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I was concerned about passing this piece on. A nuclear incident is such a serious prospect that it perhaps isn't appropriate to bandy about any individual's two cents. However, this letter, about a media-hype regarding the imminence of the threat from India and Pakistan, was written by a friend of a friend – Michael Hathaway says, "Stephen Huyler is originally from Ojai, California, where our families have known each other since the mid-fifties." Seeing as I know it comes from a credible source, it seems like a valuable contribution. "I am appalled by the approach of the American media to the current violence in Kashmir. It is deeply irresponsible, sensationalistic and condescending for our headlines and reports to emphasize the 'likelihood' or 'extreme possibility' of nuclear war between India and Pakistan."
-Suzanne- June 3, 2002

Calm Down a Little
Stephen Huyler

Dear Friends,

As a scholar and field researcher who has spent more than thirty years working in and with South Asia, I am appalled by the approach of the American media to the current violence in Kashmir. It is deeply irresponsible, sensationalistic and condescending for our headlines and reports to emphasize the 'likelihood' or 'extreme possibility' of nuclear war between India and Pakistan. It assumes that South Asians are hot-headed, incapable of making rational decisions and likely to go off half-cocked into a war that might destroy hundreds of millions of their citizens.

I have lived my entire life with the possibility of nuclear holocaust. That possibility remains. But it is not greatly heightened at the moment by the violent hostilities between India and Pakistan. Those hostilities have existed since both countries' independence from the British in 1947. Only rarely during those 55 years has there been open communication between the two enemies. Kashmir has always been at the heart of their problem and, like Northern Ireland and Israel, there does not seem to be much hope for a resolution. But that does not mean that the governments of those countries, or factions within them, will resort to nuclear annihilation. The two are not the same at all!

I have been in close contact with Indian friends over the past days and weeks. According to them, there is no call for the use of nuclear weapons in India or Pakistan. There is no intention of the administration or the populace to engage in any kind of nuclear battle. They are offended that Western superpowers think that they would. The nuclear weapons that they now have are intended to be used for detente, not for mass destruction. As one of my friends remarked: a nuclear war will virtually wipe out Pakistan and kill as many as 100 million Indians, not to mention the effects it will have on the rest of South Asia and the world. No one would consider that as a feasible choice. As another said: even if there was a strong lobby for the use of nuclear weapons (which there is not), both countries are entirely dependent upon cordial cultural, political and economic relationships with western countries. Engaging in nuclear war would entirely alienate all of their present allies, indeed all of the rest of the world. They are not so short sighted!

So please, if you are strongly considering the current news hype on the possibility of nuclear war in South Asia, calm down a little. Let us focus our energy where it is most needed: on our own country and our own responsibilities with regards to exactly what damage we are causing in Central Asia and what is the truth in our relationships with Saudi Arabia, the Bin Laden family, and multinationals, among other things. The sensationalistic manipulation of our news media can easily divert us from present necessities. Truly the best thing we can do for South Asia at the moment is not to write letters protesting the possibility of nuclear war, as many friends have urged me recently, but to focus our attention on prayers for healing. They may have much more affect.

In deep sincerity and good will,

Stephen Huyler


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