Tough Challenge
| Date :29-Sep-2019 |
By ANSHUMAN BHARGAVA :
“Terrorism has come up as the greatest threat to humanity over the last few decades and India’s greatest bane is having to share geographical space with Pakistan – the hotbed of terror.”
“Through the scars of Partition, as India emerged a liberal, secular democratic society, Pakistan holed itself up in the dungeon of hatred, frustration and religious bigotry. No wonder, it further sank in economic depression and political isolation, while India grew into a giant of Asia, with a strong global relevance and influence.”
INDIA has made it clear that Pakistan will remain a “unique challenge” until it “successfully” addresses the problem of cross-border terrorism and “becomes a normal neighbour.” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while addressing a press conference on 100 days of Modi Government’s second term, said immediate neighbourhood remained a priority for India, with focus on generous and non-reciprocal policy aimed at increasing business and people-to-people contacts. “In these 100 days, there has been a message of change against the backdrop of a strong vote of confidence for the Modi Government from the electorate,” Jaishankar said. He said certain issues like changes in Article 370 and cross-border terrorism also had resonance in the foreign policy.
Talking about the neighbourhood, the Minister said it remained the priority of India and entailed connectivity, commerce, and contacts. Terrorism has come up as the greatest threat to humanity over the last few decades and India’s greatest bane is having to share geographical space with Pakistan – the hotbed of terror. Through the scars of Partition, as India emerged a liberal, secular democratic society, Pakistan holed itself up in a dungeon of hatred, frustration and religious bigotry. No wonder, it further sank in economic depression and political isolation, while India grew into a giant of Asia, with a strong global relevance and influence. Pakistan, in frustration, started unleashing violence on our side of the border, played up the Kashmir issue in a bid to garner world attention and downplayed India’s democratic values by aggressive propaganda of human rights violations, etc.
India’s patience and her adherence to democratic values were seen by Pakistan as signs of weakness and it grew more audacious, bred terror modules and started sending them into India to destabilise the region, derail dialogue and peace process and keep the Kashmir issue alive. By drumming up the issue year after year, Pakistan tries to stay relevant in global affairs. India has behaved maturely, has always tried to promote dialogue by keeping diplomatic channels open and she has always initiated peace efforts through trade, sports, and cultural exchanges.
It is an utter misfortune that despite a golden opportunity for the countries to join hands and usher in a new global order, Pakistan, due to some silly ideological blockade, is languishing in poverty and thwarting the progress of the region by sowing seeds of dissension and mistrust, despite having unassailable cultural commonalities and growth potential. Had Pakistan been complying, India would not have hesitated to play a constructive role in its development and together they would have been much more resourceful, progressive and mighty. Perhaps, that is not to be! Pakistan’s Government is directly abetting terrorist activities in India by pushing their men into the Indian territory. India is in the tightest spot in this situation because when there is no responsible Government at the helm who could be held responsible for anything, the process of dialogue goes for a toss and there is no certainty of any outcome. Dialogues and deals are democratic processes by which civilised diplomacy runs.
When civilisation and human values are themselves undermined, there is little possibility of any successful dialogue or deal to be brokered or sustained. India has time and again tried to initiate peace by bringing Pakistan to the talking table but every time she has done so, she has been ditched by a hostile and vengeful Army which does not heed to the Government. The Army is certainly helped by ISI inputs, which though officially is a Government body, is more aligned to the Army and the two work in unison, disregarding the civilian dispensation. The Government in Pakistan has never been serious with the issue of terrorism because no one could dare to disturb the status quo. The Prime Minister and the President in Pakistan are ultimately powerful by only as much the Army wants them to be. The remote control is operated from Rawalpindi, not Islamabad.
Their chair is in place only as long as the Army wants. The only headway is to fight the Army and ravage it. That is never easy for any country. Pakistan’s Army has its agenda and ambitions, however ridiculous and primitive they might be. The Army is obsessed not only with Kashmir, which is only an alibi to lend an air of justification to its bloodletting, but also jealous of India’s unprecedented progress in all spheres and Pakistan’s growing isolation and insignificance in global affairs.
Therefore, the prime motto of the Pak army is to keep things on the boil, so that India’s resources and attention are diverted towards handling the belligerence. On the sly, the civilian Government also feels happy about that and under the pretext of its helplessness, tacitly supports the ideology of enmity and division between peoples which the Army cashes in on. It silently observes the Army’s doings and vicariously celebrates India’s anxieties. Over the years, this has made the Army and religious groups so strong and rooted in Pak’s administrative soil that now the Government itself is feeling the heat. In this situation, the only way left before India is to sever all ties with the country. That can be the only antidote against its excessiveness because the end of trade and communication will hit Pakistan’s economy badly and send across a strong message. It is not a question of revenge or acrimony but life and security. We have suffered due to our kindness. But unless Pakistan is made to suffer, they won’t realise their mistakes. No country today is immune to possible terror strikes.
Countries which were considered safe and secure are now fast falling prey to shrewd terror designs. Fundamentalists and bigots take to the guns and start intimidating and killing people in the name of religion. Political leaderships and religious heads need to sit together and chalk out a roadmap to save the youth from the pitfalls of a destructive ideology and help them join the global mainstream by productive contribution to the progress of science and culture. Violence and terror are the enemies of mankind. In the past, only India spoke out against terrorism and countries in the West were not bothered, but after some major terrorist attacks over a period of time, the US, Europe, Russia, and other countries began to feel concerned and now they are going all out to stop it. Still much more needs to be done. Narrow interests have to be set aside and the larger picture has to be discerned. Terrorism and violence have no class or religion. It transcends geographical boundaries and spans continents. World leaders have a vital role to play in upholding democratic values and weaning away people from violence by raising awareness and education.
They need to play an active role in safeguarding their borders and their lands of terror activities. It just needs the right effort of the right-minded persons and leaders to push the cause of peace through better administrative and governance models and greater inclusiveness of people in nation-building that can tilt the balance in favour of peace. Majority of people always want peace. It is only a handful of destructive elements who, with the tacit support of certain power groups, try to destabilise the world and promote their parochial ideologies through force. Such forces cannot sustain themselves if people speak up, act, exercise caution and love and trust each other. By the way, if the good people unite and act and pressure their Governments to act tough through better international cooperation, more effective internal policies and strategies and better use of technological innovations, the power of the evil forces are bound to diminish because inherently evil is weak and its power brittle. In no time in history, there has been an opportunity like this for civilised nations to unite for a common cause that affects every country and its people.