Author: Jay Jina
Publication: Asian Voice
Date: August 30, 2003
As part of their coverage of India
and Pakistan's independence, BBC Four ran a programme "India and Pakistan
- Partners or Rivals". To give it a semblance of authority, they invited
dignitaries on the panel.
It is not a little ironic that the
colonial mentality of the BBC was at the forefront. Why, for heaven's sake,
place an obscure American diplomat in the middle of the panel? A case of
BBC deluding itself that such a ploy is enough to "bridge" the gulf between
India and Pak?
But that is not the main point of
contention. The very premise of the programme was laughable.
Briefly, the programme was an anorexic,
tabloid, whitewash of three topics: the IT revolution, the threat of nuclear
conflict (couched in "the Kashmir issue"), and Bollywood. With some honourable
exceptions, the gullible and manipulative audience (specially invited,
we were told!) played the peace pipe orchestrated by the BBC.
The usual nonsense came out: That
the people are really the same, that it is the nasty politicians who keep
them separated. That the rivalry is politically motivated by "white colonialism"
which lives off arms sales. That underneath it all, they share the same
culture and cuisine and love the same music. That Pakistan and India can
become partners in the fields of economic development, arts and culture
if only those politicians let go. The truth is rather different:
India is a transparent democracy.
An independent judiciary, a multi-party parliamentary system and a free
press form the backbone of a secular state.
Pakistan is a tin pot, theocratic,
dictatorship run for the personal benefit of a select cabal of landowners
and military brass. Everyone waxes lyrical about Jinnah's promise to Pakistanis
of freedom "to go to their mosques, temples, churches...", and yet forget
that this was the man who said that Muslims could not live with Hindus.
The result was Pakistan: the fulfilment of the Two-Nation theory.
How many even know that Pakistani
laws expressly persecute Ahamdiays? And, what of the systematic ethnic
cleansing of Hindus? Intra-Islamic rivalries spill over into gun battles
such as to sully the sanctity of mosques. Of course, the BBC chose to plead
ignorance of these facts. After all, why cloud a romantic rendezvous of
"artistes" playing to the BBC's tune? Even in the brief periods when Pakistan
has had democracy, the Army has ruled the roost. Only last week, Bhutto
told a rediff.com reporter how when she was PM, Musharraf presented his
crazed plans to capture Srinagar.
The simple fact is that India is
not and cannot be either a partner or a rival of Pakistan.
To be partners, requires more than
a few words of Urdu poetry, a liking for tikka, a love of music, and sharing
a few jokes . Sorry, Asma Jehangir, we all admire your work as a human
rights lawyer, but you are mistaken in thinking that the jokes in Amritsar
are the same as those in Lahore. You need to get out of the circle of Wagah
watchers and meet the common person in the street.
Yes, Indians will listen to Junoon
and have adopted Adnan Sami as their own, but when was the last time a
Pakistani in Rawalpindi or Sialkot was able to visit the cinema to see
a film starring Saira Banu or Sharukh? Why have the Pakistani authorities
consistently denied Lata and Asha to perform there? Before blaming it all
on those nasty politicians, the dewy eyed within BBC's invited audience
should ask what Pakistan is so afraid of!
True partnership demands common
values, shared goals and aspirations, equal contribution from all parties,
an empathy for each others problems and above all, an unconditional yet
open friendship where hugs and kisses go with the occasional tantrum.
True rivalry demands that all rival
parties aim for the same targets, have the same goals, and want to compete
to be better than the other parties. It is a constructive engagement.
Some facts (more of which can be
found in Arun Shourie's articles in the Indian Express) which illustrate
India's values, goals and aspirations:
* India is a technology leader -
being one of three countries to have developed it own super-computer, PARAM;
* India is one of only six nations
that has its own satellite launch capabilities through which it generates
substantial export revenues;
* India has some of the leading
technology education and research institutes in the world - scientists
from these provide much of the intellectual power to many of the world's
leading companies in IT, Manufacturing and Banking
* India's pharmaceutical industry
is the fourth largest in the world and exports now amount to $2 Billion
* Despite much adverse comparison
with China, India's manufacturing sector also contributes substantially
to the growth of the economy. Whereas China has focused on low tech, India
has chosen the "intellect as capital" route - many global players including
Honda, Monsanto, GE, Whirlpool have set up their R&D facilities in
India.
