Growing up in India in the 80s and 90s of the previous century, the kids are always taught to hate Pakistan. There are stories in the print and news media about how bad our neighbour behaves. As with everything else, I had decided early on that I will not believe what my government wants me to believe. In a few years, I moved to the UK for studies. There I met some of the best people from Pakistan I had met till that date, one of which was an aunty in Reading to treated me like her own son. I also met some people who have been indoctrinated the other way in Pakistan. 80 years after achieving self-governance rights from the British, the two countries are at loggerheads desperately trying to overthrow each other in the world stage.
Yesterday, I watched the below documentary. I have watched some outrageous ones in the past but nothing has wrecked my sleep as this. So, I do advise people to go through the description before watching the full video. It can be disturbing. Even accounting for exaggeration and bias, the reality is quite haunting. It got me to write this blog about the tussle as I see it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51A20MnQiuM
India sees Pakistan as a country filled with supporters of Hafeez Saeed, Rehman Malik and Taliban. Pakistan sees India as a country filled with RSS and the perpetrators responsible for the distressed Kashmir. The reality is both countries are filled with people desperately trying to make the ends meet and have military who wants to put this fight to an end. I find this tussle rather unwanted and stupid.
Both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers, there is no way one is going to gain supremacy over the other. The line of control between the two countries cannot be renegotiated through battlefield victories. Both countries are spending immensely on maintaining security from the other, ignoring the plight of their civilians. Both countries will struggle if they have an unstable neighbour. Further, the Muslims of India are Indians and the Hindus and Sikhs of Pakistan are Pakistanis. There is not need for either country to perform a moral drive on the rights of minorities with their neighbour. The last of all, one needs to fast forward 500 years and see what they want in history. Fostering good partnership not only makes economic sense, it makes social and ecological sense.
India needs a stable neighbour in Pakistan. By supporting Pakistan in its growth, India will have a new trading partner. It also works to India’s advantage in its bid to get into becoming a permanent member of the security council. It drastically reduced the military budget, which can be focused on development. It will help the intelligence and security agencies look the India more holistically than what it is able to do now.
Pakistan needs India’s support to prevent itself from being distanced any further internationally. The biggest supporter of Pakistan now is China, which has its fair share of human rights violations. Pakistan has to focus heavily on rebuilding its infrastructure, solve the internal extremist movements and become a thriving democracy. It has a massive income and wealth inequality problem. It needs to relook into the education sector and get more kids educated for a better future. This is not going to happen with Chinese investments as the latter is more interested in investment and return from that. What Pakistan needs it to channel funds it is currently spending on military back to its economic development.
The thorn in the flesh of both countries is Kashmir. Both countries look at it as their right. While Pakistan feels it has a moral obligation to the Kashmiris, India believes Kashmir is its sovereign right. As with most other situations, the reality is buried deep and in a different dimension. There are many renowned political experts, who have dug deep into the problem and solution (it is for another blog). Kashmir is a tussle amongst disenfranchised people who want control over their land. Unfortunately, it has become extremely communal. There are three main groups, the Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists of Jammu and Kashmir. The solution has to work for all of them, without any feeling left out or a minority.
The hidden component in the fight is India’s support to the Baluchs. I am in favour of federated governments, where the rights of none get ignored. India can never openly support or arm the Baluch movement. It will never come to the forefront of any negotiation, but I am sure there will be a demand for India to stop its support.
Even considering these two issues, there is actually no strong reason for both countries to collaborate for the greater good of their citizens. The unfortunate part is that the tussle has become a show of strength for the political parties and a red herring for the government to distract everyone from the core issues facing their republics.
Demystifying a skeptic's world 