THE INDO-PAK PEACE WINDOW, THAT NEVER OPENED
The Indo-Pak peace initiative has always generated a wide range of excitement and enthusiasm among the cross section of people. One can understand the natural response of the peace loving people, who are deeply concerned with the gradual deepening dent of fear, suspicion and hatred between the two countries since partition.
I also tried a peace initiative after the Mumbai terrorist attack. I was writing my comments on a Pakistanti blog called “ Teeth Maestro “ which is a popular blog in Pakistan. My comments related to an article called “ Is India behaving like LET ? “. I was putting my comments from the Indian point of view and was trying to remove, many misconceptions, which Pakistanis have about India. The article was a guest blog by some hardcore Pakistani writer against India. While writing my comments, I came across the owner of the blog Dr. Awab who is the webmaster also of the blog. I showed my interest to write a guest blog, to which he agreed happily. My motive of writing the guest blog was to remove the misconceptions of aam admi of Pakistan, about India. I wrote an article “ Partition of Territory, not hearts “http://teeth.com.pk/blog/2009/02/03/the-partition-of-territory-not-hearts.
You can read the article as per link also given in my email to you.
The comments I was receiving from Pakistanis was of utter hatred towards India and hindus. The comments were full of foul language, abuses and deep anger against India, specially hindus. The retaliation was natural from indians. They also blasted them like anything. I was all the time doing a role of a peace-maker between the two.I was trying to pacify both the sides, but to my utter dismay, Indians restrained themselves, but Pakistanis never stopped abusing. There were hardly any sane voices from across the border, except Farrah. K. Raja, who created a special blog of friendship, saying “ Vaneet, this is your page. “ The Webmaster played an obliging host but restrained himself from making comments, for reasons best known to him. When the abuses and foul language shifted to me personally by pakistanis, I called it a day. That was the end of peace initiative. Although Dr Awab, has sent me an email citing reasons for not participating in the discussions and apologised also for the misbehavior of Pakistanis, he also offered once again to restart the peace blog, which he has created once again. I have all the praise and regard for Dr Awab and Ms Farrah, who tried their best and sincerely tried to hold on to the peace initiative, but fanatic voices in Pakistan destroyed everything, overriding their sincere efforts. These fanatic voices called Mumbai terrorists as warriors and fighters. Their views reflected victory over India. " If 10 warriors can lay seige in Mumbai for 60 hours, just imagine few thousand would create havoc in India ".
But past experience of such exercise always proved to be a part of the military strategy of the successive rulers of Pakistan against India. No Indian leader had tried as hard as the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee to establish friendly relations with Pakistan, but in stead of responding, the Pakistani leadership has spurned every move of his.
The purpose of this discussion does not mean to oppose the peace move but only to participate in a debate on viability of peace between the two countries. Historically, Bhakti movement was the first peace initiative for union of hearts between Hindus and Muslims in medieval India by diluting their conflict since the advent of Islam in India. But the Muslim rulers and thinkers after Great Mogul Akbar thwarted it. Even in 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, when an environment was created for unity of Hindus and Muslims, Sir Sayed Ahmad Khan polluted it. He launched the Aligarh movement to achieve Muslim supremacy over the Hindus and propounded the two-nation theory as a separatist ideology, which subsequently formed the ideological base for Pakistan Movement. Islamic warriors of Pakistan had hardly made any positive contribution during freedom struggle. They were scared of the concept of democracy, which meant end of Muslim domination over Hindus. They carried the ideological banner of the Two-Nation theory while supporting Pakistan Movement without realising that Partition was an unnatural division of a natural geo-political entity. The self-seeking rulers of Pakistan merged the politics of opportunisms and deception with emotive religious passion. Pakistan is in danger became synonym to the slogan of Islam is in danger.
Islamists were happy with creation of Pakistan but it did not satisfy them fully. They therefore, accelerated their protracted movement for Islamisation of whole of South Asia to fulfil their unfinished agenda. Responding to the design of Islamic clerics, the politically ambitious top echelons in Pak army, who mostly belonged to the elite class overthrew the successive elected Governments and became rulers of Pakistan. Under the unholy alliance between Islamists and Pak army, which emerged as a commanding force in controlling the political affairs the successive military rulers, gave a free hand to the Ulema to carry forward the centuries old legacy of hatred, mistrust and deep suspicion against the Hindus of Indian sub-continent.
