If our politicians cannot defend the ceasefire, the biggest gain of the India-Pakistan dialogue, they should stop claiming they represent Kashmir’s best interests
The killing of two soldiers on the Line of Control, and the gruesome manner in which Lance Naik Hemraj met his end, have shocked and anguished all Indians. But in all that has been said by political leaders and by the men in uniform, there is a strange omission. Not one of them has yet thought it important to stress that despite the violations, how vital the ceasefire has been to changing lives on the ground for people living on both sides of the LoC — the Kashmiris that both India and Pakistan claim to speak for, and whose best interests both nations claim to represent — and what a crucial anchor it has been for peace efforts in the region over the last decade and therefore how important it is to secure it.
‘10 for one’
Instead, on the Indian side, there has been talk about the need to get “10 heads for one;” about India having “other options;” about how the Indian Army will not remain “passive” to provocations. But what is truly sad is that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been a determined votary of better ties with Pakistan, and once spoke about “breakfast in Lahore and lunch in Kabul” has now started competing with BJP leader Sushma Swaraj in playing to the gallery. His statement that it “cannot be business as usual with Pakistan” is — word for word — a throwback to the Mumbai attack.
But it is also useful to recall that after those famous last words in 2008, the two countries came back to the table as realisation dawned on India that talks it had to be. Back at the table, both sides set up a framework with much difficulty, and even managed some forward movement. It seems no lessons have been learnt from that experience. Reminiscent of the Mumbai aftermath, on the Indian side, sporting contacts, and the visa-on-arrival-scheme have been the immediate casualties.
On the Pakistani side, the politicians and the military have been too preoccupied with the bombings in Quetta, Karachi and Swabi, protests and Tahir-ul Qadri. But they threw the U.N. card at India and also suspended two main confidence building measures on the ceasefire — the cross-LoC bus service and cross-LoC trade, directly hurting the Kashmiris.
Ask the people of Kirini, a village on the LoC in Poonch, what they make of this sudden downturn in their fortunes. It was only two years ago that the Indian Army tentatively allowed residents of this village to return to homes and lands they were forced to leave eight years earlier. They were not just in the cross-fire; security forces also suspected that the village, divided in 1947, was being used as a haven by infiltrators from across the border.
‘Cluster colony’ of villagers
When a group from Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation, a think-tank that works on India-Pakistan issues, visited them in 2007 at the ‘cluster colony’ to which they had been relocated, Kirni villagers told them that they trekked everyday to their village to work on their lands. It took them about one-and-a-half to two hours. The barbed wire fence, which came up on the LoC in 2004-05 further divided the village, leaving most of the houses and the land ahead of the fencing. Villagers were let in through a gate in the fence that opened once at 9 am and, again at 4 pm, by which time, people had to wind up their day’s chores and leave. The women would cook in their homes at Kirni during the day, and carry the night meal back, over slippery pathways, to their one-room tenement in the cluster colony. Everyone had to be back in the colony before dark.
In April-May 2011, in view of the ceasefire holding well, the Indian Army allowed Kirni’s residents to return to their village. Kirni was the pilot of a model rehabilitation plan. If it went well, and there were no incidents, 20,000 people of other villages along the LoC would be rehabilitated too; most of them were.
If India and Pakistan do not stop the tough talk and the shelling, it’s back to the future for these people, and by extension for everyone else in J&K. In Uri sector in Baramulla, people in villages close to the LoC are demanding that the government either construct bunkers for them or give them money to do it themselves. The bunkers that the villages used to have apparently collapsed during the 2005 earthquake, but as the ceasefire was going well, no one gave thought to reconstruct them.
From South Asia Terrorism Portal, a website with an exhaustive list of security-related incidents in the sub-continent, here is a snapshot of what it could look like if bunkers really became urgent and necessary: in two months, from September 26 to November 27, 2000, India counted 611 killed on the LoC. Of these, 119 were of military personnel, and 151 were civilians. The website classifies the remaining dead as “terrorists”. As many as 136 military personnel were injured; among civilians, the number of injured was higher — 153. This was just from localised hostilities at the LoC, not an all out war.
