Looking inwards (II)

NEW YORK: I tend to agree with Ayesha Ijaz Khan (Aug 20). In India, I do not see any civil society movement to help the flood victims. Things were quite different in the 2005 earthquake. India has given $1 billion in aid to Bangladesh and around $1.5 billion to Afghanistan. In this context, $5 million dollars seems paltry.

I should say that as the perception of Pakistan goes among ordinary Indians, it experienced a sea-change after 26/11. For close to 48 hours, Indians were watching their compatriots get killed in cold blood by men who had come from Pakistan. And then after it all ended, the establishment in Pakistan kept on denying that the planning was done on its territory and this made many Indians even more mad and angry. Even now, as far as the trial of the Laskhar-e-Taiba activists accused of being involved in the attacks is concerned, Indians can tell that there is no progress at all in the case.Even those who support peace between India and Pakistan – and I count myself among them.

Amit Kumar

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22^nd, 2010.