MacroF Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MacroF - Essay Example D – fractional reserve 20. A – 450 21. D – 1/R 22. C (E – 1/m) 23. D – increase GDP with low interest (inc money supply) 24. A – sell sec, reduce rates and inc reserve req 25. B– money supply 100 26. D – increase money supply to 100 27. C – 4 28. D 29. B – prime intt rate 30. D – decrease exports and appreciate $ 31. B - monetarism 32. C –Keynesian economics 33. A – rational expectation 34. C – Philips curve 35. C – Speed of adjustment 36. C –Laffer curve 37. B – below ob 38. D – done all 39. A – 3.6 trillion 40. B – Canada 41. D – all of the above 42. A – excise on imports 43. B – less resources and more needs 44. D – rent, wages, intt, profits 45. A – increase one at another’s expense 46. A – direct, inverse 47. C – price (price changes the demand curve not movement on same demand curve) 4 8. C – increase in demand 49. D – both statements are ok unless it is some sort of trick question! 50. D – high marginal cost of production 51. B – 1 and 200 52. B – 1.60 53. D – 0.50 54. D – corporate profits 55. B – functional 56. A – personal 57. D – top 1/5th get 8 times the lowest 1/5th 58. A – no claim on proprietor personal assets 59. C – GDP 60. B – PI 61. A – all final goods and services in a year 62. C – 25% 63. C – supply shock 64. B – 180 Bn 65. C – 40 at all levels 66. D - $2 for every +$3 in GDP 67. B – 3 Short Answers Question 1 The macroeconomic equation of exchange is the relationship between Money supply that is the total nominal amount of money in circulation (M), Velocity of money meaning the average frequency with which money is spent (V), Price level (P) and index of real expenditures (Q). It is expressed as M x V = P x Q From the equation of exchange, we see that money together with velocity is the source of funding for economic activities. Furthermore, it shows that for a given stock of money, an increase in velocity helps finance a greater value of transactions than money could have done by itself. Thus, the velocity of money describes the amount of economic activity with a given money supply. If all other things remain constant, changes in velocity of money can greatly affect the prices. A very high V at same M and Q would result in an increase in P (price level), that is inflation, and vice versa. If the velocity of money is stable, economists are able to predict the GDP levels and take action accordingly. Money supply can be effectively used to implement the economic policies with the desired result. If, however, V is unstable, it leads to fluctuations in price levels, and the economic policy changes in M can bring negative result. For example, if V decreases suddenly, inflation will also drop. In orde r to control this, the government might decide to increase the money supply. Now, if the V also increases after the increase in money supply, this would lead to sudden high inflation with combined effect of increased M and V. So, the stability of V is very important for governments to be able to decide and implement effective economic policies. Question 2 The structure of Federal reserve system is shown below in figure 1. Figure 1 Structure of Federal reserve system The components of the federal reserve system and their functions are described below: 1. Board of governors: they are appointed by the US president and confirmed by the US senate. The primary responsibility of the Board members is the formulation of monetary policy. The Board sets reserve requirements and shares

Growth Of Islamic Fundamentalism In South Asia History Essay

Growth Of Islamic Fundamentalism In South Asia History Essay Islamic fundamentalism is not a new phenomenon. In recent times, it has acquired a militant and jihadi form. It has grown because of the failure of the ruling elite in South Asian countries in nation building and in constructing democratic polities. Successive regimes, both civilian and military, in some of the countries in the region have used Islam as a means to legitimise their rule. As seen in previous chapter that the Islamic fundamentalism has been well entrenched in Pakistans power structure for the last two decades or so, ever since the military rule of General Zia-ul Haq. Pakistan militarys alliance with the Mullahs was formed during this period. The conglomerate of six fundamentalist parties, the Muttahida Majlise Amal (MMA), controls the provincial government in the strategic NWFP, where it has already enforced a kind of Taliban rule. The MMA is also part of the government in Baluchistan. Subsequently Gen. Musharraf strengthened the Mullah-Military alliance. In the subsequent paragraphs we will study the Islamic fundamentalism in various other asian countries and pak role in spreading this fundamenatalism. PART I: ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM IN AFGHANISTAN Afghanistan and the Rise of Taliban Demography. Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, bordered by Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzebkistan and China. Its population approximately stand somewhere between 15 and 20 million people. The overwhelming majority of its population is Muslims, although a significant minority -between 10 and 20 per cent adheres to heterodox Sunni confession. The population is also diverse in both ethnic and linguistic terms. While two Indo- Iranian languages Persian and Pustho- are the ones most widely heard in the country, one also encounters speakers of Turk, Dravidian, Nuristani, and other languages. Afghanistan besides ethnicaly and linguistically, is also divided economically and spatially. Shaping of Fundamentalism Power Struggle the Root Cause. The Afghanistan is in turmoil since 1973. In 1973 Mohammed Daoud khan staged a coup, deposing his cousin king Zahir Shah and appointing himself as president. Daoud captured power with the help of Soviet- trained military officers, who were members of the Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). On 27 Apr 1978, the leftist military officers overthrew Mohammed Daoud Khan in a surprise coup and Noor Mohammed Taraki came to power. Due to internal disputes within the Taraki Camp there was widespread killing of tribal leaders to extend control over them. Thus Amin overthrew and killed Taraki and made overtures to the USA. Russian Intervention. The Russian Intervention in Afghanistan played a crucial role for its subsequent control and a state of anarchy in the region. The reason for russian intervention in Afghanistan were as under:- Iranian Connection. During Oct 1974 The Shah of Iran offered aid worth $ 2 billion to Kabul and also give secure access to Iranian port of Bandar Abbas to the sea via Iran, there by reducing the