Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shakes hands with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai in New Delhi. Photo: PTI

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai visited India this week. In his last term as President, Karzai comes with demands that could not only raise eyebrows, but also table challenge to India’s policy on Afghanistan.

Karzai’s demands include various weapons and military equipments. However, while the President was in Delhi; a two day long confrontation between Taliban and Afghan Security Forces was underway at the Sangin district of Helmand, next to the porous borders with Pakistan. As Afghanistan hailed victory in this mini-conflict, it also highlighted challenges that the country would face after withdrawal of US forces next year, and the immediate need to arm Afghan troops to fight insurgents, as the Taliban from Pakistan.

Karzai has reportedly asked India to provide artillery, transport aircraft (the Antonov 32), transport vehicles, temporary bridge equipment, among others. Such demands from Afghanistan to India aren’t new. Representatives from Karzai’s government have over the past few years asked India to increase its presence in areas as the military and police training camps, small arms training, and other areas in combat field. Till recently, India has largely been refraining, although New Delhi has provided basic training to the Afghan police, both in Afghanistan and India.

However, Karzai’s latest demand has raised the stakes. The list, which the Afghan President has given, seems to be well calculated and thought out. It includes weaponry such as 105 mm guns that India is planning to phase out from its inventory.  Demand for medium-lift transport aircraft has also been asked for at a time when India is getting its entire fleet of 105 An 32 medium-lift aircraft upgraded in Ukraine. Clearly, none of the demands by Karzai will bear burden on Indian Armed Forces, and can be easily spared.

India’s commitment in Afghanistan has been long standing. With millions of dollars already spent by New Delhi in the country over various infrastructure projects such as dams, roads and even the new Parliament building in Kabul, India is set to continue its close relations.

Sending arms to Afghanistan at the level of military aircraft and guns is a decision that would surely upset Pakistan and may even send its military and intelligence services in an overdrive to undermine Indian influence in the country. Karzai has previously mentioned in numerous occasions that a successful Afghanistan is not possible without Pakistan’s support. However, Karzai has also blamed Pakistan for spreading insurgents in Afghanistan so as to destabilise the country. Both countries also have long-standing differences over the Durand Line, a 2640 km long, highly flammable border they share.

Arming the Afghan Army may not be a simple decision. Afghan armed forces are notorious to be compromised by jihadi elements. Over the past few years many jihadists working as Afghan soldiers and policemen have killed American and NATO soldiers in what is now today known as ‘green-on-blue’ attacks.

The problem in New Delhi, under the present government, is that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is set to start new round of talks and exchanges with Islamabad. Pakistan recently celebrated a civil government completing its entire term for the first time in its history. With Pakistan getting a new Prime Minister this year, Manmohan Singh would not want to ‘jeopardise’ any positive strides between two countries before they even start. Arming Afghanistan in a certain manner will certainly add another wall between New Delhi and Islamabad, something Singh in all likeliness will avoid in the near future.

Manmohan Singh is now in the final leg of his own term before the General Elections in 2014 (or earlier). His actions will be directly proportionate to the legacy he wants to leave behind. With him orchestrating India’s attempts to gain a meaningful dialogue with Pakistan, Singh may fall short in obliging Karzai’s wishlist. India could however work out a compromise and give Afghanistan equipment such as An 32 transport planes and other ground transportation equipment for the Afghan army. In the process, Kabul may lose out in getting its hand on the important artillery systems, but will get a section of its wishlist fulfilled.

Meanwhile the US, although withdrawing from Afghanistan by September next year, will in all likeliness maintain a respectable military presence in the country. Having continuously developing interests in Afghanistan, recognising the possibility of the country going into civil war due to lack of strong domestic military structure coupled with Washington learning its lessons from the attack on its consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which left its ambassador dead; US will help avoid any event in Afghanistan that will undermine its financial and military efforts in the country over the past twelve years.

The situation in Afghanistan next year will be in a delicate spot. India should play a larger role by helping the country get through its election process and hope to achieve a stable government in Kabul that can spearhead Afghanistan and its people towards an economically prosperous environment. New Delhi should help Afghanistan militarily in a controlled manner as well, keeping in mind the very delicate situation of the region. India should not shy away from its ties with Kabul to the next level.

Major plans were chalked out and New Delhi plunged its best foot forward to restore the Sittwe port in Myanmar, which earlier was used as an important sea port for trade with the northeast states. India is investing Rs 4.5 billion for this project. The Sittwe port, which was earlier known as Akyab, is planned to be connected with Mizoram through the Kaladan River. India’s public sector organisation RITES is to rebuild the port, which is nearly 160 km away from Mizoram. It was supposed to be completed in 2010-2011, but till date there is no news of it. India is now more concerned about how to use the Chittagong port in Bangladesh post 2009, when Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League came to power. New Delhi still talks big on Look East, but does not talk much about the Sittwe – Kaladan project.

Five years ago, New Delhi decided to spend Rs 8.5 billion to develop 13 Land Customs Stations (LCS) to boost trade with Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Of the 13 LCS, one is on the India-Pakistan border, four on the India-Nepal border, one on the India-Myanmar border and seven on the India-Bangladesh border. In the eastern frontier, infrastructure development did take place, the concept of Border haats have come in, but there is no implementation at ground zero. This gives a feel that India’s endeavour to ‘look east’ is really flying over the Northeast, and not incorporating the region in the scheme of things.

There is also an ambitious project to lay a sub-line to link the planned India-Myanmar gas pipeline for transporting natural gas. India is pushing the $3-billion pipeline plan to import gas from Myanmar through the northeast.

The 1,400 km long trans-Asian highway is supposed to run from Moreh in Manipur and stretch up to Thailand at Mae Sot via the ancient city of Bagan in central Myanmar. This proposed trans-Asian highway actually existed a long time ago. A major stretch of this highway was frequently used during the World War II. Now the road is not in use for decades and requires reconstruction. Watchers have always criticized India’s ‘Look East policy’ as new wine in old bottle.

Northeast India used to be a busy hub of cultural and commercial activities some 2,000 years ago. After centuries of isolation and neglect, it is coming to life again as the principal gateway between India and two of the fastest growing regions of the world – Southeast Asia and East Asia, but the big question is whether New Delhi wants it to play a major role or not. By subsequent actions, New Delhi is proving that its intention is to continue dangling the carrot of better connectivity in the region.

Experts believe that the need of the hour is to increase the volume of trade with Southeast Asia and keeping in mind the geographical proximity of Northeast with Southeast Asia, India should stress towards improving the communication infrastructure in the northeast region. Asean and East Asia share a $500 billion market while India’s current trading with Asean, Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan accounts for just $50 billion, almost a quarter of India’s total trade. So the volume of trade should go up. If the northeast receives even five percent share of this enormous market, the face of the region would change , but does New Delhi want this to happen?

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandh arrives to give an address after releasing the Report Card of UPA 2. PTI photo

It was the fourth anniversary of the UPA 2 or in fact, the ninth anniversary of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance). Nine uninterrupted years of the Congress at the Centre. The anniversary report card and dinner was supposed to be an occasion to celebrate and build on the work done so far. The most important aspect would have been to give hope to the nation that the UPA government was committed to the welfare of the nation. Unfortunately, both the Prime Minister and the Congress President could not convey this.

