The writer is a consulting editor with The Statesman and writes for several newspapers in India
Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid was particularly good on television recently where he exposed one of India’s ‘nationalist’ anchors, who has been spearheading the ‘teach them a lesson’ campaign, as ill-informed and shallow. Unfortunately, the minister did not confirm the meeting but in the South Asian context, one can perhaps, revel in the fact that he did not rule it out either.
Pakistan is always good fodder for the political mills in India before an election. The attack on the Indian soldiers was tragic, but without even giving time for the facts to be out, the Indian right wing was out baying for blood. Stop the talks, teach them a lesson, was the refrain, with the media joining in a cacophony of noise that momentarily silenced the sane voice of India. Well-known retired officials joined in by issuing a letter to the prime minister, urging him to call off the dialogue. Fortunately, the moment has passed and rational India has started asserting herself through editorials and meetings that seem to have given the government the courage to, at least, not call off the meeting with Sharif, just put it on hold until further review.
War or peace, both have to follow a calibrated strategy as it is not healthy for countries to swing between the two, directionless and bottomless. If the demand is to suspend talks and to teach Pakistan a lesson, those advocating this should be able to formulate the next course of action as well, to the satisfaction of the nation. The ‘no talks’ formula cannot work in suspended animation and will have to be followed by action of some kind. The logical course of such macho-functioning can only be conflict and war because if the suspension of dialogue does not produce desired results, it can only be followed by military action. Fine, so we go to war. And, what then? We (this applies to both India and Pakistan) teach ‘them’ a lesson but can we do that without incurring losses that will set our economies back by decades, not to mention the loss of lives and the irreversible trauma on our peoples? Do we seriously believe that war is a solution in the 21st century?
Peace is the only option but this cannot be effective without commitment and as said earlier, a strategy that will in all probability be more arduous and complicated than the simple act of military mobilisation and war. Dialogue thus has to be calibrated and not become just more of the same as it has over the years. The composite dialogue that was in its time a major step forward, has become a dead agenda without periodic review at the highest political levels. The political leaders should seriously review the composite agenda, flag the problems, tick mark the positives and see how best to proceed, instead of going through the motions without thought or sight. And for the war-mongers: dialogue is not a sign of weakness but a platform that can be used to express dissent, anger, fury when need be in the knowledge that the talks will not snap and measures taken to address issues.
This hostility has to end. Those who attacked and killed Indian soldiers need to be brought to justice. But the response to this cannot be an attack on the Pakistani mission in India or the vandalising of Pakistan airlines’ offices in Delhi. No one here in India is fooled into looking at these wanton acts of violence as spontaneous. Vested groups in Pakistan have to stop looking at terrorism as a means to an end. Both countries have enough ground in common to work on, provided they realise that they have no option other than peace and dialogue. The schizophrenic war to peace to war transformations are taking a heavy toll, on both India and Pakistan and the entire region.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 17th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (25)
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@Rakib
'If one is an honourable Hindu in India he should stand up for the underdog. To a fault. Come what may. Same goes for a Muslim in Pakistan. That’s what our respective founding fathers taught us.'
I am not sure if the respecting founding fathers taught us the same thing. They appealed at different level of human conscience and instincts, and thus ended up with different set of pupil. Of one of them, I understood very little (my fault), of the other all I can say is that he helped (unwittingly of course) me to realize the full potential of an old saying i.e.’ Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience. (Anonymous)'
I notice the beautiful quote in your post @Rehmat, from Allama Iqbal (1877-1938). It's a known that great men think alike. The following two quotes from Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) is an example. 1. I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me, and then, 2. To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me. ‘….you are a rare one who hears more speaks less.’ I feel honoured and for that I am grateful. It’s rather strange that, I am posting twice on the same page.
@Rehmat:
What is knowledge, what are facts & what correct use to put them to, who knows?
Ilm Ke Darya Se Nikle Ghota Zan Gohar Badast Waye Mehroomi! Khazaf Chain-e-Lab Sahil Hun Main
From the Sea of Knowledge divers come out with pearls in hand Alas,O deprivation! Mere pebble collector on the sea shore am I.
(Allama Iqbal)
@Rehmat: "@pi: That precisely is my problem wih Rakib that despite being knowledgeable, he is selective in the facts he quotes and this selective ess is always employed in a way that is against India. If he presented a balanced picture, that would be quite different but he does not." . Rakib has never uttered (which I have noticed) is falsehood. His myth busting, I understand, you and some others, may not find very appetizing.
@pi: That precisely is my problem wih Rakib that despite being knowledgeable, he is selective in the facts he quotes and this selective ess is always employed in a way that is against India. If he presented a balanced picture, that would be quite different but he does not.
