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| Edited By: |Source: DNA |Updated: Nov 21, 2013, 01:44 PM IST
There are reasons to welcome Sarabjit Singh’s death. The brutal assault spared him the agony of rotting in Pakistani jails. He must have realised way back that the India government had forsaken him — his family, especially his sister, had tried everything to secure his release, and every time all they got were empty assurances.
If Sarabjit had pinned his hopes on a sudden change of heart of the Pakistan authorities, it was just desperate optimism.
India is as much guilty of Sarabjit’s death as Pakistan. It had pussy-footed around for years over his release even as it claimed that Sarabjit was innocent. Didn’t it realise that by doing so it was not only playing with Sarabjit’s life, but also exposing itself to ridicule and criticism? In the midst of a pan-Indian outpouring of grief, the Centre didn’t want to be perceived as heartless. So, it will now do whatever it takes to show how deeply hurt it is over an innocent man’s murder.
It doesn’t make sense to ask anymore who among the ministry of external affairs, union home ministry, the prime ministers’ office and the ministry of overseas Indian affairs was responsible for pursuing Sarabjit’s case.
In the last 23 years, India had opportunities to secure Sarabjit’s release. Vajpayee visited Lahore on a bus in 1999; Pervez Musharraf came to India for the Agra summit in 2001; in April last year, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari came to India and held talks with Manmohan Singh. Trade between the two countries increased with India granting Pakistan the MFN status in 1996. Both the BJP and the Congress didn’t find him important because people like Sarabjit don’t matter to them when they are alive.
It is death that has given Sarabjit the attention that was essential to his freedom and life.
Sarabjit is now the flashpoint in the India-Pakistan relationship. He will be cremated with full state honours. In no time he has become the object of a blame game between the BJP and the Congress. Politicians across party lines who had never bothered about him have condoled his death. The Shiv Sena even forced a diversion for the bus service between Delhi and Lahore. His family will get an ex-gratia payment of Rs25 lakh from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
In an effort to contain the damage, Pakistan too is doing its bit by making the right noises.
It has ordered a judicial inquiry into the assault. But all this while when it knew that
Sarabjit’s life was under threat, it didn’t take enough measures to prevent an assault.
Can Sarabjit stir the conscience of both India and Pakistan so that each country treats the other’s prisoners like human beings? There are around 855 Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails. India’s Tihar alone has 16 Pakistani prisoners. It should be the sacred responsibility of both the countries to see to it that no more lives are lost in a cycle of vengeance. An anti-India or anti-Pakistan rhetoric at this point will not be in the best interests of either of the countries.
Sarabjit’s death provides an opportunity for both the countries to look afresh at bilateral relations. When the ordinary people in both India and Pakistan do not want wars between the two countries, then what is the point of hostility? But for the two countries to come close, it is important to have democracy in Pakistan. The two democratically elected governments can then strive to resolve outstanding issues and work towards a more robust partnership based on trust and mutual respect.
We should not allow Sarabjit’s death to go in vain. That would mean only going back to a state when neighbours are treated as enemies and genuine diplomacy is sacrificed at the altar of jingoism.