When the occasion is to highlight your achievements, it is imperative that one of the two leaders, speaks in a language known to the majority of the country. Both the Prime Minister and the Congress President spoke in English. Clearly, a vast majority of people would not have followed the drift. The Prime Minister was charting out the enhanced allocations which the government had given out to various flagship programs. He was also interested in showing to the nation that inspite of global recession, the Indian economy has its fundamentals in place. At best, the address would be termed as uninspiring.

Interestingly, the Congress President was much more political and also took on the opposition for disrupting the passage of important bills. However her speech was more about defending the Prime Minister rather than showing hope for the future. A substantial chunk was devoted to dispelling the apprehension that there is acute difference between the party and the Prime Minister. A strict warning was also issued to the Congress leaders and workers that rumor mongering and misinformation campaigns would not be tolerated.

Unfortunately, the hopes of the Congress leaders are so low that the turnout was also low. The energy levels in the fourth anniversary bash was much lower than it was in the year before. The notable absentees included Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jayanthi Natrajan- all three important Ministers of State with independent charge. Ambika Soni, the former Information and Broadcasting Minister, was also absent. The allies, or whatever is left of the UPA allies, were present in full force. The government managers had a tough time managing both the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) at the same place. While the SP leaders did not turn up for the event, BSP representatives did put in an appearance, but that was at the dinner. In the last anniversary function, SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was at the dais releasing the report card to the people. The DMK and TMC have already pulled out, so there was no question of representatives of these parties being present. Almost all the chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states were present. The surprise entry was that of former SP leaders Jaya Prada and Amar Singh.

Politics and governance is a lot about perception. If the perception of a government in public discourse is not good, it is difficult to retain power. For the UPA 2, perception has been a big weakness. Although it might be incorrect to say that this government has completely failed in social schemes, a string of scandals have made it look like a government which will hang on to power at any cost. The General Elections are now less than a year away, but if the leaders in the party have a dismal outlook, half the battle is already lost. Hope – a big ingredient in any electoral battle is certainly missing.

Illustration: Anand Naorem

When you spot it, it’s like a mini-triumph, especially when it overturns everything the person speaking to you is trying to tell you. In the times we live in, nothing can give you away more easily than the brand of cellphone you carry, if you’re a cop in eastern UP.

As I sat before one such cop earlier this week, who was trying to tell me how honest he was, how the culture of taking cuts in the booty collected by each police station is a thing of the past, his phone rang. It was a red Apple iPhone. Priced anywhere between Rs 12,000 to 45,000, it could be a third or more of the salary of a superintendent of police.

Another cop told me over the course of a night run to a Naxal infested part of UP, how he helped poor tribals keep their land from being snatched by a big corporate. Later that evening, the cops took us to dinner at a guest house owned by the same corporate, in their premises. No bills paid, no questions asked.

If you’ve been a journalist for a while, you will also notice how the person you’ve set up time with to meet, performs for you. Even those who aren’t nouveau-riche, who’ve been to Oxford and Cambridge and live in Lutyens Delhi or similar addresses do it. On one occasion, a Page 3 person who networks for a living met me in his office. I was on time, he had picked the hour to suit his schedule. But as soon as I entered, he went into a long conversation over the phone about how he was giving some journalist in New York “exclusive news,” how he had just been to various countries for various conferences. This went on for a good 20 minutes and when it got absolutely no reaction from me, the man got off the phone, straightened his hair and said, “So where did you grow up, where did you study?” as he tried to fathom why I didn’t give a damn.

A diplomat did much the same, telling me just how many languages his books were now translated into and how he was telling a senior colleague of mine that he would be happy to be on his books show. The craving, when you remain deadpan and difficult to please, when you don’t pander, is fun to watch and tells you almost the entire story of the person in question.

But my favourite little detail from earlier this month has to do with the Pakistan elections. Imran Khan played the injured victim card to the hilt, giving one interview after another from his hospital bed. The first lot happened with his face propped up on white hospital pillows. By the evening, the pillows became the flags of Pakistan, green with the crescent moon on them as covers. The day he lost, the pillows were back to white, nailing Imran Khan’s true feelings. While he told the press he was happy for Pakistan and a good loser, the pillows told the opposite story.

‘We Tibetans are treated as political lepers by the international community, and our cause as an embarrassing and contagious disease.

We, the victims, are ignored and shunned while our oppressors are courted and feted by a world gone mad.

We are a peaceful people and we have nowhere to turn to for justice except the UN.

We do not ask for charity.

We only demand what is ours’.

Statement issued by members of the Tibetan Youth Congress, while on a hunger strike outside the UN office in Delhi (1977)

Within a few years of India having its midnight tryst with destiny, Tibet started its long and arduous entanglement with darkness and deceit. The year 1950 onwards, Mao’s China began making rapid inroads into the mountain kingdom promising modernisation, reforms and prosperity. In less than a decade, Communist China managed a vice-like grip over Tibet, while not delivering any of the promises made.

Resentment against the ‘occupational forces’ brewed for years, but things came to a head in March 1959 when the streets of Lhasa erupted in protest, after it became apparent that the Chinese were getting ready to curb the movements of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (perhaps even arrest him). The protests came on the back of Chinese oppression and the realisation that traditional institutions of Tibet were being systematically eradicated since Buddhism was at odds with the vision that Mao had for China. In a final bid to assert themselves, scores of Tibetan protesters gathered close to Potala, and issued a formal ‘Declaration of Independence’.

The response was on expected lines; the Chinese military machinery used the only tool it had; reinforcements poured into Lhasa, and even the Dalai Lama’s summer palace was not spared. The rapidly deteriorating situation and the shelling of the NorbulingkaPalace, made the arrest of the spiritual leader imminent. It was under such trying circumstances that a young Tenzin Gyatso (the Dalai Lama) heeded the advice of his council, and secretly exited Lhasa and headed towards India.

With no leadership to guide and inspire them, the popular uprising fizzled out. China called it a conspiracy of ‘armed rebellion’ and used this pretext to execute a violent crackdown on the Tibetan independence movement. The occupational forces made sure that the Tibetans did not have the ability or the capability to launch a full-scale rebellion ever again.

Today for the international community, Tibet is a forgotten agenda. It’s too busy battling extremism, oil prices and an arms race, China’s economic and military predominance has only scuttled voices of protest against the nation’s blatant human rights abuses. As for Tibetans themselves, it’s a civilisation living in exile, many of them were born as refugees or saranarthis, most will die that way. Ironically the essence of Tibetan culture can now be found more widely in McLeodganj than in Lhasa. The town was one of the thirty-seven settlements that the Government of India had allotted to Tibetans fleeing Chinese oppression.

McLeodganj still retains the essential charm of a hill station, and also has the Parliament of the Tibetan government in exile and the residence of the Dalai Lama. But most of all, this tranquil town serves as a base for the Tibetans to launch their movement.

Despite international insensitivity and isolation, the Tibetans have persevered. One would expect that after half-a-century they would accept their fate and move on. But while the Tibetans have been grateful to India for being a magnificent host, they want to shrug off the tag of being saranarthis. The younger generation Tibetan may not have seen Lhasa, yet they would prefer to return to their motherland – but on their feet, not on their knees.

Sadly, the Tibetan government in exile over the years has seen even the limited support it had, slip away. The rising power of China and its vast markets made any sort of censure impossible; what’s worse was India’s rather meek admission under the former prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, that Tibet was indeed a part of China. Not only did India lose a stick to threaten China with, the move totally shattered the belief of the community in exile that their host would proactively engage China on their behalf.