Soviet leverage as the only alternative route for Afghan overland trade. The increased overtures of iran towards Afghanistan increased Soviet apprehensions. Inclination to USA. The Amin after assuming the power from Taraki made overtures towards USA. This caused Moscow panic and at this stage the Soviets decided to intervene militarily to stabilize the situation, instead the soviets got sucked into the war. Situation after Soviet Withdrawal. After the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989. The number of Mujahideen faction who fought their Jihad against Soviet forces and communist regime of Kabul tried to capture the power in Kabul. The Afghan society was highly divided on tribal and ethnolinguistically lines at that time. The mujahideen warlords were also fragmented along these lines. As their communities interests were involved hence a consensus government could not be formed and neither a power sharing agreement could reach between them. The end result was anarchy in Afghanistan. Pakistan, which was a front line state for Americans and western nation for arms supplies to mujahideen during Soviet occupation of Afghanistan had now its own interest in keeping the Afghan disintegrated as it wanted it establish its own puppet government there, so it backed number of mujahideen groups but when they failed to capture the power in Kabul, it started the Taliban movement with Sau di money and US planning and Pakistans manpower. Pakistans Objectives. Pakistan objectives in Afghanistan are two fold. The first was to secure a receptive leader ship in Kabul which would ensure the transformation of Afghanistan into a Pakistan dominated, Pushtun ruled enclave and assist Pakistans goal of wider regional influence, and broader regional political, economic and strategic gains. The other was to enable Pakistan to enmesh the identity of Pakistans and Afghanistan Pushtun into one and settle once and for all the longstanding Afghanistan -Pakistan border dispute in line with Pakistans interests. These considerations assumed greater urgency after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which not only signalled the imminent end of communist rule in Kabul, but also opened up the potentially resource rich Central Asian Republic( CAR). Growth of Taliban Birth of Taliban. It is generally accepted by Afghanistan watchers that the Taliban had its birth in the rugged mountains of the Pak-Afghan border, inside Pakistan territory some time in Aug 1994. By early 1994 it became obvious to the ISI that the Burhanuddin Rabbani regime, not very friendly to Islamabad, was slowly consolidating itself in Kabul. While they were looking for alternative s, Maj Gen (Retd) Naseerullah Babar, the Interior Minister in the second Benazir Bhutto government floated the idea of creating a students militia along with some veterans from the Afghan mujahideen who had fought the Red Army and who had taken shelter in Pakistan. Gen Babar started his search for suitable leaders from around April-May 1994. In the process, he came across a certain Mohammad Umar Mujahid. Later widely known as Mullah Umar. By the end of May 1994 the basic infrastructure for launching the Taliban was in place. Around this time, the meeting with the Jamait Ulema Islam headed by Maulana Fazlur Rahman started bearing fruit in terms of deputing its students for the proposed outfit, which it proposed to call Taliban. Most of the Taliban are the children of the Jihad against Soviet Union. Many were born in Pakistani refugee camps, educated in Pakistani madrassas and learnt their fighting skill from Afghan Mujahideen parties based in Pakistan. Their families continued to live in Pakistan as refugees even after the fall of Kabul to the Mujahideen in 1992. The Taliban the Army of Islamic students -was raised from the madrassas on the Afghan Pakistan border. Sociologically, Pakistan had based this new revolution upon the segment of the fanatical and illiterate village mullahs- the land less and weakest section of Afghan society. They are generally orphans who prefer to live in madrassas for three square meals a day. Pakistani Connection. Many Taliban carry Pakistani identity cards, as they spent years in refuge camps in Pakistan, and thousand voted in the 1997 elections Baluchistan for their favourite Pakistani party- the Jamiat -e Ulema-I Islam. Moreover the Taliban recruited hundreds of Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist students to fight for their causes and were closely linked to Pakistans fundamentalist Islamic parties such as the Jamait -e Uleama Islam led by Maulana Fazular Rahman. Their social history also allowed them to be extremely well connected to many Pakistani state institution, political parties and business groups in what was already an extremely fragmented Pakistani power structure. Thus the Taliban were never beholden to one exclusive Pakistani lobby. ISI Support to Taliban. It is believed that the Taliban Shura and Umer are only a front and the actual thinking and strategy is provide by the former and serving members of the Inter Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) of Pakistan. It wold be difficult to explain otherwise how the students of madrassas, dedicated to religious learning as a way to life almost overnight became warriors. The improvised madrassas in the NWFP and Baluchistan would hardly be in a position to impart any military training, unless they have sound and organized financial and military backing. In any event, over the last two years Lt Gen (Retd.) Hameed Gul, former Chief of the ISI, has emerged as an important spokesperson of the Taliban movement. Large number of former Pakistani military personnel a have been spotted in Taliban camps actively engaged in Taliban activities. PART II: ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM IN BANGLADESH Brief History Formation of Bangladesh. Bangladesh emerged as a new state in 1971 after a protracted struggle for autonomy, which evolved into a freedom movement against the Punjabi-dominated military bureaucratic establishment of Pakistan. Religion and Constitution. Though the initial Constitution of Bangladesh unambiguously enshrined secularism, which was to be realised by eliminating communalism in all its forms, and the establishment of multi-party democracy as fundamental political values. