How to Make a Pakistani Peace Meal

Maverick: How to Make a Pakistani Peace Meal
By Farzana Versey
Covert October 1-14

Invective is the last refuge of the revivalist. Those who do not believe that Pakistan is a failed state are termed enablers of cross-border terrorism.

At the scene of an Indo-Pak peace meet of the media in Delhi , a couple of rightwing hecklers started shouting slogans. A famous name decided to leave. Headlines next day had a field day about how she had to “flee”. The fact is she was not even a panellist.

This ought to worry us more – the delusions of the sham peace industry. It highlights completely mofussil issues, and in that there is a patronising attitude. The media and entertainment industries suffer from it most.

Without having made the slightest dent, Lollywood wannabe Bollywood actress Meera had begun fantasising about her role as harmony-maker. Her little lip-lock with a “Hindu” actor was promoted by her. In her case it can be attributed to ambitiousness.

The press and electronic media audaciously believe they can solve the problems besetting the two countries. They claim to speak on behalf of civil society. What is civil society? The non-military? Are all civilians alike? What keeps us apart? Cussedness and insecurity. Pakistan is afraid of being sucked into the India whirlpool and India still nurses old wounds about lost land.

Jamborees by a handful of demagogues come dangerously close to peace evangelism. We have student exchange programmes. How do groups of young people visiting each other under ‘controlled’ circumstances translate into educating the new generation? Those born after August 1947 too constituted the new generation once. What do they have to say? Visit each decade and we see that political acrimony has seeped into the common person’s psyche.

Playing cricket matches is about a sport, not détente. If Lata Mangeshkar sang for Noorjehan over the telephone, it was a personal gesture and nostalgia. Getting their musicians here will only widen our exposure to music. Same goes for films. And if creativity is the great leveller, then let us recall a film called Sarfarosh where the ghazal singer character was later revealed to be a Pakistani terrorist.

Such fork-tongues do the most talking. They pontificate about pain of separation and sing paeans to oneness yet will be the first to run down similarities between people within their own society. How many of the activists from our side are Muslim and from their side non-Muslim? We have fishermen’s forum, no-visa forum, no passport forum, let’s share recipes forum, sing-along forum, but those people waving desperately at relatives who make it near some border area are not represented. They will have to wait for politicians to start bus services and hope that those buses are not bombed.

Oh, we are told, taxi drivers don’t take money, restaurants don’t charge you, and there is so much hospitality. Just for the record: Everywhere I went I was not only charged for services, but sometimes even filched, as I am in India . The warmth of friends is a separate matter. And is diplomatic relations about how many freebies you can manage? I got an extra scoop of ice-cream on Oxford Street by an English vendor. So?

The 7.1 percent who have internet access in India cannot bring about any change by signing petitions “especially after the Mumbai attacks”. This proviso itself reveals the elitist nature of such amity measures. The person from Sindh still begrudges a Pathan and a North Indian smirks at a Tamilian. These are differences we live with.

Why can we not find a mutual ground with Pakistan since we are culturally the same? Parallels in culture exist for the simple reason that we were one nation. That must not compel us to behave forever like lost twins. The commonalities frighten us, so instead of looking in the mirror we show the other their face in the cesspool. What should be a growing up process transforms into a great betrayal.

hamaare darmiyaan aisa koi rishta nahin tha
tere shaanoun pe koi chhat nahin thi
mere zimme koi aangan nahin tha
koi vaada teri zanjeer-e-paa ban-ne nahin paaya
kisi iqraar ne meri kalaai ko nahin thaama
havaa-e-dasht ki maanind
tu azaad tha
raaste teri marzi ke tabe the
mujhe bhi apni tanhaai pe
dekha jaaye to
poora tasarruf tha
magar jab aaj tu ne
raasta badlaa
to kuchh aisa laga mujh ko
ke jaise tu ne mujhse bewafaai ki

- (Parveen Shakir)

There was no such relationship between us
where your glory would be diminished
nor was I burdened with an empty open space
no promises bound your feet in chains
no confessions held my hand
like the desert winds
you were free
the roads followed your will
I too was fully engrossed in myself
but today when you changed your path
I felt betrayed