One more round of India-Pakistan talks have failed. Our external affairs minister went to Islamabad for discussions, sporting his best diplomatic behavior. Their foreign minister took it as a rare chance to kick up a fuss and make India look silly.
I am sure S M Qureshi received some high-fives from his sycophants and a pat on the back from his seniors. Never mind that important issues involving millions of people didn’t get discussed. Never mind that both sides continue to burn money on defence supplies, wrecking finances. For the Pakistan army, the country’s real controllers, getting along is just not as much fun as a big fight. After all, what are so many generals going to do if there is nobody to fight? Work in security guard agencies?
While we all know how unreasonable the regime next door is, the big question is — what is India to do? The disputes are real and have to be resolved. However, when was the last time you heard the Pakistan government say anything sensible about India? The broader question is: how do you reason with unreasonable people?
Life would be easier if we were indisputably more powerful than Pakistan. When a gorilla is talking to a mouse, the mouse normally agrees with the gorilla. We have other tiny neighbours. They listen to India much of the time. And they would never dare insult our external affairs minister. Therefore, in the long run, India has to continue to outpace Pakistan economically until we find ourselves being heard better. But such a situation of clear supremacy is several decades away. Right now, we are dealing with a weaker if unreasonable person who can cause us damage. The approach here is not to send a delegation of smooth-talking experts and have a debating contest. No, mature activities like discussion assumes you are dealing with adults. India’s approach to Pakistan should be similar to the psychologist’s advice on dealing with a brat. Any parent will tell you that every child throws tantrums. They sulk, display aggressive behavior (hitting others, throwing things) or whine endlessly to get attention. In the old days, a spanking would take care of that.
But, the modern approach to parenting does not advise this. Also, the situation is more difficult with Pakistan because it has nuclear bombs. It is like a problem child running around the house with a grenade in its hand. While the child may deserve a spanking, you have to handle him with care as he is quite capable of causing damage. But this does not mean you start treating him like an adult. Children are incapable of reason beyond a point, and firmness is the approach that works — make clear rules, administer immediate punishment for indiscipline and never ever make empty threats. In India’s case, while we keep harping on the 26/11 issue, the fact is we didn’t do much when the incident occurred. We made empty threats about attacks but didn’t carry them through. We do have some idea of what we want from Pakistan, but we haven’t made clear how we will punish it if it doesn’t listen to us. Military action is only one, and frankly, the less-preferred option. There are others.
Pakistan is de-facto run by the Army, and the biggest punishment is if India overtly and blatantly supports democratic, anti-Army movements in Pakistan. For this, we must first distinguish between the Pakistan Army, the political parties there and the Pakistani people. It is the Pakistan Army that is anti-India. The political parties and the Pakistani people may also have some anti-India sentiments but one can work around that. India can actively provide aid to all major Pakistani political parties in exchange for the peace agenda being included on their manifesto. That will mean whoever comes to power is pro-India. We can expose Pakistanis to what India is all about — a fast-growing, democratic, free country. We have a far stronger media. Every Indian channel should be made free-to-air in Pakistan, with signals strong enough to ensure they reach everyone there. The more India they see, the less likely they are to hate us or get swayed by hate speeches. India can take affirmative initiative, such as scholarships for Pakistani students, making sure they are advertised heavily in order to create a better image of India in Pakistan.
We have to engage with Pakistan as if its people are suffering from an oppressive, gun-happy regime. To weaken the Pakistani Army, we can appease one general and undermine another, thus setting off the politics of horse-trading, which Indian politicians are good at. At the global level, India can expose the Pakistani Army as the biggest threat to world peace, and lobby for aid to be cut until the Army steps back from governance.
Peace is our preferred alternative and we want to be nice. However, nice does not mean allowing the other side to walk all over you. India can offer friendship but if its agenda is ignored, we can – and should — make life so difficult for the Pakistani Army that they fall in line. Be reasonable but tough, and pretty soon, the insecurity behind its brattishness will be exposed. Then, like a child after a tantrum, it will be reduced to tears and run into daddy’s arms. That’s when you tell them: Can we talk?
July 25, 2010 (The Times of India)