INDIA
One of the most populated countries with 1.166’079.217 inhabitants, 80% of which practice Hindu religion followed by Muslims with 13.4%. Their average growth rate is 1.5% and their main languages are Hindi and English.
Society and de individual
Karma: is based on the belief that good deeds lead to rewards and morally inappropriate actions lead to penalisations. When someone holds a good karma that will result in the rebirth with an improved social setting.
Dharma: Dharma is the path of righteousness and living one's life according to the codes of conduct as described by the Hindu scriptures.
Ahimsa: is based on the idea of harmlessness, non-injury, non-killing or pacifism because life is only One and sacred and all living things have souls.
The 4 stages of life:
- Student
- Married life
- Withdrawal from the world of maya
- Renouncing the world
Caste system
Brahmin (priests); Kshatriya (warriors); Vaisya (herders, farmers, merchants, craftsmen); Shudra (farm workers, servant and laborers)
Managerial Model
Their attitude towards work is not very valued because family is the most important thing above all and also religion plays a big role. The preferred leadership style is based on the caste system that implies respect for the superiors and the approach to problem solving is analytical and includes reflective strategies. The concept of cooperation is also very underrated: they are not good teamplayers, they don’t have very attached relations and they are very individualistic.
PAKISTAN
Currently declining economy, constant conflicts with India, security issues and a population of 176'242.949 and Muslim is the most important religion
Pakistan's industry relies on textiles and apparel, food processing, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, paper products, fertilisers and shrimp. The FDI in the country is not very high nor promoted and their exports are narrowly diversified, only based on agricultural products and textiles.
The industry is 85% composed by small or medium size enterprises characterised by their insufficient funds and obsolete technology.
Society and women
Marriage is the only purpose of life and working women are generally portrayed negatively. Education is not a priority for girls. Parents prefer to send boys to school in case they can not afford to send all of their children. There are also poor health care services for females.
Employing women can cause social problems especially when it comes to issues with men if they have women as superiors. The image of the male provider is still very strong.
The Purdah: literally translated into "curtain" in Urdu. The purdah is the segregation of women. They are kept behind the curtain for their own protection and to ensure the family honor.
photo by: David Douglas Duncan. "Women in purdah, Pakistan, [1947]"
THE KASHMIR ISSUE
After the Indian subcontinent became independant from Britain in 1947 and the partition looked imminent, 565 princely states had to decide whether to join India or Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir, located right in the middle of the two countries could not decide whaich country to join. With a predominant muslim population, the ruler of this territory decided to sign a "standstill" agreement with Pakistan that would ensure that trade, travel and communications could not be affected, even though India did not sign any similar agreement.
Months later on that same year, Kashmir was invaded by Pashtun tribsmen from pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province letting Kashmir's ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, feel forced to request armed assistance from India after violent raids. This led to according the terms of the Instrument to Accession to India and its jurisdiction over external affairs, deffence and communications even though this agreement has been hotly discussed for over 50 years claiming bad faith from India.
Currently, a boundary, "The Line of Control", divides the region in two, with one part administered by India and one by Pakistan
So, what future can Kashmir expect? 7 possible scenarios could find a solution for the current situation:
- Scenario 1: India would like to formalise the status quo concerning "the line of control", but Pakistan and Kashmiri activists reject this plan because they both want greater control over the region.
- Scenario 2: Kashmir joins Pakistan given the majority of Muslim population. But the minorities cannot be left out. The Hindus of Jammu, and the Buddhists of Ladakh have never shown any desire to join Pakistan and would protest at the outcome.
- Scenario 3: Kashmir Joins India, although this would be unlikely to help with the unstability of the region given that the Muslim inhabitants of Pakistani-administered Jammu and Kashmir, including the Northern Areas, have never shown any desire to become part of India.
- Scenario 4: independent Kashmir. This would require India and Pakistan to give up territory which they are not willing to do. And a plebiscite or referendum would not only be rejected by India and Pakistan but also by the inhabitants of the state who are content with their status as part of the countries to which they already owe allegiance.
- Scenario 5: a smaller independent Kashmir. An independent Kashmir could be created from the Kashmir Valley - currently under Indian administration - and the narrow strip of land which Pakistan calls Azad Jammu and Kashmir. This would leave the strategically important regions of the Northern Areas and Ladakh, bordering China, under the control of Pakistan and India respectively. However both India and Pakistan would be unlikely to enter into discussions which would have this scenario as a possible outcome.
- Scenario 6: an independent Kashmir Valley has been considered by some as the best solution because it would address the grievances of those who have been fighting against the Indian Government since the insurgency began in 1989. But critics say that, without external assistance, the region would not be economically viable.
- Scenario 7: this consists on the division of Kashmir along the line of river Chenab which would give the vast majority of land to Pakistan. The entire valley with its Muslim majority population would be brought within Pakistan's borders, as well as the majority Muslim areas of Jammu.
References:
In depht: The Future of Kashmir?. http://news.bbc.co.uk
Class notes: presentation on South Asia
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario