DR. S. AUSAF SAIED VASFI analyses the Indo-Pak relations in the backdrop of the Mohali thaw.
To the utter glee of the entire plural nation, Bharat has added yet another wonderful feather in its colourful cap by winning the much-coveted World Cup, which, we feel, had been won on March 30 itself when Dhoni’s boys drove Afridi and Co. towards the pavilion.
What sober and serene Indian skipper did with the daydreaming Sri Lankans has been too-eloquently preserved by the print and electronic media: India Takes the Cup in Grand Style (The Hindu); The World in a Cup (Indian Express); Sare Jahan Se Achcha (Asian Age); We are the World (Sunday Pioneer); The World at Our Feet (Times of India).
The heterogeneous Bharat rewrote a new legend, a glorious chapter in history, scripted 28 years ago. A 6-wicket victory over Sri Lanka with 10 balls to spare is not a child’s play. On home turf, no country had ever won a world cup. Now India is No. 1 in Test and ODIs.
Earlier the Pakistanis put up tough resistance, rather a brave fight, in the process thrilling the world audience more than once. What counts more in sports is not defeat or victory. It is the capacity to absorb pride and pressure. It is the art behind the play in which the luck also plays its ubiquitous role. It is the grit, determination, resilience and perseverance that was in abundance with both the Pakistanis and the Sri Lankans.
ENGAGEMENT
As far as the political engagement with Pakistani leadership is concerned, it was just a conversation and engagement, and not talks or confabulations. Both the parties saw to it that there was no over emphasis on securing brownie points. Irritants were of course referred to, but no pressure was applied by the other party to concede the point in concrete terms. The reiteration of points was gentlemanly, punctuated with sophistry. The Pakistanis could refer to the alienation of the UPA leadership and the weaker position of New Delhi in Jammu and Kashmir that all of us saw in the problem State, just a couple of months ago. But they did not. This studied silence speaks of something positive.
THE RISK INVOLVED
According to the usually reliable sources, when the Prime Minister came to know that Mr. Ricky Ponting had been outplayed by the contingent of Mr. Dhoni, he called the security establishment chiefs and their political bosses, asking how do they feel about an invitation to the Pakistan Prime Minister to Mohali and see the match between the Indian and Pakistani cricketers. The idea clicked them also with the promise they would do whatever they can to maintain peace and tranquillity. And they did! This however does not mean that crooks have vanished from India.
It was Dr. Manmohan Singh’s imaginative thinking and initiative that made the summit possible. Full marks to him for that. Dr. Singh appeared to be at his poetic best in English prose when he said: “We should put our ancient animosities behind to attend to the problems of our nation. We have the will to persevere, we have the will to overcome. We should be working together to find cooperative solutions as we need permanent reconciliation to live together in dignity and honour.”
The manner in which the Pakistani officials reacted to the Indian initiative has an element of promise. See the scenario in the backdrop of the hardliners’ heavy existence in both the countries.
It is rightly said in business and commerce that “no risk no gain”. Dr. Singh had also taken a risk. Just think of a situation in which the Pakistan Prime Minister had politely declined the offer under the customary alibi of prior engagements. History provides some useful examples of the risks taken by the leaders taller than both Mr. Singh and Mr. Geelani.
Mr. George Shultz, a former US Secretary of State writes in his Turmoil and Triumph: “Ronald Regan greeted Mikhail Gorbachev at 10:00 a.m. with an engaging smile. Flashbulbs lit the landscape. The image was dramatic; the hatless, coatless 74-year old who had bounded out energetically in the bitter cold to greet the leader 20 years his junior. In the photos, Gorbachev – in top coat and brown fedora – looked older than the president. President Regan steered his guest into a side room for what was planned to be a meeting of about 20 minutes. Thirty went by, then forty. Jim Kuhn, the President’s Personal Assistant and Keeper of the schedule, approached me asking whether he should go in and give the president an opening to break up the meeting…. The rest of the Americans and Soviets sat around the large table that had been set up in the villa’s dining room engaged in casual conservation and stared through the high windows at the frozen scene outside… After about an hour and a quarter, the leaders emerged smiling.”
IMPROVEMENT
Although it was an engagement at Mohali and not talks between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, some progress was made in the ties.
1) Soon the 8-member Indo-Pak Joint Judicial Committee of Supreme Court and High Court judges would be revived and visit both the countries. It would visit jails to find out each other’s prisoners. At present India has over 500 and Pakistan around 450 personnel in each other’s jails.
2) Renewed efforts shall be made to resolve the Siachen tangle. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh wants to convert the Siachen into a Mountain of Peace. It is the world’s coolest, toughest and costliest battlefield. India had agreed to demilitarise it but that could not happen. The sticking point in the past talks has been: authentication of the 110 km Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) beyond the NJ-9842 grid reference point, where the well delineated line of control simply stopped dead in the 1972 Simla Pact till the Karakoram Pass.
3) Indian diplomats fear the Pakistan judiciary may not permit voice sample sharing of the 9/11 accused. A lower court over there has already rejected the plea of 3 of the 7 to provide their voice samples, invoking their right under the self-incrimination clause which deals with not giving evidence against oneself.
A lower court has also released a Mumbai attack accused earlier.
The information regarding the attack on the Samjhauta Express may create problems. Under the alleged RSS pressure, the prime suspect Aseemanand has turned hostile, holding the Intelligence pressure responsible for his confession earlier, involving Dange, Sunil Joshi, etc.
In the background of irritants, the two Home Secretaries talks can be described as constructive. Add to it the invitation by our Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha chiefs to their Pakistani counterparts.
MUSLIM VIEW
Now by the Grace of God we are a sports power also in addition to being a nuclear power, an air power, a naval power, a military power and a techno power. After these remarkable achievements, there is slide. It is a natural phenomenon. Let us therefore preserve our feats with both our minds and hearts. Cool and constructive thinking is required to avoid power-drunkenness, the surest shortcut to national death.
Our electronic and print media forgot to remember this universal fact. What our national press headlines imply is foreboding: The World at Our Feet, We are the World, etc. etc.
If we are a large and great power, let us believe like large and great power. Their point was appropriately articulated by Mr. I.K. Gujral when he was Prime Minister.