Lahore
February 4, 2007
Last month, I crossed the Iron Curtain of the East; I set foot on the forbidden land; I did it! A short fifty-minute flight over the alluvial plains of Punjab took me to the Indira Gandhi Airport in the Indian capital territory of New Delhi. I spent four days in Bangalore and one day in Delhi,which by no means turned me into an expert on India. My impressions are subjective and are tainted by my prejudices and experiences, for example images of multi-limbed gods brought back memories of Indian grocery stores and restaurants in the US.
India looms large in the Pakistani consciousness. The cultural and military threat posed by India has shaped Pakistan’s history and the raison d’etre of the Pakistan army. My childhood perceptions (perhaps typical of all Pakistani school children) of India were that of a formidable adversary, which was bent upon the destruction of Pakistan (which some Indians undoubtedly still are). The other common belief about India among Pakistanis is that the extent of poverty, hunger and filth far exceeds that in Pakistan (which is not true). During my five days in India, I was attuned to these two social aspects of Indian society, trying to judge for myself. So, I scanned local and national papers, trying to gauge local attitudes about us. For the most part, I didn’t find any related news items, until there was a bomb blast in Assam which some politicians squarely blamed on Pakistan. For Indians, it seems, Pakistan only has a nuisance value. For example, there is an acute high-tech labor shortage in Bangalore, but the tech-savvy understand that there is no real engineering university in Pakistan and no talent pool from where good workers can be lured to their industry. So, I got the feeling, while in Bangalore that the Indian high-tech industry, quite rightly, has no respect for its counterpart across the border. They have little respect for Pakistan in general, they being extremely proud of their democracy and their country. Regardless of the merits of their systems, the Indians have bought into it, which means that the public generally believes in, and supports its leaders, a trust which is sometimes misplaced (a familiar situation for those following American politics).Their optimism about the future of India, constantly buoyed by new and more bullish economic reports, is in stark contrast to the pessimism that pervades the Pakistani society. On the subject of poverty, filth and the like, the difference between the two neighbors is minimal in all but one aspect, air quality, which is noticeably better in India. At the end of the day though, I would say that there is little difference between Pakistan and India in terms of appearance, infrastructure, facilities etc., but there isa big one between the Indian and the Pakistani, the common person – one is forward looking, optimistic and confident about a more prosperous India of tomorrow, the other is despondent, cynical and trying all possible ways to emigrate from what he considers a sinking ship. Pakistanis in India are treated politely but not with the same awe as Indians are when they visit us; that, I guess is how big guys treat little guys (à la New York).
In this case, I feel I must end with a concluding note and a political one at that. Paradoxically, I agree more strongly with Musharraf now in his haste to make peace with a burgeoning World power, and in his emphasis on the economy. I also, blame him and his ilk more strongly for keeping Pakistan colonized by special interest groups. If only the common Pakistani thought of this land as his own, we too could have coalesced into a real nation.
I fully agree with Salman (let me preface that by saying I have never been in India myself). He did not tell us what he was doing there – though I suppose that it had something to do with IT. The attitude of the populace that he points out is very instructive, in my mind. It is what leads to long term and sustainable growth. It brings forth the same question that we have all asked (perhaps silently and of ourselves only) – is Pakistan a failed state?? And do we have a future?
On another point, I also agree with the present official policy of making peace with India and opening up the economy. We cannot win a war with them – militarily or otherwise (well, we may beat them in Cricket once in a while), so we need to “join ‘em”. The question is are we too late??
Take care,
Saleem
A thoughtful piece and I agree with your conclusions. Once cannot help notice the upbeat, optimistic view of the country’s future considering the overdose of cynicism that one gets from Pakistanis. This is indeed the real difference between us and them!
Salman;
I visited India in 1991 well before the current detente’ and only a few years after the xenophobic hysteria of the Zia government. Because of my family background, I had never bought into the mindless propaganda of Indians being ‘formidable adversaries bent on our destruction’.
As you have discovered after having ‘reverse brainwashed’ yourself, most Indians and the Indian nation regard Pakistan as a nuisance, like a gnat buzzing around their heads. They have, to use a well worn phrase, bigger fish to fry on the world stage.
It is only in Pakistan (in some quarters) that there is this unhealthy obsession with India and Indians as dirty, smelly, urine drinking, Hindus who are somehow culturally inferior to us and deserve to disappear in a cloud of nuclear smoke.
On my visit to India (I visited Delhi, Jaipur and Agra), I found Indians hospitable, friendly and very well read. I disagree that I was treated only ‘politely’. In fact, when Delhi-ites found out I was from Lahore, I was welcomed with open arms (cabdrivers refusing fare etc). I felt that I fit right in. This was before the ‘opening up’ period so India was not the emerging superpower it is now but I also felt the optimism and faith in the future that you described.
One difference was the air quality in Delhi which was far worse at that time than even Lahore. Since then, as you know, they have cleaned up their act through legislation and , reportedly, the air in Delhi is now cleaner than many Western cities.
Another welcome thing at that time was the number of women in the streets, shops etc. There were women going to college, working in shops, in hotels, driving cars etc etc.
In Lahore, as you know, a visitor can be forgiven for thinking that there is a dire shortage of women of all ages as judged by the number of women one see in public (and the intense stares that women in public attract from men of all ages)
I’m glad you were finally able to shed your childhood image of India as the ‘big bad wolf’, an image cultivated by the ruling circles of Pakistan since 1947 for their own narrow ends. An ongoing ‘opening’ is inevitable in Pakistan. We are surrounded by two ‘Asian giants’ and we are going to be dragged kicking and screaming with them into the future, whether we like it or not.
Article a reflection of confused mind justifying nations existence or am I reading too deep?. More then 450 Indian high tech labour work for me and never I treat them any different then any one of us. Many of my Pakistani friends run travel business in UK where they take Sikhs to pilgrimage to Lahore. So why this perception? We are suppose to be best of hosts. Surprised about Ali Hashmi’s article also. India is a great land and Hindu’s can live with Muslims in peace and as Quran told us non Muslims cannot be our friend unless we become like them.
I am confused about the statement:
“India is a great land and Hindu’s can live with Muslims in peace and as Quran told us non Muslims cannot be our friend unless we become like them”.
I do not know what the writer means by that.