Book Review : India vs Pakistan : Why Can’t We Just Be Friends by Husain Haqani
R.K.Upadhyay
1. Jinnah wanted India Pakistan to live like USA and Canada . Gandhiji also wanted India Pakistan to live like brothers with agreed separation. Sixty nine years later Jinnah Gandhi vision is like a blur.
2. Nehru and Patel were not generous and just in division of assets . They as per Pakistanis treated 
them like Mughals treated renegade provinces.
them like Mughals treated renegade provinces.3. India Pakistan relations were already badly strained by the unprecedented communal violence and transfer of population . Pakistan got 21 % of population , 17 % revenue , 30% army , 40 % navy , 20% airforce. Moreover India , using excuse of Kashmir , transferred only 18000 tonnes out of due 165000 tonnes of defence materials . 75% of Pakistan’s first budget went for defence in 1948. Pakistan produced 75% of world’s jute but did not have even one jute mill. In 1948 it cutoff water supply from canal head works for a months demanding a fresh final agreement . It did not transfer Rs 75 crore due to Pakistan .
Gandhiji recognizing all this went on fast to force Indian government to pay Pakistan’s dues. However Pakistanis always suspected that India will attack and recapture them . Nehru’s assurances did not mollify the fears in public mind .
4. Muslim League did not play its cards well with princely states while India did a much better job .Worst example was Kashmir . Nehru / Patel combination got both Maharaja Hari Singhand Sheikh Abdulla ‘s support for merger of Kashmir in India . Jinnah ever tried wooing Hari Singh .
5. Still a decade after partition , travel between India and Pakistn remained easy . Till 1951 muslims from India could ravel back and forth without passport . The passport issued in 1952 was a joint India Pakistan passport valid for both countries .International passports and Visa requirements came only in 1965 .
6. Military coup in 1958 changed it in a major way . Ayub did not have a political vision and made military interest
synonymous of Pakistani interest . In 1958 before the coup Prime minister Firoz Khan Noon spoke of futility of war . He was ridiculed by Muslim League and Jamate Islami who advocated a military solution of disputes .
7 US Aid helped Pakistan in maintaining military parity with India . By 1963 thanks to US aid Pakistani army which was already 30% of combined Indian army in 1947 , became double in size of partition army. In addition it got better weapons like Paton Tank , Sabre Jets Star Fighter planes from USA .
8. 1962 defeat of India and Nehru’s death in 1964 gave Ayub the confidence . Ayub had low opinion of hindus and felt they could not survive couple of hard blows . Ayub in his address to nation in 1965 war , blamed Hindu customary cowardice and hypocracy ‘ for war and called for Jihad . But Ayub’s attempt to take Kashmir by war failed . War was a draw . India lost 4000 – 6000 men , 300 tanks , fifty aircrafts . Pakistan lost 3000 – 5000 men , 250 tanks, fifty planes ( as per book ). Both sides returned to pre war positions
9. 1965 war was a watershed and ended the free travel and exchange of books , films , newspapers etc . Patriotism was defined by jingoisitic rhetorics on both sides .
Thus began a sad chapter of Indo Pak relations which hitherto were not so bad at people to people level .
10 . Even after total defeat in 1971 Bangladesh war , Bhutto before leaving for Simla summit wanted India to act with humility towards humiliated Pakistan . He refused to make LOC permanent border because back home people will think after East Pakistan he lost Kashmir at Simla . Indira Gandhi did not like Bhutto but preferred him over army .
From her view she acted with generosity with giving back not only 93000 POWs but also 5139 sq miles of territory won in war and hoped for lasting peace.
But Pakistanis thought it only as a break before raising Kashmir issue again .
After Bhutto’s execution in 1979 Indo Pak relation between the two nations did not evolve as Indira Gandhi had thought.
The two nations thus lost another chance of rewriting the rules of reengagement .
11. Kashmir is not the cause of friction between India and Pakistan but a symptom of a deeper malady of deeper distrust due to civilizational history . However Ayub told Americans that he had no objection to solving Kashmir issue if stakes of India , Pakistanis and Kashmiris are looked after . Musharraf solutions were really repeat of Ayub thinking . But in 1962-63 talks Bhutto pressed for almost whole of Kashmir while India was willing to give about 1500 sq miles extra . But talks failed .
It repeated in Agra talks .
12. Nuclear arsenal made Pak army more reckless . Another view ( not in book ) is that Pakistani army generals are like desperate gamblers hoping that next war may succeed . Just like Yudhishtir could have stopped before losing Draupadi or even earlier . But he continued just like Pakistani army top brass .
So really there may never be a full stop in Indo Pak hostilities .
13 . Non state actors give Pak army power over India and other countries . In Afghanistan Pakistan’s importance is due to Taliban . It does not want total peace with India .India is an obsession in Pakistan and quest for impractical equality a holy war .
14. Space for friendship is shrinking rapidly . Indian atitudes have hardened after Mumbai , Parliament attack and Kargil . The task of debating irrelevance of two naton theory should be left for Pakistan , India should not join the debate.
We can either be more than friends or more than enemies .
Hide original message