In stead of involving their citizens in national re-construction programmes for economic development, the Pakistani leadership believed in re-construction of the history of Pakistan for a new national identity based on the philosophy of anti-Indianism. Accordingly, with a view to inculcating the concept of patriotism among their citizens, they deeply linked the origin of the national identity of Pakistan with the centuries old hate-Hindu voices and contemptuous acts of Muslim invaders, rulers and the leaders of Pakistan movement. In the process they never allowed any democratically elected government to survive for long.
The ideology of Pakistan as defined to students at every school and college in the country is nothing except anti-Indianism. In every walk of Pakistan from academia to journalism, from sports to bureaucracy a vast majority of people have been inculcated with fantastic anti India notions. [ Phrases like the Hindu mentality and devious Indian psyche are part of the daily military talk. Anti-Indianism, in short, runs deep in Pakistani state and society. It is a state of mind that cannot be switched off.
The broad expanse of South Asian history is a tabula rasa upon which Pakistani historians and policy makers have created the story of a new nation replete with cultural roots and ancient socio-religious trajectories.The story of Pakistans past is internationally written to be distinct from and often in direct contrast with interpretations of history found in India .
Depiction of Jinnah as a man of orthodox religious views, who sought the creation of a theocratic state and a move to establish ulama as genuine heroes of Pakistan Movement became a part of hate-India campaign. In short, anti-Indianism is synonymous to Pakistani Nationalism.With new national identity, Pakistan army fought four major wars against India. Promotion of terrorism since nineteen eighties including terrorist attacks on Indian Parliament, Kashmir Assembly, Mumbai terror attack and many has been a part of their military strategy. They are still pursuing the philosophy of two-nation theory on Kashmir issue.
After humiliating defeat during 1971 war, the subsequent Military ruler Zia-ul- Haq (1977-1988) accelerated the process of hate-Hindu campaign and turned it into a movement to develop a fervent patriotism on the basis of anti-Indianism among his countrymen. The text books of history and social studies were radically distorted by glorifying the villainous role of Muslim invaders and rulers. They were projected as liberators of Hindus from the so called torturous misrule of Hindu kings. From Muhammad bin - Qasims mass killing of Hindus of Sindh in 712 AD onward, the role of all the Muslim marauders, were glorified.
Muhammad bin Qasim, who assassinated all the young males of Sindh and sent thousands of Sindhi women to the harem of Abbassid Dynesty, Muhammad Ghaznavi, the villain of multiple iconoclastic incursions and Muhammad Ghori, whose betrayal with Prithviraj Chauhan is known to every Indian overnight became the prominent heroes in the history text book of Pakistan. They are placed on pedestals used as stepping-stones towards the inevitable unfolding of the ideology of Pakistan coming to closure with the near deification of the father of the nation Mohammad Ali Jinnah .
Contrary to the personification of Great Mogul Akbar as Pan- Indian liberal ruler by secular historians of India, the Pakistani historians regarded Akbars religious theory as apostasy. On the other hand the Pakistan text books glorified Aurangzeb and overlooked the killing his own brother and keeping his father in jail.
Can anyone expect that with the political ideology of Pakistani nationalism discussed above, the present generation will be ready for a long lasting peace with India? A number of Muslim scholars of repute in India consider partition a terrible blunder.
Ironically the Indian leadership too got trapped in Musharraf strategy by introducing Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus, which will facilitate the forces operating cross-border terrorism. It is in fact a success of Musharraf, who kept India confused about his military design to score some points for his Kargil fiasco.
Even against the known designs of the military rulers discussed above, the successive leadership of India always ignored the history and kept the real issues in back burner. They never took any lesson from the past in handling the foreign affairs. They repeatedly committed mistakes like historic Prithviraj Chauhan while dealing with Mohammad Ghori. Four major invasions after partition followed by peace exercises like Tashkand Agreement, Shimla Accord, and former Prime Minister A.B.Vajpayees Lahore bus journey proved futile. Maharaj Shivaji was perhaps the only Indian hero, who was extra alert against the peace initiative of Saista Khan.
