THE YEAR 2008 DAWNS ON A SAD AND UNCERTAIN NOTE FOR SOUTH ASIA
Editors
The most popular politician in Pakistan and potentially its next Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, the leader of the Peoples Party of Pakistan, was killed on December 27 by a suicide bomb attack. The murderer Narendra Modi was re-elected as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, which has encouraged fascist goons of the Sangh Parivar to renew their attack on Christians in Orissa. There seems no end to the killings in Sri Lanka in the midst of the undeclared war between the Government and the Tamil Tigers. Bangladesh remains in the grip of a non-elected military regime and a growing fundamentalism. Whether or not the Seven Party Alliance in Nepal reaches unanimity on the issue of Nepal becoming a federal republic remains uncertain.
It is in the midst of these developments, that the year 2007 ends and 2008 dawns. Whether to invoke a traditional optimism at the start of a new year or a more realistic pessimism are the options. In either case, we wish our readers a happy new year!
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