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Of distant dreams and false myths

The goodwill Indians and Pakistanis manifest for each other can vanish in a jiffy when the hate-mongers on both sides get going. The ensuing slanging match usually takes the form of Allah versus Ram, at least between their respective hoi polloi, although among the more schooled lot it can assume different guises. Leaders are vilified; odious comparisons made; ridicule, contempt and threats exchanged and just about every curse known to man is traded. Given our current travails, Indian comments these days are suffused with dollops of condescension, a smug ‘we told you so’ and an ‘it’s all over for you’ attitude.

Not much has really changed from my days in the Foreign Office. I recall approaching negotiations with India with a heavy feeling of tedium and futility much like I suspect my Indian counterparts did. We knew what snares to avoid and stick to our briefs but not much more. There was really nothing to negotiate and the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

The prospect of agreement was scary; it wasn’t something that was supposed to happen. And when, by some miracle, it seemed likely one or the other side made new demands that were unacceptable to the other – and that was that. At India-Pakistan meetings, therefore, I concentrated on the eats especially when the venue was Delhi, because when it came to eats on offer the Indians had us licked. The Banarsi paan never had a rival in Pakistan.

After one especially pointless session in 1975, I remarked to one of my Indian counterparts, a splendid fellow, how give or take superficial variations, Indians and Pakistanis believe the incredible when it suits them; hold settled passionate opinions when there is no ground for judgement and believe in the future in spite of the past. Words (and promises) mean whatever we want them to mean. Even the record of the meetings reflected not what was actually said but what, after careful and belated reflection, each side thought should have been said. That matters should have reached such a pass, I concluded, was testament to the fact that we had something else in common – idiocy.

In fact, India-Pakistan relations are a victim of myths. The most common one ascribes their endemic hostility to the mutual hatred of the Muslim and the Hindu. It maintains that Pakistan can only continue to exist as long as its people are nourished on the hatred of Hindu India. This perverse theory, which lingers till today, encourages misguided Indians and equally misguided scribes of Islam in Pakistan, to preach their litany of hate – completely oblivious to the tolerance and compassion Islam enjoins towards other faiths.

The theory has its origins in the indelible impression the carnage of 1947 produced on the minds of the two communities, in particular the Muslim fear of domination and subjugation by the majority community. This was exploited by communal elements on both sides. Subsequent history, especially the wars in Kashmir, robbed the early efforts of the leadership of both countries of conviction, so much so that attempts to promote a policy of amity between them came across, and still does, as wholly contrived.

In fact, to consider Islam as ‘anti’ another religion is wrong for three important reasons. First, it ignores the sanctions that Islam imposes on religious persecution; second it discards the elemental opposition of the founder of Pakistan to religious bigotry which had earned him the sobriquet of ‘the ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity’ and, third because of Jinnah’s vision of friendly relations between the two countries.

Jinnah’s concept of India-Pakistan relations – clearly articulated when speaking in Delhi on May 21, 1947 – called for a “friendly and reciprocal alliance with India… I do envisage a pact or treaty between Pakistan and Hindustan in the mutual interest of both”. And Nehru wholeheartedly agreed on September 21, 1947 that the two governments issue a joint statement stating “any conception of conflict between India and Pakistan is repugnant not only on moral grounds but because any such conflict will result in disaster for both…”

Notwithstanding, the descent towards disaster was precipitous and it continues apace. Outbreaks of communal violence, for instance, are not considered reprehensible but as if they are a part and parcel of the Subcontinental reality. There is much hand-wringing and (bogus) expressions of regret but little action by way of steps to ensure minorities receive justice and their civic rights are fully safeguarded. Reports of oppression or unfair treatment are neither fairly and promptly investigated nor are effective remedial measures taken. We seem reconciled to the fact that religious bigotry is as much a fact of life as are the lies we tell each other and ourselves.

In India today, the ‘hate Pakistan’ TV channels are making a fortune dishing out tripe about Pakistan. Lest they appear dovish, Indian political parties are following suit. It’s scarcely a coincidence, with elections in the offing in India, that Modi of Gujarat, is being tipped as the next prime minister. Or that the embattled Congress government – desperate to garner broader public support – is making a song and dance of the discovery of a beheaded Indian soldier on the LoC and the resolution of Pakistan’s parliament condemning Afzal Guru’s hanging.

Needless to say, there isn’t a word in the Indian media about the 12 decapitated Pakistani soldiers found on the LoC at various times since 2003, or the head of a Pak jawan mounted like a (game) trophy stored in the cellar of an Indian army mess. Moreover, by hanging Guru in the manner he did – after a shoddy trial – Manmohan Singh showed he cared naught about the outrage that would cause not only on both sides of the LoC and Pakistan but also among conscientious Indians.

Thus far India has displayed its ire at the LoC incident by scrapping the Pak-India dialogue meetings; suspending/delaying implementation of the visa accord; cancelling sports and cultural events, etc. The worry is that India may go further and – following a false (staged) flag operation or an actual terrorist attack – blame Pakistan and bring the situation to a boil believing that Pakistan is in no position to respond. We know many in India feel right now is a great opportunity to take advantage of the mess Pakistan has become and strike a decisive blow against Pakistan.

For those who may feel I am being needlessly alarmist, the fact is the military here is genuinely concerned that a lot of the weaponry India is acquiring (worth $100 billion over five years) as part of its massive rearmament plans is Pakistan-specific. So too is India’s support of the erratic Pakphobe Hamid Karzai, and Delhi’s offer of open-ended military cooperation with his regime. It is alleged that India is stoking the embers of revolt in Balochistan; perhaps even arming and financing TTP bandits and using the powerful Indian lobby in the US to sow further discord and widen the Pak-US divide.

Those who think that Pakistan’s foreign policy goals and strategic objectives are shifting away from being India-centric because of changing geopolitical realities, our economic needs and the power transitions in the international system, should think again. Ideally of course Pakistan would like to change its approach towards its neighbors, especially India, and enhance trade and political normalisation.

A new regional pivot policy does indeed enjoy widespread political support and if insurgent and terrorist threats are to be contained, the military too realises such a change will enhance its ability to face these challenges. But the plain fact is that to do so while India’s attitude and, more so, the thrust of its foreign and defense policies remain threatening would neither be wise nor prudent. Hence, Pakistan continues to modernise its nuclear capabilities while at the same time enhancing its ability to combat insurgent and terrorist threats. Sadly Jinnah’s dream of an abiding friendship between the two countries remains as distant as it always was.

The writer is a former ambassador. Email: charles123it@hotmail.com

Zafar Hilaly, "Of distant dreams and false myths," The News. 2013-04-04.
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