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had spelt out the meaning of secularism in the context of the Muslim society. He had explained that secularism does not mean absence of religion. The people of Bangladesh would have the right to religion but nobody would be allowed to use religion as a political weapon. Islam in Bangladesh has been based on three types of religious beliefs: modern, orthodox and popular. A majority of the Muslims of Bangladesh practice popular religion that includes faith in pirs, sacred places, Hindu gods and local deities and spirits. The Jamaat-i- Islami had no appeal in the political environment in East Pakistan since 1947. In, the Jamaat-i-Islami had only one member in that part of Pakistan. Bangladeshs Drift Towards Extremism. However, after the military coup dà ©tat of 1975, secularism was replaced by the words Faith in Almighty Allah in the revised constitution. A new era of the relationship with Middle Eastern Muslim countries, brought Wahhabi ideology back home from Arabia and created a social ground and support base for future fundamentalists in the country. In 1988, another military dictator declared Islam the state religion of Bangladesh by amending the Constitution. To create an aura of political legitimacy as well as to win support from the oil-rich Middle Eastern Muslim countries, military regimes rehabilitated and eventually collaborated with Islamic political organizations, some of which were radical and fundamentalist in nature. 43 Both military regimes tried to overcome their legitimacy crises by manipulating the political issue of Islamic identity. In this way, the military regimes not only created the opportunity for the Islamists to be a part of mainst ream politics in Bangladesh, but they also made Islamization an agenda of the state and Islam the de facto state ideology.44Subsequent democratic governments could not overcome the religious ideology created by the military regimes. During the anti-military period of the 1980s, the two major political parties, the Bangladesh Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), continued to maintain tactical relationships with fundamentalist political organizations. The party that won the general elections in 1991 and 2001 formed a coalition with fundamentalist political organizations. The two of the militant fundamentalist organizations of this period that shocked the country the most were the HUJIB and the JMB. The mother organization of the HUJIB was located in Pakistan. Fundamentalist Acts in Bangladesh. Between March 6, 1999 and January 27, 2005, militant Islamists killed at least 156 people in Bangladesh. Bombs were thrown mostly at secular cultural gatherings, courthouses, and Sufi shrines. Worst among them were the bomb attacks at Udichi programs (a secularist cultural organization) programs, the Ahmadiyya mosque (a minority Islamic religious sect), Bengali new year celebrations, churches, movie theatres, the Bangladeshi born British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, and at the rally of the party of opposition. The bomb attack that shocked the country most was the blast of August 17, 2005, where 459 bombs were exploded in 63 of the 64 districts in the country between 11:00 and 11:30 am. There were also several attacks on secularist NGO (Non-Government Organization) activists and newspapers. Two militant religious fundamentalist organizations, Harkatul Jihad al-Islam Bangladesh (HUJIB), and Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), carried out these a ttacks. These two groups alone exploded hundreds of bombs throughout the country during this period in order to establish an Islamic regime in the country. In addition to these two groups, other militant Islamist organizations, active in this period that were also involved in similar violent and terrorist activities included, Shahadat al-Hikma, Hizbut Tawhid, Bangladesh Islamic Manch, and Hifajate Khatme Nabuwat Andolon. Pakistan Link. The two of the major and active militant fundamentalist organizations of Bangladesh are HUJIB (Harkatul Jihad al-Islam of Bangladesh) and the JMB (Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh). The mother organization of the HUJIB was located in Pakistan. The Pakistani HUJI had first appeared in the early 1980s as a group of supporters of the Afghan resistance against Soviet aggression, known as Jamaatul Ansar (Group of the Helpers). With the support of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI), the group renamed itself as Harkatul Jihad al-Islam (The Movement for the Islamic Jihad) in 1988.53 In the 1990s it expanded its operations beyond Afghanistan, especially in support of the struggle of Muslims in non-Muslim countries. Shafiqur Rahman, an Afghan war veteran, founded the Harkatul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh in 1992. The organization officially declared its existence at a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka on April 30, 1992. Presently there are approx 27 militant outfits in Indias Northeast that have ties with Bangladesh and its various religio-political groups. The ISI and Bangladeshs DGFI coordinate with ULFA. The influx of migrants from Bangladesh across the border into north-east India and West Bengal certainly poses a threat of Islamic militancy spreading in these regions of India as well. During the rule of the BNP-led four-party alliance between 2001 and 2006, militant Islamic groups such as the HUJIB and JMB received significant material and moral support from Islamists within the alliance. PART III:THE DANGER IN NEPAL Gen. Nepal is a Hindu kingdom but not a Hindu state and religious minorities have lived in the Kingdom without any discrimination. Over the last several years, the Kingdom, however, has been in turmoil. It has been plagued by Maoist insurgency and the struggle for end of monarchy and establishment of Democracy in the Kingdom. Both these major struggle were over by 2006. However the country had to think and work out the settlement before the maoist can be adopted and the new constitution can be enacted for the country. Though the country is pro India and anti Islamic Fundamentalism, but a disturbed situation has been exploited by the anti India countries over the years. The use of Nepal soil by the Islamist for causing disturbance in India have been established time again.The presence of militant Islamists on the India-Nepal border has been causing concern in the contiguous Indian areas. Geographical Realities. It may be noted that India has an open, porous border with Nepal, which is 1,859 km-long. There are almost 20 Indian districts that share the border with 27 Nepalese districts. The open border provides a free field to all kinds of criminal activities, like drug trafficking, smuggling, intelligence activities, fake currency, fugitives, etc. Matter of Concern. What has caused concern is the emergence of numerous madrassas and mosques on both sides of the border. The number of mosques is certainly not justified by the number of Muslims in the area. The madrassas