As Pakistan descends into anarchy, its creation and evolution are under scrutiny for all to draw conclusions. From Tariq Ali, Ahmed Rashid to Zardari all have a rationale for the current state of affairs. The most popular ones being American intervention in Pakistani politics, the war in Afghanistan spilling over and the "War on Terror". All of these factors undoubtedly are contributing factors to the woes of Pakistan today, but the seed for the current crisis was sown long before Bin Laden came to these parts.
When India was cut up over the corpses of more then three million mostly innocent civilians, the evolution of Pakistan and India was off to a rocky start. Pakistan declared itself an Islamic Republic, and adopted a political system on shaky pillars. India under Nehru could have gone the same absolutist route, as Nehru after independence had absolute power and could easily have declared himself a dictator. But he chose to implement a secular democratic system of governance and was successful in steering a fledgling nation towards long term political stability. India prevailed against all predictions of that time which forewarned a bleak fractious future for the sub continent. Especially because of the internal ethnic and regional strife, which even today threatens to tear India.
The debate about the quality of India's democracy that ensued is endless and the flaws in its system are obvious, but one cannot deny that it has managed to develop institutions that uphold the constitution, when it comes to political democracy. Ironically, Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi is the only one till date, who managed to desecrate the constitution from 1975-77, a period known as "The Emergency".
In contrast Pakistan's evolution took a different path. It has spent most of its three decades of Independence under autocratic rule and its constitution has been periodically shredded. Pakistan's first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in 1951, only four years after Independence. In 1958 the military general Ayub Khan took power in a military coup setting a treacherous and bloody precedence that continues to plague Pakistan till today. The seeds of today's instability were sown early on, with the inability to keep the military out of politics giving rise to a failed sate with many centers of power, with different agendas. When there should have been only one, the one put in place by its people.
The Islamic militancy, terrorism, the rise of the Taliban and the ungovernable north west frontier all came about and were spawned by the inconsistent policies of the ever changing regimes implementing their various corrupt and populist agendas. As a result of Pakistan's democracy so often being hijacked by nefarious characters, it fell victim to America's interests in the region. The American financing and arming of the Mujahedeen during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan was done via Pakistan which by default led to the creation of the Taliban. Pakistan till today is heavily dependent on American military and economic aid.
I was born in Hyderabad, India in 1969. By then Pakistan had fought a few wars with India and a few more were to come. I grew up steadily brainwashed by public opinion and the media that Pakistan was enemy number one. This animosity was played out most overtly during cricket tournaments between the two nations. My Muslim friends had to constantly prove their allegiance to India during these times by overtly supporting the home team even when they performed poorly. If not they would be viewed as traitors. Then there were always reports of those who rejoiced blatantly when India lost and those incidents were considered good reasons to start riots. Riots were a common occurrence in Hyderabad where Hindus and Muslims live side by side. Mostly inflamed by criminal elements within local political parties, these clashes would polarize the city poisoning minds in the ugliest manner possible. The Hindu-Muslim conflict was directly translated to the India-Pakistan divide. This divide is constantly shoved into people's psyche on both sides of the border by the media and propaganda, and most often it goes without much thought. The only time the countries exhibit a sense of unity within, is when there is a skirmish on the border, there is a cricket match to be played out or in recent times a terrorist attack. A culture of mistrust and animosity eats away at its people and it seems to be getting worse with every passing year.
India and Pakistan have now gone nuclear. The land that launched Mahatma Gandhi, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Yoga and countless spiritual movements who's core philosophy is non-violence in the most absolute sense, now stands to launch the most violent "Astra" (weapon) created by mankind. Both nations have an arsenal substantial enough to exterminate each other many times over. Both are reeling under terrorist attacks of the most heinous kind and tensions are at an all time high. New reports of the Afghan conflict spilling into Kashmir, which has already been battered by the Indian Army and a Pakistan fueled insurgency for twenty years, are disturbing. So where do we go from here?
Every time I take a taxi in New York city, nine out of ten times the driver is from the sub- continent, and more often than not he turns out to be Pakistani. Within minutes as soon as I scan his I.D. which is prominently displayed on the "partition" and our origins are determined, our conversation moves from English to Urdu or Hindi. The camaraderie is instant, when we start talking about food, music, movies, cricket, language, poetry and everything that makes us similar and not different. And when time comes for the driver to drop me at my door, he refuses to accept my money. As in our culture it is discourteous to accept money from a friend. This has happened to me more than a few times in New York. And as I wish him a safe working night, I ponder on the ludicrousness of the India-Pakistan divide. How can an invisible border keep the same people apart for so long? If the Germans and Vietnamese can reunite what is stopping us? Well some might call this is a naive and preposterous thought, but for how long will this animosity poison our people? It becomes more and more apparent that the forces that are tearing the two nations from within can only be dealt with mutual trust and honest cooperation. Which in itself is a monumental task to achieve. Accepting the status-quo has not brought progress. The deception and posturing has to end in the interest of the people. When there is no psychological partition there is no need for a geographical one. It is what it is.