Compare this with post-ceasefire casualties: no incidents until 2006; in July 2009, Defence Ministry A.K. Antony told the Lok Sabha that 110 incidents had taken place along the ceasefire since it came into being in 2003; on the Indian side, four soldiers and two civilians had been killed.
Semblance of normality
The CDR group that visited the LoC in 2007 heard in village after village that people were finally sleeping well, not in a metaphorical sense, but quite literally. That the ceasefire also helped Kashmiris on either side connect after more than five decades of Partition, through travel and trade, was the icing on the cake. All this gave Kashmiris a semblance of normality after more than five decades of living in a war zone. If the ceasefire, the biggest achievement of the India-Pakistan dialogue of the last 15 years, is something that our politicians cannot summon up the backbone to defend, they might as well stop talking about Kashmir.
As the numbers show, both sides have violated the ceasefire on plenty of occasions, and there have been arguably bigger incidents. In July 2008, Shiv Shankar Menon, who was then the Foreign Secretary, told journalists right after meeting his Pakistani counterpart, that the ceasefire at the LoC was under strain. That year, there were 77 violations. Last year, there were 117.
Despite a solid system to ensure that such violations are resolved immediately, it seems as if this time, there was a deliberate absence of will to use this mechanism to its entire capacity. The meeting between the field commanders did not last even 15 minutes.
Track Two dialogue
At a recent edition of the Chaophraya Track Two dialogue — it brings together specialists from various fields, some of them former government officials, for a candid exchange on India-Pakistan issues — some Indian participants warned that if there was to be another terrorist attack on Indian soil with a Pakistani fingerprint, “all bets would be off,” and it was therefore in Pakistan’s interests to dismantle the terror infrastructure for the talks to go ahead — who could have seen a month ago that the danger would come from a ceasefire violation on the LoC. But most participants, Indians and Pakistanis, were emphatic that the two countries must insulate the gains of the dialogue process — such as trade and visas — from such incidents, or else there was no point in expending resources to make some progress, only to be dragged down, and then have to start all over again.
Securing the ceasefire and the rest of the peace process is more important than at any other time. 2014 is not just the year of the next general election in India. It is also the year by the end of which the United States would have withdrawn most of its troops from Afghanistan. What happens there, and the rest of the region after that will depend much on India and Pakistan, and the state of their bilateral relations. Despite its internal troubles, Pakistan has its eyes fixed on the Afghan ball, and is already involved in efforts for a political deal with the Taliban. Given the stability in India-Pakistan relations over the last year or so, until last week, this would have been a good time for a frank discussion between the two countries on Afghanistan, and for New Delhi to highlight its own concerns, how it sees its own role in bringing regional stability. Instead, we are back to staring down each other, which can only bring more bad tidings in a post-2014 situation. For the next government in New Delhi, there can be far more pleasant ways to begin an innings.
To borrow a term from the medical profession, we are in the middle of what doctors call the Golden Hour, the first hour after a road accident, in which there is a possibility of setting things right for the victim. Get it wrong now, and it can only get worse from here.
nirupama.s@thehindu.co.in
Keywords: India-Pakistan border tension, cross-LoC firing, Indian soldier beheading, ceasefire violations, Indian Army, Pakistan Army, cross-LoC bus service, cross-LoC trade, Kashmir issue
A timely distraction from the real issues that face both nations! Such a pattern of behavior has become so predictable that most of the intelligent people on both sides are bored of this 'border shows'! Sadly, the circumstance is created by sacrificing some poor soldiers and their families' livelihood. Any thinking person can see there is no real commitment on both sides to resolve the issue of Kashmir for once and for all. It is kept as a necessary evil that gets the attention whenever the national politics looks bad for the incumbent government. So long the stories of corruption and scams can be kept out of the front pages of the Newspapers, such stories of squeamishs are of great value for the political class. While passion is poured into such events, days pass without electricity,water, transport, public toilets, hospitals, roads and schools! And, a lot of money finding its way to Switzerland! God save the country - the politicians won't!
