Tumhari Shabana

Unable to go in for retaliatory nuclear testing, Pakistan has settled for an almost equally satisfying bout of retaliatory artist-bashing. T...

Unable to go in for retaliatory nuclear testing, Pakistan has settled for an almost equally satisfying bout of retaliatory artist-bashing. Tumhari Amrita cannot show in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad because India tested a thermonuclear device at Pokharan. Certainly, but would it be illogical to surmise that the play is on ice partly because a Ghulam Ali concert was disrupted in Mumbai?

This is proxy war with a difference. It is reassuring to know that the lunatic fringe is evenly distributed between the two largest nations of the subcontinent, but its diplomatic methods now threaten to overshadow those of the establishment. Shabana Azmi is correct in asking for a clear policy line on cultural exchanges between India and Pakistan. Since the two governments have not shown great enterprise in dealing with the problem in its individual manifestations, a policy line is definitely needed.

With that in place, at least artists and organisers will have solid legal means to force the government into action.Of course the laws of both India and Pakistan have provisions to deal with intimidation and disruption of public meetings. But under them, cases have to be fought by the aggrieved parties themselves. In the case of a policy measure, however, they will only have to point out a transgression. Thereafter, the state is expected to take up the issue on its own. In fact, it is under a compulsion to do so.

The sooner such an initiative is taken, the better. Public memory is short. All that will linger, eventually, is the idea that neither of the two states was particularly hospitable to the other8217;s artists. India8217;s record of welcoming 8212; indeed, lionising 8212; emissaries of Pakistani culture will be completely forgotten. Over the years, some of the biggest-selling names in Indian music stores have been Pakistanis. They have been welcome to stay as long as they wanted, and to tour as widely as possible. The unpleasant episode at the Ghulam Ali concert is the only blot in India8217;s copybook.

And in no way did thatreflect national opinion. In comparison, Pakistan has a pretty poor track record on cultural exchanges. Indian artists have long complained of visa difficulties and excessive curbs on their freedom while performing in Pakistan. Of late, the situation had improved somewhat, but the Tumhari Amrita affair can only be seen as a step back, even though Islamabad had nothing to do with it.

But that is precisely the point. Islamabad has abdicated its responsibility, just as the Indian government did in the Ghulam Ali incident. The two governments, in their attempts to forge a meeting of minds, should begin in the softest area: culture. There is no reason why they should be unable to quickly agree on a policy to see that cultural exchanges, whether government-to-government or the result of private initiative, are protected from the questionable sentiments of the jingoistic fringe. In these times, when there is substantial tension on both sides of the border, culture should be used as a safety-valve, to seethat sentiments are kept off the boil. The people of both nations deserve a chance to come in contact with the enemy, if only to see for themselves whether he is really worth fighting.