let not the myths of religious immunity and unilateral red lines exempt two young countries at the centre of the largest economy of the world (along with China and Russia) vanquish their people’s triumphalism and vibrant spirit, writes ANANYA BORGOHAIN
The two-nation theory formulated the very core of Pakistan and today after almost seven decades, the world has realised the theory’s latent ability to widen fissures that could cripple the country. Bangladesh is another glaring example of how the theory could unleash a pandora’s box of violence, bloodbath, and macabre. Pakistan chose to interpolate personal with political, religion with public. This not only led to inner turbulence but also unleashed prejudiced propaganda on India, causing a hollow scar in the relations between Hindus and Muslims. It’s not only ironic but outright tragic that the relations between two of the youngest nations in the world, have not yet surpassed the scathing memories of the past even after 70 years.
Mosque and Military
How different is a citizen from a personIJ What distinguishes a country from a nationIJ Questions such as these formed the core of the multifarious perceptions about Pakistan.
Islamisation was the genesis for the country’s evolution, and in the 1970s and 1980s under General Zia ul-Haq’s military regime, Pakistan went a step ahead and embraced Jihadi ideology to defeat the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. At the same time, former prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was also executed in 1979. Not only that, along with help from America, young men were assembled, trained, and funded by the CIA, helped by ISI, supported by many Muslim and European countries as well as by China to fight the godless Soviets. The Mujahideen was immensely supported but that resulted in internal attacks in Pakistan and state-sponsored radicalisation. Violence became the preserve of the state. The role of the ISI in a series of fatal threats to India: The 1993 serial bomb blasts, the 26/11 attacks, the Parliament attacks, and so on, bears testimony to the same.
Ironically, Pakistan was not created by a majority, only 15 per cent votes were in favour of the Muslim league, as hasbeen reported. Today, only 6 to 7 per cent Pakistanis living in the country could remember the macabre moments of the Partition. About 100 million people in the country are below the age of 22. But can their future go beyond militarism in the countryIJ The Pakistani military is an all-encompassing presence in almost all aspects of the country — trade, finance, education, real estate, think tanks et al. It also has the highest portion in the country’s GDP in the world. In such circumstances, it’s a volatile pursuit not only for the sake of the young lot within the country but also for the peace talks with India. As Shashi Tharoor recently mentioned at a session titled ‘Pakistan is in the eye of the beholder’ at the Spring Fever 2016, organised by Penguin Random House, “While in India the state has an army, in Pakistan, the army has a state.”
Hussain Haqqani, the former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States (2008–2011) and currently Senior Fellow and Director for South and Central Asia, spoke at the same event via a video message. He emphasised — as he does in his book Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military — that mosques and military formed the very idea of Pakistan.
Trade and Travel
It is increasingly crucial for India and Pakistan to locate an arena of mutual interest and expand it. Today, no country can have its independent, tenable red line. Neither Assad nor Putin nor Nawaz Sharif. Peace talks are pertinent but they can also manifest in various ways. For instance, India and Pakistan can look at internal travel. Visa procedures should be liberalised for students from both countries to interact and know about one another. The Delhi-lahore bus service should be more efficient and secure. Education and Media in both countries should concentrate on elucidating the convergent attributes of both nations and propagate their positive and harmonious facets rather than creating more rifts.
Internet and Television
If one were to envisage a constructive future for Pakistan, it has to be attained through industrious reconfiguring of its foreign policy, discourse, and an unparalleled sense of self-worth. Internet and television, in this context could be very effective facilitators. Zindagi, the TV channel that airs Pakistani shows was thoroughly enjoyed and admired by the Indian audiences. Pakistani actors and singers have been much popular among the mainstream cinegoers in India as well. On the other hand, in Pakistan, not only Hindi film stars could create a fan mania but the leading fashion designers in Pakistan are Hindus. A growing sense of secularity and communal harmony could work wonders for both countries. Internet on the other hand follows no boundaries. It has unlimited reach and through social media and blogs, as well through joint projects online, the much needed interpersonal interactions could be attained. Sports, festivals, exhibitions and other cultural projects too have unmatched allure and far greater prospects of bringing the countries together than peace talks.
Peace and Patriotism
A country where religion overlaps with its operations will gravitate towards fundamentalism and that is why democracy is betrayed in Pakistan. Another glaring example of the two-nation theory’s failure is Bangaldesh, created in 1971, and today struggling with murders of secular bloggers in the country. Communal immunity is nothing but a myth.
Pakistan’s internal turmoil and political strife is not much different than that of India. Assasinations and exiles of leaders, Musharraf’s diactatorship and his eventual collapse, the separation of East Pakistan, wars with India, and several civilian attacks such as the Peshawar school attack, to name a few, would find resonance in the numerous incidents of unrest that India too has had to endure. It’s high time both countries realised that nothing has ever come out of chauvinistic jingoism other than irreparable damage.
Backchannel negotiations should be a common interest and India and Pakistan should engage through a credible backchannel onvoice — away from the public eye and media scrutiny — to reach a resolution that helps both.
Above all, the people in India and Pakistan need to reshape their worldview and come forward and hold out the olive branch. let not the prudence of vigilance and calculation exempt two young countries at the centre of the largest economy of the world (along with China and Russia) vanquish their people’s triumphalism and vibrant spirit.
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