Weak Pak, Strong Pak

A friend of mine wrote a blog about our relations with Pakistan and what should India's future goals in this regard be. And he sums them up with this:

"Lets face the facts, a weak Pakistan is very much in our interest. For three decades after the liberation of Bangladesh, Pakistan was weak enough to not bother India. At the same time, we should try everything we can to enhance good relations with other neighbours like Sri Lanka and Nepal. Two hostile neighbours is more than enough. It is to the distinct advantage of the big power nations to preserve Indo-Pak balance of power and it is high time India looks out for its own interests. Peace is what is ultimately desired and we’ve tried enough times to achieve peace without bloodshed. If it takes war to achieve lasting peace, so be it."

It is of course clearer and more informative than any of mine but I still have some couter arguments for him and others with similar opinion.

To begin with, I don't agree that in this age, peace can only be achieved through war. US and Europe have hardly reached the levels of pre 9/11 calm and the threats have only increased after laying Afghanistan and Iraq to dust. The religious leaders in Middle East have now found a common enemy to attack and 'inspire' the youth which was perhaps slipping away. The latest terror-attemptee felt "US threatened Islam."

Coming back to India v/s Pak. Well we might go to war or weaken the nation covertly. But is a chaotic Pak better than a managed one? To begin with, the Taliban is hurting Pak too and that is essentially because of weak leadership. And in that environment what if, God forbid, The BOMB falls in to Taliban's hands? They are not going to think twice before dropping it. I doubt if the deterrence logic will work with them.

Is it a coincidence that the bomb blasts increased in India after Musharraf quit? I know that Musharraf was the man behind Kargil but what would you rather have? Military insurgency or Mumbai 7/11? The attacks happened because the army and ISI lost control of their own home-grown Jehadis who were earlier building bases on Tiger Hills under clear orders. Plus, a stronger leadership is more likely to move them towards development and education than a weaker state. It is a general rule that the dissatisfied youth rebels while the better-off stay aloof.

Moving on, India may or not decide to support the Baloch's right to self determination simply because we can never pressurise Pakistan. It will only distort our shambolic relations more and neither are the Baloch going to be grateful. Think of Bangladesh here. We played a big role in freeing them but they only have contempt for the Big Brother of the sub continent.

So I think we should take measures to build our own security and intelligence and make efforts to build a more lawful Pakistan. Even Chanakya, although endorsing war, was in favor of strong neighbors as chaos has a habit of spilling over.

PS: We are also incapable of terrorist activities against another nation as our dissatisfied youth can find multiple enemies in this multicultural nation itself.

Bizzare Bihanis

Cousin(in the car): Why aren't belts compulsory here. Even in Jaipur they are.

Ashtung: Because people wear tight pants here