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Friends Across Frontiers
R K PACHAURI, 29 January 2010, 12:00pm ISTT
Pakistan is no longer characterised by anti-India fanatics and, despite the widespread problem of terrorism (which is also becoming a major threat for Pakistanis themselves) and the history of enmity between our two countries, there is a growing constituency in Pakistan which wants to live in peace with India. It is also important to remember that if India has to emerge as a major power in the 21st century, we cannot remain a country living in tension with any of its neighbours.
Some facts related to Pakistan should be of value in determining India's attitude to that country. Firstly, there is clear evidence that the ideology of jihad apparently does not hold as much appeal for the average Pakistani as it did, say, five years ago. This, of course, does not minimise the threat that the Taliban or al-Qaeda and several other organisations opposed to peace and security in that country pose to India. But it would not be an exaggeration to say that perhaps the widespread appeal that these organisations had and the success they had achieved in recruiting volunteers for their distorted cause have clearly declined.
Even more significant is that attitudes in Pakistan have undergone change. A series of Gallup polls in Pakistan in recent months reveal that only a small percentage of those polled say they feel most threatened by India. It is to the credit of the Indian people and our government that in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November 2008 the entire country acted with great restraint and did not indulge in retaliatory military action. This act of sober and mature forbearance has obviously not been lost on the Pakistani people. But there is a much deeper change that has taken place. Having travelled to Pakistan on some occasions, i recall that two decades ago newspapers in that country referred deprecatingly to the "dhotiwalas across the border". There was an arrogance and cockiness on the part of Pakistanis which gave them a sense of superiority and a conviction that they could vanquish a soft state like India both economically as well as militarily.
Today, on the part of a large number of Pakistanis, there is a grudging respect and even admiration for what India has been able to achieve. In the case of Pakistanis overseas, the expression of warmth towards Indians is in fact touching and deeply emotional. It is not uncommon on the streets of New York or Chicago to run into a Pakistani cab driver who refuses to take any fare from an Indian, particularly if the passenger strikes up a conversation in Hindustani.
Should India now extend a hand of friendship to Pakistan when it is possibly going through its worst crisis? That country today has a large number of citizens who would like to live in peace with India, and the prime minister's offer of unconditional talks would strengthen their hands.
But perhaps the most important reason for extending a hand of friendship lies in the asset we have currently of Manmohan Singh as prime minister. Pakistanis of all shades have a great deal of respect for him and deep trust that would be an essential ingredient for normalisation of ties. The village Gah where Singh was born celebrated with great joy and fanfare on both occasions when he was appointed prime minister, and the uniqueness of this situation should not be lost. Such an opportunity is not likely to come again, particularly once those who are born in the region which is now Pakistani territory are no longer on the scene.
We Indians need to accept and assert our destiny as a major global power, and the view that we have had of Pakistan as the country of only Jinnah and jihad needs urgent reassessment. We also need to consider the enormous strength that South Asia would be able to acquire to the mutual benefit of India and Pakistan if we move towards peaceful relations. We have many more serious global challenges to tackle jointly, not the least of which are ecological and environmental problems that could prove disastrous to all of South Asia. The most dominant of these is the challenge of climate change, which could bedevil even the Indus Waters Treaty. Surely some of these problems would only lead to greater tension, unless we arrive at a spirit of accommodation and friendly relations built on good neighbourly behaviour and some degree of trust.
As in several other such situations, civil society must now mobilise action by which the people of the two countries start coming closer together, and the media on both sides must highlight the benefits and potential of lasting peace and specific initiatives to bring it about. Perhaps this would provide adequate momentum in due course for the prime minister to visit Pakistan and the village of his birth, Gah. That would be the high point of ushering in a new era on the subcontinent.
The writer is director-general, The Energy & Resources Institute, and chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Friends Across Frontiers - Edit Page - Opinion - Home - The Times of India
R K PACHAURI, 29 January 2010, 12:00pm ISTT
Pakistan is no longer characterised by anti-India fanatics and, despite the widespread problem of terrorism (which is also becoming a major threat for Pakistanis themselves) and the history of enmity between our two countries, there is a growing constituency in Pakistan which wants to live in peace with India. It is also important to remember that if India has to emerge as a major power in the 21st century, we cannot remain a country living in tension with any of its neighbours.
Some facts related to Pakistan should be of value in determining India's attitude to that country. Firstly, there is clear evidence that the ideology of jihad apparently does not hold as much appeal for the average Pakistani as it did, say, five years ago. This, of course, does not minimise the threat that the Taliban or al-Qaeda and several other organisations opposed to peace and security in that country pose to India. But it would not be an exaggeration to say that perhaps the widespread appeal that these organisations had and the success they had achieved in recruiting volunteers for their distorted cause have clearly declined.
Even more significant is that attitudes in Pakistan have undergone change. A series of Gallup polls in Pakistan in recent months reveal that only a small percentage of those polled say they feel most threatened by India. It is to the credit of the Indian people and our government that in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November 2008 the entire country acted with great restraint and did not indulge in retaliatory military action. This act of sober and mature forbearance has obviously not been lost on the Pakistani people. But there is a much deeper change that has taken place. Having travelled to Pakistan on some occasions, i recall that two decades ago newspapers in that country referred deprecatingly to the "dhotiwalas across the border". There was an arrogance and cockiness on the part of Pakistanis which gave them a sense of superiority and a conviction that they could vanquish a soft state like India both economically as well as militarily.
Today, on the part of a large number of Pakistanis, there is a grudging respect and even admiration for what India has been able to achieve. In the case of Pakistanis overseas, the expression of warmth towards Indians is in fact touching and deeply emotional. It is not uncommon on the streets of New York or Chicago to run into a Pakistani cab driver who refuses to take any fare from an Indian, particularly if the passenger strikes up a conversation in Hindustani.
Should India now extend a hand of friendship to Pakistan when it is possibly going through its worst crisis? That country today has a large number of citizens who would like to live in peace with India, and the prime minister's offer of unconditional talks would strengthen their hands.
But perhaps the most important reason for extending a hand of friendship lies in the asset we have currently of Manmohan Singh as prime minister. Pakistanis of all shades have a great deal of respect for him and deep trust that would be an essential ingredient for normalisation of ties. The village Gah where Singh was born celebrated with great joy and fanfare on both occasions when he was appointed prime minister, and the uniqueness of this situation should not be lost. Such an opportunity is not likely to come again, particularly once those who are born in the region which is now Pakistani territory are no longer on the scene.
We Indians need to accept and assert our destiny as a major global power, and the view that we have had of Pakistan as the country of only Jinnah and jihad needs urgent reassessment. We also need to consider the enormous strength that South Asia would be able to acquire to the mutual benefit of India and Pakistan if we move towards peaceful relations. We have many more serious global challenges to tackle jointly, not the least of which are ecological and environmental problems that could prove disastrous to all of South Asia. The most dominant of these is the challenge of climate change, which could bedevil even the Indus Waters Treaty. Surely some of these problems would only lead to greater tension, unless we arrive at a spirit of accommodation and friendly relations built on good neighbourly behaviour and some degree of trust.
As in several other such situations, civil society must now mobilise action by which the people of the two countries start coming closer together, and the media on both sides must highlight the benefits and potential of lasting peace and specific initiatives to bring it about. Perhaps this would provide adequate momentum in due course for the prime minister to visit Pakistan and the village of his birth, Gah. That would be the high point of ushering in a new era on the subcontinent.
The writer is director-general, The Energy & Resources Institute, and chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Friends Across Frontiers - Edit Page - Opinion - Home - The Times of India
