Third Dip Into Pakistan - Charity, Mirror and Be Grateful

Third Dip Into Pakistan - Charity, Mirror and Be Grateful

October 16, 2013

Just completed my third trip to Pakistan in 10 months last week. Each trip there is a voyage of discovery and this trip was no different. As with every great voyage, the lessons we learn about ourselves are the most gratifying.

1. Understanding and appreciating Islam – A few months ago I had a read a piece where the author talks about how Swami Vivekananda (one of the pioneers of modern day Hinduism) thought that that the philosophies of Hinduism married with the application of Islam were an ideal mix.

During this trip I had a wonderful opportunity to talk to Imran and Ayesha, a delightful young couple in Karachi. I had read a little about Islam’s focus on charity and when I asked them about it, Imran spoke to me at length how charity is at the heart of Islam. He went out to articulate different types of charity (with strict rules) constitute one of the five pillars of Islam. The type so charity ranged from compulsory (Zakat) to various optional ones. As I sat listening to Imran, my thoughts wandered to the teachings of Swami Sivananda and his focus on ‘giving.’

Imran went on to explain how the term ‘jihad’ has been so widely mis-interpreted. According to him less than 10% of what the Koran teaches with respect to jihad is about ‘standing up against oppression of the vulnerable.’ This is the part that has been blown up to mean something else. But, 90% of the term ‘jihad’ is the individual struggle to tame one’s own ego and other negative emotions. This resonates very strongly with the teachings of the Gita so well captured in the various publications of the Bihar School of Yoga that I have been associated with.

Indeed, as I engaged in this very insightful conversation, the similarities between Islam, Christianity and Hinduism became the central theme.

2. Looking into the Mirror Before we Criticise: In my three trips there, the people (without exception) have been extremely friendly. Not once did I feel any sense of hostility, but on the other hand, a sense of warmth ensued when folks learnt I was Indian. This is both from work colleagues and strangers. At the back of my India, an issue was bothering me. Will Pakistani’s be treated the same  in India? I look back at conversations I have had with many in India, and so many of the folks had considerable ill will against Pakistan and by extension Pakistanis. I was feeling a little guilty about this as I could not explain this fully….until I transited through Srilanka and then a light bulb went off. In Srilanka, Indians (particularly those from Madras/Tamilnadu) are viewed with some hostility. I have felt this during my two trips there this year. Indians on the other hand, don’t really have much of an opinion about Srilankans.

The reason is fairly simple – Sri Lankans are against the political meddling of the Tamilnadu govt (and by the extension its people) into the state affairs of Sri Lanka. In other words, they dislike us because they feel we are interfering in Sri Lankan matters and in fact are supporting the terrorists who are against the national govt there. Indeed, there is some truth to these sentiments.

So, the light dawned on me, just like Indians have this dislike of Pakistan (and its people) for supporting terrorism against India, similarly, Sri Lankans have the same sentiments against Indians. Most of us Indians are blissfully unaware of the sentiments of the Sri Lankans just as most Pakistanis are about what Indians feel. We tend to live in isolated cocoons not concerned by how we are perceived by others for the actions we take.

3. Be Grateful Fellow Indians for the Foundation: I hear many Indians dismiss, nay hold with disgust/disdain, the policies adopted under the leadership of Gandhiji and Jawaharlal Nehru in our formative years after independence.  This year I have made two trips each to B’desh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Plus over the past few years, I have spent considerable time in Nepal and Cambodia. India is much much better off on all fronts as compared to all our neighbors and beyond.

Stability – The strong foundation of democracy that we enjoyed in the first two decades are paramount in making us stable. Every other country in the region has had major upheavals with coups or dictators being the order of the day! The emphasis on secularism has played a very important role. Has this been abused by some political parties? Absolutely! Can we do better? Undoubtedly! But, should we be grateful for the wisdom of our founding fathers for laying the foundations of stability? Without a doubt! I urge my friends who have not read the history of our country (after independence) or looked around the region adequately, to pause and ponder about this.

Keeping the Army in its Barracks: We take this for granted, but in every country in the region, the armed forces have often stepped way out of line and become a parallel power base. Our founding fathers did not allow this. Even the great Field Marshall Manekshaw was ignored after retirement for seeming a bit too arrogant. While in this particular case, the action was probably not deserved, the armed forces have rightly been kept on a tight leash in India without being able to influence government policy.

Focus on Indigenous Growth: It is true that we got carried away and that for too long in keeping the Indian economy closed to the external world. But, there were many benefits that have not been heralded. A few Pakistanis were telling me how they used to laugh at our Ambassador and Premier Padmini cars in the 70s and 80s while they had Toyotas. Now they look with admiration as India has built a strong manufacturing base while their fancy Toyotas continue to be mainly imported with less that 15% of the components produced locally.

4. Finally, the wonderful people – Met and interacted with some wonderful people in Karachi. The immediate connect and comfort level that I struck with a few has been special. This is a such a cliché- but there is no doubt in my mind that we indeed have a lot more in common that the few differences which unfortunately get exaggerated.

If you made it out this far, then you deserve more pain: (http://www.supermansanjay.blogspot.in)