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  Uri Changed One Thing: India Is Never Going to Compare Itself with Pakistan

  Using Pakistan to bolster its self-image cannot possibly do India any good

  Imagine two kids in the same class of an elite school. Both kids come from poor backgrounds and are among the bottom rankers. Both fail often, but the first kid scores a few more marks than the second. The first kid feels good about this; at least he is doing better than the other one. The second kid hates himself, but lives for the occasional moment when he scores more than the first. They are both losers, but each is happy to compare himself with the other and feel better whenever possible.

  However, things change over time. The first student’s performance begins to improve. In time, he even reaches the top 10 in class. Meanwhile, the second student gets steadily worse in academics. He also joins a gang of bullies and starts taking drugs.

  One day, a realisation dawns on the first student. He no longer wants to compare himself with this second student. The boy he revelled in beating once, now disgusts him. His only thought now is of emulating the class toppers.

  In the analogy above, the first student is India and the second is Pakistan. Ever since Independence, we have loved to compare ourselves with Pakistan. It helped us cope with our Third-World status in the world. At least we were better than Pakistan. So, we took Pakistan seriously. Even though Pakistan was never able to build itself into a real country (it witnessed a military coup a decade into Independence, and then split into two pieces a decade after), we legitimised it. Pakistan was a failed state to begin with, but India needed it around because it reinforced her own political legitimacy. ‘At least we are better off than Pakistan’ is a rhetoric that worked for Indians for a very long time.

  And then, something snapped. The Uri attack became the proverbial last straw, and India grew up overnight. We finally realised our self-worth. We understood that comparing ourselves to a student who comes last in class and is a certified bully is just not worth it.

  India is today the fastest growing economy in the world. We have a functioning capital market, legal system, labour force, large consumer base and democracy. We would be stupid to not focus on what we have. Keeping the idea of Pakistan alive just to feel better about ourselves doesn’t make sense anymore.

  Pakistan was doomed from the start—a haphazard creation of a belligerent leader who preyed on the fears of the Muslim population. The British, reeling from the impact of the Second World War and in a hurry to leave, couldn’t care less. Pakistan was created on the basis of a single emotion—fear of India’s Hindus. It was essentially a giant refugee camp born out of irrational fear. Of course, such a setup was unlikely to create a strong country. It never did.

  Also, since Pakistan was carved out in a hurry, they never had central structures and organised civil services like India’s (such as the IAS or IPS) to help run the country. Adding to these misfortunes, its founder died within a year of its creation, leaving behind a leadership void and chaos. The army eventually took over, and things became worse. They have been, ever since.

  Indians might say we never liked Pakistan. However, it was India that legitimised it the most, by inviting regime after regime for talks. This policy was only making things worse. It is still believed in some circles that India’s Muslim vote bank does not want India to act tough against Pakistan. So Indian leaders wooed Pakistan, in a bid to woo the Muslim vote bank at home.

  But it has all changed with the Uri attack; that was the tipping point. Indians—Hindus, Muslims and others—no longer feel sympathy for Pakistan. In fact, they feel disgust. Which country kills innocent people of other countries on a routine basis? Only Pakistan. No Indian today wants to be associated with it. And this is a major step in the growth of our national self-esteem. It is no longer defined in the context of Pakistan. That is setting our standards so low that it is almost an insult to ourselves.

  India’s lack of dependence on Pakistan to bolster its self-image hurts the latter most. For India is no longer interested in legitimising Pakistan. This will only speed up the disintegration of that country, barring an unlikely scenario where Pakistan’s regime and its radical elements both turn over a new leaf. One feels bad for sane Pakistanis. In a land ruled by guns, they are powerless. Maybe the need of the hour there is the rise of a pro-India party. It may be against Pakistan’s very DNA, but might be the only solution to its crisis.

  However, the chances of Pakistan fixing itself are rather remote. And if it doesn’t, the country could end up having to split again. It almost seems like that is Pakistan’s karmic curse, for they caused a great nation to split once.

  We, on the other hand, should congratulate ourselves as a nation. Not just for standing up to Pakistan or for the surgical strikes, but for finally growing up as a nation and realising our own value.

  The Parable of PK: Having a Loud, Indecent Neighbour Calls for Out-of-the-box Solutions

  India must look at fresh strategies to resolve the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan

  Imagine you live in a colony of row houses. You have a big family with modest means. Somehow you make it work, taking everyone’s needs and views into account. Your family’s young generation is trying its best to come up in life, by working hard and staying optimistic despite adversities.

  Imagine also that your immediate neighbour is PK. PK is poorer and less educated. PK doesn’t run his house democratically, but rules with a stick. PK doesn’t like to change.

  PK watches you rise and sees that you have an even better future ahead of you. He notices that you now have a couple of cars in your garage. PK doesn’t have any. Rather than emulate your progress, PK decides to do something else.

  Regularly, he sneaks into your garage and deflates the tyres, smashes the glass or scratches the cars. PK does this at night, and then disappears. He then goes home, turns on his set-top box and watches TV, the only joy he has.

  Since you are a respected, peace-loving member of the community, you try to deal with the situation in a decent manner. You request him not to do it. He doesn’t listen. You invite him over for tea several times. He enjoys the tea, shakes hands, and continues his bad behaviour.

  You go to his house with flowers to wish him on his birthday. He asks you in but damages your cars again the next day. You complain at the colony society meetings, where everyone advises you to remain calm and maintain peace. They give PK the same advice, but PK refuses to listen. He’s even begun sending goons to scare you and your family.

  Meanwhile, you are advised by self-styled ‘experts’ and ‘secular pacifists’ in your family to continue to talk to PK. Their solutions, if at all they offer them, range from evaluating the damage to the car and keeping the car covered to selling the car. If anyone else in the family proposes an out-of-the-box solution, the experts bash him.

  The experts even say it is your fault. Why did you have to buy the car? Why did you make PK angry? Why didn’t you send more flowers? Why don’t you just give the car to him?

  Meanwhile, PK continues his mischief. What are you to do?

  In case you haven’t guessed already, the above analogy refers to the Kashmir problem. You are India, PK is Pakistan, and the colony society is the UN. This conflict has been going on since Independence. Leader after leader, think-tank after think-tank, expert after expert, has failed to solve it. Meanwhile, the Kashmiri people continue to suffer; they live in danger and have no future to speak of.

  The Indian Army has the tough job of keeping peace, sifting through the civilian population to apprehend militants. It gets a bad name every time it makes a mistake, and errors are inevitable with such an awful task. Our nation spend tens of thousands of crores every year just to keep Kashmir secure.

  Hence, on Independence Day, you tried a different solution. You went and cut off the wires of the satellite dish of PK’s set-top box. Every time he repaired it, you cut it off again. Frustrated, PK did not know what to do. After a while, you asked PK over for a chat. This time, he liste