Subcontinental Drift: The Winners Are...

Whe

n we announced our essay contest two months ago, we fully expected a flood of entries: experience has taught us that our Indian and Pakistani readers hold strong opinions -- and are eager to share them. But nothing could prepare us for the deluge that ensued. If we were staggered by the sheer volume of entries, we were astonished by their variety.

The broad patterns were predictable. The majority of Indians cited their country's democracy as its greatest achievement; most Pakistanis cited their nation's very survival. But there were scores of left-field submissions. Tony Tharakan picked Bollywood, India's film industry; Usman Akram chose Pakistan's nuclear tests; Srinivas Krishnaswamy opted for India's space program; Manreet Sodhi Someshwar cited India's intellectual capital; Amrit Hallan lauded the freedom of India's press. And then there was one unnamed entrant (I'm guessing "FDSFASDFA" is not a real name) whose singular submission has been reproduced below. Too bad she/he also wrote their address in gobbledygook -- so no prizes.

Apart from India and Pakistan, people wrote in from the U.S., Britain, Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong... One entry even came from (and I'm not making this up) Gaborone, Botswana!

While reading all the entries was both enlightening and entertaining, having to choose winners and runners-up was about as much fun as a visit to the dentist: there were so many superb essays. The ones reproduced here were, in the final analysis, just that bit better. I hope you will join me in congratulating Shivaji Das and Seema Javed Amin, our winners, and our runners up: Ayesha Aslam, Jaya Banerji and Bina Shah. They will be receiving their special prizes by mail. I'd also like to thank all those who wrote in, sharing their thoughts and feelings with me. Keep an eye out for another essay contest in the near future.

WINNER
"In my opinion India's single greatest achievement has been its ability to keep alive the faintest glimmer of hope in the hearts of the billions that constitute her. How? By ensuring that no matter how inefficient, corrupt or even autocratic its rulers, India has always been and will always remain a democracy where, technically, even the poorest and the most destitute have the power to ask for a better future.

"Phases like the Emergency or occasional enforcement of President's rule in some states are exceptions rather than the rule. Despite the repeated failures of successive governments in almost all aspects of life, every common man knows that no one can take away his belief and desire that next time round he will punish those who have failed his expectations. At the time of casting the ballot he is the king. His dropping the ballot paper in the box implies a change, howsoever small, in the future of the country.

"The hope for change may get fainter day by day, but it can never be extinguished. Does that matter to a person who lives on less than a dollar a week? It does, because without his right to hope, he no longer remains a human being. In other words, India has succeeded to keep alive the soul of every citizen. It may be completely worn out but it lives on."
--Shivaji Das, Calcutta

WINNER
"Pakistan rose from the ashes of partition bloodied, gasping, but alive. The anguish experienced by those millions can, and must never, be forgotten. But if there's one thing that can be said for this nation, it is that it has survived. Despite the odds, whether economic, political, religious or social, Pakistanis have levels of tolerance and hope like no other in the world. Many have tried to destroy it through corruption, drugs, violence and war. But the people of Pakistan have seen it all, and they have survived it all.

"It must seem strange for one to be thankful that her country has survived, but it's true. Except for a minority of educated, urban élite, things haven't really changed much since the last 54 years for the majority of people. Dismayed, disheartened, and disillusioned with the system, the highly talented people of Pakistan are leaving for greener pastures, just as their forefathers did some generations ago. The vicious cycle repeats itself once more.

"But throughout, and despite, all this, one reality has remained constant. Pakistan is still here, and so are her people. It's true that many of us who wish we could leave can't, because of economic considerations, cultural restraints, or familial ties. But just think: If everyone ups and leaves Pakistan, who will be left behind to make her? Those who leave have their own compulsions. Some of us have the choice, and we have made the choice to stay. We will stay here and do whatever we can in our own small way to make Pakistan the best. The citizens of Pakistan are proud of many things: a family name, a regional and provincial association, a religious identity, and a political affinity. All are important. Sometimes these individual differences divide us, or bind us. But they never tear us apart. Because whatever we may be in our personal capacities, we are first and foremost, Pakistanis. And that is our single greatest achievement. Our ancestors chose Pakistan, and the generations after them have chosen to make Pakistan.
--Seema Javed Amin, Islamabad

RUNNER-UP
"There are a number of accomplishments that may be counted in the category of Pakistan's achievements. In the field of sports, we have produced great sportsmen in cricket, hockey and squash. One may consider the nuclear tests carried out to show our nuclear capability, or even the expulsion of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, as something of an achievement. But the truth is none of these things have improved the lot of the plebs, or made our country strong in areas that really count, be those diplomatically or economically.

