It's widely acknowledged that India's foundational identity has long been characterized by an anti-Pakistan stance, dating back to the creation of both nations. However, this perspective has escalated into an intense fixation, taking on a concerning and almost pathological dimension under the current Indian government, which heavily emphasizes hypernationalism and a 'Hindu India' identity.

As a student of grade six, I remember seeing an interesting cartoon by the famous cartoonist Javed Iqbal that was published in the Daily Jung newspaper, some 40 years ago. In this cartoon, Ms. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, was depicted having her dinner, while keeping a curious side-eye at her neighbour (General Zia-ul-Haq, also shown in the other half of the picture, consuming his dinner, consisting of a single bread and chutni). While the table in front of her was lavishly laden with all kinds of exotic cuisine, Ms. Gandhi was shown prompting to her aide “Asal cheez tau wahan hai” (the real thing is with him).
This reminds me of another story that; there once was a hardworking farmer who fell upon the greatest of gifts. One day, an ascetic visited the farmer's home and offered him three wishes, with the condition that whatever the farmer wished for would be doubled for his neighbour. The farmer, scarcely believing his good fortune, wished for a hundred cattle. Immediately, he received a hundred cattle and was overjoyed until he saw that his neighbour had two hundred. So he wished for a hundred acres of land, and again he was filled with joy until he saw that his neighbour had two hundred acres of land. Rather than celebrating God’s goodness, the farmer could not escape the reality of his deep-seated inner flaw. Finally, he stated his third wish: he asked the ascetic to strike him blind in one eye. 
It remains a puzzling mystery why a country, which is seven times larger in size, boasts an economy more than ten times bigger, and commands the world's fifth-largest army, chooses to persist on a distinctly Pakistan-centric course. This, despite the fact that many analysts of that country believe that in the face of the rapidly changing geopolitical scenario and burgeoning economic challenges, especially when India espouses to become a global power, Pakistan is too insignificant an entity to waste time on in what seemingly a futile debate of sorts that would take her nowhere. According to them, it is now time that India must shift the age-old fulcrum of the anti-Pakistan ideology. Nevertheless, the changing attitude about Pakistan doesn’t seem to be concluding in the foreseeable future… and this situation makes the whole issue too complex, too convoluted and too confusing to explain, and therefore, too complicated to address in the right perspective.
While it is true that the vivisection of the subcontinent was no ordinary happening in the recorded history of the region resulting in bloodshed, anarchy and diaspora, leaving an indelible scar which resulted in the four wars on Kashmir and other regional and bilateral conflicts that followed. It continues to resonate with unmitigated intensity today.

It is no secret that the central fulcrum of the entire Indian state remains to be  based on an anti-Pakistan ideology, ever since the inception of the two countries on the map of the world. However, this has turned into an obsession coarsely acquiring a pathological dimension under the present Indian regime, which thrives on hypernational and ‘Hindu India’ identity.

Considering a country born of Two-nation Theory carved out of the subcontinent and later, suffering dismemberment at the hands of India in 1971, the fears about Pakistan and its predicaments is understandable. However, what may not be immediately apparent is why India, being a significantly larger country, should maintain a hostile stance towards Pakistan as its adversary.
It is no secret that the central fulcrum of the entire Indian state remains to be based on an anti-Pakistan ideology, ever since the inception of the two countries on the map of the world. However, this has turned into an obsession coarsely acquiring a pathological dimension under the present Indian regime, which thrives on hypernational and ‘Hindu India’ identity. 

Can they ignore the gargantuan and unestimated costs of stationing nearly 600,000 military, paramilitary, and police personnel for over 35 years? Amidst the cacophony and jingoism by the Indian media, the issues of terror incidents such as the Samjhota Express and Kulbhushan Jhadav, where India has been proven to be involved in perpetrating and colluding with terrorists, are overshadowed.

