The Dawn

Bharat has been stalling peace talks for the past six decades. Every meeting between Pakistan and India has failed. Bharat thinks that by stringing Pakistan along for the ride, it will be able to achieve its goals. It is wrong.

After agreeing in Sharm El Sheikh to delink “Terrorism” from the composite talks with Pakistan, the seat warmer Prime Minister of Bharat (aka) is backtracking on the deal. The Sikh token Prime Minister picked to assuage the minority Khalistanis who want a land of their own in Eastern Punjab, has no constituency and is in office at the will of the Bhahmanic cabal that controls Delhi.

• Bharat’s potential
• Failed Bharati diplomacy beyond pawky malaise & strategic atrophy

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been under tremendous pressure for “selling out” Bharati interests during a meeting with Prime Minister Gilani of Pakistan.

In Egypt Mr. Singh agreed to continue the dialogue with Pakistan, but the current vibes from Bharat again show the obduracy and obstinance that is typical of Hindustan. For the past sixty years, Bharat has been unable to resolve its boundary disputes with any of its neighbors and has had wars with all her neighbors–Nepal, Burma, China, Maldives, Bangladesh, Lanka and Pakistan.

• The resilience of Pakistan and the nation’s continuing collective refusal to do what the west would like it to do
• The stubborn Pakistanis

Pakistan seeks peace with India as an equal partner, not as a reward for good behaviour. Bharat seems to think that it is doing Pakistan a favor just by continuing the dialogue. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Pakistan wants discussion and resolution of all border disputes, water issues and the solution to Kashmir. Bharat wants to reward Pakistan’s “good behaviour” with talks.

Peace is always in the mutual interest of parties tied up in conflict. One party does not do the other party any favors. It is the height of arrogance to convey the impression that peace talks are a reward for good behavior of one party. By portraying Pakistan as the guilty party, Delhi sabotages any prospect for peace. If the Americans and the Russians can smoke the peace pipe, so can the Indians and the Pakistanis–however it has to be done on the basis of dignity and mutual respect, not diktat and dictation

Pakistan called on Mr. Singh to provide proof of the wild accusations that he has made. One day after the Indian Foreign Office retracted the Singh accusation and said thwart what Mr. Singh statement was a supposition and not an accusation. Obviously Mr. Singh is the victim of internal politics. Whenever Bharati politicians feel the pressure from internal sources, they begin taking the revenge out either on the minorities or on Pakistan. This statement is a classic example of this sort of grandstanding.

 There is much in common between India and Pakistan, but there is much that separates the countries. Mere cultural affinity and anathema to religion cannot wish the differences away. Bharat must recognize that Pakistanis do not see Delhi as the perfect model to emulate on anything. Therefore Delhi must stop wishing for a Pakistan in its own image. There are many routes to success, and Pakistanis admire the Chinese a lot more than they admire Indians. 

It is not Delhi’s god given right to rule Kabul. Nor does Bharat extend from Kabul to the Raj Kalhani in the East. Bharati religions preach the eternal history of Bharat beyond its borders. If Bharat is a secular country then this transnational dreams of a greater Bharat must be brought back to reality. Every time Adhvani and Modi open their mouths, peace is sent back a decade.

Good relations with Pakistan begin with better treatment of Muslims in Bharat–beginning with the Kashmiris, but not just limited to them. The Gujaratis and the other downtrodden Muslims in Bharat must be treated as equal citizens, and things must move beyond tokenism (Azad, Fakhuddin & Kalam).

There are many types of peace. It is obvious that India has neither the capacity nor the wherewithal to impose peace of the sort that exists between the Native Americans and the US government. India is not Israel and Pakistan is not the Gaza strip. If Israel with all its might could not force an unequal peace on unequal partners (Syria, Palestinians and Lebanon) it is also very obvious that Delhi cannot impose peace on Pakistan the same way. Bharat could not break up Lanka and make it Kowtow to Bharat. It cannot force Pakistan. It has to woo Pakistanis if she wants peace on her Western borders.

Pakistan wants all issues back on the table, including UN resolutions passed in 1948 giving Kashmiris the right to a plebiscite, which had been set aside by former President Pervez Musharraf in an effort to secure a peace deal with India.Daily Times

“Musharraf went beyond his mandate. How can he set aside the UN?” said Hasan. “He went rather overboard in offering that to India. The Indians should have grabbed it, but they didn’t.”

The statements emanating out of Delhi seem to suggest that Bharat (aka India) will begin talks about peace with Pakistan if this, that, or the other happens. This is the typical Bharati arrogance that keeps both countries embroiled in perpetual enmity. India, come what may cannot dictate its terms to Islamabad. If Bharat wants peace in the Subcontinent, it has to change its attitude towards all her neighbors–Nepal, Lanka, Bhutan, Sikkim, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan. While the other states may accept some bullying from Delhi, China and Pakistan will not. In the light of the Nuclear factor, Delhi cannot out stare Islamabad.

Delhi has to tone down its rhetoric on terror. Islamabad and the world knows who is behind the TTP in Swat. If Delhi wants peace with Pakistan, it has to pull back in Afghanistan and Swat. It has to make major territorial concessions in Kashmir and the border areas. Once the border disputes have been resolved, the sky is the limit in cooperation with Pakistan. Sir Creek and Siachin have to solved and resolved quickly. Once Kashmir is resolved in accordance with the UN resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people, the Pakistan government will find to problem in helping Bharat gain trans-national travel through Pakistan. However this  has to be on a mutual basis which would allow Pakistani truck to reach Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Bharat must live up to the letter and the spirit of the Indus Water treaty and begin treating Pakistanis are friends rather than enemies.

If Bharat wants peace with Pakistan, it has to dismantle the infrastructure of the RSS and the BJP and gag the Islamphobes that it nurtures within its borders. If Bharat wants peace it has to stop sabotaging Pakistan at all international forums, and begin supporting common and Pakistani causes. Jointly fighting for the Basmati patent, and IRRI copyright would hep the atmosphere of friendship.