One can understand the problem of Pakistani citizens to overcome the hatred and suspicion against India from their mental frame due to chauvinistic discourse in their text books. Without unloading the hate-India mental burden, the present generation may not like to participate whole heartedly in any meaningful peace talk. Besides, it is an irony of fate that the Ulama and the elite section of Muslims, who had no positive legacy for freedom from colonial rule have still not freed the masses of Pakistan from their seize.
Indian Independence act 1947 under which both India and Pakistan was founded as Independent States also provided liberty to 562 pre-partition independent kingdoms under indirect British rule to sign instrument of accession with either of the two countries if they desired so. But there was no provision in the Act for any review or revocation of the instrument of accession once signed. The then ruler of Kashmir signed the instrument of accession in favour of India and Indian army intervened Pak army only after instrument of accession was signed by the ruler of Kashmir and his kingdom became an integral part of India but a part of it remained under the occupation of Pakistan, which is known as Pak occupied Kashmir. Even against this sound legal status of Kashmirs complete and final integration of India, Pakistani leadership is continuing Machiavellian propaganda campaign for its illegal claim.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in response to the letter of Former Prime Minister Vajpayee assured that vital interests are fully safeguarded in peace talk with Pakistan. He was quite categorical saying, There can be no room in our discussions or in our actions for ambiguity regarding our position on Jammu and Kashmir. I have reiterated on every possible occasion that there can be no redrawing of boundaries. We have also ruled out any role for a third party either through interventions or as guarantor or as mediators in any form. Against the known stand of both India and Pakistan how people to people contact would remove the growing suspicion and mistrust between the two countries since partition until the boundary dispute and Kashmir issue are resolved remains a mystery.
Our past experience shows that Pakistan leadership always let us down after the peace initiative.
Against the historical background of Pakistan Movement, hate-India as national identity and political ideology of anti-Indianism any Indo-Pak peace initiative, which has created laudatory euphoria, excitement and enthusiasm among a cross section of people of the two countries may be meaningless. It has only provided an opportunity to the academicians, journalists and political observers to exchange their views like the aspirant orators expound in speakers corner in the world famous eighteenth century park in central London, any fruitful outcome is just like chasing a mirage.
One may wonder if there could be a solution for lasting peace in the region. Where there is a will there is a way is a popular saying. Let opinion makers in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh initiate a debate and create an environment for a movement against the separatist two-nation theory to unload this mental burden of the illiterate and uneducated Muslim masses of the three countries and reinvent their future political set up by forgetting the past. Except Israel, Pakistan is the only country in the world, which came to existence on the basis of religion. If European countries that too had fought among themselves presently have peaceful relation why not we?
It may apparently be a difficult proposition due to the bitter experience of situational ups and downs but may not be impossible. The only obstruction will be the unholy alliance of army, radical Islamists and the ruling elite of Pakistan. This ruling clique of Pakistan leadership may ridicule the idea and reincarnate Jinnahs ghost of Hindu domination over Muslims and use it as a tool to misguide their people. The opinions makers are to be watchful against such nefarious design.
Union of Hearts, which was the cherished dream of Mahatma Gandhi is the only solution for lasting peace in the region. Muslims. Alas! Jinnah had fought for Indians as a whole without separating his co-religionists from united India. Partition was an unnatural division of historically integrated and geographically compact India. Any viable solution for peace in the region needs natural union of the three unnaturally divided nations.
I also tried a peace initiative after the Mumbai terrorist attack. I was writing my comments on a Pakistanti blog called “ Teeth Maestro “ which is a popular blog in Pakistan. My comments related to an article called “ Is India behaving like LET ? “. I was putting my comments from the Indian point of view and was trying to remove, many misconceptions, which Pakistanis have about India. The article was a guest blog by some hardcore Pakistani writer against India. While writing my comments, I came across the owner of the blog Dr. Awab who is the webmaster also of the blog. I showed my interest to write a guest blog, to which he agreed happily. My motive of writing the guest blog was to remove the misconceptions of aam admi of Pakistan, about India. I wrote an article “ Partition of Territory, not hearts “http://teeth.com.pk/blog/2009/02/03/the-partition-of-territory-not-hearts.
