The writer is an independent journalist based in New Delhi and writes for several Indian newspapers
The jury is out in Delhi this hot and sultry afternoon and even hardened journalists are somewhat taken aback at the quiet and relaxed manner with which Nawaz Sharif has pulled off the risky gamble that he undertook by just coming to Delhi to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi.
In this era of social media — when Modi’s team uploaded a message on his Twitter page the minute he was sworn in as India’s 15th prime minister — it was only appropriate that someone as savvy as Maryam Sharif tweeted the gist of the much-awaited Modi-Nawaz meeting as soon as her father spoke to the media in Delhi. Why wait for the newspaper to be printed a whole day later?
Indian PM Modi refers to PM Sharif as 'MAN OF PEACE'.... Hope negativity fails and peace wins...
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) May 27, 2014
Modi referred to Nawaz Sharif as a “MAN OF PEACE”, Ms Sharif said, the capitals giving away the tension and the relief that must have been accompanied the Pakistan prime minister and his entourage’s visit to India. Sharif, himself, delivered an exquisitely worded statement on how he looked forward to picking up the thread of the relationship that had petered out in 1999, in a spirit of cooperation not competition, and that the foreign secretaries had been directed to meet very soon to do exactly that.
Is this Sharif’s moment that will assure him his place in history? The fact that he bucked pressure from the ‘establishment’ back home to come to India — even though Pakistani analysts denied that there had been any such thing — shook hands with the man who was in charge in Gujarat when at least 1,000 Indian Muslims were killed, and offered to make peace with the Hindu nationalist, right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party government that has barely come to terms with the fact that Pakistan is an independent nation, meant that the man from Jati Umra meant to show the world that he was no pushover.
All this was supposed to be the stuff of a Prakash Jha potboiler, and yet, here was Nawaz Sharif pronouncing the outlines of a possible future peace agreement.
What about Modi himself? Did he actually call Nawaz Sharif a ‘man of peace’ and other such sweet nothings in their 50-minute meeting in Hyderabad House? Did the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the mother organisation, which is replete with the fervour of ‘akhand Bharat’ and its attendant delicacies, squirm when Maryam’s tweet was broadcast to the world?
Remember that India’s newest prime minister kept quiet when the newly minted member of parliament from Nawada constituency in Bihar, Giriraj Singh, said during the election campaign that all those who disagreed with a certain Narendra Modi could pack their bags and go to Pakistan. Remember that the woman sitting by Modi’s side when he met Nawaz, India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, had asked for 10 Pakistani heads in place of the one allegedly beheaded by Pakistani soldiers on the Line of Control last year.
How times change. The same Sushma Swaraj, attending a Saarc information ministers’ meeting in Pakistan in 2002, in the wake of the attacks against the Indian parliament on December 13, 2001 that were allegedly carried out by Pakistan-trained terrorists, both charmed and outwitted the Pakistani media in the chastest Urdu.
Certainly, over the past couple of days, the Modi-Nawaz handshake has become such a poignant symbol of the essential dichotomy that drives the India-Pakistan relationship that it threatened to overshadow the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi himself.
I have come to believe in these last 48 hours that Modi and Nawaz Sharif need each other. Modi, I suspect, may have even used the cascading Sharif bonhomie in India to show to the RSS who is boss — him, not all those men with sweet, walrus moustaches who live in Nagpur and hope to run the country from there.
As for Nawaz Sharif, by referring to the unfortunate breakdown in 1999 to the India-Pakistan peace process, to the ugly hijacking of the democratic peace process by then General Pervez Musharraf, to the invasion of India at Kargil, he was probably telling Modi — as well as the rest of the Indian establishment — that he needs Delhi’s help to take on his own not-so-democratic opponents back home.
Of course, Modi will also invoke the RSS bosses when he wants to, for example, when the new minister in the prime minister’s office, Jitendra Singh, announced on May 27 that it may be time to take another look at Article 370 that accords special status to Jammu & Kashmir in the Indian Union.
