A good article indeed, expressing a point of view.
I sit in a group of friends who have different perceptions and views about Pakistan and India. It indeed is a marvelous mix. Most of them however, have never even been to India in their entire life. We all have met Indians from different parts of India in foreign countries and have a great regard for them. Many are good friends.
For most of us, India is a foreign country, some of whose people speak similar language. The culture that we see on Indian TV is almost completely alien to most of us except for some similarity in spoken language. And despite this, many people both Indian and Pakistani, say on the TV that we are the same people having the same culture. This indeed surprises us.
And when I see the Indians here who also have never been to Pakistan, say the same thing, I don't understand it - why do we say this when we are from two different entities. What is the reason for saying this. Why don't we respect each other for who we are rather than who we were.
Because we belong to different countries, we perceive our history differently. I dont claim that because Muslims ruled India once, the whole of India should be mine. However, when I hear Indian views on PDF and on many other Indian forums, it really amuses me. And these views are overwhelmingly expressed by Indian Hindus.
Is there a loss that hurts them, is it a complex about their identity or the crisis therein, is it that they have found the India they wanted to rule after all this time, not in the manner they had hoped for, are they looking for an India of Chadragupt era what is it that the current Indian Hindus seek from the present India, and what do they want the present India to become in future. It is very interesting to hear their different views.
If it impinges me and my identity I am going to fight back. I am here to stay as me and no amount of Indias perceived Hindu history is going to change that.
