Social media patriots, particularly, are very eager that India disassociate itself entirely from Pakistan. This overlooks the fact that it makes no sense for India to hurt itself more in the process. India’s interests must not be overlooked and, where there is benefit in any kind of engagement and no great advantage to Pakistan, the boycott should be intelligently managed. There is also the higher objective of nudging Pakistan towards civilised functioning internally as a nation. Democracy has to be strengthened, fundamentalism and terrorism must be wiped out, which can best be done by the people themselves.
Keeping this objective in mind, individuals and forces in Pakistan that are struggling to rescue their country from the mess it is in, should be provided at least moral support. It does not help if all intellectuals, artistes, musicians, reformers are painted with the same brush. As Pakistanis, they cannot be expected to be unpatriotic in their behaviour, but where there is sensible articulation of real issues, it should be appreciated. This does not imply going soft on Pakistan, it just means working towards a lasting solution.
It is in this context that India playing Pakistan in the Hockey Asia Cup should be looked at. Does it make sense to sabotage the tournament and deny India the opportunity to lift the trophy? Can India disassociate from an international forum merely to thumb its nose at Pakistan? The UNSC, for instance, is presently being headed by Pakistan. Should India absent itself from the forum and give its adversary free rein to spread its propaganda under one excuse or the other? Obviously, the diplomatic fight against it has to be much more nuanced than what certain groups are demanding.
It is also dangerous in other ways to disengage entirely from the western neighbour. Sun Tzu in ‘The Art of War’ has stated, “Know thy Enemy”, as an essential factor in learning the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, etc., that would bring victory in battle. And this is not just for experts – in the present-day war of political systems, awareness among the general public is necessary because they are the ones who choose governments and leaders. Also, India needs to know who they wish to defeat. If war leads to the kind of situation that has brought fundamentalists to power in Iran and Afghanistan, and social turmoil is threatening to do in Bangladesh, India has to ensure the results favour Pakistan’s progressive sections. It is the ideology of Jinnah and his present-day avatar, Pak Army Chief Asim Munir, that must be defeated for the good of the entire sub-continent.