"Pakistan is a country enveloped in poverty, foreign debts and illiteracy. We have rampant corruption, no political stability, and law and order is almost non-existent. We have faced constant hostility on our borders since our conception. We have fought three wars with India and seen our country torn in half. Our economy is weak and has been since the beginning. We have had to struggle in the face of economic sanctions as a punishment for nuclear testing, which has left our economy even weaker. We have had to deal with groups of dissidents amongst the four provinces of Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan and NWFP.

"We claim to be an Islamic republic and practice none of the religious tolerance Islam teaches. There are almost daily incidents of Islamic sect members killing members of some other sect.

"The list is endless. Yet, however many evils one can come up with, the point remains we are still around. Pakistan still exists. And that I feel is our greatest achievement. Despite all the slings and arrows that have come our way, we have managed to survive. Despite the numerous attempts by various groups to weaken us in more ways than one, we have maintained strength of spirit, which is what counts in the end. If your spirit is broken, nothing can hold you together.

"Having got through 54 years of turmoil is no mean feat. We may not have come through unscathed or physically whole but we have emerged spiritually intact. Our sense of pride is our greatest achievement and ensures us a place in the running."
--Ayesha Aslam, Lahore

RUNNER-UP
"After decades of procrastination, India has recently passed legislation banning amniocentesis for sex selection; without doubt, the single greatest achievement of independent India.

"If one aspect of our society holds us back from progress it is the reprehensible treatment meted out to our girls and women. Changing the miserable plight of the girl child in India is an uphill task. Neither government programs to spread awareness nor women activists toiling to change cultural conditioning have had any effect. Incidents of neglect are rife: boys are given the choicest food, the best health care, and are sent to school; girls eat leftovers, must heal themselves, and are kept home to do the chores. Female infanticide is not uncommon: A village in Rajasthan takes pride in declaring "a bridegroom has never entered our settlement"; and in pockets of Tamil Nadu girl babies are killed at birth. Sad, but true.

"The situation was dismal enough when, in 1978, along came another opportunity to extend the war against the girl child: amniocentesis, a diagnostic tool by which obstetricians could identify Down's syndrome and chromosome abnormalities in the fetus, especially in mothers over 35. In our son-centered society it did not take long for amniocentesis to be used for a more sinister purpose. Female feticide was soon being perpetrated by the rich, poor, educated and illiterate. The establishment looked upon it as a method of family planning. Mothers of daughters looked on it as a means to survive the ire of their husbands.

"Distasteful advertisements in the newspapers sold sex determination tests and simultaneously advertised abortion services for those poor mothers unfortunate enough to be nurturing female fetuses inside them. Quacks set up shady clinics and competed for unborn lives at half the price.

"While Indian sociologists, politicians, doctors, and activists debated the necessity for and ethics of sex selection for 23 years, birth was disallowed to countless girls. I believe that women are a country's strength and should be treasured, not decimated. The legislation is definitely a coup for human rights and a sign of progress for India."
--Jaya Banerji, New Delhi

RUNNER-UP
"Although Pakistan is a country beset by many economic and social problems, its greatest achievement, its huge success in the field of agriculture, cannot be overshadowed by these woes. Pakistan has consistently and confidently maintained its agricultural productivity despite the instability and uncertainty the nation has faced over the last 54 years.

"Pakistan's triumphs in the agricultural sector can be traced to policies enacted throughout the '60s, '70s and '80s by its leaders. Military dictator General Ayub Khan brought about the nation's first major land reforms in 1959. These unpopular reforms reduced landowners' gigantic holdings, but turned farms from large, unproductive tracts of land into manageable, productive units. Ayub also engineered the 'Green Revolution' in Pakistan, American scientist Norman Borlaug's strains of wheat, MexiPak, which produced bumper crops of wheat for many years afterwards.

"Zulfikar Ali Bhutto introduced two more land reforms in 1972 and 1977, and gave credit facilities to farmers so they could buy better seed, fertilizer, and farm equipment, which ushered technological change for Pakistan's farmers. In the '80s General Zia-ul Haq gave land to the landless, and allowed supply and demand to flow without check in a laissez-faire policy that gave needed economic inputs to the farming community.

"The result of these policies is that Pakistan today is self-sufficient in all staple crops except for edible oils. Cotton, rice, mangoes and sugar enjoy exportable surpluses, while the wheat that Pakistan grows is more than sufficient to feed its own population of at least 145 million Pakistanis and 2 million Afghan refugees. Pakistan is also the seventh largest producer of milk in the entire world.

"Pakistan manages to feed its entire population year after year; although its people may still be searching for the answers in terms of education, political freedom, and international identity, it is a nation that never lets its people go hungry."
--Bina Shah, Karachi

SPECIAL MENTION
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"WHAT I MEAN TO SAY FROM THE ABOVE MESSAGE IS THAT THE ACHIEVEMENTS ARE NIL AND WHATEVER THEY TRIED TO ACHIEVE THEY MADE INTO MESS, LIKE THE ABOVE."
--FDSFASDFA, India