'An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind',once said that
great man.
Pakistan, as history tells us, has always been provocative while we,
being a far matured state, have always been restrained and pragmatic
in our response and thanks to which normalcy seemed to have returned
in the valley. And that normalcy in the lives of those citizens should
be the prime concern for our decision-makers before taking any step.
Of all the talk of nationalism and wickedness by pakistan, its those
people residing there who will suffers the most in case of any extreme
step by either of the parties.
This refers to the article("Beware of dogs",The Hindu published on
18 January,2013 )
,I Will agree with the writer that over the last five years things
have started changing in the valley.People,both side of the LoC,are
finding their life back to normal.The incident has brought a sense of
Skepticism and non-trust among both in the army as well as in the
minds of the common people,which is not good for anyone.Our policy
makers have to see this issue holistically.This is the time to ponder
not wander.
Only courage in the minds of our politicians and decision makers can achieve peace.
By History, India is a peace loving nation. But if attacked, peace can not be achieved by simple verbal protest. Immediate border action should have been exercised on the same day itself.
Killing of our soldier is intolerable.
Thank you for arguing for some sanity in India - Pakistan relations. This family quarrel has already gone on too long - nearly 70 years. Look at what this failure of leadership on both sides has brought for the people: diverted attention from dealing with urgent issues of poverty and development to the point that the people in two countries suffer from some of worst living conditions in the world and people being fed a steady diet of hate towards each other to the point that they no longer can tell facts from fiction on this issue. Lots of young men from poor parts of both countries have unnecessarily lost lives. Yes, we have to be alert
about terrorism. But that requires intelligence not jingoism of the lowest variety. Wish both countries leaders were equal to the challenges we face.
Another gem from the Hindu. This is a balanced, thoughtful summation of a situation being hyped for political ends that hurts the very people it is claimed to help. Sushma Swaraj displays the same vitriol as Uma Bharati, except that she is not as shrill. Frankly, Salman Khurshid is a mature politician and his comments were very refreshing.Indopak issues have gone off the rail through silly jingoism, which neither country can afford, when millions still need basics. I would love to see Dr. Singh visit Pakistan and sign a peace treaty!
Why does the skirmishes happen? because they are intended to
happen.Someone gives orders to shoot.Otherwise a soldier will never
try to provoke anything.Author seems to say that if we talk peace then
people will not shoot except accidentally.This I think is naive talk
since unlike us soldiers have full control over guns.Kashmir
sarpanches are resigning which means they feel the threat from
Jihadis, these Jihadis were not inhouse but infused from across
border, since if it were inhouse then elections would not be held.Till
recently Jihadis wanted to fight USA so were concentrating inside of
pakistan. Now in pakistan there is huge cry on why their land is used
by usa for drone strikes even this cry is because of threats imposed
by Jihadis only.Now to divert the attention Jihadis are channeled to
India, the way they channel it is by cover firing the Indian posts to
divert attention.Now the fight is going to happen.We have to be very
careful.
It may be politically right to talk about those who live on the borders, but question is where do we draw the line when violations of the ceasefire happens. When the mechanism built to take care of such violations has failed what happens? There will always be someone staying on the borders unless we of course consciously create a no-man's land as a buffer between the two countries. There is a history to the Indo-Pak conflict which we should not forget. Whatever is appropriate response in that context should be taken even if it is a hard one.
The best solution for ceasefire violations is not war or curtailing PEOPLE TO PEOPLE CONTACT but to retaliate immediately.
wondeerful article. a voice of saniy amidst sea of madness
Middle of the Golden Hour, indeed!
I'm wondering if Ms. Subramanian failed to notice that there must have been several such instances from the data she herself quotes about the number of violations of ceasefire over the past years. Any merit in her argument also carries with it the truth that if there were several violations, then either several opportunities of the "Golden Hour" to build more robust structures of peace were ignored or wasted, or perhaps, what seems more true, such measures do not secure sincerity of application from the other side. Whatever be the case, diplomacy and dialogue have failed to achieve their goals, and that is why it is time for India to show some spine.