* India's foreign exchange reserves
stand at $85 Billion!
* Combined with Hi-Tech export centred
development, there is a coherent drive towards literacy, sanitation, agriculture
and water - witness the Narmada project, the advances on primary education
for girls in rural India, primary health care, etc.
* India is a global leader in IT.
Despite the slump in the global economy, the Indian IT industry has grown
by 26% this year and contributes over $10 Billion, In India, IT stands
for India Today and India Tomorrow.
And, Pakistan? Oh Yes, a leader
in IT - International Terrorism: the promotion, protection and export thereof.
Period.
India and Pakistan, economic partners
or rivals? Naah! Does anyone see any semblance of shared values or goals?
Nuclear Conflict and Kashmir? Another
of those Pakistani fabrications that neither the BBC presenter nor the
invited audience had much of meaning to say about. Bhutto and others need
to open their eyes to the facts before pontificating on the right to "self
determination" of Kashmiris. A good start would be to read and understand:
* The Instrument of Accession and
its accepted international legality
* The various UN resolutions which
place obligations upon Pakistan to vacate the territory it occupies illegally
- a ruling that it has singularly failed to abide by;
* The constitution of J&K, which
was framed and passed by the properly elected state assembly, Section 3
of which clearly states: "The State of J&K is and shall be an integral
part of the Union of India".
* The Simla agreement of 1972
* The constitution of "Azad" (a
pathetic joke) Kashmir which invests all power in Islamabad and the plight
of the 1.5 million stateless people in the so-called "Northern Areas" who
are neither Pakistani nor "Kashmiri". A classic case of colonialism.
Arvind Lavakare at rediff.com has
summarised the facts very well, but the sceptics who would not trust an
Indian can seek out these documents and check for themselves.
Finally, even Pakistan's staunchest
allies see that "self determination" is simply a ruse for land grabbing.
The whole world knows where the murderous Jihadis wrecking havoc in J&K
come from. Why, in the very week that Baby Noor, a sweet little Pakistani
girl, got a life saving operation in Bangalore, Pak sponsored Jihadis killed
five little Indian girls in cold blood in J&K. A sad and pathetic example
of partnership indeed!
Political partnerships would be
a boon - after all, there are areas of regional interest to take care of:
protecting the environment, conserving precious resources like water, campaigning
for fairer trade and so on. These cannot be normalised unless there is
trust.
And then there's the matter of the
finger on the nuclear button. In India, there's an elected executive which
debates and decides, and instructs the military. In Pakistan, there is
the military.
That leaves Bollywood and the Arts.
Apart from Sami and Junoon who are undoubtedly good musicians, can anyone
name any other well-known Pakistani artiste, a world class Pakistani writer,
a painter, a sculptor, a composer?
Where then does the question of
partnership arise? What does Bollywood gain out of collaboration? Yes,
if someone like Sami can contribute, they are always made welcome. But
one singer does not constitute a partnership. Neither does the occasional
visit of a few poets across borders.
The sad truth is that Art, Music
and classical dance are all but dead in Pakistan - religious dogma is seeing
to it. In contrast, India can boast of MF Hussain, AR Rehman, Pandit Bhimsen
Joshi, Pandit Jasraj, Kishori Amonkar, not to mention a huge assortment
of Ustads going by the name, Khan.
Today it is sad to note that, if
it were possible to take an image of the Values and Vision of the two nations
with some wonderful machine, the fissures would be as clear as a cancerous
tumour is through a scan. At the moment, there are few signs of constructive
rivalry and certainly none of partnership on the horizon.
