What has been stated in this speech – namely, equality of all citizens in the eyes of the State and freedom of faith for all citizens – is what we in India call a Secular or a Non-Theocratic State. There is no place for bigotry, hatred, intolerance and discrimination in the name of religion in such a State. And there can certainly be no place, much less State protection, for religious extremism and terrorism in such a State.
I believe that this is the ideal that India, Pakistan as well as Bangladesh – the three present-day sovereign and separate constituents of the undivided India of the past, sharing a common civilisational heritage – should follow.
I hope that this ideal is implemented in its letter and spirit. The restoration of the Katas Raj Temples is a good beginning.
Time to undo the follies of Partition
Esteemed friends from Karachi, people often ask me: "Does this mean that you want to undo the Partition?"
My answer is: "The Partition cannot be undone, because, as I said in Lahore at the SAFMA function, the creation of India and Pakistan as two separate and sovereign nations is an unalterable reality of history.However, some of the follies of Partition can be undone, and they must be undone."
I dream of the day when divided hearts can be united; when divided families can be reunited; when pilgrims from one country – Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs -- can freely go to holy sites located in the other country; and when people can travel and trade freely, while continuing to remain proud and loyal citizens of their respective countries.
Friends, at the end of my visit, if someone were to ask me to sum up the situation about Indo-Pak relations at present, I would, on the basis of what I have observed and experienced here since my arrival in Pakistan on the evening of May 30, say unequivocally that "Fiza zaroor badli hui hai, bahut badli hui hai." (The atmosphere has definitely changed, it has changed a lot.)
Yes, it’s true that there is tranquility on the border, which is no mean achievement in itself. True, there are greater people-to-people contacts, which too is a significant step forward. It is also true that the awaam (people) of both India and Pakistan have taken over the peace process.
But the peace and tranquility that exists is still tentative. It is also relative, in the sense that terrorist acts in Jammu & Kashmir have not come to an end. Only last month there was a terrorist strike in Srinagar aimed at innocent school children.
How do we convert this tentative peace into permanent peace? How do we remove all the irrational abnormalities in our bilateral relations to place Indo-Pak ties on a completely normal footing based on the principle of mutual benefit?
I am posing these questions because these need to be discussed in-depth and with an open mind in both our countries. As I have reiterated on several occasions during my visit, I would like to emphasise that we need to seize this historic moment, which is pregnant with hope. We must convert this hope into confidence and resolve that we shall certainly find solutions to all the issues that have estranged our two brother-nations.
There should also be no going back on the realization that dialogue is the only way to resolve every single issue, including the issue of Jammu & Kashmir, between India and Pakistan. Peace cannot be achieved through recourse to non-peaceful means. This must be clearly understood.
Imperatives of Waging Peace
There is a phrase in English that has always intrigued me – Waging Peace. Normally, one comes across the phrase – Waging War. I have often wondered why the word ‘wage’ is used in the context of peace. It is probably because, if the resolve to win is the aim in any war, the same resolve to win has to be the aim of making peace.
However, there is a crucial difference. In war, strategists look for a quick victory. They have an impatience to achieve their goal. In waging peace, you cannot do that. We need patience. We need to realize that it takes time to minimize differences and to find a mutually acceptable solution, especially to longstanding problems.
It takes time – and I would urge all those who sincerely desire peace between India and Pakistan to realize this important truth -- because not only the painful manner in which the Partition happened in 1947 but also subsequent hostilities have hardened feelings and rigidified mindsets in both India and Pakistan.
After all, the Partition resulted not only in unprecedented violence but also in the largest cross-migration in the history of mankind. In history, including in the history of undivided India, kingdoms and dynasties have come and gone. Power has changed hands either peacefully or violently. But in recent centuries these developments did not destabilize the society very much.
In contrast, when the British left in 1947, not only was there a change of power, but there was also human displacement on a massive scale.This has left behind a trail of tragedy. The wars that followed, the long period of terrorist violence and other events have contributed to the hardening of positions in certain sections of society both in India and Pakistan.
This is the reason why even well-intentioned moves for peace and normalization are often viewed with suspicion and met with disapproval on both sides.
I therefore strongly submit to one and all involved in the Indo-Pak peace process – to those in governments as well as to those in civil society organizations – that we should give due weightage to these critical viewpoints. Nothing can be achieved by either dismissing or disparaging these critical viewpoints.
This is because, firstly, those who view the peace process with suspicion both here and in India are not insubstantial in number. Secondly, in our endeavour to establish lasting peace between India and Pakistan, it is axiomatic that we should strive to carry with us all sections of society and public opinion in our two countries.
Let us move on all issues in tandem
I shall make one last point before concluding. For us to move towards peace and normalcy, it is necessary to move the dialogue process forward on all issues. This is the reason why we both have called it the Composite Dialogue process. I was happy to know that many people in Pakistan also believe that we should move in tandem on all issues. As I said in Lahore, it is not in the interest of the peace process to let slower progress on some issues become a hurdle in achieving faster progress on others.
Here I shall just flag off a few issues that show how the relations between India and Pakistan suffer from avoidable abnormality. For instance, since coming here I have not been able to watch any of the Indian news channels to see what is happening in India and also, secondarily, to know how my visit to Pakistan is covered. It is ironical that in Pakistan one can see American CNN, British BBC, Chinese CCTV but not Indian news channels.
The abnormality is also evident in other spheres. India and Pakistan have an official trade of about $ 250 million, which is meager by any standards in today’s age of globalization. But the unofficial trade is at least 4-5 times larger. Isn’t it ironical that we buy and sell our products of mutual demand by routing them through Dubai and Singapore, and thereby enriching those countries, but have not been able to regularize this trade right across our borders, thereby creating more employment and business opportunities for own people?
Take another example. Pakistan’s economy, like the economies of any country today, has a lot of need for Information Technology solutions. And I am told that, in addition to being met by your local IT industry, you buy costly IT solutions from several western countries. But right across the border we in India have a flourishing IT industry, which is ready to cooperate with Pakistan and offer cheaper solutions. Ironically, the IT solutions that western companies sell around the world are produced in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Pune.
I am making this point because Karachi is the commercial capital of Pakistan. And I may add that, historically Sindh was the incubator for global trade. In ancient times our forefathers from Sindh ventured forth to far off lands, in the same way as in modern times Sindhi businessmen have so successfully demonstrated their acumen in Hongkong, Singapore, London and New York.
In the era of globalization, trade and business are not only about money and profit. They also bring another kind of profit – a stronger stake in peaceful, stable and cooperative relations between two countries.
It is heartening to know that soon we’ll have a broad gauge rail link between Munabao and Khokrapar.I suggested to President Musharraf that we should also re-open the sea link between Karachi and Mumbai via Gujarat. He accepted the suggestion. The issue of re-opening of our consulate offices in Karachi and Mumbai is also on the cards.
All these are good signs. But much more can be done. And it should be our mutual resolve to do all the desirable things, and do them quickly.
With these words, I conclude my remarks. I sincerely thank the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations, Economic Affairs and Law for providing this opportunity of interaction with you.