It might not be omnipresent, but anger and resentment is increasing in the otherwise peaceful Tibetan community in exile. Organisations like the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) have come to the fore, often taking a more radical approach to the continued occupation of Tibet. Using innovative techniques that also get media attention, Tibetan protesters have continuously managed to embarrass the Chinese government in the international fora, so that the world does not forget about their gradual extinction.

When I reached McLeodganj in November 2006, I found that the mood was quite restive. The Indian government was treating the impending arrival of Hu Jintao as the most significant visit by a head of state to India in recent times – a Chinese premier was setting foot in India after a decade. But the Tibetan community was understandably outraged to see the same India that had given them shelter, now hobnob with the Chinese at the very highest levels.

Though Hu Jintao’s itinerary would not take him anywhere close to McLeodganj, it would be this town from where large scale protest and the descent would be organised. Having burnt its fingers earlier with diehard Tibetan protesters, the government this time clamped down the movements of TYC leaders. So even as TYC leaders were put under police surveillance, other activists fanned out to get the attention of Hu Jintao (and the world media).

China: The Human Rights Abuser
Not just the visit of the Chinese premier, but the immediate provocation for the Tibetans also came in the form of a video that blew the lid on China’s scant regard for human rights. The shocking video, broadcast first on Romanian TV, captured how the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force (CAPF) shot dead a group of Tibetans trying to cross into India from the Nangpa Pass on 30 September 2006.

By the time I reached McLeodganj, the video had gone viral on YouTube and had been creating headlines. Filmed by mountaineers who happened to be in the area, the video showed in graphic detail how a group of Tibetans, struggling against the knee-deep snow, suddenly came under attack without warning. As a shot rang out in the mountains, a young girl fell lifeless into the snow (later identified as Kelsang Namtso, a seventeen-year-old Buddhist nun), and the group panicked and tried to scamper up the mountain. The CAPF had had good training, this time the bullet zeroed in on twenty-three-year-old Kunsang Namgyal; despite being hit, he tried to move forward, only to be shot at again. Namgyal was eventually captured. (Though initially presumed dead, he was apparently released by the Chinese authorities after months of torture.)

Only a handful of the seventy-three Tibetans, who were attempting to cross the border into India through the 6,000-metre-high NangpaPass, managed to make it. Many others were arrested by the CAPF but were never seen again. The most shocking incident was that this group was just several hundred yards from the CAPF unit and had their backs facing the unit, yet they were fired upon, without any warning whatsoever.

International law requires that the use of firearms by border patrols be used only as a last resort – when life is at risk. From the video it was evident that none of the lives of the CAPF squad had been endangered. It was obvious that the soldiers were doing some sniper shooting practice with live targets, human rights be damned; the video even went on to show Chinese policemen smoking casually after the killing.

Lobsang Choeden was another member of the group who had a miraculous escape that day. Members of a mountaineering team hid him in their tent and gave him food to eat. The footage clearly revealed the fear on his face as he evaded the CAPF squad that came looking for him. Choeden saved his life by hiding in a makeshift toilet.

When I caught up with Choeden in Dharamshala, he explained to me in broken English how the whole group had come under fire, and how the lives of Tibetans were of no value to the Chinese. Today, even if Choeden wishes to go back to Tibet, he cannot afford the thought. His photographs have been splashed all over Tibet, and one sight of him can cost him his life. After speaking to the international media, Choeden feared for his family, which was still in Tibet; but he did get an audience with the Dalai Lama and he considers himself lucky for that.

The mountaineers who captured the video were obviously stunned; they successfully managed to sneak out photographic evidence of the Chinese soldiers in ‘action’. Most crucially, a video of the firing managed to create international ripples and became public just weeks before Hu Jintao’s visit to India.

The Chinese responded with standard protocol, ignoring the bad press and wishing it all away. But with growing international condemnation over killing innocent people, the official press agency reacted, claiming that the Tibetans had refused to pay heed to orders to back down. According to the government’s version, it was the Tibetan group that attacked the CAPF; the CAPF ‘forced to defend itself’, had to fire at the Tibetans.

Voice of Tibet
The Chinese propaganda machinery is a behemoth; keeping its military might and economic muscle in mind, the dragon usually takes an unaccommodating diplomatic position. The Chinese are clear that propaganda is a potent counter to the truth, and that opinion can or should be moulded to suit national interests. But in Tibet, the flow of information has been virtually impossible to stop; it’s one area where the Tibetans have managed to give the Chinese a tough time.

China has increasingly been able to control the flow of information in and out of Lhasa, even managing to control the tide of the Internet and electronic media. But an ancient technology has been used to create a wormhole into the Chinese universe; a tiny shortwave radio station in McLeodganj prevents Tibet from becoming a forgotten agenda and assures those who still suffer under the Chinese oppression that all is not lost, and the struggle is very much on.

Operating at 15.430 Mhz the shortwave broadcasts of Voice of Tibet (VoT) keeps a tab on the latest developments in Tibet, the happenings in the Free Tibet movement, and spreads the message of the Dalai Lama. But does the existence of a shortwave radio station in the age of the Internet serve any purpose? That was the first doubt that crossed my mind.

The poignant answer came from the homepage of the radio station – vot.org:

“Anyone reading these lines is obviously in a privileged position of having access to the Internet and a wealth of information, even to tuning in to a large number of domestic and foreign stations.

In Tibet where much of the population is illiterate and poor the power of radio is particularly obvious. Radio broadcasting is the main medium for mass information and education. In Tibet, the Chinese Communist government has monopoly control over the mass media, and with lack of an independent information source, the general public has no access to free information and total lack of a channel to voice their right to speech. As such, getting reliable information from an outside source is as critical for the survival of the Tibetans and its culture.”

It may really be a drop in the ocean, but it shows how a modest two-room set-up, with a staff of less than half a dozen, can give sleepless nights to the massive Chinese propaganda machinery. And talking of machinery, when I was given a guided tour of the station, I could not hide my surprise at the equipment that VoT was using. The station head had explained to me beforehand that they managed with meagre funds and donated equipment, yet VoT used antique broadcast technology, analogue amplifiers and spool tapes. But despite the handicaps, VoT had become a crucial link that bound Tibetans in exile with those who are still living there under Chinese oppression.

Everyday VoT broadcasts a thirty-minute news service in Tibetan language, also a fifteen-minute service in Mandarin Chinese for those who would like the perspective from the outside world, and not just what the state machinery was dishing out. Radio stations like VoT have become empowering tools for vast masses of the illiterate and the poor in Tibet, and has allowed them to keep in touch with their roots by listening to features on Tibetan culture, music and folk tales. Twice a week VoT airs His Highness the Dalai Lama’s latest public speeches in serialised form. Also developments in the Free Tibet movement give them hope that not all is lost.

So concerned was the Government of China with the prospect of rogue radio stations, that it built a ‘great wall of airwaves’ to block access to non-state controlled radio stations like Voice of America, Voice of Tibet and Radio Free Asia. Broadcasts on these frequencies are jammed by drowning the station in music, official broadcasts or just remain static. Just like the Tibetan struggle, this radio station continues to function despite all odds. No advertisements or other sources of revenues for VoT, just money that comes in from NGOs, but its broadcasts are eagerly lapped up by those who are living under Chinese control; that is what makes the effort worth it.

