India and Pakistan - a tale of two siblings

Tension or violence at the line of control (LOC) between India and Pakistan is not something unusual. People from both countries are used to reading news about firings or killings at the LOC and this has been going on since these two countries became independent. Political leaderships from both countries failed to find some mutually agreeable solution for problems that exist between the two nations, even after so many attempts, and so many meetings still most of the problems remain as they were. 

The major issue between these two countries cannot be looked at only as a border dispute. There are a lot of emotional, political, and international angles to it. The issue of Kashmir is very sensitive for people from both countries. The biggest sufferers of this problem are Kashmiri people who are deprived of any stability in their state. This instability has affected everything in Kashmir, day-to-day life, economic development, tourism, and education. Thousands of Kashmiri Pandits are displaced from their native land and are living like refugees in their own country. Sadly this problem very rarely gets reported whenever the problem of Kashmir is discussed at any level. Both countries have invested so much in the Kashmir issue that it's almost impossible for both of them to back off from their stand. This standoff will continue indefinitely unless both of them acknowledge that there is a problem and they need to make serious efforts to solve it. Right now both of them claim Kashmir as their own territory and blame each other for creating this issue. This has been going on for decades and I think will continue in the future also because many political parties survive because of this issue in both countries. Both these countries refuse to accept that it's their fault that this problem still exists. They just blame each other and do nothing substantial to resolve the issue. This issue is also one of the major reasons for the arms race between these two countries (which involves the interest of many other countries that sell arms).

The hatred between the people of these two countries is also something that keeps these issues hot and politically relevant. One very good example of this is India Pakistan cricket match. For many people, it's not just a cricket match, but it's a war on the cricket field. It is a chance to show that we are superior to you, we can beat you, and these matches are full of tension. There are always very high expectations from fans of both teams. The unwritten rule is to "lose against anyone but not against Pakistan/India." For me, it took quite some time to get over these feelings and realize that a loss against Pakistan is not such a big deal. Now I look at it as just another cricket match but this was not the case during my childhood. I still remember that anxiety, agony, and anger after India's loss against Pakistan, now I laugh at it but at that time it was really serious and I used to consider all Pakistanis as our enemies.

Despite these differences and such a bitter rivalry there is so much similarity between these two countries. People from both countries enjoy similar movies and music. They share many cultural and social customs and more Muslims live in India than Pakistan. Many Pakistani artists work on Indian television and also in the Hindi movie industry but unfortunately reverse doesn't happen. Indian artists are not allowed to work or perform in Pakistan that's why I wonder how long this unilateral cultural exchange will continue. So far, this cultural exchange and bilateral sports tournaments are not proving any useful. The tension prevails, soldiers are dying and still terrorists have safe heaven in many places of Pakistan. Sometimes these cultural and sports exchanges are successful in creating a friendly atmosphere but then something very ugly happens at the LOC and things derail again. Political instability in Pakistan and a very dominant military regime complicates the issues more. Now Pakistan is also facing the fear of extremist terrorism and many tragic incidents are happening regularly there. Hopefully, at least not Pakistani government will take some serious steps to curb acts of terrorism at least to protect their own citizens. I hope that now both countries realize that they have a common enemy and come together to fight against it, but I wonder whether this long history of conflicts will make things any easier or difficult.

If both these countries settle their issues and try to bring peace it will be like a blessing for the people of both these countries. It will be like a dream coming true, but many people don't want this to happen because then their political careers will vanish. Many countries that sell arms to both countries will also suffer huge losses and I am sure all these forces will try their best to prevent anything like this from happening in the near future. This is very sad but it's a bitter truth. People from both countries also have very wrong images of each other. I met some Pakistanis here in the USA and they all are not very different than us, I enjoyed talking with them and I am sure many Indians had similar experiences and feel the same way. I want my fellow Indians to realize that our neighboring country is not full of only Islamic extremists or India haters. It's a very wrong image formed by some of the actions of the military and some politicians of Pakistan. We need to clear this misconception. One thing is clear these two countries can not avoid each other they are destined to be neighbors as long as both of them exist, so why not live peacefully and stop the blame game that has been going on for the last six decades or so. The time has come to stop this hate game, take a pause, think rationally not emotionally, and then take one step at a time, firmly, boldly making sure that we are going in the right direction. This is the only way we can resolve issues between these two nations and bring some peace. I think people from both countries need it more than anything else and their leaders owe at least this much to them. 

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)

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