As the dust settles down and the war-mongering fuelled by a hysterical media in India subsides, it has now become amply clear that the beheading of Indian soldiers in north Kashmir which was condemned by people in both countries was Indian Army’s own doing. A newspaper reported on Thursday that there was construction activity going on in Uri sector which, despite complaints by Pakistani rangers, was not stopped by Indian authorities that led to escalation in violence at the border and ‘tit-for-tat’ skirmishes.
The Line of Control had seen a relative calm since the 2003 ceasefire agreement which was agreed upon by the two countries but both have repeatedly violated the agreement in the past. Nevertheless, the larger reality behind the violence speaks of the fragility of the peace in the sub-continent and how the aggression fuelled by tawdry concepts like nationalism and patriotism can drive the two countries to war for the sake of defending the ‘honour’ and upholding the ‘morality’ of their forces supposedly protecting these two constructs.
In India, as is the case with Pakistan, the forces are seen through an imagined prism of honour and any accusatory finger attempting to question their integrity and morality is seen as an attempt to malign the honour of the country which becomes dishonourable for the entire nation. Passions are whipped and barbs are traded.
In times such as these, when hysteria prevails over sanity, it is the peace and the so-called peace process which becomes hostage to the verbal salvos fired across the divide. Every time there are physical or diplomatic skirmishes, or an Ajmal Kasab decides to strike in any part of India, there are threats of halting the trade, the only significant confidence building measure between the two countries, and bizarre suggestions are made to stop the travel of divided families across the two parts of Kashmir. This has led to derailment of peace process many times in the past.
Media has played a decisive role in driving this hate-mongering. Instead of manufacturing a constructive narrative to bridge the ever-widening trust deficit between their two countries, media-persons on both sides turns patriotic and assume the role of nationalists, thus bringing shame to a sacred profession. Rage-filled anchors hold prime-time debates to drive TRP ratings rather than bridging the trust-deficit.
This is where a need arises for urgent introspection by the two countries. What is the use of a peace process which can be blown to pieces by a suicide bomber? How does a peace-process driven by trade and travel help the families who have lost their loved ones in the 23-year-old war? What good does a box of spices traded from Muzaffarabad bring to the father who is waiting for his long gone son to return home? These are some of the many uncomfortable questions which India and Pakistan will face in the long process of bringing this war to a rightful closure!
