More Adventurism By Mr.Shekhar Gupta of Indian Express

                                              

 

This is a rejoinder to Mr. Shekhar Gupta of Indian Express for his editorial dated 22nd Jan 2010. "More Adventurism". The arrogance of the journalists in India both from the Print and Electronic is unacceptable to us. These Comments were forwarded on the IE website unfortunately they were not published in full.  Link.

The frenzy, anti India hysteria in Pakistan and the vocabulary employed by Rehman Malik seems to have sent our journalists into a tizzy Mr.Shekhar Gupta seems to have been affected the most by this, he has not just lost his nerve but also his marbles.

It is most inconsequential to me personally who among the Gold Diggers gets the opportunity and who is denied. The purse strings are in private hands, the final call is theirs to make. Sermons, ethic or business prudence they do not need to learn from our Print and Electronic Media. This was no National Team of another sovereign Nation.

Mr.Modi and his cohorts are not mandated to conduct the foreign relations of this country. Incase Mr.Shekhar Gupta detects arrogance on part of Mr.Modi and the IPL that is a matter of his perception, what reservoir are you referring to Mr.Gupta is it the one that was filled to the brim by those 10 apostles of peace and friendship who set sail from the shores of Pakistan and landed in Mumbai on 26th Nov 2008. Who held not just Mumbai but the entire country hostage for 72hours. The message of peace and friendship conveyed by them may be palatable to you. Unfortunately vast majority of Indians will not concur. The reservoir was completed drained out and sealed in those 3days.

Mr. Rehman Malik’s language may sound civil to you! The language is of a street side bully. Please spare us the bleeding heart. This relationship is yet to witness a sunrise, the dark days have been a constant factor.

You sir do not seem to have overcome your anger, IPL went to South Africa because the Home Minister of India expressed his inability to guarantee safety of the players and the Indians involved with the event. The loss of face was caused by the GOI and not IPL, besides please be reminded that these Players and their Government whose cause you have taken up did not participate in that edition, was that not a snub to India, on the instructions of their government, did that action add or deplete the reservoir of milk and honey that you seem to be so fond off.

Well this world is replete with inequalities, look at yourself you are at liberty to write about anyone in what ever manner, and you do get away with it, and also manage to influence others to the detriment of those whom you choose to berate.

The comatose state of the Government of India is what is responsible for all the frenzy and anti India hysteria that we are witnessing in Pakistan. IPL and the team owners will bear the consequences regardless of the threats that you, the Government of India or the Government of Pakistan may hold out. This was a pure business decision taken by them, your attempt to add a spin to it is deplorable.

Where is the damage that you can detect to this country or cricket in this country, please speak for yourself, and not on behalf of all the Indians and the country, yes you can speak on behalf of the government since you are one of the mouth pieces that is often employed by this Government in India.

Is Pakistan not known for employing blackmail, whose loss is it if the IPL matches are not televised in Pakistan? Not mine at least.

Why lament the lack of visit from the Parliamentarians of Pakistan? What would they have achieved, that was not achieved earlier. What we must guard against is the repeat visit of Non State actors from Pakistan who might come calling with their own brand of friendship and cricket.

The affects of the 10 messiah of friendship who visited us from Pakistan are still very fresh, rather they seems to have been frozen in our memory and may take much longer to recede, Surveying the damage inflicted on India-Pakistan relations by the Indian Premier League in contrast to the events of 26th Nov 2008, the attitude, and actions of our friends from across the border, would lead everyone to conclude are next to nothing, provided we do not follow your warped reasoning and hold a brief for the Government of India.

Hope for peace

“Aman Ki Asha” we can approach this with optimism, pessimism, cynicism, skepticism most certainly cannot ignore this attempt.

Nobody on this mother earth is more acutely aware and desirous of peace than the solider himself. We will not be able to turn a blind eye to the history of the last 62years. India and it complete neighborhood would have to be taken into account, and only then can we make a realistic assessment of the relationship with Pakistan in particular.

Our neighbors are Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan, China and Pakistan. Size wise India is second to China! rest of them all are smaller nations. Our relations with most barring Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar have had their swings from very positive to cold and negative, with the sole exception of Pakistan with whom we seem to have been in a perpetual state of war since 1947. None of our neighbors are as fixated about us as Pakistan has been, India has not displayed the same intensive negativity towards China, as Pakistan has maintained towards India.

India has often been accused of being coveting the territory of Pakistan. The charge of wanting and exercising hegemony over the entire region is heard exclusively from Pakistan and no other quarter. The issues between India and Pakistan are not going to be resolved by undertaking such exercises even though they do present an opportunity to the people of our two countries to express ourselves and also demonstrate to our Governments that we seek peace and friendship. The establishments are often stated to be the main hurdles on both sides of the border. Yet the different forms of government in these two countries are the first obstacle, we are a robust democracy, free society with its own faults and short comings, Pakistan on the other hand has had to live under the Jackboots for best part of its existence. Our civil society has a definite constituencies for peace with Pakistan and this is growing larger, do we have the same from the other side is the question? If there is a constituency for peace with India then how large and how vocal is it? The question of terrorism cannot be wished away nor can it be glossed over. A 1000 years war with India for Kashmir or bleeding India thru a 1000 cuts are stated positions of the political class and the defence establishment in Pakistan, can these be denied? juxtapose this between India and China, we have no such stated policy or continuous narrative towards China despite the 1962 armed conflict.

Pakistan has been singularly obsessed with possessing Kashmir and has sought parity with India on all counts for last 62 years, yet the disparity between the two neighbors is a stark contrast. India has progressed despite all wars with Pakistan, and the expenditure on the Armament that we have acquired and continue to acquire. Compare this with India and China, this trend is missing, we compete and cooperate as is suitable, yet there is no obsession on display.

It is often stated that the religion is another basis for the bad relations between our two countries, nothing could be further from truth than this, India has a very large section of the society which practices Islam and we are not in a constant state of internal war amongst the believers and the non- believers, on the contrary we do co-exist in complete harmony, yes there have been incidents in the past which should not have happened.
The wounds and scars of the partition have not yet complete healed, more so in North India.We would need a generational change in the political establishments on both sides of the border, before we can reach that state of PEACE which is very much desirable and need of the hour. The process would hasten if the civil society in Pakistan was to take the lead and become vocal in that country and impress upon its policy makers and other wings of the establishment that peace be given a fair chance.

The romanticists should have their space and they can pursue this dream of “Aman” let us all hope and pray that this Asha someday will translate into a reality.