Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship Between India and Pakistan

A decision can make or break life. Then, consider the enormity of crucial strategic decisions on the body politic of a nation. In these politically charged times, motives can be attributed to dissecting the monumental influence of the leadership decisions taken at the time of independence and later. But wisdom lies in an objective analysis to find solutions for the nagging issues. Even after seven decades of India’s partition, Pakistan continued to occupy the mind spaces of our political dispensation. The difficult relationship with Pakistan sapped India’s vital energy which could otherwise been invested in progressive developmental activities.

The pompous illusionary baichara and underserving Aman ki Asha further validated the futility of one-sided friendly neighbourly relations with Pakistan. No amount of diplomatic capital, friendly initiatives and back channel outreach could alter the nefarious agenda of Pakistan which considers India an existential threat. Even after the four conventional wars and over four decades-long proxy asymmetric wars, Pakistan has refused to change its way. Pakistan’s pathological obsession for Kashmir, ensured that Kashmir alone remained the main agenda of bilateral ties for many decades. Even discussions on bilateral trade are regarded as a ploy to distract attention from the Kashmir issue.

Characterised by cycles of hostility interspersed with a rare window of peace, the troubled relationship dominated the geopolitics of South Asia. The high points of diplomacy have essentially been an intermission between dastardly cross-border terror attacks. The dwindling economic progress of Pakistan in recent decades has further reduced the appetite for bilateral engagement. Instead, the deep state is getting seduced towards proxy wars to seek a recourse. The fascination of the Western neighbour, whose umbilical cord had been severed through a brutal partition had occupied a special place in the mind space of Indians. Separated by borders, carved on the basis of religion at the instance of the fundamentalist elements, even after Pakistan became a sovereign republic, a wider section of Indians longed for a longstanding intimacy with it.

Objectively recording the relations between India and the newly formed nation of Pakistan from the day of its existence as an independent nation till his expulsion, India’s former High Commissioner to Pakistan, Ajay Bisaria details the bilateral ties in his book- “Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship Between India and Pakistan”. The book is a window to a diplomat’s perspective of the India-Pakistan relations. Elegantly structured, the book is laid into eight different sections enumerating the trajectory of the bilateral ties in each decade. Each section has several chapters and sub-sections. Coming from the pen of a seasoned diplomat, characteristically devoid of any overtones, the book is a compendium that ambitiously attempts to chronicle the events spanning close to eight decades of bilateral ties.

The tumultuous relations that weathered four conventional wars and the unceasing terror attacks hit rock bottom with the abrogation of Article 370. Surprised, embittered and enraged, the Imran Khan government at the helm expelled the Indian High Commissioner on August 7, 2019, and downgraded the ties. Intuitively, the title of the book is rather playful for the serious discussion that abounds it is perhaps an attempt to underscore the overreaction and anger of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Bursting with mistrust and a distinctive intransigent approach, India and Pakistan relations, despite some agreements were rocked by several unresolved issues- majorly Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek etc. Ties were further mired by Pakistan’s repeated violations and backtracking on its own pledges. The interminable proxy war and the patronisation of non-state actors with a flourish have aggravated the hostilities.

India’s approach to Pakistan is further complicated by the two power centres and the dichotomy between the civil and military wings of the country. With the overarching power vested in the hands of the military, the customary engagement between the elected leaders of democracies is ineffectual. Dominated by the army, the regular bloodless coups of the military leadership in the formative years of Pakistan have stalled all diplomatic progress made by the civilian leadership. The thoughtful peace initiatives like the Lahore Bus, and the ceasefire announcement during the Ramzan made in good spirit of trust as confidence-building measures were repeatedly violated by the non-state actors working at the behest of the deep state.

The rich tapestry of the intertwined historical, cultural, religious, trade and people-to-people connections that could have been effectively utilised in building a long-lasting durable friendship has been impetuously squandered by Pakistan in its quest for an identity. This monumental blunder has irrevocably changed the course of the new nations that were birthed after centuries of British colonisation. Frittering away opportunities of restoring lasting peace, Pakistan has outdone itself in sullying the relations for its imaginary pursuit of parity. Exhausting the repeated offers of friendship, Pakistan has foreclosed the chances of envisioning the France and Germany kind of reconciliation between the neighbouring countries.

Replete with copious details of the trajectory of the India-Pakistan relationship, the author expertly walks the reader through the roller coaster of India-Pakistan bilateral ties. Embarking on the crusade of reimaging and redefining itself from the date of its birth, having taken refuge in religious or ideological nationalism, Pakistan has set a different course for itself from its inception. Together the congenital distrust for India has further roiled the relationship.

