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Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:02:01 -0700
Subject: [uttorshuri] The Future of India-Pakistan Relations
The Future of India-Pakistan Relations
Nirupama Rao
Our relations have been encumbered by a host of missed opportunities. We compound these by refusing to learn from history and thereby condemn ourselves to replicating the past rather than unmaking it.
NEW DELHI : I consider it a privilege being invited to speak to such an august gathering at the Jamia Milia Islamia on a subject which is of critical importance to over a billion people of South Asia. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Vice Chancellor Najeeb Jung, who I am proud to call my friend and batchmate, my former colleagues Ambassador Satyabrata Pal and Ambassador T.C.A. Rangachari, Shri M.J. Akbar, Dr. Raja Mohan, Dr. Ajay Darshan Behera and the faculty of this reputed centre of learning for providing me an opportunity to set my sights on the future and speak on how I see the evolving paradigm of relations between the two largest countries in the South Asian sub-continent. Predicting the course of one of the most complex and unpredictable relationships in the modern era is a task that most intrepid astrologers would hesitate to undertake and ladies and gentlemen, I am no astrologer. I will however, attempt to approach the subject as a practitioner of diplomacy and international relations.
Six decades after the tragedy and trauma of Partition, a host of issues continue to bedevil India-Pakistan relations and cast long
shadows on bilateral ties. The challenge then, is to grasp this moment in history to explore the possibility of peace in the region in the larger context of an increasingly interdependent and globalizing world. In the India-Pakistan discourse, we have literally eaten bitterness for the last sixty years and given the complexities of our ties, the task of improvement in ties is also Sisyphean. Some argue that we must induce a radical transformation of mindsets
on both sides that view each other through the prism of an embittered past and entrenched hostility. This may be the conventional wisdom but is often not borne out by the behaviour of the multitudes of common people living on either side of the border. I say this in the realization that there are enough people in both countries that continue to be prisoners of the past. And yet, how does
one explain the warm and spontaneous applause of thousands of spectators at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 3 this year when the Pakistani contingent entered the stadium for the opening ceremony of the 19th Commonwealth Games in Delhi or the statements of support from the Pakistani sports authorities in the run up to the Games when others were vying with each other to write off the
event before it had started? What explains this? On the one hand there is the push of realism that compels us to see the relationship with Pakistan as hobbled by its many limitations, while on the other hand, there is the pull of
emotion, of sentiment, of the muffled footsteps of shared history that beat in our blood, that generates a response that is giving and generous.
It may be tempting to conclude that the common man desires
peaceful and good neighbourly relations and that the governments of both
countries are somehow impediments in achieving this cherished goal. This would
be far too simplistic and naïve. While it is apparent that the people of both
countries desire to live in peace and amity, yet it takes only one act of
mindless terrorism, like the barbaric attack on Mumbai in November 2008, to
vitiate the atmosphere and poison public perception.
Of course, there is the engulfing deficit of trust between
the two countries that needs to be bridged. This needs to be done both at the
government and people to people level. Numerous well-meaning efforts in the
past have faltered and many will continue to do so in the future unless both
sides show an unwavering commitment to stay the course and create a propitious
and enabling environment to surmount the innumerable obstacles that are
littered on the path to peace. There is no magic panacea that can make this
happen. But it is incumbent on each and every one of us to persevere with
patience and dedication so that future generations do not remain hostage to a
poison-ridden legacy of political misunderstandings and geopolitical
antagonisms.
The Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan met on the margins
of the SAARC Summit in Bhutan in April this year and agreed to normalize
relations and to address the deficit of trust that exists between the two
countries. Accordingly, they mandated their Foreign Ministers and Foreign
Secretaries with the task of working out modalities for restoring trust and
confidence in their relationship and thus paving the way for a substantive
dialogue on all issues of mutual concern.
Pursuant to this directive, I visited Islamabad
in June to prepare the ground for a subsequent visit by the External Affairs
Minister to Pakistan
the next month. While I do not want to dwell into the specifics of both these
visits, notwithstanding the cordial and frank exchanges, our efforts to bridge
the trust deficit and pave the way for a serious and comprehensive dialogue
were thwarted by a level of overreach by Pakistan that complicated the
resumption of a sustained dialogue process. However, we do not view this as a
set-back in our quest for peace as both sides appear to be committed to
ensuring that the spirit of Thimphu is not
lost. The Foreign Minister of Pakistan has accepted our invitation to visit India, dates
for which will be decided through diplomatic channels. We will continue to
strive for a resolution of all outstanding issues through dialogue.
