By: Deepankar Kamboj
deepankaronline@indiatimes.com
March 01, 2004

The subject which I am going to tackle with now is a hot favorite among commentators & columnists these days. Most of them are optimistic & euphoric about the Indo-Pak relations in present time and are foreseeing a new dawn at the horizon of Indian subcontinent. Some people are coming out with some innovative proposals like making the Kashmir a neutral sate with India & Pakistan jointly engaged in its defense or converting LoC into soft border. Though all these proposals are refreshing and exciting enough to make peaceniks on both sides of the border dance, I will take them and all the peace process with a pinch of salt. Though I may be termed a pessimist, a non-conformist or at worst a hardliner, I would like to take the stand all this peace process is a useless exercise which will die after some time.

Though I agree that the sentiment here in India is not that of excessive hope which prevailed during the Prime Minister’s journey to Lahore or Agra summit and we are being advised very prudently that instead of getting extremely zealous and emotional we should see the whole process with a realistic & dispassionate view. We are also being informed meticulously about the reasons behind different decisions & incidents and their consequences. However, even then I don’t subscribe to their views.

Today many factors are said to be working for the cause of dramatic shift in the relation & attitudes of both of these south Asian neighbors. Heavy track-two diplomacy, pressure by international community (read US), enlightenment of General Pervez Musharraf about the terror Frankenstein, growing Pariah position of Pakistan, thought transformation of Pakistani citizens, are just some of them. Credibility of Pakistani leadership & establishment is pushed hard. Emotions of and relationships among the common people of both nations are referred to. Hawks & jingoists on both sides are also blamed for the problems.

I do agree that all these factors are into play and they are largely responsible for bringing both the countries to talking table. But these factors are not very dependable and may become redundant in the due course of time. The ongoing peace process may lead to greater economic & cultural cooperation between two countries. It may even lead to Pakistani establishment trying to crack a whip on terrorism. But I fear that it can’t do anything beyond this. Pakistani govt. can’t do anything more than the efforts to reign in the jehadi elements. And efforts don’t necessarily mean results.

Actually the problem doesn’t lie with the democracy or dictatorship or any particular leader of Pakistan. It is actually a product of a certain kind of mindset. A mindset which is predominant in Pakistan and is personified by mad mullahs spread across the country trying to turn the wheel of time back into the medieval ages when the world was swept across with barbarity in the name of Islam. The same mindset which triggered the exodus of kashmiri pandits from Kashmir valley in late 80s thus setting up an appalling example of ethnic cleansing. The evil mindset which divided India into three separate countries during last century. This mindset goes beyond any aspirations or so-called right of self-determination of kashmiri people. In real the grand design of pan Islamism around the globe is the mindset which creates all the problems between India & Pakistan and is going to throw the spanner on the road to peace.

I do agree that Musharraf could have done a volte-face due to the two assassination attempts on him but I am not sure about the entire Pakistani establishment. Though he is the most powerful person there but things are not fully under his control. Otherwise how the assassination attempts could be carried out in the most militarized and most secure city in Pakistan. Definitely some military elements are working in tandem with jehadis which should come as no surprise to us, after all the religious extremism and Pakistani army entered into a marriage way back during the reign of General Zia ul Haque. This sinister combination has made ISI, army & jehadis synonymous with each other. All of these entities have made India hating and pan Islamic dream their raison d’etre which is impossible for them to abandon.

It is also true that there are some genuinely good, true & peace-loving people in Pakistan but their small minority can hardly do anything. ’The changed mindset of ordinary Pakistani’ is also a specious argument as the older generation there is still a believer in two-nations theory and the younger one is bred on a rich diet of hate-India campaign through school/college and other media.

Acknowledging the character of BJP, it is very hard to imagine that it can work for peace with Pakistan. Though Vajpayee is hailed as a ’Shanti Purush’ willing to travel any distance for peace, I doubt that all this peace initiative and new thaw is nothing more than a poll plank for Lok Sabha elections round the corner. It is just a part of much touted ‘Feel Good’ factor.

Decades back, the last revolutionary Jay Prakash Narayan declared very emphatically “India & Pakistan are not destined to live in peace. Either they will always fight each other or they will exist as a single nation.” These timeless words remind us that the thought of India-Pakistan peace is a chimera and it’s futile to chase it.

Deepankar Kamboj