Or to paraphrase it: what good is diplomacy and dialogue when the mouth that speaks of peace has hands that indulge in bloodshed?
Instead of giving the kneejerk reaction indian army and our politicians should have had the system in place to prevent such kind of gruesome acts from happening to our innocent soldiers. It is the high time for them to devise the strong foolproof measures to eradicate such kind of mishappenings agian, and at the same time it is no wise in going all out war and spending lot of our money in the process, when the better part of our country is bleeding because of economic crisis.
Madame Nirupama,
Your article tells the life of villagers in J&K , otherside will get
disturbed if India stops peace process/confidence building measures.
As per hindu editorial by Praveen swami, the killing & mutilation of two indian soldiers is because india built bunkers to monitor cross border infiltration & killed/wounded two Pak soldiers in retaliatory fire. Praveen swami preaches that India should not fortify its borders to curb infiltration because some agreement was made earlier. For that matter Pak has violated agreement to end hostile terror sponsors to India 100times. Your position to talks is only asking India to beg Pak
for peace which it will never get. See the plight of Shia, Hazara,
Ahmadis in Pak leave alone Sikh & Hindus in Pak. Dont you know that
Pak army protected Osama Bin Laden even after getting billions of US
aid. Understand that ISI & PAK army continue to kill democrats even if
they are muslims.Please use your journalism to make India strong as
US,China.
Nobody wants war. Politicians and army chief should be more discreet in their utterances. But Pakistan uses terrorism as state policy and niddles our soldiers and policy-makers, remaining in the world of make-believe that we will absorb all its barbaric and outrageous actions. Once for all we must remove this impression that we are a soft state by talking in the language which Pakistan understands and make it realise that any irresponsible behaviour on its part will cost it heavily.
India-Pakistan peace is strategically not possible nor sustainable.It is grieviously wrong for India's 'peaceniks' to project and preach that the type of barbaric brutalities that the Pakistan Army commits on our soldiers defending these ''peaceniks' should be overlooked in the cause of the ceasefire along the LOC.
Ceasefire along the LOC was not won by the 'peaceniks' but by Indian Army at great personal cost when in 2004 General Musharraf realised what would follow
Pakistan-apologists in India sgould recognise that NO " UNINTERRUPTED OR UNINTERRUPTIBLE PEACE DIALOGUE" is realistically possible given the professional ethos of the Pakistan Army.
Pakistan Army will subscribe to peace with India only when the Indian political leadership develpos the will to use power in defence of India's national security interests and a WILL to DEFEND INDIA'S NATIONAL HONOUR.
A very disappointing piece smacking of 'elitism' and oblivious to the opinion of India-at-large.
No sane person would want war but a country has a responsibility to protect its citizens. Should India's only response to repeated provocations by Pakistan be hand wringing and pleadings to that country to stop the violence in the view of your paper? If so, why maintain any armed forces? The country could save the cost.
India and Pakistan are two parts of a whole and they have only to implement a peaceful solution to the conflict based on their shared history and the legacy of world statesman Mahatma Gandhi. instead, as the article correctly points out, the "dogs of war" instigated and inspired by a war criminal rogue regime in the Middle East, that has also sold billions of dollars of weapons to India, are clamoring to enact the same deadly and disastrous military actions in South Asia. Pakistan has a moral responsibility to hand over the militant
extremists to India and India needs to rein in and silence it's barking dogs of war. Towards a united and prosperous South Asia devoid of all unnecessary and unwanted foreign instigators and influences.