@pi:
You are very kind & generous, thank you. In the dialogue of the loquacious deaf you are a rare one who hears more speaks less. What I share here is information and not knowledge. There is grave danger to myself if I mistake mere info (some culled, some recalled) as knowledge, & worse, knowledge as wisdom. You are very insightful too. What can I say about Minorities in Pakistan that an average decent Pakistani who has access to Internet, ET & English language doesn't know? Such a Pakistani should have his ability of introspection intact needing no help of others' extrospection. Only if he opens up can one share one's experiences of dealing with minorities in India & how standards of civilisation are set by the way the majority treats the minority. If one is an honourable Hindu in India he should stand up for the underdog. To a fault. Come what may. Same goes for a Muslim in Pakistan. That's what our respective founding fathers taught us. Generally the vocabulary of Indo-Pak conversation is confined to predictable stock phrases involving H&M, TNT, MAJ/MKG, Kashmir, LoC, plebiscite,Secular, Sachar, Kargil, Cricket, Rivers, MFN, Bollywood, Visa, Hindutva/Jihadi, Terrorism, suspend/resume talks & so on. At times I do get an opportunity such as this to say something beyond all that & for that I am grateful.
@Suraj: Agree with you 100% and it was also my point in the original post. 2014 elections would be fought primarily on the plank of development (or lack of it). The author's assertion makes no sense to me. Which party stands to benefit by raising the temperature of India-Pak in Indian media? Certainly not the Congress. Some may say the BJP, but even the BJP knows that Indians are not that stupid and will not vote for them purely for security reasons alone. Unlike Pakistan, the Indian army does not plant stories to increase their budget. So the whole assertion that Seema makes is moot. In fact, she is belittling her fellow journalists by accusing Indian news channels of hysteria in India-Pak reporting as solely a product of elections. By the way, we all know that Indian news channels are hysterical when it comes to ALL reporting and are definitely biased. . @Rehmat: Very true. Rakib is a very knowledgeable historian and I do respect him but unfortunately he is rigid in his party loyalties. This manifests itself in an unfortunate choice of words and some imaginary conspiracies.
@Non State Actor:
If you want to make exceptions for Modi, who too is a politician & slated to stand for election, or "top 2-3 honchos in each party" as you put it that is your choice, however, you may then want to think a bit before making melodramatic & false statements like: " In my entire life, I have never heard the candidates for any election mention Pakistan even once." Reg attitude of Congress & BJP towards Pakistan or any subject for that matter there is little to choose between the two. BJP minus Hindutva is no more than B-Team of Congress & Congress plus its set of bigots is C-Team of BJP. There are however two men that are honest vendors of vitriol: Narendra Modi & Akbaruddin Owaisi.
@Rehmat
'Rakib is knowledgeable'. Of course he is. Even his detractors agree. And that's why he knows when to comment, on what to comment and how to nuance his comment. His silence on the conditions of minorities in Pakistan is in compliance with the principle of non interference in the domestic issues of a foreign country. After all, as an Indian citizen it's incumbent upon him to preach secular homilies to those Indians (no marks for guessing their religious affiliation) who are genetically communal.It's all about being politically correct and maintaining diplomatic protocols.
@Non State Actor: Rakib is knowledgeable. He knows what you are saying is true and that Pakistan is brought up in India ONLY when an incident happens. But he has a reflexive need to support Seema and his fellow co-rel igionists in Pakistan. You will find their absent on issues related to intolerance and oppression of non-Muslims in Pakistan.
He is one of the few Indian Muslims who cares m ore about the ummah than India. To each their own.
To take this further, all Muslims who claim ancestry to foreign invaders must be thrown out of these lands!
@Author: Pakistan is always good fodder for the political mills in India before an election.
How conveniently telling Lies..Mr. Mustafa.. I am from South India... Never seen using Pak in any elections..
@Lala Gee: " ... Fully agree with your above statement. India started the hitting first by occupying Junagadh, Hyderabad Deccan, Bhopal, and Kashmir. ... "
How is India an "occupying" these places ? Did Muslim invaders not occupy these places in the first place ? Muslim invaders were not from around here right ? It is a pity that even for an articulate person such as yourself - everything seems to move around Islam and being Muslim.
@Rakib: Of course Modi can talk about India's response to Pakistan as he is slated to be their PM candidate. For the past many months, all I have heard is the current PM, FM. Defence Minister warbling about corruption, coal-blocks, economy, killing of 5 soldiers, etc. . What I meant in my previous post was that I have seldom hear a politician for a general election talk about Pakistan, leaving say the top 2-3 honchos in each party. It just does not hold much value when they go out seeking votes. Even as far as the general elections go, I seriously doubt if Pakistan or China for that matter are what would sway the Indian voter. It is not like the US where war paranoia always incites the people to vote right. Roti, kapra aur makaan are still paramount to the Indian voter and the current government has succeeded in showing us flashbacks of 1992.
