Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday August 15,1985
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Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right
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Nuclear nonsense
EDITOR:
In response to an article by Karl
Pallmeyer, Lance Fragomeli and Mi
chael Wreaver claim (Batt, Aug. 9:
Sniff the Java, Karl) that “nuclear
weapons will only disappear when
new and more advanced weapons are
developed.” Let me give two exam
ples to show that this is nonsense.
Case I: The Strategic Defense Ini
tiative (“Star Wars”) whose feasibility
is hotly disputed and whose costs will
be astronomical (and thereby even
tually may prevent the design and
production of other weapon systems
for decades to come) is highly desta
bilizing since —suppose it would
work — it would effectively eliminate
the basic pillars on which the policy
of MAD (mutual assured destruction,
that is the existence of viable first and
second strike capabilities of both, the
United States and the USSR) was
built in the 1960s. The SDI “astrodo
me” over the United States would
leave the Soviet Union without either
capacity, and it is predictable that the
LISSR neither will nor can accept this
unilateral change in the balance of
terror. The transition period from
the current status quo to that of near
perfect “Star Wars” defense on both
sides would be inevitably one of strat
egic instability. No nuclear weapon
will dissappear under these circum
stance.
Case II: The 1984 US deployment
of Pershings and cruise missiles in
Europe has already changed the bal
ance of terror considerably. This is
due to the revolutionary precision of
both systems as well as their mobility
on one hand; on the other hand this
is due to the cruise missiles’ undetec
tability by radar during flight and the
fact that the Pershings drastically re
duce prewarning time to approxi
mately five minutes. Other than posi
tioning submarines closer to the US
mainland the USSR thus far has not
found an adequate response to this
move, which obviously increases the
first strike capabilities of the US in
particular with respect to Soviet com
mand centers and simultaneously de
creases second strike capabilities of
the USSR for the time being. The
USSR can not and will not accept this
unilateral change. No nuclear weap
ons will dissappear under these cir
cumstances.
Summarizing: The claim Lance
and Michael have made is unsubstan
tiated and will most definitely not put
an end to the nuclear madness; nu
clear weapons may disappear along
the lines of a proposal made by Rob
ert McNamara and Hans Bethe in the
July 1985 issue of The Atlantic
Monthly.
Andreas Ortmann
Graduate Student
Editorials not arti
cles
EDITOR:
I am very disturbed by Murphy
Smith’s letter in the Batt about “Ch
ristian Journalism.”
Clearly Mr. Smith does not under
stand the difference between an edi
torial and an article. An editorial is an
expression of the author’s opinion. It
is intended to stimulate thinking and
debate about what the author feels is
a controversial and important sub
ject.
It is not a requirement for the au
thor to simply “report the facts” in an
editorial, that is the function of an ar
ticle. Furthermore, Mr. Smith goes
on to contradict himself when he
states that reporting that reverence
for God would be “right thinking”, a
phrase right out of Orwell’s 1984.
I suppose Mr. Smith was implying
that reporting only one side of an is
sue was acceptable as long as it was
the side he agreed with, which would
seem to me to be a very narrow defi
nition of “right thinking.”
Jerry O’Leary
TRUE or FALSE? after the pallas
PLAME CRASH, tests show airport
winp petectors working perfectly.
TRUE.
MM26UUK
©1905 H0V5TCH FP5T
United Feature Syndicate
. '■
lllill
...HOW QUICKLY
WDjOU WRH
THOSE PEOPLE
MOST AFFECTED
P/GAS?
INSTITUTE. WjfljL
sirensino*
pSucISros'
immediately..
Pakistan’s ideology tied to Islam
Syed Naved
Aftab
&
Fayyaz
ul Haq
Guest Columnists
EDITOR’S
NOTE: This is the
second in a two-
part series on Pa
kistan, which cele
brated its day of
independence
Wednesday.
Despite the
widespread influ- ——————
ence of Machia-
velli, few could af
ford to ignore the
need for basing a policy on the highest
ideals of righteousness and justice. The
last two global wars have shown what a
menace a political system can be to its
own country and the world at large if
bereft of such ideals.
