Our Neighbour, The Boogeyman

Indoctrination  (noun)

The process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically. “I would never subject children to religious indoctrination.”

Four wars, multiple escalations, thousands of casualties, years of enmity, attempts at espionage, an array of allegations, the cause of Kashmir, revenge for Bengal, payback for 26/11 and so much more defines the Indo-Pak relationship. The year is 2021 and we still stand at odds with our neighbour with the added effect of nuclear armament.

In all the confrontation and drama, the international community and voices from the top of the food chain in both countries call for dialogue and “peaceful negotiations”. Radical elements in both nations call for “Jihad” (Urdu: Fight against the enemies of Islam) or “Yudh” (Hindi: War) and ideologies such as the “Hindutva Takeover” (An ideology establishing the hegemony of Hindus) or the “Ghazwa-e-Hind” (Holy War against India) still find a home amongst sections of both societies.

Growing up in a privileged, well informed class of Pakistani society one becomes confused over how to think of India. Do I believe my books? The media? Use my own intuition or align my views with the government’s? In the last case, my opinions would change faster than the season.

Let’s begin with books. Throughout school the history teacher adamantly insisted that India has been the aggressor since day one and changed my perception of the red, white and green nation to be nothing more than a bitter ex in constant pursuit of revenge. “Hatred of Hindus” was particularly projected through indirect means and I was taught how Hindus and Sikhs killed Muslims during the partition, burned their abodes, raped the women and slaughtered mercilessly as trains full of dead bodies travelled through Punjab. It used to boil my blood and rightly so, as it should for any proud Muslim. However, as the history class ended, so did the indoctrination, at least until getting home and turning on the TV to hear the news of the day.

“Breaking News: 5 Soldiers Martyred near the Line of Control (LOC)”. India became public enemy number one yet again and our army ‘jawans’ (Urdu: soldiers) who lost their lives were celebrated as immortal ‘shaheeds’ (Urdu: martyrs). How unfortunate, I thought, maybe we should wage another war, maybe we should eradicate our neighbours from the face of the Earth! (China may not appreciate such misadventures but we needed to do something right?) The enemy was apparent and hating the motherland’s enemies was a necessary part of nationalism . How a land can have emotions, I fail to understand, but as the inhabitants of the land, we did and when I heard about India, all I saw was red.

I have Indian friends and they are very similar to me in so many regards but they were also indoctrinated, as I was. In a joint excursion to find out why we’re manipulated to such extents, Indians and Pakistanis have become mirror images of one another.

A week later, the weirdest thing happened, the Foreign Minister called for dialogue and greater “cooperation between the two countries”. Well that was splendid news to my ears. Just like the great Quaid-e-Azam wanted, a relationship that mimicked that of Canada and the USA. We’re things really getting better? Would they be issuing visas soon? I always wanted to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Laal Qila in Delhi. Cooperation between neighbours, a welcome sight for the international community as well. Imagine a cricket match between India and Pakistan in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. Virat Kohli leading the mighty men in blue against Babar Azam’s formidable green team. At that moment, India didn’t seem all that bad after all.

A year later, I am standing outside my house with my family observing a moment of silence for our Kashmiri brothers as per the government’s instructions. I can feel the rage brewing within, the United Nations has failed and India has moved legislation to cement claim over what was

“occupied territory” for us. Consequently, I needed to get my luggage in order. I’m going to study abroad where I am going to meet a lot of Indians. I imagine how they will be, more importantly, how can I meet eyes with them?

Now another year has passed and I have risen from the deep sleep I was in. Things are much clearer now, at least for me. There is no perpetual Indian or Pakistani threat, rather there is perpetual insecurity on both sides of the border. In the history class, I never knew that arms were taken by Muslims against Hindus and Sikhs as well, there was bloodshed across the board, it wasn’t just a one-sided massacre. Reading authors who are now exiled from my motherland, I realized that both countries were at fault in times of war, India was not the aggressor in every case. Now, when I heard of casualties at the border, I read on the casualties on both sides, not just mine. Kashmir remains contested, but the people there are suffering as they have been for so long. It disturbs me to think that maybe both the Indian and Pakistani governments don’t wish to support the Kashmiri people but rather are in it solely for the land.

I have Indian friends and they are very similar to me in so many regards but they were also indoctrinated, as I was. In a joint excursion to find out why we’re manipulated to such extents, we stumbled upon the military spending and budget allocations and the countries which sell both the nations their arms. It makes much more sense now, but I hope other people see it too. It’s

time to wake from our slumber, it’s time for Indians and Pakistanis to see the masquerade in front of us.

In the words of Ben Macintyre:

“Deception is a sort of seduction. In love and war, adultery and espionage, deceit can only succeed if the deceived party is willing, in some way, to be deceived.”