Yes, together we can

By Kuldip Nayar

MANY years ago, there was an earthquake in Mexico. Hundreds of people died and a large number of houses were destroyed. It was a disastrous scenario.Yet, one peddler was shouting at the top of his voice: “Buy anti-earthquake pills.” Overwhelmed by the tragedy, some people began beating him up. In his defence he said: “Tell me, what is the alternative?”Such was the feeling when a team of peace-seekers from Pakistan met their counterparts in New Delhi some days ago. When relations between India and Pakistan lay in ruins and when talks between the two countries were not even on the horizon, it was indeed a brave effort to pick up the thread from where they had left off before the terrorist attack on Mumbai.The peacemakers had made substantial progress. People-to-people contact was increasing despite the rigours of the visa restrictions. The contact for the last two decades had developed enough strength not to evaporate with the carnage, although the Mumbai attack caused maximum damage. Conservative elements have always stalled peace efforts but the liberals in both countries have shown a spirited response.The Pakistani team, which included parliamentarians, human rights activists and top journalists, was somewhat jolted by the anger that it found in Indian civil society. It patiently listened to harsh critics who said that Pakistan was merely going over the exercise and doing little to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage.Basically, there was a feeling of mistrust because India or, for that matter, the world is not sure whether the steps taken — the arrests made and the offices of the Jamaatud Dawa sealed — were genuine. The critics said that the Pakistan government was perverting the issue of terrorism and converting it into yet another dispute between the two countries.The team justified India’s rage and condemned unequivocally the terrorist attack. But it also appealed to society — later through a prepared statement — that the two countries must not allow the terrorists to hijack the peace agenda and must resume the composite dialogue process. This courageous lot of peace-seekers wanted to impress upon India that whatever the limitations of Pakistani civil society, the latter was fighting for the same values: a free society and good neighbourliness.That the team members undertook the visit when the wounds of Mumbai were raw spoke volumes for their determination and doggedness. They heard harsh words but presented their case without rancour. What surprised them was that the people’s understanding and affection had not been exhausted. Probably, left to themselves and unencumbered by bureaucratic machinations, the people would find that the destinies of the two countries are intertwined. Yet the army, which calls the shots in Pakistan, will not allow the normalisation of ties because the people in Pakistan can turn back and demand a reduction in the force. There is, however, a possibility that the army will control the jihadis now that there is an outcry against them all over the world.It is former President Pervez Musharraf who has given a bad name to Pakistan. He encouraged terrorists on one hand and staged ‘action’ against them on the other. Now he has admitted that the terrorists operated from Pakistan. But his plea was that their camps were located in a difficult terrain which handicapped their dismantling. A person who could use all methods to curb the nationalists in Balochistan should not be surprised if his word is not trusted.The team promised to convey the feelings to the top. But does the civilian top have the clout? People in India do not generally buy the argument that Pakistan’s weak democracy should be helped at any cost. My firm belief after following events for years is that the establishment on both sides has developed a vested interest to keep people distant.Islamabad does it because anti-India sentiment keeps the country united. As far as New Delhi is concerned, it has developed an enemy phobia. China which continues to occupy 35,000 square miles of Indian territory after giving it a bloody nose in 1962 is too big and too powerful to be challenged. Hapless Pakistan comes in handy to feed the phobia.I do not condone what Pakistani governments have done to indoctrinate the nation, from teaching hatred through textbooks to allegedly training and arming terrorists. But this is what happens in a country which loses the ballot box. Pakistan has had no real democracy for nearly five decades. Most of the leaders who came on the plank of democracy built up their own assets and personal followings, and not the environment that would protect the people’s right to voice their opinion. The army cashed in on the lack of unity in the country to defend such values.How do we move forward in the atmosphere of mistrust between the two countries, one that goes back to the days of partition? But, first things first: Pakistan has to make sure that its soil is not used by terrorists. Therefore, their elimination is a must. America cannot preach on the subject and threaten to bomb the interior of Pakistan. It is America which is responsible for the birth of terrorism. It constituted a force of fanatics and armed it to bleed the Soviet Union.True, America won the Cold War but it lost most of Afghanistan to the fanatics called the Taliban. They are now a menace for the entire world. They cannot be defeated only by bombs hurled from unmanned planes. In fact, it appears that the indiscriminate bombing is evoking more and more sympathy for the Taliban in Pakistan.India is suffering from the worst fallout. A new tribe of Hindu Taliban has appeared on the scene. It attacked girls at a pub in Mangalore, Karnataka and calls itself the Sri Ram Sena, a brigade to enforce standards of morality, as the Taliban are doing in the northern parts of Pakistan. Another terrifying phenomenon is that of Hindu extremists who were responsible for bomb blasts outside a mosque in Malegaon, Maharashtra. They want to take over the country and establish a Hindu rashtra. This is also a goal of the Sangh Parivar, including the Bharatiya Janata Party. A serving military intelligence officer, Lt Col Purohit, now in jail, has already confessed his role in terrorism.While terrorism is hard to fight, if liberals in India and Pakistan were to join hands to combat it together they might be able to roll back Talibanisation and the religious bias that is spreading in both countries. Pakistan has a bigger problem because part of its territory is already under the Taliban who are using it to act against women in particular. Ultimately, it is the liberals who will have to strive harder than before. Timid souls do not know anything like victory or defeat.The writer is a leading journalist based in Delhi.