A policy should be continuously sus
tained bv a set of moral principles and
guided oy a code of public morality.
Western nations, for instance, have es
tablished a code of public morality de
rived from Judeo-Christian heritage.
Similarly to a nation with 96 percent
Moslems, Islam not only provides such a
basis but rather a complete way of life.
If the policy of Pakistan was to be based
upon a firm foundation, there was no
motive force but that of Islam which
could act as the basis.
Great indeed were the sacrifices the
Moslems were called upon to make in
guest of this policy of Pakistan. Over
500,000 perished in this quest, some 8
million had to flee their ancestral homes
to migrate to this land of hope, with al
most nothing except the clothes on their
person, in the hope that one day their
government would help them make a
good society based on Islamic prin
ciples.
Pakistan, both when it was demanded
and when it became a political fact, was
envisaged as an Islamic democracy — to
be Islamic through the democratic proc
ess. Democracy, thus becomes an aspect
of its Islamicness, a part of the defi
nition of an Islamic State.
In the initial years, Pakistan was se
riously in search of Islamic democracy.
A country with its two wings — East and
West Pakistan — one thousand miles
apart and faced with shortages and
blockades of its legitimate shares from
neighboring parent governments,
didn’t give up.
Because it was sustained by its ethical
ideals of Islam, democracy generally
thrived in Pakistan during that period.
Later the ethical ideals were increas
ingly ignored and democracy fell into
doldrums. Not only did the aemocratic
spirit get squeezed out of the organiza
tional apparatus, the machinery itself
showed signs of a breakdown.
The external trappings of a demo
cratic structure — tne political parties,
assemblies, constitution — were in exis
tence, no doubt. But particularly during
1957-58, the apparatus has largely
ceased to be democratic and grounded
in unpopular support — in that the po
litical leadership at the helm of affairs in
Pakistan had increasingly repudiated
the moral categories provided by the
ethical ideal of Islam.
Instead, it took recourse to Machia
vellianism to amass power and wealth
and at the expense of morality, justice
and the nation.
Tragic failure of the democratic ex
periment in Pakistan since the late
1950s may be partially attributed to this.
It also signifies the erosion of the idealo-
gical ties which ceased to overcome the
fissures between the two wings of Paki
stan and its body politics in 1971. Also,
the international enemies of this nascent
state were always alert to exploit such
situations.
Thus, due to the weak practice of ide-
alogical guidelines for proper govern
ance led to the grievances among the
less privileged. The unscrupulous ex
ploitation of Islam by all and Sundry for
shear political and personal ends had
tended to dilute the loyalty of the pop
ulace to its ideology and to the govern
ing bodies. Is short, Islamic ideology
was used more as a tool rather than as a
“drive” to achieve the ideals of exploit
ers.
The allegiance to this Islamic ideal,
whether in mere theory or in actual
practice, is the one constant landmark
on the otherwise undulated political and
social landmark of Pakistan since its in
ception.
What is this Islamic ideology which
the Pakistanis continue to feel so fer
vently about?
Basically, “Islamic Ideology” is a set
of universal principles and pancultural
values given by Islam for the social and
moral guidance of mankind and en
shrined in the Holy Quran. Foremost
among these values is the beliefinGod
and His supreme sovereignty. Is!
calls on man to acknowledge God’s
power and goodness and to worship
Him, not to rely solely on himself and
his wealth and to act uprightly.
By making the individual solely re
sponsible for his acts (on which he
would be rewarded or punished on
the Last Day), Islam gives significance
to human life, not in terms of the con
duct of the family or clan, butinterte
of the conduct of the individual.
Islam believes in the unity of man
kind and brotherhood, in fundamen
tal rights and basic freedoms, inequal
ity of opportunity, in equality before
God and before law and in an individ
ual’s right to the fruit of his own labor.
Private property is inviolable, but
hoarding, profiteering, blackmarket
ing, usury and unchecked acquisition
of wealth for its own sake at the ex
pense of others are condemned in un
mitigated terms.
