India's Pakistan policy: Flip this way, flop the other

Problems between two parties can be resolved in one of only three ways. The first is through negotiation between these two parties. The second is through arbitration from a third party. The third is through force: one party compels the other to do what it wants. Whether the two parties are individuals, groups, litigants, corporations or nations, these are the only three ways in which a problem can be solved.

Indian children use a fourth way, which is called katti. It involves pretending that the other side does not exist. This does not solve the problem but it gives the child a sort of satisfaction.

On 21 August, this headline appeared in our media: 'No bilateral events with Pakistan but Indian cricket team free to play in Asia Cup: Sports Ministry’. 

Here is a question: Which of these statements was a part of the Modi government’s official Pakistan policy?

1) India will talk to Pakistan.

2) India will not talk to Pakistan.

3) India will not talk to Pakistan so long as it keeps firing across the LoC.

4) India will talk to Pakistan only after it stops exporting terror.

5) India will not talk to Pakistan if it talks to Kashmiris.

6) India will talk to Pakistan but only about terrorism.

7) India will talk to Pakistan about Kashmir.

8) India will talk to Pakistan but only about PoK not about Kashmir.

9) India will talk to Pakistan but only about terror, not Kashmir.

10) India will talk to Pakistan because it had already lectured it on terror.

11) India will exchange sweets with Pakistan on Independence Day.

12) India will not exchange sweets with Pakistan on Independence Day.

13) India will exchange sweets with Pakistan on Republic Day.

14) India will not exchange sweets with Pakistan on Republic Day.

15) India will exchange sweets with Pakistan on Diwali.

16) India will not exchange sweets with Pakistan on Diwali.

17) India will exchange sweets with Pakistan on Eid.

18) India will not exchange sweets with Pakistan on Eid.

19) India will do cricket diplomacy with Pakistan.

20) India will not do cricket diplomacy with Pakistan.

21) India will not talk to Pakistan but will reply to each bullet with a bomb at LoC.

22) India will talk to Pakistan because war was not an option.

23) India can defeat Pakistan in war in a week.

24) India would not give in to pressure on LoC firing.

25) India will agree to LoC ceasefire because violations have increased.

26) India will trade with Pakistan.

27) India will not trade with Pakistan.

The correct answer, of course, is that each and every one of these was the Modi government’s official policy. Now here are the news headlines that correspond to the statements above.

1) ‘Narendra Modi holds impromptu talks with Nawaz Sharif in Lahore’, 25 December 2015.

2) ‘No message for talks sent to Pakistan, says MEA’, 15 October 2020. 

3) ‘Sushma Swaraj squarely blames Pakistan for spoiling foreign secretary-level talks with India’, 26 September 2016.

4) ‘India can talk to Pakistan but not to “Terroristan”: S. Jaishankar’, 25 September 2019.

5) ‘No talks with Pakistan if it meets Hurriyat: Sushma’, 22 August 2015.

6) ‘India will talk to Pakistan only on cross-border terrorism, not Kashmir’, 18 August 2016.

7) ‘Ready to talk with Pakistan on J&K within bilateral framework: India’, 28 August 2014.

8) ‘Any future talks with Pakistan will be on PoK, not on J&K: Rajnath Singh’, 22 September 2019.

9) ‘Ready to talk on terror but not Kashmir: India to Pakistan’, 17 August 2016.

10) ‘After tough talk on terror, India ready to restart talks with Pakistan’, 28 May 2014.

11) ‘Independence Day: India-Pak security forces exchange sweets at border’, 15 August 2018.

12) ‘73rd Independence Day: No exchange of sweets at Attari-Wagah border post’, 15 August 2019.

13) ‘On Republic Day, Indian, Pakistan troops exchange sweets on LoC’, 26 January 2017.

14) ‘BSF, Pak Rangers not to exchange sweets on R-Day’, 25 January 2020.  

15) ‘On Diwali, India, Pakistan troops exchange sweets at Wagah Border’, 7 November 2018.

16) ‘No exchange of sweets at Attari border this Diwali’, 30 October 2016.

17) ‘Indian and Pakistani armies exchange sweets on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr’, 5 June 2019.

18) ‘No exchange of sweets between BSF, Pakistan Rangers at Wagah Border on Eid’, 25 March 2020.

19) ‘Modi’s cricket diplomacy: Renewing political contact with Pakistan’, 13 February 2015. 

20) ‘Amit Shah rules out Indo-Pak “bilateral” cricket series; BJP backs him’, 18 June 2017.

21) ‘Will reply to Pakistan’s bullets with bombs: Amit Shah’, 29 March 2019. 

22) ‘War with Pakistan not an option, India will continue talks: Swaraj’, 16 December 2015.

23) ‘India can now defeat Pakistan “in 7-10 days”, says Narendra Modi’, 29 January 2020.

24) ‘Everything will be fine soon: Narendra Modi on LoC firing’, 9 October 2014.

25) ‘The surprise India–Pakistan ceasefire call and what it means, explained’, 26 February 2021.

26) ‘Modi seeks full trade normalisation with Pakistan’, 24 November 2017.

27) ‘India suspends cross-LoC trade with Pakistan’, 18 April 2018. 

And this was all just the first five years of this government. The dictionary defines the word policy as 'a definite course or method of action selected from among alternatives and in light of given conditions to guide and determine present and future decisions’; and also as 'a high-level overall plan embracing the general goals and acceptable procedures especially of a governmental body’.

One wonders how the dictionary would describe India’s Pakistan policy.