Daisies Of A New Dawn?
BY R.K.MISRA
A new year is a harbinger of hope .The
first step from the old into the new , one would like to walk with a mind freed
of the bitter and full of bonhomie.
And so even if it was Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s flair for the dramatic,that saw him walk into his Pakistani
counterpart Nawaz Sharif’s home ,both of them deserve fulsome praise for it . If
I could walk into my journalist neighbour Bashir Pathan’s house in Gandhinagar and
he into mine without any fanfare, why can’t they .That’s the way it has been in
our part of the world .We call across each other’s home so do our womenfolk and
children to exchange gossip or plain
play .Why should we depart from the customs
and camaraderie of our forefathers just because a fence divides us .Brothers
do part, sometimes bitterly too when divisions take place but the angst should
be a flowing stream not a stinking ,stagnant pool.
The fact that Modi and Sharif did not
discuss Kashmir,reviving cricket ties or the Hurriyat was big news .Why should
they always ,and incessantly ? Why can t they ,for once ,talk like good
acquaintances if not friends .Of lots that’s common ,of friends and family ,or
just what helps getting to know each other better .Or as the indian prime
minister told his counterpart ”Why can’t we be like leaders in Europe who meet
each other for casual get-togethers and chats?”.He knows why .What you sow so
shall you reap .When in the opposition ,he was the answer , now in the chair ,his
is the question .But more about it some other time.
There is lots in common and many
benefits for both families (countries) in shared togetherness. So the heart had
cause to be happy when Modi ambled across into a house in the throes of
mirthful celebrations .As he bowed to touch the feet of Sharif’s elderly
mother,i am sure he rose in the esteem of many of the average citizenry in the neighbouring homes
as much as he did amongst us likes back home who do so in reverence to our own
all the time ,very naturally.
There
is much that is not right with us ,our system ,our politics and our politicians but when one shows the
courage to think out of the box and rise above the mundane ,i for one ,would
like to put all my reservations aside to express my appreciation of my prime
minister .Sharif had shown striking spontaneity as he responded to be present
for the indian prime minister’s swearing-in. Modi has added to it with grace ,dignity
and the customs of his country.
One swallow does not a summer make nor
does one gesture wash away the mutual suspicion solidified over decades .An
easy amiability between elderly heads of nations ,however, does make a
difference .The subordinates who bring
up the rear become less of stiff-necks and things generally begin to move.
It is not that earlier prime ministers
have not taken the initiative .The present government would have you believe
that nothing happened in the last six decades and that they are the first ones
in the history of independent India to pick up a shovel .This is delusional and
far from true .All of them did to the best of their respective abilities .Sometimes
the situation was not conducive in our own country ,other times not so in
theirs .It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who last tried to break ground with his
bus-yatra but alas the effort did not
bear the desired fruit for reasons now best known to all.
Things happen the way they happen for
a variety of reasons .no harm in trying again .The process of peace may be
tougher but it is any day cheaper than the cost of war .Death comes only once
but the fear of death haunts a lifetime and extracts hundred times the price .Scarce,
precious resources are being frittered away in a deadly arms race on both sides
,money that could otherwise best serve the people.
Additionally, an entire global commerce
thrives based purely on the confrontation between the two .Whether it is
contraband,clandestine arms and narcotics or plain export-import of terror.Land
or sea trade that could ensure cheap and
easy movement of commodities find circuitous ways of travel causing time and
cost overruns .Or again ,the plain business of opposing each other is painfully
costly .Neither country gains ,others do.
Sharif hit the nail on the head when
he said that there were constituencies opposed to the peace process and this
process needed to be insulated from such forces .While he has his hands full
dealing with loads of them on his own terrain , Modi’s problems are more
intricate.
Sample the headlines in and around the
same time .In Delhi BJP general secretary Ram Madhav is quoted in an interview
to Al Jazeera TV reiterating the traditional RSS line that India ,Pakistan and
Bangladesh could re-unite through popular goodwill to form ‘Akhand Bharat’ adding
“as an RSS member I also hold on to this view” .
Same day in Mumbai, Modi’s minister
Giriraj Singh is quoted saying “that the time has come to redefine minority and
called for curbing uncontrolled growth of population through a uniform policy
for Indians” .Why does a minister of state for micro,small and medium
enterprises out to review the progress of projects undertaken by his ministry
need to stray into alien territory ? Babies and population is not his mandated
responsibility .Knowing Modi as this reporter does, having spent a fair share
of his journalistic career covering him,one would deign to say that the
worthies in question would not be able to open their mouth- out of turn- in his
presence .
The capacity of the likes of such
people to do good may be limited but their
ability to throw a spanner in the works of their leader is immense .One is
inclined to believe that at least a fair share of Modi’s problems would stand
solved if he slaps a silencer on the motor-mouths within his own larger party .
By the way ,many of their ilk wanted
Amir khan ,Sharukh Khan ,Salman Khan or many other ‘khans’ and ‘pathans’ to go
to Pakistan .See who actually went?And how? Silence is sagacious. The past is
already a blur .A new dawn beckons .With hope. Amen,Ameen ,tatasthu !
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