China’s Problem Child
When I first met Tenzin Tsundue on the streets of McLeodganj, he came across as a rockstar. Large mop of hair, red bandanna on the forehead, classic black frame specs, the only thing missing was the guitar. What set Tsundue apart was the fact that he did  not sit around and mope about the fate of Tibet, he was actually doing something about it.

I witnessed him address a protest rally against the visit of Hu Jintao, his voice hoarse from all the screaming that he had done. Obviously it had been days since he had his last proper sleep, yet there was a remarkable energy about him. Also around him was a retinue of policemen – not guarding him, rather guarding against him.

While dissenters in China have traditionally disappeared without a trace, in India they are allowed to operate with a significant degree of freedom. Tsundue is a product of Chinese oppression and Indian permissiveness; born to parents who were fleeing Tibet, Tsundue studied in India and dared to go back to Tibet, where he was incarcerated and tortured before being deported.

Over the years his relentless pursuit of a free Tibet has made him a darling of the exiled community. Not for nothing was he referred to as the ‘hope of the young Tibetans’. I spent my first evening in McLeodganj cocooned in a cybercafé, pouring over Tsundue’s past, trying to understand why the Indian state would want to guard a Tibetan dissenter day and night.

One would not be wrong in saying that no single person has managed to embarrass the Chinese government over the Tibet question as much as ‘poet-warrior’ Tsundue. In 2002, he scaled fourteen floors of a five-star hotel in Mumbai, where the then Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji was giving a business presentation. Deftly evading the Indian police (and a beehive) Tsundue managed to climb to the floor, where the presentation was going on, and unfurled a massive ‘Free Tibet: China, Get Out’ banner. That antic got him the attention of every camera team on the ground, and every Chinese official in the building.

Then as the police scrambled to get him, he unfurled the Tibetan national flag and shouted pro-Tibet slogans.

In 2005 Tsundue did it again; this time the new Chinese prime minister, Wen Jiabao, was at the receiving end. Tsundue managed to evade the preventive detention of the police, and managed to sneak himself into a 200-foot-high tower at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) – a full two days before Jiabao was to meet Indian scientists there. At the opportune time, Tsundue appeared in public and unfurled a ‘Free Tibet’ banner and threw pamphlets at bystanders, even shouting at Jiabao that he could not silence the Tibetans. Again all television cameras were opportunely present, allowing for the story to make international headlines.

Of course, the Chinese were left flummoxed and red-faced; phones were worked and words exchanged. Needless to say that Tsundue’s stay at the police station this time was much longer and more tortuous. But the hardy Tibetan later told me that after Chinese hospitality, Indian jails were child’s play.

It was Tsundue’s penchant to show up in unexpected places that forced the government to take abundant precaution during Hu Jintao’s visit in 2006. In fact weeks before the Chinese premier’s arrival, Tsundue’s movements were restricted to Dharamshala; cops were on rotational shifts, watching his every move, making sure that he was not out to embarrass the visiting dignitary.

It’s not difficult to grasp why Tsundue had become one of the most visible faces, after the Dalai Lama, for the Tibetan community in exile. Though His Holiness commanded absolute respect and obedience from the community, there was increasing realisation that his way of working out things with the Chinese had come to naught. There had been a ‘softening’ of position by the Dalai Lama over the years; even when sustained attempts at gaining independence had met with humiliating failure. In 1988, His Highness chose not to oppose Chinese sovereignty over Tibet, and agreed to settle for a mirage called ‘genuine autonomy’ within China.

Two decades down the line, there was no hope of that demand being met either. For years the Dalai Lama would frown upon anti-Chinese protests, his logic being that the community should appear conciliatory towards the other side as talks were being conducted.

In a community where speaking against an elder is frowned upon, Tsundue took a road less taken, challenging the view point of His Holiness. The young rebel had nothing against the Dalai Lama, but demanded radical action for freedom. Initially there were not many who either thought like him or supported him.

When I finally caught up with Tsundue for a recorded interview, he was leading a candlelight march down the streets of McLeodganj. We settled down next to a cluster of candles that had been lit in memory of their brethren killed in Tibet. I don’t know what burnt brighter – the flicker of the candle flames being reflected off his glasses, or his eyes with the gleam of rebellion.

And he did speak like a rebel.

‘Look Akash,’ he began, ‘there aren’t many people who say that they don’t agree with His Holiness’s viewpoint. It’s a big thing to contest the opinion of the Dalai Lama, since he is Buddha for us. If India follows Gandhi, then Dalai Lama is more than Gandhi for us. Naturally, when he says that “autonomy” is the best solution, people believe that, they take a leap of faith and leave the decision to the Dalai Lama – specially the older generation. I, however, with due respect to His Holiness, defer in my viewpoint; there are many like me who believe in more vigorous action to free Tibet, no autonomy, only freedom.’

‘But why the demand of freedom when the Dalai Lama had compromised with the autonomy formula?’ I asked.

‘There has been a lot of debate over this question, but honestly there is a change in the thought process that is coming about. The younger lot is now tired of waiting. Look what “dialogue” has got us, only humiliation!’

Clearly the firebrand independence fighter was reflecting the frustration of a community that had seen two-dozen rounds of talks with China – only to be strung up high and dry.

Tsundue continued, ‘They promised autonomy before too and made us exiles; we can’t run the risk of making the same mistake again by asking for autonomy. When you are begging, your hand is stretched outwards. When you don’t get anything, your hand is still empty. When you demand for independence, you are being in control of the situation and you are taking matters into your own hands.’

‘But Tenzin,’ I interject, ‘the path you are following, you are not very far away from using violence as a means of gaining independence.’

Tsundue looked hard at me, measuring his words before speaking. ‘There is no question of violence during His Holiness’s lifetime, he is too peace loving to allow for it and people will not galvanise without his call. But that makes it all the more important that this issue be sorted out in his lifetime. Because after him, there is no telling what will happen.’

His cold hard stare said it, but I reiterated my point, ‘You’re saying that the movement can become violent in the future?’

‘Yes, if this issue is not sorted out and there is no direction after the Dalai Lama, there is a possibility that might happen.’

It’s possible to relate to Tsundue’s passion, not only because of his daring acts or his emotions, but also because he pens them down with equal élan and ease. One of his numerous poems, called Betrayal, can be found as a much-watched clip on YouTube. In a couple of lines he tells you what urges him to revolt against the Chinese, and it’s difficult to fault him from straying from the Dalai Lama’s path of peace.

My father died

Defending our home

Our village

Our country

I too wanted to fight

But we are Buddhists

People say that we should be

Peaceful and Non-violent

So I forgive our enemy

But sometimes I feel

I betrayed

My father.

- Richard Burton, Zanzibar (London, 1872)

I am not referring to the German inventor of movable typeface who had little time for travel, but to the ‘Gutenberg project of Google’ which brings out copyright digital books in various subjects.

One of the most fascinating subjects in this and other collections such as www.archives.com, ebooks.adelaide.edu.au and India’s http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in are the books on travel to exotic lands like Arabia, Africa, India, Central Asia and Tibet. In the nineteenth century, most of these lands weren’t explored by Europeans and there was a lot of curiosity among the wealthy and new middle class about distant places. Thomas Cook invented organised tours in 1841 and places like Egypt, as a result of which Railway and Suez Canal came within reach of budget tourists. In 1842, Illustrated London News was born and with it the advent of illustrative journalism. There was an unmet demand for travelogues; the stage was set for selling exotica to the masses. All that was missing were those who would write about these places, inter-spread with drawings. The adventurers who travelled were not only explorers, but also linguists, artists and writers (ghost writing was not invented then).