The countries of the South Asian region have a common stake
in ensuring a peaceful, stable environment that guarantees a bright and
prosperous future. Democracy has infused a new vitality among all countries in
the region, and brought with it a revolution of rising expectations and
perceived possibilities among the peoples of South Asia.
The leadership in all the countries of South Asia
is obliged to concentrate on the imperative of providing inclusive and sustainable
development and economic opportunities to the needier sections of their
populations. This realization should also unlock bilateral relations between India and Pakistan. It informs the vision of
our leadership when they seek dialogue with Pakistan. The linkages resulting
from economic interaction, connectivity and people to people contacts could
build the sinews of a more durable and lasting peace in which stakeholders will
have a vested interest in preserving the gains of a mutually beneficial relationship.
This is the call of the 21st Century.
India's
advocacy of an incremental, graduated and forward-looking approach that seeks
to address the deficit of trust is by no means an attempt to avoid tackling of
the substantive differences that trouble relations with Pakistan. While
there can be no guarantees for success, such an approach seeks to build first
on what is achievable and simultaneously to also address the more intractable
issues in a sustained manner. The issue of terrorism arising out of the
sub-conventional conflict directed by Pakistan
against India
for over two decades now, cannot be ignored either. It is as substantive an
issue as the issue of Jammu and
Kashmir, or the issue of the Siachen Glacier.
As we seek to pave the way for a serious and comprehensive
dialogue, how do we enlarge the constituencies of peace in both countries so
that the dawn of a new era does not remain a chimera? I had earlier referred to
economic linkages and enhanced people to people contacts. The task before us is
to translate this on the ground to a mutually enriching and beneficial
partnership for the greater good.
The Indian economy has grown exponentially in the last
couple of decades and despite the global downturn, it continues to grow at over
8 %. While the Government is committed to inclusive growth so that the benefits
of an ever expanding economy percolate down to the grassroots, we would be
happy to share this growth with all our neighbours. This can only be done if we
are able to promote our complementarities and link our economies to a
trajectory of inclusive and incremental growth. Artificial barriers and
self-defeating policies need to be struck down. The ensuing economic
interaction and mutually beneficial cooperation can lift our region from the
morass of poverty and deprivation and at the same time create vested interests
in a shared vision of peace and prosperity for our people. Unfettered trade and
investment flows coupled with freer people to people exchanges at various
levels, particularly between the youth of the two countries, and better
communications could help in realizing this vision.
Education can form a bridge in bringing together young minds
in the region. Universities and academic institutions in both India and Pakistan can play an important role
in creating objective understanding. The South Asian
University, under the
SAARC framework, provides an ideal platform to create a South Asian
consciousness. The vision of a world-class South
Asian University
was envisaged by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at the 13th SAARC Summit in Dhaka in 2005 when he stated:
"The people of our subcontinent are at the cutting edge of
scientific and technological research and in the front ranks of the knowledge
society across the world. Wherever an enabling environment and world-class
facilities are made available to our talented people, they excel. Let this
become a forum where our academicians, scholars, researchers and gifted
students can work together in the service of human advancement".
The University, which commenced its first academic session
this year, has as its core objectives, building a culture of understanding and
regional consciousness; nurturing a new class of liberal, bright and quality
leadership; and building the capacity of the region in science, technology and
other disciplines considered vital for improving the quality of life of the
people. It can play a stellar role in peace building and reconciliation in the
subcontinent by providing a foundation for mutual comprehension and
understanding amongst our youth. We have emphasized that Pakistani students
seeking admission to the SAU are entitled to the same non-discriminatory
dispensation as all other entrants to the University from other South Asian
countries, and that we welcome them to come to SAU.
The future of India-Pakistan relations, as I see it, must be
predicated on such a win-win situation where everybody has a stake in
furthering the cause of peace and good neighbourly relations. It is with this
vision that our Prime Minister has repeatedly reached out to Pakistan. The
recent devastating floods in Pakistan
provided an opportunity for us to express our solidarity with the people of Pakistan in
their hour of need. Our offer of $ 25 million was meant to alleviate the
heart-wrenching suffering of the people and we are ready to do much more as a
neighbour that shares a long border with Pakistan. We are ideally placed to
rush badly needed relief material, food, medicines and supplies across the
border to provide succour to the suffering millions. Pakistan wished us to route our
assistance through the United Nations. We were ready to oblige.
