Ms Atiqa Odho’s antipathy could have something to do with the indoctrination that Pakistanis get vis-à-vis India.
CHANDIGARH: Ms Atiqa Odho’s antipathy to India could have something to do with the indoctrination that Pakistanis get vis-à-vis India. I would, however, say that the crux of the problem is the economy. If Musharraf wants to give sound bites to the media then nobody can stop him and he doesn’t have to go to India for that.
Her concept of the evil Hindu baniya out to do nasty things to the Land of the Pure is misplaced. The reason Pakistani artists go to India is because they can reach a wider audience and make some extra rupees. Their hosts give them a platform because they want to make an extra rupee or two too. What’s wrong with that? The Americans and the British are eying the vast Indian market to bail out their economies. Why should Pakistan refrain from earning some dirty Indian rupees? Pakistan-made cement is popular with building contractors in Indian Punjab because it’s cheap. But nobody questions the contractor’s patriotism because of that.
Joginder Singh
Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2010.
