My Report Debate II: India-Pak Crisis a Danger or Opportunity?

(Garemaa Parihar’s essay is among the Top 10 of the My Report Debate II. Participants were asked the question: How to fix the India-Pakistan relationship – jaadu ki jhappi or surgical strike?)

The relationship between India and Pakistan reminds me of the quote, “you can change friends but not neighbours” by Vajpayee ji on the topic. One cannot agree more with him. Today, as a country both India and Pakistan are struggling with poverty, lack of fresh water, women’s empowerment, climate change and so much more, making the public suffer.

So, instead of focusing on its people, the government is left burdened to invest on arms and weapons which leads to nothing. We need to respect our army, the martyrs, and their families. It is time India and Pakistan realise that war or surgical strikes or the border firings will lead to merely satisfying the ego of some unfortunate minds.

For instance, if the world is a race track, then countries like USA, China, are constantly improving themselves to sustain the race and be at the top whereas India and Pakistan are busy fighting among themselves. If we continue like this we'll be left behind so much that we will not be able to catch them ever. For instance, what if India and Pakistan think about improving and developing together?

According to a World Bank report, the trade between India and Pakistan can go upto 37 billion dollars from the current 2 billion if the two tear down artificial barriers like trust deficit and non-tariff measures.

This will lead to not only economic growth and development for both the countries but also improving the cultural and social differences. We need to realise our priorities, whether to boost trade, education, technology, health sector and become the next superpower – or keep comparing ourselves with Pakistan. The same goes for Pakistan.

It’s high time we stop fighting amongst ourselves and let other countries surpass us because according to me both nations have the potential to develop to ‘First World’ countries. While it’s true that a lot of effort would be required from both sides, and it would involve trust, belief, planning, etc, but we need to start from somewhere!

We need to reach a point were both countries are striving for peace and brotherhood rather that planning attacks on each other in retaliation.

In millennial terms, let’s take this time to “move on” from the the bitter history of both the nations.

Don't we as world citizens today deserve better roads, hospitals, schools, job opportunities, and a clean environment to live in? Don't we want our governments to invest in us as human resource than on weaponry? Let's use our intellect and money to develop what we have, rather than fight over a the borderline drawn by hate. We must build a new one with trust and hope for a better future. Kennedy had once said: “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word crisis. One brush stroke stands for danger, the other for opportunity. In crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognise the opportunity.”

Shouldn’t we recognise this as well?

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