[Reader-list] Dismantling the Barriers of Hate at Wagah Border

[Chintan Girish Modi]

>From  http://pakteahouse.net/2012/03/25/dismantling-the-barriers-of-hate/

*Dismantling the Barriers of Hate*
March 25th, 2012

*By Ghazala Akbar*

Midway between the cities of Lahore in Pakistan and Amritsar in India each
about 25 km away is the village called Wagah. It stands on an ancient
pathway that stretches from Kabul in the North West to Calcutta in the
North East and beyond to Shonargaon in Bangladesh. Known variously in
history as Uttara Patha, Sadaq – e -Azam or the Grand Trunk road, it was
until very recently, the only road link between India and Pakistan. The
other one fittingly, is in Kashmir.

Wagah is the place where Cyril Radcliffe and the Boundary Commission drew a
line over a map separating a village, a people and a Sub – continent.
Nothing symbolises the haphazard nature of the map re-drawing exercise 65
years ago than the curious division at Wagah. The eastern part of the
village went to India and the western part to Pakistan.  The people (albeit
of differing faiths) look the same. The language sounds the same.  The flat
landscape also appears the same. Although the grass is no greener on the
other side, cows stray from one side to the other. And birds— with scant
respect for frontiers fly freely across making nests on both sides.

On the ground however, human beings zealously guard their own bit of turf
making a noisy, grotesque public show of the division.  At sunset every
day, vociferous crowds gather on both sides, hurling choice epithets and
insults at each other.  They jeer and cheer at a unique ceremony, which the
film- maker and comedian Michael Palin describes as ‘carefully controlled
contempt!’ Apart from being a bizarre spectacle, it is also very revelatory
of the state of mind of our two peoples and our psychological make-up.

Seven-foot tall men, chosen for their physical might and facial hair strut
like angry peacocks eyeballing each other with hostile looks and gestures.
It is a masterly display of silent aggression. Flags are lowered and gates
slammed shut. It is in military parlance, a ‘beating of the retreat’
ceremony. The Indian Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers have
jointly followed it since 1959. In the past few years, it has become a
major tourist attraction, a must on a tour of Lahore or Amritsar attracting
thousands on both sides.

At times of heightened tension between the two countries, the crowds become
bigger and more excitable as it was during Operation Parakram, the massive
troop build-up ordered in the wake of the 2001 attack on the Indian
Parliament. Alarmingly, a Pakistani Jawan carried away by the spirit of the
occasion raised his weapon aiming it at Indian spectators to squeals of
delight and horror. It was an impromptu theatrical gesture. Fortunately no
harm was done. Over the years by mutual consent, some of the more
aggressive gestures have been toned down and no guns are loaded. A brusque
handshake concludes the ceremony. There is even talk now of women
participating in the parade.

The truth is that for all the combative posturing, the ceremony is actually
a very carefully co-ordinated operation, requiring co-operation from both
sides. The flags have to be lowered at exactly the same speed so that they
cross each other in unison. One cannot be higher or lower. What else do you
expect! It is after all the official border of India and Pakistan, the most
contentious, the most momentous and the most hate-filled: even more than
the Berlin Wall that divided East and West Germany or the35th Parallel that
divides North and South Korea today. This is where millions of refugees on
both sides of the divide made their way– in all manners of transport but —
mostly by foot – hungry and dehydrated but elated to be with their kind on
the other side. At the stroke of midnight on 14 August 1947, they were not
one people but two.

As we go into customary overdrive, marking the month of the passing of the
Pakistan Resolution in 1940 with a ritual regurgitation of certain hallowed
phrases, (‘demand for a separate Muslim homeland, ‘two nation theory,’) one
is inclined to ask, what exactly is the purpose of this ceremony at Wagah?
 Is this just a bit of harmless fun — the type of ribbing high – spirited
lads might indulge in a village playground? Is it a symbolic battleground
for macho male egos to release an emotional valve? Or is to remind
ourselves, that we were once one people but a line arbitrarily drawn had
decided we are two and would remain so forever? Maybe it’s none of the
above. Just simply — a show of respect for international borders, sub –
continental style. Whatever! One cannot help but feel there must be other
ways of making this point than a choreographed show of hatred!

I must confess ashamedly that as a participant, I too was carried away.  It
was akin to being in an India- Pakistan cricket match surrounded by fellow
– supporters. One felt safe and secure being with one’s own kind. The
atmosphere was electrifying. It was chauvinism at its rawest. Green-clad
cheerleaders with megaphones ran up and down the gangway asking *‘Pakistan
ka matlab kya?* We replied robotically, *la Illaha illallah*. Egged
further, we pointed to the Indian side ‘*superpower, super power?* Then
skyward, *‘Allah! Allah!* It was great fun while it lasted but I cringed
when I recalled my behaviour later. Did the Indians on the other side –
even louder and larger than the Pakistan crowd — feel the same way, I
wondered.  And I wonder– and worry still today about the effect of all this
on the youth and the children who sat with me that day and parroted slogans
mindlessly.

