16 June 2001

POTHOLES ON WAY TO INDO-PAK SUMMIT

From Rakesh Sharma

NEW DELHI: Whether it is India or Pakistan, both have a section of people whose deep-seated suspicions about the other side are acting as potholes for the forthcoming summit between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan's military ruler General Pervez Musharraf. Unless both carefully negotiate the potholes, the journey to the summit can suffer avoidable setbacks and delays.

India's case first. The latest issue of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's official publication -- BJP Today -- while making the right noises about the forthcoming summit with even Musharraf's photo on the cover, strikes a discordant note, penned by a writer who has chosen to hide behind the revered historical character Chanakya.

Preceding the prime centre-pages, thoughtfully devoted to the Simla Agreement and the latest letters of Vajpayee and Musharraf, the write-up by Chanakya titled "Pakistani realities" advises the government through its sub-title that "India should remember them before taking a view."

What are these "realities" Chanakya is referring to? Here goes Chanakya's point-wise list that will gladden the heart of hawks: There was no logic to the creation of Pakistan. This was confirmed by the break-up of Pakistan in 1971. Also remember that Muhajirs are unhappy in Sind.

So what does Pakistan stand on? According to Chanakya, "Hate India is about the only reason for the country's survival." Struggle over Kashmir is the unifying factor. The proxy war ensures that the Army continues to call the shots in Pakistan etc. etc.

In between, the modern-day version of Chanakya comes up with an interesting observation: "Nevertheless few citizens see the point in the large military expenditure compounded by the denial of the benefit of Indo-Pak trade. They would, on balance, be inclined to settle with the Line of Control becoming the international border." A remarkable statement this, considering that like India Pakistan too continues to have fractured polity and society.

Fortunately for the pro-peace peoples on both the sides of border, Chanakya's writing appears in the fringe publication of a leading party. Were it to make the front page of a leading Indian daily, well both Vajpayee and Musharraf might well find themselves forced into a situation where calling off the summit maybe less costly politically-speaking than going ahead with it.

Chanakya's are not the only discordant note in the run-up to the peace summit. The editor of BJP Today, Prafull Garodia, spares no effort to hammer hard the typical ideological position of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in these words: " Pakistan was a paradoxical absurdity for the Muslim masses, although an advantage for the classes to whom the leaders belonged. Those who might have needed the partition, even if for illusory reasons, were deprived. Those who needed nothing more were given a separate country! The subcontinental ummah was divided and in 1971 went on to be bifurcated. Islam was not sufficient to hold the two wings of Pakistan together."

But this is not the only inflammatory piece in BJP Today. The magazine carries a full-page review of a book titled "The ISI Connection." This is not to say that ISI has stopped or slowed down its activities against India. But surely when Vajpayee and Musharraf are planning to sit across the table it makes little sense to play into the hands of those forces across the border who are as opposed to peace as the hawks this side of the border.

In his Friday night Pakistan TV's "Face The Nation"programme, Musharraf too had to face hardliners. He was asked what made him think that India will honour its commitments this time and not behave as on previous occasions when India forgot its commitments to Pakistan once it was out of a tight spot. The General, replying with tact, said he was going to India with an open mind and expectation that the summit would be different from the past experiences.

Again, the hawks tried to pin him down saying that for Pakistan Kashmir was an unfinished agenda. This time, rather fumbling and bumbling Musharraf said that Kashmir indeed was an unfinished agenda for Pakistan. He, however, ignored the same questioner wanting to know if the unfinished agenda was division of Kashmir on the religious line of Hindus and Muslims.

Of course, observations by Musharraf on PTV and Pakistan radio, were aimed at pleasing the hawks on his side just as a few weeks ago Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said that the whole of Kashmir was an integral part of India.

Herein lies the rub. Both the Indian and Pakistani leaderships have a tough task on their hands. No, it is not resolution of the Kashmir dispute alone. More importantly the key issue for the leaderships of the both countries seems to be the proper handling or management of the hawks.

True as Musharraf's interaction with no doubt hand-picked media personalities and our own BJP Today  write-ups suggest that none can afford to ignore the powerful interests represented by the hawks. The danger, however, in playing with fire stoked by hawks is that a slight slip could burn hands, in our case for instance when BJP tries to run with Vajpayee and hunt with the RSS. END