INDIA & PAKISTAN- BORN FROM ONE WOMB, FED

WITH MISTRUST
Origin of Bitterness
The animosity and conflict between the two nations ,now in its 69th year has
become one of the longest running war in history. The tryst with our destiny to
remain hostile with our brother nation began when Pakistan organized a terrorist
invasion into Kashmir valley in October 1947,before the celebration of our
independence died down. Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his Prime Minister Liaquat
Ali Khan conspired to sent fierce bands of raiders into the princely state of Jammu
and Kashmir to seize by force what was due to be negotiated across a table. The
story of Pakistan's failure in 1947 ,of the rape and havoc wrought by raiders ,has
been legendary. Why did Jinnah opt for war when the final status of Jammu &
Kashmir was still to be resolved?
Kashmir and Hyderabad were two large states that had refused to accede to either
India or Pakistan. Kashmir maintained status quo through what was known as
stand still agreements. But it was an ad-hoc arrangement until India and Pakistan
could write their own Constitutions, as per the terms of the Independence Act
passed by Westminster, British Parliament. That was how Lord Mountbatten was
appointed as the first Governor General of Independent India. Jinnah chose to
become the first Governor General of independent Pakistan when Jawaharlal
Nehru chose to become Prime Minister, sowing seeds of structural instability that
made democracy vulnerable in Pakistan. Since Admiral Mount Batten was also the
Chairman of the Defence Committee, Nehru wanted to settle the Kashmir issue
across the table, in the spring of 1948.when the strain of a terrible inheritance of
partition, riots and refugees ,would have eased. However the military option chose
by Pakistan turned the table upside down. Jinnah was wary of popular opinion in
Kashmir ,then represented by a strong leader, Sheikh Abdullah, who refused to buy
Jinnah's two-nation theory. In 1939, Sheikh Abdullah had deliberately changed the
name of his party from Muslim Conference to national Conference. He spoke a
secular rather than communal political language, and came to be popularly known
as 'Athirthi Gandhi'(Border Gandhi)

The Unique Conflict Zone

More than Geographical reason the conflict was over ideology. The irony is
very strange. India and Pakistan claim Kashmir for precisely the same reasons:
because it has a Muslim majority. The ideological split says it all. Struggle is
between the secular one-nation concept, in which every citizen is an equal
irrespective of his religion ,and the communal two-nation theory where one faith
has supremacy. Since both nations ideologically differ in their national policies, the
first agreement signed on April 8,1950 skirted past Kashmir and sought common
ground on the right of minorities .It became a meaningless document ,because
while India's secular Constitution has space for such rights, Pakistan ,as an Islamic
State wit faith-supremacy as the cardinal principle, not accept non-Muslims as
equal citizens. In an ironic, but dangerous volatile twist, Pakistan was unable to
accept Indian Muslims as equals either. As a point of interest, it was rumoured in
the corridors of power, that Mohammad Ali Jinnah was ailing from a chronic liver
disorder and was slowly dying while the partition drama was going on. He made
sure that it was a well-kept secret till partition. Had it been delayed for a couple of
months ,the destiny of India and Pakistan would have been entirely different. Since
Jinnah was the only strong contender for a separate nation, perhaps the greater
India would have remained, an undivided nation.
Stalemate in Six Decades
After 1965 war, in 1966 in Tashkant (USSR) the second bilateral pact was
signed between both nations. However, it was bland to the point of being inane.
Subsequently, India lost its historic opportunity at Shimla in 1972.Pakistan had just
been vanquished in the December 1971war.The country was defragmented
;Bangladesh had been liberated; and there were 92000 Pakistani prisoners of war in
Indian military camps. It was a big blunder that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi got
swayed by diplomatic pressures from world powers and lost a great opportunity to
finally settle Kashmir dispute. The Pak Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto ,who
despised India ,had the last laugh. He was more than willing to sign the Shimla
Agreement. Pakistan agreed ,in writing ,that "the line of control (in Jammu and
Kashmir)resulting from the ceasefire of December 17,1971 shall be respected by
both the sides without prejudice to the recognized position of either side. Neither

side shall seek to alter it unilaterally, irrespective of mutual indifferences and legal
interpretations. Both the sides further undertake to refrain from the threat or the use
of force in violation of this line". But then in a last line reference, India foolishly
accepted that this agreement would not construe "a final settlement of Jammu and
Kashmir". That is how we lost our strategic advantage of winning a decisive war
against the enemy, at the cost of precious lives scarified by our soldiers for the
mother land. Hail the political wisdom of our world famous Prime minister Indira
Gandhi.
An interesting anecdote came to my notice, when I was ADC to Haryana
Governor from the chronicles of Haryana Raj Bhavan. The first Governor of
Haryana, His Excellency Chakravorthy had hosted our PM, before she proceeded
to Shimla for the historic agreement. Indira Gandhi was like a daughter to Mr
Chakraworthy. Before leaving for Shimla, Indira Gandhi took an advice from the
senior Governor, as to how she should greet the cocky Pakistan Prime Minister Mr
Bhutto. Mr Chakraworthy curtly gave a short advice-" Indira, never shake hand
with the enemy, though he is weak". That 's history.
It seems Indira Gandhi never took the senior statesman seriously.
Conclusion
Having failed to take Kashmir through declared war ,Pakistan began financing,
arming and promoting secessionist groups that used terrorism as their principal
tactics. So where do we go next? We have witnessed three hot wars, a pervasive
cold war, one Kargil, and hawks streaming across skies of the subcontinent.
Pakistan is going through dangerous times. It is in Pakistan's interest, for the sake
of its own survival, to challenge the menace of talibanism and state sponsored
terrorism. The world sincerely wants the elimination of terrorists in a country with
nuclear weapons .If Pakistan accepts that there is nothing called good terrorism
,and all terrorism is evil, India-Pakistan relations can revive the lost momentum
that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, infused.
Let's hope good sense finally prevails among Pak Army and political leaders.