Against the popular belief that foreign policy would remain the same, irrespective of the leadership at the helm, the book dispassionately enumerates the decisions made by each Indian Prime Minister during their tenure. Peace with Pakistan has been a legacy issue for Indian leaders. Accordingly, leaders walked an extra step to make a mark for themselves in the diplomatic chronicles. On the contrary, Pakistan’s India policy kicked off with Operation Gulmarg led by Colonel Akbar Khan within 70 days of partition. Even as the Kashmir issue was dragged to the UN, India invited Pakistan as the guest of honour in 1955.  

Putting the Kashmir issue on the backburner, Governor General Ghulam Mohammed of the Dominion of Pakistan at the state banquet said, “I think this dark period of strain has now lasted too long and the time has now come to end it completely…. Let us put an end to our disputes. We owe this as a duty to posterity not to leave them a legacy of misunderstandings and bitterness”. The talks subsequently resumed in all earnest as Pakistan Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Bogra reached Delhi to explore the new approach of “implicitly giving up on the old idea of a plebiscite in Kashmir”. Prime Minister Nehru later revealed that he had offered his Pakistani counterpart a permanent and formal division of the state along the 1949 ceasefire line. 

Commenting on these fresh diplomatic initiatives the New York Times said, “Both Pakistan and India were talking about plans which would be variations of the status quo of a divided state and would not involve a plebiscite in the entire state”.  Bogra suggested that “either a referendum or elections would be as acceptable as a plebiscite to Pakistan in ascertaining the wishes of the people of Kashmir”. But upon his return to Pakistan, facing a blistering attack from media, Bogra was forced to take back his words and was forced to clarify that, “Kashmir has not been withdrawn from the UN”.

Right from the fledgling days of Pakistan’s formation, even if the civilian government was favourably disposed to resolve the smouldering issues, the deep state and its hawkish media extension were reluctant to any common understanding. The book is replete with instances galore spanning every decade, encapsulating the approach of Pakistan towards India.

Though India and Pakistan amicably settled water issue through the Indus Water Treaty, in 1960, Pakistan orchestrated unrest in Kashmir after the mysterious disappearance of the Prophet’s relic from the Hazratbal Shrine and sealed a deal with China by gifting Shaksgam Valley in 1963. But still, India extended an invitation to Pakistan President Ayub Khan as the Chief Guest for the 1965 Republic Day. Busy consolidating power, Ayub Khan ducked the invitation and sent his agriculture minister instead. Soon, he visited China and the Soviet Union to foster alliances in March and April respectively and within days of return testing India’s readiness stirred skirmishes in the Kutch. The issue was settled in June 1965 after the UK stepped in.

But soon drawing inspiration from the tribal invasion of 1947, Ayub Khan launched “Operation Gibraltar” whereby 2000 armed men on August 8, stealthily entered India from Muzaffarabad. This spiralled into a full-blown war. A highly confident Pakistan suffered a shock defeat with India’s strong counteroffensive on Lahore agreed to a ceasefire on September 23. A peek into Pakistan’s history and its present stance towards India provides ample evidence of its perfidy, double speak and subterfuge that has no parallels except for its all-weather friend, China. Post humiliating defeat in the 1971 Bangladesh War, pledging bilateralisation of the Kashmir issue, Z A Bhutto tricked India into peace with the 1972 Shimla Agreement.

India believed that the war would have a cathartic effect on Pakistan. But, on the contrary, Bhutto started talking of waging a 1000-year war against India by 1973. His successor, who snatched power in a military coup, Zia-ul-Haq stitched a military-mullah alliance by 1977 and activated the K2 policy to destabilise India. The trajectory of the India-Pakistan ties has been lined with deception, treachery and backstabbing. The same pattern continued into the 1990s and 2000s as well. Lahore Bus Journey has meted out with a Kargil War. Frustrated by India’s battle superiority, Pakistan then unleashed a series of terror attacks. Having tasted success with the 26/11 and being allowed to get away without paying any price, Pakistan tried to replicate the tried and tested template even under the Modi regime.

But by this time, India’s tolerance for terrorism has dipped, unhesitant to retribution, the anectodal “ghar mein ghus kar marenge” has become India’s latest mantra for Pakistan. With the abrogation of article 370, India has firmed up J&K’s integration and made the touted K issue as its internal matter.

The author Ajay Bisaria, born in Srinagar, and raised in Uttar Pradesh with ancestral links to Pakistan admits that he is disinclined to be known as the last Indian High Commissioner of Pakistan and optimistically bats for a restoration of normal diplomatic ties with Pakistan. The last segment of the book- “History’s Ambiguous Lessons”, sums up the thoughts of the practitioners of diplomacy and a broad message to determine the future course. The author optimistically signs off- “The diplomacy would need to move from anger management to interest management, to bring prosperity to 2 billion inhabitants of a common South Asian homeland”.

A candid presentation of facts makes this book an essential read for strategic analysts and foreign policy enthusiasts to understand the nuances of bilateral engagements and appreciate the art of diplomacy, a war by other means.

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