FW: The young Pakistanis have NO interest in Kashmir.
December 10, 2012
{ The writer is the Chairperson of the History Department at Forman Christian College, Lahore. }
Last year, I wrote an article in this
newspaper arguing that Pakistan should change its stance on Kashmir,
not only for the sake of Kashmiris — who have fared well compared to
Pakistanis lately — but for the sake of Pakistan itself. Arguably,
Pakistan would be a much secure, stable, democratic and developed
country if it were not for the Kashmir issue.
Last
week, in a series of ‘Conversations’ I arrange at Forman Christian
College between faculty and students, I chose the topic of ‘KashmirBanega Pakistan’ (Kashmir will become
Pakistan).
After
packed sessions on Balochistan and the Taliban, I expected the same
nature of heated debate. As an added incentive, I convinced a former
Pakistan Army captain, now a professor at FC College, who had seen live
action in Kashmir, to come and share his personal experiences and
thoughts.
However,
what happened at this interactive session was rather revealing. Granted
that this was a self-selecting group
and not something a statistician would be happy with, but there were
students from all four provinces of Pakistan and Gilgit, a good mix of
men and women, a majority from the rural areas and a range of social and
economic classes present.
While the session began with a good number of students, I could immediately sense that there was some lack of interest in the subject. I
asked thrice if anyone present wanted to argue the traditional stance
of Pakistan and no one spoke up. When cajoled further, one student made a
lukewarm effort and said “we should remember Kashmir since our waters
flow from there.” Except for this, there was
nothing argued for Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir: no mention of Indian atrocities,
no mention of the ‘unfinished business of partition’ and no Muslim
brotherhood claims, either. The charged atmosphere and excitement of the
previous sessions were almost the opposite of the dullness of this
session. As the students petered off, we even ended the session early as no one seemed interested.
Having been raised in the 1990s where watching the ‘news’ from the Kashmir Cell was staple on the state-run Pakistan Television,
I had expected a heated debate. Perhaps, if this session had been held
in, say, 1992, there would have been a passionate debate. So what is
different now? First, it is clear that the Kashmir issue was kept alive
in Pakistan mainly through state propaganda. The everyday stories, some
true, others embellished, of Indian atrocities in Kashmir were meant to
emotionally charge Pakistanis against India. With only one television
channel and a controlled populace, it was easy for the government to
shape public opinion. The liberalisation of the media and the
improvement of the situation in Indian Kashmir have obviously changed
the ground reality. Secondly, almost 50 per cent of Pakistan is under 30
years of age and has little connection to
Kashmir. While for the first generation of Pakistanis it was ‘their’
issue and the second generation inherited it from their parents, this
third generation has no ties to Kashmir. Where in 1947, Pakistan was
trying to augment a ‘moth-eaten’ country, young Pakistanis know well
that keeping the current boundaries of the country is proving to be hard
now. Talking about taking over a region which has no direct connection
to them, except for religion, is like talking about merging Egypt and
Pakistan. Thirdly, what this session showed was that young Pakistanis
are primarily concerned about their own well-being and advancement — not
some grand pious notions. Today, a typical young Pakistani would rather
take a good job in India than maintain a belligerent attitude towards
the country.
The
best example of the lack of interest in Kashmir is the Difa-e-Pakistan
Council itself. A motley of older gentlemen with extremist views on
almost everything, the Council is a last ditch effort of a dying and
increasingly irrelevant generation to keep issues of the past alive.
Surely, if Pakistanis still passionately cared about Kashmir, the Council would not have to hold rallies to remind people to hate India.
Pakistan
is finally making a break with the past, led by the younger generation
where pragmatism, mutual cooperation and development, and peaceful
coexistence can become the benchmarks of a future Pakistan. It
is time that such an opportunity is seized and the Kashmir issue is
resolved through a sensible solution and the agreement and mutual
benefit of all parties, with old impractical and idealist postures
abandoned.
