Many Indians see Pakistan and Pakistanis as irredeemably hostile. Of the rest,
while some argue that, despite Partition, we're still the same people, others
don't really know any better to have an opinion. Veteran journalist Kesava
Menon offers a unique and personal perspective that pulls the third category
of Indians out of their indifference, and pokes holes in the black-and-white
outlook of the first and the glib optimism of the second.
Menon has been a long-time commentator on Pakistani politics, ever since
his stint as The Hindu's correspondent in Pakistan in the early 1990s, a crucial
period in that country's recent history. The Islamic hardliner and dictator Ziaul-Haq had died in an air crash, and the future of the nation's new experiment
with democracy was at best uncertain-with Nawaz Sharif coming to office
after Benazir Bhutto's brief first run as prime minister. People were free
enough to breathe easy, but yet too feeble to speak up to power. So while the
army was now led by a non-fanatical professional, religious fundamentalists
with little electoral clout could still openly hurl obscenities about Benazir
at a PPP rally; the three-starred pioneer of anti-India jihad could personally
express genuine hope for Indo-Pak friendship to the author; and a prime
ministerial gala could alter its menu to accommodate a South Indian Hindu
journalist who they assumed must be vegetarian.
While we see both the authoritarian and the democratic tendencies at work
in Pakistan's politics-in the 1990s, as in the decades before and since-this
book contains more than just political commentary. It is also an attempt to
understand the 'idea' of Pakistan, its sense of itself-both as a people and a
nation-state-and how India ought to deal with its intractable neighbour.
Calm and lucid yet simultaneously playful and trenchant, this analysis of the
culture and politics of Pakistan vis-à-vis India combines deep insight and
engaging anecdotes to deliver a thoroughly entertaining take on the complex
and often tumultuous relationship between the two countries.