The old order is changing. On the 50th anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru’s death, the idea of India is slowly but surely moulting. Another idea of India is coming to take its place, one in which Hindu icons like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya are being dusted off their cobwebs and given pride of place alongside the Congress party’s secular heroes. After all, this is their India too.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (37)
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@Rakib: Thanks. Will do. I wish they had published what you had to say, discussion and debate with those you may disagree with but respect nevertheless definitely helps to nuance one's position.
@gp65: My response to you on the hounding of youth by Goa-government for condemning Modi was not published. Do go thru the original FB Group discussions though. It's easily accessible, & available in full version.
ET Mods - 2nd atempt -There is so much misinformation ,, distortions and occassionally outright lies, that I hope you will publish my factual rebuttal
Author: There are many inaccuracies in your article and some deliberate distortions. Let me list them out:
BJP is not a 'Hindu' nationalist party in the sense that membership is not restricted to Hindus. 3 of the 5 women cabinet ministers in Modi's government are non-Hindus (1 Muslim , 2 Sikhs) and 2 of the 3 are BJP members.
If Modi can shake hands with Nawaz Sharif who was in charge at the time of Kargill when thousands of Indian soldiers gave the unltimate sacrifice, what is the big deal if Nawaz shajes hand with Modi under whose regime not a single Pakistani was killed?
You claim that BJP has just barely accepted the reality of Pakistan. How you lie. Vajpayee actually went to Meenar-e-Pakistan when he was PM. This also disproves your claim that RSS dictates BJP policy because clearly RSS believes in Akhand Bharat and BJP does not. There are many other such disagreements between RSS and BJP viewpoint in public domain yet you try to disingenuously conflate the 2 and imply that BJP too is unwilling to acknowledge Pakistan's existence because RSS believes in Akhand Bharat.
If RSS did not complain when Vajpayee went to Lahore and invited Musharraf (responsible for Kargill) to Agra, why would they squirm when Modi invited Nawaz Sharif?
Modi is a life long RSS member in his personal capacity (as are a large number of BJP leaders). While he (or for that matter the BJP CMs) does not allow RSS to dictate policy, it is quite unlikely that he holds RSS leadership in the contempt that you do (walrus moustached old fogeys - to use your words).
BJP manifesto talks about repealing article 370 through constitutional means if possible. Candidate Modi had said that it was time to have a public debate to evaluate whether article 370 continued to be relevant. So please tell me who is extreme - people like Omar who blackmail and have attitude of their way or highway or those that are asking for a debate in a public forum? Who exactly should liberals like you who support free speech be supporting?
The intention of writing 1000 people mostly Muslim were killed is to gloss over the fact that of those 1000, 254 were Hindus. But that would not support your contention that there was a massacre - right?
Overalll your ability to accept the mandate is such that even when Modi does things that you would have cheered had it been MMS who did it, you criticize and try to ascibe non-existent motives for it. Such a pity that a self certified liberal is unable to accept the results of a free and fair election.
@Shakir Lakhani: "@Gurion: in the beginning, it was reported that about 3000 were killed, most of them Muslims. Then it was gradually scaled down to 1000 by Indian media."
Well wild claims were made in the beginning. It is not a question of media changing the number but what was reported in the parliament that is now taken as the accurate number. That is that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. .
@Rakib: "Worry is now it may become a habit. One poor chap in Goa is already facing possible custodial-third degree for having criticised Modi,albeit very unfairly,on FB."
What the 'poor guy' in Goa did was certainly hate speech because we know that these kind of fear mongering a couple of years back in Assam led to panic and violence. Giriraj's speech (which I agree was completely unacceptable) was not inciting violence and so cannot be called hate speech. It was however highly intolerant and I am glad it was stopped. It is no different for this guy. I am not sure why you feel that creating panic that can lead to violence is acceptable when BJP is the object. Also it is really disingenuous to make the claim that people are unable to criticize Modi in India. There is no other person who has been criticized as much as he has and often despite a lot of data in the public domain that would have told people that what they were accusing Modi of was just flat out untrue. In any case, you must be aware that people can be convicted of hate speech even when election cycle is not on. BAlasaheb Thackeray was convicted of hate speech and denied the right - the most basic right for a citizen - to vote for 6 years.