Islam also stands for social and eco
nomic justice for all, for a proper and
equitable distribution of national
wealth, for lessening economic in
equality and disequilibrium andforan
egalitarian society. The laws of inheri
tance, the levying of Zakah (poor-
due), and the ban on interest are
meant to guard against concentration
of wealth in a few hands and to re
verse the trend of making the rich
richer and the poor poorer. In short,
justice and morality should govern the
relations not only between individuals
but also between nations.
These are some of the principles
and the eternal values, underlying the
Islamic ideology. Most of these values
are also professed by other nations on
earth, but to Pakistan they are Islamic
values because they have been re
ceived through the agency of Islam.
On the basis of these principles, then,
the Pakistanis seek to build their na
tional life: a “good society” — if not to
day, tomorrow or the clay after.
Syed Naved Aftab and Fayyaz ul Haij
are members of the Pakistan Club al
Texas AScM.
India in pursuit of science and research
Nearly four de
cades ago, on August
15, 1947, India be
came an indepen
dent country after Guest C(}lumn ^
200 years of British
rule. Lately, India has made headlines
due to political assassination, the
Golden Temple attack, religious vio
lence and so on. The popular image of
India is that of a backward nation bur
dened with poverty and religious feuds.
But the positive side of India, with its
tradition of scholarly achievements,
original thinking and cultural heritage
seldom makes headlines. India had
made phenomenal progress in the past
38 years since independence in scientific
and technological areas.
On achieving independence, India
aspired to catch up with the West
through economic progress. It launched
a series of ambitious development pro
grams and has achieved spectacular suc
cesses in building up a large industrial
infrastructure. India has to its credit
such achievements as self-sufficiency in
grain supply and a substantial substitu-
Jagannath
Valluri
tion of domestic production for imports
in basic sectors. It is among the world’s
ten largest industrialized nations.
The pursuit of science in any country
instills confidence and leads to a higher
sense of achievement and fulfillment.
India has developed a firm base to par
ticipate fully in the march of science,
which is probably mankind’s greatest
enterprise.
Before India became independent,
there was not much of a base for the
growth and stimulation of scientific pur
suit. A dozen or so universities, mainly
established by the British, functioned
primarily as institutions giving courses
and preparing people for clerical jobs.
Research in the pure sciences was nur
tured against heavy odds. The export of
raw materials and import of finished
goods in the days of pre-independence
was more a rule rather than an excep
tion.
What appeared to have motivated the
small scientific community before 1947
was the spirit of the freedom movement
led by Mahatma Gandhi and the desire
to show to the powers that were that
while politically India might be a subju
gated nation, intellectually it was cer
tainly not inferior.
Today India’s scientific efforts cover
subjects such as atomic energy, space
science, electronics, fundamental re
search in mathematics, molecular bi
ology, particle physics and so oru. It is
one of the “pioneers” in the Third
World, with respect to science and tech
nology. It has entered the “Space Age”,
having launched indigenously designed
satellites. The space program is mainly
targeted towards national integration,
for education, communication and for a
fuller understanding of the vagaries of
the monsoon, which plays a vital role in
the Indian agriculture.
In addition to the development of en
ergy resources such as coal, hy dro, and
oil, India has achieved the capacity to
produce 10 giga-watts of atomic power
by the turn of the century.
Very often, the Western wo'dd won
ders why should India, which is still
struggling with chronic problems such
as overpopulation and unemployment
concern itself with such areas of ad
vanced high tech research?
The answer lies in its rising status as a
developing nation with a need to de
velop an indigenous scientific and tech
nological base. We clearly have to con
cern ourselves with the basic and
applied research suited for the nation’s
need rather than the continued depen
dence on imported technology.
In recent times, research and devel
opment organizations and universities
have grown tremendously. There has
been a tremendous surge in the number
of graduates from institutions of higher
learning of late with over 170,000 stu
dents in engineering, medicine, science
and agriculture, graduating each year
compared to 1,600 in 1950.
The overall prospects for the pursuits
of science in India are bright. The re
sources and the scientific knowledge to
eradicate the country’s economic woes
are already there. The failure to use
them is purely managerial.
Jagannath V. Valluri is a graduate stu
dent in forest science.
The Battalion
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Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
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