Frankly speaking, I am disappointed with India’s response to the earthquake victims in Pakistan. True, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lost no time in offering all possible assistance. But, as usual, the Natwar Singh-headed foreign office had no clue as to how it could work to make the prime minister’s gesture an effective one. The bureaucracy, with its prejudiced minds and slow reactions just did not measure up to the crisis. It still cannot get over the past and shed its old mindset. In contrast, the Indian army did a far better job. There were reports that our soldiers helped their counterparts in Pakistan and soldiers straying from one side to the other were guided back to their respective countries. If these reports are true, it is heartening to note that those who had once confronted each other with weapons for decades could display their humanitarian side when the situation demanded that they do. But my biggest disappointment has to be reserved for our NGOs and voluntary organisations. Their reaction, even if I were to search for it with a fine-toothed comb, was tepid. In fact there was no reaction at all. Our social activists had all, possibly, read and watched the stories of suffering in the media and the patent distress possibly registered on some. But that was all. No one spoke, or acted. Imagine scores of NGOs with relief material loaded in trucks lining up at the Wagah border and wanting to enter Pakistan for providing succour. The impact that this would have had on Pakistan is beyond words. There would have been an emotional upsurge and the feeling that someone of their own had come to the rescue. It would have won the hearts of even the most hardened anti-Indian elements who have been fed on the propaganda that Hindus are out to destroy Pakistan. The humanitarian response of our NGOs would have been the biggest story of the year. Yet the impression I got from the media in the UK — where I was when the earthquake hit Pakistan and India — was that of disappointment. There was an expectation that India and Pakistan would use the tragedy as an opportunity to come together for this humanitarian cause and this would subsequently help lay the foundation for a lasting friendship. Understandably, the relief work which was publicised by the UK press was that of Britain and to, some extent, that of France. Even a passing reference to India was conspicuous by its absence. Had our NGOs and voluntary organisations played a more pro-active role, we would have figured in every narration of the earthquake tragedy. It would also have provided a fillip for people-to-people contact, which we go on emphasising. A new kinship forged out of a common suffering would have taken shape. This was our big chance to undo some of the damage perpetrated by the Partition, which saw us kill one million of each other and oust 20 million from their homes. Sadly, the Pakistan government too was halting in its response towards India. First, when the prime minister offered assistance, there was only a mere acknowledgement of it. President Pervez Musharraf’s response — when it came a few days later — was perhaps too fulsome. The Pakistan High Commission in Delhi even opened a bank account to receive contributions from India. It appears that the bureaucracy on the other side had its way first, but then public pressure made it relent a bit. On the offer of helicopters, which Pakistan needed the most, President Musharraf talked about “sensitivities”. He should know that there are satellites that have captured ever nook and corner of the two countries, including Kashmir. What “sensitivities” are there left? The refusal by the Pakistan High Commission in London to give a visa to a TV cameraman of Indian origin said it all. In fact, the prejudice at Islamabad mirrors that of New Delhi. This makes me believe that even if our NGOs had stood at the Wagah border, they would not have been allowed to cross over to work in the quake-affected areas. The question of “sensitivities” would have popped up again. The establishment in Pakistan would probably not have allowed joint interventions by teams of Indian and Pakistani civilians for the relief and rehabilitation of quake victims, although if they were allowed to work together it would have sent out a powerful message to the world. I hope that the training camps which the earthquake are believed to have demolished, will not emerge again. After the terrible earthquake in Bihar in 1934, Mahatma Gandhi said that the people in the state had paid for their sins. It was shocking to note that even during the earthquake havoc, some militants segregated Hindus in Rajouri and beheaded them. Pakistanis should have spoken against this incident. But I do not recall hearing any such condemnation. The heartless attack should make all Kashmiris, whether they are living on this side of the border or that, understand that the militants have only one aim and that is to communalise the situation. They only parade as “freedom fighters”. This incident, seen against the background of an horrific natural disaster that has struck both sides of Kashmir, should have made us look at the whole question of Kashmir with new eyes. How much money have both our countries wasted on arming themselves for this cause? How long will both our countries continue to fight for one track of land here or another track of land there? Ultimately, it is only people — and their well-being — that matters. There is in this tragedy an opportunity still for India and Pakistan to sit across the table and look for ways to convert the Line of Control into a “line of peace”, as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had envisioned in an interview he gave me at Islamabad, shortly after the Bangladesh war.