“Pakistan is always good fodder for the political mills in India before an election”
i would say not only at elections but all the time, because it's easier to give statements and threats against external 'enemy' than to fix real day to day problems facing indians. maybe more than 5 indians are killed on the road every hour, but no one gives a damn about that, or that half of india's villages have no electricity.
@gp65:
"If A hits B, it is naturally B that is going to be angry. A can be pretty calm unless ...."
Fully agree with your above statement. India started the hitting first by occupying Junagadh, Hyderabad Deccan, Bhopal, and Kashmir. Now India has already done her part of the hitting, and Pakistan has no other choice but to respond and keep responding until the accounts are settled.
"Every Indian wants peace"
May be, and so do most of the Pakistanis. However, the Indian ruling elite certainly does not want peace, or only on their terms, otherwise not every neighbor would have been complaining and have unfriendly relations with India. Look at the map and point out which country sharing border with India has cordial relations with you. Either you fought open wars with them, or used terrorism as a means to establish your hegemony over them.
"peace talks do not guarantee peace"
Agree again. Only talking, and talking, and more talking, and then further talking for decades in cycles without any intentions to solve the disputes -- which India does hoping to linger upon -- certainly does not guarantee peace. Only the disputes resolution can bring real peace.
"No one in India – including hotheads like Arnab Goswami have ittered the word war."
That has only been true after 28th May, 1998. In case of doubt, pick some old Indian newspapers just before that date and you will find the word "war" mentioned lot of times.
"But unilateral offerings to Pakistan are now past their sell-by date."
LOL.
@RAW is WAR - "@ Seema. Whose side are you in?"
Elementary Dr. Watson.... All our pseudo-seculars are always jumping between 2 stools (India & Pakistan)... These are the folks who haven't yet moved on with the partition unlike he majority of folks like us....
@Author - "Pakistan is always good fodder for the political mills in India before an election" Slight change needed with the text, it should be - "Pakistan always provides good fodder for the political mills in India before an election"
LOL.. This is the problem with Peace mongers. They don't learn from History of appeasement. If there has to be peace there is no alternative to talks, no disagreement there, however, the problem is not in the talking per se, its in the "whom". Who in Pakistan has real power? Who can give a word in a negotiation and then will be able to stand by it. One is only delusional if one thinks its Nawaz Sharif. This border incident is a proof like a hot lead in soft hands, that the real power in Pakistan is the military. However, is talks between an elected government in India and un-elected Millitary conducive? You decide. Talking to Sharif is just a waste of time anyway.
@Non State Actor: {What nonsense! In my entire life, I have never heard the candidates for any election mention Pakistan even once.}
Your life has just begun in that case! Times have changed. Now Politicians start bad-mouthing Pakistan even before their candidature is formally announced (even if informally pronounced). Ask Modi about his warbling of 15th August, he will confirm.
@Author: Pakistan is always good fodder for the political mills in India before an election. . What nonsense! In my entire life, I have never heard the candidates for any election mention Pakistan even once. . Moreover if you look at the political parties themselves, on the issue of Pakistan, there is not a wide divergence between the Congress and the BJP. It is not as if the Congress wants peace whereas the BJP wants war or vice versa. Both parties seek some amount of disengagement with Pakistan until Pakistan gets its house in order and there is hope that the Pakistani PM can actually deliver on promises. The BJP does not want any parleys with Pakistan on the sidelines of the UNSC meet in the aftermath of soldiers deaths in recent days, and it is not entirely clear whether MMS will do it.
@ Seema. Whose side are you in?
I may be being a bit cynical here, but many a times I believe that MORE "hysterical" than the media (on either side) i.e. the television media where one can actually "see" the histrionics on offer are these self-styled "experts" and "analysts" such as the esteemed author above! Surely by now anybody who has even half-a-brain will know that the TV media are only in the race for ratings and more commercials at higher rates -- and they will do absolutely anything to grab that.So think of these shows as a "horror movie" or a "comedy movie" (would be a photo-finish there), albeit the core subject matter admittedly is of a serious/tragic nature. The best thing to do in such cases is simply do what "wise people" have always told you about the IDIOT BOX :: Either change the channel, or even better, turn the damn thing OFF. For it is that "box" that is giving us the mentality of "Idiots" !!
"Those who attacked and killed Indian soldiers need to be brought to justice."
Also, please enlighten us as to whose responsibility it is to bring "those" to justice?