INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent comments to an American podcaster regarding the Pakistan-India relationship are detached from reality and reflect a highly selective reading of the history of the nearly eight-decade-old dispute.
While the relationship has been marked by great complexity, with mostly lows and a few highs since partition, Mr Modi painted Pakistan as the villain of the piece, with India the innocent victim of Islamabad’s conniving schemes. The reality is quite different. Mistakes have been made by both sides, but in the recent past it has been India that has been resisting Pakistan’s overtures for peace. As the Foreign Office put it, the Indian PM’s remarks were “misleading and one-sided”.
Mr Modi seemed ‘hurt’ that Pakistan had engaged in a ‘proxy war’ against his country, and that Islamabad replied to his personal attempts to mend fences with “hostility”. Interestingly, while the podcast appeared to be nothing more than an attempt at Pakistan-bashing and reimagining history, the Indian leader offered no way towards peace.
It is clear, therefore, that it is not Pakistan but India that is not interested in harmony in South Asia. This country has been advocating dialogue, while India refuses to even play cricket in Pakistan, as the recent debacle over the Champions Trophy illustrated. Pakistan indeed has its flaws, and mistakes have been made by the state in the past, such as letting certain groups indulge in cross-border adventurism. But times have changed, and these are matters of the past.
Moreover, it should be remembered that India has also encouraged cross-border terrorism in Pakistan, particularly targeting Balochistan through its malign activities. And Pakistan is not alone; the Indian security apparatus has spread its tentacles to the West, deploying assassins in Canada and the US to target Sikh activists.
Therefore, Indian foreign policy, particularly under the BJP’s watch, is not exactly guided by ahimsa, but by active meddling in the affairs of sovereign states. Mr Modi should also have recalled the role of his own intelligence operatives in destabilising Pakistan while blaming this country for not playing nice.
The truth is that from sabotaging Saarc and trying to isolate Pakistan diplomatically to constantly raising the bogey of cross-border terrorism, it is India that has rebuffed Pakistan’s efforts to make peace. Instead of criticising Pakistan publicly, India needs to revisit its own negative approach.
If New Delhi is sincere about bringing peace to South Asia, let it agree to an unconditional dialogue with Islamabad about all irritants. If India has plaints against Pakistan, this country also has a long list of grievances against its eastern neighbour. The only way to bring lasting peace is to launch uninterrupted and uninterruptible dialogue to address all issues. Is India ready?
Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2025
