A small spider bit me yesterday.
I wonder if I am about to become a Spideman!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Mohali 'Spirit'
India met Pakistan in the semi-final of the world cup yesterday at Mohali. Emotions were running high in both the countries during the clash between the two troubled siblings of the subcontinent!
Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh invited Yousuf Raza Gilani, Prime minister of Pakistan to watch the match. The two had discussions on several bilateral issues on the sidelines of the match. This also marked an informal resumption of ties that had been in doldrums since the Mumbai terror attack of 2008. Foreign secretary, Nirupama Rao described the meeting as having taken place in 'Mohali Spirit'.
How will this 'spirit' last? Or will it turn and haunt the subcontinent?
In spite of all the jingoism, there are large number of people who are simply irritated with the continuous bickering with Pakistan. If the two Prime Ministers have any permanent solutions to the mutual issues - it will be welcomed by almost everybody. However the requirement is that the solution must be permanent with changing government on either side. There are no lack of talks in Indo-Pak history.
The credit for initiative for this round solely goes to Manmohan Singh. Interestingly this time around the American pressure on either side is absent! Thanks to Wikileaks publishing of American cables and subsequent coverage by The Hindu- everyone in India is quite suspicious of any kind of American interference. Pak-US relations are also down due to Davis issue and drone attacks. The true bilateral nature of the talks does give us some hope!
Perhaps the one thing which can kill the talks completely is another terror attack. However if the Pakistani authorities can crack on the terrorists the relations can also become stronger! The Pakistan has to make sure that as far as terrorism against civilians is concerned, India and Pakistan are same country! The Davis case has anyway shown that Pakistani authorities are quite willing to behave like a slave to American interest. Indians are not asking for slavery, we are just asking for friendship!
By the way, the important news was not resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue. The important news is that India has won the match! Hurray...
Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh invited Yousuf Raza Gilani, Prime minister of Pakistan to watch the match. The two had discussions on several bilateral issues on the sidelines of the match. This also marked an informal resumption of ties that had been in doldrums since the Mumbai terror attack of 2008. Foreign secretary, Nirupama Rao described the meeting as having taken place in 'Mohali Spirit'.
How will this 'spirit' last? Or will it turn and haunt the subcontinent?
In spite of all the jingoism, there are large number of people who are simply irritated with the continuous bickering with Pakistan. If the two Prime Ministers have any permanent solutions to the mutual issues - it will be welcomed by almost everybody. However the requirement is that the solution must be permanent with changing government on either side. There are no lack of talks in Indo-Pak history.
The credit for initiative for this round solely goes to Manmohan Singh. Interestingly this time around the American pressure on either side is absent! Thanks to Wikileaks publishing of American cables and subsequent coverage by The Hindu- everyone in India is quite suspicious of any kind of American interference. Pak-US relations are also down due to Davis issue and drone attacks. The true bilateral nature of the talks does give us some hope!
Perhaps the one thing which can kill the talks completely is another terror attack. However if the Pakistani authorities can crack on the terrorists the relations can also become stronger! The Pakistan has to make sure that as far as terrorism against civilians is concerned, India and Pakistan are same country! The Davis case has anyway shown that Pakistani authorities are quite willing to behave like a slave to American interest. Indians are not asking for slavery, we are just asking for friendship!
By the way, the important news was not resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue. The important news is that India has won the match! Hurray...
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