I am not trying to predict a rose-tinted future for
India-Pakistan relations. But surely, we can dare, perchance, to dream? To
dream of a future where on both sides of the divide, our two countries will
foster imaginative and creative approaches to tackling problems of peace and
security, confidence-building in both conventional and non-conventional areas
of defence, the differences over Jammu and Kashmir, and gird our relationship
by a raft of clearly enunciated agreements and understandings that can bury the
rusting, corrosive hatchet of sixty years and more?
Our relations have been encumbered by a host of missed
opportunities. We compound these by refusing to learn from history and thereby
condemn ourselves to replicating the past rather than unmaking it. However, to
learn from history we cannot afford one-sided or biased interpretations. We
must also remember that essentially, we were one people shaped from the same
timber of humanity before we decided to part ways. There is a need to
understand the past in a more redemptive way. Unless we rise above the present
we cannot realise the future we seek. The choices for the future are stark and
real. Either we learn to live together in peace and harmony or we risk
imparting to future generations our differences and prejudices that will
continue to divide us rather than unite us and indeed widen the gulf between
us. Given the complexities of our relationship and the tortured path that we
have traversed till now, it is easy to be cynical and predict a gloomy future.
However, as an eternal optimist and someone who believes in the power of people
to shape their destiny I feel it is incumbent on all of us to strive and
achieve a peaceful and mutually reinforcing relationship that will unlock the
true potential of more than a billion people for their betterment. Can we
realise this goal? The answer needs to be jointly explored sooner than later or
else time will pass us by and yet another opportunity would go a begging. I am
confident that if we are to approach this with a shared vision and a conviction
of purpose, the quest for peace need not remain elusive and in the realm of our
fantasy. The eyes of the rest of the world are on us as we engage in this
quest.
That, Ladies and Gentlemen, would be my prognosis for the
future of India-Pakistan relations. I would like to conclude by wishing all the
participants in this symposium success in their deliberations.—SAN-Feature
Service
Keynote Address by India's Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao at the Pakistan
Studies Programme (Jamia Milia Islamia), New
Delhi on October 19, 2010
Nirupama Rao
Our relations have been encumbered by a host of missed opportunities. We compound these by refusing to learn from history and thereby condemn ourselves to replicating the past rather than unmaking it.
NEW DELHI : I consider it a privilege being invited to speak to such an august gathering at the Jamia Milia Islamia on a subject which is of critical importance to over a billion people of South Asia. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Vice Chancellor Najeeb Jung, who I am proud to call my friend and batchmate, my former colleagues Ambassador Satyabrata Pal and Ambassador T.C.A. Rangachari, Shri M.J. Akbar, Dr. Raja Mohan, Dr. Ajay Darshan Behera and the faculty of this reputed centre of learning for providing me an opportunity to set my sights on the future and speak on how I see the evolving paradigm of relations between the two largest countries in the South Asian sub-continent. Predicting the course of one of the most complex and unpredictable relationships in the modern era is a task that most intrepid astrologers would hesitate to undertake and ladies and gentlemen, I am no astrologer. I will however, attempt to approach the subject as a practitioner of diplomacy and international relations.
Six decades after the tragedy and trauma of Partition, a host of issues continue to bedevil India-Pakistan relations and cast long
shadows on bilateral ties. The challenge then, is to grasp this moment in history to explore the possibility of peace in the region in the larger context of an increasingly interdependent and globalizing world. In the India-Pakistan discourse, we have literally eaten bitterness for the last sixty years and given the complexities of our ties, the task of improvement in ties is also Sisyphean. Some argue that we must induce a radical transformation of mindsets
on both sides that view each other through the prism of an embittered past and entrenched hostility. This may be the conventional wisdom but is often not borne out by the behaviour of the multitudes of common people living on either side of the border. I say this in the realization that there are enough people in both countries that continue to be prisoners of the past. And yet, how does
one explain the warm and spontaneous applause of thousands of spectators at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 3 this year when the Pakistani contingent entered the stadium for the opening ceremony of the 19th Commonwealth Games in Delhi or the statements of support from the Pakistani sports authorities in the run up to the Games when others were vying with each other to write off the
event before it had started? What explains this? On the one hand there is the push of realism that compels us to see the relationship with Pakistan as hobbled by its many limitations, while on the other hand, there is the pull of
emotion, of sentiment, of the muffled footsteps of shared history that beat in our blood, that generates a response that is giving and generous.