The dramatic advent of BJP, whose legal progenitor happens to be the extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), into Indian politics, and later taking over the reins of power in 2014 (after having had two short stints in power in 1996 and 1998), mainly owes its success using the bogey of Pakistan, thus overwhelming its national discourse in the most shattering manner. However, with the taking over of Prime Minister Modi, 2014 onwards, India saw a sea change, wherein intellectual obscurantism and religious bigotry was baptized as nationalism, destroying all vestiges of pluralistic ideals and stifling all voices of sanity in the process. Modi, a gifted demagogue, with bellicosity typical to RSS, making use of his firebrand speeches and his particularly honed skills in manipulating the press, while playing his favourite game of ‘crying Pakistan’ succeeded in hyphenating ‘Pakistan-China’ to his advantage by manipulating the emotions of ordinary people. Any country and its people, notwithstanding the collective wisdom, can be roused by demagoguery and sensationalism to fear imaginary slights from enemies and invasions by outsiders. The sensational school quite naturally produces the demagogic party, and the theological school becomes quite as naturally ‘absolutism’, for in philosophy, it is by scepticism that it undertakes to restore theocracy. He is constantly seen full of braggadocio about his accomplishments and popularity, which he uses as a cover to hide the deep-seated agenda of 'Hindutva', while, in the process, pulverizing all minorities, especially the Muslims. As the elections draw near, the spectre of Pakistan becomes a convenient tool; after all, what could garner more votes than fiery speeches and widespread condemnation of Pakistan?
The narrative on terrorism in India is perforated with accusations and suspicions of Pakistan, waging proxy wars and sponsoring terrorist activities on its soil. BJP, along with the perfectly synched media, has lauded such concerns every now and then but the intensity and nature of these messages have increased in recent times. Indian print media is pursuing an all-out confrontational policy towards Pakistan. The spectrum of issues raised in Indian print media conspires to malign Pakistan. The Mumbai attack, which still tops the media's agenda-setting list, is used to divert the attention of the masses from more pressing issues at home, such as Manipur, Punjab, and Kashmir, etc. In the period from 2000 to 2019, a cumulative total of 80,000 civilians and security personnel were killed in terrorism-related violence in Pakistan. The fact that Pakistan has suffered much more than India, isn't this testimony enough to question what possible benefit Pakistan could yield from terrorism? Today, Nathuram Godse of RSS, who murdered Mahatma Gandhi is being celebrated as a hero of Hindu India. The proponents of Indian muscular nationalism who want only a military solution of Kashmir might close their eyes to the killings of some 100,000 Kashmiris and their unending sufferings that constitutes the worst form of state terrorism under the garb of nationalism. Can they ignore the gargantuan and unestimated costs of stationing nearly 600,000 military, paramilitary, and police personnel for over 35 years? Amidst the cacophony and jingoism by the Indian media, the issues of terror incidents such as the Samjhota Express and Kulbhushan Jhadav, where India has been proven to be involved in perpetrating and colluding with terrorists, are overshadowed. 

In a comprehensive interview conducted by Karan Thapar for The Wire, Aiyar presents a picture of Pakistan that not only differs significantly from but is almost the polar opposite of everything Indians have been told about and led to believe regarding Pakistan. 

On September 18, during a session with lawmakers in Ottawa, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, revealed that information from the country's security agencies pointed to India's involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh leader of Khalistan Movement. On the evening of June 18, 2023, he was tragically killed while seated in his truck in a parking lot adjacent to a gurdwara, a Sikh temple, in Vancouver. Trudeau implied that the assassination bore the marks of involvement by the Indian government. He stated, "In recent weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively investigating credible allegations of a possible connection between operatives of the Indian government and the murder of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar." He further emphasized, "Any participation by a foreign government in the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian territory constitutes an unacceptable breach of our sovereignty."
The Khalistan Movement enjoys support both within India and among the extensive global Sikh diaspora. The 1980s and '90s witnessed thousands of casualties during a separatist insurgency in Punjab. Fearing a resurgence of violence, the Indian government launched an extensive manhunt this year for Nijjar. Several months before the incident, India escalated its efforts to exert pressure on Canada, Australia, Britain, and the United States. These countries are home to significant Sikh communities and frequently witness pro-Khalistan demonstrations. India sought measures to curb the movement, including the dispersal of protests near India's diplomatic missions.
Pakistan has repeatedly been providing undeniable evidence of Indian meddling in its internal affairs and using terrorism through non-state actors to support, aid, and abet Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) terrorist activities in Balochistan, in addition to committing severe state-sponsored terrorism and violating human rights in Kashmir and, more recently, in Manipur. One of the reasons why India seems to have her way so easily is due to the fact that Pakistan, following 9/11, has been perpetually beset by many internal and external challenges.
Perhaps one of the best portrayals of Pakistan and a possible representation, if one were to term it as such, of its realistic stance, has come from none other than Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar, who served as the Indian Consul-General in Karachi for four years. In a comprehensive interview conducted by Karan Thapar for The Wire, Aiyar presents a picture of Pakistan that not only differs significantly from but is almost the polar opposite of everything Indians have been told about and led to believe regarding Pakistan. As Thapar narrated, “He shatters the false misconceptions and outright lies that colour the traditional Indian perception of our western neighbour… Many of his stories will astound Indian viewers because they speak of a Pakistan we know nothing about. They portray a country that far from being narrow and fundamentalist is fun-loving, welcoming of Indians and Hindus and where Islamization has not impinged on the rights of people… a country he has visited 40 times in the last 40 years… After India, he says, he feels most at home in Pakistan.”
However, during the concluding remarks at the end of the long interview, Aiyar, with a hint of grief and consternation, admitted that he had started to realize that the feelings of the Pakistani people, whom he not only regarded as 'loving' but also considered the biggest 'asset of India,' were slowly turning bitter. According to him, the sole reason for this indignation is the pestilential policies pursued by the Modi Government during the last ten years of its rule.
The current scenario appears less ambiguous. India, influenced by the ideologies of prominent BJP leaders, has increasingly embraced a culture marked by prejudice. Whether it can attain pluralism remains a subject of speculation. 

The author is a retired Cavalry Officer. He is a historian and a regular contributor to The Nation.
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