Touchstones: Hope, pride and moving on

As I sit down to write this column, my mind is so distracted by the continuous stream of reports, opinions and predictions on the ongoing skirmish between India and Pakistan that I am unable to think clearly.

There is no one who can defend the attack on innocent tourists in Pahalgam on April 22, nor is it possible to remain calm and unmoved by the manner in which the men of a certain religion were singled out and shot dead in front of their loved ones. The whole country is outraged and as the bodies of those unfortunate victims reached their native states and homes (virtually every part of the country), the intensity of anger and hatred went ballistic. Our media channels and all the social media handles set up such a chorus that it required immense self-control to be able to plan the midnight attacks across the border without harming civilian or military enclaves.

What is also evident is that, as Jaishankar said once, the West thinks that its problems are the world’s concern but that the world’s problems are of little consequence to the West. The attack in Pahalgam was no different from the one by Hamas on Israel’s young people attending a rock concert. And yet, none of those countries that supported Israel as it launched a pogrom on Gaza and the poor civilians of Palestine caught between this crossfire had a word of solace to offer us. For days, the BBC beamed pictures of the late Pope’s funeral and the conclave that will elect the new Pope. A radio silence on Pahalgam followed until it was shamed into squeezing a perfunctory reference to the conflict between India and Pakistan, almost as if we are two nations hyphenated for life over Kashmir. Donald Trump’s declaration that we have been at war for decades, nay centuries, is too stupid even by his own standards of idiocy to merit a response.

Let us face it, most of the world’s problems today are a harvest that was seeded by the colonial European powers decades, nay centuries, ago (to misquote the great Trump). South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America — all the current hotspots of war and unrest are paying the price for the loot and pillage of Britain, France, Belgium and Portugal over the past two centuries. However, they will face the consequences of their own actions soon enough. Britain is already under threat from its Muslim immigrants and large parts of the country are under the control of these aggressive groups. Whether they like to admit it or not, matters are no better in southern Europe and even the Scandinavian countries. Truth be told, India is perhaps the only country in the world where Muslims live in relative harmony with the majority community. So, somewhere in the past, we must have done something good. Look at the way in which all of Kashmir and most Muslim leaders across India stood in solidarity after Pahalgam.

Let us now come to the dragon in the room — China. This is a knotty problem and as the world’s two oldest civilisations, our relationship is tricky. It is not for me to predict the outcome of this confrontation but all I can say is that China will always look out for itself. Its interest in political alignments is directly related to securing its own position in the world. Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka — all these countries have had a taste of China’s so-called aid and paid a bitter price for it.

So where does this leave us? We have to trust the wisdom of our own historical thinking and the discipline of our armed forces in playing fair. So far, neither our political leaders nor our armed forces have let us down. Let us hope they will keep the Indian flag flying proudly. As a wag said, our politicians divide us while the terrorists unite us. There is a grain of truth there, for, even the hardliners of other political and religious groups have stood together with the rest of the country. In this lies our hope and pride.

Finally, a word on the water wars. It is shameful that we have to fight over releasing water between two states in India and that the courts have to step in to ensure a fair distribution. The story is no different in the Kaveri basin and elsewhere. The five rivers of Punjab give it its very name (Punj-Ab) so to deny the benefits of its distribution is unacceptable. Choking a country of water means punishing the people, not the rival state. I wish we had more compassion for the human suffering that is bound to follow.

Let us pray that we can all rise above our jingoism and our hatred for those political players who prey upon their own people for selfish reasons. This subcontinent has a large heart: let us never forget the human qualities that bind us together and rise above the painful legacy of the Partition. We must move on and behave like the largest democracy on this planet.

— The writer is a social commentator

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