Another ‘Aman Ki Asha’…

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.

The Untapped Land of Pakistan !

(An article I wrote for Naidunia)

The word “Pakistan” means “pure land”. But the irony is, when one pictures Pakistan, he is forced to imagine something entirely opposite. A very conservative and strict atmosphere, an unknown lurking danger, the myth of Taliban and it’s aristocratic rule, a poverty inflicted society, and an anti-Indian government… all this sets our mind tickling about how people even survive there!

But when you step in Karachi, and take a glimpse of it’s posh well-developed infrastructure, you will be surely forced to change that mind-set. It is as developed as any metropolitan city, and is recently splurging with quality education. You look at the people there, and try to spot a trace of fear of the impending danger, but there’s none, they look as normal and indistinguishable from the Indians. India and Pakistan are like the eyes of a same person, though they can never meet or see each-other, yet they share similar vision, similar culture and similar corruption issues.

And as surprising as this might sound, Pakistanis are very fond of India, they watch Bollywood movies with equal interest, keep tabs of Indian news 24*7 and feel an inexplicit connection with it’s sister-country as if the two nations are linked with unbreakable threads. Shajar Ali, a watchman from Karachi says, “Half of my family resides in Lucknow, and India is like my other home. I keep going there once in a while. However I just wish the tension between India and Pakistan gets over, getting a visa has become even harder after the Mumbai terror attacks”. When asked what difference he sees between India and Pakistan, he said, “I’ve seen more love amongst people in India. They are warm and affectionate, everything else between the two nations is almost same.”

The Difference?

Pakistan and India are similar and different in so many ways. While corruption, scams and cricket are invariably hot topics in both the countries, many other issues such as security, freedom of expression and women empowerment vastly differ in both the nations. Indian air promises a sense of freedom and safety. But the minute you enter Pakistan, you’ll be advised to remove all your jewelleries. Thieves their follow you like a shadow, and people are scared of wearing any jewellery simply because they might get looted on gun-point. Even the police and administration can not fight that shadow. When asked how they wander about on streets wearing jewellery, Tasneem Malik, a housewife said, “Well I have almost stopped wearing gold jewelleries, mostly it’s imitation jewellery that I wear. There have been cases of loot in our neighbourhood, and sometimes robbers even kill ladies for not handing over their jewellery. It’s best we do not take any risk”. Even marriages here are held secretly without any flamboyance, since a little pomp-n-splendor can easily invite attention and lead to inevitable robbery. While Tasneem feels security is a big issue in Pakistan, Malik-ul-ushtar, a businessman, on the contrary feels Pakistan is a great country which is just caught up in international politics. He says, “Theft and robbery are issues every country deals with, the real issue with Pakistan is with particular sects of terror groups which are bent on creating havoc, and media is no help either, it has just exaggerated the situation. Otherwise Pakistan is a beautiful nation and everything is normal here.”

Women Liberty

If Pakistan has some golden points every nation should look up to, it also struggles with certain dark areas too. Gender equality and freedom of expression are two rights one is unofficially denied in this country. In the cream classes you’ll fail to notice this injustice, but the masses are a crystal clear projection of this invisible barrier that’s threatening to pull down Pakistan’s growth process. Clad in ‘burkhas’ and covered from head-to-toe are ladies living in their own protected shell, unaware of the freedom and opportunities outside their realm. You can not find even a single woman driving any two-wheeler there. Shocked? Well should be. It is not considered appropriate for women to drive two-wheelers, since of course driving openly in public without any shelter is way beyond what the society can tolerate. About this Mrs Patanwala said, “I have been to India once, watching ladies drive made me realize how much I’m actually missing. But there’s a cultural difference between India and Pakistan, in Pakistan you can not take any sort of risk, not even of driving a two-wheeler in public”. Though this observation might seem petty to the larger half, a small percentage of women hate this distinction, they feel it holds them back. Mrs Malik says the unavailability of two-wheelers for women is a definite sign of backwardness. But on the contrary, Athar, a businessman, sees no harm with the practice and explains the logic behind it. He thinks in accordance with Islam, a lady should never do anything that invites the attention of men. Driving a two-wheeler openly is dangerous as well as a risky invitation to thieves. So avoiding driving will ensure a woman’s safety. Justified or not, this practice has now been embraced by almost everyone, to the extent that they have grown happily habitual of it.

On Terrorism

Just like a snake coiled tightly around it’s enemy, terrorism has established it’s tentacles firmly in Pakistan. It has converted the pure land into a draconian state ready to swallow any one standing against it. And as shocking and disgustful as it might sound people have grown numb towards violence; bomb blast and firing are scenes they confront daily. And you can’t even blame them. The environment itself is so soaked with terrorism, that a person learns to live with it. You’ll never fail to notice armed policemen guarding important areas prone to threat. However according to the locals, recently the situation has drastically improved and the rate of terror strikes has marginally reduced.

Cricket: Game or Shame?

The recent verdict on spot fixing brought some very famous cricketers like Salman Butt, Mazhar Majeed, Mohammad Aamer and Asif in limelight. In a nation where cricket is religiously followed, these incidents shake people’s utmost interest in cricket. While for some this is small news, but passionate fans got a huge blow after hearing this revelation. Murtuza Ali, an avid cricket fan said, “I was and still am a huge fan of cricket. I always believed in our team, but the spot fixing incident has disappointed me a lot. The country has given these players so much, and in return they betray us with spot fixing. It’s very unfortunate”.

Do you smell corruption? India and Pakistan after all have something in common!

Marks of Progress

Amidst the dark episodes comes a brighter chapter, that of progress and broader vision. Many schools all over the country have now turned co-educational, which was an unlikely scenario few years back. Another scenario you are unlikely to find anywhere else is the transport system. Speaking of Karachi in particular, you can neither ignore it’s butter-like roads nor it’s ultra-unique buses. It flaunts beautifully adorned buses with paintings and colourful designs. And you just can’t take your eyes off those attractive buses (if you have watched the movie ‘Bol’, then you know what we’re talking about!). Although most of the buses have been irreparably damaged by bomb blasts, yet their beauty beneath the charred surface is still visible. Gazala Sabir, an Indian says, “I loved the buses in Karachi. Although they were as congested as the ones you find in Indore, still they had a special charm about them. I was so impressed I purchased a tiny model of the bus”.

The land of Pakistan is an untapped and hidden domain, which is just hooked up in the claws of international politics and terrorism. The people live and think the way we Indians do. And there’s absolutely no difference between the two nations. It’s time we follow the famous phrase, “Make love not War”.