The Pakistan economy is in a tailspin. Inflation is 40%, Pak rupee devalued 33% last year. Foreign reserves have depleted. Pakistan’s S&P credit rating is CCC+, one of the lowest possible. Without IMF support, Pakistan will default. Petrol pumps are running dry, there are electricity cuts and food prices are skyrocketing. Every Pakistani is suffering in their daily life.
Meanwhile, India is one of the fastest going economies in the world, unicorns are being created, airlines are giving record plane orders.
It is facile to now compare India and Pakistan. Pakistan is close to being a failed state. India is the next growth engine of the world. You don’t compare a bullet train to a broken auto.
However, we do need to use the current situation to India’s advantage, especially when it can help the Pakistani people as well. This is the perfect time to introduce the concept of ‘reunification’ and ‘coming back to motherland’, even though it may seem idealistic or far-fetched at this point.
Many would laugh, as people often do when something truly radical is proposed. Reunification is seen as a fringe-of-fringe ideas, good for what-if discussions, especially after a few drinks.
However, we are not talking about an actual, executed reunification here. We are talking about an official stance, a stated ideal from India’s side that will tell the world how we (and they should) see Pakistan. It is like how we call it Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, or PoK. We have called it this for decades. Yet, we haven’t really taken actual steps to take back the occupation. For reasons of peace, we live with the status quo. However, if India is asked on it is position, it is always Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.
Similarly, isn’t the entire territory of Pakistan technically and originally a part of India? Just because a hurriedly executed agreement was carried out between a few politicians of the day back then, does it completely take away the historical roots of this land and its people?
Think about this. What was the reason to create Pakistan? A safe space for Muslims? Has it been a safe space? No PM has ever completed a 5-year term. Terrorism has been rife, even in their own land. Military dictatorships have destroyed democracy, created conflicts with India and bankrupted the economy. Pakistan’s image is terrible and is seen as one of the most unsafe places in the world.
On the contrary, the assumption that Muslims will be unsafe in India was proved wrong. Muslim population has grown manifold in India since independence. Sure, there have been issues. There is also unsavory politics around religion. However, Muslims, along with other Indians, are part of India’s growth story. They are living in a far more stable economy with better opportunities. Hence, haven’t the original assumptions regarding the creation of Pakistan being proved totally wrong? And isn’t asking for a return to motherland a historically and morally the right thing to do, even for Pakistanis?
If Pakistan was indeed meant to be a “safe-space,” why did it constantly escalate conflicts with India? What was the need to create a constant cold war like situation, with terrorism thrown in? This is all part of the identity crisis Pakistan has faced since its creation. It never was a safe space, as that safe space was never needed. Without that reason, it became a free for all, anything goes state, in the grip of fundamentalists one moment and the army the next.
Today, Pakistanis have lost all hope. They believe none of their leaders, any party or the Army can fix the place. In such a setting, the idea of closer ties to India will find appeal there. India can state its stance, that Pakistan is India’s own rebel-occupied territory, run by anarchists. And that India is always open to closer ties and bringing back this erroneously created state back to the motherland.
The actual reunion may not happen for a long, long time but this stance will matter. India could also back one of the political parties there, seen as more pro-India. In the current environment there, that party may have several takers.
We already control the culture of Pakistan through our entertainment industry. Pakistanis are also seeing their decline and India’s rise. If the situation is as it is now, imagine the gap in ten or twenty years.
In terms of our own local politics, a stance of calling Pakistan a mistakenly created state should not have negative political repercussions. While many Indians balk at the idea of combining Pakistan with India, if it is presented as India’s victory (which it is) it can be part of the appealing nationalism narrative. For Muslims in India too, a reunion is an attractive concept, as that will only increase their representation.
The actual reunion might be several decades away. There could be a time where religion-based issues and politics will dissolve or cease to matter as much. Today, caste-based issues have reduced, which has helped consolidate the Hindu vote. Similarly, one day, religious issues may subside in India and the idea of a “desi nationalist, sub-continental, brown pride” may take shape. When that happens, anything is possible.
Pakistan’s economic implosion is an opportunity for India to solidify its stance of Pak being an erroneously created rebel state. It’s time to say, come back to motherland, we will take care of you.