China still claims a whole state of India as its own territory but we still do $60 billion worth of trade every year.
MUMBAI: I want to say something to my Pakistani friends. Yes your poverty figures may be better than us but we Indians are at least standing on our feet. We have moved on since the 1962 war with China and reconciled ourselves to the fact that our lost territory cannot be reclaimed. We learnt our lessons and today our defences against China are strong. China still claims a whole state of India as its own territory but we still do $60 billion worth of trade with it every year. This shows that India is practical and not mired in the past. As for Pakistan, it still harps on about the 1971 war and daydreams about ‘liberating’ Kashmir.
This mindset has not allowed trade relations between the two countries to flourish. Pakistan needs to normalise relations with India just as the Indians have done with China.
Sonam Shyam
Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2011.