You can read the article as per link also given in my email to you.
The comments I was receiving from Pakistanis was of utter hatred towards India and hindus. The comments were full of foul language, abuses and deep anger against India, specially hindus. The retaliation was natural from indians. They also blasted them like anything. I was all the time doing a role of a peace-maker between the two.I was trying to pacify both the sides, but to my utter dismay, Indians restrained themselves, but Pakistanis never stopped abusing. There were hardly any sane voices from across the border, except Farrah. K. Raja, who created a special blog of friendship, saying “ Vaneet, this is your page. “ The Webmaster played an obliging host but restrained himself from making comments, for reasons best known to him. When the abuses and foul language shifted to me personally by pakistanis, I called it a day. That was the end of peace initiative. Although Dr Awab, has sent me an email citing reasons for not participating in the discussions and apologised also for the misbehavior of Pakistanis, he also offered once again to restart the peace blog, which he has created once again. I have all the praise and regard for Dr Awab and Ms Farrah, who tried their best and sincerely tried to hold on to the peace initiative, but fanatic voices in Pakistan destroyed everything, overriding their sincere efforts. These fanatic voices called Mumbai terrorists as warriors and fighters. Their views reflected victory over India. " If 10 warriors can lay seige in Mumbai for 60 hours, just imagine few thousand would create havoc in India ".
But past experience of such exercise always proved to be a part of the military strategy of the successive rulers of Pakistan against India. No Indian leader had tried as hard as the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee to establish friendly relations with Pakistan, but in stead of responding, the Pakistani leadership has spurned every move of his.
The purpose of this discussion does not mean to oppose the peace move but only to participate in a debate on viability of peace between the two countries. Historically, Bhakti movement was the first peace initiative for union of hearts between Hindus and Muslims in medieval India by diluting their conflict since the advent of Islam in India. But the Muslim rulers and thinkers after Great Mogul Akbar thwarted it. Even in 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, when an environment was created for unity of Hindus and Muslims, Sir Sayed Ahmad Khan polluted it. He launched the Aligarh movement to achieve Muslim supremacy over the Hindus and propounded the two-nation theory as a separatist ideology, which subsequently formed the ideological base for Pakistan Movement. Islamic warriors of Pakistan had hardly made any positive contribution during freedom struggle. They were scared of the concept of democracy, which meant end of Muslim domination over Hindus. They carried the ideological banner of the Two-Nation theory while supporting Pakistan Movement without realising that Partition was an unnatural division of a natural geo-political entity. The self-seeking rulers of Pakistan merged the politics of opportunisms and deception with emotive religious passion. Pakistan is in danger became synonym to the slogan of Islam is in danger.
Islamists were happy with creation of Pakistan but it did not satisfy them fully. They therefore, accelerated their protracted movement for Islamisation of whole of South Asia to fulfil their unfinished agenda. Responding to the design of Islamic clerics, the politically ambitious top echelons in Pak army, who mostly belonged to the elite class overthrew the successive elected Governments and became rulers of Pakistan. Under the unholy alliance between Islamists and Pak army, which emerged as a commanding force in controlling the political affairs the successive military rulers, gave a free hand to the Ulema to carry forward the centuries old legacy of hatred, mistrust and deep suspicion against the Hindus of Indian sub-continent.
In stead of involving their citizens in national re-construction programmes for economic development, the Pakistani leadership believed in re-construction of the history of Pakistan for a new national identity based on the philosophy of anti-Indianism. Accordingly, with a view to inculcating the concept of patriotism among their citizens, they deeply linked the origin of the national identity of Pakistan with the centuries old hate-Hindu voices and contemptuous acts of Muslim invaders, rulers and the leaders of Pakistan movement. In the process they never allowed any democratically elected government to survive for long.
