India ready for a long haul

By C. Raja Mohan

NEW DELHI, JULY 10. Irrespective of the final outcome from the talks with Gen. Pervez Musharraf at Agra later this week, India is gearing itself up for ``a patient, long-term engagement with Pakistan'', well-placed sources in the Government say.

India does not see the Agra summit as a ``one-shot event'', but an occasion to revive the peace process initiated at Lahore two- and-a-half years ago and move it a little forward.

The Government is hopeful it is possible to realise this modest outcome at Agra. What if, at the end of the summit, it is clear that Gen. Musharraf might not be ready to walk ``the high road'' to peace and prosperity that Mr. Vajpayee talked about?

Even if the results from Agra turn out to be negative, the sources suggest, India will persevere with its new strategy of engaging Pakistan at many levels.

As the goodwill gestures announced over the last few days indicate, the Government believes it is possible to change the context of the relations with Pakistan through a series of unilateral actions on issues such as educational exchanges, easier travel arrangements, and greater economic interaction.

India's positive unilateralism towards Pakistan does not expect immediate reciprocal gestures from Islamabad; but it is apparently designed to chip away at the deep-seated hostility across the border. Mr. Vajpayee, in his message at the all-party meeting on talks with Pakistan yesterday, revealed another element of India's strategy - of engaging the people of Pakistan besides their current military rulers.

Insisting that neither the old cliches nor new forms of violence would help resolve the problems between the two countries, he said the time had come to address the ``core concerns of the peoples'' of the subcontinent.

According to sources, India's historic move to crack open the intensely militarised Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir is part of a conscious strategy to address the ``core concerns'' of the people in the divided and hapless State.

The new Indian strategy of positive unilateralism is drawing approbation from the international community. Diplomatic sources here say if pursued vigorously, the current Indian line towards Pakistan could only add to New Delhi's image as a responsible power ready to address long-standing problems with its neighbours.

Independent analysts suggest that the prospects for a failure at Agra have considerably increased with the indications from Islamabad that Gen. Musharraf has no desire to discuss anything other than Kashmir.

Sources in the Government believe this could just be the General's bluster on the eve of his talks with Mr. Vajpayee. But if it does turn out that Gen. Musharraf has nothing else on offer, the talks are likely to go nowhere.

In this context, New Delhi is putting out a simple message - India is looking for a positive outcome at Agra; but it is equally prepared for a negative one.

A failure at Agra, it is being emphasised here, will in no way discourage India from pursuing its new engagement with Pakistan's civil society aimed at changing the mindset across the border.

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