Africa

One of the greatest puzzles of 19th century Africa was to find the source of River Nile. It was a death-defying adventure of passing through hundreds of miles of malaria-infected land, hostile tribes, and predatory wild animals. The heroes were Richard Burton, John Speke, David Livingstone, Samuel Baker, Henry Morton Stanley and others. Their books often with sketches and maps became bestsellers on publications, but the prize of discovering the source of Nile eluded them.

For many years, explorer David Livingstone had been leading expeditions into Africa and writing about it. In 1866, Livingstone returned to Africa, intent on finding the source of Nile, Africa’s longest river where he vanished without a trace.

Gordon Bennett, the wealthy owner of New York Herald, realised it would be a publishing coup to find Livingstone, and gave the assignment to his reporter – the intrepid Henry Stanley. He summoned Stanley to his hotel in Paris and in the words of Stanley:

“I went straight to the Grand Hotel, and knocked at the door of Mr. Bennett’s room.”

“Come in,” Stanley heard a voice say.  Entering, he found Mr. Bennett in bed.  “Who are you?” he asked.

“My name is Stanley,” he answered.

“Ah, yes! Sit down; I have important business on hand for you.”

After throwing over his shoulders, his robe-de-chambre Mr. Bennett asked, “Where do you think Livingstone is?”

“I really do not know, Sir.”

“Do you think he is alive?”

“He may be, and he may not be,” Stanley answered.

“Well, I think he is alive, and that he can be found, and I am going to send you to find him.”

“What! Do you really think I can find Dr. Livingstone? Do you mean me to go to Central Africa?”

“Yes, I mean that you shall go, and find him wherever you may hear that he is, and to get what news you can of him, and perhaps (delivering himself thoughtfully) the old man may be in want – take enough with you to help him should he require it.  Of course you will act according to your own plans, and do what you think best – but find Livingstone!”

Wondering at the cool order of sending one to Central Africa to search for a man whom Stanley, in common with almost all other men, believed to be dead, “Have you considered seriously the great expense you are likely to incur on account of this little journey?”

“What will it cost?” he asked abruptly.

“Burton and Speke’s journey to Central Africa cost between £3,000 and £5,000, and I fear it cannot be done under £2,500.”

“Well, I will tell you what you will do.  Draw a thousand pounds now; and when you have gone through that, draw another thousand, and when that is spent, draw another thousand, and when you have finished that, draw another thousand, and so on; but find Livingstone.”

How I Found Livingstone published in 1871 is Henry Stanley’s account of his journey to discover the whereabouts of Dr Livingstone. Stanley, though not immune to self-promotion, comes out as a man totally focused in his task. He had no prior experience of exploration, though he had reported from distant battlefields.

Stanley travelled to Zanzibar in March 1871 and outfitted an expedition with the best of everything, requiring no fewer than 200 porters. The 700 miles (1,100 km) expedition through the tropical forest became a nightmare. His stallion died within few days after being bitten by a tsetse fly, many of his carriers deserted and the rest were decimated by tropical diseases. Stanley and his men were often obliged to wade through swamps filled with alligators. Crawling on hands and knees, they forced their way through miles of tangled jungle, breathing in as they went the sickening odor of decaying vegetables. They were obliged to be continually on guard against elephants, lions, hyenas and the savage tribes whom they encountered. For months, they journeyed under these conditions.

It’s no wonder that the survivors of the expedition – all but Stanley had grown disheartened. Half starved, wasted by sickness and hardships of all kinds, with bleeding feet and torn clothes, some of them became mutinous. Stanley’s skill as a leader was taxed most. Alternately, coaxing the faint-hearted and punishing the insubordinate, he continued to lead.

But Stanley would not give way to any feeling that might lessen his chances of success, and it was at this crisis he wrote:

“No living man shall stop me – only death can prevent me. But death, not even this; I shall not die, I will not die, I cannot die! Something tells me I shall find him and write it larger – find him, find him! Even the words are inspiring.”

Stanley joined Livingstone in exploring the region, establishing for certain that there was no connection between Lake Tanganyika and the Nile.  This book is a captivating read, an excellent example of journalistic writing involving native wars, sickness, slavery, big game hunting, egos and cultural differences.

Stanley’s expedition through the swamps

“This marsh as it appeared to us presented a breadth of some hundreds of yards, on which grew a close network of grass, with much decayed matter. In the centre of this, and underneath it, ran a broad, deep, and rapid stream. As the guides proceeded across, the men stole after them with cautious footsteps. As they arrived near the centre, we began to see this unstable grassy bridge, so curiously provided by nature for us, move up and down in heavy languid undulations, like the swell of the sea after a storm.”

How I Found Livingstone was written in six weeks, published in November 1872 and it immediately became a bestseller and continues to be a classic of African exploration.

Arabia and the Middle East

Arabia was a mysterious land with annual rituals in Hajj at Mecca and Medina, the largest congregation of Muslims in the world. Non-Muslims were prohibited from entering the two holy towns.

Between 1500 and 1931, about 25 non-Muslims visited Mecca, but the first scholarly account was narrated by German explorer Johann Burckhardt. Burckhardt made a journey in 1814 in guise of a poor Syrian merchant whence he performed the pilgrimage to Mecca en route Jidda. At Mecca, he stayed three months and afterwards visited Medina. He describes his experiences in Travels in Arabia.

Burckhardt had the advantage of extended stay for three months in Meccaso. He was able to observe the rituals of pilgrimage, people – their customs, dresses.

Forty years later, in 1853, Richard Francis Burton, the famous traveller, taking a leave from the East India Army to pursue more ambitious adventures, donned an Arab personality so complete that he was able to pass as a devout Muslim, perfect in command of language and rituals of Islam. Burton prepared to embark on a pilgrimage to Al Medinah and Mecca. Almost immediately afterwards, he became famous. It was a sensational journey and his account of it Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah became a bestseller.

Profoundly moved not only by the sight of the Ka’bah, but by the devotion of the pilgrims, Burton went through the complicated ceremonies of the Hajj, describing in detail the actions and prayers which accompany the various rites.

Today, Richard Burton is known for translating the Kama Sutra into English and for discovering the source of Nile with his expedition partner John Speke.  Burton’s accomplishments extend well beyond these and at various times he was an explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, linguist, poet, hypnotist, fencer and diplomat. According to one count, he spoke twenty-nine languages. During his life he published forty-three volumes on his explorations and almost thirty volumes of translations. Considered both a hero and a scoundrel in his time, Burton attracted controversy wherever he went.

Lake Victoria, Great Pamirs

India was effectively in the hands of East India Company since early 1800s and was its most valuable property. England and Russia were the great powers of the 19th century. There was great rivalry and suspicion between them regarding their intentions and actions in Central Asia.  The Great Game was a term for the strategic rivalry and conflict between the British empire and the Russian empire for supremacy in Central Asia. The British Government was suspicious of Russian advances in Central Asia with a view of entering India.

This political activity led to a large number of expeditions and travels in the region for mapping and investigations.In 1831-32 Lieutenant Alexander Burnes was sent by way of Kabul to Bukhara, for which he became famous as an explorer and political agent and earned the nickname ‘Bokhara’ Burnes.