The ideology of Pakistan as defined to students at every school and college in the country is nothing except anti-Indianism. In every walk of Pakistan from academia to journalism, from sports to bureaucracy a vast majority of people have been inculcated with fantastic anti India notions. [ Phrases like the Hindu mentality and devious Indian psyche are part of the daily military talk. Anti-Indianism, in short, runs deep in Pakistani state and society. It is a state of mind that cannot be switched off.
The broad expanse of South Asian history is a tabula rasa upon which Pakistani historians and policy makers have created the story of a new nation replete with cultural roots and ancient socio-religious trajectories.The story of Pakistans past is internationally written to be distinct from and often in direct contrast with interpretations of history found in India .
Depiction of Jinnah as a man of orthodox religious views, who sought the creation of a theocratic state and a move to establish ulama as genuine heroes of Pakistan Movement became a part of hate-India campaign. In short, anti-Indianism is synonymous to Pakistani Nationalism.With new national identity, Pakistan army fought four major wars against India. Promotion of terrorism since nineteen eighties including terrorist attacks on Indian Parliament, Kashmir Assembly, Mumbai terror attack and many has been a part of their military strategy. They are still pursuing the philosophy of two-nation theory on Kashmir issue.
After humiliating defeat during 1971 war, the subsequent Military ruler Zia-ul- Haq (1977-1988) accelerated the process of hate-Hindu campaign and turned it into a movement to develop a fervent patriotism on the basis of anti-Indianism among his countrymen. The text books of history and social studies were radically distorted by glorifying the villainous role of Muslim invaders and rulers. They were projected as liberators of Hindus from the so called torturous misrule of Hindu kings. From Muhammad bin - Qasims mass killing of Hindus of Sindh in 712 AD onward, the role of all the Muslim marauders, were glorified.
Muhammad bin Qasim, who assassinated all the young males of Sindh and sent thousands of Sindhi women to the harem of Abbassid Dynesty, Muhammad Ghaznavi, the villain of multiple iconoclastic incursions and Muhammad Ghori, whose betrayal with Prithviraj Chauhan is known to every Indian overnight became the prominent heroes in the history text book of Pakistan. They are placed on pedestals used as stepping-stones towards the inevitable unfolding of the ideology of Pakistan coming to closure with the near deification of the father of the nation Mohammad Ali Jinnah .
Contrary to the personification of Great Mogul Akbar as Pan- Indian liberal ruler by secular historians of India, the Pakistani historians regarded Akbars religious theory as apostasy. On the other hand the Pakistan text books glorified Aurangzeb and overlooked the killing his own brother and keeping his father in jail.
Can anyone expect that with the political ideology of Pakistani nationalism discussed above, the present generation will be ready for a long lasting peace with India? A number of Muslim scholars of repute in India consider partition a terrible blunder.
Ironically the Indian leadership too got trapped in Musharraf strategy by introducing Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus, which will facilitate the forces operating cross-border terrorism. It is in fact a success of Musharraf, who kept India confused about his military design to score some points for his Kargil fiasco.
Even against the known designs of the military rulers discussed above, the successive leadership of India always ignored the history and kept the real issues in back burner. They never took any lesson from the past in handling the foreign affairs. They repeatedly committed mistakes like historic Prithviraj Chauhan while dealing with Mohammad Ghori. Four major invasions after partition followed by peace exercises like Tashkand Agreement, Shimla Accord, and former Prime Minister A.B.Vajpayees Lahore bus journey proved futile. Maharaj Shivaji was perhaps the only Indian hero, who was extra alert against the peace initiative of Saista Khan.
One can understand the problem of Pakistani citizens to overcome the hatred and suspicion against India from their mental frame due to chauvinistic discourse in their text books. Without unloading the hate-India mental burden, the present generation may not like to participate whole heartedly in any meaningful peace talk. Besides, it is an irony of fate that the Ulama and the elite section of Muslims, who had no positive legacy for freedom from colonial rule have still not freed the masses of Pakistan from their seize.
