A 6 page paper assessing whether bridewealth and dowry practices in Africa protect women or further gender inequality. Both bridewealth and dowry have had the effect of redistributing wealth within the areas in which the people practicing it live, and in so doing also provide a homogenizing effect on class and status in Africa. The nature and uses of both forms have been changing in recent years, however, so that at present bridewealth among the elites often fills a role traditionally reserved for dowry. Though the concepts of bridewealth and dowry seem backward to those not practicing them, they have the effect of protecting women rather than undermining the advance of gender equality in Africa. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

7 pages in length. As the discord between and among India, Pakistan and Kashmir continues, it can readily be argued that Kashmiri officials have grown tiresome of the perpetual battle. Much of the ongoing concern is focused squarely upon the nuclear bomb tests that have taken place between the ever-feuding India and Pakistan; indeed, the world held its breath when India conducted several nuclear bomb tests last year. Not to be outdone, Pakistan retaliated by detonating its own nuclear bomb test just a few days later. As a result of this blatant show of force between two nations that have a long history of discord, national leaders all across the globe imposed sanctions to clearly state their opposition to such terrorist acts. However, Kashmir has forever been powerless to assert its desires. The writer discusses the discord between and among India, Pakistan and Kashmir. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 5 page paper discussing the current issue of nuclear testing as it relates to India and Pakistan. It has been many years since any nuclear testing has been conducted in any part of the world and the recent tensions between India and Pakistan have apparently brought out the 'big guns.' On May 11, 1998 -- India tested three nuclear devices 328 feet underground in a remote desert and the tests go on from there. Bibliography lists 8 sources. Ind-paki.wps

An 8 page paper that responds to the question: What does Britain stand to gain from the India/Pakistan crisis? The essay begins with the historical background of the current "crisis" between India and Pakistan which dates back to 1947. The specific question is addressed in the last part of the paper. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

This is an 8 page paper discussing the history, influences and contemporary issues in miniature painting in Pakistan and India. The art of miniature painting was first known to exist in Persia where it was imported from into India during the 1500s at the beginning of the Mughal dynasties. In the Mughal schools of artistry, the art of miniature painting was given a more intense and dynamic feel which differentiated it from the formal structures used by the Persians. The technique is very specific in its use of wasli paper, squirrel hair brushes and vivid water based paint applied in multiple layers to earn it a silky finish. When the Mughal dynasty was displaced, so too were many of the artists who then had to earn livings applying their craft to other objects such as walls and furniture. During the late 1800s, when Indian nationalism began to take place, a revival of the traditional arts led to the re-introduction of miniature painting into the educational system where artists could earn specialties in it. Today, the art of miniature painting is one of the more popular and traditional methods of art especially found in the graduates of the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan, the only school in the world offering a specialty in miniature painting. Modern miniature artists apply traditional Mughal methods in their depictions of the contemporary world and the political and lifestyle issues in Pakistan. Bibliography lists 6 sources.