It does not explain exactly when a radical group turns into a terrorist group. There are numerous radical groups in the world (churches, Jewish groups, RSS) which are not terrorist groups. Why are they not violent (terrorists) and why are the ones in the
**He was talking mostly about radical Islamic groups in the
The Iraqi Special Tribunal in Baghdad on Sunday, November 5 sentenced Saddam Hussein to be hanged. This was the verdict of the first trial against Saddam for the execution of 148 men and boys from the town of Dujail, after a purported assassination attack on him on July 8, 1982. The trial which began on October 19, 2005 concluded on Sunday with the total verdict including,
1. death sentence for willful killings,
2. 10 years for forcible deportation, and
3. 10 years for torture.
Others convicted in the same case include,
1. Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Saddam’s half brother and head of his Domestic Intelligence Agency – death sentence;
2. Awad al-Bandar, President of his Revolutionary Court – death sentence;
3. Taha Yasim Ramadan, former Vice President - life imprisonment;
4. 3 local Baath Party officials - 15 years of imprisonment for willful murder and another 7 years for torture.
Only one Baath party official was acquitted for lack of evidence.
Saddam’s lawyers have argued that he was justified in ordering a crackdown on the would-be-assassins as they were Iranian backed Shiite militants and Iraq and Iran were at war at that time.
Under the Iraqi judicial system the case now directly goes to the appellate chamber of the trial court on Monday. Though the chamber does not have to follow any specific deadlines, it is being predicted that Saddam could be hanged next spring after the chamber’s verdict. A second trial on charges of genocide during the 1986-89 Anfal campaign against the Kurds is also underway since August 21, 2006. Six other co-defendants are also being tried for the same.
The Saddam Hussein trial had been marked by delays, violence and courtroom drama. Three defense lawyers were killed during the trial and the original judge, Rizkar Mohammed Amin resigned in protest of governmental interference. Rauf Rashid Abdel Rahman, a Kurd was later appointed in his place. Human rights organizations like the Amnesty International, and international legal experts have questioned the impartiality of the verdict. According to them there were serious shortcomings in the fairness of the proceedings that undermine the legitimacy and credibility of the trial.
Some critics view the timing of the verdict to have been manipulated to come just before the midterm elections in the US on November 7. Failure in Iraq has been an important election campaign issue and surveys have predicted a loss for the Republicans due to it. The Bush administration had come under severe domestic and international criticism over the Iraq war and its failure in finding the purported WMDs, and restoring democracy and peace to the country. The issue of massive American causalities has been prominent in the election campaign. The verdict thus assumes political significance and could be used by the Republicans as a ‘victory’ point to gain some last minute votes. However, White House spokesman Tony Snow has rubbished such claims as being too farfetched and said that the judiciary in Iraq is working independently.
The verdict could also be a political blessing for the current Iraqi government. It symbolizes the victory of good over evil; for a democratically elected government over the tyrannical rule of a dictatorial Saddam Hussein. It can create a sense of the ‘government working for the masses’, as it is the Iraqi judiciary that has passed the verdict. It can lead to a trust in the present government. However, it is also true that bloodshed and misery continue to be a part of Iraqi life even today with regular clashes between the Shias and Sunnis, and the American military presence. The divide between the Shias and Sunni Arabs in Iraq could also increase further as the Sunni Arabs view the verdict as a political charade that satisfies the political agenda of the Shiite led government and the Bush administration.
Whether the verdict actually translates into a Republican majority in the Congress would be clear in a couple of days. Whether it translates into peace and fortune for the Iraqis is the real question.
“Oh-my-gawd! Just two and a half months! You gotcha be kidding!!”
Well that’s how my colleague reacted when I told her I have been in the US for the past two and a half months and also that I have visited New York a couple of times. (I don’t exactly see a reason to be surprised, except for that grad students notoriously crib about financial droughts. And yes I am not high-earning either and Maryland rents are enormous ;))
So. The last four months of absence from this place has been precisely due to that. US preparations and a illness interlude. I arrived here mid-august and before settling down into student life, acted touristy for almost a month. After all, he was here to show me around :)
The day after he picked me up from the airport, we visited the University. It is huge! With the jet lag and insufficient sleep, I found it a bit too widely spread out, and my school was through evil designs located at the far end of the campus. We walked all over the place, did the necessary paper-work (God knows what all I signed on!) and went off to Washington DC. Lovely place. Why? Well it reminds me of Pune! Contrary to my imagination of the capital of the US being a fast-paced energetic city, DC is relatively slow and old. I don’t intend to make a value judgment here, it is just a plain statement of my impression.
The first stop was a friend at Friendship Heights. I was awed. Amazing location for a house! Right across the street are some of the most famous brands Gucci, Lee…..The apartment lobby looks more like a hi-fi hotel lobby than an apartment lobby. The balcony overlooks the said showrooms and a long road that seems to reach the other end of the globe. After some refreshing Indian tea we left to see around the place, especially his University. We had to walk for almost an hour before we reached the place, but it was worth it. The entire stretch is lined with some of the best brands and the finest of dresses. (Smart skirts! Sigh!) As we walked my guides for the day pointed out some of the must-visit restaurants, making me hungrier (as if the walk was not enough). Past the restaurants you see lovely story-book houses with manicured lawns and all possible signs of a healthy economy (US or family?) We walked through a canopy of trees admiring, discussing and joking about US houses in general. Inside the University we again walked for a while looking at different departments and schools, admiring the sculptures visible through windows here and there and generally pulling his leg when he said things like, “Oh, that’s a building!” (As if I were Tarzan.)