are largely funded from West Asia. These developments too have serious implications for India. The 1999 hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane on a flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi, which ultimately ended with the release of three top Pakistani terrorist leaders, showed that the ISI had set up an active base in Nepal. Some Kashmiri groups belonging to Hizb-ul Mujahideen have been caught in Nepal trying to send money to Islamic separatists in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistani presence in Nepal is reflected in the growth of madrassas, increase in Muslim population, floating of fake Indian currency and is helped by an open border and lack of monitoring system. PART IV: ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM IN SRI LANKAN Origin and Growth of Islamic Fundamentalism. Muslims in Sri Lanka are the descendants of the Arabs, who came about a thousand years ago. The origins of Islamic fundamentalism in the country, however, are recent and can be traced to 1990 when the Sri Lankan ethnic Tamils drove away Muslims from the Eastern region under their control. This forced migration increased Muslim population in the districts to which they had migrated. No effort was made by the government to rehabilitate these uprooted Muslim refugees, who had to live in poverty and misery. Over time, madrassas came up, funded by munificent Arabs. Frequent Sinhala-Muslim communal clashes began to take place. Shariat courts were set up and strict rules imposed on Muslim women in the Eastern areas. The situation in the Muslim areas deteriorated and Muslim- Buddhist clashes became a regular feature. Militant camps were set up in the Eastern areas where volunteers were given arms and weapons training in the jungles and they called themselves jihadis fighting a holy war for protecting themselves. Ironically, the government itself had provided arms to the Muslims in the early 1980s to protect themselves against the LTTE. Also, attempts were made on part of the government to use Islamic militancy as a buffer against the LTTE. The country has been facing the threat of Tamil Eelam. The situation in the Eastern province is a potential bloody cauldron. There have been reports of two Islamic militant bases in Valaichchenai. The formation of an Osama Squad in Batticaloa has also come to notice. All this indicates growth of extremist elements in the community. Pak Involvement. The ISI is keenly interested to collect intelligence about developments in Indian nuclear establishments, many of which are located in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In this background, the appointment by Pakistan two years ago of a former director of the Intelligence Bureau as its High Commissioner in Colombo was not without significance. There has been an increase in the activities of Lashkar-e-Toiba in the Eastern province. PART V: ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM AND INDIA Fundamentalist Parties Post Independence. After independence apart from some minor outfits, there were two main fundamentalist parties in the country, the Jamiat-al Ulema-i-Hind and the Jamaat-t-Islami. The Jamiat-al Ulema, which had opposed the creation of Pakistan till the end, withdrew from Indian politics after the freedom and the framing of the Indian Constitution. While the Jamaat-i-Islami was divided after the emergence of Pakistan in 1947 and some members of the Jamaat, including its founder, Maulana Abul Ala Maududi, migrated to Pakistan, with an aim of creating an Islamic country. While the, members of the Jamaat, who stayed back in India, formed a separate Jamaat in April 1948. The leaders of the Indian Jamaat opposed secularism in all walks of life and decided not to participate in elections, and decided to opt out of the Indian political system. However Jamaat accepted the secularism in 1960s, though with some reservations. The Jamaat members from Jammu Kashmir have not been part of the Indian Jamaat and formed a separate party in the state. Growth of Islamic Fundamentalism in India. India is marred with a plethora of terrorist/ insurgency related problems, terrorism in Punjab, insurgency in its NE, Maoist insurgency in its Central Part, Islamic Fundamentalism in J K and till late LTTE influence in its southern part. However among all these the threat from Islamic fundamentalism by large, poses the most complex and significant threat to India. India comprises of largest Muslim population after Indonesia in south Asia. Islamic fundamentalism in the form of terrorism in India was initially limited to the region of J K, but today it has spread its tentacles to other parts of India too. The series of bombing episodes in Mumabai, Banglore, Hyderabad, Varanasi, the hijacking of Indian airlines, attack on parliament, mumbai 26/11, etc are testimony to the growing influence of Islamic fundamentalism in India. India clearly has become a target of jihad in the age of globalisation. Islamic fundamentalism is against democracy and equal rights for all citizens, irrespective of caste, creed, or gender. Its further growth will disrupt peace and stability in the country and in the entire region. Pakistan Invovement. It was well realised by various pakistani rulers and dictators that subdueing India with military might is near to impossible and a proxy war in the form of Jihad would accrue disproportionate result. Keeping this aspect in mind Gen Jia-ul-Haque implemented this plan during his tenure. This plan of destabilising India, was implemented through the ISI, an intelligence agency whose officer cadre is drawn from Pakistan Army which is considered to be the state Instrument of this policy, Pakistan involvement in creating and fostering religious extremist groups and terror organisations in Kashmir and elsewhere in India is well documented. PART VI: PAK INVOLVEMENT IN GROWTH OF ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM IN SOUTH ASIA Through our previous study it ha sbeen amply established that the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan is not only responsible for the present situation in Afghanistan and in Jammu and Kashmir, but it also has far reaching consequences for all countries of the South Asian region. All South Asian countries are pluralistic and face at different levels, internal tensions and conflicts based on caste, religion, ethnicity, language and community, and these distort their national integrity and unity. Religious nationalism has made a great headway not only in Pakistan but also in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It has made Pakistan a haven for Islamic terrorists, including Al Qaida, and it inspires terrorist