The former Supreme Court judge, Justice Markandey Katju, said the solution to Indo-Pakistan problems lay in the “reunification of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh under a strong secular state, with a modern minded leadership, which does not tolerate religious extremism of any kind, and which is determined to rapidly industrialise India and provide for the welfare and raising the standard of living of our masses.”
He said huge amount of money being spent on arms purchases could also be used for the uplift of poor people and giving them decent lives.
He, however, said “this reunification will not be easy, since those who divided us will not let us easily reunite. We will therefore have to wage a long, arduous struggle, of may be 15-20 years, before this objective is achieved, but we must achieve it.”
Justice Katju was expressing his views in the backdrop of the Indian government deciding not to hold talks with Pakistan after the Pakistan High Commissioner met separatist leaders. The J&K Legislative Assembly has urged resumption of talks.
He said “religion can never be the basis of a nation otherwise almost every country will have to be partitioned.”
“When I meet Pakistanis, I find them no different from us. We look like each other, we share the same culture… In fact, in foreign countries, Indians and Pakistanis socialise as if there had never been any Partition,” he said.
