NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
THE STATES
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES
SEARCH REDIFF

Search the Internet          Tips

Simple questions, complex answers

Dear President Musharraf,

When Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee took, what you termed as, a bold decision to invite you for talks, my initial reaction was full of cynicism. Can't help it, cynicism is in-built when it comes to Indo-Pak talks. But as days passed, cynicism gave way to - permit me to use your words - 'cautious optimism'.

Prior to the summit and during the summit, you had projected yourself as a confident, focussed and frank person. I did read or watched some of your interviews, including a lengthy one with our own M J Akbar. I also watched your 'Face the Nation' programme on PTV, and of course, the press conferences in Agra and Islamabad during and after the summit.

If there were a trophy for excellence in media management, you would have run away with it.

You have been very categorical in putting forward your demands (if I can use that word). You were focussed on your goals, you spelt out the way you wanted to go about achieving them. And you did that by some plain speaking.

By now, after all these endless interviews, we know what is your stand on the issues - well, at least on 'the issue' of Kashmir.

Well, we heard your views with due respect. You spoke directly to the people of India and we appreciate it.

You will also appreciate that it is not necessary that we agree with your perception of things. We are entitled to have our own perceptions. We respect yours and we expect that you respect ours as well.

There are certain questions - plain and simple - for which we need answers - plain and simple.

During the press conference in Agra, you categorically stated that you see Kashmir 'as a dispute, and there are two parties to the dispute - India and Pakistan'. Then after a long pause, you added 'and of course the people of Kashmir, we can't do anything over their head.'

Further, when asked about cross-border terrorism, you categorically said that you believe that the violence in Kashmir is 'indigenous' and Pakistan has nothing to do with it.

This is quite confusing. There is an apparent contradiction. We know that there is a problem in Jammu and Kashmir. And we also know that our government is to be blamed for at least part of it. The whole of the problem is not because of external elements like cross-border terrorism, although part of it, and the ugly, violent part of it, certainly is.

If you say that the struggle in Kashmir is indigenous, then the issue is between the government of India and the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Then how come it becomes a dispute between India and Pakistan? On what basis Pakistan becomes the second party and people of Kashmir the third?

Let me put the question in a simple way. If you yourself say that Pakistan gives only moral and political support to Kashmiri people in, what you term as, their struggle for freedom, this clearly implies that Pakistan is not a direct party in the conflict. Then how come this problem, which is basically an internal problem of India, becomes a dispute between India and Pakistan?

These questions come, because you were clear on what you want, but you have not given the reasons India should give you, or even think of giving you. Or why India should accept your perceptions. You certainly can't expect others to agree with you (or your perceptions) without having a valid reason, right?

Dear President, Kashmir is a complex issue because no one wants to understand simple things. Not one wants to answer simple questions. And I am not saying this only about Pakistan, my own government, it seems - in my view - never understood simple things and never answered simple questions and thus is equally responsible for transforming Jammu and Kashmir into a complex problem.

During the Agra Summit, you spoke about your compulsions. I do understand your compulsions; I would have even sympathised with you if you had not played your part in creating those very compulsions. (By the way, who will stop you from entering Pakistan, they tried once and see where they landed themselves!)

Vajpayee has his own compulsions. If India doesn't understand your compulsions, you at least have an option of buying back the Naherwali Haveli (You may get it free, our government is quite generous in such matters). But if you don't understand Vajpayee's compulsions, where will he go? He doesn't have any haveli in Islamabad!

Certainly, some of his compulsions are same as yours. There are hardliners and extremists everywhere. But, there are some additional and much more serious compulsions.

These compulsions come from his duty as an elected leader. India, Dear President, is a democratic and secular country.

In a democracy - as we understand it - a leader is elected by the people to uphold the constitution of the nation. No matter how powerful or popular he/she might be, he/she has to work within the framework of the constitution.

India is a secular country, which also puts a certain responsibility on a leader. And this is certainly very important factor when it comes to Jammu and Kashmir. I will quote Saeed Naqvi, an eminent columnist, to bring my point home. He wrote "General Musharraf is part of a tradition which considers Kashmir as an unfinished business of Partition. The Indian case is possibly more sophisticated. Indian secularism protects, among a billion others, the world's second largest Muslim population and all issues, including Kashmir, must be addressed in such a way as not to rupture this tapestry". (The Indian Express, 13th July 2001).

Those are the compulsions of an Indian leader; I hope you will respect them in your next meeting with the Indian prime minister.

Problems, complex or simple, need to be solved, and the best option to solve them is through a dialogue. And I am glad that both you and Prime Minister Vajpayee have agreed on this much. That is why I don't consider this summit a failure.

Common man in India like me and I am sure those across the border also are tired of this continual hostility between India and Pakistan. In last two years, thanks to the Internet, I have been corresponding with some Pakistanis, including some well-known columnists. Our perceptions certainly differ when it comes to Kashmir (to be fair, some of them do agree that there is a contradiction in Pakistan's stand on Kashmir), but on one thing everyone agrees. That we cannot continue with this continual hostility between our countries.

World is moving forward very fast, leaving South Asia far behind. For last six years, I am staying in a part of Asia, where various countries have come together and formed ASEAN and created economic miracles.

SAARC can do the same for South Asia if India and Pakistan work together. And it is possible only if we have peace in the region. We certainly cannot achieve this if we do not have a broad vision. We certainly cannot go any further if you adopt what our external affairs minister called a 'unifocal' attitude.

Dear President, you and Prime Minister Vajpayee need to walk the 'high road of peace' and try to 'change history' in such a way that if Musharrafs of Pakistan (and the likes of those in India) wish to buy back their ancestral property across the border, the wish should come out of emotions rather than compulsions.

Am I hopeful? Yes, I certainly am. As my favorite columnist M J Akbar wrote the other day, what is the point in being hopeless?

Sincerely,
A Neighbour