'India's "biggest asset" in Pakistan were the people there who did not consider it an enemy country': Former India's consul general in Karachi

[Cricket Warrior]

"So long as Pakistan is an albatross around our necks, we just will not be able to take our due place in the world. It is ludicrous to suggest that India is the 'vishwaguru' when we don't know what to do with our neighbour," Mr Aiyar claimed.

Batting for resumption of dialogue with Pakistan, diplomat-turned-politician Mani Shankar Aiyar says India won't be able to take its due place in the world as long as its western neighbour is an "albatross around our necks''.

The Congress leader, who served as India's consul general in Karachi from December 1978-January 1982, has dedicated a full chapter to his Pakistan stint in his autobiography "Memoirs of a Maverick -- The First Fifty Years (1941-1991)" that hit the stands on Monday.

In an interview with Press Trust of India on his new book, published by Juggernaut Books, Mr Aiyar said the high point of his bureaucratic career was undoubtedly his stint as consul general in Pakistan and he has dwelt at very great length on his three years in Karachi in the first volume out now.

India's "biggest asset" in Pakistan were the people there who did not consider it an enemy country, he said.

"We were coming back from a dinner one day, within the first two-three weeks of the posting, when my wife Suneet asked me a question that reverberated in my mind in my stay in Karachi - 'This is an enemy country, right'?" Mr Aiyar said he asked himself the question through his three years there and for the last 40 years since he came back from Pakistan.

"I have come to the conclusion that whatever may be the view of the sections of the army, or sections of polity, as far as the people of Pakistan are concerned, they are neither an enemy country nor do they regard India as an enemy country," he claimed in his interview to Press Trust of India.

"Every time we want to display our disapproval of the (Pakistani) government, visas are stopped, films are stopped, TV exchanges are stopped, books are stopped, travel is stopped, so I don't see why we do not know how to leverage the goodwill of the people of Pakistan as an integral part of our diplomatic approach," Mr Aiyar added.

For the last nine years all dialogue between India and Pakistan has been frozen, he noted.

"Until Mr (Narendra) Modi became prime minister of India, almost every prime minister, if he had the time, was attempting some kind of a dialogue with the Pakistanis but now we are in a freeze and the victims of this freeze are not the army of Pakistan which is still swigging its scotch, it is the people of Pakistan whose relatives in large numbers live in India and many of whom have a desire to visit our country," he said.

 

[MenInG]

Interesting comments.

Am sure the Pakistani ambassador would have met similar in India too.

 

[Rana]

Something positive at least.

Hope to see these two nations get on well with each other. Enough of the hate

 

[Major]

It is a complicated relationship which is ruined due to the politics of the politician and the army.

When you say enemy country, the thing that comes in your mind is two group of people that are not ready to talk to each other, and this include every member of that two families.

Often when we met with Indians the dialogue was always good and there was some geniune goodwill from both parties. The common thing between us is the language. We share the same spoken language. Yes, the script might be different but verbally its the same. When a Pakistani punjabi interacts with an Indian sikh, there is just soo much love only because of the language. Pakistani punjabis are not good in urdu and only a few know urdu or talk in urdu. They feel comfortable with a person who talks in Punjabi. If there was an Urdu speaking Pakistani and an Indian Sikh, the Pakistani Punjabi will have a much better rapport with the Indian Sikh if they both speak in punjabi.

During my time in India, I remember seeing Rajiv Shukla being invited to Pakistan highcomission dinners and he used to come to those dinners. Infact, he even once requested for permission to travel to Pakistan. The hate politics is just for the TV.

Which is why when PCB chairman meets there Indian counterpart and give statement for a series taking place, thats because the meetings go well. Many of these India businessman or officials tend to have very good relations with Pakistan privately, but when things go on TV, they have to give anti Pakistan statements.

While, we cant be one nation, as Pakistani Muslims are not someone that others can or should tolerate. The Jaranwala incident is an example, and trust me, the lower and middle class muslims of Pakistan live in there dumb fantasy. We have this false muslim superiority complex and look down at people belonging from other religions. The looking down is soo much that we even think that if you are born as a muslim that is a blessing while people belonging from other religions are not that blessed.

I dont know about Hindus, only someone from their community can confirm whether Indian Hindus can live with muslims or not. Whether coexistence can exist.

But at a country level, i think some dialogue needs to exist. Might not be able to live together, but the politics of hate should end. From Pakistan's side its the Army while from Indias side its their Right wing politicians.

 

[rpant_gabba]

Ye phir se shuru ho gaya.....

Who takes Mani Shankar Aiyar serious these days? or for that matter any time?

he actively raised money for china during the 1962 war

 

[rpant_gabba]

>>>>>"Until Mr (Narendra) Modi became prime minister of India, almost every prime minister, if he had the time, was attempting some kind of a dialogue with the Pakistanis.<<<

Nothing good came from all that. right? So what is the point of the dialogue if the positions are too far apart and unchanged over decades?

 

[rpant_gabba]

‘Gandhis, Kharge believe I’m a dinosaur, loose cannon’— Mani Shankar Aiyar on being kept out of CWC
Aiyar, whose autobiography ‘Memoirs of a Maverick’ was released Monday, says he won’t leave Congress but laments party’s drift from ‘secularism of Gandhi & Nehru kind'.

 

[shortbread]

Both countries have invested soo much time and resources in this animosity, that there's no going back. Decades and decades of hatred entrenched in us and we pass it to the next generation.