Alexander Burns in native garb

Burnes was a gifted linguist, fluent in Persian and Urdu and spoke enough Punjabi to get by disguised as a merchant, negotiating his way past bandits on the road into the Hindu Kush and in negotiating entrance into Bukhara in present day Uzbekistan. When the original was published in 1835, Burnes became an overnight sensation, lecturing to packed halls in London and even given an audience by the King. Travelling by boat, horseback and on foot, dressed in local garb and mixing with a range of noblemen and villagers, he brought the last century’s version of The Discovery Channel into British homes.

Burton records geographical, environmental and strategic detail, but he also has an eye for the quirks of local life. He saw the Buddhas of Bamiyan, a mountain where the Afghans say tthat the Noah’s Ark landed and found coins dating back to Alexander’s invaders.

Later, he became the political agent in Kabul and was killed in an insurrection in 2 November 1841 He demonstrated that the perils of the spartan land had not changed. Even today, only the very brave and perhaps a foolhardy person would make this journey.

India and Tibet

Before the British government took over administration of India and after the Indian mutiny in 1857, travellers in India were not burdened with puritanical and racial attitudes of the ‘Victorian Age’. They displayed a very compassionate, sympathetic and engaging discovery of India. One such traveller was Fanny Parkes, who came to India in 1822 as a soldier’s wife and stayed till 1845. She was allowed into the zenanas –ladies quarters in Indian homes.

Fanny Parkes describes her sojurn in Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the picturesque, During Four-and-Twenty Years in the East; with Revelations of Life in the Zenana (1850):“How much there is to delight the eye in this bright, this beautiful world! Roaming about with a good tent and a good Arab [horse], one might be happy for ever in India..The evenings are cool and refreshing..The foliage of the trees, so luxuriously beautiful and so novel, is to me a source of constant admiration.”“Fanny Parkes was a lady of exceptional personality, cultured, observant and enterprising, who could wield a very facile pen. To her, we owe the best and most fascinating account we possess of Indian life in the early part of the last century,” wrote The Pioneer in 17 May 1036.

William Dalrymple writes in June 9, 2007 edition of The Guardian: “Fanny Parkes’ exuberant journals trace her journey from prim memsahib to sitar-playing Indophile and provide one of the most enjoyable accounts of colonial India.”

“Partly it was the beauty of the place that hypnotised her. She found Indian men ‘remarkably handsome’, while her response to the landscape was no less admiring. But it was not just the way the place looked. The longer she stayed in India, the more Parkes fell in love with the culture, history, flowers, trees, religions, languages and peoples of the country, and the more she felt possessed by an overpowering urge to pack her bags and set off to explore.”Fanny Parkes’ detailed memoirs written in a lively style reveal her independent mind. Parke allows a pre-colonial perspective of India, its peoples and customs without prejudice and displays a respect for the richness of Indian culture.

Illustration from Fanny Park’s Wanderings Of A Pilgrim

However, the most intrepid woman traveller of the 19th century was Isabella Lucy Bird. The Times of London described her as ‘the boldest of travellers’. Time spent in Britain always seemed to make her ill. At a time when proper ladies were expected to stay home; after receiving a gift of £100 from her father, Isabella embarked on a series of excursions to US, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia. Finally, at the age of 60, the Indian subcontinent’s turn came in 1889 and she travelled through Tibet, Persia, Kurdistan and Turkey.

For it was here, in this vast, windswept, frozen northland that the intrepid English woman nearly met her match! She and her little horse, Gyalo, were dashed into icy rivers. They crossed passes so high that the porters begged for mercy. They saw more adventure, and covered more miles than had ever been experienced by a female equestrian explorer.

Among the Tibetans is a wonderful book, a rousing adventure, an enchanting travelogue, a forgotten peek at the mountain kingdom swept away by the waves of time. She died with her saddle next to her bed. In 1892, she became the first woman inducted into the Royal Geographical Society.

For explorers and writers, Saint Augustine (354-430 A.D.) wrote: “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”  In Gutenberg Online Library, one can read only a page at a time over one’s lifetime.

Shafiqur Rahman Barq walking out of the Lok Sabha while the national song was being played

Bahujan Samaj Party’s 82-year-old MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq’s recent walk out of the Lok Sabha while the national song Vande Mataram was being played has kicked up a controversy, as predictable as the act itself. That some Muslims choose to not sing Vande Mataram isn’t a matter of surprise. That we continue to make an issue over it is.

The act provoked a sharp rebuke from Speaker Meira Kumar and the Bharatiya Janata Party, waiting in the wings, leapt up to compare his act to the Taliban and flayed him even further. Barq seemed to want exactly that. “Do you know how many ulema have come out in support of me today? I have been receiving calls all morning assuring me of their support. Secularists have called and said they are with me. This is a secular country,” he said.

“We Muslims bow and pray only to Allah. We do not bow down or pray or respect or revere any other God or any other being, whatever you may call it. Have you heard Vande Mataram? It talks about bowing, revering, praying to the Motherland. I am not going to do that. It goes against the very grain of Islam,” he maintained.

Now, whether you like it or not, his act does not qualify as an offence under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 which could have been invoked to pull him up. Barq, who claims that the act of refusing to sing the Vande Mataram was not the first, is fully aware of the legality of his act. His claim of “genuine and conscientious belief” falls well within the ambit of Article 25 of the Indian Constitution.

For reference, Article 25 (1) reads: Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.

(2) Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of any existing law or prevent the State from making any law—(a) regulating or restricting any economic, financial, political or other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice.

The Constitution of India protects Barq and all other like-minded Muslims from any legal reprisal or rebuke. That is, till the State decides to make a law, without changing the Constitution’s ‘basic structure’ to regulate “political or other secular activity” and create a new legislation or add the singing of Vande Mataram to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.

Now, the question arises: Will the government, in power at the time- the Congress today for all its secular talk or the BJP, if and when in power, have the pluck to stand up for what it so loudly flays when in the opposition? Hardly, I’d say. Because in doing so, they risk thwarting their own ‘secular’ image and the risk-benefit ratio slants hugely in favour of maintaining their ‘secular’ mien however slanted, even at the cost of national integrity.

Barq, like every other sectional leader, draws political mileage out of acts of ‘dissent’ or ‘revolt’ within legal parameters, to support their own motivated agendas. His need to address the media and ensure his views as well as the ‘correct use of his full name’ exposes an agenda that is deeper than mere religion. Hate speeches work on the same logic. Its proponents bay and bellow, in public against their arch foes – whether they are Muslims or Bhaiyyas or Non-Resident outsiders – before laudatory masses. They even offer juicy bytes by the minute to a hungry-for-dope media which literally eats out of their hands.

Legally, Shafiqur Rahman Barq is as much in the clean as the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ children expelled from a Kerala school in July 1985 under the instructions of the Deputy Inspector of Schools for having refused to sing the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana.

In this case, the appellants were three children who belonged to a sect called Jehovah’s Witnesses and “worship only Jehovah-the Creator and none other”. They refused to sing the National Anthem because, according to them, it is against the tenets  of their religious faith.

A Commission, appointed to enquire and report, maintained that the children were “law abiding” and showed no disrespect to the National Anthem. However, under the instructions of the Deputy Inspector of Schools, the Headmistress expelled the appellants from school from July 26, 1985.