Dogs of war, I take a strong offense at the tile of this column. No
one is contesting that peace is ideal situation, at the same time
tough talk is the need of hour from India to ensure Pakistan walk the
talk of peace. For cease fire to hold good pakistan needs to stand
firm on his commitment of no cross border infiltration, shelling and
stop all kinds of proxy war its engaged with India. No matter whether
its the Pakistan government, army or other hardliners with in, as a
country its accountable for any action emanating from within its
borders
The Indian government has allowed so many of its serviceman and women to die for Nothing “do you think “ Israel or America would allow this to happen to there country or there serviceman. The Indian government keep on sending it young people to be killed by the terrorist because the Babus don't value there life's.
We are in a proxy war with Pak.So Mumbai attack should also be included
as a LOC violation.Then the statistics goes for a toss.We will not get
peace with Pak however we try.We have to live with it.The present
violation has lot to do with the internal problems of Pak.Pak Army may
stage a coup.
This article is self-defeating to Indians. Why should India, a powerful, progressive and democratic country, have to bow down to a failed and terror state like Pakistan for the sake of kashmir? Kashmir has been part of India since ancient times, just because the majority are now Muslim, does not mean that Kashmir should get specil treatment. The suthors and The Hindu need to concentrate on the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits who are refugees in their own land.
Middle of the Golden Hour, indeed!
I'm wondering if Ms. Subramanian failed to notice that there must have been several such instances of the from the data she herself quotes about number of violations over the past years. Any merit in her argument also carries with it the truth that if there were several violations, then either several opportunities of the "Golden Hour" to build more robust structures of peace were ignored or wasted, or perhaps, what seems more true, such measures do not secure sincerity of application from the other side. Whatever be the case, diplomacy and dialogue have failed to achieve their goals, and that is why it is time for India to show some spine.
Or to paraphrase it - what good is diplomacy and dialogue when the mouth that speaks of peace has hands that indulge in bloodshed?
Why have a massive army that cannot be aggressive or atleast repulse attacks and can only get killed to demonstrate the world that we are a matured peace loving nation. And it suits our secular our vote bank polity. Also we have to bear with the harangues of editorials of the likes of your paper,which only want to show case their 'credentials'.
There is no Golden Hour with Pakisthan. They can keep inflicting irrepairable losses on us and we should bear it with a grin so that you can belt out ststistics to say that there were 117 violations of ceasefire in one year. I have a suggestion:
Let us disband the army and save money on the massive defence bill. A portion of the money saved can be paid as suzarian to Pakistan to broker peacee at the cost of self respect ( which of course we cannot afford to have), since it will be helpful in showing the world that India loves peace at any cost!!!
Deluded "peacenik". Their preachings seem like a pink elephant riding
a unicycle & reciting Shakespeare, while borders are bombed, soldiers
are beheaded, cities are attacked by terrorists.
These hard-liner steps by India are necessary to protect the peace
process. Let me explain.
Top priority for now is Armed forces morale. If peace takes a back-
seat for sometime so be it - it a short-term investment for bigger
dividend.
Pakistan will run out of fuel and will have to come to negotiating
table. Its not what India has chosen - it has been thrust upon this
region by the geo-politics.
Problems are not resolved by talking. Problems are resolved by talking
backed with hidden power to inflict harm. If you go out to do a deal,
will the other party oblige if they know you are incapable of paying.
This is science of negotiation.
If we don't do anything - Pakistan will get an edge ion the
negotiation. Then Indian public will feel cheated & their knee-jerk
reaction will be even more explosive.
Politicians uses Indai Pakistan Issue for thier advantage as they are well aware of the fact that most of Indians thinks Hating Pakistan is the only way to show thier patriotism.
This is a very bold article and the comments below shows why its bold. From school days we were taught that Pakistan is evil and we should fight them !!! War can never be won... We have enough evidents from History...
I would love to see all war mongers & arm chair analysts to send their son's & daughter's to the battle front. The political class who espouse this should be the first one on offer. To be or not to be, the UN has become a sort of convenience & a handmaiden of nations. When it serves their purpose they want its arbitration, when it doesn't they would thumb their noses.