It may be tempting to conclude that the common man desires
peaceful and good neighbourly relations and that the governments of both
countries are somehow impediments in achieving this cherished goal. This would
be far too simplistic and naïve. While it is apparent that the people of both
countries desire to live in peace and amity, yet it takes only one act of
mindless terrorism, like the barbaric attack on Mumbai in November 2008, to
vitiate the atmosphere and poison public perception.
Of course, there is the engulfing deficit of trust between
the two countries that needs to be bridged. This needs to be done both at the
government and people to people level. Numerous well-meaning efforts in the
past have faltered and many will continue to do so in the future unless both
sides show an unwavering commitment to stay the course and create a propitious
and enabling environment to surmount the innumerable obstacles that are
littered on the path to peace. There is no magic panacea that can make this
happen. But it is incumbent on each and every one of us to persevere with
patience and dedication so that future generations do not remain hostage to a
poison-ridden legacy of political misunderstandings and geopolitical
antagonisms.
The Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan met on the margins
of the SAARC Summit in Bhutan in April this year and agreed to normalize
relations and to address the deficit of trust that exists between the two
countries. Accordingly, they mandated their Foreign Ministers and Foreign
Secretaries with the task of working out modalities for restoring trust and
confidence in their relationship and thus paving the way for a substantive
dialogue on all issues of mutual concern.
Pursuant to this directive, I visited Islamabad
in June to prepare the ground for a subsequent visit by the External Affairs
Minister to Pakistan
the next month. While I do not want to dwell into the specifics of both these
visits, notwithstanding the cordial and frank exchanges, our efforts to bridge
the trust deficit and pave the way for a serious and comprehensive dialogue
were thwarted by a level of overreach by Pakistan that complicated the
resumption of a sustained dialogue process. However, we do not view this as a
set-back in our quest for peace as both sides appear to be committed to
ensuring that the spirit of Thimphu is not
lost. The Foreign Minister of Pakistan has accepted our invitation to visit India, dates
for which will be decided through diplomatic channels. We will continue to
strive for a resolution of all outstanding issues through dialogue.
The countries of the South Asian region have a common stake
in ensuring a peaceful, stable environment that guarantees a bright and
prosperous future. Democracy has infused a new vitality among all countries in
the region, and brought with it a revolution of rising expectations and
perceived possibilities among the peoples of South Asia.
The leadership in all the countries of South Asia
is obliged to concentrate on the imperative of providing inclusive and sustainable
development and economic opportunities to the needier sections of their
populations. This realization should also unlock bilateral relations between India and Pakistan. It informs the vision of
our leadership when they seek dialogue with Pakistan. The linkages resulting
from economic interaction, connectivity and people to people contacts could
build the sinews of a more durable and lasting peace in which stakeholders will
have a vested interest in preserving the gains of a mutually beneficial relationship.
This is the call of the 21st Century.
India's
advocacy of an incremental, graduated and forward-looking approach that seeks
to address the deficit of trust is by no means an attempt to avoid tackling of
the substantive differences that trouble relations with Pakistan. While
there can be no guarantees for success, such an approach seeks to build first
on what is achievable and simultaneously to also address the more intractable
issues in a sustained manner. The issue of terrorism arising out of the
sub-conventional conflict directed by Pakistan
against India
for over two decades now, cannot be ignored either. It is as substantive an
issue as the issue of Jammu and
Kashmir, or the issue of the Siachen Glacier.
As we seek to pave the way for a serious and comprehensive
dialogue, how do we enlarge the constituencies of peace in both countries so
that the dawn of a new era does not remain a chimera? I had earlier referred to
economic linkages and enhanced people to people contacts. The task before us is
to translate this on the ground to a mutually enriching and beneficial
partnership for the greater good.
The Indian economy has grown exponentially in the last
couple of decades and despite the global downturn, it continues to grow at over
8 %. While the Government is committed to inclusive growth so that the benefits
of an ever expanding economy percolate down to the grassroots, we would be
happy to share this growth with all our neighbours. This can only be done if we
are able to promote our complementarities and link our economies to a
trajectory of inclusive and incremental growth. Artificial barriers and
self-defeating policies need to be struck down. The ensuing economic
interaction and mutually beneficial cooperation can lift our region from the
morass of poverty and deprivation and at the same time create vested interests
in a shared vision of peace and prosperity for our people. Unfettered trade and
investment flows coupled with freer people to people exchanges at various
levels, particularly between the youth of the two countries, and better
communications could help in realizing this vision.
