Not A Neighbour's Envy
I vividly remember the day in late October 1984. Beautiful, sunny afternoon, with a hint of autumnal breeze coming in from the Bay of Bengal. Our headmistress suddenly appeared in our classroom around 1:00pm to tell us that we would have to leave early because our Prime Minister, Mrs. Gandhi, has been assassinated. Not knowing the importance of the pronouncement, all of us 13 year-olds got into a boistrous mood and started packing our bags. We then heard her deep voice with the following admonishment: "Children", she said, "this is a very sad day for our country. The least you can do is to respect her memory and go out in silence." I have never forgotten those words, and as I have grown older, have used it as the base for an unshakable faith in democracy, for all its faults.
It is therefore with great sadness that I saw the assasination of another leader in our sub-continent, Benazir Bhutto. My earliest memories of her was to see her with Rajiv Gandhi in 1988 SAARC summit, and thinking that a new era was born. I had never bought into the India-Pakistan rivalry thesis - thanks in part due to a wonderful history teacher in school, who made us realize that what we live is what we make of our history, and what we make of our history is what determines our future. So instead of enmity, I always believed that we are two nations with an artificial border, which would one day dissolve into oblivion. We can then take the train anytime from Delhi to Lahore, and have kebabs in Anarkali market. What a mouth-watering thought that is! Years later, crossing the Brandenburg Gate from East to West Berlin, I was convinced that it would be possible.
Every political leader has drawbacks, otherwise they will be saints. In them, we see our own strengths and weaknesses, and identify with one particular ideology or another. We do not believe all they say, because politics is the art of making compromises. But we all make compromises in our daily lives, and therefore we may have differing opinions about the extent of those that our leaders make (see here for a selection on Benazir). It is democracy that helps us make informed choices, to select the benevolent from the tyrant, the patriotic from the self-serving. Fortunately, India provides me an opportunity to do so more or less freely, while my friends from across the border have to struggle to even have an election. I admire their courage in standing up for their rights, while they admire us for the sixty years of peoples' rule that has survived all odds.
As I see Pakistan descend into chaos and confusion, the only thing I can do is to keep up the hope that one day I will be able to share a plate of kebabs in Anarkali market with my dear friend, Rabbani-bhai. Hope he is well.
It is therefore with great sadness that I saw the assasination of another leader in our sub-continent, Benazir Bhutto. My earliest memories of her was to see her with Rajiv Gandhi in 1988 SAARC summit, and thinking that a new era was born. I had never bought into the India-Pakistan rivalry thesis - thanks in part due to a wonderful history teacher in school, who made us realize that what we live is what we make of our history, and what we make of our history is what determines our future. So instead of enmity, I always believed that we are two nations with an artificial border, which would one day dissolve into oblivion. We can then take the train anytime from Delhi to Lahore, and have kebabs in Anarkali market. What a mouth-watering thought that is! Years later, crossing the Brandenburg Gate from East to West Berlin, I was convinced that it would be possible.
Every political leader has drawbacks, otherwise they will be saints. In them, we see our own strengths and weaknesses, and identify with one particular ideology or another. We do not believe all they say, because politics is the art of making compromises. But we all make compromises in our daily lives, and therefore we may have differing opinions about the extent of those that our leaders make (see here for a selection on Benazir). It is democracy that helps us make informed choices, to select the benevolent from the tyrant, the patriotic from the self-serving. Fortunately, India provides me an opportunity to do so more or less freely, while my friends from across the border have to struggle to even have an election. I admire their courage in standing up for their rights, while they admire us for the sixty years of peoples' rule that has survived all odds.
As I see Pakistan descend into chaos and confusion, the only thing I can do is to keep up the hope that one day I will be able to share a plate of kebabs in Anarkali market with my dear friend, Rabbani-bhai. Hope he is well.
posted by anit | 4:38 AM
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