activity in Kashmir. Some of the features of Islamic extremism in South Asia are: religiously defined national identity, undermining of democracy by promoting majoritarian theory and practice of non-liberal democracy and accentuation of international conflicts on ethno-religious lines, for example, between Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India and Muslim Bangladesh. The fundamentalists aim to turn the Muslim majority states of the region into Islamic states and start jihad in those countries where Muslims are in a minority. There is no accurate information about the exact number of madrassas in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and India. Many of these madrassas disseminate the militant ideology of Islamic fundamentalism and turn out militants. These contribute to the ongoing destabilisation not only in Pakistan but also in other countries of the region. The potential radicalisation of Indian Muslims is also a cause of concern. The Pakistan had the repercussions in other countries of the region. The major Islamic party, the Jamaat-i- Islami of Pakistan, and the Tablighi Jamaat and their militant offshoots has a strong presence in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. There is a wide network of Deobandi and Wahabi madrassas in almost each South Asian country and many of them are being funded by Saudi and Pakistani sources. Pakistan has been sponsoring a militant terrorist campaign in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir for the last two decades. Pakistans official agencies have been active in promoting militant groups in all countries of the region. In India, there has also been a visible increase in the activities of Pakistani-sponsored militant groups, like Lashkar-e Toiba and Jaish-e Muhammad. South Asia is the most complex region of the world in terms of religion, and is inhabited by the followers of all major religions. Islam, after Hinduism, is one of the major religions of South Asia. It has the second lar gest following (29 per cent) after Hinduism (64 per cent). Almost four out of every 10 South Asians are Muslims, and they form the single largest Muslim population in the world. Islam in the region has had to co-exist, ever since its arrival in the Indian subcontinent in the first century of the Islamic calendar, with a bewildering variety of religions and cults. All the countries in the region that emerged after Independence are hence multireligious, multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic. India is larger, both in size and population, than all the other countries of the region combined. It has also the largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia. Conclusion Muslims constitute the majority of the population in three of the seven countries in South Asia, i.e., Pakistan, Bangladesh and Maldives, and they are also a significant minority in India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. But Muslims of South Asia are not a monolithic community. Even at the height of the Mughal Regional Implications of the Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism in Pakistan rule in India, the Muslims of the region did not constitute a single harmonious community. They are divided in different Islamic sects, subsects and schools of thought. Though a majority of them belong to the Sunni sect, each South Asian country has a substantial number of Shias and other minority sects and schools. Almost every country in the region also faces unresolved ethnic, communal and linguistic tensions that at times lead to major conflicts. The terrorist campaign in Jammu Kashmir- waged mainly by militant Islamic groups sponsored and trained by Pakistans agencies and the disruptive activities of the Islam ic fundamentalist parties within Pakistan, therefore have wider implications and pose a major threat to the region. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan has had serious implications for social and political stability in the region and a highly volatile impact on relations among communities adhering to different faiths. References/End Notes

Madness and Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet - Investigating Hamlets Sanity :: Shakespeare Hamlet Essays

Shakespeare's Hamlet: Investigating Hamlet's Insanity Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, and hardest to perform. The reason it is so hard to perform is because of the main character Hamlet. Hamlet is an easily liked character that must revenge his father's death. He is forced to act insane in order to find out the truth of his father's death. Hamlet does an excellent job of acting insane, so good, in fact, that it is questioned if he was acting insane or if he actually was. Hamlet's madness is an important part in the play. It is an important role that recurs throughout the play. The question to his insanity lies in the reasons for his insanity. He is constantly betrayed throughout the play by everyone he loves and holds dear except for one person who sticks by him throughout his ordeal, Horatio. Hamlet first shows his passion and how upset he is by his father's death when his mother and the king enter the room and question him on his grief for his father. His mother mentions that his grief seems common. Hamlet replies: â€Å"Seems, madam! nay it is; I know not 'seems.' 'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Nor customary suits of solemn black, Nor windy suspiration of forced breath, No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, Nor the dejected 'havior of the visage, Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly: these indeed seem, For they are actions that a man might play: But I have that within which passeth show; These but the trappings and the suits of woe.†(1.2) Here Hamlet shows his unstable mind. He is screaming at his mother telling her how his actions are honest and he is not pretending to grieve, but that he is truly saddened by his father's death. He has become offended by his mother's inference that Hamlet is not actually upset by his father's death.. She uses the term "Seems" which pushes Hamlet to this rage. Hamlet is so saddened by his father's death that he begins to think of suicide. "O, that this too too solid flesh would melt / Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!†(1.2.129-130). He is wishing that his flesh would melt away or â€Å"Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd / His canon 'gainst self- slaughter!†(131-132). He then reveals the first part to his madness: †But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two: / So excellent a king; that was, to this, / Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother†(138-140).