Education can form a bridge in bringing together young minds
in the region. Universities and academic institutions in both India and Pakistan can play an important role
in creating objective understanding. The South Asian
University, under the
SAARC framework, provides an ideal platform to create a South Asian
consciousness. The vision of a world-class South
Asian University
was envisaged by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at the 13th SAARC Summit in Dhaka in 2005 when he stated:
"The people of our subcontinent are at the cutting edge of
scientific and technological research and in the front ranks of the knowledge
society across the world. Wherever an enabling environment and world-class
facilities are made available to our talented people, they excel. Let this
become a forum where our academicians, scholars, researchers and gifted
students can work together in the service of human advancement".
The University, which commenced its first academic session
this year, has as its core objectives, building a culture of understanding and
regional consciousness; nurturing a new class of liberal, bright and quality
leadership; and building the capacity of the region in science, technology and
other disciplines considered vital for improving the quality of life of the
people. It can play a stellar role in peace building and reconciliation in the
subcontinent by providing a foundation for mutual comprehension and
understanding amongst our youth. We have emphasized that Pakistani students
seeking admission to the SAU are entitled to the same non-discriminatory
dispensation as all other entrants to the University from other South Asian
countries, and that we welcome them to come to SAU.
The future of India-Pakistan relations, as I see it, must be
predicated on such a win-win situation where everybody has a stake in
furthering the cause of peace and good neighbourly relations. It is with this
vision that our Prime Minister has repeatedly reached out to Pakistan. The
recent devastating floods in Pakistan
provided an opportunity for us to express our solidarity with the people of Pakistan in
their hour of need. Our offer of $ 25 million was meant to alleviate the
heart-wrenching suffering of the people and we are ready to do much more as a
neighbour that shares a long border with Pakistan. We are ideally placed to
rush badly needed relief material, food, medicines and supplies across the
border to provide succour to the suffering millions. Pakistan wished us to route our
assistance through the United Nations. We were ready to oblige.
I am not trying to predict a rose-tinted future for
India-Pakistan relations. But surely, we can dare, perchance, to dream? To
dream of a future where on both sides of the divide, our two countries will
foster imaginative and creative approaches to tackling problems of peace and
security, confidence-building in both conventional and non-conventional areas
of defence, the differences over Jammu and Kashmir, and gird our relationship
by a raft of clearly enunciated agreements and understandings that can bury the
rusting, corrosive hatchet of sixty years and more?
Our relations have been encumbered by a host of missed
opportunities. We compound these by refusing to learn from history and thereby
condemn ourselves to replicating the past rather than unmaking it. However, to
learn from history we cannot afford one-sided or biased interpretations. We
must also remember that essentially, we were one people shaped from the same
timber of humanity before we decided to part ways. There is a need to
understand the past in a more redemptive way. Unless we rise above the present
we cannot realise the future we seek. The choices for the future are stark and
real. Either we learn to live together in peace and harmony or we risk
imparting to future generations our differences and prejudices that will
continue to divide us rather than unite us and indeed widen the gulf between
us. Given the complexities of our relationship and the tortured path that we
have traversed till now, it is easy to be cynical and predict a gloomy future.
However, as an eternal optimist and someone who believes in the power of people
to shape their destiny I feel it is incumbent on all of us to strive and
achieve a peaceful and mutually reinforcing relationship that will unlock the
true potential of more than a billion people for their betterment. Can we
realise this goal? The answer needs to be jointly explored sooner than later or
else time will pass us by and yet another opportunity would go a begging. I am
confident that if we are to approach this with a shared vision and a conviction
of purpose, the quest for peace need not remain elusive and in the realm of our
fantasy. The eyes of the rest of the world are on us as we engage in this
quest.
That, Ladies and Gentlemen, would be my prognosis for the
future of India-Pakistan relations. I would like to conclude by wishing all the
participants in this symposium success in their deliberations.—SAN-Feature
Service
Keynote Address by India's Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao at the Pakistan
Studies Programme (Jamia Milia Islamia), New
Delhi on October 19, 2010
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