If it is not anti-Indianism, then in what other terms could we possibly render Pakistani-Muslim nationalism? General Pervez Musharraf chose the holy day of Eid-e-milad to reprimand "irresponsible religious leaders" whose ceaseless war cry against India is harming Pakistan's interests. Economic growth, he said, has been undermined by religious militancy and sectarianism that distort Pakistan's image in the international community.
This change of heart is welcome. But this new tune from Islamabad is bound to have widespread and deep political and social ramifications.
It is surprising that the general was so selective in identifying those whose belligerent posture towards India undercuts Pakistan's national interests. The 'ideology of Pakistan' as defined to students at every school and college in the country is nothing except anti-Indianism. In every walk of life in Pakistan-from academia to journalism, from sports to bureaucracy-a vast majority of people have been inculcated with fantastic anti-India notions.
But the most obvious place to look for unflinching anti-Indianism is of course the military itself. Phrases like the "Hindu mentality" and "devious Indian psyche" are part of the daily military talk. The jehadi groups that are now being berated for their "irresponsible statements" have always enjoyed a close relationship with the Pakistan military. In fact, the trend of religious and sectarian militancy is a direct consequence of the policies which General Musharraf's predecessor from the army, Ziaul Haq, was so proud of.
Anti-Indianism, in short, runs deep in Pakistani state and society. It is a state of mind that cannot be switched off by mere statements of disapproval. People have no other alternative frame of reference in which to define Pakistani nationalism.
This sentiment dominates Pakistan's other policy choices as well. In his Seerat Conference statement, General Musharraf argued that, after the acquisition of nuclear weapons, Pakistan is militarily strong and what needs to be done now is to make its economy strong. But Pakistan's economy is weak exactly because a disproportionately large chunk of the resources has always been used for defence (against India) at the expense of social development and economic growth. Had it not been for the India factor there would have been little logic in building up such mammoth defences.
But the most sinister manifestation of Pakistan's misdirected India policy is the mushrooming of sectarian militant outfits in the name of jehad in Kashmir. Pakistani society has been fragmented along sectarian lines. Violence in Pakistan has increased in direct proportion to the rise in the number of religious militant groups (who, according to General Musharraf, misuse jehad funds).
Read the following three headlines from The News on June 7, 2001, the same issue that also carried General Musharraf's historic statement. "Violence leaves 13 injured in Karachi"; "24 people killed in (Kashmir) valley clashes"; and "Bomb destroys bookshop in Karachi".
In the first instance, two Sunni groups fought a gun battle to decide which party's flag should be hoisted atop a mosque on the eve of the last Prophet's birthday celebrations. The bookshop that was blown up by a booby-trap belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammad, Maulana Azhar Masood's Kashmir freedom fighters group. The front-page picture in the same day's paper showed an armed policeman overseeing a road in Rawalpindi where a 12th Rabi-ul-Awal procession was about to pass.
To change the fateful course of history and save Pakistani society from further degeneration, the role of religion in Pakistan's foreign and domestic policy needs to redefined. If religion is not a factor in Pakistan's relations with, say, China or Nepal, it should also be delinked from Islamabad's India policy.
General Pervez Musharraf has made a correct diagnosis of what ails Pakistan. However, blaming the religious right-wing alone is likely to complicate and deepen the country's crisis of ideology. It remains to be seen if General Musharraf has the will to overhaul the entire ideological edifice of the state of Pakistan and rebuild it in conformity with Jinnah's ideals.
(The writer is an assistant editor
at The News)