DESPARDES — Revelers around the world ushered in new decade, as stocks roared. Italy will follow France in levying a Digital Tax. And Pope says sorry for slapping a devotee.
Expect a tumultuous 2020 in Middle East…
And southeast of Washington DC and New York, things in the Himalayan region are ‘not good, there’s a situation’. Kashmiris and Indians stepped into 2020 protesting. Analyst Michael Kugelman’s latest piece in Foreign Policy says India and Pakistan are edging closer to war in 2020: Two crises dominated South Asia in 2019, and each one stands to get worse next year, Kugelman wrote.
Weeks earlier — in fact post-Modi’s 370 moves, a senior Pakistani defense official shot a cautionary note: ‘We are heading toward pre-WWII situation’. Nuclear expert Dr. S M Ali said, Kashmir is ground zero of new world order. And any escalation from Indian side could trigger the unimaginable.
It’s been over 150 days since Kashmir lockdown in August. Thereafter, Modi government has taken a series of steps which could potentially lead re-write of social contract in world’s largest democracy — a Hindu state where the 22m Muslims may find themselves marginalized.
Some say Modi seems to be a Hitler reincarnate seeking Fascist fabric in the country. A global silence could imply a consent to this narrative, an observer says.
