Chapter Sixteen

Peace in Kashmir meeting between Indian and Pakistani leaders ended without a joint declaration being issued. The Pakistani President’s visit had been a failure. What caused this failure? According to me, one major reason was the inflexible attitude of certain Indian fundamentalist leaders. Because of their rigid mindset, they were unable to deal effectively with the Pakistani President, and that is one reason for the failure of the meeting. For more than half a century now, I have been of the opinion that the only possible solution to the Kashmir problem is for both countries to accept the current Line of Actual Control in Jammu and Kashmir as the established border between India and Pakistan. Obviously, this is a very bitter pill for Pakistan to swallow. This is why, in order to make this proposal acceptable, one needs to act with great wisdom. Without this, it is impossible to succeed. You cannot win by abusing your opponent. But you can certainly win by showing appropriate consideration and love. When General Pervez Musharraf came to India, he gave several hints from which one could estimate that he was ready for dialogue and reconciliation. He said he had come to India with an open mind. Visiting his ancestral home in Delhi, he indicated that he was an Indian by birth, and that this was why he naturally had a soft corner in his heart for India. In his speech at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, he commented that there could be no military solution to the Kashmir dispute. At a press conference in Agra, he spoke about the acceptance of reality and the need for a step-by-step approach. And so on. These sorts of gestures from the Pakistani President suggested that he was ready for a reconciliatory approach. He wanted to end the Kashmir conflict. But our leaders, owing to their fundamentalist outlook, could not reap the benefit of his gestures. And so, a great potentially historic event failed to happen. Our Indian fundamentalist leaders should have known that, irrespective of whatever agreement General Musharraf might concede to, he had to return to his country. Hence, they