Hatred Is Disqualified Between India and Pakistan
Guest Post by Sidrah Zaheer. Sidrah is a freelance writer who likes to blog about her thoughts. She is a curious person and can’t keep ideas to herself unless she has shared them online somewhere. She is most interested in issues of political and social importance and often writes about them in her various posts. She is a complete movie buff and likes to keep in touch with the latest technology, especially in social media. You can follow her on Twitter and join her Facebook Page.
Whenever I have entered into a chat with an Indian, there have always been feelings of goodwill and kindness for each other as people. This mutual respect between the people of India and Pakistan who communicate online tells volumes about how deeply the people of both the countries admire and appreciate each other in actuality. This fact is unlike what the media often depicts the situation between people to be. I have found Indians to get more interested in knowing better about me as a Pakistani and also about my country. This indicates an attempt on their part to bridge the gaps and understand. If you have understood another human being, you have connected.
First of all, they are amazed to see that I know Urdu and can speak it fluently as my mother tongue. Indians admire Urdu language, or so at least has been my experience when I tell them that Urdu is my first language. The heritage of Urdu literature in India has unique position in its culture and history. The second fact that strikes them is to know that I am from Karachi, which is a city they must have heard a lot of things about; some good, some bad, but always arising a sense of wonderment about Karachiites. Karachi is not much different than one of India’s own largest cities, Mumbai. Hence, many common things come to the fore when sharing experiences about life in these metropolitans. I don’t for one understand how based on similarities of backgrounds from this perspective, people can differ.
They instantly want to know what I think about India and the Indians, and I tell them that I honestly admire India and its people. The thing that inspires me most about India is its cultural colours and diversity. India is an extraordinary example of diverse groups of people living under one flag. Though that there are differences and grievances, but then there is also a feeling of brotherhood and love for one another under the tri-coloured national banner. If considered from the aspect of Muslim population of India, then it is the second largest country to have the highest number of residential Muslims, which is almost three times more than Pakistan.
Just as its melodious culture of music and dance and celebratory nature in every aspect of life, I love the Indian national anthem, which is just as beautiful as the country itself. None of the Indians that I have ever chatted with, and there are a quite a lot of numbers that I did, said that India and Pakistan could never be peaceful together. This proves that the educated people, the informed class on both sides of the border want peace and co-existence. The feeling is never of going to war, as it has resulted in nothing for either lands except death, destruction and deprivation of chances to move ahead. I think we should have evolved as people by now to not initiate arms struggle. There should be no space for immaturity and regrettable conduct.
In fact, we all agree that India and Pakistan can not only be peaceful together, but that they can also spread this message of peace and love to other people around the world, if only the things are not politicized by the war mongers who monetize on hatred and dissidence. If only the wishes of the people are paid heed to and shown at various levels of media can the world know that the love that exists between an Indian and a Pakistani is forever that of brotherhood and of compassion. We are like two brothers who are though distinct in their identities, yet connected with the same origin of land and cultural heritage.
Hence, competition between our cricket teams or between our cultural talents is nothing more than a competition that is held within a family to derive out the best in them. The peace is there, let the peace be out in the open so that its sweet smell can comfort us and lead us with a feeling of goodness and camaraderie toward one another. People of both the countries need better education, efficient health care and equal opportunities of employment. Both have had enough with wars and conflicts and spending of large portions of their budgets each time on defense, when they should be expended on innovative research and development of society.
Thus, there is no love lost between the two states and its caring people. Let there never be an air of hatred. I say Jai Hind and Pakistan Zindabad. May the people of both the sides live in harmony to make South Asia a beacon of peace and prosperity where hatred is disqualified to enter their lives ever again.
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I understand your sentiment of peace but I think you have confounded relations between states, governments and people. the states of India and Pakistan have huge baggage of negative feelings initiated at independence. The governments of India and Pakistan are pressed by national & international realpolitik thereby making them unable to ignore this baggage. The feelings of curiosity and lack of enmity that you refer to are traits of individuals and can’t be generalized as feelings of brotherhood between Indians and Pakistanis. The analysis that Indians and Pakistanis would live in peace if governments respect the popular sentiment is looking at things in black and white; inter-state relations have several shades of grey which can;t be ignored. And Indian may be interested in Italian culture or Mediterranean cuisine; this can’t be interpreted as feeling of brotherhood between India and Italy or India and Middle Eastern states. Feelings at micro-level should be generalized as impetus for decisions at macro-level.
I am not saying that feelings of brotherhood exist between India and Pakistan or between the two people. All I am saying is that we need to listen to the voices of those people, no matter how few, who want peace, because they are the sane voices. I do understand that none of the issues between any two states can be looked in black and white and there is a whole continuum of shades that exist between India and Pakistan. But what we have not tried as yet is to develop a separate phase, that should work independently, from the normal dealings between the two. That separate phase has to have programs of peace and understanding each other.
We need to understand what is it that we hate in each other. What is it that an Indian hates in Pakistan and vice versa. The very reason that we complicate issues, though that they are, make us fearful of having an attempt of thinking outside the box. Of thinking of an untraditional and unconventional approach.
All I am saying is that educated people, moderate people, people who want to move ahead and not live in the past, those people, such people - we need to give them attention. I don’t hate anything in India. Neither its culture, nor its people, nor its religion. There is nothing to hate in India for me. I know the atrocities that both states have committed against each other on the borders, in the region and in the world arena. But despite that we need to answer these questions and look inside ourselves and each other with an understanding. That might not lead to an understanding, but will at least lead to an understanding of having an understanding.
What is to hate in both India and my own country Pakistan, is lack of sensitivity for those who die because of hunger, for those who are robbed for having an opportunity to earn an honest living, for those who are denied a chance of being educated and in most cases, even literate, for those who are deprived of having a dignified life style.
We need to build our societies and both India and Pakistan can make progress if they stop spending energies and resources elsewhere and put them to good use for developing. I understand the realist politics. I am talking about liberal and moderate values here. Politics of fear does not take a man anywhere, it won’t take a nation anywhere. We should stop threatening each other and live for a better region and hence a better India and a better Pakistan together. Is it logical to kill each other? For what do an Indian or Pakistani should want to kill each other? What glory will it give either India or Pakistan if one of them is finished off or gets deprived from ever standing on its feet again? I think it is effecting both India and Pakistan and we should stop this politics of war and lets start anew with the politics of friendship. The entire world is a growing slowly intolerant because of such hate speech and warmongering each day, which is why we are killing human beings and destroying this planet.