After a quick dinner, he dropped me home in the metro bus :)
The next day was a Sunday and the place where I live has no public transport out of the place that day. So one day old into the US, I take a cab to the metro station and then changing the train lines at appropriate times reach his place all set for a new touristy day. (Boy was he impressed!) Today our stop was the Smithsonian mall, a huge expanse of land (you would ideally avoid walking across) lined with the famous Smithsonian museums and a place every American is proud of. We intended to see the History museum, but the almost identical architecture landed us someplace full of dinosaurs and gems! It is a huge structure housing dinosaur fossils in all shapes and sizes. I had never seen so many dinosaurs at one place before! And he thought it funny to click pictures that seemed as if the dinosaur was gobbling up my head. Up one floor is the gems section. Now this is something that every single gal out there should visit. Gorgeous diamonds! Some of the world’s best! Necklaces and earring that made me wonder about rebirth and if in one of my births I was the proud owner of atleast a couple of them! (sigh!) As I ohhed and aahed about them he realized the potential dangers that lurk and tried every trick to drag me away from that place. (But too late! I know what I want for the wedding :) ) Tired and in no mood to look at war memorabilia I insisted on admiring the large lawns instead. We located a peaceful bench overlooking the Smithsonian structures, children playing in the vicinity and sat down to catch up on the two long years of judai!
The not-so-weird-but-hallucinating-about-being-weird Nirwa tagged me the other day. She wants me to write 5 weird things about myself!! Come on now Nirwa, you know I am not weird!
But anyways, it's impolite to not respond to tag, so here I go.
1. I don't know if I am weird or the people who do it are. But somehow it happens again and again. Many people I come across, many of them senior colleagues, or even my seniors in college tend to kinda ruffle my hair! Not always but once in a while, when you are least expecting it. Its something like you do (or want to do) to kids when they smile that cute stupid smile!!
2. This is again not exactly weird but it seems weird to people who are victims of it (I myself being one of them!). They fight, argue, debate, deny and what not, but most of the times they come back and lay down their arms and accept what I say. Well... I am talking about these 'feelings' that I get about people. I might not know them personally, they can be complete strangers like SRK would be to me, they can be my friends, people I come across in restaurants...... any human being for that matter. Somehow I get this 'feeling' about that person being in love with, or liking, or having a crush on some other particular person. I can have that feeling for both of them together and I don't need to see them together for it. Infact recently I had a 'feeling' about two bloggers and my God! there were chances of some truth being in it! (hint* hint*) It gets scary at times, because once I 'felt' about Abhishek-Ashiwarya and the next week there was a report in the papers about them being a couple!!! Weird is it?
3. When I think or talk to myself I generally talk in either German or English! Not marathi which is my mother tongue. Why?
4. This might be happening to quite a few people, but at times I think its really weird that people think this about me. And also really weird that it happens or I do it. Well....ummm...it's like.... I blush a lot! I say I smile, but people think I am blushing. It's just that being fair enough I get red whenever I smile or laugh, its not blushing, is it? But I get smiled and teased because I blush so much. (Of course there are people who love my smile *blush* *blush*)
5. And again not exactly weird but weird. Probably you might have thought of it by now. You might be saying to yourself right now, get to the point girl, itni sari backgrounding or base kyu de rahi ho. But people, that's how it is. I am weirdly addicted to adding a lot of prefixes, prefaces, introductory remarks vagera vagera whenever I have to make a point. I jsut can say... "I have a weird habit of doing XYZ". This sentence will come last or somewhere in between, but never first. It will have a long prefixing sentences or words.
Phew! That's a lot of embarrassment for one day. I think I will pass on the buck to some more and feel happy that I am not the only one who's embarrassed. So...
1. Chetan(if that's the only way you can be made to update your blog, I wont skip the chance ;)),
2. Gaurav (if you belong to COEP you got to be weird!),
3. Ashuthosh(who's reportedly so brilliant, I am sure he must have streaks of weirdness)
4. ?! Dubious Moves (becuase the name itself is so weird)
5. Of course the one and only "he who should not be named"! ;)
Both of them started out as friends and in due course of time were deeply in love. Their courtship was full of fun, coffees and fights too [being friends keeps you aware of the other’s love life ;)] In time the wedding was fixed, and since then things have nagged me. Now, both are normal rational people madly in love. And they are also ‘friends’. This ‘claim’ nags me. I mean over the years I have seen both of them change distinctly and the relationship turning into more of a love relationship. The ‘friend’ factor seems to have diminished. During conversations with my friend I have noticed initially subtle and now increasingly pronounced traces of the friendship receding. Even when in a group the difference is evident; not in terms of coochicooing and stuff – as such they are against ‘public display’ and there have never been any embarrassing situations when in a group. But still one could make out that the ‘friend’ factor in their behavior, their conversations, their body language had changed. They were friends only because they were girlfriend-boyfriend and not husband-wife.
Many people I have come across usually end up being engrossed in trying to be the best partner, a good lover, a good spouse. I have hardly ever seen people taking efforts at trying to be good friends. Most want to be politically correct. Many are scared of instability and the relationship going sour, so they end up playing it safe. Try to please the other. According to me between friends these things do not matter. You might never want the friendship to go sour but you are usually frank about your thoughts, don’t necessarily play it politically correct, diplomatic at all times. You don’t necessarily try to please the other; don’t forgo your desires for them.
And so I wonder if my friend is really marrying her ‘best friend’ or her ‘erstwhile best friend’!?!
Posts
All Comments