The Supreme Court held that: There is no provision of law which obliges anyone to sing the National Anthem nor is it disrespectful to the National Anthem if a person who stands up respectfully when it is sung does not join the singing. Proper respect is shown to the National Anthem by standing up when the National Anthem is sung. It will not be right to say that disrespect is shown by not joining in the singing. Standing up respectfully when the National Anthem is sung but not singing oneself, clearly does not either prevent the singing of the National Anthem or cause disturbance to an assembly engaged in such singing so as to constitute the offence mentioned in S. 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act.

It also held that any law which may be made under clauses 2 to 6 of Article 19 to regulate the exercise of the right to the freedoms guaranteed by Article 19 (1) (a) to (e) and (g) must be ‘a law’ having statutory force and not a mere executive or departmental instructions.

In a far-reaching decision, the Supreme Court laid down that “the question is not whether a particular religious belief or practice appeals to our reason or sentiment but whether the belief is genuinely and conscientiously held as part of the profession or practice of religion. Personal views and reactions are irrelevant. If the belief is genuinely and conscientiously held, it attracts the protection of Article 25 but subject, of course, to the inhibitions contained therein. In the instant case, what the petitioners truly and conscientiously believe is not in doubt. They do not hold their beliefs idly and their conduct is not the outcome of any perversity. The petitioners have not asserted those beliefs for the first time or out of any unpatriotic sentiment. Jehovah’s Witnesses, as they call themselves, appear to have always expressed and stood up for such beliefs, all the world over.”

So, with Barq insisting “it wasn’t the first time” that he has objecting to singing the Vande Mataram, he’s bang on track and legally within the ambit of the law affecting religion.

The State needs to devise ways to stop the mileage being drawn in the name of religion particularly from such incidents. Probably an astutely drafted legislation preventing acts likely to incite violence on religious grounds / or communal reasons, could be in order. But then, whichever government initiates a law like that will need to be free of political agendas of appeasement or it will only be shooting itself in the foot.

It probably rests on the judiciary to be creative and evolve the principle by creating a framework with supportive judgments. The media, on its part, will be busy trying to milk controversy.

Supporters of Nawaz Sharif cheer outside his residence after the general election in Lahore on May 11, 2013. Photo: afp.com/Arif Ali

Now that the Pakistan elections have taken place and the results are in, it is important to think about what the country has learnt from this election and the direction it may be heading towards.

The Electoral Process

How transparent and organised the elections were, depends on where one decides to look. The Economist reports that “a tour of polling stations among wheat fields in rural Punjab, and then in Lahore itself, revealed no evidence of confusion, ill-preparedness or rigging.” Then again, thousands of protestors blocked the main arteries of Karachi, the country’s largest city, to notify the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of those exact violations taking place there. The ECP has already agreed to postpone one National Assembly seat and to re-poll 43 stations in another. Apart from the allegations of rigging, voters had to wait for hours for the ballot boxes and ECP officials themselves to show up. Balochistan had different, more serious issues. An unofficial voter turnout of less than 10 percent – in contrast to a country average of 60 percent – suggests a far more intimidating atmosphere for voting than the rest of the country. Reports of damaged and tampered, not to mention delayed, ballot boxes also emerged. More than anything, this disparity and the ECP’s mixed success at organising, suggests a disjointed effort. The new Prime Minister ought to address these issues immediately, rather than in the weeks before the next elections. That said, a high voter turnout does highlight that faith among the populace in the democratic process, which is not a given, persists. This was despite the very real threat of the Taliban attacking poll stations on election day.

Social Media

Based solely on Facebook and Twitter posts, it would seem that Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would have won this election by a landslide. Khan, in attempting to appeal to young voters, deserves credit for running a slick viral campaign that touched everyone with an Internet connection. The problem is, only a minority of Pakistan has one. In this way, it seems that social media, while critical in raising Imran Khan’s profile (Muhammad Hanif quips, “If all the world’s magazine editors were allowed to vote for Imran Khan, he would be the prime minister of half the English-speaking world”), obscured Nawaz Sharif’s imminent victory and gave Imran Khan’s supporters unreasonable expectations of their own. That said, social media did prove instrumental in highlighting election fraud, turning every frustrated voter waiting in line, into an election observer. The ECP has received mounds of evidence in the form of photos and videos taken at poll stations and are currently investigating.

The Pakistan Muslim League (N) [PML-N]

Third time’s a charm. Despite two attempts at the helm of the country, the second one ending in catastrophic failure – a gun to the head and then exile – Nawaz Sharif has yet again emerged as the man to lead Pakistan. There is reason to believe that this tenure will not end in failure. Democracy has strengthened since the last time Sharif was in office, and judging on this election, the military has retreated from its meddling in the electoral process. At least in Punjab, Sharif is tremendously popular. Punjab has also largely been free of terrorist attacks. But all that might change. Given Sharif’s adversarial relationship with the military, he needs to think carefully about how he intends to deal with it. He needs to make sure that mutual distrust does not become outright confrontation, which may be more costly to him than to the military. Now that he will be Prime Minister, he needs to address terrorism. Given his cuddly relations with the religious parties, certain banned ones included, it will be interesting to see his approach develop. Lastly, he will work on the Indo-Pak relationship. A businessman at heart, Sharif finds potential in increasing trade and diplomatic ties. While he has the support of other political parties, the real challenge comes back to the military, which may halt the peace process as is its wont to do.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

Disappointment at not winning every parliamentary seat contested, has taken the shine off Imran Khan’s electoral success. He shall be forming the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and won seats in Punjab and Sindh. Given this base, he has every opportunity to gain even more seats in the next elections. That said, as any incumbent can tell you, governing is nothing like campaigning. Now that he will be running KP, the province most affected by terrorism, he may have to reconsider his policy to negotiate with the Taliban, or at least put it into effect. Khan should congratulate himself for his party’s showing in this election. But he has to prove himself in the next stage of his party’s development, i.e. governance.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the outgoing Prime Minister, exemplifies the PPP’s election outing. He was trounced by a margin of almost 4 to 1 in the initial results that came out of his own contested district in Rawalpindi. Presiding over rampant corruption, a weak economy and the rise of the Taliban, an abysmal five years in power have ensured that the PPP’s constituency has shrunk to its base in Sindh. Both, fear of the Taliban and knowledge of their own grim prospects, meant that Zardari’s party barely campaigned, and were restricted to the young son of the slain Benazir Bhutto and Co-Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari sending out home-made videos from Dubai. They showed little eagerness to win, and followed up with a limp showing in the polls. This gives them time until the next elections to rebuild and re-organise, which they must do. Bilawal will be older and will have more control over the party, not to mention he will be old enough to run for office himself. If the PPP are looking to retake their position as Pakistan’s leading party, then they will have to do more than simply cling to the ghosts of their dead leaders – they will actually need to govern.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)

The party is accused of being primarily responsible for the alleged election irregularities that took place in Karachi on election day. Altaf Hussain, the UK-based leader of the party, issued thinly veiled threats to the citizens who attended a PTI-led protest, which backfired. The protest itself was dispersed after gunshots were heard. The MQM’s dark history of political violence has prompted many of Karachi’s middle-class citizens to turn to the PTI this election, threatening MQM’s hold on the city. That is the reason, PTI supporters say, MQM rigged the vote. In an obvious effort at damage control, Altaf Hussain today said his statements were being distorted. Belatedly, they also accepted that rigging had taken place and requested the ECP to re-poll certain districts. In any case, it seems that the MQM’s previously iron-fisted rule in Karachi is loosening. This only bodes well for democracy in Karachi.

