Love thy neighbour.........

India and Pakistan are known to be sworn enemies with the border being classified as the most dangerous nuclear flashpoint in the world. The tension between these 2 countries is not likely to be mitigated by any events in the near future. The governments on both the sides have been on the brink of declaring the other as enemy and waging a war quite a few times.

This is what the official records everywhere will say. But, there is a catch. The sentiments of the countries known worldwide are actually the sentiments of the governments. Do the masses of the respective countries also feel the same? One would say that Governments are representatives of the masses and hence, their opinion is the opinion of the masses but, it is not so. Especially in the case of international politics.

In his excellent book 'Inspite Of Gods', Edward Luce has described what he found out from a lot of Indians who had gone to Pakistan to watch a cricket match in April 2004. The peace talks were in great shape then and as an initiative of people-to-people contact, a lot of Indians were granted visas to go to Pakistan to watch the match. To the amazement of the Indians, they were not despised but, welcomed with smiling faces. All of them were delighted by the brotherly love shown by the Pakistanis. The auto-rickshaws declined to charge fares, shopkeepers did not accept money and hotels were waivering bills and on the streets they were greeted by people with sweets and gifts. All this as a gesture of friendship. When Shoaib Akthar delivered a good ball, the Pakistani crowd chanted 'Akthar Zindabad, Zindabad, Zindabad'. But, when an Indian batsmen hit a great shot surprisingly, the same crowd chanted 'India Zindabad, Zindabad, Zindabad'. To the amazement of the Indians, when the Indian team won the cricket match, the Pakistani crowd gave them a long lasting ovation and chanted 'India Zindabad, Zindabad, Zindabad'.

The Indians did not know what to expect from the people when they go to Pakistan, they feared hostility but, were delighted by the warmth of the people they met. What all this goes on to prove is that, not all people in the country subscribe to the opinion that the 2 countries are enemies. Most of the eduacted (& mature) people I talk to (in India) show similar friendly attitude towards Pakistan. But, I have met a lot of people who hate Pakistan, many a times for reasons that are more emotional (or out of partial knowledge) than factual or insightful. I think actually, they hate the people in the Government which is a representative of the nation. The situation of democracy of Pakistan is well known and so, I think the sentiments for the Government in Pakistan and those for the people in pakistan should not be mixed.

I hope that if a similar situation arises in future and a lot of our Pakistani brothers come down to India for a similar event, they are greeted with even more warmth and affection so that they go back home and tell their children that India and Pakistan are friends, maybe not politically but socially. And the next generation of both the countries takes substansial steps in uniting the 2 countries as if there never was a partition, as if there never was any war and as if they never were seperate..........

Ring a bell? Agree with me? Disagree with me? Leave a comment.........

Author : Vj