Two hands

Two hands

In signs of a nuanced approach to Pakistan, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) recently took on the mantle of a sponsor for the Karachi Literature Festival. Although ICCR later clarified that it had only sponsored four participating Indian authors at the festival, ICCR’s involvement even in this capacity signifies a desire to maintain people-to-people contacts between India and Pakistan. This is congruent with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stated position that distinguishes between the people of Pakistan and their government. It’s in India’s interest to enhance ties with the former while calling out the latter over anti-India terrorism.
There’s no denying that the time isn’t right to resume full-spectrum talks with the Pakistani government. Following the Uri terror attack on an Indian army camp last year, there’s nothing to suggest that Islamabad has taken concrete steps to curb anti-India terror. Against this backdrop, New Delhi has no choice but to lobby with friendly nations to diplomatically isolate Islamabad.
But at the end of the day, the people of Pakistan are also victims of their government’s irredentist policies: they suffer from terror attacks, limited democracy and suppression of rights. New Delhi must keep a door open to reasonable elements in Pakistan’s polity. People-to-people contacts between India and Pakistan are the best way to cultivate a constituency for peace. In this regard, the government must act to lift the veritable ban on Pakistani artistes performing in India. This would also reciprocate Pakistan’s recent gesture of lifting its ban on Bollywood films. Cultural exchanges will only supplement India’s overall strategic objective vis-à-vis Pakistan. Moreover every positive move by Pakistan should be met with a bigger one from India, to convey the message that India sees no fundamental enmity between the two nations.