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April 13, 2008
REVIEWS: For lasting peace
By Krishna Kumar
The book centres round Indo-Pak relations in a bid to find out ways for lasting peace between the two countries.
The plea for friendly relations is advanced on different grounds. One of the arguments is similarity versus difference axis; similarity in terms of culture, that is language, music, eating habits and common reflexes etc. When India seeks peace on this ground, it disturbs Pakistanis who are ardent believers in their separate identity, and rightly so. ‘Difficult though it is, we have to appreciate that Pakistan might have been similar to us once, but it is different from us now,’ says Krishna Kumar, and continues, ‘The book is about the reasons for this position and the challenges it presents to our efforts for peace.’
The author argues the need to find an alternative to replace the sameness vs difference axis in a larger context. India and Pakistan should seek for peace, keeping in view the reality that they are not only neighbours but a part of the process popularly known as globalisation, and as far as globalisation is concerned both the countries are faced with similar problems. They should realise that the world powers are pursuing the colonial-style brazenness and are bent upon reordering the world so that colonial hegemonies can be sustained. If India and Pakistan are to respond effectively to the challenges arising from the global explicitly political calamity they can only do so together,’ concludes the author.
This demands a rational approach by both the countries. There is a need to educate the younger generation to understand their neighbour. Instead of creating hatred, it requires a newer approach.
Kumar points out that Kashmir has been the core issue of all wars between India and Pakistan and both have failed to feel the agony caused to the Kashmiri people. Pointing to the war of 1971 and the Kargil episode of 1991, the 30 years in between were used by both the countries to stockpile conventional and new arms, large amounts of money were used to develop long range ballistic missiles. Had this amount been used to develop education and healthcare systems, the economic picture of both the countries would have been different from what it is today. Instead of deploying scientific and technological resources in development, the two countries continue with their pre-Independence policy of divisiveness with the result that Indian politics is leaning rightwards and as far as Pakistan is concerned, the ideology of Islamisation combined with politicised fundamentalism is widening the gulf between the two.
The Gujarat riots are a sore on India’s image; they point to a major crisis in society and the state and that too, not for the first time.
The author criticises the global perception of the Kashmir problem and states that any direction of territorial reorganisation on ethnic lines will be fatal as it has been in Iraq.
Kumar touches upon the various phases of historical events from pre-independence India to present day politics of the two countries, analysing and criticising the policies of the Congress and the Muslim League as well as of present day politics. He even criticises the secular forces of India who could not foresee that a communal riot was in making for a decade in the economically advanced state of Gujarat and raises the question whether modernisation and development are enough to strengthen secularism.
The Gujarat riots are a sore on India’s image, they point to a major crisis in the society and state and that too, not for the first time (for example the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 in Delhi, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi). The role of the government was shocking in both the cases. Kumar concludes that at least one source of India’s vulnerability lies in its hostile relationship with Pakistan. Therefore it is in the interest of both countries to seek peace, more so because a devastated South Asia would be more prone to exploitation by big powers.
The author visualises the chances of lasting peace through the implementation of an education system that will accommodate awareness of different identities without challenging the nation-building role of education. In conclusion, he puts emphasis on the realisation that ‘the politics of war and the social mindset which supports it are our own creations, and therefore, we are the only ones who can change them.’
Battle for Peace
Penguin Books, India
ISBN O-14-310194-3
153pp. Rs175
Reviewed by Syeda Saleha
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