Yes Jyoti,
India indeed belongs to the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar along with the Nehrus and Gandhis. The so called secular peoples belief that it did not ensured the humilating defeat of the Gandhi Family (i.e, Congress Party) though it was not the only reason. I know for a fact that the Gandhis would still not accept and hence they need to be humiliated again. Mark my words, Modi is going to be one of the defining leaders of the independent India and he is going to prove either good or bad for India. I for one believe, he is going to be extremely good as he is a man of extremes and not half measures like the Gandhi Family. We do not want to remain the slaves of one family any longer. Since Independence, we knew the moment a child is born in that family, he would be the future PM of India, Modi has dared to challenge that. If modi wins the 2019 elections, the Gandhis are all but over in the Indian politics. I would not mind voting for an INC which is minus the Gandhi family.
@Shakir lakhani Hinduism has no "one founder" generations and generations of people have written books on, how leading life with values that's Hinduism. So it is not necessary the believer of one book has to be believed by other person wrote all have their own customs and traditions. The only core belief of Hinduism is that god is "one" worshipped in different/forms in all religion you can chose your path which way you want to go to experience it. . 2. Karma 3. Moksha. A Hindu can also be athiest or agnostic. He has freedom of thought to except and reject any principles from any book he doesn't agree with. "In beginning it was 3000" then it came down to 1000" records of those people and court case for each ones don't lie. 3000 is a nonsense figure. And btw it is Hindus and Muslims both killed in riots that was started after Muslims mobs set Hindu pilgrims train on fire and burnt them alive. @rakib about the goa guy he's no saint he should be arrested did you read his postings? He was spreading communal disharmony, making hate speech against Hindu Muslims community, spreading paranoia and fear. That's against our laws. Plus he turned out he was connected to congress so no surprise in why he was doing it.
@Rakib, Very well said sir but one thing to ad here if its ruled by Muslims then maybe its get back its glory back.
Nawaz Sharif is not from Jati Umra, he's actually from Anatnag in Kashmir, his parents only went to Jati Umra for business but his ancestry is entirely from Kashmir.
@Rakib.
Good post Rakib.
Jyoti Ji, Nice talks but ball is in Modi's court.... We are already hearing threats of possible ban on Fajir Azaan...... In that case Pakistanis will not listen to "man of peace"..
@Rakib: There is no doubt that BJP is full of hatemongers.
@Ghostrider: You are talking Equality to the Sub continentals who institutionalised Inequality-irrespective of religion-and exploited each other for millennia! Ultimately it all boils down to economic strength. Only that matters. And that strength can be lost if a country is not vigilant & profoundly selfish. Pl consider the following without getting hung up on numbers:- Britain was a weakling as compared to United India of 17th/18th century but a Master by the 19th. Per numbers in Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilisations' even as late as post-Aurangzeb chaotic AD1750 India's share of World Manufacturing Output was 25%. Seven years later Battle of Plassey took place & the great loot began. With Bengal, Gujarat/Bombay & Carnatic/Madras in their hands within the century the output share had halved. As Industrial Revolution progressed India was at 8%. At Independence it was 1.7%. Population, size, culture etc nothing could prevent that downward spiral. But we continued to fight even after '47. We will still be at it, for, we have such gigantic egos.
@Gurion: in the beginning, it was reported that about 3000 were killed, most of them Muslims. Then it was gradually scaled down to 1000 by India n media.
Ah. Speculation. Speculation. Speculation. Neither words nor speculation DO count. What does count is "DEEDS". Misdeeds bring trouble whereas good deeds bring goodness.
@ghostrider You are the one inside bubble. Who said India is a super power?
India is a lesser power compared to China and US. Pakistan is a lesser power compared to India.
It looks like you would like to avoid digesting this reality. Come out of the bubble! There is a different world.
