The Hindu : People-to-people contacts will help, says Gujral

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 18, 2003

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People-to-people contacts will help, says Gujral

By R.K. Radhakrishnan

CHENNAI July 17. The former Prime Minister, I.K. Gujral, said today that the best hope for improvement in India-Pakistan relations lay in encouraging people-to-people exchanges and strengthening the regional forum, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

"This girl Noor has made a tremendous contribution," he said, referring to Noor Fatima, the Pakistani child who was operated on successfully in a Bangalore hospital.

Commenting on the spontaneous affection for the child from all over the country, he said that events like these built more bridges. "It was not sponsored by anybody, it was not built by any political party and suddenly you find that a child comes who is not well and everyone responds. That shows basically how people-to-people relationships are there."

In an informal chat, Mr. Gujral said it was sad that when the bus service resumed, it did not correlate with the issue of visas by the Indian authorities. "It is a very sad comment that in the very beginning an empty bus should come. I hope that by the time that the next bus goes, the visa regulations would be relaxed. One argument that was given was that the staff were not there. But that should have been done first."

Mr.Gujral said that nothing positive could emerge out of a meeting of leaders of India and Pakistan at this juncture. "So far as government-to-government talks are concerned, I am very pessimistic. Yesterday, I told a mediaperson, `supposing tomorrow the Prime Ministers (of India and Pakistan) meet what will they discuss' ? `Give me Kashmir.' `I will not give you Kashmir.' The talks are over. And that is where I go back to my own talks with (the then Prime Minister) Nawaz Sharif. And I must tell you that it was remarkable. Nawaz said ``I cannot take Kashmir from you, I know it. You cannot give it to me, I know it.'' And that was the beginning of a new chapter," Mr.Gujral said.

In his view, the Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, could not be trusted. "He has a vested interest in non-settlement. Who in the Pakistan polity will spend 60 to 70 per cent of his budget on the Army if the bogey of India collapses? Therefore, I do not place much confidence in any talks between the (Indian) Prime Minister and the General. It will be a repeat of Agra again," he said. "Talking to Musharraf and improvement of relations are two different things. Ultimately Musharraf will give in only if people-to-people relationship improves. Only then internal pressure will come on him. Talks are no pressure."

Even the positive comments seen in the Pakistani media on possibilities of an upswing in Indo-Pak relations and the presence of Pakistani MP and hardliner, Moulana Fazal-ur Rahman, in India, were not significant. "I do not think that Fazal-ur Rahman coming here is part of any diplomatic contact. He is a member of Parliament and does not need a visa. So he can come. I would be surprised if the tiger changes its stripes," Mr.Gujral said.

In his opinion, India should take the ``SAARC route'' to ensure that its relationship with all its neighbours improved. "The real emphasis should be on SAARC. That is where my difference with the Government of India comes. In the success of SAARC, in the advancement of SAARC, we have a vested interest. And so I feel, ultimately, whenever issues are sorted out, it will be through the SAARC route," he said.

But India's relationship with Nepal, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka were beset with problems and the country was not addressing any of these. India and the U.S. were strategic partners, but the U.S. was active in the region without consulting India. "Why are they active in Nepal and Bangladesh without taking us into confidence? For the first time, the U.S. is bypassing India in this region. This is primarily because India let its relationships in the SAARC region slacken on small things. Like, for instance, the trade relationship with Bangladesh."

Mr.Gujral said he was more worried about the foreign presence in Nepal than anything else in the region.

In Sri Lanka, the talks between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Government was ``collapsing.'' There, India had ruled itself out from the very beginning. "We have completely got ourself out. There is pressure between the (Sri Lankan) President (Chandrika Kumaratunga), and the Prime Minister (Ranil Wickremesinghe). We are not even a point of reference. I am worried about it. We are absenting ourselves from the region. This apart, our strategic ally (the U.S.) is present everywhere."

On the Indian decision not to send troops to Iraq, he said this was a very wise move. "It would have sent a very wrong signal. If the Americans are in a hard place, it is of their own choice. They bypassed the entire world. Now they find that colonisation is no more a part of the 21st century."

He speculated that the delay on the part of the Government to decide on the issue was because it wanted the public opinion to build up. India could be "baited" into sending troops to Iraq, he felt. "One bait could be the local government now being formed. This group will now invite us. We have to be cautious."

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