The debate about the quality of India's democracy that ensued is endless and the flaws in its system are obvious, but one cannot deny that it has managed to develop institutions that uphold the constitution, when it comes to political democracy. Ironically, Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi is the only one till date, who managed to desecrate the constitution from 1975-77, a period known as "The Emergency".
In contrast Pakistan's evolution took a different path. It has spent most of its three decades of Independence under autocratic rule and its constitution has been periodically shredded. Pakistan's first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in 1951, only four years after Independence. In 1958 the military general Ayub Khan took power in a military coup setting a treacherous and bloody precedence that continues to plague Pakistan till today. The seeds of today's instability were sown early on, with the inability to keep the military out of politics giving rise to a failed sate with many centers of power, with different agendas. When there should have been only one, the one put in place by its people.
The Islamic militancy, terrorism, the rise of the Taliban and the ungovernable north west frontier all came about and were spawned by the inconsistent policies of the ever changing regimes implementing their various corrupt and populist agendas. As a result of Pakistan's democracy so often being hijacked by nefarious characters, it fell victim to America's interests in the region. The American financing and arming of the Mujahedeen during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan was done via Pakistan which by default led to the creation of the Taliban. Pakistan till today is heavily dependent on American military and economic aid.
I was born in Hyderabad, India in 1969. By then Pakistan had fought a few wars with India and a few more were to come. I grew up steadily brainwashed by public opinion and the media that Pakistan was enemy number one. This animosity was played out most overtly during cricket tournaments between the two nations. My Muslim friends had to constantly prove their allegiance to India during these times by overtly supporting the home team even when they performed poorly. If not they would be viewed as traitors. Then there were always reports of those who rejoiced blatantly when India lost and those incidents were considered good reasons to start riots. Riots were a common occurrence in Hyderabad where Hindus and Muslims live side by side. Mostly inflamed by criminal elements within local political parties, these clashes would polarize the city poisoning minds in the ugliest manner possible. The Hindu-Muslim conflict was directly translated to the India-Pakistan divide. This divide is constantly shoved into people's psyche on both sides of the border by the media and propaganda, and most often it goes without much thought. The only time the countries exhibit a sense of unity within, is when there is a skirmish on the border, there is a cricket match to be played out or in recent times a terrorist attack. A culture of mistrust and animosity eats away at its people and it seems to be getting worse with every passing year.
India and Pakistan have now gone nuclear. The land that launched Mahatma Gandhi, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Yoga and countless spiritual movements who's core philosophy is non-violence in the most absolute sense, now stands to launch the most violent "Astra" (weapon) created by mankind. Both nations have an arsenal substantial enough to exterminate each other many times over. Both are reeling under terrorist attacks of the most heinous kind and tensions are at an all time high. New reports of the Afghan conflict spilling into Kashmir, which has already been battered by the Indian Army and a Pakistan fueled insurgency for twenty years, are disturbing. So where do we go from here?
Every time I take a taxi in New York city, nine out of ten times the driver is from the sub- continent, and more often than not he turns out to be Pakistani. Within minutes as soon as I scan his I.D. which is prominently displayed on the "partition" and our origins are determined, our conversation moves from English to Urdu or Hindi. The camaraderie is instant, when we start talking about food, music, movies, cricket, language, poetry and everything that makes us similar and not different. And when time comes for the driver to drop me at my door, he refuses to accept my money. As in our culture it is discourteous to accept money from a friend. This has happened to me more than a few times in New York. And as I wish him a safe working night, I ponder on the ludicrousness of the India-Pakistan divide. How can an invisible border keep the same people apart for so long? If the Germans and Vietnamese can reunite what is stopping us? Well some might call this is a naive and preposterous thought, but for how long will this animosity poison our people? It becomes more and more apparent that the forces that are tearing the two nations from within can only be dealt with mutual trust and honest cooperation. Which in itself is a monumental task to achieve. Accepting the status-quo has not brought progress. The deception and posturing has to end in the interest of the people. When there is no psychological partition there is no need for a geographical one. It is what it is.
I guess what we needed to ensure peace was not Indo-Pak bus or train but taxi service, preferably staffed by New York's finest. Seriously though, your take was clear and balanced and got the history right. The idea of nationalism based on religion-as-identity is deeply flawed.
ReplyDelete