Last year when around a dozen of my family members applied for a Pakistani visa, only half of us got through. We were dejected and crestfallen, a family wedding was round the corner in Karachi, and only six of us got visa. A silent thought floated through each one of our’s mind, why can’t Indo-Pak relations get amicable? Travelling across that ever so thin boundary would be much easier then, we could go there any time and every time we wished to, since half of my family practically resides there!
And when Asif Ali Zardari made a short visit to Ajmer, it was like an ice-breaker. India and Pakistan decided to get friendlier in terms of trade and business, for me that was a twig of a silver lining. My family in the other country immediately applied for visas. Just in case the relations got sour later, why lose such a golden opportunity? And I made a meticulous search on the current bi-lateral ties. Yes, good tide is in for a long time. Pakistan is the only country in the negative list under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, or FEMA, which prohibits investing in India. Now that name has been removed too. India has broadened the scope of FDI for Pakistan and in return Pakistan has taken a step further in naming India as the most favoured nation. Wow, most favoured nation, now that’s something right? Pakistan even increased the number of exportable items from India more than three-fold. Now that’s an immaculate example of symbiotic relationship.
I couldn’t be more happy.
And I’m sure the ones reading this blog share similar notion too. It does not matter whether or not your family or any acquaintance resides in that sister-country, peace is a noun that every single Indian and Pakistani yearns for. The media may have created a hype, stressing on the strained Kashmir issue or the deep-rooted terrorism or the not-so-friendly terms between India and Pakistan, but the people in both the countries have no such issues. I have spoken to many Pakistanis there, and discovered a pleasant truth, they are indifferent to all issues between the two nations. The market sells stuff claiming it is Indian-made, and people buy it immediately. The word ‘India’ has credibility there. I have encountered occasions when, on my routine street shopping occasions, many sellers have tried convincing me to buy items claiming it is from India, I have smiled silently, not because I’m an Indian myself, or not because I know for a fact that those items are not Indian-made, but because the people there consider India at a higher pedestal than you or I can imagine.
Had 1947 partition not taken place, both the nations would have flourished as one. The flawless singers there, be it Atif Aslam or Rahat fateh Ali Khan would have been our singers too, the cricketers there would have been in our team too creating an envious prospect for all other teams ( imagine merging India and Pakistan cricket teams!) and our combined economy would have been on the top slot. Not only this, petty issues like Kashmir dominance and terrorism would not have existed, neither would there be any strain on the LOC. Anyways I have gone far away from the practical world into an imaginary realm. This is just the beginning, if ever, peace is to come as a topping on both the countries, then we need more such initiatives. One for example, was Times of India’s ‘Aman ki Asha’ campaign that brought the arts of both the countries on a single platform.
Such endeavors constantly remind us that scope of love, friendship and cross-border trade is still probable. I’m reminded of a beautiful verse from Rabindranath Tagore’s poem...'Where the mind is without fear' , and I can not end without sharing few lines.
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