Appearance vs Reality in More Strabberries Essay

Disguises can come in many forms, some of which are so carefully constructed one may not even realize that it is a disguise or, they can also be obvious to the person to whom you wish to hide. Eric Wright’s â€Å"Twins† and Nelson Bond’s â€Å"Vital Factor† are short stories whose central theme of appearance versus reality is seen through the analysis of the plots and its’ characters. Subsequently, both the murderer and Wilkins are not whom they speak, having a single minded focus can both save the wife and deceive Crowder, and using much time to conceive a master plan goes corrupt for the husband and Crowder. Through the analysis of the stories â€Å"Twins† and â€Å"Vital Factor†, deception plays a very important role in the methods used by both the husband and Wilkins. It is evident, through the comparison of these stories, that the husband and Wilkins never reveal or hint anything about their plans, rather they just seem to be doing it hoping that their schemes will arise into a reality. In the short story â€Å"Twins†, the appearance is that the husband’s devious and fool proof plan works and he kills his wife, but in reality, she discovers her husband’s real intentions, which eventually leads to her killing him instead. Using his identity as a writer as well as a loving husband, the husband leads his wife into his murderous plan, convinced that he is going to get away with it. This is apparent when the husband proudly says, â€Å"It’ll work all right. It’s going to work. † (Wright 216) The husband’s overconfidence leaves him vulnerable to the few mistakes he leaves behind. The appearance in â€Å"Vital Factor† is that the character, Wilkins, is just a brilliant engineer who has the plans to build a fantastic and working flying machine. In reality, Wilkins is an alien who uses Crowder and his money to fund his project to get home. As a wandering alien, Wilkins finds himself using others to get what he needs; a ride home. No one notices the strange little man, but rather his creative contraption, allowing him to slip away into an unseen reality. Crowder’s mind is too full of his money making plans that the idea of an odd person coming with no briefcase or blueprint but only a small metallic floating object does not appear bizarre. Consequently, this leads to an improvised vision of what others want rather than what is really desired. Accordingly, the husband and Wilkins both use their raw talents to hide their true selves using the brilliant awareness of deception. In the short stories â€Å"Vital Factor† and â€Å"Twins† there is dissimilarity in the idea of unclouded vision. In â€Å"Vital Factor†, Crowder only desires to be the best and greatest of all men in the world. He uses his â€Å"iron will and icy determination† (Bond 57) to guide him to his goal. With this as his main obsession, he clouds his own vision and does not think of the possibility that Wilkins will use him and his money to develop a way home. This gives Wilkins the perfect advantage of manipulating Crowder into providing him with an opportunity home. In â€Å"Twins† the wife has an unobstructed vision, unlike Crowder, of what her husband wants to do to her. She sees what her husband’s plan is when she finds his gun hiding in the fishing box. Using her clear vision, she makes her own plan on how to stop what her husband plans to do to her and flip it to kill him instead of vice versa. She exercises her wits and intelligence to notice the flaws in her husband’s cruel scheme and work her way through them and uses her traits to hide from her husband that she knows his plan and create her own plan to kill him. Therefore, in comparing the stories â€Å"Vital Factor and â€Å"Twins†, having a single minded focus can in some cases be detriment, blinding a clear threat to one’s life. On the other hand though, it can actually save one’s life, albeit through deception. In both stories â€Å"Twin† and â€Å"Vital Factor†, the appearance is that the characters have amazing plans that seem to foolproof and impervious to failure but in reality fail and are used against themselves. In â€Å"Twins†, the husband has a marvellous plan to murder his wife and to marry a girlfriend whom he really loves. He uses his profession as a writer to disguise to his present wife that he wants to kill her but rather uses the story he is writing as a plan to get away with the perfect murder. The husband is reckless and has flaws in his plan, for example leaving his gun in a place where his wife might be able to find it. Seeing as the wife did find the gun, she discovers her husband’s plans and goes with her husband into the thick brush seeing to know nothing, while in truth has a plan up her sleeve, the plan her husband wants to use against her. In â€Å"Vital Factor†, Crowder has a brilliant money making idea to send people to space. He finds a unique engineer who is able to build the spacecraft he dreams of. He spends months making this contraption with only money signs in his eyes. This brilliant engineer does exactly as his plans say and build the flying machine. Crowder is so involved in his money and ambition that he sees no other way one can use this machine but to fly from space and back to Earth. Wilkins was always a step before Crowder when he admits to Crowder that â€Å"Your money and ambition paved the way†¦but sentiment was the vital factor that sent me to you†¦I wanted to go home. †(Bond 61) Wilkins is in reality an alien who longs to return to his planet but has no way of getting there. When he meets Crowder, he sees an opportunity to use the power hungry man into paying his way back home. Clearly, when one creates a plan he must look at all the possibilities on how it will become and not just his own.

Web Site Structure

The purpose of this paper is to discuss and compare three Web site structures from the student textbook â€Å"New Perspectives on the Internet† by Schneider and Evans. This student will identify the preferred structure and why; provide two Web site locations with URL addresses, and discuss advantages to Cascading Style Sheets in the creation of a web page. A hierarchical structure is where the â€Å"pages are linked going from the most general page down to more specific pages†¦In a hierarchical structure, users can easily move from general to specific and back again.† (Schneider/Evans. 2006. p. 65). A linear structure is where â€Å"each page is linked with the pages that follow and precede it in an ordered chain.† (Schneider/Evans. 2006. p. 64). Linear structure does allow for augmented pages â€Å"in which each page contains an additional link back to an opening page.† (Schneider/Evans. 2006. p. 65). The third type of structure is called Mixed structure where â€Å"the overall form is hierarchical, as users can move from a general introduction to individual†¦however, links also allow users to move through the site in a linear fashion. (Schneider/Evans. 2006. p. 66). A Mixed structure provides the up and down and side to side movement within a site. The preference of this student would be Mixed structure and Hierarchical structure as these two types of structures provide maximum movement throughout a Web site. Formatting links, home pages and paths are unique to each Website; but, however, are similar depending on structure. A web site that this student enjoys to peruse is the National Geographic Web site, with the URL located at http://www.nationalgeographic.com. This site appears to be styled in a hierarchical structure, as it allows general to specific inquiry. It also allows the movement of backward and forward. Another web site of interest to this student is Facebook, with the URL located at http://www.facebook.com. This web site is designed on the linear structure with augmentation. Facebook pages are linked with pages that â€Å"follow and precede it in an ordered chain.† (Schneider/Evans. 2006. p. 64) Because Facebook does support an augmented style, links to outside sources and other available pages are available to the user. This design, however, from the user opinion, is lacking in personality and compatibility with the user. The design appears to be generalized, and simplified, allowing for many users in many locations and of many cultures. It is, therefore, very generic. Both Web sites provide home page links; but, because of the differences in structure, movement within each web site page is different. After some research in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), this student has discovered several advantages in creating web pages. âž ¢ Cascading Style Sheets are written outside of the HTML codes and are therefore easy to access, change and manipulate. âž ¢ Cascading Style Sheets provide the designer the ability to change one section within the one sheet and having all similar sheets change as well in numerous locations. In closing, Cascading Style Sheets are a must in the creation of a web site. They provide ease of movement; top to down, back and forward and specific movement side to side. This ability provides a user-friendly web site. Depending on the information provided by the Web site and the audience to which it is geared, determines how the structure of the web site is designed.