For a piece of land, for their faith, for their cultural superiority people are so willing to kill each other. In the history of the world there is ample evidence of nations & states splitting of their offshoots into smaller independent entities. Old states fall apart and new ones come into being. On most occasions it happens with a lot of blood shed, rarely in a peaceful manner. Unfortunately, for many even the idea seems sacrilegious.
As the writer said we are in the middle of golden hours, now we can decide whether go for a war or dialouge with high diplomatic pressure from all side ie, from every source. If we deciding for a war dont make silly and childish comment like sri sushama said, but go ahead and remove the pakistan from the world map.
otherwise we can use all kind of diplomatic sources, at present situation we need not to do anything they themselves going to collaps badly.
Remaind one thing pakistan has nothing to loose nothing is there to loose but india alot.
Sounds like a comment from a bureaucrat. Maybe a friend of Mani
Shankar Iyer. Can you guys who are preaching peace get your children
enrolled in the Army maybe for 5 years and then talk about peace. What
about what the soldiers manning the borders are thinking. Does their
anguish and morale matter. I am not saying that we should go to war
but Pakistan needs to be told in no uncertain terms that this is not
acceptable. They should feel the pinch for their actions else they
will get emboldened and do more radical actions. And their Foreign
Minister says that it has been orchestrated by India.
Ms.Nirupama Subraminan's article is a lucid and a compelling one at that ,for continuing dialogue with Pakistan , listing out the gains of talks especially for peace at LOC and keeping J&K largely peaceful if one were to go by statistics of violations on the LOC.
The trade-off for such a manufactured peace in J&K is that India should continue to bleed , and take in our stride, mutilations of Indian army men and a general atmosphere of suspense awaiting another major event such as 26/11 to happen, in other parts of our country.
My humble view , which is in total agreement in Ms.Nirupama's implied thrust of the article, is that J&K is the root cause of our problem with Pakistan , and whatever peace we achieve through talks, which the author considers an achievement is highly ephemeral and not worthy of gloating over, by the peace propogandists.
It would be better idea if THE HINDU starts a debate amongst the people of this country on Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India.
Non sense! Madam Nirupama, be sensitive to the issue. Those who were brutally killed, were there for our safety and THEY WERE HUMAN BEINGS.
Worse, Pak denies and looks away. If we do not respond, will their hearts change???? You are saying ultimately one has to go to table. All who are born have to die, so let us go ourselves to SAMSHAAN and wait till death occurs!!!!! We must get back to the table, but first, let the table to cleared of blood and head of our brave martyr. I am sure, you shall agree!!!
Though the centric concern of the article is well justified I strongly believe that maintaining a warm relationship is not in hand of any one of us.India and Pakistan both should have same mindset and will to maintain the relations well.As suggested in the article the importance of ceasefire should be looked into by both countries.Also,the countries should look into each others' major concerns( be it 26/11,visa issue or recent killings) and sort out together.After all wrong doings of few people should not lead to hostility between the two nations.
What happens to the Kashmiris, you say. Are Kashmiris not Indians? Whatever happens to Indians will happen to Kashmiris, Biharis, Bengalees, Tamilians, Kannadigas...
Amid all this whimper in your editorial about how 2014 will change everything there is no thought for the families who received their brave in a mutilated and disfigured.
Track 2 is across coffee tables, track 1`across minefields. Peaceniks get real.
Its good to see someone cares about kashmiri interests amidst this exchange of accusations from governement and war mongering media at both the ends.
Pakistan knows that all that noise in the Indian media,with a few
exceptions like this newspaper,was sensationalism to catch the attention
of the people to serve business interest. However this comment is not
meant to condone Pakistan's actions including some despicable atrocities
at the border. Such matters have to be dealt with in the media,but not
emotionally. Actions on the ground to counter these should be addressed
by the government through diplomatic channels in a sober manner and not
by discussions in newspapers and TV studios.
