Destiny's children: India and Pak united in divide

LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR: Panelists on State of the Nation debate and discuss India and Pak's shared past and future.

                    

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India and Pakistan are 60 years young, celebrating a freedom that came at the bitter cost of Partition.

Now as the two nations make another tryst with destiny and stand at the crossroads of key social, economic, cultural and political changes, it’s perhaps time apt enough to stand back, retrospect and do some crystal ball gazing.

A first-of-its-kind opinion poll conducted by CNN-IBN in association with The Indian Express and The Dawn, sought to do just that – gauge the popular sentiment and mood in both nations.

The world-exclusive survey was conducted jointly and simultaneously in India and Pakistan by research group Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) and A C Neilson and looked closely at the two countries’ shared past, present and a possible future.

The results of the survey were discussed and debated at length in a CNN-IBN special show State of the Nation – People to People, conducted by CNN-IBN Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai at the historic Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi.

To discuss the findings of the poll, analyse the past, scan the present and predict a future was an eminent panel comprising celebrities, mediamen, scholars and politicians from either side of Line of Control.

They were (in order of introduction): Political scientist with CSDS, Prof Yogendra Yadav; India’s Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav; Member of Pakistan People’s Party and journalist Sherry Rahman; Editor-in-Chief Indian Express Shekhar Gupta; actors Naseeruddin Shah and Aamir Khan and Pakistani cricket legend Imran Khan.

The Indo-Pak poll was conducted with the objective of understanding the dynamics within and between the two nations. Prof Yogendra Yadav said the fact that for the first time, a poll was conducted simultaneously in the two countries made the exercise unique. He also pointed out that it was the first survey of its kind to pose sensitive questions – about pertinent issues like Kashmir and Partition - in both India and Pakistan.

“But because it’s the first time, we have limited the ambition of the poll, taking into view only top 10 cities in India and Pakistan. So the poll only reflects the mindset of urban India and Pakistan. We conducted 1,000-plus interviews in Pakistan and 2,000-plus interviews in India,” Yadav explained.

United in divide or divided in unity?

The survey raised some sensitive questions about the identity of India and Pakistan as individual nations as also the utopian (or as some may say the disastrous) possibility of the two coutries coming together again. Here are the results:

Was Partition unavoidable? While in India, 22 per cent of those surveyed said Partition was unavoidable, in Pakistan, a sizeable 52 per cent agreed with it. While a majority of Indians (62 per cent) were of the rather optimistic view that Partition was avoidable, only a meager 32 per cent in Pakistan were as optimistic.

Do you support unification of India and Pakistan? This was the more controversial of all questions and saw 20 per cent Indians supporting unification. In Pakistan, the mood was less positive with only nine per cent supporting the idea. Interestingly, the percentage of people disagreeing with the idea was almost equal in both countries with 39 per cent Indians and 24 per cent Pakistanis against the idea. On the other hand, a majority of Indians (41 per cent) and Pakistanis (57 per cent) unilaterally supported the idea of friendship. Therefore, the predominant view was: Forget unification, let’s just be friends.

“People on both sides live by their official ideologies, but the most important thing is that they have begun accepting the reality of two different nations. From my experience, saying that we would unite is not a friendly gesture towards Pakistan,” Yadav said.

So do Indians romanticise Pakistan in general and Partition in particular? Actor Naseeruddin Shah said while it was true that Indians do tend to romanticise history more than Pakistan, the enormity of the tragedy could not be neglected either. Shah said he was a victim of Partition himself and deeply regretted it. “The distinctions between Hindi and Urdu, Hindus and Muslims and the awareness of the differences in ones’ religion cannot be neglected,” he pointed out.

Cricketer Imran Khan seemed to prove correct Yogendra Yadav’s observations and said there was no point looking back. “Both nations have accepted what happened. What’s more important now is to figure out how we live in future. DO we live as civilised neighbours or like we have lived in last 60 years,” he said, adding, “You can’t change your neighbours.”

His country cousin, PPP leader and journalist Sherry Rahman seemed miffed with the manner in which a “sensitive issue” like Partition was being discussed. She made her annoyance clear when Rajdeep asked her if Pak had completely reconciled to the idea of Partition. “One has to be sensitive while talking about Pakistan because there you are challenging the gentic birth of Pakistan. I agree with what Imran said. You can’t be prisoners of history. While you can learn from history, you can’t change your geography,” she said.

Friendship please! Can India and Pak do it?

So, just where does the eternal optimist go in the age of Indo-Pak bonhomie? Is there space for ideologues who light candles on August 14, hoping that one day the two countries shall stand united?

While many say such people live in a romantic world, other criticise and dismiss it as a “north Indian phenomenon”. Interestingly, Rajdeep also pointed out that youth in south India hardly have time for such deliberations and introspections.

Shekhar Gupta said the emotion of being friends was not defined regionally. “There are no boundaries for friendship. It cuts across India. A vast majority of Indians accept the existence of Pakistan and want to be friends with it,” he said,

Gupta said the debate on whether or not there could be any reconciliation was a nonsensical one. He said the debate had been raging, inconclusively, for the past 50 years.

Another interesting and sensitive point in the debate was the question of the identity of the Indian Muslim. Actor Aamir Khan was asked if he felt conscious of his status as an Indian Muslim and if it made a difference to him. “I was never aware of it till late 80s with the rise of the Right Wing. Till then, I, as an Indian Muslim, lived very comfortably. I was not made to feel aware of my religion till then,” he said, pointing out that early 90s was the time when most Indians were made conscious of their religion.

However, the actor was quick to point out that the country had moved ahead and the while Partition was unfortunate, it was time to look at future. The actor’s sentiments were echoed (with a loud cry of ‘yes’) by the young audience as well.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had visited Pakistan a few years ago and was instantly lapped up by the public there. He received roaring welcomes wherever he went and managed to cut ice with the political class as well.

Among the panelists too, he seemed to be the most optimistic as regards the unification. “Why not? When East Germany and West Germany could bring down the Wall and unite, why can’t India and Pakistan?” he asked, much to the amusement of panelists and the audience.

He went on to argue his point, ”Musharraf told me that the maximum people in Lahore comprised of Bihari Muslims. He spoke of man-to-man contact, which was implemented,” he said.

Imran Khan vehemently agreed with the question and said the nations could be great friends “more now than ever before in history.”

“When India beat Pakistan in a Test series few years ago in Pakistan, I could not believe the scenes I saw. There were Indian flags flying high all over the ground with even Pakistanis cheering for them. It was reflective in the way Indian visitors were treated across Pakistan,” he pointed out, amid a roaring applause from the audience.