My unease at the war-like passions displayed at the ceremony is exacerbated
by a study and a set of figures released  recently by the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute  on International  arms transfers
between 2007- 2011. It reveals that the epicentre of the arms trade is not
the oil- rich Arab States, Iran or even security paranoid Israel — but our
very own South Asia.  India is the leader of the pack accounting for 10% of
all global arms imports. In third place is Pakistan at 5%.

What this adds up to is a very depressing statistic that should cause
concern for the poor citizens of both countries. We are engaged in a
serious arms race that either can ill-afford. The other three countries on
the list (China 5% South Korea 6% and Singapore 4%) have at least achieved
an acceptable standard of living for their people.  We have not. The
countries of the Sub-continent after 65 years of Independence remain firmly
at the bottom of the heap in every development index. Sure, we live in a
tough neighbourhood and need to protect ourselves from regional bullies;
sure, we are in a War on Terror. What must not be forgotten however is that
it is our own policies and attitudes that have often contributed to make
this, one dangerous neighbourhood.

A further source of trepidation is the chatter emanating from the recently
formed Difa- e- Pakistan
Council.<http://pakteahouse.net/2012/03/02/the-curious-case-of-difa-e-pakistan-council/>
This
is an umbrella group comprising of 40 organisations featuring august
luminaries as Hafiz Saeed, Maulana Samiul Haq and ex- General Gul. It is a
who’s who of well-known hawks. When we have nuclear- weapons and a
magnificent army that does a fabulous job at the borders just what exactly
are they purporting to defend? A visit to the website of this outfit leaves
no room for doubt: *‘We envisage defending Pakistan*, *the only ideological
nation carved in the name of Islam with our wealth and our lives. Pakistan
stands as the beacon of the Unity of the Ummah or La illaha illallah (there
is only one God), the beacon of our faith.’*

‘Living in dignity’ and ‘dying with honour’ are also a part of its mission
statement. Since the Pakistan Water Movement is also listed as a member we
have a hint here of a possible cause for a future conflict. Visitors are
asked: Should we have bilateral relations with India before the settlement
of all core issues? 89.1% of site-visitors vote a resounding No.* *And in
case one thought Cyril Radcliffe’s rationale for the official border at
Wagah, was to continue trade and commerce via the GT road, think again: *‘a
conspiracy was hatched to grant India the status of ‘Most Favoured Nation’
by the Government of Pakistan recently…the trade drive is nothing but a
strategy to weaken Pakistan economically and save the sinking Indian
economy…’*

Move over to the Facebook page of the  Difa- e – Pakistan
Council:<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Difa-e-Pakistan-Council-OFFICIAL/323403217679846>
The
timeline photo of this technologically- savvy organisation will send a
chill through the spine of internet warriors. It is a ‘*challo dilli challo’
* moment to fantasise about — a panoramic battle scene with tanks and
airplanes plus four horsemen of the apocalypse over the Red Fort in Delhi.
Naturally, a green and white flag flies over the central gate. Minorities
should have no cause for alarm. The PDC also lists two Hindu, one Sikh and
a Christian as it members. It is a broad coalition cutting across sectarian
and ethnic divides.

It would be unfair of me to single out the DPC for its jingoism or suggest
that Pakistanis alone are the obstacle towards Indo- Pak amity. The
laboriously slow pace of what officials calls the ‘normalisation of ties’
between India and Pakistan is a cause for disquiet. Abnormality is more the
reality. In spite of visits by businesspersons, it does not appear that the
other side is in any particular hurry to facilitate people- to- people
contact. Visits of Ministers, officials, smiles, handshakes and gratuitous
platitudes aside, there is precious little our Government has to show for
its troubles. Never mind tackling core issues, even smaller
confidence-building measures like issuing of visas or the inclusion of
Pakistani Cricketers in the IPL are yet to materialise in any meaningful
way.

A useful pointer to the bureaucratic mind-set and hints of a dual policy
adopted by our erstwhile neighbour is a curiously – worded requirement for
Indian citizenship. Issued by the Press Information Bureau, Government of
India Ministry of Home affairs, 14th March 2012, a new condition for
becoming an Indian national is that *the applicant has not exhibited
sympathies towards Pakistan at any time.* Wow! Wonder who came up with that
one! And just how are they are going to establish that! Presumably, the
applicant after making a public bonfire of all his Rahat Ali Khan CDs and
Veena Malik posters heads straight to the Wagah ceremony screaming anti –
Pakistani slogans!

Which brings me to my original question: why do we have that ceremony at
the border anyway? When State and non- state actors on both sides of the
divide are putting up a side show of their own, subtly re-enforcing
invisible barriers of hate, why put our soldiers through silly walks in
which they risk serious injury to their  backs and legs. Even the Nazis did
not goosestep in that fashion! I don’t know about you but to my warped,
prejudiced mind the people of the Sub-continent deserve better. After 65
years, a change of guard, a new script and a fresh act would be most
welcome. There cannot be military solutions for everything.  Just ask the
Americans.