Comment

India’s Pakistan-watchers found themselves in an embarrassing muddle. They just did not know how to respond to the deportation drama of Nawaz Sharif played out at the Islamabad airport on September 10.

They chose the cynical way out. They said that this was Pakistan’s internal affair, and that we must keep our noses out of it. They invoked that ultimate talisman of foreign policy — national interest.

They said it is not quite clear that democracy in Pakistan serves the national interest of India. They believe that Pervez Musharraf has been good for India-Pakistan entente, and they strongly feel that a deal with him is the best for closing the unending Kashmir dispute.

One of the pundits even went to the extent of implying that at this moment when Islamic extremists are on the prowl in Pakistan, it may not be such a good idea to restore democracy in the country. The military is better placed to deal with the menace.

So, there is a clear lobby in India which believes that Musharraf is a good bet, a view shared by a section of policymakers in the US as well. It will not be accurate to say that these Indians are echoing the Americans. There just happens to be a convergence of views.

Like the Americans, Indians too think that the General must do something to bring a semblance of democracy to the country without loosening his grip over the government. These voices belong to the school of realism in international relations.

There are other groups of Indians as well who are quite happy with Musharraf, and who are not too worried about the fate of democracy across the border. The first group is that of the sentimental Punjabis — past and present — who are soaked in the Lahore nostalgia, real and imaginary.

If Musharraf is helping break the barriers between the two countries, then it does not matter that he is not an elected head of state, or that he had led a coup that overthrew a democratic government. It does not matter whether Pakistan is a democratic polity or not, as long as Punjabis can travel easily from Delhi to Lahore and the other way round.

Punjabis — Hindus and Muslims, and the Sikhs — feel that Partition was a cruel decision imposed on them. It is partially true that Punjabis were not the loud proponents of the Pakistan idea. But it cannot be forgotten that there was sharp clash of interests and intense political rivalry among the elites of the three groups at the time.

Despite the fact that the Partition is a political and jurisdical reality, bleary-eyed Punjabis want to walk through this ‘Berlin wall’. Fortunately, this group is not influential enough to make decisions.

The third group is that of the liberals and secularists in India, for whom India-Pakistan bonhomie is an article of their political faith. They think that the stability of Hindu-Muslim amity lies in India-Pakistan friendship and in a borderless Kashmir.

Many in this group belong to the media, and they have played an important role in pressurizing prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to break bread with Musharraf at Agra, at the SAARC summits at Kathmandu in 2002 and at Islamabad in 2004, and at New York every September during the UN General Assembly sessions.

Manmohan Singh was subjected to a similar pressure at New York as well as at the NAM summit in Havana in 2005. The media lobby promoting India-Pakistan relations is playing the dangerous game of political activism, and they are not even apologetic about it.

All these groups are literally blind to the aspirations and feelings of the people of Pakistan. They are not bothered whether the people approve of Musharraf or not. As a matter of fact, the military ruler has not been enjoying popularity ratings in his own country. On the contrary, he has been a strong favourite among the pundits in India and the US.

An anti-Musharraf tide is sweeping Pakistan. His people see him as a West-friendly, and not Pakistan-friendly, leader. His talk of moderate and modern Islam is seen to be hypocritical because they know that it is the army led by Musharraf that had nurtured the Islamic terrorists in the country.

The people of Pakistan are angry and confused, and they are groping for democratic solutions. They are even willing to support corrupt politicians. The Indians policymakers have been backing the wrong man for the wrong reasons.