Terrorism: India and Pakistan bicker

There has been a lot of mail regarding the Mumbai tragedy. In its aftermath, Pakistani blogs have been full of accusations and recriminations. Even those that would question their own government find it easier to focus on India. I have reproduced below my response to a Pakistani blog on the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Zeeshan

Thank you for posting this article.

First, some things we agree on:

While I am Hindu and you are Muslim; I know the things I stand for you will stand for: a safe environment for my children, good schools, good job, good career prospects in the future...freedom of speech and freedom to follow my path to God..if our governments could provide that then the rest I will leave in the hands of your God and mine.

With respect to tolerance and stupidity here some facts to think over:

You are inaccurate about 9/11 since AlQaeda and Taliban took responsibility for that Act.

It is true that India does not have friendly relations with its neighbors..and a budding power must be able to make friends with its neighbors. This is a failing of my government and must be rectified and the responsibility always lies with the bigger brother.

It is also true that I have a lot of good Pakistani friends...mostly in the middle-east..and most of them would prefer to live in their home-land but feel insecure or there are not enough opportunities.

Pakistan is spending huge amounts of its budget on military expenditures...I know this is supposed to be because of the Indian giant next door...but the fact is Pakistan has attacked India twice militarily...not the other way around.

In 1947, the economy of Pakistan and India was on par. While India spent little on military it spent enormous amounts on education and infrastructure. Today the economy of India is 50 times the size of Pakistan on a per capita basis.

As a result, today the Pakistan military is a match for a country 6 times its population...but the Pakistan economy is having to get hand-outs from the IMF to pay its bills. This is not right and your government is to blame.

In 1948, after partition, 20% of the population of Pakistan was Hindu and 80% Muslim. Today less than 2% is Hindu. In India, the Muslim population was 8% Muslim in 1948, today it is over 13%.
Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world where the Hindu population has declined.

In India, we have Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Shabana Azmi, Azim Premji, Hamid Ansari, Abdul Kalam, Pataudi, etc.....all Muslims but they are great and respected for their achievements not because of their religion which is their private affair.

There is little doubt that India has far surpassed Pakistan on the world stage..it is not because the people are smarter or work harder..we are the same people after all...it is because the Pakistan government has not pursued good policies for its people.

The conflict between our countries has to end. I do not care if it is ISI or CIA or AlQaeda or RAW...you have to know that these conflicts are breaking the long term dreams of the Pakistani people.

Do not think that your government is going to follow good policies without your push...they have not done so for 60 years. It is time for the Pakistani people to rise up and wrest their country from the vested interests.

If you agree with my first paragraph then you know the path to friendship. Focus on our agreements...and build on that. The conflicts then melt away. Those that wish to divide us are forcing us to focus on our differences. It is within us to not allow that to happen.

Salam
December 4, 2008 4:02 PM