Indian Independence act 1947 under which both India and Pakistan was founded as Independent States also provided liberty to 562 pre-partition independent kingdoms under indirect British rule to sign instrument of accession with either of the two countries if they desired so. But there was no provision in the Act for any review or revocation of the instrument of accession once signed. The then ruler of Kashmir signed the instrument of accession in favour of India and Indian army intervened Pak army only after instrument of accession was signed by the ruler of Kashmir and his kingdom became an integral part of India but a part of it remained under the occupation of Pakistan, which is known as Pak occupied Kashmir. Even against this sound legal status of Kashmirs complete and final integration of India, Pakistani leadership is continuing Machiavellian propaganda campaign for its illegal claim.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in response to the letter of Former Prime Minister Vajpayee assured that vital interests are fully safeguarded in peace talk with Pakistan. He was quite categorical saying, There can be no room in our discussions or in our actions for ambiguity regarding our position on Jammu and Kashmir. I have reiterated on every possible occasion that there can be no redrawing of boundaries. We have also ruled out any role for a third party either through interventions or as guarantor or as mediators in any form. Against the known stand of both India and Pakistan how people to people contact would remove the growing suspicion and mistrust between the two countries since partition until the boundary dispute and Kashmir issue are resolved remains a mystery.
Our past experience shows that Pakistan leadership always let us down after the peace initiative.
Against the historical background of Pakistan Movement, hate-India as national identity and political ideology of anti-Indianism any Indo-Pak peace initiative, which has created laudatory euphoria, excitement and enthusiasm among a cross section of people of the two countries may be meaningless. It has only provided an opportunity to the academicians, journalists and political observers to exchange their views like the aspirant orators expound in speakers corner in the world famous eighteenth century park in central London, any fruitful outcome is just like chasing a mirage.
One may wonder if there could be a solution for lasting peace in the region. Where there is a will there is a way is a popular saying. Let opinion makers in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh initiate a debate and create an environment for a movement against the separatist two-nation theory to unload this mental burden of the illiterate and uneducated Muslim masses of the three countries and reinvent their future political set up by forgetting the past. Except Israel, Pakistan is the only country in the world, which came to existence on the basis of religion. If European countries that too had fought among themselves presently have peaceful relation why not we?
It may apparently be a difficult proposition due to the bitter experience of situational ups and downs but may not be impossible. The only obstruction will be the unholy alliance of army, radical Islamists and the ruling elite of Pakistan. This ruling clique of Pakistan leadership may ridicule the idea and reincarnate Jinnahs ghost of Hindu domination over Muslims and use it as a tool to misguide their people. The opinions makers are to be watchful against such nefarious design.
Union of Hearts, which was the cherished dream of Mahatma Gandhi is the only solution for lasting peace in the region. Muslims. Alas! Jinnah had fought for Indians as a whole without separating his co-religionists from united India. Partition was an unnatural division of historically integrated and geographically compact India. Any viable solution for peace in the region needs natural union of the three unnaturally divided nations.
posted by vaneet kundra at
Friday, February 20, 2009
3 Comments:
Dear Vaneet
We should try to convenience Govt to take measures to isolate Pakistan from world economic scene ( in order to weaken their military and ISI) and support those Pakistanis who believe in secular peaceful society. This dependence of Pakistan on India will help them improving relations with us otherwise they will keep us bleeding in the interest of China and western world. Please remember in this world Shakti ki pooja hoti hi and hence we will have to become though and strong nation with zero tolerance for anti social anti Indian activities.
Regards
Rakesh
Dear Mr Kundra,
I think we should stop getting provoked about Pakistan. What is likely to emerge is a new nation called Af-Pak is per serious researchers. Pakistan per se does not matter today. What is important is what will fill the vacuum after its demise. This is what we need to watch and play our diplomatic cards correctly. By implication, we have a role to play in Afghanistan that has terrorised current Pakistan, hence the abuse. The US is in support (out of dire necessity) of India becoming the dominant player.
Regards,
Raj
Dear Rakesh and Raj,
Thanks. i agree with both of you. As on today, Pakistan is in big trouble, Taliban, economic crisis, Zardari vs Sharif, Baluchistan and many other. There are many sane voices in Pakistan, but they are not in a position to talk. they are too weak and overshadowed by fanatics. If Pakistan fails, onus will lie on fanatics. Stable Pkistan, is in India's interest. We should talk to the sane voices across the border but i wonder, if they can overule fanatics !
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