Peace with
India Irreversible
By Moorthy Muthuswamy,
PhD
New York, NY
I
would like to give a Hindu view as well as that
of a commentator on South Asia (Peace with India
irreversible: Musharraf, April 24).
It appears President Musharraf has realized that
Pakistan needs to embark on focused and well-funded
economic growth. It has been proven time and again
that modern and successful civilizations are built
on the basis of wealth creation – not on
the basis of military posture or adventure. To
achieve that Pakistan needs to defuse the Kashmir
conflict, which should enable Pakistan reduce
military spending and divert scarce resources
for economic development. Also, friendly relations
with India should create conditions for economic
opportunities and for acquiring technical assistance
from India.
For India too peace with Pakistan should mean
ability to divert some of the much-needed resources
for economic development. India too has been dragged
down due to its conflict with Pakistan. But India
faces yet another expensive front internally –
a growing militant Islamic one that has its own
dynamics, not necessarily subservient to Pakistan’s.
Due to this growing confrontation, India’s
Hindu majority abhors a deep distrust of India’s
very own Muslim minority. Soft borders with Pakistan
increase the potential for infiltration of religious
extremists into India, as well as migration of
people into India in search of livelihood. For
an India already burned with soft-borders with
Bangladesh, this is a serious issue. Hence in
my judgment, this internal front will limit the
extent of Indo-Pak détente.
Even for Pakistan, contrary to Musharraf’s
positive vision for Pakistan, religious power
structure seems to insist on taking Pakistan several
centuries back. Here is a conflict of interest
– a modern Pakistan with an educated populace
would mean reduced clout and power for its clerics.
Hence the success of this peace process lies in
simultaneously working to reform religious power
structure in South Asia towards its embrace of
modernity and coexistence.
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