Any New York Times edition carries about 16-20 pages of news.The international coverage(read news that interests the US economically and politically) gets around (1/3) rd of the total space, approximately.
I can assure you that around 90% of that space will have Asia news.Asia, the biggest continent in the world has been a poor cousin for many years to the more elite"West" continents , namely Europe and North America.Australia hardly interferes with anything,Africa makes news for all the wrong reasons and nobody lives in Antarctica. Somehow, despite being the biggest continent in the world, having the most number of people in the world , Asia has been a collection of "developing countries", who have been struggling to come to terms with the rapid growth of the "West".
History presented Asia in a very different light though.Some of the most advanced civilizations originated in Asia.Our very own India was a "hotspot" for religious,economic and political development in the ancient world.With the advent of the industrial revolution in the post middle ages, Europe gained a lot of wealth and resources.This led to the process of rapid colonization of the Asian countries, who fell prey to the might of European countries and the internal conflicts in the countries just contributed to the situation.
With many countries gaining independence from the Westerners, a new era has certainly begun in the history of Asia.The focus is certainly on India and to a large extent China.Of course, the turbulent middle east and the situation close to home in Afghanistan has also ensured that Asia has got into the news for the wrong reasons.
Strange as it may sound, Asia started making news for the right reasons due to the middle east in the early period of the 20th Century.The Arab countries, consisting of nomadic tribes at constant loggerheads, suddenly became rich and powerful due to the discovery of oil in the region.One cannot be wronged in saying that this proved to be a double edged sword, ensuring that these countries became the venue of the cold war to gain control over the oil in the region.
The wheel has begun to turn, Asia certainly has the potential to do great things.Its just a question of time before this happens(Provided of course the conflicts in the region are resolved, which is a very tricky proposition).
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2 comments:
Poorna my good 'Asian' friend, I think you're thoughts on the different continents are quite right. As you say, Asia as a whole is having to deal with more conflicts right now than any part of the world; the Kashmir situation seems to be getting worse, we're probably heading for a Jammu vs. Kashmir stalemate. Regarding the olympics though, I think it's the Orientals in Asia that are stealing it all, it seems quite imbalanced.
Shreyas my "Bengalooru Banshankari " pal.. I agree with you on the Olympics situation.But I am sure that Japan is doing pretty decent too.But all the China Medals are still in Asia's kitty.So we are doing great on that front as well.
Speaking about J&K, I think we are headed towards something very serious in the near future.. If it does happen, It will be really dangerous in the region.Both nuclear superpowers u see!!
Mr Musharraf's exit has strangely put Delhi under tension!!!
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