Impersonal Subjects and Gerunds Quiz

Impersonal Subjects and Gerunds Quiz Compare these two sentences: Studying English is sometimes boring. and It is sometimes boring to study English. Both of the sentences are used to make general statements about an activity - studying English. Here is an overview of the two forms: gerund object to be conjugated (adverb of frequency) adjective Examples: Playing tennis is an excellent exercise.Reading English newspapers is often difficult. It to be conjugated (adverb of frequency) adjective infinitive Examples: It is sometimes exciting to walk in the pouring rain.It was strange to say that Russian is easier than English. Two Exceptions The phrases It is worth and It is no use take the gerund NOT the infinitive form. It is worth / It is no use gerund object Examples: It is worth driving to the lake to have a look around.It is no use studying for this exam. Quiz Change the sentences from the original to the other similar structure. Example: It is sometimes easy to forget your cell phone number. Answer Forgetting your cell phone number is sometimes easy. Playing chess requires great concentration.It is not easy to learn Chinese.It is difficult to understand the motives of many politicians.Interviewing applicants is often stressful and unrewarding.Speaking English is always useful when traveling abroad.It is never simple to move abroad.Thinking about danger is often illogical.It has been difficult to accept his death.Flying to Africa will be great fun.Working hard for so many years has been tiring for them. Original Sentences Playing chess requires great concentration.It is not easy to learn Chinese.It is difficult to understand the motives of many politicians.Interviewing applicants is often stressful and unrewarding.Speaking English is always useful when  traveling  abroad.It is never simple to move abroad.Thinking about danger is often illogical.It has been difficult to accept his death.Flying to Africa will be great fun.Working hard for so many years has been tiring for them. Sentence Changes It requires great concentration to play chess.Learning Chinese is not easy.Understanding the motives of many politicians is difficult.It is often stressful and unrewarding to interview applicants.It is always useful to speak English when  traveling  abroad.Moving abroad is never simple.It is often illogical to think about the danger.Accepting his death has been difficult.It will be great fun to fly to Africa.It has been tiring for them to work hard for so many years.

A Look At Puritanism Vs Deism Religion Essay Essays

A Look At Puritanism Vs Deism Religion Essay Essays A Look At Puritanism Vs Deism Religion Essay Paper A Look At Puritanism Vs Deism Religion Essay Paper In the 17th and 18th centuries, spiritual beliefs become the chief point of focal point in Europe and in the new universe. The first issues with faith trade with Catholicism and Protestantism ; British Catholics became wary of the way of Catholics motivations, so they decide to interrupt off into a new subdivision of Christianity: Protestantism. One of the new major subdivisions of Christianity is Puritanism which contains ties of Calvinism in its nucleus. Puritans make their ain regulations and make up ones mind to pattern Christianity the manner God intended: attempting to sublimate the Church. For Puritans, the Bible is the lone manner to pattern and its guidelines must be obeyed daily. Four cardinal beginnings track the lives and escapades of John Winthrop, Michael Wigglesworth, John Dane, and Mary Rowlandson. No other possible faith sprouted in people s heads until Boston bore a adult male named Benjamin Franklin in 1706 who challenges Puritanism wholly with his Deist beliefs. When Franklin turns nineteen, he publishes his religion to the universe in his Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain. These new ideas spread around the new universe and get down making a seed of uncertainty in people s caputs about their faith. In 1725, Benjamin Franklin promotes a new faith that is widely different from the traditional Puritan position based on his positions of God and the Universe. Section two of Ben Franklin s Dissertation discusses pleasance, hurting, and the absence of an hereafter. Section two explicitly provinces pain and pleasure balance each other out throughout life finally go forthing everything on an even keel: Pain is equally balanced by pleasance and hence there is no demand to conceive of an hereafter ( Franklin 27 ) . Franklin views decease as the terminal of the route with an absence of an hereafter. He says, Even if there is an hereafter, there could be no memory of earthly existenceaˆÂ ¦so it could do no difference to us ( Franklin 27 ) . This thought parallels his proposal depicting a babe s degree of consciousness ; Franklin believes babies are non witting of their ain being until the babe feels pain for the first clip. The edginess that babes experience is relative to the pleasance they feel every bit good. For case, if Franklin creates a expression of pleasance and hurting it would look as such: Pleasure + Pain = 0. Similar to equi librium, Franklin believes in pure balance: The Pain of Labour and Fatigue causes the Pleasure of Rest, equal to that Pain ( Franklin, 28 ) . Franklin tungsten raps up his statement by claiming every adult male and adult female experience an equal sum of pleasance and hurting so that in the hereafter, God is non required to do any other accommodations. Since there is balance, hereafter does non be or hold any important importance in world. Puritans, contrary to Franklin s positions, believe people are of course evil animals and necessitate to be guided by authorization. John Winthrop, a seventeenth century frequent incumbent governor of Massachusetts, declares that civil freedom is the most right autonomy under God. The first type of autonomy, natural, is evil by nature and incorrect under the eyes of God: The exercising and maintaining of this autonomy makes work forces turn more evil and in clip to be worse than brute beastsaˆÂ ¦This [ sort of autonomy ] is that great enemy of truth and peace ( Winthrop, 1 ) . Winthrop s positions of autonomy and Puritanism are evidently different from what Franklin believes. Franklin believes worlds are of course good and can make no evil when Winthrop believes people are born evil and need to be monitored. Winthrop says Puritans must follow civil autonomies because