Over The Edge Page 6 tL ttersito the Editor danary 28. 2002
A Response to “No One is Going to Nuke Each Other Over Kashmir’

Re: Stephanie Wilson Jan.
14, 2002

In response to your article, |
disagree with your comments
for many reasons. First of all,
this conflict has been going
on since the muslims separat-
ed from India and created
Pakistan with British help.
And that was in 1947. What
India is doing is protecting its
land from any foreign legion.
This includes Canada.
Pakistan will always be con-
sidered to be apart of India
due to the history-of the land.
The area now known as
Pakistan used to be the
largest state of India called
Punjab. It was dismantled
under French and British
administrators.

The conflict over Kashmir
has more to do with military
strategic positioning using the
land for attacking India. China
and Pakistan have some spe-
cial agreement in which they
will help each other out in var-
ious faucets. Just like Canada

and the United States of
America. This includes eco-
nomic help, military—such as
nuclear and other major mass
destructive weapons—politi-
cal help, etc.

The same percentage of
people of Kashmir nationals
who want to separate from
India and desire to be inde-
pendent from Pakistan and
India are the same percent-
age that Québecors who want
to separate from Canada.
That means very few people
overall. Just as Canada will
never ever let Québec sepa-
rate, India will not let the
Rajastanis and Kashmiris
separate and from their own

government.
lf India ever had to protect
itself, it can neutralize

Pakistan’s major areas in six
hours and another six hours
to bring it down to the ground
in total annihilation. lf India
ever neutralized Pakistan, it
would start a war with the rest
of the muslim countries. Thus

only most likely starting a
World War III and thus a glob-

. al nuclear disaster.

As a matter of fact Pakistan
has made approximately 387
terrorist attacks in India in the
year 2001 alone. Virtually all
incidents did not make news
in the Western World since it
was not worthy enough. Only
the most recent terrorist
attacks on India’s parliament
building in Delhi made the
news for the only reason of
the current news of Osama
Bin Ladin and his terrorist
group from Afghanistan.

Many Pakistani people
desire to reunify with India
and wish not to be an inde-
pendent country. They speak
the Indian languages, watch
the Indian movies, listen to
Indian radio, Indian television,
etc. That only means many
Pakistanis respect and desire
to be Indian not Pakistani.
Only a very small percentage
want to be independent like
the Québec separatists.

A non-Indian like yourself
has no right to comment on
the situation on India and
Pakistan since you do not
know the whole story. Even if
you read it in books and the
news and listened on the
radio. They are the Western
view and not the true Eastern
view.

The true reason for the con-
flict over Kashmir is stopping
these Pakistani and Chinese
forces in taking over India’s
proper land for political rea-
sons. China wants to control
India like they do Tibet. In
recent history, China tried
attacking India so they can
colonize it and turn it into a
Chinese province. And this
was in 1968. That will never
happen as long as freedom
and dignity of Indian people
exist.

| really question your motive
for why Kashmir should be an
independent state. It is like
saying Québec should be an
independent country also.

Will people want Québec and
Canada to be separate? How
about the rumblings in
Newfoundland and their cur-
rent movement towards being
an independent country
again? You would not like it
either as a Canadian.

You must educate yourself
please about the true India
and Pakistan history. Not just
your own imaginative dream
world who barely travelled
and met people in Canada.
And possibly only the United
States of America.

lf you went to India, virtually
100 percent of Indians do not
want Kashmir and Rajastan to
be taken away for any reason.
This includes Kashmiris and
Rajastanis themselves.

The following message has
been brought forth by

Mr. Singh

Tradition... rules!!!

Challenge Privatization of Universities, Panel Urges

By Saroja Coelho, The
Varsity

TORONTO (CUP) — A for-
mer University of Toronto pro-
fessor was repeatedly denied
tenure-track positions in the
Islamic studies department
because he is of the Baha'i
faith and a Canadian citizen,
an Ontario Human Rights
board of inquiry was told last
week.

However, the university
refutes this accusation, argu-
ing that it was the narrow
scope of Benjamin Todd
Lawson’s’ expertise and
scholarship that made him
ineligible for each of the

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SAIS ar

posts. Lawson was a con-
tract professor at the univer-
sity from 1988 to 1994.
During this time, he made
three separate applications
for tenure-track positions
advertised by the department
for religious studies and the
department of Middle East
and Islamic studies.

He alleges that during the
interview process for each
position, the search commit-
tees raised questions and
even concerns about his
Baha'i faith. He failed to
attain any of the positions
and was eventually forced to
leave the university when his

“
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re and =

contract expired in 1994.

Baha’is follow the teach-
ings of Baha’u’llah, a prophet
who founded the Baha’i Faith
in the nineteenth century.
They believe that global
peace can be achieved once
all forms of prejudice, gender
inequity and poverty have
been eradicated, education
has been made universally
available and each person
embraces the “relativity of
religious truth.” According to
his lawyer, Robert Gibson,
Lawson is seeking between
$500,000 and $750,000 in
compensation for the dam-
age done to his career, as
well as lost wages and pen-
sion benefits. Gibson also
said his client intends to
return to the university as a
faculty member. “What we
are seeking is a job with
advanced placement in light

tenured position once his
contract expired. He said fail-
ing to attain tenured positions
does not ruin an individual's
career.

Rhonda Love, president of
the University of Toronto fac-
ulty association, said allega-
tions of religious discrimina-
tion are rare at the university.
“lf we look at our grievance
file, we don’t have very many
cases like this. This is an
unusual situation, as far as
we know,” she said. The
case brings U of T’s hiring
practices into question.
According to university
spokesperson Sue Bloch-
Nevitte the university does
not provide search commit-
tees like that which inter-
viewed Lawson with a list of

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questions they may or may
not ask.

However, she stressed that
this did not mean search
committees are completely
unregulated. “Search com-
mittees are instructed that
they cannot ask any ques-
tions that are restricted by
law,” said Bloch-Nevitte. The
Ontario Human Rights code
states that neither creed nor
citizenship are legal grounds
upon which to deny an appli-
cant employment. Lawson's
case is being argued under
part one of the Human Rights
Code: freedom from discrimi-
nation.

The hearing is expected to
take 40 days.

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of the seven years which
have passed,” Gibson said.

In court last week,
Michael Smith, legal coun-
sel for the university,
argued that Lawson was a
contract professor whom
the university was in no way
obligated to hire for a