The energy and assets that are invested in hurting each other are massive. Huge departments, budgets, manpower focussed on the 'enemy' cannot and will not allow long term peace or goodwill. If that happens, how will they survive? We will never be allowed to be friendly nations.

How will BJP fester hatred for Muslims if Pakistan is a peaceful neighbour. Even without a BJP in power, peace was still impossible as history has proven. How can the Pakistani establishment justify eating up more than half the nation's resources for sustenance without the India bogeyman.

One has to be very very naive to believe India and Pakistan can live happily ever after, never happening!

 

[the Great Khan]

I think after this latest episode it's looking grim. There are reports that the Americans are hell bent on using India to stop China and Pakistan must be neutered. Hence the current tamasha. They wanted Khan to go and bend over in front of Modi but Khan said no. Bajwa on the other hand had other ideas. Indias great hope now is Asim Munir and his cowardly close knit cronies.

 

[WicketLord]

In other countries when people from Pakistan and India get meet very well with each other and also take good care of each other.

Indian TV shows and some films play a significant role in worsening the situation, as they try to instill in people's minds that Pakistan is a very bad country and is India's biggest enemy.

In addition to this, whenever election time comes in India, especially during the BJP government's tenure, India carries out some sort of adventure and blames Pakistan for it, so that they can garner more sympathy and votes from the people.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

It's long been a contention of mine that as long as India looks and acts like a third world country, that is what it will remain. The only logical conclusion as to why it spends so much time talking and obsessing about Pakistan, is that it's to divert the attention from it's own population from the grinding poverty and failures to build a genuinely safe and progressive nation at home.

 

[cricketjoshila]

I think after this latest episode it's looking grim. There are reports that the Americans are hell bent on using India to stop China and Pakistan must be neutered. Hence the current tamasha. They wanted Khan to go and bend over in front of Modi but Khan said no. Bajwa on the other hand had other ideas. Indias great hope now is Asim Munir and his cowardly close knit cronies.

India and Modi has no interest in Pakistan or Imran Khan.

As you have seen all Imran Khan could do was to rant on twitter about India. While he was ignored by Modi.

Pakistan doesn't have the military or economic or diplomatic clout to do much against India.

So stop weaving tales to big up your deposed and jailed leader.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Always have to love it when one of the India propaganda bots jumps into a thread to tell us India has no interest in Pakistan. They mustn't get the concept of irony.

 

[nuttyprof]

It's long been a contention of mine that as long as India looks and acts like a third world country, that is what it will remain. The only logical conclusion as to why it spends so much time talking and obsessing about Pakistan, is that it's to divert the attention from it's own population from the grinding poverty and failures to build a genuinely safe and progressive nation at home.

I guess you missed the memo. Look at the GDP numbers and the growth and the investment in India. But feel free to stay in a bubble. Nobody cares about Pakistan from strategic POV. Most of them only care about Pakistan out of schadenfreude!!

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I guess you missed the memo. Look at the GDP numbers and the growth and the investment in India. But feel free to stay in a bubble. Nobody cares about Pakistan from strategic POV. Most of them only care about Pakistan out of schadenfreude!!

And here comes another one...
"Oh no Sir ji! We are just coming here to tell you there is not von single Indian who cares even two atoms about Pakistan!"

 

[Hitman]

It's long been a contention of mine that as long as India looks and acts like a third world country, that is what it will remain. The only logical conclusion as to why it spends so much time talking and obsessing about Pakistan, is that it's to divert the attention from it's own population from the grinding poverty and failures to build a genuinely safe and progressive nation at home.

Do I need to remind you which country has knocked the IMF's door a record 23 times with a begging bowl asking for alms?

 

[nuttyprof]

And here comes another one...
"Oh no Sir ji! We are just coming here to tell you there is not von single Indian who cares even two atoms about Pakistan!"

I would have continued if you had better reading comprehension or could be helped. Adios!!

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Do I need to remind you which country has knocked the IMF's door a record 23 times with a begging bowl asking for alms?

Not at all. That another Indian is keeping count on Pakistan's IMF bailout requests pretty much backs up the whole point of the OP.

 

[Hitman]

Not at all. That another Indian is keeping count on Pakistan's IMF bailout requests pretty much backs up the whole point of the OP.

Keeping count? That too about a debt ridden insignificant country surviving on bailouts? Excuse me!

 

[cricketjoshila]

Keeping count? That too about a debt ridden insignificant country surviving on bailouts? Excuse me!

Countries around India are begging bailouts. Sri Lanka Pakistan Bangladesh all have received bailouts in last 12 months.

No one needs to count, it makes news all over.

 

[nuttyprof]

Countries around India are begging bailouts. Sri Lanka Pakistan Bangladesh all have received bailouts in last 12 months.

No one needs to count, it makes news all over.

If there is a snake next to me and I watch all it's moves, it is not because I want to befriend the snake....

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

If there is a snake next to me and I watch all it's moves, it is not because I want to befriend the snake....

It must be because you fear it then.

 

[nuttyprof]

It must be because you fear it then.

It’s interests are inimical to mine. If I was fearing it, I would have run away.

 

[FPresidential]

I firmly believe, once Pakistan has truest form of democracy and economic stability backed up by its citizen then religiously motivated bigotry from radicalized groups such as Hindutva will have very little space to breath.

The current government of India neither hope nor wish for it in Pakistan because as it were to happen then their Hindutva narrative will have no room to spread it.

Majority, at least educated Pakistani are firmly against any and every ill treatment of minority whereas this is not the case in Hindutva India, it is widely acceptable not just in uneducated class but educated class as well as it give them false of hope bringing back the glorious India which never existed.