they are merely and what God intended. This autonomy symbolizes the compact between God and adult male in the m oral jurisprudence. Winthrop says specifically this autonomy comes from Jesus to do us free to idolize him: Such is the autonomy of the church under the authorization of Christ ( Winthrop, 1 ) . Puritans unrecorded and dice for the civil autonomies of Christ and genuinely believe in his powers to command us. John Dane in his narrative, A Declaration of Remarkable Providences in the Course of My life, exemplify and turn out the beliefs of all Puritans after he refuses the sexual comfort of a lady and gives the recognition to God: I thank God I neer yet knew [ sexually ] any but those two married womans God gave meaˆÂ ¦God taketh attention of us when we take no attention of ourselves ( Dane, 8 ) . In Dane s eyes, the civil autonomies of the settlement allowed him to avoid wickedness. This same illustration arises in Mary Rowlandson s narrative when she refuses an offering of baccy and raps herself on the dorsum: I thank God, he has now given me power over it ( Rowlandson, 18 ) . These illustrations show the important differences between Deists and Purists, for the Deists believe they can make good Acts of the Apostless themselves but the Purists believe God allowed them to make good workss and trials them. Another faithful Puritan, Michael Wigglesworth, known for his verse form about Hell, The Day of Doom, opposes Franklin s positions sing the absence of an hereafter and the ability to move morally. As described earlier, Franklin believes an hereafter is wholly false under the eyes of Deism. Franklin says an hereafter shall non even be considered because it makes no difference ; if our earthly experience will non be recalled the hereafter is merely irrelevant. However, Wigglesworth strongly believes in an hereafter. After reading the transition, he apparently merely cares to state everybody they are traveling to Hell someday: Traveling to Hell will be those who were non able to acquire or understand this offer of redemption ( Wigglesworth, 4 ) . Everyone who is non a Puritan or non predestined to Heaven is traveling to hell. He elaborates and specifies the hapless psyches: the mentally retarded will travel to Hell, Indians are destined for Hell, and eventually babes who are non pre destined for redemption will stop up in Hell. This transition reiterates the Puritan thought that people are born evil and can non alter based on their ain virtue. In this twenty-four hours and age, it is highly hard to convert person you are saved and most of the clip ends up really backlashing, converting the individual you are in fact condemned. The differences between Puritanism and Deism continue to originate throughout the journeys of two of import Puritans. Mary Rowlandson s narrative, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, describes Mary s escapade through imprisonment with the Native Americans and how she believes God has chosen her for redemption wholly standing on the other side of the spectrum of Franklin. The Indians gaining control Mary and one of her kids and subsequently give her a Bible. She takes this as an act of God alternatively of merely a pure happenstance: I can non but take notice of the fantastic clemency of God to me in those afflictions, in directing me a Bible ( Rowlandson 17 ) . Where Deists believe these act by the Indians merely act to function a greater good in their persons lives, Puritans think God tests them and chooses them for redemption. Puritans believe persons destined for redemption must be battled tried, but Deists barely believe in an hereafter and decidedly believe the actions on Earth do non ensue in effect after decease. Rowlandson persuades herself to believe th ese are Acts of the Apostless of God by mentioning her brushs to specific tests in the Bible including her trip down the river: Psalm 137:1, By the rivers of Babylon, there we saw down, yeah, we wept when we remembered Zion ( Rowlandson 18 ) . In Rowlandson s head, God tests her and chooses her for redemption. This observation additions strength when Rowlandson quotes Hebrews and relates it to her life: Heb. Twelve 6, For whom the Lord loveth he chastened, and scourgeth every Son who he receiveth ; but now I see the Lord had his clip to scourge and chastise me ( Rowlandson, 20 ) . Unlike Deists, Rowlandson sees herself as evidently chosen to travel to Heaven familiarising herself with Winthrop, Dane, and Wigglesworth. John Dane, the concluding Puritan with a life altering narrative besides believes God tests him throughout his life to beef up his religion in Him, but one time once more contradicts Franklin s Deist beliefs. When Dane is a immature male child, he runs off from his house because he believes his male parent attempts to command him excessively much. However, as Dane fled his place, his ma said something that changes his life everlastingly, Travel where you will, God he will happen you out ( Dane, 7 ) . During this period in Dane s life, he does non see the Acts of the Apostless of God but alternatively sees the actions as his ain good psyche. A few hebdomads subsequently, a wasp stings Dane twice in the exact same topographic point in a hebdomad s period. As the WASP stings Dane, H2O and blood came out of it which represents Christ s actions in his head. Immediately, Dane remembers the words his female parent said to him as he ran off, so to Dane this as a mark from God. Finally, a Bible was on his parents tabular array at place and he opened it to a page that changed his religion: Come out from among them, touch no dirty thing, and I will be your God and you shall be my people ( Dane, 11 ) . This quotation mark opposes the Deist point of position ; Deists do non utilize the Bible hence do non purchase into the prognostications told throughout the testament. Deists besides do non idolize contrary to the Puritans. However, Dane sees this as another mark from God to alter his religion and give himself to Christ. He eventually believes he can be saved. Finally, after measuring faithful Puritans and up and coming Deists, the differences between the two faiths stick out to readers. Obviously, Franklin has the desire to wholly interrupt away from the train of idea of the rigorous Puritans to make a more loose rational type of faith. The actions, words, and beliefs of Purists and Deists show the surmounting differences between the two faiths.