Despite the impediments, the people have spoken. That their voice was heard is in itself an achievement. Now it is up to the officials that they have entrusted, to provide them with the security and prosperity that they have been longing for.

Illustration: Uzma Mohsin

“May I come in?” she asked. “Of course! Is this a thing to ask?” I exclaimed, astonished. It was then that I noticed that brittle smile. Something was off. She was usually a very cheerful person. “What’s the matter?” I asked, handing her a glass of water. “I’ve left my home. I called your husband and he said to come here and speak with you and that he will return home soon.”

She was my husband’s friend. My husband was out for the day with my son on one of their extremely rare visits to his parents. I had the house to myself. Now us. So I heard her out.

It was a story I have heard dozens of times with minor variation in details. Girl marries guy, things don’t work out. She is asked to leave and has no support. In fact, it was my own story too, till last year. Luckily, we are wading our way through the mess and doing well enough for my husband to recommend me to other women who need help.

I asked a few questions and heard her out patiently till she was all talked out. Then I assured her that she had a home with us for as long as she needed.

Later, when my husband returned home, they had a long talk, and it seems that both of us hit the same points. She was welcome to stay as long as she wanted to. We had no advice for her, but could offer plenty of space for her to unwind and explore options. We would help her in any way we could.

It has been two weeks. She has thrived. She smiles more often, is able to discuss her situation with greater ease and less defensiveness or shrill blame. She is able to identify what she wants exactly, which currently happens to be talking things out with various stakeholders from her husband to his parents, her parents, siblings, people who employ her and more, to arrive at a decision that she can live with. She is no longer jittery or wanting to hurtle towards a knee jerk break off or reconciliation and has learned to draw lines for herself and assert what she is willing to compromise on and what she is not.

It is not like my husband and I are the ideal couple. In fact, it wasn’t all that long ago that I had left him and walked out. We are still in the process of forming bridges that were destroyed. However, we both were able to help her. And we have found a few rewards too. Apart from a charming addition to the family, we have found that helping her helps us understand our journey better as well. Many problems that I faced, that my husband seemed completely insensitive to, dissolved when he heard her speak and he no longer had to engage in knee jerk denials to protect himself. It was a perspective to feel protective about a woman in a domestic conflict situation.

I found my own complaints being echoed by her and realised how they may miss the larger picture when they are up, close and personal. In turn, she has found an acceptance and understanding she had not expected. To know that she is not alone in going through these “imperfections” denounced by society at large. To know that working through what appears to be disaster is possible. To understand the impact of what seemed irrelevant – like the lack of privacy and personal space.

Our family has expanded to include her and it has enriched all of us. What I have learned is that even if a woman is in a situation of domestic conflict, it is possible for her to be able to help another and in the process, provide a new perspective to understand her own journey. I have learned that my husband is not a villain, that he is able to understand why something is a problem when his own self worth is not at stake.

I think there may be potential in forming support groups of women who face domestic abuse, who may be able to help each other and thus themselves. I have a hunch that a simple exit might be necessary for the safety of women, when there is physical abuse or other similar dangers. But the world at large is not safe for women and there is merit in seeking solutions that invite change and evolution of relationships and a healthier way of thinking rather than the usual succumb or exit defaults, which usually result in devastation of some or all in the situation.

Encouraging situations that allow viewing the problem from multiple roles as well as an attitude of support and interdependence, may help create a space for women to find their own strength and in turn a space for the dynamics around them to evolve. It may also be a useful assistance in a world where parents either abandon or abuse daughters who walk out of marriages.

Family members of Sarabjit Singh during his funeral procession at his native village Bhikhiwind near Amritsar. Photo PTI

Sarabjit Singh was an Indian national languishing in a Pakistani jail since 1992, convicted of being a spy. Sanaullah Ranjay was a Pakistani national languishing in an Indian jail since 1999, after being convicted under TADA provisions for having connections with the terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.

Sarabjit was attacked brutally by inmates, and later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital across the border. And in what seems to be a tit for tat response, Sanaullah was attacked at a jail in Jammu, and succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital.

The outcome from these acts on both sides of the border was nothing. Nothing was achieved, nothing was dismantled, no political or military mileage was gained and no political or military mileage was lost. Only two men, with somewhat ambiguous pasts, were killed, leaving behind families who only saw them on their death bed.

The problems between India and Pakistan are not new. The knowledge of Pakistan sponsoring terrorism in India is not new and both the nations do share an unfortunate and violent past based on deceit, unwarranted aggression and lack of trust, which in many cases, were for good reasons. However, in all aspects, India needs to be careful as to not become completely obsessed with Pakistan and its doings, both in the government and public discourse.

Post Sarabjit’s killing, his sister vented through a vivacious war-cry-like speech in front of TV cameras, asking the people of India to come on to the streets, take up arms and teach Pakistan a lesson. However, she decried the death of Sanaullah, saying it was wrong and not what she wished for. As these events unfolded, TV news rooms in both countries became ‘deployment zones’ of nationalistic jingoism which did not provoke any debate, but only added to the cluster of noise of both countries going against each other, as they have, for decades. Such rhetoric is now getting rather old and cumbersome.

Pakistan, with all its well-known deficiencies and challenges, is still our neighbour. This is a geographical fact, and what happens in Pakistan matters to Indian security. With the current Pakistani government becoming the first civil government to complete a full tenure in the country’s history, it shows that while this achievement of stability is worth a notice, the fabric of Pakistan as an idea remains challenging. A failed Pakistani state is a much bigger threat to India, than a Pakistan which indulges in cross-border terrorism. The positive part is that enough people in Pakistan are determined to forge an acceptable and democratic fate for their country.

Largely, the problem arises via the Pakistani Army and its control of the country’s external agency, the ISI. The psyche that the Pakistan Army seems to subscribe to is that it thinks, as a military, it “has” Pakistan. The Army believes that it has a country based around it, and not the other way around. However, current signs pointing towards a possibility of stable civil governance (questions relating to longevity an all-together different challenge) in Pakistan are welcoming, and India should commit to engaging with sectors of Pakistani polity working towards setting the country on the correct path.

India and Pakistan, even with all their differences, should also work towards areas such as creating a framework which enables an exchange of compromised spies and general prisoners. Even during the height of the Cold War, erstwhile Soviet Union and America exchanged spies with each other regularly. In most intelligence agencies, one of the pivotal codes is to do everything to save your agents. As recently as 2010, US and Russia exchanged spies in Vienna, Austria, committing to the security of its men and women working under such circumstances.

During the Cold War, venues were selected by both US and Soviet Union where spies were exchanged, without any conundrum or bloodshed. A popular venue for such swaps was the Glienicke Bridge, which was situated between Berlin and Potsdam in what used to be East Germany. One of the most famous Cold War era spy swaps took place at this bridge in 1985, when 23 Westerners jailed on charges of espionage in and around Eastern Europe were released to the US in exchange for four eastern bloc spies, including the famous Polish sleuth, Marian Zacharski.

There is no doubt that serious challenges remain, and will remain for the foreseeable future, between India and Pakistan. However, a more inclusive public and political discourse between both countries should remain as a priority towards a long term commitment of solving historical problems.

Meanwhile, both India and Pakistan need to show maturity and initiate bilateral understandings in areas such as prisoner exchange. It is repugnant that such crass systems exist today that keep prisoners, many whom are poor fishermen and herdsmen, locked up for decades without trial on both sides of the border.