António Vieira da Cruz

Editorial que escrevi no sétimo número da revista Think South Asia: --- In this edition we will put the focus on Pakistan , a country with more than 180 million people, being the 6 th most populous country in the world. We could roughly say that the story of Pakistan was marked by two partitions: the partition of India in 1947 and its own partition in 1971. But as History is more complex than that, we are dedicating this edition of Think South Asia magazine to Pakistan . In the case of this country, etymology says a lot of its early history. The word “ Pakistan ” did not exist before 1933, when it was coined by the Muslim nationalist Mr Choudhry Rahmat Ali who, with other intellectuals, wanted to create a separate Muslim homeland in South Asia . According to scholars, the name has its origins in the acronym PAKSTAN, which results from P unjab + A fghani territories + K ashmir + S indh + Baluchi stan . An “i” was introduced amidst for reasons of pronunciation an...

“Arthashastra” This is a book of surprises. A classic of the Indian literature and thinking, “Arthashastra” was written by the Chief Adviser of two Mauryan Emperors. It could be seen as a treatise about the arts of war and economic policy, but it is much more than that. “Arthashastra” is about ethics and the duties each person is obliged to incorporate depending on its role in society. I leave you with one of his most famous passages, which is about corruption vices and solutions: Each department shall be officered by several temporary heads. Just as it is impossible not to taste the honey or the poison that finds itself at the tip of the tongue, so it is impossible for a government servant not to eat up, at least, a bit of the king's revenue. Just as fish moving under water cannot possibly be found out either as drinking or not drinking water, so government servants employed in the government work cannot be found out (while) taking money (for themselves). I...