@Strategic Asset: I agree partially. Matter of perception though. Asking an Indian Citizen who doesn't support Modi to go away to Pakistan is hate talk in my view. May be normal for some. Worry is now it may become a habit. One poor chap in Goa is already facing possible custodial-third degree for having criticised Modi,albeit very unfairly,on FB. He has media attention to save him but others may not get that. More was expected of Modi because he was the only one officially nominated by a party as PM candidate.The standard ploy of "what-about-you-ism" doesn't work. In a hate-speech case in Court (or EC) that defense has no relevance. And Secularism has nothing to do with this. Can't load bandwidth with names of all unasvoury elements in & out of context but it's obvious Hate Talk is not exclusive preserve of Togadia/Singh; Masood/Owaisi are also equal practitioners of it,and so are Amit & Azam. But, your original post was not dealing with others & only with Modi-Giriraj, per Op-Ed.
@Anil: I think in the matter of having troubles, we would rather be treated on the basis of equality.
Jyoti ji today article is very sweet & sour.....
It was 1000 odd victims, both Hindu and Muslim. Neither facts nor intellect nor integrity! What a junk article!!
@Ghostrider: Firstly India's economy is USD 2 trillion, and 9th largest in the world in dollar terms. Its also the 3rd largest GDP in PPP terms. Qatar is the highest per capita GDP in the world, but is just a speck of dust as compared to the USA. Size matters, per capita matters. Strength comes from Size, well being comes from Per Capita. Pakistan is certainly one sixth India;'s size, has one sixth India's strength, and one sixth India's troubles.
@water bottle: "Hinduism truly believes in everyone’s well-being.". So how do you explain the caste system?
@Rakib: Even though I disagree with you that this was a hate speech since no community was targeted, I do not condone what Giriraj said as such speeches given the appropriate circumstances can quickly lead to violence and as a minority, it is something that makes me uncomfortable.
But what I do not understand are people like you, the author and many journalists in India who seek much higher moral standards from Modi and the BJP compared to their peers. For instance, how many journalists have sought answers from Kejriwal on Shazia Ilmi's statement and how many have criticized Samajwadi Party for being communal and spreading hate based on the statements by Azam Khan? Even this author has not once made a references to those events, but she will cherry-pick a few isolated instances involving the BJP to further her agenda.
Another mistake that all such self-appointed vigilantes of secularism make is that they forget that India has not just one minority, but many and here I am talking about minorities based on just religion. Wish I could write more, but I am sure ET will not let it through.
It is very unfortunate that VD Savarkar got the treatment in post-independence that he did. You may have objections to his views and methods but the immense sacrifice and amazing intellect this man (and his family) displayed, deserves a lot more honor than the "secular" congresses have awarded over the years
Jyoti, I enjoy reading your articles a lot. Thanks
It is a fact that people of both countries want to have good relationship, but leadership are not willing. the main reason of their unwillingness are their personal interests. recent visit of PM Nawaz a great step which providing an opportunity to both countries to come close and solve all the problems peacefully. In this column the writer critically analysed the present situation.
@Ghostrider: Neither India nor China are super powers in the sense that they are not in the business of fomenting trouble or fixing other countries. France and Britain have been doing this because they have been in this business for a long time. Presently, USA is the only real super power because it has deployed forces across the globe and has played a major interventionist role since WWII. Do India and China aspire to be in that role. If not they should be happy as economic (super) powers.
@Ghostrider:
Ratio doesn't work in foreign relations. Only numbers work.
However, my point of inequality was something else. For example:
1) The culprits of Mumbai are roaming free celebrating Yaum-e-takbir. The culprits of Samjhauta express are in custody, facing trial.
2) Minority in India are thriving. Those who are not thriving economically, they are thriving in numbers. In Pakistan, minorities are becoming artifacts for museum.
3) Government enjoys full power in India. In Pakistan, government is in a covert youknowwhat with youknowwho.
4) Pakistan has a history of stabbing in India's youknowwhere. I am not even going to talk about 4 wars.
5) You got an idea of what I am talking about. And I can go on listing many more differences. But the main points are all above.
Now you tell me, how can there be equal terms?