Reactions to the recent two incidents (Delhi Gang rape and Beheading of Indian soldiers) have not only been frenzied, but grossly inconsistent too. For ex. media & public are not so much bothered when women of North East/ Kashmir or Sri Lankan Tamils are raped with brutality. Nobody called Aruna Shanbag as "Nirbhaya" and demanded capital punishment for the rapist though she has been in vegetated state for 38 years now! In the same way nobody demanded revenge against Bangladesh/ Sri Lanka when the former killed BSF solders with impunity and dragged their dead bodies and the later wiped off 40000 Tamils from the streets! This shows the mindset that India is construed only as "Hindi Belt" and "Mumbai" and nothing beyond.
Certainly everyone would like to appreciate what Nirupama subramoniam preaches. But as a lay Indian what one cannot comprehend is why always India is to take more passive view of Pakistani insults to the Indian Flag. Do we have to gulp it down every humiliation from Pakistani side to keep the peace talks going? Is the peace talk not important to Pakistani side? Is it good only for India? As she points out our Prime Minister is an ardent advocate of peace with Pakistan like his predecessor Mr.I.k.Gujral. Yes it is true in the today’s context there is no alternative except going back to the negotiating table. But one should not forget the fact the savagery committed from the other side of the Loc is continuing unabated. Starting with Mumbai serial blasts of 1993 followed by 26/11 massacre with ever increasing cease fire violations and now the barbaric act of mutilation and beheading .It is despicable the professional army of Pakistan is becoming a den of Talibans who derive sadistic pleasure in carrying out mutilation and beheading and follow strict Islamic jurisprudence of corporal punishments . At least to make Pakistan to understand that if the peace talk fails Pakistan also has as much to lose as India we must keep the heat on.
Brilliant! Thank you, The Hindu, for being wise.
Good analysis by Nirupama in the chain of survival of Kashmir using
medical term of Golden hour.
Shame ! till date Kashmir is used only as an object or land asset on both sides with Kashmiriyat and people getting raped and reduced to voiceless dirt each day by the rulers.When will the rulers grow up and bring the change needs to seen.
in whole article it appears write is trying to blame only India for the violation of ceasefire. Peace is best option available but only if both sides agree. Pakistan has not done any substantial thing to book the perpetrators of mumbai attacks. It is hopeless to think that they will work co-ordinally with India. only option that india has to take firm action so that next time pakistan will have to think ten times.
Why "The Hindu" is biased agianst Indian govts and indian army?
As long as Pakistan does not show any concrete steps to punish culprits of mumbai attack, it is futile to have dialogue with them.
It clearly shows lack of seriousness about peace talk.
It is impossible to have peace talk, while they keep attacking india in one way or other.
Congratulations on a very candid and impartial analysis. As a Pakistani,I will not shy away from admitting that we have had our fair share of war mongers and fanatics who have contributed to this fiasco.It has taken so much effort and commitment on both sides to reach where we did until 8 January 2013! It's not about an Indian or a Pakistani. It's about the millions on both sides who struggle to get 2 decent meals a day and who have been suffering because of the bloated egos of some 1 %. Right wingers on both sides have taken our minds hostage. It is time intellectuals on both sides stepped up and took charge. Let us say NO to hearsay/hatred and let us start believing in the shared destiny of two wonderful nations who are divided by geographical lines yet who are similar in so many ways. Let us not forget that have been Indians or Pakistani for 65 years; Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians etc. for 200 or whatever years; but we have been natives of the Subcontinent for 1000s of years!
It is very easy to break than make. The peace parleys going on until 2011 has culminated in less infiltration, zeroing down of ceasefire violations, and a serene and peaceful ambient for the resident in the border area. One thing is very clear that talks are not the solution now, keeping in view the nature of Pakistan leadership. To whom to talk is the question of grave importance. Is it army or democratically diluted government engaged in theory of appeasement to the extremist. A superficial thinking can alone revel that peace talks are not at all going to give a solution but one thing we can expect that it can procrastinate and meanwhile we can do everything under the sun to isolate our boundary in such a manner that either infiltration zeroed down or until the Pakistan government is able hold a grasp to the extremist and army. Not all in Pakistan are having extreme views,and waiting for opportune time while preserving our boundary is the only solution.
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