The healing touch provided by the feel-good diplomacy of the return of Geeta from Pakistan has evaporated with the cancellation of the Delhi concert by Ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali. While the External Affairs Ministry refuses to acknowledge any setback to India-Pakistan people-to-people relationship, the Pakistani civil society figures think otherwise.
Speaking to The Hindu , Najam Sethi, former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said the people of Pakistan had been surprised by the strain of intolerance visible in contemporary India. He said Pakistani artistes and creative individuals had noted that fringe elements in India had been committing acts outraging the public, while the people in power had extended support to the fringe.
“This tacit support from influential sections in India for the fringe elements has created an impression among the Pakistani people which can be removed if the government of India clearly states its position on hate crimes and what it thinks of democratic dissent,” Mr. Sethi said.
“Cricket and cultural events are the two most significant people-to-people platforms that should not be blocked. But while cultural events are being blocked by the fringe elements, the India-Pakistan cricket series which was planned for December is being blocked by the Indian government,” Mr. Sethi said. It showed that the Indian government did not want big-ticket people-to-people contacts despite the fact that these are urgently needed to keep channels of communication open.
Agreeing with Mr. Sethi, Amir Ghulam Ali, son of the ghazal maestro, said the political atmosphere of intolerance in India was the main factor which made Ghulam Ali cancel his trip.
Pakistani civil society figures said the mention of Pakistan in the course of a polarising election campaign in Bihar had shown that the leading figures in India’s ruling party believed in whipping up anti-Pakistan passion when it suited them. “As artistes and writers, our visits to India and the visits by Indian artistes to Pakistan have been important factors in our creative process which has been spared by the political masters of India and Pakistan,” Amir said.
However, former Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said the present government, as the previous ones, understood the utility of people-to-people contacts, but the real issue was the perception of India beyond the Indian borders which was preventing the Pakistani people to have meaningful exchanges with Indians.
“As such, there is no policy to discourage India-Pakistan people-to-people contacts, but the reality is that there is an atmosphere in India right now which is perhaps discouraging people from the fields of arts and sports from travelling to India from Pakistan,” Mr. Saran said elaborating that such contacts were of great utility especially since they kept a channel of dialogue open in times of conflict between India and Pakistan.
