If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
It's very difficult for me to regret my own mistakes because I have learned from them but there is one in particular regret that no matter what anybody tries to tell me to make things better, I simply can't come to terms with.When I was 5 years old I was sexually abused my cousin. It went on for a while until he moved to another state. Years went by and I never said a word to anybody about it until I was 17 years old.Fast forward I graduated high school and joined the military right away. I rarely visited home but one of the days I did, my sister told me to not mention anything to anybody but that when I was on deployment my younger brother had came forward with some terrible news.My sister said that my brother told my mom that my cousin had sexually abused him. Yes, the same cousin who abused me.I asked her when it had happened and he said it was right before my cousin left to live at another state. At that moment, my heart broke. If only I had said something to someone about the sexual abuse that was being done to me my brother wouldn't have suffered.My brother suffered a lot but we didn't know what was wrong. He never said a word to anybody about anything. Now we know why and if I would have said something, he wouldn't have been abused.I've learned to accept that it wasn't my fault but it's still something that when I think about it, it breaks me down.
Which is better: India or Pakistan?
This is my perspective as an American of Indian descent having lived in India and having followed foreign relations of both countries with Pakistan. India and Pakistan have bifurcated substantially in governance and nation building. Who is better depends on the paths chosen. The answer will become very evident.Following are a few quick bullet points that will allow you to get a pulse on India and Pakistan.India is a haven for IT or Information Technology companies.Pakistan is also a haven for IT but for International Terrorists. Example: Osama Bin Laden.India uses technology to launch satellites to advance its E-commerce, improve agriculture by predicting weather patterns and more. It has successfully sent an Orbiter to Mars.Pakistan first plagiarized then proliferated nuclear technology to North Korea.India is a democracy. Any Indian child can aspire to become the Prime Minister or the President of India.Pakistan is a military-theocracy-democracy. Pakistani constitution forbids a Pakistan-born Hindu, Christian, Sikh, or Ahmadi Muslim (not considered Muslim in Pakistan) or any other non-Muslim person to become the Prime Minister or President of Pakistan.Indian Military is under civilian authority.Pakistan civilian government is under Military authority.India focuses primarily on its economy and the betterment of its people.Pakistan has its prime focus on Kashmir, Islam, and nuclear weapons.Indians overseas are proud of their identity and roots.Pakistani Americans pass themselves as Indians sometimes.India helped and housed 10 million refugees that poured from East Pakistan in 1971.Pakistan Military killed millions of its own citizens in 1971 before Bangladesh was born.India is a responsible nation and has good relations and trade agreements with other countries. The US and China are India’s largest trading partners.Pakistan is isolated internationally. It doesn’t have much choice but to accept China’s high-handed, one-way trade agreements.Pakistan lags both India and Bangladesh (all three were part of one British India) in the Human Development Index.Who is better? You be the judge.As an Indian, Pakistan was never my yard-stick.