I also don't agree that India is a super power. In fact I don't even like those words. India should become a compassionate power. That's what Hinduism teaches. Unlike some political ideologies under the masks of religion, Hinduism truly believes in everyone's well-being.
@Strategic Asset: (Giriraj subsequently opened his mouth after the last phase of elections.). Following is nothing personal against the Commenter:- This sentence,factual no doubt,encases our tragedy. The Fact-obsessed ones on this site do not understand what is Perception. Asking an Indian who disagrees with your choices to move to Pakistan is perceived by many as hate-talk & a citizen shouldn't need EC code of Conduct to know that. It's tragic that such a citizen is happy at damage control & that his favourite party had the savvy to gag hate speech during election time, never mind what happens once embargo is over. It never occurs to anybody that Hate-Speech per se is bad. Modi gagged the man not because of what he said but when he said. No conviction, just convenience. Claim is made too that Modi never spoke hate during campaign.Is a CM sworn to protect Constitution allowed to openly use insulting invectives against Muslims of his own State just because EC Code of Conduct is not operative? Leave legalities, doesn't Giriraj-kind who draw inspiration from Modi bother you? If you are already inure all I can say is among the elite there are no more concerned Citizens. All of us have become either politicos or dissemblers.
@water bottle: Sir, with all due respect, if you mean that size of population and size of the economy justify the inequality w.r.t talks then you are wrong. Whenever you want to compare Pakistan with India, do keep in mind your population is 6 times higher than Pakistan and consequently $1.2 trillion economy of India is six times higher than that of Pakistan. So in ratio terms Pakistan is equal to India. Given, our macro economic situation has taken aback due to power shortages but its a temporary thing and every nation goes through a turmoil period. This is our period of turmoil but sooner or later it will get over. To move ahead India will have to come out of the bubble of considering herself a super power. India is not a super power but a big regional power.
Jyoti you still remind us about Nehru and his entire clan who made a rule that Hindus of Hindustan can not have any rights and others in India are supreme. We don't need your advice yore. The second independence of India came on May 16, 2014. Yes, we do want peace with all neighbors.
And thank you for being a journalist instead of a novelist and writing about green sugarcane ready to be turned into sugar.
Two points over Modi-Nawaz...
1)Pakistanis keep asking for a dialog on equal terms, on the basis of equality. Pakistanis must understand that Pakistan is not India's equal in any way. Pakistan is inferior to India in most ways. Am I suggesting disrespect of Pakistanis in India? Absolutely not. They should be respected well and accorded full hospitality. However, talks cannot simply happen on equality basis. Please not forget that Pakistan is teetering on the edge and India is somewhere else.
2)India should assert more vocally and make its point heard by everyone. At no cost India should become a regional bully. India should be like a big brother, caring and looking after everyone's interest. However, it should assert very clearly to every country in the world.
Modi is right when he says we are 100 crores and we can put pressure on the world. (but don't put pressure on poor/smaller countries) This pressure should be put when dealing with China and USA.
@Ejaaz: So if an Indian writes about what happens inside India , it is bias & a Pakistani writing about India's internal things , its genuine....Do Indians live in India or Pakistanis ?? Are Indians going to know about India , its good or its bad or are Pakistanis??
Why don't you simply accept she could not provide music to your ears & satisfy your anti-India biases..
Good to see that u agree it's everyone's India, & everyone's narrative!
The secular mafia in India hasn't still been able to stomach Modi victory.
Remember that India’s newest prime minister kept quiet when the newly minted member of parliament from Nawada constituency in Bihar, Giriraj Singh, said during the election campaign that all those who disagreed with a certain Narendra Modi could pack their bags and go to Pakistan.
Modi himself said a few days later to a journalist that he had chosen to ensure that Giriraj would not voice any more controversial statements rather than air his displeasure out to the media. Giriraj subsequently opened his mouth after the last phase of elections.
Jyoti ji, It is nice to read such positive views even though they obviously spring from incredible naïveté, and bias. Hopefully, peace will come to the two countries, and hopefully it will still be two countries when the peace does arrive.