Dialogue of the Deaf

 Majyd Aziz

“Hasad ki aag jo seeno mein pai jati hai/Ye aag khud nahi lagti, lagai jati hai” (the fire of envy in the hearts is not self-ignited but measures is lit by others) can best describe the bilateral relationship between South Asia’s two large neighbors, Pakistan and India. On August 14 and 15, 2013, both nations celebrated their own Independence Day with the usual patriotic zeal and fervor. However, this year, the festivities were shrouded in jingoistic outbursts and overarching emotional calls for irrational and virulent measures. The omnipresent media provided fertile ground for pseudo-fanatics to spew out venom over the airwaves. Political activists needed a rabble-rousing justification to get their arsenal ready for the upcoming May 2014 elections in India. Both governments are unable to rein in the ferocious bulls that have played havoc with their china-shop economies. The armed forces need to justify the billions spent on men, machines, and perks. More prominently, both nuclear powers were moving at a faster pace towards liberalization of trade, investment, and facilitation. All in all, the right time for misguided elements to do the Haka, the traditional Maori war-dance.

The recent hostilities at the border and the resultant uncivilized reaction was not unexpected by the business community. Liberalized trade is a fragile commodity and becomes a punching bag for those who are not comfortable with such initiatives. Conventional Wisdom accepts such intrusions and ensuing roadblocks. Nothing new! What is ominous is the fact that while liberal trade facilitation would enable documentation, transparency, and official bilateral trade, the sinister motives of those indulging in informal trade or those who are committing extremist acts or those who fear loss of their privileged positions continue to prevail over all efforts to bring in some sanity in the peace process.

Although it is the firm belief of most of the citizens that peace between Pakistan and India is tantalizingly illusive, there is always the hope and prayer that this quest for peace would not remain illusory forever. It is beyond rationality, it is beyond commercial and economical logic, and it is beyond sensibility why after 66 years it is still a dialogue of the deaf? If one adheres to superstitious beliefs, one could very rightly term it as the sub-continent ritual of ‘kala tika’ (black mark of mascara on face supposedly to ward off evil but also denoting placing a curse).

It was just in recent years that the pronouncements of people in corridors of power were so resplendent with flowery fragrance of confidence and glittering with shiny flecks of optimism that these messages reflected the upbeat mood that it’s time to change the paradigm of conflict. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated at the SAARC Conference in Maldives in November 2011 that “the time has come to write a new chapter in India-Pakistan relationship and I am glad the business community is writing this chapter” while then Pakistani Prime Minister expressed optimism at a Indo-Pak moot in Lahore in May 2012 that “the time for prophets of doom and gloom is over.” Even before Premier Nawaz Sharif took oath of office, the signals coming out of Raiwind were positive and pragmatic about the new government’s line of action regarding relations with the eastern neighbor. But, in the immortal words of Margaret Thatcher, “what is to be said has been said, but not everyone has said it.”

Inspite of so much highlighted, as well as surreptitious, animosity and trumpeting of confrontational clarion calls, efforts are undertaken by business leaders, social activists, Track II advocates, and arts and culture supporters, to endeavor to usher in an era of good feelings and reasonableness. The underlying objective is that future generations must not carry the excess baggage of hatred, contentious issues of the past, and a roller-coaster bilateral relationship with scary short stops during the ride. If Berlin Wall can fall down, why can’t the Atari Gate that symbolizes a barrier of rancor, distrust and frenzy not be smashed?

So, what next? Would the gains made in the past couple of years to liberalize trade, to open up investment, and to facilitate people-to-people contacts and movement become victims of chauvinistic brouhaha or would the recurrence of hostile events be downplayed and discouraged? Would political and militaristic issues and thinking continue to dominate channels of communication and actions? Would the denizens of the sub-continent remain vulnerable to fanatical mindset of radicals extremists like Shiv Sena and Lashkar-e-Jangvi? Alas, this is the black and white reality. The frightful legacy this generation may leave for its progeny should titillate the conscience of all who desire to live under the canopy of peace and prosperity.

Is there a way out, many a rational person does ask? This is what those who are in their winter years want to know. If provided an opportunity, many would want to imbibe the aroma of nostalgia by making a trip to their ancestral homes across the border. This is what those who have kith and kin across the border want to know. Emails, Skype or phone calls are middling alternatives for an emotional hug or a heartwarming embrace. This is what enlightened businessmen who understand the dynamics of regional trade want to know. They contend that trade between the two nations is a win-win situation and that free and fair trade would dilute the bitterness and malice that still prevail odiously.

In the Indo-Pak context, untruths are often flaunted as patriotism. India has to remove more cobwebs than Pakistan. Without India, Pakistan is more of a roadside tea junction rather than a crossroads. The sustainability and critical mass of SAARC is primarily dependent on where Pakistan and India stand. SAARC countries are also susceptible to three worldwide trends that impact trade, namely, slowdown in economies, constraints of trade finance, and xenophobic rise of protectionism. Hence, SAARC leaders must eliminate the damnosa hereditas (Latin for a disastrous inheritance that is more problematic than beneficial) that haunts the nearly 1.50 billion Indians and Pakistanis.