Dump all your aggression, for love is in the air. No, this is not a pre-Valentine’s Day write-up although the timing couldn’t have been better.
India loves Pakistan. You read that right. And if that is not enough then digest this- Pakistan is angry that India doesn’t love it enough. It’s true.
What else could explain the entire storm that erupted in Islamabad after Pakistan cricket players were not selected by any IPL team owners for this year? Such was the desperate wish of Shahid Afridi & Co. to play for Indian cities and not Pakistan- they made sure they didn’t have any matches during IPL schedule- that they felt insulted when none of them got sold for an amount that their Board could never dream of providing them.
Such was the frustration at the innocent thwarting of their hearty advances- the PCB obtained written permission from the Government of Pakistan, Government of India and God knows who else- that the first reaction was to not only open a verbal diatribe against India a la a jilted lover, a Pakistani Parliamentary delegation cancelled a friendly visit to Delhi to avenge the rejection.
Pakistan was furious for we didn’t let them entertain our crowds in the short-form of the game- or may be it was disappointment at being denied opportunity to ogle at skimpily-clad cheer leaders that the Taliban deny them back-home. Whatever.
But they shouldn’t have indulged in such puerile antics and should have known that India is not called a soft state for nothing- it does have a mushy heart that beats for whoever sits in the West, Pakistan included.
As soon as the Pakistanis darkly mumbled about pulling out of the Hockey World Cup, a clear reconciliatory sound came from the Government of India- in written.
Meanwhile, an advertisement by the GOI put out in newspapers had the picture of a former Pakistan Air Force Chief. Interestingly enough, Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed (Retd) was flanked by a guffawing Kapil Dev and a Virender Sehwag in form (from good ol’ days, of course). It even had musical undertones to provide for a romantic setting- Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan happily sat with his Sarod!
But what really served as a cherry on the cake was the message of the ad printed in bold- ‘Where would you be if your mother was not allowed to be born?’ This was, of course, a hint to the ancient ties that exist between both India and Pakistan.
The golf-loving, retirement-enjoying Pakistani Air Chief reacted to this out-of-the-box confidence building measure positively. “I was busy with a golf match and didn't know about this development!” he offered amusingly.
But our PM was not amused at all and promptly issued an apology. There is also a probe into the matter which exposed the fact that rules had been flouted to outsource the advertisement. But Krishna Tirath, the minister concerned, emphasized, “Message is more important than the image. The real motive behind this advertisement was to encourage females to become mothers and stop female foeticide.” Point taken..
But Pakistan need not kill its hopes of rekindling a romance so soon. For India dropped another hint laced with love that Zee News discovered on the nation’s 61st Republic Day. Some of our territory was shown as a part of Pakistan in a map of India. Now Indian map being disfigured is not news anymore- the Chinese have done it in the past and the Pakistanis have done it all their life. Two remarkable things make this ‘concession’ important and more satisfying for Pakistan.
First, apart from Kashmir, Narendra Modi’s Gujarat was also included in Pakistan. Gujarat as we know has been a point of ridicule for Pakistan against India and it is but natural that we hand it over so that it may correct the situation there just like it is doing in South Waziristan. Secondly, the map was splashed on the website of the Commonwealth Games Federation!
The event where India will supposedly show off what it’s got- that, by the way, is still in the making and is going to be a big surprise for the world- has been used to convey what Manmohan Singh (mistakenly?) gushed before George W Bush: “India loves you.”
Lalit Bhanot, the secretary general of Delhi Games Organizing Committee, went on to clarify that he didn’t even notice the ‘mistake’. Of course you didn’t Mr Bhanot. Why just Gujarat and Kashmir, I am sure you wouldn’t have noticed even if all of the 28, plus another one on the way, states were shown as part of Pakistan. It’s all love for the neighbour and now suddenly I have realized why Narendra Modi keeps calling General Musharraf ‘mian’.
So much for love.
One wonders why Pakistan keeps sulking despite India’s overtures which include almost accepting that it was fingering Balochistan, all in throes of passion of course, no harm meant.
May be it is the distance, howsoever small & controversial, that exists between our respective borders that keeps hearts from meeting and melting. That can be sorted out by pushing our respective populations to each others side.
If the governments are not ready for this bold initiative, then maybe, we the people should take matters in our own hands. Our brethren from the other side of the LoC already do it under immense danger- the Pakistan Rangers keep firing while they cut away at the electrocuted border fences erected by the BSF, ostensibly to scuttle these people-to-people exchanges.
Ah, the politics of land!
Chemistry of love- how will it ever understand…
(The views expressed by the author in the blog are his/her own)