Published in The Express
Tribune, December 11th, 2012.
{ The writer is the Chairperson of the History Department at Forman Christian College, Lahore. }
Last year, I wrote an article in this
newspaper arguing that Pakistan should change its stance on Kashmir,
not only for the sake of Kashmiris — who have fared well compared to
Pakistanis lately — but for the sake of Pakistan itself. Arguably,
Pakistan would be a much secure, stable, democratic and developed
country if it were not for the Kashmir issue.
Last
week, in a series of ‘Conversations’ I arrange at Forman Christian
College between faculty and students, I chose the topic of ‘KashmirBanega Pakistan’ (Kashmir will become
Pakistan).
After
packed sessions on Balochistan and the Taliban, I expected the same
nature of heated debate. As an added incentive, I convinced a former
Pakistan Army captain, now a professor at FC College, who had seen live
action in Kashmir, to come and share his personal experiences and
thoughts.
However,
what happened at this interactive session was rather revealing. Granted
that this was a self-selecting group
and not something a statistician would be happy with, but there were
students from all four provinces of Pakistan and Gilgit, a good mix of
men and women, a majority from the rural areas and a range of social and
economic classes present.
While the session began with a good number of students, I could immediately sense that there was some lack of interest in the subject. I
asked thrice if anyone present wanted to argue the traditional stance
of Pakistan and no one spoke up. When cajoled further, one student made a
lukewarm effort and said “we should remember Kashmir since our waters
flow from there.” Except for this, there was
nothing argued for Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir: no mention of Indian atrocities,
no mention of the ‘unfinished business of partition’ and no Muslim
brotherhood claims, either. The charged atmosphere and excitement of the
previous sessions were almost the opposite of the dullness of this
session. As the students petered off, we even ended the session early as no one seemed interested.
Having been raised in the 1990s where watching the ‘news’ from the Kashmir Cell was staple on the state-run Pakistan Television,
I had expected a heated debate. Perhaps, if this session had been held
in, say, 1992, there would have been a passionate debate. So what is
different now? First, it is clear that the Kashmir issue was kept alive
in Pakistan mainly through state propaganda. The everyday stories, some
true, others embellished, of Indian atrocities in Kashmir were meant to
emotionally charge Pakistanis against India. With only one television
channel and a controlled populace, it was easy for the government to
shape public opinion. The liberalisation of the media and the
improvement of the situation in Indian Kashmir have obviously changed
the ground reality. Secondly, almost 50 per cent of Pakistan is under 30
years of age and has little connection to
Kashmir. While for the first generation of Pakistanis it was ‘their’
issue and the second generation inherited it from their parents, this
third generation has no ties to Kashmir. Where in 1947, Pakistan was
trying to augment a ‘moth-eaten’ country, young Pakistanis know well
that keeping the current boundaries of the country is proving to be hard
now. Talking about taking over a region which has no direct connection
to them, except for religion, is like talking about merging Egypt and
Pakistan. Thirdly, what this session showed was that young Pakistanis
are primarily concerned about their own well-being and advancement — not
some grand pious notions. Today, a typical young Pakistani would rather
take a good job in India than maintain a belligerent attitude towards
the country.
The
best example of the lack of interest in Kashmir is the Difa-e-Pakistan
Council itself. A motley of older gentlemen with extremist views on
almost everything, the Council is a last ditch effort of a dying and
increasingly irrelevant generation to keep issues of the past alive.
Surely, if Pakistanis still passionately cared about Kashmir, the Council would not have to hold rallies to remind people to hate India.
Pakistan
is finally making a break with the past, led by the younger generation
where pragmatism, mutual cooperation and development, and peaceful
coexistence can become the benchmarks of a future Pakistan. It
is time that such an opportunity is seized and the Kashmir issue is
resolved through a sensible solution and the agreement and mutual
benefit of all parties, with old impractical and idealist postures
abandoned.
Published in The Express
Tribune, December 11th, 2012.
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