The South Asia Politics, News, and Analysis Thread

I apologize, Shinra, if you were offended in any way. I thought that it would be a change of perspective, hence I brought it to attention.

Anyway, Sledgesaul, 'wet' is a reasonably good descriptor. It is, however, starting to get extremely hot and drier in a lot of places, Bombay included. There is some rain (and conventional wisdom says there should be a bit more), but the monsoons are in full retreat and -puts on glasses- Winter is Coming.

Anyway, as to the pollution, most of Bombay is quite polluted, being a major city, but certainly nothing severely reducing visibility in the absence of torrential rain. The closest is the fact that, because my college is right next to a chemical refinery, I spend most lectures in the monsoon semester inhaling the heady scents of ammonia.

Is India the strongest nation in South Asia?

Well, considering the competition is Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, and, to an extent, Myanmar, I'd have to say yes.

Yes. It is also home of world's tallest dwarf and 67-time winner of the annual Lord Mountbatten Prize for "Best Former Colony with Population of Over 400 Million".

edited 19th Sep '14 1:39:29 PM by Achaemenid

Didn't get it, Achaemenid (please give a shorter name ).

Call me Ach. It was a facetious way of saying the same thing you did - that being the most powerful nation in South Asia isn't too hard, given how many basket-cases and tiny countries there are down there.

edited 19th Sep '14 2:55:22 PM by Achaemenid

Also India's the largest country by...a country mile.

Nepal is pretty scary, but then again the local Gurkhas all fight for India and the U.K. anyway.

After the PLA refuses to stop their incursion into Ladakh even 24 hours after being asked to do so by Xi Jinping, Modi warns that 'Even a toothache can paralyse the entire body'.

His point being that such small incidents may also cause major issues in bilateral ties. I think I made it sound more sinister than it is, really.

Wait what?! The PLA are publicly disobeying the "Paramount Leader"?! That's kinda...huge.

Same reaction here. They're gonna get punished, right?

Depends upon how much pull Xi has in the Chinese government - it is not an one-person show.

The pole that leads to the top of China is very greasy indeed - which is why evidence of direct public disobedience is very big. Normally things are pretty secretive.

I just hope Pakistan doesn't get ideas again...

Pakistan has a lot of issues of it's own to deal with. The Taliban just for starters. And is that protest against the government still going on?

Not sure what's going on with the PLA. Either the retreat order was a lie or some officer (at whatever level of authority) is doing his own thing.

I'm gonna bet the former, though I can fully see the latter being possible.

And yeah those protests are still going, but they're a joke by now. Sharif ain't leaving. Imran Khan has about the same credibility as a potato.

That said, the Army already has been messing around on the Line of Control lately, so they don't care if the Taliban gives them trouble.

And thats not even getting into the Insane Troll Logic that the Taliban is RAW's baby.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari, promises to take back the entirety of Kashmir from India

Well, laughability aside, the unspoken premise is, of course, that Kashmir is already with India, and not with Pakistan (otherwise the question of 'taking back' would not arise). And it seems that Pakistan has found their own Rahul Gandhi.

Good luck with that.

Oh that has been clear for months. Bilawal ALSO has the credibility of a potato.

But in more important news, Pakistan has a new spymaster: Say hi to General Rizwan Akhtar.

India's Mars orbiter has begun orbiting Mars, making India the first country to do so first time.

^_^

The question is: baked, mashed or fried?

I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes.

More info:

• India is the first Asian country to get a Mars orbiter. Not China.
• This is the cheapest Mars orbiter made, at approximately $79 million. For perspective, Gravity cost more to make at ~$105 million, and NASA's Maven orbiter cost ~$600 million. A common Indian stereotype joke is that it is appropriate that we have managed to reduce the cost so heavily, given that a Gujarati is the Prime Minister.^note  Most Gujaratis are traders, and have an uncanny eye for profits. The stereotype of Gujaratis is similar to that of the early Jews, except that it is not nearly as negative, given usury is not considered a sin

edited 23rd Sep '14 9:15:09 PM by arcanephoenix

How was copper wire invented? Two Gujaratis fighting over a penny.

But seriously, this is a cool moment for India. India is both stronk and can into space. Praise Nehru!

Yes, it actually supposed to be sung in 52 seconds.

Here is some information on the scientific payload the Indian Mars craft is carrying.

Gujaratis got the cost down, but Malayalis be da guys who got her there on the first try.

No seriously, Kerala is India's Houston.

edited 24th Sep '14 5:50:28 AM by FFShinra